NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES

3 3433 08181645

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196

A HISTORY

OF THE

JUNIATA VALLEY

AND ITS PEOPLE l

UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF

JOHN W. JORDAN, LL.D.

Librarian of Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

VOLUME I

— 1 i—t i' i *

ILLXrSTkAf ED

NEW YORK

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY

1913

iri£Ni:W YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX" AND

TILD N FOUNDATIONS

R 1914 . ,

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I PAGE

Physical Features, Geology, etc. — Juniata River — Principal Mountains —
Geological Formation — Coal and Iron — Early Mining — Limestone, Sand-
stones — Clay, Ocher, Lead — Glass Sand 1-13

CHAPTER II

Aboriginal Inhabitants — Relics in Juniata County — Indian Groups: The Five
Nations, the Susquehannas, the Juniatas, the Tuscaroras .... 14-25

CHAPTER III

The Era of Settlement — First White Men in Pennsylvania — First Mention
OF the Juniata Valley — Indian Towns — The Squatters — George Croghan
— Murder of Armstrong, Smith and Arnold — Land Office Opened . . 26-42

CHAPTER IV

First Counties in Pennsylvania — Huntingdon County — Location of County

Seat — First Officers — Reduction in Size — Present Area 43-67

CHAPTER V

Huntingdon County: Present Townships — List of Post Offices — Rural Free

Delivery Routes 68-94

CHAPTER VI

Mifflin County — Included in Ccmberi AND;CouNT'i">r-'Qi5'3ANiZATiON of Town-
ships — First Jail — CourtHou^cs— JREp<!;cTiojjs'ij6'ARiEii^CiviL List . . 95-115

CHAPTEll'VlI •;{ ■

Mifflin County: Townships, Borouchs.^tc ^vLew:st0wn — McVeytown — New-
ton Hamilton — Allensville — BEi.rfiv-.LLFr^BttkN'fiAM — Granville — Mait-
land — Milroy — Reedsville — Wagner' — Yeagertown 116-141

CHAPTER VIII
Juniata County — First Court House and Jail — Civil List 142-152

CHAPTER IX

Juniata County: Townships, Boroughs, etc. — Present Thirteen Townships —

The Boroughs: Mifflintown, Mifflin, Port Royal, Thompsontown 153-180

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER X PAGE

Perry CoiiNTY — First Jail — Court House — Railroads — Civil List . . . 181-192

CHAPTER XI

Perry County: Townships, Boroughs, etc. — The Nine Boroughs: New Bloom-
field, Blain, Duncannon, Landisburg, Liverpool, Marysville, Millers-
town, Newport, New Buffalo — Shermansdale 193-226

CHAPTER Xn

Military History — Early Forts — Indian Raids — The Revolution — Juniata

Companies — Frontier Forts 227-249

CHAPTER XIII

Military History, Continued — War with Mexico — The Civil War — Sketches

of Regiments 250-276

CHAPTER XIV

Roads and Transportation — Indian Trails — First Public Highways — Turn-
pikes — Early Stage Routes — Canals and Railroads 277-291

CHAPTER XV

Finance and Industries — Early Furnaces and Forges — Duncannon Iron
Works — Logan Iron and Steel Company — Standard Steel Works — Mann's
Axe Factory — Shoe Factory — Car Works — J. C. Blair Company — Silk
Mills — Glass Sand — Coal Mining — Water Power and Electricity — Agri-
cultural Societies and Fairs — Farmers' Institutes 292-310

CHAPTER XVI

The Professions — Early Courts — Prominent Members of the Bar — The Med-
ical Profession — MtticAL'SoCifiTiKs: ,*.'*:.;■: 311-327

chapter; it^ii

Educational Development — ^The BXRi-t .SdiiooLS — Private Academies — Free
School System iNAUGURATED^-JiiNiATA College — Lewistown Library —
The Press — Historical fSo'cte?y, .V; .'"; ; ;. 328-342

chapter XVIII
Religious History — First Missionaries — The Various Denominations . 343-375

CHAPTER XIX

Charities and Fraternities — Loysville Orphans' Home — Huntingdon Home
FOR Orphans and Friendless Children — Lewistown Hospital — Blair Me-
morial Hospital — Benevolent and Fraternal Societies .... 376-380

FOREWORD

THE present work, "A History of the Juniata Valley and Its People,"
presents in the aggregate an amount and variety of genealogical and
personal information and portraiture unequalled by any kindred pub-
lication. No similar work has ever before been presented, and it contains
a great amount of ancestral history never before printed. The object,
clearly defined and well digested, is threefold :

First. To present in concise form an outline history of the Juniata
Valley.

Second. To preserve a record of its prominent present-day people.

Third. To present through personal sketches the relation of its promi-
nent families of all times to the growth, singular prosperity and widespread
influence of the Juniata Valley, Pennsylvania.

Unique in conception and treatment, this work constitutes one of the
most original and permanently valuable contributions ever made to the
social history of an American community. In it are arrayed in a lucid and
dignified manner all the important facts regarding the ancestry, personal
careers and matrimonial alliances of those who, in each succeeding genera-
tion, have been accorded leading positions in social, professional and busi-
ness life. It is not based upon, neither does it minister to, aristocratic
prejudices and assumptions. On the contrary, its fundamental ideas are
thoroughly American and democratic. The work everywhere conveys the
lesson that distinction has been gained only by honorable public service, or
by usefulness in n-'-^-ate station, and that the development and prosperity
of the region of wnich it treats have been dependent upon the character of
its citizens, and in the stimulus which they have given to commerce, to in-
dustry, to the arts and sciences, to education and religion — to all that is
comprised in the highest civilization of the present day — through a con-
tinual progressive development.

The inspiration underlying the present work is a fervent appreciation
of the truth so well expressed by Sir Walter Scott, that "there is no heroic
poem in the world but is at the bottom the life of a man." And with this

goes a kindred truth, that to know a man, and rightly measure his character,
and weigh his achievements, we must know wlience he came, from what
forbears he sprang. Truly as heroic poems have been written in human
lives in tlie paths of peace as in the scarred roads of war. Such examples,
in whatever line of endeavor, are of much worth as an incentive to those
who come afterward, and as such were never so needful to be written of
as in the present day, when pessimism, forgetful of the splendid lessons
of the past, withholds its efforts in the present, and views the future only
with alarm.

Every community with such ample history should see that it be worthily
supplemented by Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of its leading fam-
ilies and prominent citizens. Such a work is that which is now presented.
And, it should be admitted, the undertaking possesses value of the highest
importance — in its historic utility as a memorial of the development and
progress of the commimity from its very founding, and in the personal
interest which attaches to the record made by the individual. On both
these accounts it will prove a highly useful contribution to literature, and
a valuable legacy to future generations. In the production of this work,
no pains have been spared to ensure absolute truth — that quality upon
which its value in every feature depends. The material comprising the
genealogical and personal records of the active living, as well as of the
honored dead, have been gathered by men and women experienced in such
work and acquainted with local history and ancestral families. These have
appealed to the custodians of family records concerning the useful men of
preceding generations, and of their descendants who have lived useful and
honorable lives. Such custodians, who have availed themselves of this
opportunity of having this knowledge placed in preservable and accessible
form, have performed a public service in rendering honor to whom honor
is due, and in inculcating the most valuable and enduring lessons of patriot-
ism and good citizenship.

No other region in the United States presents a field of greater interest
for such research. Its history reaches back to the beginning days of the
Nation. It is exceedingly rich in Indian antiquities, and here the aborigines
have left many of their most indelible marks. It was the scene of historic
events during the French occupation, and here The Great Washington, as a
young man, came to take part in scenes which led to the French expul-
sion. The immigrant settlers in this region were of the best blood and
sinew. They fought valiantly and endured the most dreadful privations
in the early days, and later they were a part of the very backbone of the
Patriot Army in the Revolution. Later yet. the sons of these worthy sires
bore their full share in the maintenance of the Union, shedding their blood
upon many a glorious field, including that of Gettysburg, in their own

State, destined to form a brilliant page in the history of the Nation to the
end of time. The restoration of peace after the close of the Civil War
witnessed a remarkable development, and has made this region one of the
most wonderfully valuable in the whole land, its natural resources and
the products of its labor entering into every phase of commercial and in-
dustrial life.

These records are presented in a series of independent genealogical and
personal sketches relating to lineal family heads, and the most conspicuous
representatives in the present generation. There is an entire avoidance of
the stereotyped and unattractive manner in which such data are usually
presented. The past is linked to the present in such style as to form a
symmetrical narrative exhibiting the lines of descent, and the history of
distinguished members in each generation, thus giving to it a distinct per-
sonal interest. That these ends have been conscientiously and faithfully
conserved is assured by the cordial personal interest and recognized ca-
pability of the supervising editors, who have long pursued historical and
genealogical investigations with intelligence and enthusiasm. The pub-
lishers are under special obligations to John W. Jordan, LL.D., librarian
of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Prof. Jacob H.
Brumbaugh, of Huntingdon ; Mr. W. H. Sponsler, of New Bloomfield ; and
Mr. George R. Frysinger, of Lewistown.

In order to insure greatest possible accuracy, all matter for this work
was submitted in typewritten manuscript to the persons most interested
for correction. If, in any case, a sketch is incomplete or faulty, the short-
coming is ascribable to the paucity of data obtainable, many families being
without exact records in their family line; while, in some cases, represen-
tatives of a given family are at a disagreement as to names of some of their
forbears, important dates, etc. It is believed that the present work, in
spite of the occasional fault which attaches to such undertakings, will
prove a real addition to the mass of annals concerning the historic families
of the Juniata Valley, and that, without it, much valuable information
would be inaccessible to the general reader, or irretrievably lost, owing to
the passing away of custodians of family records, and the consequent dis-
appearance of material in their possession.

The Publishers.

History of the Juniata Valley

CHAPTER I
PHYSICAL FEATURES, GEOLOGY, ETC.

The Juniata River — Its Tributaries — Origin of the Name — General Surface of the
District Inchided in this Work — Principal ^lountains — How Mountains Are
Formed — Geological Societj^ of Pennsylvania — Geological Surveys — Table Show-
ing Geological Formations — Economic Geolog}- — Coal — Iron Ores — Their Charac-
ter and Distribution — Early ^Mining Operations — Limestone — Sandstones — Clay —
Ocher — Lead Ore — Glass Sand.

THE Juniata river is formed of two Ijranches — the Little Juniata
and the Raystown branch. The former rises near HoUidays-
burg, in Blair county, flows northeast to Tyrone, where it
makes an abrupt turn to the southeast, forming part of the boundary
line between Huntingdon and Blair counties, and follows that general
direction across Huntingdon county. The Raystown branch has its
source a short distance west of Raystown in Bedford county. Its
general course is northeast until it unites with the Little Juniata about
half way between Huntingdon and ^Nlapleton to form the Juniata river
proper. The principal tributaries of the Little Juniata are Bald Eagle,
Spruce, Shavers and Standing Stone creeks from the north, and Canoe
and Clover creeks from the south. Coffee run, James and Great Trough
creeks are the only tributaries of consequence to the Raystown branch.
From the junction of the two branches, the main stream of the Juniata
flows southeast for some fifteen miles, forming part of the boundary
between Huntingdon and IMifflin counties. It then flows in a north-
easterly direction through ]\Iifflin county and enters Juniata county about
five miles east of Lewistown. From this point its general direction is
a little south of east through the counties of Juniata and Perry until
it empties its waters into the Suscjuehanna river near the town of
Duncannon. The principal tributaries of the main stream from the

I

2 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

north are the Kishacoquillas and Jack's creeks in JNIifflin county; Lost
creek, Doe run and Delaware run in Juniata county; and Cocolamus
creek in Perry county. Those from the south are the Licking and
Tuscarora creeks in Juniata county, and Raccoon and Buffalo creeks
in Perry county.

"Juniata" is a word of Indian origin. As early as 1614 the Dutch
established a trading post at Albany, New York, and soon after that
date three men belonging to the post followed the ^lohawk river and
by crossing the watershed to Otsego lake reached the head of the Sus-
quehanna river. This stream they descended for some distance, when
they crossed over to the Delaware river. They were captured by the
]\Iinequa Indians near the Trenton Falls, but were released through
the efforts of Captain Hendrickson, who was then engaged in exploring
the country along the Delaware river and bay. In 1841 a map showing
the travels of these three Dutchmen was found at The Hague. L'pon
this map, in the region of the Juniata valley, is marked the country
of an Indian tribe called the "lottecas" and some writers think this
was an effort on the part of the Dutch map makers to write the name
from which the modern word Juniata is derived.

During the last half of the seventeenth century a number of maps
were published, all showing the Susquehanna river approximately cor-
rect, but giving very few details of the country west of that river.
Everts, Peck & Richards' History of the Sus(|uehanna and Juniata
valleys (p. 28) says: "On all these maps, on the west side of the river
just where the Juniata belongs, there is the name of an Indian tribe
called 'Onojutta Haga' — a name which beyond all doubt contains the
root of the word from which 'Juniata' is derived. 'Haga' is the Mohawk
word for people, tribe or nation; the first part means a projecting
stone."

Throughout the four counties embraced in this work — Huntingdon,
Mifflin, Juniata and Perry — the surface is generally broken or hilly.
Bald Eagle ridge forms the northwestern boundary of Huntingdon
county, extending from Tyrone to the Center county line. Farther
east, along the eastern side of Spruce creek, is Tussey's mountain.
Warrior's ridge crosses Huntingdon county near Petersburg. Standing
Stone and Jack's mountains form a considerable portion of the boun-
dary line between Huntingdon and ]Mifflin counties. Shade mountain,

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 3

east of Lewistown, is a broken range extending from Snyder county
southwest into Juniata and Huntingdon counties. The Blue ridge
forms part of the boundary between Mifflin and Juniata counties.
Tuscarora mountain runs along the line between Juniata and Perry,
and also forms part of the boundary between the counties of Hunting-
don and Franklin. Southeast of the Tuscarora range is the Cone-
cocheague hill. Through the central part of Perry county run the
Bowers mountain and the Limestone ridge; northeast of the Juniata
river is Half Falls mountain; in the southeastern part of the county
are the Peters and Cove mountains, while along the southern border,
separating it from Cumberland county, runs the Blue mountain. The"
general direction of these mountain ranges is from northeast to south-
west and between them are fertile valleys of varying width, which
constitute the agricultural districts of the four counties.

Mountains have been formed upon the earth's surface either by
a lateral pressure of the contracting earth, or by the erosion of super-
ficial waters. The first of these causes is based upon the theory that,
during the process of formation and development, the interior of the
earth cooled more rapidly than the exterior and the outside of the
earth, following the contracting interior, was subjected to a powerful
lateral pressure which continued until the horizontal thrust caused
a yielding or upheaval, resulting in the formation of an elevation or
mountain range. Several of these ranges lying close together and
approximately parallel to each other constitute a mountain system.
Early geologists believed and taught that the tremendous lateral
pressure upon the earth's surface brought about a great convulsion of
nature and the sudden formation of mountains. Those of more modern
days teach that the evolution of mountains was a slow process, thou-
sands or even millions of years having been required to build up such
a system as the Appalachian, to which the mountains of Pennsylvania
belong. This theory is sustained by the fact that in many instances
streams have cut through mountain ranges, a phenomenon that can be
explained only by the supposition that the elevations rose so gradually
that the streams were able to cut them down and thus maintain their
course. Some geologists insist that the process is still going on and
that as the earth continues to grow colder the lateral pressure will
add to the height of existing mountains, or new ones will be formed.

4 HISTORY OF THE JUXJATA VALLEY

Regarding the second agency — the erosion by superficial waters —
it is generally conceded that "Isolated peaks, all cross-valleys, all ridges
have been produced by erosion, and even sometimes where originally
valleys existed now are mountains." Careful estimates show that the
sediment carried by the Mississippi river lowers the surface of the
entire basin drained by that stream and its tributaries one foot every
five thousand years. How a similar work is carried on by the Juniata
river is shown by E. W. Claypole, who was connected with the second
geological survey of Pennsylvania. On page 39 of Report F-2, he
says:

"But very few people have any idea of the amount of work done
by a single river like the Juniata in transporting the land into the sea.
In ordinary weather, a gallon of Juniata water carries about 8 grains
of earthy sediment, or one pound for every 100 cubic feet of water.

"At Millerstown, the river is about 600 feet wide and 4 feet deep,
with a current flowing about two miles an hour; that is, 24,000,000
cubic feet of water pass Millerstown every hour, carrying 240,000
pounds (120 tons) of rock sediment. In other words, 1,000,000 cubic
yards of the rock waste of Juniata, Mifflin, Huntingdon and Blair
counties pass through Perry county down the Juniata river to the sea
every year. The water basin from which this river sediment comes
measures about ten billion square yards. Its average loss per year,
therefore, is about the ten thousandth of a yard. If we take into ac-
count the gravel and stones rolled down the river in flood times, and
carried down by the ice, it will be safe to call it the five-thousandth
of a yard.

"The whole surface of the Juniata country has, therefore, been
lowered say one foot in 1,500 years, or 3,000 yards in 13,500,000
years ; that is, supposing the climate was always the same and the
Juniata river never did more work than it does now. But as there is
every reason for believing that the erosion in earlier ages was much
more violent, and the river far more a torrent, the time required to
account for the erosion of the country may reasonably be reduced to ten
or even five millions of years, a length of time justified by the vast
deposits of the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary ages."

This statement of Mr. Claypole may seem unreasonable to many
persons who have not studied the subject, but a more startling example
of erosion in Pennsylvania is given by J. P. Lesley, state geologist in
charge of the second survey. He says :

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA A'ALLEY 5

"The coal-beds which were formed just at the sea-level were ele-
vated in some parts of jVIiddle Pennsylvania to a height eqvial to nearly
the whole thickness of the PaL-eozoic system — that is, nearly thirty-five
thousand feet, higher than the highest summits of the Himalaya Moun-
tains. Frost above, and the undermining rains below, began their rapid
work of destruction, which has lasted ever since. Nearly the whole
area of the State east of the Allegheny Mountains lost not only its coal
measures, but a vast majority of all the mineral strata underneath
them. All that escaped destruction was what lay in the deep synclinal
basins of the anthracite country, the little patch of Broad Top and the
tip of the Cumberland or Frostburg basin. For scores of miles the
entire Palreozoic system was excavated and planed down to the lime-
stone at the base of the system. Along the central lines of the Kish-
acoc|uillas. Xittau}-. Canoe and other valleys the old Laurentian system
cannot be more than one thousand feet below the present surface. All
the rest has been carried off. The destruction was the greatest where
the elevation was the greatest — along the middle belt of the Appa-
lachian Mountains. Out of this destruction were created, on the eastern
side. New Jersey, Delaware, and the tide-water country of Maryland
and Virginia; and on the western side, the lower half of Alabama and
nearly the whole of Mississippi and Louisiana. In other words, the
Protozoic mountains were wasted to form the Palaeozoic rocks of the
interior; and the Palaeozoic mountains, in their turn, have been wasted
to form the Triassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of the seaboard."

It is a well known fact that the greater portion of the world's
mineral wealth is found in mountainous districts, and in the early part
of the last century many persons believed that rich deposits of minerals
were to be found in the region drained by the Juniata river. The
geological surveys of the state have dispelled to a considerable degree
this belief. Prior to 1835 but little was known of the geology of
Pennsylvania. Articles on certain geological features of the state had
been written by such men as Thomas Hutchins, John B. Gibson, George
W. Carpenter and others, and published in scientific journals, but these
articles represented only the disconnected researches of private in-
dividuals. In 1832 the Geological Society of Pennsylvania was or-
ganized with seven members, and John B. Gibson was elected president.
It is due to the efforts of this society that the first geological survey
was authorized by the act of March 29, 1836, which appropriated
$6,400 annually for five years, and Henry D. Rogers was appointed
state geologist. The legislature of 1841-42 failed to make an appropn'a-

6

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

tion to continue the work, owing to the "financial embarrassments of
the Commonwealth," and the first survey came to an end.

The second survey was authorized by the act of Alay 14, 1874,
which provided for a board of commissioners to take charge of the
work. This board of commissioners met and organized on June 5,
1874, and appointed J. P. Lesley state geologist, whose final report was
made in 1892. Nothing further was done in the matter of a geological
survey until April 28, 1899, when the Pennsylvania legislature made
an appropriation "for joint work with the United States Geological
Survey." That work is still in progress, with Richard R. Hice, of
Beaver, as state geologist.

In the first survey. Professor Rogers numbered the main forma-
tions of the state from I to XII, ranging from the Potsdam sandstone
of the Cambrian age to the Coal ^Measures of the Carboniferous age.
These numbers form the basis of all geological investigation which has
been made in the state since that time. On page 36, Report F-2 of
the second survey, is a table showing thirteen formations of the
Palaeozoic rocks, as exposed in the Juniata valley and the counties lying
farther south. For the information of the reader that table is here
reproduced :

No.

N.\ME.

Thickness.

XIII

Coal Measures,

2,500

XII

Pottsville,

1,000

XI

IMauch Chunk,

2,500

X

Pocono,

2,000

IX

Catskill,

6,000

'Chemung,

3.000

Portage,

200

VIII .

Genesee,
Hamilton,

200
1,500

Marcellus,

200

Upper Helderberg,

(absent)

VII <

Cauda-Galli,

(absent)

Oriskany,

25

VI

Lower Helderberg,

200

V

Onondaga,

1.600

' Clinton,

800

IV

1 Medina,

1,500

'Oneida,

500

Composition.
Sandstone, shale and coal.
Pebbles and sandstone.
Red shale.
Gray sandstone.
Red sandstone and shale.

Olive sandstone and shale.

Shale.

Dark shale.

Shale and sandstone.

Dark shale and limestone.

Sandstone.

Limestone and shale.

Shale.

Red sandstone and green shale.

Sandstones and shales.

Conglomerate and shales.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

No.

).

Name.

Thickness.

Composition.

IT

^Hudson River,

I,00O

Slates and shales.

ii

jutica,

500

Dark shales.

"Trenton,

500

Limestone.

II

I

. Chazy,
Calciferoiis,
Potsdam,

|- 5.000
2,000

Limestone.
Sandstone and slate.

Total thickness, 32,725 feet.

In the above table No. i belongs to the Cambrian age; Nos. 2
and 3 to the Lower Silurian; Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, to the Upper
Silurian; group No. 8 to the Devonian, and Nos. 9 to 13 to the
Carboniferous. The Potsdam sandstone of No. i, the Chazy and
Calciferous limestones of No. 2, and Nos. 12 and 13 are not found
in the Juniata district, except in the Broad Top coal fields of Hunting-
don county. Commenting upon the table, the report from which it is
taken says :

"All the formations vary greatly in thickness in the different coun-
ties, and even in different parts of a county; and in some places were
not deposited at all ; so that the thicknesses assigned to them in the
table must not be taken as exactly correct, but only as general indica-
tions. ... It appears then that more than six miles of material
accumulated in middle Pennsylvania while it was the bed of a sea;
so that in places where these rocks exist in full thickness a bore-hole
would have to be sunk to that depth to reach the Azoic rocks on which
they lie."

In all the counties of this district the lowest rocks are of the Trenton
formation. The highest rocks in Huntingdon belong to the Coal
Measures and are found in the Broad Top field. In Mifflin and
Juniata the highest rocks belong to the Chemung shale, and in Perry
county the highest formation is the Mauch Chunk red shale. Near
Duncannon, and at a few other places in Perry, are found narrow
belts of a dark, tough rock, called "trap-rock." This rock, which is
easily recognized by its color, weight and toughness, is thought by some
authorities to be a form of lava, forced from the earth's interior in
some ancient era. Quartz, the basis of sandstone, exists in all the
counties and geodes, hollow bowlders studded on the inside with quartz
crystals, have been found in Perry county. Berite (sulphate of barium),

8 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA \'ALLEY

a heavy spar used chiefly to adulterate white lead, has been found
in veins of limestone in Mifflin county, but the deposits are too small
to be of any commercial value.

To describe in detail the varied geological features of the Juniata
vallev would recjuire a large volume, and as economic geology — that
is, the study and description of the mineral deposits that may be turned
to industrial or commercial advantage — is the most important and in-
teresting branch of the science, the remainder of this chapter will be
devoted to that phase of the subject. Mention has already been made
of the belief of a century ago, that the mountain ranges along the
Juniata were full of mineral wealth. So strong was this belief at one
time that large sums of money were expended by optimistic individuals
in boring for coal, especially in Perry county. Small deposits of this
mineral have been found in the Devonian rocks near Duncannon in two
veins — one ten and the other thirty inches in thickness. In Berry
mountain, in BuiTalo township, and at some other points in the county
there are shallow veins, but the coal is soft and contains a large propor-
tion of ash, so that the deposits cannot be worked with profit. As
the great coal mines of the w^orld are found only in the upper forma-
tions of the Carboniferous age, the geological survey of Pennsylvania
proved beneficial to those seeking coal in the Juniata region by showing
that no coal measures were to be found in that part of the state. Since
the survey no further expenditures have been made in the district, except
in the Broad Top field in Huntingdon county. Concerning this field,
R. A. Ramsey, of ^^'ilkinsburg, in an article on the "Economic Geology
of Pennsylvania," published in January, 1913. says:

"The Broad Top IMountain in Huntingdon, Bedford and Fulton
counties contains the eastern or isolated basin, and covers an area of
fully 100 square miles. Coal was known to exist in that region at the
beginning of the last century, and mines were worked over one hundred
years ago. The operations were on an exceedingly small scale until the
completion of the Huntingdon &• Broad Top and the East Broad Top
railroads. The shipments from this region exceed 3,000,000 tons
annually."

In this connection it is of interest to note that the first coal mines
developed in the United States were in the bituminous fields of western
Pennsyh-ania. As early as 1760 a coal mine was in operation across

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA \'ALLEY 9

the Monongahela river from old Fort Pitt : the first shipment of coal
from Pittsburgh was made in 1803: and tlie consumption of coal in
1910 was over 85,000,000 tons. Concerning the deposits of iron ore
in Penns}"lvania, Mr. Ramsey says :

"The iron ores of our state may be grouped under four classes:
magnetite, brown hematite, red hematite and carbonate. JNIeans are
not accessible by which the output of the different kinds can be given.
There are six different iron ore fields in Pennsylvania : The Cambria
field includes part of Somerset, Cambria. Bedford and Blair counties.
The center field is composed of parts of Huntingdon, Centre and Clin-
ton counties. The Lebanon field includes parts of Cumberland, Perrv,
Dauphin, Lebanon, York and Lancaster counties. The Schuylkill field
embraces parts of Schu}dkill, Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.
The Scranton field is made up of parts of \Vyoming, Lackawanna and
Luzerne counties, and the Clarion field of parts of Clarion, Jefferson
and Forest counties."

According to this arrangement of ore fields, Huntingdon and Perry
counties are the only ones mentioned as belonging to the ore-bearing
districts. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Ramsey failed to include
the other counties in the Juniata valley, iron ores have been found at
various places in the valley, the principal ones being hematite or fossil
ore, block ore and linn mite, also called lirown hematite. Iron ore is
seen in most all tiie geological formations, but the most profitable
deposits are found in the Clinton, ilarcellus and Hamilton beds, which
furnish [iracticall}' all the fossil ore in the four counties.

The first geological survey of the Juniata valley was made in
1839-40 by the state geologist, H. D. Rogers, assisted by Dr. A. H.
Henderson. The latter's investigations were made along the east side
of Shade mountain, on Jack's mountain and Sideling ridge and ex-
tended south to Blue mountain. This surve}' determined the existence
of a fossil ore belt, the eastern end of which was in the east end
of Jack's mountain and the western terminus in the Black Log moun-
tain. Outcrops were observed all along the south flank of Jack's moun-
tain, in the east end of Shade mountain, at several places in the Blue
ridge, in the Black Log mountain, along the west side of Shade mountain,
and in the ridges on both sides of the Juniata river. The discovery
of these deposits of ore turned attention to the iron industry, and ore
banks were soon opened at a number of places in the four counties.

lo HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

In 1874 a more complete survey of the fossil ore belt in the Juniata
district was made. This second survey determined with greater ac-
curacy the extent and limits of the ore deposits, noted pockets of
hematite in the Oriskany shale and discovered outcrops of the Clinton
formation in the Tuscarora mountain in Juniata county.

The summary of the final report of the state geologist for 1892
(p. 750) says: "The fossil iron ore industry of Pennsylvania has
centered at Danville and Bloomsburg on the N. Branch Susquehanna,
at Frankstown and Hollidaysburg on the upper Juniata, at Orbisonia in
southern Huntingdon, and along the Lewistown valley in JMifflin and
Snyder counties."

In Perry county the outcrops of formation No. 5 are numerous
and arranged in zigzags. The upper fossil ore and the lower iron bearing
sandstone are plainly indicated by ridges upon the surface, and several
good beds of ore occur in the Clinton sandstone and shale. The iron
sandstone, with its block iron ore, is found on the lower Juniata and
at other places in middle Pennsylvania. At the Susquehanna gap and
along the crest of the Blue mountain it is eighty feet thick; twenty-five
feet thick at ^Miitlintown ; seven feet at Lewistown. and three feet at
Mount LTnion. The report of 1892 describes the base of this sand-
stone on the Juniata as a "hard, Ijlock iron ore, about twenty-five feet
thick, of good quality, but nowhere worked except near Alillerstown."

Shade mountain, Blue ridge and Black Log mountain are sur-
rounded by Clinton and Onondaga outcrops containing fossil ore beds,
which have been worked to some extent along the south side of Shade
mountain in Juniata county, and more extensively worked on the west
side of the Black Log from Newton Hamilton southward to the
Augwick valley. Orbisonia, Huntingdon county, is the center of the
mining industry in this field.

Brown hematite ore deposits follow the outcrops of the middle
Onondaga in the Huntingdon valley, which lies between Standing Stone
and Tussey's mountain. A sample of this ore taken from an outcrop
near Marklesburg showed nearly 45 per cent, iron and another sample
nearly 60 per cent. Ten analyses of samples taken from the Danville
ore beds in Penn and Walker townships of Huntingdon county showed
from 49 to 55 per cent. iron. The Greenwood Furnace district in the
northeastern part of Huntingdon county has been for years a mining

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY ii

center of the Danville ores. The Danville Ijeds were first worked in
1839 and the first furnace in that field was built by Chambers, Biddle
& Company in 1843. The Saltillo fossil ore bed appears at places in
the shales of the Onondaga formation along Tussey's mountain and
is mined at Saltillo, near the south end of Jack's mountain.

In the middle Juniata valley in jMifflin county there are numerous
deposits of fossil ore which were formerly profitably worked, when
iron was reduced from ores by means of charcoal furnaces, but in
recent years most of these workings have been discontinued. In this
field, Joseph Snyder's ore bank, about four miles southwest of Yeager-
town, was opened in 1845 in a vein of ore about eighteen inches thick.
Some of the ore was taken to Lewistown, where it was pronounced
good, but owing to lack of transportation facilities the deposits there
were never fully developed. Keever's ore bank was located in a ravine
in Ferguson's valley, about two miles southwest of Yeagertown. Six
miles southwest of Yeagertown was John Cupple's ore bank. A mile
farther southwest was McKee's bank, and a mile west of McKee's was
John Sheehan's ore bank. In the first ravine west of Sheehan's were
the McCord and Rothrock banks. Near Three Locks Wakefield &
Cavenaugh operated an iron mine from 1S53 to 1873, and during that
time about 45,000 tons of ore were taken from the deposits. The
Mineheart bank, four miles southwest of Lewistown, was opened in
1859 or i860 by John Mineheart, who later transferred it to the
Glamorgan Iron Company. Several thousand tons of ore were taken
from this bank.

Dr. Henderson, in his report of the survey of 1839-40, mentions
a bed of "brown, cellular hematite ore from eight to ten feet thick,"
belonging to the INIarcellus formation south of Newport on the Juniata
river. Professor Claypole, in his report on the geology of Perry county
in 1885, savs the Marcellus ore had then been mined in Limestone
ridge south of Newport, near the old Juniata furnace and a mile north
of New Bloomfield ; in the iron ridge south and west of the old Perry
furnace ; in the Mahanoy ridge at New Bloomfield and three miles west
of that town; in Bell's hill near Little Germany; in the Pisgah hills
near the Oak Grove furnace; near the town of Landisburg and at a
few other places in the county. Ore of the same character has been
mined at Lewistown and McVeytown, in Miftlin county, and in the

12 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA A'ALLEY

from four to seven feet thick and lie immediately below the ^larccllus
vicinity of Orbisonia, Huntingdon comity, where the deposits range
black shales. The outcrop of this ore in the Huntingdon valley runs
from Three Springs by way of Saltillo through the Hare valley and
north to the Juniata at Mapleton.

Limestone has been formed from organic remains at some period
in the remote past. Some of it is of coral growth, but most of the
earth's great limestone deposits are fossiliferous and have been pro-
duced by sea animals. The fossil shells, etc., so frequently found in lime-
stone bear witness to the fact that where such stone now exists was
once the bed of a sea. The limestone of the Juniata valley belongs
to either the Trenton or lower Helderberg formations. As early as
1870 the latter was cjuarried near Lewistown, and for this reason some
authorities have conferred upon it the name of "Lewistown limestone."
It lies under the Oriskany shale, and the deposits at Lewistown are
about 140 feet in tiiickness. \\'hen burned, this limestone produces a
fine Cjuality of lime which has been extensively used for fluxing at
iron furnaces. Some lavers or ledges, rarelv over one foot thick, consist
of a hard blue limestone, excellent for building purposes. Below the
Lewistown limestone lies the "water-lime," which in the Lewistown
valley is from 450 to 470 feet in thickness. Much of it is hydraulic in
character and some of it makes a fair grade of cement. In Perry
county it is known as the "Bossardville limestone," and at Clark's mill
in Center township it has been used in the manufacture of lime. The
IVIarcellus limestone has also been burned in Perry county, especially
in ]\Iadison township, and yields a good quality of lime. There are
some pure limestone layers near Barree, Huntingdon county, but they
are overlaid bv 175 feet of shales. This formation may be seen in
the Pennsylvania railroad cut a short distance east of Barree station.

Sandstones of different ages and varying qualities are found in
every county in this field, though most of them are too soft for use
as building stones, Oriskany sandstone is seen near the tops of the
ridges. Bridgeport sandstone along Sherman's creek in Perry county
has been used as rough building stone and similar deposits are known
to exist near Landisburg in the same county. The Delaware flagstone
series of the Catskill period furnish some good quarries near Liverpool,
and the Hamilton sandstone has also been mined to some e.xtent in

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 13

Perry county. The Aledina sandstone has been used extensively by
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as ballast.

Clay suitable for brickmaking exists in nearly every valley in the
Juniata district, but the deposits have been only partially developed.

Two kinds of ocher — red and yellow — are found at various places.
These are iron ores, more or less impure and capable of being easily
reduced to powder, the red ocher being in composition the same as
hematite and the yellow a limonite. Overlying the Oriskany sandstone
in Perrv countv is a bed of iron ore of this character which has been
utilized for mineral paint and is similar to the paint ore found in Rocky
ridge at the Lehigh water gap.

Galena lead ore has been found in small quantities in the Onondaga
shales and the Lower Helderberg limestone. The geological report for
1892 says: "A mile northeast of ilcConnellstown shafts were sunk
and tunnels driven into the lowest hard limestones in Warrior's ridge,
but only lumps of lead ore were found inclosed in veins of calcite
ramifying through the lime rock, amounting in all to not a ton of lead
ore. It is quite safe to predict that neither lead nor zinc will ever
be profitably mined from this horizon in this district, nor in any other
district of this formation in the State of Pennsylvania."

One of the most valuable mineral deposits in the Juniata valley
is the glass sand found in the vicinity of Lewistown, Vineyard and
McVeytown in Mifflin county, near Mapleton, Huntingdon county, and
in some other places. The sand is the product of some of the rocks
belonging to the Oriskany formation and is especially rich in silica,
oxide of iron and alumina, which elements render it particularly avail-
able for the manufacture of glass. Large quantities of this sand are
shipped to Pittsburgh and other glass-making centers.

(Further information regarding the development of the mineral
resources of the four counties may be found in Chapter IX.)

CHAPTER II

ABORIGINAL INHABITAXTS

The lilound-builders — Speculation Concerning Them — Relics in Juniata County-
Description of by Professor Guss — Indian Groups at the Close of the Fifteenth
Centur}' — Their Distribution and Principal Tribes — The "Five Nations" — The
Susquehannas — Their Prowess in War — Their Overthrow by the Iroquois — The
Juniatas — Origin of Their Name — The Standing Stone — Its History and Tradi-
tions — The Tuscaroras — Driven to the Juniata Valley — The "Six Nations" —
Indian Names of Natural Features.

WHO were the first inhabitants of Xorth America? The question
is more easily asked than answered. \\'hen the white man
came he found here the Indian, with his past shrouded in
tradition and mystery, and in various parts of the country there are
curious relics of a more ancient race known as 'Alound Builders,"
the most noted specimens being found in Wisconsin, Ohio and Tennessee.
Much speculation has been indulged in with regard to the period when
the IMound Builders were here. Some writers have maintained that
the race was one of great anticjuity. On some of the ancient earth-
works great trees have been found growing — trees that were old when
Columbus discovered America. Because of this fact, together with
other evidences, the earliest investigators of the mounds advanced the
theory of great age. Alore recent investigations, particularly those con-
ducted under the auspices of the L'nited States Bureau of Ethnology,
have led to the conclusion that the Mound Builders were the immediate
ancestors of the Indians, and that the time when they inhabited the
country was not so remote as formerly supposed. Probably the most
celebrated mound so far discovered is the Great Serpent, in Adams
countv, Ohio. This mound, which is in the form of a serpent, was
once an ancient fortification and has been deemed of such importance
to the study of archaeology that the state has purchased the site in order
that the ruins may be preserved.

There is very little evidence that the IMound Builders ever inhabited
the Juniata valley. Flint arrow and spear heads, stone axes and other

H

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 15

implements have been found in a few places, but it is quite probable
they represent the work of some ancient Indian tribe. Professor A. L.
Guss gives the following account of a mound and fort found in Beale
township, Juniata county :

"At Bryner's Bridge, two miles above Academia, there are the
remains of an ancient Indian mound of human bones, and near by
there was once an Indian fort. The mound is on the creek bottom,
about one hundred yards from the north end of the bridge, on the
upper side of the road, and now (1886) consists only of an unplowed
spot, thirty feet long and twenty wide, grown up with wild plum
bushes. Originally it was a huge sepulchre. Octogenarians living near
informed the writer that they conversed with the original settlers con-
cerning it, and were told that when they first saw it, it was as high as a
hunter's cabin (fifteen feet), and that its base covered an eighth of an
acre. Other old folks describe it as having been twelve feet high and
one hundred feet in diameter, with an oval base. Ninety years ago
there stood upon it a large elm tree. Some eighty years ago this
property was owned by George Casner, who, with his sons, Frederick,
Jacob and John, hauled out the greater portion of the mound and scat-
tered it over the fields. An old lady says she saw the bottom all white
with bleaching bones after it had rained. Even after this spoliation
the mound was six feet high; but afterwards it was plowed over for a
number of years until it became nearly level. Students from the acad-
emy frequented it for teeth and other relics. Quite a number of stone
axes and flint arrow-heads, pipes and other relics were exhumed, all
of which have been lost sight of and carried away. It is believed by
intelligent old citizens that this mound was the result of some terrible
battle between two hostile tribes, who thus summarily disposed of their
dead.

"At the lower end of the bottom, Doyle's Alill Run enters the
creek. Its bank on the side next the mound, for some distance, has a
perpendicular clifl: about twenty-five feet high. Between this cliff and
the high bank bordering the bottom, at the edge of the swamp, there
is an elevated flat of perhaps twenty acres, of triangular shape, extend-
ing on the west to a high ridge, the end of which is opposite the mound.
This elevated point between the run and swamp is called the Old Fort
Field. The point of the Fort Field is down the creek and about three
hundred or four hundred yards below the mound. No one knows how
long the name Old Fort Field has been in use. There are three thino-s
about this field that deserve notice, and, as in the case of the mound,
it is a pity that they were not described by a competent scholar before
thev were obliterated.

i6 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

"i. Tliere was an earth-work thrown up, from the diff on the run
to the creek bottom bank, enclosing about three acres of the elevated
point, which, by nature and art, was thus rendered perfectly inaccessi-
ble. Persons yet living saw this earthen bank when it was three feet
high. It was semicircular in form, with the concave side next the point
of the elevated land. It was composed entirely of ground and had
clever saplings growing upon it. By frequent plowing and cultivation it
has now become almost entirely obliterated.

"2. Within this enclosure Air. Alilliken. some years ago, plowed up
an old lire-hearth or altar, composed of flat, smooth creek stones, on
which rested a quantity of charcoal and ashes, articles which are almost
indestructible. Such altars among the Ohio mound-builders are not
regarded as mere fire-places, but probably connected with the council-
house or sacrificial devotions.

"3. One of the most interesting remains of this fort or ancient
fortified village is a series of 'steps' cut in the rock, near the point of
the enclosure, leading down to Doyle's Run. These steps were very
distinct to the first settlers, and are, in fact, yet well defined. Neighbor-
ing children used to go to 'play at the Indian stone steps.' These
steps could not have been formed by any process of nature, such as
the Grumblings of alternate seams of the strata, for the rock here is
tilted on its edge and admits of no lateral cleavage.

"We have here the earth-work, the hearth and the carved steps,
and their proximity to the mound certain!}- links their history together.
Was this a military fort, and are the bones the result of a battle
fought there, or was it simply a fortified village and the bones the
natural accumulation of successive burials?"'

The Black Log valley, in Huntingdon county, was once a favorite
hunting ground for the Indians. On Sandy ridge, about two miles
north of Orbisonia. may still be seen faint traces of an old burial
ground, while not far distant is a cave in which there is a chamber
supported by pillars, and which once contained many bones, imple-
ments, ornaments of teeth, etc. A burial ground used by the natives
at a more recent date is located on a knoll near the town of Orbisonia.
Here flint arrowheads, stone hatchets or tomahawks, pieces of flint and
other relics have been found in abundance.

At the time Columbus made his first voyage to the Xew World the
continent of North America was inhabited by four great groups or
families of Indians, each of which was composed of a number of
subordinate tribes. In the far north were the Eskimo, a sluggish people

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 17

who lived in huts of ice or snow and subsisted largely upon fish. South
of the Eskimo were the Algonquian group, or Algonquins, occupying
a large triangle roughly bounded by the Atlantic coast, a line drawn
from Labrador to the western end of Lake Superior, and a line from
that point to the coast near the mouth of the Savannah river. South
of the Algonquins and east of the Mississippi river were the Muskhogean
tribes, the principal of which were the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws
and Seminoles. To the west of the Mississippi and occupying the great
valley of the Missouri river lay the Siouan group, which included the
Sioux, lowas. Pawnees, Blackfeet and Sauks and Foxes, the wildest
of all the North American Indians. In the far west were the Shoshonean
and Athapascan tribes, the best known of which were the Shoshones,
Snakes and Comanches.

The members of the central, southern and western groups all
possessed the same physical characteristics — the red or copper-colored
skin, coarse, straight black hair and high cheek bones. They were
rarely corpulent, strong, athletic and enduring, swift on foot and skillful
in handling a canoe. Keen-eyed and observant, they could follow a
trail through the forest, where a civilized man could hardly see that
a leaf or a blade of grass had been disturbed. As friends they were
true and faithful, but as enemies they were cruel and treacherous. A
few practiced the art of agriculture in a primitive way, raising a limited
quantity of corn, beans, etc., but the majority lived by the chase. In
some tribes the people built log huts, but the wigwam or tepee was
the most common form of dwelling. This was constructed by arranging
poles in the form of a circle, lashing them together at the top and then
covering this rude framework with skins. A flap of one of the skins
formed the door, and the only method of warming the interior was
to build a fire upon the ground in the middle of the wigwam, allowing
the smoke to escape through a hole at the top. Frequently a number
of wigwams would be erected close together, the whole surrounded
by a stockade, thus constituting a village. Their implements and
weapons were of the most primitive character, usually of flint or
other stone, and their clothing was generally composed of the skins
of animals slain during the hunt, though some wove blankets of buffalo
hair.

The Indians inhabiting Pennsylvania and the surrounding states,

i8 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

as well as all of New England, belonged to the Algonquian group.
Along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, extending from east to west
in the order named, were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas
and Senecas. These five tribes, all of Iroquoian stock, entered into a
confederacy about the beginning of the seventeenth century and were
known as the "Five Nations." South of them were the Delawares and
Susquehannas, occupying lands along the rivers which still bear their
names. West of the Five Nations, along the eastern shore of Lake
Huron, were the Hurons and occupying the country now comprising
the State of Ohio were the Wyandots, Miamis, Shawnees and some
minor tribes.

Just when the confederacy of the Five Nations was formed is un-
certain. The Jesuit Relations (1659) tell of a tradition that, at a
time before the first English settlements were made in America, the
Susquehannas almost exterminated the Mohawks in a ten years' war.
Some historians assert that the defeated Mohawks appealed to their
kindred tribes along the shore of Lake Ontario for assistance, and
that this led to the establishment of the Five Nations. Captain John
Smith, who explored the Chesapeake bay in 1608, says the Susquehannas
and Mohawks were then at war wath each other. The Susquehannas
were evidently a powerful and war-like tribe. Kelker's History of
Dauphin County says that "in 1633 they were at war with the Algonquin
tribes on the Delaware, maintaining their supremacy by butchery." A
few years later they became engaged in a war with the tribes in
Maryland and Virginia and in 1642 Governor Calvert, of Maryland,
issued a proclamation declaring them public enemies. In 1647 the
Hurons, although of Iroquoian stock, Avere on the verge of being
extinguished by the Five Nations, when the Susquehannas sent to them
an offer of assistance against the common enemy. At that time the
Susquehannas numbered 1,300 warriors "trained to the use of fire-arms
and European modes of war by three Swedish soldiers, whom they had
obtained to instruct them." For some reason the friendly offer was
declined and the Hurons were almost completely destroyed as a tribe.

Egle's Flistory of Pennsylvania says that in 1656 "The Iroquois,
grown insolent by their success in almost annihilating their kindred
tribes north and south of Lake Erie, provoked a war with the Sus-
quehannas, plundering their hunters on Lake Ontario . . . and

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATx\ VALLEY 19

though the Susquehannas had some of their people killed near their
town, they in turn pressed the Cayugas so hard that some of them
retreated across Lake Ontario to Canada. They also kept the Senecas
in such alarm that they no longer ventured to carry their peltries to
New York, except in caravans escorted by six hundred men, who
even took a most circuitous route. A law of Maryland, passed May i,
1661, authorized the governor of that province to aid the Susquehannas."

In April, 1663, the Five Nations, chagrined by their repeated defeats,
appealed to the French for assistance and at the same time sent an
army of 1,600 men against the Susquehanna fort, fifty miles from the
mouth of the river bearing that name. Although the invaders out-
numbered the Susquehannas two to one, they were repulsed and "pursued
with great slaughter."

According to the Relations, the Susquehannas were completely over-
thrown in 1675, but the account fails to state who were the victorious
conquerors of the little remnant of this once formidable tribe. It is
a well established fact in history, however, that the Iroquois claimed,
"by right of conquest," all the lands on the Susquehanna and its branches
and sold them to William Penn and his successors.

Contemporary with the Susquehannas and dwelling west of them
was a tribe of Indians known to early historians by various names.
Prior to the eighteenth century western Pennsylvania was an unknown
region to the white man. No trader or adventurer had yet extended
his journeys that far from the coast and all that can be learned of
this early tribe is based only on tradition. On Smith's map of 1608
they are referred to as the "Attaocks" ; eight years later Hendricksen
made a map on which this tribe appears as the "lottecas"; the
Plantagenet Pamphlet of 1648 calls them the "Ihon a Does"; and on
Visscher's map of 1655 they are given the name of "Onajutta-Haga."
All these terms were finally crystallized into "Juniata," by which name
the river running through the country they once inhabited is still known.
The Juniatas were of Iroquois stock and the tribal name is derived
from that language. Professor A. L. Guss, who devoted considerable
time to the study of Indian legends and traditions, says : "The name
Juniata, like Oneida, is derived from oiicnliia, onenya or oiiia. a stone,
and kaniotc. to be upright or elevated, being a contraction and corrup-
tion of the compound." Due to the fact that the names Juniata and

20 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Oneida were derived from the same source, some writers have sug-
gested that the latter tribe once inhabited the Juniata valley, or at
least the tribe living along the Juniata river in early days was a part
of the Oneidas. There is no evidence to show that the Oneidas ever
were a resident tribe in the Juniata valley, and it is probably only a
coincidence that the two cognate tribes adopted names similar in sound
and meaning.

It is believed that the Juniata or Standing Stone people had their
great council fire where the city of Huntingdon is now located. Here
they erected a pillar of stone — quite likely to commemorate the fact, as
they believed, that it was upon that spot the Great Spirit caused them
to spring from mother earth like the trees of the forest. The first
mention in the white man's history of the Standing Stone is in a journal
of Conrad Weiser, Indian agent and interpreter, recording the events
of a journey from his home in Berks county, Pennsylvania, to the forks
of the Allegheny and Muskingum rivers. The entry in this journal
for August i8, 1748, says: "Had a great rain in the afternoon; came
within two miles of Standing Stone, twenty-four miles." Five or six
years later John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, visited the spot
and described the stone as "about fourteen feet high and six inches
square." In 1843 Sherman Day gathered all the traditions possible
concerning the stone. He says it was "four inches thick by eight inches
wide," and adds: "The tribe regarded this stone with superstitious
veneration, and a tradition is said to have existed among them that
if the stone should be taken away the tribe would be dispersed, but
that so long as it should stand they would prosper." The souvenir
edition of "Historic Huntingdon," published in 1909, says: "Arching
around a tall, slim pillar of stone covered with hieroglyphics, were wig-
wams or lodges of the browned sons of the forest. . . . The stone
referred to, which was supposed to bear in its cabalistic inscriptions
a record of the history and achievements of the tribe, was regarded
with great veneration by the natives, and its conspicuous position and
appearance led the white visitors to designate the locality by the name
'Standing Stone.' This stone stood above Second street between the
Pennsylvania railroad and the river, on or near No. 208 Allegheny
street," etc.

The real history of the original standing stone will probably never

STAXDIXG STONE.

FROM A PAINTING BV JOHN CHAPLIN.

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 21

be known. Years before the white man came to the Juniata valley, the
tribe who erected it had been overthrown by the Five Nations. There
is no well authenticated account of the conquest, but the journals of
the Jesuit missionaries among the Hurons and Iroquois tell of expedi-
tions of great war parties to the southward and that they returned with
many prisoners. No doubt these prisoners were Juniatas and that the
tribe was annihilated by the Iroquois confederacy. For half a century
or more the entire Juniata region then remained without a resident
tribe and was used by the conquerors as a hunting ground. Then the
Tuscaroras were permitted to settle there and later the Shawnees and,
Delawares were allowed to dwell there for a time. Heckewelder, a
missionary among the latter Indians, in speaking of the Juniata river,
says : "This word is of the Six Nations. The Delawares say
Yuchiiiada or Chuchniada. The Iroquois had a path leading direct to
a settlement of the Shawnees residing somewhere on this river; I under-
stood where Bedford is. Juniata is an Iroquois word, unknown now."

The same authority refers to the standing stone as follows:
"Achsinnick is the proper name for this place. The word alludes to
large rocks standing separate and where no other is near. I know four
places within 500 miles which have this name, two of which are large
and high rocks in rivers. For noted places where a small rock is they
give the name Achsinnessink, the place of the small rocks."

The Juniatas were vanquished and lost their identity as a tribe
prior to 1675, and the Delawares did not come into the valley until
about 1725. Professor Guss is of the opinion that when they came
they adopted the old name for the stream, and upon arriving at the
site of Huntingdon they translated it to their own language as
Achsinnick. Says he : "The old totem-post, it appears, remained. This,
and the traveling Iroquois on their hunting and marauding expeditions,
kept alive the story of the extirpated tribe. It was handed down to
the white people, who never saw or heard of the old maps, or if they
did, they could not have recognized the root and meaning of the term.
At this place the traditions had been kept alive for over one hundred
years, but somewhat corrupted by explanatory innovations."

When the Indians left the valley after the purchase of 1754, they
either destroyed the stone or carried it away with them. After their
departure the settlers erected a second stone upon the site of the ori"-inaI

22 HISTORY OF THE JUMATA VALLEY

one. According to Rev. Philip Fithian, who visited Huntingdon in
1775, this stone was "a tall stone column or pillar nearly square . . .
seven feet above the ground." It bore the name of John Lukens,
surveyor general, with the date 1768, and also the names of Charles
Lukens, assistant surveyor general, Thomas Smith, a brother of Rev.
William Smith, and some others. This stone was later destroyed — one
account says by some rowdies while on a drunken frolic. A part of
it is still in the possession of E. C. Summers, of Huntingdon. Subse-
quently a third stone was erected. It stands at the junction of Penn
and Third streets and bears a tablet upon which is the following in-
scription : "Onajutta — Juniata — Achsinnic. Standing Stone erected
September 8, 1896, as a Memorial of the Ancient Standing Stone re-
moved by the Indians in 1754."

Following the Juniatas, the next tribe to acquire a habitat in the
Juniata valley were the Tuscaroras. When the first white people came
to North Carolina they found the Tuscarora Indians along the Tar,
Neuse and Pamlico rivers. There were also Tuscarora settlements on
the headwaters of the Cape Fear, Roanoke and James rivers. Their
traditions show that they were descended from the same stock as the
Iroquois and that some time in the far distant past they lived in New
York with some of the tribes that constituted the Five Nations. In
one of their traditions they are called the "Real People" and it is
set forth that their origin was in the northern regions. After many
conflicts with giants and monsters along the St. Lawrence river they
formed a confederacy and took possession of the country south of
the Great Lakes. In a war among the northern tribes some years
later several families of the "Real People" concealed themselves in a
cave. There Tarenyawagon, the Holder of the Heavens, appeared to
them and led them down the Hudson to the sea, where the North
Carolina branch became detached and drifted southward. As in other
Indian tribes, they were divided into families named after animals,
such as the bear, wolf, turtle, beaver, deer, eel and snipe. The men
were not permitted to marry a woman of the same clan or gens, and all
descent was reckoned in the female line, in which the military and civil
chieftainships were hereditary. Those in North Carolina depended more
upon the products of their fields than did their northern brethren, and

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 23

raised large quantities of corn, beans, potatoes, tobacco and other
vegetables.

Lawson's "History of North Carolina," written in 1710 and
published in London a few years later, says of the Tuscaroras : "They
have many amiable qualities. They are really better to us than we
have ever been to them, as they freely give us of their victuals at their
quarters, while we let them walk by our doors hungry, and do not
often relieve them. We look upon them with disdain and scorn, and
think them little better than beasts in human form; while, with all
our religion and education, we possess more moral deformities than
these people do."

At the time Lawson wrote the tribe "had fifteen towns and twelve
hundred warriors, making a population of about six thousand persons."
The "moral deformities" of the white people who settled North Caro-
lina were such that they did not recognize the right of the natives
to the soil, but took possession of the lands without purchase and by
force if necessary. In these circumstances it is not surprising that
in time the ire of the Tuscaroras was aroused and that they entered into
a conspiracy with the adjacent tribes to expel the trespassers. September
22, 171 1, was the day of the general uprising. The whites were
slaughtered without regard to age or sex, and those who sought shelter
in the forests were hunted all night by the light of torches. Assistance
came from South Carolina and Virginia, and a relentless war
against the Tuscaroras was inaugurated. The Indians fortified them-
selves near the present city of Newbern, but were driven from their
position with a loss of about one hundred killed and the survivors were
forced to agree to terms of peace dictated by the victors, who were more
magnanimous than might be expected.

Subsequently some of the Tuscaroras were captured and sold into
slavery, and in the spring of 1713 hostilities were resumed by the
tribe. Again South Carolina came to the rescue of the settlers. On
March 26, 1713, the Indians were defeated in a hard fought battle
on the Neuse river. A large number of their warriors was killed and
about eight hundred captured and sold as slaves. An active campaign
of three months followed, when the Tuscaroras were driven from their
lands and villages and sought "a refuge on the Juniata, in a secluded
interior near the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania."

24 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Sucli, in brief, was the manner in Avhich the Tuscaroras became a
resident tribe in the Juniata valley. Here they were under the protection
of the Five Nations, as may be seen from a speech by one of the
Iroquois chiefs at a conference with Governor Hunter, of New York,
September 20, 1714. "We acquaint you," said the Iroquois orator, "that
the Tuscarora Indians are come to shelter themselves among the Five
Nations. They were of us, and went from us long ago, and are now
returned and promise to live peaceably among us."

Just when the Tuscaroras left the valley is uncertain. That they
were still living there in 1720 is shown by a correspondence between
the president of the New York council and Governor Spottswood, of
Virginia. Late in the year 1719 the former wrote to the governors of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Carolina that the Five Nations
felt that they had been "slighted by the governments to the southward,"
and suggested the advisability of the governors of the colonies named
coming to Albany for the purpose of holding a treaty conference.
Governor Spottswood declined the invitation in a letter filled with sar-
casm, in which he referred to the Five Nations as follows: "In the
years 171 2 and 1713 they were actually in these parts assisting the
Tuscarorouroes, who had massacred in cold blood some hundreds of
the English and were then warring against us; and they have at this
very day the chief murderers, with the greatest part of that natioa
seated under their protection near Susquehanna river, whither they
removed them when they found they could no longer support them
against the force which the English brought upon them in these parts."

A few years later, about 1722 or 1723, the tribe was admitted
into full fellowship with the Iroquois confederacy, which from that
time was known as the "Six Nations." It would appear, however, that
some of the Tuscaroras continued to reside in the Juniata valley for
several years after the amalgamation of the tribe with those in New
Y'ork. On May 27, 1753. John O'Neal wrote from Carlisle to the
governor of Pennsylvania that "a large number of Delawares, Shawnees
and Tuscaroras continue in this vicinity, the greater number having
gone to the west."

After the purchase of 1754 the Indians gradually departed from
the valley of the Juniata, leaving the white man in undisputed possession.
But the names they gave to some of the natural features of the country

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 25

are still in use. Such words as Juniata, Kishacoquillas, Mahantango,
Tuscarora, and a host of other names as applied to the mountains, vales
and streams of central Pennsylvania, stand as mute reminders of a
departed race.

CHAPTER III

THE ERA OF SETTLEMENT

Early Spanish Explorations — Captain John Smith — First White Men in Pennsylvania
— Overlapping Grants — Swedish and Dutch Purchases — First Settlement in Penn-
sylvania — William Penn — The Proprietary Government — The Great Treaty —
Early Traders West of the Susquehanna — First Mention of the Juniata Valley —
Treaty of 1736 — Shickalamy — Kishacoquillas — Indian Towns — Ohesson — Assun-
nepachla — Treaty of 1749 — The Squatters — Burning Their Cabins — Licensed
Traders — George Croghan — Murder of Armstrong, Smith and Arnold — Captain
Jack — James Patterson — Andrew Montour — Peter Shaver — French Intrigue —
Treaty of 1754 — Indian Discontent over Boundary — A New Treaty — The Land
Office Opened — First Authorized Settlements in the Valley.

FOR more than a century after the first voyage of Columbus few
attempts were made to found permanent settlements in the New
\\'orld. During that time expeditions sent out by the different
European nations explored the entire coast-line of the United States
and some of them penetrated far into the interior. At an early date
some Spaniards visited the Chesapeake bay, where they learned from
the Indians of a great river which flowed into the northern part of
the bay. The Indians told them that by going up this river a distance
of eighty leagues, then following a smaller stream westward and cross-
ing the mountains, they would come to a great river flowing southward.
Although the account of the expedition is imperfect in many particulars
and the description of the streams is somewhat vague, there is little
doubt that the rivers referred to are the Susquehanna and Juniata,
while the great river beyond the mountains is the Ohio. This informa-
tion, meager and unsatisfactory as it is, was probably the first gained
by white men of the interior of Pennsylvania.

In 1608 Captain John Smith, of the Jamestown colony in Virginia,
explored the Chesapeake bay and visited the mouth of the Susquehanna,
which the Indians told him issued "from some mighty mountains
betwixt two seas." Six years after Smith's expedition three Dutch

26

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 27

traders from the post at Albany crossed over to the headwaters of the
Susquehanna and descended that stream for some distance. It is be-
lieved that these three Dutchmen were the first of the Caucasian race
to set foot upon Pennsylvania soil.

Owing to a lack of accurate maps and a definite knowledge of the
country, the land grants made by the English government frequently
overlapped each other. The territory now forming the State of
Pennsylvania was included in the Virginia grant of 1606 and by the
New England charter of 1620. The southern portion was covered
by the Maryland grant of 1632 and the northern part by the Connecticut
grant of 1662. The Dutch also claimed the territory by virtue of Henry
Hudson's discovery of the Delaware bay and river in 1609. Samuel
Smith, in his "History of the Colony of Nova Caesaria, or New
Jersey," says: "In 1627 the Swedes made their appearance in this
region, and soon thereafter purchased of some Indians (but whether
of such as had the proper right to convey is not said) the land from
Cape Inlopen to the Falls of Delaware, on both sides of the river,
which they called New Swedeland stream and made presents to the
Indian chiefs to obtain peaceable possession of the land so purchased."

There is some doubt as to the accuracy of the above date. George
Smith, in his "History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania," says that
the Swedes made no settlements on the Delaware until after 163 1. In
1638 Peter Minuet, who had gone over from the Dutch to the Swedes,
established a fort and trading post called Christina, near the mouth of
Minquas creek, and at the same time purchased of the Indians all
the west side of the Delaware river as far up as Trenton. Thus the
Swedes got all the land from Cape Henlopen to the falls "and as much
inward from the river as they may want." This transaction is believed
by some writers to be the one referred to by Samuel Smith, though
it did not take place until eleven years after the date mentioned in
his work.

The first settlement in Pennsylvania was made by the Swedes near
Philadelphia in 1643. On September 25, 1646, the Dutch purchased
a tract of land including part of the site of Philadelphia and over-
lapping, to some extent, the Swedish purchase of 1638. This brought
about a conflict of claims and in 1655 the Swedish authority was over-
thrown by Peter Stuyvesant. Nine years later the Duke of York con-

28 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

quered New Netherland and after tliat the settlements on the Delaware
were under English control.

Sir William Penn. father of the founder of Pennsylvania, was a
distinguished admiral in the British navy in Oliver Cromwell's day and
at his death left claims against the English government amounting to
f 16,000 for money advanced and arrearages of salary. These claims
descended to his son William, who, while a student at Oxford, became
a Quaker and for some time paid little or no attention to their adjust-
ment. At last, in 1680, being desirous of securing a location where
the Quakers could worship unmolested according to their peculiar belief,
he asked King Charles II. to grant him "letters patent for a tract of
land in America, lying north of Maryland, on the east bounded by
the Delaware river, on the west limited as Maryland, and northward to
extend as far as plantable." After several conferences concerning
boundary lines, etc., a charter was granted on March 4, 1681, and
confirmed by royal proclamation the following month. The extent
of the province was three degrees of latitude from north to south,
between "the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude and
the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude,"
and extending westward five degrees of longitude from the Delaware
river, except "all within a circle drawn twelve miles distant from New
Castle, northward and westward, to the beginning of the fortieth degree
of northern latitude." On April 8, 1681, Penn addressed to the inhabi-
tants of the region included in his grant the following proclamation :

"My Friends: I wish you all happiness here and hereafter. These
are to let you know that it hath pleased God, in his providence, to
cast you within my lot and care. It is a business that, though I never
vmdertook before, yet God hath given me an understanding of my
duty, and an honest mind to do it uprightly. I hope you will not be
troubled at your change, and the King's choice, for you are now fixed,
at the mercy of no governor that comes to make his fortune great.
You shall be governed by laws of your own making, and live a free,
and, if you will, a sober and industrious people. I shall not usurp
the right of any, or oppress his person. God has furnished me with a
better resolution, and has given me his grace to keep it. In short,
whatever sober and free men can reasonably desire for security and im-
provement of their happiness, I shall heartily comply with, and in five
months resolve, if it please God, to see you. In the meantime, pray sub-

HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY 29

mit to the commands of my deputy, so far as they are consistent with the
law, and pay him those dues that formerly you paid to the order of the
Governor of New York, for my use and benefit; and so I beseech God
to direct vou in the way of righteousness, and therein prosper you and
your children after you."

The deputy referred to by Penn was his cousin, William Markham,
who came over in 1681. On July 15, 1682, he made a treaty with
the Indians for lands along the Delaware river. Penn arrived in the
province on October 27, 1682, and before the end of that year held
the "Great Treaty" at Shakamaxon. That treaty marked the beginning
of a course in dealing with the Indians of which Cyrus Thomas, in the
Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Bureau of Ethnology,
says: "The task of writing up in general terms the policy of Pennsyl-
vania during its colonial history is a pleasant one, first, because it seldom
varied, so far as it related to its lands, from that consistent with honor
and justice; and, second, because it was so uniform that a comparatively'
brief statement will suffice to present all that is necessary to be said."

Penn returned to England in 1684, but before his departure he took
steps for the purchase of lands on the Susquehanna river from the
Five Nations of Indians, who had conquered the native tribes. The
Five Nations lived in New York and Penn engaged Thomas Dongan,
then governor of that province, to negotiate the purchase of "all that
tract of land lying on both sides of the river Susquehanna and the lakes
adjacent, in or near the Province of Pennsylvania." Governor Dongan
made the purchase and conveyed the lands to Penn on January 13,
1696, for one hundred pounds sterling. Some of the Indians refused
to confirm the transaction, and upon Penn's return to the colony he
concluded articles of agreement with the Susquehanna and other tribes
on April 23, 1701, in which they acknowledged the validity of the
Dongan deed. The lands on the west side of the river were still claimed
by the Five Nations, however, until 1736. In the summer of that year
a great council was held by the tribes in New York and the sachems and
head men were authorized to go to Philadelphia and adjust all claims
and demands. Accordingly, on October 11, 1736, twenty-three chiefs
of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga. Seneca. Cayuga, Tuscarora, Dela-
ware and Shawnee tribes made a deed to John, Thomas and Richard
Penn, conveving to them "all the said river Susquehanna with the lands

30 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

lying on both sides thereof, to extend eastward as far as the heads
of the branches or springs -which run into the said Susquehanna, and
all lands lying on the west side of the said river to the setting of the
sun, and to extend from the mouth of said river, northward, up the
same to the hills or mountains, called in the language of said nations,
Tayamentasachta, and by the Delaware Indians the Kekachtannin hills."

Prior to that time a few adventurous characters had penetrated into
the region west of the Susquehanna and established trading posts. As
early as 1704 James Le Tort, Joseph Jessup, Peter Bazalian, Martin
Chartier and Nicholas, all Frenchmen, or in the employ of the French,
were trading with the Indians along the Susquehanna and passing via
of the Juniata valley and Kittaning Point to the Great Indian rendezvous
at the head of the Ohio river. In January, 1705, John Harris received
a license from the commissioners of property to "seat himself on the
Susquehanna, and to erect such buildings as are necessary for his trade."
In 1733 he received a patent for three hundred acres of land where
the city of Harrisburg now stands. James Le Tort located at Carlisle
in 1720 and traded with the Indians as far west as the Allegheny river.
Two years later "William \\^ilkins was one hundred and fifty miles up
the Susquehanna trading for his master, John Cartlidge. Edmund
Cartlidge, Henry Baly and Jonah Davenport also traded between the
Susquehanna and Allegheny rivers as early as 1727. John Petty and
Henry Smith were trading with the Indians in the vicinity of Shamokin
in 1728, and probably for some time before that date.

The first historical mention of the Juniata valley is found in the
records of a council held in Philadelphia on July 3, 1727, with the
chiefs of the Five Nations, who requested "That there may be no settle-
ments made up the Sasquehannah higher than Pextan (John Harris'
settlement where Harrisburg now is), and that none of the settlers
thereabouts be suffered to sell or keep any rum there, for that being the
road by which their people go out to war, they are apprehensive of
mischief if they meet with liquor in these parts. They desire also,
for the same reasons, that none of the traders be allowed to carry
any rum into the remoter parts where James Le Tort trades — that is,
Allegany on the branch of the Ohio. And this they desire may be
taken notice of, as the mind of the chiefs of all the Five Nations, for
it is all those nations that now speak by them to all our people."

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 31

To this request, which was rendered in English by Madame Montour
as interpreter, Governor Patrick Gordon replied as follows :

"We have not hitherto allowed any settlement to be made above
Pextan, but, as the young people grow up, they will spread of course,
yet it will not be very speedily. The Governor, however, will give or-
ders to them all to be civil to those of the Five Nations as they pass
that way, though it would be better if they would pass Sasquehannah
above the mountains. And the sale of rum shall be prohibited both
there and at Alegany ; but the woods are so thick and dark we can not
see what is done in them. The Indians may stave any rum they find
in the woods, but, as has been said, they must not drink or carry any
away."

From the beginning it was Penn's policy to prevent the white
people from encroaching upon the Indian domain. To this end it was
ordered on October 14, 1700, "That if any person presumes to buy
any land of the natives within the limits of this province and territories
without leave from the proprietary thereof every such purchase shall
be void and of no effect." Penn's death occurred in England on July
30, 1718, and in time the above order was found to be insufficient to
restrain ambitious persons from buying, or attempting to buy, lands
from the Indians. Not infrequently they went on the land and took
possession without even the formality of a purchase. To stop this
practice the assembly, on October 14, 1729, passed an act much more
stringent in its provisions. Up to that time the boundaries of the
various tracts of land purchased from the natives had not always been
clearly set forth, and in the deed of October 11, 1736, seven years later,
the western boundary was fixed as "the setting of the sun" — a state-
ment which probably meant only that the line was undecided and in-
definite. In the treaty of August 22, 1749, by which the Indians ceded
to the proprietaries of Pennsylvania a large tract lying between the
Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, the boundaries of the purchase were
more clearly defined. These facts are mentioned in this connection
for the reason that the intruders called "squatters" often set up as a
defense the claim that they did not know they were beyond the limits
of the lands sold to the provincial authorities.

During the early negotiations for the lands along and west of the
Susquehanna there were two Indians whose influence was powerful in

32 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

preserving friendly relations between the white men and the Indian
inhabitants. One of these was Shickalamy and the other was
Kishacoquillas (both names are spelled in a variety of ways). Shick-
alamy has been described as "the viceroy of the Six Nations, maintain-
ing a balance of power between the different tribes and between the
Indians and whites, acting as agent of the Iroquois confederacy in all
affairs of state and war." When the white men first came in contact
with him he was living on the west side of the Susquehanna a few
miles south of Lewisburg, at a place known for a long time as
"Shickalamy's Old Town." Later he removed to Sunbury, where he
continued to reside until his death in April, 1749. He never drank
enough "fire-water" to become intoxicated — if he drank at all — and
was received into the Moravian church. He had his two sons baptized,
calling one John Petty, after the trader of that name, and the other
James Logan, after the provincial secretary. Shickalamy was a de-
scendant of the ancient tribe known as the Minequas. Susquehannocks
or Conestogas, but was regarded as a chief of the Oneidas. His son,
Logan, was a Cayuga chief, owing to the Indian custom that all positions
of rank or power descended through the female line. Logan became
renowned in history as "the Mingo chief" and a spring of fine water
in Mifflin county still bears his name. L'pon the death of Shickalamy
he was succeeded by his son, John Taghnaghdoarus, who was one of
the signers of the deed of July 6, 1754.

Kishacoquillas was a Shawnee chief and is first mentioned in the
fall of 1 73 1 by James Le Tort and Jonah Davenport, in connection with
the operations of one Cavalier, an agent of the French, who was operat-
ing among the Indians in the Juniata valley. Their report contains
the names and brief descriptions of two Indian towns upon the Juniata
river, to wit :

"Ohesson upon Choniata, distant from Sasquehanna 60 miles ;
Shawanese, 20 families, 60 men, chief, Kissikahquelas.

"Assunnepachla upon Choniata, distant about 100 miles by water
and 50 by land from Ohesson; Delawares, 12 families, 36 men."

Those who have investigated the subject most carefully agree that
Ohesson was at the mouth of the Kishacoquillas creek on the site now
occupied by the borough of Lewistown, and that Assunnepachla was

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 33

where Frankstown, Blair county, is now located. There is no authentic
account of any other Indian towns or settlements along the Juniata.

Professor A. L. Guss says of Kishacoquillas : "He appears to have
been one of the more decent and peaceable of the turbulent and
treacherous Shawnees." He remained loyal to the proprietary govern-
ment when most of his own tribe and the Delawares went over to
the French in a body and no inducements could cause him to lift the
hatchet against the friends or supporters of Father Onas, as the Indians
called William Penn. He died in August, 1754, at the Half Falls on
the Susquehanna, and the following May Colonel John Armstrong gave
the name of Kishacociuillas to the valley in which the old chief lived
until a short time before his death.

By the treaty of 1749 the boundary between the white man's posses-
sions and the Indian lands was fixed at the Keckacktany or Blue moun-
tains, also called the Endless hills, north and west of which the lands
belonged to the Indians. In the spring of that year, some months
before the treaty was made, a number of adventurous white men
crossed over the Endless hills with the intention of establishing homes
upon the Indian hunting grounds. William White, George and William
Galloway, David HUiddleston. George Gaboon and a few others were
located on the Juniata, in what is now Juniata county; Simon Girty
( father of the noted renegade ) , James and Thomas Parker, James
Murray, Richard Kirkpatrick, John Cowan and several others settled
about the same time on Sherman's creek in Perry county ; Robert
Hagg, Samuel Bigham, James and John Grey settled in the Tuscarora
valley, and along the west side of the Susquehanna between Penn's
creek and the mouth of the Juniata there were several small settlements
of squatters. A few had found their way to the vicinity of Aughwick,
Huntingdon county. Lytle says :

"In the spring of 1749, as early as the month of April, more than
thirty families had settled west of the Kittatinny, and more were coming
daily, some of them to the head waters of the Juniata, along the path
that led to Ohio. In February, 1750, according to the statement of
Governor Hamilton, they had reached the foot of the Allegheny moun-
tains."

Both the Six Nations and the Delawares protested against this
encroachment upon their lands and demanded the expulsion of the

34 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

squatters. They also suggested that a few trustworthy persons be
stationed west of the mountains, with authority from the governor to
remove any trespasser who might attetnpt to locate upon the forbidden
ground. In order to prevent an open rupture between the Indians
and the provincial authorities, the latter deemed it necessary to take
some decisive action. A proclamation from the government, carried to
the intruders by Conrad Weiser, had been disregarded, and in May,
1750, Richard Peters, the provincial secretary, accompanied by the
undersheriff and justices of the newly established county of Cumberland,
went to enforce the commands of the proclamation. Along the Juniata,
in the Sherman's creek and Tuscarora valleys, at Aughwick and in other
places the squatters were driven out and their cabins burned. At
Aughwick Peter Falconer, Samuel Perry, John Charleton and Nicholas
De Long were placed under bonds to appear at the next county court
at Shippensburg and to remove with their families from the Indian
domain. Charleton's cabin was burned. Near the line between Hunt-
ingdon and Fulton counties the destruction wrought by the expedition
was so great that the place still bears the name of "Burnt Cabins."
In his report, Peters gives as a reason for the burning of the dwellings
that, if they were not destroyed, they would tempt the trespassers
to return again, or encourage others to come and occupy them. In
his report he also makes mention of Frederick Star and two or three
other Germans having been driven from the Juniata in 1743.

In the meantime several traders had been licensed to carry on a
traffic with the Indians west of the Endless hills. George Croghan,
an Irishman by birth and a conspicuous character on the frontier in early
days, was given his trader's license in 1744. Four years later he
purchased land and became a resident of Cumberland county. In
1750 he was one of the magistrates of that county and accompanied
Secretary Peters in his visits to the squatters. Soon after that he
removed to Aughwick (now Shirleysburg), where he continued to reside
for several years. He appears to have been always on friendly terms
with the Indians, for at a conference held at Carlisle in 1753 the Indians
requested that any presents intended for them should be sent to "George
Croghan's house at Juniata."

John Hart also received a trader's license in 1744 and established
a "feeding and lodging place" where the borough of Alexandria, Hunt-

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 35

ingdon county, is now located. He did not effect a permanent settle-
ment, however, but his place gave name to the Hartslog valley. The
Indians did not resent the presence of such men as Croghan and Hart,
for the traders never cleared oft' the timber and drove away the game
as did the squatters.

Another active trader of this period was John (commonly called
Jack) Armstrong. Most of his trade was with the Indians living along
the Susquehanna above Peter's mountain, but it appears that he also
traded with the Delawares in the Juniata valley. Some time in the
3-ear 1744 Armstrong and two of his assistants, James Smith and
\\'oodworth Arnold, were foully murdered at the place known as Jack's
narrows, in Huntingdon county. According to the story of the old
chief, Shickalamy, the deed was committed by a Delaware Indian
named ]\Iusemeelin, who owed Armstrong some skins, for which the
trader seized a horse and a rifle belonging to Musemeelin to hold as
security for the payment of the debt. This so incensed the Indian that,
accompanied by two young men under the pretense of going on a bear
hunt, he followed Armstrong and his two companions to the narrows,
where he killed all three, the two young Indians taking no part in the
murder.

There is a somewhat fanciful story of an eccentric character called
Captain Jack, who, about the time of Armstrong's murder, or shortly
afterward, took up his residence in the Aughwick valley. He has been
described as "a man of almost herculean proportions, with extremely
swarthy complexion." By some he was supposed to be a half-breed
Indian and by others a quadroon. L'pon returning home from one of
his hunting excursions he found his wife and two children murdered
and his cabin reduced to ashes. From that time he avoided the habita-
tions of civilized man, lived in caves or hollow logs, and devoted his
life to avenging his wrongs by killing every Indian he could find. His
peculiar mode of living and his daring deeds inspired the savages with
terror and gained for him such names as the "Black Hunter," "Black
Rifle," "Wild Hunter of the Juniata," etc. Not only did he become a
terror to the Indians, but he also won the confidence of the settlers,
who offered him the command of a company organized for their mutual
protection. He accepted the command, but as the company was
organized without the sanction of the provincial government, it took

36 HISTORY OF THE JUXL\TA VALLEY

the name of "Captain Jack's Hunters." Skilled marksmen, used to the
frontier, clad in rough but serviceable hunting shirts, leathern lepeines
and moccasins, they scoured the hills and vales, and no doubt sent
many an Indian to his "happy hunting grounds." What became of
Captain Jack is uncertain. Says Lytle : "His exploits, if they could
be correctly described, would perhaps be a proper subject for historv,
but so much has been written concerning them that is purely fictitious
that it is impossible to separate the false from the true."

^lany persons believe that Jack's mountain and Jack's narrows
derive their names from this peculiar individual, but John Harris, the
founder of Harrisburg, who was contemporary with Captain Jack,
speaks of the narrows as "Jack Armstrong's narrows, so called from
his being there murdered."

The driving out of the squatters and the burning of their cabins
in the spring of 1750 was, in the main, ineffectual, either in checking
the immigration to the Indian lands or in bringing satisfaction and
contentment to the savages. In fact, some of the first settlers had
not been molested by Secretary Peters and his party, and this encouraged
others to cross the mountains and establish themselves in the Indian
country. James Patterson settled near the present town of Mexico,
Juniata county, in 1751, only a year after the trespassers had been
driven out, and cleared land on both sides of the river. Egle says:
"Patterson held his lands in defiance of the provincial government and
the cowardly redskins until 1755, when the Indians ceased to visit his
settlement to barter furs and venison for rum and tobacco, and instead
began to prowl around painted for war, and armed with rifles, tomahawks
and knives."

It is related of Patterson that he adopted a novel method of inspiring
the Indians with fear. In front of his house he kept a target leaning
against a tree. Whenever he saw a party of Indians approaching he
would step to the door and fire a few shots at the target, the center
of which was fairly riddled with bullets. The Indians would examine
the target and estimate the distance — probably 150 yards — then shrug
their shoulders with an "L'gh!" which indicated their intention to keep
beyond the range of his deadly rifle. Patterson's marksmanship obtained
for him among the Delawares the name of "Big Shot."

In a few instances persons were allowed to settle upon the forbidden

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 37

lands with the consent, if not with the actual connivance, of the
provincial authorities. One case of this nature was that of Andrew
Montour, a half-breed and brother of Catharine Montour, the well
known Indian interpreter. After repeated applications for permission
to live somewhere beyond the Blue hills, Montour received from
Governor Hamilton a commission, dated April 18, 1752, authorizing
him to "settle and reside upon the Indians' land, in any place he should
consider most convenient and central, and to prevent the lands from
being settled upon by others, and to warn off all who presume to locate
there ; also to report to the government the names of such as did locate,
that they might be prosecuted."

IMontour located in what is now Perry county, on a tract of land
between Landisburg and Loysville, and near the little stream that still
bears the name of ^Montour's run. In the same year that he received
his commission several white men came into the Kishacoquillas valley,
in what is now Mifflin county, looking for locations, and most of them
became permanent settlers. Among them were the five McNitt brothers,
William Brown, Samuel IMaclay and James Reed, whose wife was the
first white woman in that locality.

In 1753 William Patterson, John and Joseph Scott, James Kennedy,
Alexander Roddy, Thomas Wilson and a few others were located in
the Sherman valley, not far from Montour's place, but there is no
evidence to show that Montour performed the duties rec^uired by his
commission, either by warning these men that they were trespassers
or lodging information with the government that would insure their
prosecution On the other hand, he brought his brother-in-law. William
Dason, into the valley and gave him a farm, as shown by an affidavit of
William Patterson some years later.

Peter Shaver (or Cheaver) had been engaged in trade with the
Indians for some years and settled near the mouth of Shaver's creek,
in Huntingdon county, at a date not definitely known, but supposed
to have been in the spring of 1754. Some years later his headless body
was found near his residence, but the cause of his death has always
remained a mystery. Other settlers came upon the Indian lands in the
early part of 1754. regardless of the rights of the Indians or the attitude
of the provincial government. Most of them were of that sturdy
Scotch-Irish stock which is noted for determination. L'nafraid of the

38 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

dangers of the wilderness or the hostihty of the savage natives, but
attracted by the fertile valleys along the Juniata, they resolved to found
homes there at all hazards. Professor Guss says :

"These continued aggressions of the white people, and their ap-
parent determination to disregard the rights of the Indians at what-
ever hazard, greatly incensed the latter, who. at a treaty council, held
at Carlisle in 1753, very plainly expressed their views on the subject,
entering their vigorous protest against this unjustifiable occupation of
their hunting grounds, and notifying the authorities that 'they wished
the people called back from the Juniata lands until matters were settled
between them and the French, lest damage should be done, and then
the English would think ill of them.' "

The latter part of the above quotation refers to the machinations
of the French agents among the Delawares, Shawnees and other tribes
that claimed the Juniata valley as a hunting ground. For years these
Indians had been in friendly intercourse with the French along the Ohio
river, and were gradually yielding to their overtures of an alliance.
They accepted the presents from the English, given to them for the
purpose of drawing them away from the French, but finally went over
to the latter in a body. Five years after the cabins of the squatters
had been burned at the solicitation of these "children of the forest,"
they went over the same ground with torch, scalping-knife and toma-
hawk, mingling the blood of their victims with the ashes of the frontier
dwellings, and all this notwithstanding they had relinquished their title
to the lands. It was simply another case of the untutored native being
swayed by the stronger will of designing white men. In the struggles
between the nations of Europe the Indian was frequently made the
cat's-paw to draw the chestnuts of a rich trade in furs or the possession
of valuable territory from the fire for the benefit of ungrateful masters.
Had the Indians of the Juniata valley been left to themselves, it is quite
probable that some understanding could have been reached by which
amicable relations could have been continued, but under the influence
of the French a crisis was reached in 1754 that made it advisable on
the part of the English to purchase the lands lying west of the Endless
hills.

Accordingly, a council assembled at Albany, New York, early in

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 39

July, 1754, and on the 6th of that month a treaty was conckided by the
execution of the following deed :

"Henry Peters, Abraham Peters, Blandt, Johannes Satfyhowano,
Johannes Kanadakayon, Abraham Sastagrhedohy, sachems or chiefs of
the Mohawk nation : Aneeghnaxqua, Taraghorus, Tohaghdaghquyserry,
alias Kachneghdackon, sachems or chiefs of the Oneydo nation; Otsin-
ughyada, alias Blunt, in behalf of himself and all the sachems and
chiefs of the Onondago nation; Scanuraty, Tannaghdorus, Tokaaiyon,
Kaghradodon, sachems or chiefs of the Cayuga nation; Kahichdonon,
alias Groote Younge, Takeghsata, Tiyonenkokaraw. sachems or chiefs
of the Seneca nation; Suntrughwackon, Sagochsidodagon, Tohashu-
wangarus Orontakayon, alias John Nixon, Tistoaghton, sachems or
chiefs of the Tuscarora nation, in consideration of four hundred pounds
(£400) lawful money of New York, grant and convey to Thomas and
Richard Penn all the lands lying within the province of Pennsylvania,
bounded and limited as follows, namely : Beginning at the Kittochtinny
or Blue Hills, on the west branch of the Susquehanna river, and thence
by the said river a mile above the mouth of a certain creek called
Kayarondinhagh : thence northwest and by west as far as the province
of Pennsylvania extends to its western lines or boundaries ; thence
along the said western line to the south line or boundary of said
province ; thence along the said south line or boundary to the south side
of the Kittochtinny hills, thence by the south side of said hills to the
place of beginning."'

Had the boundaries as described in the deed been established the pur-
chase would have included all the western part of the state. The creek
called Kayarondinhagh is Penn's creek, which flows into the Susque
hanna at Selinsgrove, Snyder county. Starting from the river a mile
above the mouth of that creek, a line running "northwest and by north,"
as the deed calls for, would strike Lake Erie a few miles east of the
city of Erie, and all south of that line and west of the Blue hills would
have been the extent of the territory purchased. The expressions of
dissatisfaction among the Indians over the boundary led to a conference
at Aughwick, in September, 1754, at which time the representatives of
the different tribes declared that it was not their intention to sell the
W'est branch of the Susquehanna, and that they would never agree to
any boundary that extended to Lake Erie. To adjust the cpiestion of
boundaries another treaty was concluded at Easton, Pennsylvania, on
October 22nd, when the line starting a mile above Penn's creek was

40 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

made to run "northwest and by west to a creek called Buffalo creek ;
thence west to the east side of the Allegheny or Appalachian hills ; thence
along the east side of the said hills, binding therewith to the south line
or boundary of the said province ; thence by the said south line or boun-
dary to the south side of the Kittachtinny hills ; thence by the south
side of the said hills to the place of beginning."

The purchase, as defined by the restricted boundaries, included all
of the counties of Perry, Juniata, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Bedford, Blair
and Fulton: nearly all of Snyder: about one-half of Center, and portions
of Union, Franklin and Somerset. The boundaries were confirmed by
the Indians on October 23, 1758, after which time there was no dispute
regarding the ownership and possession of the Juniata valley.

During the latter part of 1754 and the early part of 1755 a number
of settlers came into the Juniata valley. The land offlce was opened for
the entry of lands in the new purchase on February 3, 1755, and the
same day Barnabas Barnes was granted a tract of land in what is now
Tell township, Huntingdon county. About two weeks later he received
a warrant for a tract in what is now Wayne township, Mifflin county.
On February 4 James Patterson received his warrant for 400 acres at
IMexico, where he had been living since 1751. On }ilay 26, 1755, James
McDowell applied for 300 acres "at a place called the Burnt Cabins at
Aucquick." ^^'illiam ilaxwell also applied about the same time for 300
acres, "including Falkner's (Falconer's) and William and Thomas
Thompson's improvements at Auccjuick." No warrants were issued on
these applications, but the intention of the applicants to become residents
is clearly shown. On June 25, 1755, Anthony Thompson received title
to a tract on the little Aughwick, and some time during the year Hugh
Crawford, so he afterward claimed, made some improvements where
the borough of Huntingdon now stands.

Concerning the first white men to locate in [Nlilflin county, Egle's
"History of Pennsylvania" sa}-s ; "The first settlers came from the
Conococheague, by way of Aughwick. They were Arthur Buchanan, a
brave backwoodsman, his two sons, and three other families, all of
whom were Scotch-Irish. They encamped on the west side of Kishico-
quillas creek, near its mouth, opposite the Indian town on the present
site of East Lewistown, when Buchanan, who was the leader, proceeded
to negotiate for land. At first he found the Indians unwilling, but.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 41

meeting with the chief, whom he christened Jacobs, from his resemblance
to a burly Dutchman in Cumberland county, he succeeded in obtaining
the land, now the principal part of Lewistown, west of the creek, ex-
tending up the river. This was in 1754. To this favored spot, this year
and the forepart of the next, 1755, he induced so many persons to come
to his settlement that the Indians who adhered to Jacobs became dissatis-
fied, destroyed their town, and left. The council-house of the Indians
was on the east side of the creek, opposite Buchanan's cabin, and a line
of wigwams belonging to a number of different tribes stretched to the
north along the stream."

Among those who recei\-ed land warrants in Mifflin county in 1755
were : Everhart Alartin, James Alexander, Edward Bates, George Sig-
ler, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Bratton, Samuel Holliday, Alexander
Torrentine, Robert Brotherton, \\'illiam Brown, James Reed and Roljert
Taylor, most of whom located along the Juniata or in the Kishacoquillas
valley.

Some of those who had been driven out of Juniata county in 1750
returned soon after the purchase of 1754, accijmpanied l:)y a number of
others who entered lands and established homes. Among these pioneers
were : Alexander ^ilaginty, John ]\IcClellan, Robert Campbell, ^^'illiam
Buchanan, William Patterson, ^^'illiam Beale, James Kennedy, Alex-
ander Dennison, James McMahan, George and John Armstrong, Wil-
liam \A'hite, James Purdy, \\'illiam Huston, John Lycon, James Michel-
tree. \\'illiam Stewart and Francis West, all of whom entered lands in
the year 1755, and some of their descendants still reside in the county.

John Pfoutz, whose land Egle says was the first located by order
from the land office, settled in what is still known as Pfoutz's valley, in
Perry county. James Baskins, Marcus Hulings and a few others located
about the mouth of the Juniata, some of them before the land was pur-
chased from the Indians. Other settlers in Perry county were the Rob-
isons, Robert and James Wilson, Andrew Simeson, Robert Pollock,
Hugh Miller, W^illiam Darlington, Samuel Hunter, James Mitchell,
William Croncleton, Ross Mitchell, James Dixson, Alexander Roddy,
who was one of the squatters driven out in 1750, James Cowen and
James Blaine.

A more complete account of these early settlers will be found in chap-
ters on county and township history. During the French and Indian

42 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

war many of them abandoned their frontier homes and fled to the more
thickly settled portions of the province, returning after the close of
hostilities, from which period the history of the actual permanent set-
tlement of the valley has its beginning.

CHAPTER IV

HUNTINGDON COUNTY, ORGANISATION, ETC.

First Counties in Pennsylvania — Huntingdon the Eighteenth — Organic Act — Boun-
daries Defined — Location of County Seat — Trustees — First County Officers — Court
Houses — Jails — Dispute over Boundary Lines — Opposition to the Federal Con-
stitution — Open Rebellion in Huntingdon County — Conrad Weiser — John Harris'
Journey — Early Settlements — Reduction in Size — Present Area — Slavery — Dele-
gates to Constitutional Conventions — Benjamin Elliott — Andrew Henderson^
David R. Porter— John Scott— John IMcCulloch— John M. Bailey— R. iNIilton
Speer — The Civil List.

THE organization of counties in Pennsylvania began in 1682, when
William Penn divided the province into the counties of Chester,
Philadelphia, and Bucks. No boundaries were designated farther
than the lines separating the counties where they joined each other, their
limits in all other directions extending to the borders of the province.
The lines of separation were confirmed by the provincial council on April
2, 1685. Of the three original counties Chester was much the largest
and from its territory a number of new counties have been erected.
Lancaster was cut off by the act of May 10, 1729, and was the fourth
county to be organized in the state. Twenty years later York county
was erected and by the act of January 2^, 1750, "the lands lying to the
westward of Suscjuehanna, and northward and westward of the county
of York," were erected into a county called Cumberland. Bedford
county was taken from Cumberland on March 9, 1771, and was the last
county erected prior to the Revolutionary war. Huntingdon county,
the eighteenth to be formed in the state, was originally a part of Ches-
ter county. It was erected from part of Bedford by the act of Septem-
ber 20, 1787, the preamble of the act and the section relating to the
boundaries being as follows :

"Whereas, it hath been represented to the General Assembly of this
State, by the inhabitants of that part of Bedford county which lies on

43

44 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

the waters of the Frankstown branch of the Juniata, tlie lower part of
the Raystown branch of the same, the Standing Stone vahey, part of
Woodcock valley, the waters of Aughwick creek, and other north-
easterly parts of the said county of Bedford, that they labor under great
hardships from their great distance from the present seat of justice, and
the public offices for the said county now in the town of Bedford: For
remedy whereof,

"Be it enacted, etc.. That all and singular the lands lying within
the bounds and limits hereinafter described and following, shall be,
and are hereby, erected into a separate county by the name of Hunting-
don county; namely, beginning in the line of Bedford and Franklin
counties, where the new state road (by some called Skinner's road),
leading from Shijipensburg to Littleton, crosses the Tuscarora moun-
tain; thence in a straight course or line to the Gap in Shade mountain,
where the road formerly called Potts' road crosses the same, about two
miles north of Littleton; thence by a straight line to the Old Gap, in
Sideling Hill, where Sideling Hill creek crosses the mountain; thence
in a straight line by the northerly side of Sebastian Shoub's mill, on
the Raystown branch of Juniata; thence on a straight line to the Elk
Gap, in Tussey's mountain ; computed to be about nineteen miles above
or southwesterly of the town of Huntingdon (formerly called Standing
Stone), and from the said Elk Gap. in a straight line, to the Gap at
Jacob Stevens' mill, a little below where W'oolery's mill formerly stood,
in Morrison's cove; thence in a straight line by the southerly side of
Blair's mill, at the foot of the Allegheny mountain; thence across the
said mountain, in a straight line, to and along the ridges dividing the
waters of the Conemaugh from the waters of Clearfield and Chest
creeks, to the line of \\'estmoreland county ; thence by the same to the
old purchase line, which was run from Kittanning to the West Branch
of Susquehanna river; and along said line to the said West Branch,
and down the same to the mouth of Moshannon creek, and along the
remaining lines or boundaries which now divide the county of Bedford
from the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and Franklin, to the
place of beginning."

The act contained the usual provisions concerning the holding of
courts, fixing the time for the sessions on the first Tuesday in the months
of December, March, June, and September, and the place of meeting at
the house of Ludwig Sell, in the town of Huntingdon, until a court-
house should be erected. With regard to the location of the county
seat and the erection of public buildings the act contained the following
preamble and section :

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 45

"And zvhcrcas. the petitioners for erecting the said county, have
unanimously represented to this house, that the town of Huntingdon,
on the river Juniata, is a proper and central place for the seat of jus-
tice in the said county; and the proprietor of said town, at the desire
and with the approbation of the inhabitants and owners of lots and
buildings in the same, hath laid off and set apart a proper and suf-
ficient quantity of grounds, for the site of a court house, county gaol
and prison, and hath engaged to give, assure and convey the same to
the commonwealth, in trust and for the use and benefit of the said
county; provided the said town of Huntingdon shall be fixed upon by
law as a proper place for the seat of justice in the said county: There-
fore,

"Be it further enacted, etc.. That Benjamin Elliott, Thomas Duncan
Smith, Ludwig Sfih- George Ashman and William McAlevy, be, and
they are hereby appointed trustees for the said county of Huntingdon,
and they, or any three of them, shall take assurance of and for the
lands and grounds proposed to be appropriated as aforesaid, in the
said town of Huntingdon, for the site of a court house and county gaol
or prison, and shall take care that the quantity of ground so to be
appropriated be sufficient and convenient for the public purposes afore-
said, and as little detrimental as possible to the proprietors and owners
of contiguous lots and buildings; which assurance and conveyance of
the grotmds, as aforesaid, the said trustees, or any three of them, shall
take" in the name of the commonwealth, in trust and for the use and
benefit of the said county of Huntingdon, and thereupon erect a court
house and prison, sufficient to accommodate the public service of said
county."

Soon after the passage of the act creating the county, officers were
appointed for the transaction of the public business. Lazarus B.
McClain received his commission on September 25, 1787, as clerk of the
court of quarter sessions, orphans' court, prothonotary, etc., and was the
first official to be appointed. Four days later Andrew Henderson was
commissioned recorder of deeds, register of wills, and justice of the
county court, and on December 13th he was commissioned prothonotary.
On October 22d Benjamin Elliott was commissioned sherifif. Robert
Galbraith was appointed president of the county court of common pleas,
orphans' court, court of general quarter sessions and jail delivery on
November 23, 1787, and on the same day Thomas Duncan Smith, John
Williams, Thomas McCune and William Phillips were commissioned
justices of the county. Samuel Thompson was appointed coroner on

46 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

November 30, 1787, and on December 5th David I\Ic]Murtrie was ap-
pointed treasurer.

As provided in the organic act, the courts were held in the house of
Ludwig Sell until the erection of a court-house. Sell's house was a
double two-story log structure on Allegheny street, between Second and'
Third streets, and was kept as a tavern by Mr. Sell, being the first public
house of entertainment in Huntingdon. It was not long, however, until
the trustees took the necessary steps to carry out the provisions of the
act in the matter of erecting a court-house and jail. The first court-house
stood between Penn and Allegheny streets, fronting on Third street.
It was a brick edifice of three stories, one of which was a basement, in
which were the offices of the prothonotary, register, recorder and clerk
of the courts. Upon its completion the justices were escorted to the
court-house with fife and drum, and for some time this method was in
use to announce the sessions of the court. In 1798 a bell was placed on
the court-house, after which the use of the fife and drum was discon-
tinued. The bell weighed 254 pounds and bore the inscription "Cast by
Samuel Parker, Philadelphia, 1798. William Smith, D.D., to the Bor-
ough of Huntingdon, Juniata." When the old court-house was torn
down in the spring of 1848 the bell was placed upon the public school
building, where it continued in use until December 12, 1861, when it was
broken while ringing for school.

The second court-house was erected upon the north side of Penn
street, between Second and Third streets, and was completed in 1842.
The lots upon which it stood — Nos. 31 to 34, inclusive — were formerly
the property of Stephen Drury and John Cadwallader, Drury owning
lot No. 31 and Cadwallader the others. In August, 1793, these gentle-
men mortgaged their lots to the county for $100 each, and on June 25,
1839, Governor Porter approved a resolution of the legislature transfer-
ring the "lien, right, title and claim of the commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania of, in and to the lots under the mortgages to the county of Hunt-
ingdon, for the use and purpose of building by said county of a court-
house and other necessary buildings for the said county, therewith and
thereon, and for such other uses as the commissioners of said county
shall hereafter determine." Shortly after the adoption of this resolu-
tion the lots became the property of the county by legal process and the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 47

erection of the court-house was begun. It was used from 1842 until the
present court-house was built.

About 1876 it became apparent that the court-house was inadequate
to the needs of the county, and the question of making additions and
repairs came up for consideration. Successive grand juries recom-
mended the erection of a new building, and on April 21, 1882, the com-
missioners passed the following resolution : "In order to carry out the
instructions of the grand juries in the matter of repairing and remodel-
ing the court-house, it was unanimously resolved to issue bonds to an
amount not exceeding seventy-five thousand dollars, interest payable at
four per cent, per annum, date of issue June i, 1882. The above reso-
lution to be presented to the court for approval."

The court approved the action of the commissioners, and on April
28, 1882, the plans submitted by M. E. Beebe, an architect of Buffalo,
New York, were accepted by the board, which was then composed of
Henry Davis, Nicholas Isenberg and Samuel P. Smith. Bids were then
advertised for, and on May 17, 1882, the contract was awarded to
Henry Snare & Company for $71,300. On December 5, 1883, the
building was accepted as complete upon the report of a special commis-
sion consisting of John Covert, John A. Blair, Henry Neft', J. F. N.
Householder, G. W. Reynolds and Theo. H. Cremer. Some changes
were made in the original designs, which brought the total cost of the
building up to about $73,000. It occupies the site of the court-house
erected in 1842.

Concerning the first jail in the county, Lytle says : "A building that
had been erected before the formation of the county was first used for
that purpose. Its location is now unknown. In a letter written at that
time, it is mentioned as a 'block-house.' It may have been the remains
of the old fort built during the Revolutionary War."

On August 25, 1791, Dr. William Smith, founder of the town of
Huntingdon, conveyed to the trustees lot No. 41 as a site for a county
prison. A log jail was erected there in that year and several sessions
of the court were held in the building before the completion of the court-
house. Some years later the jail was destroyed by fire, its single pris-
oner at the time being burned with the building. The lot upon which
it stood was on the east side of Second (then St. Clair) street, directly

48 HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY

opposite the end of Penn (then Hill) street. \Mien the turnpike was
completed to Huntingdon it passed over the lot where the old jail stood,
and which is now the continuation of Penn street toward Standing
Stone creek.

Not long after the destruction of the first jail by fire, a second one
was erected. It was a small stone structure on Third street north of
Mifflin, "standing back against the hill, with a yard in front of it, run-
ning down towards the street." It served as a county prison until 1S29,
when the present jail was erected south of it, on the line of ^Mifflin
street, the jail yard extending back to Church street. About the time
the present court-house was completed the jail came in for severe criti-
cism, on account of its antiquated architecture and unsanitary condi-
tions. Nothing was done toward its improvement, however, until 191 1,
when the jail was practically rebuilt at a cost of about $19,000.

Although the act erecting the county designated the boundaries, no
attempt was made to run and mark the lines until nearly two years later.
On April 3, 1789, the supreme executive council appointed Benjamin
Elliott, of Huntingdon ; Matthew Taylor, of Bedford ; and James Har-
ris, of Cumberland County, "to run and ascertain the boundaries of
Huntingdon county." Before the work of this commission was com-
pleted Mifflin county was erected by the act of September 19, 1789,
and when an attempt was made to run the line between ]\Iifflin and
Huntingdon both counties laid claim to a small strip of territory south
of the Juniata river. Jones says that a majority of the residents in
the disputed territory favored the Mifflin county cause, and adds :
"They were mostly Irish ; and, since the wars were over and no enemy
to fight, were ever ready, with true Irish hospitality, to take a brush
with their neighbors." While the dispute was at its height. John Pat-
ton, the sherifif of Huntingdon county, went into the district in con-
troversy for the purpose of serving writs that had been placed in his
hands. The people, learning of his coming, congregated at an Irish
tavern at Drake's ferry, took him into custody and lodged him in the
Mifflin county jail at Lewistown. He secured his release on a writ of
habeas corpus and, smarting under the humiliating treatment to which
he had been subjected, returned to Huntingdon, where he organized a
posse, determined to serve the writs at all hazards. Again the people
assembled to make resistance, but fortunately the sheriff and his posse

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 49

took a different route from the one expected, the hostile factions failed
to come together and violence was thus avoided.

The cjuestion was finally settled by legislative action, but not until
two acts had been passed relating to the boundary line. On April i,

1 79 1, an act was passed defining the line from Concord gap north to
the Juniata river and appointing commissioners to run it. As this line
would have included all that part of Mifflin county above McVeytown
in Huntingdon county, the people of the former opposed the measure
and succeeded in securing the passage of another act on March 29,

1792, which designated the boundary between the counties as "a straight
line beginning in the middle of the \\'ater Gap in the Tuscarora moun-
tain and from thence to the river Juniata, in such direction as to
include Joseph Galloway's farm within Huntingdon county, at the mouth
of Galloway's run, shall be the line between Huntingdon and ^liftlin
counties."

This ended the controversy concerning the territory south of the
Juniata river, though the line was more clearly defined by the act of
April 5, 1834. In 1895 a dispute arose regarding the boundary line
north of the Juniata, which was carried to the supreme court of the
state before it was settled. An account of this controversy will be
found in Chapter VI.

In May, 1787, a convention of delegates from the several states
met at Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the articles of con-
federation. Instead of revising the old agreement that had held the
colonies together during the trying times of the Revolution, they
adopted a new constitution, which was signed by most of the delegates
on September 17, 1787, only three days before the passage of the act
erecting Huntingdon county. Later in the year the Pennsylvania
convention to accept or reject the new constitution assembled, Benjamin
Elliott, of Huntingdon, being one of the delegates. Opposition to the
constitution developed in various sections of the country, chiefly on
the ground that it was one of compromise and concession, so made
in the effort to harmonize conflicting interests, and that it lacked the
virility which ought to distinguish the organic law of the new republic.

In no part of the country was the opposition more marked or of a
more violent character than in Huntingdon county, where the leader
against the constitution was Colonel William IVIcAlevy, a man of

50 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

influence, who had won his title of colonel in the Revolutionary war and
had been particularly active as the foe of the Indians and Tories.
About the time of the constitutional convention in the spring of 1787,
he became an enthusiastic Democrat and his house at ]McAlevy's fort,
in the Standing Stone valley, was a sort of political headquarters for
his numerous followers, over whom his control was almost absolute,
though it does not appear that he personally took an active part in the
riotous proceedings that followed the ratification of the obnoxious
constitution.

The first pronounced demonstration was made on the opening day
of the session of the court in ]\Iarch, 1788, when a large number of
men armed with clubs and bearing an efiigy of Colonel John Cannon,
membe' of the supreme executive council from Huntingdon, marched
into the town and started for the house where the court was sitting.
Two of the justices left the bench and went out to meet the mob,
hoping to induce the rioters to disperse without disturbing the peace.
Their efforts were without avail, however, the mob marched on to
the house in which the court was being held and there made so much
noise that the transaction of business was impossible. The sherifif was
Ordered to ar