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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

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-

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

IMauch Chunk,

2,500

Pocono,

2,000

Catskill,

6,000

'Chemung,

3.000

Portage,

200

VIII .

Genesee,
Hamilton,

200
1,500

Marcellus,

200

Upper Helderberg,

(absent)

VII <

Cauda-Galli,

(absent)

Oriskany,

Lower Helderberg,

200

Onondaga,

1.600

' Clinton,

800

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.

^Hudson River,

I,00O

Slates and shales.

jutica,

500

Dark shales.

"Trenton,

500

Limestone.

. 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

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

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

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 arrest the one who seemed to be the most active and commit
him to jail, but no sooner had the leader been taken into custody than
he was released by his associates, the sherifif being handled somewhat
roughly during the fracas. The names of the principals were then
obtained and presented to the grand jury, which returned a true l)ill,
but as an immediate trial was out of the question, the cases were
continued until the following session of the court.

Benjamin Elliott was commissioned lieutenant of the county on
November 30, 1787, and soon afterward organized a battalion of militia.
In I\Iay. 1788, this battalion was ordered to assemble for muster in
the Hartslosf vallev. Some of the riotous element refused to muster
under Colonel Cannon and Major Spencer, claiming that they had
been unfairly elected. Elliott was also the object of their enmity
because he had been a delegate to the convention that had ratified
the constittttion. He was assaulted by several persons and a friend
w-ho tried to shield him from the unwarranted attack and to restore
order was severely handled. In his report of the affair, Elliott said :
"They met, some for the purpose of doing their duty and others for

HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY 51

the purpose of making a riot, which they effected, about tlie Federal
Government, in which riot I was very ih-used by a senseless banditti,
who were inflamed by a number of false publications privately circu-
lated by people wlio were enemies of the Federal Government."

Warrants were issued a few days later by Thomas Duncan Smith,
one of the justices, for the arrest of three of the leaders in the riot
which broke up the muster. They were taken without resistance by
the constable before Thomas McCune, another justice, who released
them upon their own recognizances with the injunction to appear before
Justice Smith five days later. When the appointed day for the trial
arrived the office of Justice Smith was crowded by an unrul}' crowd
and the defendants, finding themselves supported by their friends,
refused to give bail and demanded that they be committed to jail. The
justice saw that this was merely a pretext for the commission of further
unlawful deeds, should he issue such an order, and as the June sessions
of the court were only a few days off, he told them he would release
them without security, as two of them were owners of real estate.
This was not what the mob wanted and in the afternoon nearly one
hundred men, about two-thirds of them armed with rifles or muskets
and the remainder with such weapons as they could lay hands on,
marched into Huntingdon. At the corner of Penn and Diamond streets
they formed a circle, in the center of which they placed Justice Smith
and demanded that he destroy the warrants. This he refused to do,
but he did surrender them to one of the mob, who destroyed them.
The crowd then went to the office of the clerk of the court of quarter
sessions, where they demanded and received the indictment that had
been found at the March sessions against the leaders of the mob that
disturbed the session of the court. After some parley the clerk yielded
up the indictment, which was also destroyed. From the clerk's office
the mob proceeded to the house in which the court sessions were held
and demanded the quarter sessions docket. L^pon gaining possession
of it, the rioters erased or tore out the entries relating to their conduct
in March, as well as all other portions that they did not like, after which
they threatened certain officials with summary vengeance and left town.

During these high-handed proceedings the law-abiding part of the
town was completely powerless to offer resistance. Two of the justices
sought safety — one by hiding himself and the other in flight. Several

52 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA \' ALLEY

citizens who had spoken against such doings were Hkewise compelled
to secrete themselves ; two constables were forced to leave their homes
in order to save their lives ; the sheriff could not discharge his duty
in the matter of serving writs : business of all kinds was depressed, and
Huntingdon county was in a state of anarchy. On June 5. 1788, a
statement of the outrages and unhappy conditions then prevailing in
the county was sent to the council, in the minutes of which body for
June 25, 1788. may be found the following entry:

"A letter from two of the magistrates of Huntingdon county,
stating that the daring and violent outrages were committed by a
lawless set of men. that the officers of the Government have been in-
sulted and their lives endangered, and that part of the records of the
Court have been destroyed and erased, was read, praying the support of
the Government. &c. Thereupon.

"Resolved, That the most proper and effectual measures be imme-
diately taken to quell the disturbances in Huntingdon county, and to
restore order and good government, and that the Honorable Judges
of the Supreme Court be informed that the Supreme Executive will
give them aid and assistance, which the laws of the State will warrant,
and shall be found necessary to accomplish this end."

Although this resolution promised well and encouraged the law-
abiding citizens of the county, the state was not so ready to fulfill the
promise with the vigorous action necessary to "quell the disturbances."
In fact, between the time the magistrates notified the council of the
situation and the passage of the resolution, Samuel Clinton. Abraham
Smith and William McCune came into Huntingdon at the head of
about twenty men, assaulted Alexander Irwin, a peaceable citizen, and
at night stoned the residences of the coimty officers, Benjamin Elliott,
Robert Gall)raith. Andrew Henderson and Thomas Duncan Smith
seemed to be the greatest objects of their enmity, perhaps because they
were the most active in trying to preserve or restore order. They were
threatened w-ith tar and feathers, whipping and other indignities, and
even death, if they did not cease their efforts to enforce the laws.

Some six weeks after the adoption of the resolution above referred
to, a body of 160 men from all parts of the county, led by Colonel
McAlevy, John and Abraham Smith and John Little, paraded the
streets of Huntingdon. This is the only time Colonel Mc.VIevy's naine

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 53

appears in the accounts of the rioting as an active participant, though
it was generally understood that he was behind the movement. No
arms were visible, but the general impression was that they carried
weapons concealed. The county officers and others who gave support
to the constitution hurried to the house of Benjamin Elliott, where
they armed themselves and resolved to defend their position. Finding
the officers ready to meet an attack, the rioters contented themselves
with marching through the town with fife and drum, their object being
apparently to awe the citizens with the display of their strength.

In June, 1789, the subject again came before the council, but
the excitement had subsided to some extent and it was resolved by that
body to postpone any action, which was probably the best thing that
could be done under the circumstances. The constitution had been
ratified by a majority of the states and was recognized as the funda-
mental law of the land. Consequently its opponents in Huntingdon
county realized that further resistance to its provisions was useless, and
the "tempest in a teapot" exhausted its fury without loss of life, though
several persons were roughly treated while it was at its height. If
any of the ringleaders were ever punished the records do not show the
fact. Lytle says : "It has generally been stated and believed by those
who have nothing but traditionary accounts of these occurrences, that
the records of the court were burned by ]\IcAlevy and his men, but
there is no official evidence that such was the case. There are in
existence authentic and reliable documents which seem to prove con-
clusively that some of the records were torn and others obliterated by
erasures. It has been said that a copy of the constitution of the United
States was burned, and this may have been correct, and may have given
rise to the statement that other papers were destroyed in the same way."

The visitor to Huntingdon county at the present day, who sees on
every hand abundant evidences of order, industry and peace, or he who
looks into her history and observes how promptly her gallant sons have
responded to their country's call in time of war, can scarcely believe
that there was a considerable portion of her population that resisted
the authority of the Federal government in its earliest days. These
men were doubtless moved by principle to take the course they did,
but when they found themselves unable to accomplish their ends even by
intimidation and other lawless methods, they accepted the situation as

54 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

gracefully as circumstances would permit and acknowledged the right
of the majority to rule. Descendants of some of them still reside in
the county and are numbered among the loyal and order-loving citizens.

The first white man to leave any written account of a visit to
that section of Pennsylvania now comprising Huntingdon county was
Conrad W'eiser. He was born in Germany in 1696 and came to America
in 17 10. Immediately upon his arrival in this country he went among
the ^Mohawk Indians for the purpose of learning their language, in
order that he might be qualified to act as interpreter between the tribes
of the Six Nations and the German traders. In 1729 he settled in
Pennsylvania and during the last thirty years of his life he was closely
identified with many of the principal events in the history of the
province. His first appearance as interpreter in Pennsylvania was on
December 10, 1731, at a council in Philadelphia. On that occasion
his ability so impressed the provincial authorities that he was frequently
employed on missions of an important and confidential nature. His
home was known as "Tulpyhocken," in what is now Berks county, but
he spent very little of his time there, his duties as interpreter and pro-
vincial agent constantly calling him to different parts of the country.
In March, 1748, arrangements were made for him to visit the Indian
tribes on the Ohio to distribute presents and make treaties with them,
and incidentally to carry the government's proclamation to the tres-
passers on the Indian lands west of the Blue mountains, notifying them
to vacate. Weiser started from his home on August 11, 1748, and on
the 17th "crossed the Tuscarora Hill and came to the sleeping place
called Black Log, 20 miles." The next day he and his party came
within two miles of the site of the present borough of Huntingdon
and on the 20th he was at Frankstown (Blair county), "but saw no
House or Cabins ; here we overtook the Goods, because four of George
Croghan's Hands fell sick, 26 miles." In Weiser's party were George
Croghan, the Indian trader: Andrew IMontour, who later settled in
Perry county; William Franklin, a son of Benjamin Franklin, and a
number of other persons of less note. His journal and report of his
journey and mission form the first written accounts of what is now
Huntingdon county.

Six years later John Harris, in his description of the road from
his ferry (Harrisburg) to Logstown, on the Allegheny river, gives

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 55

the distances between various points in what is now Huntingdon count)'.
Beginning at the "Tuscaroraw" hill, these distances are as follows:
"To the Cove Spring, 10 miles; to the Shadow of Death (Shade Gap),
8 miles; to the Black Log, 3 miles." At that point the road forked, one
branch leading to Raystown and the other to Frankstown. Following
the latter, Harris continues his table of distances, to wit : "Now be-
ginning at the Black Log, Franks Town Road, to Aughwhick, 6 miles ;
to Jack Armstrong's Narrows, so called from his being there murdered,
8 miles; to the Standing Stone (about 14 ft. high, 6 inches square),
10 miles. At each of these places we cross the Juniata. To the next
and last crossing of the Juniata, 8 miles; to Water Street (branch of
Juniata), 10 miles; to the Big Lick, 10 miles; to Franks (Stephen's)
Town, 5 miles."

Harris' journey was made in the year the Juniata valley was
purchased from the Six Nations and the actual settlement of the
country dates from that time. As stated in Chapter III, a few land
warrants were issued for tracts in Huntingdon county in 1755. but the
French and Indian war coming on just at that time checked the tide
of immigration. Says Lytle : "For a period of seven years after
1755, the region west of the Tuscarora mountain remained in almost
primitive serenity. During all that time there seems to have been no
demand whatever for the lands. The Indians had succeeded, for the
time being, in making them valueless to the proprietaries, by increasing
the dangers of frontier life to such an extent that no man was willing
to encounter them."

The year 1762 witnessed a revival of settlement and lands specu-
lation, especially the latter, and a large number of land warrants were
issued from the land office and surveys made. I\Iany of these warrants
covered the most fertile sections of the Juniata valley and were taken
out by residents of the eastern cities, not for the purpose of establishing
homes there, but purely as a matter of speculation. They were not
permitted to realize speedily upon their investments, however, for in
the summer of 1763 Indian depredations again drove a number of
settlers from their homes and discouraged others from coming to the
a more permanent character. A few settlers came in during the
Revolution and after the close of that war the population increased
more rapidly. In 1790, when the first United States census was taken,

56 HISTORY OF THE JL'MATA VALLEY

the population of Huntingdon county was 7,565. At that time the
county was much larger than it is at present. A portion of Huntingdon
was taken to form Center county by the act of February 19, 1800:
Cambria county was organized from Huntingdon and Somerset by the
act of March 26, 1804; and Blair county was taken from the counties
of Huntingdon and Bedford by the act of February 26, 1846. Since
then the size and boundaries of the county have remained unchanged,
the area being 899 square miles, or 575,360 acres. The surface is
much broken by mountain ranges, but along the Juniata, the Raystown
branch and Aughwick creek, and in the various valleys there are many
fine farms.

It may be a surprise to many people of the present generation to
read that slavery was once tolerated in Huntingdon county, but such
was the case. Of the 7,565 inhabitants of the county in 1790, forty-
three were slaves. Thirty-two slaves were reported in the census of
1800; none in 18 10; five in 1820, and eight in 1830. Since then every
citizen of the county has been a freeman.

Huntingdon county was represented in each of the four conventions
that framed the state's four constitutions. Pursuant to the call of the
Provincial Conference, which met in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia,
June 18, 1776, delegates to a constitutional convention were elected
on the 8th of July following. They met on the fifteenth and remained
in session until September 28, 1776. when the first constitution was
completed. Bedford county, of which Huntingdon was then a part,
was represented by eight delegates, seven of whom signed the consti-
tution, namely: Benjamin Elliott, Thomas Coulter, Joseph Powell,
John Burd, John Cessna, John Wilkins and Thomas Smith. Lender
the constitution adopted by this convention, the executive power and
authority of the state was vested in a Supreme Executive Council of
twelve members elected by the people. Huntingdon county had a
representative in this council from the time it was erected during the
remainder of the life of the constitution, or until the inauguration of
the first governor in 1790. John Cannon took his seat as a member of
the council on November 21, 1787, and his name figures prominently
in the proceedings during the two years he was a member of the body.
Before the formation of Huntingdon county he represented Bedford
in the assembly: was a conspicuous character at the time of the rebellion

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 57

against the Federal constitution ; subsequently was appointed associate
judge; served three terms in the lower house of the legislature and one
term in the state senate.

Benjamin Elliott was the only delegate in the convention of 1776
from the present territory of Huntingdon county. He was one of the
trustees named in the act erecting the county eleven years later; was
the first sheriff and first lieutenant of the county; a member of the
state convention to ratify the constitution of the United States, which
made him the special object of enmity of the opponents of that instru-
ment; succeeded Colonel John Cannon as a member of the supreme
executive council ; later served as county treasurer, county commissioner
and associate judge, and was for many years a prominent factor in
public affairs. He died on March 15, 1835, aged eighty-three years,
and some of his descendants still live in Himtingdon county.

The second constitutional convention met in Philadelphia on
November 24, 1789, and provided for the publication of the results
of its labors on February 26, 1790. Andrew Henderson was the only
member of this convention from Huntingdon county. At that time he
held the offices of prothonotary and register and recorder. When
Henderson township was erected in 18 14, the court directed that it be
given its name "in consideration of the distinguished uprightness of
the late General Andrew Henderson as a public officer, and his services
during the Revolutionary war." Thomas Mifflin was inaugurated
governor under this constitution in December, 1790.

A third constitutional convention was held at Harrisburg, beginning
on May 2, 1837. The delegates to this convention were elected from
the several senatorial and representative districts. For the senatorial
district composed of Huntingdon, Mifilin, Juniata, Perry and Union
counties, the delegates were James ^Merrill and William P. Maclay.
Huntingdon county was represented by Samuel C. Royer and Cornelius
Crum. The constitution went into effect the following year.

David R. Porter, the first governor to be elected under the con-
stitution of 1838, was an adopted son of Huntingdon county. He was
born near Norristown. Montgomery county, October 31, 1788, a son
of General x\ndrew Porter, an officer in the Continental army during the
.Revolution. After a good preliminary training in the Norristown
Academy, he entered Princeton College, where he was a student when

S8 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

the buildings of the institution were destroyed by fire, which ended
his college career. In 1809 General Porter was appointed surveyor-
general and took his son David into the office as an assistant. While
thus employed the young man began the study of law. His health
became impaired, however, and he gave up both the law and his
position as assistant surveyor-general. He then came to Huntingdon
county, where he was for a time employed as a clerk at the Barree
forge, finally becoming manager of the works. With the experience
thus gained, he formed a partnership with Edward Patton and began
the manufacture of iron at the forges on Spruce creek. The business
proved unprofitable and in February, 18 19, the firm made an assignment
for the benefit of their creditors. The same year Mr. Porter was elected
to the legislature from Huntingdon county and was twice reelected.
He then held several offices by appointment until 1836, when he was
elected to the state senate from the district composed of Huntingdon,
Mifflin, Juniata, Perry and Union counties. Before the expiration
of his term as senator he was elected governor and was inaugurated on
January 15, 1839. In 1841 he was reelected by a majority nearly four
times as large as the one he received in 1838. L^pon retiring from the
governor's office he again turned his attention to the manufacture of
iron and erected at Harrisburg the first anthracite furnace in that
section of the state. He died on August 6, 1868.

Another Huntingdon county man to achieve prominence in public
life while the constitution of 1838 was in force was Hon. John Scott,
who was born at Alexandria, Huntingdon county, July 14, 1824. His
father served as major in the L'nited States army in the War of 1812
and afterward was a member of the Twenty-first Congress from Penn-
sylvania. John Scott received a good education and in 1842 began the
study of law with Alexander Thomson, of Chambersburg, Pennsyl-
vania. In January, 1846, he was admitted to the bar and soon after
that commenced the practice of his profession in Huntingdon. For
several years he was deputy attorney-general for that county and in
1 85 1 was appointed a member of the board of revenue commissioners.
The following year he led the opposition to the nomination of James
Buchanan for the presidency on the Democratic ticket. In 1853 he
visited Europe to recuperate his health and upon his return was nomin-
ated by the Citizens' convention for the state legislature, but was

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 59

defeated because he refused to countenance the "Know-Nothings," which
organization was about that time active in American politics. He was
defeated for the state senate as a Douglas Democrat in i860, but the
succeeding year was elected to the lower house of the legislature without
opposition. When the assembly convened he tried to organize the house
without distinction of party and wanted the legislature to pledge the
state "to the cordial support of the general government in the supres-
sion of the rebellion." This policy was declined by the Democratic
caucus and Mr. Scott and other war Democrats acted with the Republi-
can members in organizing the house. In 1863 he advocated the reelec-
tion of Governor Curtin and he supported Mr. Lincoln for the
presidency in 1864. In 1868 he was a delegate to the Republican
national convention and at the ensuing session of the legislature was
elected L'nited States senator, taking the oath of office on March 4,
1869. As senator he served upon several important committees and was
an active participant in shaping the legislation of that period. Aside
from his professional labors and his political activity, he was interested
in various enterprises calculated to advance the material interests of
his native county. He was one of the projectors of the Huntingdon
& Broad Top railroad and labored assiduously for the success of the
undertaking. At the close of his term in the senate he was made
general counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and removed
to Pittsburgh, where the company's offices were located.

The fourth and last constitutional convention met in the capitol at
Harrisburg on November 12, 1872. In this convention there were 133
delegates — 28 from the state at large and 103 from the senatorial
districts. The Twenty-second district, which was composed of the
counties of Huntingdon, Center, Juniata and Mifflin, was represented
by John McCulloch and John M. Bailey, of Huntingdon, and Andrew
Reed, of Miftlin. On November 2y. 1872. the convention adjourned to
meet in Philadelphia on January 7, 1873. At the adjourned session
was framed a new organic law, which was submitted to the voters of
the state at a special election on December 16, 1873, when it was
adopted by a decisive majority.

John McCulloch was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, Novem-
ber 15, 1806; graduated at Washington College, Washington, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1825, and four years later received the degree of M. D. from

6o HISTORY OF THE JUXLVTA WXLLEY

the medical department of the University of Pennsyh-ania. Soon after
that he located at Petersburg, Huntingdon county, where he practiced
a short time and then removed to Huntingdon. In 1852 he was elected
to Congress from the district composed of Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon
and ]\Iifflin counties and served one term.

John M. Bailey was born at Dillsburg, York county, Pennsylvania,
July II, 1839. In 1857 he removed to Huntingdon county, where for
several years he taught in the public schools. He then read law with
Scott & Brown, was admitted to the bar on August 11, 1862, and
entered into a partnership with his preceptors, which association lasted
until !Mr. Scott's election to the United States senate. After that lie
continued in practice at Huntingdon and took an active interest in pub-
lic and political affairs.

Besides Major John Scott, who was elected to Congress in 1828,
and Dr. John McCulloch, who was elected in 1852, Huntingdon county
furnished the congressman for the Seventeenth district, composed of
the counties of Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin, in 1870, when
R. ]Milton Speer was elected. He was born in the village of Cassville,
Huntingdon county, September 8, 1838, his parents having come from
Belfast, Ireland, some years before. After attending the seminary in
his native village, he taught in the public schools for several years,
studying law as opportunity offered. In the fall of 1859 he was
admitted to the bar and the following April began the practice of his
profession in Huntingdon. From 1859 to 1861 he was the editor of
the Huntingdon Union, the county Democratic organ, and in 1863 he
served as assistant clerk in the house of representatives in the state
legislature. In 1870 he was nominated for Congress against Hon.
Daniel J. Morrell, who had already served two terms and whose defeat
was thought to be almost impossible. Mr. Speer was elected by the
small majority of eleven votes. Two years later he was reelected,
defeating Hon. A. A. Barker, who had been elected to represent the
district in Congress in 1864.

In the early part of this chapter is given a list of the first county
officers, with the dates when they received their commissions. Follow-
ing is a list of the county officers from the organization of the county
to 1 912, as completely as it could be obtained from the records, with
the year of election or appointment.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 6i

Sheriffs — Benjamin Elliott, 1787; John Patton, 1788; John Gal-
braith, 1792; John Patton, 1795; James McMurtrie, 1798; John Patton,
1801 ; John Miller, 1804; John Patton, 1806: Patrick Gwin, 1809; John
Patton, 1812; Patrick Gwin, 1815; John Patton. 1818; Patrick Gwin,
1821; William Speer, 1824; William Simpson, 1827; Thomas Johnston,
1830; James Henderson, 1833 ; Thomas Lloyd, 1836 (Sheriff Lloyd died
in 1837 and Joseph Higgins was appointed to serve until the next
election, when Joseph Shannon was elected for the remainder of the
term); John Brotherline, 1839; John Shaver, 1841 ; John Armitage,
1844; Matthew Crownover, 1847; William B. Zeigler, 1850; Joshua
Greenland, 1853; Graffus Miller, 1856: John C. Watson, 1859; G. W.
Johnston, 1862; James F. Bathurst, 1865: D. R. P. Neely, 1868;
Anion Houck, 1871 ; T. K. Henderson, 1874; S. H. Irwin, 1877; William
J. Geissinger, 1880: George W. McAlevy, 1883; Joseph G. Isenberg,
1886; David Wilson, 1889; Thomas ]\I. Oaks, 1892; David Wilson,
1895; B. S. Rumberger, 1898; David Wilson, 1901 ; G. Chal. Port,
1903: Frank W^ Stewart, 1906; Harry S. Smith, 1909.

Prothonotancs — Lazarus B. McClain, 1787; Andrew Henderson,
1788; William Steel, 1809; J. A. Henderson, 1821 ; David R. Porter,
1823; Robert Campbell. 1836: James Steel, 1839; Theodore H. Cremer,
1848; M. F. Campbell, 1854: D. Caldwell, 1857; W. C. Wagoner, i860;
J. R. Simpson, 1866; M. M. McNeil, 1869; T. W. Myton, 1872; L. :\I.
Stewart, 1875; W. M. Williamson, 1878; James Kelly, 1884; John
Brewster, 1887: Samuel A. Steel, 1893; George G. Steel, 1899; I. N.
Swope, 1905; George W. Wright, 191 1.

Registers and Recorders — Andrew Henderson, 1787; William
Steel, 1809; Richard Smith, 1821 ; William Kerr, 1824: David R.
Porter, 1827; John Reed, 1836; Jacob Miller, 1845; ^^- F- Campbell,
1848; Henry Glazier, 1854; D. W. Womelsdorf, i860; J. E. Smucker,
1866; W. E. Lightner, 1875; Irvin D. Kuntzelman, 1878; John S. Bare,
1884; Milton \Y Isenberg, 1890: B. F. Godard, 1896; E. E. Enyeart,
1902; William H. Trude, 1905; Nopher Beck, 1911.

Treasurers — David McMurtrie, 1787; Benjamin Elliott, 1788;
John Johnston, 1800; Robert Allison, 1806; Thomas Ker, 1809; John
Huyett, 1812; Samuel Steel, 1813; Thomas Ker, 1815; Samuel Steel,
1818; Isaac Dorland, 1821 ; John Miller, 1824; Walter Clarke, 1826;
Isaac Dorland, 1829; Jacob Miller, 1832; Thomas Fisher, 1835; David

62 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Snare, 1S38; David Blair, 1838; Andrew B. Hirst, 1841 ; George Taylor,
1843; Joseph Law, 1845; Isaac Neff, 1847; John A. Doyle, 1849;
John Marks, 185 1: Joseph Stephens, 1853; -"^- ^- Crewitt, 1855 (died
in office and F. H. Lane was appointed on April 14, 1857, to till out the
unexpired term J ; F. H. Lane (elected for a full termj, 1857; H. T.
White, 1859; J. A. Nash, 1861 ; David Black. 1863; Thomas W. Myton,
1865; M. M. Logan, 1867; Samuel J. Cloyd. 1869; A. W. Kenyon,
1871; T. W. Montgomery, 1873; G. Ashman Miller, 1875; A. P. Mc-
Elwain, 1878; Harris Richardson, 1881 ; Anion W. Swoope, 1884;
E. O. Rogers, 1887; John G. Simpson, 1890; George M. Green, 1893;
Henry S. Musser. 1896; A. R. Lefifard, 1899; William H. Chilcote,
1902; Alfred W. Spyker, 1905; Thomas W. Myton, 1908; P. B.
Cutshall, 191 1.

Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1838 the offices of
prothonotary, register and recorder and treasurer were filled by ap-
pointment. Prothonotaries were appointed by the governor, the tenure
of office depending largely upon the conduct of the appointee. The
first prothonotary to be elected by the people was James Steel, who
was elected at the annual election in 1839. John Reed was elected
register and recorder at the same time, the first one to be chosen by
the people. From the erection of the county to 1841, the treasurers
were appointed annually by the county commissioners. The above list
covering that period was compiled by reference to the bonds filed with
the county commissioners. No bonds can be found for the years
between 1789 and 1799. nor for the years 1802, 1804, 1805 and 1828,
but it is quite probable that the treasurer of the preceding year continued
in office by reappointment under the old bond. The office was made
elective by the act of May 27, 1841, and the incumbent at that time,
Andrew B. Hirst, was elected in October of that year.

County Coiiunissioncrs — Three commissioners were elected in 1787,
upon the organization of the county. From that time to 1875, with
three exceptions, it appears that one commissioner was elected annualh-.
Since 1875 a full board of three members has been elected every three
years. Following is the list: 1787, David Stewart, John Dean, James
Sommerville; 1788, Patrick Cassidy; 1789, Robert Riddle; 1790, John
Cadwallader; 1791, John Blair; 1792, Patrick Galbraith; 1793, John
Shaver; 1794, James Kerr; 1795, Thomas Morrow; 1796, William

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 63

Steel; 1797, Hugh Morrison; 1798, John Steel; 1799, John Cadwalla-
der; 1800, Benjamin EUiott; 1801, Joseph Patton; 1802, Thomas
Wilson; 1803, \\'illiam Wilson; 1804, John Crawford; 1805, Joseph
Patton; 1806, John Robison; 1807, John Huyett; 1808, David Lloyd;
1809, R. James Law; 1810, Robert Provines; 181 1, John Sharrer; 1812,
William Simpson; 1813, Maxwell Kinkead; 1814, John Morrison; 1815,
Matthew Wilson; 1816, Philip Roller; 1817, Peter Cassidy; 1818,
Samuel Gooshorn ; 1819, James Simpson; 1820. William Reed; 1821,
John Stewart; 1822, John Cresswell; 1823, John McMullen; 1824,
William Simpson; 1825, Conrad Bucher; 1826, Henry Beaver; 1827,
James Steel; 1828, George Ashman; 1829, John Stewart; 1830, Jacob
Hoffman; 1831, Samuel Smith; 1832, John Lutz; 1833, Robert Lytle ;
1834, John Stewart; 1835, Peter Hewitt; 1836, John Stever; 1837,
Peter Swoope; 1838, James Moore; 1839, Joshua Roller; 1840, Kenzie
L. Green; 1841, Robert Moore; 1842, Alexander Knox; 1843, Joli" F.
Miller (i year), Mordecai Chilcote; 1844, John F. Miller; 1845, William
Bell; 1846, Daniel Teague (2 years), Robert Cummins (3 years);
1847, Joshua Greenland; (no election in 1848); 1849, Isaac Peightal;
1850, Benjamin Leas; 1851, Robert Still (2 years), Eliel Smith (3
years); 1852, Samuel Wigton; 1853, Thomas Hamer; 1854. Benjamin
K. Neff; 1855, Jacob Baker; 1856, H. L. McCarthy; 1857, George
W. Mattern; 1858, John Flenner; 1859, M. F. Campbell; i860, John
Cummins; 1861, John S. Isett; 1862, P. M. Bare; 1863, John House-
holder; 1864, Jacob ]\Iiller; 1865, Adam Warfel; 1866, Adam Fouse;
1867, Samuel Cummins; 1868, Simeon Wright; 1869, George Jackson;
1870, A. B. Miller; 1871, Jonathan Evans; 1872, David Hare; 1873,
N. K. Covert; 1874, W. J. Ammerman; 1875, Andrew G. Neff, David
B. Weaver and A. Wesley Wright; 1878, W. H. Benson, James Smith
and Benjamin Isenberg; 1881, Henry Davis, Nicholas Isenberg and
Samuel P. Smith; 1884. David A. Sisney, Jacob F. Hoover and John
M. Johnston; 1887, Wesley Gregory, David A. Griffith and Robert
McNeal; 1890, A. J. Miller, John Mierly and Jackson Lamberson;
1893, James A. Wilson, James H. Garner and Jackson L. Grove;
1896, A. S. Welch, Andrew Schuldt and Peter Kean (Commissioner
Kean died in April, 1899, and John S. Miller was appointed to the
vacancy) ; 1899, George W. Stewart, \^4lliam H. Johnston and Alonzo
W. Jones; 1902, A. L. Couch, William B. Wilson and A. L. Carothers;

64 HISTORY OF THE JUMATA VALLEY

1905, H. D. Taylor, Christ Bush and Henry H. Davis; 1908, \\'iniam
L. Johnston, Elhott R. Wible and J. K. Wiley; 191 1, J. G. Allison,
Adam J. Black and Walter S. Herncane.

State Senators — Previous to 1790 Pennsylvania had no state senate.
In the constitution adopted in that year provision was made that "The
General Assembly of this Commonwealth shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives." The constitution also fixed the senatorial
districts, which were to remain until the first enumeration of taxpayers.
Huntingdon, Northumberland and Luzerne counties constituted a dis-
trict. The list of state senators who have represented Huntingdon
county, or the district of which it has formed a part, is as follows :

1790, William ^Montgomery (elected to Congress and William Hep-
burn elected in 1793 to the vacancy); 1794, John Cannon: 1797,
Richard Smith; 1801, John Piper; 1805, Henry Wertz, Jr.; 1807,
Jacob Blocher; 1808, Ezra Doty; 1812, William Beale ; 1816, Alexander
Dysart; 1820, Michael Wallace; 1822, William R. Smith: 1824,
Christian Garber; 1828, Thomas Jackson: 1832, George McCulloch;
1836, David R. Porter. (The constitution of 1838 changed the length
of term to three years, instead of four, and in that year Robert P.
Maclay was elected for four years and James M. Bell for two years) ;
1840, James Mathers; 1842, Henry C. Eyer; 1844, John Morrison;
1847, Alexander King: 1850, R. A. McMurtrie; 1853, John Cresswell,
Jr.; 1857, William P. Schell; i860, S. S. Wharton: 1863. George W.
Householder: 1864. L. W. Hall and Kirk Haines. (In this year Hunt-
ingdon, Blair, Center, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry counties were formed
into a senatorial district with two senators) ; 1867, J. K. Robinson and
C. J. T. Mclntire; 1870, R. B. Petriken and D. M. Crawford; 1873,
Joseph S. Warren. ( Blair and Perry counties taken from the district ) ;
1874, Chambers McKibben; 1876, Horatio G. Fisher; 1880, John
Stewart; 1884, H. J. McAtter; 1888, \\'illiam M. Williamson; 1892,
William W. Brewer; 1896, Henry C. Chisholm; 1900, Alexander
Stewart; 1904, Alexander Stewart; (a change in the senatorial district
left Huntingdon county without representation in the senate and in
1906 Chambers O. Templeton was elected) ; 1910, Enos M. Jones.

Rcprcsciitatiz'cs — 1787, Hugh Davidson; 1789, David Stewart;

1791, John Cannon; 1794, David McMurtrie: 1796, Samuel Marshall;
1798, John Blair; 1800, James Kerr; 1801, John Blair and James

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 65

Kerr; 1802. John Blair and William Steel; 1803, Richard Smith and
Lewis Mytinger; 1804, Arthur ]\Ioore and James McCune; 1807,
Arthur Moore and Alexander Dysart; 1809, Alexander Dysart and
William McAlevy; 1812, Alexander Dysart and R. James Law: 1813,
R. James Law and John Crum; 181 5, Alexander Dysart and Conrad
Bucher; 1816, Conrad Bucher and Christian Garber; 1818, Robert
Young and J. D. Aurandt ; 1819, John Scott and David R. Porter;
1821, John Scott and John Rover; 1822, John Ashman and David
R. Porter; 1823, Henry Shippen and Peter Cassidy; 1824, Henry
Shippen and John Ashman; 1825, Matthew Wilson and Joseph Adams;
1826, Matthew Wilson and John Blair; 1828, John Blair and John
Owens; 1829, John Blair and Henry Beaver; 1830. John Blair and
John Williamson; 183 1, John Porter and Henry Beaver; 1832, Samuel
Royer and James Clark; 1833, James Clark and Thomas T. Cromwell;
1835, H. L. McConnell and George Hudson; 1836, James Crawford
and J. Cunningham; 1837, J. Cunningham and John Morrison; 1839,
John Morrison and Joseph Higgins; 1840, Joseph Higgins and John
G. Miles; 1841, Jesse ]\Ioore and Thomas Weston; 1842, Jonathan
]McWilliams and Brice Blair; 1844, Henry Brewster and R. A. Mc-
IMurtrie; 1845, H. L. Patterson and Alexander Gwin; 1846, David
Blair; 1848, A. K. Cornyn; 1850, William B. Smith and Seth R.
McCune; 1852, S. S. \\"harton and James L. Gwin; 1853, James L.
Gwin and James Maguire; 1854, George Leas and George W. Smith;
1855, J. M. Gibbony and J. H. Wintrode; 1857, Daniel Houtz; 1858,
R. B. Wigton; 1859, J. S. Africa; i860, Brice X. Blair; 1861, John
Scott; 1862, A. W. Benedict: 1863, David Etnier; 1864, John N.
Swoope and John Balsbach; 1865, Ephraim Baker and James M.
Brown; 1866, James M. Brown and H. S. Wharton; 1867, H. S.
Wharton and H. H. Wilson: 1868, John S. Aliller and Amos H. Martin;
1869, H. J. McAteer and Abraham Rohrer; 1871, F. H. Lane; 1873,
W. K. Burchinell; 1874, H. H. Mateer and W. P. McNite; 1876,
Percival P. Dewees and Alexander Post; 1878, Benjamin R. Foust and
M. P. Doyle; 1880, Alexander Post and Henry C. Marshall; 1882,
Thomas W. Myton and Thomas H. Adams; 1884, J. P. Giles and I. G.
Boyer; 1886, j. Irvin \Miite and George W. Owens; 1888, Perry M.
Lytic and William H. Stevens: 1890, Perry M. Lytle and J. C. Dunkle;
1892; Perry I\I. Lytle and John S. Bare; 1894, Perry M. Lytle and

66 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA \-ALLEY

Thomas O. Milliken; 1896, Perry M. Lytle and John S. Bare; 189S,
Thomas O. Milhken and John S. Bare; 1900, John C. Taylor and
Thomas W. Montgomery; 1902. John C. Taylor and Thomas M. Mont-
gomery; 1904, J. F. Schock and Lewis M. Haggerty; 1906, \^'arren
B. Simpson; 1908, Warren B. Simpson; 1910, Horace B. Dunn; 1912,
Horace B. Dunn.

Representatives were elected annually until the adoption of the
constitution of 1873, which changed the legislative term from one to
two years. In the list the annual reelections are not noted. Where one
member served more than one term the fact is shown by a gap in the
years, as in the case of John Cannon, who was twice reelected. When
Blair county was cut ofif in 1846, Huntingdon had but one representative
until 1850, when a district was formed of the two counties with two
members of the assembly. From 1857 to 1863 the county was repre-
sented by one member, but in 1864 a district was formed of Huntingdon,
Mifflin and Juniata counties, which was represented by two members.
Again from 1871 to 1873 the county had but one representative and
since 1906 Huntingdon has constituted a representative district by itself,
with one member.

Simryors — This ofifice was established in 1850, the term being
fixed at three years. Following is a list of surveyors since that time,
with the year of election, each one serving until his successor was
elected and qualified: 1850, William Christy; 1853. J. Simpson Africa;
1859, J. F. Ramey; 1862, John A. Pollock; 1865, James E. Glasgow;
1871, Henry Wilson; 1877, William H. Booth; 1880, John S. Lytle;
1886, John B. Ketterman; 1889, John E. Ketterman; 1892, Henry H.
Swoope; 1907, Charles T. Evans (reelected in 1910).

Directors of the Poor — The act of May 6, 1850, provided for a
poor-house in Huntingdon county and named Thomas Fisher, Kenzie
L. Green, Benjamin Leas, John McCulloch, James Gillam, John Porter,
Isaac Taylor, A. P. Wilson, John Watson, Caleb Greenland and S.
Miles Green as commissioners to purchase a site. The people were
authorized to vote at the next regular election on the question of erect-
ing a building and the proposition was carried by a vote of 1,299 to
952. Under the act, three directors were to be elected in 185 1 and
one annually thereafter for a term of three years. Elected in 185 1,
James Clarke, George Hudson and James Saxton; 1852, John Brewster;

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY (>^

1853, Samuel Mattern; 1854, J. A. Shade; 1855, Kenzie L. Green:
1856, Joseph Gibbony; 1857, James Murphy; 1858, David Clarkson;
1859, WilHam Moore; i860, Samuel Peightal; 1861, James Henderson;
1862, Samuel Heckadorn; 1863, John Logan; 1864, Henry Davis
(3 years), Henry A. Mark (i year) ; 1865, John Flenner; 1866, Jack-
son Harman; 1867, Adam Heeter; 1868, John Miller; 1869, James
Smith; 1870, John P. Stewart; 1871, Harris Richardson; 1872, Michael
K3-per; 1873, Gilbert Horning: 1874, Aaron W. Evans; 1875, John
Griffith; 1876, Daniel Conrad; 1877, James Harper (3 years), Richard
Wills (2 years), Michael Stair; 1S78, A. B. Miller; 1879, Jacob Haffly;
1880, James Harper; 1881, Jacob H. Isett: 1882, Jacob Haffly; 1883,
Morris Gutshall : 1884, Jacob H. Isett; 1885, James F. Thompson;
1886, Morris Gutshall: 1887, S. P. Brumbaugh; 1888, Samuel Dickson;
1889, Edmund O. Heck; 1890, W. H. Henderson; 1891, Simeon
Wright and Harrison C. Crownover; 1892, Edmund O. Heck; 1893.
George W. Taylor; 1894, Harrison C. Crownover; 1895, David S-
Snyder; 1896, George W. Taylor; 1897, Robert Mason; 1898, C. K.
Horton; 1899, John Madden; 1900, Robert Mason; 1901, C. K. Horton;
1902, John Madden; 1903, George W. Hetrick; 1904, J. Ouincy Dill;
1905, John C. Bare; 1906, George W. Hetrick; 1907, J. Ouincy Dill;
1908, John C. Bare; 1909, J. H. Myers; 191 1, J. R. Edwards and James
V. Stevens.

Jury Commissioners — 1867, George W. Snontz, N. K. Covert;
1870. S. B. Chaney, John Vandevander; 1873, Johi^ G. Stewart,
Samuel Brooks (Air. Stewart resigned and George W. Johnston was
appointed to the vacancy on January 22, 1874) ; 1876, John X. Lutz,
Nicholas Isenberg; 1879, Richard Wills, Adam Krugh (Mr. Krugh
left the state in 1881 and James Henderson was appointed to fill out the
remainder of the term); 1882, Jonathan Evans, Henry Chamberlain;
1885, Harris Richardson, George W. Cresswell; 1888, George W.
Stewart, Daniel Swartz; 1891, William P. Liveringhouse, A. W. Jones;
1894, William B. Zeigler, F. JNI. Bollinger; 1897, Richard Cutshall,
David F. Smouse; 1900, G. M. Cutshall. Luther Speck; 1903, T. W.
Wood. Samuel D. Bollinger; 1906. John A. Woods, T. A. Miller: 1909,
Anthony \\'. Beaver, W^ S. IMiller.

CHAPTER V
HUNTINGDON COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS, BOROUGHS, ETC.

Early Townships — Present Townships — Brady — Carbon — Cass — Clay — Cromwell — Dub-
lin — Franklin — Henderson — Hopewell — Jackson — Juniata — Lincoln — Lo-
gan — Miller — Morris — Oneida — Penn — Porter — Shirley — Smithfield —
Springfield — Spruce Creek — Tell — Tod — Union — Walker — Warriors Jtlark
— West — Wood — The Eighteen Boroughs — Huntingdon — Alexandria — Birming-
ham — Broad Top City — Cassville — Coalmont — Dudley — IMapleton — Marklesburg —
jNIill Creek — Mount LTnion — Orbisonia — Petersburg — Rock Hill — Saltillo — Shade
Gap — Shirleysburg — Three Springs — List of Postoffices — Rural Free Delivery
Routes.

T\\'EXTY years before Huntingdon county was erected, or in
July, 1767, the Cumberland county court created a township
called Derry, "Beginning at the middle of the Long Narrows;
thence up the north side of the Juniata as far as Jack's Narrows ; thence
to include the valley of Kishacokulus and Jack's creek." These boun-
daries included a part of the present township of Brady, in Huntingdon
county.

In October, 1767, the court erected five new townships — Barree. Bed-
ford, Coleraine, Cumberland and Dublin — which, with the township
of Derry, included all the territory within the present counties of Bed-
ford, Blair and Huntingdon, a large part of Fulton and Alifflin and
a portion of Center. As population increased additional townships
were erected and at the time Huntingdon county was organized in
1787 there were eight townships within its limits, viz.: Barree, Dublin,
Frankstown, Hopewell, Huntingdon, Shirley, Tyrone and Woodbury.
Frankstown and Woodbury were cut off in 1846 as part of Blair county,
and the six original townships lying within the present limits of the
county have been divided and subdivided until the number is now thirty.
In making these divisions and subdivisions the townships of Huntingdon
and Tyrone have entirely disappeared. The present townships are:
Barree, Brady, Carbon, Cass, Clay, Cromwell, Dublin, Franklin, Hen-

COURTHOUSE. HU.NTIXt'.UON.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 69

derson, Hopewell, Jackson, Juniata, Lincoln, Logan, Miller, Morris,
Oneida, Penn. Porter, Shirley, Smithfield, Springfield, Spruce Creek,
Tell, Tod, L'nion, Walker, Warriors Mark, West and Wood.

Barree township, as created in 1767, was "Bounded by Dublin,
Coleraine and Bedford townships, as already mentioned, and along the
Allegheny until a line struck from thence to Jack's Mountain so as
to include the waters of Little Juniata and Shaver's and Standing
Stone creeks." In 1771, when Bedford county was erected, Barree
township included all that part of the present county of Huntingdon
lying northwest of Jack's mountain. Since then the townships of Jack-
son and West and parts of Logan, Oneida and Miller have been taken
from Barree. Before the erection of Logan and Miller townships,
Barree had an average width of four miles, extending from Jackson
and W^est to Oneida, and in length from ten to twelve miles, from the
summit of Standing Stone mountain and the Mifflin county line on
the southeast to the Center county line and the summit of Tussey's
mountain on the northwest. Warrior's ridge crosses it east and south
of the center. On one side of this ridge runs the Standing Stone creek
and on the other Shaver's creek. One of the first land warrants in
the township was issued on what was known as the "Shaver's Creek
Manor.'" The warrant bears date of October 30, 1760.

Brady township was erected in April, 1846, from part of Henderson.
It is bounded on the northeast and southeast by Mifflin county; south
and southwest by Union township ; west by Henderson, and northwest
by Henderson and Barree. Jack's mountain on the east and Standing
Stone mountain in the center are the principal elevations. The town-
ship was named for General Hugh Brady, a distinguished officer in the
United States army, who is said to have been born in the old Standing
Stone fort at Huntingdon. Prior to the Revolutionary war several
members of the Brady family lived in the vicinity of Huntingdon. One
of these was the father of Captain Samuel Brady, the famous scout
and spy. Among the early settlers were Lewis Metz, Christian Yoder,
Caleb Armitage, the Eatons, Loudenslagers, Vandevanders and Priden-
sons. Some of the descendants of these pioneers still reside in the
county. Mill Creek is the principal town in Brady township. On the
stream of that name there was formerly a blast furnace, known as
Mill Creek furnace, and in the southern part of the township, near

•JO HISTORY OF THE JUXL-VTA VALLEY

the end of Standing Stone mountain are deposits of sand which is
crushed by steam power and shipped to Pittsburgh and other glass
manufacturing centers.

Carbon township, in the southern part of the county, hes chiefly
upon the Broad Top mountain and derives its name from the coal
deposits in that section. It was erected on April 2t^. 1858, from part
of Tod, and is bounded on the north by Tod township; east by Wood;
south and southwest by Fulton and Bedford counties, and on the
northwest by Hopewell township. Among the pioneers were Anthony
Cook, Philip Barnet, James Crawford, Henry Houpt, Walter Clark and
Henry Miller. During the Revolution some Tory refugees came into
the township, a few of whom became permanent residents. A large
part of the Broad Top coal field lies within the township and coal
mining is the leading occupation of the inhabitants. The old Barnet
mine was opened in 1856 by Dorris, Burroughs & Company. Some
twenty years later it was closed, but was reopened in 1882. The Pros-
pect mine was opened in 1857 and about 1863 was purchased by Robert
H. Powel, who erected coke ovens there. In 1858 the Clift mine was
opened and the following year witnessed the opening of the Broad Top
collieries. The Mooredale mine, about one mile from Dudley, was
opened abotit i860 by Paul Ammerman, but it was abandoned in 1862
on account of water. It was purchased by Reakert Brothers in 1876
and reopened. The Fisher mine was opened in 1870; the Carbon
colliery in 1872; the Ocean mine in 1879. The Robertsdale collieries,
operated by the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company, are among the leading
mines of Huntingdon county. There are three boroughs in the town-
ship. Broad Top City, Coalmont and Dudley, the last named being the
terminus of a branch of the Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad. Bar-
nett. Cooks, Powelton and Robertsdale are mining towns.

Cass township, erected on January 21, 1843, from part of L'nion,
was named for General Lewis Cass, who at that time Avas a conspicuous
figure in the political arena. It is situated in the Trough creek valley
and is bounded on the north by the townships of Penn and L'nion; on
the east by Shirley and Cromwell; on the south by Clay, and on the
west and southwest by Tod. The first settlers came from ^laryland,
but the date when the first settlement was founded is not known.
Among the pioneers were Peter Thompson, Richard Dowling, Jacob

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 71

Dean, Philip Ciirfman, ]Moses Greenland, and the Smith, Lovell, Greene,
Chilcott and Stever families. The Corbins, Lilleys, McClains, Drennans,
Caldwells, Brownings and a few other families located in the Trough
creek valley soon after the Revolution and James Campbell, John
Shields, William Wright, Henry Freed and a few others settled in
Hare's valley about the same time. Cassville is the only borough in the
township and there are no villages of importance. Agriculture is the
leading industry.

Clay township was erected on April 15, 1845, 'f^'O"'' Springfield,
and was named for Henry Clay, of Kentucky, who was the Whig candi-
date for president in 1844. It is bounded on the northeast by Cass
and Cromwell ; on the southeast by Springfield ; on the south and south-
west by Fulton county, and on the northwest by Wood and Tod town-
ships. Benjamin Long, Henry Hubbell, George, John and William
Hudson, Thomas Green, George Ashman. John Kyler, William and
]\Iiles Bunn, Thomas Hooper, Richard Bradley and some others had
located in what is now Clay township before the close of the eighteenth
century. The boroughs of Saltillo and Three Springs are located in
this township and there are a few villages of minor importance. The
East Broad Top railroad crosses the northern portion, passing through
Saltillo and Three Springs.

Cromwell township was taken from the townships of Shirley and
Springfield and was organized in January, 1836. It was named for
Thomas T. Cromwell, who was one of the early manufacturers of iron
in Huntingdon county, and who served two terms in the lower house of
the state legislature. On the north it is bounded by Shirley township;
on the east by Shade mountain, which separates it from Dublin and
Tell townships ; on the south by Clay and Springfield, and on the west
by Jack's mountain, which marks the line between it and Cass township.
The principal stream is the Aughwick creek, which flows through the
township from south to north. One of the first white men to locate
in the township was George Irvin, who, as early as 1760, had a log store
near where Orbisonia now stands and was engaged in trading with
the Indians. The Cluggage family came soon after Irvin and Captain
Robert Cluggage served with distinction in the Continental army in the
Revolutionary war. The first iron furnace west of the Susquehanna
river was built here by Colonel Cromwell and George Ashman in 1785.

72 HISTORY OF THE JUXL\TA VALLEY

The Rockhill furnace began operations in 1831. Two boroughs —
Orbisonia and Rockhill — are located in the township, both on the line
of the East Broad Top railway, and there are several small villages.
Cromwell township is not without its stor_v of hidden treasure. For
many 3'ears the rumor has been current that Captain Jack, the eccentric
character mentioned in another chapter, was once closely pursued by
Indians at a time when he bore a heavy bag of gold and silver. This
bag encumbered his flight and he secreted it on the side of the Black
Log mountain, not far from the narrows. Despite repeated efforts,
the treasure has never been found.

Dublin township, one of the original six townships within the present
limits of the county, was erected in October, 1767. The Cumberland
county court records for that session describe it as "Bounded by Air
and Fannet townships on the one side, and Coleraine and Barre town-
ships on the top of Sideling Hill on the other side." Its original area
has been much reduced by the erection of Tell and Springfield town-
ships, both of which were taken from Dublin. It is situated in the
extreme southeastern corner of the county and is bounded on the north
by Tell township : on the east by the Tuscarora mountain, which separ-
ates it from Franklin county ; on the south by Fulton county, and on
the west by Springfield and Cromwell townships, from which it is
separated by Shade mountain. The Indian trail, over which early
traders and explorers traveled, passed through this township. Among
the early adventurers to follow this route were Conrad Weiser and
George Croghan in 1748 and John Harris in 1754. A few land war-
rants, dated prior to the Revolution, indicate that white men had
found a lodgment there, but little is known of the settlers of that
period. About 1765 Alexander Blair and his wife Rachel came from
Chester county and bought a part of the tract of land warranted to
George Croghan near Shade Gap. Their son, John Blair, subsequently
became a prominent citizen of the township, holding the office of justice
of the peace for many years. David Cree brought his family from
Philadelphia about 1773. John Walker and James McCardle located
near the foot of the Tuscarora mountain about the same time. During
the decade following 1780 the number of settlers increased rapidly.
In 1782 George Hudson located about where the borough of Shade
Gap is now, built a cabin and began purchasing some squatter claims for

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 73

which no warrants had been issued. He was soon followed by William
Swan, Hugh Robinson, Alexander McIIroy, George Wagner, Andrew
Sands, James, Jonathan and Robert Cree, James Hooper, James Morton,
William Fleming, Robert and \\'illiam Marshall and some others.
Joshua Morgan, of the Black Log valley is said to have been the first
man to drive a team through Shade Gap.

Franklin township was erected in March, 1789, from the old town-,
ship of Tyrone, and was the first new township to be established after
the organization of Huntingdon county. It extends from the Center
county line on the northeast to the Little Juniata river on the south-
west, and from Warriors Mark township on the northwest to the
summit of Tussey's mountain on the southeast. Among the early
settlers were Alexander Ewing, Zephaniah Weakland, George Mattern,
Jacob Miner, Abraham Sells, Richard Ricketts, James Hunter, James
Armitage and the Hendersons. The township has rich deposits of iron
ore, which were first worked about 1795 or 1796, when the Huntingdon
furnace was built in the midst of the ore beds and the Pennsylvania
furnace in the northern part of the township, near the Center county
line. Spruce creek rises in this township and flows almost the entire
length of it, emptying into the Little Juniata. The water power of this
stream was utilized as early as 1785 to run what was long known as the
old Bebault mill, llany years later W. D. & J. D. Isett established
the Stockdale Woolen Mills at the uKiuth of the stream and about a
mile farther up J. O. Adams started an ax factory. Franklinville and
Graysville are the principal villages.

Henderson township, established in November, 18 14, was formed
from part of old Huntingdon township, which was one of the six in
existence when the county was erected. It was named for General
Andrew Henderson, a Revolutionary soldier, the first register and
recorder and the second prothonotary of the county. The original area
of Henderson township has been greatly reduced by the erection of
Brady, in 1846, and of Oneida in 1856. It is bounded on the northwest
by Oneida township: on the northeast i)y Barree; on the east by
Brady; extends southwest to the Juniata river, and adjoins the borough
of Huntingdon. Among the early settlers was John Fee, who served
in Captain Blair's company that was organized during the Revolution to
drive out the Tories. Other early settlers were \\'illiam Porter, John

74 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Brown. Matthew Campbell and the Hight family. Gorsuch and L^nion
Church, near the center of the township, and Ardenheim, a small station
on the Pennsylvania railroad, two miles east of Huntingdon, are the
only villages of consequence.

Hopewell township was erected in July, 1773, when the Bedford
county court ordered that "that part of Barre township including all
the waters that empty into the Raystown Branch of Juniata below the
mouth of Yellow Creek and up said creek to Tussey's Mountain is
hereby erected into a township by the name of Hopewell township."
It was therefore one of the six original townships when the county was
erected in 1787. Union township was taken from it in 1791 ; Penn in
1846. and Lincoln in 1866. These curtailments have left it one of the
smallest townships in the county. It is located in the southwest corner
and is bounded on the north by Lincoln township : southeast by Tod
and Carbon, from which it is separated by Terrace mountain ; southwest
by Bedford county, and northwest by the county of Blair. The Hunt-
ingdon & Broad Top railroad traverses it from northeast to southwest
and the Raystown branch of the Juniata follows the same general direc-
tion. The earliest settlers, of whom there is any record, were Jeremiah
and William Smart, ]\Iicliael Diamond, George Elder and his sons,
Michael and Felix Skelly, Jacob Weaver and George Russell, who en-
tered lands along the Raystown branch.

Jackson township, taken from Barree on January 15, 1845, occupies
the northeast corner of the county. It is bounded on the north by
Center county : on the east and southeast by Mifflin county ; on the
west and southwest by the township of Barree. It was named for
Joseph Jackson, one of the first settlers in that part of the county,
several members of the Jackson family settling there about the same
time. Another noted pioneer was William McAlevy, who won renown
as a soldier and officer in the Revolutionary war and later achieved a
rather unenviable notoriety by leading the rebellion against the United
States constitution. He was of Scotch-Irish stock, brave, resolute and
faithful to his friends. He married a sister of John Harris, the founder
of Harrisburg. In 1770 he came to what is now Jackson township,
selected a location, made a canoe and paddled down the Standing Stone
•creek and the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers to Harrisburg for his
family and such of his household effects as he could carry in his light

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 75

craft. He acquired a large tract of land around McAlevy's Fort, a
place which still bears his name. Joseph Oburn, who served in Mc-
Alevy's company during the Revolution, was another early settler.
Others who located there either before or during the Revolutionary
war were the Cummins family and John Oaks. Agriculture was the
chief occupation of the old settlers, their farms being located in the
valleys of the two branches of Standing Stone creek. The manufacture
of iron was begun in 1S33, when Patton & Norris built the Greenwood
furnace, which subsequently passed to the Logan Iron and Steel Com-
pany. The jMitchells erected a small furnace about a mile north of
McAlevy's Fort in 1841, but it proved to be an unprofitable venture and
was abandoned. About 1870 a charter was granted for the construc-
tion of the Stone Creek & McAlevy's Fort railroad, but the panic of
1873 came on before anything had been done and the road was never
built.

Juniata township, erected on November 19, 1856. was originally a
part of Huntingdon township, though at the time of its erection its
territory was taken from the township of Walker. It is bounded on
the northeast by Henderson township ; on the southeast by Terrace
mountain, which separates it from Union : southwest by Penn. and on
the northwest by ^^'alker. the summit of Piney ridge forming the
northwestern boundary. One of the early settlers in this township was
the father of Captain Samuel Brady, the noted scout and Indian fighter,
who located at the mouth of Vineyard creek. William Corbin, Caleb
and Amos Folk, William Enyeart and William Dean were likewise
early settlers. The township, at the time it was settled, was covered
with a heavy growth of valuable timber, but this has nearly all dis-
appeared. Large quantities of lumber, tan-bark and railroad ties have
been taken from the township and farming is now the leading occu-
pation.

Lincoln township, named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the mar-
tyred president of the United States, is situated in the southwestern
part of the county and was taken from Hopewell on August 18, 1866.
It is bounded on the northwest by Blair county; on the northeast by
Penn township ; on the southeast by Tod, and on the south by Hopewell.
The Raystown branch of the Juniata flows northward through the
township, its principal tributary being Coffee run. The earliest settlers

76 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

in that part of Hopewell township now comprising Lincoln were John
Plummer. Henry Schultz, John Keith, James Entriken and a man named
Summers. Tanneries were established at an early date on Coffee run,
on the Bedford road, and about a mile north of the present town of
Marklesburg, which is the only borough in the township.

Logan township was taken from West in April, 1878. As early as
1755 Barnabas Barnes secured a land warrant for a tract on the north
side of the Juniata river at a place called Two Springs. In 1768 he sold
that land to Rev. William Smith, the founder of Huntingdon. There is
nothing to show that Barnes ever occupied the tract and the probabilities
are he entered it purely for speculative purposes. Among the early
settlers in this part of West township were Samuel Anderson, Jacob
Neff, John Reed, Jacob Hiltzheimer, Charles Elliott, Hugh :\Iears, Peter
Shoenberger, Bartholomew ]\Iaguire and the Wilsons. The first settle-
ments were made along the Little Juniata or in the lower part of the
Shaver's creek valley. When West township was divided to form
Logan, the borough of Petersburg was thrown in the new township and
it is the most important shipping and commercial point.

Miller township was formed in May, 1881, from part of Barree. As
earlv as 1857 a movement was started for the formation of a new
township south of Warrior's ridge. On November i, 1859, the question
was submitted to the voters living in the territory south of the ridge,
but a majoritv expressed themselves as opposed to the erection of a
new township. The agitation was kept up, however, until a majority
was converted and the township was organized in 188 1. The pioneer
history of this section of the county is rather meager. Matthew Miller,
for whom the township was named, was one of the first settlers. Gil-
bert Chaney settled on \\'arrior's ridge at an early date. John Coy
and the Cunningham family were also among the pioneers.

Morris township, one of the smallest in the county, was taken from
Tvrone in August, 1794, and with its erection the township of Tyrone
ceased to exist. It is bounded on the north by Franklin township, from
which it is separated by the Little Juniata river ; on the east by Tussey's
mountain, which separates it from Porter: the other boundaries are
formed by the Frankstown branch of the Juniata, Fox run and Canoe
mountain, which separate the township from Blair county. The greater
part of the township is the elevated plateau known as Canoe valley. The

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY yj

soil is fertile and agriculture is the principal industry. Edward Beatty
and his eight sons, John Tussey, for whom Tussey's mountain was
named, Michael Wallace, John Bell, Ciiristian Harnish, John Martin,
William Davis and John Fergus were the first settlers. In 1796, two
years after the township was organized, there were fifty-nine land
owners on the tax lists. About 1793 a furnace was built by Jacob Isett
where the village of Union Furnace now stands, but the dam was
washed away soon after and nothing further was done until 1810, when
it was rebuilt by Dorsey & Evans. It was a charcoal furnace, with a
capacity of thirty-five tons weekly, and continued in operation until
1852.

Oneida township was erected on August 20, 1856, from Henderson
and West. It is a small township adjoining the borough of Huntingdon,
the Juniata river forming its western border. It was named for the
Oneida Indians. The Standing Stone creek flows through it from one
end to the other, a distance of about ten miles, between the Standing
Stone mountain and Warrior's ridge. There are some fine farms in the
valley, whose products find a ready market at Huntingdon. Nathan
Gorsuch, William Carter, John Stewart, Joshua Kelley, William
Wheeler, Jacob \A'hite, Elisha Green and Nicholas Decker were the first
settlers. While the Pennsylvania canal was under construction a great
deal of timber was supplied from what is now Oneida township. The
first packet-boat — the Lady of the Lake — that ever plied the waters of
the canal was built at William Foster's saw mill. After the supply of
timber was exhausted the people turned their attention to the cultiva-
tion of the soil, and agriculture is now the leading occupation of the
inhabitants.

Penn township was created on November 21, 1846, when the old
township of Hopewell was divided into two nearly equal parts and the
northern part named Penn, in honor of the founder of Pennsylvania.
It is bounded on the north by Walker and Juniata townships ; on the
east by Union, Cass and Tod ; on the south by Lincoln, and on the west
by Blair county. It extends from Terrace mountain on the east to Tus-
sey's mountain on the west, about eight miles, and it is about si.x miles
in e.xtent from north to south. The surface is broken by numerous
ridges, the most important of which are the Mulberry, Warrior's, Piney,
and Allegrippus. Along these ridges are found rich deposits of iron

78 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA \'ALLEY

ores and thousands of tons of ore have been shipped to Johnstown, Dan-
ville and other iron manufacturing centers. Some lead ore has been
found in Warrior's ridge, but not in sufficient quantities to make min-
ing profitable. In the Woodcock valley, which lies between \\'arrior's
ridge and Tussey's mountain, the valley of the Raystown branch, which
runs along the base of Terrace mountain, and in most of the smaller
valleys the soil is fertile and farming is here carried on successfully.
A list of the early settlers would include the names of Hartsock, Bishop,
Kough, Hart, Owens, Graffius, Fleck, ]\lc]ilath, Keith, and Brecken-
ridge. Michael Garner came from Maryland in 1789 and about five
years later purchased a part of the tract known as "Penn's Manor,"
in the Woodcock valley. Some of his descendants still live in the town-
ship. Thomas Wilson, Jacob Brumbaugh. Ludwig Hoover, Jacob
Grove, John and Peter Beightell. Adam Auman, John, Adam, Henry
and Jacob Boyer and some others had located within the limits of the
township before the year 1800. Marklesburg is the only borough and
there are but few villages.

Porter township was erected in November, 1814. when the old
township of Huntingdon was divided into two new ones — Porter and
Henderson. It was named for General Andrew Porter, an officer in
the American army during the Revolutionary war and afterward sur-
veyor-general. The original area of this township has been much re-
duced by the formation of Walker township in 1827 and Smithfield
in 1886. A portion of it was also taken to form the township of Spruce
Creek in 1895. The old Indian path passed through this section of
the county and Porter township was one of the first to be settled, the
first land warrants being dated in 1755. the year following the pur-
chase of the land from the Indians. The first settlements were made
in the vicinity of Alexandria.

Shirley township, one of the original six, is located in the south-
eastern part and is one of the largest in the county, extending from the
Juniata river to the Cromwell township line, and from Shade mountain
on the southeast to Jack's mountain on the northwest. Between those
two ranges are the Black Log mountain. Blue. Sandy, Owens', Chestnut
and Stony ridges, so that the general surface is alternatively hill and
valley. Iron ore is mined in the hills and farming is carried on in the
valleys. The township derives its name from old Fort Shirley, which

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 79

was erected at the time of the French and Indian war. Among the
early settlers were the Galbraiths, who located in the Germany valley;
the Warners, who settled where the borough of Shirleysburg now
stands ; the Matthews family, who settled farther south, and the Davis,
Morgan, Cluggage, and Sharrer families. Two powder mills were
operated a century or more ago by the Sharrers — one near Shirleys-
burg and the other on Sugar run. Samuel Drake, an Englishman, said
to be a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, established a ferry across the
Juniata a short distance above Mount L^nion, on the pathway from
eastern points to the Ohio river, and Drake's Ferry was an important
land-mark for many years. The East Broad Top railroad connects
with the Pennsylvania railroad at Mount L'nion and runs south through
Shirleysburg, giving the township and outlj-ing region ample transporta-
tion facilities.

Smithfield is one of the newer townships of the county, having
been organized in March, 18S6, from Porter, Walker, and Juniata. It
lies directly across the Juniata river from Huntingdon borough, the
village of Smithfield forming practically a suburb of the county seat.
The Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad runs southwest through the
township.

Springfield township, located in the southern part of the countv, was
organized in December, 1790, from the townships of Dublin and Shir-
ley. Its original area has been much reduced by the erection of Crom-
well in 1836 and Clay in 1845. It is bounded on the north by Cromwell;
on the east by Dublin ; on the south by Fulton county, and on the west
by the township of Clay. John Bailey, a Revolutionary soldier, settled
on the banks of the Aughwick creek soon after that war. He was
soon joined by \^'illiam Jones, John Robertson and ^^"illiam Ward.
Then came a tide of immigration from Maryland, the Browns, Mad-
dens, Ramseys, Lanes, Cutshalls, Wibles, and several other families
locating in what is now Springfield township. Thomas Stains settled
where the village of Meadow Gap is now, and the village of Maddens-
ville bears the name of one of these pioneer families.

Spruce Creek township, the 3'oungest, but one in the county, was
erected in September, 1895, from the townships of Morris, Franklin
and Porter. It takes its name from the stream which empties into
the Juniata river opposite the village of Spruce Creek. The early

8o HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

histor)^ of this township is inckided in the sketches of those from which
it was taken.

Tell, one of the southeastern border townships, was erected in April,
1810, its territory being taken from Dublin township. It lies between
the Tuscarora and Shade mountains and its surface is divided into
several small valleys by parallel ridges running from northeast to south-
west. Although a populous township there are no boroughs within its
limits and only a few small villages. The first land warrant was issued
to Barnabas Barnes on February 3, 1775. Among the early settlers
were Samuel ]\IcMath, Robert Vaughan, James Stonkard, Thomas
Morrow and Jacob Goshorn, all of whom were located in the Shade
valley by 1780. Between that time and the year 1800 came the Sharps,
Wilsons, Chilcotts and the Cisney, Waters and Parsons families some
of whose descendants still live in the township. Tell township is an
agricultural community without a railroad, the nearest stations being
Orbisonia and Shirleysburg on the line of the East Broad Top railway.

Tod township was formed from L'nion in April, 1838. It is located
in the Trough creek valley and is bounded as follows : On the north-
east by Penn and Cass townships ; on the southeast by Cass and Clay ;
on the southwest by Wood and Carbon, and on the northwest by Hope-
well and Lincoln. Nearly all the pioneers came from Maryland. About
1760 John Plummer settled in the Trough creek valley. On September
20, 1762, Colonel Henry Bouquet received four warrants for lands in
that locality and in August, 1767, four tracts, aggregating nearly 1,500
acres, were surveyed for him by Richard Tea near the base of Broad
Top mountain. John Edwards came in 1785. Jacob Houck in 1786,
Michael and William Houck in 1787, John Taylor and others in 1795.
Walter Hudson built a log mill on Trough creek some time between
1790 and 1800, the first in the township. Paradise furnace and Eagle
foundry were both located in this township, but they ceased operations
long since.

Union township was taken from Hopewell in June, 1791. Before
the erection of Cass and Tod townships it included nearly all of the
Trough creek valley, extending from the Juniata river on the north to
the Broad Top mountain on the south, and from Jack's mountain on
the east to Terrace mountain on the west. Settlements were made
some years before the township was organized. John Shoop (or

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 8i

Shoiip), John Loughrey, Henry Freed, Jacob Miller and Henry Dell
located in Hare's valley; Hughey Johnson, Levi and Eliel Smith, Asa
Corbin and some others settled in Smith's valley; Richard Chilcott,
John Wright, William Estep, James Estep, the Deans and Biimgart-
ners established themselves in the Trough creek valley. The borough
of Mapleton is located in this township and there are a few small vil-
lages within its limits.

Walker township was erected in April, 1827, from part of Porter.
At the time of its organization it extended from Piney ridge on the
southeast to the Blair county line on Tussey's mountain, and from
Porter township on the north to Penn township on the south and south-
west. Its boundaries were changed and its area reduced by the forma-
tion of Smithfield township in 1886. One of the first settlers was
Henry Lloyd, who came from Virginia. Alexander INIcConnell, the
founder of McConnellstown, Joshua Lewis, William Moore, Samuel
and Henry Peightal and the Entrikcn family were also early settlers.
The township was named for Jonathan \\'alker, who was at one time
the president judge of the judicial district in which Huntingdon county
was situated. There are considerable deposits of iron ore, some of
which have been developed, the ores being shipped to Johnstown and
Danville.

Warriors Mark, the most northwestern township of the countv,
was erected from Franklin in January, 1798. Originally it included
a portion of Snyder and Tyrone townships, now in Blair county, and
a part of the present county of Center. It is bounded on the north-
west and southwest by Blair county ; on the northeast by Center county ;
and on the southeast by Franklin township. It derived its name from
a settlement in the central part, established at an earlier date. There is
a tradition, not very well defined, that the Indians had marks of some
kind upon the trees near the settlement, indicating a meeting place or
place of holding councils. Michael Maguire, who settled there in 1773,
said some years later that the marks were stones placed in the forks
of four oak trees and that these stones were almost covered by the
growth of the trees. John Baynton, Samuel Wharton and probably
some others, who came in 1766, were proliably the first settlers. Nathan
and Thomas Ricketts came in 1777, and when th*^ township was or-
ganized in 1798 there were over one hundred land owners. A school

82 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

house was erected in this township as early as 1790. It was of logs,
but later was replaced by a stone building, of which James Thompson,
an old settler, said "That school house cost a drink of whisky for
every stone in it." The Little Juniata and the Pennsylvania railroad
run along the southwestern border and the Lewisburg & Tyrone rail-
road from the northeast to the southwest through the township. Bir-
mingham is the only borough and W^arriors Mark is the largest town.
\\^est township. located chiefly in the ShaA-er's creek valley, was
established in April, 1796, its territory being taken from the old town-
ship of Barree. Part of Oneida was taken from West in 1856 and it
was further reduced in size by the erection of Logan township in 1878.
James Childs settled in the township in 1762; William \\'ilson came
the next year, and James and John Dickey in 1764. The first saw
and grist mill was built by Alexander McCormick on Gardner's run,
but the date when it was built is not known. John Ambrose erected a •
mill on Lightner's run soon afterward. In 1798, two years after the
township was organized, there were upon the tax lists the names of
more than one hundred land owners. Shaver's creek runs through
one of the most fertile valleys in the county and farming is the chief
occupation of the people of West township. Samuel Anderson, who
settled in that part of the township afterward cut ofif to form Logan,
built a fort on the west side of Shaver's creek about 1778. Concern-
ing this fort, J. Simpson Africa, late of Huntingdon, relates the fol-
lowing incident :

"The inhabitants of the fort, after defending themselves for a long
time against the attacks of the savages, finding their supplies becoming
exhausted, fled to Standing Stone fort. In their flight two of the men,
named Maguire, were killed by the Indians, and their sister, afterwards
Mrs. Dowling, who was driving the cows, was chased by them. Spring-
ing from ambush, the sudden surprise frightened the cows and they
started to run. The foremost Indian caught her dress and imagined he
had made sure of a victim, but she simultaneously grasped the tail of
one of the cows, held on, her dress tore, and she escaped. She reached
Fort Standing Stone, half dead with fright, still holding on to the tail
of the cow."

Wood township, the youngest in the county, was taken from Car-
bon. The first petition for the erection of a new township in this por-

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 83

tion of the county was filed with the court on September 2, 1901, C.
E. Benson and Elbra Chilcott were appointed viewers and made their
report on December 16, 1901, whereupon the court ordered an election
for February 18, 1902, at which time the people were to vote upon the
question of dividing Carbon township. The result at that election was
tie vote and on January 5, 1905, the court ordered another election for
February 21st following, when a majority of the electors expressed
themselves in favor of a new township. On March 6, 1905, the court
ordered the division of Carbon township, from the eastern half of which
should be erected the township of Wood, the line running a short dis-
tance east of Broad Top City.

Li Huntingdon county there are eighteen boroughs, viz. : Alex-
andria, Birmingham, Broad Top City, Cassville, Coalmont, Dudley,
Huntingdon, jNIapleton, ]Marklesburg, JNIill Creek, Mount Union, Or-
bisonia, Petersburg, Rock Hill, Saltillo, Shade Gap, Shirleysburg and
Three Springs.

Of these boroughs Huntingdon is the oldest and, being the county
seat, stands first in importance. The first white claimant to the land
where Huntingdon now stands was Hugh Crawford, who was an en-
sign in Captain Hamilton's company at the time of the French and
Indian war. He claimed to have made an improvement here about
1753, but just how he acquired title to the land is not clear. By a
deed executed at Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) on June i, 1760, he conveyed
to George Croghan, for a consideration of £100, "a certain tract of
land of four hundred acres on the north side of the Frankstown
Branch of Juniata, known by the name of Standing Stone, including
my improvements thereon, from the mouth of Standing Stone Creek
to the crossing up the creek, and to the upperward part of a small
island," etc. On December 10, 1764, Croghan perfected and strength-
ened his title by obtaining from the proprietaries a warrant for the
land, and on March 25, 1766, he conve}-ed the same to "William Smith,
D.D., Provost of the College of Philadelphia," for the sum of £300.
The following year Dr. Smith laid out a town on the Crawford or
Croghan tract, which town later was named Huntingdon. Just when
that name was first applied to the town is not certain. The oldest
deed to be found is one dated September 7, 1768, in which Dr. Smith
conveys to .Samuel Anderson lot No. 12, situated on Allegheny street,

84 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

between Third and Fourth. This deed recites that "\\'ilham Smith hath

laid out a certain Town called . at Standing Stone,

on Juniata, in the county of Cumberland, and divided the same into
streets and lots, regularly named and numbered," etc. As a blank ap-
pears in the deed where the name of the town should be, it is reason-
able to suppose that no name had at that time been selected.

Rev. William Smith, the founder of Huntingdon, was an Episco-
pal minister and a man of considerable learning and ability. He was
elected provost of the University of Pennsylvania in 1755 and some
time later made a journey to England to solicit funds for that insti-
tution. Among those who responded to his appeals was the Countess
of Huntingdon, who gave him a liberal donation for the university and
the town was named in her honor. At the beginning of the Revolution
Huntingdon was a straggling village of but four or five houses. The
only known inhabitants at that time were Benjamin Elliott, Abraham
Haynes, Ludwig Sell, one of the Cluggages and their families. The
town was then, and for some years afterward, more frequently called
Standing Stone than Huntingdon and when the latter was used the
other name was often added as a matter of explanation.

Two brothers, James and David Mc^Murtrie, came from Philadelphia
about 1776 or 1777, having been sent there by their father, "a prudent
Scotchman," to keep them from joining the "rebel army." They re-
mained there and became useful citizens, David having been the first
county treasurer. After the Revolutionary war the town grew more
rapidly and on ]March 29, 1796, it was incorporated as a borough by
act of the legislature, with the following boundaries : "Beginning at
a large stone corner placed on the bank of the river Juniata, at or
near the entrance of a fording place, and at the distance of two hundred
feet, on a course south sixty-six degrees east, from the east side of St.
Clair (now Second) street; thence north twenty-four degrees east,
one hundred and nine perches to a stone; thence south twenty-four
degrees west, including Charles (now Seventh) street, one hundred
and ten perches, or thereabouts, to the river Juniata ; thence down the
same on the northerly bank or side, to the place of beginning; being
the boundary of the said town of Huntingdon on record in the office
for recording of deeds in and for the said county of Huntingdon."
Upon the incorporation of the borough Benjamin Elliott was

REV. WILLIAM SMITH. D.D.,

FIRST PROVOST OF UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
FOUNDER OF TOWN OF HUNTINGDON.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 85

elected chief burgess and held the office for three years. By the act
of March 2-j, 1855, the borough limits were extended to include what
is known as West Huntingdon and some territory on the east side along
both sides of the Standing Stone creek. A second extension of the
borough limits was made on August 14, 1874, while Richard Langdon
was chief burgess, when an ordinance was passed by the burgesses
and town council annexing a part of Oneida township lying on the
north and northwest of the town. On March 3, 1871, more than two
years before the above territory was annexed, an ordinance was passed
changing the names of the streets. St. Clair, Smith, Montgomery, Bath,
Franklin, Charles, Fulton, Chestnut, \Valnut, Spruce, Pine, Locust,
Cypress, Anderson, Grant, Scott, Lincoln and Jackson being numbered
from Second to Nineteenth, respectively. Standing Stone Ridge road
was made First street. The same ordinance provided that each square
should be divided into spaces of twenty-five feet, each space to con-
stitute a street number. In 1873 the city was divided into four wards.

In laying out the town two lots on the south side of Allegheny
street — one on the east and the other on the west side of Smith (Third)
street — were set apart by the proprietor for a market place. When it
became apparent that Huntingdon was to be the county seat. Third
street was regarded as the most available site for the public buildings
and a site for a market house was secured at the intersection of Penn
and Fifth streets by widening the former to eighty feet, forming what
has since become known as the "Diamond." This was done in August,
1787, and soon after a market house was erected there. Markets were
held on AVednesdays and Saturdays of each week for many j^ears, but
the market laws were frec|uently infringed and on September 2, 1S47,
the burgess and council adopted a resolution ordering the market house
to be torn down.

The first provision for protection against fires was made on January
10, 1 801, when the borough authorities ordered the purchase of fire
ladders and hooks, which were to be kept in the market house. In
1804 the old hand engine "Juniata" was built by Philip i\Iason of Phil-
adelphia and arrived in Huntingdon early the following year. It was
placed in charge of the "Active" fire company until June, 1852, when
it was succeeded by the "Juniata" fire company. It was in turn suc-
ceeded by the Juniata Fire Company No. 2 in September, 1873. The

86 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

"Phoenix" engine was purchased in 1840 and committed to the Phoenix
Fire Company, which was organized at that time. It was removed to
the Fourth ward in 1874 and was soon after supplanted by a steam
fire engine. The Independent Hook and Ladder Company was or-
ganized in October, 1873. Huntingdon Fire Company No. i was or-
ganized in December, 1872, and was incorporated on January 14, 1874.
For several years it had charge of the first steam fire engine — a Silsby —
which was exchanged for a La France engine in November, 1880, and
the Silsby machine went to the Phcenix Fire Company. The engine
and council house on Washington street was built about this time.
It has accommodations on the ground floor for the hook and ladder
truck, the Juniata hand engine and steamer No. i. On the second
floor are rooms for the meeting of the borough council and quarters
for the fire companies occupying the building.

The Huntingdon Gas Company was incorporated on ^larch 14,
1857. and on August 29th, following, began supplying illuminating gas
to the citizens. A charter was received by the Huntingdon Electric
Light Company on March 19, 1886, and in 1902 the gas and electric
light companies were consolidated under the name of the Huntingdon
Gas Company.

In 1885 the Huntingdon Water Company (Limited) was organized
and by the close of the year 1886 had its works in oi^eratiou, taking
water for the street hydrants and the use of citizens from Standing
Stone creek opposite the east end of Washington street. The works
have been improved from time to time until the borough has a bounti-
ful supply of pure water, suitable for all domestic purposes.

The Juniata Valley Electric Street Railway Company was incor-
porated on August 8, 1906, and soon afterward completed its line
from the Pennsylvania railroad station over Fourth, Washington,
Eleventh and Moore streets to the Juniata College. Cars commenced
running regularly over this line on June 3, 1907. Plans are now
(1913) under contemplation for the consolidation of this company
with the Big Valley Electric Railway Company, by which the lines
will be extended to Mount Union and into the Kishacoquillas valley.
When the plans are carried out and the lines completed Huntingdon
will become an important trolley center.

On August I, 1880, was established the Central Pennsylvania Tele-

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 87

phone and Supply Company, a part of the Bell system, with its prin-
cipal office at Williamsport. The Huntingdon exchange was opened
on April i, 188 1, with D. S. Drake as manager. This exchange now
has about 700 local telephones connected with it and furnishes long
distance communication to all parts of the state.

Huntingdon has three national banks, one private bank, one trust
company, one daily, one semi-weekly and three weekly newspapers,
a number of well appointed mercantile establishments, good hotels
and several important manufacturing enterprises. Excellent educa-
tional facilities are afforded by the high school, three ward schools
and the Juniata College.

In 1792, four years before the borough was incorporated, the
population of Huntingdon was eighty-five families. Since then the
growth has been gradual and steady, the population in the various
census years since 1810 being as follows: 1810, 676; 1820, 848; 1830,
1,222; 1840, 1,145: 1S50, 1,470; i860. 1,890; 1870, 3,034; 1880,
4,125; 1890, 5.729; 1900, 6,053; 1910, 6,861.

The borough of Alexandria is situated on the north side of the
Frankstown branch of the Juniata river and the Hollidaysburg division
of the Pennsylvania railroad, eleven miles by rail west of Huntingdon.
It is on the line of the old Indian path and the first land warrant was
issued for a tract where the borough now stands in 1755. The town
was laid out by Elizabeth Gemmill in August, 1793. Lewis Mytinger
opened the first store and was the first postmaster. William Moore
and John Walker were the first tavern keepers, and Dr. John A.
Buchanan was the first physician. Alexandria became the western
terminus of a stage line to Harrisburg in 1808, and after the comple-
tion of the Pennsylvania canal it became an important shipping point.
It was incorporated by act of the legislature on April 11, 1827, and
in July, 1847, Trimble's addition was made to the original plat of one
hundred lots. The town has a good public school building, a public
library, handsome church edifices of different denominations and in
1 9 10 reported a population of 432, an increase of 26 over the census
of 1900.

Birmingham, situated on the Little Juniata river and the main line
of the Pennsylvania railroad, seven miles west of Huntingdon, was
laid out in December, 1797, by John Cadwallader, "for a manufac-

88 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

turing town at the head of navigation." The proprietor was generous
in his ideas of building up a town, donating lots for educational and
religious purposes, a "library hall," etc. On the plat, near the bank of
the Juniata, was marked "the Public Landing," which was also desig-
nated as the "head of navigati(?n. " In order to stimulate the sale of
lots Mr. Cadwallader sold tickets at fifteen dollars, to draw a lot of
two acres suitable for manufacturing purposes, or ten dollars for a
regular town lot. These sums represented one-half the price of the
lots, the other half to be paid after the drawing and the execution of
the deed. The first store was started in Birmingham in iSii by Dr.
Burt, who was also the first physician. Thomas Stewart was the first
postmaster. Birmingham was incorporated as a borough by act of
the legislature on April 14, 1828, and the first election was ordered
to be held at the house of Mary Jordan. The records of that election
have been lost, so that the names of the first borough oflicers cannot
be ascertained. The earliest records available are for 183 1, when John
Owens was the chief burgess. Birmingham lias never come up to the
anticipations of its founder and in 1910 had a population of only 196.
On July 4, 1878, a soldiers' monument was unveiled in the old Metho-
dist cemeterv. It is about twelve feet in height, with a medallion profile
of Abraham Lincoln, the inscription "With malice toward none, with
charity for all." It is surmounted by an "Angel of Mercy" and cost
about $800.

Broad Top City, a borough in the southern part of the county, was
laid out bv the Broad Top Improvement Company in 1854. while the
Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad was under construction, and it was
incorporated on August 19, 1868, with Paul Ammerman as the first
chief burgess. The failure of the railroad company to extend the
line to Broad Top City prevented its attaining the proportions its pro-
jectors expected, though it is a mining town of some importance and
in 1910 reported a population of 478.

Cassville, located in the Trough creek valley, south of the center
of the county, was laid out by Benjamin and Rolieson Chilcott aliout
1796 and was first known as Salisbury or Chilcoatstown. Three build-
ings stood upon the site when the town was laid out. AA'illiam Lovell
was the first tavern keeper and Robert Speer the first merchant. Mr.
Speer was one of the most energetic of the pioneers and carried one

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 89

of the largest stocks of general merchandise in the county at that
period. In September, 1830, Dr. Roljert Baird and Andrew Shaw laid
out an addition and the lots sold readily at from forty to fifty dollars
each. A tannery was started in that year by Lemuel Green, and two
potteries — one operated by Jacob Greenland and the other by E. B.
Hissong — were started a few years later. In 1849 a public meeting was
called to consider the advisability of applying to the proper authorities
for the incorporation of the place as a borough. Some objected to
the name of Salisbury and a committee of three was appointed to select
a new name. A majority of the committee decided upon Cassville, and
it was incorporated by that name on JNIarch 3. 1853, by an act of the
legislature. The records prior to 1857 have been lost. In that year
John S. Gehrett was the chief burgess. A seminary was established
at Cassville in the fall of 1851. After several }-ears of varying success,
the building was purchased by Professor A. L. Guss, who conducted
a school for soldiers' orphans for about eight years. The population
of Cassville in 1910 was 165, showing a slight decrease during the
preceding decade.

Coalmont, as its name indicates, grew up in connection with the
development of the Broad Top coal fields. It is situated about two
miles from the Bedford county line, on the Huntingdon & Broad Top
railroad, and occupies a site formerly used for holding camp meetings.
The first house in the town was built by David E. Brode in 1843.
On August 10, 1864, a petition signed by twenty-seven citizens w^as
filed with the court praying for the incorporation as a borough. The
petition was granted and on November 11, 1864, Coalmont was in-
corporated, with J. S. Berkstresser as the first chief burgess. The
population in 1910 was 228. Coalmont is a trading center for a con-
siderable district.

Dudley began as a mining village in 1859 and was named after a
place in England. A Catholic church had lieen established here in
1857 and the settlement grew up around the church. In the summer
of 1876 a movement was started to have the place incorporated as a
borough, which was finally done on November 13, 1876, with William
Brown as the first chief burgess. In 1910 the population of Dudley was
440, an increase of 150 over the census of 1900.

Mapleton (postotifice name Mapleton Depot) was first started as

90 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

a station by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and in 1858 con-
sisted of three houses. The land belonged to John Donaldson, who laid
out a town about the time the railroad was completed and on August
12, 1866, ilapleton was incorporated as a borough, with A. H. Bau-
man as the first chief burgess. In 1870 the population was 389 and
in 1910 it was 752. A postofiice was established here at an early date.
In 1876 two sand quarries were opened near the town and have added
materially to its growth and prosperity. ^Nlapleton has a fine public
school building, churches of various denominations and is a place of
considerable commercial activity.

^larklesburg (postoffice name Aitch) is located near the head of
James creek, about twelve miles southwest of Huntingdon and half
a mile from Grantville, on the Huntingdon & Broad Top railroad.
It was laid out in the summer of 1844 by Jacob Cresswell and was
named for General Joseph Markle, at that time the Whig candidate
for governor. The first house was erected by Jacob Skyles in that
year. A postoffice called James Creek had been established there as
early as 1840, with John B. Given as the postmaster. In August, 1855,
trains began running between Huntingdon and Marklesburg and the
latter place experienced a boom. Within a few years it boasted forty-
five dwellings, three churches, a school house, three stores, two car-
riage factories, blacksmith, cooper and carpenter shops and a popula-
tion of 300. Then the railroad passed on and much of Marklesburg's
trade was diverted to other points. The place was incorporated on
November 19, 1873, with E. D. Beatty as the first chief burgess. In
1 910 the population was 211.

Mill Creek, a station on the Pennsylvania railroad six miles east
of Huntingdon, was laid out in October, 1848, by James Simpson for
David Zook & Company. It takes its name from the stream upon which
it is situated. The first stores in this locality were opened at Wilson's
Mills about 1828. Mill Creek was incorporated as a borough on De-
cember 13. 1905, with I. N. Foust as chief burgess. The population
in 1910 was 308.

Mount Union, the second town in importance in Huntingdon county,
was first laid out by William Pollock in 1840, for John Sharrer. In
1849 Dougherty & Speer purchased the adjoining tract, having re-
ceived a charter for the Drake's Ferry & East Broad Top railroad, and

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 91

this place was designed by them as a transfer point, though no steps
were taken to build the railroad. The first building in this immediate
locality was a stone house near Drake's ferry, occupied by William
Pollock as merchant and postmaster. This building was subsequently
destroyed by fire. John Sharrer opened the American Hotel in 1848, a
tannery was started in 1859, ^""^ ^^ the meantime several business en-
terprises had found a footing at Mount Union, which was incorporated
as a borough on April 19, 1867, with Augustus Eberman as chief
burgess. The town has two national banks, a number of good mer-
cantile houses, hotels, several prosperous manufacturing concerns and
in 1910 reported a population of 3,338. Li 1900 the population was
i,oS6, and in 1890 it was 810. Few boroughs in the state show as
great an increase in population and wealth during the last twenty years
as Mount Union.

Orbisonia, a station on the East Broad Top railroad, which con-
nects with the Pennsylvania at Mount Union, is the largest town in
the southeastern part of the county. As early as 1760 George Irvin
had an Indian trading post at this point. The Bedford furnace was
opened in 1785 and two years later a grist mill was started. Another
mill was built by Hezekiah Crownover in 1812. The store of Crom-
well & Cornelius was opened in 1824, a postoffice was established in
1830 in Taylor Crownover's store, there were two distilleries in 1833
and in 1836 Jonathan Carothers opened the Eagle Hotel. Up to this
time the town, like Topsy in L'ncle Tom's Cabin, "just growed." There
were no streets and the lots were of irregular size, straggling along
on either side of the road. In May, 1850, it was regularly laid out and
named Orbisonia, for Thomas E. Orbison, who located there about
1830 or 1 83 1. The growth of the town continued and on November
23, 1855, it was incorporated as a borough, with Simon Gratz as the
first chief burgess. Orbisonia has two banks, a weekly newspaper,
churches of different denominations, a good retail trade with the sur-
rounding country and in 19 10 the population was 618. The first school
house was a small log structure, but this has been replaced by a modern
building.

Six miles west of Huntingdon, on the main line of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, stands the borough of Petersburg, one of the oldest
towns in the county. It was laid out on \lay 21, 1795, by Peter Shoen-

92 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

berger on the tract of land owned by him on the east side of Shaver's
creek, opposite the site of old Fort Anderson. Mr. Shoenberger, for
whom the borough was named, was the first merchant and also kept
the first tavern. A postoffice called Shaver's Creek was established
there at an early date, with Valentine W'ingart as postmaster. Dr.
Peter Sevine was the first physician. While the Pennsylvania canal
was in operation Petersburg was quite a commercial center and ship-
ping point. Flour and saw mills were established at an early day
and the Juniata forge, operated by Hunter & Swoope, was located
at the mouth of Shaver's creek. It was one of the pioneer concerns
in the manufacture of the famous Juniata charcoal iron. On April 7,
1830, Petersburg was incorporated by act of the legislature and George
Rung was the first chief burgess. Lodges of various benevolent socie-
ties are located here ; Juniata Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, was or-
ganized in 1874; there are churches of dififerent faiths, the Shaver's
Creek Bank, several good stores and in 19 10 the population was re-
ported as being 705.

Rock Hill (postoffice name Rockhill Furnace) was laid out in
1874 across the Black Log creek from Orbisonia. A large number of
the early houses were built and owned by the Rockhill Iron and Coal
Company. An iron furnace was opened at this place in 183 1 by Diven
& Morrison. The Winchester furnace was built two or three years
later. Rock Hill was incorporated on June 16, 1S87, with A. W.
Sims as the first chief burgess. It is a station on the East Broad Top
railroad and in 1910 reported a population of 504.

Saltillo, a station on the East Broad Top railroad in the southern
part of the county, was settled in 1796 by Henry Hubbell. On August
20, 1796, Thomas Greer filed for record the plat of "Springville," which
occupied the site of Saltillo. A grist mill was built by Henry Hubbell
in 1797 and J. & J. C. Brewster were the first merchants. A number of
lots were sold to people in Philadelphia and other places, but the lack
of transportation facilities caused many of the purchasers to surrender
their claims and Springville died a natural death. Some years later
Henry Hudson laid out Saltillo, which was incorporated as a borough
on December i, 1S75, with Samuel ^McVitty as the first chief burgess.
There are two rich veins of iron ore in the immediate vicinity. A large
steam tannery was established by Leas & McVitty a little while before

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 93

the borough was incorporated. The population in 1910 was 410.

Shade Gap, in the Black Log valley, was settled by George Hudson
in 1782. It is located on the old Indian path from the Tuscarora
valley to Kittaning Point and was one of the few places easy of access
in early times. James Stark was the first merchant and a man named
Forman kept the first public house of entertainment. George Hudson
built a woolen mill and a grist mill near the gap a few years after
he first settled there and in 1803 Michael Mills opened a blacksmith
shop. The Milnwood Academy was founded in 1849. Shade Gap
was incorporated as a borough on April 20, 1871, but the early records
have been lost. In 19 10 the population was 143.

Shirleysburg, formerly known as Aughwick, Old Town- and Fort
Shirley, was settled by George Croghan prior to the French and Indian
war. The town was laid out by Henry Warner and in its early days
was the most important place in the county southeast of Huntingdon.
Saw and grist mills were built at an early date. Every spring for
many years the militia from the southeastern townships met at Shirleys-
burg for review and inspection. A factory for the manufacture of
earthenware was established in 1866 by George W. Hawker, who also
made drain tile and terra cotta. Dr. Loughran was the first physician.
Shirleysburg was incorporated as a borough on April 3, 1837, with
John Lutz as the first chief burgess. The completion of the East Broad
Top railroad through the place in 1873 S^"^^ ^ "^^^ impetus to business
and for a time the population showed considerable increase. Rival
towns then offered better inducements for the investment of capital
and for the last half a century Shirleysburg has barely held its own.
In 1910 the population was 256, a slight decrease under that of 1900.

Three Springs, a station on the East Broad Top railroad in the
southern part of the county, was laid out in the spring of 1843 ^"d
was first called Scottsville, for General W'infield Scott. A postoffice
was soon after established there under that name. Richard Ashman
and William \\'hite were the first merchants. George D. Hudson built
the first hotel, in the kitchen of which was taught the first school. Dr.
Robert Baird was the first physician. Three Springs was incorporated
as a borough on November 10, 1869, with William J. Hampson as
the first chief burgess. Soon after the incorporation P. F. Bence started
a local newspaper. In 1870 the population was 189 and each census

94 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

year since that time has shown a slight increase, the population in 1910
being 248.

In addition to the eighteen boroughs above mentioned, Huntingdon
county is supplied with the following postoffices: Airydale, Augh-
wick Mills, Barree, Blairs Mills, Calvin, Charter Oak, Clair, Coles Sum-
mit, Colfax, Cora, Cottage, Decorum. Eagle Foundry, East Broad Top,
Entriken, Franklinville, Grafton, Graysville, Jacob, James Creek,
McAlevy's Fort, McConnellstown, McNeal, Maddensville, Manor Hill,
Meadow Gap, Mentzer, Neelyton, NefFs Mills, Norrace, Nossville, Penn-
sylvania Furnace, Robertsdale, Ronald, Salter, Saulsburg, Selea, Shade
Valley, Shy Beaver, Spruce Creek. Todd, Trough Creek, Union Fur-
nace, Valley Point, Warriors Mark, Water Street and Wood. There
are fourteen rural free delivery routes in the county, to wit : One
from Alexandria, one from Grafton, three from Huntingdon, one from
McAlevy's Fort, one from Mapleton Depot, one from Penns}-lvania.
Furnace, one from Petersburg, one from Shirleysburg, two from Three
Springs and two from Warriors Mark.

CHAPTER VI

MIFFLIN COUNTY, ORGANIZATION, ETC.

Cumberland County Erected — Included Mifflin — Purchase of 1754 — Organization of
Townships — Petition for a New Count}' — Organic Act — Trouble over the Location
of the County Seat — Trustees Refuse to Serve — Vacancies Filled — Purchase of Site
— First Jail — Court Houses — Lewistown Riot — Clarke's Account — Dispute over
Boundaries — County Line Commission of 1895 — Litigation — Reductions in Area —
The Poor-house — The Civil List.

BEFORE entering upon any historical account of Mifflin county it
is pertinent to notice some of the events which preceded and
led up to its organization. Cumberland county, erected in 1750,
embraced all the territory west of the Susquehanna river, except the
present counties of York and Adams. At that time the Indians still
claimed most of the lands lying west of the Susquehanna. Their title
was extinguished by the Albany purchase of July 6, 1754, and what is
now Mifflin county was a part of the lands ceded at that time to the
white men. Part of Cumberland county was taken to form the county
of Bedford on March 9, 1771 ; part of Northumberland was cut off on
March 27, 1772; and Cumberland was still further reduced in size by
the formation of Franklin county on September 8, 1784.

In the meantime other changes were found to be necessary. Im-
mediately following the cession of 1754 there was a rush of settlers
to the "New Purchase." In August, only a little more than a month
after the treaty was concluded at Albany, petitions were made to the
Cumberland county court by the settlers in Sherman's, Tuscarora and
Path valleys and along the Buffalo creek, asking for the establishments
of new townships "to facilitate the improvement and good government
of the new settlements." In accordance with the request of the peti-
tioners, four new townships were erected, one of which was described
as follows :

"And we do further errect the settlement called the Tuskerora Valey

96 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

into a sepparate Township and nominate the same the Township of
LAC, and we appoint John Johnston to act therein as Constable for
the remaining part of the current year."

This township inckided all of the present county of Juniata lying
west of the Juniata river. Some time after it was erected the letter
"k" was added to the name, and what remains of the original township
now forms the western township of Juniata county. In 1762 the town-
ship of Fermanagh was erected. It embraced the territory lying north
and east of the Juniata and included all the unorganized portion of the
lands purchased from the Indians in 1S54.

During the next four years, owing to the unsettled conditions due
to the French and Indian war, few additional settlers came to the Juni-
ata valley, but in the years 1766-67 there was another heavy tide of
immigration to the "New Purchase." In July, 1767, Derry, Penn and
Greenwood townships were taken from Fermanagh, the first named
including nearly all the present county of 3,Iifflin. Alilford township
was cut off from Lack on November 7, 1768; Armagh was formed
from Derry in 1771, Jack's mountain being designated as the dividing
line: Bald Eagle township, Northumberland county, was erected in
1772; two years later part of Bald Eagle was taken to form the town-
ship of Potter, and Wayne township was formed from part of Derry in
1782. It was from the townships of Lack, Mil ford, Fermanagh, Derry,
Armagh, Bald Eagle, Potter and Wayne that the territory was taken
to form the county of INIifflin in 1789.

During the latter part of the year 1788, petitions were circulated
among the people of these townships asking for the erection of a new
county, to include within its boundaries practically all the territory now
forming Mifflin and Juniata counties. The next step on the part of
the inhabitants of this region was to elect delegates from the several
townships to decide upon some plan of organization and the manner
of selecting a seat of justice for the new county. The delegates from
Armagh, Derry and W'ayne townships were: William Brown, John
Culbertson. James McFarlane, John Bratton, John Oliver, William
Smith, Arthur Buchanan and James Burns. Those from Lack, Mil-
ford, Fermanagh and Greenwood townships were: John Stewart,
James Murray, Thomas Turbett, Samuel Sharron, John Lyon, Samuel
Cowan, John Harris and Robert Little. About the time, or perhaps

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 97

a little while before, the legislature met in the winter of 1788-89,
these delegates met at the house of David Sharron, in Fermanagh town-
ship, and agreed "that Col. James Dunlap, of Cumberland county, Col.
James Johnston and IMatthew Wilson, Esquire, of Franklin county,
should be the three persons recommended to the legislature as disinter-
ested and suitable characters to explore said prescribed boundary and
make report to the succeeding legislature of the most convenient and
central place for a seat of justice within said boundary."

When the legislature assembled the petitions and action of the dele-
gates were brought before that body and a bill in accordance therewith
passed the house on March 21, 1789, but failed to pass the senate. The
bill named Messrs. Dunlap, Johnston and Wilson to locate the county
seat, "their judgment to be final and conclusive." After the bill passed
the house, these three men began the work assigned them and after
examining several locations decided in favor of John Harris' farm,
where ]\Iit^intown now stands. This action of the commissioners was
not satisfactory to the people above the "Narrows" and was largely
responsible for the defeat of the bill in the senate. After the defeat
of the measure, the citizens above the Narrows took steps to annex
additional territory on the north, with a view to having the seat of
justice established in that part of the county in the event of its erec-
tion. That their efforts in this direction were successful may be seen
in the act which passed the legislature on September 19, 1789, creating
and defining the boundaries of jMiitiin county. The preamble of the
bill is as follows :

"Whereas, It hath been represented to the General Assembly of
this State by the inhabitants of those parts of Cumberland and North-
umberland which are included within the lines hereinafter mentioned,
that they labour under great hardships by reason of their great distance
from the present seat of justice and the public offices for the said
counties, for the remedy thereof."

Then follows Section i, which provided "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 Mifflin county, namely: Beginning at Susquehanna river
where the Turkey Hill extends to said river; then along the said hill to

98 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

the Juniata where it cuts the Tuscarora mountain ; thence along the
summit of the said mountain to the Hue of FrankHn county; thence
along the said line to Huntingdon county line ; thence along the said
line to the Juniata river ; thence up said river to Jack's Narrows ; thence
along the line of Huntingdon county to the summit of Tussey's moun-
tain; thence along the line of Huntingdon and Northumberland coun-
ties, so as to include the whole of Upper Bald Eagle township, in
the county of Northumberland, to the mouth of Buck creek, where
it empties into the Bald Eagle creek ; thence to Logan's Gap in Nittany
mountain; then to the head of Penn's creek; thence down the said
creek to Sinking creek, leaving George McCormick's in Northumber-
land county; thence to the top of Jack's mountain, at the line between
Northumberland county and Cumberland ; thence along the said line
to Montour's Spring, at the head of Mahantango creek; thence down
the said creek to Susquehanna river, and thence down the said river
to the place of beginning."

The boundaries as established by this bill differed from those given
in the bill of the preceding March by including Potter and LTpper Bald
Eagle townships on the north and leaving out Greenwood township
(now in Perry county) on the south. By this change the center of the
county was thrown much farther northward, which had great influence
on the question of the location of the county seat. In fact, so great
was this influence that Section 9 of the bill provided:

"That John Oliver, William Brown, David Beale, John Stewart,
David Bole (also spelled Bowel in some of the public documents) and
Andrew Gregg of said county, be, and they are hereby appointed
trustees for the county aforesaid, with full authority for them or a
majority of them, to purchase, or take and receive by grant, bargain
or otherwise, any quantity or quantities of land, not exceeding one
hundred and fifty acres, on the north side of Juniata river, and within
one mile from the mouth of Kishicoquilis creek, for the use, trust and
benefit of said county, and to lay out the same into regular town lots
and to dispose of so many of them as they or any four of them, may
think best for the advantage of said county; and they, or any four
of them, are hereby authorized to sell and convey so many of them
as they may think proper, and with the monies so arising from the
sale of said lots, and with other monies to be duly assessed, levied
and collected within the said county of ^Mifflin, for that purpose, which
it is herebv declared it shall and mav be lawful for the commissioners

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 99

thereof to do. or cause to be done, to build and erect a court-house and
prison, suitable and convenient for the public, on the public, and such
other square as shall be reserved for that purpose ; and the said trustees
shall, from time to time, render true and faithful accounts of the ex-
penditures of the same, not only to the commissioners, but to the Grand
Jury, for inspection, adjustment and settlement of the accounts of
said county."

Of the six trustees named in this section, William Brown, John
Oliver and Andrew Gregg resided in the townships of Armagh, Wayne
and Potter, in the northern part of the new county, while John Stewart,
David Beale and David Bole lived below the Narrows in the town-
ships of Lack and Greenwood. As the last named township, in which
David Bole resided, was left out of the county by the act of September
19, 1789, he was therefore disqualified as a trustee, leaving only David
Beale and John Stewart to represent that part of the county on the
board of trustees. These gentlemen, realizing that they constituted a
minority of the board, refused to serve, claiming the act creating the
county did not comply with the provisions of the state constitution.
The disqualification of Bole and the refusal of Beale and Stewart to
act left but three trustees to organize the county, whereas. Section 9,
above quoted, provided that a majority, "or any four of them," should
be necessary to perform legally the acts authorized by the organic law.
To relieve this situation and render the organic act effective, the leg-
islature, on April 5, 1790, passed the following:

"Whereas, David Bowel (Bole), one of the said trustees, does
not reside within the limits of the said county of Mifilin, and as the
act erecting JMiftlin county requires its trustees to concur in every trans-
action done under and in virtue of their appointment, etc.. Be it there-
fore enacted:

"That Dr. James Armstrong is hereby appointed a trustee in and
for the county of Mifiiin, and is hereby invested with like powers and
authorities in every matter and thing whatsoever that of right belongs
to any trustee appointed for the county of Mifflin."

Dr. Armstrong was in harmony with the provisions of the law
regarding the location of the county seat at the mouth of the Kishaco-
quillas creek, but his appointment evidently was not satisfactory to the
citizens of the southern part of the county. Several petitions were

loo HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

sent to the legislature during the next decade, asking for a change in
the location of the county seat. In the petition to the legislature of
1801-02 the appointment of Dr. Armstrong is referred to as follows:

"That John Stewart and David Beale, being all the trustees who
lived below the Narrows, uniformly refused to act as Trustees, con-
sidering the Laws as unconstitutional, together with the undue ad-
vantage obtained thereby, until, by other device of those who lived in
the vicinity of Lewistown, got a fourth trustee added to their side of
the county, viz., James Armstrong. On the 23d of June, 1791, the
four Trustees who lived above the Narrows., viz., William Brown,
John Oliver, Andrew Gregg and James Armstrong, published in the
Carlisle Gazette, — 'The Trustees hereby give notice that, agreeable to
said Act, they have received by bargain a quantity of land at the con-
fluence of the river Juniata and the Kishaqcoquillas Creek and con-
firmed thereon a town for the Seat of Justice called Lewistown.' "

The publication of this notice was hardly in conformity with the
existing facts, as the trustees did not receive title to the tract of land
mentioned, nor even to the lots upon which the county buildings were
erected, until January 14. 1802. Soon after the appointment of Dr.
Armstrong, the trustees employed two surveyors named Samuel Ed-
miston and James Potter to locate the site for the county seat and
"to lay out the same into regular town lots," pursuant to the pro-
visions of the act erecting the county. At that time the title to the
land was the subject of litigation and no one could make a valid deed
to the trustees. In July, 1787, more than two years before the passage
of the act creating Mifflin county, the Cumberland county court awarded
Mary Norris judgment in the sum of £1,000 against Arthur Buchanan,
who owned 300 acres of land on the north side of the Juniata at the
mouth of the Kishacoquillas creek. To satisfy the judgment, the court
ordered Thomas Buchanan, high sheriff of Cumberland county, to
levy upon this tract of land and offer the same for sale, etc. It was
first offered for sale by the sheriff on December 30, 1788, but there
were no purchasers. On November 2y, 1790, the land was sold to
Samuel Edmiston, and on January 22, 1791, he received his deed from
the sheriff. On January 14, 1802, as above stated, Mr. Edmiston ex-
ecuted a deed which set forth that the trustees "laid out the seat of
justice for the said county of Mifflin on the land of Samuel Edmiston,
lying on the north side of the river Juniata, and situated on the high

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY loi

ground at the junction of said river with the Kishacoquillas creek."
By this deed he conveyed to John OHver, WiUiam Brown, David
Beale, John Stewart, Andrew Gregg and James Armstrong, trustees
of Mifflin county, lots No. 15 and 16 for a cemetery and meeting-house;
lot No. 86 for a jail; lot No. 120 for a public school house; the ground
on the Juniata from the first alley to the junction of the river with
Kishacoquillas creek, together with the streets, lanes, alleys and the
center of said borough, agreeable to the plan of the town of Lewis-
town, as laid out by the trustees, etc.

The county jail was the first public building erected under the pro-
visions of Section 9 of the act of erection. In 1790 the county com-
missioners ordered that a log building, two stories in height, with an
outside stairway, be built upon lot No. 86, at the northwest corner
of Market and Wayne streets, the lower story of which should be fitted
up for a jail and the upper one for a court-room. Sessions of the
court were held in this upper room until 1795, when the commissioners
ordered an addition of fifteen by twenty feet to be made to the jail.
This addition was completed in the fall of that year, the records of
November 5, 1795, showing that on that day William Harper was paid
£74 for its construction. The old log jail was demolished in 1802
and in its place was built a stone jail, which in turn was torn down in
1856, when the present structure was erected.

Although the act establishing Mifflin county authorized the com-
missioners of the county to "build and erect a court-house," six years
passed before any definite action was taken to that end. Late in the
year 1794, when it was known that an addition to the jail was con-
templated, a room was rented from Robert Kinney for a court-room.
During the next three years the court sessions were held in James
Ruglers' house and in Michael Foncannon's and William Elliott's tav-
erns. In 1795 the public square in the center of the town, where the
soldiers' monument now stands, was selected as a site for the court-
house and the commissioners advertised for bids for the erection of
"a court-house of brick, two stories in height, in accordance with
plans," etc. The contract was awarded to John Norris and James
Alexander and the last payment was made on April 11, 1799. The
total cost of the building was something over $5,000. It was evidently
not large enough to accommodate all the county offices, for at the

I02 HISTORY OF THE JUXL-\TA VALLEY

same session when final payment was made to the contractors it was
ordered that Samuel Edmiston, the prothonotary, "should receive com-
pensation out of the county treasury for his expense in furnishing an
apartment for holding the public offices of the county, and also the
adjourned Courts of Common Pleas and Orphans' Courts." Just how
long this arrangement continued is not certain, but the quarters fitted
up by Mr. Edmiston were probably used until the county erected a
building for the public offices.

On November 24, 181 5. the county commissioners advertised for
proposals for building public offices according to the plans and specifi-
cations in the hands of David Reynolds. Early the following year
work was commenced on the building, which stood where the present
court-house stands, and which was completed before the end of the
year. No further changes were made in the provisions for conducting
the county business for more than twenty years. In November, 1S37,
the grand jury, after investigating the needs of the county, made the
following report :

"To the Honorable, the Judges of the Court of General Quarter
Session of the Peace, now holding for the County of Miftlin.

"The Grand Inquest of the body of the County of Mifflin, inquiring
for the interest of the same, would respectfully present that, after
having gone through our other duties, think it very proper, imder all
the circumstances of the case, to recommend the removal and rebuild-
ing in a permanent manner, in some suitable place the Court-House
and Public offices of the said Coimty (believing as we do that within a
very few years past the present Court-House has cost in repairs a sum
very near equal to what would be required to rebuild the same in a
more suitable place). We do therefore recommend the taking down
of both the Court-House and offices and rebuilding the whole together
in a systematic manner out of the materials that may be used from the
old buildings in addition to such new materials as may be necessary.
And think it would be proper for the County Commissioners to make
provision in due time for such little expense as may be necessary to
carry out the aforesaid project under the order and instruction of
the Court aforesaid (believing as we do that money expended with due
economy towards building and keeping in a proper state of repair
such buildings as the public business of the County indispensably re-
c^uires for public convenience, as also for the safe keeping of Public
Records, etc., can never be a public loss).

"D. R. Reynolds, Foreman."

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 103

The report was not approved until November 8, 1839, and then
nearly three years elapsed before any active steps were taken to carry
out its recommendations. In 1842 the commissioners purchased of
R. C. Hale the lot at the northwest corner of ^lain street and the
public square and entered into a contract with Holman & Simon for
the erection of a new court-house thereon. The building was com-
pleted in December, 1843, when it was accepted by the commissioners,
its total cost having been about $15,000. The old court-house was torn
down the following year. The dimensions of the new court-house
were thirty-two by forty-eight feet, the several county offices being
located upon the first floor, the second story being fitted up for use of
the court and the jury rooms. Across the front ran a portico ten feet
wide.

As the county increased in population more room was found to
be necessary for the transaction of the public business and the preser-
vation of the public records. In November, 1877, the grand jury made
a recommendation that the court-house be enlarged and put in good
repair. A similar recommendation was made by the same body the
following April, and on April 20, 1878, the board of commissioners
adopted a resolution "to repair and enlarge the court-house as recom-
mended by the grand jury, provided the expense shall not exceed ten
thousand dollars." Plans for the improvement were made by Daniel
Ziegler, and on May 9, 1878, a contract was made with Buyers, Guyger
& Company to build an addition to the north end of the old court-house
and make certain specified repairs for the sunTi of $7,245. Subsequently
it was decided to add the tower and to make some other minor changes,
which brought the entire cost of the addition and repairs up to $9,095.
The court-house as thus improved remains in use to the present time,
but further alterations are under contemplation and will probably be
made in the near future.

What is known as the Lewistown riot occurred about two years
after the county was organized and created considerable excitement.
Reports of the afifair are somewhat contradictory, as is always the
case in a controversy, the adherents to each side desiring to tell the
story in such a way as to strengthen their cause. It appears that in
the summer of 1791 Governor Mifflin appointed Samuel Bryson one
of the associate justices of the Mifflin county court of common pleas.

I04 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

Prior to his receiving this appointment, Mr. Bryson had for several
years held the office of county lieutenant and as such "had excited the
determined enmity of two men who were ambitious of being colonels
of militia, and against whom (as vmfit persons) Mr. Bryson, as County
Lieutenant, had made representations." The meml)ers of their re-
spective regiments had elected the two men, according to the custom
of that day, though the right of Mr. Bryson to set aside the election
and issue commissions to men of his own selection could not be ques-
tioned under the militia law. That he did so aroused the indignation
of many of the men belonging to the two regiments and when he was
appointed associate judge some of those whose will had been set at
defiance resolved that he should not be permitted to serve in that ca-
pacity.

William \\'ilson, a brother to the sheriff of ]^Iifflin county, and David
Walker organized a force of some forty men, all of whom were armed,
and at the head of this little army of insurgents marched, with a fife
playing, to Lewistown, "with the avowed determination to seize upon
the person of Judge Bryson whilst on the bench, drag him from thence,
oblige him to resign his commission." etc.

The movements of these men had been conducted with such se-
crecv that the people of Lewistown knew nothing of what was going
on until about an hour before the rioters appeared. What happened
when they did appear in Lewistown is probably best told in the report
of John Clarke, deputy state's attorney, to Judge Thomas Smith, who
was appointed judge of the Fourth judicial district soon after the oc-
cunence. Says ]\Ir. Clarke:

"On Monday, the 12th of September. 1791, the Hon. William
Brown, Samuel Bryson and James Armstrong, Esquires, met in the
forenoon in order to open the court and proceed to business ; but
Thomas Beale, Esquire, one of the associate judges, not having arrived,
their Honours waited until three o'clock in the afternoon, at which
time he arrived, and was requested to proceed with them and the of-
ficers of the court to the court-house. He declined going, and the
procession moved on to the court-house, where the judges' commissions
were read, the court opened, and the officers and the attorneys of the
court sworn in, and the court adjourned till ten o'clock ne.xt morning.

"About nine o'clock, while preparing business to lay before the
Grand Jury, I received information that a large body of men were

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 105

assembled below the Long Narrows, at David Jordan's tavern, on the
Juniata, and were armed with gnns, swords and pistols, with an avowed
intention to proceed to Lewistown and seize Judge Bryson on the
bench and drag him from his seat, and march him off before them, and
otherwise illtreat him. This information was instantlv communicated
to Messrs. Brown, Bryson and Armstrong, the judges, who agreed with

me that Samuel Edmiston, Esq., the prothonotary. Judge Beale,

Stewart, Esq., William Bell, Esq., should, with George Wilson, Esq.,
the sheriff of Mifflin county, proceed and meet the rioters ; and the
sheriff was commanded to inquire of them, their object and intention,
and, if hostile, to order them to disperse, and tell them the court was
alarmed at their proceedings.

■"Two iiours after this the court opened and a grand jury was
impanelled. A fife was heard playing, and some guns fired, and im-
mediately the mob appeared marching toward the court-house, with
three men on horseback in front, having the gentlemen that had been
sent to meet them under guard in the rear; all of whom, on their ar-
rival at Lewistown, they permitted to go at large, except the sheriff,
whom four of their number kept guard over. The court ordered me,
as the representative of the Commonwealth, to go out and meet them,
remonstrate against their proceedings, and warn them of their danger;
wdiich order was obeyed. But all endeavors were in vain, the mob cry-
ing out, 'March on! March on! Draw your sword on him! Ride
over him!" I seized the reins of the bridle that the principal com-
mander held, viz., Wilson, Esq., brother of the sheriff

aforesaid, who was well mounted and well dressed, with a sword, and,
I think, two pistols belted around him, a cocked hat, and one or two
feathers in it. He said he would not desist, but at all events proceed
and take Judge Bryson oft" the bench, and march him down the Nar-
rows to the judge's farm, and make him sign a paper that he would
never sit there as Judge again.

"The mob still crying out 'March on!' he drew his sword and told
me he must hurt me unless I would let go the reins. The crowd pushed
forward and nearly pressed me down; one of them, as I learned after-
ward, a nephew of Judge Beale, presented his pistol at my breast,
with a full determination to shoot me. I let the reins go and walked
before them until I arrived at the stairs on the outside of the court-
house, when Judge Armstrong met me and said. "Since nothing else
will do, let usdefend the stairs.' We instantly ascended, and Mr. Ham-
ilton and the gentlemen of the bar and many citizens; and the rioters,
headed by William Wilson, Colonel Walker and Colonel Holt, came
forward, and the general cry was. 'March on ! damn you ; proceed and
take him!' Judge Armstrong replied, 'You damned rascals, come on!

io6 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

we will defend the court ourselves, and before you shall take Judge
Bryson you shall kill me and many others, which seems to be your
intention, and which you may do!' At this awful moment one Holt
seized Judge Armstrong by the arm with the intent to pull him down
the stairs, but he extricated himself. Holt's brother then got a drawn
sword and put it into his hands and damned him to run the rascal
through; and Wilson drew his sword on me with great rage, and young
Beale his sword, and cocked his pistol and presented it. I told
them thev might kill me, but the judge they could not, nor should they
take him; and the words 'Fire away!' were shouted through the mob.
I put my hand on his shoulder and begged him to consider where he
was, who I was, and reflect but for a moment. I told him to withdraw
the men and appoint any two or three of the most respectable of his
people to meet in half an hour and try to settle the dispute. He agreed,
and. with difficulty, got them away from the court-house. Mr. Hamil-
ton then went with me to Mr. Alexander's tavern, and in \\'ilson and
Walker came, and also Sterrett, whom I discovered to be their chief
counsellor.

"Proposals were made by me that they should return home, offer
no insult to Judge Bryson o'r the court, and prefer to the governor a
decent petition, stating their grievances, if they had any, that might
be laid before the legislature; and that, in the meantime, the judge
should not sit on the bench of this court. They seemed agreed and
our mutual honor to be pledged: but Sterrett, who pretended not to
be concerned, stated that great delay would take place, that injuries
had been received which demanded instant redress, and objected to the
power of the governor as to certain points proposed. At this point
young Beale and Holt came up (the former with arms) and insisted
on Wilson's joining them, and broke up the conference. I followed,
and on the field among the rioters told Wilson, 'Your object is that
Judge Bryson leave the bench and not sit on it in this court?' He and
Wafker said 'Yes.' 'Will you promise to disperse and go home and
offer him no insult?' He said 'Yes,' and our mutual honor was then
pledged for the performance of the agreement.

''^]Mr. Hamilton proceeded to the court, told the judge, and he left
his seat and retired. I scarce had arrived until the fife began to play,
and the whole of the rioters came on to the court-house, then headed
by Wilson. I met them at the foot of the stairs and told them the
judge was gone, in pursuance of the agreement, and charged them with
a breach of the word and forfeiture of honor, and Walker said it was
so, but he could not prevail on them. Wilson said he would have the
judge and attempted going up the stairs. I prevented him, and told
him he should not, unless he took off his military accoutrements. He

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 107

said he had an address to present and complied with my request, and
presented it, signed 'The People.' Young Beale, at the moment I was
contending with Wilson, cocked and presented his pistol at my breast,
and insisted that Wilson and all of them should go, but on my offering
to decide it by combat with him, he declined it, and by this means
they went oii' swearing and said that they had been out-generaled.

"The next day Colonel McFarland, with his regiment, came down
and offered to defend the court, and addressed it; the court answered,
and stated that there was no occasion, and thanked him.

"Judge Bryson read a paper, stating the ill-treatment he had re-
ceived, and mentioned that no fear of danger prevented him from
taking and keeping his seat ; but that he understood that an engagement
had been entered into by his friends that he should not. and on that
account only he was prevented. The court adjourned until two o'clock
that day, and were proceeding to open it with the sheriff, coroner and
constable in front, when they observed that Judge Beale was at the
house of one Con. They halted and requested the sherifT to wait on
him and request him to walk with them. He returned and said the
judge would not walk or sit with Bryson, and addressed Judge Bryson
with warmth, who replied in a becoming manner. The sheriff struck
at him and kicked also. Judge Armstrong seized the sheriff, and com-
manded the peace and took the sheriff's rod from him; the coroner
took his place, and the sheriff was brought up before the court. I
moved that he might be committed to gaol; and his mittimus being
written and signed, the court ordered the coroner and gaoler to take
him, and he submitted. The court adjourned. After night the drum
beat and Holt collected about seventy men, who repeatedly huzzaed,
crying out 'Liberty or death!' and he off'ered to rescue the sheriff', but
the sheriff' refused. At ten o'clock at night I was informed expresses
were sent down the Narrows to collect men to rescue the sheriff, and
Major Edmiston informed me he was sorry for his conduct and offered
to beg the court's pardon and to enter into recognizance. I communi-
cated this to the Judges Brown and Armstrong, and requested they
would write to the gaoler to permit him to come down. They did, and
the sheriff came with Major Edmiston, begged pardon of every mem-
ber of the court but Judge Bryson. who was not present, and entered
into recognizances to appear at the next sessions.

"The next day near three hundred men were assembled below the
Narrows, and I prevailed on some gentlemen to go down and disperse
them; and upon being assured the sheriff" was out of gaol, they returned
to their respective homes, and the court have finished all business.
Nothing further requiring the attendance of the grand jury, the court
■dismissed them and broke up. I must not omit to inform you that

io8 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

Judge Beale had declared, during the riot, in court, that he would not
sit on the bench with Judge Bryson, and that both he and said Stewart
appeared to countenance the rioters, and are deeply concerned.

"I must now close the narrative with saying that, owing to the
spirit and firmness of Judge Armstrong and the whole of the bar, I was
enabled to avert the dreadful blow aimed at Judge Bryson, and to keep
order and subordination in court; and unless the most vigorous meas-
ures are exerted soon, it will be impossible ever to support the laws
of the state in that county, or to punish those who dare transgress. The
excise law is execrated by the banditti, and from every information I
expect the collection of the revenue will be opposed.

'T am happy to add, the dispute which originated by mistake between
Huntingdon and IMifilin counties is happily closed in the most amicable
manner, without any prosecution in ]\Iifflin. I am. Sir, your most
obedient,

"John Clark, Dy. St. Attorney."

The reference in the last paragraph of ]\Ir. Clarke's report to a dis-
pute between Huntingdon and ilitiflin counties relates to the ditTerence
of opinion regarding the location of the boundary line between those
two counties. An account of this dispute, the arrest of the sheriff of
Huntingdon county, his release on a writ of habeas corpus and the
final adjustment of the difficulty may be found in Chapter IV.

Mifflin county was reduced in size by the formation of Center
county on February 13, 1800. Some changes were made in the bound-
aries in 1912, when the line between Huntingdon and ]\Iifflin counties
was more clearly defined by an act of the legislature and a part of
Beaver Dam township was annexed to Mifflin. The following year,
upon the erection of Union county the Beaver Dam territory was an-
nexed to the new county, but in 1819 it was restored to Mifflin and
now forms a part of Decatur township. By the act of March 2, 183 1,
all that portion of the county lying southwest of Shade mountain and
the Blue ridge was cut off to form the county of Juniata, leaving:
Mifflin with an area of about 370 square miles. Its greatest length
is about thirty and its greatest width about fifteen miles. It is bounded
on the northwest by Center county ; on the north and east by Union and
Snyder; on the southeast by Juniata; and on the south and west by
Huntingdon.

For many years the line between Huntingdon and Mifflin counties,

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 109

from the Juniata river to the Center county line was in a state of uncer-
tainty, both counties claiming certain tracts of territory along the
boundary. The legislature of 1876 passed an act authorizing the run-
ning and marking of the line. This act. for some reason, failed to
accomplish the purposes for which it was intended, and in 1895 was
passed a supplementary act, providing for the appointment of five com-
missioners to run and mark the line. On June 24, 1895, William
Huey, D. C. Peachey, Jacob K. Metz and others, citizens of Menno
township, Mifilin county, presented to the court of quarter sessions of
that county a petition in which it was set forth : "That the county
line between Huntingdon and Mii^in counties is in dispute from the
line of Centre county to the Juniata river; that it has never been run
and marked as required by the acts of the assembly establishing said
counties; that persons living in the disputed territory labor under great
inconvenience as to their taxes, schools, liens, roads, etc., on account
of the imcertaint)' of the county line location. They therefore pray
the court to appoint a surveyor as required by the act of the assembly,
approved the 22nd day of May, A. D. 1895, and to appoint a surveyor
as provided for in said act, to the end that a commission may be formed
in conjunction with similar appointments to be made by Huntingdon
county, for the purpose of designating, surveying and marking the
said division line between the said counties of Huntingdon and Mif-
flin," etc.

A commission was accordingly formed to run and mark the line.
It consisted of J. Murray Africa, of Huntingdon county; John C.
Swigart, of Mifflin; W. P. Mitchell, of Clinton; John Campbell, of
Fayette: and M. E. Shaugnessy, of Union. On March 8, 1897, these
commissioners made a report, favoring the claims of Huntingdon
county. Mifflin county, through her attorneys, F. W. Culbertson and
John A. McKee, filed a bill of thirteen exceptions, to wit: i. That
the act under which the commission acted was unconstitutional. 2.
That all the surveyors were not present at all times. 3. That the
commissioners of Huntingdon county paid or promised to pay ten
dollars a day to the surveyors, etc. 4. That the line was not run in
accordance with the provisions of the acts erecting the counties of
Huntingdon and Mifflin. 5. That the commissioners, in running the
line, disregarded the evidence suljmitted. 6. That the line run by them

no HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

was arbitrary and unwarranted by the testimony. 7. That the com-
missioners, or a majority of them, prejudged the case and determined
on the location of the line before testimony was heard. 8. That the
commissioners of Huntingdon county paid money to members of the
county line commission from time to time, contrary to their duty in
the premises, and allowed them mileage. 9. That the county line com-
missioners were paid money before the work was commenced. 10. That
M. E. Shaugnessy declared he would favor Huntingdon county unless
Mifflin county paid him a certain bill, and that he could get all the
money he wanted from Huntingdon county. 11. That the line was
on an entirely different location from any line or survey previously
made and that there was no evidence to sustain it. 12. That the county
line commission was not authorized to establish a new line, but to "desig-
nate, survey and mark the line," on evidence, etc. 13. That said county
line commissioners have embraced the village of Allensville in Hunting-
don county, when said village and all lands up to the lived to line have
been in Mifflin county for more than one hundred years and so recog-
nized by both the counties of Huntingdon and Mifflin.

Huntingdon county contended that the act of 1779, fixing the line
between Bedford and Northumberland counties, which is, or should
be, the line between Huntingdon and Mifflin counties, made the water-
shed of Kishacoquillas valley the line, and that the commissioners had
run the line in accordance therewith.

John Stewart, of Chambersburg, was appointed a special judge
to hear the arguments on the exceptions. The case was argued before
him on April 5 and 6, 1897, and on Alay i8th he overruled the ex-
ceptions and approved the report of the county line commission. On
June 30, 1897, the report of the commission was presented to the
court of quarter sessions of Mifflin county, which refused to approve
it. The records were certified to the superior court on March 15,
1898, and on November 17, 1898, that tribunal handed down a decree
"That the assignment of error filed by Huntingdon county is overruled
and the appeal from the order of June 30. 1897, is dismissed without
prejudice, however, to the right of the commissioners of Huntingdon
county to move the court of quarter sessions to Mifflin county to
appoint a time for hearing their petition, at which the commissioners
of Mifflin county may present their exceptions to the report of the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY iii

county line commission and the evidence taken in support of and against
the same may be submitted," etc.

Huntingdon county then appealed to the supreme court for a change
of venue from the Mifflin county court of quarter sessions. On Octo-
ber 30, 1899, the supreme court granted an order restraining the
Mifflin county court "from proceeding to hear the case until the rule
pending in this court for a change of venue is disposed of." On Novem-
ber 6, 1899, the supreme court dismissed the petition of Huntingdon
county for a change of venue at the cost of the petitioners and that
ended the case, the boundary line remaining as it has been generally
recognized since the formation of Mifflin county in 1789.

Following is a civil list of Mifflin county, as complete as could be
obtained from the records :

Sheriffs — George Wilson, 1789; William Wilson, 1792; Andrew
Nelson, 1796; William Elliott, 1798; William Sterrett, 1800; Edward
McCarty, 1803; William Scott, 1805: William Bell, 1806: John Mc-
Dowell, 1809; Daniel Christy, 1812; Thomas Horrell, 1815"; Thomas
Beale, 1818; John Beale, 1821; Samuel Edmiston, 1821; George Mc-
Culloch, 1824; Foster Milliken, 1827; Samuel W. Stuart, 1830; James
Gibboney, 1833; Robert Matthews, 1836; James Turner, 1839; John
Stoneroad, 1842; Robert McManigal, 1845; Davis M. Contner, 1848;
William Shimp, 185 1; Jacob Muthersbough, 1854; Thomas E.
Williams, 1857; C. C. Stanbarger, i860; Davis M. Contner, 1863;
William T. McEwen, 1866; William Willis (commissioned on Febru-
ary 20, 1869, and succeeded by Mitchell Jones on November 13, 1869) ;
David Muthersbough, 1872; Joseph W. Fleming, 1875 (first sheriff
elected under the present constitution); George Buffington, 1878; John
S. Garrett, 1881 ; C. Stewart Garrett, 1884: William Ryan, 1887;
Henry G. Isenberg, 1890; William J. Blett, 1893; Joseph Collins, 1896;
William P. Schell, 1899; Mitchell Bricker, 1902; A. C. Kemberling,
1905; Samuel H. Boyer, 1908; Allen Fultz, 191 1 (Mr. Fultz died soon
after entering upon his duties and M. M. Bricker was appointed to
the vacancy).

Prothonotarics — Samuel Edmiston, 1789; John Norris, 1800;
William P. Maclay, 1S09; David Revnolds, 1816; Ephraim Banks,
1818; Robert Craig', 182 1 ; William Mitchell, 1824; Abraham S. Wilson,
1830; David R. Reynolds, 1832; William B. Johnston, 1836; William
Brothers, 1837; James Gibboney, 1839; David R. Reynolds, 1841 ; John
R. McDowell, 1841 (David R. Reynolds served from April to Novem-
ber only); Zachariah Rittenhouse, 1847; Thomas F. McCoy, 1850;
Henry J. Walters, 1856; Nathaniel C. Wilson, 1862; William H.

112 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Bratton, 1866: William S. Settle, 1S74; Lafayette Webb. 1883: Frank
S. McCabe, 1898; Stewart M. Peters, 191 1. Lafayette Webb held the
office for five terms and Frank S. McCabe for four, his last term
being four years owing to the constitutional amendment fixing the
term of all county officers at four years.

Treasurers — Samuel Armstrong, 1790; Samuel Montgomery, 1793;
James Alexander. 1794; John Norris, 1797; Andrew Keiser, 181 1;
Joseph B. Ard, 1812; Robert Robison, 1815: William Brisbin. 1819;
Joseph B. Ard, 1822; Henry Kulp, 1824: Joseph B. Ard, 1826: William
Mitchell, 1830; James Dickson, 1832; Samuel Edmiston, 1834; James
Burns, 1835; Charles Ritz, 1838; James Burns, 1841. L'p to this time
the office of county treasurer had been filled by appointment. The office
was then made elective, with terms of two years until the adoption of
the constitution of 1874, which lengthened the term to three years.
The treasurers elected are as follows: Lewis Hoover, 1841 ; James
Cunningham, 1843: John C. Sigler.. 1845: Nathaniel Fear. 1847; Robert
H. McClintic, 1849; E)aniel Ziegler, 1851; William Morrison, 1853;
Henry Zerbe, 1855; John B. Selheimer, 1857; William C. Vines, 1859;
Robert W. Patton. 1861 ; Amos Hoot, 1863; Charles Gibbs, 1865;
Joseph McFadden, 1867; John Swan, 1869; John A. Shimp. 1871 ;
Jesse Mendenhall. 1873: James ]\I. Nolte. 1875; Joseph A. Fichthorn,
1878; James Firoved, 1881 ; Robert Myers. 1884; C. Stewart Garrett,
1887; William Ryan, 1890; Lewis N. Slagle. 1893; George R. Mc-
Clintic, 1896; W. F. Berlew, 1899; Allen A. Orr. 1902: C. A. Shunk-
wiler, 1905: Oliver O. Marks, 1908: S. Will Shunckwiler, 191 1.

County Commissioners — A full board of three commissioners was
elected in 1789, soon after the organization of the county. From that
time until 1808 the elections were somewhat irregular, as the following
list will show. From 1808 to 1875, with few exceptions, one commis-
sioner was elected annually. Since 1875 a full board of three members
has been elected every three years. The list — 1789, James Lyon, Robert
Little, Enoch Hastings; 1793, Thomas Anderson; 1794, John Wilson,
Joseph Sharp; 1795, James Harris, George McClelland; 1796. Joseph
Edmiston, John McConnal; 1797, William Bratton; 1799, William
Lyon, Ezra Doty; 1800, Andrew Banks, John Piper; 1801, Nicholas
Arnold; 1802, John Horrell; 1803, William Alexander; 1805, John
Kelley; 1806, Jonathan Rothrock; 1808. William Arbuckle; 1809, Henry
Steely; 1810, Joseph Sellers; 181 1, Francis Boggs; 1812, Samuel
Myers; 1813, George Hanawalt ; 1814, Henry Burkholder; 1815, John
Kinser; 1816, Samuel W' allick ; 1817, Christopher Horrell; 1818, Louis
Evans; 1819, Henry Long; 1820, David Walker; 1821, William Ram-
sey; 1822, William Wharton; 1823, Andrew Bratton; 1824, Benjamin
Law; 1825, Stephen Hinds; 1826, William Sharoi:;.; i8-7, James Gib-

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 113

boney: 1828, Thomas Kerr; 1829, Francis Boggs; 1830, John Knox;
1831, Lukens Atkinson; 1832, Robert Alilbken; 1833, Francis McCoy;
1834, John McClenahan; 1835, Samuel Alexander, Casper Dull; 1836,
Thomas I. Postlethwaite ; 1837, Isaiah Coplin; 1838, Hugh Conly;
1839, Robert McKee; 1840, Henry Leattor; 1841, James Brisbin; 1842,
Samuel Barr; 1843, John Fleming; 1844, George Bell; 1845, Solomon
Kinser; 1846, David Jenkins; 1847. Levi Glass; 1848, William Custer;
1849, Gabriel Dunmire; 1850, Thomas Stroup; 1851, James Dorman;
1852, Cyrus Stine; 1853, James Fleming; 1854, Jacob Hoover; 1855,
Jacob Linthurst; 1856. William Wilson; 1857, William Creighton;
1858, John Peachey; 1859. Richeson Bratton; i860, Samuel Brower;
1861, John McDowell; 1862, Samuel Drake; 1863, Moses Miller, Oliver
P. Smith; 1864, John Taylor; 1865, James C. Dysart; 1866, John W.
Kearns; 1867, Charles Naginey; 1868, Thomas Roup; 1869, James
Shehan; 1870, Henry S. Wilson; 1871, Henry Garver; 1872, Moses
Miller; 1873, Henry L. Close, Jacob Stine; 1874. David Hiester; 1875,
David Hiester, John Culbertson. William A. Orr; 1878, John Henry,
Robert F. Cupples, Robert J. McNitt; 1881, John F. Stine, Francis A.
Means, H. C. Van Zandt; 1884, J. T. Wilson, Samuel Neese, Jacob
Miller; 1887, J. T. Wilson. B. C. Cubbison, William P. Witherow;
1890, John C. Shahen, Willis F. Kearns, William H. Taylor; 1893,
Thomas J. Novinger, William H. Taylor, John C. Shahen; 1896, Albert
W. Nale, Thomas J. Novinger, J. R. Sterrett; 1899, Albert W. Nale,
Horatio G. Bratton, J. R. Sterrett; 1902, Horatio G. Bratton, Samuel
Dell, S. W. Fleming; 1905, James H. Close, Samuel Dell, George A.
Butler; 1908, James H. Close, David S. Price, George A. Butler; 191 1,
David S. Price, William M. Baker, Robert C. Houser.

Registers and Recorders — Prior to 1809 the duties of this office
were performed by the prothonotary. The list of registers and re-
corders since 1809 is as follows: David Reynolds, 1809; David Milli-
ken, 1816; Tobias Kreider, 1824; Joshua Beale, 1830; Daniel Eisen-
beise, 1836; Enoch Beale. 1839; Jesse R. Crawford, 1842; James L.
Mcllvaine, 1848; James McDowell, 1851 ; Joseph S. Waream, 1857;
Samuel Barr, i860; Samuel W. Barr, 1862; Michael Hiney, 1865; John
Baum, 1868; Willis V. B. Coplin, 1874; McClellan P. Wakefield, 1880
(reelected in 1883) ; William H. Mendenhall, 1886; Samuel D. Coldren,
1889 (four terms); Harvey C. Burkett, 1901 (three terms); William
B. Rodgers, 1911.

Surz'eyors — This office was filed by appointment from the time it
was established in 1812 until 1839. Michael M. Monahan, 1812; Robert
Robison, 1829; David Hough. 1832; William Shaw. 1836; John Shaw,
1839; David Hough, 1842; John R. Weeks, 1850; John Swartzell. 1853;
George H. Swigart. 1859; Thomas F. Niece. 1862; John Swartzell,

114 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

1868; William J. Swigart, 1874: David A. McXabb. 1877; David
Hough, 1880; \V. Worrall Marks, elected in 1880. David Hough serving
from January of that year until the election: Grantham G. Waters,
1883; John C. Swigart, 1886 (five terms); Samuel T. Moore, 1901
(reelected in 1904) ; John C. Swigart, 1907 (reelected in 191 1).

Coroners — Like the surveyor's office, the coroner's office was made
elective in 1839. Previous to that time the coroner was appointed.
James Ta3dor, 1789; William Armstrong, 1791 ; John Culbertson, 1792;
Robert Steel, 1795; James C. Ramsey, 1798; Edward Williams, 1799;
John Steel, 1802; James Walker, 1805; James Glasgow, 1809; William
McCrum, 181 1; John Stewart, 1826; Thomas J. Postlethwait, 1829;
James McDowell, 1830; John McKee, 1836; Christian Hoover, 1839;
Frederick Swartz, 1845: George Davis, 1848; George Wiley, 1851;
James McCord, 1854; John McKee, 1857; John Musser, 1858; George
Miller, 1859; John Davis, 1872; Samuel Bedford. 1875: George Miller,
1876; William ^^^ Trout, 1877; William N. Hoffman, 18S0: Grantham
T. Waters. 1883; Samuel A. Walters, 1886 (failed to qualify and M.
M. Bricker appointed) ; Samuel A. Marks, 1S90; \\'illiam Printz, 1893;
Henry M. Owens, 1896; J. A. Davidsizer, 1902; Emerson Potter, 1905
(reelected in 1908 and again in 191 1").

Directors of flic Poor — On March 31, 1845, an act was passed by
the legislature authorizing the people of Granville and Derry townships
and the borough of Lewistown to vote upon the cjuestion as to whether
a poor-farm should be purchased, and if a majority voted for the
purchase, the townships and borough were each to contribute S2.500
for that purpose. The two townships and the borough purchased a
poor-farm in accordance with the provisions of the act. On April 22,
1850. another act of the legislature provided that if that poor-farm
should be sold a loan might be made and a county poor-house erected.
The new law was carried out by the appointment of Samuel W. Taylor,
Isaiah Coplin, Samuel Barr, David Jenkins and James Criswell as
commissioners to purchase a suitable tract of land by August i, 1850.
Thev purchased a tract of James Burns containing 202 acres, located
on the Kishacoquillas creek a short distance east of Lewistown, for
$1,600 and the buildings upon it were converted into a home for the
poor. Three directors of the poor were elected in that year and one
annually thereafter, except that from 1858 to 1870 the county com-
missioners were also made directors of the poor in accordance with
an act of the legislature. The list of poor directors is as follows :
1850, James M. Brown, August Wakefield. Robert ]\Iathews; 185 1,
William M. Fleming; 1852, Joshua ]\Iorrison: 1853, Adam Crisman;
1854, Henry Book; 1855, John Atkinson; 1856, John Peachey; 1857,
John Cubbison; 1870, Alexander ]\Iorrison, Christian Hoover. James

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 115

Kyle; 1871, Joseph H. Morrison; 1872, Charles Bratton, Jr.; 1873,
Andrew Spanogle; 1874, Joseph M. Fleming; 1875, William Greer;
1876, William Wilson; 1877, Samuel B. Wills: 1878, Samuel
Mitchell; 1879, ^lichael C. Bratton; 1880, Robert M Taylor; 1881,

E. C. Kearns; 1882, David Norton; 1883, Jacob Bollenger; 1884, Rob-
ert Taylor; 1885, Joseph Winter; 1886, John R. Garver; 1887, A. Stein-
berger; 1888, John I. Smith; 1889, John R. Garver; 1890, Joseph
McKinstry; 1891, David S. Price; 1892, Clarence G. Milliken; 1893,
Alexander Cummins; 1894, David S. Price: 1895, loseph M. Fleming;
1896, Alexander Cummins; 1897, W. F. Riden; 1898, William B. Kyle;
1899, S. C. Myers; 1900, George Moyer; 1901, Thomas H. Bailey; 1902,
S. C. Myers; 1903, George Moyer: 1904, Thomas H. Bailey; 1905,
David Rhodes; 1906, Sylvester Brought; 1907, James B. Smith;
1908, Charles G. Kauffman; 1909, George S. Kemberly. Owing to a
change in the law no poor director was elected in 1910. Thomas J.
Hazlett and G. ^^^ Carson were elected in 191 1.

. State Senators — Ezra Doty, 1808: William Beale, 1812; Alexander
Dysart, 1816; George McCulloch, 1832: Robert P. Maclay, 1838;
J. J. Cunningham, 1850: Joseph S. \\'aream, 1874: John B. Selheimer,
1884; Joseph M. \^'oods, 1888: ^^'alter H. Parcels, 1896; James W.
McKee, 1900; William Manbeck, 1904: Franklin Martin, 1912.

Representatives — John Oliver. 1790: James Banks, 1790; Ezra
Doty, 1790; Jonathan Rothrock, 1790: Daniel Christy, 1820: Robert
Alexander, 1823; John Patterson, 1828: Joseph Kyle, 1828; John Cum-
mings, 1830: Abraham S. Wilson, 1837 and 1840; James Burns, 1844;
\\'illiam Wilson, 1845; William Reed, 1846; Hugh McKee, 1847; Alex-
ander Gibboney, 1849; John Ross, 1850; Henry P. Taylor, 1852;
Alexander Gibboney, 1853: Elijah Morrison. 1854; John Purcell, 1855;
Charles Bower, 1857: David Withrow, 1858: George Bates, 1859 ;'A.

F. Gibboney, i860; James H. Ross, 1861 ; Holmes Maclay, 1862; C.
C. Stanbarger, 1863; James M. Brown, 1865; John S. Miller, 1867;
Henry S. Wharton, 1867; Samuel T. Brown and Amos H. Martin,
1868; Henry J. McAteer and Abraham Rohrer, 1869; George V.
Mitchell, 1871; George Bates, 1872; Jerome Hetrick, 1873; Joseph W.
Parker, 1874; E. H. H. Stackpole, 1876; Joseph H. Maclay, 1878: W.
H. Parcels, 1882; George S. Hoffman, 1884: William P. Stevenson,
1886: Joseph H. McClintic, 1890: Walter H. Parcels, 1894; Gruber
H. Bell. 1896; Samuel H. Rothrock, 1898: T. A. W. Webb, 1902;
James M. Yeager, 1906; Joseph Kelley, 1908; J. H. Peachey, 1912.

CHAPTER VII

MIFFLIN COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS, BOROUGHS, ETC.

The Ten Townships — Armagh — Bratton — Brown — Decatur — Derry — Granville — Menno
^Oliver — Union — Wayne — Early Indian Raids — Pioneers in Each Township —
Schools — Drake's Ferry^Boroughs and Villages — Lewistown — Its Early History —
Incorporation — Stump Pulling — Market Houses — Fire Department — Police Force —
Water-works — Street Railway — Gas and Electric Light — McVeytown — Newton
Hamilton — Allensville — Belleville — Burnham — Granville — Maitland — JNIilroy —
Reedsville — Wagner — Yeagertown — Postoffices — Rural Free Delivery Routes.

MIFFLIN county is divided into ten townships, viz. : Armagh,
Bratton, Brown, Decatur. Derry, Granville, Menno, Oliver,
Union and Wayne. Three of these townships — Derry, Ar-
magh, and Wayne — were erected in the order named before the forma-
tion of the county as a separate and independent political division of the
state.

Armagh township was created and organized by the authorities of
Cumberland county in January, 1770, nearly twenty years before the
erection of Mifflin countv- About the close of the French and Indian
war a number of settlers came into Derry township, Cumberland
county, which township then included all of the present county of Mif-
flin, and located in the valley north of Jack's mountain. The elec-
tions were held, and in fact all the township business was transacted
south of the mountain, and as there were no roads yet opened the peo-
ple on the north side of the mountain were placed at a disadvantage.
By the latter part of 1769 the population of the valley had increased
until the settlers felt justified in asking for the formation of a new town-
ship. A petition was accordingly presented to the Cumberland county
court, which in January, 1770, took action upon the question as follows:

"Upon reading the petition of several of the inhabitants of Kishacho-
quillas Great Valley, setting forth that they labour under the Burthen
of being in one township with Derry, and as Jack's Mountain lies be-

116

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 117

tween the Great Valley and the rest of the township, which cuts away
all communication only at the Narrows. The Petitioners therefore
humbly prayed that the Court would take them under due consideration
and strike the Great Valley of¥ into a township by itself, leaving Jack's
Mountain to be the division line. The Court do thereupon consider and
order that Jack's Mountain aforesaid be the Division line between the
township of Derry and the part struck off from said township, which
is called by the name of Armagh township, allowing the township of
Armagh to include Kishachoc|uillas Narrows to where the road now
crosses Kishachoquillas Creek."

When Brown and Menno townships were erected in 1836 Armagh
township was reduced in size. It is bounded on the northwest by Cen-
ter county; on the northeast by Union and Snyder counties; on the
southeast by the townships of Decatur and Derry along the summit of
Jack's mountain ; and on the southwest by Brown township. Hunting-
don county forms a small portion of the boundary at the northwest
corner. After the formation of Brown township Armagh was described
as being "six and a half miles in length and six miles in width, and
from the Knobs eastward to the Union county line it is uninhabited,
being a continuous range of mountains."

Among the early settlers in what is now Armagh township were the
five McNitts — -Alexander, John, James. Robert and William — who
located near the foot of the Seven mountains in 1766. Other early
settlers were George Sigler, James Alexander, Mathias Ruble, John and
Edward Bates and George Bell. Indian depredations were of frequent
occurrence in that day and the settlers united in building a fort of the
stockade type near a spring, on the land taken up by Robert McNitt.
The Indians continued their raids for more than ten years after the
coming of the McNitts, when the white men in the valley had become
so numerous that the savages apparently concluded that "discretion is
the better part of valor" and ceased their forays. In July, 1775, a party
of Indians captured George Sigler, Jr., a boy thirteen years of age,
and carried him to Canada, where he was kept a prisoner until after
the treaty of peace, when he was released and returned to his home.
About the same time another party attacked Mathias Ruble's house in
the east end of the Kishacoquillas \'alley, but several cross dogs owned
by Ruble gave the alarm, which enabled the family to defend the house
until one of the boys slipped out of the window unobserved and ran to

ii8 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

the nearest neighbors, who organized a rescuing party. The Indians
had left, however, before the assistance arrived. In 1777, in one of the
latest raids made by the Indians in this section, Robert McNitt, the
eight-year-old son of Alexander McNitt, was captured and taken to
Canada, where he was kept for four years. He was then rescued by a
man named Lee, who had gone there after his daughter, also a captive
among the Indians.

Among the pioneers on the Kishacoquillas the mill and the still-
house were the principal manufacturing enterprises. As early as 1781
there were six mills, seven still-houses and two tan-yards in operation
in Armagh township. William Brown, who operated two of the mills
and two stills, was the owner of two negro slaves, and Matthew Taylor,
who also operated two stills, was the owner of one negro. The first
assessment roll after Mifflin county was erected in 1789 showed 159 tax-
payers, of whom 126 were land owners.

Probably the first school house in the township was on the old road
leading to Penn's valley. It was of round logs, with a clapboard roof,
but the date when it was built is uncertain. The second school house
was on Cameron hill, and another early school house was on James
Armstrong's farm on the south side of Honey creek. In 1912 there
were sixteen teachers employed in the several schools of the township,
and seven were graduated in the township high school at Milroy.

The first postoffice in the township was established in 182S under
the name of Valley. William Thompson, the first postmaster, kept the
office at his residence a short distance northwest of Milroy. In 1850
the name was changed to Milroy.

Bratton township was erected in 1850. The territory comprising
it was taken from Oliver township, which was originally a part of
Wayne. It is bounded on the north by the Juniata river, which sepa-
rates it from Oliver township; on the east by the township of Granville;
on the south by the Blue ridge, which separates it from Juniata county ;
and on the west by Wayne township. It was named for Captain Will-
iam Bratton, who lived in that part of Cumberland county which is now
Mifflin at the time of the Revolutionary war, and who commanded a
company in the Seventh Pennsylvania regiment in the Continental army.

Early in 1755 Andrew Bratton and his brother-in-law, Samuel Hol-
liday, came over the mountains for the purpose of founding homes in

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 119

the Juniata Valley. Bratton selected a tract of land on the south side
of the Juniata, and was the first actual settler in what is now Bratton
township. The first warrant for land located in the township was issued
to Alexander Hamilton on February 10, 1755, for 280 acres on the
Juniata, but he did not become an actual resident until several months
later. Andrew Bratton's land warrant was dated September 8, 1755.
Before that time and the close of the century John, William, George,
Jacob, Edward, James and John Bratton, Jr., had all entered lands in
what is now Bratton township, and during the next fifteen years mem-
bers of the family took up over 1,000 acres of land. Other early set-
tlers were George Mitchell, Nathaniel Stanley, John Beatty, who was a
native of Ireland, Elijah and Benjamin Criswell, John Beard and John
Carlisle.

Andrew Bratton, the original pioneer, built a log meeting-house
near his dwelling for the use of the Presbyterians in the vicinity, and
Rev. Charles Beatty, the missionary, held services in this house in 1766.
This is believed to have been the first regular religious service held in
the township. The earliest school house of which there is any record
was a small log building on the Bratton farm. It was erected about
1780, and James Jacobs was one of the early teachers. Some time prior
to 1800 a log school house was built on John Beard's farm on Shank's
run. Glass was a luxury in those days, and this school house had
oiled paper for windows. In 1S34 a brick school house was built by
Andrew Bratton on his farm, and private or "pay" schools were taught
in this house until it was purchased by the township authorities in 1851.
In that year the township was divided into three — the Bratton, Y'oder
and Humphrey — school districts. Subsequently three new districts
were added, and in 1912 there were six teachers employed in the public
schools.

The Pennsylvania railroad runs along the northern border, follow-
ing the course of the Juniata river, and there are three stations in the
township — Longfellow, Horningford and Mattawana — the last named
being the station for McVeytown, on the opposite side of the river, and
is now generally called by that name.

Brown township, one of the northwestern tier, was established in
January, 1837, and was named for Judge William Brown, who was the
first settler in the Kishacoquillas valley. At the April term of court

I20 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

in 1836 a petition was presented asking for a division of Armagh and
Union townships and the formation of two new ones in that part of
the county. The court appointed Robert Allies, D. R. Reynolds and
Thomas I. Postlethwait to view the townships and make a report as to the
merits of the petition. On July 30, 1836, they reported that they had
performed the duty for which they were appointed, and recommended
the division of the township as asked for by the petitioners. They pre-
sented a plot or map of the territory, showing the four townships as
they would appear after the division. Brown being described as five
and a half miles in length and having an average width of four and a
half miles. The report of the viewers was accepted, and at the January
term following the order was made by the court for the erection of
Brown township. At that time there Avere within the limits of the new
township 211 taxpayers, with property valued at nearly half a million
dollars.

About 1752 William Brown and James Reed visited the Kishaco-
quillas valley in search of suitable lands for farming purposes. These
two men and Robert Taylor settled in the valley on land warrants taken
out in 1755. Brown settled where the town of Reedsville now stands,
and lived there for the remainder of his life. He erected a grist-mill and
saw -mill there in 1781, and the place was known as Brown's Mills until
Reedsville was laid out in 1838. Upon the erection of Mifflin county
in 1789, Mr. Brown was made the presiding justice of the courts and
two years later became an associate justice. Samuel ]\Iilliken settled in
the township in 1772. He was a son of James Milliken, who came from
Ireland in that year and settled in Dauphin county, where he died about
a month after his arrival. Samuel came to the Kishacoquillas valley
soon after his father's death, and at the time of his death in 1804 was
the owner of over 1,000 acres of land in what is now Brown township.
Another pioneer was Abraham Sanford, who owned a tract of land along
the Kishacoquillas creek near the line of Derry and Brown townships
and was running a grist-mill on the farm as early as 1772. Still-houses
were built in the township by William Brown before 1790; William
Henry in 1791 ; John Fleming about 1795; and Samuel Milliken about
1800. Matthew Taylor, John Cooper and Kyle & ]\Iilliken also operated
stills in the township at an early date. In 18 12 James, Jonas and
George Spangler built a small stone shop in the Narrows and began the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 121

manufacture of gun barrels. It was in this building that William Mann
first began to make axes some years later. John Fleming, one of the
early distillers, also had a grist-mill and a woolen mill, and John Taylor
started a tan-yard on his farm about 1813.

Just where and when the first school was taught in the township is a
matter of uncertainty. The Kishacoquillas Seminary had its beginning
in the fall of 1847, when Rev. J. W. Elliott opened a select school in
the Centre church, near the line between Union and Brown townships.
It received a charter in 1854, and continued as a private school in a
building erected by Mrs. Elizabeth Alexander on the road between
Reedsville and Belleville for a number of years. The building was then
sold to a man named Garver, who occupied it as a dwelling and store.
In 1912 there were fourteen teachers employed in the public schools.

Decatur township, \y'mg in the southeastern corner of the county,
was a part of Derry township for forty-five years after the latter was
organized by the Cumberland county court in 1767. In August, 1812,
the people living in the eastern part of Derry township presented a peti-
tion to the court of quarter sessions asking for the erection of a new
township. In response to this petition the court appointed commissioners
to investigate the matter and make a report. In their report, which was
presented to the court at the January term in 1813, the viewers recom-
mended the erection of a new township and closed the report by saying:

"They therefore submit to the Honoralile Court the within plot or
draft of Derry and the part of Beaver Dam lately annexed to it, and
the division line which they have made and caused to be marked on the
ground ; the said line beginning at the North Boundary of Derry town-
ship, in Jack's Mountain, and running south 25° east five and a half
miles to the South Boundary of the said township in the Shade Moun-
tain, and they further beg leave to represent that by the said line the
said township is equally divided, and due consideration has been paid
to the local interest of said township in said division."

The court confirmed the report, approved the recommendations of
the commissioners, and ordered that the new township be called Decatur.
The 3'ear following the erection of the township the assessment rolls
showed 149 landowners in the township, eight saw-mills, two grist-
mills, a fulling-mill and carding machine.

On January 26, 1763, an order of survey gave John Gilchrist the

122 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

right to take up 300 acres of land in the Jack's creek valley, and he was
jDrobably the pioneer settler in Decatur township. The first land warrant
bears date of August i, 1766, and was issued to Jacob Bach for 250
acres. George Frey located 300 acres on February 12, 1767, and
Philip and William Stroup were early settlers. George Sigler, who
had been captured by the Indians in 1775, took out a warrant in 1784
for a tract of land at the head of Long Meadow run. In 1793 he was
the owner of 400 acres. After the Revolution the settlement was more
rapid, and before the close of the century the Bells, Hoffmans, Ever-
harts, Wagners, Klines, Shillings, Yeaters, Tresters, Caleb Parshall and
several other families had located in the Jack's creek valley, most of
them near the old Indian path that ran from the Juniata to the Susque-
hanna river. Some years later this path became a public highway, over
which a stage line was operated, and the route is now closely followed
by the line of the Sunbury division of the Pennsylvania railroad.

That part of Beaver Dam township mentioned in the report of the
viewers was made a part of L'nion county soon after Decatur township
was organized, but on ilarch 16, 1819, by act of the legislature, the
territory was again annexed to Mifflin county and became a part of
Decatur township, where it still remains. With the lines thus estab-
lished, Decatur is bounded on the northeast by the county of Snyder;
on the southeast by Juniata county ; on the southwest by Derry town-
ship, and on the northwest by the township of Armagh.

It is doubtful whether a regular school house was built in the town-
ship prior to the adoption of the public school system in 1834. Before
that time the schools were maintained by private subscriptions and were
usually taught in a room of some residence or in some abandoned struc-
ture fitted up for the purpose. John H. Bell and Samuel Bair were
appointed directors after the passage of the act of April i, 1834, au-
thorizing the establishment of public schools, and these directors divided
the township into the first school districts, four in number. In 1912
there were eight teachers employed in the public schools.

A postoffice — the first in the township — was established at the tavern
of Stephen Hinds early in the nineteenth century, but after several
years it was abandoned. In 1853 another postoffice was established
about a mile west of where the first w-as located, with George Sigler as
postmaster. Upon the opening of the railroad, offices were estab-

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 123

lished at Paintersville, Soradoville and Wagner. Some of these have
been discontinued on account of the introduction of the free rural de-
livery system.

Derry township, the oldest in the county and at one time including
the entire county, was erected by the court of Cumberland county more
than twenty years before Mifflin county was organized. In August 1754,
about a month after the purchase of the lands in the Juniata Valley
from the Indians, Cumberland county organized four townships "tother
side of the North mountain." These townships were Tyrone, Lack,
Fannet and Aire (or Ayr). Early in the year 1767 a petition was pre-
sented to the court by the settlers living north of the Juniata, asking
for the erection of a new township in that region, and at the July term
the court defined the boundaries of Derry township as follows : "Be-
ginning at the middle of the Long Narrows ; thence up the north side
of the Juniata as far as Jack's Narrows; thence to include the valleys
of the Kishacokulus and Jack's creek."

The boundaries as thus established embraced all that portion of the
present county of Mifflin lying north of the Juniata river and part of
what is now Brady township in Huntingdon county. Just when that
portion of Mifflin county south of the Juniata was taken into the town-
ship is not shown by the records, but when the assessment of 1768 was
made the names of the settlers living in that territory were included, so
it is probable the annexation was made soon after the township was
organized. The assessment rolls for that year included the names of
seventy landowners and over 25,000 acres taken up on land warrants.

One of the earliest settlers on the Kishacoquillas creek, on the south
side of Jack's mountain, was Everhart Martin, whose first land warrant
was dated April 2, 1755. Later he entered several other tracts, a large
part of which became the property of the Freedom Iron Company and
later of the Logan Iron and Steel Company. It is not certain, however,
that he ever lived upon the lands thus entered in his name. His son
Christopher built a saw-mill on the creek opposite Yeagertown at an
early date. Mention has been made of Samuel Holliday, who came to
what is now Bratton township in 1755. He located on the Juniata,
near the present borough of McVeytown, where he built a grist-mill,
which was probably the first one in Derry township. It was built about
the time the township was organized. The site of this mill was after-

124 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

ward occupied by the Troxwell tannery. Robert Buchanan located a
trading post at the mouth of the Kishacoquillas creek, where the borough
of Lewistown now stands, before the purchase of the lands from the
Indians in 1754. When the French and Indian war began he went back
to Carlisle and did not return to his trading post until about 1762. On
July 2, 1762, he took out a warrant for 201 acres of land "lying on the
northwest side of the river and extending above the mouth of the
Kishacoquillas creek." His son Arthur and his daughter, at the same
time, took out warrants for land in the vicinity, the former for ninety-
six and the latter for 218 acres. John Early, on August 2, 1766, took
up part of the land where the village of Kellyville was afterward built.
John Rothrock came from Xorthampton county before the Revolution
and settled four miles northeast of Lewistown, where his son Joseph
continued to reside until his death. George Rothrock settled in Fergu-
son's valley in 1773. About the same time Matthew and George Kelly
settled in the south end of the Dry valley and received warrants for
their lands on October i, 1776. During the closing years of the Revo-
lution and in the decade following a number of settlers came into Derry
township. In 17S4 Robert Forsythe came and afterward became one
of the pioneer merchants of Lewistown. Andrew Gregg took up a tract
below that of Jane Buchanan in 1787. built a cabin and put in a stock
of goods. Two years later he was appointed one of the trustees to
organize Mifflin county. John Alexander also came in 1787 and pur-
chased a large tract of land of Christopher ]\Iartin in Little valley. The
following year Ulrich Steely entered 100 acres on the south side of
Jack's mountain. James Mayes took out a warrant on March 9, 1790,
for 250 acres near the present village of Yeagertown, and his brother
Andrew settled in the same neighborhood, where, in 1792, he took up
a large tract of land. In 1793 Philip Minehart was running a saw-mill
in that part of Derry afterward cut off to form Granville township, and
the next year Joseph Strode built a grist and saw-mill on Brightfield's
run. Other settlers came in before the close of the century, and in 1800
the population of the township was 1,135.

A school house was built at an early date on the farm of George
Rothrock, in the Ferguson valley, and early in the nineteenth century
one was erected near the present village of \'ira. It was a log struc-
ture and was used as a church and school house until 1843, '\vhen it

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 125

was sold to the Freedom Iron Company, who removed it to Freedom and
converted it into a dwelHng. Upon the adoption of the pubHc school
system in 1834 Joseph Matthews and David Hough were appointed
school directors, and they divided the township into five districts. In
1912 there were twenty-six teachers employed in the several schools of
the township, exclusive of the borough of Lewistown, which is located
in Derry township.

By the formation of new townships from time to time Derry has
been reduced in size until it is only about six miles square. On the north
it is bounded by Armagh and Brown townships, the line being the sum-
mit of Jack's mountain: on the east by Decatur township: on the south
by Juniata county and the Juniata river, which separates it from Gran-
ville township : and on the west by Granville.

Granville township is first mentioned in the public records at the
April sessions of the court in 1S38, when it was erected from the western
part of Derry. At that time there were 203 taxpayers living within its
limits. The principal manufacturing concerns were a tan-yard, an iron
furnace, four saw-mills, two grist-mills, a carding machine and a still-
house. The first settlers in the township were William and James Arm-
strong. A land warrant was issued to William Armstrong on February
3, 1755, the day the land office opened for business, and James Arm-
strong received a warrant dated April 10, T755, for 282 acres. Settle-
ment was retarded by the French and Indian war for several years, but
in 1762 Thomas Holt took out a warrant for 400 acres of land near the
junction of Brightfield's run and the Juniata river. Four years later he
purchased other lands. Rev. Charles Beatty stopped at Mr. Holt's house
in August, 1766, while on his missionary tour through the Juniata val-
ley. In 1798 Holt's heirs sold the greater part of the estate to William
Lewis, who erected the old Hope furnace soon after becoming the owner
of the land. James Brown also received a warrant in 1762 for 136
acres. On October 30, 1765, Joseph Swift took up 400 acres: on April
9, 1766, 300 acres, and on x\ugust 4, 1766, 300 acres, making 1,000
acres in all, l:)ut he never became a resident of the township, his lands
being purchased for speculative purposes only. In 1766 Ephraim
Blaine, of Carlisle, received a warrant for 250 acres, and in August of
that year Isaac Strode located on 300 acres on Brightfield's (now
Strode's run). Thomas Evans took up 248 acres in August, 1767. and

126 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

the same year James Gemmel received a warrant for 300 acres. James
Lyon, who came from Ireland in 1763, located near the present railroad
station of Anderson in 1768, where he entered 200 acres of land.

Other pioneers were George Bratton. John Cever, Charles Magill,
Abraham Miller, Thomas Martin, James Edwards and the Baums. Most
of the early settlers located along the foot of the mountain or near the
Juniata river. In October, 1777, James Armstrong sold a tract of land,
who purchased other land adjoining and established a tavern which w'as
widely known as the "Rob Roy." It was afterward kept for some time
by Abraham Hufferd, who purchased it after Steel's death in 1821.

The first school house of which any authentic information can be
gained w'as about where the village of Granville now stands. It was
a log house, built at an early date on the farm later owned by F. A.
McCoy, and was used as a school house until about 1840, wdien it
was torn down and a better one erected near the site. Most of the early
school houses were built by the cooperation of the citizens and no record
of their location has been preserved. In 19 12 Granville had a township
high school and fourteen teachers were employed in the several dis-
tricts.

Granville township is bounded on the northeast by Derry; on the
southeast by Juniata county, from which it is separated by the Blue
Ridge; on the southwest by Bratton and Oliver townships, and on the
northwest by Brown and Union. The Juniata river runs through it, and
following the course of the river is the main line of the Pennsylvania
railroad, Granville and Anderson being the two railway stations in the
township.

Menno township was erected at the same time as Brown and in re-
sponse to the same petition, the order of the court being issued at the
January term in 1837. The viewers appointed at the April term in
1836 made a report the following July, with which report they submitted
a map or plat, describing ]\Ienno township as "six and a half miles in
length and the average width from the summit of each mountain four
miles." It was named after Simon Menno, the founder of the Menno-
nite society. Originally it was a part of Derry, but was cut off with
Armagh in 1770 and remained as part of that township until the for-
mation of Union in 1790, when it became the western part of that town-
ship. It lies north of Jack's mountain and is bounded on the northeast

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 127

by Union township; on the southeast by OHver, and on the west and
northwest by Huntingdon county. Kishacoquillas creek rises in this
township.

As early as 1754 Alexander Torrentine and Robert Brotherton vis-
ited the upper Kishacoquillas valley in search of land, and as soon as
the land office was opened the following year they took out warrants
and settled in what is now Menno township. The first religious services
at which a regular preacher officiated were held at the house of Robert
Brotherton some years later. Other pioneers were IMatthew Kenney,
Hugh McClellan, Samuel Gilmore, John AIcDowell. John Wilson, the
Allisons — Joseph, James and Robert — Joseph Kyle and Henry McCon-
key. For services rendered at the grand council with the Indians, held
at Easton in October, 1758, several tracts of land were granted to An-
drew Montour, one of which, called "Sharron." was where the village
of Allenville is now located. It contained over 1,700 acres, and was
surveyed in May, 1767. more than a year before it was granted to Mon-
tour. Subsequently it became the property of Rev. Richard Peters,
whose executors sold it to Benjamin Chew, who obtained a patent for
it dated September 3, 1796.

Nothing can be learned of the early schools. In 1834, when the
present public school system was inaugurated, there were four school
houses in the township, to wit: one at Yoder's, near the county line;
one at King's, east of Allenville; one at Wilson's, and one near the
"Brick Church." In 1912 Menno had a township high school, and in
the several districts there were employed seven teachers.

Oliver township, situated in the western part of the county, was
erected in 1835. A petition asking for a division of Wayne township
was presented to the court at the October term in 1834, when David
Hough, William P. Elliott and Thomas McClure were appointed viewers,
with instructions to report as to the advisability of granting the peti-
tion. On January 8, 1835. they recommended the division of the town-
ship on the following line ; "Beginning at the Strode mountain ; thence
north 36° west, crossing the Juniata river to the mouth of Shank's
run; thence through Joseph Langton's lane to Jack's Mountain." They
also stated, "Our opinions are that said division is the best that can be
made satisfactor}- to a large majority of the inhabitants of said town-
ship."

128 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

At the April session of the court the report and recommendations of
the viewers were approved and confirmed and an order issued for the
erection of a new township to be called Oliver, in honor of John Oliver,
long a judge of the court. The assessment rolls for 1836, the year fol-
lowing the erection of the township, showed 183 taxpayers and about
25,000 acres of land under ownership. At that time there were within
the limits of the township one iron furnace, one distillery, one carding
and fulling machine, two taverns, two cabinet-makers, two wagon-
makers, three tan-yards, three coopers, three grist-mills, three shoe-
makers, four weavers, six tailors, eight blacksmiths, seven stores and
ten saw-mills,.

One of the early settlers was Robert Samuels, who on June 2, 1762,
took out a warrant for 200 acres of land. William Samuels received
a warrant for fifty acres in the same locality in 1768. In that year
Alexander and James Stewart located in the township, the former taking
up 100 acres and the latter 400, and ]\Iatthew Wakefield entered 100
acres. Robert Forgy, a weaver by trade, came to America about 1772
and soon after came to the house of John Beatty, in what is now Brat-
ton township. He married Elizabeth Beatty and settled in Oliver town-
ship shortly after their marriage. \\'illiam Aloore located in what is
now Oliver township some time prior to the year 1770. L'pon the break-
ing out of the Revolutionary war he enlisted in the Continental army
and died in the service. His widow, Isabella, continued to live upon the
old homestead of 100 acres until her death in 1822. Some of their
descendants still live in IMifHin county. About the close of the Revolu-
tion, or between that time and the year 1800, a number of settlers came
into the township. Among them were Robert Elliott, William Robison,
John Allen. Richard Coulter, James Stackpole, Benjamin Walters. John
Rankin, John Ctilbertson, Thomas Collins, Hector Galbraith, James Hus-
ton, Henry Hanawalt and John Swigart.

John Oliver, for whom the township was named, was a native of
Ireland, where he was born in 1752-. He came to this country when
a young man. and in 1780 was engaged in teaching school in Wayne
(now Oliver) township. In 1782 he married ^largaret Lyon, daughter
of James Lyon, and from 1794 to 1837 was an associate justice of the
Mifflin county courts. He died on February 9, 1841.

The first school house of which any definite knowledge can be ob-

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 129

tainecl was near Strode' s Mills, but the date when it was built or when
the first school was taught there cannot be ascertained. Another early
school house was on the farm of John Culbertson, about a mile west
of the present borough of McVeytown. Soon after the township was
formed in 1835 John Haman and Richard Miles were appointed directors
for the five school districts taken from Wayne. Nine teachers were
employed in the schools in the year k; 12-13.

Oliver township was reduced in size by the formation of Bratton
in 1850, when that portion south of the Juniata was taken for the new
township. At present it is bounded on the northwest by Union and
Menno townships; on the northeast by Granville; on the southeast by
the Juniata river, which separates it from Bratton ; and on the south-
west by the township of Wayne. Huntingdon county forms a small
portion of the boundary near the southwest corner. The borough of
McVeytown is situated in this township. Near McVeytown are large
sand quarries from which large quantities of sand are shipped to glass
factories in different parts of the country.

L^nion township, the first to be organized after the erection of Mif-
flin county, lies northwest of Jack's mountain and extends to the Hunt-
ingdon county line. At the i\Iarch term of the jMiftlin county court in
1790 a petition was presented on behalf of the inhabitants of the west
end of Armagh township, asking that a new township be formed and
that the division line be made, "Beginning at a certain stream of water
extending from the Plumb bottom to Kishacoquillas creek, emptying into
the same near the widow Alexander's.'' At the June term in the same
year the court ordered 'That the said township of Armagh be divided
according to the prayer of the petitioners, and that the township erected
out of the west end thereof be called and known by the name and style
of Union township, and that the inhabitants thereof choose township
officers according to law."

One of the first white men to settle in what is now Union township
was James Alexander, who was born in Ireland in 1726, but came to
America with his parents when he was but ten years of age. The fam-
ily located near West Nottingham, Chester county, Pennsvlvania, and
when the purchase of 1754 was made he and his brother Hugh started
for the new domain in search of land. Hugh settled in Sherman's val-
ley. Perry county, but James came on to the valley of the Kishacoquillas

I30 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

creek, \vhere he made a selection, and on February 5, 1755, he received
a warrant for a tract containing a tritie over 239 acres. He was driven
out by the Indians in 1756 and did not return to his frontier farm for
six years. He married Rosie, daughter of Robert Reed, of Chambers-
burg, and reared a family of eleven children. During the winter of
1777-78 he served in the commissary department of General Washing-
ton's army at Valley Forge, for which service he received 1,600 acres of
land in Clearfield county. He died in 1791, and some of his descendants
still reside in Mifflin county.

In September, 1762, Thomas Ferguson took out a warrant for a tract
of 400 acres, which was later purchased by Robert and John Campbell,
who settled there in the spring of 1774. In July, 1762, Caleb Gordon
entered land in Union township. John ^NIcKee and Samuel ]\Iaclay re-
ceived their land warrants on August i, 1766, the former for 106 acres
and the latter for 352. Other early settlers were David Johnson, Chris-
tian Voght, William Baker, the Hartzlers, Yoders, Peacheys, Rennos
and Zooks.

The last named families were either Mennonites or Amish, a large
number of people belonging to these religious sects locating in the
township before the close of the eighteenth centur}-. The assessment
roll of the township for 1791 — the first after its erection — showed the
names of sixty-two landowners, who held about 10,000 acres. There
were at that time one mill, one tan-yard, two negro slaves and eight still-
houses in the township, which had a total population of about 600.

The western part of L'nion was cut off in 1837 to form the town-
ship of Menno, leaving it only about one-half its original size. Since
then the township is bounded on the northwest by Huntingdon county ;
on the northeast by Brown township ; on the southeast by Granville and
Oliver, from which it is separated by Jack's mountain ; and on the south-
west by the township of Menno. The most thickly settled portion is
along the Kishacoquillas creek, and Belleville is the only village of im-
portance.

No record of the early schools has been preserved. At the Novem-
ber term of court in 1834 William P. Maclay and David Zook were
appointed school directors for the township, and the following March
these directors established nine school districts (including the territorv
cut off two years later by ]Menno township). A township high school is

HISTORY OF THE JUNL^TA VALLEY 131

now established at Belleville, and in 19 12 thirteen teachers were em-
ployed in the public schools.

^^'ayne township, which was formed seven years before Mifflin
county was erected, occupies the extreme southwestern part of the
county. The records of the Cumberland county court for July, 1782,
contain the following entry :

"Upon the petition of the inhabitants of Derry township to the
court, setting forth that they labour under considerable disadvantage,
from the great extent of their township and the inconvenience of serv-
ing in public offices for the same, met by appointment on Thursday, the
13th day of June, 1782, and chose Arthur Buchanan, Samuel Holliday,
John Keever, James Ross, Joseph Westbrook, W'illiam Armstrong aiid
Matthew Wakefield to form a line to divide said township into two
equal parts, and that they mutually agreed the run called Brightfield's
Run should be the division line, from the rise of the main branch thereof
until the mouth, and from thence in the course that it enters the Juniata,
directly to the mountain. And praying the Court that the said division
may be confirmed and entered of record according to the aforesaid
line, and that the inhabitants of the upper division desire the name of
their township may be distinguished by the name of ^Vayne township,
which division having been taken into consideration by the Court, is
accordingly approved and confirmed, and that the upper division thereof
be distinguished by the name of \\'ayne township."

The assessment rolls for 1783 showed the names of 121 landowners,
holding nearly 20,000 acres. Besides the farming interests there were
in the township two saw-mills, two grist-mills, one tan-yard and five still-
houses.

The first warrant issued for land in Wayne township was dated
February 14, 1755, and was issued to Barnabas Barnes for a tract
"situate on the north side of the Juniata river, about a quarter of mile
below the falls." This land was soon after sold by Barnes to Richard
Tea, who sold it to Daniel Carmichael in December, 1767. In 1762
James Ross, Hugh Brown, John Carmichael and Christian Hamilton
settled in the township. David Jenkins, a native of Ireland, was a sol-
dier with General Braddock in 1755. Not long afterward he came to the
Juniata valley, and for several years was a teacher in the early schools
of Mifflin county. His wife, a Miss Miller, was a cousin of General
Anthony Wayne, for whom the township was named. James Jenkins,

132 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

a son of David, was with the Aaron Burr expedition in iSo6 and later
served in the L'^nited States army in the War of 1S12. Robert, another
son was also in the War of 1812 and was killed at Black Rock. On
February 28, 1766, George Galloway took out a warrant for 150 acres
of land on the south side of the Juniata, at the place long known as
Galloway's ford. Other early settlers were Alexander McKinstry, John
Miller, Patrick Dunn, William Scott, Arthur Starr, Joseph Corbett, John
Cunningham, William Alorrison, John Unkles, Samuel McKeehan. Fran-
cis Hamilton, Samuel Drake, James Macklin and William McMullen.

Samuel Drake settled on fifty acres of land at Jack's Narrows, where
he established a ferry and conducted a tavern for many years. About
1840 he removed to Newton Hamilton, where he passed the remainder
of his life. His sons continued to operate the ferry for several years,
when they also located in Newton Hamilton. Drake's ferry was known
far and the tavern was a favorite stopping place for travelers. It was
at this tavern that the sheriff of Huntingdon county was arrested in
1 79 1, while the dispute concerning the boundary line was before the
people of the two counties, an account of which may be found in
Chapter IV.

William Scott's warrant, which was dated February 22, 1776, called
for 100 acres of land, including the site of the present village of Atkin-
son's Mills, in the northern part of the township.

At the time the township was erected the line ran from Concord gap
to a point on the Juniata between 2iIcVeytown and Gallow-ay's ford and
included territory that remained a part of Huntingdon county until
annexed to Mifflin by the act of April 15, 1834. The township is now
bounded on the north and west by Huntingdon county ; on the east by the
townships of Oliver and Bratton; and on the south by Juniata county,
from which it is separated by the Blue ridge. The Juniata river flows
through the township, and closely following its course is the main line
of the Pennsylvania railroad, the stations in Wayne being Vineyard,
Ryde and Newton Hamilton. Large sand quarries are operated at Vine-
yard.

Probably the first school teacher in Wayne was David Jenkins, men-
tioned above, who taught in a small house built of poles on the old
Galloway farm. In 1793 there was a school house on the farm of John
James. When the public school system was adopted in 1834 John

COURTHOUSE. MIFFLIXTOWX.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 133

Oliver, Jr., and Dr. L. G. Snowden were appointed school directors for
the township, which then included Oliver and Bratton, in which they
established ten school districts in March, 1835. In 1912 there were
eleven teachers employed in the public schools.

In 1837 the Matilda furnace was built on the Juniata river, opposite
Mount Union, Huntingdon county, by John F. Cottrell and others.
Power was at first supplied by a large overshot wheel and charcoal was
used in the furnace, but in 185 1 the plant was purchased by John and
Peter Haldeman, who installed a steam engine and began the use of
anthracite coal. The furnace was operated by different persons at inter-
vals until 1884, when it was abandoned.

Mifflin county has but four boroughs — Lewistown, McVeytown,
Burnham and Newton Hamilton — though there are a number of flour-
ishing and important villages that have never been incorporated. Fore-
most among these are Allensville, Belleville, Granville, Maitland, Matta-
wana, Milroy, Reedsville, Wagner and Yeagertown.

Lewistown had its beginning in 1754, when Robert Buchanan came
from Carlisle and established a trading post where the borough now
stands. He bought the site from an Indian chief named Pokety, and
the settlement that grew up around the trading post was at first called
"Poketytown./.' It was also called Old Town and Kishacoquillas' Old
Town. In 1856, upon the breaking out of the Indian hostilities. Bu-
chanan was warned of his danger by Kishacocjuillas, the Shawnee chief,
and returned to Carlisle. He came back to his trading post some years
later, and in July, 1762, took out a warrant for his land. Poketytown
is described in the Columbia Magazine in 1788 as "consisting only of a
tavern and a few scattered hovels and containing nothing worth notice."

\\'hen Mifflin county was erected in 1789, the county seat was located
by the organic act at the mouth of the Kishacoquillas creek, and when
the town was laid out later in the year by Samuel Edmiston and James
Potter, it was given the name of Lewistown, in honor of William Lewis,
who was a member of the legislature from Berks county and to whose
efforts was largely due the location of the seat of justice at that point,
instead of below the long narrows, on the site now occupied by the
county seat of Juniata county.

On April 11, 1795, Governor Mifllin approved an act for the incor-
poration of Lewistown as a borough, with the following limits or boun-

134 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

daries : "Beginning at a post on the bank of the river Juniata, thence
north 38° west to a post, thence north 52° east 161 perches to a post,
thence south 38° east 143 perches to a post on the south side of Kisha-
cocjuillas creek, thence down said creek south 85° west 17 perches to a
post, thence north 68° west 50 perches, thence south 62° west 22 perches
to the mouth of the said creek, thence up the said river north 78° west
45 perches and thence west 32 perches to the place of beginning."

"The L'nited States Gazetteer" for 1795, the year Lewistown was in-
corporated as a borough, describes it as "the chief town in }ilifthn county,
Pennsylvania, situated on the north side of the Juniata river at the
mouth of Cishicoquilis creek. It is regularly laid out and contains about
120 dwellings, a court-house and a jail. A court of common pleas and
general c^uarter sessions is held here the second ^Monday in January,
April, August and November. It is 150 miles W.X.W. of Philadel-
phia."

By the act of incorporation the first borough officers were named as
follows: Joseph Cogill, chief burgess; George McClellan, burgess;
Robert Patterson and JNIichael Foncannon, burgesses' assistants ; James
Robertson, town clerk; Jeremiah Daily, high constable. It was further
provided that these officers should serve until the first ^Monday in ^lay,
1796, when the first borough election should be held. A supplementary
act, approved by Governor Snyder on February 6, 181 1, provided for
the election, "on the Friday next preceding the third Saturday of March
next, and on the same day in every year hereafter," of a chief burgess,
an assistant burgess, five reputable citizens to be a town council, and one
reputable citizen to be a high constable.

In the early days of the town travel was obstructed by a great many
stumps in the streets. One of the early ordinances imposed as a penalty
for drunkenness the digging out of one of these stumps. Sometimes the
sentence would be suspended until a number of men had been found
guilty, when the culprits would be rounded up by the constable and
a "stump-pulling bee" would be the result. On such occasions the stumps
extracted were used to fill a ravine that ran through the town.

A market-house was erected north of the court-house about 1796
and was used until the spring of 18 19, when the council passed an
ordinance declaring it a nuisance and ordering its sale. It was merely
an open shed, the roof being supported on brick columns. A second

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 135

market-house was built on the southwest corner of the public square in
1S33 and continued in service for ten years. It was taken down at the
same time as the old court-house, in 1843. ^Y 'i" ^ct of the legislature,
approved on April 27, 1844, the authorities were given power to pur-
chase a lot and erect thereon a market-house and town hall. A lot at
the corner of Main and Third streets was purchased and a town hall
and market-house built the same year. ^Markets were held in this build-
ing at irregular intervals until 1870, when they were abandoned entirely.
The Lewistown Market-House Company was organized in 19 10, and
the succeeding year erected a market-house on Third street between
Main and Wayne streets, with a public hall on the second floor.

On February 23, 1815, the burgess and council passed an ordinance
providing that every owner of a house "shall furnish the same with
leathern fire-buckets, which buckets shall be kept in the entry or such
other part of the house as shall be most easy of access, and be marked
with the owner's name or initials thereof, and shall be kept in good
repair for using at all times in case of fire." This was the first step
toward providing fire protection. An engine was purchased not long
afterward, and in April, 1817, was placed under the direction of the
corporation of the borough of Lewistown, "for the better and more per-
fect organization of a Fire Engine Company," the first record of a
regularly organized company until August, 1834, when the "Kite Fire
Company," composed of boys, was formed. The Juniata Fire Company
was incorporated by the act of June 22, 1839. In the spring of 1843
two companies — the Fame and the Henderson Hook and Ladder Com-
pany — were organized. In October, 1877, the council purchased a
Silsby steamer, which was named "Henderson," and placed in charge
of the company of that name. The steamer was kept in the old Luth-
eran church on Third street, which had been bought by the borough
some years before for that purpose. In 1913 there were five companies
in the city, including the one at Lewistown Junction across the Juniata
river. Two of these companies are equipped with steam engines ; there
are two automobile hose trucks, a hook and ladder truck, etc. The
Henderson Company is still located on Third street ; the Fame and City
companies on Valley street, and the Brooklyn Company is located on
Hale street.

A police force, consisting of a captain and first and second lieuten-

136 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

ants, was organized under the ordinance of February 4, 1850. These
officers were authorized "to appoint a proper number of citizens in each
ward to patrol the streets and alleys during the night." The reason
for this action was that a short time before there had been a number of
serious fires which were believed to have been the work of incendiaries
and the police force was established to capture the offenders. The pres-
ent force consists of two patrolmen.

By the act of April 10, 1826, the borough of Lewistown was author-
ized to establish a system of water-works and to borrow, not to exceed
$8,000, for the purpose, the work of construction to be commenced
within five years. Work was commenced early in 1829 and continued
for some time, Init the supply of water was never delivered to the people
of the town. The Lewistown Water Company was incorporated on
April 16, 1838, with a capital stock of $15,000 and power "to purchase
springs, streams of water or water-power for their purposes." Work
was begun on the reservoir in June, 1839, and it was completed in 1843,
when the first hydrants were placed on the streets. The first water
came from half a mile west of the borough limits, where some springs
along Minehart's run were leased by the company. The capital stock
was increased $10,000 in 1843, s"d in 1846 twelve acres of land, includ-
ing the springs, were purchased of David W. Hulings. In 1865 there
were about two and a half miles of pipe laid. Since then the lines have
been extended and the capital stock increased from time to time until
the company now supplies Lewistown, Burnham, Y'eagertown, Reeds-
ville and Milroy. Besides the old source of supply at Minehart's run,
new sources have been developed at Cooper's gap. north of Lewistown,
Laurel run and Treaster's run, also north of the city. The five dis-
tributing reservoirs established at convenient points have a capacity of
15,000,000 gallons, and the cpiality of the water is unsurpassed, as shown
by analyses.

The Lewistown & Reedsville electric railway was established in 1900.
The first line ran from Lewistown to Reedsville, a distance of about six
miles. Subsequently the tracks were extended across the Juniata to
Lewistown Junction and a branch east of Lewistown runs to Burnham
and to Burnham Park, an amusement resort established in 1905 by the
street railroad company.

On April 6, 1855, the Lewistown Gas Company was incorporated.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 137

and before the close of the year a plant was erected at the foot of Mar-
ket street. The Electric Light Company was chartered in 1889, and
some years later both these companies were merged into the Penn Cen-
tral Light and Power Company, which fnrnishes gas and electric light
and power to a number of towns and boroughs in the Juniata Valley
and adjoining territory.

In 1800, the first United States census after Lewistown was in-
corporated, the borough had a population of 523. Each census year has
shown a substantial increase, until in 1910 the population was 8,166.
The borough has four banking institutions, a high school and four ward
school buildings of modern t}-pe. the principal streets are paved with
brick, there are a number of well-appointed mercantile houses and manu-
facturing concerns, good hotels, local and long distance telephone serv-
ice, good transportation facilities, and a number of fine church edifices
of different denominations.

McVeytown (formerly W'aynesburg) was founded by John McVey,
who took out a land warrant for 200 acres of land where the borough
now stands, in July, 1787. Samuel Holliday had settled there in 1762,
but it was nijt until 1795 that W'aynesburg was laid out. John Haman
and Edward Dougherty were also early settlers. The completion of the
canal in 1830 gave an impetus to W'aynesburg and brought an increase
of population. On April 9. 1833, Governor Wolfe approved an act to
incorporate W'aynesburg as a borough under the name of McVeytown.
The first election was held on ]\Iarch 21, 1834, at which John M. Barton
was elected burgess ; G. H. Galbraith, Richard Miles, John Haman, Revel
Elton and William Rook, members of the town council. By a supple-
mentary act, approved on May 9. 1841, the boundaries of the borough
were extended and the burgess and council were granted additional
powers. A local newspaper called The People's Friend was started by
William D. Mc\^ey in the spring of 1842, and the first public school
building in the borough was erected on a lot donated by Samuel Holli-
day. It was torn down in 1844 and a larger one erected in its place. In
1840 the population of McVeytown was 348. This had increased to 679
in 1880, since which time there has been a slight decrease, the census
of 19 10 showing 514 inhabitants. Including the railroad station of
Mattawana (also called McVeytown) on the opposite side of the Juniata,
the population in 1910 was 785. McA'eytown has a national bank, sev-

138 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

eral good stores, churches of different religious faiths, a money order
postoffice, etc.

The borough of Xewton Hamilton is located upon land entered by
Hugh Brown in 1762. The town was laid out about 1802, and in 1828
Elijah Davis opened a store. John Postlethwait started a tavern called
the Logan House the following year. Robert Thompson & Company
and Richard A. McDowell & Company were among the early mercantile
firms. A school was taught by Samuel Cross in 1830 in a house next to
the old Sigler residence. In 1838 a stone school house was erected and
was used for many years, when the present building was erected. By
an act of the legislature, approved on April 12, 1843. Xewton Hamilton
was incorporated as a borough, and the first election was held in March,
1844, when John Morrison was elected burgess; Robert A. McDowell,
Benjamin Norton, Joseph H. ]\Iorrison, John AV. Smith, Samuel D.
Postlethwait, Samuel Drake, Charles Knox and James D. ^Morrison,
members of the first town council. A Presbyterian church was organized
in the spring of 1838, a ^Methodist church having been organized some
twelve years sooner. In 1872 a camp-meeting association was organ-
ized and purchased thirty-six acres near the borough. In 1850 Newton
Hamilton contained nearly 100 taxpayers and a total population of 353.
Very little change has been made in the number of inhabitants since the
incorporation, the population in 19 10 being 340. A postoffice was estab-
lished at this point in 1836, with Philip Strouse as the first postmaster.
The borough is located on the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad
twenty-two miles southwest of Lewistown and not far from the Hunt-
ingdon county line.

AUenville (or Allensville), one of the old settlements of the county,
was laid out about 1806. A store was opened soon after that, and in
18 19 Christopher Howell opened a hotel and also engaged in merchan-
dising. A Presbyterian church was built in 1800 and a Lutheran church
in 1827. Allensville is located in the western part of Alenno township,
not far from the Huntingdon county line, and being some distance from
a railroad its growth has not been what its founders anticipated. In 19 10
it reported a population of 338. It has a money order postofiice, and is
a rallying point and trading center for that section of the county.

Belleville, one of the most important unincorporated towns of Mif-
flin county, is situated in L'nion township, almost due west of Lewis-

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 139

town, and is the terminus of the Kishacoquillas Valley railroad. The
first settler here was Joseph Greenwood, who started a blacksmith shop,
and the little village that grew up around his shop was at first called
Greenwood. A postoffice was established about 1800 by the name of
Belleville, and that name was afterward applied to the village. Kirk &
Steel were the first merchants. Among the early industries was a sickle
factorv, established in connection with his blacksmith shop by Jesse
Tanier. The first tavern was opened by James Poe in the early '30s.
As Belleville grew and its limits were extended it absorbed the old town
of Mechanicsville. which was laid out in 1832 on the farm of David
Zook. Belleville is the headquarters of the Kishacoquillas Mutual Fire
Insurance Company, which was incorporated by the Mifflin county
courts on February 9, 1854. The town has two national banks, a num-
ber of good mercantile establishments, churches of various denomina-
tions, and the Union township high school is located here. The popula-
tion in 1910 was 1,000.

Burnham (formerly Logan) is the outgrowth of the iron industry
at that point, beginning with the establishment of Freedom forge in
1795. A small settlement grew up about the forge and in time devel-
oped into a considerable village. The plant of the Freedom Company
was purchased by the Logan Iron and Steel Company in 1871, when the
village took the name of the new company. North of the original works
a new establishment was started in November, 1868, for the manufacture
of steel bv the Bessemer process, but it was discontinued the succeeding
year. In 1S71 William Butcher, of Philadelphia, bought the plant and
began the manufacture of steel tires, but became financially embarrassed
and turned the works over to his creditors, who organized the Standard
Steel Company, and the village later came to be called Burnham, after
one of the head men of the Standard Company. At the January ses-
sions of the court in 191 1 a petition was presented asking for the in-
corporation of Burnham as a borough, and on June 26, 191 1, the court
granted the prayer of the petitioners, fixed the boundaries and ordered
an election for the 20th of July following. At the election R. L. Eward
was elected chief burgess : A. M. Plank, tax collector : J. L. Groninger,
constable; Miller Leeper, Cloyd Williams, David Thomas, A. K. An-
drews, John Ward, Albert Reich and Frank Broome, councilmen. Sub-
sequently the borough limits were extended to include a wider scope of

I40 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

territory. Burnham is a station on the Rlilroy I^ranch of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad, four miles north of Lewistown, with which it is con-
nected by electric railway. The population in 1910 was 585.

Granville, a station on the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad,
takes its name from old Fort Granville. \Valter Owen opened a store
here in 1865, and the next year the railroad company made it a passenger
station. A postoffice was established in that year imder the name of
Granville, the place having been known prior to that time as "W'olfkill's
Siding." In 19 10 Granville reported a population of 219.

IMaitland is a village of 159 inhabitants on the Sunbury division of the
Pennsylvania railroad, five miles northeast of Lewistown. A writer in
1885 describes it as having "a postoffice, store, depot, school house and
a few dwellings." That description would apply to the village to-day,
except the number of dwellings has slightly increased.

Milroy, situated in the western part of Armagh township, twelve
miles north of Lewistown, was originally known as Perryville, after an
early settler. In 1850 the name was changed to Milroy, a postoffice by
that name having been established there some time in the early part of
that year. An iron furnace was started at Milroy in 1828, and in 1868
Joseph Wagner established a foundry. Another early industry was a
tannery started by James Milroy while the town was in its infancy.
James Johnson was one of the pioneer merchants, and John Fertig had
a distillery at Perryville. It was located in the basement of his house,
which was the first dwelling in the village. A Presbyterian church was
built in 1833, and a Methodist congregation was organized in 1825, when
a small house of worship was built. It was replaced by a larger edifice
in 1846. A Lutheran church was established in 1857. Milroy is the
terminus of a branch of the Pennsylvania railroad that connects with
the main line at Lewistown Junction. It has a bank, a good public
school, several good mercantile establishments, etc., and in 1910 reported
a population of 1,000, but it is not incorporated.

Reedsville, with a population of 900, is located in the Kishaco-
quillas valley and is a station on the Milroy branch of the Pennsylvania
railroad, seven miles from Lewistown. The first settler at this place
was Judge William Brown, who built a saw-mill and a grist-mill, and
until the village was laid out, aljout 1838, the place was known as
"Brown's I\Iills." At the time the village was laid out there were about

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 141

twenty houses there and a tavern had been conducted for many years.
A large brick hotel was built soon after the town was laid out. Reeds-
ville is also connected with Lewistown by electric railway. It has a bank,
the Brown township high school, several good stores, hotel, etc., and is
supplied with water by the Lewistown Water Company.

Wagner, a station on the Sunbury division of the Pennsylvania rail-
road, had its beginning in 186S, when the railroad was completed. A
tan-yard had been started there in 1853 by William Mitchell & Son, and
doubtless had some influence in securing the location of a station. Soon
after the railroad was opened for business a postoffice was established
and a store opened. In 1910 it had a population of 158.

Yeagertown, situated on the Kishacoquillas creek, about a mile above
Burnham, and connected with Lewistown and other points along the
Kishacoquillas by electric railway, is the outgrowth of a settlement that
grew up about the saw-mill and grist-mill erected there at an early date.
James Mayes settled in that section in 1790 and built a tavern which was
kept by different persons for many years. In 1S42 Jacob Yeager came
with his family from Dauphin county and purchased the mill property.
Simon Yeager opened a store in 1857, though he had been a resident of
the village for a number of years prior to that date. Jonathan Yeager
opened a tavern in 1845, and Jeremiah Yeager bought and rebuilt the
mill in 1859. Through the activity of the members of this family the
place came to be known as Yeagertown. In 1910 the village had a
population of 600. The Derry township high school is at Yeagertown,
which has a number of stores and some manufacturing enterprises.

In addition to the boroughs and villages above enumerated and de-
scribed, the postoffices of Mifflin county are Kishacoquillas, five miles
northwest of Lewistown ; Mattawana, just across the Juniata from Mc-
Veytown; Naginey, the first station on the railroad south of Milroy;
Paintersville, on the Sunbury railroad, eight miles from Lewistown;
Ryde, on the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad, seventeen miles
west of Lewistown ; Shindle, eleven miles northeast of Lewistown
on the Sunbury division; and Strodes Mills, on a branch of the
Kishacoquillas creek, six miles southwest of Lewistown. There are
ten free rural delivery routes in the county, to wit : Four from
Lewistown, two from Belleville, and one each from McVeytown, Milroy,
Newton Hamilton and Reedsville.

CHAPTER VIII

JUNIATA COUNTY, ORGANIZATION, ETC.

Juniata Originally a Part of Mifflin County — Dissensions over the Location of the
County Seat — Petitions to the Legislature to Change Location — Agitation for a
New County — A Peculiar Highway — Memorial to the General Assembly — Petition
of Protest — John Cummins — ^Juniata County Erected — First Court-House — Jail —
Present Court-House — Form of the County — Area — Boundaries — Never Had a
Poor-House — The Civil List.

JUNIATA county is a child of much tribulation, ^^■hen the county
of Mifflin was created by the act of September 19, 1789, there
arose a great deal of dissatisfaction among the people living
in the southern and western townships over the location of the county
seat. In the chapter on Mifflin county may be found an account of
the change in boundaries from those first proposed, which change in-
fluenced the legislature to provide for the location of the county
seat at the mouth of the Kishacoquillas creek, and which was the
cause of most, if not all, the dissatisfaction that later developed in that
part of the county lying below the Narrows. On November 14, 1789,
the people living in that part of ]\Iifflin county addressed a communi-
cation to the legislature, setting forth that it was their intention
to use every honorable means to secure a change in the location of
the seat of justice. The communication expressed the belief that a
time would come when territory would be taken from the northern
part of Mifflin county, and declared that, when that time came, the
people living below the Narrows would assert their just rights, "thereby
undeceiving every person who might have an inclination to purchase
in the borough of Lewistown, in order that they might judge for them-
selves with regard to the seat of justice remaining in that place,
and those who purchased cannot plead ignorance of an existing dis-
pute, but are on the same footing with a person purchasing his chance
of a disputed title."

142

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 143

Again, on February 9, 1790, a similar statement was promulgated
by the disaffected citizens, and from that time until Juniata was cut
off as a separate county the strife went on. The movement to change
the location of the county seat received a fresh impetus when, on Feb-
ruary 13, 1800, the legislature passed an act erecting Centre county,
taking a generous slice from the northern part of Mifflin for that pur-
pose. A lengthy petition, reviewing the history of the organization of
Mifflin county and the origin of the dispute, and asking for a removal
of the seat of justice, was presented to the legislature of 1801-02. The
principal paragraphs of this petition were as follows :

"That numbers of your petitioners who live below the Long Nar-
rows (and have the same to pass through to get to Lewistown) live
at the distance of T,y miles from thence; and those who live above the
Narrows (except a few persons in the west end of Wayne township,
who are petitioning to be annexed to Huntingdon County) do not
exceed eighteen miles from their Seat of Justice.

"That your Petitioners believe, as to numbers of those above and
below the Narrows, very little difference exists, but claim the majority,
and contend the town of Mifflin to be much more central and con-
venient than Lewistown, taking into view the local situation of Mifflin
County as it at present stands ; also a further and very material accom-
modation of Greenwood township, in Cumberland, Mahantango and
Beaver Dam townships, in Northumberland, and Dublin, in Hunting-
don Counties, the three latter of whom have petitioned to be annexed
to Mifflin County on proviso that the Seat of Justice be removed to
the town of Mifflin."

Upon the refusal of the legislature to grant the request of the peti-
tioners, an agitation was started for a division of the county of Mifflin.
More than ten years elapsed before this movement assumed anything
like definite shape, but the people below the Narrows sent a petition,
signed by a large majority of the voters living in that part of the
county, to the legislature of 1813, praying for the erection of a new
county. Early in February of that year there was introduced in the
state senate a bill entitled "An act erecting that part of Mifflin county
which lies east of and below the Black Log mountain and Long Nar-
rows into a separate county." After some discussion the title of the
measure was changed to "An act erecting part of Mifflin county into
a separate county, to be called Juniata," and hopes were entertained

144 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

that it would become a law. It was finally defeated, however, and
the petitioners buckled on their armor for another contest. Again the
work of circulating petitions for a division of the county was com-
menced, but this time the people living above the Narrows got up a
counter petition, the county officers and tavern-keepers of Lewistown
being particularly active in their opposition.

The statement in the petition of 1801, that "numbers who live
below the Long Narrows (and have the same to pass through to get
to Lewistown) live at a distance of 2>7 niiles from thence." could
neither be denied nor ignored, and, to provide for a shorter rrnite, the
opponents of division petitioned the court "for a road across the moun-
tains from Lewistown into Tuscarora valley." Road viewers were
appointed and made a favorable report, which was confirmed by the
court, and a road six feet in width was ordered to be laid out. but
the townships through which it passed refused to open it. An appro-
priation of $500 to aid in its construction was made by the legislature
of 1816, and the money was used to build part of the road from Lewis-
town to the Licking creek valley. Concerning this road, Everts, Peck
& Richards' "History of the Susquehanna and Juniata Valleys," pub-
lished in 1886. says: "It has in some places a grade of twenty-four
degrees, or seven feet to the perch, and it is not known that any one
ever risked his neck or that of his horse in riding down that road,
and had it Iieen finished it would have taken five thousand dollars
and then been utterly unfit for any vehicle except a one-wheeled cart.
It crossed the Blue Ridge near the route of the Fort Granville path, and
is sometimes mistaken for it, though both may yet be easily found. In
1818 a road was laid out from the paper-mill to intersect this tavern-
keeper's road. Few people in Licking Creek to-day know they have a
laid-out road to Lewistown."

That the construction of this road failed to pacify the people below
the Narrows is evidenced by the fact that another bill providing for a
division of Mifflin county passed the senate in the session of 1816,
but failed to pass the house. Two years later, in the session of 1818-19,
another petition came before the legislature praying for a division of
the county. After calling attention to the fact that petitions had been
presented to the general assembly every year for seven years, and that
these petitions had been signed by from 11,000 to 13,000 bona fide

HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY 145

residents of that part of the county below the Narrows, the petition
goes on to show the existing conditions, as follows :

"The old townships of Milford and Fermanagh alone in our pro-
posed new county are now nearly as numerous and much more wealthy,
and will sell for more money than all the county of Mifflin would have
done at the time of its erection, in 1789. In our proposed new county
we have twenty-eight grist and merchant mills, forty-nine saw-mills,
three fulling mills, thirteen carding machines, three oil-mills and one
complete paper mill, and it will be seen by the printed documents here-
with submitted that there are seventeen counties in the State that are
fewer in number than either the old or new county would be if divided,
and twenty counties in the State in which the lands are not valued half
as high as in ^Mifflin count)-, and some of them are entitled to two mem-
bers.

"The people below these Narrows have all to come from east,
south, and west to one entering place, and then go up the Long Nar-
rows and through the mountains, a distance of nine or ten miles —
the whole distance they have to travel to the seat of justice is from nine
to forty miles.

"Nature has fixed a boundary, which ought, at least, to separate
counties; that boundary is a chain of high mountains between Mifflin-
town and Lewistown. Besides, there exists so much prejudice and
jealousy between the people above and those below that almost all
public improvement is at a stand while the question is pending.

"Therefore your memorialists most solemnly pray your honorable
bodies to restore harmony and good will among the people by putting
this long-litigated question and the people to rest by passing a law to
divide the county agreeably to the prayers of the petitioners, and they
will, as in duty bound, ever pray."

Petitions of protest from the citizens living above the Narrows were
also presented, and their influence seemed to weigh more with the
members of the legislature than did the petition from those living below,
as no action was taken on the question during the session. Discour-
aged by repeated defeats and rebuffs, the citizens of the southern and
western townships for a time ceased their efforts to secure the estab-
lishment of a new county, ^^'ith this cessation the people above the
Narrows became more active. In 1823 they exerted their influence
to have Lack township annexed to Perry county, and, five years later,
a bill was introduced in the general assembly to annex Greenwood town-
ship to Union county, which then included the present county of Snv-

146 HISTORY OF THE JUMATA VALLEY

der. The object of these measures was to get rid of some of the most
active advocates of county division — those who had to travel farthest
to reach Lewistown — and to hold the central part of what is now
Juniata county to INIifflin. Xeither of the bills passed, however, and
the boundaries of Alifflin county remained unchanged.

In 1830 John Cummins, who lived below the Narrows, was elected
to represent Mifflin county in the lower house of the state legislature.
His election gave the friends of division fresh hope, and he did not
disappoint them. Early in the session he introduced a bill providing
for the erection of a new county, to be called Juniata, secured its
passage in the house, and, after it was sent to the senate, he guarded
it with zealous care until it finally passed that body, on the last day
of February, 1831, by a vote of 18 to 12. The measure was approved
by Governor Wolfe on March 2, 183 1, and the long dispute was settled,
Juniata county taking her place in the great Commonwealth of Penn-
sylvania as a separate and independent organization.

Section i of the bill provided "That all that part of ^Mifflin county
laying south and east of a line beginning on the summit of Black Log
IMountain, where the Huntingdon county line crosses the same, and
running thence along the summit thereof to the Juniata River; thence
along the same to a marked black oak, standing by the road on the
north side of said river, about the middle of the Long Narrows,
known as a line-tree between Derry and Fermanagh townships, in
said county; thence along the summit of Shade ^Mountain to the line
of Union county, and thence along said line down Mahantango Creek
to the Susquehanna river, shall be and the same is hereby erected into
a separate county, to be called Juniata."

The section relating to the location of the county seat and the
manner in which such site should be selected was as follows : "That
the Governor be and he is hereby authorized and required, on or before
the first day of May next ensuing, to appoint three discreet and disin-
terested persons, not residents in the counties of Mifflin or Juniata,
whose duty it shall be to fix on a proper and convenient site for a court-
house, prison, and county offices within the aforesaid county of Juniata,
as near the center thereof as circumstances will admit, having regard
to the convenience of roads, territory, population, and the accommoda-
tion of the people of the said county generally."

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 147

In the exercise of the authority thus vested in him Governor Wolfe
appointed PhiHp Benner, of Centre county; Joel Baily, of Dauphin,
and Chauncey Frisbie, of Bradford, commissioners to visit the county
and select a proper and suitable site for the seat of justice. The com-
missioners met at MifBintown on the ist of June and entered upon
their duties. After viewing several proposed sites in the Tuscarora
valley, on Lost creek, in Greenwood township, and other parts of the
county, they reported in favor of Mifflintown, which has since remained
the seat of justice.

On March 22, 1832, for the purpose of giving the county a location
for the court-house, twenty-seven of the proprietors of IMifflintown
conveyed to the county commissioners, for a consideration of one dol-
lar, the public square where the court-house now stands. In the deed
of transfer the square is described as "the same piece of ground
originally laid out by John Harris, the proprietor of said town, and
intended by him for the purpose for which it is now conveyed, and
for none other."

Thomas McCurdy submitted plans for a court-house, which were
accepted by the commissioners, and a contract was entered into with
Gustine & Oles for the erection of the building for $3,940. The court-
house was completed before the close of the year 1832, and the last
payment was made on January 22, 1833, with an additional sum of
$225.93 for extra work. The first court was held in it the following
May, the sessions having been previously held in the old stone Pres-
byterian church. Soon after the completion of the court-house the
commissioners — George Gilliford. William Wharton, and Louis Evans
— advertised for proposals for the erection of a stone jail, according
to plans prepared by Everett Oles, such proposals to be submitted by
February 26, 1833. Wise & McCurdy were awarded the contract for
$2,600, and the jail was completed that year. At first the yard in the
rear of the jail was inclosed by a high wooden fence, but subsequently
a stone wall was built, reaching almost to the eaves of the two-story
building. The jail is still standing on the northeast corner of the
public square, and, after eighty years of service, is in good condition.

In February, 1868, the grand jury recommended the erection of a
new court-house, and immediately a movement was started to remove
the seat of justice to Perryville ("now Port Royal). For a time excite-

148 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

ment ran high, and the question was brought to the attention of the
legislature then in session. The result was that, on April ii, 1868,
Governor Gear}- approved an act "Authorizing an election to be held
in the county of Juniata relative to a change in the county seat and
the erection of new buildings." The election w'as held on the 13th of
the following October, and resulted in 2,122 votes being cast for Mif-
flintown and 1,165 foi" Port Royal. Nothing was done toward the
erection of a new court-house for nearly five years after that election.
At the April term of the court of quarter sessions, in 1873, the grand
jury reported on the subject as follows :

"The grand inquest of said county (Juniata) would respectfully
report that an inspection of the court-house has counciled them that
it is unfit for the accommodation of persons having business to trans-
act in the several courts ; and also unfit for a proper transaction of
business; that the building is in a dilapidated condition; the vaults in
which the public records are kept are entirely insecure; the offices are
illy arranged, and the court room entirely too small to accommodate
the citizens of the county; that such complaints have long been known
to and made by the citizens of the county."'

The report concluded with a recommendation to the court to direct
the commissioners to remodel the building so that the public offices
should occupy the first floor and the court-room the second, and that
such additions or enlargements be made as might be necessary to carry
out the recommendations. No action was taken by the court at that
session, and at the September term in 1873 an entire new court-house
was recommended, all the materials in the old one fit for the purpose
to be used in the new building. In the meantime the board of com-
missioners instructed the president, WilHam L'lsh, to go to Harrisburg
and consult with L. M. Simon, an architect of that city, with regard
to repairing or remodeling the old building. The report of ^Ir. L'lsh
cannot be found, but it is probable that his consultation with the archi-
tect was in some degree responsible for the action in September. On
September 15, 1873, the commissioners adopted a resolution to bor-
row $50,000 under the provisions of an act passed by the legislature
on April 9, 1868, said loan to be secured by six per cent, bonds, pay-
able in eight annual instalments, and on February 6, 1874, a contract
was made with G. W. Smith for the removal of the old court-house.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 149

A little later a contract was made with Hetrich & Fleisher, of Newport,
to build the new court-house, according to certain plans and specifi-
cations, for $42,100, though some changes in the work and the addition
of a clock and bell, with the installation of new furniture throughout,
brought the total cost up to about $63,000. While it was in process of
erection the sessions of the courts were held in the Lutheran church.

On the first floor of the court-house are the offices of the register
and recorder, the prothonotary, the orphans' court, sherifif, treasurer,
and county commissioners. The second floor is occupied by the court-
room, jury rooms, etc., and on a third floor are the rooms for the use
of the grand jury. The building stands upon an eminence overlooking
the Juniata river, and can be seen for some distance by passengers on
the Pennsylvania railroad.

Juniata county is irregular in shape, its boundaries being formed
by natural features, such as creeks and mountain chains. From the
Susquehanna river at the mouth of the Mahantango creek to the south-
west corner of the county, where it touches Huntingdon and Franklin
counties, the distance is about forty-five miles. The widest part is
east of the Juniata river, where it is about ten miles. The area is
360 square miles, or 230,400 acres, nearly two-thirds of which is
cleared and under cultivation. It is bounded on the north and north-
west by the counties of Mifflin and Snyder; on the east by the Susque-
hanna, which separates it from Northumberland county ; on the south-
east by Perry and Franklin counties, and on the southwest by the
county of Huntingdon.

It speaks well for the county that it has never had a poorhouse.
As a rule the people are industrious and self-sustaining, hence few
paupers have ever appealed for public aid. Those few have been taken
care of by the authorities of the townships in which they reside or
sojourn, and the county commissioners have not deemed it necessary
at any time in the county's history to go to the expense of purchasing
a farm and erecting a home for the poor. In the matter of criminal
historv the county is also fortunate. Two men have been executed
in the old jail yard — the only two legal executions in the county in
nearly a century — and in recent years the jail has been without inmates
more than two-thirds of the time.

Following is a civil list of the officials of Juniata county, as com-

I50 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

pletely as it could be obtained from the records, some of which are
missing. In this Hst the names of the county ofihcers prior to 1885
are copied from a Hst made by Professor A. L. Guss. From 1885
to the present time (1913) they have been taken from the official
records.

Sheriffs — Amos Gustine, 1831; John Beale, 1835; Henry Miller,
1838; William W. Wilson, 1840; William Bell, 1843; Samuel Mc-
Williams, 1843; David McKinstry. 1850: Joseph Bell, 1853; D. M.
Jamison, 1856; George Reynolds, 1859; James W. Hamilton, 1862;
Samuel B. Loudon, 1865; John Deitrich, 1868; Joseph Ard, 1871 ; Wil-
liam H. Knouse, 1874; W. D. Walls, 1877; Joseph B. Kelly, 1880
George Shivery, 1883; David Fowler, 1885; Franklin W. Noble, 1888
Samuel Lapp, 1891 ; James P. Calhoun, 1894; S. Clayton Stoner, 1897
Theodore J. Schmittle, 1903; Daniel B. Reitz, 1906; R. B. Zimmerman,
1909.

Prothonotarics — William W. Kirk, 1831 ; Robert Patterson, 1836;
Tobias Kreider, 1839; Lewis Burchfield, 1839; James M. Sellers. 1845;
J. Middagh, 1851; Amos H. Martin, 1S54; R. M. Sterrett, i860;
George W. Jacobs, 1863; George Reynolds, 1866; Robert E. McMeen,
1869; I. D. Wallis, 1872; Jacob Beidler, 1876; George Reynolds, 1879;
George S. Conn, 1882; Theodore H. Meminger, 1883 (reelected in
1887); John W. Gibbs, 1890; W. H. Zeiders, 1896; Styles K. Boden,
1899; H. H. Hartman, 1905; S. B. Murray, 191 1.

Registers and Recorders — James S. Law, 183 1; Robert Barnard,
1833; Tobias Kreider, 1836; Joseph Bogg, 1839; William Reader,
1845; Benjamin Bonsell, 1848; Alexander Magonigle, 1854; Joseph L.
Stewart, 1855: John P. Wharton, 1855; R. P. McWilliams, 1861 ;
Joshua Beale, 1867; Eli Dunn, 1870: J. T. Mittlin, 1873; J- D. Musser,
1876; J. M. McDonald, 1880; S. Drady Coveny, 1883: Edward E.
Berry, 1885; John R. Jenkins, 1891 ; Anson B. Will, 1894; George B.
Cramer, 1897; Elmer G. Beale, 1903 ; G. Frank Bousum, 1906 (reelected
in 1909 and second term prolonged one year by constitutional amend-
ment making all county officers elected in 191 3 for terms of four
years).

Treasurers — J. Cummings, 1831 ; William H. Patterson, 1836; Amos
Gustine, 1837; Robert Barnard, 1838: James Kirk, 1844: Samuel Pene-
baker, 1842; James Kirk, 1844; Benjamin Bonsell, 1846; Joseph M.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 151

Belford, 1848; Benjamin F. Kepner, 1850; George Jacobs, 1852; John
Yeakley, 1854; Benjamin F. Kepner, 1856; D. W. A. Belford, 1858;
George W. Stroup, i860; Jacob Suloff, 1862; John B. M. Todd, 1864;
Robert E. Parker, 1866; Jacob A. Christy, 1868; David Watts, 1870;
WilHam C. Laird, 1872; Samuel H. Showers, 1874; Robert E. Parker,
1S76; John \V. Kirk, 1879; Jacob Lemon, 1881; John M. Copeland,
1884; Henry S. SchoU, 1890; W. S. North, 1893; W. W. Landis, 1896;
John F. Ehrenzeller, 1899; E. Milton Guss, 1902; Ferdinand Meyers,
1905; Harry C. Lawson, 1908; Samuel R. Bashore, 191 1.

County Commissioners — 1831, Joel Baily, P. Benner, C. Frisbie;
1832-33, George Gilliford, William Wharton, Louis Evans; 1834, John
Funk, Louis Evans, David Glenn; 1836, Michael Bushey, Paul Cox;
1837, Emanuel Wise; 1838, Daniel Collins; 1839, John North; 1840,
John P. Shitz; 1841, John Kenawell; 1842, John Crozier; 1843, John
F. Saeger; 1844, James Lauthers; 1845, John Dimm; 1846, David
Beale; 1847, Ezra McLin; 1848, Robert Inners; 1849, Samuel Rannels;
1850, David Alexander; 1851, John Anderson; 1852, Thomas J. Alil-
liken; 1853, William Adams; 1854, Joseph Seiber; 1855, Daniel Flick-
inger; 1856, James Anderson; 1857, Barnett Rapp; 1858, Joseph Ker-
liss; 1859, Henry McConnell; i860, John Landis; 1861, William
Kohler; 1862, James S. Cox; 1863, John Foltz; 1864, John Kenawell;
1865, Matthew Clark, William Logue; 1866, David Diven; 1867, David
Suloff, Sr.; 1868, Walter App; 1869, E. R. Gilliford; 1870, William
Ulsh; 1871, William Von Swearinger; 1872, David B. Diven; 1873,
Alexander A. Crozier; 1875, Thomas Watts; 1876, James McLaugh-
lin, David B. Cox, William H. Groninger; 1879, J. Banks Wilson, Hugh
L. McMeen, John B. Mc Williams; 1881, J. Banks Wilson, Hugh L.
McMeen, David Partner; 1884, O. P. Barton, John T. Dimm, W. N.
Sterrett; 1887, John H. Cunningham, Francis Hower, Absalom Rice;
1890, John Balentine, David Beale, Uriah Shuman ; 1893, W. H.
Moore, Neal M. Stewart, John Neimond; 1896, David D. Rhinesmith,
William Puffenberger, Jeremiah Loudenslager ; 1899, J. W. Hostetler,
H. Cloyd Horning, Robert Long; 1902, David B. Stoufifer, Samuel A.
Graham, George F. Goodman; 1905, James Adams, W. K. McLaugh-
lin, Samuel A. Graham; 1908, William B. Zimmerman, W. H. Bru-
baker, David B. Stoufifer; 191 1, John N. Carney, B. P. Clark, Albert
Groninger.

152 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

State Senators — Ezra Doty, 1808; William Beale, 1812 (both from
Mifflin county, of which Juniata was then a part) ; James Mathews,
1840; J. J. Cunningham, 1850; James I\L Sellers, 1855; E. D. Craw-
ford, i860; John K. Robinson, 1868; D. ]\L Crawford, 1871 (elected
again in 1877); Joseph 'SL Woods, 1888; Walter H. Parcels, 1896;
James W. McKee, 1900 ; William H. ^lanbeck, 1904; Franklin Martin,
1912.

Representatives — John Cummins, 1831 (elected from Alifflin county,
and secured the passage of the bill under \\hich Juniata county was
organized): William Sharon, 1832; (after William Sharon Professor
Guss gives the names of Thomas Stinson, William Curran, John Adams,
James Mathews, James Hughes, John Funk. John H. iNIcCrum, William
Cox, Andrew Patterson and John McMinn, but does not name the
years in which each served. In 1850 the counties of Union and Juniata
were made a representative district). John ]\IcLaughlin. 1850: William
Sharon. 1852: John Beale. 1853; John W. Simonton, 1854; James W.
Crawford, 1855; George \\'. Strouse, 1856: Thomas Bower, 1857;
John J. Patterson, 1859; George \\'. Strouse. 1863; John Balsbach,
1864; A. H. ]\lartin. 1869: Abraham Rohrer. 1870; Jerome Hetrick,
1874: T. D. Garmon. 1877: William Pomeroy, 1878; Lucien Banks,
1879; John D. Alilligan. 1881 ; James Xorth, 1884; Louis E. Atkinson,
1886: William Hertzler, 1888: J. C. Crawford, 1890; Hugh L. Wilson,
1892; Jeremiah X. Keller. 1896; A. J. Fisher. 1898: Thomas K.
Beaver, 1900; George B. ^l. Wisehaupt, 1902; William C. Pomeroy,
1906; Jerome T. Ailman, 1908; I. D. Musser, 1912.

Surveyors (since 1886) — Wilber F. 3iIcCahan, 1886; William H.
Groninger, 1889; \^■ilber F. ]\IcCahan. 1892; A. B. Evans. 1895; J. O.
Brown, 1898; C. \\'. flayer. 1904; W. F. ^IcCahan. 1907 (reelected
in 1911).

Coroners (since 1886) — James J. Patterson, 1886; Philip A. Smith,
1889; L. P. Walley, 1892; j. O. Brown, 1895-; Jacob A. Davis, 1898;
W. H. Rodgers, 1901 ; B. F. Long, 1904; D. L. Snyder, 1907 (re-
elected in 191 1 ).

CHAPTER IX

JUNIATA COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS, BOROUGHS, ETC.

Early Township Organizations — Their Subdivison — The Present Thirteen Townships —
Beale — Delaware — Fayette — Fermanagh — Greenwood — Lack — Milford — Monroe —
Spruce Hill — Susquehanna — Turbett — Tuscarora — Walker — Earh' Settlement of
Each — Squatters — Principal Villages — Schools — The Four Boroughs — IMifflintown — ■
^Mifflin — Port Royal — Thompsontown — Pioneer Business Enterprises — Postotfices
and Population — Rural Routes in the County.

THE organization of townships in wliat is now Juniata county
began on October 23, 1754, when the magistrates "in con-
junction with the commissioners and assessors of Cumberland
county" met at Carlisle and concluded that, "Whereas, there has been
an addition to the county aforesaid by a late purchase from the Indians :
to erect the habitable parts added to the said county into separate town-
ships, and to appoint constables in the same for the better regulation
thereof."

Four townships were at that time formed, viz. : Aire, Fannet, Lack,
and Tyrone. No boundary lines were mentioned or described, it being
merely stated that certain settlements should constitute the townships
named. Lack township included all that part of Juniata county lying
south and west of the Juniata river and part of the present county
of Huntingdon. Since the establishment of these four original town-
ships in the new purchase each has been divided and subdivided until,
in 1913, Jimiata cotmty was composed of thirteen townships, viz.:
Beale. Delaware, Fayette. Fermanagh, Greenwood, Lack, Milford, I\Ion-
roe, Spruce Hill, Susquehanna, Turbett, Tuscarora and W'alker.

Beale township was taken from Milford in 1843. Nine petitions,
signed by 218 citizens, were presented to the Mifflin county court
(Juniata county was at that time a part of Mifllin), asking for the
appointment of viewers to lay of¥ a new township from parts of Mil-
ford and Turbett, but no action was taken by the court on the peti-

153

154 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

tion. The question again came before the court late in the year
1842, when William Dunn, Thomas Stinson, and William Sharron were
appointed viewers. They reported in favor of the petitioners, and
recommended the formation of a new township, the territory of which
was to be taken from Alilford township, the dividing line to be "a
public road, first laid out in 1768, from Tuscarora creek to a point
near Shade mountain, and from the top of that mountain to the Tus-
carora township line." On February 8, 1843, the court approved the
report of the viewers, and ordered the erection of the township as rec-
ommended. By the act of March 15, 1853, the area of the township
was slightly increased by the annexation of John Woodward's farm,
which had previously been in Milford township. Beale township is
bounded on the north by the Blue Ridge, which separates it from Gran-
ville township. Alifllin county; on the east by Milford; on the south
by Spruce Hill, and on the west by Tuscarora. It was named for one
of the oldest families in Juniata county, particularly for John Beale,
who was one of the mfluential citizens of the township at the time of its
formation.

Squatters came into the territory now comprising Beale township
before the lands in the Juniata valley had been purchased from the
Indians. An old agreement, or deed, dated June i, 1854, recites that
Robert Taylor, "for and in consideration of eighteen pounds," trans-
ferred all his "Right property and interest of an improvement of land
situate on ye Tuscarora Creek to ye said James Waddle." Then fol-
lows a description of the boundary lines of the land, and Robert Taylor
binds himself "in ye Pennal Sum of Thirty & Six Pounds Current
money of Pennsylvania, allways Excepting ye Indians & Proprietor
of this Province," etc.

The instrument is witnessed by Samuel and Charles Kenny and
William Beale, who must have been squatters in the vicinity. James
Kennedy and Robert Pollock had also established homes in the imme-
diate neighborhood of Academia, where the above transaction took
place. The property received by Waddle (correct spelling Waddell )
from Robert Taylor was conveyed to William Beale on October 14,
1760.

One of the first land warrants was issued to Alexander Maginty
on February 3, 1755, for 312 acres. Others who entered land in that

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 155

year were: James Williams, eighty-nine acres on the river; Thomas
Freeman, 163 acres; James McMahan, 100 acres; Samuel Brice, 202
acres; John Woods, who located in the upper part of the township;
John Irwin, 200 acres on Tuscarora creek. Irwin obtained a warrant,
but before he got the land surveyed it was included in the claims of
others. Ten years later he entered 350 acres in the best part of the
Tuscarora valley. In 1762 warrants were issued to Ralph Sterrett,
John McMahan, Samuel Finley, and some others for lands in what
is now Beale township. David Bowel (or Bole), who was appointed
one of the trustees to organize Mifflin county in 1789, took out a war-
rant in 1767 for sixty-seven acres, which he later sold to one of the
Beale family. James Scott, Abraham Dewitt, Joseph Scott, and others
came in 1767, and in that year Abraham Sanford appears on the assess-
ment rolls as a renter of a grist-mill on the west side of the Juniata,
the first mill on that side of the river. Other early settlers were Clement
Horrell, David McNair, Samuel Fear, Robert Walker, the Pomeroys,
the Beales, Robert Campbell, Thomas Harris, William Reed, and sev-
eral others, all of whom had located in the township before the Revo-
lutionary war.

Beale township is bounded on the north and east by Milford, on
the south by Spruce Hill, and on the west by Tuscarora. The principal
villages are Academia and Walnut (or Johnstown). The former is
located in the southern part, on the tract of land transferred by Robert
Taylor to James Waddell in 1754, and the latter is in the northeastern
corner. Academia takes its name from the Tuscarora Academy, which
was the outgrowth of a classical school opened by Rev. John Coulter
in 1800. It is the principal postoffice and trading point for the neigh-
borhood in which it is situated, and in 1910 had a population of 186.
Walnut was laid off by John Beale, and took the first name of the
founder, but when the postoffice was established there it was named
Walnut, to avoid confusion with the postoffice at Johnstown, Cambria
county. The population was 150 in 1910. About half-way between
these two villages was once a settlement called Allendale, but it does
not appear on the modern maps.

Delaware township was erected in 1836. Early in the year 1835 ^
petition asking for a division of Walker and Greenwood townships
was presented to the court. John Patterson, S. Turbett, and A. Gus-

156 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

tine were appointed viewers and made a report on September 2, 1835,
recommending the division and the formation of a new township to be
called "Delaware," but at the December term the report was referred
back to them for certain corrections. An amended report was filed in
January, in which the viewers said : "On reconsideration began at
a post corner southeast corner of Fayette township ; then south five
degrees, east three miles and 132 perches to a chestnut oak on the sum-
mit of Turkey Ridge, standing in the line of Perry county; thence along
the different courses of the same as aforesaid, as represented by the
red line through the above draught, and humbly submit the same to
the court."

No action was taken at that session, but on February 3, 1S36, the
report was read in open court and confirmed. As thus established
Delaware is bounded on the north by Fayette township ; on the east
by the townships of Monroe and Greenwood ; on the south by Perry
county, and on the west by Walker iownship. Cocolamus creek flows
across the northeast corner, and Delaware run empties into the Juniata
near Thompsontown, which is the only borough in the township.

In the early settlement of Juniata county many tracts of land in
what is now Delaware township were taken up by speculators, who had
no intention of becoming residents. Among those who settled in the
township were Thomas Evans. James Gallagher, Edmund Huff, James
jMcLin. Edward Edwards, Duncan AIcDougal, and William Stewart.
The last named was a nati^•e of Ireland, who settled in Perry county
in 1753, but was driven out by the Indians. In 1761 he located on the
Juniata about a mile above Thompsontown. When the settlers in that
section were driven off by the Indians he went to Carlisle, where he
married, and in the fall of 176C returned to the settlement just above
the mouth of the Delaware run. In 1774 his name appears on the list
of contributors to the sufferers of Boston on account of the Stamp Act,
his contribution being sixteen shillings. He was also one of those
who associated themselves together for the protection of the frontier
in 1780. Other pioneers who came before the Revolution were Edward
Nicholas, Hugh Micheltree, John Thompson, Gabriel and Samuel Fry,
Joseph Cookson, John Kepler, and Thomas Jordan. Edward Nicholas
was killed by the Indians in 1756.

About 1776 John Hamilton built a grist-mill and saw-mill on the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 157

Cocolamus creek, near the northeast corner of the township. Twenty
years later this mill became the property of Jacob Sellers and later of
Joseph Sellers. One of the first schools in the Cocolamus valley was
at this mill. In December, 18 18. a contract was made by certain citi-
zens, as subscribers, with John Keller "to teach a school in the school
house on the premises of Joseph Sellers, for a term of three months,
beginning on Monday, the 2Sth of December, which school shall be
taught in spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic, in English."
The subscribers agreed to furnish twenty scholars, at $1.50 each, and
"a sufficient supply of firewood at the door."

The village of East Salem, near the northwest corner, was founded
by Samuel j\I. Kurtz in the spring of 1844. In 1848 John Caveny
opened a store there, and two years later a two-story house was built
by John Kurtz, in which Curtis Winey kept a store. A little later a
postoffice was established, and for several years i\Ir. Winey served as
postmaster. Methodist and United Brethren churches were established
there, a school house was built, and East Salem gave evidence that "it
had come to stay." The population in 1910 was 140.

Fayette township was the first one to be erected after Juniata be-
came a separate county. At the December term of court in 1833 a
petition was presented, asking for a new township, to be formed from
parts of Greenwood and Fermanagh. Alexander Patterson, George
Gilliford, and James Hughes were appointed to consider the merits of
the petition and. if they found it advisable to establish a new township,
to report the boundaries thereof. Their report was made in March,
1834, but was not acted upon by the court until the 4th of the follow-
ing December, when it was confirmed, and the new township was
named Fayette. It is bounded on the north by the counties of Mifflin
and Snyder, on the east by Monroe township, on the south by Delaware
and Walker, and on the west by Fermanagh.

As early as 1749 white men came up the Juniata to the mouth of
Doe run and followed that stream to its source at the Cedar Springs.
After exploring the surrounding country they returned to Harris' ferry.
When a second party, influenced by the report of the first, attempted
to visit the region they made the mistake of following Delaware run.
and consequently failed to find the beautiful valley described by their
predecessors. This is said to be the origin of the name "Lost creek."

158 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

No permanent settlers came in until after the lands had been purchased
from the Indians in 1754. On February 3, 1755, ^\'illiam Armstrong,
John Irwin, David Hope, and William Giltnockey took out warrants
for four tracts of land in the vicinity of ]\IcAlisterville. David Hoge
soon after sold his land to Samuel ]\Iitchell, who built a cabin upon it,
but in 1756 all the settlers in that part of the valley were forced to
abandon their homes on account of Indian hostilities. Hugh AIcAlister
bought the tract entered by John Irwin, and settled there in 1756.
During the Indian war he served in the company of Captain Forbes,
and in 1776 he was a member of Captain Hamilton's company, which
joined Washington's army the day after the battle of Trenton. He rose
to the rank of major and, after the war, was in command of the forces
at Potter's fort, in what is now Centre county, and led an expedition
against the Indians. His son William served in the War of 1812, and
at its close built a fulling mill where the little village of Cocolamus
now stands.

Other pioneers in Fayette township were John Ouigley, James
Jamison, Michael Stuhl, Joseph Bogle, Samuel Sharon, William Martin,
Epenetus Hart, Hugh Watt, Jonathan Kearsley. Reuben Leonard, Rich-
ard Dunn, John Pauly, the Shellenberger family, and others. Joseph
Woods, a Revolutionary veteran, came into the township soon after the
close of the war and settled near the mountain, where he remained for
many years, when the land was claimed by some Philadelphia specu-
lators, and he was forced to vacate.

Most of the early settlers were of Scotch-Irish extraction, and were
members of the Presbyterian church. The Cedar Spring church was
organized in 1763, and a branch of the congregation was established
at Lost Creek. It became an independent congregatiijn in 1797, and a
log house of worship was built by Hugh Watt. A school house was
built on the church lot in 1799, though a school house had previously
been built on the road between Oakland Mills and McAlisterville. Wil-
liam Pelaw was one of the first teachers. Other pioneer teachers were
George Keller, Andrew Banks, and Stephen George.

The villages of Fayette township are Mcx-\listerville, Oakland Mills,
and Cocolamus. McAlisterville was laid out by Hugh ]\IcAlister in
December, 1810. The original plat contained seven lots of one acre
each. Two of these lots were sold to John Lauver for sixty dollars.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 159

and Lauver put up a blacksmith shop. In 181 1 the proprietor of the
town erected a stone house, in which Knox & Gallagher opened a store.
Four years later they sold out to Hugh McAlister, who removed the
goods to a new building and continued in the business until his death
in 1844. The brick hotel was built by Mr. McAlister in 1816. An
addition to the town was laid out by Peter Springer in 181 3, and a
postoffice was established in 181 5, with Hugh McAlister as postmaster.
In 1821 the name of the postoffice was changed to Calhounville, and
remained so for about four years, with Michael Lauver as postmaster,
but in 1825 the name was changed back to McAlisterville, Hugh Mc-
Alister was reappointed postmaster, and held the office until his death.
According to Rand & JilcNally's atlas the population in 1910 was 578.
The village has a national bank, a hotel, good public school building,
several neat church edifices, a number of stores, and is the chief trading
center for a rich agricultural district.

Oakland Mills received its name in 1830, when Dr. Thomas White-
side built the mill at that point and gave it that name. Before the close
of that year David McClure established a store near the mill, and at
the same time was appointed postmaster. A settlement gradually grew
up about the mill and store, a public school was established, other
business enterprises came in, and in 1910 Oakland Mills had a popula-
tion of 121.

Cocolamus, located at the forks of the creek in the eastern part of
the township, is located on the tract of land entered by John Gallagher
in 1762. Gallagher sold to William McAlister, whose intention was
to lay out a town, but for some reason it was not done. A fulling
mill was built in 1814. a store was opened in 1862. a postoffice was
established in 1865. Avith Abraham Haldeman as postmaster, a tannery
was started, and Cocolamus became cjuite a pretentious little place.
In 1884 the United Brethren put up a frame church near the village.
The population in 1910 was 220.

Fermanagh township was erected by the Cumberland county authori-
ties either late in the year 1754 or early in 1755. The earliest mention
of it is in a deed given by James Patterson to William Armstrong, on
April 20, 1755, for "one hundred and fifty-five acres of land situated
in Fermanagh township, near the Juniata river." ^^'hen it was at
first created it included all that part of the new purchase lying north

i6o HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

of the Juniata river and that part of Mifflin county south of the river
extending to the Black Log mountain. It has been repeatedly reduced
in size by the formation of other townships, until now only a small
part of the original territory comprising it bears the name of Fer-
managh. It is bounded on the north by ?»Iifflin count}', on the east
by Fayette township, on the south by \\^alker, and on the west by Mil-
ford, from which it is separated by the Juniata river.

Among the first settlers were Alexander Lafiferty, James Purdy,
Thomas McCormick, James Sharon, Joseph Wiley. John Watson, James
Banks, the Darrs — Adam, George, John, Peter, and Philip — William
Riddle, Christian Lintner, Jacob Kauffman, Azariah and John Reed,
Robert Nelson, and W'illiam Henderson. Alexander Laf^erty took up
the tract of land where the borough of INIifflintown is now located.
James Purdy settled at Jericho, and in 1770 put up a grist-mill, the
first in that locality. Two of his sons, Hugh and William, were killed
at the time of General St. Clair's defeat, November 4. 1791. James
Sharon's land descended to his sons, William and Hugh, and at Wil-
liam Sharon's house was held the meeting, in 1776, to organize Captain
John Hamilton's company of cavalry, in which Hugh McAlister was
the first man to enlist. It was also at William Sharon's that the set-
tlers met in 1780 to take steps for the protection of the frontier. An-
drew Douglas, who was one of the first settlers on Lost Creek, was
wounded while on the expedition to Kittanning with Colonel John Arm-
strong in 1756. During the Revolution the house of Robert Nelson
was a rendezvous for the friends of the American cause. From his
private resources he raised funds to pay soldiers, which devotion to
the cause finally placed him in such financial straits that he sold his farm
near Cedar Springs and removed to Ohio. He married Martha, daugh-
ter of James Purdy, and after their removal to Ohio their daughter
Caroline became the wife of John Brough, who was at one time gov-
ernor of that state.

Fermanagh has always been an agricultural community. The bor-
ough of Mifflintown is the only town or village of consequence within
its borders. One of the earliest school houses in the township was
built about 1800. The "Union" school house was built about 1810 by
the subscription of the people living in the neighborhood. Some of the
early teachers were James Cummings, William McCoy, John Purdy,

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY i6i

and James Mathers. The Pine Grove school house was buih about
1815. After the introduction of tlie pubhc school system the directors
divided the township into six districts, and the public schools of the
present compare favorably with those in other portions of the state.

Greenwood township, when erected by the Cumberland county court
in 1767, embraced all that part of Perry county east of the Juniata
river and south of the mouth of the Cocolamus creek and the southern
]3arts of the present townships of Greenwood and Susquehanna, in
Juniata county. Li the latter county the boundary was marked b}- Alc-
Kee's path and the little Cocolamus creek. At the June term of the [Mif-
flin county court in 1791 a petition was presented, asking that a line be
struck "from the mouth of Delaware run, at Juniata, by the planta-
tions of William Thompson, Joseph Cookson. William Stewart, and
Plugh McElroy, leaving William Thompson and Hugh McElroy to the
westward, and Joseph Cookson and William Stewart to the eastward,
and thence northwest to the Shade Mountain, and that the part of
Fermanagh eastward of the line thus described may be struck ofi
therefrom and annexed to Greenwood township."

The court appointed Samuel Osborne and Samuel Curren to have
the divisional line run in accordance with the prayer of the petitioners,
and report to the next court. Li September following, on the petition
of Hugh jNIcAlister and others, the line was clianged so as to allow
the house of William Stewart to remain in Fermanagh township, but
the remainder of the territory was added to Greenwood. Part of
Fayette township was taken from Greenwood in 1834; another portion
was taken to form Delaware in 1836, and in 1858 Monroe and Susque-
hanna were cut off, leaving Greenwood in its present form. It is
bounded on the north by Monroe, on the east by Susquehanna, on the
south by Perry county, and on the west by the township of Delaware.

About 1763 Edward McConnell warranted a tract of land and built
a cabin where the Seven Star tavern was afterward located. His
house was the first hewed log house in that section of the county. Three
weeks after he took possession he was compelled to fly, with the other
settlers in that section, to Carlisle on account of the Indian uprising.
The following year he returned, accompanied by his brother Henry,
who took up 122 acres adjoining. This was the beginning of what
became known as the "Cocolamus Settlement." Other early settlers in

i62 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

Greenwood were Stephen Alarshall, Leonard Pfoutz, the W'ihs, the
Dmims, Joseph Castle, William and Church Cox. William Cox started
the first tannery in that section of the county. Joseph Castle was an
Irishman by birth, and came to the Cocolamus settlement about 1778.
In 1819 he was elected justice of the peace, and held the office for
many years.

The first school house in the township was built about 1788, on
what was known as the Stroup farm, but little can be learned of its
early history. In 1810 another house was built near the Seven Star
tavern, which was built in 1818 by Peter Stroup. Shortly after the
public school system was accepted in 1836 the township was divided
into four districts. Greenwood is an agricultural township without
towns or villages of any considerable size. Dimmsville reported a popu-
lation of 78 in 191 o. It is located on the Cocolamus creek in the
southern part of the township.

Lack township was one of those created by the Cumberland county
authorities on October 2^. 1754, when the court records show the fol-
lowing entry : "And we do further erect the settlement called the
Tuskerora Valey into a sepparate Township and nominate the same the
Township of Lac, and we appoint John Johnston to act therein as con-
stable for the remaining part of the current year."

Many of the early settlers were driven out by the Indians, but most
of the fugitives returned after the cessation of hostilities. The assess-
ment for 1763 showed eighty taxpayers, only a few of whom resided
within the present limits of the township. Those known to have lived
there at that time were John Little, George iMcConnell, John Williams,
and David Wallace, who owned 200 acres at a place called "Wallace-
town." During the next five years Hugh Glenn took up 200 acres at
the mouth of George's creek, John Gemmill located where Peru !Mills
is now, Jonathan Kearsley and David IMagaw settled on George's creek,
James Stone, John Harvey, Andrew Ferrier, \\'illiam Kirk, George
and Thomas Woods, John Wilson, John Glenn, David Glenn, William
Brice, John Brady, and a few others took up lands and established
homes.

Lack has been reduced by the formation of other townships, but it
is still the largest in the county. It is bounded on the north by Mifflin
county, on the east by Tuscarora township, on the south by the

HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY 163

counties of Perry and Franklin, and on the west by Cumberland
county. Through the southern part the Tuscarora creek flows east-
ward, and closely following the line of the stream is the Tuscarora
Valley railroad, with stations in the township at Perulack, Ross Farm,
Leonard's Grove, and Waterloo. The first three are small places, and
the population of Waterloo in 1910 was but 70. A postoffice was estab-
lished there in 1820, with William C. Kelly as postmaster. A wind-
mill factory was started there many years ago. and for a time did a
tiiriving business. William Campbell erected a building for an academy,
but after being used for a school for a few years it was sold to the
Presbyterian church for a parsonage.

The village of Peru Mills, near the center of the township, is located
on the tract of land warranted by John Gemmill in September, 1762.
After several changes in ownership it became the property of John
Ferrier, who erected a grist-mill there about 1790, or perhaps a few
years before. Andrew Ferrier, the father of John and a partner in
the mill, while attending court at Lewistown in 1792, slept in a bed the
covers of which had been purchased by the hotel keeper at an auction
in Philadelphia. It developed that the bed clothes were infected with
yellow fever, which Ferrier contracted, and he and several others about
the mills died. The mill subsequently passed to John Patterson, who
put up a saw-mill in connection. A postoffice was established there in
1850, and William H. Patterson was postmaster for about eight years,
after which his brother John held the position for about thirty years.
James Lyon was engaged in merchandising at Peru ]\Iills as early as
1816. A large tannery was started there in 1846. and did a good busi-
ness for several years, closing in 1872. The population of Peru Mills
in 1 910 was 40.

Mil ford township, lying directly across the Juniata river from Fer-
managh and Walker, was erected by the court of Cumberland county
in 1768. At the October term a petition was presented which set forth
that "The township of Lack is \^ery Unconvenient for all the Town-
ship Offices, it being of such an Extensive Length, viz. : of above
Thirty miles. Which makes us pray your \\'orships to order a De-
vision of s'd Township from Tuskerora Mountain, by James Gray's,
to William Scot's, at the foot of Shade Mountain." etc. On November
7, 1868, the court ordered the division to be made so as to leave James

i64 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Gray and William Scott in Lack township, the lower part to be known
as Mil ford township. The name adopted for the new township comes
from the mill ford, or the ford at the mill. The township is irregular
in form, the northern part running several miles farther west than the
main body. It is shaped something like a pipe, the narrow strip run-
ning up the Licking creek valley being the stem, and the top of the
bowl the southern boundary line. It is bounded on the north by ]\Iif-
flin county, on the east by the Juniata river, on the south by Turbett
and Spruce Hill, and on the west by Beale township. Beale also forms
the southern boundary of the '"pipe-stem,"" the western end of which
is bounded by Tuscarora township.

The assessment rolls of Lack township for the year 1763 showed
the following landowners in what is now Alilford : James Armstrong,
David Bell, James Calhoun, Robert Campbell, William Cunningham,
Robert Crunkleton. John Collins, Robert Huston, William Irwin, John
McClellan, Robert Robinson, John Wilson, and Thomas Wilson. Rob-
ert Crunkelton and Robert Robinson were listed as "squatters," they
having come into the territory before it was purchased from the
Indians. John McClellan came from Franklin county, and settled
on the bank of the Juniata where the borough of ^Mifflin now stands.
His warrant, dated September 8, 1755. called for 515 acres. Two of
his sons, John and Daniel, were soldiers in the Continental army in the
Revolutionary war, and another son, Joseph, kept the ferry at Mif-
fiin (then Patterson) for several years. John McClellan held a com-
mission as lieutenant, and died while on the march to Quebec with
Benedict Arnold in the fall of 1775.

Those who signed the petition for a division of Lack township in
1768 were: Thomas Beale, William Irwin, Robert Campbell, Clement
Horrell. Robert Hogg, James Christy, John Beale, William Renison,
Hugh Quigley, William Bell, William Christy, James Armstrong, David
McNair, Jr., Charles Pollock, and Robert Littell, all of whom were then
residents of Milford township. Others who settled at an earl}- date
were Dennis Christy, Thomas Husbands, the Lyons family, Thomas
]\Iaguire, John Blackburn, and John Johnson, who became widely known
as "the white hunter."'

In 1797 Valentine Carboy taught a school in an old house that was
fitted up for the purpose. This was probably the first school taught in

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 165

the township. Upon the adoption of the pubHc school system the di-
rectors divided the township into seven districts.

About 1 791 a forge was built on Licking creek, the pig iron being
hauled from furnaces in Centre county or floated down the Juniata
on rafts from Cromwell's furnace near Orbisonia. In the fall of 1797
it was sold by the sheriff and purchased by Thomas Cromwell. No
mention of it in the tax lists can be found after 1800. A paper mill was
built on Licking creek, about seven miles from Mifflintown, in 1817 by
Norton cS; Selheimer, and was in active operation until about 1830. The
products were writing paper, print paper, and brown wrapping paper.
A large tan factory was started a short distance down the creek from the
paper mill in 1834 by Singmaster & Company. Power was furnished
by constructing a large dam in Licking creek, the oak bark was taken
from the adjacent mountains, and over five hundred cords were ground
annually. A saw-mill was also built there, but in time the supply of
bark ran out, and the tan-factory was abandoned.

Milford township has two boroughs — Port Royal, near the south-
east corner, and Mifilin (formerly Patterson), opposite Mifflintown.
The Pennsylvania railroad runs along the northern border, through
Denholm, ^Mifflin, and Port Royal, and the Tuscarora Valley railroad
runs from Port Royal southwest through a portion of the township.

Monroe township, originally a part of Fermanagh, was taken from
Greenwood in 1858. In 1857 a petition was presented to the court,
asking for the formation of two new townships from Greenwood,
and the court ordered an election, at which the voters were to express
their views on the subject. The election was held on January 15, 1858,
and resulted in 216 votes being cast in favor of the division and only
21 against it. The minority, however, filed exceptions on the grounds:
1st, That there was no law authorizing the court to divide a township
into three parts upon one commission ; 2nd, That the act of the assem-
bly did not authorize a vote to be taken on the cjuestion of dividing
one township into three ; 3d, That no authority existed for the creation
of more than one township at a time. The court overruled the excep-
tions, and ordered the division, when the question was taken to the
supreme court, which affirmed the decision of the lower court. Green-
wood was therefore divided into the townships of Monroe, Susque-
hanna and Greenwood.

i66 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

^Monroe is triangular in form, the northern boundary being formed
by Snyder county, the southern by Greenwood and Susquehanna town-
ships, and the western by Delaware and Fayette. It is separated from
Snyder county for the greater part of the distance by the ]\Iahantango
creek.

Thomas IMcKee, an Indian trader, located at the mouth of the
Mahantango some time before the lands of the Juniata valley were
purchased from the natives. The early settlers that came after the
purchase of 1754 ascended the Susquehanna river and the IMahantango
creek. John Graybill, who settled across the creek from where Rich-
field now stands, in 1772, is believed to have been the first actual settler
within the limits of the township. He was soon followed by the
Shellenbergers, Jacob Auker, Alichael Lauver, Thomas Hewes, Jacob
Pyle, Joseph and Jacob Sellers, Caspar \\'istar, Aquilla Burchfield,
Joseph Page, and the Swartz family. The descendants of some of
these pioneers still live in Juniata county.

Among the early settlers were a number of ]\Iennonites, and a church
of that faith was organized before the close of the century. In 1800
a log house of worship was built a short distance west of Richfield, and
it was used both as a church and a school house until about 181 5. The
first school in the township was taught in this house, but the name of
the teacher seems to have been forgotten. In 1820 the Watts school
house was built on the farm of Samuel ^^'atts, and five years later
another was built not far from Evandale. After the introduction of the
public school system in 1834 the township was divided into seven school
districts. Edward Hayes, Hannah Caveny, and Emanuel Albright were
the earliest teachers.

The village of Richfield was laid out by Christian Graybill in 1818,
and the first house was erected l)y Christian Zimmerman. For the
first fifteen years the growth of the place was slow, Init in 1833 John
Wallis opened a store, and a postoffice was established, with 'Mr. Wallis
as postmaster. Prior to that time a store had been kept by a man
named Clarkson at Auker's Mills, about a mile farther down the ;\Ia-
hantango. A tavern was opened by Joseph Schnee, opposite Wallis'
store. It was destroyed by fire in 1844. According to Rand & Mc-
Nally's atlas the population of Richfield was 500 in 1910. It is the
principal trading point for a rich agricultural district in that section

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 167

of the county. It has a bank, some good stores, a pubHc school build-
ing, neat churches, and cozy homes.

Evandale, near the western line of the township, grew up about
the store, which was opened by Isaac Haldeman in 1855. Before that
time there had been a postoffice at Sellers' IMill, but it was removed to
Haldeman's store, and Job Haldeman was appointed postmaster. A
school house had been built there many years before. It is a typical
country village, and in 1910 reported a population of 125.

Spruce Hill, the last township in the county to be erected, was
formed by the division of Turbett on September 10, 1858. When the
petition came before the court, asking for the establishment of a new
township, Joseph INIiddaugh, Isaac Kurtz, and David Bashore were
appointed viewers. Their report recommended the new township, and
it was confirmed by the court on the date above named. The territory
comprising it was a part of Lack until 1768; then a part of Milford
until 181 5, and from that time until its erection in 1858 it was included
in Turbett township.

In the early settlement of the country some of those who located in
what is now Spruce Hill township were: Hugh Ouigley, Samuel
Christy, John Sherrard. James Kenny, William Graham, William J\Ic-
IMullen, Arthur Eccles. and William Stewart. The last named took out
a warrant on February 3. 1755, for a tract of land along the Juniata
river, but was killed by the Indians before the land was surveyed. His
widow married John Williams, a noted hunter who was wounded at
the battle of Brandywine, in the Revolution, and the tract taken up
by Stewart was warranted to Williams in 1788. Northeast of the pres-
ent village of Spruce Hill William Anderson became possessed of squat-
ter rights on a tract of land including a spring, near which he built
his cabin. He was appointed assessor of Lack township in October,

1762, and took the first assessment the succeeding spring. On July 10,

1763, he and his son Joseph, and a girl who lived with the family, were
killed by a marauding band of Indians. The tragedy occurred in the
evening, and the old man died with his Bible in his hand. It was sup-
posed that he was about to engage in family worship when the attack
was made.

Spruce Hill is bounded on the north by Beatand Milford townships,
on the east by Turbett, on the south by Perry county, and on the west

i68 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

by the township of Tuscarora. Tlie Tuscarora creek flows along the
northern border, and south of it runs the Tuscarora \'alley railroad,
with stations at Grahams. Spruce Hill, Esh. Pleasant \'iew and \\'arble.
In the northwestern part is the village of McCoysville, which is the
largest in the township, having a population of 142 in 1910. Near the
western boundary is a station on tlie Tuscarora Valley railroad, called
Fort Bigham, which is near the site of the old fort of that name, which
was destroyed by the Indians on June 11, 1756. The postoffice at
Pleasant View was formerly called Tuscarora \'alley. It was estab-
lished about 1830. with James Milliken as postmaster. The population
of Pleasant View was 100 in 1910. Spruce Hill, five miles from Port
Royal, is a trading point for a considerable neighborhood, and in 1910
reported a population of 58. The township derives its name from an
elevation on the bank of the Tuscarora creek, which was covered with
spruce trees at the time the township was formed.

Susquehanna township was taken from Greenwood at the same time
as Monroe, in 1858. and a full account of how the division was made
may be found in the sketch of Monroe township above. It is the
smallest township in the county, is bounded on the north by Monroe
township and Snyder count}', on the east by the Susquehanna river,
on the south by Perry county, and on the west by the township of
Greenwood. The Mahantango creek forms a considerable portion of
the northern boundary. Its largest tributaries in the township are
Jobson's run and Kepner's run.

Probably the first land warrant for any portion of what is now Sus-
quehanna township was the one issued to Thomas McKee. on March 5,
1755, for a tract on the river at the mouth of the Mahantango creek,
where he had established a trading post some years before. A trail
leading from that point to the interior was long known as '']\IcKee's
path." Above IMcKee's Michael Whitmer took up a tract of 150 acres,
and he is believed to have been the founder of the old stone mill, saw-
mill, and distillery at that place. The first settlement back from the
river was commenced in August, 1766. when James Gallagher warranted
a tract of 211 acres near the southwest corner of the townshij). Other
early settlers were Samuel Osborne. Martin Doctor. Henry Zellers, Laz-
arus Wingert, Rudolph Schmelzer. Jacob Segrist, and Joshua Hunt.

Oriental, in the northern part, is the only village of importance. A

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 169

store was started there in 1855 by Amos Miller, who continued in busi-
ness for about ten years, and a postoffice was established there before
the Civil War. The population in 1910 was 130. On the Susquehanna
river, in the southeast corner, was formerly a postoffice called Mahan-
tango, but it was discontinued when the rural free delivery system was
inaugurated.

Turbett township was erected while Juniata was a part of Mifflin
countv. At the August term of court in 181 5 a petition was presented,
asking for a division of Milford township. Andrew Keiser, David
Reynolds, and William P. Maclay were appointed viewers, and reported
in favor of the division, which was confirmed at the November term.
At that session Jonathan Walker was the presiding judge, and at his
suggestion the record was made as follows : "Court confirm the said
division and name the southern division 'Turbett,' after Colonel Thomas
Turbett, under whom the President of this Court marched as a com-
mon soldier against the Indians during the Revolution. He was brave,
vigilant, and humane."

AMien the first assessment was taken in 18 17 there were 145 resi-
dent taxpavers and twenty-nine single freemen. Spruce Hill township
was cut off from Turbett in 1858, leaving the latter in its present form.
It is bounded on the north by Milford township, on the east by Walker
and the Juniata river, on the south by Perry county, and on the west
by Spruce Hill. East of Turbett and lying between the Perry county
line and the Juniata river is a narrow strip of land once known as the
"Happy Banks of Goshen," under which name it was patented to John
Thompson, who lived near Vandyke station on the Pennsylvania rail-
road. A road ran along the south side of the river, known as the
Goshen road. This strip was formerly in Milford township, but was
transferred to Fermanagh in 1791 and now forms that part of Walker
and Delaware townships lying south of the Juniata. At Thompson's
there was a shad fishery.

On February 3, 1755, Captain W'illiam Patterson warranted 336
acres opposite Mexico, where his father. Captain James Patterson, took
up a large tract the next day. Here he built a block-house as a defence
against the Indians. In January, 1768, with a posse of nineteen men,
William Patterson marched to Middle creek, in what is now Snyder
county, and arrested Frederick Stump and John Eisenhour for the

I70 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

killing of the "White !Mingo" and nine other Lidians. The prisoners
were taken to the Carlisle jail, and Patterson was made a justice of the
peace for making the arrest, the first man to hold that office west of
the Tuscarora mountain. Other early settlers were Alexander Denni-
son, Stacy Hepburn, Thomas Lowery, Charles Hunter, John McDowell,
James and William Kenny, John Ivepner, Robert I\Ioore, John Ander-
son, and David Littell. Captain James Patterson also warranted a tract
of land where the Tuscarora station on the Pennsylvania railroad is
now located. This tract included the "Roaring Spring," a large
stream that issued from the crevices in the rock with such force as to
cause a loud roaring sound. The spring was destroyed by the building
of the railroad. Colonel Thomas Turbett, for whom the township was
named, purchased James Kenny's land and in 1775 started the first tan-
nery in what is now Juniata county. Captain \\"illiam ^Martin, who
served in Armand's First Partisan Legion in the Revolutionary war, was
a pioneer in Turbett township, where he died about 1822.

As early as 1798 James Garner taught a school in a house near
Kilmer's grave-yard, said to have been the first school house in the
township. Jacob Buehler, David Powell and Benjamin Lane were
also among the earliest teachers. There was in early days a school
house in connection with the Lutheran church on Church hill. After
the introduction of the public school system the township was divided
into five districts, and houses erected in each by the public funds.

Near the northeast corner is the borough of Port Royal, the largest
town in the township. It is the terminus of the Tuscarora Valley
railroad, which runs southwest, the stations in Turbett township being
Old Port, Turbett, Freedom, and Grahams. Along the bank of the
Juniata runs the main line of the Pennsylvania, with stations at Port
Royal, Mexico, and Tuscarora.

Tuscarora township was erected by the Mifflin county court in 1825.
Early in the year a petition was received, asking for a division of
Lack township, and Hugh Hart, John Graham, and Richard Doyle
Avere appointed viewers. At the April term they reported in favor of
the division on the following line : "Beginning at a stone heap at the
Perry county line, on the northeast side of the gap of the Tuscarora
mountain leading into Horse valley; thence north 25^ west through
lands of Benjamin Wallace, John Wilson, Robert ]\Iagill, across said

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 171

township (Lack) nine miles to the line of Wayne township, below the
residence of Kerney in Black Log valley, in said county."

Tuscarora is the second largest township in the county, being
bounded on the north by Mifflin county, east by the townships of Mil-
ford, Beale, and Spruce Hill, south by Perry county, and west by Lack
township. The Tuscarora creek and its tributaries drain the township.

Robert McKee, Samuel Bigham, and John Collins were the most
prominent of those who warranted lands in 1755. In 1762 Jane Swan,
widow of Thomas Swan, who was reported among the missing by
Colonel John Armstrong after his expedition to Kittanning, warranted
103 acres in 1762 and an additional sixty-eight acres the following
March. The latter tract became known as the "Deep Spring Planta-
tion." Few settlements of a permanent character were made until
about 1767, owing to the hostility of the Indians. Among those who
came in 1767 were Thomas Kerr, John Gray, John Potts, William
Beale, Joseph Scott, Joseph Scott, and John Morrison. Stephen and
Robert Porter had come into the township the preceding year, and in
1768-69 the population was increased by the arrival of Alexander Potts,
Daniel Campbell, Jonathan Taylor, Jane Campbell, and some others.
William Arbuckle, Thomas ^Martin, Samuel Finley, James McLaughlin,
John Hamilton, John and Samuel Martin had all taken up lands prior
to the Revolution. After the Revolution the fertile valleys of Tusca-
rora township received their share of the emigrants who came westward
on the tide of emigration.

One of the first schools was taught by James Butler near ]McCoys-
ville in 1807. John Erskine taught near Reed's gap, and in 181 2 a
man named Gardner opened a school near Anderson's fulling ]nill. It
is said that he treated his pupils to whisky and sugar. After the public
school system came in the township was divided into ten districts.

The Tuscarora Valley railroad runs through the southern part of
the township, with stations at Honey Grove, Heckman, and East Water-
ford. Honey Grove was formerly called Bealetown, because David
Beale erected a mill there at an early date and a settlement grew up
around the mill. A postoffice was established in 1839, and Jesse Beale
was the first postmaster. The name of the postoffice was Beale's Mills,
but when Francis Snyder was appointed postmaster he objected to it on
account of its similarity to Bell's ^lills, and set about having it changed.

172 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

About that time a swarm of bees made a hive in a house belonging to
A\'illiam A'an Swearingen, and this incident suggested the name of
"Honey Grove," which was adopted by the postoffice department. The
village had a population of 279 in 1910.

East Waterford was laid out by Dr. Thomas Laughlin about 1796,
but the sale of lots was slow for a time, and a lottery was devised for
making them move faster. Each subscriber paid a certain amount,
and the winners of lots were to pay an additional amount. In the head-
ing to the subscription papers the town is described as being "situated
on the leading road from McClelland's ferry, mouth of Tuscarora creek,
and Carlisle, which leads to Path A'alley, Aughwick. and Burnt Cabins."
The Tuscarora creek, on which the town stands, is described as "navi-
gable in time of flood for a considerable burthen down to the Juniata
river," etc. In 1884 the village, according to a description written at
that time by Professor A. L. Guss, contained "a store, hotel, and twenty-
seven d>velling houses. Several of its industries, past and present, are
up the Mill run within the limits of Lack township." After the building
of the Tuscarora \'alley railroad the place began to grow, and in 1910
it had a population of 340.

McCo}'sville, near the eastern Ijorder of the township, grew up about
the mill built by Xeal McCoy in 1829. A postoffice was established in
1837, with Joseph S. Laird as postmaster. A store and a hotel soon
followed, and in a few years McCoysville became a neighborhood
center. Like most rural hamlets, it has never grown to any considerable
proportions. Its population in 1910 was 142.

In the northwestern part is a little hamlet and postoffice called Reed's
Gap. It is at the gap leading into the head of the Black Log valley,
on a tract of land warranted by Robert Reed, hence the name. In 1869
a postoffice was established here, and James Irwin was the first post-
master. A few years later there were two stores, a blacksmith shop,
several dwellings, etc. In 1910 the population was but 56.

\\"alker township, situated in the central part of the county, was
erected while Juniata was still a part of Mifflin county. In November,
1821, a petition asking that a new township be created from Ferma-
nagh was presented to the court. Daniel Christy. William AIcAlister,
Jr., and David Walker were appointed viewers, and on January 19, 1822,
made a report favoring the division of Fermanagh and recommending

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 173

certain boundaries for the new township. At the April term following
the report was confirmed, and the southern part of Fermanagh was
erected into a new township called \A'alker. Its original area was
reduced by the formation of Delaware township in 1836, since which
time it has been bounded as follows : On the north by the townships
of Fayette and Fermanagh, on the east by Delaware, on the south
by Perry county, and on the west by the townships of Milford and
Turbett, from which it is separated by the Juniata river. A portion
of the township lies south of the Juniata in the narrow strip between
the river and Perry county.

In the report of Richard Peters, provincial secretary, in 1850, con-
cerning the trespassers on the Indian lands, is the following statement :

"About the year 1740 or 1741, one Frederick Star, a German, with
two or three more of his countrymen, made some settlements at the
above place, where we found W^illiam White, the Galloways, and
Andrew Lycon, on Big Juniata, situate at the distance of twenty-five
miles from the mouth thereof, and about ten miles north of the Blue
Hills, a place much esteemed by the Indians for some of their best
hunting-grounds, which ( settlers ) were discovered by the Delawares
at Shamokin to the deputies of the Six Nations, as they came down
to Philadelphia in 1743," etc.

The distance from the mouth of the Juniata, coupled with the state-
ments of Rupp and others that the settlement made by the Germans
was on the north side of the Juniata, would bring the trespassers within
the limits of the present Walker township. In response to the repeated
complaints of the Indians the squatters were expelled and some of
their cabins burned, though Peters, in the report above referred to,
says : "It may be proper to add that the cabbins or log Houses which
were burnt were of no considerable value, being such as Country People
erect in a day or two, and cost only the charge of an entertainment."

If the location of the squatters in Walker township is correct they
were doubtless the first white men who attempted to establish them-
selves in that section. On February 3, 1755, the first day the land
office was open for business in the matter of granting land warrants
for the new purchase, William White and John Lycon each took out
warrants — the former for 200 and the latter for 323 acres — on the
Juniata, adjoining the tract warranted on the next day by James

174 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Patterson where Mexico now stands. Patterson has generally been
credited with being the first settler, but in view of the above facts it is
quite probable that the honor belongs to Frederick Star and his asso-
ciates. Patterson was one of the most prominent of the early settlers.
In 1767 he built the first grist-mill and saw-mill east of the Juniata.
During the latter years of the French and Indian war his house was
used as base of supplies, and at one time, in the fall of 1756, a large
quantity of flour was stored there for the use of troops on the fron-
tier.

In the expulsion of the trespassers Andrew Lycon resisted arrest,
for which his cabin was burned and he was taken to Carlisle and placed
in jail. His name does not appear again in connection with the settle-
ment of the Juniata valley, but on February 3, 1755, John Lycon (also
written Lukens ) was granted ^2^ acres of land opposite the present
Vandyke station. Other early settlers were Valentine Sterns, Jesse
Jacobs, William Cochran, John Mitchell, Robert Tea, David Walker,
Michael Funk, David Allen, Rev. Thomas Barton, and John Hamilton.

David Walker was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and dur-
ing the Revolution served as a member of the company raised in what
is now Juniata county and commanded by Captain Gibson. Some
claim that the township was named for him and others contend
that it was named for Jonathan Walker, who was for a
number of years the president judge of the Mifflin county court.
John Hamilton was captain of the cavalry company that was raised
in 1776 and joined \\'ashington the next day after the battle of Tren-
ton. In 1787 he removed to Harrisburg, and died there in August,

1793-

In 18 1 2 Tobias Kreider laid out the town of New Mexico at the

mouth of Doe run. John S. Blair opened a tavern there in 1820, after
the turnpike was completed, and kept the place for many years. The
first store in the village was opened by James Thompson in 1814, and,
when the postoffice was established in 182 1, he was appointed postmaster.
Hugh Knox was the first blacksmith, and in 1836 Charles Thompson
built a foundry which continued in operation for about thirty years.
The "New" was dropped from the name some years ago and the place is
known simply as "Mexico," a station on the Pennsylvania on the oppo-
site side of the river bearing the same name. The population of the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 175

village in 19 10 was 184. Other villages in the township are Van Wert,
known at first as "Slabtown," in the eastern part, and Vandyke, a small
station between Mexico and Thompsontown. About a mile below Mif-
flintown, on the river, James Taylor laid out a town about 1789 which
was known as Taylorstown and later as Mifflinburgh. The lots were in
time returned to agricultural use and the town L only a vague memory.

There are four boroughs in Juniata county: Mififlintown, Mifflin,
Port Royal, and Thompsontown. Mifflintown, the county-seat and
largest town in the county, is pleasantly situated on the left bank of
the Juniata river, forty-nine miles from Harrisburg. The town site was
warranted to Alexander Lafferty on September 8, 1755. After several
changes in ownership it passed to John Harris in 1774. When the move-
ment for the erection of Mifflin county commenced in 1788 a number of
citizens, through a committee of three disinterested persons, selected
Harris' plantation as the site of the county-seat. Before the question
was finally settled Harris, iu /790, laid out a town and named it Mifflin-
town, in honor of Governor Thomas Mifflin. The square now occupied
by the court-house and jail was set apart by him for the county build-
ings, and the fight to have the county-seat located there was kept up
for years. Harris died on February 24. 1794, and did not see the reali-
zation of his hopes, for Mifflintown did not become a county-seat until
after the erection of Juniata county in 1831.

When John Harris bought the land in 1774 there was a log house
upon it south of the ravine, "at the intersection of the Cedar Spring road
and Water street." Rev. Philip Fithian stopped with Harris the next
year and described his house as "elegant, the windows in the parlor each
containing twenty-four large lights of glass." This was the first house
in ]\Iifflintown, but by whom it was built is not certain. Additions were
made to it by Harris and in time it assumed the character described by
Fithian. In 1791 the proprietor of the town designated a lot on Main
street for a church and cemetery, in which he was the first person to be
interred.

A slight impulse was given to the growth of the town by the open-
ing of the canal in 1829, and after the erection of Juniata county the
village took on new life. The first court-house was built in 1832. On
December 19, 1832, a meeting was held to discuss the advisability of
incorporating the town. A petition was prepared and signed by nearly

1/6 HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY

all present, after which it was sent to the legislature. On March 6, 1833,
Governor Wolfe approved the act incorporating the town. An election
for ])orough officers was held a few days later and resulted in the choice
of the following: James Frow, chief burgess; David Elder, assistant
burgess; Joseph Cummings, Robert C. Gallagher, Andrew Parker, Amos
Gustine, and James JMathers, councilmen ; Samuel Wright, constable.
These officers met at the house of Joseph Cummings on ]\Iarch 18, 1833,
and were sworn into office.

The first physician in the town was Dr. Ezra Doty, a native of
Sharon, Connecticut. Shortly after Mifflintown was founded he made
a tour of Pennsylvania and stopped there for the night. One of the citi-
zens was suddenly taken ill and the young doctor was called in. His
patient recovered and the neighbors persuaded him to locate there.

In 1792 Captain David Davidson located in Mifflintown. He had
served in the Continental army during the Revolution. He built a hotel
on Water street and named it the "General Greene House,'' which he
kept for several years. This was the first hotel. Some years later
the "Yellow House" was opened and conducted as a hotel until destroyed
by fire, the daughter and stepdaughter of the proprietor perishing in the
flames. The Mansion House, later the National Hotel, was built in
1833. Other hotels came later, but in the spring of 1913, when the
court refused to grant licenses for the sale of intoxicating liciuors, two
of the largest houses closed.

.\ postoffice was established early in the nineteenth century, and in
t8o8 Captain Davidson was postmaster. In that year the Juniata Stage
Company began running their stages through Mifflintown. The first
newspapers, the Juniata Free Press and the Juniata Telegraph, were
started in 1832. The first tannery was started by Jacob Wright, who
came to Mifflintown from Chambersburg in 1794. Amos Doty, a
brother of the doctor, started the second one about 1809. Among the
pioneer merchants were Amos Gustine, James Knox, Robert C. Gallag-
her, and S. & M. W. Abraham. The first bank was established in 1864.

In August, 1795, in a petition for opening a road, mention is made
of a "school house on Main street," which is the first information of
such an institution in the town. Rev. Matthew Brown was one of the
early teachers, but whether in this house or not is not known. In 181 5
a subscription fund was started for the erection of a public school house

E-

«;

M
>

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 177

and in Alay, 1816, the trustees — Rev. John Hutcheson, Benjamin Law,
and William Bell — bought a lot on Third street and a stone house was
built during that year. On November 4. 1S34, a meeting was held in
the court-house, composed of delegates from the several townships,
which decided to raise $3,500 for the purpose of establishing public
schools, pursuant to the law passed at the preceding session of the legis-
lature. The Mitflintown Academy was founded and incorporated in
1883.

In 1910 the population of Alifflintown was 954. It has two national
banks, a number of well-stocked stores, water-works, electric lighting
system, neat residences, several commodious church buildings, and the
general atmosphere is one of contentment and prosperity.

Mit^in, directly across the Juniata river from Mifflintown, was until
recently called Patterson, under which name it was laid out in 1849.
The land where the borough stands was warranted to John ]\IcClellan in
September, 1755, and the place was known as ]\IcClellan's ferry for a
long time before the town was laid out. A tract of ground was given
by the proprietors to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which built
repair shops there in 185 1. This gave the new town an impetus, a force
of some seventy-five men being employed in the shops, and Patterson
was for a time an active little place. In 1869 most of the machinery
in the shops was removed to Altoona and two years later the round-
house was demolished, which proved a check upon the prosperity. Fal-
lon & Wright built a hotel called the Patterson House and had a con-
tract with the railroad company that two trains daily were to stop there
long enough for passengers to take meals. The hotel was kept by the
Lusk brothers until 1854 and then by William Bell for about four years,
after which it became merely a lunch room.

Patterson was incorporated by an act of the legislature, approved
March 17, 1853, and by the act of April i8th of the same year John
J. Patterson, James North, and Joseph IMiddaugh were authorized to
carry out the provisions of the incorporation act by holding an election
for borough officers on the first Tuesday in Alay. Subsequently it was
discovered that the tax on the act of incorporation had not been paid
and the act was therefore inoperative and the election void. Bv the act
of April 13, 1854, the election was legalized and the borough became a
thing of fact. The writer has been unable to ascertain the results of

178 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

that first election. The first school board was organized on May 23,

1853-

On April i, 1880, a hook and ladder company was organized and

provided itself with truck, ladders, buckets, Babcock fire extinguishers,

etc. It was chartered on June 10, 1884, as the "Friendship Hook and

Ladder Company," with about fifty members. A house was erected for

the use of the company and on it was placed the bell formerly on the

old court-house.

James North was the first merchant. He opened his store in ]\Iay,
1850, with a stock of goods valued at $250. Oles & Frank opened a
store in 1853. Twenty-five years later the borough had seven dry-goods
stores, a drug store, a hardware store, three hotels, a shoe store, and two
coal and lumber yards.

In the census of 1910 the name is still given as Patterson, but about
that time the name of the postoffice was changed to jMifilin and the name
of the borough was altered to correspond. In that year the population
was 885. Mifflin has a bank, several good mercantile houses, hotels, etc.,
and is the principal railway station between Port Royal and Lewistown.

Port Royal, situated at the mouth of the Tuscarora creek, three
miles east of Mifflin, had its beginning more than a century ago. In
June, 1792. John Campbell sold to Lawrence King 218 acres of land
on Tuscarora creek, a short distance above the mouth. Some time be-
tween that and the end of the century King laid out a town which was
called "St. Tammany's Town." In April, 1815, Henry Groce laid out
a town at the mouth of the creek and named it Perrysville in honor of
Commodore Perry, whose fame was at that time being discussed by
nearly everybody. In 1833, or about that time, a postoffice was estab-
lished at St. Tammany's Town and the name of the office was made
"Port Royal." AAHien the railroad was completed Perrysville was on
the line of the railway and the business of St. Tammany's Town began
to drift to the station. In 1847 the postoffice was removed there, but
the name was not changed. In the meantime the town at the mouth of
the creek had been incorporated on April 4, 1843, under the name of
Perrysville. One name for the borough and another for the postoffice
caused confusion, but it was not until 1874 that the name of Perrysville
was dropped and the borough took the name of Port Royal. Since that
time St. Tammanv's Town has been known as "Old Port."

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 179

The first store in Port Royal (or Ferrysville) was kept by Benjamin
Kepner in a stone house near the river. In April, 1829, the Perrysville
Bridge Company was incorporated and the first bridge across the river
was built two years later. It was broken down by the weight of a heavy
snow-fall in 1839. A second bridge was built in 1842 and it was washed
away by a flood in October, 1847. The third bridge was built in 1851.
The first school was taught by John Gish in a house that stood on the
river bank. On April 5, 1856, the borough was organized as a separate
district and in 1870 a two-story brick school house was built.

In 1910 the population of Port Royal was 535. It has a bank, sev-
eral good stores, some manufacturing enterprises, churches of various
denominations, and a number of neat residences. It is the terminus of
the Tuscarora Valley railroad, which runs southwest up the valley
through a rich agricultural district and is the means of bringing to the
merchants of Port Royal a large country trade.

Thompsontown grew up about the mill erected by John Kepner in
1 77 1. William Thompson bought a part of the tract in 1785 and in
1790 laid out the town. In the same year Michael Holman was licensed
to keep a tavern, which was one of the first business enterprises estab-
ylajixj-^ ^^^^^^- /^li^hSef Lichtenthaler came to the village in 1796 and opened
a tavern. He also operated two distilleries until his death about 1810.
John McGary was the first postmaster, the postoffice being kept in his
tavern, and he was also the first justice of the peace. Other early busi-
ness concerns were the tannery of James McLin, started about 1794, and
the store of William Thompson, which was opened in iSoi. In 1809
he put up a fulling mill and two distilleries and in 1812 added a carding
machine to the fulling mill. He died about a year later.

Miss Nancy McGary was the first school teacher. In 1833 the
Thompsontown Academy was built by subscription and was used as a
school house and church for several years. In 1838 the township of
Delaware accepted the school law and the Thompsontown school was a
part of the township system until the spring of 1868, when it was made
an independent district. This was largely due to the fact that Thomp-
sontown had been incorporated as a borough on December 4, 1867, with
Thomas Patton as the first chief burgess.

Lodges of various fraternal organizations are or have been in exist-
ence in Thompsontown. The Odd Fellows' hall was built by a stock

l8o HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

company, in connection with which the Postoffice Building Association
was organized in October, 1865. In 1905 a bank was organized with a
capital stock of $10,000. The population of the borough in 1910 was

293-

Besides the four boroughs, the postoffices of the county, with the
population of each, are as follows: Academia, 186; Blacklog, 173;
Bunkertown, 62 ; Cocolamus, 220 ; Doyle's Mills, 48 ; East Waterf ord,
340; Evandale, 125; Honey Grove, 279; Kilmer, 26; McAlisterville,
578; McCoysville, 142; Mexico, 184; Nook, 25; Oakland Mills, 121;
Oriental, 130; Perulack, 27; Pleasant View, 100; Reed's Gap, 56; Rich-
field, 500; Ross Farm, 22; Spruce Hill, 58; Vandyke, 34; Walnut, 150;
Wistie, 30. There are two rural delivery routes from East Waterford,
one from Honey Grove, two from McAlisterville, one from ]^Iifflin, three
from MifHintown, one from Perulack, two from Port Royal, two from
Richfield, one from Spruce Hill, and two from Thompsontown, making
a total of seventeen in the county.

CHAPTER X
PERRY COUNTY, ORGANIZATION, ETC.

Perry a Part of Cumberland County — Organic Act of 1820 — Boundaries as Fixed by
the Law — Commission to Locate the County Seat — Ten Sites in the Contest —
Protests — A New Commission — General Dissatisfaction — Meetings Held — A Third
Commission — End of the Contest — Sale of Lots — The First Jail — Court-House
and Additions Thereto — A New Jail — The Poor-House — Election Districts — Irreg-
ular Outline of the County — Boundaries— Railroads — The Civil List.

PERRY county embraces the southern part of the Indian purchase
of July 6, 1854, and began its separate existence as a political
organization under the provisions of the act of the Pennsylvania
legislature approved March 22, 1820. Prior to the passage of that act
all the territory now included within the limits of Perry county formed
a part of the county of Cumberland.

Section i of the act provided that "From and after the first day of
September, 1820, all that part of Cumberland county lying north of the
Blue mountain, beginning on the summit of the Blue mountain, where
the Franklin county line crosses the same, and running thence along the
summit thereof an eastwardly course to the river Susquehanna; thence
up the west side of the same to the line of Mifflin county ; thence along
the Mifflin county line to the Juniata river; thence along the summit of
the Tuscarora mountains to the Franklin county line; thence along the
Franklin county line to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby
declared to be erected into a separate county to be called Perry."

It should be borne in mind that at the time Perry county was thus
created the county of Juniata was part of Mifflin, and the Mifflin county
line described in the above section is now the southern boundary of
Juniata.

Section 9 authorized the governor to appoint, before the first day
of September, when the act was to become effective, "three disinter-
ested persons, not resident in the county of Cumberland or Perry, whose

181

i82 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

duty it shall be to select a proper and convenient site for a court-house,
prison, and county offices, as near the center as circumstances shall admit,
having regard to convenience of roads, territory, population, and ac-
commodation of the people," etc.

Pursuant to the provisions of this section. Governor Findlay ap-
pointed William Beale, Jacob Buchner, and David Maclay, as commis-
sioners, and immediately a spirited rivalry started among different locali-
ties for the county seat. Ten contestants entered the race, viz : Landis-
burg. Cedar Run (then in Toboyne but now in Madison township),
Douglas' place near Greenpark, Elliottsburg, Captain William Power's
place, Casper Lupfer's farm near the present town of New Bloomfield,
George Barnett's place, Reider's Ferry (now Newport), a site on the
south side of the Juniata river opposite Millerstown, and Clark's Ferry.
Meetings were held in the interests of each of the proposed sites, and
in some instances funds were raised by subscription for the purpose of
defraying the expense of erecting public buildings. The Landisburg sub-
scription list was signed by fifty-eight persons and aggregated $i.6io.
Helfenstine and Cry, the chief promoters of the Cedar Run site, headed
a list signed by thirty-one persons, promising to pay $2,907, and further
agreed to raise the amount to $5,000 in the event their site was chosen.
Casper Lupfer, in a communication to the commissioners, ofifered to
donate a certain amount of land and to "execute a deed of conveyance to
the commissioners of Perry county, or to any person or persons lawfully
authorized to receive title for the site for the court-house, prison, and
county offices, gratis and without any fee or reward whatever, to be for
the only proper use, benefit, and behoof of the county of Perry forever."

After two weeks spent in examining the various proposed sites, the
commissioners, on August 17, 1820, announced their selection as the
farm of Captain William Power, about two miles west of the present
town of New Bloomfield. This action seemed to meet with general dis-
approval. On August 26th a public meeting at Landisburg adopted a
resolution protesting against the site selected, on the ground that it was
"a place having no intersection of roads, no direct intercourse with
adjacent counties, destitute of good water, good mills, or even good mill
seats."

The contest was now reopened and the fight began in earnest. Dur-
ing the fall and early winter a petition to the legislature asking for the

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 183

appointment of another commission was circulated throughout the
county and received a large number of signatures. In response to this
petition the legislature passed an act on April 2, 182 1, directing the
appointment of a new commission before May i, 1821, and provided
that the final report of such commission should be in the hands of the
governor not later than the first of June. The names of the commis-
sioners appointed under this act cannot be ascertained, but it is known
that they recommended Reider's Ferry (Newport) as a location for the
county seat. As this point is several miles north and east of the center
of the county, the choice aroused more dissatisfaction than did that of
the first commission. Again the question was brought before the legis-
lature and, on March 11, 1822, Governor Hiester approved an act in
which Moses Rankin, of York county; James Hindman, of Chester
county; Peter Frailey, of Schuylkill county; David FuUerton, of Frank-
lin county, and James Agnew, of the county of Bedford, were named as
commissioners, with instructions to select a site for a county seat and
report by June i, 1822.

These commissioners decided in favor of Landisburg, which is about
as far from the center of the county as Reider's Ferry, but in the opposite
direction. The selection, therefore, did not suit the people of the eastern
part of the county. On June 5, 1822, only a few days after the report of
the commission was made public, the citizens of the five eastern townships
held a meeting at the house of John Koch, in what is now Juniata town-
ship, to make formal protest. Frazer Montgomery, William Waugh, and
John Harper were chosen as a committee to prepare an address to the
people of the county showing why the action of the commissioners
should be repudiated. The address was a rather lengthy one, but its
burden was that Landisburg was within three miles of the Cumberland
county line, and that the selection of such a place for a county seat was
unjust to the county at large. No further agitation of the subject oc-
curred until October 16, 1822, when a meeting of the citizens of Juniata
and Buffalo townships was held at the house of Meredith Darlington
for a general consideration of the county seat question. At this meeting
a resolution favoring the first location — Captain Power's farm in the
Limestone valley — was adopted and a petition was drawn up setting
forth the facts that three commissions had been appointed under acts
of the legislature; that the last commission had recommended the loca-

i84 HISTORY OF THE JUXIATA VALLEY

tion of the county seat at Landisburg, and requested that the site chosen
by the first commission be made the seat of justice.

The action of this meeting stirred the other portions of the county to
activity. On November i6th a meeting was held at Bark Tavern in
Rye township, at which it was proposed that the citizens of the several
townships each elect two delegates on December 7th, the delegates so
selected to meet at the Bark Tavern on the loth to decide upon a location
for a county seat and then circulate a petition asking the legislature to
pass an act fixing the seat of justice upon the site thus selected. No
record has been preserved of the meeting of the delegates on December
loth, but when the legislature assembled shortly afterward ^Ir. Mitchell.
a member of the house of representatives, introduced in that body a
number of petitions, signed by some eight hundred citizens of the county,
asking that the county seat be established upon the site selected by the
first commission. After much discussion the proposition was finally
defeated in the house on February 24, 1823, and a few days later the
senate began the consideration of a bill authorizing the appointment of
a fourth commission. This measure passed both branches of the legis-
lature and was approved by the governor on March 31, 1823. Soon
after that date Governor Hiester appointed Joseph Huston, of Fayette
county: Dr. Phineas Jenks, of Bucks; Abner Leacock. of Beaver; Henry
Sheets, of Alontgomery, and Cromwell Pearce, of Chester, as commis-
sioners.

Four of these commissioners met at the house of ^leredith Darlin-'-
ton on \\'ednesda3', ]\Iay 28, 1823, Mr. Huston being absent. Owing
to inclement weather nothing was done until the following Friday, when
the commissioners visited Landisburg, after which they looked at other
locations and ultimately decided in favor of George Barnett's farm, in
Juniata township, about two miles east of the site selected by the first
commission nearly three years before. Their report to this effect was
made to the governor and. in January, 1824, was laid before the legisla-
ture. Jacob Huggins, then the representative from Perry county, pre-
sented several petitions asking for the confirmation of the re-
port ; and also petitions from the advocates of Landisburg praving that
the county seat might be located at that point. The report of the com-
mission was finally confirmed by the legislature and, on April 12, 1824,
George Barnett executed a deed conveying to the commissioners of

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 185

Perry county a tract of nearly nine acres of land — the site chosen by the
commission in May, 1823. Thus, after a contest of nearly four years,
the seat of justice in Perry county was permanently established.

Section 10 of the organic act which authorized the county commis-
sioners to accept the title of the site chosen, also authorized them to
"assess, levy, and collect money to build a court-house and prison."
Section 16 provided that "all prisoners of Perry county shall be kept
in the Cumberland county jail for the term of three years, or until the
commissioners of Perry county shall have certified to the court that a
jail is erected and approved by the court and grand jury.''

To carry out these provisions, so far as they related to the erection
of a court-house and jail, the Perry county commissioners — Robert
Elliott, Samuel Linn, and John Maxwell — advertised on May 17, 1824,
that twenty-five lots on the public ground recently conveyed to the county
by George Barnett would be sold at public outcry on Wednesday, June
23d, following. What the results of that auction sale were the writer
has been unable to learn, but on July 7, 1S24, the commissioners adver-
tised for proposals for the erection of a stone jail, the dimensions of
which were to be 32 by 50 feet, with walls two and a half feet in thick-
ness, two stories in height, with four rooms on the lower floor and six
on the upper. The contract for the erection of this jail was awarded to
John Rice for $2,400, but when it was completed the following year the
total cost was slightly in excess of $2,600. Soon after its completion
the few Perry county prisoners were brought from the Cumberland
county jail and confined within its walls. On October i, 1827, John
Hippie was awarded a contract to build a stone wall inclosing the jail
yard for $950. This wall was completed the following year.

At the election in 1824 Robert Mitchell and Aljraham Bower suc-
ceeded John Maxwell and Robert Elliott on the board of county com-
missioners and on April 11, 1825, these gentlemen, with their colleague,
Samuel Linn, advertised that they would receive proposals until August
30th for the erection of a brick court-house forty-five feet square in
the town of New Bloomfield which name had been conferred upon the
new county seat. The contract was awarded to John Rice in September,
but later it was decided to make the walls higher than originally intended
and also add a cupola. The building was completed late in the year
1826 at a cost of $4,240.

1 86 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Although the county seat was located at New Bloomfield in 1824,
the business of the county was transacted at Landisburg for nearly three
years after the selection of the location for a permanent seat of justice
was made and confirmed. Sessions of the court were held there in a log
house on Carlisle street, which was rented to the county by Allen Nesbit
for fifty dollars a year. The county officers kept the offices in their re-
spective residences. In March, 1827, the county offices were removed
to the new court-house in New Bloomfield and the first session of court
ever held there began on April 2, 1827.

The court-house built in 1825-26 continued in use, w'ith some slight
repairs, until 1868, when the grand jury and the court authorized the
commissioners to make such alterations and additions as might be nec-
essary to accommodate the increasing volume of county business. Luther
M. Simons, an architect of Harrisburg. met with the commissioners on
May 12, 1868, when he was employed to make plans for the rearrange-
ment of the interior and an addition to the north end of the building.
The basement of the Presbyterian church was secured for the offices of
the register and prothonotary while the alterations were under way
and the sessions of the court were held in the ]Methodist church. The
entire work, including the tower clock, was a little over $25,000. For
the purchase of the clock about $300 was subscribed by the citizens.
In 1892 further changes and improvements were made in the court-
house at a cost of about $20,000. A new addition was added to the
north end, in which the offices of prothonotary and register occupy the
first floor, the jury rooms and law library being on the second floor.

With repairs at various times, the old jail erected in 1825 continued
to serve the county as a prison for more than three-quarters of a cen-
tury. Early in the spring of 1902 the commissioners advertised that
they would receive proposals until noon of April 24, 1902, for the erec-
tion of a new jail and sheriff's residence, according to plans and specifi-
cations made by Charles M. Robinson, the building to be finished by
November 15, 1902. When the bids were opened it was found that the
firm of Dean & Havens were the lowest bidders and the contract was
made with them for $26,000. Changes in the plans increased the cost
to over $30,000 and delayed the work so that the building was not ready
for occupancy until about January i, 1903. Perry county now has a
modern jail, sanitary in its arrangements and modern in every particular.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 187

At the time Perry county was created the Cumberland county poor-
house happened to fall within the limits of the new county. The organic
act made provision for this condition of affairs in Section 19, which set
forth that "the poor-house establishment shall be conducted as hereto-
fore for the term of four years from and after the passage of this act,
and at the expiration of the four years the commissioners of Cumber-
land county shall remove their paupers into their own county."

The poor-house had its origin on April 12, 1810, when the directors
of the house of employment of Cumberland county purchased of Adam
Bernheisel 112 acres of land in Tyrone township for a poor-farm. The
following October contracts were entered into with Robert Cree, George
Libey, and Thomas Redding for the erection of a building for $3,980.
As already stated, this poor-house became the property of Perry county
in 1820, but the Cumberland county paupers were kept there until about
1826. The old brick residence erected by Adam Bernheisel in 1806 was
used as a dwelling by the steward. In 1839 the poor-house was de-
stroyed by fire and a new one was erected by Samuel Shuman, which
continued in use until the present building was erected in 187 1. It is a
four-story brick building of about seventy rooms, with brick partitions
and iron stairways, being made as nearly fire-proof as possible, and cost
about $60,000. George Hackett was the first steward after the poor-
house became the property of Perry county and J. B. Trostle was the
first steward in the present building.

In accordance with a resolution adopted by the Continental Congress
on May 15, 1776, the provincial council the following month divided the
several counties of Pennsylvania into election districts. The third dis-
trict of Cumberland county was made to consist of the townships of
Tyrone, Toboyne, Rye, Milford, Greenwood, Fermanagh, Lack, Armagh,
and Derry, with the voting place at the house of Robert Campbell, in
the Tuscarora valley. This district as thus constituted embraced all the
present counties of Mifflin, Juniata, and Perry. Robert Campbell lived
on Licking creek, in what is now Juniata county, and some of the inhabi-
tants would have to travel from thirty to forty miles to cast their ballots
on election day. By the act of September 13, 1785, Cumberland was
divided into four districts and two others were added under the act of
September 10, 1787. Other changes were made from time to time and
when Perry county was erected in 1820 election districts and voting

i88 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

places were designated as follows : Toboyne township, at Henry Zim-
merman's; Tyrone, at the school house in Landisburg; Saville, the school
house at North Ickesburg'; Buffalo, at Frederick Deal's house; East
Greenwood, at Henry Raymon's ; West Greenwood, at \\'. Wood's house,
Tvlillcrtown; Juniata, also at Wood's; Rye, at the Elmon school house in
Petersburg. As new townships were erected each was made to consti-
tute an election district, and, as population increased, some of the town-
ships were divided into two or more election districts. The incorpora-
tion of boroughs likewise led to the establishment of new districts.

Like most of the counties in the mountainous regions of central
Pennsylvania, Perry county is of irregular outline. Its greatest length
from the Susquehanna river, at the northeastern corner, to the Franklin
county line, is over forty miles, and its average width is about fifteen
miles. The county is bounded on the north and northwest by the county
of Juniata; on the east by the Susquehanna, which separates it from
Dauphin county; on the southeast by the summit of the Blue mountain,
which forms the boundary line between it and Cumberland county; and
on the west by the county of Franklin. Agriculture is the leading occu-
pation of the people and some of the finest farms in the Juniata region
are to be found in Perry county, notably in Sherman's, Kennedy's, and
the Buffalo valleys, where some of the earliest settlements made within
the district included in this history were established. The Juniata river
enters the county from the west near ]\Iillerstown and flows a south-
easterh' course to Duncannon. where it empties into the Susquehanna.
Perry county has about fifty-five miles of railroad. The main line of
the Pennsylvania follows the course of the Juniata river; the Susque-
hanna River & \\'estern runs from Duncannon to Bloomfield Junction,
where it connects with the Newport & Sherman's \"alley railroad, which
runs from Newport to New Germantown.

Some 3-ears ago Silas ^^'right, at one time superintendent of the
Perry county public schools, compiled a list of the county ofiicials from
the organization of the county to 1884. That list is here reproduced and
to it is added the civil list of the county from 1884 to 1912, as taken
from the public records. The year given after each ofiicial's name is
the one in which he was elected or entered upon his duties.

Sheriffs — Daniel Stambaugh. 1820; Jesse Miller, 1823: John Hippie,
1826 ; Josiah Roddy, 1829 : William Lackey. 1832 ; M. Stambaugh, 1835 ;

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 189

Joseph Shuler, 1S38; Alexander Magee, 1841 ; Henry Cooper, 1844;
Hugh Campbell, 1847; Samuel Huggins, 1850; Benjamin F. Miller,
1853; James Woods, 1856; Benjamin F. Miller, 1859; John Sheibly,
1862; John F. Miller, 1865; Jeremiah Rinehart, 1868; D. M. Rhinesmith,
1871; J. W. Williamson, 1874; James A. Gray, 1877; John W. Beers.
1880; Henry C. Shearer, 1883; Jerome B. Lahr, 1886; George AI. Ritter,
1889; Joseph A. Rice, 1892; Charles L. Johnson, 1894; William LI.
Kough, 1898; Charles L. Johnson, 1901 ; Abram L. Long, 1904; E. T.
Charles, 1907 (reelected in 19 10).

Protlwnotarics—W'iWiam B. Mitchell. 1820; Henry Miller, 1821;
William B. Mitchell, 1824; George Stroup, 1829; John Boden, 1835;
Alexander Topley, 1839; Joseph Miller, 1845; Peter Orwan, 1848 (died
in office and John A. Baker appointed for the remainder of the term) ;
James L. Diven, 1851; David Mickey, 1857; James G. Turbett, i860;
John C. Lindsey, 1863; David Mickey, 1864: Charles H. Smiley, 1867;
James J. Sponenberger. 1870; David Mickey, 1S76: Alexander Grosh,
1882; Jacob E. Bonsell, 1885 ; Samuel S. Willard, 1891 : J. W. Stephens,
1897 (reelected in 1900, but died before the close of his second term
and his son, G. Warren Stephens, was appointed to the vacancy), G.
Warren Stephens, 1902 (reelected in 1905 and died in office, Grafton
Junkin being appointed) ; George B. Shull, 1906 (reelected in 1909 and
the second term prolonged one year by constitutional amendment making
all county officers elected for four-year terms).

Registers and Recorders — Benjamin Leas, 1820; A. Fulweiler, ;

Jacob Frith, 1824; John McKeehan, 1830; Jeremiah Madden; 1836;
John Souder, 1839; George W. Crane, 1845: Robert Kelley, 185 1 ; John
Campbell, 1854; George Spohr. 1857; Samuel Roth, i860; William
Grier, 1863; Thomas J. Sheibly, 1869; Joseph S. Smith, 1872; George
S. Briner, 1875; Josiah \\'. Rice, 1881 ; Joseph S. Smith. 1884; Nathan-
iel Adams, 1887; James W. McKee, 1893; Jacob C. Lightner, 1899;
Charles L. Darlington, 1905; Charles L. De Pugh, 191 1.

Treasurers — William Power, 1820; R. H. McClelland, 1823; George
Stroup, 1827: John Wilson, 1830; Robert Kelley, 1832; David Lupfer,
1835 ; David Deardorff, 1838; William Lackey, 1841 ; Henry Rice, 1844;
David Lupfer, 1847; Jonas Ickes, 1849; George Spohr. 1851 ; Thomas
Clark, 1853; John R." Shuler. 1855; H. D. Woodruff. 1857; David J.
Rice, 1859; John H. Sheibly, 1861 ; James McElheny, 1863; Samuel

I90 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Smith, 1865; James McElhen}-, 1867; William Tressler, 1869; Isaac
N. Shatto, 1871 ; George W. Spohr, 1873 ; John R. Boden, 1875 ; William
Rice, 1878; John P. Steel, 1881 ; William A. Lightner, 1884; Thomas
J. Clark, 1887; John W. Kell, 1890; L. H. C. Flickinger, 1893; H. C.
Gantt, 1896; Wilson D. Messimer, 1899; Lawrence F. Smith, 1902;
D. C. Kell, 1905; Lawrence F. Smith, 1908; Robert A. McClm-e, 191 1.
County Commissioners — Upon the organization of the county in 1820
a full board of three commissioners was elected. After that, with few
exceptions, as will be seen in the list, one commissioner was elected every
year until the adoption of the state constitution of 1874, since which
time a full board has been elected every three years. In 1820. Thomas
Adams, Jacob Huggins, Robert Mitchell; 1821, Robert Elliott; 1822,
Samuel Linn; 1823, John ilaxwell; 1826, Abraham Adams, John Owen,
Abraham Bower; 1827, George Mitchell; 1828, Solomon Bower; 1829,
John Junkin; 1830, Jacob Kumbler; 1831, Alexander Branyan; 1832,
Frederick Orwan; 1833, Jacob Kumler; 1834, George Beaver, Andrew
Shuman; 1835, Cadwalader Jones; 1836, George Beaver; 1837, C.
Wright, J. Zimmerman; 1838, William ^\'hite; 1839, AI. Donnelly;
1840, G. Charles, Sr. ; 1841, Robert Adams; 1S42, Robert Kelley; 1843,
T. P. Cochran, Isaac Kirkpatrick; 1844, \\"illiam jNIeminger; 1845,
Nicholas Herich ; 1846, John Patterson; 1847, George Fitzell ; 184S,
Thomas Adams; 1849, Jacob Sheibly; 1850, Fenlow McCowen; 185 1,
Charles C. Brandt; 1852, George Stroup; 1853, John Mej'ers; 1854,
William Power; 1855, Jacob Bixler; 1856, Lawrence Gross; 1857, James
B. Cooper; 1858, Thomas Campbell; 1859. Henry P. Grubb; i860,
Henry Foulk ; 1861, William Rough; 1862, William Wright; 1863, J.
Kochenderfer ; 1864, Perry Kreamer; 1865, John Wright; 1866, William
Hays; 1867, George S. Briner; 1868, John Stephens; 1869. Zachariah
Rice; 1870, J. A. Lineweaver; 1871. W. B. Stambaugh; 1872, George
W. Bretz; 1S73, William Brooks; 1874. Joseph Ulsh; 1875. J- ^^'esley
Gantt, Solomon Bower, George Campbell; 1878, J. Weslev Gantt;
1881, Samuel Bauer. James B. Black, Daniel Sheaffer; 1884, Ulrich H.
Rumbach. Edward Hull, Aaron Shreffer; 1887, Silas W. Snyder, John
Martin, George W. Burd; 1890, William B. Gray, William Kumler, Wil-
son D. Adams; 1893, Josiah Clay, D. P. Lightner. Isaiah Mitchell; 1896,
Aaron Shrefifer, A. K. Bryner, William B. Gutshall; 1899, Thomas F.
Martin, James Rhinesmith, Jacob Fleisher; 1902, ^^"illiam R. Dunn,

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 191

J. K. Adair, Abraham Bistline; 1905, J. B. Jackson, W. H. Leonard,
John S. Bitner; 1908, Clark M. Bower, RlcClellan Woods, WiUiam H.
Smith; 191 1, R. R. Beers, Jonathan Snyder, William H. Lyter.

Directors of the Poor — This office was established in Perry county in
1839 and since then it has been lilled as follows: John Tressler, 1839;
Samuel Hench, 1840: Jacob Bixler, 1841; John Ritter, 1843; Jacob
Sheibley, 1844; Charles Wright, 1846; Peter Hench, 1847; Robert
Hackett, 1848; Thomas Black, 1849; Moses Uttley, 1850; George TitzeU,
185 1 ; Henry Lackey, 1852; Samuel Arnold, 1853; Samuel Milligan,
1854; James McClure, 1855; William Kerr, 1856; Henry Rhinesmith,
1857; Jacob Bernheisel, 1858; John Gensler, 1859; William KeU, i860;
John Stephens, 1861 ; John Ritter, 1862; John Weldon, 1863; John
Arnold, 1864; Peter Shaffer, 1865; John Dunn, 1866; George Hoo-
baugh, 1867; John Flickmger, 1868; John Newcomer, 1869; John S.
Ritter, 1870; John Patterson, 1871 ; Samuel Dunkelberger, 1872; Wil-
liam J. Graham, 1873; John Swartz, 1874; Abraham Long, 1875; Sam-
uel Sigler, 1876; Benjamin F. Becton, 1877; George C. Snyder, 1879;
Isaac T. Hollenbaugh, 1880; Benjamin Bistline, 1881 ; Amos S. Green,
1882; John Acker, 1883; Joseph Flickinger, 1884; John Garman, 1885;
John Wilt, 1886; John Freeland, 1887; Jacob W. Wagner, 1888; John
Swartz, 1889; John Freeland, 1890; George I. Rice, 1891 ; Benjamin H.
Inhoff, 1892; George D. Taylor, 1893; John Wilt, 1894: Darius J.
Long, 1895; George D. Taylor, 1896: James S. Peck, 1897; Darius J.
Long, 1898; I. B. Free, 1899; Z. M. Dock, 1900; D. M. Hench, 1901;
I. B. Free, 1902 ; Z. M. Dock, 1903 ; D. M. Hench, 1904 ; James A.
Wright, 1905; S. S. Orris, 1906; Samuel M. Rice, 1907; James A.
Wright, 1908; W. A. Lightner, 1909; S. S. Orris, 191 1.

Surveyors — Prior to 1850 this office was filled by appointment. Those
who have been elected since that date are as follows : James Woods,
1850-53; James B. Hackett, 1856; Samuel Arnold, 1859; David Rife,
1862; M. B. Hallman, 1865-68; Samuel H. Galbraith, 1871 ; James Bell,
1874; David Mitchell, 1877; John Rynard. 1880; ^^^ J. Stewart, Jr.,
1883; \^'illiam A. Meminger, 1886; Silas Wright, 1889; James A.
Wright, 1892; Silas Wright, 1895 (reelected in 1898, 1901, and 1904) ;
J. L. L. Buck, 1907; Gard L. Palm, 191 1.

Coroners — JNIichael Steever, 1841 ; Jonas Ickes, 1845; Jacob Steel,
1846; John McKenzie, 1847; James R. Gilmore, 1848; William L.

192 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Stephens. 1851 ; James R. Gilmore, 1853; John Bretz, 1854; James H.
Case, 1855; Philip Ebert, 1859; Joseph Eby, i860; Patrick McMorris,
1861; Jacob M. Miller, 1862; B. P. Hooke, 1863; James Crawford,
1864; Samuel Stiles, 1865; James B. Eby, 1866; Cyrus M. Clemson,
1867; Joseph Swartz, 1870; George N. Reuter, 1871 ; George \V. Eppley,
1872; George \V. Zinn, 1873; Samuel Stiles, 1879; Andrew Traver,
1882: George Schrom, 1885: George A. Ickes, 1888: J. H. Bleistein,
1889; C. E. Gregg, 1893; W. S. Groninger, 1896; W. R. Brothers, 1899;
H. M. Smiley, 1901 ; George W. Gault, 191 1.

State Senators — Jesse Aliller, 1830; William B. Anderson, 1S44;
Robert C. Stewart. 1846; Joseph Bailey. 1851; Henry Fetter, 1857;
C. J. T. Alclntire, 1868; Charles H. Smiley. The above were all resi-
dents of Perry county, which were the only senators included in ]\Ir.
Wright's list. Since 1881 the senators who have represented the district
of which Perry county forms a part have been as follows : Charles H.
Smiley, 1884; Joseph RI. Woods. 1888 (reelected in 1892); William
Hertzler, 1896; James W. AIcKee, 1900: William H. ]\Ianbeck. 1904
(served two terms) ; Franklin Martin. 1912.

Represcntatwcs — John Fry, 1820; F. M. Wadsworth. 1821 ; Jacob
Huggins. 1823; Jesse Miller. 1826; \V. M. Power, 1828: James Black,
1830: John Johnston, 1832; F. Rinehart. 1834: \\'illiam Clark. 1837;
\\'illiam B. Anderson. 1838: George Beaver. 1842; Thomas O'Bryan,
1843: Eleazer Owen, 1846; John Souder. 1847: David Stewart, 1850;
David Sheaver, 1852 ; Thomas Adams, 1854 : Kirk Haines, 1855 : Charles
C. Brandt, 1857; John Power. 1859; William Lowther, 1861 ; Jesse
Kennedy, 1862; John A. INIagee, 1863; Charles A. Barnett. 1864: G. A.
Shuman. 1865; John Shively. 1868: D. B. 3vlilliken, 1870: Joseph Shu-
ler, 1872: J. H. Sheibly. 1874: G. N. Reuter. 1874: D. H. Sheibly. 1876;
M. B. Holman, 1878: William H. Sponsler, 1882; J. R. Flickinger. 1886;
William R. Swartz. 1888: Joseph W. Buckwalter. 1892: J. H. Seidel,
1896; John S. Arnold, 1900: Samuel B. Sheller. Jr., 1902; John D.
Snyder. 1906: W. X. Kahler. 1908: Lewis E. Donnally. 1910-1912.

Representatives were elected annually until the adoption of the con-
stitution of 1874. after which they have been elected biennially. \\'here
a number of years elapse between the dates following the names, it is
evidence of one or more reelections. as in the cases of \\'. H. Sponsler,
William R. Swartz. and J. H. Seidel. each of whom served two terms.

CHAPTER XI

PERRY COUNTY, TOWNSHIPS, BOROUGHS, ETC.

First Townships in the New Purchase — Present Townships — Buffalo — Carroll — Centre
— Greenwood — Howe — Jackson — Juniata — Liverpool — Madison — Miller — Oliver —
Penn — Rye — Savilie — Spring — Toboyne — Tuscarora — Tyrone — Watts — Wheatrteld — •
The Principal Villages — The Nine Boroughs — New Bloomfield — Blain — Duncannon
— Landisburg — Liverpool — JNIarysville — Millerstown — Newport — New Buffalo — The
Town of Shermansdale — Postoffices — Rural Routes.

COXCERXIXG the formation of townships in the new purchase
by the Cumberland county authorities on October 23, 1754,
the records of the court contain the following statement: "And
we do further erect the settlements called Sherman's valley and Bufolo's
creek into a separate township and nominate the same the township of
Tyrone, and we appoint John Scott X. Linton to act as Constable therein
for the remaining part of the current year."

Xo definite boundaries were fixed, the township being large enough
to include the settlements named. Tyrone township as thus created
included all that portion of the present county of Perry lying west
of the Juniata river. The same territory now comprehends fifteen town-
ships and there are five east of the river, making a total of twenty town-
ships in the county, viz : Buffalo, Carroll, Centre, Greenwood, Howe,
Jackson, Juniata, Liverpool, Madison, Miller, Oliver, Penn, Rye, Savilie,
Spring, Toboyne, Tuscarora, Tyrone, Watts, and W'heatfield.

Buffalo township, lying between the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers
in the eastern part of the county, was formed in October, 1799, when a
petition, signed by numerous citizens of Greenwood township living
south of Buffalo hill, was presented to the court asking for a new town-
ship. At that time Greenwood township embraced all that part of the
county lying between the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers and the peti-
tion set forth "That the said tract of country was nearly equally divided
by the said Buffalo Hill, which begins at the Juniata, about one mile

193

194 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

below Wild Cat Run, and continues to the Susquehanna, below the house
of David Derickson, and praying the court that that part of said town-
ship of Greenwood contained between the rivers Juniata and Susque-
hanna and lying south of the Buffalo Hill may be erected into a new
township."

At the same session the court granted the petition and ordered the
division as requested, that part north of Buffalo Hill to remain as
Greenwood and the portion south of the said hill to be known as Buffalo
township. Since its erection the township has been much reduced in
size by the formation of Howe and \\'atts townships. It is bounded
on the northwest by Greenwood and Liverpool townships : on the north-
east and east by the Susquehanna river, which separates it from Dauphin
county ; on the south by Watts township ; and on the west by Howe to\\-n-
ship and the Juniata river, across which lies the township of Miller.

Bucke's valley lies between Berry mountain on the north and the
Half Falls hills on the south. It extends through Howe and Buffalo
townships from the Juniata to the Susquehanna and is about two miles
in width. Between Berry mountain and the Buffalo hill is a cove or
basin known as Hunter's valley. It was in these valleys that the first
settlements were made. About 1773 Reuben Earl, Alartin W'aln, Samuel
Rankin, George Albright, and John Law took up lands along the Sus-
quehanna, in the lower end of Bucke's ^-alley. Farther up the valley
were Jacob Bucke, Nicholas Liddick, and Henry Alspach, who located
about the same time. John Rutherford had taken up 320 acres near
George Albright's place some five years before, but it is not certain that
he ever lived there. Samuel Rankin subsequently sold his land and,
after several changes in ownership, it became the property of William
^Montgomery, from whom Montgomery's Ferry takes its name. Other
pioneers were John Purviance, Zachariah Spangler, George Fetterman,
Andrew Berryhill, and John Taylor. The last named took up 208 acres
of land in August, 1789, near the Susquehanna, at the end of the Half
Falls hills. It is said that the notorious renegade, Simon Girty, once
lived for some time in a cave near the river, on the Taylor place, while
watching the white people who had taken refuge at Fort Halifax on
the opposite side of the river in Dauphin county. The place is still
known by some as "Girty's Notch."

\A'hen Perry county was organized in 1820, the first assessment

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 195

showed eighty-three freeholders, seven saw-mills, two grist-mills, and
three distilleries in what is now Buffalo township. Michael Krouse,
William Montgomery, Thomas Hulings, and Jacob Baughman were
assessed on ferries, and Robert Baskins' heirs on a fulling-mill.

The oldest school of which anything can be learned was kept in a
log cabin on Richard Beard's place at the base of the Half Falls hills. It
was built early in the nineteenth century and some of the early teachers
here were George Baird, James Denniston, Benjamin Elliott, and Mary
McMullen. Some years later a school house was built at Bucke's grave-
yard, where Joseph Foster, David Mitchell, Ann McGinnis, and Samuel
Stephens were among the pioneer teachers. In Hunter's valley was
another old school house, a rough log structure with a slab roof, and
here was kept a subscription school which was patronized by some ten or
a dozen families living in the vicinity. After the passage of the act of
April, 1834, by which the state inaugurated the public school system,
a meeting of citizens of Butfalo township was held on December 6,
1834, when a vote was taken on the question of accepting or rejecting
the new system. It may sound strange at this late date to record the fact
that out of forty-seven votes cast only one was in favor of the law
and the appropriations it carried with it. That vote evidently did not
prove final, for in 1840 the public school funds of the township were
used in building school houses and no teachers were employed that year.
In 19 12 there were five teachers employed in the township.

Carroll township, in the southern part of the county, was established
in 1834. In April of that year there was presented to the court a petition
signed by 168 citizens, showing that they labored "under great incon-
veniences for want of a new township, to be composed as follows, that
is to say : Beginning at Sterrett's Gap ; thence through Rye township,
along the great road leading to Clark's Ferry, to a certain field of Henry
Sender's ; thence to a saw-mill belonging to the heirs of Robert ^^'allace
in ^\'heatfield township : thence along the great road leading to Bloom-
field, until it intersects the division line of the townships of Wheatfield
and Centre: thence along the said line to a corner of Centre township;
thence along said line to a point from whence a south course to the
Cumberland line at Long's Gap : thence down the Cumberland line to
the place of beginning."

In response to this petition the court appointed John Johnston,

196 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

James Black, and Robert Elliott as viewers. On the 5th of November
following they made their report, recommending the formation of a
new township, with the boundaries as described by the petitioners. The
court confirmed the report and the new township was named Carroll.
It is bounded on the north by Centre township ; on the east by Rye and
Wheatfield ; on the south by Cumberland county, and on the west by
Spring township. Sherman's creek flows through the southwestern part
and the Blue mountain separates the township from Cumberland county.
Its area is about fifty square miles.

Sterrett's Gap, mentioned in the petition, was originally known as
Croghan's Gap, who passed over the old Indian trail leading through
it as early as 1747. In the spring of 1795 two brothers named Sterrett
took up land in that neighborhood and the place came to be known as
Sterrett's Gap. A tavern was kept there at an early date by a man
named Buller.

The land office began issuing warrants for lands in the New Purchase
on February 3, 1755, and on that day William Smiley took out a war-
rant for 241 acres lying along the Sherman's creek and including part
of the present village of Shermansdale. George Smiley, on the same
day, warranted 212 acres, and on April 7, 1755, William West warranted
322 acres, part of which now lies in Spring township. On June 5, 1762,
Francis took up a long, narrow tract adjoining that of William West and
running along Sherman's creek for nearly a mile. These men were the
pioneers of Carroll township. The Smileys were at one time the largest
landowners in the township and the family has been closely identified
with the history of Perry county from the beginning of settlement.

About 1763 John Rankin located at Canderman's gap in the Kita-
tinny hills; Israel Jacobs settled on Fishing creek in 1766, and two years
later John Jacobs also settled in that locality. Several land warrants
were issued in 1767. Among them was one for 150 acres opposite
William Smiley's to John Downey; one to William ]\IcKee for 300
acres; one to Obediah Garwood for 125 acres, and one to Mary Ramsey
for 211 acres. A large part of the last named tract is now in ^^'heat-
field township. Thomas Smiley, Robert Bunting, and Rev. William
Thompson were among those who took up lands in 1768, and the next
year came Andrew Boyd and James Sharron, after whom Sharron's Gap
was named.

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 197

Second Lieutenant Samuel \\'hittaker and Ensign George Smiley
both enlisted in Captain Frederick Watts's company that entered the
Continental army in 1777. Some of the latter's descendants still reside
in Perry county.

After the Revolution the settlement of the township was more rapid.
Among those who came between 1776 and 1800 were Andrew Porter,
Matthew Henderson, David Lindsay, the Sterretts, William Wallace,
Hugh Ferguson, John and Thomas White, Enoch Lewis, Stephen Dun-
can, John Moore, John Lawshe, Ephraim Blain, George West, and Wil-
liam Rogers. All the lands in the township were not taken up, however,
until after the beginning of the nineteenth century, for as late as Sep-
tember 2-j. 18 12, Thomas Mehaffie received a warrant for 120 acres in
the western part.

Thomas Sutch came into Carroll before 1775 and took up land
about two and a half miles west of Shermansdale. Some time between
1775 and 1780 a log school house was Iniilt on his farm, v\^hich is believed
to have been the first school house in the township. In the early days
it was also used as a house of worship. With some repairs this house
was used until 1850, when a new school house took its place. Another
early temple of education was the "Smiley school house" on the bank
of Sherman's creek. It was a log house, with a clapboard roof, and
took its name from the owner of the land upon which it was situated.
On each side of the building one log was left out and the space covered
with oiled paper to admit the light, window glass in those days being
a luxury that few could afford. In 19 12 there were ten teachers em-
ployed in the public schools of the township.

Centre township was first proposed in November, 1830, when a
petition came before the Perry county court asking for the erection of
a new township from parts of Juniata, Wheatfield, Saville, and Tyrone.
James Black, Robert Elliott, and W'illiam Wilson were appointed view-
ers, and, on April 7, 1831, they made a report which was in part as
follows : "We are of the opinion that a new township is necessary for
the convenience of the inhabitants and that the prayer of the petitioners
ought to be granted : that we have designated in the same plot or draft
the lines or boundaries of the new township prepared to be erected by
natural boundaries and courses and distances, all of which will fully
appear by the annexed plot or draft."

198 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

On August 4, 183 1, the report of the viewers was confirmed by the
court and the township was named Centre, because of its central location
in the county. Since its formation it has been reduced by the erection
of Carroll, Oliver, Miller, and Spring townships. It is bounded on the
northwest by the townships of Saville and Juniata ; on the east by Oliver
and Miller : and on the south and southeast by Carroll and Wheatfield.
At the time it was created it contained 361 taxpayers, one grist-mill and
four saw-mills. New Bloomfield, the county seat, is near the center of
the township. The Susquehanna River & \\'estern railroad runs through
the southern part and the Newport & Sherman's Valley line is farther
north.

One of the first settlers, if not the first, was William Stewart, a
native of Ireland, who came from his native land with his parents in
1752. The following year he settled in what is now Centre township,
but he, along with other scpiatters on the Indian lands, was driven off
by the natives in 1756. On October 29, 1765, he received a warrant
for 150 acres, where he settled in 1753, which land was a part of the
Bark Tavern tract. This tavern was first kept by Jacob Fritz early in
the nineteenth century. He was elected register and recorder in 1823
and was succeeded by John Fritz as "mine host" of the Bark Tavern. A
new tavern was built in 1830.

On February 4, 1755, James Cowen took out a warrant for 100 acres
near the present town of New Bloomfield, and in March James Dixon
came into the township. Several years later Cowen took up a tract of
294 acres, on which the western part of New Bloomfield is now located.
Settlement was seriously retarded by the French and Indian war and
for several years few people had the temerity to venture far out on the
frontier in search of homes. In June, 1762, John Darlington warranted
345 acres and some of his family still reside in the county. On April
2, 1763, William Power took up 125 acres and later became the largest
landowner in the county. Late in the year 1766 James McConaghy was
granted a tract of 300 acres in the northern part of the township and
south of his land James McCoughly took up 107 acres. ]\IcConaghy's
land later came into the possession of ^^^illiam Power and upon it the
old Juniata furnace was built in 1808. Robert Hamilton took up 330
acres in 1767 and the same year the names of Joseph and Michael Mar-
shall appear on the assessment rolls of Cumberland county, the former

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 199

holding 100 acres and the latter 200, though they did not obtain title to
their lands until May, 1769.

In 1767 Thomas Barnett, a native of Germany, was assessed on fifty
acres of land at what is known as "The Cove," in the present township of
Penn. In 17S5 he took out a warrant for 400 acres at the Cove and
also one for 480 acres where the present borough of New Bloomfield
now stands. He died on April 14, 1814, leaving two sons, Frederick
and George. The former took the tract at the Cove and the latter the
one at New Bloomfield. When the county was organized in 1S20 and
the county seat was located on his farm three years later, he donated to
the county the land upon which the public buildings are situated.

Immediately following the Revolution there was a tide of emigration
"westward. Among those who came into Centre township were the Lup-
fers, Robert Heirst, Adam Stack, Anthony Shatto, John Clouser, Robert
McClay, Francis McCown, and Matthew McBride. The last named war-
ranted some land about 1780 and in January, 1786, purchased 150 acres
of Rev. Hugh Magill, upon which he established a blacksmith shop and
distillery. Later he put in a tilt-hammer and began the manufacture of
sickles, which was kept up until about 1830.

The first school house in the township of which any authentic in-
formation can be obtained was on the Barnett farm, not far from the
old mill race and on the road to Duncannon. It was a log house and
was used for school purposes until about 1838, when a new building
was erected in New Bloomfield. In 1912 there were eight public schools
in the township, exclusive of those in New Bloomfield.

The Juniata furnace, mentioned above, was built Ijy William Power
and David Watts in 1808. It was purchased by Charles Postlev & Son
in May, 1833, together with 3,500 acres of land, and the name was
changed to the Juniata Iron Works. It was then operated by different
parties until 1855, when a cyclone destroyed the office and foundry and
the land has since been divided into farms. In April. 1837, John Ever-
hart, Jacob Loy, and John Kough purchased several hundred acres of
land in Centre township, including the tract warranted by Anthony Shat-
to in 1797, upon which they erected the Perry furnace and under the
firm name of Loy, Everhart & Company began the manufacture of stoves
and hollow-ware. They failed about ten years later and the furnace was
soon afterward abandoned.

200 HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY

Greenwood township, originally a part of Fermanagh, was erected in
July, 1767, when the boundaries were defined as follows: "Beginning at
McKee's path on the Susquehanna river : thence down the said river
to the mouth of the Juniata river; thence up the Juniata river to the
mouth of Cockalanius ; thence up the same to the crossing of ^IcKee's
path ; thence by the said path to the place of beginning."

McKee's path began at the mouth of the Mahantango creek and ran
southwest. Along the line of this path was subsequently opened a public
highway, the western terminus of which was at Thompsontown, in
Juniata county. The township was named for Joseph Greenwood, who
resided in the territory now comprising the township as early as 1763.

The assessment rolls for 1768, the year following the erection of the
township, showed the following landowners : Thomas Allen, Peter Ash,
Robert Brightwell, Nathaniel Barber, Henry Bentley, John Bingam,
Hawkins Boon, William Collins. Robert Crane, Craft Coast, Philip
Donally, Thomas Desar, Francis Ellis. Andrew Every, Richard Irwin,
William English, IMatthew English, David English, Joshua Elder. John
Pfoutz, Joseph Greenwood, John George, Marcus Hewlin, Philip Hover,
Abraham Jones, William Loudon, Everhart Leedich, Stophel Munce,
William McLeavy, James McCoy, John ]\IcBride, John ^Montgomery,
Alexander McKee, Edward Physick, Samuel Purviance, George Ross,
Jacob Secrist, John Sturgeon, Andrew Ulsh. and Frederick \Ya\\. These
men, who owned over 8,000 acres of land, were the pioneers of Green-
wood township. David English was the largest landowner, having 1,100
acres.

As early as July 28, 1739, Thomas Kirton, of Speen, England, re-
ceived a grant of 500 acres of land located within the limits of the
present Perry county, by order of James Tilghmam, secretary of the land
office. This was the first grant of land in the county. Fifty acres of
this land — a tract called "The Rose in the Garden" — was surveyed in
November, 1774, for John Pfoutz, who had become the assignee of Kir-
ton. It is Pfoutz's valley where John Pfoutz took out a warrant for
329 acres on February 3, 1755. On the same day he also took out a
warrant for 142 acres in Liverpool township along the river.

Near the mouth of the Cocolamus creek \\"illiam Patterson built
a mill at an early date (exact date not known). The earliest mention of
this mill in the records was in 1771, when the road was opened from

HISTORY OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY 201

John Gallagher's to Baskins' ferry, "past William Patterson's mill."
Jones says the mill was destroyed by a flood. It was the first mill in
what is now Greenwood township. William Stawl and Frederick Harter
built grist-mills early in the nineteenth century, and about the same time
George Hoffman built a fulling mill, which changed owners several times
but continued in operation until about 1883.

Among the old inhabitants of the township was Benjamin Bonsall,
a veteran of the Revolution, who died in 1845, aged eighty-nine years.
He was a descendant of one of the oldest Pennsylvania families, the
first members of which came over in 1682 and settled in Delaware county.

The first account of the schools in the township that is available is
that contained in the report of the county superintendent, A. R. Height,
in 1856, when he reports nine schools in operation and a tax levied for
school purposes to the amount of $748. It is known that a school house
was erected near St. jMichael's Lutheran church prior to 1770, but noth-
ing can be learned of its early history. In 1912 there were seven public
schools.

Several changes have been made in the boundaries of Greenwood
township since it was first erected. Buffalo was cut off in 1799 and
Liverpool was taken off the eastern end in 1823. Part of Juniata town-
ship was added to Greenwood in 1854 and five years later the township
was reduced to its present size by the erection of Tuscarora. It is
bounded on the north by Juniata county : on the east by Liverpool town-
ship; on the south by the townships of Howe and Buffalo, and on the
west by the Juniata river, which separates it from Oliver and Tuscarora
townships. Its area is about twenty-five square miles.

Howe township, one of the smallest in the county, was originally a
part of Greenwood and later of Oliver. It \vas erected in response to
a petition presented to the court in i860, when viewers were appointed
and at the April term in 1861 the court took action as follows : "Decree
of the Court, in the matter of dividing Oliver township, and now, 6th of
April, 1861, the court order and decree that the township of Oliver be
divided into two parts agreeably to the report of the viewers. That part
west of the river to retain the name of Oliver and the part east of the
river to be called Howe township."

Its area is not quite ten square miles and, Ijeing of comparatively mod-
ern origin, it has but little history. It is bounded on the north by Green-

202 HISTORY OF THE JUNL\TA VALLEY

wood township : on the east by Buffalo ; on the soutli and west by the
Juniata river, whicli separates it from the townships of Miller and Oliver.
There were three teachers employed in the public schools in 19 12.

Robert Brison received a warrant for 200 acres of land in this town-
ship dated June 2, 1762, and the next day William McElroy took up
277 acre's. These two men were the first landowners in Howe. Other
early settlers were John Sturgeon, Thomas Elliott, Samuel Martin, An-
drew Lee, Jacob Awl, John Welch, and William Howe, for whom the
township was named. When the turnpike was built through the town-
ship and the stage line was established three taverns were opened in what
is now Howe township, viz : Fahter's Falls Tavern, Fetterman's Ferry
Tavern, and the Red Hill Tavern. The last named was a famous stop-
ping place when the old Conestoga wagons were engaged in hauling
freight westward. Near Fetterman's Ferry Tavern, Jacob Miller built
"a two-story potter shop, with an excellent kiln and kiln-house," which
he sold at public auction on June 3, 1857.

Jackson township, situated in the western part of the county, was
erected in 1844, the greater part of its territory being taken from To-
boyne. At the November term in 1843 the court received a petition
asking for the formation of a new township. Viewers were appointed
and on August 8, 1844, two of them — Jacob Bernheisel and W. B. An-
derson — reported in favor of granting the prayer of the petitioners.
They recommended the following boundaries for the new township :

"Beginning at the county line on top of the Tuscarora mountain;
thence south 30 degrees east, nine miles one hundred and twenty perches
through mountain land of Peter Shively, John Baker, Daniel Kern,
Jacob Kreamer, Peter Smith, John Long, and others to the Cumberland
countv line ; thence along the said county line on the top of the Blue
mountain to the Madison township line ; thence along the said township
line to the top of the Tuscarora mountain and Juniata county line; thence
along the countv line and on top of Tuscarora mountain to the place of
beginning."

As thus constituted Jackson township extends entirely across the
county, being bounded on the north by Juniata county ; on the east by
Madison township : on the south by Cumberland county ; and on the
west by the township of Toboyne. Sherman's creek flows eastward
through the central part and some of the best farms in the county are

HISTORY OF THE JUXL\TA VALLEY 203

located in the valley of this stream in Jackson township, where the soil
is of the strong, limestone variety and yields large crops. Some of the
earliest settlements in Perry county were made in this part of the valley
due, no doubt, to the fertility of the soil. A number of land warrants
wei» issued in 1755, several of them on the first day the land otifice was
open for business, indicating that prospective settlers were on the alert
to acquire title to the lands. Among those who took up lands in that
year were Robert Pollock, Ludwig Laird, and William Croncleton.
James and Ross Mitchell also located in the township before the close
of the year.

James, Ephraim, William, and Alexander Blain were also early set-
tlers and gave name to the borough of Blain, the only incorporated town
in the township. William Blain was captain of the fourth company of
Colonel Frederick Watts's battalion in the Revolutionary war and James
Blain was second lieutenant in the same company. During the decade
following the opening of the land office in 1755, a large number of set-
tlers came into what is now Jackson township. Among them were Alex-
ander Morrow, William Huston, John Montgomery, Anthony Morrison,
John Whiting, Adam Boal, John Watt, William Hartman, John Wilt,
Andrew Moore, Peter Grove, James Adams, Thomas Hamilton, William
Dobson, the Robinsons, and Allen Xesbitt who was an ensign in Captain
William Blain's company in the Revolution. Descendants of some of
these pioneers still live in the county and some of them have held public
positions of responsibility.

Soon after the Revolution David Diehl and Philip Christian took out
warrants for lands in Henry's valley "across Bower's mountain" and
Alexander Rodgers settled south of Sherman's creek on a tract of 274
acres in 1789. A large steam tannery was erected in Henry's valley in
1850 by L J. McFarland.

One of the earliest school houses in the township was on what is
known as Church hill in the borough of Blain. It was built before the
beginning of the last century and William Smiley was one of the early
teachers. As early as 1790 there was a log school house on what was
later the Michael Dromgold farm and another early school house was on
George Wentz's place. Dr. J. R. Flickinger tells the following incident
of how J