("The Laning Wheelwright Shop", published in The Hopewell Valley Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. VII, No. 2, Page 63, Spring 1982, discusses the renovation of the house, around 1982, by its new owner. The following was provided in a letter from Marian Lanning Worrall to the new owner.)

The old wheelwright shop and blacksmith shop was built by George Laning about 1825. He was the son of John and Abigail (Salyer) Laning. He was born in 1801 and was married in 1826 to Catherian Landis Runyan, daughter of John and Rebecca (Landis) Runyan.

Their two sons, Aaron S., born in 1827, and John R., born in 1834, learned the trade from their father and continued to operate the business after their father's death in 1882. The business was closed just before the turn of the century. Aaron and John died five days apart in December 1905.

Aaron Laning married Rebecca Y. Bellis in 1863 and they were the parents of henry L. Laning who was very active in church and civic affairs in Pennington during his life time. It was Aaron Laning who purchased the old Methodist Church property (built in 1826) next to the wheelwright shop and remodeled it into a beautiful home for his bride. I believe that the parents of Radcliffe Jones of Pennington were the first occupants of the house after the remodeling of the old shop. The large barn on the rear of the propeerty was not torn down until later as I remember it in my childhood."

(note: According to the Eshelman family, Clarence tore the barn down and used its hand hewn oak timbers to build the present two car garage.)

Laning Wheelwright Shop, page 2
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Rev: Oct 19, 2003