USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 62
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Among the first families to settle in this locality was that of Greenwood Bell, a son of Squire Bell, who was one of the very first settlers of the county. In honor of Squire Bell and his son, Greenwood, Bell township was so named. The son, Greenwood, in the erection of this township, comes before the court and public for still further honor, in the formation of this township, it being named in his honor. Mr. Bell lived on the river near the location of Belleville, one of the small towns of the township. Here he cleared a farm and built a saw and grist-mill, they being among the first industries in this part of the county. The descendants of Arthur Bell are numerous in this section, and are recognized as being among the substantial men of the county. John W. Bell, son of Arthur Bell, and grandson of Greenwood Bell, is largely interested in business, and occupies one of the best residences in the township. Greenwood Bell married Elizabeth Roll, by whom he had ten children : Arthur, Mary, Delilah, John, William, David, Julia Ann, Harvey, Grier, and Frampton. Greenwood Bell was a man highly respected in the county, and took an active part in every enterprise of public welfare. In 1820-I he held the office of county commissioner, serving the first year on the board with William Ogden and Alexander Read, jr. ; the members during the second year, 1821, were Read, Bell, and Matthew Ogden. In 1822 he was appointed sheriff of the county, being the first incumbent of the office. He was again chosen in 1823, and served until 1826, at which time he was succeeded by William Bloom.
The pioneer worker of Greenwood township, its acknowledged leader; he who took the burden of the labor in its erection ; he for whom, according to the original plan, it was to have been named, and he for whom, in conformity to the established precedent, it should have been named, was Dr. John P. Hoyt. Elsewhere in this volume is recorded a detailed sketch of Dr. Hoyt's life ; therefore, at this time, it is unnecessary to make any extended mention. In the year 1846, then having had a residence in the county of nearly thirty years, Dr. Hoyt moved to a place on the Susquehanna River, about three miles above Lumber City, and in the extreme eastern part of the territory that, in 1875, was erected into Greenwood township. Here he lived, and here he died at an advanced age, surrounded by family and friends, and in the enjoyment of the comforts earned by a life of toil and perseverance. Dr. Hoyt was mar-
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ried, in 1820, to Mary, daughter of Thomas McClure, a pioneer of Pike town- ship. From 1852 until 1857, Dr. Hoyt acted with Richard Shaw, as associate judges of Clearfield county.
Another of the pioneers of this locality was William Haslet, who came here with his family, from what is now Clinton county, in the year 1828. He set- tled on lands now owned by William McCracken, the first farm west from the hamlet of Bower. The children of William Haslet were John, now residing in the township ; Margaret, who married John Nicholas McCracken; Catha- rine, who married Arthur Bell ; Elizabeth, who became the wife of David Mc- Cracken; Sarah, who became the wife of Templeton Haslet; Jane, who mar- ried George Wilson, and moved to Ohio; Harriet, who became the wife of Greenwood Haslet; and Helen, who married Luther Clark. William Haslet, the pioneer, was a substantial resident of Greenwood, or the territory that was formed into that township, for twenty-five years. He died in the year 1853.
The McClures were represented in pioneer days in this vicinity. "Squire" Thomas McClure first came to the county in the year 1799, from Cumberland county, but did not bring his family until the succeeding year.
The McCrackens, who are to be numbered among the pioneers of the county, and who are now a numerous family in this locality, came to the then unsettled river country about the beginning of the present century, soon after the advent of 'Squire Arthur Bell, to whom they were related ; a relationship that has ever since been maintained. The pioneer of the McCracken family was James. He is remembered as having been a man of great physical strength and activity, a trait that was transmitted to his sons, and of which they made frequent use in all athletic sports. James, Thomas and John McCracken, were sons of the pioneer James. The descendants of this family are numbered among the substantial residents of Greenwood township.
Among the many familiar names of pioneer families, whose descendants now help to make the population of the township, are to be found some represent- ing various localities or sections of the river country. There are Thompsons, Johnsons, Young, Passmore, Kester, Hullihan, McLaughlin, Rowles, Robbins, Thorpe, Mitchell, Tate, Henry, Hoover, Ross, Wiley, Smith, Newcomer, Curry, Kester, and perhaps others whose names have been lost. There is no township in the entire county, possibly, that retains among its present residents, a greater proportion of the descendants of its pioneers, and the pioneers of the immedi- ate vicinity, than does Greenwood; in truth, they have cleared it, they have improved it, they have settled in its remote parts, and they have made it. It is as well cleared and populuted in all parts as any township of the county. When formed, in 1875, Greenwood had a taxable population of a trifle more than seventy persons ; in 1886, the number of taxables exceeded one hundred and fifty persons, representing a population of about six hundred and fifty. The inhabitants of Greenwood, and others from other localities as well, have
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made lumbering their chief occupation during the last thirty or forty years ; more recently, however, much attention has been given to agricultural pursuits, so that this is rapidly taking a place among the productive townships of the southwest part of the county.
Along the river, through the township of Greenwood, are three hamlets, neither of which are of any considerable size. They are Bower, Lewisville and Bell's Landing or Bellville. The first is farthest west. It contains a few dwell- ings, a store and post-office, and a saw-mill, the latter the property of John W. Bell. The post-office has been located in the vicinity for a number of years. The present postmaster is R. C. McCracken.
Lewisville was so named for Lewis Smith, an extensive land owner in the vicinity, and one of the pioneers of the county. The town lays a short dis- tance north from the river. Its business interests are light, but in former years when lumbering was at its height, Lewisville was reckoned a "smart lit- tle town."
Bellville takes the lead among the hamlets of the township. It is situate a short distance east of the center of the township, at a cross-roads, and a little west of the mouth of Bell's Run. It has two stores, owned respectivly by Greenwood Bell and Clark Arthurs; a hotel or boarding-house ; a saw-mill owned by Frampton Bell. The post-office here is designated as Bell's Land- ing, but in conversation the town is designated as Bell's Landing, or Bellville, as best suits the fancy of the speaker.
Johnson's is a small settlement comprising a group of a few houses, and so called for James Johnson, son of Samuel Johnson, who was one of the pioneers. It is located on Bell's Run, about two miles from the river. The industries of this settlement consist of a saw-mill and a woolen mill, both owned and ope- rated by members of the Johnson family.
At the present time Greenwood township is without a church edifice. The society of the Bower Baptist Church had a good house of worship standing near the present Bower school-house, but it was destroyed by fire about seven or eight years ago.
The agricultural element of the township, on the 12th day of May, 1876, through Dep. J. B. Shaw, organized Greenwood Grange, P. of H., with twenty- three charter members. The first officers were: Master, C. A. Thorp; sec'y, J. S. McQuown. The membership has, during the last ten years, more than doubled, there being fifty-two members at the present time. The present master is James T. Mitchell ; secretary, G. W. Campbell. Meetings are held in Bower school-house.
The township has four schools located as follows: Bower grammar school and Bower primary school, at or near Bower post-office; Johnson school, near the Johnson Mills on Bell's Run, and Flat Grove school, situate in the center of that part of the township lying south of the Susquehanna River. The pres-
71
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
ent officers of Greenwood township are as follows: Justices, Clark W. Arthurs and A. H. Newcomer ; constable, J. L. McCracken; assessor, W. S. Bell ; judge of election, Eli Passmore; inspectors of election, J. A. Johnson and Harvey Mitchell; district treasurer, C. A. Thorpe; clerk, Blake McCracken ; school directors, D. Mitchell, Ogden Campbell, J. W. Bell, Matt. Hullihan, G. W. Dickey, R. C. Thompson ; auditors, Job Curry, J. Q. A. Johnson, James Arthurs ; supervisors, George Heitzenrather and David Wiley; collector, T. J. Bell ; overseer, L. Campbell.
CHAPTER XLI.
HISTORY OF HUSTON TOWNSHIP.
T HIS township was organized in 1839, lying north of Clearfield and east of Du Bois in the northern tier of townships ; being bounded on the north by Elk county, the northern boundary runs along Boon's Mountain in part. Topo- graphically speaking, it lies in the Bennett's Branch watershed, forming a beau- tiful and fertile valley, eight hundred feet lower than the towering mountains guarding on either side. Bennett's Branch (creek), a tributary of Sinnamahon- ing, flows through the entire length of the township from west to east. It is considered to be in the Third Coal Basin, and nearly one-half of the township is underlaid with coal.
Lumber .- Pine is mostly gone; considerable hemlock yet remains; also some white pine, with the usual variety of other hard wood common to the western end of the county.
Agriculture .- The valley is in an excellent state of cultivation, and about three-fourths of the township is tillable. The writer was unable to ascertain when the first settlement was made, but the best authority fixes the time in 1812. The original settlers, John S. Brockway located where Schofield's Hotel now stands, Jesse Wilson where Franklin Hewitt now lives, and G. R. Hoyt where L. Bird's house now stands. Some time after J. S. Brockway sold to Jesse Wilson, and moved further north near where Brockwayville (Jefferson county) now stands. Other persons then settled above and below Penfield. Among these was Ebenezer Hewitt, father of John and Thomas Hewitt. The old log house near Jacob Rosenkrans is, or was, the only relic of early build- ings. It is now (February, 1887) being torn down and cut into firewood.
Reminiscences .- The population remained about the same for several years, as there were no special inducements to bring the people to this section. The inhabitants here, as well as elsewhere, suffered all the privations necessarily
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attending pioneer life. They depended upon the forest to supply the meat, and johnnycake was the legal tender everywhere. Making shingles was about the only means the people had to raise money. These were hauled to Clear- field and sold.
Religious Services .- Religious services began almost with the settlement (see Methodist Episcopal church). Neither were the educational interests neglected, for a school-house was built at an early date near where the iron bridge crosses Bennett's Branch (Penfield). The first blacksmith shop was built in 1842 by E. D. Patterson, still living and over eighty years old. There was no important business done until the arrival of Hiram Woodward in 1854, who bought the interest of Wilson & Hoyt and began lumbering. Some one had tried to "float " unpeeled logs a few years previous, but utterly failed. When Mr. Woodward informed them of the number he intended to " drive," to express it in a more modern term, the people were greatly astonished, declared it utterly impossible, and threats were made on all sides against the undertaking ; but nothing daunted, Mr. Woodward went on. The logs were put in and the people were forced to believe the truth. From that time forth lumbering has been the principal business of Huston township.
The natural question, Why this opposition ? is best answered by stating that a number of the settlers at that time were " squatters," who had no ambi- tion to rise above the " hand to mouth " mode of living. Some were so poor that they caught rats and mice to make "soap-fat." This last statement is vouched for by respectable citizens now living, as literally true.
Circumstantial evidence points toward John C. Lindermuth, Robert Rod- erick, and " Coben " Winslow as having urged and " talked into " these " squat- ters," and later some of the better class of citizens, to oppose the driving of logs, on the plea that it impoverished the county, and hence should be opposed to the " bitter end." The supposed agitators were interested in a few " flutter " or " up and down " saw-mills in Elk county. During the winter of 1854-5 Hiram Woodward had a contract with Messrs. Reading, Fisher & Co. to put in a large " drive " of logs, and run to market in the spring of 1855. The late John Du Bois, assisted by Hiram Woodward, had a contract to drive these logs down Bennett's Branch. The opposition to "logging " had now reached such a pitch that all manner of obstructions were put in the way of the "driv- ers." Messrs. Du Bois and Woodward followed the " drive " on a raft on which an " ark " or " shanty " was built. Besides the regular crew, there was a woman with three children on the raft. When the raft reached the "nar- rows," below Caledonia-a very swift, rough, and dangerous passage-the crew found a rope or a cable stretched across the stream, securely fastened on both shores of the stream. Just as the raft shot under the rope, Mr. Wood- ward managed to get over it by climbing over the oar-stem. Mr. Du Bois attempted to cut it with a broad-ax, but he slipped and fell, missing the rope,
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
but he instantly regained his feet, just as the " shanty " reached the rope, struck again with the broad-ax, and this time succeeded in severing the rope, and passing through in safety, barring the stones which the infuriated crowd on both sides of the stream hurled at the heads of the crew, with terrible im- precations. The same spring a "jam " occurred at about the same place (narrows, below Caledonia). The same opposition " spiked " (i. e., driving spikes into logs) all the logs they could conveniently get at, which would result in destroying saws and endangering the lives of sawyers. Arrests and re- arrests occurred almost continually. About the same time (in the spring of 1855) at the mouth of Sinnamahoning (on the Susquehanna River) Messrs. Du Bois and Woodward " run on to " a gang of river pirates, who had " rafted in " some of Reading, Fisher & Co.'s logs. Mr. Du Bois accosted them ab- ruptly with "You d-n rascals! What are you doing here ?" The ring- leader struck at Mr. Du Bois with a heavy pike-pole, which (had it not been caught by Mr. Woodward) would have knocked Mr. Du Bois into the river, and the " stun" of the blow, and the danger in the water among the logs, would undoubtedly have proved fatal ; but as the prompt action of Mr. Wood- ward disarmed the ruffian, he turned on his heels and fled, pursued by his expected victims, whom he eluded, and made good his escape. Mr. Hiram Woodward was also waylaid at one time, but by a feint pretending to be well armed, his assailants became alarmed and he (Mr. Woodward) reached his home in safety. The bitter litigations were finally adjusted, resulting favora- bly to the "log men."
Old " Uncle Billy " Long, the great hunter, lived many years in this town- ship. P. P. Bliss, the great singer, was born in this township when it yet belonged to Elk county. L. Bird came in 1869, engaged in the real estate business and surveying, prospered, owning considerable real estate in Penfield and vicinity.
Township Annals-There had been no township record prior to 1863, and limited space precludes quotations from the same.
The total vote in the township in 1881 was 126, and in 1886, at the gov- ernor's election, 350.
Penfield is a beautiful little town, having a population at the present writ- ing of about 750. The beginning of the village dates from the settlement of Huston township. There seems to be considerable difference of opinion as to why the place is called Penfield, and whether the name should be spelled with one or two n's. One opinion prevails that it was named in honor of William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania). Gould R. Hoyt wrote many letters, some in a poetical measure, in his endeavors to secure the establishment of the post-office (this was prior to '54), and many incline to the belief that the ready use of the "pen " in the hands of Mr. Hoyt, and the fact - the place being in Clearfield county - "pen " and "field" were united in making
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HUSTON TOWNSHIP.
" Penfield," at any rate the post-office department had, and does now spell it with one " n." From some cause or other the post-office was afterwards dis- continued and not re-established until Mr. Hiram Woodward arrived, through whose influence it was restored in 1855, by the same name, using but one " n." The town has four general stores, one hardware store and tin shop, one blacksmith shop, one wagon and blacksmith shop, two millinery shops, two shoe shops, one furniture and undertaking establishment, one harness shop, two drug stores, one tailor shop, one confectionery and grocery, one billard room, clothing and furnishing combined with the post-office, one hotel, and one boarding-house, also the planing-mill (ten horse-power) and furniture and undertaking manufactory of C. L. Avery. The large tannery of Thomas E. Proctor, and Hoover, Hughs & Co.'s large saw-mill are also located, the former in, and the latter near the town. For particulars see " manufacturing interests " further on. Penfield's (and the township's as well) prosperity dates from 1871 to '74, the building of the A. V. Railroad, on the line of which the place is located, sixteen miles north of Clearfield and thirteen miles east of Du Bois.
Winterburn is next in importance as a town in the township, is situated on the A. V. Railroad three miles southwest of Penfield, and ten miles east of Du Bois; it is surrounded on all sides by hills, which afford wild and romantic scenery. Prior to 1873 it was a vast wilderness, but in 1873 the railroad was built and with it the high trestle, which was named the "South Fork Trestle," after the small stream running through at this point. In the winter of 1873 Mr. George Craig named it Winterburn. Why the place is so called is not definitely known, some supposing on account of the first "clearing" being " burned " in the winter, others supposing the name to have been suggested by a place in Scotland.
About this time Craig & Blanchard, who had been in co- partnership, dis- solved by mutual consent and divided the timber tract, the small stream (South Fork) forming the boundary.
In 1874 James Barton, foreman for Craig & Son, commenced clearing the land on the left bank of the stream, and getting it ready for building. The mill was built, and in operation by May, 1875.
Blanchard's mill, on the opposite bank, was begun in the fall of 1874, and commenced running the following July (1875). His planing-mill was not built until 1879. Mr. Craig saws from two and a half to three million feet of lumber annually, principally boards. He employs about twenty-eight men constantly. Blanchard's mill saws six millions annually, and in addition to boards, bills of every description are sawed. In the saw-mill, planing-mill, and lumber camp he employs over one hundred men. The houses are nearly all painted white, adding greatly to the appearance of the town. The recent deaths of both Mr. Craig, sr., and Mr. Blanchard did not affect the material
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HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
prosperity of the town, as both estates continue to run the mills on the same liberal basis as the projectors and recent owners.
The school-house was built in 1876, and the first teacher was Alice E. Bird, of Penfield, but previous to this Mr. A. H. Rosenkrans had taught a select school.
A Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1878 by Rev. A. B. Hoov- en, and a Presbyterian Church in May, 1882, by Rev. J. V. Bell.
Roads and Railways .- The public roads in this township-especially in the valley-are in fair condition ; probably the most important is the one leading from Penfield to 'Clearfield, through the woods, over the mountain; it is the only direct road to the county seat, hence its importance. The A. V. Railroad is the only railroad tapping the township, affording an eastern and western outlet.
Agriculture .- The farming of this township is restricted to Bennett's Branch Valley, but is in a prosperous condition ; orchards also abound.
Manufacturing .- Tannery .- In the fall of 1881 Messrs. Mckinstry and Clearwater, started the present plant of Thomas E. Proctor's tannery, located in Penfield, near A. V. station, but sold to Mr. Proctor, the present owner, be- fore it was in running order ; he completed and stocked it in 1882. Union crop, oak tanned (sole) leather, completely finished is made here, and sent to the proprietor's warehouses in Boston, Mass. The capacity of the tannery is three hundred hides per day, between seven thousand and eight thousand cords of bark are consumed annually, which is supplied principally by Clear- field county.
Mr. Proctor owns about four thousand acres of land in Huston township; employs about sixty-five men, and contemplates increasing the capacity fifty per cent. during the summer of 1887. Mr. Proctor has also a large general store in connection with this plant, in which he sold over $30,000 worth of goods during 1886, fully fifty per cent. of which was sold to the general public. Mr. Proctor sells his own productions at Boston. He owns forty tenement houses (at Penfield), all lathed and plastered. Mr. Proctor also owns about twelve other tanneries in different parts of the country. The tannery at Pen- field has one hundred and fifty-six tan-vats, thirty-six color-vats, twenty-six soak and lime-vats, twenty-four leach-vats, and two bark-mills. D. R. Squires is the superintendent; L. Pfleger is foreman ; and W. J. Squires is manager of the store.
Saw-mills. - Hiram Woodward in 1854 built an old "flutter " mill, which he supplemented in 1870 with a steam saw-mill, but is not now running for want of logs. In the fall of 1882 Hoover, Hughs & Co. commenced their large mill on Wilson Run, one mile from Penfield, which they had in running order in April, 1883. They have a private or "log" railroad five miles in length, for the supply of logs and delivery of manufactured lumber, to A. V. Railroad
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HUSTON TOWNSHIP.
The capacity of this plant is thirty thousand per day; six to twenty thousand staves (for spike kegs) per day. They intend to increase the capacity of the stave-mill during the summer of 1887. A regular planing-mill is in connec- tion. The lath-mill cuts four to five thousand per day.
This firm employs one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty men and boys, including crews in the woods. The mill runs the "year round ;" it has one engine with four boilers, one hundred and twenty-five horse-power. They own upwards of three thousand acres of land in Huston township, covered with (some) pine, hemlock and hardwoods; ship both to east and west. This firm owns four similar mills elsewhere, one of which is located at Brisbin, this county. W. D. Reidy, general manager; E. C. Humes, super- intendent of the mills.
Mine Productions. - The Clearfield Coal Company, located at Tyler station, A. V. Railroad (Huston township), re-organized in 1881 ; vein three feet. This company put up thirty coke ovens in 1883 ; have shipped sixty to seventy tons per day ; employs about seventy men and boys. The Clearfield and Elk coun- ty line crosses the plant; the company contemplates putting up sixty more coke ovens. They own seventeen hundred acres of land in the immediate vicinity of their plant.
This township has one newspaper. The Penfield Weekly Press, started December 4, 1886. Thomas Waddington, editor ; A. A. Rosenkrans, associ- ate editor.
Schools .- Educational matters, like elsewhere, moved rather slowly in the early years of the settlement of Huston township. In 1856 there were only three schools in the entire township. Teachers receiving from $12 to $15 per month of twenty-four days, and had to " board around." There seems to have been some " crookedness," as a member of the school-board, at about this time, burned the record and vouchers, to prevent investigation as to the disburse- ment of money received from the county treasurer, on unseated lands. But later on the management of schools passed into different hands, and began to prosper, as the large amount of unseated land kept the school fund in a healthy condition, and for many years Penfield boasted of a fine school building, and excellent grading of its scholars. According to the report of the superintend- ent of public instruction for 1886, Huston township had ten schools, seven male and five female teachers, at an average salary of $38.42 per month. There were one hundred and ninety-four male, and one hundred and sixty-one female pupils, at an average cost per pupil per month of $1.36.
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