Changing owners, and after some division, a portion of what had been "Stokes Meadow" was sold to General Paul Applebach. In 1848 together with his brother, Henry, he laid out part of the land purchase as building lots along opposite sides of Bethlehem Rd. Their venture was attractive partly because the daily stagecoach from Philadelphia to Bethlehem passed through, and soon about 30 tidy brick residence formed a village. When the post office was established in 1874, Reed Laubenstein was appointed postmaster.
The village became home to a "graded" school as well as a Lutheran Church. One of the first of the school's teachers was John S. Stahr who went on to become the president of Lancaster's Franklin and Marshall College.
The Applebachs from whom the village took its name were descendants of a Wesphalian (German) family of iron makers — name spelled Afflerbach.
Johan Henry Afflerbach emigrated to Philadelphia in 1770, and soon afterward settled (likely) in Springfield Township. He dropped his first name and was thereafter known as Henry.
General Applebach never wed or had children, and the lineage of his branch of the family ceased with the death of a sister, Emma Applebach, in 1931.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Apple Road • Old Bethlehem Road