History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 61

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454

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477

GAINES TOWNSHIP.

miles south of Lansing. In 1837 Stephen B. Barnes came and settled on Pine creek. In 1838 Harris Matteson settled at Gaines, and in 1863 removed to a farm on Lick run. Amos H. Ogden came in 1840 and built a saw-mill near Manhattan. David Rexford came into the township about the same time and became prominent as a lumberman and raftsman. Daniel K. Barnhart, a cabinet-maker, came in 1841 and located at Gaines. Elihu H. Faulkner came in 1845, and Alexander Matteson the fol- lowing year. William Watrous settled on Elk run in the spring of 1847. Danforth K. Marsh settled at Marshfield in 1847, and Ethan Strait in the same neighborhood in 1850. These were the principal settlers during the first half of the present century. There was also a transient population consisting of lumbermen, raftsmen, hunters, etc., who, as a rule, made but a temporary stay. A few, however, cleared and im- proved farms and in other ways assisted in the development of the township.

PAST AND PRESENT ENTERPRISES.

Lumbering early became the leading enterprise of the township. Pine creek, during high water stages, was made use of to raft logs to Williamsport and other points on the Susquehanna river, while the early mills supplied the demands of an increas- ing population. Large tracts of timber land were bought up and millions of feet of logs cut annually, until the mountains were stripped of pine. The hemlock followed next, the bark going to the tanneries and the logs to the saw-mills. There is yet left a good supply of hard wood, but it is estimated that the next twenty years will wit- ness its disappearance, leaving the township bare of timber, except a rather scant second growth. The present owners of the land are, however, making the most of its tillable area, and the township contains a large number of intelligent and well-to-do farmers."

The first saw-mill was built in 1815 by John Smith, on Long run, just south of the highway bridge, near Gaines. Capt. John Phoenix built a saw-mill in 1817 near the mouth of Phoenix run. He afterward erected a saw-mill and a grist-mill at Gaines. The assessment list of 1818 shows that George Huyler owned a one-third interest in a saw-mill. The name of the owner of the remaining interest does not appear. Sometime previous to 1820 Aaron Furman set up a hand grist-mill on his place. Its predecessor was a hominy block, consisting of a log set endwise in the ground, the upper part being hollowed out. Later Mr. Furman erected a water-power mill and also a saw-mill, on a small stream below his dwelling, since known as Mill run. The saw-mill was sold to Col. Dudley Hewitt in 1820, who with his three sons carried on extensive lumbering operations for many years. In later years this mill was owned by David Rexford, who operated it until 1890. John Benn, who came into the county in 1817, operated a saw-mill just below Gaines, from 1825 to 1831, when he became involved in debt and his property passed into the hands of Silas Billings, of Knoxville. Sylvester Davy appears to have been a partner with John Benn in 1826. Stephen and Simeon Babcock same into the township about 1830 and soon afterwards purchased the mills of Col. Dudley Hewitt. In 1831 John L. Phoenix, a son of Capt. John Phoenix, built a saw-mill near the Potter county line. This mill was afterwards owned by Perry Smith. Mr. Phoenix later built a saw-mill on Elk run, known as the C. B. Watrous mill and now dismantled. Two saw-mills were also erected on Long run, above Gaines, the first by Wheaton

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

Hewitt and the second by a Mr. Tuttle. Amos H. Ogden came into the township in 1840, and he and his brother, Benjamin, erected a mill near Manhattan, which they operated for many years.

Silas Billings, who began lumbering operations in the township in 1831-when he purchased the John Benn mill property-soon became the leading lumberman and real estate owner of the township. He erected numerous mills in Gaines, and later in Elk township, and earned a lasting reputation as a man of enterprise and untiring energy. He remained a resident of Knoxville until 1840, when he removed to Elmira, New York, where he died in 1853. During the later years of his life Mr. Billings was ably assisted in the management of his business by his son, Silas X. Billings, who made himself familiar with every department of it. He not only developed the interests left by his father, but added to them other large and important enterprises, and became the most extensive and successful lumber operator in the county. After his father's death he took up his permanent resident at Gaines, and did more than any other man to forward the growth and prosperity of the village and the township. He assisted in securing and keeping alive the charter for the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo railroad, and in other ways advanced the material interests of the people among whom he lived and worked. He died at his home in Gaines, October 13, 1879.

The first store in the township was established by Silas Billings, in connection with his saw-mill; the second by Stephen Babcock, who came from Connecticut and opened a store near the Furman grist-mill. He carried on business for a number of years. The enterprises of more recent years will be described in that portion of this chapter devoted to the various villages of the township.

THE GAINES COAL AND COKE COMPANY.

In 1882 John L. Sexton, of Blossburg, was employed to examine the coal deposits in the northern part of the township on lands belonging to the Silas X. Billings estate and to report upon the number, thickness and extent of the veins. The favor- able character of Mr. Sexton's report led to the incorporation, September 20, 1882, of the Gaines Coal and Coke Company, for the purpose of mining coal and other minerals in the counties of Tioga and Potter. The principal office of the company was in Gaines, with a branch office in the city of New York. The incorporators were Thomas C. Platt, William C. Sheldon and George R. Blanchard, of New York City; James E. Jones, of Addison, New York; Richard G .Taylor, of Buffalo, New York; Charles L. Pattison, of Elkland; Rufus H. Wombaugh, of Blossburg, and James Horton, of Westfield. The capital stock of the company was $600,000. Mines were opened in the northeastern part of the township, in what is known as the "Barrens," at an elevation of about 2,100 feet above tidewater, and a railroad, four miles and a half long, built to connect with the Addison and Pennsylvania. A company store was started and in 1883 a postoffice named Gurnee established, with R. H. Wombaugh as postmaster. For a few years nearly one hundred miners were employed, but the coal deposits failed to prove as extensive as expected, and the force was gradually decreased, until at present but fourteen men are employed.

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GAINES TOWNSHIP.

EARLY SCHOOLS.

The first school house in the township was a log building erected about 1813, a short distance west of the present residence of Aaron K. Furman, at Furmantown. Among the early teachers here were Asa Dodge, Edwin McMasters, William Drew, Maria Merrick, Caroline Austin, Mary Ann Fuller, Harriet Swan, a Miss Wilcox, Betsy Rexford, Mrs. Phoebe Beecher and Julia A. Amsbry, now the wife of Aaron K. Furman. About 1854 a school building was erected at Gaines, in which Cynthia Post, Mert Johnson, Miss Albina Vermilyea and Miss Mather taught. In 1854, also, a school house was erected at Marshfield on the site of the present building. Danforth K. Marsh was the first teacher here. As the township became settled schools increased and children were given the benefit of the free school system.

PHYSICIANS AND JUSTICES.

Aaron Furman was the first person to practice medicine in the township, and was for many years the only physician in the Pine Creek valley west of Marsh creek. His daughter-in-law, Mrs. Aaron K. Furman, has practiced medicine since 1871 and is regularly enrolled under the registration laws. The first physician to locate at Gaines was Dr. Coburn, who came in 1848, and practiced for several years. D. H. Boyer came in 1869; J. M. Duff in 1872; Dr. Post in 1872, remaining till 1874, in which year Dr. F. D. Ritter, a graduate of the University of Buffalo, located in the village. He has continued practice in Gaines ever since. Dr. Luce came in 1882, remaining a few years. Dr. Herbert P. Haskin came in 1892 and remained until the fall of 1896. Dr. Ritter and Dr. J. Irving Bentley are the present resident physicians.

The following named persons have served as justices of the peace since the organization of the township: John B. Benn, 1840; re-elected, 1845, 1860, 1865; Stephen B. Barnes, 1840; re-elected, 1845, 1850, 1855, 1860; Benjamin V. Ogden, 1850; re-elected, 1855; Henry Crofut, 1864; George Barker, 1868; R. M. Smith, 1869; re-elected, 1879, 1884, 1889, 1890, 1895; D. A. Paddock, 1873; re-elected, 1886; C. D. Barnhart, 1878; George Langan, 1879; A. M. Dunham, 1884; J. D. Everett, 1889; re-elected, 1894, and N. W. Atwell, 1896.

CHURCHES.

The First Methodist Church of Gaines originated in a Methodist class organized about 1838, the early members of which were Mrs. Aaron Furman, Benjamin and Eliza Furman, John and Mrs. Benn, Benjamin and Nancy Ogden, Mrs. Hannah Ogden, Mrs. Jared Davis and Mrs. Sallie Billings. Mrs. Aaron Furman was the first Methodist in the township, and a memorial window in the church at Gaines bears an inscription to that effect. Meetings were held at Furmantown, the parsonage being on the Fur- man place. Among the early ministers who preached here were Revs. Conant, Park- hurst, Burnett, Vaughan and others. In 1868 a house of worship was erected, and in 1883 a parsonage, both at Gaines, at a cost of $6,000. The society was incor- porated in 1869. Since 1867, when Rev. G. N. Pack had charge, the following ministers have served this church: Revs. T. Lesley Weaver, 1867-70; A. Compton, 1870-72; M. V. Briggs, 1872-74; A. B. Brame, 1874-75; P. M. Joralman, 1875-76; Whiting Beach, 1876-79; Woodruff Post, 1879-80; J. W. Miller, 1880-83; A. G.

480

HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

Cole, 1883-86; G. H. Allett, 1886-90; S. A. Peterson, 1890-91; Cornelius Dillen- beck, 1891-94; Uri Mulford, 1895; G. E. Hill, 1896, and E. D. Compton, who took charge in October, 1896. There are now twenty-eight members in this church, with sixty pupils in the Sunday-school, of which Frank Stevens is the super- intendent.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Marshfield, the second society in Gaines township, was organized about 1850, and incorporated December 5, 1873. Among the early members were David and Amanda Smith, James H. and Betsey Watrous, and Ethan and Juliana Strait. The first minister was Rev. Samuel Nichols, who held services once in every two weeks. This church has been in the Gaines charge and has had the same pastors. A church building costing $2,300 was erected in 1874. The church now has thirty-five members. There is a Union Sunday-school, with an average attendance of about fifty pupils. Charles Watrous is the super- intendent.

The First Free Baptist Church of Gaines was organized March 6, 1860, at the Red school house on Elk run. Among the early members were Joseph Sauter, John Waldon, Platt H. Crofut, Joshua Bernauer, I. Champney, V. R. Champney, Polly Crofut, Malinda Knowlton, C. M. Champney, Malinda Barnes, Mary E. Bernauer and Delphina Carsaw. The names of the pastors are as follows: Revs. D. Stiles, 1861; F. G. Stevens, 1870; Selden Butler, 1878; F. Dormacker, 1885; A. E. Cox, 1885; J. W. Kjelgaard, 1886; H. Whitcher, 1889; W. S. Smith, 1890; J. W. Kjelgaard, 1895; J. N. Lyon, 1896. A church edifice, costing $1,600, was erected at Marshfield in 1870, and the society incorporated. The church now numbers seventy-five members. The young people attend the Union Sunday-school.

CEMETERIES.

The old Phoenix graveyard, near the mouth of Phoenix creek, has been used as a burying ground for a great many years. A short distance above the mouth of Elk run is the old Watrous family burying ground. The Larrison family burial ground near Davis Station, in the northern part of the township, has been used as a public burial place for some years.

The Brookside Cemetery Association was incorporated June 9, 1893, by David Rexford, George F. Ogden, Reuben H. Housberger, H. R. Whittaker and Aaron K. Furman. This cemetery is situated near the David Rexford place, in the eastern part of the township, and is the old Furmantown burying ground.

The Elk Run Cemetery Association of Gaines was incorporated July 8, 1887, the incorporators being J. D. Strait, R. M. Smith, D. K. Marsh, J. H. Wood and J. Hubers. The cemetery owned and managed by this association is situated at Marshfield.

SOCIETIES.

The first secret society organized in Gaines township was Tyadaghton Lodge, No. 981, I. O. O. F., November 18, 1881. In 1890 it purchased the building at Gaines now used as a lodge room, which cost, with repairs, about $1,600. This lodge has a membership of thirty, and has $2,000 in its treasury. Gaines Encampment, No. 314, was organized August 4, 1892, with forty-three members, which has since been increased to sixty. It uses the same hall as Tyadaghton Lodge. Marshfield Grange,

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GAINES TOWNSHIP.

No. 1113, P. of H., comes next in the order of time, having been organized August 14, 1894. In 1895 it erected a grange hall at Marshfield, 22x48 feet, and two stories high. This grange contains about eighty members and is in a flourishing condition. Marshfield Lodge, No. 120, I. O. G. T., meets in the grange hall at Marshfield. It was organized May 15, 1895, and now numbers about sixty members. Gaines Tent, No. 224, K. O. T. M., meets at Gaines village, where it was organized December 23, 1895, with twenty members, but has since grown rapidly. Gaines Hive, No. 96, L. O. T. M., organized January 16, 1896, at Gaines, has a membership of about twenty. These several societies assist in the social development of the township and furnish an opportunity for its people to help one another.

VILLAGES AND POSTOFFICES.

The village of Gaines is situated north of Pine creek, a short distance above the mouth of Long run, on a bench or plateau overlooking the valley. It is near the center of the township and is in the midst of picturesque surroundings. In 1848 Benjamin Barse built a hotel here, which he conducted until 1855, when he leased it to Horace C. Vermilyea. In 1860 Mr. Vermilyea built the Izaak Walton House on the site of the present Vermilyea Hotel. It became a noted resort for hunters and fisherman. He kept it until his death in 1878, when he was succeeded by his son, William H. Vermilyea. In 1889 the hotel was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Vermilyea proceeded at once to rebuild, erecting on the same site one of the finest and most complete hotels in the county. On July 7, 1894, Mr. Vermilyea was accidentally killed. His widow has recently leased the property to W. L. Herron.

The first postoffice in the township was established in 1855, the postmaster being William Griffin, who resided at Furmantown. In 1857 the office was moved to Gaines and John H. Bolt appointed postmaster. He was succeeded in 1861 by Horace C. Vermilyea, who held the office until his death in 1878. His widow, Mrs. U. A. Vermilyea, was then appointed, and continued to hold the office until 1882, when Dr. F. D. Ritter succeeded her, holding it until 1887, when Mrs. Vermilyea was again appointed. She was succeeded by R. T. Martin, the present incumbent.

The first store was erected in 1854 by A. P. Cone, of Wellsboro. The second soon afterward by Silas X. Billings. A school house was built in 1854 and the Methodist Episcopal church in 1868. About 1865 Daniel K. Barnhart established a wood-working shop in the village, which he sold some years later to Henry Book- miller. Mr. Bookmiller came to Gaines in 1882, and established a planing-mill and also engaged in the furniture and undertaking business. To these enterprises he later added a grist-mill. He also manufactured cabinet ware and builders' supplies. In 1882 the Addison and Pennsylvania railroad was completed to Galeton and in 1894 the Buffalo and Susquehanna extended its line to Ansonia in Shippen town- ship. This gives the village the benefit of two lines of railway. Within the past ten years it has grown steadily and is a wide-awake and enterprising place.

Marshfield, named in honor of Danforth K. Marsh, who settled on its site in 1847, is situated on Elk run, about two miles and a half above its mouth. A post- office was established here in 1860, and Mr. Marsh appointed postmaster. He has held the office without interruption for over thirty-six years and is one of the oldest

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

postmasters in years of continuous service in the United States. In 1867 Mr. Marsh opened the first store in the place. In 1885 DeWitt Smith started another store, which was afterwards run by George and Charles Frick, and later by W. H. Brownell. In 1895 it closed, leaving Mr. Marsh the only merchant in the place. The village now contains two churches, a school house, a grange hall and a blacksmith shop, the latter carried on by N. L. Hanscom.

Watrous is an enterprising little place at the mouth of Elk run. It was laid out in January, 1895, and already contains a school house costing $1,100, two stores and a hotel, and besides a large steam saw-mill, and a hardwood flooring, saw and finishing mill. The saw-mill is owned by W. & C. B. Watrous, but is operated by Harvey & Sullivan, who are sawing hemlock lumber under contract for F. H. & C. W. Goodyear. They employ forty hands and the mill is run day and night. The Maple, Birch and Beech Flooring Company operate a plant employing thirty men, consisting of a steam saw-mill, planing-mill and dry kiln. The annual production is 4,500,000 feet of lumber, 3,000,000 of which is dressed as flooring. The main office of the company is in Rochester, New York. The mills are in charge of C. T. Cooke. There are two general stores in the village, both of which do a fair trade. Water is piped from a spring on the hillside west of Elk run, giving the village the benefit of pure water. There are now about forty houses in the place, and an effort to secure a postoffice is being made.

Manhattan is situated two miles east of Gaines, on Pine creek. This little village has grown up around the tannery, and its residents are principally tannery employes and their families. The tannery was established here in 1870 by Frank Cook. In 1876 it became the property of Silas X. Billings. In 1881 R. McCol- lough & Company assumed control. In May, 1893, it fell into the hands of the Union Tanning Company. It has a capacity of 350 sides of sole leather a day. Fifty men are employed and nearly 8,000 tons of bark used annually. A post- office was established here in 1891. It is located in the store of Shaut & Company. The present postmaster is J. C. Gilbert.

Gurnee is the name of a postoffice at the mines of the Gaines Coal and Coke Company in the northern part of the township. The office, which is in the com- pany's store, was established in 1883. The present postmaster, Patrick Smith, was appointed in April, 1892. He has also charge of the mines and store. The mines were opened in March, 1883, and for a time a large force of miners were employed. At present there are but fourteen men at work. It is expected the mines will be worked out within a year. A line of railroad four and a half miles long connects these mines with the Addison and Pennsylvania.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ELK TOWNSHIP.

ORGANIZATION-BOUNDARIES AND AREA-MOUNTAINS AND STREAMS-TIMBER-POPU- LATION-EARLY SETTLERS-INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES -JUSTICES OF THE PEACE-VILLAGES.

E LK township was organized in February, 1856, and was taken from Delmar and Morris townships. It is the southwestern township of the county, and is bounded on the north by Gaines and Shippen; on the east by Delmar and Morris; on the south by Lycoming county, and on the west by Potter county. It is seven and one-half miles from east to west by ten and one-half miles from north to south, and contains nearly eighty square miles. The greater portion of its surface is a series of mountains and ravines, and there is but little tillable land in the township, com- pared to its area. As a consequence, it is but sparsely settled, its agricultural popu- lation being confined to the northern part. When first settled it was covered with a heavy growth of pine, hemlock and hard wood. Fifty years of extensive lumber- ing operations have greatly depleted this forest growth, a considerable portion of which has been converted into lumber in the mills operated in the township, but much the greater part has gone down Pine and Kettle creeks to mills on the Susque- hanna. The scenery of the township is picturesque, the mountains rising sharply from the sides of the clear streams that, as branches of Pine creek, Elk run and Kettle creek, break its surface up into numerous narrow, gorge-like ravines. The principal of these streams is Cedar run, a rapid-flowing stream, having its source near the centre of the township. It flows through a narrow ravine, the mountains on either side rising to a height of 800 to 1,000 feet. This stream unites with Pine creek at Cedar Run, Lycoming county. Kettle creek rises in the northwestern part of the township and flows southwest into Potter county. Elk run rises in the northern part of the township and flows northwest into Gaines township. Several smaller streams rise in the southern part of the township and flow into Lycoming county.

In November, 1856, there were thirty-one resident taxables in the township, fourteen of whom were laborers. In 1870 the census returns showed a population of 172; in 1880, 470, and in 1890, 693.

EARLY SETTLERS.

In 1847 Silas Billings erected a steam saw-mill near the head of Cedar run, and around it built a number of houses for his employes. This place took the name of "Lungerville." The first permanent settler-the first man who came into the town- ship with a view to establishing a home and cultivating the soil-was John Maynard, who, in 1853, purchased and located upon 500 acres of wild land in the northwestern part of the township. Here he cleared the farm upon which his son Reuben now resides. In February, 1856, when the township was organized, the actual settlers

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

were John Maynard, George Maynard, Loren Wetmore, John E. Smith, Jehial Beach, Homer Ruggles, D. W. Ruggles, Benjamin Freyer, James F. Wescott, Jason Smith and G. W. Howd, who were all located in the northwestern part of the town- ship, near the Maynard and Schanbacher school houses. In this year, also, Fred- erick Zimmerman settled in the township. Frank Purhen settled about 1862; Henry Hubers came about the same time; Carl Walpers, in 1863; Francis Schramm, in 1864; Peter B. Champaign and Henry Brecher, in 1867; Charles H. West, in 1868; Alexander Kherley and William R. Rumsey, in 1869, and Hiram L. Colegrove, in 1872. The settlers all located in the northern part of the township, where with patient industry they cleared away the forest, built homes for themselves and their families, planted fields and orchards, established schools and in other ways promoted the development of that section of the township.

INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES.

Ever since the building of the first saw-mill in 1847 on Cedar run by Silas Billings, lumbering has formed the leading enterprise of the township. Much of the pine and hemlock has been converted into lumber by saw-mills established within the township limits, but more has been floated in the log to Williamsport and beyond. The timber in the vicinity of the streams went first, and the moun- tains were soon stripped bare from base to summit. The leading spirit was Silas Billings, an early settler at Knoxville, and later an extensive lumber operator in Gaines. Mr. Billings purchased the greater part of the timber land of the town- ship, and with characteristic energy set about converting the timber growth into logs and lumber. His mill on Cedar run, established in 1847, was the first one in the township. He continued operations here until his death in 1853. In order to get the product of his mill to Pine creek, he built a plank road to the mouth of Cedar run. Soon after the completion of this road he sold a large quantity of standing timber to parties in Williamsport who were connected with the Boom Company. In 1878 his son, Silas X. Billings, who succeeded his father on the death of the latter, sold the hemlock bark on 20,000 acres to Lee & Company, of Nos. 20 and 22, Ferry street, New York City.

The Cedar Run Tannery, at Leetonia, was established in 1879 by W. Creighton Lee. Ground was broken in the spring and the tanning of leather begun on Sep- tember 1. The massive and heavy machinery had to be hauled from Stokesdale and Wellsboro, with teams, over roads that made the work both dangerous and difficult. It was, however, successfully accomplished. Houses for employes were also built and a village established, which soon had a population of between 200 and 300 inhabitants. May 1, 1893, the tannery passed into the control of the Union Tanning Company, and is one of the large number of tanneries operated by that corporation in northern Pennsylvania. When operated to its full capacity this tannery gives employment to eighty men and turns out 450 sides of sole leather a day. The super- intendent is James L. Snyder and the foreman Robert Thompson.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Part 61

Author: Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown Number of Pages: 1454

Author:
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Harrisburg : R. C. Brown
Number of Pages: 1454