Aaron Shenk Kreider

Aaron Shenk Kreider (June 26, 1863–May 19, 1929) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Birth and Education

Aaron S. Kreider was born on a farm in South Annville Township, Pennsylvania. He attended Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Allentown Business College in 1880.

Business Pursuits

He moved to Fulton, Missouri, in 1880 and engaged in agricultural pursuits and later was employed as a clerk in a store. He returned to Pennsylvania and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, in 1884 and in Roseland, Pennsylvania, in 1885. He established the town of Lawn, in Lebanon County, in 1886. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits and in the grain and coal business. He moved to Palmyra, Pennsylvania, in 1893 and shortly thereafter to Annville. He became interested in shoe manufacturing and in banking.

Public Service and Political Activities

Kreider served as commissioner and chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Annville from 1909 to 1912. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1910. He served as president of the National Association of Shoe Manufacturers of the United States from 1913 to 1916.

House of Representatives

Kreider was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-third and to the four succeeding Congresses. He served as chairman of the United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Interior during the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922. After his time in Congress, he served as president of the board of trustees of Lebanon Valley College in Annville. He resumed his former manufacturing pursuits until his death in Annville. Interment in Mount Annville Cemetery.

Hill Farm Estate

Hill Farm Estate was originally built in 1919 on 26 acres as the spacious and comfortable private home of Kreider and his family. The large Federal mansion is located less than a mile north of Lebanon Valley College on Route 934 in Annville PA. Hill Farm Estate sits in a quiet, scenic county setting with trees, gardens, benches, and walkways high on a hill overlooking the Annville community.

In 1982, the mansion was restored, a wing added, and became an assisted living residence, offering a beautiful homelike setting for retired individuals. In 2002 an additional residence wing was added. The home and independent-living center now offers 46 personal-care rooms for up to 55 residents and seven independent-living Carriage House apartments.

In August 2007, the Hill Farm Estate was purchased by Bethel Pointe Foundation from Wyshock Associates of Newark, DE. Bethel Pointe, a not-for-profit organization based in Providence, R.I., has contracted with Complete Healthcare Resources-Eastern Inc. to oversee daily operations at the home.

In August 2008, Bethel Pointe announced plans to build about 150 apartments, town homes, and villas. The mansion on the property will be converted to a community center. The carriage house will become an arts and crafts studio, culinary center, and technology suite. Construction will not be complete until 2011, but the community will be called Bethel Pointe at Hill Farm Estate.

ources

*CongBio|K000327|Aaron S. Kreider
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/kraschel-kreutzer.html The Political Graveyard]
*Steve Snyder, Lebanon Daily News, July 26, 2007
*Monica Von Dobeneck, The Patriot News, August 7, 2008