The Welsh Mountain

Anyone who is familiar with the Welsh Mountain south of New Holland, Pennsylvania, has probably heard stories of the Buzzard Gang of outlaws who lived there. The notorious members of the Buzzard Gang were brothers who grew up in the Welsh Mountains, raised by a single mother who lost her husband in the Civil War. Of the six boys raised by Mary Buzzard, three of them, Abe, Isaac and Jacob, had the most run-ins with the law. 

Abe, by far, was the ringleader, but his brothers were equally wild. Another brother, Martin, served 16 years in prison for shooting a farmer in the head during a botched robbery, although the elderly farmer survived. In and out of prison for most of their lives, the brothers terrorized communities throughout the region with robberies, gun battles and a string of thefts too numerous to count. 
Back in 1883, the Buzzard Boys organized the largest prison break in Lancaster County, taking advantage of lax security to free more than a dozen prisoners. At times, there were bounties out for Abe Buzzard that were larger than those offered for Western outlaw Jesse James. Abe was shot several times in gun battles, but he survived those encounters. Despite his outlaw ways, the end came quietly for Abe, who died in 1935 at age 84 in his home in Reading. 

The Buzzard Gang was not the first or only outlaw gang to live on the Welsh Mountain. It had a reputation for their type long before they were born.

The mountain reminded the Welsh people of their homeland and they named it the Welsh Mountain. When they settled in the area in the early 1700s, Indians still lived on the mountain. It was sold out from under them which, of course, did not sit well with them. How would you like it if someone came to your house, claimed it and sold it to someone else? 

Black slaves and white indentured servants who escaped ran to the Welsh Mountain. The Indians helped them hide from their masters. The three races mixed on the Welsh Mountain and produced a Tri-racial group of descendants that lived in crude huts. They made it clear they wanted to be left alone, fiercely defending their freedom with vicious dogs and guns. 

An article in the Philadelphia Gazette in 1790 warned travelers on the State road near Gap in Lancaster County that they were liable to be attacked by "Green's Banditti." The leader of the band was identified a burly black man, Thomas Green, who had control of the mountains. A few years later he died in an attack on a waggoner but his wife and family survived and perpetuated the name and family tradition.

In 1898 the Mennonite church established an industrial mission on the Welsh Mountain in an attempt to evangelize the people and provide a way for them to earn an honest living instead of begging and stealing. While their intentions were noble, generations of hardscrabble living on the mountain was not easily changed to the German work ethic of the mission's founders. The industrial part of the mission was not a stunning success and the residents of the mountain largely continued in their lifestyle.

In 1899, Cal Green was the leader of the black outlaw gang on the Welsh Mountain. She was a descendant of Thomas Green and fiercely defended their territory with guns and vicious dogs. At great peril, Leslie Gilliams managed to interview a few residents on the mountain and photograph the huts in which they lived. A report of his adventure was published in The Wide World Magazine, Vol. IV, Oct. 1899-Mar. 1900; p.366-371.

Today, the Welsh Mountain has been tamed. The industrial mission evolved into a home for low-income elderly. The outlaws are gone and their huts have been replaced with comfortable homes.  A paved road crosses the ridge that once was dense forest. It is safe to drive across the mountain in the dark without fear of being attacked by bandits.