USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 17
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The assessment rolls of Lack township for the year 1763 showed the following landowners in what is now Milford: 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- flin (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 early date were Dennis Christy, Thomas Husbands, the Lyons family, Thomas Maguire, 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
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the township. Upon the adoption of the public school system the di- rectors divided the township into seven districts.
About 1791 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 & 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 Mifflin ( 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 : Ist, 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 question 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.
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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 Mahantango creek.
Thomas McKee, 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 Mahantango 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, Michael Lauver, Thomas Hewes, Jacob Pyle, Joseph and Jacob Sellers, Caspar Wistar, 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 Mennonites, 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 1815. 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 Watts, 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 by Christian Zimmerman. For the first fifteen years the growth of the place was slow, but 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 Ma- 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
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of the county. It has a bank, some good stores, a public 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' Mill, 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 Middaugh, 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 1815, 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 Quigley, Samuel Christy, John Sherrard, James Kenny, William Graham, William Mc- Mullen. 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 Beal and Milford townships, on the east by Turbett, on the south by Perry county, and on the west
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by the township of Tuscarora. The Tuscarora creek flows along the northern border, and south of it runs the Tuscarora Valley railroad, with stations at Grahams, Spruce Hill, Esh, Pleasant View and Warble. 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 the 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 Valley. 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 county, 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 "McKee's path." Above McKee'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 township. 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
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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 county. At the August term of court in 1815 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."
When the first assessment was taken in 1817 there were 145 resi- dent taxpayers 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 William 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
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killing of the "White Mingo" and nine other Indians. 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 Kepner, Robert Moore, 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 William 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 were 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 Magill, across said
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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 1812 a man named Gardner opened a school near Anderson's fulling mill. 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 Mills, and set about having it changed.
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About that time a swarm of bees made a hive in a house belonging to William Van 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 Valley, 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 dwelling 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 Valley railroad the place began to grow, and in 1910 it had a population of 340.
McCoysville, near the eastern border of the township, grew up about the mill built by Neal 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.
Walker 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 McAlister. Jr., and David Walker were appointed viewers, and on January 19, 1822, made a report favoring the division of Fermanagh and recommending
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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 Walker. 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 William 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
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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 323 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 Washington the next day after the battle of Tren- ton. In 1787 he removed to Harrisburg, and died there in August, 1793.
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