USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 61
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600.
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
been chorister of a Presbyterian church at Manor Hill, Huntingdon county, and it was at his house that the Sunville church was organized. He died at the age of ninety-five.
The first houses in the town were built by Robert Mcclellan and Mrs. Mary McFadden. That of the former was situated on the east side of Franklin street, where W. W. Thompson's now stands, and was constructed of hewn logs. Mr. Mcclellan was a wagon maker by trade, but farmed principally during his residence here. Mrs. McFadden was a widow and supported her family with the products of her loom. James Hays, a cooper by trade, built the first house on Green street, a hewn log building on the east side. The town has never enjoyed a "boom," and its present propor- tions represent the gradual expansion usually characteristic of inland vil- lages.
The only industries of any importance were the cooper shops in opera- tion during the great demand for barrels incident to the oil developments of 1861 and subsequent years. A pottery was placed in operation in 1838 by W. W. and James Davison but never passed beyond the experimental stage.
The town was incorporated as a borough January 27, 1879. The first town council was composed of J. C. Richey, W. G. Billig, Paul Messner, John Matthews, Samuel Hays, and W. K. Gilliland. The following per- sons have been elected to the office of burgess: 1879, S. Thomas; 1881, W. K. Gilliland; 1882, J. C. Richey; 1883, S. Thomas; 1884, F. M. Thomas; 1885, O. C. Davison; 1886, F. M. Thomas; 1887-89, W. W. Thompson.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized May 29, 1886. Sunbeam Division, No. 245, Sons of Temperance, was instituted July . 25, 1889. The first officers were C. A. Gilliland, patriarch; H. W. Gordon, recording scribe; O. C. Davison, financial scribe, and Alice E. Richey, treasurer.
The Y. W. T. C. U. was organized August 7, 1889, with Alice E. Richey, president; Ruie Richey, secretary; Mary Gilliland, corresponding secretary; Mary Hays, treasurer, and a membership of thirteen.
CHAPMANVILLE.
This village is situated on the Oil creek road, the shortest route between Meadville and Titusville and a much traveled thoroughfare before the open- ing of railroads through this part of the state. The first settler on the site of the town was one Carver, whose residence was evidently brief, as nothing of a personal nature concerning him has been preserved in the traditions of the neighborhood. He was succeeded by David Chapman, a worker in wood who had previously lived at Diamond but removed to the place which has since received his name. His house was a small log building diagonally opposite Whitman's store. A brother, Ezekiel Chapman, built a frame house on the site of the hotel. It was to this collection of houses and in-
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PLUM TOWNSHIP.
habitants that the name of Chapmanville was first applied. The first mer- chant was Eli Holder. There are three churches in the village, two stores, a planing mill, and blacksmith shop. The postoffice name is Plum.
Lieutenant Herron Command, No. 10, Union Veterans' Union, was mustered January 21, 1888, and numbered the following comrades: J. S. Scharp, R. W. Davison, Philip Smith, James F. Davison, William Sharp, C. Billig, D. W. Davison, Samuel Erhart, Charles J. Smith, A. W. Richey, G. Beers, G. W. Grove, J. F. Lamberton, T. T. Watt, J. S. Davison, W. J. Harry, J. W. Morse, Levi Shields, Nicholas Reibt, Justice Smith, and L. E. McFadden. The place of meeting was at Sunville for a time.
Plum Tent, No. 52, Knights of the Maccabees, was instituted January 16, 1888, with the following officers: Thomas H. Richey, P. S. K. C .; William F. Whitman, S. K. C .; George W. Grove, S. K. L. C .; Frank Gehr, S. K. R. H., and John W. Arters, S. K. F. K.
WALLACEVILLE.
A mill, store, church, the shops of several local mechanics, and perhaps a dozen houses constitute the village of Wallaceville, which is situated in the eastern part of the township on Sugar creek. The place derives its name from W. W. Wallace of Pittsburgh, who purchased the property and intrusted its management to a Mr. Brown, by whom the village was laid out, lots sold, a store and postoffice established, etc. The mill was built by Rodgers, but Mr. Wallace acquired this also and under such a condi- tion of affairs the name was eminently appropriate.
DIAMOND.
Seven miles from Titusville and twenty from Meadville on the main road between those places is Diamond, the most northerly village of Venango county. It sustains a public school, church, and two stores. The first house was built by Andrew Proper and sold by him to David Chapman, founder of Chapmanville. Luke Eddy kept hotel here many years. The first store was opened by Homan & Tracy.
BRADLEYTOWN.
John G. Bradley, accompanied by his father and brother Robert, emi- grated from Ireland in 1790; in 1816 he removed from Huntingdon to Ve- nango county, locating on a tract of land that embraces that part of Bradley- town east of the Cooperstown road. Here he built a grist and saw mill; the former has been incorporated into the present mill on its site, while the latter has been dismantled but still stands, a reminder of the past. Jacob Jennings settled on the adjoining tract at an earlier date and was the first blacksmith. J. M. Smith was the first merchant and W. H. Bradley the first postmaster. The place was popularly known as Frogtown before the postoffice was established.
602
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
CHURCHES.
Sunville Presbyterian Church was organized June 12, 1839, at the home of Samuel Hays by a presbyterial committee with Reverend Thomas Ander- son as moderator. The constituent members, many of whom had pre- viously been connected with Sugar Creek church, were John McJunkin, Samuel Beatty, Samuel Hays, William McClellan, Susan Boyles, Robert McClellan, John Davison, James Davison, Nancy Hays, Margaret Jane McJunkin, Joseph Shields, Sr., W. W. Davison, Mary Hays, Eliza Da- vison, Catharine Shields, Bethiah Davison, Mary Hays, Jr., Margaret Da- vison, Ann Mcclellan, Leah Beatty, Sarah Jane Hays, James Bradley, Jane Bradley, Eliza Neely, and Martha Neely, of whom but one, James Davison, is still a member. James Hays and W. W. Davison were ordained as elders at the time the organization was formed. Their successors have been installed in the following order: Lewis Miles and Samuel Beatty, June 22, 1847; James Davison and Samuel Axtell, April 6, 1851; James Richey and David Matthews, January 21, 1866; John E. Smith, February 19, 1881; James F. Davison, William Duffield, and Crawford Billig, October 9, 1885. The fol- lowing clergymen have had charge of this church as pastor or stated sup- ply: Reverends L. Streight, John McMaster, James F. Reade, W. C. Birchard, William Elliott, R. H. Reeves, T. D. Stewart, J. L. Robertson, and S. L. Irvine. The first church building was erected immediately after the organization. It was a frame building and stood near the site of the present edifice, which was begun in November, 1854, and dedicated in 1856.
Sunville Methodist Episcopal Church .- This society was formed in 1844 by Reverend John Abbott with eleven members-Miles McAlevy, Elizabeth McAlevy, George McAlevy, Martha McAlevy, James Burns, Mary Burns, Samuel Foster, Margaret Foster, Elizabeth Foster, Samuel Batten, and Mary Batten. George McAlevy was the first class leader. The first church edifice was built in 1850, the second and present place of worship in 1869 during the pastorate of O. Babcock. The parsonage was bought in 1854, rebuilt in 1874, and finished in 1876. In 1853 a camp-meeting was held a mile east of Sunville by Reverends Hull and Hill. Another effort of a similar nature was made in 1859 by Reverends N. C. Brown and H. Kinsley.
The Sunville charge was formed from Cochranton circuit in 1855 and originally included Troy Center and East Troy in addition to the organiza- tions at Sunville, Wallaceville, Chapmanville, Fairview, and East Randolph, comprised in its bounds at present. Reverend B. Marsteller was appointed to the charge in 1855; J. Marsh, 1856-57; Z. W. Shadduck, 1857; N. C. Brown, 1858-59; S. S. Stuntz, J. M. Dewoody, 1860; S. S. Stuntz, W. A. Clark, 1861; G. M. Eberman, 1862-63. P. Burroughs, J. B. Orwig, 1864; W. Pentz, 1865; D. M. Beams, 1666; O. Babcock, 1867-68; R. Beaty,
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PLUM TOWNSHIP.
1869-71; John Abbott, 1872; J. K. Adams, 1873-74; S. E. Winger, 1875; T. W. Douglass, 1876-78; J. A. Hume, 1879-80; W. H. Hoover, 1881-82; John Abbott, 1883; I. G. Pollard, 1884; W. A. Merrian, 1885; James Clyde, 1886-87; R. A. McIntyre, 1888-89.
Wallaceville Methodist Episcopal Church .- Reverend John Abbott or- ganized this society in 1851. The first members were Thomas Green, S. A. Thomas, Elizabeth Thomas, Elexina Thomas, A. J. Cowan, Robert Grove, William Green, Robert P. Green, William H. Cowan, Robert Red- man, Margaret Redman, Obadiah Propst and wife, Nathan Brown, Lydia Brown, and Jonathan Bender. A revival in October, 1858, resulted in twenty-nine accessions. The church edifice is a frame building and was erected in 1863.
Plum and Troy Baptist Church was constituted April 2, 1853, with seven members, viz: Elias Holder, Benajah Smith, Samuel McClelland, Martha Holder, Sally Smith, Elizabeth McClelland, and Rebecca Cheers. The first officers elected were Samuel McClelland, deacon, and Elias Holder, church clerk. Samuel McClelland, Elias Holder, and I. C. Armagost, the first trustees, were elected June 6, 1863. Reverend R. D. Hays was pas- tor from April, 1853, to March 30, 1856; William G. Lamb, from June 7, 1856, to August 1, 1857; Cyrus Shreve, from November 2, 1857, to Janu- ary, 1862; C. W. Drake, from April 1, 1863, to April 1, 1866; W. P. Eng- land, from May 5, 1866, to April 1, 1867; C. W. Drake, from July 13, 1867, to April 1, 1871; John Hicks, from May 13, 1871, to November 1, 1871; I. C. Armagost, from November, 1871, to November 22, 1874; G. M. Righter, from February 20, 1875, to February 20, 1876; Cyrus Shreve, from June, 1.876, to September 20, 1879; J. M. Ray, from February 20, 1880, to November 20, 1881; and O. C. Sherman, the present incumbent assumed charge August 13, 1882.
Diamond United Brethren Church was organized in the winter of 1859 by Reverend Wesley Clark of Oakland circuit. But four of the original numbers-Daniel D. and William Proper, William August and wife, are still connected with the society. The first pastors were Reverends Clark, Barnard, and Peters. The church building was erected in 1868.
Chapmanville Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the first members were Hampson Jennings, Rebecca Jennings, Mary Fox, Ann Campbell, Mil- ler Campbell, Jonathan Bender, Mary Bender, Mary Morse, Joseph M. McClelland, and Keturah McClelland, was organized in 1871 by Reverend R. Beatty. Ground was broken for the church building May 12, 1878, and the dedication occurred in the following year.
The Christian Advent Church of Plum originated in a series of meetings conducted by Mrs. L. M. Stoddard in the summer and autumn of 1883. Elder M. R. Miles organized the church April 27, 1884, with nineteen members, of whom John Noel and S. S. Gould were elected deacons and
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Mrs. Mollie Grove, secretary. Elder C. W. Stephens was pastor from 1885 to 1888. A frame church building was erected in 1884.
SCHOOLS.
The report of the state superintendent of public instruction for 1876 states that the first school house in Plum was built in 1830, and mentions among the early teachers Mary Chapman, W. W. Davison, Mary McIntosh, William Haslet, and John Haslet. The Union school house, in the south- western part of the township; Hoover's school house, near R. R. Grove's; Fairview, in the northeastern part of the township; and the school houses at Diamond and Chapmanville were the educational centers half a century ago.
Sunville Academy was founded in the year 1873. The building, a frame structure of symmetrical proportions two stories in height surrounded by a plat of ground two acres in extent, was erected at a cost of five thou- sand dollars by a building committee consisting of Samuel Axtell, D. W. Goodwin, A. J. Cowan, and A. W. Richey. A sum sufficient to have erected an ordinary school building was contributed by the township direc- tors; the remainder was contributed by private individuals, but a deficit of two thousand dollars remained unprovided for until assumed by the borough of Sunville. The first term of the academy opened in the autumn of 1873 with S. H. Prather principal; he was succeeded by D. D. Rowley, W. A. Bushnell, H. H. Weber, and W. S. Smith. At one time there was an enrollment of nearly one hundred pupils. It is the intention of the borough school board to establish a high school after the present indebted- ness has been liquidated.
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ROCKLAND TOWNSHIP.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
ROCKLAND TOWNSHIP.
BOUNDARIES AND ERECTION-PIONEERS-INDUSTRIES AND RESOURCES-VIL- LAGE GROWTH-CHURCHES-SCHOOLS.
T THE boundaries of this township, one of the most extensive subdivisions of the county, are exceedingly irregular. It borders upon the Alle- gheny river a distance of twenty-one miles; East Sandy creek forms the northern boundary, while Richland township adjoins on the east and south. There are no streams of any importance. The organization of this territory probably occurred in 1817, but as the records of the court of quarter ses- sions for that year are no longer extant, this cannot be positively stated. At the original division of the county into townships, Rockland was erected, at first with the name of Rock which the commission at once changed to its present form and attached to Richland for municipal purposes. This ar- rangement continued until the date given above.
PIONEERS.
John Porterfield was the first assessor of the township after it acquired individual autonomy, and his return for the year 1818 contains the names of the following taxable inhabitants at that time: Enoch Battin, William Craig, James Crawford, Joseph Campbell, William Campbell, John Coch- ran, John Donaldson, William Davis, James Donaldson, John C. Evans, William Graham, John Graham, William Hill, John Jolly, David Jolly, Joseph Kennedy, Thomas Kennedy, Adam Kearns, Alexander Lemon, James Moorhead, Matthew McDowell, Andrew Maitland, John McDonald, Samuel McMillin, John McMillin, Thomas W. Mays, Thomas W. Matte- son, Joseph Stephenson, John Porterfield, James Porterfield, Joseph Red- ick, Matthias Stover, John Shannon, John Sloan, John Stover, John Thompson, John Watt, Jacob Young, David Smith. William Bingham's estate owned a number of one thousand acre tracts; originally it included nearly the whole township.
It is generally supposed that John Watt was the first settler, and the time of his arrival has been placed as early as 1809. He was from Butler county, of Scotch-Irish descent, and came here with a family. The farm
606
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
that he first improved is now owned by the heirs of James Campbell, his son-in-law.
Andrew Maitland was from Monroe county, New York, and a resident of Butler county, Pennsylvania, immediately prior to his settlement in Rockland, which occurred within a very short time after that of Watt. He first located in the vicinity of Freedom and then removed to Barr's Cor- ners. Major Maitland of Oil City, a grandson, is now in possession of the family homestead. Andrew Maitland was a prominent man in local affairs and an active member of the Presbyterian church.
John Sullinger, a soldier of the Revolution and a mason by trade, came to the township in 1805 and secured a four hundred acre tract of land. In 1813 he removed his family thither. His wife was Louisa Judge of West- moreland county, the place also of his birth, and they reared a family of twelve children: John, Alexander, Peter, Samuel, James P., Jacob, Andrew, and Daniel; Annie, who became Mrs. William Karrs; Elizabeth, wife of Adam Karns; Mary, who married James McDonald, and Catharine, who became Mrs. James Hoffman. John, Sr., died at Warren, Ohio, about the year 1845 at the advanced age of ninety-one.
James Crawford was the first justice of the peace commissioned for Rock- land township. He lived at Davis' Corners and owned the land upon which that hamlet is built. Afterward he removed to "The Meadows," in Cran- berry township, where he was also among the earliest settlers.
John Donaldson was the son of Andrew Donaldson of Cumberland county, who settled on Slippery Rock creek in Butler county. It was from that place that his son removed in 1815 to Rockland township, where he located upon the farm lately owned by Levi Bickle. In 1822 he sold to Peter Works and went into Richland. Works was a foreigner. He was a cabinet maker by trade and his cleverness in fashioning fanning-mills, churns, coffins, etc., made him a valued member of the community.
John and David Jolly were the progenitors of the family of that name in this county. Originally from Westmoreland, they were among the early settlers in the vicinity of Freedom, where the family is still numerously represented.
Enoch Battin was born in Huntingdon county in 1785. In 1806 he set- tled in Scrubgrass township and some seven years later came into Rock- land. During the war of 1812 he was a member of Captain Witherup's company.
Matthias and John Stover were early settlers, the former where James Jolly now lives, the latter at Woodhull station, immediately below Black's siding. Both subsequently removed to Pinegrove township, where they were the pioneers in the neighborhood of Centerville.
Peter Lovell originally located on the farm that included the site of Barr's Corners. A curious incident is related concerning him and John
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ROCKLAND TOWNSHIP.
Watt. Each seems to have experienced a sudden and unaccountable desire to possess the farm of the other, and when their mutual feelings in this mat- ter had been expressed, a trade was quickly arranged. The exchange was a nine-days' wonder, and the sensation was agreeably varied when it trans- pired that for some unexplained reason the contracting parties had decided to remain where they were.
John Hetzler from Monroe county, New York, came to this locality in 1818, and purchased a hundred acres of land, the property of John Hetzler, Jr., his son. The following year he returned with his family, bringing all his household effects on one wagon. The improvements on this farm at that time consisted of a log house and barn, the former one-story high and furnished in the primitive simplicity of the period.
David and Daniel Smith, the first blacksmiths, were brothers from Penn's valley nine miles east of Bellefonte, Centre county. David was the first to locate here, and his land, now the property of Abraham Lusher, was half a mile east of Davis' Corners. He brought no stock except, two horses. Daniel brought five cattle and twelve sheep; he paid one hundred dollars for the transportation of his family and household effects, the means of conveyance being a five-horse wagon. The journey required ten days. His brother had come out in the winter, and brought his effects on a sled. Several years later Jacob Smith removed from the Nittany valley, Centre county. He bought the farm of 'Squire Crawford, at Barr's Corners.
William, Samuel, and Joseph Ross, all sons-in-law of William Davidson, are said to have owned the first wagon in the township. Their land was situated between Davis' Corners and Freedom, though not adjacent to the road. They came here unmarried men, accompanied probably by their mother.
The first improvements along the river were those of William McClatchey at the Dotterer siding above Emlenton; William Craig, at the mouth of Shull's run; John, William, and Samuel Graham and their father, at St. George's siding; Abraham Witherup, justice of the peace and captain in the war of 1812; Daniel McMillin, from Franklin county, who settled in Victory township in 1803 and crossed the river to McMillin's Bend several years later, where, with his son John, he was drafted for service in the war of 1812; and William Hill lived at Brandon's ferry, which derives its name from James Brandon, who settled there in 1827.
One of the earliest settlers of the eastern part of the township was John Haggerty, a native of County Derry, Ireland, the son of Nicholas Haggerty, a wheelwright by trade. He emigrated to America before the Revolution and eventually drifted to Allegheny county. Here his wife and all his family were killed or captured by the Indians, and with no ties of kindred to induce a longer residence upon Pennsylvania soil, he returned to Ireland. Two sons, however, survived, and after a period of imprisonment in western
608
HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
New York made their escape and returned to Pittsburgh, where they were received into the family of John Hanlan. John Haggerty became a noted Indian fighter and commanded a company of rangers that did considera- ble service in protecting the frontier. In 1812 he located on a tract of two hundred and fifty acres at the mouth of Pine run. He was a mill- wright by trade and assisted in the erection of many of the mills in this part of the county. His nearest neighbor was John Prior, from Walker town- ship, Centre county, whose farm of one hundred and fifty acres is now owned by the heirs of Charles Cox, his son-in-law. Silas Brown, son-in-law to Andrew Maitland, settled a mile and a half from the mouth of Pine run; he was from Harmony, Butler county, as was also John McDonald, a native Scotchman, by whom one of the oldest orchards in the county was planted.
INDUSTRIES AND RESOURCES.
In 1818 there was one grist mill in the township, owned by William Craig; and there were three saw mills, owned, respectively, by Joseph Ken- nedy, William Craig, and John Porterfield. Craig's mill was situated on Shull's run. It was built of round, unhewn hemlock logs and had one run of buhrs. Some years later he added a paint mill, grinding native iron ore into a preparation from which vermilion paint was made. The next mill was probably that of Henry Myers on East Sandy. As first erected in 1826 it had a tub wheel and one run of native stone. Two years later it was re- built on a more extensive and substantial scale. John Myers operated this mill many years. In 1835 Andrew McCaslin, sheriff of the county, built a mill at the mouth of Shull's run, and Joseph Porterfield had another on Mill creek at the crossing of the Emlenton road. Of saw mills Joseph Ken- nedy's on Shull's run at Freedom was probably the first. It was sold to Alexander Lemon and operated by him for some years. Logs that formed the breast of the dam are still in a good state of preservation. There were other early saw mills on East Sandy and other streams, but they are prin- cipally in ruins.
The first carding machine was operated by John Porterfield in a small but substantial stone building that is pointed out as one of the few surviving specimens of pioneer architecture. It is probable that this machine was placed in position as early as 1820. John Shaw had another establishment of a similar character on Shaw's run, a mile from East Sandy, at an equally early period in the history of the township.
Of early distilleries there were three-one on the farm of John Jolly, near Freedom, another on Abraham Witherup's farm near Miller's Corners, and a third on the farm of Enoch Battin. At the time when the only way to dispose of grain was to eat or drink it the distillery was an important ad- junct of the agricultural interest.
Robert Bell's tannery on the farm now owned by the heirs of David
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Eng by & GREMm&C:
John Merelyten
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ROCKLAND TOWNSHIP.
Smith, was the only early industry of that sort. It was equipped with vats and a bark mill, and was conducted on a cooperative basis, the proprietor receiving a share of the leather in payment for his work in the process of manufacture. The tannery of James Martin near Miller's Corners is of comparatively recent origin.
The furnaces of Rockland were an important agency in developing its mineral resources at the time when these were supposed to consist exclus- ively of iron ore. The first was erected by Andrew McCaslin and received the name of Rockland furnace. It was situated on Shull's run and the water power necessary to drive the blast was derived from Craig's mill dam. McCaslin became insolvent; he was followed successively by Rockwell, Dempsey & Wick, William Spear, and E. W. & H. M. Davis, under whom the furnace suspended in 1854. Porterfield furnace was built in 1837-38 by Joseph Porterfield on Mill creek half a mile from the river. Charles Shippen was the next and last proprietor, and the property is still owned by his heirs. Webster furnace, on Bear run, a branch of Pine run, a mile from Georgeville, was built by Wick & Dempsey in 1838-39. When they became bankrupt the stock was closed out by Hogue & Huston, and Webster furnace passed into history.
Coal has been mined for local consumption almost since the period of early settlement. In 1845 Richard Brown discovered a vein on the land of William Roberts, three-fourths of a mile from the river, in the northwest part of the township. For a number of years mining operations were con- ducted on a small scale by Roberts, who leased to - Bowen about the time that the discovery of oil created a great demand for the commodity, A Pittsburgh company purchased the coal for ten thousand dollars, constructed a tramway two miles in length to the river, and towed the product to Oil creek by boat. Within a few years the vein was exhausted. The Prentice bank, near Mt. Hope, and the Johnson bank, a mile from Foster station, were also locally important. At present more coal is mined at the Findlay bank than at any other.
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