Meylin, Martin

Name	Street	Town	State	From	To
Meylin or Mylin, Martin		Pequea Valley (now Lancaster County)	Pennsylvania	1710	1745

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Martin Meylin, born 1670 in Switzerland (Zurich?), died 1749 in Pennsylvania, maried to Anna Rutgen. Probably they came to Pennsylvania in 1710. In 1719 he bought the first gun factory with a boring mill in Pequea county (now Lancaster County) on Mylin's Run, Lampeter Township. Other records state:"Martin Meylin (1665 Rhineland-Palatinate, then Prussia – 1749 (aged 83–84), West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) was a gunsmith best known for inventing Daniel Boone's Gun, the "Kentucky Long Rifle". Both records says that in 1710 he left Zurich (Switzerland) for Pequea (now Lancaster County). It seems that he emigrated together with a group od other Mennonites. He received 265 acres of land from the 10.000 acre plot granted by William Penn to settlers from the Palatinate. Local histories state that Martin Meylin was either a gunsmith or blacksmith, and that Martin Meylin's son, Martin Meylin (II) also practiced these professions. As a result, the historical record is hard to parse, as it is not always clear which Meylin is being referred to in any given document. Meylan was the owner of the earliest known gun shop in Pennslyvania and it is believed that he developed the Pennsylvania Rifle (called Kentucky rifle as wideley used by Kentucky sharp shooters in the 1812 War). Meylin grooved (rifling) the barrel which made the gun accurate up to 300 yards. A marker of this evenement is at the intersection of Eshelman Mill Road and Long Rifle Road at Willow street near Lancaster. A Martin Maylin's Gunshop marker is at 0.2 miles north of Beaver Valley Road, Willow Street, Pennsylvania on the right when traveling north. His shop is still standing. The forerunners of the Pennsylvania long rife were built by German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania so about 1725. Martin Meylin's Gunshop was built in 1719, and it is here that the Mennonite gunsmith of Swiss-German heritage crafted some of the earliest, and possibly the first, Pennsylvania Rifles.[7] No single rifle has been found to date to be signed by Martin Meylin. Two have been attributed to him- one in the Lancaster Historical Society has been found to be a European musket of a later date and the other with a date of 1705 has been found to be a forgery - the Meylins didn't arrive in America until 1710. The Martin Meylin Gunshop still stands today in Willow Street, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Long Rifle Road. An archaeological dig performed in 2005 by Millersville University around the so-called Meylin gunshop found no evidence of gunmaking activity among the thousands of artifacts found - only blacksmithing artifacts were found. The Lancaster County Historical Society has an original Pennsylvania Long Rifle smithed by Meylin that was passed down within the family for seven generations before being donated to the society in the middle of the twentieth century. This particular rifle was analyzed and the barrel removed during the Lancaster Long Rifle Exhibit at Landis Valley Farm Museum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2005. The six experts on hand found the barrel was European and the stock itself dated from a later period than 1710-1750. The initials on the barrel - "MM" were found to be added later than any other part of the gun, therefore it was concluded that the rifle in the Lancaster County Historical Society could not have been made by either son or father named Martin Meylin. A document describing the history of Meylin, the Gunshop, and archeology of the shop is available online from Millersville University. The Mylin Gun Shop Survey Project (thanks to the University) Some historians have written that the role of Martin Meylin as one of the earliest gunsmiths in Lancaster is not clear. The argument is that the will of Martin Meylin Sr. makes no mention of gunsmith items while the will of Martin Meylin Jr. is replete with gunsmith items, and thus the reference to Meylin as a gunsmith is more properly placed on the son. In any case, no rifle has been found to be positively attributed to any Meylin.

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Martin Meylin, born 1670 in Switzerland (Zurich?), died 1749 in Pennsylvania, maried to Anna Rutgen. Probably they came to Pennsylvania in 1710. In 1719 he bought the first gun factory with a boring mill in Pequea county (now Lancaster County) on Mylin's Run, Lampeter Township.

Other records state:"Martin Meylin (1665 Rhineland-Palatinate, then Prussia – 1749 (aged 83–84), West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) was a gunsmith best known for inventing Daniel Boone's Gun, the "Kentucky Long Rifle".

Both records says that in 1710 he left Zurich (Switzerland) for Pequea (now Lancaster County).

It seems that he emigrated together with a group od other Mennonites. He received 265 acres of land from the 10.000 acre plot granted by William Penn to settlers from the Palatinate.

Local histories state that Martin Meylin was either a gunsmith or blacksmith, and that Martin Meylin's son, Martin Meylin (II) also practiced these professions. As a result, the historical record is hard to parse, as it is not always clear which Meylin is being referred to in any given document.

Meylan was the owner of the earliest known gun shop in Pennslyvania and it is believed that he developed the Pennsylvania Rifle (called Kentucky rifle as wideley used by Kentucky sharp shooters in the 1812 War).

Meylin grooved (rifling) the barrel which made the gun accurate up to 300 yards. A marker of this evenement is at the intersection of Eshelman Mill Road and Long Rifle Road at Willow street near Lancaster. A Martin Maylin's Gunshop marker is at 0.2 miles north of Beaver Valley Road, Willow Street, Pennsylvania on the right when traveling north. His shop is still standing.

The forerunners of the Pennsylvania long rife were built by German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania so about 1725.

Martin Meylin's Gunshop was built in 1719, and it is here that the Mennonite gunsmith of Swiss-German heritage crafted some of the earliest, and possibly the first, Pennsylvania Rifles.[7] No single rifle has been found to date to be signed by Martin Meylin. Two have been attributed to him- one in the Lancaster Historical Society has been found to be a European musket of a later date and the other with a date of 1705 has been found to be a forgery - the Meylins didn't arrive in America until 1710. The Martin Meylin Gunshop still stands today in Willow Street, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Long Rifle Road. An archaeological dig performed in 2005 by Millersville University around the so-called Meylin gunshop found no evidence of gunmaking activity among the thousands of artifacts found - only blacksmithing artifacts were found. The Lancaster County Historical Society has an original Pennsylvania Long Rifle smithed by Meylin that was passed down within the family for seven generations before being donated to the society in the middle of the twentieth century. This particular rifle was analyzed and the barrel removed during the Lancaster Long Rifle Exhibit at Landis Valley Farm Museum, Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2005. The six experts on hand found the barrel was European and the stock itself dated from a later period than 1710-1750. The initials on the barrel - "MM" were found to be added later than any other part of the gun, therefore it was concluded that the rifle in the Lancaster County Historical Society could not have been made by either son or father named Martin Meylin. A document describing the history of Meylin, the Gunshop, and archeology of the shop is available online from Millersville University. The Mylin Gun Shop Survey Project (thanks to the University)

Some historians have written that the role of Martin Meylin as one of the earliest gunsmiths in Lancaster is not clear. The argument is that the will of Martin Meylin Sr. makes no mention of gunsmith items while the will of Martin Meylin Jr. is replete with gunsmith items, and thus the reference to Meylin as a gunsmith is more properly placed on the son. In any case, no rifle has been found to be positively attributed to any Meylin.