HELLERTOWN, Pa.- Calling all Hellers. The motherland says it’s time to come home.
The borough of Hellertown is seeking descendants of its founder, Johann Christopher Heller, for a special event next year being organized by the Hellertown Historical Society (HHS).
Soon after members put out the notice for what they’re calling the Heller Family Reunion, one thing became clear: they’re going to need a bigger tent.
“From what I’ve seen so far, we’re going to have a pretty large number of Hellers descending on Hellertown,” said HHS Vice President Dennis Scholl.
The father of Hellertown
Johann Christopher Heller (sometimes just referred to as Christopher Heller) is recognized as the founder of Hellertown. He was among the wave of Palatinate German immigrants who made the journey to the New World in the early- to mid-1700s.
According to Scholl, Johann Christopher had six sons. There were probably some daughters in the mix, too; the facts are a little murky because boat passenger manifests of the day only listed males who were age 16 and older.
The family made its journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1738. Four years later, in 1742, Johann Christopher obtained a patent for land that would become part of the future Hellertown.
Johann Christopher Heller’s farmhouse
Hellertown Historical Society
Eventually the family would own hundreds of acres of land on both sides of what is now Main Street, Scholl said.
The Heller family also is credited with building the sawmill that would later become a grist mill owned by Christopher Wagner.
The Heller-Wagner Grist Mill, located at 150 W. Walnut St., is under the care of the historical society today.
A family tree with many branches
According to some researchers, “There’s an estimated 89,000 Hellers who have been descended from Johann Christopher Heller,” Scholl said.
They’ve spread out around the world, but, ironically, there are no current Heller descendants living in Hellertown itself, at least as far as Scholl knows.
The HHS issued its open call to Hellers earlier this month. Since then, Scholl has been fielding inquiries from across the country- “Washington, California, Texas, Maine, North Carolina.”
All told, Hellers from 13 different states have confirmed they plan to attend the reunion. And the list continues to grow. “I had one woman from New Jersey who’s very excited about this,” Scholl recalled. “She says, ‘I’m going to bring all my children and relatives. You can count on 20 from us.'”
The response has been so strong that the historical society already has decided to invest in a larger tent for the reunion. They’ve upgraded from 60′ x 40′ to 100′ x 40.’
If Scholl had to ballpark it, he’d guess anywhere from 300 to 500 Hellers will be making the trek to the little borough next year.
The event
The Heller Family Reunion will be part of Hellertown’s annual Heritage Day celebration on May 15, 2027.
The Hellers will gather right next to the grist mill, on land first purchased by Simon Heller, one of Johann Christopher’s sons.
The Heller-Wagner Grist Mill
Details of the event are still being ironed out, but Scholl promises there will be plenty for the Hellers- and anyone else who attends Heritage Day- to do.
Heller descendants interested in learning more about the reunion are asked to contact the historical society at info@hhstours.org.
“We hope everybody has a good time,” Scholl said. “I’m pretty sure they will.”