April 07--A fire destroyed more than a family's home when it ripped through an old Oley Township farmhouse Saturday night.
The house at 5798 Oley Turnpike Road held great historic importance, Berks County historian George M. Meiser lamented.
For it was on the property, in February 1809, that a 24-year-old unwed domestic servant killed her newborn son.
"What made it important in Pennsylvania history is the fact that Susanna Cox -- guilty of the crime of infanticide -- was the last woman publicly executed in Pennsylvania," Meiser said.
The cause of the fire, which killed three dogs, remains undetermined, but the investigation is continuing.
State police at Reading say damage is at least $250,000 or more, reporting that the home appears to be a total loss.
Troopers said the blaze, which firefighters were called to about 7:40 p.m., began in the northeast corner of the home before rapidly engulfing the entire residence.
Charles and Susan Hetrick, owners of the property, were not home when the fire broke out. Neighbor Bud Kramlich, 50, said he rushed to the property with his brother, Todd, in an attempt to save as much as possible.
But the fire spread so quickly that it was impossible to save the three small dogs, he said.
The American Red Cross Berks Chapter is providing food, clothing and other services to the Hetrick family.
Meiser said that although the farmhouse is historically significant, it has never been a place for tours.
As the story goes, Cox hid her pregnancy from the family she was serving. A few days after she gave birth, a farmer discovered an infant's body in a small stone cabin on the property.
Cox admitted that the child was hers, but maintained that the child was stillborn. A doctor determined that the baby was murdered, and Cox was convicted in Berks County Court and sentenced to hang.
Cox was executed June 10, 1809, on Gallows Hill in what is now City Park. Gallows Hill was on the spot where the Berks County Vietnam Memorial now stands, Meiser said.
By some estimates, as many as 20,000 people witnessed the hanging.
Two days before her execution, Cox pleaded for mercy to God in a note that was read to the crowd moments before she was executed.
Her story has been re-enacted at the Kutztown Folk Festival for years.
Contact Beth Anne Heesen: 610-371-5084 or [email protected].
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