USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and Its Centennial Celebration, Volume II > Part 30
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 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
The first house in the village of Smith's Ferry was built by James Clark, who was killed by the Indians about 1792. He was the first person buried in the old graveyard at Georgetown. The next house was one built by Benjamin Dawson, which stood near the site of the Western Hotel.
Harris's Business Directory for 1837 names S. & S. Smith as merchants and innkeepers in the village.
The post-office at Smith's Ferry was established in 1834, and has had the following persons in charge:
Samuel Smith, appointed October 20, 1834; John W. Mc- Farran, November 15, 1862; Jesse Smith, April 6, 1866; George W. McCormick, September 9, 1885; Thomas L. Minesinger, June 4, 1889; Harvey Wallace, July 24, 1893; and William F. Smith, November 22, 1897.
About 1852, Thomas Elverson, father of W. H. Elverson of New Brighton, with a Scotchman named Samuel Pollock, started
' See map of Beaver County in 1817 by Hugh Mccullough facing p. 882.
:
Bragtun
Indian Pictographs on Ohio River near Smith's Ferry, Beaver County, Pa., U. S. A. Half-tone Reproductions from Casts in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, Pa .; and from photographs by James P. Leaf, C.E., of Rochester, Pa., showing Pictographs in situ.
933
History of Beaver County
what was, perhaps, the first pottery in Beaver County about a quarter of a mile above Smith's Ferry, near a steamboat landing known as Rock Port. They made what is known as Rockingham and yellow ware, and continued the business there until about 1860.
About half a mile above Smith's Ferry, on the north or right-hand bank of the Ohio, is a large group of interesting Indian picture-carvings. These pictures have been cut with some rude instrument upon the surface of the Piedmont sand- stone which is here exposed in the bed of the river at a three- foot stage of water. They are scattered over the surface of the rock ledge for a space about forty feet in width and seven hun- dred feet in length, and represent a great variety of the forms of men and animals, birds, fishes, and reptiles; including the beaver, the bear, the wolf, the turtle, the snake, and the eagle; human foot-prints and the tracks of various beasts, as well as inanimate objects, such as the scalp-hoop, bows and arrows, etc. There is also a picture of a bison chasing a dog, which is sup- posed to be the only existing drawing of the American buffalo made by Indians.
Whether these carvings or drawings have any significance or not cannot now be certainly known. Some consider them only the idle work of Indians loafing or fishing along the river. They may possibly, however, have some connection with individual or tribal totemism, or be the record of achievements in battle or the chase. It has been suggested that they may possibly mark the boundaries of territory or purchases. Similar rock-pictures are found elsewhere in the State. In Venango County, on the left bank of the Allegheny River, five miles south of Franklin (nine by water), is a rock with nine figures cut upon it, which is popularly known as the "Indian god" 1; and below the dam upon the Susquehanna River at Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania, are two gneissic rocks on which are a large number of pictures,? many of them the counterpart of those at Smith's Ferry. The location of the two large groups, and the repetition in them of the forms of the wolf and the turtle, from which well-known tribes of the Delaware Indians were named, would seem to con- nect them with that nation.
1 See picture of this rock in Day's Historical Collections of Penn., p. 638.
' Shown on the Historical Map of Pennsylvania, pub. by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1875.
VOL. 11 .- 21.
934
History of Beaver County
Casts and photographs of the most important of the figures at Smith's Ferry have been made by the Carnegie Museum, of Pittsburg, under the direction of Dr. W. J. Holland, and by Mr. James P. Leaf, C. E., of Rochester, Pa. Reproductions of these by the courtesy of the gentlemen named are furnished in this work.
The second Protestant Episcopal Church organized in Beaver County was at Smith's Ferry. Its organization was never per- fected, however, and many removals from the locality brought about its complete dissolution, the church at Fairview receiving many of its members.
THE SMITH'S FERRY OIL FIELD
Perhaps the most interesting part of the history of Ohio township is that pertaining to its oil, since what is known as the Smith's Ferry Oil Territory is located almost entirely within this township. Long before any borings were made here, oil would ooze out on the Ohio River, and was collected by cloths, and was called "Seneca oil." It still continues to float out on the surface of the water along the Ohio. The first well was bored by Messrs. Pattens, Finlens, Swan & Company, who, in December, 1860, obtained some oil at 180 feet. In the Febru- ary following the Excelsior Company struck a heavy oil at a depth of 72 feet, only a few feet below the level of the Ohio, in a well called the "Good Intent" and in the Piedmont Sand- stone, which is seen in the bed of the Little Beaver above its mouth, and along the Ohio at low water, one mile above Smith's Ferry. This well obtained 400 barrels of 29ยบ oil, when it was completely exhausted. On the 19th of March, 1862, the Emeline Oil Company, composed of P. M. Wallover, I. M. Pennoch, and F. Darlington, got a fair well at the lower edge of Glasgow at a depth of 585 feet. This was a producing well for about twenty- five years. By this time the excitement had become intense, wells were bored in every direction, and the territory was rapidly developed. It also became known that the productive oil-rock was to be sought from 700 to 730 feet below the Kittanning coal, or about 600 feet below the bed of the Ohio at Smith's Ferry.
The areas of development lie in the vicinity of Smith's Ferry and on Dry Run and its tributaries, and along Little Beaver and Island Run. The wells are all small, none ever
Indian Pictographs on Ohio River near Smith's Ferry, Beaver County, Pa., U. S. A. Half-tone Reproductions from Casts in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, Pa. ; and from photographs by James P. Leaf, C.E., of Rochester, Pa., showing Pictographs in situ.
:
G ::.
-. T
change: Peter Fer X ei Lyss. Forstaty :s. :Ss. Heer BREF ::: J.Ker. May
Deces
james Paskes. January :-. : SSss. W' ::: Eckles. Fet
Esther post-odice has been serve i free: ::
Rober: C. Davis. appointed Marsh :s. : Ses This is a: the village of Fairview.
St. Paul's Protestan: Episcopal Church near Fairview was organized sometime between INge and a535. Ground for a church-building was acquired by deei of George Mason and Catherine. his wife, bearing date October ap. 1838. The early members were principally of the families of Masons. Hoges, and
: Second Gradegeral Samme, o Prewspania. Report of Progress, O. pale ale
936
History of Beaver County
Dawsons. After the dissolution of the church at Smith's Ferry the Fairview congregation received many of its members. The pastors of this church have been for the most part those who have served at Georgetown. In 1900 the Rev. Edwin Weary was in charge.
New Salem Presbyterian Church is located one mile west of Black Hawk post-office, Ohio township, this county, on the State road known as the "Tuscarawas Road," and close to the dividing line between Ohio and South Beaver townships.
The first recorded appointment for Presbyterian preaching north of the Ohio River is found in the minutes of the meeting of the Presbytery of Ohio at Chartiers Church, near Canonsburg, Washington County, Pa., October 26, 1796, when the Rev. Messrs. John McMillan and Thomas Marquis were appointed to supply "on the northwest side of the Ohio, on the second and third Sabbaths of November, 1796." There were no organized churches in this region at that time, but from the Christian people living there, requests had been sent to Presbytery for supplies, and these men were sent out in answer to such re- quests. This church and the church at Darlington (Mount Pleasant) may have well been organized by McMillan and Marquis at this time. The date of organization is probably, how- ever, before 1798, though it is possible that there never was any formal organization by Presbyterial committee. Some of these earlier churches seem not to have had their origin in the formal action of Presbytery, but simply to have been a natural result of the people in a given neighborhood associating themselves for worship, and being finally recognized by Presbytery as having an ecclesiastical existence.
This church has during its history been connected with six different Presbyteries. These were, first, the Presbytery of Ohio; second, that of Hartford, to which it was attached in 1808; third, that of Beaver (1833); New Lisbon (1838); Beaver again (1860); and in 1870 the Allegheny Presbytery, in which it is now.
The name of this church was probably given to it in affec- tionate remembrance of Salem Church in Westmoreland County, from whose bounds a part of the people had come: that was old Salem, this, New Salem. The first pastor, Thomas E. Hughes, was called by this church in connection with Mount Pleasant,
Braation
Indian Pictographs on Ohio River near Smith's Ferry, Beaver County, Pa., U. S. A. Half-tone Reproductions from Casts in Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, Pa. ; and from photographs by James P. Leaf, C.E., of Rochester, Pa., showing Pictographs in situ.
937
History of Beaver County
April 16, 1798. He served for some nine years, and then re- signed to give his whole time to the Mount Pleasant charge. The membership in 1804 was forty-one, and in 1807 forty-six. For nearly twenty years after Mr. Hughes's pastorate ceased, the church had only occasional supplies. In September, 1813, Ezekiel Glasgow was installed pastor in connection with Beaver Church, but lived only eight months afterwards.1 Among the supplies were Rev. Messrs. Satterfield and Vallandingham, the latter the father of the noted Ohio politician, now deceased.
On April 11, 1820, a call was given to Rev. William Reed. He accepted, and one year later was installed pastor for one half time, the other half being given to Long's Run Church, near Calcutta, Ohio. This pastorate continued until 1860, a period of forty years from the call. Mr. Reed was born in 1785 and died at the age of eighty-two. He resided in the Long's Run congregation, having resigned the pastorate of New Salem when he was seventy-five years of age. His successor was the late Rev. George N. Johnston, D.D., of Pittsburg, who first preached as supply in May, 1860. He was ordained and in- stalled pastor of this church, September 11, 1861, and remained until 1863. The next pastor was Rev. Albert Dilworth, who was also ordained in this church. His pastorate at that time was short, and in 1866 he was succeeded by the Rev. D. L. Dickey, D.D., this being his first charge also, and his ordination taking place in this church. He remained but one year, and the pulpit was vacant until 1869, when Rev. Alexander Mc- Gaughey became pastor, remaining until 1871. Mr. McGaughey died within the bounds of the congregation, and is the only pastor buried in the church burying-grounds.
Rev. John R. Dundas, now deceased, of Homeworth, Ohio, officiated as stated supply for several years; and in 1875 Rev. William M. Kane was installed and served for a short time, being succeeded by Rev. James T. Patterson as stated supply for three years. In 1885 Mr. Dilworth, the former pastor, re- turned as stated supply and remained as such until 1899. He was followed by Rev. Robert H. Allen, 1902, and Rev. James B. Price, 1904.
For the first forty years of the existence of the church there is a total lack of sessional records, but so far as could be learned
' See under Beaver borough, p. 645.
938
History of Beaver County
the following is a list of the ruling elders who have served in it: Samuel Thompson, Robert Bradshaw, James Gorrel, Moses Louthan, these being the first of whom there is any record; George Wilson, James Wilson, Thomas Barclay, John Thompson, William Hunter, Hugh Mitchell, Andrew McClain, Joseph D. Reed, John McConnel, Robert Graham, James McMillin, Joseph Wilson, Robert H. Barclay, Francis Scott, Dr. Cunningham, Dr. T. G. Boyd, Abner Morton, R. P. McMillen, J. M. Hartford, Thomas B. Hunter, William Dunlap, J. F. Bradshaw, W. T. Eakin, and J. C. Warrick.
The first services of this church were held near the Caughey burying-ground. Later, a rough log church was built near the site of the present edifice, and in 1822 a hewed log building re- placed it. The lot on which the present church stands was donated by George Foulkes, and, later, John Glass donated additional ground, which includes the spring.
This congregation has given several of its sons to the Christian ministry. Of these two were sons of Rev. William Reed, one of whom died on the eve of entering the work. The other, Rev. David Reed, was long a successful pastor, serving various churches in Ohio.
Rev. Milton McMillin, son of Joseph McMillin, entered the ministry in 1861, and remained in the work until his death in 1876. One of his sons is also a minister.
Two sons of Elder Francis Scott became successful ministers, and, so far as known, are the last contribution of this congre- gation to the Presbyterian ministry.
New Salem celebrated its centennial anniversary on Wednes- day, August 31, 1898.
Four Mile Square United Presbyterian Church .- March 28, 1811, application for preaching at this place was made to the Associate Presbytery of Ohio (organized 1808) at a meeting of that body at Greersburg, now Darlington, and Rev. David Imbrie was appointed to preach.' Services were held by him in the woods on the farm of George Barclay, now owned by his son, A. S. Barclay.
I Mr. Imbrie was a minister of the Associate Church, and pastor of Little Beaver (now Bethel), Brush Run (now Darlington), and Big Beaver from his ordination in 1806 until his death in 1842. He was one of the nine students who founded the "Franklin Literary Society" in Canonsburg Academy, afterwards Jefferson College. He studied theology with Dr. Anderson at Eudolpha Hall on Service Creek.
939
History of Beaver County
Again, at a meeting of Presbytery, February 13, 1812, as shown by the minutes, Mr. Duncan was appointed to preach at Anderson's on the second Sabbath of March. It is believed that the Anderson here named was the same who owned the land now in possession of D. W. Scott and others, for although he was a Presbyterian, he is said to have offered the new con- gregation ground on which to build their church. For some reason his offer was not accepted.
Mr. Imbrie was again appointed to preach at this point on the first Sabbath of July, 1812. In this month and year the congregation is believed to have been organized, though the exact date is not known. The first communion was held at that time by Mr. Imbrie, assisted by Dr. John Anderson of Eudolpha Hall, and they are thought to have effected the organization.
The name of this church,-Four Mile Square, or simply Four Mile, as it is usually called,-was given to it from its being near that part of District No. I of the Depreciation lands which was surveyed by Alexander McClean, and which, on account of its shape and dimensions, was later familiarly known as "Four Mile Square.": The first-church building of this congregation -a brick structure 40 X 45, erected about 1831 at a cost of $900, was on the farm of John Hunter in Brighton township. This was used until 1872, when the present building was erected at a cost of $4000. It is situated about eighty rods from the site of the old one, and is in Ohio township.
Among the first members of this congregation were two fam- ilies named Graham, two named Johnson, with others named Mclaughlin, Herron, and Ingles. Soon after these came the English, Rhodes, and Slentz families, the Camerons, Mcculloughs, Andersons, Vances, and Scotts.
There are no records showing who were elected as elders at the time of the organization, but the first session is thought to have been Hugh Graham, Hance Johnson, and Robert Herron. In 1831 the session was composed of Hugh Graham, Robert Herron, William Scott, Barnard Anderson, Robert Barnes, An- drew Ingles, John Hunter, and William Vance. In after years the following appear: John A. Scroggs, 1838; James Graham, John Shane, Alexander Ewing, and John S. Herron, 1844;
' See vol. i., p. 186.
940
History of Beaver County
William Gailey and George Barclay, 1852; and in 1855, Jesse McGaffick; in 1860, William Edgar; 1861, Joseph Niblock; 1866, N. I. McCormick; 1869, Samuel Gibson, John Slentz, and William H. Laird; 1875, David W. Scott, David Hammond, and Samuel Anderson; 1881, J. C. Wilson; 1893, John Johnson and Joseph Gilliland; 1900, C. A. Hunter and D. H. Gibson,-in all, thirty-three elders, of whom only six are living.
If any pastoral relations existed between 1812 and 1820 the names of the ministers have not been preserved, but it is thought that during this period the church had mainly Presbyterial supplies. November 1, 1820, Elijah N. Scroggs was ordained by Ohio Presbytery and installed pastor of several churches, one of which was Four Mile Square. He continued with this church until April, 1849. Mr. Scroggs was the youngest son in a fam- ily of twenty-one children. He died December 20, 1851, while pastor of West Union, Ohio. Rev. John A. McGill was his successor, remaining in the charge from October 7, 1851, until November 15, 1853, when he resigned. The United Presbyterian Church of Beaver was organized by him, while principal of Beaver Academy. The pulpit of this church was vacant, except for occasional supplies, from this date until June 11, 1861, when Rev. David H. A. McLean became pastor of Beaver and Four Mile Square. He resigned the latter charge, September 25, 1866, becoming in the following year principal of the Beaver Ladies' Seminary. The pastoral succession since has been John C. Evans, September 17, 1867-June 13, 1871; Josiah Thompson, January, 1875-November, 1876; J. A. Edie, 1881- 1886; J. S. T. Milligan, 1892-96; D. M. Davis, 1901-03; and A. L. Hazlett, 1904,-in all, nine settled pastors since the or- ganization, six of whom are still living.
BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP
This township is centrally located north of the Ohio River, and is bounded on the north by Chippewa and Patterson town- ships, on the west by Ohio and Industry townships, on the south by Industry and Borough townships and the borough of Beaver, and on the east by Bridgewater and Fallston boroughs.
Its streams are Brady's Run, which flows through its north- ern part and empties into the Big Beaver below Fallston; and Two Mile, Four Mile, and Six Mile runs, flowing through its
941
History of Beaver County
central and western sections and finally emptying into the Ohio River. These streams are small, but one, at least, has some historic interest, being connected with the fame of the noted Indian scout, Captain Samuel Brady, and his exploits. This township was formed, with others, in 1816, from parts of South Beaver and Ohio townships. Its surface is generally hilly, and abundance of pure coal is found in several parts, with good limestone and sandstone, some quarries of the latter yielding a beautiful building stone. Near the mouth of Brady's Run John Dickey put down, some years ago, a salt well, and salt was manufactured here for a long time by him. Some show of oil was also obtained but the well was never pumped.
The population of Brighton township, as shown by the United States Census for 1890, was 773, and for 1900 it was 687. The report of the Secretary of Internal Affairs for 1900 makes the following showing for the township: Taxables, 279; num- ber of acres of cleared land, 8323; timber land, 3014; value of all real estate, $508,628; real estate exempt from taxation, $6700; real estate taxable, $501,928.
Through this township passed the celebrated Indian path known as the "Tuscarawas Trail," which is now almost iden- tical with one of the main highways of the county.
DARLINGTON TOWNSHIP
Darlington township was erected, October 15, 1847, from Little Beaver. It lies in the extreme northwestern corner of the county, and is bounded on the north by Little Beaver town- ship in Lawrence County, on the east by Big Beaver, and on the south by South Beaver township in this county. Middleton and Unity townships in Ohio bound it on the west. There are no streams rising within its limits, but the north fork of the Little Beaver bends in and out again on its eastern line, makes an angle through its southeastern corner, and then flows along its southern border to the State line. The surface of Darlington township is rolling, and its soil is equal in fertility to any in the county. Its population in 1900 was 1285. In that year it had 441 taxables, 12,053 acres of cleared land, and 1498 acres of timber land; and the total value of its real estate was $588,010, including $1550 of real estate exempt from taxation, and $586,460 taxable.
942
History of Beaver County
When Lawrence County was erected in 1849 out parts of Beaver and Mercer counties, the line separating Beaver County from the new county, in passing through several of the town- ships of Beaver County, so divided the township of Little Beaver in that county as to leave in it a very small portion, a mere strip of said township, which contained only about a dozen taxable inhabitants. This strip of Little Beaver township ad- joined the line of Darlington township on the north, and on a petition of sundry inhabitants of the latter township, the Court of Quarter Sessions of Beaver County, on the 30th of Novem- ber, 1849, made a decree extending the line of Darlington town- ship up to the line of Lawrence County, so as to bring the said strip within the limits of Darlington township.'
GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
The geological features of this township are peculiarly in- teresting and important .? In many portions of it are found large blocks of granite lying perched upon the highest hilltops, as well as in the valleys. Granite does not belong to the rocks of this region, there being none nearer than several hundred miles to the north. Therefore these perched blocks or erratics, as they are called by geologists, must have been carried by some agency to the point where they now lie. It is believed that in ages past, when this whole region was submerged to a depth of probably thirteen hundred feet, these huge intruders on our soil were transported here on the bosom of vast ice-bergs upon which they had fallen, and which, breaking away from the glaciers of the Canadian highlands, gradually melted as they passed into the warmer waters of the south, dropping the rocks which were imbedded in them upon the surface where we find them. These granite blocks are found only in the valley of the Big Beaver and that portion of Beaver County west from it. They have never been seen in the geological district east of it, nor south of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. They are of all sizes, ranging from six inches in diameter up to several feet. One was seen in Darlington township ten feet long, eight feet across, and six feet high.
1 Road Docket No. 2. p. 238.
* See Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Report of Progress Q. pp. 9, 52-53.
943
History of Beaver County
CANNEL COAL
Three miles below Darlington borough, on the property of Hon. Ira F. Mansfield, is a great bed of cannel coal, varying in thickness from seven to twelve feet. A few remarks upon this once important product will be in place here.
The coal beds of Beaver County number eight, of variable thickness and quality. The two most generally mined are num- bers six and seven, varying in thickness from three to five feet. The coal has a bright resinous luster, is of somewhat columnar structure and very friable. It contains numerous bands of bright crystaline coal and mineral charcoal, showing very little iron pyrites. The coal swells very little during coking, yield- ing a good coherent coke and gray ash with slight reddish tinge. The analysis of our average bituminous coals shows about sev- enty per cent. of volatile matter. These make an excellent fuel coal, and have found a ready market with railroads, furnaces, and the Lake trade.
The number four, or cannel, coal can be persistently traced on a level of its own across the entire county, but only at Cannel- ton does the vein have thickness and quality to warrant the mining. The cannel coal was first opened here in 1838, and has been continuously mined and shipped to all the gas com- panies in the United States and Canada. An analysis reverses the per cents from bituminous and shows that cannel coal is of a more woody nature than bituminous, and was formed from less decomposed vegetation in situ in open lagoons under water. In the making of gas, by a small admixture of cannel with a cheap grade of bituminous coals, the same quantity of gas was secured as from high-priced coals, and a gas that would carry long distances without condensing and burn with a white, even light, showing no core of red in the center of the flame. The cannel coal rests upon a bed of fine shale, in which are splendidly preserved remains of animal and plant life. Many of the fossil plants are perfect, showing leaves, flowers, and fruits, and of animals both the male and female have been found. Hon. Ira F. Mansfield has made here for the Geological Survey of Penn- sylvania one of the finest collections of fossils that has ever been secured at any single locality in this country, and of the several hundred new species of fossil plants and animals found
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.