USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Brookville > A pioneer history of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania and my first recollections of Brookville, Pennsylvania, 1840-1843, when my feet were bare and my cheeks were brown > Part 13
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From the best information I am enabled to gather and obtain, Andrew Barnett and Samuel Scott were sent in 1795 by Joseph Barnett, who was then living in either Northumberland, Lycoming, or Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, to explore the famous region then about French Creek, now Crawford County, Pennsylvania. But when these two "explorers" reached Mill Creek, now Port Barnett, they were forcibly impressed with the great natural advantages of the place for a saw-mill. They stopped over two or three days to examine the creek. They explored as far down as to where Summerville now is, and, after this careful inspection, con- cluded that this spot, where " the lofty pine leaned gloomily over every hill-side," was just the ideal home for a lumberman.
They went no farther west, but returned east, and informed Joseph Barnett of the "Eureka" they had found. In the spring of 1797, Joseph and Andrew Barnett, Samuel Scott, and Moses Knapp came from their home at the mouth of Pine Creek, then in Lycoming County, to the ideal mill-site of Andrew, and so well pleased were they all that they commenced the erection of the pioneer cabin and mill in the wilderness, in what was then Pine Creek township, Lycoming County. The cabin and mill were on the present site of Humphrey's mill and grounds at Port Barnett. The Indians assisted, about nine in number, to raise these buildings, and not a stroke of work would these savages do until they had eaten up all the provisions Mr. Barnett had. This took three days. Then the rascals exclaimed, " Me eat, me sleep ; now me strong, now
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
me work." In the fall of the same year Joseph Barnett returned to his family, leaving his brother Andrew and Scott to finish some work. In a short time thereafter Andrew Barnett became ill and died, and was buried on the north bank of the creek, at the junction of Sandy Lick and Mill Creek, Scott and two Indians being the only attendants at the funeral. Joseph Barnett was, therefore, soon followed by Scott, who was his brother-in-law, bringing the melancholy tidings of this event, which for a time cast a gloom over the future prospects of these sturdy pioneers.
In 1798, however, Joseph Barnett, Scott, Knapp, and a married man by the name of Joseph Hutchison, came out with them and renewed their work. Hutchison brought his wife, household goods, also two cows and a calf, and commenced housekeeping, and lived here two years before Joseph Barnett brought his family, who were then living in Dauphin County. Hutchison is clearly the pioneer settler in what is now Jeffer- son County. He was a sawyer. In that year the mill was finished by Knapp and Scott, and in 1799 there was some lumber sawed. In the fall of 1800, Joseph Barnett brought his wife and family to the home prepared for them in the wilderness. Barnett brought with him two cows and seven horses, five loaded with goods as pack-horses and two as riding or family horses. His route of travel into this wilderness was over Meade's trail.
The first boards were run in 1801 to what is now Pittsburg. About four thousand feet were put in a raft, or what would be a two-platform piece. Moses Knapp was the pioneer pilot.
In a paper contributed to the Jefferson County Graphic by Mrs. Sarah Graham, a daughter of Joseph Barnett, this portion of the county is there described as " the home of the Indian, the panther, the bear, and deer ; and wolves were as plenty as dogs in Brookville."
Farther on this interesting account continues : " The first white child born in the county was J. P. Barnett. The next person that came here was Peter Jones. He settled on the farm now owned by John McCul- lough, and the next was a Mr. Roll, who settled on the farm now owned by John S. Barr. Then came Fudge Vancamp (negro), who built his cabin on the farm now owned by John Clark ; and then Adam Vasbinder, who settled on the farm at the present time owned by Samuel Bullers. William Vasbinder pitched his tent on the Kirkman homestead. Ludwick Long put up his wigwam on the place now owned by Mr. McConnell. Here Long erected a distillery, and the great dragon first opened his mouth and cast out his flood of water in the wilderness. John Dixon came next. He was our first school-master. The school-house was built on the McConnell farm ; built of round logs, and oiled paper for glass. Everything had to be carried from the settlements on horseback ; glass was too easily broken to try to bring so far. The second school-house was built on the south side of the pike, at the forks of the Ridgway road.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
Here the first graveyard was laid out, and the first person buried in it was a child of Samuel Scott.
" An old Muncy Indian, called Captain Hunt, was a frequent visitor at Port Barnett, and had his camp for several years on the Red Bank, within the limits of the southwestern part of what is now the town of Brookville. It is related of him that a cave near what is now the con- fluence of Sandy Lick and North Fork was occupied by him for several years as a hiding-place. He was a fugitive from his tribe for having killed a fellow Indian, and was frequently pursued by members of his race to avenge the crime. On these occasions he always managed to escape to his cave, approaching it by running in the water of the stream to avoid being followed by his track, and in this way he safely secreted himself and successfully evaded his pursuers.
" In this same connection, a story is told of the capture of a child in Westmoreland County by the Muncy Indians, who carried him to their tribe and adopted him. By the law of this tribe, when one of their number was a fugitive from them for killing another, he was not per- mitted to return until the place of the murdered Indian was supplied by the capture of another male from the whites or some other tribe. It is, therefore, alleged and generally supposed that the little boy from West- moreland County, who had been sent by his mother on an errand to his father in the field, was observed by these Indians, seized and carried off to their camp, and that after this old Captain Hunt was at liberty to re- turn to his tribe. It is also related of the boy, that when he grew to be a man he was permitted to visit his parents and friends, but declined to remain among them, and returned to his Indian home.
" Old Captain Hunt was a noted and successful hunter, obtaining his living in this way, and John Jones was often his companion on hunting excursions. One year he is said to have killed seventy-eight bears, and having the Indian appetite for whiskey, the skins of these were nearly all expended by him in procuring this beverage.
" These dense forests were the abode of wild animals and game in greater numbers than most any other part of the country. Panthers, bears, and wolves roamed the woods undisturbed, the deer travelled about in droves, and flocks of wild turkeys were numerous."
I may not be able to give the names of all the early settlers and the date of their arrival, but John, William, and Jacob Vasbinder reached here about the year 1802 or 1803, John Matson, Sr., about 1806, and the Lucases soon after.
In 1803 the name Keystone was first applied to the State. This was in a printed political address to the people. Pennsylvania was the central State of the original thirteen.
John and Archibald Bell settled in the southern part of the county about 1809 or 1810, and that locality was then an unbroken wilderness
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
for miles around. Archie Hadden came and settled a mile southeast of him about 1812, and in 1815 Hugh McKee settled half a mile east of Perrysville. Jacob Hoover came in 1814 and settled at the present site of Clayville. John Postlethwait, Sr., came in 1818 from Westmoreland County, and located with his family a mile and a half northwest of Perrys- ville. A family by the name of Young settled about two miles west of this place about the same time. People began to settle in the vicinity of Punxsutawney about the year 1816, the first being Abram Weaver, and
-
Deer and fawn.
Rev. David Barclay, Dr. John W. Jenks, and Nathaniel Tindle, with their families, and Elijah Heath arrived there about 1817 or 1818. Charles C. Gaskill, Isaac P. Carmalt, John B. Henderson, and John Hess came some time later. About 1818, David, John, and Henry Milliron settled on Little Sandy, and Henry Nolf located on the same stream, where Langville now stands, and erected a saw-mill. In 1820, Lawrence Nolf came to Pine Run, two miles south of Ringgold, but made no im- provement, and afterwards sold to John Miller, who opened up a farm. Hon. James Winslow and others were also among the first settlers in the neighborhood of Punxsutawney. James McClelland and Michael Lantz
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
came into the southwestern part of the county, within the limits of what is now Porter township, previous to the year 1820. William Stewart and Benjamin McBride made a settlement in the Round Bottom, west of Whitesville, in 1821, and in the same year James Stewart came and located three miles northwest of Perrysville. The year 1822 brought a number of families to the county, among whom were the following : David Postlethwait, who purchased Stewart and McBride's right of settlement in the Round Bottom, and settled with his brother John on Pine Run, who had preceded him there; John McHenry, James Bell, and some others, who moved into the Round Bottom, near Whitesville, and a Mr. Baker, who settled across the creek east of Whitesville ; Jesse Armstrong and Adam Long, the former locating near where Clayville now is, and the latter at a place near Punxsutawney ; John Fuller, who settled near Reynoldsville ; and Samuel Newcome, who settled on Pine Run, about a mile above the Postlethwaits. In 1823, John McIntosh and Henry Keys settled in Beech Woods, now Washington township, and the year 1824 brought Alexander Osborn. John McGee, Matthew and William McDonald, Andrew Smith, John Wilson, William Cooper, and William Mccullough were also among the first settlers in the northeastern part of the county. Other names of early settlers will be found in that part of this history devoted to the different towns and townships.
CHAPTER VIII.
PROVISION FOR OPENING A ROAD-REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE GOVERNOR-STREAMS, ETC.
"AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR OPENING A ROAD FROM NEAR THE BALD EAGLE'S NEST, IN MIFFLIN COUNTY, TO LE BŒUF, IN THE COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY.
" WHEREAS, A road has, under the direction of the Legislature, been in part laid out from Reading and Presque Isle ; AND WHEREAS, It is con- sidered that opening and improving said road would be greatly conducive to the interests of the community by opening a communication with the northwest part of the State, and would much facilitate an intercourse with Lake Erie ;
"SECTION 1. Therefore be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the gov- ernor be empowered to contract for the opening and improving of the road between the Bald Eagle's Nest and the Allegheny River to Le Bœuf.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
"SECTION 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That when it shall appear to the persons who may contract for the opening of
Pioneer transportation, travel, and team.
said road that deviations from such parts of the road as laid out are essentially necessary, he or they shall be authorized to make such devia-
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
tions, provided that such deviations do not depart materially from the survey already made.
"SECTION 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in order to carry this into effect the governor is empowered to draw his warrant on the State Treasurer for five thousand dollars, to be paid out of the sale of reserved lands and lots in the towns of Erie, Franklin, Warren, and Waterford."
Passed April 10, 1799.
Recorded in Law Book No. 6, p. 443.
The Bald Eagle's Nest referred to above was Milesburg. The nest was not that of a bird, but that of an Indian warrior of that name, who built his wigwam there between two large white oaks. The western ter- minus of the road, then called Le Bœuf, is now known as Waterford, Erie County, Pennsylvania. On the completion of the turnpike most of this road was abandoned in this county. It is still in use from Brook- ville, about seven or eight miles of it, to the Olean road north of Cor- sica. It passed through where Brookville now is, near or on what is now Coal Alley. It was a great thoroughfare for the pioneers going to the West and Northwest.
" DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, " HARRISBURG, PA., May 18, 1895. " MR W. J. MCKNIGHT, Brookville, Pa.
" DEAR SIR,-In answer to your letter of the Ist instant, we send you this contract and the accompanying papers, which are among the records of the department. As requested, we send you a copy of the report of the commissioners who made the survey of the road.
" Very truly yours,
" ISAAC B. BROWN, " Deputy Secretary."
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO THE GOVERNOR.
" WHEREAS, In and by an Act of the General Assembly entitled ' An Act for laying out and opening sundry Roads within this Commonwealth and for other purposes,' it is among other things provided and declared, that your Excellency shall be empowered and required to appoint three persons as Commissioners, ' to view the ground and estimate the expense of opening and making a good Waggon Road from the Bald Eagle's Nest, or the end of Nittany Mountain, to the Town of Erie at Presque- isle, and to cause the said Road to be Surveyed and staked out, by the most practicable Route, and also cause a draft of the survey to be made out in Profile, and to report to the Legislature the several parts of the ex- pense that will be incurred in each County through which the said Road will pass : Provided, That the Commissioners thus appointed shall not stake out any part of the said Road when it may be carried on Roads
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
heretofore laid out and opened, agreeably to the Provisions of former laws of this State.'
" AND WHEREAS, In pursuance of the power and authority given and granted in and by the said recited Act of Assembly, William Irvine, Andrew Ellicott, and George Wilson, Esquires, were by Letters Patent under your Excellency's hand, and the great Seal of the State, bearing date the thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, appointed Commissioners for the purposes aforesaid ; but the said Andrew Ellicott, Esq., hath since resigned the said appointment, and his resignation hath been duly accepted.
" AND WHEREAS, In pursuance of the power and authority given and granted in and by the said recited Act of Assembly, Joseph Ellicott was, by Letters Patent, under your Excellency's Hand and the great Seal of the State, bearing date the nineteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, appointed a Commis- sioner in the lieu and stead of the said Andrew Ellicott, Esq., who had resigned as aforesaid, and in conjunction with the said William Irvine and George Wilson, Esquires, the two other Commissioners for the pur- pose of viewing and laying out the said Road in manner as stated in and by the above recited Act of Assembly.
" Now THEREFORE, The said George Wilson and Joseph Ellicott, two of the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid for the purposes aforesaid, beg leave to report :
" I. That the said William Irvine, George Wilson, and Joseph Elli- cott, the Commissioners appointed as aforesaid, in conformity to your Excellency's Instructions in pursuance of the above recited Act of Assem- bly, with all convenient dispatch, in the execution of the trust reposed in them, proceeded to examine the situation of the Country at the Bald Eagle's Nest and to the end of Nittany Mountain, and having viewed the respective scites, they unanimously agreed to take their departure from the Bald Eagle's Nest. As soon as this decision took place the said William Irvine left the other Commissioners and returned home.
" II. That the said George Wilson and Joseph Ellicott then pro- ceeded to view, survey, and stake out by a route, in their opinion, deemed the most practicable, a Road from the Bald Eagle's Nest towards the town of Erie at Presque-isle, and that they have ascertained the various courses and distances, the topographical situation, &c., of the said Road for the length of one hundred and sixteen miles, as represented in and by the Draft in profile hereunto annexed.
" III. That in consequence of the failure of Horses, the scarcity of Provisions, the advanced season of the year, and various other obstacles which retarded the prosecution of the business, they were compelled to relinquish the object of their mission, and have left above thirty-six miles of the Road unfinished.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
"IV. That they have used their utmost diligence and attention to direct the course of the said Road over firm and level ground ; but that frequently became totally impracticable, and where the ascent and descent of hills and mountains became unavoidable they made use of an altitude level, and have so adjusted its course that in its greatest elevation or de- pression it never exceeds an angle of six degrees with the horizon : Hence it may easily be inferred that considerable deviations from a straight line have necessarily occurred.
"V. That the land in that part of Mifflin County through which the Road passes is generally of an indifferent quality. For a part of this distance the Road passes over the declivities of the Allegheny Mountain and the Mushanon Hills. The country, however, for several miles be- tween the summit of the Allegheny Mountain and the Mushanon hills, and also that part of Huntingdon County which the Road intersects, is generally level and free from stones, well timbered with Hickory, White and Black Oak, Dogwood, Ash, Chestnut, Poplar, White Pine, &c., and upon the whole well calculated for settlements. The soil of that part of Lycoming County which is intersected by the Road is generally of a lux- uriant quality, abounding in many places with Stone coal, well timbered with various species of wood, and adapted to the production of all kinds of grain, &c., peculiar to the climate.
"VI. Your Commissioners with pleasure remark that from the Sus- quehanna River at Anderson's Creek to the first navigable stream of Sandy Lick Creek (a branch of Allegheny River) the portage along the said road is but twenty-two Miles. The road crosses Sandy Lick Creek about fifty miles from its junction with the Allegheny River, and from the Susquehanna to the North-Western branch of Sandy Lick Creek the portage is thirty-three miles. The North-Western branch discharges its waters into Sandy Lick Creek, about sixty perches below the place where it is intersected by the Road at the junction of the North-Western branch. The Sandy Lick Creek is as large as the Susquehanna River at Anderson's Creek, and the distance of the said Creek from the Allegheny River is about thirty-five miles. The Portage from the Susquehanna at Ander- son's to Toby's Creek is forty-nine miles. Toby's Creek is twenty-two perches wide, and its distance from the intersection of the Road to the Allegheny River is about forty miles. It is navigable for boats, rafts, &c., from the intersection of the Road to the Allegheny River and about fifty or sixty miles above the place of intersection. The portage from the Susquehanna to the Allegheny River at Sussunadohtaw is seventy-two miles, and for the greater part of the distance of these portages the Road passes through a rich and fertile country.
" VII. That your Commissioners have formed their estimate of ex- penses upon the supposition that the said Road, as far as it has been sur- veyed, will be opened thirty feet in width ; sixteen feet in the middle to
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
be cut and cleared as nearly level with the surface of the earth as prac- ticable, but where digging and levelling on the sides of Hills and Moun- tains shall become necessary that a passage will be dug twelve feet wide, and that Bridges and causeways will be erected and formed over all miry places to enable Waggons to pass.
" A general estimate of expenditures requisite in opening, clearing, digging, levelling, erecting Bridges and forming causeways over the said Road.
" The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Mifflin, commencing at the Bald Eagle's Nest and ending at the Big Mushanon Creek, nineteen miles & sixteen perches.
" For opening, cleaning, digging, levelling, forming ? Dolls. causeways on the said Road and erecting a Bridge over the Little Mushanon in the said County.
3316.74.
" The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Hunting- don, commencing at the Big Mushanon Creek and ending at the West branch of the Susquehanna River, twenty-one miles one hundred and fifty-seven perches.
"For opening, clearing, digging, levelling, forming - causeways on the said Road and erecting a Bridge over Alder Run in said County.
2643.37.
" The expenses in opening the Road through the County of Ly- coming, commencing at the West branch of Susquehanna and ending at the Allegheny River, seventy-two miles & 193 perches.
" For opening, clearing, digging, levelling, and forming 7215.20. Causeways on the said Road.
" VIII. That the said Road in its whole length passes through one entire and uninterrupted Wilderness, and the expenses already incurred in the execution of the business have considerably exceeded the legal appropriation intended for its completion.
" GEO. WILSON. JOSEPH ELLICOTT."
DELAWARE INDIAN AND PIONEER NAMES FOR RIVERS AND CREEKS; ALSO ACTS OF LEGISLATURE DECLARING THESE STREAMS PUB- LIC HIGHWAYS.
" Where skimmed the Indian bark,
And the song of the boatman re-echoed through the forest."
Topi-hanne-Toby Creek ; 1749, Rivière au Fiel-Gall River.
Ma-onink-Mahoning.
Tangawunsch-hanne-North Fork.
Legamwi mahonne-Sandy Lick, or Red Bank ; 1749, Rivière au Vermillon.
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PIONEER HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, PENNA.
Legamwi-hanne-Sandy Creek.
The reason why Toby Creek was subsequently called Clarion River was because there were no less than three or four Toby Creeks in Penn- sylvania. There was one in Monroe County, one in Luzerne, and one in Venango, which is now Clarion. Now, Tobyhanna, or Toby Creek, is corrupted from Topi-hanne, signifying alder stream ; that is, a stream whose banks were fringed with alders. I find also that the Clarion River was called by the Delawares Gawunsch-hanne; that is, brier stream, a stream whose banks are overgrown with briers. There seems to be an incongruity, but the probabilities are that farther down in what is now Clarion County the stream was overgrown with alder-bushes. Mahoning is a corruption of Ma-onink, and signifies where there is a lick, or at the lick ; sometimes a stream flowing there or near a lick. This name is a very common one for rivers and places in the Delaware country, along which or where the surface of the ground was covered with saline de- posits, provisionally called " licks," from the fact that deer, elk, buffalo, and other animals frequented these places and licked the salted earth.
Mahonitty signifies a small lick, and Ma-oning a stream flowing from or near a lick.
By the act of Assembly, March 21, 1808, this creek was declared to be a public highway for the passage of rafts, boats, and other vessels from its confluence with the Allegheny River to the mouth of Canoe Creek, in Indiana County. That act authorized the inhabitants along its banks, and others desirous of using it for navigation, to remove all natural and arti- ficial obstructions in it, except dams for mills and other water-works, and to erect slopes at the mill and other dams, which must be so constructed as not to injure the works of such dams. Any person owning or possess- ing lands along this stream has the liberty to construct dams across it, subject, however, to the restrictions and provisions of the general act authorizing the riparian owners to erect dams for mills on navigable streams. William Travis and Joseph Marshall were appointed to super- intend the expenditure of eight hundred dollars for the improvement of this stream, authorized by the act of March 24, 1817, to whom an order for their services for two hundred and one dollars was issued by the com- missioners of this county December 23, 1818.
The Act of Legislature, No. 129, declaring part of Big Mahoning Creek a public highway, approved April 13, 1833, reads as follows :
"SECTION 2. From and after the passage of this act, that part of Big Mahoning Creek, in Jefferson County, from the mouth of Canoe Creek, in said county, is hereby declared a public highway for the passage of rafts, boats, and other craft ; and it shall and may be lawful for persons desirous of using the navigation of said creek between the points afore- said to remove all natural and artificial obstructions from the bed or channel of said creek, except dams for mills and other water works, and
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