USA > Pennsylvania > Huntingdon County > History of Huntingdon County, in the state of Pennsylvania : from the earliest times to the centennial anniversary of American independence, July 4, 1876 > Part 23
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Gray made some improvements and sold some lots soon after placing them in the market. He built a stone dwelling house on the northern end of the lot on which the residence of Dr. Sidney Thompson and the store room of Isett & Thompson now stand, and also two shops on the opposite side of the street from his dwelling, for his two sons, one of whom was a shoemaker and the other a blacksmith.
The first purchasers of lots seem to have accepted Gray's offer of stone for building purposes without charge. The second dwelling was erected of that material by Jacob Keith. It is a small but substantial building, enduring well the wear of time. It is now owned and occupied by Thomas M. Benner.
Daniel Beigle was the builder of the third house, a frame, on the second lot east of Gray's residence. It has since been considerably enlarged and improved, and is part of the prop- erty owned by Nathaniel Lytle.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
Beigle also built a stone house near the western limits of the village, as it then was, which is still in the possession of his descendants. His son Samuel lives in it. Edward, another son, lives on the lot adjoining it on the west.
While these improvements were progressing slowly, the land on the other side of the river came into the hands of the Isett family. Several tracts, amounting to six hundred acres, and including the farms now belonging to Abram Weight, John Eberts, E. B. Isett and J. H. Isett, were con- veyed to Jacob Isett by Gen. Joseph Hiester, of Reading, on the 24th day of April, 1827. These lands had been cleared many years before Mr. Isett's purchase. He had been re- lieved from the labor of reclaiming them from the forest and could give his attention to such improvements as seemed to be required in a fertile agricultural region.
It had taken time to put the lands into the condition in which Mr. Isett found them, and consequently they had a previous history. They had been purchased from the Com- monwealth at a very early day, the warrant, upon which the part of them lying west of the creek was surveyed, being dated on the 4th day of June, 1762. The name of the war- rantee was Matthias Sandham, a resident of Philadelphia, who died without obtaining a patent. His widow and heirs conveyed them to Thos. Sandham, to whom they were patented on the 24th day of November, 1798. In the war- rant and patent they are named " Spruce Bottom," from the character of the timber growing upon them.
Before the Revolutionary war, probably in 1774, two brothers by the name of Beebault, built a tub mill on the east side of the creek above the end of the bridge which crosses the stream a short distance above its mouth. It was a very primitive structure, surrounded, except on the side next to the creek, by trees and bushes. But it probably answered all the requirements of the community at that time. It stood until after Mr. Isett put up another estab- lishment for the same purpose on a more extensive scale.
John S. Isett moved upon the land purchased by his father, in October, 1827. He came at that time to build a mill,
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the erection of which was at once commenced, and completed in 1828. Other improvements made by him were the brick dwelling house in which he now resides, in 1831, and Stock- dale Forge, called after the family name of his mother, in 1836.
In the meantime, the village on the south side of the river had been growing, and it was soon to receive a new impetus from the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
It had, however, met with a serious check to its career, The flood of '47 had been most disastrous on both sides of the river. In addition to the bridge, which was then new, a number of dwellings and shops of mechanics were taken away. A house on Mr. Isett's property, some rods east of the creek, was entirely destroyed, and the family living in it barely escaped with their lives. The old Gray mansion, which had come into the possession of Mr. Lytle, and in which he then resided, was badly damaged. The western end, about one-third of the building, fell down. The aper- ture thus made was closed with weatherboarding, in which condition it remained until removed for other improve- ments. Two wagonmaker's shops, a blacksmith's shop and some other buildings were also swept away.
But the place revived after the making of the railroad. During its construction was a period of great prosperity. A larger number of workmen was required there than at other points, on account of the tunnel within a mile of the village. These employees spent nearly all of their earnings, to the pecuniary advantage of merchants, boarding-house keepers and others.
The hotel facilities were then inadequate to the import- ance that Spruce Creek seemed likely to attain. Col. R. F. Haslett had for some years been keeping a house for the en- tertainment of strangers and travelers in the stone building standing between the public square and the railroad, but he determined to erect a more commodious building adjoining the one he then occupied. The foundations were laid before the completion of the railroad and the bricks for the super- structure were brought by cars soon after they commenced T
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running. This house, at the time it was built, was the lar. gest and finest in central Pennsylvania, and even now there are but few outside of the cities that surpass it in these re- spects. Its owner and the citizens of Spruce Creek have good reason to be proud of the " Keystone Hotel."
There is a great contrast between this and the first tavern kept there. The latter was on the Stockdale side of the river and was built many years before the property was bought by Jacob Isett. It was torn down during the last year or two and other improvements were placed on the same lot.
It would be impossible to follow minutely the progress of the place during the quarter of a century that has passed since the railroad was made. The village has been extend- ed westward beyond the limits of Gray's survey. Lots have been laid out on Michael Low's land, upon many of which Mr. Low has himselt built houses and others have been sold by him. It has reached in that direction the point where the river and the hills come together, and its further growth must be up the hillside.
John S. Isett, who had been occupying and managing the property of his father, bought it in 1841. The mill and forge rendered necessary the erection of dwellings for his employees, both before and after his purchase.
In 1864, he sold it to his son, E. B. Isett. Valuable as the property had become, the latter has added greatly to it. He has built a very fine dwelling house for himself on the west side of the turnpike, one on the lots where the old tavern stood and another on the site where his father first lived. He also removed the old forge and erected in its stead a foundry and machine shop. This in its turn has given place to the "Stockdale Woolen Mills," built by W. D. and J. B. Isett, in 1875.
We may form a very correct idea of a community, morally, mentally, socially, and, we may say, financially, from its schools and churches; with regard to the latter the history of Spruce Creek has been somewhat peculiar. In many re- spects it has been advancing, while in another it may have been retrogressing.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
The first church was built there in 1850, on the side of the hill, between the railroad and the public road leading to Canoe valley. The place upon which it stands is difficult of access and is available for scarcely any other purpose. The structure is of frame and large enough for the congregations that ordinarily assemble there. It is a " Union Church," and is open not only for all denominations of Christians, but all sects and persuasions, whether their doctrines are orthodox or not. Its uses have taken even a wider range than this. Public meetings of various kinds, having no relation to re- ligion, have been held in it. These have usually been of a moral or educational character, an effort having always been made to exclude anything questionable or improper.
The plan upon which this church has been conducted is not without its advantages. For people of different religious views to worship in the same house, to sit in the same seats, and to hear the gospel preached from the same pulpit, cer- tainly has an enlarging effect on the mind and begets a toler- tion for contrary opinions and beliefs that would otherwise be impossible. The general introduction and adherence to this plan would be the death of sectarianism. In departing from it, the people of Spruce Creek should be careful that they do not also depart from the benefits it secured to them.
The building of additional churches would, in time, have become a necessity, and that the citizens of the village and vicinity have already done so, speaks well, not perhaps of any increased liberality on their part, but of the greater ability to do so. The Presbyterians have erected a substan- tial brick church, neatly finished, on E. B. Isett's land, front- ing on the east side of the turnpike, and the Methodists a frame one on ground contributed by E. W. Graffius, at the south end of the bridge. These add very materially to the appearance of the place, and no doubt to the satisfaction of the people, and must give to the stranger a higher opinion of both.
The church first erected has under it a school-room suffi- ciently large to accommodate all the children who attend there. At first the two sides of the river, Spruce Creek and
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
Stockdale, formed but a single district, but, as they are in different townships, the children from the latter, on account of a change in the school law, have since been obliged to go to the " Hook," a mile distant.
The prosperity of Spruce Creek has been affected by the ups and downs of commercial life. James Gray thought that the iron works were to build up his village, and they were no doubt a great assistance in doing so. But that branch of business seems to have gone into decay. Union Furnace has fallen down, Huntingdon Furnace has been idle for four or five years, and Pennsylvania Furnace, if in blast at all, is working up its material preparatory to its stoppage. No forges are in operation on Spruce Creek. Colerain is the only one that is in condition to run, all the rest having been removed or permitted to fall.
But other interests have arisen that are no less important than those that have passed away, and Spruce Creek will always be, as heretofore, a place where all the inhabitants may gain a competence and wealth.
There are post-offices in Morris township at Spruce Creek, Water Street and Morrell.
The latter is at the site of the old Union Furnace, built by Edward B. Dorsey and Caleb Evans, in 1810 or 1811. It passed into the hands of Michael Wallace on the failure of the firm of Dorsey & Evans, and has not been in operation since 1852.
CHAPTER XL.
WEST TOWNSHIP-SHAVER'S CREEK VALLEY-ANDERSON'S FORT-ESCAPE OF JANE MAGUIRE-PETERSBURG-WARRIOR'S MARK TOWNSHIP-ORIGIN OF THE NAME-BIRMINGHAM-ITS FOUNDATION, GROWTHI AND DECLINE.
West township, lying principally in the valley of Shaver's creek, is bounded on the northeast by Franklin, adjoining that township on the summit of Tussey's mountain; on the southwest by Porter township, the Juniata being partly the boundary line between them; on the southeast by Oneida township, and on the east and northeast by Barree.
Warrior ridge occupies a considerable part of the south- eastern portion of the township, spreading out into an ex- tensive plateau, nearly all of which is tillable, much of it being cleared and cultivated.
Shaver's creek flows through one of those fertile valleys for which the northwestern portion of the county is so cele- brated, the land being equal in productiveness and value to any in the State. The stream takes its name from "an old gentleman named Shaver," who made the first settlement upon it, probably at the mouth of the creek. Others settled near to him before the Revolutionary war. Shaver is said to have been murdered in the neighborhood, his body hav- ing been found near a pasture-field, to which he had gone for the purpose of putting his horse into it, with the head severed and carried away. The perpetrators of the crime were never discovered and it was suspected that the Indians had nothing to do with it.
Samuel Anderson settled in the vicinity of Shaver's. A fort was built on the western side of the creek near its con- fluence with the river which took its name from him. In an account of some of the forts of Huntingdon county furnished by J. Simpson Africa, esq., to the editor of the Pennsylva- nia Archives, we find the following concerning Anderson's fort :
" It was erected, I believe, by the white settlers to defend
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
themselves from the incursions of the Indians. My grand- mother, an early settler about the time of the Revolution, sought protection there. The inhabitants of the fort, after defending themselves for a long time against the attacks of the savages, finding their supplies becoming exhausted, fled to Standing Stone fort. In their flight two of the men, named Maguire, were killed by the Indians, and their sister, afterwards Mrs. Dowling, who was driving the cows, was chased by them. Springing from ambush, the sudden sur- prise frightened the cows and they started to run. The foremost Indian caught her dress and imagined he had made sure of a victim, but she simultaneously grasped the tail of one of the cows, held on, her dress tore and she escaped. She reached Fort Standing Stone half dead with fright, still holding on to the tail of the cow."
This account, although briefer than the one given in Jones' History of the Juniata Valley of the same occurrence, and differing from it considerably in details, is probably the more reliable of the two. The statement that Jane, for that was her name, twisted the cow's tail is perhaps merely a twist of the imagination. The heroine after becoming Mrs. Dow- ling, removed to the Raystown branch. One of her sons, William Dowling, is still living at an advanced age among the ridges of Juniata township.
On the opposite side of Shaver's creek from the site of Anderson's fort, now stands the borough of Petersburg. The plan of the town was acknowledged by Dr. Peter Shoenberger, on the 21st day of May, 1795, and was record- ed on the 28th day of the same month. He had probably laid it out but short time before those dates. It was incor- porated as a borough, April 7th, 1830. Located upon the Pennsylvania canal, recently abandoned, however, through that portion of the county, and railroad, and being the near- est shipping point to the rich farming region of Porter, West, Barree, and Jackson townships, its prosperity always has been assured, and we can foresee no circumstance that can possibly prevent its steady improvement and growth in the future. The last five or six years have seen the erection of
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
several large and substantial business houses and dwellings, and there has been an increase of population to correspond with its progress in other respects. Juniata forge, owned by Hunter & Swoope, one of the pioneer establishments in the manufacture of the celebrated "Juniata charcoal iron," stands near the junction of Shaver's creek and the Juniata river, and is operated by water-power from the former. Near it are flouring and saw mills. These are the most im- portant manufactories in the place or its vicinity.
Warrior's Mark, extending farther northwest than any other township in the county, is bounded on two sides, the northwest and southwest, by Blair county, on the northeast by Centre county, and on the southeast by Franklin town- ship. Formed in 1798, it took its name from a settlement of an earlier date, now a thriving village, in the central part of the township. As to the origin of the name tradition is not very definite, but it appears to be sufficiently certain that the Indians had made marks of some kind on the trees near their village or meeting place. Jones, in his History of the Juniata Valley, says that the name "originated from the fact of certain oak trees in the vicinity having a crescent or half-moon cut upon them with hatchets, so deep that traces can still be seen of them (1856,) or, at least, could be some years ago." From his uncertainty as to whether the marks were visible at the time he wrote, it is evident that he had not seen them himself, and it is doubtful whether he obtained his information from any one who knew anything about them from personal observation.
The Indians lingered longer in this section of the county than in any other. Several who made themselves prominent by their friendly services to the whites are known to have resided in the township or in close proximity to in during the Revolutionary war. Of these was Captain Logan, whose name has been given to a spring and stream in the township and to a valley in Blair county.
The route of the Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek railroad runs through the township from northaest to south- west. It was graded several years ago, but work then ceased
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
upon it, and its completion need not be expected for some years to come, if at all.
Birmingham, a borough situated in the southwestern end of Warriorsmark township, and on the north bank of the Little Juniata river, which flows between it and the Penn- sylvania railroad, was laid out in December, 1797, by John Cad wallader, by whom it was designated on the plotas"laid out for a manufacturing town at the head of navigation." The original plan of the town was recorded February, 26th, 1799, and the supplemental plan, August 16th, 1833. It was incorporated as a borough April 14th, 1838. Including about three hundred acres of extremely undulating land, it presents, notwithstanding the lofty hills and deep ravines, an attractive appearance on paper.
The principal feature which commended it as a site for a town was the numerous springs of calcareous and free stone water gushing from every hill-side, and affording, with the fall in the Juniata, abundant and superior water power, the value and importance of which had not only attracted atten- tion at an earlier day, but had been utilized in 1786 by the erection of a grist mill and saw mill on the river, and in 1795 by a paper mill on Laurel run. At the latter was man- ufactured the paper upon which the Huntingdon Gazette was printed in 1801, if not the Courier in 1797.
Mr. Cadwallader, the proprietor, was generous in donat- ing ground in the new town for public use, having given several "spring lots," two " school lots," one for "Libra- ry Hall," four for "religious," and the same number for " burial places," and several large lots marked "Publick." On the Juniata was " the Public Landing," which he took care to mention as the head of navigation.
The proprietor then proceeded eastward to lay this liberal scheme before people there, and succeeded in "interesting" many of them in it, who bought lots and paid a portion of the purchase money according to stipulations on the face of the plot. The purchasers, finding subsequently that their lots were set up edge wise, or perched on some lofty pinna- cle, or down in a deep ravine, did not take possession, but
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
forfeited what they had paid. Mr. Cadwallader, being in earnest, however, built himself a mansion, which at that period was no doubt looked upon as possessing some grand- eur. Others purchased and built upon the more eligible lots and engaged in mercantile and the ordinary mechanical pur- suits.
In 1823 a flouring mill was built at Laurel spring, the paper mill enlarged, and about the same year, an oil mill, plaster mill and saw mill were erected on Laurel spring run, and blacksmith and cooper shops, tavern and store, all under the proprietorship of Michael Wallace.
During the interval between 1835 and 1846, Birmingham attained the zenith of its prosperity and a population of about four hundred. It then had several stores, each having a trade of from five thousand to thirty thousand dollars annually, and was the chief mart for Bald Eagle, Logan, Clearfield and Sinking valleys. The staple articles of trade were iron, lumber, shingles, hoop-poles, hides and whisky. There were three distilleries in the place at an early day, making the last mentioned article to their fullest capacity. Many arks loaded with these commodities left the Public Landing and " Laurel Spring wharf."
The first school house was built of logs in or about the year 1790, and was replaced by a second one, of stone, in a more central locality, in 1818. Both of these were built by public contributions, and James Thompson, Esq., the "oldest inhabitant," says that "the stone school house cost a drink of whisky for every stone in it." In 1860, when this struc- ture was taken down, the directors were careful to have the old time-worn stepping-stone at the door remain in its place as a memento of the alma mater of many of the prominent business men of that community. A new school house was erected in that year, which is fully equal to the requirements of the town.
The Baptists were the first Christian denomination to have a place of worship of their own, their church having been built in 1830. The congregation, after prospering for a number of years, chiefly under the administration of the
.
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HISTORY OF HUNTINGDON COUNTY.
venerable Rev. Thomas Thomas, was disbanded, and the old church taken down. The grave-yard remains, in which the numerous tombstones mark the last resting places of the sleeping congregation.
The Birmingham Methodist Episcopal church was organ- ized about the year 1830, worshiped in the old stone school-house, built the first church in 1835, and a new one in 1874.
The Presbyterian church, of Birmingham, was organized May 16th, 1835, first chuuch built in 1836 and '37, and second in 1863 and '69. The present pastor is Rev. S. T. Wilson, D. D.
The United Brethren church was organized in 1870 and the church edifice erected in 1871. The pastor is Rev. J. C. Shearer.
Birmingham Lodge I. O. of O. F. was organized in 1846, erected a hall and continued in existence until 1850.
A division of the Sons of Temperance was organized in 1846, built a hall in 1850, and was instrumental in building up a permanently abstemious population. Its "occupation gone," the organization was disbanded and the future well- being of the people given over to that most efficient agency, the Christian church.
The Mountain Seminary at Birmingham is appropriately noted in the chapter relating to the private educational in- stitutions of the county.
Birmingham has now a population of something more than two hundred, exclusive of the pupils in the Seminary. The building of the Pennsylvania railroad on the opposite side of the river, attracting trade to other points, was the beginning of its decadence. It has but one store and the shops of a few mechanics. The inhabitants are living on the glories of the past, and, like the Athenians in the decline of their metropolis, " spend their time in nothing else but either to teil or to hear some new thing."
CHAPTER XLI.
TELL-HENDERSON-PORTER-WALKER.
Tell, like the neighboring township of Dublin, is bound- ed on two sides, the northwest and southeast, by Shade and Tuscarora mountains, and is divided into several small val- leys by parallel hills or ridges, running northeast and south- west. The principal of these elevations are Pine ridge, Big ridge and Hunting ridge. The streams are Trough Spring creek and Black's run, which unite near Richard Silver- thorn's, and flow into Tuscarora creek on the west side of Hunting ridge. The township is well provided with public roads, four passing through the valley from Dublin town- ship into Juniata county, but has no other public improve- ments. The nearest railroad stations are Shirleysburg and Orbisonia, on the East Broad Top railroad. Although thickly settled, it has no large towns or villages. The post offices are Nossville and Shade valley.
Henderson township, as shown by the order of the court erecting it, was so named "in consideration of the distinguish- ed uprightness of the late General Andrew Henderson as a public officer, and his services during the Revolutionary war." It is bounded on the northwest by Oneida township, on the southwest by the Juniata river, on the northeast by Barree township, and on the east by Brady. Adjoining the borough of Huntingdon, the people find there a market for their produce, and are benefited in many respects by being in the vicinity of a town of its size and population. Many of them are accommodated at its post-office and others at Union Church, the only post-office in the township.
Porter township, erected at the same sessions of the court with Henderson, November, 1814, was named in "considera- tion of the distinguished uprightness of the late General Andrew Porter, Surveyor General, as a public officer, and his services during the Revolutionary war." The township is of a very irregular shape, having the general form of an equilat-
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