USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 20
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In response to this petition the court appointed John Johnston,
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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 McKee 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 Wheat- 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.
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Second Lieutenant Samuel Whittaker 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 27, 1812, 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 built on his farm, which 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 1912 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 William 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."
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On August 4, 1831, 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 & Western 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 squatters 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. McConaghy's land later came into the possession of William 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
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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 1785 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 1820 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 by William Power and David Watts in 1808. It was purchased by Charles Postley & 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.
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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 Cockalamus ; thence up the same to the crossing of McKee'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, Matthew 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 McBride, John Montgomery, Alexander McKee, Edward Physick, Samuel Purviance, George Ross, Jacob Secrist, John Sturgeon, Andrew Ulsh, and Frederick Wall. 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 William 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
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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. Michael'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 was erected in response to a petition presented to the court in 1860, 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, being of comparatively mod- ern origin, it has but little history. It is bounded on the north by Green-
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wood township; on the east by Buffalo; on the south and west by the Juniata river, which separates it from the townships of Miller and Oliver. There were three teachers employed in the public schools in 1912.
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 county 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 county 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
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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 office 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 Nesbitt 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 I. 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 James McCulloch, one of the early teachers in the last named house, manipulated his pupils to secure a drink of whiskey for himself.
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"A wedding party was expected to pass the school house on a certain day, and when they were reported to be coming by the boy stationed on the outside, the teacher took all his pupils to the roadside and stationed them in a row on both sides of the road, and when the wedding party passed through the ranks the teacher required them to make a profound obeisance to the bride and groom. The result happened as the shrewd teacher had expected, and the happy groom treated him to the contents of his flask."
There were seven public schools in the township in 1912, exclusive of the schools in the borough of Blain. The school houses were located at Red Corner, Mount Pleasant, Red Hill, Adams' Grove, Bull Run, Man- assa and Cold Spring.
Juniata township is located near the center of the county and is bounded by Tuscarora on the north; Oliver on the east; Centre on the south, and Saville on the west. It is about seven miles in length from east to west and three miles wide, having an area of about twenty-five square miles. Buffalo creek runs through it from west to east and the Little Buffalo marks the southern border. The records of the January term of the Mifflin county court show that there were presented "Two petitions signed by a great number of the inhabitants of Rye township, setting forth that they labor under many and great disadvantages by reason of the great extent of such township, and praying the court that the said township may be divided by a line along the top of Mahanoy Mountain from the line of Tyrone township to the Juniata river," etc., whereupon the court ordered the division and conferred the name of "Juniata" on the upper part, or the new township thus created.
A heavy growth of timber once covered this part of Perry county and the assessment rolls for 1795 show that there were then twelve sawmills in the township. Other industries were two grist-mills, two tan-yards and two distilleries, both operated by George Hildebrand. After the timber was cut off farms were developed. The most promi- nent feature is Middle ridge, along the summit of which runs the "Ridge Road" from Newport westward through a fine agricultural dis- trict. North and south of the ridge the land is undulating, but most of it is easy of cultivation. The small streams from Middle ridge and Hominy ridge flow into the Buffalo and those south of Middle ridge to the Little Buffalo, so that the township is well watered.
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One of the early settlers was Alexander Stephens, a native of Eng- land, who came to this country as a soldier under General Braddock and after the disastrous defeat of July, 1755, came to Perry county and in 1766 settled near the mouth of the Juniata river. He married Catherine, daughter of James Baskins, of Baskins' ferry, but her father refused to recognize the marriage and they settled about five miles up the river. During the Revolutionary war Stephens held a captain's commission in the Continental service and after the war was over settled near Duncan- non. His son, Andrew B. Stephens, born near Duncannon in 1783, was the father of Alexander H. Stephens, who became vice-president of the Confederate States at the time of the rebellion.
The little hamlet of Milford ( formerly Jonestown) stands on a tract of land that was warranted to William Parkinson on June 17, 1755. Robert Brown came from England about 1740 and twenty years later settled near Newport. On April 6, 1763, he took up an adjoining tract of land on Big Buffalo creek and the same year Edward Elliott secured title to a tract of land where Markelsville now stands. These men were among the earliest landowners in the township. On April 3, 1769. John Peden took up a tract of land called "Down Patrick" adjoining Elliott's place, which was known as "Pretty Meadow." In his will dated August I, 1775, is the provision that, in case his child should die, his wife, Martha Peden, "shall have that plantation lying in Sherman's alley, known as 'Down Patrick,' she to pay twenty pounds to the other execu- tor, to be put to use for the support of a minister in Donegal."
In the early days there were two noted taverns in what is now Juniata' township. The White Ball Tavern was on the summit of Middle ridge, on the road from Sunbury to Carlisle. In 1812 it was kept by Philip Clouser, who owned a large body of land in the immediate vicinity. The tavern went out of business about 1835. Farther south, on the Little Buffalo creek, was the Blue Ball Tavern, kept by John Koch. Several shooting-matches were held at this tavern and some of the best marks- men on the frontier met there to try their skill with the rifle. Messengers were kept stationed here in 1812 ready to mount and carry communica- tions to the army at Niagara. A horn at the foot of Middle ridge sum- moned the messengers to be ready, the dispatches were then forwarded to Reider's ferry, where the ferry-boat was in waiting and the courier was soon on his way northward.
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Liverpool township, which occupies the northeastern corner of Perry county, was formed from Greenwood in 1823. At the December term of court in 1822 a number of citizens came forward with a petition set- ting forth that "the township of Greenwood is so extensive in its bound- aries that it is inconvenient for the inhabitants thereof to attend to town- ship business," etc. Meredith Darlington, George Elliott and George Monroe were appointed viewers, but their report, if one was made, has disappeared. No further mention of a new township is found in the rec- ords until September 5, 1823, when David Dechert (or Deckard) was appointed constable of Liverpool township. This was the first township erected within the limits of Perry county after that county was organ- ized. The name was taken from the town of Liverpool, which had been founded in the fall of 1808.
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