USA > Pennsylvania > History of the Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania > Part 7
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The following is a copy of the first record in the court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace held at Shippensburg for the County of Cumberland, the 24th day of July in the 24th year of the reign of his majesty King George the second, A. D., 1750.
Before Samuel Smith, Esq., and his brethren, keepers of the peace of our said Lord the King and his Justices assigned to hear and determine the following persons sworn on the grand jury.
John Mitchell Wm. Magaw John Porter
John Davidson
Ezekiel Denning John Holiday
James Lindsay Adam Hoop John Forsythe
Thomas Brown John Reynolds Robert Harris
Thomas Urie
Charles Murray Robert Meek
Case against Bridget Hagen for larceny.
Thereupon it is considered by the court and adjudged that the said Bridget Hagen restore the sum of six pounds seventeen shill- ings six pence lawful money of Pennsylvania unto Jacob Long the owner and make a fine to the Governor in like sum and pay the costs of prosecution and receive fifteen lashes on the bare back at the public whipping post and stand committed till the fine and fees are paid.
In 1775 Shippensburg was a great store house for the supplies of the Revolution to be sent to Gen. Braddock. The supplies were stored in cellars and great herds of cattle and swine were pastured in the valley. It was a great place for wheat and flour. Ship- pensburg was also a post town, and it had in its vicinity thirteen hotels and hostleries. Washington visited here on two occasions, both times in his going to and coming from the Whiskey Insurrec- tion in Western Pennsylvania. He traveled through October 11th, 1794, and took dinner at the Branch Inn. When he reached Bed- ford, Pa., he found it was not necessary for him to go on so he returned the way he came and on Oct. 24th, he stayed all night in Shippensburg. The story is told that on this night, the proprietor of the hotel, who was not a drinking man, felt so good in the great honor of entertaining the president that he got drunk and one of
FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE IN NEWBURG, PA., 100 YEARS OLD.
HOPEWELL ACADEMY, NEWBURG, PA.
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Washington's aids got too much. To punish the aid Washington made him walk his horse up and down the stream of water in Ship- pensburg called the McMeans creek, now the Branch, until he was sober. Washington was not an intemperate man. The town was in- corporated January 21, 1819. Shippensburg is partly in Cumber- land and partly in Franklin counties. Near the stream is the dividing line. It has always been a progressive place and today, the town has many factories and plants.
MIDDLE SPRING
Middle Spring is a small village, two and a half miles north west of Shippensburg. Historical sketches of the village are given in the last chapter of this book.
NEWBURG
Newburg, a little village in Hopewell township, laid out in 1826 by Mr. Trumble. It contains three famous old buildings, all used as dwelling houses at the present time. An old octagonal common school building, the Sunnyside Seminary and the Hopewell Academy buildings.
MOWERSVILLE
Mowersville is a village lying midway between Shippensburg and the North Mountain, on the way to Roxbury, and it has been noted for two things, for the carriage manufactory of Joseph Mower, Sr., and his successors and for the general office of the Lurgan Mutual Fire Insurance Company. This company was organized in 1859 and was incorporated in 1863. Mr. Joseph Mower was the first president of the company and Mr. Aaron Snoke the first sec- retary.
ROXBURY
Roxbury is on the banks of the Conodoguinet, as it flows from the Kittochtinny mountains in Lurgan township, Franklin county. It is a beautiful spot and has been compared to Delaware Water Gap for natural scenery. It was founded by William Leephar in the year 1778. He built a grist mill about the year 1783. "Sound- well-forge" was also built by Leephar in 1798 and Roxbury Fur- nace by Samuel Cole in 1815. In packhorse days a lot of business was done in Roxbury. The town is now a small mountain village. a great center for bark and lumber from the mountains.
LURGAN
Lurgan, formerly named Centre, is situated in Lurgan township on the road leading from Shippensburg to Roxbury.
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ORRSTOWN
Orrstown is in Southampton township, Franklin county, five miles west of Shippensburg, on the Three Mountain road, on the south bank of the Conodoguinet creek. It is situated on an elevation, and its location which is beautiful, gives a splendid view of the sur- rounding country. It was laid out by Messrs. John and William Orr in 1834 after whom the village has been named.
MAINSVILLE
Mainsville, formerly Smoketown, is situated in Southampton township, on the road leading from Shippensburg to the old South- ampton iron works, about 2 miles south of Shippensburg. It was laid out by William Mains, Esq., in 1866.
GREENVILLAGE
Green township in which Greenvillage is located was named after Gen. Nathaniel Greene and the village takes its name from the township.
Robert Armstrong settled first in the township and purchased land from the proprietaries in 1748. He sold part of this land which after passing through several persons hands, was bought by Reuben Gillespie, who sold 45 acres @ $50 per acre at the intersection of the Chambersburg and Strasburg roads to Samuel Nicholson who laid out the town. This transaction took place in 1793. The first house was built by Jonathan Horst at the intersection of the pike and the Scotland road on the north eastern corner.
The Methodist Episcopal Society built a log church here in 1827 which was replaced by the present brick church in 1873. The Luth- eran church is one of the very old churches of the valley.
SCOTLAND
Scotland is on the Conococheague Creek, five miles northeast of Chambersburg and a short distance south of Scotland Station on the railroad. It has two churches-United Brethren and Covenanters- a grist-mill, saw-mill and planing mill and a population of between 200 and 300.
The place was first settled by the Thomsons and Torrences. An old sickle factory was in operation there many years ago, which stood between grist and saw-mills. The Scotch Covenanters in early days built the old stone meeting house.
Alexander Thomson came from Scotland in 1772 and purchased the place now the property of S. Garver. The Thomsons were a large family. Mr. Garver says, when he came to the place in 1832,
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there were but few families in the region. The grist-mill and saw- mill were then owned by David Snively, who afterward sold to Fred- rick Roemer, who was miller and merchant there many years; he was followed by J. Sleighter and others. The blacksmith shop was run by Jacob Bittinger; then Mr. Snoke was the village blacksmith; he was followed by Robert Mahan. The other houses than those above, were a small log house where H. Bitner now lives, one on the oppo- site corner from P. Rows, a small house at the church, one where Mrs. McIlroy now lives and one occupied by Andrew Thomson. Robert Criswell owned the Oyler farm; it then embraced the Stewart farm. At that time the place was known as "Locust Grove Mills."
FAYETTEVILLE
Fayetteville is located on the Gettysburg pike, five miles east of Chambersburg. In 1810 several dwellings and a sawmill were built. In 1824 a school house was built. In 1826 the entire property was bought from the Chambersburg bank and was called "Miltons Mills". Shortly after this the town was laid off in lots, all fronting on the turn pike, and more dwellings were built.
About this time an application was made for a post office in the place but they objected to the name in the post office department and it was changed to Fayetteville in honor of Gen. Lafayette.
The town has a population of about seven hundred, five churches Methodist, Lutheran, United Brethren, Covenanter and Presbyterian, two general stores and three grocery stores.
The first church was a school house. The pastor of this church was Rev. E. E. Gearhart who afterwards became president of Frank- lin and Marshall College.
Rev. Joslona Kennedy, pastor of the Reformed church, opened a school in 1852 assisted by Prof. W. Witherow. After a while it was called the Fayetteville Academy. It was conducted with great success until Rev. Kennedy left in 1860. Then the building was sold and now it is a hotel.
Stevens Post No. 317 G. A. R. was organized April 3, 1883, with about twenty-five members. The society now has but seven mem- bers left.
STOUFFERSTOWN
Stoufferstown is situated in Guilford township, one and one- fourth miles east of Chambersburg, on the Gettysburg pike. The oldest house in the place was built by Patrick Vance in 1773. Daniel Stouffer built the "Stouffer Mill" about 1792, and a village has grown up around it in the past years.
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PLEASANT HALL
Pleasant Hall is situated in Letterkenny township on the old State road about two and one-half miles east of Upper Strasburg. It was laid out by Joseph Burkhart in 1840. Near it stands a Luth- eran Church which was organized very early in the history of the valley.
UPPER STRASBURG
Upper Strasburg is on the old stage road from Shippensburg to Fannettsburg at the base of the Kittochtinny Mountains. It was laid out by Dewalt Keefer in the fall of 1789 and was called after the city of Strasburg in Germany. After the completion of the Three Mountain road it became quite a business place and so long as the Conestoga wagon was doing business droves of cattle and horses were brought from west to east by Strasburg on account of the absence of tolls on this road and an abundant supply of feed to be had at low rates. This town is still an up-to-date little place and a summer resort.
CHAMBERSBURG
Falling Spring, is the name by which the first settlement in the western part of Lancaster county was known for many years. As early as 1730 Benjamin and Joseph Chambers, two brothers, visited a spot at the confluence of Falling Spring and Conococheague creeks. Benjamin, the younger of several brothers, settled perman- ently at the spring, erected a house which was reduced to ashes while he was away on a visit, "for the sake of the nails," by being set on fire by a hunter, an act which the Indians at that time would not be guilty of doing, for with them Mr. Chambers was on terms of intimacy. Mr. Chambers had not been here long before he erected a mill to meet the wants of the times.
When the Indians had become troublesome after Gen. Brad- dock's defeat, Mr. Chambers erected a private fort, garrisoned it with a few men, and provided it with some cannon, which on one occasion he refused to deliver to Col. Armstrong, who speaks in very unkind terms of him in a letter to the Governor.
Chambersburg, borough and seat of justice of Franklin county, was laid out in the year 1764 by Benjamin Chambers. The town re- mained but a small village until after the erection of Franklin into a seperate county in 1784, since which it has steadily improved.
When Col. Chambers laid out the town, the intercourse with the western country being limited and most of the travel along the vil- lage being to the south, he was induced to lay out his lots in that direction and the town did not extend beyond the creek to the west. After the Revolution the town extended on the west side of the
OLD TANNERY, UPPER STRASBURG, PA.
OLD HOTEL BUILDING, PLEASANT HALL, PA.
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creek. The first stone house in the town was erected in 1770 by J. Jack. The first courts were held in the second story of this house and on one occasion the crowd was so great as to strain the beams and fracture the walls, causing alarm to the court and bar.
Col. Chambers had appropriated to the use of the public for a burial ground, a romatic cedar grove, on the banks of the creek. This spot is still used and retains much beauty of nature and rural scenery. This with additional grounds, he conveyed by deed of gift to P. Varen and others, as trustees, on the first of January, 1768, in trust for the Presbyterian congregation of the Falling Spring.
Of this congregation he was an efficient and active member. He continued a member of the board of trustees until 1787, when on account of his advanced age and infirmities, he asked leave to resign.
The first settlers who were possessed of farms, were mostly emigrants from the north of Ireland, and members of the Presby- terian church. After the Revolutionary War a German population supplanted the first settlers, and possessed themselves of most of their land and the Irish moved with their families west of the mountains.
James, Robert, Joseph and Benjamin Chambers, four brothers, emigrated from the country of Antrim in Ireland, to the province of Pennsylvania, between the years 1726 and 1730. They settled and built a mill shortly after, at the mouth of Fishing Creek, now in Dauphin county on the Susquehanna. The fine part of the country forming that part of the Kittochtinny valley extending from the Susquehanna to the Potomac, induced men of enterprise to seek and locate desirable situations for water works and farms, in the valleys of those two streams and of Yellow Breeches creek. These adventurous brothers were among the first to explore and settle in this valley. James made a settlement at the head of Green Spring, near Newville, Cumberland county, Robert at the head of Middle Spring, near Shippensburg, and Joseph and Benjamin at the confluence of the Falling Spring and Conococheague creeks, where Chambersburg is situated. By an arrangement among the brothers, Joseph returned to their property at the mouth of Fishing creek and Benjamin, the younger brother, improved his settlement at the Falling Spring.
Benjamin Chambers was twenty-one years of age when he came to Chambersburg. He made his settlement at Falling Springs in 1730. In 1764 when he laid out the town he tells us that it was a well timbered section. For 30 years the settlement grew very slowly. Mr. Chambers had a very good common school education, knew surveying and was a man of wonderful common sense, good
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judgment and could readily read men. He was very brave and was really the chief man of the entire Conococheague settlement. He pulled teeth, stopped blood, settled disputes and was the chief magistrate of the community. He spoke the Indian language and was on great terms of intimacy with the Indians. For this reason he was never troubled by them.
In 1747, the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania appointed him Colonel. In 1749 he was made Judge of the county courts. This brought him in contact with the Indians and settled their disputes, especially in Path Valley, concerning boundary lines. In 1755 at the time of Braddock's defeat he was made a colonel of provincial troops. Col. Chambers' first house was a hewed log cabin covered with shingles and fastened with nails. This was the house that was burned while he was on a visit to the Susquehanna river. In 1756 he erected a large stone dwelling where the woolen mills now stand, on the Falling Spring. He placed four cannon on the four corners and had other fire arms. The cannon and the lead sheeting that covered the roof were from England. All the settlers took refuge in this and were never molested by the Indians when here. At the time of the Revolution he was too old to take part in the war him- self but he sent his three sons. He was always a good patriot. His three sons were James, William and Benjamin. James Chambers took the first company of infantry from the valley to Boston. Wil- liam and Benjamin Chambers were captains and James wa- a colonel In 1778 William and Benjamin returned home on account of their father's illness. He lived to see his country free. He died in 1788 in Chambersburg and lies buried in the Falling Spring graveyard. The inscription on his tombstone reads :
"80 years old and upward".
Mr. Benjamin Chambers had a saw mill, flour mill, brick yard, and foundry at his home on the Falling Spring. His first marriage was to Miss Patterson, of Lancaster county. James was their only child. His second marriage was to a Miss Williams, the daughter of a Welsh clergyman of Virginia. They had seven children, namely-Ruhannah, married to Dr. Calhoun; William, Benjamin, Jane married to Adam Ross; Joseph, George, Hetty married to Wm. R. Brown, Esq. James the oldest son started the forge and furnace at Fort Loudon; Benjamin and George went into Path Valley and started the Mt. Pleasant furnace. Benjamin, Sr., was a great trav- eler. He visited England many times and also visited Ireland. He was one of a committee to settle disputes between Lord Baltimore and William Penn. He brought many settlers to this valley from England and Ireland.
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ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas is eight miles from Chambersburg, on the old Cumberland road. The settlement was made in 1737. Thomas Campbell laid out the town in 1790 and for many years it was known as Campbell's town. It is only within the past fifty or sixty years that it has been known as St. Thomas.
RICHMOND
Richmond, or Richmond Furnace, is situated in Metal township, at the end of the Southern Pennsylvania railroad, four miles north of Fort Loudon. The locality was formerly better known as "Mt. Pleasant Furnace", the oldest furnace in Franklin county. The fur- nace and village was called Richmond after Richmond L. Jones, who was president of the company at the time the railroad was built.
FT. LOUDON
This section, known as the "Conococheague settlement" was doubtless among the earliest of the country to be settled. The patent for the tract of land on which the town is situated bears the date of the 1st of March, 1737. It was surveyed and laid out on the 6th day of May, in the year 1738, unto Wm. Wilson of the county of Lancaster. (Peter's township was not organized until about 1750, and Franklin county not until 1784). The land upon which the fort was afterwards built was settled by Matthew Patton dated April 18, 1744. The earliest settlement of the township is accredited to Wm. McDowell, near Bridgeport, variously placed at from 1730 to 1737. The early settlers were generally Scotch-Irish, a brave and hardy race of people.
The town is beautifully situated at the base of Cove Mountain; 14 miles west of Chambersburg. The sites of Fort McCord, near Parnell's Knob and Fort McDowell are very near the present town of Bridgeport, and Fort Loudon, after which the town is named is about one and one-half miles south of the town. As a result of Indian hostilities Ft. Loudon was built in the fall of 1756. The fort covered about an acre of ground, part of which is now included in the farm yard. It was built of logs upon a stone foundation,and con- tained barracks and store houses, surrounded by a stockade. Both logs and stones supposed to have been taken from the ruins may be seen in the foundation and chimney walls of the building on the farm.
When the fort was built Col. Armstrong asked for authority to name it "Pomfret Castle" but there existed a fort bearing that name, and he was instructed to call it Ft. Loudon, doubtless after Lord
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Loudon, who had arrived in America the 23 of July, 1756, as general and commander-in-chief of all the English forces in North America. The Indian history of this town and the work of James Smith is given in another chapter of this book.
As a trading post Ft. Loudon was a great point of departure for packhorse trains for the west before wagon roads had been built across the mountains. After Braddock's disastrous defeat near Ft. Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, a large part of his disheartened troops returned by this way. In 1755 a road was built from this point westward by order of the Provincial Government for the pur- pose of forwarding supplies to Braddock's army, but upon word of his defeat, work was stopped, at Raystown, now Bedford. Gen. Forbes and Col. Bouquet used this road in their successful expedi- tion against Ft. Duquesne in 1758. This road is often spoken of as Braddock's road, but should not be confused with the road over which Braddock marched on his westward expedition. It was built from 10 to 30 feet in width; a portion of it is used as the public road between Loudon and Richmond Furnace.
The town of Loudon was founded by Johnson Elliott who owned and lived upon the farm adjoining the town on the south side. The lots were sold about 1804 and on to 1819. In its early history it was a great industrial center and occupied a prominent place and con- tributed directly to the commercial progress of the country. About 1794, Gen. James Chambers built a large forge there, and a furnace was in operation within the same period. Iron manufactories were located also at "Valley Forge," at "Uor" East, and at Mt. Pleasant. Besides these industries there were woolen mills, wagonmaker shops, blacksmith shops, whip shops and saddler shops. Loudon wagons, Loudon whips, and Loudon gears had a reputation of being the best on the market and were in demand from far and near. In addition to all this an immense amount of travel over the turn pike road added greatly to the thrift of the old town and made it a place of unsurpassed prosperity.
The town has been declining but it has still great attractions. Beautifully situated as it is, with its mountain back- ground on three sides, and looking out southward on a lovely stretch of farmland, its pure air, and above all, its sparkling mountain water, go to make up a very pleasant home and community.
This town is also very proud of the men and women whom it has given to the world and whom they have sent out to do the world's work, both on the field of battle and in the pursuit of peace. On August 27-31, 1903, a centennial reunion was held at Ft. Loudon, commemorative of the founding of the town. One hundred and
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sixty guests came back and were entertained in the town. On Octo- ber 24, 1915, the town again had a great day when the markers of the old fort were unveiled and appropriate exercises were held.
BRIDGEPORT
Or Markes, is situated in Peters township, at the intersection of the roads from St. Thomas to Mercersburg and from Ft. Loudon to Upton. As early as 1730 or 1731 John, William, Nathan and James McDowell, four brothers, took up a large tract of land immediately around where the village is. Within a few years after- wards, John McDowell built a grist mill, and in 1756 built the fort which during those early days was so well known as "McDowell's Fort." About ninety years ago a stone bridge was built over the west branch of the Conococheague and from that time the place was called Bridgeport. Later the name was changed to Markes.
WILLIAMSON
Williamson is situated in St. Thomas township on the line of the Southern Pennsylvania railroad, five miles southwest of Marion. It was commenced about the year 1870 by Samuel Hawbaker, who then owned the land and who built the principal buildings in the place.
NEW FRANKLIN
New Franklin is situated in Guilford township, on the road leading from Chambersburg to Waynesboro, four miles southeast of the former place. It was commenced by Balthazer Kountz, in 1795, and John Himes, Sr., built the next house in 1827. New Guilford is situated in the same township, three miles from New Franklin.
MONT ALTO
Mont Alto was founded by Samuel Funk about the year 1815, he having built the first house. The house is still standing and is occupied by Oscar Hiefner.
Mont Alto has part of a French name and part of a Spanish name. Mont is French and means mountain, Alto is Spanish mean- ing timber. In other words the definition of the word is "mountain and timber".
The town was of slow growth on up until about 1902 when it took a rapid stride in development. During the 102 years of the town's history there have been such occurrences as the founding of the Hughes furnace where charcoal iron was made into pig iron and then into wrought iron. Hollow ware such as pots, kettles, bar iron, nails, etc., were made. Not having any railroads in those days,
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large wagons were used to convey these articles to Baltimore. In return the teams would bring back groceries and other merchandise.
Prior to the war Capt. John Cook, of Harpers Ferry, was cap- tured here by Daniel Logan and others. A stone marks the spot where he was apprehended.
Of late years the town has had a shirt factory and a state bank added to its fast speeding growth, and a new water system which is one of the best in the state.
There are three churches located in the town: the United Brethren, founded in 1843; the St. Peter's Reformed, founded in 1859, and the Methodist Episcopal, founded in 1874.
Mont Alto was, prior to its becoming a borough, a part of Quincy township, said township deriving its name from John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, this being done in the separation and laying out of new countries, Adams county taking the latter part of the president's name and Quincy township taking the middle part of the name, and annexed to Franklin county instead of Adams county. South of Mont Alto, known as Knepper station, stands a stone house on the Knepper farm built in 1777. Here is where the Indians made several attempts on the lives of the ma- sons who were building the house. The surrounding country was all timberland and the redskins would dart back in the dense forest and hide after shooting arrows at the masons. The house is still standing and in good preservation. It was erected on the order of a fort. The windows still show the early craft of the mason of that day.
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