USA > Pennsylvania > Susquehanna County > History of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. from a period preceding its settlement to recent times, including the annals and geography of each townshipAlso a sketch of woman's work in the county for the United States sanitary commission, and a list of the soldiers of the national army furnished by many of the townships > Part 11
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The first district school was taught in 1800, by Alba Dimon. Abijah Barnes taught in 1801, in a room of a log dwelling vacated for the purpose. The first singing school was taught by Almon Munson in the chamber of Judge Thomson's house, or what was afterwards his.
Religious meetings were sometimes held in Esq. Dimon's barn.
' This prayer is said to have been used by another in reference to one then present, who took it all in good part, since to the offending portion was added, " But don't drop him in, Lord ! don't drop him in, for he's precious."
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
The following is J. Du Bois's account of
" THE FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE .- The early settlers of this valley, to their honor, let it ever be remembered, felt it their duty at a very early day of its settlement to build a respectable edifice, in which they could educate the rising generation, and in which they could meet to worship God. They not only felt it their duty, but they at once acted in the matter by calling a meet- ing, at which a committee was appointed to circulate subscriptions to raise funds for the purpose of building a house, not only large enough to hold all the children in the township, but large enough to accommodate all the people of the valley who wanted to meet for worship. A subscription was drawn up, signed and circulated, and another meeting was held to hear the report of the subscription committee. The amount of subscriptions was reported. Many of the subscribers were then living in log houses, with roofs made by slabs split out of logs by hand, and others with roofs made of the boughs of the hemlock. Yet, at this meeting, it was resolved that this first house which they were about to build and dedicate to these noble purposes, should be a frame building sided with sawed pine siding, and shingled with good pine shin- gles, to be fourteen feet between joists, and twenty by forty feet on the ground, and to be finished in a workmanlike manner. One of the settlers proposed that a belfry and steeple should adorn the building. This proposition was objected to on the ground that the amount subscribed would not warrant this additional expense. The individual proposing this then arose and said that, as he was desirous of seeing at least one thing in this valley pointing heaven- ward, if they would build a spire he would add ten dollars to his subscription ; a lady present then arose and said that she would add ten dollars ; others followed suit, and the matter was soon decided in favor of a steeple. The windows were to be large, and Gothic in style, and a pulpit was to be built in the north end of the building; a porch was to cover the entrance, and as the house was to face the street, the spire was to be on the centre of the building. Large swinging partitions divided the interior of the house in the middle, when used for school purposes, but were hoisted and kept in position by sup- ports, when used for church purposes. This house was to be free to all denominations of worshippers. After the above plan this house was built. The steeple on this first house of worship, built at Great Bend, displayed good architectural design, and ornamental finish, and was painted white; but I am sorry to have to record the fact that neither the fathers nor their de- generate sons ever painted the body of this otherwise fine building. But in it many youth were educated, and many a sinner, convicted of his great in- gratitude to a kind and ever-merciful God, was pointed heavenward for relief, by the faithful teacher and preacher. As the roads were very rough in those days, most of the worshippers came to meeting on horseback, often two riding on one horse. As we had no settled ministers of that time, Captain Ichabod Buck, a soldier of the Revolution, of the Presbyterian faith, when there was no preacher present, always opened the meeting by reading a por- tion of God's Word, and by prayer. William Buck, his son, led the choir in singing, after which Captain Buck read a selected sermon, and invariably closed the meeting by calling on Deacon Asa Adams, another soldier of the Revolution, for the closing prayer."
In this school-house the first Sabbath school was started, June 1st, 1817 or '18, at the suggestion of Elijah, son of Captain I. Buck. The first teachers were Miss Jane Du Bois (Mrs. Lusk) and a Miss Stewart.
Harford had set the example, after Rev. Ebenezer Kingsbury and Captain Buck had attended the Presbytery, where they 6
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
listened to an account of what Robert Raikes had done in Eng- land.
A very sad state of things appears to have existed prior to 1815. Infidelity was then very prevalent and outspoken.
" Some prominent infidels had secured such an interest in our house of worship," says one narrator, " that they could control the house; they then turned the church out, and for some time after they met there on the Sabbath and read infidel works. One of the most active men in this was then a justice of the peace ; in some way he offended one of his infidel friends, who, to retaliate, sent a formal complaint against the " Esq." to the governor of the State, accusing him of turning a Christian congregation out of their house of worship, and of publicly reading infidel works on the Sabbath.
" The governor took away his commission, and this put a stop to these public meetings." But the feeling towards Christians was exhibited still in words such as : "In a little while there will not be ropes enough to hang Christians in America."
It is glory enough for one Sabbath school, that quite a num- ber of children from some of these infidel families attended, and, prior to 1821, had become hopefully pious. After Mr. Buck, there was no regular minister until about this time, Rev. O. Hill supplied the pulpit, then Rev. Moses Jewell and Rev. J. B. McCreary. Deacon John McKinney and Abraham Du Bois, Esq., built the present Presbyterian church.
Elder Dimock organized the Baptist church, October 27, 1825.
Deacon Daniel Lyons alone built the meeting-house. Elder Frederick was the first minister. The services, for some time prior to this date of their suspension, were conducted by Deacon Lyons, who had a prejudice against singing, which he maintained with a spirit equal to that exhibited by his father, David Lyons, -one of the " Boston Tea Party" in 1773-but his success only contributed to the scattering of the flock. Very recently (sum- mer of 1872) the Baptist organization has been revived here.
The Episcopalians held service in the old Bowes mansion before they built a church on the borough side of the river.
The ministers of this denomination have been: Revs. Messrs. Long, Skinner, Reese, Bowers, Scott, Hickman, Day, Loup, and Jerome.
The dedication of St. Lawrence Catholic chapel took place July 1869. The laying of the corner-stone of the M. E. church in August, 1869, was conducted with Masonic ceremonies. The building was finished at an expense of $10,500, and was a model house of worship. But-fire has laid it low. The people, however, with commendable spirit, are already rearing another upon its site.
Mr. Joseph Backus contributed the following, in 1870, to the Montrose 'Republican.' It refers to 1811, when the school- house mentioned above may have been burned down. It stood at the present railroad crossing on Church Street. A second school-house was also burned on the same spot.
*
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
" At the age of nineteen I had an invitation to teach school at Great Bend, accepted ; went there and found no school-house, but a vacant dwelling on the farm of Jonathan Dimon was obtained, and, having passed a formal examina- tion before said Dimon and Adam Burwell, I was duly installed in my new domicile, a written agreement drawn up by which each was to pay for what he signed or sent, specified terms, three months, four weeks each, five und a half days each week, at the exorbitant price of eight dollars per month. Settlers being scarce, scholars came quite a distance, from as far up the river as Cap- tain Ichabod Buck's. I recollect boarding there, but the names of the chil- dren have escaped my memory. Silas and Hiram Buck, of another family, I well remember. They were somewhat my senior, and were very agreeable companions, especially Silas, whose mild and genial temperament would win friends at all times and in all places. I was much pleased when I saw the notice of a surprise party at his widow's for her benefit.1 My services being appreciated, the proprietors agreed to build a school-house if I would serve the ensuing winter-wages raised to ten dollars. I did so, and the house being located farther down the river, brought a new set of scholars from both sides of the river, enlarging the circle of my acquaintances and friends. "
Early in 1831, the Bowes Mansion was converted into a fe- male seminary and boarding school, the first Principal of which disgraced the "Rev." prefixed to his name. In the fall of 1832, James Catlin and Miss Lucretia Loomis had charge of the institution. When the latter left for Montrose, it was changed to an academy, and only male students were invited, J. Corwin, Principal.
A good normal school is now sustained in Great Bend Bo- rough.
"In Great Bend there are five public burial places. The oldest, called the 'Potter's Field,' on the south side of the river, was so named because many strangers have been buried there. It was given as a free ground by Robert H. Rose, one of the first land-holders of the township, then known as Willingboro. It contained ten acres, and was given to Charles Dimon and Wm. Thomson as trustees. Next, the ground known as the Newman burying ground, one mile southeast of the Erie Depot. This is a beautiful spot, well laid out. Jason Treadwell, the murderer of Oliver Harper, the only person ever executed in Susquehanna County, lies in this ground, with nothing but the senseless turf to mark the spot. There are churchyards adjoining the Pres- byterian and Episcopal churches, where many of the oldest in- habitants are buried. The ground near the Presbyterian church was given by Dominicus (Minna) Du Bois, and that near the Episcopal church by Wm. Thomson. The only really attractive place is Woodlawn Cemetery, one mile east of the town."
1 Mr. Backus refers to the following newspaper item :-
" A party of eight old ladies, all widows, made Mrs. Silas Buck an old-fashioned visit on Tuesday of this week. Their united ages were six hundred and forty- one years, the eldest being ninety-two years of age, and the youngest seventy- seven. They were all of Great Bend."
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
The following newspaper item from Great Bend appeared in 1871 :-
"'Only waiting till the shadows are a little longer grown,
Only waiting till the glimmer of the day's last beam is flown.'
" There are seven of them, in our little borough, good old mothers, whose united ages amount in the aggregate to 579 years. Here are their names in rotation, from youngest to oldest; Mrs. Silas Buck, Howe, Denison, Leavens- worth, Stephens, Wm. Buck, Lydia Thurston."-One year later, and the second and fifth on the list were done with "waiting" forever.
GREAT BEND BOROUGH
Is about three-fourths of a mile in length, and between one- quarter and one-half of a mile in width. It has four streets par- allel with the river and east of it, with five streets running east and west. It was incorporated November, 1861. It had then within its limits " two railroad depots, one large tannery, three hotels, and a large number of stores, shops, and dwelling- houses, and about seven hundred inhabitants.
The ground for the Erie Railroad was broken at Great Bend in 1847, and late in December, 1848, it was finished to Bing- hamton. The State of New York had agreed to appropriate $100,000 to the road on condition it should be finished to Binghamton by January 1st, 1849. The company run their first train through in time to secure the appropriation. John McKinney built his storehouse just previous, and it was at his platform the first trains stopped. The first superintendent of the road was Kirkwood : Mr. E. J. Loder succeeded him, and the station at Great Bend was first named after him- Lodersville-the name also of the post-office, while the village on the south side of the river retained its old name-Great Bend. The post-office mark of the latter is now Great Bend Village, to distinguish it from the borough.
The Erie Railroad station is on that part of the old Strong farm which Judge Thomson occupied. Lowry Green bought this farm, and sold it to William Wolcott, who sold it reason- ably as village lots; and by his enterprise conduced greatly to the prosperity of the town. The adjoining farm, forming the north end of the borough, was purchased by Truman Baldwin.
The Erie Railroad pays to Pennsylvania $10,000 yearly for the right of way through Susquehanna County, or rather for freedom from taxation, and the company finds in the arrange- ment a pecuniary gain.
The State of New York, ten years previous to the construc- tion of the road, had desired to procure from Pennsylvania that small tract of territory lying north of the Susquehanna River, in the township of Great Bend, and also a small gore of land lying on the east side of said river, from the State line down to
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
Lanesboro, in Harmony Township, thereby enabling the State of New York to locate and construct the New York and Erie Railroad down the valley of the Susquehanna River from the point where it first enters the State of Pennsylvania to Bing- hamton, without leaving their own territory.
At a meeting held at Great Bend, September 14th, 1839, for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of peti- tioning the Legislature of Pennsylvania to adopt measures for ceding the above land to New York, it was
" Resolved, that we are sincerely attached to the laws and Constitution of Pennsylvania, and that we cannot better show our attachment than by pro- moting her interest and convenience.
" Resolved, that in our opinion, both the great States of New York and Pennsylvania would be sharers in the benefit arising from the construction of the New York and Erie Railroad, and that the citizens of both States ought to pursue a liberal policy to secure and facilitate the construction of this great public improvement on the best possible route.
" Resolved, that with these views, those of us living within the bounds of the above strip of land, have signed our names to the petition in question, wishing at the same time to retain the friendly feelings of those we leave in case of our separation from them.
" Resolved, That not being influenced by any political party or party measure, we invite all persons friendly to the best interests of all concerned, to aid in devising the best possible means to effect the object herein contem- plated."
The President of the meeting was Putman Catlin, Esq., and the Vice- Presidents Abraham Du Bois and Charles Dimon.
A fire, Jan. 1870, consumed the National Hotel. In the same year the junction of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad was removed to Binghamton. The portion of this road extending from Great Bend to Binghamton, a dis- tance of fourteen miles, is called " The Valley Railroad."
There was a company formed for the manufacture of scales ; the foundry established by Emmet Curtis, and whose scales took the first premium at our State Fair, over those of Fairbanks and others, but it is now closed. A patent was issued recently to Edward R. Playle, of Great Bend, for a furnace for smelting steel, iron, etc.
In the immediate vicinity of Great Bend there are five steam saw-mills, cutting on an average five thousand feet of lumber a day, besides numerous water-power mills, cutting all together probably half a million feet per year.
On the village side of the river there is a machine-shop for the repair of locomotives of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad.
PHYSICIANS.
Rev. Daniel Buck may have been the first to practice the healing art at Great Bend, but Dr. Fobes, who was there in
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
1791, or before, was probably the first regular physician in Susquehanna County. An amusing story is told at the doctor's expense. There was a young, pious widow living at Chenango Point (now Binghamton), and Dr. F., then a widower, living at Great Bend, paid his addresses to her. He was very pious, praying night and morning, also asking a blessing at the table. They were married and moved to the Bend. The doctor con- tinued praying and saying grace at meals a few days, but sud- denly stopping, his wife asked him, "Why do you leave off praying ?" "Oh, my dear, I've got what I prayed for !"
The physicians who had lived at the Bend, and had removed previous to August, 1807, were Drs. Fobes, Noah Kincaid, and Charles Fraser. Dr. Jonathan Gray remained and advertised his services at "twenty-five cents for every mile and under ; one dollar for every six hours' continuance with a patient sick of a fever ;" and added, " all shall be done gratis for any person who is less capable to pay than the practitioner is to do with- out it."
In August, 1807, Dr. Eleazar Parker, a native of Connecticut, came to Great Bend (then called Willingboro, Susquehanna County), and practiced medicine and surgery two and a half years successfully. In the fall of that year he was appointed Surgeon's Mate to the 129th Regiment, which had been formed the spring previous. He was commissioned the first postmaster in the county, February 1, 1808; Isaac Post, of Bridgewater, being commissioned one month later. The same year, March 6, Dr. P. performed the operation of bronchotomy on a little girl two years old, and extracted a watermelon seed from her windpipe. She recovered and is now living at Harford, and has the seed in her possession. (She died January, 1873.)
He introduced vaccination into the county and vaccinated a large number. His practice extended into almost every settle- ment in what is now Susquehanna County-a circuit of fifty miles of bad roads, on horseback when practicable, but in many places there were only foot-paths for miles through the woods -and, laborious as it was, it proved very unremunerative, for the people were really unable to pay much.
Dr. Parker married a daughter of Jonathan Dimon, and in 1810 moved to Kingston, Luzerne County. He was Examining Surgeon of the 35th Pennsylvania Regiment during the war of 1812; has been a teetotaller over forty years, and never pre- scribed alcohol to a patient in his practice of sixty years; and now, 1872, at the age of ninety years, is hale and active. On petition of Dr. Parker, the north end of the Newburgh Turn- pike, finished by D. Summers, was made a post-road.
In 1813 or 1814, Dr. McFall, an Irishman, educated and highly respected, came to the Bend and died there about 1835.
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
CHAPTER VIII.
HARMONY.
THE east bend of the Susquehanna River within our county may have been settled as early, or even a few months earlier than the western, but respecting this nothing further has been ascertained than that, "about the time the State line was run," Moses Comstock came with his family from Rhode Island, and located on the flat between the Starucca and Canawacta, where these streams enter the Susquehanna River. The commissioners appointed by the governors of New York and Pennsylvania to determine the line between these States, had marked by mile- stones ninety miles of it, from the Delaware westward, prior to October 12, 1786; and in November, 1787, they reported the completion of their task. At the latter period, it is asserted, the first white settler, mentioned above, was here; but he had no title to the land which he was not obliged eventually to relinquish upon the demand of the Pennsylvania claimant, Colonel Timothy Pickering. Still, for a dozen years at least, he and his sons Asa and Abner continued their improvements, and in this vicinity he died.
In 1789, the mouth of Cascade Creek became the terminus of a road which was projected by Samuel Preston, of Wayne County (then Northampton), from the north and south road, constructed, with some aid from the State, by Tench Coxe and Henry Drinker, Jr., of Philadelphia. (The last named was for a long period cashier of the Bank of North America, Phila- delphia, and was the father of Henry W. and Richard Drinker, to whom he gave a tract of 30,000 acres in Luzerne County, which was known as "Drinker's Beech," from the timber abundant there. He was also a nephew of the Henry Drinker, sometimes styled " the Elder," who was founder of the " Drinker estate" of 500,000 acres in Susquehanna and other counties.)
Samuel Preston and John Hilborn had conducted the enter- prise of Messrs. Coxe and Drinker, together with Samuel Stanton, the first settler of Mount Pleasant. Mr. Preston's own road, as given above, was constructed under the impression that the settlement he projected on the Susquehanna would eventually be a place of much business.
Rev. S. Whaley, in his 'History of Mount Pleasant,' gives the following in reference to this section and Mr. Stanton :-
" During the summer of 1789 he cleared several acres of land
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
in this fertile valley, erected several dwelling-houses, built a store, a blacksmith shop, and a saw-mill. He named the place Harmony."
Messrs. Drinker, Hilborn, and Stanton were associated with him in this enterprise also. Mr. Stanton grew enthusiastic and muse-inspired over it, of which he left tangible evidence in a dozen stanzas of six lines each, which were styled by him, “ A few lines of poetry, attempted on seeing and assisting in build- ing the town of Harmony, on the Susquehanna River, August 2,1789 :"-
"Sweet, happy place, called Harmony. Strangers must say, when they pass by, The Founder they approve ; Who from a forest wild did raise A seat where men may spend their days In friendship, peace, and love. 47 * * * * *
*
*
" How curiously the streets are planned, How thick the stores and houses stand, How full of goods they are !
From north and south the merchants meet, Have what they wish for most complete, And to their homes repair."
As we read the transcript of his glowing fancies and contrast them with the solitary relic that covers the ground he saw "so thick with houses," our amusement is tinged with sadness. Two Fig. 11. FALLS OF CASCADE CREEK. descendants of very early set- tlers in this vicinity, them- selves over eighty years of age, never heard of a mill at this point, and say "there was no mill in Harmony be- fore 1810." With its supe- rior mill-sites this seems strange.
HSEBALD
The following sketch ap- peared in the 'Philadelphia Casket,' November, 1828, ac- companied by an engraving : a reproduction of which we give :-
" Cascade Creek unites itself to the Susquehanna about a mile to the south of that part of the north- ern boundary line of Pennsylvania through which the river passes on its entrance into this State. The creek is in general rapid, and derives its name from a fine cascade of about sixty feet in height. This is about half a mile above the mouth of the creek, the banks or cliffs of which
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HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY.
are so abrupt on both sides that the visitant is obliged to wade a consider- able part of the way before he can reach the cascade, the beauty of which will amply reward his toil. At this place the rock is composed of horizontal strata of great regularity, over which the water, catching in its descent, falls in a broken sheet of foam. The banks of the creek, above the cascade, are skirted with the hemlock spruce (Pinus-abies Americana), which, though a tree of little value for its timber, adds greatly in the painter's eye to the picturesque beauty of the scene."
A traveler who visited the spot many years ago, in midwinter, said :-
"The intense cold of the two preceding days had completely congealed the water of the brook, and chilled the murmur and the roar into silence. It seemed indeed as if some magician, while the stream was dashing from rock to rock in its joyous uproar, had suddenly arrested it in its course, and turned torrent and foam and bubble instantly to stone; and the cataract, in lone and icy beauty, now slumbers on its throne."
The most that was then expected, was a good turnpike road.
Mr. Preston afterwards connected his road with Stockport (his residence) on the Delaware, by a road which he supposed would be a great thoroughfare between the two rivers, while the north and south road would bring travel from the south, and both concentrate at Harmony.
This place was then a part of old Tioga, which in 1791 was set off to Willingborough; and it was not until 1809 that the township was organized which bears the name given the settle- ment in 1789.
The north line of the State from the east line of the county to the fifteenth mile-stone-nine miles-was the north line of the township, and its east and west boundaries extended south twelve miles, to the present line between Jackson and Gibson, which, continued to Wayne County, formed the southern boun- dary. Thus the area of Harmony, as ordered in 1809, included the limits of the present township, together with Oakland, and the borough of Susquehanna Depot, Jackson, Thomson, and the northern part of Ararat.
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