![]() According to legend, in 1774 he built a zeppelin-like airship out of glass and launched it from Stuckbarrich, his mountaintop home near Waldeck, Lancaster County. Stiegel was one of the few men of his time who believed in the future of aerial transportation. And therein lies the origin of the legend of Baron Stiegel's glass airship. Stiegel was also a skilled ironmaster and the operator of several forges, including Charming Forge and Elizabeth Forge in Lancaster County, and the Tulpehocken Eisenhammer furnace in Berks County. In addition to being America's greatest glassmaker, Baron Stiegel is also famous for founding the borough of Manheim in 1762. ![]() One of the oldest legends about the strange noises heard atop the Pinnacle has its roots in Lancaster County, which was the home of Revolutionary Era glassmaker Henry William Stiegel. The Legend of Baron Stiegel's Glass Airship Since the days of the earliest settlers, a faint, peculiar whistling or sighing noise has been heard atop the summit at night, and this unearthly sound can still be heard today. Many have claimed to have seen unexplained sights and to have heard unexplained sounds. ![]() It has been said to have been the gathering place of witches, the site of ancient Indian human sacrifices and the home of restless, wandering ghosts. With so much history attached to this unique geological feature, it only stands to reason that the Pinnacle is steeped in legend and myth. To the native Lenape, the boulder-capped summit was known as "Kanteele", or "battlement". ![]() This craggy peak, the highest point in Berks County, has been known for centuries by many different names to early Pennsylvania Dutch settlers it was known as "Zinne-kup" (or Zinne-kop), which, loosely translated, means "merlon head" (in medieval architecture, merlons are those crenelated tops of castles, giving them that distinctive castle-like appearance). Anyone who has ever spent time hiking in the Blue Mountains has undoubtedly paid a visit to the mountain peak known as "The Pinnacle". ![]()
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