USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 66
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The population by census of 1840, 367 ; 1850, 646; 1860, 1,079; 1870, 1,124; 1880, 1,282.
Assessments and Valuations of Property .- According to the triennial assess- ment of 1886 the number of acres seated were 18,694; valuation, $74.285 ; average value, per acre, $4.97 ; houses and lots, 89 ; valuation, $5.180; grist and saw-mills, six ; valuation, $2,200; number of acres unseated, 5,037 ; valua- tion, $15,199 ; average value per acre, $3 ; number of acres surface, 4,894 ; valuation, $14.591 ; average value per acre, $2.97 ; number of acres mineral, 6,786 ; valuation, $24,096; average valuation, $3.55 ; number of horses, 404 ; valuation, $9,051; average value, $22.40; number of cows, 447; valuation, $3,558 ; average value, $7.96; 6 oxen, valuation, $140; occupations, 272 ; valuation, $12,677 ; average value, $46.60; total valuation subject to county tax, $160,977 ; money at interest, $52,326.
School Statistics .- Number of schools in Washington township reported for the year ending June 7, 1886, 11 ; length of term, 6 months ; 4 male and 7 female teachers; average salary for male teachers, $33; for females, $24; number of male scholars, 274; females, 214 ; average number attending school, 308 ; average per cent. 74; cost per month, 75 cents; number of mills levied for school purposes, 10; for building purposes, 10; total amount of tax levied for school and building purposes, $2,938.97.
CHAPTER XLIN.
HISTORY OF PORTER TOWNSHIP.
"HE twelfth township was Porter, organized in 1840. It was taken from
T Perry township, and named for David R. Porter, then governor of Penn- sylvania. This township occupies the southwestern corner of Jefferson county. Pine River flows in a deep valley along its northern edge. It is bounded on the north by Ringgold township ; on the east is Perry; on the south, Indiana county, and on the west Armstrong county. The surface is much diversified by hill and valley. The valleys narrow, with only small streams flowing through them, are straight, and usually have gentle slopes which admit of easy and profitable cultivation. The uplands are more in the nature of an elevated plain, overspread by a thin covering of Lower Barren rocks. The Lower Productive Coal Measures are in the valleys, by which distribution of the strata the proportion of upland surface to valley is approximately shown by the geological survey.
577
PORTER TOWNSHIP.
The drainage is all into Mahoning Creek, which here flows a few miles south of the Jefferson county line in Indiana county. A narrow divide, along the crest of which runs one of the principal wagon roads of the township, crosses from west to east, dividing the township in that direction nearly in half. South of it the waters run direct into the Mahoning, whereas north of it, they go first into Pine Run, and afterwards into the Mahoning, at Eddyville, in Armstrong county.
Geology-Excellent coal is found in Porter township, both the Upper and Lower Freeport coals, averaging over four feet in thickness. The coal is even and regular. In 1886 a vein of coal, said to be nine feet thick was discovered on the farm of J. C. Neal. The vein which was being worked, was about four feet thick at the entrance, but it gradually grew in height until it reached five feet, and then, by a fall of slate from the roof, it was found that there was an- other vein immediately above, four feet thick. The two veins are separated by only a thin seam of slate, so that it is practically a single vein nine feet in thickness.
The Kittanning middle coal has also been worked on the R. Adams farm, where it was found to be three feet thick. The Kittanning lower coal, though present in the township, has not been investigated.
Limestone in abundance is found in the township. The stratum is from four to six inches thick, of good stone, compact, brittle and fossiliferous. It has long been quarried, having been opened on the Travis and McClelland farms when the old Phoenix furnace, at Milton, in Armstrong county, was in blast. The farmers in Porter, as in nearly all the other townships of the county, have no excuse for not using lime freely for fertilizing.
Early Settlers .- The first settlement was made in Porter township by James McClelland, in 1803; Benjamin Irons came in 1804 or 1805; David Hamilton, in 1806 or 1808. These all settled in the southwestern part of the township. After them came Elijah Ickes, in 1814 or 1815 ; Michael Lantz and William Smith about 1815. The first person born in the township was Robert Ham- ilton.
The first grave-yard was started in 1843, and Stephen Londen was one of the first buried there. Another grave-yard was made at the Fairview school- house. The first church organization was by the Methodist society in 1838, and the first church was built in 1843. The history of the churches has already been given.
Sunday Schools .- The first Sunday-school was started in 1844, with Thomas Stockdill superintendent. There are now two schools in Porter. The Zion Methodist Episcopal Sunday school has about ninety scholars; T. T. Adams superintendent in 1887, and James Stockdill assistant superintendent. The Union Sunday-school, held at the Fairview school-house, had in 1887, thirty scholars ; George Bish, superintendent.
578
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Present Business .- There is one post-office in the township called Porter, and the store of J. H. Elkins, started in 1883, is located there. It is the only store in the township. There is also one blacksmith shop, that of Jacob Lettie, located at the same place. The first blacksmith shop was started in 1840 by George Travis, and another in 1845 by John Silvis. There has never been a hotel in the township.
Rebellion Record .- Like all other sections of the county, Porter promptly responded to the call for troops to assist in putting down the Rebellion. Among those who enlisted were T. B. Adams, Daniel Barnett, John Chapman, Levi Ellenberger, Samuel Brumbaugh, J. Wesley McDonald and D. C. Mc- Gregor, of the Seventy-eight Pennsylvania Regiment; G. B. Shranger and Philip Shranger, of the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania, and Henry Chapman, Daniel Bish, P. Davis, Jacob Howard, Elisha Gahagen, S. M. Mc- Donald, Daniel Timblin, Ephraim Adams, of other organizations. The record of these men will be found in the history of their regiments given in a previous chapter. There was no bounty paid to volunteers by Porter.
Farms .- There are now one hundred and twenty- five farms in the town- ship, among the best being those of Thomas B. Adams, of 204 acres, first im- proved by A. Timblin in 1840; Richard Adams, of 165 acres, first improved in 1814 by R. Adams; T. T. Adams, of 130 acres, first improved in 1839 by Thomas Adams; George Bish, 98 acres, improved by E. Coleman ; William Bahme, So acres ; William Doak, 160 acres, first improved by L. Yeager ; T. K. Drummond, 142 acres, first improved by David Hamilton in 1815 ; John Elkins, 196 acres; Thomas Elder, 168 acres; Thomas Gahagen, 167 acres ; John Y. Gahagen, 145 acres; James Kennedy, 161 acres; Allen Kelsey, J. E. Lantz, 140 acres, first improved by William Smith in 1815, then owned by John Lantz about 1830; D. C. McGregor, 215 acres, improved by H. Coon ; Daniel McGregor, 205 acres; William McHenry, III acres, improved by George Travis; Charles Miller, 81 acres : S. M. McDonald, 138 acres ; Joseph McClelland's heirs, 178 acres, first improved by J. McClelland, sr., in 1806; Hugh Neal, 86 acres, improved by Michael Lantz in 1815; Reuben Rhineard, 96 acres, first improved by James McClelland in 1803 ; Jacob Snyder, 166 acres ; Frederick Stear, 128 acres ; James Stockdill, first im- proved by Thomas Stockdill about 1840; J. A. Timblin, 88 acres, first im- proved by George Yeager in 1830; Johnston Welchons, 123 acres, first im- proved by George Timblin and William Wearer.
Considerable attention is paid to the raising of graded stock, principally Holstein cattle and Southdown sheep.
Fruit is largely cultivated, especially apples and peaches, it being one of the best peach growing sections in the county.
Elections .- At an election held in Porter township in 1840, the following persons were elected :
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PORTER TOWNSHIP.
Justice of the peace, John Robinson ; constable, John Hice ; supervisors, Conrad Nolf, George Miller ; auditors, John McAninch, John Robinson, Will- iam Ferguson, William McAninch ; judge of election, William Fosters; in- spectors of election, Daniel McGregor, Robert E. Kennedy.
At an election held Feburary 15, 1887, the following persons were elected to fill the various offices :
Constable, J. A. Timblin ; supervisors, James Kennedy, Samuel Kroh ; assessor, William Snyder ; school directors, T. T. Adams, William Weaver ; judge of election, William Postlewait ; inspectors, A. M. Gahagan, R. F. Ne- ville ; auditor, G. C. Gahagan ; poor overseer, James Kennedy ; collector, J. A. Timblin. The justices of the peace are S. M. McDonald and T. B. Adam The members of the school board previously elected are J. H. Elkins, D. C. McGregor, S. M. McDonald and C. K. Gahagan.
Taxables and Population .- The number of taxables in Porter township in 1842 were 192; in 1849, 176; in 1856, 86; in 1863, 99; in 1870, 142; in 1880, 191; in 1886, 198.
The census report gives the population in 1840 as 977 ; 1850, 728 ; 1860, 516; 1870, 525; 1880, 669.
The decrease in the population and taxables of Porter was owing to Ring- gold being taken from it in 1848, and another portion being attached to the same township in 1855.
Assessments and Valuations of Property .- According to the triennial assess- ment of 1866, the number of acres of seated land in Porter township, 9,658 ; valuation, $33,726 ; average value per acre, $3.49. Number of horses, 142 ;. valuation, $2,739; average value, $19.28. Number of cows, 201 ; valuation, $1,573 ; average value, $7.83. Occupations, 48; valuation, $760 ; average value, $15.83. Total valuation subject to county tax, $38,819. Money at interest, $9,829.
School Statistics .- The number of schools in Porter township, according to the report of 1886 was 4 ; average number of months taught, 5 ; number of male teachers, 3 ; females, I ; average salary, $26 ; number of male scholars, 103 ; females, 80 ; average number attending school, 117 ; per cent. of attend- ance, 75 ; cost per month, 57 cents; number of mills levied for school pur- poses, II. Total amount of tax levied for school purposes, $585.55.
580
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
CHAPTER XLIV.
HISTORY OF CLOVER TOWNSHIP.'
C LOVER was the thirteenth township organized, and was taken, in 1841, . from Rose. It was named for Levi G. Clover, then prothonotary of the county. It is almost square, and contains about seventeen square miles. It is bounded on the north by Union; on the east by Rose ; on the south by Beaver, and on the west by Clarion county.
Drainage .- The surface is generally hilly, and the drainage through small tributaries from all parts of the township, flows into Redbank Creek, which traverses the township, through a deep and irregular valley, from northeast to southwest. North of the creek the smaller streams make a number of deep ravines ; south of it the county is less broken, but not less high, in both cases the summits being 300 feet above the bed of Redbank, which is here 1, 160 feet above ocean level.
Population and Taxables .- In 1850, according to the census, the popula- tion of Clover was 737; in 1860, 910; in 1870, 868 ; in 1880, 1,054. The census of 1880 gives the population of Summerville at 348.
The number of taxables in 1842 was 145; in 1849, 190; in 1856, 166; in 1863, 183 ; in 1870, 199; in 1880, 262 ; in 1886, 316.
Assessment and Valuation .- The triennial assessment of the county for 1886, gives the number of acres of seated land in Clover as 9,813 ; valuation, $42,121 ; average per acre, $4.29; number of houses and lots, 120; valua- tion, $8,816. Number of acres of unseated land, 6; valuation, $70.00 ; aver- age per acre, $11.66. Number of horses, 160; valuation, $4,164 ; average, $26.02. Number of cows, 232 ; valuation, $2,208 ; average, $9.51. Occupa- tions, 144 ; valuation, $3,040 ; average, $21.11. Total valuation, subject to county tax, $60,349. Money at interest, $42,285.
School Statistics .- There were six schools in Clover according to the report of public instruction for the year ending June 30, 1886; average number of months taught, 5 ; number of male teachers, 5, and I female teacher ; average salary of male teachers per month, $33.40 ; salary of female teacher, $30.00 ; number of scholars, 174 males; 149 females ; average number attending school, 238; average per cent. attendance, 89; cost per month, 64 cents ; 13 mills levied for school tax ; 5 mills levied for building tax ; total amount of tax levied for school and building purposes, $1,300.56.
First Election .- At an election held in Clover township, in 1842, the fol- lowing person was elected : Fence viewer, William Magill.
In 1843 the following were elected : Inspectors of election, Samuel Mill-
1 Prepared by Captain J. C. Kelso.
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CLOVER TOWNSHIP.
iron, Euphrastus Carrier ; judge of election, Solomon Fuller; supervisors, James Sowers, Hazard Jacox ; school directors, Hiram Carrier, Mathew Dickey, John Shields, Henry Scott, Samuel Lucas, Christopher Fogle ; constable, Charles Jacox ; assessor, Euphrastus Carrier ; auditors, D. Fayerweather, P. I. Lucas ; overseers of the poor, Elijah Heath, Robert Andrews ; town clerk, A. Bald- win.
The election held February 15, 1887, resulted in the election of the follow- ing persons in Clover township : Justice of the peace, W. B. Mohney ; consta- ble, C. E. Anderson ; supervisors, G. R. McAninch and S. C. Carrier ; school directors, D. B. Shields and A. A. Carrier ; poor overseer, G. B. Carrier ; tax collector, R. D. Corbet; assessor, \V. S. Kelso; judge of election, William Covert ; inspectors, William Guthrie and J. C. Wilson. The school directors previously elected are W. S. Osburn, A. Osburn, B. T. Shields and G. A. Carrier.
Topographical .- Lying on both sides of Redbank Creek, Clover township is very hilly. There is not in one place a hundred acres which could be said to be level except the site of Summerville.
There is another small piece of creek bottom land on the farmi of Captain J. C. Kelso, one mile farther up the creek, and another on Joseph Knapp's farm (the old Lucas place, below Puckerty).
Most of the hill land is moderately productive, especially on the eastern side of the hill. Of late years the land has suffered some damage from the wash of heavy rains on a loose soil. There is an abundant supply of coal and limestone in Clover, also a good well of salt water on the north bank of the creek in the suburbs of Summerville. Thomas and John Lucas bored for salt in 1823 on the bottom land below Puckerty. They obtained a small flow of salt water, but as they worked the drill with a pole in trying to get deeper, the drill stuck fast and they abandoned the enterprise. Some of the first set- tlers were told by the Indians that there was a lead mine on the bank of the creek one mile below John Lucas's. The mine has never been found, but the hope of finding it has never been abandoned.
Mr. James Anderson, sr., who erected the salt works, had previously been a partner with a Major Johnston in saltworks on the Kiskiminetas, Westmore- land county. In 1840 Major Johnston came out and purchased three hundred and sixty acres of land on Redbank, and with a pole power sank a shaft eight hundred and fifty feet deep, finding at that depthi what salt producers know as a three barrel well. The major then failed in business, and turned over the Redbank property to James Anderson, who settled at Coal Hill in 1843 and manufactured salt there for about twenty-five years. This property is now owned by ex-Sheriff S. P. Anderson, James Anderson, and W. H. Anderson. It contains two fine farms, and a large amount of mineral wealth.
Geological .- The following minerals have been found in Coal Hill, on the property of ex-Sheriff S. P. Anderson. 70
582
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
First. The salt shaft developed a vein of coal eight feet thick at a depth of eighty feet.
Second. Vein of coal four feet thick, thirty feet above the creek.
Third. Vein of limestone six and a half feet thick, forty feet above four feet coal vein.
Fourth. Fire-clay undeveloped.
Fifth. Vein of coal thirty-two inches thick, about twenty-five feet above limestone.
Sixth. Vein of coal seven feet thick, about eighty feet above thirty-two inch vein of coal.
Seventh. Vein of iron ore under seven feet coal vein, undeveloped, seems to be eighteen inches thick at surface, and has been pronounced by an expert the very best quality.
There are but few farms in Clover which have no coal developed, and many of them have three veins.
There are ten coal banks in active operation within one mile of Summer- ville, and good coal can be bought at two to four cents per bushel at the banks.
There has never been a well of sufficient depthi put down in Clover to test it as oil territory.
Native Forests and Animals .- It would perhaps be difficult to find any- where in the world a more valuable forest than that which clothed Clover ownship at the time of its first settlement. It was all covered with white pine, white oak, and other valuable timber.
Fifty years ago very valuable timber was cut down, logged, rolled on great heaps and burnt in order to clear the land ; this, too, within sight of the creek. There are hundreds of acres of land in Clover which would readily sell for five hundred dollars per acre if they contained the original forest untouched. There is still, however, enough timber for building and fencing purposes, if carefully handled.
Wild animals are seldom seen now, and no wonder, for there is scarcely one hundred acres together of woodland to shelter them. A large bear was killed on Baxter's property in 1882. It had probably been driven in from the large forests up north. If we could have a law that there should be no fishing done in Redbank Creek for three years, fish would then be plentiful, and with a little protection might remain so.
Early Settlement .- The first settlement in Clover township was made in Troy, now Summerville, about the year 1812, by Summers Baldwin, who pur- chased the land on which Summerville now stands from the Holland Land Company. Solomon Fuller and John Welch each purchased land of Baldwin ; but as Baldwin never perfected his title, they, after some time and trouble, obtained their titles from the Holland Land Company, which at that time owned the greater part, if not all of what is now Clover township. Summer-
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CLOVER TOWNSHIP.
ville is named for Summers Baldwin. It is located on Redbank Creek, seven miles below Brookville. The above named families-Baldwin, Fuller and Welch-were the only ones which " Uncle " Darius Carrier found located in Troy in 1816; but some time previous to this a man named Scott had built a saw-mill on what is now known as Hiram's Run, and for some cause unknown had gone away and left the mill standing idle.
Between the years 1816 and 1820 Frederick Hettrick, Henry Lot, Alonzo Baldwin, and - McElwaine were added to the Troy settlement, and the Carriers in 1820.
The next settlement was also on Redbank Creek, three miles above Troy, at a place afterwards called Puckerty, because of the difficulty of navigating rafts around the rapid current of a short and sharp S shaped bend. The first settlers at the lower end of Puckerty shute were Thomas and John Lucas. They built their cabins there in 1818. The next year they were joined by Moses Knapp, Robert Andrews and Walter Templeton, as neighbors Then, in 1820, there came from Huntingdon county the following named per- sons and their families: James Shields, William Morrison, Hugh William- son, Samuel Magill. John McGiffin, John Kennedy and John Kelso. These came on wagons, the distance being about one hundred miles, and the road mostly through woods. They purchased land north and west of the Lucases, and formed what was afterwards known as the Irish Settlement ; that at Troy was called the Yankee Settlement, and one further down the creek, in what is now Beaver township, of Jefferson, and Redbank, of Clarion county, was called the Dutch Settlement. The Irish Settlement is just north of Dowling- ville. The buildings north of the creek at Baxter Station are called Dowling- ville; those on the south side are called Baxter.
Pioneer Incidents .- It does not appear why Thomas and John Lucas chose to settle at Puckerty. The place does not look very inviting, even at this date, but it seems that the first settlers followed the streams, and a little patch of creek bottom may have been the inducement. It is related that Mrs. Esther Lucas, wife of John Lucas, having occasion to visit a neighbor who resided on the hill, found a wolf caught in a trap, and fearing that it might get loose and escape, she killed it with a stick.
A man named Scott built a saw-mill on Hiram's Run, in Troy, about 1814. For some cause unknown Scott abandoned the mill for a time. About 1816 the mill was stolen and re-erected on Welch Run.
"In 1820 a good mill could be built for three hundred dollars, the saw and irons costing about one hundred."
Moses Knapp built seven mills, viz: Two on the North Fork, one on Knapp's Run, and four on Redbank Creek. Major A. A. Carrier says : " My father, having sold lumber and bought some goods at Pittsburgh, put them into a canoe and poled it from Pittsburgh to near lleathville."
584
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Troy being located on low ground, some of which was marshy and some- what unhealthy, when a man named Lot settled there some wag gave the place the name of Sodom. Then having met Lot's flitting, leaving the place, he announced that Sodom was about to be destroyed, "For," said he, " I have just now seen Lot flying from it."
" In the fall of 1826, at a manure hauling at James Shield's, at which there were twelve or fifteen teams, there was only one horse team and wagon, the other teams being oxen and hitched to sleds.
" Most of the work was done by bees or frolics. I have seen six frolics in a week ; that week we were at home only on the day of our own frolic.
" About 1826 boards were sold as low as three dollars per thousand feet in Pittsburgh.
" In 1833 the wages for a hand for a trip on the creek was one dollar and fifty cents. Fred Hettrick sold a lot of large choice pine timber for six cents per foot, linear measure."
Lumbering .- Lumbering in Clover is chiefly a thing of the past, still there are a few lumbermen remaining, and most of the older citizens have taken a hand at it in bygone days. The Carriers especially have cleared immense forests of timber, and handled millions of dollars worth of lumber. The late ex-Sheriff Nathan Carrier was a partner in a firm which in one year (about 1866) ran over one hundred rafts of pine timber. About this time there were as high as two thousand rafts ran out of Redbank from March till November inclusive. As to the value of these the following estimate is not far from cor- rect :
1,000 rafts timber, 4,500 feet per raft. 20 cents per cubic foot. $900,000 1.000 rafts, boards, 40,000 feet per raft, $20 per thousand feet. 800,000
Shingles, lath, boat gunwales, spars, etc. 300,000
Total $2,000,000
This estimate gives us an aggregate of two millions as the annual value of Redbank's lumber at that time, and Clover did perhaps as much as any other township in the handling of it. The above estimate of the value of the timber is perhaps a little high, but on the boards it is low. Brown & Fuller in 1866 sold boards in Pittsburgh for twenty-four dollars per thousand in the water, the boards being what lumbermen understand as the " run of the logs."
In those days the men of Clover were nearly all raftmen. A pilot's wages was twenty dollars and expenses from Brookville to mouth of Redbank, and although it took him a day to walk back (unless he did the walking in the night) he earned ten dollars a day, and thus some pilots earned as high as a hundred and fifty dollars in one season, and in less than a month's work, and common hands half as much. But all this has been changed by the railroad, and an old-fashioned raft on the creek will soon be as much of a curiosity to the rising generation as an Indian.
There are still two saw-mills in Clover - Carrier's and Baxter's - doing a
V. A. Carrier /
585
CLOVER TOWNSHIP.
considerable business, and several of the citizens have some lumber interests elsewhere. The sights and scenes of the old rafting times would be both in- structive and amusing. Sometimes the creek was so full of rafts that some were crowded out of the channel. These sometimes formed a gorge, or jam. Then at the mouth of the creek there was sometimes the greatest of all jams, and as there was sometimes a thousand men there and accommodations for only half of them " the night was filled with drinking, and the cares that infested the day folded their tents like the Arabs and silently flitted away."
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