USA > Pennsylvania > Clinton County > Historical and biographical work, or past and present of Clinton County, comprising a sketch of every town and township of the county from date of settlement up to the present time > Part 31
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ROTE.
T HE village of Rote is located in Lamar township, near Flat Roch, on the road to Sugar Valley. Just when its first dwelling was built we did not learn. However, in 1877, it contained eight dwellings and about forty inhabi- tants. Since then several other buildings have been erected. There are now about thirteen dwellings, one cigar manufac- tory, two stores-one kept by Henry Romig, and one by John S. Bathurst-one blacksmith shop, kept by Simon Brum- gard. There is no hotel in the place, but John Bathurst
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and Henry Romig each furnish accommodations to the traveling public. The first post-office in the village was es- tablished in 1880, through the efforts of John Bathurst and his son, A. C. Bathurst. The former received his commis- sion as first postmaster December 13th, 1880. The place was named Rote by S. Miller McCormick and John W. Harris, the latter being postmaster at Lock Haven at the time the post-office was established. The village contains eighty seven inhabitants. Owing to its location and lack of industries it is not probable that the village of Rote will ever. become a town of any great importance. The inhabitants of the place are an honest, industrious set of people, who earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. The village contains one church, but no school house. The flood of 1889 played sad havoc with the section of country in which the place is located, although it caused no serious damage to the village itself.
CEDAR SPRINGS.
C EDAR SPRINGS, located in Lamar township, derived its name from the number of cedars that grew in the vicinity, and from the fact that Cedar run is spring water. It is located about two miles north from Mackeyville, and six miles southwest from Lock Haven. Cedar run, a stream noted for its purity and usefulness, rises near the line of Clinton and Centre counties, traverses the valley five miles, and empties into Fishing creek at Cedar Springs post-office. Arrow heads, scalping knives, tomahawks and other Indian relics found along Cedar run, show that the "Red man of the forest" once used this place as his "happy hunting ground."
A school house was erected in the year 1841, near the public highway leading from Lock Haven to Bellefonte, and about one-eighth of a mile from what is now Cedar
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Springs post-office. This was a frame building, somewhat improved on those formerly built in Lamar township. A few years later a substantial brick building was erected in place of the old frame, and it is used for educational pur- poses at present.
John S. Furst, Esq., son of John George Furst, who came from near Sunbury in the year 1800, was born in the east end of Nittany valley, December 8th, 1811. He worked on his father's farm until he was eighteen years old, receiving only a common school education. About the year 1824 Samuel Hepburn & Co. started a store at Cedar Springs. In 1833 they were succeeded by John S. Furst, who con- tinued the mercantile business in connection with farming. In 1867 he built a large grist and flouring mill. This structure was destroyed by fire some years later. A new and larger mill was built on the site of the old mill, and has been improved, until at present it has a capacity of sixty barrels of flour per day. Mr. Furst always transacted busi- ness with a partner. The following were his partners in the order names occur: Joseph Brown, W. W. Brown, and his son, L. C. Furst. He was finally succeeded by his three sons, Albert S., Robert S. and Luther C., who still continue the business their father established. During his last fifteen years he lived a retired life at Lock Haven. In the summer, 1890, after his wife's death, he again returned to Cedar Springs. Here the record of his successful life was sealed February 19th, 1892. His remains were laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery.
Thomas J. Fox, a prominent resident of the place, was born in Muncy township, Lycoming county, Pa., June 6th, 1820. He worked in his father's saw mill until he was twenty-two years of age. His school life was short, but he acquired an education by self-application. He came to Cedar Springs March 6th, 1847. Five years later he moved on what is now the William Mckibben farm, and remained there for ten years. He then returned to his present farm, at Cedar Springs. This is one of the best and most produc-
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tive farms in the vicinity. Mr. Fox was appointed postmaster during Pierce's administration, and held the position until the year 1887, when he resigned. He has been a liberal contributor to the cause of Christianity, and has always taken an active interest in politics. Politically he is a Dem- ocrat.
W. M. Everheart, the present sheriff of Clinton county, owns a fine farm joining Furst Brothers on the north. He was appointed postmaster in the year 1887, and holds the position at present.
Frederick Powers, son of George Powers, (deceased,) who came to Nittany valley in the year 1837, owns a comfort- able home, situated on a prominent knoll about one-eighth of a mile from Cedar Springs post-office.
Besides those already mentioned there are the following : Thomas R. Stevenson, Charles Wasson, William Seyler, John Rine and William Kessinger, all of whom are prom- inent citizens of the vicinity.
Parvin and Abdera, located in Porter township, are new post-offices, being established in the year 1887. We will consider these under one heading, and speak of the resi- dents briefly, as space will not permit us to give them the attention they so well deserve.
The principal occupation of the people is agriculture. Some of the finest farms, barns and residences in Nittany valley can be seen here. Generally speaking, the people are refined, moral and industrious.
William Knecht, Sr., the present postmaster of Parvin, owns a large grist and flouring mill, which was built of stone by S. Harvey, of Philadelphia, Pa., over seventy-five years ago. Mr. Knecht bought the mill about twenty years ago. Its present capacity is fifty barrels of flour per twenty- four hours.
The following persons own fine farms, and are substantial citizens : William Strunk, Joseph Allison, Henry Zeigler, John Yearick, Solomon Thompson, Joel A. Herr and James Stevenson.
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TYLERSVILLE.
T YLERSVILLE, a village of Logan township, is located about four miles west of Booneville. Its founder was M. D. Rockey, a son of Barnet Rockey, who came from Gregg township, Centre county, Pa., in 1826. M. D. Rockey built the first residence in the village in 1842. He pur- chased the land upon which to build his house from Paul Frantz, the father of ex-Judge Frantz, who came to the valley from Bucks county in 1833. Paul Frantz died in 1864, and his wife in 1857. Both are buried in the ceme- tery surrounding the Lutheran church, which stands on land given by him for church purposes in 1841.
The first store in the village was kept by Barnet Raff, and, after changing owners several times, fell into the hands of William Harter, the present store-keeper of the village.
The name Tylersville was conferred upon the village by M. D. Rockey and his brother Henry, in honor of John Tyler, who at the time was a candidate for the position he afterwards filled as president of the United States.
At the present time the village contains two churches, (Evangelical and Lutheran, and German-Reformed com- bined). There are two schools in the place; taught in 1891 and 1892 by Daniel Karstetter and Alexander Greninger, two stores kept by William Harter and E. M. Grimes, (the latter also follows the tailoring business,) three blacksmith shops, one run by John Bierly & Son, another by Harvey Bierly, and the last, which is a carriage and wagon shop, by A. J. Albright & Son, a saddler shop run by Henry Shreck- engast, an undertaking establishment, run by S. S. Glantz, and one grist and saw mill, owned and run by Judge Frantz & Son. The hotel accommodations of the place are not very extensive, but travelers are cared for by David Gingerich and Harvey Bierly.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
M. D. ROCKEY.
M D. ROCKEY, the founder of Tylersville, Clinton county, Pa., was born March 22d, 1815, in what is now Gregg township, Centre I county. At the age of fourteen Mr. Rockey began carrying mail from Jersey Shore to Aaronsburg, Centre county. The route was long and very lonely, as few settlers lived between the two places. At one time, it is said, he ran from Tylersville to Loganton, a distance of eight miles, carrying the mail bag on his back, in just one hour, which was pretty good time to make considering all things. 'Squire Rockey carried the mail between the above named points for sixteen years. In 1844 he was elected constable of Logan township, which office he held for five years. He was then elected justice of the peace, an office he has filled up to the present time with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. He has filled nearly every office in his township, and has during his term as justice settled sixty-six estates, besides doing a great deal of surveying and collecting. 'Squire Rockey received his education in the public schools, which at that early day offered few advantages. Yet the good judgment and business qualifications which he possessed has made him a successful man. His mother, who died in Stevenson county, Illinois, in 1857, had reached the great age of 102 years, 11 months and 24 days.
ISAAC FRANTZ.
One of the leading citizens of Tylersville is Hon. Isaac Frantz. Judge Frantz was born in Hill Town, Bucks county, Pa., December 21st, 1823. His father moved to Sugar Valley in the spring of 1833, and settled on a tract of 400 acres of land, a part of which is now embraced in the village of Tylersville. Here Judge Frantz received a limited education in the common schools, and at the age of 22 began an apprenticeship at the car- penter trade, an occupation which he has followed in connection with farming ever since. In politics Judge Frantz is a Democrat. He has filled the numerous township offices at various times and served as asso- ciate judge of Clinton county from 1881 to 1885. He was married August 21st, 1849, to Fanny Kettner, a daughter of Michael and Susanna Kettner, of Logan township. They have had six children, two of whom are dead. Their daughter, Isabella J., is married to Philip T. Schreck- engast. The others are Pruella S., Israel R. and Mary A. Frantz. The judge yet owns a part of the original farm purchased by his father.
BOONEVILLE.
B OONEVILLE, with a population of 100, is pleasantly situated on the north bank of Fishing creek, on the Summer Side of Sugar Valley, about three miles west of
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the borough of Loganton. The village contains about twenty-five dwellings, a post-office, two churches-Lutheran . and Evangelical-one blacksmith shop and one cooper shop. The village at present contains one well-stocked store, con- ducted by W. H. Strohecker. The land upon which the village is situated originally belonged to what was known as the Wistar tract, and was purchased in 1834 by Dr. ยท Samuel Strohecker, of Rebersburg, Centre county, Pa. Dr. Strohecker divided the portion purchased by him into smaller tracts. The one on which Booneville is located passed into the hands of John and Ralph Boone, who laid it out into lots, which they sold in 1866. Thus the credit of establishing the village belongs to them, and hence the name Booneville. Everything indicates that Booneville will become, at some time, an important and flourishing town. The village is surrounded by rich farming lands, and is blessed with an abundance of pure water. The location is a remarkably healthy one, and the town affords a desirable place of residence. This fact is being appreciated by the prosperous farmers of that section, and one by one they are retiring to neat and cozy homes in the village of Booneville.
LOGAN MILLS.
L OGAN MILLS is a small village located in Logan town- ship, about two miles west from Booneville, on a cross road leading from the Summer Side to the Winter Side of Sugar Valley. The place contains ten dwellings, one store and a post-office, one saw mill and a stone grist mill, which was built by Colonel Anthony Kleckner, about the year 1840. At the death of Colonel Kleckner the mill passed into the hands of other parties, and was finally purchased by J. Ilgen & Son, its present owners. Logan Mills is the home of Harvey Kleckner, ex-commissioner of Clinton county. Mr. Kleckner has a fine, large farm here and a beautiful home. The place has not improved much in the last few years, and, unless the coming railroad should cause a boom, is not likely to become a town of any great importance.
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BIOGRAPHY.
H. B. KLECKNER.
H B. KLECKNER was born at Logan Mills, December 6th, 1843. His father, Robert Kleckner, was a son of Col. Anthony Kleckner, one of the pioneer settlers of Sugar Valley. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools. In 1870 he purchased the Kleckner homestead from his father and began farming, an occupation he has fol- lowed successfully ever since. In 1887 he was elected county commis- sioner, and served one term. He also received the nomination for a second term, but withdrew from the field before election.
H. B. Kleckner was married January 1st, 1869, to Catharine Boone, of Green-Burr. They have three daughters. Mr. Kleckner is an ardent Democrat, and a very useful member of his party. He has filled various township offices at different times in the most satisfactory manner.
GREEN-BURR.
G REEN-BURR, formerly called Greenville, is located in Logan township, on the Winter Side of Sugar Valley, almost directly opposite Booneville. The place at present contains about twenty dwellings, and has a population of about 100. Green-Burr was at one time the home of Rev. A. D. Rowe, a former superintendent of Clinton county. Rev. Rowe died in India, where he had gone as a mission- ary. His death occurred in 1883. The village contains one church-German Reformed-which was built in 1867. It might also be said to contain another church-Evangelical- which is located but a short distance from the village, on the Winter Side road. This church was erected in 1877. It was the second church built in the valley. The Green-Burr post-office was established here in May, 1882, J. B. Rowe be- ing the first postmaster. Near the village of Green-Burr is the farm and residence of Samuel Kahl, who is one of the leading citizens of Sugar Valley. Mr. Kahl has, at several times, been a candidate for sheriff, but as yet has not been successful. He is a leading politician of his township, and a pleasant and courteous gentleman, who entertains his friends in royal style.
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The citizens of this section are industrious and prosperous. A short distance from Green-Burr is the place where differ- ent parties have prospected for coal. That mineral exists in the valley is a certainty, but further examination is necessary to determine the exact location of the bed, and the quantity and quality of the material. In case the railroad is completed through the valley, these beds will be thoroughly developed.
RAUCHTOWN.
R AUCHTOWN, a village containing about 350 inhab- itants, is located on the main road, between Jersey Shore and Sugar Valley. It derives its name from the name of the family who were among the first to settle in the village, and who owned most of the land on which it is located. It grew naturally, without any intention on the part of the owner to make or form a town, and at this time contains a public school, a first-class country store, post- office, with a daily mail, grist mill, saw mill, hotel, saloon, cobbler's shop, carpenters and joiners' shop, wheel wright shop, and smith shop; three churches are within a half mile, mile and mile and a quarter of the village, belonging re- spectively to the Lutherans, German Methodists and Epis- copal Methodists.
Although the village is called Rauchtown, the post-office is called Rauch's Gap. The first store in the village was started in 1860 by George Rauch. The hotel was first opened by John Metzger in 1873. The house has no license. The only licensed house in the town at present is a saloon, kept by Israel Fravel, one of the best known individuals in Clinton county. Mr. Fravel is a staunch old war horse of the Democratic school, whose house is a boon to the thirsty traveler whose business calls him to Rauchtown, and few persons pass that way who do not stop for a season under his hospitable roof.
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BIOGRAPHY.
JOHN W. GROUP.
OHN W. GROUP, a resident of the village of Rauchtown, was born therein in the year 1844. He was reared to the business of farming. He attended the public school in the village until the age of sixteen years, at which time he had mastered all the branches then taught in the common school. At the age of nineteen he taught school in Clinton county, Wayne township, without any further preparation. After
coming to his majority he worked in the lumber woods to accumulate funds to attend school. With this earnings and the assistance of an old and valued friend, Jacob Getgen, now deceased, a resident of the same locality, he was enabled to take a course of study, embracing a period of two years at the Williamsport Dickinson seminary. He afterwards taught school, and labored in the lumber woods to pay his debts and continue his education. Having accumulated sufficient means, he spent two years in the University of Michigan. This closed his school life. He read law with S. D. Ball, Esq., of Lock Haven, Pa., and was admitted to the bar of Clinton county in 1874. Since that time, in con- nection with a great deal of other business, he has practiced his profes- sion in the courts of both Clinton and Lycoming counties. In politics he is an uncompromising Democrat, and has always been a diligent and hard worker in the ranks of his party.
FARRANDSVILLE.
F NIFTY years ago the most important business place in Clinton county was Farrandsville. The town received its name from William P. Farrand, who came to the spot in the winter of 1830, as agent for a company of Boston capitalists. At that time there was no road to the place, and it could only be reached on horseback at times when the river was low. William P. Farrand broke a path into the mountains through three feet of snow in his efforts to discover and open the bituminous coal beds at this point, and often spent whole nights in the hills without shelter or food. The coal was to be shipped to the Eastern markets, and the manufacture of iron, lumbering, etc., was to be carried on at Farrandsville. A steamboat was constructed for the purpose of carrying material up and down the river. The boat was called the Farrand, and for a time she went
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puffing up and down the Susquehanna. William P. Far- rand left, and other agents took his place from time to time.
A visitor to Farrandsville in 1835 speaks of the place as follows: "The Lycoming Coal company, the proprietors of Farrandsville, have a good farm of 200 acres, a short dis- tance above the village. Lick run is a strong, steady stream. On it is erected a large nail establishment, capable of manufacturing, from pig metal, ten tons of nails per day. There is also an air and cupola furnace, which in the last six months has turned out nearly 300 tons of castings. There are mills for sawing lumber of every description, shingles, lath, etc. There is also an establishment for man- ufacturing railroad cars on a large scale. There are now three veins of coal opened, and the schutes in place ; two miles of railroad communicating with the different mines, and fifty coal cars completed, ready for use. One branch of the road runs to the nail works, which are calculated to consume 5,000 tons of coal per year.
An extensive rolling mill is in progress, and a furnace for smelting iron ore with coke will be erected in a short time immediately below the nail works. Farrandsville proper is situated on the Susquehanna. On the mountain where the coal mines have been opened there are a number of build- ings, where the miners and their families reside, with a street running between them, and at the foot of the moun- tain, at Lick run, there are also large boarding houses and habitations for artisans and their families. These three separate towns, however, all belong to the community of Farrandsville, which contains a large hotel, far advanced in its erection, two reputable taverns, three large boarding houses and upwards of ninety tenements, each calculated to render a family entirely comfortable. Here are inexhausti- ble mines of iron, with the bituminous coal for smelting it, and all the elements for building up a manufacturing estab- lishment capable of supplying iron in all its forms to our widely extended and populous country."
Operations were driven forward rapidly, but not to any great degree of profit to the company. After spending over $7co,-
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000 the proprietors began to wake up to the fact that their loss exceeded their profit, and in order to investigate they sent a shrewd Yankee iron master to Farrandsville, who soon reported that there was no money to be made, and advised them to cease operations and pocket their loss, which they did. The failure of the works has been attributed to various circumstances, but perhaps the real cause was lavish ex- penditures, inefficient management, and inferior transporta- tion facilities, the great distance from which the ore was ob- tained, and finally a disagreement among the members of the company. After the Lycoming Coal company sus- pended operations, they sold the property to John Stearns, who in 1845 or 1846 sold an interest to George Hobson. The firm of Stearns & Hobson then sold the furnace prop- erty and part of the land to D. K. Jackman and others, who in their turn sold out to John and Christopher Fallon. The Fallons, it is said, used funds belonging to the Queen of Spain to make the purchase, they having collected consid- erable money due her from interests she possessed in this country. She gave them permission to invest the funds, which they did. The investment was rather disastrous to the Queen, as the Fallon Brothers were not more successful than their predecessors had been. They soon sold out to James McHenry, who sold a portion of the lands, including Minersville, (as the upper villages were called,) and the property where the rolling mill stood to Fredericks & Munro, who in 1873 built their extensive fire brick works, which have been in continual operation ever since. During the time the Lycoming Coal company operated the works, they built a fine large hotel on the river bank, a few rods above the bridge, and also built a handsome residence for the agent of the company, near the hotel. Both buildings at that time attracted considerable attention on account of their size and architecture. The hotel was a popular resort, and well patronized for many years. It was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1892. The agent's house is now unoc- cupied and fast going to ruin, and the rooms that once echoed to mirth and gayety are desolate and empty. The
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solitary owl and the winged bat are their only inhabitants, but the old mansion is still a gloomy and silent, monument of the past grandeur of Farrandsville.
Farrandsville is at present a busy place. Its chief in- dustries are Fredericks & Munro's fire brick works, E. H. Young & Brother's cigar manufactory, and Fredericks & Co.'s lumber mills.
CIGAR MANUFACTORY.
One of the most important industries of Farrandsville is the cigar manufactory of E. H. Young & Brother. The Young family moved from Lycoming county to Farrands- ville in 1870. The two brothers, E. H. and W. T. Young, started their cigar factory in 1882, in a dwelling house, and turned out, as a result of their first year's work, 160,000 cigars. They sold during the year of 1891 1,250,000 cigars. The first year they employed but three persons, and now employ from twenty-five to thirty. Their trade increased so rapidly, that in 1890 they were obliged to erect a suitable structure in which to carry on their exten- sive business. They, therefore, built the large and com- modious building they now occupy, which is a handsome structure, containing three stories and a basement. The building is one of the best arranged and equipped structures used for its purpose in the county. The Young Brothers occupy handsome and cosy residences near their factory, and W. T. Young, the senior member of the firm, owns and conducts a general store at Farrandsville, and also acts as traveling salesman for the firm. E. H. Young gives his personal attention to the management of the business, and R. E. Young, another brother, attends to the packing and shipping department. E. H. Smith, as foreman, also looks after the interests of the firm in a general way. The Young Brothers owe their success to their own industry and thrift. They now have the confidence of the public, and are con- stantly adding to their worldly possessions. They have built up the section around them, and now own, besides the factory, seven or eight valuable dwellings.
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