Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 81

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 81

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The earliest of the pioneers in Clearfield Township or the territory recognized as such since its organization in 1804, were almost entirely of Irish extraction and they came to this section as home-seekers, an entirely different class from the wan- dering and temporary resident. The early names include those of the McBrides, the Connells, the O'Donnells, the Coyles, the Slators, the Milligans, the Dugans, the Dennys, the McGinleys, the Gallaghers, the McCues, the MeLaughlins and others. The pioneer of them all was Patrick Mc- Bride, from County Donegal, Ireland, who

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built his cabin and owned 400 acres of land here, in 1798, and lived until 1848. County Donegal contributed a number of the other pioneers and some of these, after entering land, carried on the trades which they had learned in their native country. John Coyle, who located here in 1800, was an expert linen weaver, James Denny was a competent shoemaker, others were black- smiths and carpenters, and together the early settlement soon laid the foundations which resulted in a general prosperity. Farming and stock-raising became fea- tures, and even before much attention had been attracted to the mineral resources of the land, the township was looked upon favorably as a place for home and invest- ment. The population of 288, in 1810, gradually crept up to 515 in 1820, and the assessments on property advanced accord- ingly.

Among the early progressive men was John Coyle, who founded the village of Coylesville, in 1830, and among the ad- vantages presented to possible purchasers of lots, were enumerated good land, fresh and salt water springs, coal and limestone, with grist and saw-mills within reasonable distance. This was the first village in the township and at that time was expected to become a center of business as the mail coach between Butler and Kittanning passed that way tri-weekly. Fenelton was founded in 1856 by Peter Fennell, to Clearfield Township from Armstrong who with his son and two nephews came County, the family being numerous enough to start the settlement. Carbon Center was almost unimproved farm land prior to 1875, developing then into a town as more and more of the surrounding sands proved rich in oil. Business enterprises were quickly set on foot and much building was done in a very short time, and there was no diminution in this activity until 1883.

The first coal mined in Clearfield Town- ship was on the Morrow farm. The Mc-

Devitt farm gave Middle and Lower Kit- tanning coal and lower down on the West branch, the Deener banks were developed. On the McClelland farm, near the east line, Kittanning coal was found high above the creek, and below it was found Clarion coal. A number of small banks are now operated for local consumption, but none is shipped.

Near Coylesville a good field of oil was struck about 1906, being opened up by Flick & Company of Butler. The oil is found in the third sand. The wells aver- aged about twenty-five barrels daily and are still producing. Drilling operations are being continued. Practically every farm in the township has either oil or gas wells, though at present there are no large producers. Five-hundred barrel wells have been found in the township.

There are large deposits of limestone in the township, but they are as yet unde- veloped owing to the lack of transporta- tion facilities.

Coylesville, a settlement of about. thirty people, is located near the center of the township. Robert Krouse and Sons con- duct a general store at this point, and it is a pay station for the Kittanning Tele- phone Company.

Fenelton, about one and a half miles north of Coylesville, contains about twenty people and is a station on the B. R. & P. Railroad. P. Fennel is post- master and W. I. Sipe and J. Coyle and Co. are general merchants.

Lucasville is a flag station of the B. R. & P. Railroad; it has no stores.

Clearfield Township has not been lack- ing in religious facilities, the Catholic church in particular being early repre- sented here.

St. John's Catholic Church dates away back to the first pioneer settlers. In those early days the cabins of the pioneers were opened at stated times and Mass was said by missionary priests, the homes of Manus Dugan, John Sheridan, John Green, Will-

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iam McGee, Dennis Duff, Patrick McBride, the Gallaghers, the Dennys and the O'Don- nells being selected. In 1853 a church edifice was erected and prior to that time Catholics attended St. Patrick's Church on Sugar Creek, Armstrong County, or the church of St. Mary's Monastery, which was built in Summit Township in 1841. The church . building belonging to St. John's congregation is one of the most pretentious in the township, and the ceme- tery, in which rest the remains of many of the early settlers, is a beautiful and well kept tract. The congregation now numbers about 425 people. Father O'Cal- lahan is the present pastor.

St. Mary's of the Woods is the name bestowed upon the private chapel at the old Hickory Homestead near the northern line of Clearfield Township. It was used for many years as a family place of wor- ship, and the doors were opened for all purposes of a Mission Chapel when the place was visited by Father Hickey, the owner of the property. Father Hickey was a well known priest of the Catholic church who was born and reared in Butler County, and spent the greater part of his life in Pittsburg and vicinity. A few years previous to his death he established a home for incurables at the old Hickey homestead in Clearfield Township, and the place is now under the care of the Catholic charitable societies of Pittsburg. A num- ber of buildings were erected for the care of the inmates, and the doors of the insti- tution are open at all times to the unfor- tunates who cannot obtain admission to regular hospitals and sanitariums.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, near Fenelton, was organized in October, 1857, and prior to the Civil War services were held in the same building which accommo- dated the English Lutherans. The changes that came about caused the little society to be reduced to small membership up to 1880, when there was a religious revival and in 1881 the church was reorganized

and a church building was dedicated in the same year. The Fennells have always been earnest Methodists and generous con- tributors to this society, which now num- bers about 150 members.

The United Presbyterian Church of Carbon Center, which was organized in 1878, grew in membership when the town was prosperous but many of its original members subsequently moved to other sections and it no longer exists as an or- ganized body. The same may be said of the English Lutheran Society, which was in existence from 1857 until 1861.

In 1835 Clearfield Township came under the common school system and at present has many excellent school buildings and a large percentage of the children take ad- vantage of the opportunities given them. The records show that the first school- house was built about 1799, near the Win- field Township line, those interested in its erection being Arthur O'Donnell, Andrew and Michael Dugan, James and John Mc- Laughlin, Michael McCue and James Denny. The second school building was erected near Coylesville. The township now has six schools. Daniel Meenan, John Swain, B. McCrea, James Nugent, John Sweeney and John Schuller composed the board in 1908.

Township Officials: Justices of the peace-F. P. McBride, and J. Dipner; constable- J. Swain; collector-J. Dip- ner; assessor-J. McDwett; road commis- sioners-F. P. McBride, J. Dipner and E. Milligan; auditors-W. Dipner, J. Mc- Dwett and T. Green.

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP.

Summit Township, an oil district and a farming section of Butler County, is also a leading educational center, both the Cath- olies and the Lutherans having large insti- tutions which are well patronized. This township, taken mainly from Butler and Clearfield, with portions of Donegal and Center Townships, was organized in 1854.

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Although the settlement of almost the whole of Butler County dates from about 1796, there is evidence to show that still earlier pioneers had lived in what is now Summit Township, the Rays in that year finding some untenanted cabins near their own point of settlement and hearing of others still farther away near the Beaver slope. To the Rays, however, credit is usually given as it is known that William Ray built his log cabin in this wilderness in 1796, and that when the county was or- ganized, in 1803, he was the owner of 150 acres.

The Mitchells and Scotts and also the descendants of Thomas Smith claim their ancestors as pioneers of the same year, as do also the McCurdys, all of whom en- tered land and put up their log cabins in the Bonny Brook district. In 1803 is re- corded the marriage of James McCurdy to Peggy Thorn, her family having been very early in this section. In 1778, Peter Henry and sister were rescued from the Indians and came to make their home in the Bonny Brook settlement and he became a man of affairs in the neighborhood, his house be- ing selected for the transaction of public business. The first mill built in the town- ship was that constructed in 1800, by Will- iam Neyman, near the mouth of Bonny- Brook, and after completing and operating his grist mill he added a saw-mill and a carding and fulling-mill. He evidently was a man of great business enterprise and, although the structures were very primitive, they were of great importance to the community and around these mills grew up the first congested section of the township. In 1813 Abraham Brinker moved into the Bonny Brook region and he built a carding-mill, a saw-mill and dis- tillery, and in the following year built a stone grist mill. These mills were kept busy through many years, having different owners and at various times being im- proved with better machinery. The year 1830 saw the advent of an excellent type of

German settlers-men and women who had contended with hard conditions in their native land and had thus been well pre- pared for those they faced, and subse- quently overcame, in Western Pennsyl- vania. The last of the original German pioneers, Nicholas Bleichner, died in Feb- ruary, 1894, when in the ninety-third year of his age.

The leading village of Summit Township is Herman Station, which is the successor of Bonny Brook, which was the first set- tlement in Summit Township. The name given when the post-office was first estab- lished was Brinker's Mills, Bonny Brook being accepted as the name in 1868. The great oil wells between Herman and Great Belt, have made this section better known to the outside world. In 1876 Charles Smith was appointed postmaster at Her- man Station, and in 1877 Albert Smith purchased a hotel which had been erected here in 1875, by Charles Garlach, and, with the development of the Herman oil field, the place had a rapid growth. This section is still the home of many of the old and substantial families of the township.

Schools, colleges and churches testify to the character of the residents of Summit Township. The first schools were of the subscription type and for some years, on account of the sparsely settled country, many children had no school opportunities whatever, but in 1813 a log building was put up near Brinker's mill and dedicated to school purposes; in 1818 the Brinkers, the Gillilands and Martins erected a sec- ond school building. The township now contains six public schools, all in a state of efficiency. In 1876 the Lutheran school was established, and in May, 1894, a con- vent and school for the instruction of chil- dren and the education of young ladies, was founded near Herman.

St. Fidelis College, a part of St. Mary's Monastery, dates back to the spring of 1877, and in that year the old parochial residence was converted into a collegiate

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school, one which still offers to Catholic youths every advantage given by Harvard, Yale or Cornell. The first students to complete the course came from the Capu- chin college in Bavaria, finding here the instruction and inspiration, for many years supposed to be only secured in the universities of the old world.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is the oldest religious organization in Summit Town- ship, missionary priests visiting this sec- tion and ministering almost from the time the first Catholic settled here. By 1846 there were enough of the faith to support the church as an organization and from that time until the present, many of the leading families have been its adherents and are proud of the association.

Zion German Lutheran Church was or- ganized May 3, 1877, and Rev. F. Wilhelm was pastor until 1891. Since the comple- tion of the present church building in 1880, the congregation has increased in numbers almost to its capacity, and it is the recog- nized church home of the German element, outside of the Catholic religion.

Summit Township is the home of a body of Capuchin priests and the magnificent structures which crown the heights above Herman Station, represent their monas- tery and college and church of St. Mary's. The persecution of the Catholic orders in Germany in 1870 caused the establishment of numerous bodies in America, the his- tory of older religious bodies being re- peated. The foundation stone of the Mon- astery was laid July 21, 1876, and the structure, with its additions, was entirely completed in 1893. In the first buildings the Monastic-Gothic style was observed and later buildings were prepared in the same line of architecture. The first prior was Father Matthew Hau. St. Mary's Church is practically one of the monastic buildings and is of the same architecture. Its altars, statuary, paintings, frescoes and its beautiful stained glass windows give it dignity and distinction and its services are

conducted with the ceremonials that belong to so old and so influential an organization.

Summit Township is well supplied with minerals, the Upper and Lower Freeport and the Kittanning veins of coal being found, and small mines have been operated for many years. There are no extensive mining operations carried on in the town- ship at the present time. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the West Penn Branch, and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Rail- road, traverse this township in reaching Butler, and afford many opportunities for developing its natural resources. Oil and gas have been produced here for many years, the fields at Herman Station, in the southeastern portion of the township, and at Carbon Center in the northeastern por- tion, having proved very productive.

EAST BUTLER.

The town of East Butler in Summit Township had its inception in 1903, when a number of business men of Butler organ- ized the Butler Land and Improvement Company. The incorporaters of the com- pany were D. H. Sutton, president; J. F. Anderson, secretary; William Campbell, Jr., treasurer; and these officers with J. Henry Troutman, W. D. Brandon, and John S. Campbell composed the board of directors. A charter was obtained August 3, 1903, for the purpose of developing the land that had been purchased in Summit Township. The holdings of the company consist of 640 acres lying on Bonnie Brook, two miles east of Butler on the Baltimore & Ohio and the Buffalo, Rochester & Pitts- burg Railroads, 150 acres of which has been laid out in manufacturing sites, and the balance in town lots. This tract of land comprises the farms formerly owned by John Bach, J. M. Heinzer, Robert Stephen- son, Jacob Johnson, Jack Walker, and the McCandless heirs. A public sale of lots was held in September, 1903, at which the movement to build a town was formally inaugurated.

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The first business enterprise to locate at East Butler was the Eleanor Iron & Steel Company which began the erection of a plant in the fall of 1903. This enterprise proved a failure, and nothing more was accomplished until the fall of 1906, when the Pittsburg-Hickson Bed Works located at the new town site and began the erection of their extensive plant which is now in full operation. The buildings of this plant are substantial brick structures covering about ten acres of ground, and the entire plant occupies about twenty acres. The plant manufactures brass and iron bed- steads, and is the largest factory of its kind in the United States.

The Valvolene Oil Company in 1907 erected a large refinery which now. gives employment to about 100 men.

The location of the Bed Factory was the beginning of a building boom for the new town, and during the winter of 1906 and summer of 1907 over one hundred houses were erected in addition to a hotel, several store rooms, and meat markets. In 1908 the town had a population of about 600, two general stores, a drug store, two meat markets, two public schools, a church, and a post-office. The latter was installed in 1907, with J. L. Ralston as post-master.

The Pittsburg-Hickson Company, manu- facturers of iron beds, is a Pennsylvania corporation incorporated June 20, 1906, with a capital stock of $500,000.00, of which $300,000.00 is common stock and $200,000.00 preferred stock. The plant is located at East Butler, two miles east of the borough of Butler, on the B. & O. and B. R. & P. Railroads, at Noeline Station.

The company secured a manufacturing site of twenty acres from the Butler Land & Improvement Company, and in the sum- mer of 1906 began the erection of a large plant, which was completed and in opera- tion the latter part of 1907. The buildings are constructed of brick and iron, and have a floor space of 220,000 square feet. Since the erection of the first buildings the floor

space has been increased considerably, and the total capacity of the plant at the pres- ent time is 5000 iron beds daily. In addi- tion to the above there has been added a department for the manufacture of bed springs and mattresses. At the present time the plant is only operated with a day force, but it is the intention of the man- agement to operate both a day and night force as soon as the business conditions of the country will justify it. The concern owns its own water works, and has a well- organized fire department among the em- ployes of the plant. The Pittsburg-Hick- son Company is the largest concern in this country engaged in the exclusive manufac- ture of iron beds. The product of this plant is shipped to all parts of the world, and sold only to jobbers in car lots. At the present time there are about 300 men employed, and this number will be more than doubled when the night turn is put on.

The present officers of the company are E. J. Hickson, president and general man- ager; B. F. Sprankle, vice-president and traesurer; and Frank H. Murphy, secre- tary.

The Presbyterian congregation was or- ganized September 27, 1908, with a mem- bership of about fifty. The trustees are J. L. Ralston, J. W. Campbell, Ed. Davis and W. D. Sutter. The elders are W. S. Brandon, L. M. Wise and Harry Wimer, and Rev. W. E. Oller, of the First Presby- terian Church of Butler is the provisional moderator of the session, until such a time as the congregation can secure a perma- nent pastor. During the summer of 1908 the congregation built a frame church at a cost of about $2500.00 which fully meets its present requirements.

The town of East Butler is supplied with the best of water, which is obtained from drilled wells near the town site. The East Butler Water Company has been in- corporated with the following officers : Jas. W. Hutchison, president; J. C. Kis- kaddon, secretary, and E. E. Bell, treas-

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urer. The town has also been piped for gas, and is supplied by both the T. W. Phillips Oil & Gas Company, and the Rei- ber Independent Line.

The town is also the home of the Valvo- line Oil Company, which erected a large refinery partly on the land of The Butler Land and Improvement Company, and on lands purchased from Peter Green, and the McCandless heirs, lying west of the town of East Butler. This company em- ploys about one hundred men, and when the works are fully established will employ double that number.

Fully five hundred workmen find em- ployment in the factories at East Butler, and the outlook for the new town is most promising. It will be a matter of a short time until the town is lighted with elec- tricity, and a suburban railroad will con- nect it with the county seat. The town has not yet been incorporated as a bor- ough, but its citizens are already looking forward to that time. The officers of the Butler Land and Improvement Company in 1908 were the same as 1903, with the ex- ception of treasurer, Mr. William Camp- bell, Jr., having died in 1907. The gen- eral superintendent and manager of the company's interests is D. H. Sutton.

Herman Station is a village on the But- ler Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern corner of the township. It came into existence after the construc- ion of the railroad in 1871, and for a num- ber of years the only improvements were a general store and hotel. The hotel was built in 1875 by Charles Garlach and pur- chased in 1880 by Albert Smith, who be- came the post-master when the old Bonny Brook post-office was discontinued and removed to that place. Charles Smith aft- erwards became the post-master, general storekeeper and station agent, and he was succeeded by M. E. Dittmer, and he in turn by W. F. Limberg. The great wells of the Herman oil field were struck during the latter part of the eighties and nineties,

but have not tended to increase the popula- tion or mercantile interests of the place to a great extent. The celebrated Eichenlaub and Wolfe farms are in this vicinity. The Monastery buildings on the hill above Her- man are an attractive feature of the place, and are noted elsewhere in this chapter.

Carbon Center is a station on the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad in the northeastern corner of the township, and derives its name from the old village of Carbon Cen- ter that existed close to the Donegal and Clearfield Township lines, and was a noted oil field during the latter part of the sev- enties. Carbon Center, Heck Station and St. Joe Station in Oakland Township, at one time formed a busy community, and was the center of oil operations for over twenty years.

POPULATION.

The population of the township in 1860 was 939; in 1870 it was 1304; in 1880, 1266; and in 1890, 1287. The oil developments of the township which began in 1890 in- creased the population to 1500 in 1894. It dropped back to 1260 in 1900, but the es- tablishing of East Butler in 1908 has in- creased the population to 1840.

Township Officials: The officials of the township in 1908 were John Herrit, tax collector; John Biedenbach, constable; Joseph Mauer, township clerk; Peter Nigh, Fred Oesterling and Fred Trimbur, road supervisors; James Oesterling, assessor ; J. W. Baldauf, Judge of elections; L. M. Wise, inspector; William Baldauf, in- spector of elections; George Forcht. J. W. Baldauf and Fred Trimbur, auditors; J. Kronenbitter, justice of the peace.

WINFIELD TOWNSHIP.

Winfield Township was organized in 1854 and formed of territory formerly in- cluded in Clearfield and Buffalo Town- ships. It has less tillable land than a num- ber of the other townships of the county, but its mineral deposits and its fine water

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power giving excellent manufacturing sites, have contributed to the material prosperity of this section and these ad- vantages early attracted a fine type of pioneer settler.

The pioneers who came first, were natives of Ireland and until 1836 the larger number of settlers were more or less of the same ancestry, including a num- ber of Revolutionary veterans. In 1796 came Jeremiah Smith with his four sons and two daughters. Two of the Smith sons were equipped with trades, one being a cooper and the other a carpenter and in the next year came David Moorhead, a weaver. Even at that early day, these trades were useful to the community and they were taught to the next generation. In 1797-8 came Andrew Cruikshank, with the record of seven years of honorable service in the War of the Revolution; and in the same year the little settlement was increased by Mathias Cypher and family, who left many descendants, the name yet being a familiar one in the township. In 1799, John and Michael Fair with Caleb Jones acquired lands here, and about 1800 appear the names of John and William Clugston, Samuel Cooper, Robert John- ston, William and James Hazlett, John Kennedy and Jacob Harshman. About 1815 other settlers were Arthur Hill, Rob- ert Galbreath and William Hesselgesser and family. In 1817 came Abraham Leasure, founder of the village of Leasure- ville and when Thomas Bickett came in 1818 they found James, William and David Ralston and Robert Graham, al- ready established. In 1832 came the first French pioneers, Francis Jackman and wife. In 1836 the colony was greatly aug- mented by the arrival of many Germans and they brought with them their habits of thrift and frugality which soon made an impression in the township, where, un- der their industry, great agricultural de- velopment followed.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 81

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526