Wildcat Ridge Music and Wine Festival

Many wonder where the name “Wildcat Ridge” came from for the festival? Prior to the layout of the town of Gratz, this 325 acres was known as “Wildcat Ridge (Hill).” In 1811, Simon Gratz, a wealthy Philadelphia native, had made a survey and the general plan was prepared. By 1815, the first recorded lot was sold by Simon Gratz in the newly established Gratztown. Within several years, a number of houses were built by an influx of German settlers. Many of these settlers were skilled craftsmen whose trades were useful to their neighbors and the farmers who had settled in the surrounding Lykens Valley.