History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc, Part 54

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Publisher: W. Taylor
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USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 54
USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland and Adams counties, Pennsylvania. Containing history of the counties, their townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc.; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of Pennsylvania, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc > Part 54

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300

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

LISBURN.

Lying in a loop of the Yellow Breeches Creek, in the extreme south, is Lis- burn, the oldest village in the township. The portion of it north of the public road was laid out 120 years ago by Gerard Erwin, and that part south of the road in 1785 by Alexander Frazer and James Oren. The mills, the old forge and a portion of the town are all located on a tract of land which was conveyed by the heirs of William Penn to William Frazer in 1739. The names " New Lisburn," "Lisborn" and "Lisbon " are found in various deeds and convey- ances as far back as 1765, and in them lots are numbered to correspond with a plat of the town which had been made previous to that time. One is "From Ralph Whitsett (Whiteside) to William Bennett for a lot where Jacob Flicker- nell has built his brick house." which was possibly the first brick house erected in the township. The Lisburn Forge, near the present mill, was built in 1783. It is said of this town that fairs used to be held annually in it to which the people resorted, dressed in the fashions of the "old country." Among the more prominent men connected in early days with the history of this vil- lage were Alexander Frazer, the original proprietor, William Bennett, Ralph Whiteside (or Whitsett), James Galbraith, Adam Brenizer, Robert Thornberg, Michael Hart, Benjamin Anderson, Andrew Mateer, Peter McKane, J. Snyder and John McCue.

Of the above names, James Galbraith, the younger, settled in Donegal about the year 1719. He was an Indian trader, and commanded a company of rang- ers during the French and Indian war. He was also a member of the Assem- bly for a number of years. He moved to the Susquehanna, established a ferry below Paxtang, but shortly after purchased large tracts in Pennsborough (now Lower Allen) about the year 1761. He went into the Revolution, and was chosen lieutenant-colonel for Cumberland County, but on account of his great age was unable to continue active duty in the field. He died June 11, 1787, aged eighty-three years. He left to his son, Robert, a farm in Allen Town- ship. His granddaughter by his son, Andrew, married Chief Justice Gibson.

MILLTOWN.

Another cluster of seventeen or eighteen houses in the township is known as Milltown or Eberly's Mills. It is pleasantly situated in a dell on the Cedar Spring, three miles southwest of Harrisburg. It is on land originally owned by Rev. William Thompson. Caspar Weaver (or Weber) , who owned two lots of the original manor, erected a mill at this point more than a 115 years ago.

A grist-mill was erected by George Fahnestock in 1817, which is still standing. A building which was once a clover-mill was, years ago, fitted up as a machine shop, and in it worked Daniel Drawbaugh, who claims to be the original inventor of the telephone, a claim which, after very expensive and protracted litigation, has, either rightly or wrongly, been recently decided against him.

Of the other mills, a quarter of a mile east of Milltown stands the stone one erected by Henry Weber in 1817. The Lisburn Mills were probably first erected as early as 1751, for in that year a portion (some twenty acres) of the Frazer Tract was dedicated to that purpose, and a log mill erected on it. The property belonged to a son of the original proprietor until 1765. Garver's mill was built in 1826 by Jacob Haldeman, who owned it until 1863. The woolen factory on the creek, two miles northeast of Lisburn, was erected upon the site of an old oil, grist and saw-mill in 1857. The old Liberty Forge on the creek, one mile north of Lisburn, was erected some time during the last century. There are a number of other mills in the township, but the list

301

LOWER ALLEN TOWNSHIP.

which we have given embraces those which are the most ancient, and inter- esting.

CHURCHES.

There are three churches in the township, the Mennonite, the Bothel at Milltown, and the Union Church ot Lisburn. The Mennonites began to come into the county about 1500, or shortly after, and held meetings at the Slate Hill, one mile south of Shiremanstown, in Allen Township. Their brick church was erected here about the year 1818. The church at Milltown was erected upon an eminence near that place in 1842, and the Union Church at Lisburn in 1829.

CEMETERIES.

There are a number of old burial places in the township. Of some of these no record of their origin remains. The one at Lisburn, on the southeastern slope of the high grounds near the creek, is probably one where the early settlers of this section deposited their dead. There is a public cemetery near the Stone Tavern, and a private one near Pant Gehr's residence; one ou the farm of John Feeman contains the graves of the Black family, and must have been among the first established in the township. Another is on an eminence known as Bunker Hill, and contains tho graves of the Miller family, also dat- ing from the earliest settlement.

There is yet another grave-yard, the origin of which has passed away, seem- ingly, from the recollection of the living. For our information we are in- debted to a note left by the late Dr. Robert Young, whose grandfather, Alex- ander Young, settled on a lot in Lonther Manor in 1769. Says he: "The Scotch-Irish settlers at an early date, somewhere before 1740, and possibly prior to the location of the meeting-house at Silvers' Spring, had selected a burial place near to a beautiful spring, about two miles from the Susquehanna River, on the Simpson ferry road, on land long owned by Mr. George Rupp, an estimable citizen and minister of the old Mennonite Society." [It lies just south of the road and a little distance west of the Cedar Spring. ] "This ground was brought to the notice of the writer, when quite young, by those who were then old men." At this period the stones had fallen to the ground, and long after, in 1875, the ground was covered with scrubby thorns, briars and long grass.

SCHOOLS.

John Black, one of the early settlers who came into the valley about 1773, erected a log schoolhouse within half a mile west of his residence, for the edu- cation of his own and his neighbor's children.

Another school was then, or afterward, where New Cumberland now is, and these were the only schoolhonses in the township until 1815, when the Cedar Spring Schoolhouse was built and maintained by private subscription until the introduction of the common school system. At this latter place, in 1850, a new and substantial building was erected, with a basement intended for a primary department. The schoolhouse, one mile northwest of New Cumber- land, known as " Mumpers," was built in 1846, on the spot where a more sub- stantial brick edifice was erected in 1864.

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Cumberland Valley Railroad runs along the entire northern boundary line of the township, and the Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad passes through the center portion. The postoffices are Shiremanstown, New Cumberland, Lis- burn and Eberly's Mills.

302

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

BOROUGH OF NEW CUMBERLAND.

New Cumberland is beautifully situated on the west bank of the Susque- hanna River and at the mouth of the Yellow Breeches Creek, in the ex- treme southeastern corner of the county. It was formerly known as Halde- man's town, after Jacob M. Haldeman, by whom it was laid out in 1814. As late as 1730 a Shawnee Indian village occupied the site where New Cumber- land now stands. Here, also, was the landing place of Peter Chartier, a cele- brated Indian trader, to whom a large grant of 600 acres, including the pres- ent site of New Cumberland, was made by the three Penns in 1739. He was of mixed French and Shawnee Indian blood, and many of these latter, over whom he had great influence, he persuaded afterward (1744) to join the French.

Some eight years before the town was laid out Mr. Haldeman purchased a forge at the mouth of the creek, added a rolling and slitting mill, and soon became one of the foremost iron men in Pennsylvania. The product of his forge, for many years, was sold to the Government for purposes at Harper's Ferry.

There was then no bridge over the creek at New Cumberland, and none over the Susquehanna at Harrisburg. The ferries were valuable properties, and their owners usually made historic names.

In the early history of the place, large quantities of coal and lumber were brought to New Cumberland, on the river, by means of rafts, which supplied Cumberland Valley and other territory; and flour, grain, iron and whisky were received in great quantities, and sent, by means of "arks," upon the river, to Port Deposit, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

A large grain depot was erected by Mr. Haldeman in 1826, which supplied a terminal market for the Cumberland Valley. Here the great teams which were used in those days might have been seen discharging their loads of grain, and reloading with lumber ere starting again upon their homeward trip. At this time the lumber trade was carried on extensively. Prior to 1814 there were two lumber yards, one just north of the town belonged to John Crist and Robert Church, and another, on the south side of the creek, to John Poist, who built and kept what was known as the White Tavern. Mr. Church mar- ried Miss Bigler, and their daughter Mary became the wife of Gov. Geary, and presided at the executive mansion during his term of office.

In 1831 New Cumberland was incorporated. as a borough, and, about a year later, the turnpike road through the town was established, with its daily stages, to Washington and Baltimore. At this time no railroad had yet been built in this portion of the country, although the time was fast approaching when one of the first ones built in the United States was to extend through a portion of the Cumberland Valley. This, however, did not reach New Cum- berland. The York & Cumberland Railroad was opened for business in 1851, and from that time the long line of teams gradually disappeared from the streets, the lumber was taken away by the cars, the hotels were no longer crowded with the boisterous raftsmen and teamsters, and many of them in the town and vicinity have since ceased to exist. The lumber business, with some periods of depression, continued steadily to increase, reaching its highest point in 1857, when seven firms were engaged in that business. From this time, however, there has been a gradual diminution in the trade, which is now represented by one firm.

New Cumberland has now about 140 dwellings, 2 churches, 2 hotels, a number of stores, 1 flour, 2 saw-mills, aud a large planing-mill, while new homes are being yearly erected.

Jusson Sugar.

305

MIDDLESEX TOWNSHIP.

The first church was built in 1828, and was the only one in the town for a period of over thirty years. The present Methodist Episcopal Church was erected in 1855, and the United Brethren in 1873.

In the early days, about 1816. the Rev. Jacob Gruber, who is still re- membered by many on account of his striking eecentricity, and Rev. Rich- ard Tidings, both itinerant Methodist ministers, established an "appoint- ment" in Now Cumberland.

Many of the denizens of New Cumberland find steady employment in the Pennsylvania Steel Works, which are on the other side of the river, just oppo- sito the town. They may be seen crossing it at almost all hours of the day or night.

Gen. Geary made this place his home during the period of the war, and lived in Now Cumberland at the time he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania.

CHAPTER XXVII.

MIDDLESEX TOWNSHIP.

M IDDLESEX TOWNSHIP was formed from a portion of North Mid- dleton, by a decree of the court, confirmed November, 1859.

It is bounded on the north by the North Mountains, on the east by Silver Spring Township, on the south by South Middleton Township, and on the west by North Middleton Township.

The Conodoguinet Creek flows, with a slightly southern bend, until it reaches Middlesex, where, suddenly taking an almost northerly direction, after several smaller bends, it leaves the township. The character of the soil is the same as that of North Middleton, -the slate land lying to the north and the limestone to the south, with the creek as the dividing line.

The Cumberland Valley Railroad runs through the southern and richer portion of the township.

EARLY SETTLERS.

The lands upon the creek were probably the ones where the early settlers founded their first homes. Where the Letort stream empties into it was a large traet, owned by Rowland Chambers, and back of him on the Conodo- guinet was a settlement, where, some claims, the first mill in the county was erected. North of this, and beyond the creek, were lands of Joseph Clark and Robert Elliott, who came from Ireland about 1737. Soon after Abraham Lam- berton settled on lands lately in possession of his descendants, north of the Rowland Chambers' tract, while still further north Thomas Kenny settled on a tract which is now principally in the possession of the heirs of John Wilson. East of them were John Semple, Patrick Maguire, Christopher Huston and Josiah McMeans. Other parties living in different portions of this neighborhood in 1793, were William Sanderson, Alexander McBeth, Robert Kenny, James Lamberton, David Elliott. Hugh Smith, Robert Morrison, Ralph Sterritt. We find the names also of James Giffen (Given) 1798; Robert Elliott, 1799; James Flemming. 1799; John McClintock, 1801.

Sterrett's Gap was originally called Croghan's Gap, after George Croghan, one of the Indian interpreters of these early days; but whether he ever resided

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

there, or in any portion of what is now this township, we have not been able to determine.

The family of Clarks were early settlers in Middlesex, and owned a tract now owned by the Clendenin heirs, just above the Carlisle Sulphur Springs. The first brick house built in this part of the county, about one-half mile or more south of Sterrett's Gap, is said to have been built by Philip Zeigler, and is still in the possession of the descendants of that family. Near this, about one mile east, on the public road leading from the Sulphur Springs, was erected the old log house, still standing, with its loopholes through which its inmates watched the Indians. This Zeigler tract was originally owned by Mr. Kenny, who was, we are told, a man of considerable acquirements, and fond of hunting.

MIDDLESEX.

Middlesex, situated at the confluence of the Letort and the Conodoguinet, is one of the oldest settlements in the county. The name "Middlesex" was originally given to a tract of land containing abut 560 acres, located at the mouth of the Letort Spring, and afterward to the village which was built partly upon it. Some of the first buildings erected-several dwelling houses, a grist-mill saw-mill, fulling-mill and distillery-were on this tract Others were built near it. All these, with the exception of the fulling-mill, were built prior to 1757; most, if not all of them, by John Chambers, Sr., the owner of the tract at that time.

Later, from the Chambers family, the Middlesex estate came into the pos- session of Capt. Robert Callender, one of the largest fur traders in Pennsyl- vania. He held a captain's commission in the French and Indian war; was a colonel during the Revolution; distinguished himself, it said, at Braddock's de- feat; and was a liberal contributor to all the then improvements in Carlisle, a man well educated and highly esteemed. He was one of the justices of Cum- berland County in 1764. He commenced to trade with the Indians at an early day, and built the large flouring-mill at the mouth of Letort Run, now Middlesex. In 1774 he was appointed colonel for Cumberland County; died in 1776, and is buried in the old grave-yard at Carlisle. Capt. Robert Cal- lender married, first, a daughter of Nicholas Scull, surveyor-general of Penn- sylvania from 1748 to 1759. His daughter Anne, by this wife, married Gen. William Irvine, of Revolutionary fame. His second wife was a sister of Col. Gibson, the father of Chief Justice John Bannister Gibson, by whom he also had a number of children.

In 1791 the Middlesex estate was purchased at sheriff's sale by Col. Eph- riam Blaine, from whom it passed to his son, by whom it was conveyed (1818) to James Hamilton, Esq., and afterward (1831) to Hon. Charles B. Penrose, who erected the paper-mill there in about 1850. The first dwelling house stood near the present site of this paper-mill, and was still standing twenty years ago.

In 1846, according to Rupp, the village consisted of eleven dwellings, one of which was a tavern, a store, a saw-mill, a grist-mill, plaster and oil- mill and a woolen factory, at that time owned principally by Mr. Penrose. It is now a scattered village of about twenty-five or thirty houses.

We learn from Rupp that one of the first Indian tracts westward led past Middlesex. It extended from Simpson's Ferry (four miles below Harris') on the Susquehanna River, crossed the Conodoguinet at Middlesex, and thence over the mountain, by way of Croghan's, now Sterrett's Gap.

CARLISLE SPRINGS.

Carlisle Springs is the name of a postoffice village near the North Moun-

307

MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP.

tains, in the northwestern corner of the township. It was, for many years, one of the most popular watering places in the county. There is at this place a splendid spring of sulphur water, still flowing into its marble basin, in a now neglected grove. The first hotel, a small two-story frame building, was erected by Hon. William Ramsey, who was the owner of the land before 1830. In 1832 his executors conveyed this property to David Cornman, who continued to own it for a period of abont twenty-one years, during which period it be- came a very popular summer resort.

A large hotel, which would accommodate several hundred boarders, was erected by Morris Owen and A. P. Norton about 1854, which was destroyed by fire about 1867. A small hotel, near the site of the former one, was built shortly afterward, but has since been converted into a private residence. From this place a small stream, known as the Sulphur Springs Run, flows in a southeasterly direction until it empties into the Conodoguinet Creek at Mid- dlesex.

MISCELLANEOUS.

There are eight schools in the township, three bridges crossing the creek, good roads, and many fine farms, with substantial buildings, bearing evidence to the prosperity and thrift of its inhabitants.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP.

M IFFLIN TOWNSHIP was formed from the eastern portion of Hopewell in 1797, and was called after Thomas Mifflin, then Governor of Penn- sylvania. It is bounded on the north by the North Mountains and on the south by the Conodoguinet Creek, while Frankford Township lies upon the east and Hopewell on the west.

The soil is a mixture of clay, gravel and slate, such as lies along the base of the North Mountains, which has become fertile by cultivation. Four streams rnn from the mountains through the township, and empty into the Conodoguinet Creek.

From what we have said of Hopewell, in which Mifflin was included. it will be seen that this portion of the county was settled at a very early period. Before the time of the white settlers there was an Indian trail, of a local character. through Doubling Gap, and a more important one through the Three Square Hollow. in the northwestern corner of the township, which was a branch of the great trail leading from the Ohio to the Susquehanna. This trail came down through the Three Square Hollow. crossed the Conodoguinet Creek near the mouth of Brandy Run, passed along the Green Spring to the head of the Big Spring, and thence southeastwardly toward Monaghan (Dills- burg) and York. Along this trail, between the two branches in the fork of Brandy Run, it is said that evidence of an old Indian burial ground existed many years ago, and there are traditions that an Indian village existed in the same neighborhood, and that the peninsula in the long bend of the creek, now owned by Matthew Thompson, was used for raising the Indian corn which, in connection with game, constituted their food. In support of these traditions,

308

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.

says Rev. James B. Scouller, to whom we are indebted for the above, are the two facts that the first settlements made in Mifflin were along this trail, and all the massacres which took place during the old French war were in its vicinity.

The time of the first settlement in Mifflin is earlier than has been supposed .* We have in our possession a letter from Mr. W. C. Koons, a descendant, on the maternal side, of the Carnahans, who were among the earliest settlers in the township, which we will lay before the reader:

" The first settlers in Newton and Mifflin Townships, then included in Hopewell, were Robert Mickey, William Thompson and Andrew McElwain. They were brothers-in-law, and came at the same time to make their homes in this part of Cumberland Valley. Robert Mickey located near the source of the west branch of Green Spring, in Newton Township; William Thompson on the great bend in the Conodoguinet Creek, and Andrew McElwain (or MeIlvaine) on the "Fountain of Health" farm, both in Mifflin Township. There is uncertainty as to the particular year of their settlement; but by receipts given to Robert Shannon by John Penn, dated respectively 1732, 1733, 1734, and a deed, on full payment, dated 1735, it is certain that their coming was not later than 1729, as they had preceded Shannon by three years. Still, as the papers indicate that it was not unusual for the settlers to occupy their lands for years before warrants or patents were issued, it is quite possible that the settlement may have been made several years previous to 1729. Soon after they were joined by Stevenson, Shannon, the Carnahans, Nicholsons, Williamsons and others. These were all Presbyterians, and during hostilities with the Indians, they were in the habit of carrying their fire-arms with them to church for pro- tection in case of assault.

The Williamson Massacre .- "The Williamson massacre, as to date and details, is a matter of tradition, as far as known. We find it put down as hav- ing occurred in 1753 or 1754. The family lived on the farm adjoining the Andrew McElwain tract on the east side. The evening preceding the mas- sacre several men from the Carnahan Fort were stopping at Andrew McEl- wain's, distant about three miles from the fort. About dusk Mrs. McElwain went out to look after some cattle. Nearing the stock-yard she heard the sound of footsteps, as of men getting over the fence at the opposite side. Be- lieving them to be Indians she returned to the house and informed the inmates of what had occurred. The men from the fort remained keeping watch during the night. Abont daylight the sound of guns was heard from beyond the hill in the direction of the Williamsons, nearly a mile distant. Immediately all started for the fort, and after proceeding a little way it was discovered that a babe had been left in the cradle. Two of the men returned, brought the child away, f and all reached the fort in safety. Shortly after their arrival a number of men was sent out from the fort to look after the Indians. Reaching the Williamson farm they found that the whole family-some eight or nine persons, Mrs. Williamson exepted-had been murdered. I may add, that the only material difference between this and other versions of this bloody affair which have come to my notice, is, that Mrs. Williamson, carrying a child with her, escaped.

" Another incident connected with the strife between the hostile Indians and the early settlers I may mention, although not so fully informed as to its details. The Nicholsons lived near the Whisky Run, on what is probably best known as the farm once owned by Rev. John Snoke. The event is put at

*Rev. James B. Scouller, well versed in the local history of the township, places the date of the earliest settlers in Mifflin, in his sketch in Dr. Wing's History, at 1734-36, " because at the time the wave of population flowed up the valley oo the north side of the Conodoguinet."

+" This rescued babe," says Rev. James B. Scouller, " was the grandmother of James M. Harlan, of Mittlin."

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MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP.

about 1755. During the night the Nicholsons were disturbed by the barking of their dog. The married brother opened the door to see what was the matter. Instantly he was shot by the Indians, fell dead at the door, was drawn inside and the door closed. The Indians made several attempts to get into the house, but in each case were successfully resisted. The unmarried brother, assisted by the dead man's wife, kept up a constant fire. They had three guns; the women, while the fight went on, made bullets and loaded the guns. The Indians retired, loaving no dead. but blood marks seen in sev- eral places on the ground the next morning proved that they had suffered severely.

"The brother and widowed mother each mounted a horse, the former carry- iug the body of the slain min before him, and the latter a child before her, and another behind, rode to Shippensburg, and buried him there."

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Author: Publication date: Publisher: W. Taylor Number of Pages: 1280

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher: W. Taylor
Number of Pages: 1280