USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Gazetteer and business directory of Crawford County, Pa., for 1874 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Mr. John Reynolds was the first President, and was con- tinued as such (with the exception of two years,) till 1856, hav- ing served the Company 14 years in that capacity. Mr. Norman Callender discharged the duties of Secretary and Treasurer un- til 1861, a period of 21 years.
Hon. John Dick was president of the Company from 1860 till the time of his death in 1872, when the Hon. Henry C. Johnson was elected his successor and continues to hold the office.
The business of the Company is conducted on the purely mutual plan, and its unparalleled success has placed it in the front rank of Pennsylvania Insurance Companies, and has demonstrated the fact that properly conducted Mutual Insur- ance is not only the safest but by far the cheapest means of protection. From a small neighborhood affair the business has extended until at the present time the assets of the Company amount to over $325,000,00.
The Great Original OPIUM AND MORPITIA ANTIDOTE ! Will curo the Rabit Quick, Cheap and without Pain. Send for Large Pamphlet. Address Drs. OREMES & KELLOGG, Jamestown.
Opium Habit Cured !
21
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
CRAWFORD COUNTY was formed from Allegheny, March 12, 1800, and provisionally embraced for judicial pur- poses, the present counties of Crawford, Erie, Mercer, Venango and Warren, with Meadville as the county seat. Erie was con- stituted a separate judicial district April 2, 1803; Venango, April 1, 1805; and Warren, March 16, 1819. This county con- tains thirty-four townships and covers an area of 594,076 square acres. It is situated on the west border of the State, being bounded on the north by Erie county, on the East by Warren and Venango counties, on the south by Venango and Mercer counties, and on the west by the State of Ohio. Its length is forty-one miles and its breadth, twenty-four. Its sur- face is undulating, and but little, if any, that is not tillable. The soil is generally of a good quality, better adapted to graz- ing than to grain raising. That in the western part is gener- ally superior to that in the east. The soil in most of the valleys is very productive, and that of French Creek was suffi- ciently manifest at an early day, to attract the attention of Gen. Washington, who alluded to its fertility and extentin the notes kept of a visit made by him to Fort LeBoeuf, (now Waterford, Erie Co.,) in 1753. The cereals and other crops are cultivated to considerable extent, though dairying and stock raising are the chief sources of wealth and profit to the agriculturist. There are not less than thirty-three cheese factories in the county at the present time, (1873) and the number is being rapidly in- creased. It is well watered and was formerly well timbered, though much of the latter has been cut and sent to market. Large quantities of timber still remain to supply the numerous saw mills in the county.
The census for 1870 shows that this county stood first in the State in the number of farms, none of which exceeded 500 acres ;
22
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
that it had the greatest number of farms containing between twenty and fifty and fifty and one hundred acres; and that, with two exceptions, it had the largest number containing be- tween ten and twenty acres, while it had only six containing less than three acres, and 273 containing between three and ten acres. It also stood first in the number of pounds of cheese made and hops raised; second in the number of acres of wood land, being exceeded only by Somerset; third in the value of home manufactures, and in the number of pounds of maple sugar made ; fourth in the value of forest products, the number of working oxen, the number of bushels of spring wheat raised, the gallons of milk sold and of maple molasses made; seventh in the number of horses, and the number of tons of hay raised ; eighth in the number of acres of improved land, in the value of animals slaughtered or sold for slaughter, in the number of milch cows and in the number of pounds of wool produced and butter made; ninth in the value of all live stock, and the number of sheep fed; tenth in the value of farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, and in the number of bushels of buckwheat raised ; twelfth in the cash value of farming implements and machinery, and in the number of bushels of oats raised ; thirteenth in the number of bushels of potatoes raised ; sixteenth in the cash value of farms; and seventeenth in the value of orchard products, and in the number of pounds of bees wax and honey gathered. It exceeded Nevada, the District of Columbia and each of the Ter- ritories in the number of acres of improved land; Nevada, Rhode Island, District of Columbia and each of the Territories, except Arizona (?) and Washington, in woodland ; Florida, Nevada, District of Columbia, and all the Territories in the cash value of farms; all the latter except Rhode Island in the cash value of farming implements and machinery ; all the lat- ter, including Rhode Island, with the addition of Alabama, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas in the value of orchard products; Connecticut, Delaware, Louisi- ana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, District of Columbia and all the Territories, ex- cept Montana, in the value of home manufactures; Nevada, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, and all the Territories in the value of all live stock; all the latter, except Montana, in the number of milch cows; Delaware, Florida, Nebraska, Ne- vada, Rhode Island, District of Columbia and all the Territo- ries, except Colorado and New Mexico, in the number of sheep ; Nevada, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, and all the Terri- tories, except Washington, in the number of swine; California, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hamp-
23
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
shire, Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia, and all the Territories, except Washington, in the number of bushels of spring wheat raised; Connecticut, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ne- vada, and Washington Territory, in addition to the latter, in the number of bushels of winter wheat raised ; Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, District of Columbia and all the Territories, except New Mexico, in the number of bushels of Indian corn raised ; Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, District of Columbia, and all the Territories in the number of bushels of oats raised ; in addition to the latter, California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia in the number of bushels of buckwheat raised ; all the latter, except Alabama, California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Mas- sachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Virginia in the pounds of wool shorn ; Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, District of Columbia and all the Territories in the pounds of butter made ; in addition to the latter, Ala- bama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Ken- tucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia in the number of pounds of cheese made ; in addition to the latter, (excepting Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island,) Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri in the number of gallons of milk sold ; all the latter, (in addition to Rhode Island,) with the exception of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, in the number of tons of hay raised; all the states and territories, except California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin, in the number of pounds of hops raised.
The streams, though numerous, are none of them very large. French Creek is the principal one. It flows in a southerly direction through the central part of the county and unites with the Allegheny at Franklin. It was formerly known as Ven- ango (or In-nan-ga-eh.) It is a beautiful, transparent and rapid stream, being for many miles from its mouth less than a hundred feet wide, and at some seasons is navigable to Waterford for boats carrying twenty tons, though for a few weeks during the summer it cannot usually be navigated by any craft larger than a canoe. One of the first appropriations for the north-western part of the State, in 1791, was £400 for the improvement of this creek. Oil Creek flows through the eastern part of the county,
24
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
in a southerly direction, making a wide detour to the west, and empties into the Allegheny at Oil City. Its name is de- rived from the oil springs which exist along its banks, the pro- duct of which was gathered at the surface in small quantities and sold at an early day under the name of Seneca Oil, which was supposed to possess valuable curative properties. Oil Creek is thus described in 1789, under the head of " Mineral Water," by Jedediah Morse, of Charlestown, Mass., in The American Universal Geography :-
"Oil Creek, in Allegheny county, one hundred miles above Pittsburgh, issues from a remarkable spring, which boils like the waters of Hell Gate, near New York. On the top of the water floats an oil similar to that called Barbadoes tar. Several gallons may be gathered in a day. It is found very serviceable in rheumatism, in restoring weakness in the stomach, and in curing bruises and sore breasts. When drank, the water of the spring operates as a gentle cathartic. It is gathered by the country people and Indians, boiled and brought to market in bottles, and is deemed a most valuable family medicine."
Shenango and Conneaut Creeks flow through the western part, the former in a southerly direction, near the west border, to the Allegheny at Beaver, and the latter in a north-westerly direc- tion, to Lake Erie, at Conneaut, in Ohio. The other principal streams are Conneautte and Cussewago creeks and Conneaut Outlet, which are tributary to French Creek on the west, and Muddy, Woodcock and Sugar Creeks, which are affluents of the same stream on the east. The Indian name for Cussewago Creek " signifies ' big snake,' probably from the sinuosity of its course, though tradition says it was named so from a black snake seen on its banks." The waters of these streams are supplemented by those of Conneaut Lake, in the townships of Sadsbury and Summit, Oil Creek Lake, in Bloomfield, and Sugar Lake, in Wayne, besides several smaller bodies of water. The Indian name of Conneaut Lake "signifies 'snowplace,' and may get its origin from the snow which remains on the bosom of the lake after having thawed away in the spring from the adjacent lands." This lake, like the others named, is a beautiful sheet of water, three to four miles in length and about a mile in width, and is " the largest entirely inland lake in the province." It was for- merly used as a reservoir for the Beaver & Erie Canal, its waters having been raised about eleven feet above their original height, by an embankment constructed across the outlet.
Geologically the county presents but little diversity, or but little of special interest to the geologist. It is underlaid by the slates and shales common to the Chemung and Portage groups, and is apparently destitute of calcareous rock, except in very thin veins. Iron ore has been found in various parts of
25
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
the county, and coal exists in the southern part, though it is doubtful whether in sufficient quantity to give it an economic value. Considerable quantities of petroleum have been obtain- ed in the valley of Oil Creek, principally in the vicinity of Titusville. This county lies upon the verge of the oil-producing region of the State, a fact from which it derives immense pecuni- ary advantage, as the products of its more fertile soil find ready and convenient market in the sterile lands where the oil is most abundant.
'About four miles west of Conneaut Lake, at the summit of the old Beaver & Erie Canal, and extending about a mile and a half along its line, is a formation of quicksand, averaging some two feet in thickness. - The sand lies four- teen to sixteen feet below the surface of the ground, which is here a black ash and hemlock swamp, formerly very wet, but now dry, being drained by the canal. Much difficulty was experienced in constructing the canal in this locality, owing to the yielding nature of the sand. Piles eighteen to twenty-four feet long were driven along each side, forming perfect walls, with cross timbers for a floor, the whole so compactly and firmly united as to resist the lateral pressure of the sand. At the upper end of Conneaut Lake is a formation of shell marl, which covers an area of about thirty-three acres, and appears to be seven feet thick at the upper end and two and one-half feet thick at the lower end. This marl is worked into brick form and burned, when it makes a pretty good quality of lime, though not very white. The shells, which are of the genus planorbis, are minute and abundant. In the Pymatuning swamp is a some- what extensive deposit of soft calcareous tufa and shell marl, similar to that in the Conneaut swamp. This marl possesses a value as a fertilizer which is little appreciated at the present time, and will serve to enrich the surrounding lands when a just estimate is placed upon it. Alfred Huidekoper, in his Incidents in the Early History of Crawford County, published in 1847, thus refers to the Pymatuning swamp :-
* From ten to twelve miles in width, it has every appearance of having once been a lake whose bed had been gradually filled up with accumulated vegetable matter. Covered with the cranberry vine, with occasional clumps of alders, and islands of larch and other timber, the subsoil is so loose that a pole can be thrust into it from ten to twenty_feet. Ditches that have been cut through it for the purpose of draining, exhibit fallen timber below ground, and the dead stumps of trees still standing in place, show, by the divergence of their roots, that the surface of the soil is now from two to three feet higher than it was when the trees were standing and growing."
The principal works of internal improvement are the Erie and Pittsburgh, the Atlantic & Great Western, the Vil Creek &
26
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
Allegheny Valley, the Union & Titusville and the Pennsylva- nia Petroleum railroads.
The Erie & Pittsburgh R. R. extends through the western part of the county, from north to south, passing through the townships of Spring, Conneaut, Pine, North Shenango and South Shenango, with its northern terminus at Erie and south- ern, at Pittsburgh. It was constructed in 1867 and '8 ; is owned and controlled by the Pennsylvania Central R. R. Co. ; and does an extensive business in the transportation of oar and coal.
The Atlantic & Great Western R. R. extends in a tortuous course through the central and western portions of the county, passing through the townships of Rockdale, Cambridge, Wood- cock, Mead, Union, Greenwood, Sadsbury and East Fallowfield, with its eastern terminus at Salamanca, N. Y., and with its connections reaches all the principal western points. It was built in 1861-2. At Meadville the company have a commodi- ous depot, with offices and hotel attached, and extensive brick shops for manufacturing and repairing engines. It is doing a good general freight business, and under the present manage- ment is becoming quite popular with the traveling public. The Franklin Branch of this road, which was constructed in 1862-63, and extends from Meadville to Oil City, is owned and controlled by the same Company, and does an extensive busi- ness in the transportation of petroleum.
The Oil Creek & Allegheny Valley R. R. extends through the eastern part of the county, along the valley of Oil Creek, pass- ing through the townships of Sparta, Rome, Steuben, Troy and Oil Creek, in a southerly direction. The principal station with- in this county is Titusville. The principal business of the road consists in the transportation of oil and passengers.
The Union & Titusville R. R. extends in a south-easterly direction through the eastern part of the county, passing through the townships of Bloomfield, Athens, Rome, Steuben, Troy and Oil Creek. Its principal business is the transporta- tion of oil and passengers.
The Pennsylvania Petroleum R. R. is now under construc- tion. The line extends in a south-easterly direction through the eastern portion of the county, passing through the town- ships of Venango, Cambridge, Rockdale, Richmond, Athens, Stenben, Troy and Oil Creek.
The old Beaver & Erie Canal, which was recently abandoned, extends through the western part of the county, from south to north, passing through the townships of West Fallowfield, Sadsbury, Summit, Summerhill and Spring. The feeder
27
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
extends down French Creek from Bemustown, above Meadville, to a point nearly opposite the mouth of Conneaut Outlet, where it crosses the former stream, and following the course of the Outlet, which it crosses at the foot of Conneaut Lake, and unites with the canal on the line of Sadsbury and Summit.
The County Seat is at Meadville, where it was originally located on the erection of the county. Its location there was made contingent upon the security for payment to the trustees of the county, within four months of the passage of the act, by the inhabitants and proprietors of that place and its vicinity, of $4,000, either in specie or land, at a reasonable valuation, for the use of a seminary of learning within the county, and in case of default the trustees were authorized to fix the seat of justice at any place within four miles of Meadville. By an act of March 5, 1804, the Commissioners were directed to erect a court house and county offices upon the public square of that town. March 13, 1800, David Mead was commissioned Associate Judge of the county, and the following day John Kelso received a similar commission, and Thomas Ruston Kennedy was appoint- ed Prothonotary. The first court, of which there is any record, was held July 6th of that year, by Judges Mead and Kelso, Dec. 20, 1800. David Mead having resigned the position, Wm. Bell was commissioned Associate Judge, and officiated in that capacity at the third session of the court, which was held at Meadville, April 6, 1801 and presided over by Alex. Addison.
The erection of the present court house was commenced Sept. 10th, 1867, and it was completed in October, 1869. It is located on the east side of the public square in Meadville, and is constructed in the renaissance style, of pressed brick, with stone trimmings. It has an iron roof and is fire-proof through- out. Its cost, including fencing, flagging and furniture, was $249,000. It contains all the county offices, and is very conve- nient in its internal arrangement. The Commissioners', Treas- urer's, Recorder's, Clerk of the Courts' and Arbitration rooms occupy the first floor ; and the court room, Prothonotary's, Sher- iff's and Jury rooms, the second floor; The Janitor's rooms are in the attic. The jail is a stone structure, located immedi- ately in rear of the court house, and is fitted up with iron cells. The sheriff's house is in front of the jail. It has been built many years and does not meet the requirements of a modern home.
The Poor House and farm, consisting of 215 acres of good land, are located five miles north of Meadville and one mile east of Saegertown. The cost of the house and outbuildings was was $40,000. The estimated value of the property, including personal property, is $55,000. The main building, which
.
28
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
is 45 by 68 feet and three stories high, was erected in 1868, and the old part, or wing, which is 42 by 90 feet and two and a half stories high, in 1854. A kitchen, 22 by 36 feet, is attached. The whole is warmed by three heaters in the basement. An abundance of water is suplied by a spring, flowing through a pipe. The building is rather low for good drainage. The first floor of the main building is occupied by the family of the Superintendent, (E. O. David,) the director's office, a sewing room, store room, kitchen for the family and three bed rooms. The second story is twelve feet high and contains seven good sized rooms, with a hall in the center. The third story contains nine comfortable rooms. All the females are kept in the new building, except a few of ad- vanced age, who occupy two rooms on the first floor of the wing. There is a bath room, supplied with hot and cold water, in the basement of this building. The second story of the wing con- tains eleven rooms, which are used as dormitories. All the men are kept in this apartment. A kitchen of good size adjoins the dining rooms. A small framed house standing a short distance from the main building is used as a laundry, and also contains a bath room. In the second story is a carpenter shop, in which a pauper, who is a carpenter by trade, makes himself very useful. The house will accommodate 150 inmates. These unfortunate recipients of public charity sleep on straw beds, but have sufficient bed clothes, and the apartments are kept clean and comfortable. They receive an abundant supply of whole- some food. A physician visits the house once a week and of- tener if required. Besides the superintendent and matron only one man and two girls are employed, all the rest of the labor on the farm and in the house being performed by the inmates. Intemperance is regarded by the superintendent as the chief cause of pauperism in the county. Fully one-third of the inmates are foreigners. There is no special provision for the accommodation of the insane, but all who are required to be kept confined are sent to Dixmont Insane Asylum.
Crawford, Venango, Mercer and Clarion counties compose the Twentieth Congressional District. Crawford county forms the Thirtieth Judicial District, the Twenty-ninth Senatorial District and elects two Senators, and has two Representatives.
There are eight papers published in the county, viz : The Conneautville Courier, weekly, The Crawford Journal, weekly, The Crawford Democrat, weekly, The Cambridge Index, weekly, the Titusville Herald, daily and weekly, the Titusville Courier, daily and weekly, the Meadville Republican, daily and weekly, and The Sunday Press. The first paper published in the county, and the first west of the Alleghanies, was the Crawford Weekly
29
CRAWFORD COUNTY.
Messenger, which was started at Meadville by Thomas Atkinson and W. Brendle, in 1805, the first number being issued on the second of January of that year. It was Republican in politics and its columns were avowedly open to all. The only restric- tion imposed required that discussions should be conducted with liberality, candor and decency. " This commendable rule," says Huidekoper, in his Incidents in the Early History of Crawford County, published in 1847, "seems to have been observed for the first few numbers of the new paper, but shortly after, when the contest began to increase in warmth between the friends of Mr. Snyder and Governor Mckean, we find the political essays in the Messenger marked with the same bitter personalities which mar and disfigure similar contests at the present day," and the stricture is not less applicable after the lapse of over half a century. Justice prompts the admission that such, however, was not the character of the editorials.
THE CONNEAUTVILLE COURIER was commenced Nov. 14, 1847, by A. J. Mead and George W. Brown, and has been issued weekly continuously since that date. The following November Mr. Mead sold his interest to his partner, who continued in charge till May, 1854, when he sold to A. J. Mason and D. Sinclair Brown. Such was the success which attended the labors of these gentlemen that the subscriptions reached nearly 2000 in number, and obliged them to introduce steam power. Theirs was the first steam power press in the State west of the Alle- ghanies. In May, 1856, Mason purchased Sinclair's interest, and in August, 1862, sold the establishment to R. C. & J. H. Frey, to accept the command of a volunteer company during the war of the Rebellion. He was fatally wounded at Fred- ericksburgh, Va. In February, 1864, the Frey Brothers sold to J. E. & W. A. Rupert, by whom the paper was consolidated with the Crawford County Record, under the title of the Record and Courier. The Record was started in 1858, by John W. Patton, as an advertising sheet for gratuitous distribution, but meeting with great favor it developed into a regular weekly paper and soon became a formidable rival of the Courier, both being Republican in politics. At the breaking out of the Rebellion Mr. Patton joined the army as a lieutenant, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of major. At his death from wounds received at Chancellorsville, Va., in May, 1863, Fred. H. Broggins bought the establishment, which he had previously leased from Maj. Patton, and in December, 1863, it was purchased by J. E. & W. A. Rupert, the present proprietors, who in December, 1870, changed the title to The Conneautville Courier, on account of the age of that paper. It is strictly a local newspaper, and is the home organ of a region composed
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.