USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > Erie > Erie; a guide to the city and county > Part 11
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liam Dundass, a short distance to the east of the present cemetery on Oak Hill. In 1806 Henry Burgett purchased the Dundass property and con- verted the house into a tavern. Two years later Lemuel Brown opened a tavern at what is now Lake and Main Streets, and for several years it was a stopping place for stages running between Buffalo and the West.
By degrees a village developed around the taverns. The community was first known as Burgettstown. From 1819 to 1834 it was called Gib- sonville. Originally it covered 275 acres. The limits were extended in 1852, and another expansion in 1894 increased the acreage to 540.
The first church in North East was organized by the Presbytery of Ohio in 1801. The borough now has nine churches: Baptist, Emanuel Evangelical, Free Methodist, Holy Cross Episcopal, St. Gregory's Roman Catholic, St. Paul's German Lutheran, St. Peter's English Lutheran, Meth- odist, and Presbyterian.
The largest manufacturing plant in North East is the Eureka Tempered Copper Company. A major industry is the nationally known Welch Grape Juice Company, with its home office in nearby Westfield, N. Y. North East, is, however, predominantly an agricultural district.
The North East Community Fair Association holds a fair and grape carnival for three days each September in the high school building. A flower show and street carnival, sponsored by the American Legion, is held at the same time.
North East is a little town with shaded streets and quiet neighborhoods, where the tempo of life is not too swift and where the people have leisure to enjoy the amenities of social intercourse.
ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, Lake and Division Sts., is a Catholic educa- tional institution. The college buildings, of red brick and granite, are Victorian and Tudor Gothic in design. The chapel is French Gothic in design, and its interior was decorated by Gonipo Raggi, painter and decorator. The first building of the present group was erected on a 5-acre tract of land by the Methodist Church in 1869, and was named Lake Shore Seminary. It closed because of financial difficulties. The building stood unoccupied until February 1881, when it was sold to the Redemptorist Fathers and dedicated by the Most Reverend Tobias Mullen. The Reverend Joseph Schwarz was the first rector of the college, which also has a preparatory school for youths desiring to enter the Redemptor- ist Order. It offers four years of high school, accredited, and two years of college courses. When purchased by the Redemptorist Fathers there was but one building, a 3-story brick structure on a 5-acre plot. Since then the grounds have been enlarged to 101 acres. The college now has an enrollment of 220 students and a faculty of 18.
At 30.6 m., is the small community of MOORHEADVILLE (pop.
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195). Several dwellings erected in 1850 and earlier are still standing. Some of the doorways are classic in appearance, with Ionic columns and old green wooden shutters. The houses are built square, many of them of brick. In a few instances, a small square cupola rises above the center peak of the roof. Later day builders have erected small, comfortable cottages. In addition to the fruit and grape industry, many farmers have specialized in poultry raising. Along the highway are flocks of White Leghorn hens, a prolific egg layer; and heavier meat-producing breeds.
At 33.9 m., is the residential village of HARBORCREEK.
WESLEYVILLE, 37.0 m. (731 alt .; 2,840 pop .; borough, inc. 1912) was named for John Wesley, founder of Methodism, by early settlers, followers of his faith.
The borough is served by the Greyhound Lines, the West Ridge Bus System, and the Erie Coach Company.
Wesleyville was laid out in 1828 by John Shadduck, a farmer, who built a gristmill in 1823 and two years later erected a sawmill, both on the banks of Four Mile Creek, which runs through the borough.
First settlers were William Saltsman, Amasa Prindle, and Andrew Elliott, in 1797. They were followed by Hugh McCann and Alexander Brewster in 1800.
Industries are the New York Central Railroad car shops, Nickel Plate Flour Mills, and General Electric Co.
The Wesley Methodist Church was built in 1828 and rebuilt in 1866. Other churches are the Baptist, Messiah Lutheran, Church of the Nazarene, and St. James' Roman Catholic.
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COUNTY TOUR 5
Erie-Wattsburg-Corry-Union City-Edinboro-Wellsburg-Girard-Erie, State 8, US 6, US 6N, State 18, and US 20, 72.0 m.
Highway is paved throughout. Bus lines connect the county towns. The various highways are kept open by snowplow service through the winter months. Patroled by the Pennsylvania Motor Police. Tourist accommodations in all route towns.
TATE 8, also known as the Wattsburg Plank Road, was opened in 1809
S from Erie to Wattsburg. In 1851 the Erie & Wattsburg Plank Road Company was organized, and in 1853 the planking was completed. The road was not profitable and was permitted to deteriorate, though toll charges were continued. A group of irate farmers tore down the toll- houses in 1865, ending the career of the company.
E. from State St. on E. 12th St. R. from E. 12th St. on Parade St. L. from Parade St. on Pine Ave. (State 8).
At 1.6 m., is the crest of the first ridge overlooking the city. There is a fine view of the lake, bay, Presque Isle Peninsula, and the city.
BELLE VALLEY, 3.1 m. (alt. 1,007, pop. 200), is a group of houses scattered along Mill Creek. Many of the houses are from 50 to 75 years old, and most are of heavy timber frame construction.
The village of HAMMETT, 7.0 m., is a few dwellings scattered along the highway.
The highway follows the valley of the west branch of Elk Creek to the village of LOWVILLE, 16.9 m. (alt. 1,325, pop. 200). The one-story farmhouses, built of wide hemlock planks nailed vertically to hewn framework, are set along the sides of the road in small, neatly kept lawns. The land was cleared in 1796 by Thomas Smith and the town was named for Samuel Low who located there in 1822 and established a gristmill, a sawmill, and a woolen factory.
The hills tower above the West Branch Valley on the L., and small meadows lie in the curves of the stream. Huge river willows lean over the creeks, and to R., the hills rear above the west side of the valley. At one time these hills were covered with tall, slender hemlock and pine trees. The best of the trees were cut, stripped of bark, and sold to ship- builders of New York and Philadelphia to be used as masts. Lesser grade timber was milled into boards and planks, and millions of feet went down French Creek, the Ohio, and the Mississippi to be sold in New Orleans.
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Not one tract of the original timber stands today. The hills are now cov- ered with second growth timber.
WATTSBURG, 18.7 m. (alt. 1,340, pop. 256, borough, inc. 1833), is a sleepy borough near a fork of French Creek. Wattsburg was named for David Watts of Carlisle, Pa., father-in-law of William Miles, who laid out the original site in 1828. Miles built a storehouse for furs and as a depot for the surrounding country. A weekly mail route was inaugurated in 1828 between Erie, Pa., and Jamestown, N. Y., by way of the village. The mail was carried by a man who walked the entire distance, approxi- mately 50 miles.
Wattsburg is in the center of a dairying section, and "Wattsburg But- ter" is widely known.
The Wattsburg Fair, started about 1885, is held annually and attracts from 25,000 to 40,000 persons. One of the best poultry shows in north- western Pennsylvania is held here. The only horse races held in Erie County are run during this fair, with purses amounting to $3,500.
The highway winds slowly upward out of French Creek Valley, to the crest of a high ridge, 22.6 m., from which there is a wide view of hills and valleys. Occasional old apple orchards, noted for their russets, north- ern spies, greenings, and Baldwins, border the route.
UNION CITY, 27.2 m. (1,312 alt., 3,788 pop., borough, inc. 1863), is a town of small industry and agriculture on the south branch of French Creek. The borough was originally named Miles Mills for William Miles, who surveyed the section in 1785. The name was changed to Union Mills in 1863, and to Union City in 1871.
The founder of Union City, William Miles, a native of Ireland, came to this country with his parents at the age of eight. In 1800 he came to Union and erected a gristmill and a sawmill. Miles cleared the land, opened roads, secured a mail route, had a post office established, and was the first postmaster. Until 1855 the settlement consisted of a few build- ings, adjacent to the Miles mills.
The Philadelphia & Erie Railroad was built through the town in 1858, and the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, now the Erie Railroad, was laid down in 1862.
The discovery of oil at nearby Titusville in 1859 gave farther impetus to the town's growth. Oil wells were drilled in Union City the same year, but the field was not productive.
The recent growth of Union City is due to agriculture and to several small manufacturing plants. The region has a climate adapted to raising hardy products, in addition to excellent facilities for dairy farming, an important industry of the region.
The Presbyterians of Union City formed a congregation in 1811, and in
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1831 built a church which was replaced in 1874 by a larger building. The Methodist Episcopal congregation was organized in 1817, and its first church building was erected in 1847. St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1857. The Baptist Church was founded in 1859, and the United Brethren Society in 1872. Present churches in Union City are the Baptist, Free Methodist, Methodist, Presbyterian, St. Ther- esa's, and the United Brethren.
Union City is served by the Pennsylvania and Erie Railroads. It is also on the route of the Greyhound Lines and the West Ridge Transporta- tion Co.
The Union City Times-Enterprise, a weekly, is the borough's only newspaper.
At Union City is the junction with US 6.
L. from State 8 on US 6.
The STATE FISH HATCHERY 0.5 m. (L), is a breeding place for bullhead, bass, and other fish common to the streams of the area. The buildings are of yellow stucco, and the grounds are landscaped with ever- greens and shrubbery.
At 4.9 m., the highway skirts the northern boundary of ELGIN (alt. 1,361, pop. 130). Originally known as Halltown, for Joseph Hall, who operated a sawmill and a gristmill there, the name was changed to Concord Station when the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad was opened. The village was incorporated as a borough in 1876, and given its present name.
CORRÝ FISH HATCHERY, 9.0 m., (L), is State owned and operated (open 7 to 5 daily). There are hemlocks and maples about the buildings and a fountain near the highway at the entrance. Trout are raised here for stocking streams in Erie and Warren counties.
CORRY, 9.8 m., (alt. 1,427, pop. 7,152, 3rd class city, inc. 1866), was named for Hiram Corry, early landowner. Second in size to Erie in the county, Corry is a busy mercantile and industrial city. Situated on level ground, it has attractive residential sections and a compact business district.
The first settler in Corry was Michael Hare, a soldier in the Revolution- ary War, who, in 1795, built a log cabin on the bank of Hare Creek, on a tract of land given to him by the government. The land on which the city stands was originally a swamp. Familiarly known as the City of Stumps and legally as Atlantic and Erie Junction, Corry experienced a brief boom in 1859 with the discovery of oil at nearby Titusville.
In the summer of 1862 an oil refinery, several factories, two hotels, a theatre, a church, and a number of storehouses and residences were erected.
The panic of 1873 checked Corry's advance, and the shifting of oil pro- duction to nearby Bradford had further adverse effect.
A public library building, erected in 1917 at North Centre and Franklin Sts., was a gift of the Carnegie Endowment Fund.
The Evening Journal, a daily, is the only newspaper.
Corry is served by the Pennsylvania and the Erie R.R.'s. The Grey- hound Lines and the West Ridge Transportation Co. also enter the city.
The greater proportion of the citizens of Corry are of Anglo-Saxon origin, descendants of the New England pioneers who were its first settlers.
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ERIE COUNTY TOURS
At junction in Union City State 8 and US 6 join; straight ahead on US 6-State 8; at edge of town R. on US 6.
The rolling valley of French Creek is to R. The hills are dotted with small woodlots, pastures, and farms. Small streams meander through shal- low ravines and empty into French Creek.
At 32.9 m., is a settlement of five houses and a church. Late in the 1800's this promised to be a thriving community and was called New Ire- land, a name remembered by a few of the older residents of the vicinity.
The highway passes through a dense hardwood forest along the top of a ridge, 34.9 m.
MILL VILLAGE, 35.8 m. (alt. 1,217, pop. 233, borough, inc. 1870), was originally named Milltown for three sawmills, a gristmill, and a cheese factory on Mill Run.
Mill Village occupies part of a 2,875 acre tract granted in 1791 by the State to the Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathens-commonly known as the Moravians. The Mo- ravians did not settle the land, but sold it in 1850 to James Miles and N. Blickensderfer.
The chief industry of the town is a cheese factory. The countryside is an extensive dairying section.
To L. of the highway and paralleling it, is a double row of river wil- lows, planted by the early settlers to prevent erosion. The great trees add much to the beauty of this section of the highway.
At 37.0 m. US 6 turns L .; straight ahead on US 6N.
The highway gradually ascends the hills overlooking the west side of French Creek Valley.
A panoramic view of Conneautee Lake (Edinboro Lake), some distance to R. of the highway unfolds from the top of a hill, 42.4 m.
EDINBORO, 43.6 m. (alt. 1,500, pop. 789, borough, inc. 1840), is the seat of the Edinboro State Teachers College. The town presents a clean and livable appearance, of white clapboard houses with green shutters. There are no important industries, the State Teachers College providing the chief source of income.
Edinboro was founded by Scotch-Irish colonists from eastern Pennsyl- vania. It was named by William Culbertson, who divided a portion of his farm into town lots. Culbertson came from Lycoming County in 1796 with his friend, Alexander Hamilton (not the famous Secretary of the Treasury), to look for desirable lands. Here they found an attractive little lake which the Indians called Conneauttee, or Little Conneautee (pro- nounced by them Kon-ne-yantee), or "the snow place."
Culbertson took up 500 acres of land, embracing virtually all the present borough. In 1801 he built a gristmill, the third in Erie County, on Con-
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neauttee Creek a short distance below the outlet of the lake. A year later he built a sawmill. The sawmill in time passed into new hands and larger mills were built, but eventually the timber became scarce and the mills less active. The ancient gristmill with its old wheel is still standing (R), on Conneautee Creek at the western limits of Edinboro.
Edinboro settlers were mostly from the eastern part of the State, of Scotch-Irish descent or of New England Anglo-Saxon stock. The first school was built of planks in 1815, now destroyed, and was called the "Old Plank School." "The building was also used for town meetings.
The Greyhound Lines and the West Ridge Transportation Co. serve the borough.
Edinboro has four churches. The Presbyterian church was organized in 1810; the Methodist Episcopal, in 1829; the Baptist, in 1838; and the Adventist, in 1863.
EDINBORO STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, Meadville St., a group of 2- and 3-story red brick buildings set in a broad, tree-shaded lawn, was founded as an academy in 1856. Four buildings were constructed by 1860. In the next year, the State, under the Normal School Act of 1857, authorized the training of teachers, and the name of the school was changed to Edinboro State Normal School. In 1914 the school property was bought by the State, and in 1926 the present name was adopted.
The four original buildings are still in use. Loveland Hall, an art build- ing, was added in 1930. At present (1938) an auditorium, gymnasium, training school, and power house are under construction. The college normally enrolls 300 students.
At Edinboro is the junction with State 99.
R. on this is Conneauttee Lake, 0.3 m., more commonly known as Edin- boro Lake. It is a pleasure and fishing resort. Summer cottages line its shores, and camping grounds are available (information at boathouse).
After leaving Edinboro, the highway enters an almost flat, and fairly fertile farm region. The serrated terrain of eastern Erie County grad- ually becomes ironed out, and the topography is monotonous with its low hills and shallow valleys. In the 1800's this area was covered with a heavy hemlock and hardwood forest and sawmills flourished. There is no virgin timber remaining, and the second growth trees are of little lumber value. The region excells in dairying and agriculture.
WELLSBURG, 53.6 m., (alt. 954, pop. 415), was named for the Wells family and was once a center of industry for the southwestern Erie County area. Near the road, in a small tree-filled park, is the Universalist Church (R), a simple frame building, erected in 1853.
At Wellsburg is the junction of US 6N (see COUNTY TOUR 8) with State 18; R. from US 6N on State 18.
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Russian Orthodox Church
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St. Luke's Evangelical Church
Wintergreen Gorge, Four Mile Creek, near Wesleyville
Perry Square
ERIE COUNTY TOURS
CRANESVILLE, 54.7 m., (alt. 965, pop. 487), was founded in 1800 by Fowler Crane, and named for his father, Elihu Crane, the first settler. A general store operated by Charles Kennedy, a prosperous storekeeper of earlier days, occupies a choice site on the main cross street. This store is one of the few remaining general stores of the past century. Its stock includes everything from a toothbrush to a horse blanket, a keg of nails to a baby's wardrobe.
PLATEA, 57.1 m., (alt. 955, pop. 249, borough, inc. 1870), was form- erly known as Lockport, from the fact that there were 28 locks in the Erie and Pittsburgh Canal within two miles of the town site.
Platea owes its origin to Silas Pratt, who went there in 1840 with a contract for building 28 locks for the canal. Foreseeing the need for a town at this point, he built a general store, a church, hotel, and several dwelling houses. The canal brought a period of prosperity and the town flourished. The borough is largely populated by retired farmers and a few persons who work at a local planing mill.
As early as 1762 the construction of a canal from the Delaware River to Lake Erie had been suggested. An Act of Legislature in 1823 provided for appointment of commissioners to survey a canal route between Lake Erie and French Creek. A convention of delegates from 46 counties met in Harrisburg in August, 1825, and urged the construction of a canal from the Susquehanna River to the Allegheny River, and thence to Lake Erie. The State made an appropriation and began construction.
Two routes were proposed from the Allegheny River to Lake Erie, the one to use the Allegheny River and French Creek, the other the Ohio River and the Beaver and Shenango rivers. The Beaver River route was chosen. The canal was built to follow Lee's Run into Presque Isle Bay on the west side of Erie. In 1832 the State ceded 2,000 acres of land to Erie to be used as a terminus.
On December 5, 1844, two boats from Pittsburgh entered Presque Isle Bay (see TRANSPORTATION).
At 58.9 m., is FARM OF FRANK BARNEY (R). Barney, a life-long resident of Erie County, believed that potatoes could be raised in Erie County on a large scale. Neighboring farmers scoffed at his plans, telling him there could be no profit in such a scheme; that the soil, climate, and cost of production were against him. For many years he experimented with many varieties of potatoes and potatoes from many sources, seeking one that would flourish under local conditions. Several years ago he de- veloped a potato plant of his own and planted a large field. They pros- pered, and as the years went by, Barney enlarged his fields and improved on the quality of his product. Annually his crop became greater in quan- tity and better in quality. Today, Barney is known as the "Potato King
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of Erie County." Thousands of bushels are shipped annually from his acres to the markets of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York.
At 59.9 m. is the junction with US 20; R. from State 18 on US 20 (see COUNTY TOUR 3).
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COUNTY TOUR 6
Erie-Kearsarge-Waterford-Cambridge Springs-Edinboro-Erie, US 19 and State 99, 55.7 m.
The tour is paved throughout. Winter driving, during periods of ice and snow, is made safe and expeditious by continuous State snowplow service and by spreading cinders at intersections, curves, hills, and other perilous places. Traffic regulations are enforced. Accommodations and meals are available in any of the route towns at reasonable rates.
R ISING from the level of Lake Erie at Erie, US 19 reaches successively the various land levels ascending from the lake, and attains the highest altitude in Erie County. The hills are covered with second growth stands of maple, oak, beech, and other hard woods. The valleys are broken up into small farms. From Waterford south the route follows historic Le- Boeuf and French Creek Valley.
W. from State St. on W. 12th St .; L. from W. 12th St. on Peach St. (US 19).
The road climbs a long, steep hill to NICHOLSON HEIGHTS, 3.6 m., named for the family who owned the farmland before its development. Now a residential suburb, it is sparsely built with modern homes. A long row of tall Lombardy poplars line the highway at the top of the hill.
KEARSARGE, 4.6 m., first known as Walnut Creek, is a small com- munity of frame houses and cottages straggling along the highway, its only street. Col. Seth Reed, first settler to locate permanently in Erie, also established a settlement at Kearsarge, 1796, making this village one of the oldest in Erie County.
From Kearsarge the highway traverses gently rolling farm country. Hedges of osage orange planted by early settlers enclose several of the older farmhouses. Aged pine and spruce trees, and old apple orchards are near the farm buildings.
At 13.2 m. is STRONG SCHOOL (R), a typical Erie County rural school. The one-story, one room frame building is painted white, with three windows on each side. A bell tower rears above the shingled roof of "third pitched hip" variety. In the one classroom, common to all grades, seats are so arranged that students sit facing the back of the building and the teacher's table-topped desk. The seats become gradually larger toward the entrance. At the rear of the room is a huge wood-
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burning stove, and shelves where lunch boxes are placed. A blackboard covers the entire end of the room behind the teacher's desk.
At 16.0 m. is WATERFORD (alt. 1,193, pop. 769, borough, inc. 1833), a rural community noteworthy for its history. It is the site of old Fort LeBoeuf (see HISTORY).
The streets are wide, and lined with tall maple trees. The homes are rural in aspect, and set decorously in large, grassy lawns. Occasional old brick dwellings intersperse the rows of small frame houses. The business district adjoins a large public park and consists of a number of 2-story brick structures joined closely together.
Waterford was so named in 1794 when Maj. Andrew Ellicott, under authority of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, surveyed the town. It was the first town to be laid out in Erie County; the second, Erie, was not surveyed until the following year.
Often referred to as the historical center of N. W. Pennsylvania, Water- ford's past is unusual and spectacular. Prior to 1749, the French claimed the territory by right of discovery but failed to settle the land. Formal occupation began in 1753 when Sieur Marin, Major Pean, the Chevalier Mercier, and about 500 men, marched by land from Niagara to Presque Isle (Erie). On August 3, 1753, Fort Presque Isle was complete, the portage road to LeBoeuf was ready for use and Fort LeBoeuf was nearly completed. During the autumn of 1753 Commander Sieur Marin died, leaving Fort LeBoeuf in charge of Legardeur de St. Pierre who received Washington during his visit there in the winter of 1753.
Washington, in his journal, described the French Fort LeBoeuf as being on the west fork of French Creek, near the water, almost surrounded by the creek and a smaller branch of it. He said: "Four houses comprise the sides; the bastions are poles driven into the ground, are about twelve feet high and sharpened at the top, with ports out for cannon and small arms. Eight six pounders were mounted on each bastion, and one four pounder before the gate. In the bastions are a guardhouse, chapel, surgeons' lodg- ings, and the commandant's private store."
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