USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 63
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CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP.
out under the name of Fairfield. For many years Salina was the place of holding elections, but in 1886 (August 26th), three election districts were formed, adding greatly to public convenience.
PIONEERS.
The tax list for 1831, the first year in which the township was assessed individually, contains the names of the following resident taxable inhabit- ants: Samuel Alexander, William, Robert, James, and Elliott Brandon, David C. Cunningham, William Craig, Samuel Culbertson, John Caseman, William Dickson, James Eaton, Thomas Curry, Jacob Foreman, Charles, John, and Joseph Gayetty, James Gray, Samuel Howe, Cornelius Houser, Jacob G. Houser, John Hays, James Haggerty, Patrick Harrison, Samuel and Edward Hall, Zelotus Jewel, James and Joseph Kennedy, Jacob and Isaac Karns, Samuel Lindsay, Stephen, John, and James Lindsay, James Lamb, Davis McWilliams, John McBride, John and James McQuiston, John McCool, John and Seth McCurry, Gates Manross, John and James Moorhead, Alexander McWilliams, Henry and John Myers, William Nellis, William Parker, William Prior, John Peoples, Thomas Porter, William Stewart, David Stover, Peter Smith, Isaac Smith, Israel Simpson, Ephraim Turk, James and William Thompson, Allen Williams, and Jacob Zeigler. Of unseated lands Thomas Astley owned twenty one thousand acre tracts, upon which the aggregate tax was one hundred and five dollars. William Bingham, John Nicholson, Henry Shippen, and S. Wright were also holders of unseated lands.
Settlement, in all probability, was first made near the river. Beginning at the mouth of East Sandy, the southern limit of the township, the earliest settler was Samuel Lindsay. Here he farmed to a limited extent and derived a precarious subsistence from the river. Some years later he crossed the river into Victory township and from there he removed to Meigs county, Ohio. One Thomas, a Welshman, was the earliest resident at the mouth of Lower Two Mile run. He worked at the early furnaces; when Ander- son's furnace in Scrubgrass was built he removed thither and lost his life by drowning. A man named Seidels first improved the Porter farm, but disposed of his interest to Patrick Harrison before this part of the township had passed the period of its early history. The first settler at the Cochran flats was Andrew Downing, and one of his nearest neighbors was Isaac Smith, who kept the ferry at Franklin, then located between the Franklin and Big Rock bridges. Smith subsequently removed to Franklin and then to Bully hill, where he died. He sold the ferry to John Hastings, who kept what is still known as the "red house " as an inn, and died in Sugar Creek township. John Hays settled half a mile above the mouth of Deep Hollow in 1825. He was one of the pioneers of the county, and served in the war of 1812. He died in 1876 at the age of nine-six. The farm adjoining above
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
was first owned by Samuel Howe, who removed to Oil creek. Sage run derives its name from Joel Sage, who came to Venango county in 1807 and settled on that stream.
Four brothers, John, William, James, and Elliott Brandon were the first to penetrate the interior of the township. Originally from Ireland, the family located near Big Spring, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. From here the sons removed to the west. John lived in Pittsburgh six years and in Allegheny five years; there he was engaged in the seine fishery. After his removal to Cranberry he farmed and kept hotel. William located in Sandy Creek township prior to 1801 and enlisted in the American army for service in the war of 1812 after his settlement in Cranberry. He was a hunter of some local celebrity and served as constable many years. Elliott lived on the bank of the river, where he owned an island. One member of the family afterward removed to Steubenville, Ohio, and others to various points so that it has but few representatives here at the present day.
The construction of the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike was an important event in the early history of Cranberry. The old Franklin road crossed East Sandy at the mouth of Zeigler run and the abutments of a bridge built here by John Houser with his sons Peter and Philip are still visible. This was one of the earliest public works of any importance at- tempted by the county. It was fifty-five feet long, built entirely of wood, and all the timbers were hewed, including the floor. The construction of the pike was begun in 1818 and finished in two years. The two miles west- ward from East Sandy were awarded under contract to James Dickson, Samuel and Edward Hall. Dickson was the son of Benjamin Dickson, originally from Ripley, New York, and an early settler near Meadville, Crawford county. The Halls were native Irishmen. They built a mill on Hall's run and gave the name to that stream. This part of the township was then entirely uninhabited. The contractors obtained provisions for their men from Pittsburgh by flat-boat, excepting the supply of meat, which was amply provided from the game of the surrounding forests. The cabin built for the accommodation of the men was at the sixty-sixth mile stone from the Susquehanna river near a fine spring of water.
In the eastern part of Cranberry township there is a considerable body of comparatively level land locally known as "The Meadows." Among the first to locate here was James Crawford, formerly of Rockland, where he was the first justice of the peace. Joseph Kennedy, from Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, also an early settler in Rockland, was likewise at- tracted to " The Meadows," and among the first to locate there. He was followed in 1825 by his son, James Kennedy, who had made an improve- ment two years previously on the farm of Perry Huff. He married Mary, daughter of James Crawford, and reared a family of seven sons and one daughter. Between the farms of Joseph Kennedy and his son, James
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Thompson lived on a tract of one hundred and fifty-six acres. James Moorhead was an early resident near Ten Mile Bottom; both he and Thomp- son arrived prior to 1825. John McCool removed from Scrubgrass to this neighborhood in 1823 and improved a farm on the mill road. He was fol- lowed by his brother Alexander McCool, in 1842. In 1833 Cornelius Houser purchased and improved a tract of two hundred and seventy-five acres on the road leading from East Sandy to Tionesta. He was the grand- son of John P. Houser, originally from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and a veteran of the Revolution, who first settled in this county at the mouth of Big Sandy creek and was afterward ferryman at Franklin. Alex- ander Shannon, from Brush Valley, Centre county, Pennsylvania, came to the township in 1835 and located where his son, Peter Shannon, now lives. He was the first elected justice of the peace and held that office thirty-three years.
After the Brandons, the first to locate in the vicinity of Salina, were William Dickson, Alexander Strain, Zelotus Jewel, Ephraim Turk, Samuel Culbertson, and William Parker. Dickson was from Centre county, a brother-in-law of John Prior of Rockland, where he had settled before com- ing into Cranberry. He died here, and both his sons, James and Jonathan, removed to the West. Alexander Strain was from Butler county and a Cath- olic by faith. He owned a hundred acres a mile west of Salina. His wife having inherited property near Murrinsville, he returned to Butler county about 1830. Jewel was from the state of New York, later a resident of White Oak Springs, Butler county, and in this township owned land on East Sandy' creek, which he sold to John Gray and returned to Butler county. He was a well-known business man. Ephraim Turk and Samuel Culbertson were brothers-in-law. The former lived a mile from Salina on the hill above East Sandy; he sold his property here to Samuel Hall and returned to his former home in Butler county. Culbertson was a muscular man of fine physical development, and somewhat formidable at the time when physical prowess commanded more general respect than now. William Parker lived on the pike a mile from East Sandy, and was the son-in-law of John Blosser, a pioneer of Pinegrove. He was formerly of Mercer county.
On the state road in the northwestern part of the township the first set- tler was James Eaton, a native of New York state, whence he emigrated to Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and in 1825 to Crary's furnace at the mouth of Oil creek. He owned two teams and was engaged in hauling ore. Hav- ing purchased two hundred acres of land on the state road a mile from the river he hewed the logs for a house, and in one day, with the assistance of his fellow workmen at the furnace, the house was built. It was first occu- pied by his family April 15, 1826. In 1844 he built a brick house, the first in the township and probably in the county outside of Franklin. He owned and operated Van Buren furnace at one time, but later in life removed to
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Ohio and died in Indiana. The next to arrive in this vicinity were Michael White and Michael Frawley, natives of Ireland, who had lived in Northum- berland county previously to coming here. Frawley died here; White sold his farm and removed to Ohio, where he died near Canton, and his family returned. Matthew Gibbon and Joseph Gillman were also early residents on the state road in this locality.
Jacob Zeigler was born within eighteen miles of Baltimore, and learned the trade of blacksmith. In 1816 he removed to Centre county, Pennsylvania, and thence to the Tuckyhoe valley, Huntingdon county, and the forks of the Juniata. In June, 1830, he came into this county, having purchased one hundred and forty-four acres of uncleared land from the Bingham estate, on the pike two miles from East Sandy. William Prior had come to this section from Centre county several years previously, and Peter Smith was also a resident on the pike in 1830. Owen Boyle, a native of Ireland, and a resident in Lancaster and Lebanon counties after emi- grating to America, reared a family of eight sons and two daughters on the farm now owned by Mrs. John Byrns, his daughter, whose husband came into the township in 1834.
That part of Cranberry about Salem City received its first inhabitants during the early period of the iron industry. A half mile east of that village there was a hamlet known as "Yankeetown," of which the population con- sisted of John McCurry, Nicholas Lake, Silas Tibbitts, William Stewart, and their families. They were engaged in digging and hauling ore. Will- iam Craig lived at the site of Salem City. These people were here only temporarily, however. The first permanent settlers were Constantine Daugherty, William Allison, and Samuel Mckinney. Daugherty was a native of County Donegal, Ireland, and came to America in his nineteenth year. He worked at iron furnaces in the eastern part of the state, princi- pally in Huntingdon and Centre counties. In June, 1831, he made a jour- ney to Venango county and bought two hundred acres of land. In October following he brought out his family and household effects on a three-horse wagon. He lived to the age of eighty. Allison was from the Nittany val- ley, Centre county, and came out in the spring of 1832. Mckinney was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1786. When the war of 1812 broke out he was living in Centre county and volunteered, participating in Perry's victory on Lake Erie. He was voted a silver medal by the state legislature for conspicuous gallantry on that occasion. In 1832 he removed to Venango county, and died in 1871 at the age of eighty-five years. John McBride and Hutchinson Borland were early settlers on the state road east of Salem City.
David Mc Williams, James Mc Williams, John McCracken, William Thomas, John Heasley, Alexander McQuiston, and David Ayers were the pioneers of the southwestern part of the township.
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CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP.
INDUSTRIES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT.
The first mill on East Sandy creek was built by Henry Myers in Rock- land township, but received a large share of its patronage from the pioneers of Cranberry. Within the limits of the latter the first saw mills were built by John, Charles, and Joseph Gayetty, on Horse creek, the first grist mills by Samuel and Edward Hall, on Hall's run, Thomas Hoge at the mouth of Lower Two Mile run, John and James Haggerty and William Parker on East Sandy. What is known as Wilson's mill is an abandoned frame build- ing on East Sandy, at the crossing of the road from Salina to Freedom. There is a similar structure, also in a state of dilapidation, at the mouth of Lower Two Mile run, and abandoned water-power saw mills are to be seen in various parts of the township.
The ruins of the old furnaces are no less interesting and suggestive. The oldest of these was Slab furnace, begun in 1832 and completed in 1833. The inner wall of the cupola or stack was built of rough stones, around which a casing of slabs was erected, the intervening space being filled with sand. Zelotus Jewel was the original owner of the land, which was purchased by William Cross, the first owner and operator of the furnace. Thomas Hoge was associated with him for a time; they sold to John Lyon, and the firm of Lyon & Crawford sold to James Hughes, Sr., in 1840. He rebuilt the stack, which had collapsed, but becoming insolvent, disposed of the property to a Pittsburgh firm. The last operator was Henry Mays. Jackson furnace was built in 1833 by William S. Smullin and - Richards, a mile above East Sandy, in a neighborhood thinly inhabited to this day. Cut stone was used in its construction, and in its general appointments this was one of the most substantial furnaces in the county. Richards disposed of his interest in 1834, and with the exception of a two-years' lease to Parker & Royer, Smullin continued operations here until 1844, when he sold to Hatch Broth- ers, of Pittsburgh. They became insolvent in 1849 and were succeeded by another Pittsburgh company, by whom the furnace was finally banked in 1854. Horse Creek furnace was built in 1836 by Samuel Bell, and operated by William Bell, Jr., and Frank Davidson. It was situated on the bank of the river, above the mouth of Horse creek. When Samuel Bell became in- solvent the property was bought by William Bell, of Pittsburgh, who sold it in 1844 to Edmund Evans, from whom it received the name of Clay fur- nace. It was finally banked in 1852. Van Buren furnace, on Lower Two Mile run, two miles from its mouth, was built in 1836 by William and Samuel Cross and Thomas Hoge. It was successively owned by Horner & Waddell, Horner & Eaton, James Eaton, William S. Smullin, Solomon Ul- man, and Mays & Davis.
Two distilleries have been in operation in the township, the earliest of which was established by Henry Myers. Within comparatively recent years James Ralston had a distillery on East Sandy at the crossing of the
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Tionesta road. He was from Slippery Rock, Butler county, and an early settler on Hemlock in Pinegrove township.
The mining of coal was an important industry during early oil develop- ments on Oil creek and in the valley of the Allegheny river. Coal was in great demand and commanded a high price. The coal banks of Cranberry were conveniently situated and operations here were correspondingly active. The most extensive mines were first opened in 1861 by Enoch Lotton. Within a few years several hundred teams were required to haul the coal to market, while a hundred. men were employed in mining and making roads. In 1867 a tramway was constructed from South Oil City to the mines, fol- lowing the course of Sage run. Two years later this was converted into a railroad. The property and franchises experienced a number of changes in ownership and management until 1874, when leased by James Kennedy for a period of five years. The Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Rail- road Company were the next lessees, but finding transportation to the line of their road excessively expensive, they withdrew the rolling stock and abandoned the mines. At one time a fire-brick establishment was also oper- ated in connection with the coal interests.
To give an extended account of oil operations in Cranberry would be a virtual impossibility. Some portions of the territory have been drilled over several times; in the number of new "fields " opened at various dates, the excitement incident thereto, and the extent of the production at the present time, Cranberry territory ranks in this county second only to Oil creek. The first wells were drilled in the vicinity of South Oil City and in the locality known as Pinoak. Following the developments at Reno, Sugar Creek township, a number of wells were drilled on the opposite of the river; and several miles inland, at a later date, the Bredinsburg district was the scene of remarkable activity. In pursuance of the theory at first ad- vocated, that oil coincided with water courses, the land adjacent to Sandy creek was early bought by oil companies composed of capitalists in the eastern cities, and much of it, unfortunately for the investors, proved un- productive. The Egypt, Tarkiln, and Hill City districts followed in the order named, and at the present time considerable drilling is in progress.
The Astral Oil Works at Astral station on the Allegheny Valley railroad, originally established by C. W. Mackey, passed successively to M. E. Echols, the Astral Refining Company, Limited, and the Astral Oil Refinining Com- pany, Limited. The latter was organized in January, 1889, with Joseph Manning, chairman; M. Braunschweiger, treasurer, and J. B. Berry, secre- tary. The stills have a charging capacity of six hundred and seventy bar- rels, and the refining capacity is seven thousand barrels per month. Illu- minating and lubricating oils are manufactured. Twelve men are usually employed. An account of the oil works at Franklin station has been given in the history of Franklin.
O. H. Strom
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CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP.
VILLAGE GROWTH.
Salina is a village of several hundred inhabitants on the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike, seven miles from Franklin and the same distance from Oil City, with which it is also connected by a turnpike road. North of the pike first mentioned the land was originally settled by James H. Mil- roy, a blacksmith, who lived in a log house still standing at the eastern ex- tremity of the village. He purchased fifty acres from Thomas Astley in 1835. This part of the village was laid out in lots by Milroy, who probably gave to the place its name. South of the pike the lots were laid out in 1865 by James Brandon. He was the pioneer hotel keeper of the place, his hostelry being located on the west corner of the Oil City pike. It was known as the Seven Mile house, and divided the patronage with the " Weep- ing Willow," of which John Brandon was proprietor. Smullin & Steffee, Mrs. L. D. Barr, and Jones & Mohney were among the first merchants. The postoffice of Cranberry was first kept by James Allison, half a mile dis- tant from the village. Mrs. L. D. Barr was the first postmistress after the removal of the office to the town and the incumbent of that position twenty- one years. The place derived its early growth and greatest prosperity from the industrial activity incident to the coal business. When that declined it lost its prestige and became a quiet country village. While it continues to retain much of this character, recent oil developments in the vicinity have contributed largely toward a revival of the old-time activity.
The Brandon cemetery, a short distance north on the Oil City turnpike, is the oldest public burial ground in the township. By deed of October 31, 1839, from James Milroy and Eliza, his wife, the title to the ground, two acres in extent, was vested in James Allison, William Brandon, and John Mc- Cutcheon, trustees. The grounds were neglected, however; and in 1870 W. H. Manross, James Brandon, and J. W. Smullin were elected trustees for the expenditure of a fund collected by those interested in preserving the place from desecration. As a result of this effort the grounds were inclosed. In 1889 the board re-organized with five members-J. W. Smullin, president; J. G. Hill, secretary; William Craig, treasurer; W. H. Manross, and Harvey Huff. Further improvement and enlargement of the grounds is now being agitated.
Salem City .- The first house upon the site of this village was built by Nicholas Lake, a native of Dutchess county, New York, who was living four miles from Buffalo during the war of 1812. Thence he removed succes- sively to Erie and Meadville, and on the 27th day of August, 1828, he came into Cranberry township with the intention of teaming for Stockbarger, Norris & Kinnear who were then building a furnace at the mouth of Oil creek. He located on the state road ten rods from the cross roads in Salem City where he built a one-story log cabin. Three or four years later he re-
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
moved to Clarion and thence to Ohio. After various wanderings he died in Mercer county.
The first permanent resident here was William Craig, who went from Buffalo to Chautauqua county, New York, at the same time that Lake went to Erie, and followed him to this locality a little later. His was the second house and stood opposite Lake's. He owned a farm that included that part of the village east of the state road and lived here until his death. He sold part of this farm to John Crownogle, a German from Centre county; and in 1842 Crownogle sold to Andrew McCurry, by whom the town was laid out and named, and who yet lives in an honored old age. Sixteen years previously he had come to Venango county and settled in this township opposite the mouth of Oil creek, where he owned a farm embracing the site of South Oil City. He removed to his present home April 12, 1842. At that time three cabins constituted the village, the other two being occupied respectively by William Stewart and Albert Long. Mr. McCurry kept a house of entertain- ment. He taught the first school in the neighborhood, and in 1862 opened the first store. When Seneca postoffice was established he was appointed first postmaster. A large population was attracted to this neighborhood by the opening of the Cranberry coal banks, and this induced him to lay off a portion of his land into lots. The town materialized rapidly and within a few years had assumed the proportions of a small village. Steffee & Downey and William Grove were among the first merchants. Like the other villages of this region, Salem City depends upon the oil business in large measure for its prosperity. It also enjoys the advantage of being located in a fine agricultural region.
Seneca Lodge, No. 711, I. O. G. T., was organized May 10, 1869, but no longer sustains an active existence.
Alpine Tent, No. 25, Knights of the Maccabees, was chartered with twenty-three members, December 5, 1885.
Seneca Union, No. 752, Equitable Aid Union, was instituted July 17, 1889. The principal officers were B. R. Mack, chancellor; R. N. Grossman, advocate; J. B. Meyers, president; Mrs. W. Moore, vice-president; Mrs. E. A. Lewis, auxiliary; Mrs. R. A. Walker, secretary, and G. W. Magee, treasurer.
Hill City derives its name from the Hill family and its existence from the excitement caused by the discovery of oil on the Dallas farm in June, 1886. The town was laid out by Cyrus S. Marks and George Powell for Samuel Hill, upon whose land it is situated, and a score of houses were built in an incredibly short time. Mung & Hockman and Hoy Brothers were the first merchants. Within a year the excitement was over and the people had begun to leave. The place comprises a dozen houses, and has a penny post from South Oil City.
Ten Mile Bottom, or Tippeary, is so named from the fact of its location
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CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP.
ten miles from both Franklin and Fryburg on the state road. George Mc- Cool and Owen Reed were early settlers in the vicinity. The former kept a small grocery, but William Thompson kept the first store. It now com- prises a dozen dwellings, store, postoffice, and blacksmith shop.
Bredinsburg was a lively oil village in 1870 and at one time comprised forty houses. The place is so named in honor of Major James M. Bredin, a leading oil operator in this section.
SCHOOLS.
The necessity of educational facilities seems to have become apparent in several neighborhoods at about the same time. In the winter of 1829 or 1830 John Hastings employed William Moore to teach his children in a room of the "red house" at the ferry opposite Franklin. This school was also attended by several neighboring families. The first house for school purposes in this neighborhood was a log building on the state road east of the brick house, and Nathan Beck from Centre county was the first teacher here. The house was built by John Heasley, who furnished the lumber and took an active interest in the enterprise. The first school in the vicinity of Mt. Zion church was taught in a log building owned by Isaac Karns by Ann Beck. Among the early successors was Adam Sheffer. The first building erected for school purposes was a log house built upon a ten acre lot offered by the Bingham estate for school and church usages. The trustees of Mt. Zion church were dissatisfied with the location, however, and in the end the ten acres of land were purchased by the township. It has since proven to be fairly productive oil territory, and yields annually much more than the price originally paid. In the vicinity of Salem Andrew McCurry was the first school teacher; John McBride gave the ground for the first school house, which stood a half mile east of that village. Re- becca and Ellen Rose and James Dunn were among the first teachers there. The first school house in the southwestern part of the township was built by the joint efforts of the citizens and stood on the Nicklin farm. There was a school house on the land of James Thompson at "The Meadows" prior to 1830, and Ann Beck was one of the first teachers. After the adoption of the public school system the first tax collector was Jacob Zeigler, who was a member of the first board of school directors and treasurer of that body thirty years.
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