USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 26
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ERIE ACADEMY
315
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
The Steel Pier which continues State Street out into the waters of the bay, is a two-story steel structure of permanent construction. It is a public steamboat landing, and affords a most interesting place to while away some leisure time. Close by will be found the Steamer Michigan (now Wolverine) and the old Niagara. Its construction was completed in 1909, and its dedication occurred in June of that year. Its cost is said to have been $150,000 appropriated by the State of Pennsylvania.
ING
PUBLIC DOCK, ERIE, PA.
Some Erie City Justices of the Peace and Aldermen Since 1823.
Names. Commissioned.
George Moore March 26, 1823
Giles Sanford Dec. 13, 1823
E. D. Gunnison March 15, 1825
Wm. Kelley Aug. 1, 1828
Richard O. Hulbert July 1, 1832
James McConkey Nov. 27, 1835
Jos. M. Sterrett Jan. 15, 1836
A. W. Brewster Oct. 26, 1837
Gideon J. Ball March 8, 1838
A. B. Foster March 3, 1838
Christian Heck April 14, 1840
Geo. Kellogg April 14, 1840
Halsey Pelton April 11, 1843
S. Merwin Smith April 10, 1849
John A. Tracy April 10, 1849
John Sweeney June 25, 1850
Wilson Laird May 10, 1852
A. A. Craig April 16, 1853
Henry Gingrich
April 13, 1853
Wm. Thornton
June 21, 1855
J. F. Downing April 14, 1857
E. Camphausen
April 13, 1859
Frederick Curtze April 10, 1860
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Gustav Jarecki May 24, 1862
F. W. Koehler April 14, 1863
John Ferrier
April 11, 1876
C. Swalley April 11, 1876
Sam Woods April 11, 1876
E. P. Bennett
April 12, 1866
James R. Burns
March 17, 1877
P. B. Honecker
April 14, 1868
Adam Acheson
April 18, 1878
Geo. P. Griffith
Nov.
6,1869
Jos. W. Kelso
July 6, 1878
Geo. D. Buckley April 20, 1871
Daniel McMahon
Dec. 3, 1883
M. Detzel
April 20, 1871
Reinhard Zimmer
April 6, 1883
G. A. Ebisch
April 20, 1871
Julius Koenig
Sept. 21, 1885
Clark M. Cole
April 8, 1886
James Skinner
April 20, 1871
Louis Rosenzweig
April 9, 1872
H. H. Stricker
April 5, 1888
P. Diefenbach
April 15, 1873
Jos. P. Hollen
May 18, 1892
Wilson King
March 14, 1874
Jacob E. Swap
April 16, 1894
M. M. Moore March 14, 1874
Albert J. Doerr
April 16, 1895
Thos. Crowley March 13, 1875
Boards of Early Fire Commissioners.
Feb. 22, 1826-Active Fire Company 1848-Vulcan
1837-Red Jacket Fire Company
1852-Phoenix Hook and Ladder
1839-Perry Fire Company
1861-Parade Street Company
1839-Eagle Fire Company
Up to April 7, 1884-Mayor and
1844-Mechanics, No. 3
Councils
Early Erie Water Commissioners.
1867 to 1868-Wm. L. Scott 1879 to 1885-G. W. F. Sherwin
1867 to 1872-Henry Rawle 1881 to 1887-Benjamin Whitman
1867 to 1879-Wm. W. Reed 1885 to 1890-George W. Starr
1868 to 1872-John C. Selden 1886 to 1891-C. Kessler
1876 to 1877-Matthew R. Barr 1887 to -C. J. Brown
1872 to 1878-John Gensheimer
1891 to -Wm. Hardwick
1877 to 1881-M. Liebel
1892 to -T. W. Shacklett
1878 to 1881-J. M. Bryant
Early Street Names in Erie.
Buffalo Street, later changed to Eighteenth Street. Greene Street, later changed to Nineteenth Street.
F. Schlaudecker March 13, 1875
Geo. W. Gunnison April 12, 1864
Samuel Cummins April 11, 1865
A. A. Freeman
April 9, 1881
F. P. Liebel April 25, 1871
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Monroe Street, later changed to Twentieth Street.
Simpson Street, later changed to Twenty-first Street. Brown Street, later changed to Twenty-second Street. Washington Street, later changed to Twenty-third Street.
Franklin Street, later changed to Twenty-fourth Street. Eagle Street, later changed to Twenty-fifth Street.
South Street, later changed to Twenty-sixth Street.
Water Street, later changed to Twenty-eighth Street (formerly Ar- buckle Road).
Beech Lane, later changed to Wayne Street.
Ash Lane, later changed to Ash Street.
Hickory Lane, later changed to Fifth Street.
Birch Lane, later changed to Sixth Street.
Maple Lane, later changed to Seventh Street. Ironwood Lane, later changed to Eighth Street.
Dogwood Lane, later changed to Ninth Street.
Elm Lane, later changed to Tenth Street.
Locust Lane, later changed to Eleventh Street.
Pear Lane, later changed to Twelfth Street.
State Lane, later changed to State Street-Twelfth to Twenty-sixth Streets.
French Lane, later changed to French Street-Twelfth to Twenty- sixth Streets.
Holland Lane, later changed to Holland Street-Twelfth to Twenty- sixth Streets.
German Lane, later changed to German Street-Twelfth to Twenty- sixth Streets.
Erie Streets as They Existed in 1837.
East Avenue, Beech Lane, Ash Lane, Parade Street, French Road, Russell Road (now Wattsburg Road), German, Holland, French, State, Turnpike, Peach, Sassafras, Myrtle, Chestnut, Walnut, Cherry, Poplar, Liberty, Plum, Cascade, Raspberry, Cranberry, a road from mouth of Millcreek north across the sand beach, Millcreek Street, "Road to the Lighthouse" along the bluff south of Bluff Street from Parade to Light- house, Bluff Street, Commercial Street, Water Street, Front Street, First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, Short Street.
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Some Early County Commissioners.
1803-4, John Vincent, Abiather Crane, James Weston.
1804-5, William Clark; 1804-6, James Lowry ; 1804-7, John Phillips.
1805-8, John Hay ; 1806-9, John McCreary ; 1807-10, John Boyd.
1808-11, Francis Brawley; 1809-12, Thomas Forster; 1810-13, John Sals- bury.
1811-14, Henry Taylor; 1812-15, Thomas Wilson ; 1813-16, Thomas Forster. 1813-15, John Grubb; 1814-17, Henry Taylor ; 1815-18, Robert McClelland. 1816-19, Thomas Forster; 1817-20, Robert Brown; 1818-21, George Moore. 1819-22, Stephen Woolverton; 1820-23, George Nicholson; 1821-24, Thomas Forster.
1822-25, Henry Colt; 1823-26, Alex. McCloskey ; 1824-27, John Morris. 1825-28, John Salsbury; 1826-28, William Benson; 1827-30, James M. Moorhead.
1828-29, Myron Hutchinson; 1828-31, Albert Thayer; 1829-31, Joseph M. Sterrett.
1830-33, James Pollock ; 1831-34, Thomas R. Miller; 1832-35, John McCord.
1833-36, James Love; 1834-37, Stephen Skinner; 1835-38, James Miles.
1836-39, Samuel Low; 1837-39, Thomas Sterrett; 1838-41, William E. Mc- Nair.
Chiefs of Erie Fire Department. Department organized in 1851.
1851 -S. T. Nelson.
1865-66-J. S. Stafford.
1852 -A. P. Durlin. 1867 -Frederick Gingenbach.
1853 -G. A. Bennett. 1868 -William Murray.
1854 -James Kennedy. 1869-70-G. A. Bennett.
1855 -J. B. Gunnison.
1871-76-James S. Irwin.
1856 -Thomas Magill.
1877-93-J. S. Moser.
1857-58-G. A. Bennett.
1894 -John J. McMahon.
1859-61-William Murray.
-M. J. Duerner.
1862-64-G. A. Bennett.
Roll of Erie City Mayors. Erie chartered as a city April 14, 1851.
1851 -Thomas G. Colt.
1853-54-Alfred King.
1852 -Murray Whallon. 1855-56-Wilson Laird.ยป
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY 319
1857 -James Hoskinson.
1885 -F. F. Adams (Resigned).
1858 -Wilson Laird.
1859-61-Sherburn Smith.
1886 -F. A. Mizener (Elected by Council).
1862-64-Prescott Metcalf.
1887-88-John C. Brady.
1865 -F. F. Farrar.
1889-93-Charles S. Clarke.
1866 -W. L. Scott.
1893-95-Walter Scott.
1867-70-Orange Noble.
1896-98-Robert J. Saltsman.
1871 -W. L. Scott.
1899-01-John Depinet.
1872-73-Charles M. Reed.
1902-04-Wm. Hardwick.
1874-75-Henry Rawle.
1905-06-Robert J. Saltsman.
1876 -John W. Hammond.
1906-12-M. Liebel, Jr.
1877 -Selden Marvin.
1912-16-Wm. J. Stern.
1878-80-D. T. Jones.
1916-24-Miles Kitts.
1881-82-Joseph McCarter.
1924- - Jos. C. Williams.
Members of the First Erie City Councils.
1851-Thomas G. Colt, Mayor, presiding.
Select Council-Jonas Gunnison, Clerk; C. McSparren, William M. Gallagher, F. Schneider, John Zimmerly, S. M. Carpenter, A. W. Brewster.
Common Council-James D. Dunlap, President; William P. Trim- ball, Clerk; Wilson King, James Skinner, Thomas Dillon, Samuel W. Keefer, Daniel G. Landon, Adam Acheson, L. Momeyer, O. D. Spafford, A. A. Craig, Prescott Metcalf, Josiah Kellogg.
1852-Murray Whallon, Mayor, presiding.
Select Council-W. H. Sherman, Clerk; F. Schneider, D. G. Landon, P. Sennett, John Zimmerly, J. B. Smyth, A. P. Durlin.
Common Council-William S. Lane, President; William Thornton, Clerk; S. W. Keefer, W. B. Hayes, J. H. Riblet, G. J. Morton, J. W. Duggan, C. Siegel, F. Mutterer, D. D. Walker, J. B. Gun- nison, H. P. Mehaffey, John Graham.
1883-84-P. A. Becker.
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CHAPTER XVI
FIRST MILLS, FACTORIES, ETC.
EARLY MILLS AND SHOPS IN ERIE-EARLY COUNTY MILLS.
Undoubtedly the first enterprise in the county of a manufacturing character, unless the French had done something in a desultory way, was the saw-mill constructed at the mouth of Millcreek, in the present city of Erie, by Captain Russell Bissell, of the United States Army, in 1796-97. He, with his soldiers, had been sent from Pittsburg a year or so before to protect settlers and engineers seeking to open this county for settle- ment, but had been held at Waterford for some time on account of the active resentment of the Indians to having a settlement made on the shores of our bay. He had brought with him "the irons for a mill", and used the little mill for sawing out lumber and timbers for the erection of dwellings, barracks, etc., on Garrison Hill for the use of the soldiers. This little mill no doubt gave name to the stream by the side of which it was built. It appears to have been operated until destroyed by fire in 1820. The dam which supplied it with power was on the creek above just about where Fourth Street would cross it.
Another mill was built on its site in 1831 by George W. Reed and William Himrod, timbers of which were still standing in 1860.
The second saw-mill was built by John Cochran on the same stream, but much farther south, in 1800, where the old Densmore, or Eliot, mills stood later. In 1801 a grist-mill was added to it, the whole being built of logs. John Teel reconstructed this mill by a regular frame in 1816, and it was operated thereafter by John Gray, his son James, Jonathan Baird, and John McClure. On the death of John Cochran in May, 1836, his son, Robert Cochran, succeeded to its ownership, but sold it in 1845 to General
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
Charles M. Reed, who, in turn, sold it to George A. Eliot. In 1850, Mr. Eliot turned it over to his son, John Eliot. Henry Shotwell bought it in March, 1871, who subsequently disposed of it to William Densmore.
A third saw-mill in Erie, was built by Robert Brotherton, in 1806, on Mill Creek still farther up, where the later "Hopedale Mills" and the still later "Gingrich Mills" were situated, above the present Twenty-sixth Street. John Gingrich soon after purchased the farm and the mills upon it, but, timber becoming scarce, the saw-mill was shut down. An oil mill was built there by C. Siegel, and when John Gingrich died, his son Henry came into the inheritance of it, and built the "Hopedale Flouring Mills" about 1850. Oliver & Bacon operated it for a time, but in 1865 Henry Gingrich resumed its operation. It has for some years been out of business.
In 1807, a fourth mill on this stream was put up by William Wallace and Thomas Forster, about 1807 or 1808, where the present Eighth Street crosses the old channel of the creek. About 1810 Rufus S. Reed bought it and added a grist-mill below it. About 1822, a carding and fulling-mill was added to these mills by George Moore, who had bought them. Along about 1834 or 1835, E. D. Gunnison bought these mills, and with his asso- ciate, Abraham Johnson, operated them under the name of "The Fair- mount Mills", a name which is still well remembered by many of the present time. Some time later, Gunnison disposed of his interest in the business to John H. Walker, who turned the old carding and fulling-mill into a plaster mill, built a number of dwellings for his workmen, and then put up a large tannery opposite the mills. The old vats of this tannery were uncovered but a few years since south of Eighth Street. The tan- nery was later burned. Messrs. Liddell, Kepler & Co. became owners of the mill, who, in the spring of 1859, disposed of it to Phineas and O. E. Crouch who operated the grist-mills for many years. It has been used for other purposes now for some years.
A fifth mill was built by Rufus S. Reed on Parade Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets, in 1815. Its dam was just north of Sixth Street. He later added a distillery, and both were operated until his death. The old mill remained until well into the '70s.
Robert Large, in 1815, constructed a sixth mill for grinding pur- poses, near the corner of Eleventh and French Streets, deriving its power from a dam built in Mill Creek above Twelfth Street. The grist-mill not proving a success, he sold it to Alvah Flint, who turned it into a cloth (21)
1
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
mill, with carding and fulling facilities. This mill operated until 1840, when the water-rights and mill site were purchased by Vincent, Himrod & Co., who established a foundry there, which later became known as The Erie City Iron Works. The place was disposed of when the iron company removed to the eastern part of the city, and became the site of the Ball Engine Works and Althof's Planing Mill. Both of these have long since been removed, and mercantile businesses have become established in their places.
Another grist-mill was built by the McNairs on State Street just south of the New York Central tracks in 1827. Its power was derived from the dependable waters of Ichabod Run, which came down into Mill Creek from the flats and bogs along the present Seventeenth Street. This mill soon quit business.
The Erie City Mill was built by McSparren & Dumars in 1849 near the same site, using the same water power; but was later moved to a point some distance south.
The Canal Mills, built by William Kelly between Fifth and Sixth Streets on the east side of Myrtle Street, were bought by Oliver & Bacon in 1865, which used for its power the surplus waters from the canal. It was operated by them for years, until converted into a factory for the manufacture of bicycles, which persisted for a short time, and went out of business entirely. The site of these mills is now built over with fine homes, and the old canal has long been a thing of the past.
The first tannery in Erie was put up near the beginning of the cen- tury by Ezekiel Dunning on Holland Street between Fifth and Sixth, and was afterwards long known as Sterrett's tannery, operating until 1852.
The second tannery was built in 1805 by Samuel and Robert Hays on the corner of Ninth and French Streets, and was operated there for years.
William Arbuckle, who had learned the tanning business from the Hays people, opened a tannery on his own account on Eighth Street just west of Myrtle Street in 1820, which continued for about ten years.
John Glover started a fulling-mill in 1830 on the northwest corner of Tenth and Myrtle Streets, which also ran for about ten years.
In 1814 Thomas Miller erected a small mill on the stream which flows down into the lake along the western limits of Glenruahd, for the making of linseed oil. When ready to operate, it was discovered that no one within convenient reach was raising flax in sufficient quantities to supply
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
his needs, and he converted it into a grist-mill. Its ruins were still to be seen some years since.
The Erie County Mills were built three miles south of the then Erie, using Mill Creek's waters for their power. They were built by Robert McCullough about 1802 for both sawing and grinding. This mill was just south of the present Glenwood Park, where a busy little settlement found a place for itself at the bend of the Waterford Plank Road. A brickyard was later established near by for making brick from the shale rock which abounds there.
Mills Outside the City of Erie.
But we must not overlook the pioneer enterprise of the settlers in other parts of the county. Mills sprang up in what we may now think were very strange places. But at the time they were erected to supply a very real need.
1797 saw two saw-mills put up in the county, the one at the mouth of Walnut Creek by Thomas Forster, and the other on LeBoeuf Creek close to where the present station of the P. & E. R. R. is now, by Robert Brotherton. Mr. Brotherton soon after, in 1802, added a grist-mill to his plant. These are considered the second and third saw-mills to be built in the county.
The fourth saw-mill in the county was built by Thomas Rees near the mouth of the Four-mile Creek in Harborcreek Township. It was for the use of the Pennsylvania Population Company in the better developing their lands.
A fifth saw-mill was built in Greenfield township on the waters of French Creek in 1799 by Leverett Bissell.
Other mills of various kinds erected throughout the county, after those first ones, included the following :
A grist-mill at the mouth of Walnut Creek by Thomas Forster in 1798; it is believed to have been the first grist-mill put up in the county ;
1799, a mill on Spring Run, Girard Township, by Mr. Silverthorn;
1800, a saw- and grist-mill at Union City, by William Miles; this be- came known as Church's Mills, helping later to give name to the place, which first was known as Union Mills;
1800, a small grist-mill at the mouth of the Six-mile Creek by James Foulk ;
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
1801, a saw-mill at the outlet of Conneauttee Lake by William Cul- bertson ;
1802, a grist-mill near by the latter, by the same party, which was later the Taylor and Reeder Mill;
1801, a saw-mill at the mouth of Crooked Creek, Springfield Town- ship, by Captain Holliday, to which he added, in
1803, a grist-mill at the same place;
1802-03, a saw-mill on the Four-mile Creek by John Riblet, Sr., a half mile south of the present Wesleyville;
1802, Mr. Lattimore, and also Mr. Boyd, built saw-mills in Waterford Township;
1803, a combination saw and grist-mill, about a half mile up from the mouth of the Twelve-mile Creek, by Captain Daniel Dobbins and James Foulk; Mr. Neely later secured it, and it went by the name of "Neeley's Mill"; from this mill was shipped from the mouth of the creek the first boatload of flour that went through the Erie Canal;
1803 to '06, a fulling mill at the mouth of Walnut Creek by "Fuller Sam McCreary";
1807, a grist-mill on the Sixteen-mile Creek in Northeast Township, by Colonel Tuttle, which later became known as the "Scouller Mill";
1814, a grist and saw-mill on Elk Creek by Peter Woolverton, known as the West Girard Mills ;
1814, a saw-mill on Crooked Creek in Springfield Township, where later was the Line's Mills, by Amos Remington and Oliver Cross;
1815, a saw-mill at the north end of the Four-mile Creek gully in Harborcreek Township, south of Wesleyville, by William Saltsman;
1816, a saw-mill on Walnut Creek opposite the "Love School House", by James Love;
1816, a saw-mill on Mill Creek by Messrs. Foote and Parker;
1820, the grist-mill on Crooked Creek by Andrew Cochran, which was later known as "The Strong Mill";
1822, the mills at Lowville by Samuel Low;
1822, the mills at Wattsburg by William Miles, called after his father- in-law, the Wattsburg Mills;
1823, the mills on Bear's Creek, in Fairview Township, by Daniel Bear; these were later known as the Nason Mills;
The mills on Conneaut Creek in Springfield Township by Comfort Hay, later known as the Porter Mills;
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
A mill in Amity Township near Milltown by Captain James Donald- son, and another whose builder's name has been forgotten;
A grist-mill at Wesleyville by John Shattuck ;
1824, a saw-mill in southern Greenfield Township by John Whiteside;
1825, a saw-mill at Wesleyville, by John Shattuck;
The mills at Wellsburg by Samuel Wells;
1826, the mills on Four-mile Creek by William Saltsman, later known as the Cooper Mills ;
1830, a grist-mill on French Creek in Le Boeuf Township by George Burger;
1832, a grist-mill in Springfield Township by a Mr. Case known as the Line Grist-mill;
1839, the mills at Sterrettania by David S. Sterrett, on Elk Creek;
1840, a saw-mill in Le Boeuf Township by Mr. Moore;
1850, a mill in Mckean Township at Branchville.
Some of the earliest mills we are unable to ascertain the dates of their construction, and yet are known as amongst the first of them; some of them are:
The Weigel Mills on the Ridge Road at Walnut Creek which were built by S. F. Gudtner;
The Elgin Mills on Beaver Dam Run by Joseph Hall ;
A grist-mill on Le Boeuf Creek in Greene Township, by Jacob Brown; The Backus Mill in Harborcreek Township on the Six-mile Creek;
A saw-mill was built by Michael Jackson, and a grist-mill by Amos King at Albion ;
A carding and woolen mill was operating in 1810 in Harborcreek Township, where Mr. Cass later had a factory, south of Harborcreek village.
Iron Works, Etc.
A foundry for iron goods was built by Philetus Glas on the east side of the mouth of the Sixteen-mile Creek in 1824;
1830, a small factory for manufacturing castings for plows, saw-mill machinery, and low-priced stoves. This concern was the parent of several later concerns, and was located near the corner of Eleventh and State Streets in Erie. Its foreman was John Hubbard, an Englishman, and for a time after he had taken charge of the furnace, it is related of him that he would summon the townspeople, when his iron was melted and ready
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
to run off, by blowing a bugle, announcing the important event so that they could see the operation. This blast furnace only run a few years, and in 1840 an iron foundry, machine shop, and boiler shop were estab- lished near Twelfth and State Streets, out of which grew the Erie City Iron Works, one of the largest manufactories of engines and boilers in the world.
Various persons became associated with the firm operating that Eleventh Street furnace, and its successors, amongst them being Hinkley, Jarvis & Co., its founders; W. H. Johnson, James Sennett, Pardon Sen- nett, E. A. Lester, Walter Chester; Sennett & Co .; Sennett, Barr & Co .; Barr & Johnson; Barr, Johnson & Co .; Johnson, Black & Co .; Black & Germer; William Himrod, David Himrod, B. B. Vincent; Liddell, Hershey & Co. (composed of Walter J. F. Hershey, Liddell, Benjamin Hershey and John Fairbairn) ; George Selden and John H. Bliss.
This original enterprise became styled "The Old Furnace", operating until 1840, when W. H. Johnson, withdrawing from the firm of Johnson, Sennett & Co., persuaded William Himrod, David Himrod and B. B. Vin- cent to associate themselves with him, and they established "The New Furnace Company" between Eleventh and Twelfth Streets on State Street, the business being conducted under various names, Johnson, Himrod & Co .; Vincent, Himrod & Co .; Tibbals, Shirk & Whitehead, and, lastly, the Chicago and Erie Stove Company, which later closed its career in the large stove works on the northwest corner of Twelfth and Sassafras Streets.
It was, however, in 1864, when Messrs. George Selden and John H. Bliss bought the interest of Mr. Joseph McCarter in the older furnace enterprise, that a new concern was inaugurated, under the name of "The Erie City Iron Works", which shortly became well known in the manu- facturing world for the quality and capacity of its engines and boilers. It was one of the engines made by this company which drilled the first oil well near Titusville for Colonel E. L. Drake; they erected the iron work and the stills for the first oil refinery, which was established at Corry; and the tall standpipe of the Erie Water Works Commissioners at the foot of Chestnut Street, was undertaken and successfully completed by this company. Its engines and boilers are in use in practically every country on the face of the earth; and through them the name "Erie" has been well advertised.
CHAPTER XVII
EARLY ROADS.
FIRST SURVEY OF ERIETOWN IN 1789-FRENCH ROAD-FREEPORT ROAD-COUNTY ROADS-TOLL ROADS-PLANK ROADS-MAIL ROUTES-COACH LINES-SALT TRADE-CATTLE, SHEEP AND TURKEY DRIVING-PUBLIC ROAD HOUSES AND DROVE-YARDS.
Undoubtedly the first roads in this county were the old Indian Trails which had become more or less marked and defined in the years preceding the advent of the white man.
We find on the first official map of the City of Erie, surveyed in July of 1789 by John Adlum, Deputy State Engineer, the trail from the old French Fort (the northern terminus of the trail leading to the lake) to Lake LeBoeuf of sufficient character and importance to be laid down on that map as a "Road to LeBoeuf"; and leading westward from that trail from a point very nearly where the Erie Market House on State Street now stands, is another which is marked "Trail", no doubt an Indian way to points in the west. No doubt other trails were then to be found, and in common use by the Indians, from point to point in the great wilderness of forest which covered this county, for the Indians did a great deal of traveling, going from one Indian Nation or tribe to another, and from one hunting grounds or fishing resort to another quite frequently. Their war parties, too, were accustomed to follow well-known ways through the woods, which were ofttimes discernible only to the eyes of the Indians, or to those who were well skilled in woodcraft.
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