This blog is by Josie Darkins, an intern studying MA Public History at Queen’s University Belfast.
Did you know there are more Lisburns in America than in Ireland? There is another Lisburn in the Lower Allen Township of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Its origins can be traced to 1739 when a small hamlet began to grow up around a flour mill. It first appeared as ‘New Lisburn’ on maps and tax reports before dropping the ‘New’ soon after. The origins of the name are debated. One story goes that an early settler in the area named Elizabeth Burns ran a cake and beer establishment which patrons referred to as ‘Liz Burns’’. However, the more widely accepted version is that several of the early settlers arriving from Ireland named it for their birthplace, Lisburn.
By 1799, Lisburn, PA, became an iron town around ‘Liberty Forge’ (now the name of a golf course on the site). There has been a mill on the site of the original flour mill continuously, rebuilt again and again after several fires. It began producing electricity in 1915.
Representatives from Lisburn, PA, came to Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 1980 ahead of the 250th anniversary of the village which was marked in 1989. The Mayor, Alderman Samuel Semple, was presented with a book about the history of Lisburn, PA. One of the representatives, Mr Snyder, said, ‘Our small community joined together four years ago and, as part of America’s bicentennial, wrote a book relating the town’s history’. The representatives were holidaying in Ireland and took the opportunity to make the visit to their village’s namesake. Mr Snyder added, ‘Please accept this volume as a token of our friendship and unity with Lisburn, Ireland. The bond that exists between our communities may have been neglected over the years, but we assure you it is still strong’.
There was another ‘New Lisburn’ in Massachusetts, established around the same time as a the PA Lisburn and planned by the father of Matthew Thornton, who was a signatory of the US Declaration of Independence. This Lisburn was absorbed into the town of Pelham.
There is also a Lisburn plantation house built in 1852 in Louisiana. The listed historic structure was built on stilts so the whole house could be moved with relative ease.
The last Lisburn is an estate called ‘Lisburne Grange’ belonging to Lisburn-born railway tycoon, Samuel Sloan. It was originally called Oulagisket, but was renamed by Sloan’s son to honour his father’s birthplace.
