The Whitehall Historical Preservation Society invited Rick Guth to its meeting Sept. 28 at the Helfrich Springs Grist Mill, Mickley and Lehnert roads. A couple dozen members enjoyed the first-person account of Guth, who impersonated George Taylor.

“We need to see more people involved in all the historical sites we have in the Valley,” said Joseph Wilfinger, vice president of the historical society. “It is important to know how this area developed and the fascinating history we have here. I went to a PTO meeting and only a few people knew about the grist mill or the George Taylor House.”

The Whitehall society has preserved much of the grist mill. Historical remnants are on display, and society members built a perfectly scaled model that visitors can view to see how grain was milled with water power from the river.

Guth, in his presentation, recounted the life of George Taylor from his status as an indentured servant to his involvement with the Durham Furnace, to politics and his involvement with the independence movement that culminated in his signature on the Declaration of Independence.

According to Guth, George Taylor was one of the signatories that most impressed U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

“Roosevelt pointed out that George Taylor was an American success story, rising from an indentured servant to soldier to successful businessman who supported the Revolutionary War and becoming someone who signed the Declaration of Independence,” Guth said.

According to Guth, Taylor actually signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia Aug. 2.

“Some members of the Pennsylvania delegation refused to sign, so they asked Taylor for his signature,” he said. “At the time, Taylor was known in political circles, although he was not initially in favor of separating from England.”

Guth gave the audience a detailed description on how pig iron was made with the primitive blast furnaces of the time.

“Large tracts of land surrounded these furnaces because it took a lot of wood to keep the furnaces going,” he said.

Taylor was a successful ironworker. The estate house he built in Catasauqua was valued at nearly $1 million in today’s dollars.

“He lived for a while in Easton at the Bachmann Publick House,” Guth said. “He used that building when he served as justice of the peace.”

Taylor died destitute. His Durham Furnace produced cannonballs for the Revolutionary Army, but he was seldom paid, and eventually he lost the business.

“Taylor never lived to see the end of the Revolutionary War,” Guth said. “He died well before the decisive battle at Yorktown.”