USA > Pennsylvania > A history of the Juniata Valley and its people, Volume I > Part 21
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On March 3, 1755, John Pfoutz took up 142 acres in a long narrow strip lying along the Susquehanna river at the end of Buffalo mountain, a little below the present borough of Liverpool. A few years later (1762) Alexander McKee warranted 290 acres just south of Pfoutz. John and Jacob Huggins located north of Liverpool and John Staily owned the land on which the borough is now situated. Other early or prominent settlers were the Barners, David Stewart, Anthony Rhoades, Thomas Gallagher and Peter Williamson.
An old school house, long known as the "hen-roost," was built at an early date and was the oldest school house in the township. It stood near Christ's Lutheran church on the road leading from Liverpool to Millers- town, about four miles from the former. Another school house, called Stollenberger's, stood near Barner's church. Among the early teachers in these two houses were John Buchanan, John C. Lindsay, who served a term as prothonotary, George Grubb and Abner Knight. In 1912 there were seven public schools in the township.
About 1827 or 1828, while the canal was under construction, the Catholics purchased a small plot of ground from John Huggins, west of Liverpool, upon which a small chapel was built and a cemetery estab- lished for the interment of any Catholics employed on the canal.
Liverpool township is bounded on the north and east by the Susque- hanna river, which separates it from Dauphin county, on the south by Buffalo township and on the west by Greenwood.
Madison township was formed in 1836 from territory taken from the
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townships of Saville, Toboyne and Tyrone. In response to a petition signed by some thirty citizens, the court, early in 1835, appointed Samuel Darlington, William West and Alexander Magee as viewers. Their re- port was presented to the court on August 25, 1835, with the word "Ma- rion" marked on the draft of the new township. A remonstrance of cer- tain interested parties caused the court to suspend action and on Novem- ber 5, 1835, a new set of viewers was appointed. On July 8, 1836, they reported in favor of new township with the following boundaries :
"Beginning at the line between Toboyne and Tyrone townships, near William Miller's mill; thence adopting the line made by the first view and taking in a small part of Tyrone and a part of Saville township, north 3034° due west seven miles and fourteen perches to a pine on the Juniata county line on the top of Tuscarora Mountain; thence along said line and along the top of said mountain to Bailie's Narrows; thence by Toboyne township 31º east eight miles and 180 perches to a stone-heap on the top of the Blue Mountain on the Cumberland county line (throwing off a space of one mile and eighty-four perches in breadth to the township of Toboyne, more than had been done by the former view ) ; thence along said line to the intersection of the line between the townships of Toboyne and Tyrone; thence along the said division line to the place of beginning, which is hereby designated as a new township."
The clause in parentheses brought the western line of the new town- ship that much farther east than the one recommended by the first view, thus removing the objections of the remonstrators. The name Marion was also suggested by the second set of viewers, but the death of ex- President Madison having occurred the preceding month the court, upon confirming the report on August 1, 1836, changed the name to Madison. It extends from the Juniata county line on the north to Cum- berland county on the south ; is bounded by the townships of Saville and Tyrone on the east and Jackson on the west. Its area is about sixty square miles.
Within the limits of this township stood the old Robison fort, built by the Robison brothers about 1755. It was on the line of the traders' path from Harris' ferry westward and was a rallying point for the set- tlers in time of danger. Besides the Robisons, other early settlers were Alexander Roddy, who was a squatter upon the Indian lands before the purchase of 1754. James Thom, the Woolcombers, who were massa-
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cred by the Indians in 1756, William Officer, Roger Clarke, John Byers, Hugh Alexander, James Wilson, John Hamilton, Alexander Logan, John and Robert Potts and William Anderson, from whom the village of An- dersonburg took its name.
Andersonburg was formerly known as Zimmerman from the old Zimmerman hotel there. The first store in the village was in an old log building called the "Barracks." William B. Anderson was the first merchant and was succeeded by Bryner & Ernest. Andersonburg is a station on the Newport & Sherman's Valley railroad and in 1910 reported a population of 180. Farther northeast on the same line of railway is Cisna Run with a population of 95. It was formerly known as Cedar Spring. John Reed started a store at this point in 1830. Cisna Run once aspired to be the county seat of Perry county.
In Liberty valley, in the northern part of the township, was Thomas Mitchell's sleeping place, mentioned by John Harris in his table of dis- tances from Harrisburg to Logstown in 1754. Mitchell was an Indian trader as early as 1748, and is supposed to have had a cabin at this place for the accommodation of traders and travelers.
School houses were built at Sandy Hill. Centre and Clark's at an early date. The exact location of the Sandy Hill house cannot be ascer- tained with certainty, nor can the date when it was built, but it was erected before the beginning of the nineteenth century and stood some- where near the "old camp ground." Jonas Thatcher was one of the early teachers. The school house at Clark's also has a history running so far back that it is veiled in obscurity. In 1912 there were twelve public schools in Madison township.
Postoffices were established at Kistler, at the intersection of the Ickes- burg and Blain and Bealtown roads, and at Bixler's mills in 1884, but with the introduction of the rural free delivery both were discontinued. Kistler is a village of eighty inhabitants in 1910 and Bixler reported a population of 180.
Miller is a small township occupying the great bend in the Juniata river, which forms the eastern boundary. On the north it is bounded by Oliver township and on the south by Wheatfield. Centre forms a small portion of the boundary on the west. It was created by an act of the legislature on March II, 1852, and was named after David Miller by Joseph Bailey.
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The earliest settlers in this township were John Gilmore, Andrew Stephens, Robert Sturgeon, John Anderson, William Ramsey, Samuel Martin, Samuel Galbraith, Robert and John Woodburn. The Wood- burns located at the north foot of Dick's hill, where they established the old Woodburn tavern, which was a famous stopping place on the road from Clark's ferry westward.
In 1912 there were three public schools in Miller township-Pine Grove, Mahanoy and Bailey's. The last named is at the station of Bailey, on the Pennsylvania railroad, which runs along the eastern border of the township. It was named for Joseph Bailey, a prominent citizen and at one time the owner of the Caroline furnace, which was erected by John D. Creigh in 1836.
Oliver township, lying along the western side of the Juniata river, ex- tends from Tuscarora on the north to Miller on the south and is bounded on the west by the townships of Juniata and Centre. At the January term of court in 1836 a petition was presented asking for a new town- ship to be formed from territory taken from Buffalo, Juniata and Centre, and recommending the following boundaries :
"Beginning at the Juniata river at the line between Centre and Wheatfield townships; thence across the Juniata river at the line to Buffalo township; thence up the said river to the house of James Shield, including the same; thence in a northern course to Thomas Boyd's, including his house; along the line of said Boyd and Swift north, till they intersect the line between Buffalo and Greenwood town- ships; thence along the said line to the Juniata river; thence up the same to the Rope Ferry; thence across the Juniata river to the house of Abraham Reider, including the same; thence a through course to the house of Samuel Murray, including the same; thence a straight line to the house of Peter Wertz, including the same; thence a straight southerly line to the house of John Bressler and including the same: thence a south course to the top of Limestone Ridge in Centre town- ship; thence an easterly course to a saw-mill known as 'Stengle's old saw-mill'; thence the same course till it intersects the line between Wheatfield and Penn townships; thence along seid line to the place of beginning."
The report of the viewers was approved by the court on November II, 1837, and the township was then named Oliver, after Oliver Hazard Perry, the naval hero in the battle on Lake Erie in the War of 1812.
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Among those who entered lands in the township prior to 1800 were William Darlington, John and David English, William West and a few others. One of David English's warrants called for fifty-two acres on the Juniata river "for a fishery." He also took out warrants for the land upon which the borough of Newport now stands. Some years before the Revolution John Mitchell came from Ireland to Lancaster county. His departure from his native land was rather sudden, owing to the fact that, in a moment of passion, he "caned" a member of Parliament for what he considered a violation of a pledge. In 1780 he held the rank of colonel in the Cumberland county militia. He died at an advanced age and his remains were buried in the old Poplar Hill cemetery in Oliver township.
The first school in the township was taught in 1812 by Josiah English in a small house on what was afterward known as the Josiah Fickes place. The first public school house was erected at Mount Fairview in 1839. In 1912 there were six school districts.
The Pennsylvania railroad follows the Juniata river along the east- ern border and the Newport & Sherman's Valley railroad runs westward, these two lines affording ample transportation to all sections of the township.
Penn township, near the southeastern corner of the county, is triangu- Jar in form and is bounded on the north by Wheatfield township; on the east by the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers ; on the south by Rye town- ship, and a little of the western boundary at the apex of the triangle is formed by Carroll. It was taken from Rye by order of the court in 1826. The first settlement made in this part of Perry county was that made by John Harris about 1732 and was located near the present rail- road station called Aqueduct. About 1753 several persons came up the Susquehanna and settled along the Juniata river on both sides, and on Duncan's island, which now forms part of Watts township. Among those who located in Penn township were James Baskins, Cornelius Ache- son, and Francis Ellis. James Baskins was the founder of the historic Baskins' ferry at the foot of Haldeman island, about which the settle- ment known as Baskinsville grew up in course of time. Samuel Goudy warranted 215 acres of land in August, 1766, but afterward sold it to John Clark, who established Clark's ferry and also built a tavern there. It was a fording place called by the Indians Queenaskowakee and was
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF DUNCANNON
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on the old stage road. The tavern became a well-known stopping place after the Juniata Stage Company began operations in 1808.
Above James Baskins' place were the Barren Hills, where William Baskins took up 300 acres in 1766. Other early settlers were Isaac Jones, James Dugan, Richard Coulter, Benjamin Abraham, Andrew Berryhill, Robert Nicholson, David Hackett, Joseph Watkins, William Clark, David Stout, and a number of others, all of whom came before the Revolution. After that war came Alexander Rutherford, John Shearman, Joseph Kirkpatrick, Michael Simpson, David and William Ogle, John and Adam Fry, John Gresh, William McQuaid, and Adam Harbison.
An act of the legislature in 1797 designated the Union school house at Petersburg (now Duncannon) as a voting place. This is the earliest authentic mention of a school house in Penn township. It was used for school purposes until about 1840, when it was torn down and a frame building erected in its place. Another early school house was the one near Young's mill, where Joseph McIntire was one of the pioneer teachers. Exclusive of the borough of Duncannon there were ten teachers employed in the public schools in 1912. Four of these were in the Lower Duncannon high school and six were in the district schools.
Before the Revolution James Patton built a dam across Sherman's creek near its mouth to furnish power for his saw-mill. Complaint was made that this dam was an obstruction to navigation, and, on February 6, 1773, the legislature passed an act requiring him "to make a space twenty feet in breadth near the middle of the dam and two feet lower than the rest, and lay a platform of stone and timber at least six feet down the stream, to form the slope for the easy and safe passage of boats, rafts, or canoes." As Sherman's creek is not now considered navigable, this old law is something of a curiosity.
Rye township occupies the extreme southeastern corner of the county and was erected in 1766. A petition came before the Cumberland county court in January, 1766, asking that the lower end of Tyrone township be cut off and a new one erected therein. At the March term following the court issued the following order: "Upon petition of Sev- erall of the Inhabitants of Tyrone Township to this Court, Setting forth that Said Township is too large, it is adjudged and ordered by the said Court, that from the North Mountain to the Tuskarora Mountain by Mr. West's, and from that to Darlington's and to Strack the Tuskarora
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about William Noble's be the line, and the name of the Lower be called Rye Township."
The assessment rolls for 1766, the year the township was erected, show sixty landowners, holding about 7,000 acres. Samuel Hunter and William Richardson were assessed on saw-mills. In 1802 there were twelve saw-mills, four grist-mills, and one distillery. The original area has been greatly reduced by the formation of Juniata, Wheatfield, Penn, Carroll, Centre, and Miller townships, leaving the Rye township of the present day a narrow strip lying between Cove mountain and the Cum- berland county line and extending from the Susquehanna river westward to Carroll township. Its area is about twenty-four square miles.
On September 8, 1755, Samuel Hunter took a warrant for a large tract of land at the mouth of Fishing creek, where Marysville is now located. This tract extended about two miles along the Susquehanna and about three miles up the Fishing creek valley. At the mouth of the creek he put up a saw-mill and subsequently entered other lands adjoin- ing his first tract. He was the first man to locate land within the present limits of the township. Settlement was slow for several years. After the Revolution came Robert Wallace, Thomas Buchanan, William Mc- Farlane, Robert Whitehill, David Ralston, Henry Robison, William Davis, Robert Allen, John Nicholson, Nicholas Wolfe and his son-in- law John Bowman, and a number of others, most of whom settled along the river or in the Fishing creek valley. Wolfe and Bowman were interested in building mills. As early as 1798 Bowman had a saw-mill. grist-mill, and carding machine on Fishing creek, just above Hunter's lands. Later a distillery was established in connection.
The first school house in the township was on the old Valley road down Fishing creek. It was built before 1800 and, like most of the pioneer school houses, was of logs, rudely furnished and poorly lighted. Another old school house was about fourteen miles above Marysville on the old road. Isaac Gray, Samuel Coble, and Barbara Miller were among the early teachers. Barabara Miller was a widow and was the mother of Stephen Miller, who became governor of Minnesota. In 1912 there were five school districts.
On the Susquehanna river, at the eastern end of the township, is the borough of Marysville, the second largest town in Perry county. About six miles west of Marysville is the little hamlet of Keystone, and
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four miles west of Keystone is Grier's Point. Both are small places and the only villages in the township.
Saville township was taken from Tyrone in 1817, three years before Perry county was erected. John Darlington and David Grove were ap- pointed viewers at the April term of court in that year. They made their report in June, recommending the erection of a new township, and that "the limestone ridge, along which the division line runs the whole distance from east to west, is the natural and proper division of said township." The report was confirmed at the November term, when the name of Saville was given to the new township. With the excep- tion of a portion of the west side, which became a part of Madison in 1836, Saville has retained its original territory. It is about seven miles in length from east to west and six miles wide, containing about forty square miles. The principal stream is Buffalo creek.
Among the early settlers were Thomas Elliott, William Waddell, Robert and James Irvine, David McClure, Thomas Patton, David Sam- ple, William McMeen, Colonel Thomas Hartley, Robert Kearney, Alex- ander Sanderson, Peter Hartman, Zacharialı Rice, William Linn, Patrick Duffield, Frederick Shull, Michael Loy, John Black, William Marshall, the Weiblys, Kinkeads, Shumans, and some others, all of whom came before the close of the eighteenth century. Colonel Thomas Hartley was an officer in the Continental army in the Revolution and after the estab- lishment of the United States government was a member of Congress for twelve years. For his military services he received a large grant of land in Union county, but in the spring of 1786 he became a landowner in Saville township.
In 1820, the year Perry county was created, the assessment showed that there were 194 taxpayers in Saville. There were then four stores, five saw-mills, five grist-mills, five distilleries, one fulling mill, seven blacksmith shops, four wagon makers, one tan-yard, and three cooper shops in the township and other trades were also represented.
The first school house was near the old Ickes mill and was in exist- ence as early as 1785. John Bolton, Thomas Meldrum, George Wil- liams, and Thomas Stevenson were some of the early teachers. A hotly contested election was held in 1835 to decide whether the township should adopt the public school system. The system was accepted, but the next year the people voted against it, when the directors appealed to
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the state to know whether a tax levied for school purposes could be col- lected. It was decided by the state department that a meeting of the people had no power, under the school laws, to control the action of a board of directors. In 1912 there were twelve school districts.
The village of Ickesburg, a little north of the center of the town- ship, was laid out in 1818 by Nicholas Ickes, who had a saw-mill and distillery there. A postoffice was established there in 1820, with William Elliott as postmaster. The next year a tannery was built by Taylor & Parshall, and a foundry was established in 1835. Edward Miller was one of the pioneer hotel keepers. The population of the village in 1910 was 430. Eschol, a small village near the southeast corner, grew up around the old Shuman church and mill. A postoffice was established at the upper Shuman mill at an early date, but was removed to the village and named Eschol, with John D. Baker as postmaster. In 1912 the population was 95.
Spring township, in the southern part of the county, was established in 1849. The records concerning its erection are not to be found, but from the best authority at hand it appears that a petition came before the court in January, 1848, and James Black, Richard Adams, and William B. Anderson were appointed viewers. Adams and Black made a report in favor of the division of Tyrone and suggested "Lawrence" as a name for the new township. In August the report was confirmed, notwithstanding some 200 citizens remonstrated, and the township was named Spring. In November Black and Adams were again appointed by the court "to view and alter the line between Spring and Centre townships, so as to include Abraham Kistler and David Stambaugh in Spring township," and in April, 1849, they reported that such change was necessary, which was confirmed by the court. The area is about thirty square miles. It is bounded on the north by Saville; on the east by Centre and Carroll; on the south by Cumberland county, and on the west by the township of Tyrone. Sherman's creek flows through the central part and the Newport & Sherman's Valley railroad crosses the northern portion.
In 1750, when the provincial authorities ordered the expulsion of squatters from the Indian lands, Secretary Peters reported that he found on Sherman's creek, "about six miles over the Blue Mountain, James Parker, Thomas Parker, Owen McKeib, John McClare, Richard
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Kirkpatrick, James Murray, John Scott, Henry Gass, John Cowan, Simon Girtee (Girty), and John Kilough, who had settled lands and erected Cabins or log Houses thereon." These men, who were at that time convicted of trespass, were the first white men to locate in what is now Spring township. After the purchase of 1754, the first land warrants were issued to John Sanderson and Samuel Fisher, who took up lands near Elliottsburg. Some of those evicted in 1750 came back and perfected their titles and other early settlers were Thomas Fisher, Edward Irvin, James Aldricks, Abraham Smith, David Robb, John Waggoner, from whom Waggoner's gap takes its name, David Beard, Henry Spark, and the Gibsons. The old Westover mill was built by Anne West Gibson about 1780 and was one of the first in the county. John, Samuel, Jonathan, and Thomas Ross were also among the pioneers, taking up lands on both sides of Sherman's creek.
About 1780 Henry Spark built a school house on his farm and opened a school with himself as the teacher. A log school house was built in the Pisgah valley in 1798. Another early school house was West's, about half a mile west of Gibson's rock. In 1912 there were nine public schools in the township. John Bannister Gibson, at one time chief justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court, was born in this town- ship and first went to school at the West school house.
Elliottsburg, a station on the Newport & Sherman's Valley railroad, received its name from George Elliott in 1828, when a postoffice was established there with Henry C. Hackett as postmaster. A tavern had been opened there two years before. Peter Bernheisel was the first merchant. Elliottsburg was one of the aspirants for county seat honors when the county was erected in 1820, eight years before it assumed its present name. The population in 1910 was 150. It is the only village of consequence in the township.
Toboyne township was taken from Tyrone by the following action of the Cumberland county court at the March term in 1763: "Upon application of some of the Inhabitants of Tyrone Township to this court, setting forth that said township is too Large, it is adjudged by the said Court that Alexander Roddy's Mill Runn be the line, and the name of the Upper, Toboyne, Alexander Logan being in Toboyne Township."
Its area was reduced by the formation of Madison in 1836 and
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Jackson in 1844, but it is still one of the largest in the county, having an area of about seventy-five square iniles. It occupies the extreme western end of the county; is bounded on the north by Juniata county ; on the east by Jackson township; on the south by Cumberland county, and on the west by the county of Franklin.
The earliest settlers in this part of Perry county were John Wilson, Joseph McClintock, John Rhea, John Glass, John Jordan, John Clenden- nin, who was killed by the Indians, and John Watt. In 1767, the oldest record available, there were forty-two landowners in the township, which at that time included Jackson and Madison. Jacob Grove was assessed on a grist-mill and saw-mill, the only ones in the township. In 1800 Samuel Leaman built a mill on the tract of land warranted by John Watt in 1755.
About 1805 a school house was built on the farm owned by David Hollenbaugh; another was situated near Joshua Rowe's, and a third was not far from Long's mill. A school house had been built some years before at New Germantown. On March 28, 1814, the legislature passed an act containing the provision that "The land officers to make a title clear of purchase money and fees to trustees for schools to be estab- lished in the township of Toboyne for a piece of land," etc. In 1912 there were eight public schools.
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