USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 22
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A horse barn was constructed nine hundred feet in circumference, the largest of the kind in the United States, elliptical in form, containing a tan bark track under cover one-seventh of a mile in length, on which horses can be exercised in the winter and at other times when the weather will not permit of their being taken outside. A half-mile track, said to be one of the best in the United States, was also built at a heavy expense.
In the summer of 1888 Major Charles Miller, who, through his promi- nent connection with the Baptist denomination, had previously refrained from joining the trotting horse enterprise, purchased a one-half interest, wisely concluding that this business, honestly and honorably conducted as it was, was as legitimate and creditable as any of the many others in which he and Mr. Sibley had invested money together.
Additions and improvements to the farm have been constantly going on, among which may be mentioned a fire-proof brick stable for stallions, a stable containing twenty box stalls for horses in training, a two and one- half story barn for colts, residences for superintendent and trainer, black- smith shop, etc., etc.
The total amount of money invested by the proprietors up to November 1, 1889, was three hundred and fifty-one thousand, three hundred and three dollars, twenty-six cents; number of men employed, sixty-eight, and total yearly expense of fifty thousand dollars, of which twenty thousand dollars was for labor.
No effort has been made to sell the St. Bel colts, the plan being to de- velop them and sell them for what they can show. One colt, however, was
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sold as a suckling out of a dam that had no record, and none of her get yet in the thirty list, for twenty-five hundred dollars. An offer of fifty thousand dollars for St. Bel has been refused. His younger brother, Bell Boy, sold at auction for fifty-one thousand dollars. St. Bel's service fee is five hun- dred dollars, and his book for 1890 was filled in five days' time. Only two or three other stallions in the United States command so high a fee. Mil- ler & Sibley also own St. Bel's full sister, Palo Alto Belle, and full brother, Electric Bell. For the filly they paid eight thousand dollars as a two-year old. For the colt they paid twelve thousand five hundred dollars cash when less than one year old. This is the highest price yet paid for a colt of this age. Two other highly-bred and valuable stallions owned by this firm are `Clay Wilkes 1840, by George Wilkes, dam by American Clay, second dam by Cassius M. Clay, Jr., and Sulwood by Sultan, dam by Nut- wood. The stallions Elector and May King, both by Electioneer, were sold during the past year for seven thousand five hundred dollars each. The whole number of trotting animals now owned by the firm is about one hun- dred.
J. C. Sibley still continues the active management of the trotting horse department and the general oversight of the entire business, but turned it over, in 1885, to his younger brother, E. H. Sibley, who is given the title of manager, the purchase of supplies and handling of funds, the settlement of accounts and the sales department of Jerseys, ponies, etc. The other officials at the present time are: George B. Jobson, veterinarian and super- intendent of herds and flocks; R. F. Patterson, superintendent of horse department; R. C. Stinson, trainer, and O. L. Rew, superintendent of farms.
Oakwood Farm and Garden Company, Limited, was incorporated in 1887, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. O. H. Strong is chairman, and H. B. Beatty, secretary and treasurer. During his residence at Jamestown, New York, and Rouseville, Pennsylvania, Mr. Strong had made a study of rose culture in an amateur way, and in 1885 decided to embark in the propagation of roses as a business. Having purchased a tract of six hundred acres in Cranberry township presenting the requisite characteristics in altitude, drainage, and exposure, he began the erection of suitable buildings and in the spring of 1886 the business was fairly estab- lished. Eight green-houses, three hundred feet long and twenty-one feet wide, were built in 1886, and one, one hundred feet long by seventy in width, in 1885; two, with the dimensions of three hundred by fifteen feet, were added in 1887, and three others of the same proportions in 1888, an aggregate of twenty-two thousand, three hundred square feet devoted to the immediate purposes of propagation and growth. The twelve varieties that now receive attention are the Perle Desjardins, Niphetos, Bride, Will- iam Francis Bennett, Pappa Gontier, Bon Silene, American Beauty, Catha-
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
rine Mennet, La France, Souvenir De Wootton, Sunset, and Madame Cusin. They are grown for cut-flower purposes exclusively; the company enjoys a large local trade, but the bulk of its products finds a market in the principal cities of the country as far west as Colorado. The largest ship- ments of cut flowers into Chicago are made from this rosery. The differ- ent departments of the establishment and of the dairy connected with it employ twenty-five men. About a dozen dwelling houses have been erected by the company, giving to the place the appearance and character of a small village. It ranks with the most extensive horticultural estab- lishments in the United States.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.
The earliest effort to organize an agricultural society was made in the year 1838. A meeting was held at the court house by those favorable to the movement at the February term of court, B. Junkin, presiding, with Myron Park, secretary. Henry Shippen made an address; resolutions favorable to the permanent organization of a society were adopted; James Thompson, C. Henlen, Aaron McKissick, Doctor G. A. Meeker, and Alex- ander McCalmont were constituted a committee to draft a constitution; Joshua T. Leech, Myron Park, and Hugh McClelland were appointed to prepare subscription papers to be circulated in the different townships, and for the latter service a committee of two was appointed for each township, as follows: Allegheny: Ebenezer Byles, William T. Neill; Beaver: George Kribbs, Doctor G. A. Meeker; Canal: J. A. Gilliland, Samuel Black; Cherry Tree: Richard Irwin, Isaac Archer; Cornplanter: John Rynd, Thomas Anderson; Cranberry: James Eaton, Alexander McCaman; Elk: James Hasson, Joseph Kucher; Franklin: Andrew Bowman, Myron Park; French Creek: Aaron McKissick, A. W. Raymond; Farmington: Joshua T. Leech, James Hiland; Irwin: Thomas Beard, John Hovis; Paint: John Brenneman, Christian Myers; Pinegrove: Christian Henlen, Samuel Powell; Plum: James Cooper, John G. Bradley; Richland: B. Junkin, Joseph M. Fox; Rockland: John S. Mckean, Daniel Smith; Sandy Creek: John Sin- gleton, Isaac Bunnell; Scrubgrass, John Craig, David Phipps; Sugar Creek: Charles G. Crain, James Reed; Tionesta: Reverend Hezekiah May, Alexan- der Holeman. Arrangements were made for effecting a permanent organi- zation at the following term of court, but it does not appear that anything of this nature ever occurred. At all events no fair was ever held.
The Venango County Agricultural Society .- On the evening of Mon- day, August 25, 1851, a meeting of the friends of agricultural improvement was held at the court house in Franklin. David Phipps was called to the chair; William T. Neill, John Brown, and W. W. Shaw were appointed vice presidents, Matthew Riddle and C. H. Heydrick, secretaries. John S. McCalmont delivered an address. As the result of the interest thus aroused
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a permanent organization was effected on the fourth Monday in November with the following officers:
President, David Phipps, of Scrubgrass.
Vice-presidents: Robert Riddle, of Scrubgrass; William Shorts, of Sandy Creek; Isaac B. Rowe, of Franklin; James Hughes, Sr., of Cranberry; Joshua Davis, of Rockland; Joseph Porterfield, of Richland; William Wright, of Canal; John Boozer, of Sugar Creek; Oliver McKissick, of French Creek; W. W. Shaw, of Jackson; David Reynolds, of Oakland; William Cowan, of Plum; James Strawbridge, of Cherry Tree; William T. Neill, of Allegheny; P. H. Siverly, of Cornplanter; Robert P. Elliott, of President; Ashbel Holeman, of Tionesta; David Elliott, of Pinegrove.
Corresponding secretary, E. S. Durban, of Franklin; recording sec- retary, C. P. Ramsdell, of Franklin; treasurer, R. A. Brashear, of Franklin; librarian, Samuel F. Dale, of Franklin.
The preliminaries were thus arranged, but too late for the holding of a fair in 1851. The first exhibition occurred on the 5th and 6th of October, 1852, in the Third ward of Franklin, then Sugar Creek township, at the terminus of the bridge over French creek. The exhibit included horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, farm, garden, and orchard products, agricultural implements, articles of domestic manufacture, etc. From a comparison of the best evidence it appears that only one fair was held at this place, a plat of ground on Buffalo street, where the Union school building stands, having been secured in 1853. Annual exhibitions were held there until October, 1861, when the oil excitement diverted public attention. The minutes having disappeared, it is impossible to give the officers throughout its continuance. The society doubtless subserved a useful purpose, and was, considering the condition of the county at that time, highly creditable to the management and to the agricultural com- munity at large.
Emlenton Union Agricultural Society, the only association of this nature in the county outside of the county seat, was organized March 27, 1858. The first election of officers resulted as follows:
President, Henry Kohlmire, of Allegheny township, Butler county.
Vice-Presidents: J. F. Layton, Allegheny township, Butler county; John Macklin, Washington township, Butler county; John Murrin, Ve- nango township, Butler county; George Parker, Parker township, Butler county; Elias Widle, Emlenton, Venango county; Joshua Davis, Richland township, Venango county; Daniel Smith, Rockland township, Venango county; J. Craig, Scrubgrass township, Venango county; William Christy, Clinton township, Venango county; John J. Kilgore, Irwin township, Ve- nango county; Samuel Fox, Richland township, Clarion county; John Showers, Ashland township, Clarion county; P. Kribbs, Salem township, Clarion county; George Kribbs, Beaver township, Clarion county; John
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Logue, Perry township, Clarion county; Benjamin Gardner, Licking town- ship, Clarion county; S. Kiefer, Callensburg, Clarion county; Mr. Robison, Perry township, Armstrong county.
Recording secretary, W. W. Patton, Emlenton; corresponding secre- tary, Doctor J. McMichael, Emlenton; treasurer, A. B. Crawford, Em- lenton; librarian, H. Gormley, Emlenton.
The first fair was held in the autumn of 1858. It was largely at- tended and generally regarded as a success; but the outbreak of the re- bellion and the discovery of oil monopolized the attention of the public to such an extent that interest in the matter subsided and the exhibitions were discontinued.
The Venango County Agricultural Association was incorporated August 22, 1872. Grounds were leased in the Third ward of Franklin and suit- able buildings erected thereon at a cost of eight thousand dollars. It might have been called a driving park association with more propriety, as trials of speed constituted the leading features of the exhibitions. Financially it was not a success; the lease, privileges, etc., were sold at sheriff's sale and purchased by a comparatively small number of the citizens of Franklin. At a meeting of representative citizens of the different townships and boroughs of the county, February 18, 1874, they offered to surrender all the franchises of the association to an agricultural society for the sum of two thousand dollars cash and the payment annually of half the rent, re- serving the right to use the driving course when the grounds were not occupied for exhibitions. This proposition was favorably considered and measures taken for the formation of the proposed new association. A second meeting occurred April 15, 1874, Alexander Frazier, of Canal town- ship, presiding, when a variety of matters connected with county fairs were considered and discussed. The agitation was continued throughout the following summer and in January, 1875, at a public meeting in the court house, a permanent organization was effected with the following officers : .
President, Alexander Frazier.
Vice-president, Justus Egbert.
Secretary, R. L. Cochran.
Directors: S. M. Lupher, H. Clulow, John Bell, W. C. Barber, Thomas McKee, R. S. Bonnett, Calvin Ritchey.
Auditors: J. P. Byers, T. W. Smiley, G. A. Mckinley. Two fairs were held under the auspices of this association, in the autumn of 1875 and 1876, respectively, and both were regarded as fairly successful.
The Venango County Agricultural Society .- After a brief peried of des- uetude the agricultural fair idea was again resuscitated. An organization was formed at Hanna's hall, January 6, 1880. The responsibilities of the project were distributed among the following officers:
President, A. G. Egbert, of Franklin.
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Vice-president, William Bean, of Canal.
Secretary, Henry H. Ware, of Franklin.
Assistant secretary, C. A. McClintock, of Dempseytown.
Treasurer, J. L. Hanna, of Franklin.
Directors: James Anderson, of Scrubgrass; James Russell, of French Creek; G. W. Mays, of Rockland; W. R. Crawford, of Franklin; E. E. Clapp, of President; William Foster, of Canal, and Henry F. James, of Sugar Creek.
The president of the society purchased a tract of ground in Sugar Creek township, adjacent to the Third ward of Franklin, ample in extent and eli- gibly located; this he adapted to the purposes of the society and erected suit- able buildings thereon, at an expense of some thousands of dollars, to which the society contributed one thousand dollars, paying five hundred dollars rental annually and leasing the grounds for a period of ten years. From the first the exhibitions were largely attended and were conducted on a high moral plane. A novel feature in 1882 was the educational display, under the joint management of committees appointed by the society and the teach- ers' institute of the county. It was with the latter that the movement orig- inated. J. J. McClaurin, J. C. Boyce, and R. L. Cochran composed the committee on behalf of the society. Pupils in the public schools through- out the county to the number of five thousand marched in procession from the parks to the fair ground, where addresses were delivered by Reverend E. E. Higbee, D. D., state superintendent of public instruction, and Rever- end J. C. Kettler, D. D., president of Grove City College. Prizes aggre- gating in value more than a thousand dollars were awarded for special pro- ficiency in the various departments of school work. Another feature of im- portance was the organization of auxiliary farmers' clubs throughout the county. In 1881 a conference of the officers of similar associations in ad- joining counties was held at Franklin under the auspices of this society to devise measures for the promotion of mutual interests, the first effort of this nature in northwestern Pennsylvania. The society never compromised its premiums on a pro rata basis but always paid the full amount advertised. In various other ways its management was in advance of the times. Nine exhibitions were held, the last in 1888. In the meantime, the ownership of the grounds having passed from A. G. Egbert to Miller & Sibley, obliga- tions of the society aggregating about five thousand dollars were liquidated by the latter and the lease, which would not have expired until 1889, was cancelled. No fair was held this year (1889), but the organization is still sustained.
The society was incorporated April 20, 1882. Doctor Egbert retired from the presidency in 1882, and was succeeded by James Anderson, who was followed in 1886 by Charles Miller, the present incumbent. James Miller was elected secretary in 1881, J. J. McClaurin in 1885, and
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
James Miller again in 1886. J. L. Hanna served as treasurer until 1885, when E. W. Echols was elected, and has been continued in that position to the present.
The Grange or Patrons of Husbandry had a number of flourishing aux- iliary organizations in the county. Cooperstown Grange, No. 185, insti- tuted March 30, 1874, was the first, and the movement rapidly advanced to every part of the county. The interest subsided within a few years from a variety of causes, and none of the societies are any longer sustained.
Harvest Home Associations have been incorporated at Utica, Dempsey- town, and other points throughout the county. Annual picnics are held, usually in the months of August and September, and the attendance of thousands of people attests the popularity of these occasions. In the oppor- tunities for friendly social intercourse and interchange of courtesies thus presented, they exert a most important and beneficial influence.
CHAPTER XVI.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
RELATION OF HIGHWAYS OF TRAVEL TO CIVILIZATION-ROADS-TURNPIKES AND PLANK ROADS-WATER HIGHWAYS-THE FIRST STEAMBOAT- FRENCH CREEK AND OIL CREEK-RAILROADS-VENANGO RAIL- ROAD-NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND OHIO -- WEST- ERN NEW YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA-JAMES- TOWN AND FRANKLIN - ALLEGHENY VALLEY - POSTAL FACILITIES.
T HE relation that highways of travel sustain to material and intellectual progress has been frequently discussed in learned dissertations upon the philosophy of civilization. It has been shown that maritime nations were first to advance in the arts; that every great river is a highway by which civilizing influences penetrate to the interior of continents, and that national isolation, as illustrated in the case of certain Oriental peoples, invariably results in a condition of utter stagnation. The various agencies by which intercommunication is usually facilitated in an inland community-public roads, navigable rivers, canals, and railroads-the result no less than the cause of internal development and progress, are properly comprehended within the generalization that appears at the head of this chapter.
ROADS.
The first overland highway through Venango county was the Le Bœuf
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road, constructed by the French to facilitate the transportation of military stores to the mouth of French creek and the movements of troops between Lake Erie and Fort Machault. There is no special record of the fact, but it was probably opened in 1754. The following passage occurs in the re- port of Thomas Bull, an Indian spy sent by the colonial authorities to as- certain the extent of the French forces, as transcribed by Colonel Hugh Mercer under date of March 17, 1759: "The road is trod and good from Venango to Le Bœuf, and from thence to Presque Isle, about half a day's journey, is very low and swampy and bridged almost all the way." This clearly proves that the French opened the road in the first instance, or fol- lowed an Indian trail, and the route followed was the shortest between the two forts, the distance being much less than the meanderings of French creek. Striking the north line of Crawford county in the northeast corner of Rockdale township, its course passed through the eastern part of Athens, Steuben, and Troy townships, entering Plum township in the northwestern part of Venango county and passing through the western part of Oakland and the central part of Sugar Creek to Franklin. The villages of Chap- manville and Sunville in Plum township are situated upon its course, which was revised within a few years after the settlement of the county and has been changed in many places.
The "Path leading to French creek" from Pittsburgh, referred to in General Irvine's report upon the donation lands in 1785, coincided with the general course of the state road afterward opened between these two points and popularly known in this part of the country as the Pitts- burgh road. In later years this name has been applied to two principal roads that converge at Springville in Victory township, one of which passes through Mechanicsville, in Irwin township, and the other through Clinton- ville, in Clinton township.
At the first term of the court of quarter sessions, December 16, 1805, a petition was presented setting forth the necessity of a public road from Franklin to the Mercer county line near Robert Henderson's, to intersect a road opened in that direction from the town of Mercer. This was the first road petition considered by the court after the organization of the county for judicial purposes. Samuel Dale, Alexander McDowell, John Lindsay, Caleb Crane, Sr., George Power, and Robert Henderson, were appointed for its con - sideration and reported favorably at June sessions, 1806, whereupon the supervisors were directed to open the road agreeably to the courses and dis- tances established. The survey was made by Colonel Dale. This is the Franklin and Mercer road, one of the most important highways of the county.
The road from Franklin to Titusville, known at an early date as the Oil Creek road, was probably laid out under the auspices of the Crawford county court. It passed through the village of Cherry Tree and several miles south- east of Dempseytown. The original course has been materially changed.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
The road from "John Kerr's landing on the Allegheny river" (Emlen- ton), to intersect "the great road leading from Scrubgrass meeting house to Franklin" at Moses Perry's field (Lisbon), was laid out by Thomas Baird, James Scott, Robert Blair, Moses Perry, William Crawford, and Sam- uel Jolly, and confirmed at September term, 1806.
A road from Robert Mitchell's tract on the line of Butler county to in- tersect the Franklin road at William Lyon's was laid out by Samuel Dale, David Martin, William Milford, and Patrick Jack, and confirmed in Decem- ber, 1806.
A road from White Oak Springs, Butler county, to the Franklin road at the crossing of Sandy creek near John Dewoody's, laid out by James Mar- tin, Jr., Samuel Plumer, Caleb Crane, and James Martin, Sr., was confirmed at December term, 1806.
A road from John Lindsay's mill on Mill creek to Franklin intersecting a road from James Adams' mill to that town, laid out by Alexander John- ston, James Martin, Jr., James McClaran, David Blair, George King, and James Martin, Sr., was confirmed in March, 1807.
A state road from Milesburg, Centre county, to Waterford, Erie county, was provided for by the legislature prior to 1800, but no sufficient appro- priation was made for opening the western part of its course until 1810. The disposition of this sum was placed in the hands of the county commis- sioners. Similar provision was made for the state road from Butler to Meadville, and the manner in which the appropriation was expended is shown by the following extract from the commissioners' minutes of Sep- tember 13, 1811:
Agreeably to an act of assembly entitled "An act making appropriations for certain internal improvements," the commissioners, after having viewed the following roads in Venango county, viz., the state road leading from Butler to Meadville and the state road leading from Milesburg to Waterford, or such parts of the same as lic in said county, have made agreement with the following persons to do and perform cer- tain pieces of work thereon, viz.,
On the Butler road leading to Meadville, John Boner agrees to dig a certain space of said road at the rate of sixteen dollars.
James Davidson agrees to dig and bridge a certain distance of said Butler road for the sum of forty-one dollars and fifty cents, at the run called Bullion's run.
Archibald Davidson agrces to bridge a certain part of said road between Scrub- grass and Samuel Grimcs' at twelve dollars.
Adam Taylor agrces to cut, open, and bridge a certain part of the said road near Irwin township line at seventeen dollars.
William Dewoody agrees to dig a certain part of the said road on the south side of Sandy creek hill at sixty-nine cents per perch.
John Dewoody agrees to dig a certain part of the said road adjoining the above at seventy-eight cents per perch.
Luther Thomas agrees to cut and open a partof the said road near Crawford county line at one dollar; also four perches of bridging at one dollar and twenty-five cents per perch; also, a piece of digging at one dollar, and a piece of digging, etc., two hills, at three dollars.
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On the road leading from Milesburg to Waterford Charles Holeman agrces to dig sixteen perches on the river hill at seventy-five cents per perch.
Willian Hays agrees to dig a part of said road on the north side of Three Mile run at forty cents per perch.
Isaac Connely agrees to dig a part of said road on the north side of Hemlock creek at fifty cents per perch.
William Hays agrees to dig and open a part of said road on the south side of Hem- lock creek at forty cents per perch.
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