Custer, The Extreme Western Corner of Whitpain
- Yen Ho
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
"The name Custer is from a family once owning property here. Some improvements have been made, consisting of the steam chopping mill of Mr. VanFossen, and the feed, coal and lumber yard of Hoover & Baker. Four new dwelling houses line the roadway which here crosses, all erected in the Whitpain side, in the extreme western corner of that township. The waters of the creek are here, for the first time, obstructed by a dam, and are used in running Erb's grist mill, by the road side, leading to Washington Square, a mile to the left. Since 1878 there has been no growth in the village. The mill yet grinds, and the lumber, coal and feed store remain, though in other hands."
- Ambler Gazette, August 16, 1917
From Switzerland to Whitpain
The patriarch of the Custer family started with Peter Custer who emigrated from Switzerland to Worcester where his son Harman Custer (1788-1871) was born. Harman initially worked as a weaver, but switched to farming which he stuck with until the end of his lifetime. His farm was located near the former Custer station was. His son Philip B. Custer (1821-1900) took over his father's farmstead.
The earliest known owner of the 90-acre property dates back to 1748 when it was owned by John McCalmout. Then it was sold to John Shearer for an exorbitant price of 3,010 pounds. The one-story stone home was built in 1762, and the barn was built in 1776. In 1799, the home was rebuilt as a two-story home.
Fast forward to 1846, Reverend George Wack obtained the old mill, and detached the old mill property to give away 64 acres to Harman Custer for $2,700.
According to the PA Historic Resource Survey Form, it is said that the home was built very close to the time it was recorded from the Ambler Gazette archives. It has a "Penn Plan" architecture style, but it's simply a colonial-style (most likely Georgian) home that was popular from the 1600s all the way to the 1800s.
The McCrackens
From the recorder of deeds, the home was purchased by Samuel L. McCracken (1890-1954) in 1928. His son Charles (1925-2019) was the valedictorian of his graduating class of 14 students at Whitpain High School. He possibly followed his father's footsteps in being a leader, and was drafted into the US Air Force on April 12, 1942. Before joining the air force, he was attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
He received the silver navigator's wings at the Army Air Forces Navigation School at Selman Field in Louisiana on July 1, 1943. At the same time, Charles was commissioned as second lieutenant. He then went overseas in April 1944 and flew with the 452nd Bomb Group 3rd Division. He earned the Eighth AAF Air Medal for "meritorious achievement while participating in numerous Eighth AAF bombing assaults against industrial targets in Germany and Nazi-occupied Continental Europe." In addition, Charles earned the Distinguished Flying Cross while flying with the crew of the Eighth AAF B-17 Flying Fortress "Mugwump IV". He was only 19 years old.
Bibliography
"14 To Be Graduated From Whitpain High." Ambler Gazette. May 28, 1942. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_20787.
"1795 W TOWNSHIP LINE Rd, Blue Bell, PA 19422." Redfin. Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.redfin.com/PA/Blue-Bell/1795-W-Township-Line-Rd-19422/home/39124608.
"Along the Stony Creek." Ambler Gazette. August 16, 1917. Page 7. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_6377.
"Colonial Period 1640 - 1800." Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Accessed May 28, 2026. https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/colonial.html.
Franklin Survey Co. Atlas: Montgomery County 1935 Vol B, Plate 8, 1935.
"Local History Sketch. Interesting Local Matter Collected by 'E.M.' The Old Mill at Custer--Its Building by John Phillips--Valentine Shearer--Rev. George Wack--The Custer Farm--Rev. Henry Geisenheimer." Ambler Gazette. December 17, 1908. Page 7. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_4496.
"McCracken Awarded Eighth AAF Air Medal." Ambler Gazette. July 20, 1944. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_19421.
"Receives Flying Cross." Ambler Gazette. September 14, 1944. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_18772.
"Receives Silver Wings." Ambler Gazette. February 10, 1944. Page 1. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Awivp-gazett_19143.
Roberts, Ellwood. Biographical Annals of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Containing Genealogical Records of Representative Families, Including Many of the Early Settlers and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens, Volume 2. (New York: T.S. Benham, 1904): 370-371.
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