Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 70

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages:

USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1) > Part 70

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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 of Scotch-Irish descent, came from Butler coun- ty, and brought a family. The farm that he first improved was later owned by the heirs of James Campbell, his son-in-law.

Shortly after Watt's arrival came Andrew Maitland, originally from Monroe county, N. Y., and a resident of Butler county, Pa., im- mediately prior to his settlement in Rockland. His first location was in the vicinity of Free- dom, whence he removed to Barr's Corners. Major Maitland, late of Oil City, a grandson. came into possession of the family homestead. Andrew Maitland was a prominent man in lo- cal affairs, and an active member of the Pres- byterian Church.

John Sullinger, a soldier of the Revolution, had come to the township in 1805 and secured a 400-acre tract of land, to which he removed with his family in 1813. He and his wife, Louisa (Judge), were natives of Westmore- land county, and their family consisted of twelve children : John, Alexander, Peter, Sam- uel, James P., Jacob, Andrew, Daniel, Annie (Mrs. William Karns), Elizabeth ( Mrs. Adam Karns), Mary (Mrs. James McDonald) and Catharine (Mrs. James Hoffman). The fa- ther was a mason by trade. He died at War- ren, Ohio, about 1845, at the age of ninety- one years.

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The first justice of the peace commissioned ley, in Center county, and bought the farm of Squire Crawford at Barr's Corners.

for Rockland township was James Crawford, who made his home at Davis' Corners and owned the land upon which that hamlet was built. In time he removed to "The Meadows," in Cranberry township, where he was also one of the earliest settlers.

In 1815 John Donaldson, son of Andrew Donaldson, originally of Cumberland coun- ty, and a settler on Slippery Rock creek in Butler county, moved to Rockland from the latter location and located on the farm later owned by Levi Nickle. In 1822 he moved to Richland, selling his in- terest in Rockland to Peter Works, a foreigner, and by trade a cabinetmaker, whose skill in fashioning fanning mills, churns, coffins, etc., made him a valued member of the community.

John and David Jolly, the progenitors of the family of that name in the county, were . originally from Westmoreland, and were among the early settlers in the vicinity of Free- dom, where they are still represented.

Enoch Battin, born in Huntingdon county in 1785, settled in Scrubgrass township in 1806 and some years later came into Rockland. Dur- ing the war of 1812 he was a member of Cap- tain Witherup's company.

Other early settlers were Matthias and John Stover, the former living where James Jolly later settled, the latter at Woodhull sta- tion, immediately below Black's siding. Later they removed to Pinegrove township, being pioneers in the locality of Centerville.

Peter Lovell originally located on the farm that included the site of Barr's Corners.

John Hetzler came to this locality in 1818 from Monroe county, N. Y., and purchased a hundred acres of land later owned by his son, John Hetzler, Jr. He returned with his family the following year, bringing all the household effects on one wagon. At that time the only improvements on the property were a one-story.log house and barn.

David and Daniel Smith. the first black- smiths, were brothers from Penn's valley, nine miles east of Bellefonte, Center county, the former coming first and locating half a mile east of Davis' Corners, later owned by Abra- ham Lusher. He came out in the winter, haul- ing his effects on a sled, and brought no stock except two horses, while Daniel brought five cattle and twelve sheep. His family and house- hold goods made the ten-days journey in a five-horse wagon, their transportation costing him one hundred dollars. Several years later Jacob Smith removed from the Nittany val-

William, Samuel and Joseph Ross, brothers, came here unmarried men, probably accom- panied by their mother, and had land between Davis' Corners and Freedom, though not ad- jacent to the road. They are said to have owned the first wagon in the township. All three married daughters of William Davidson.

The first improvements along the river were made by the following: William McClatchey, at the Dotter siding above Emlenton; William Craig. at the mouth of Shull's run; John, Wil- liam and Samuel Graham and their father, at St. George's siding; Abraham Witherup, jus- tice of the peace and captain in the war of 1812; Daniel McMillin, from Franklin coun- ty, who settled in Victory township in 1803 and several years later crossed the river to McMillin's Bend, where with his son John he was drafted for service in the war of 1812; and William Hull, who lived at Brandon's ferry, named after John Brandon, who settled there in 1827.

In the eastern part of the township one of the earliest settlers was John Haggerty, who was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, son of Nicholas Haggerty, a wheelwright by trade, who had emigrated to America before the Rev- olution, and eventually drifted to Allegheny county, where his wife and all his family were killed or captured by the Indians. With noth- ing to keep him here, he returned to Ireland. But two of the sons survived, and after some imprisonment in western 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 considerable service in protecting the fron- tier. In 1812 he located on a tract of 250 acres at the mouth of Pine run. Being a millwright by trade, he assisted in the erection of many of the mills in this part of the county. His nearest neighbor was John Prior, from Walker township, Center county, whose farm of 150 acres later was owned by heirs of Charles Cox, his son-in-law. Silas Brown, son-in-law to An- drew Maitland, settled a mile and a half from the mouth of Pine run, coming from Har- mony, Butler county. John McDonald, a na- tive of Scotland, who also came here from Harmony, planted one of the oldest orchards in the county.

Industrial Development .- The only gristmill in the township in 1818, a round-log structure on Shull's run, with one run of buhrs, was owned by William Craig, and the three saw-

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mills by Joseph Kennedy, William Craig and John Porterfield. Some years after the con- struction of his gristmill Craig added a paint mill to the original establishment, grinding na- tive iron ore into a preparation from which vermilion paint was made. The second mill was probably that erected in 1826 on East Sandy by Henry Myers. Originally it had a tub wheel and one run of native stone, but in two years was substantially rebuilt and more extensively equipped, and it was operated many years by John Myers. In 1835 Andrew Mc- Caslin (sheriff of the county) built a mill at the mouth of Shull's run. Joseph Porterfield had one on Mill creek, at the crossing of the Emlenton road. Joseph Kennedy's establish- ment at Freedom, on Shull's run, was probably the first sawmill in the township. It was sold to Alexander Lemon, who operated it some years. There were other early sawmills on East Sandy and other streams.

John Porterfield ran the first carding ma- chine, in a small but substantial stone building that remains as one of the few specimens of pioneer architecture extant. It is likely that this machine was placed in position as early as 1820. About the same period John Shaw operated a carding mill on Shaw's run, a mile from East Sandy.

There were three distilleries in the early days. one on the farm of John Jolly, near Freedom, one on Abraham Witherup's farm near Miller's Corners, and another on the farm of Enoch Battin. Whiskey was considered a necessity in those days.

The only tannery was that of Robert Bell, on the farm acquired by the heirs of David Smith, and was conducted on a cooperative basis, the tanner getting a share of the leather in payment for his work. It was equipped with vats and a bark mill. A number of years later James Martin established a tannery near Miller's Corners.

The furnaces of Rockland were an impor- tant adjunct to the development of the iron ore deposits of the locality, at that time con- sidered the only valuable mineral resources. Andrew McCaslin erected the first, known as Rockland Furnace, on Shull's run, Craig's mill dam furnishing the water power necessary to drive the blast. McCaslin became insolvent and had several successors in the ownership of the furnace, Rockwell, Dempsey & Wick, Wil- liam Spear, and E. W. & H. M. Davis, respect- ively, the Davises conducting it until its sus- pension in 1854. Porterfield Furnace, built in 1837-38 by Joseph Porterfield, on Mill creek. half a mile from the river, was operated only

by the original proprietor and Charles Shippen. In 1838-39 the Webster Furnace was built by Wick & Dempsey, a mile from Georgeville on Bear run, a branch of Pine run, and when the firm became bankrupt the stock was closed out by Hogue & Huston and the business was dis- continued.

Population .- In 1890 the township had a population of_1,957 ; 1900, 1,745; 1910, 1,662.

Villages .- Freedom, situated in the midst of a pleasant and fertile agricultural district, oc- cupies a site originally owned by Enoch Bat- tin and John Donaldson. The first person to live there was John Gray, whose house was on the west side of the road, at the spring. Joshua Davis was the first merchant, and among his contemporaries were William Woodburn and George Gates & Brother. An- drew Borland was the first blacksmith and kept .the first hotel. There was an ashery conduct- ed by John Goodwin, who obtained a variety of valuable products from wood ashes. E. W. & H. M. Davis were the proprietors of a foundry. The town was laid out in 1865, by James Woodburn and E. Chadwick, the lat- ter suggesting the name Freedom, but the post office was named Pittsville, in honor of Charles Pitt Ramsdell, the first postmaster. The popu- lation is less than one hundred now. The vil- lage contains one store and a dozen houses.

Scrubgrass is situated at Kennerdell sta- tion on the Allegheny Valley railroad, opposite the mouth of Scrubgrass creek. Its earliest name was McMillin's Bend, Oliver McMillin having the first house there, a primitive log structure that stood at a point now between Cross's store building and the railroad. The place had no pretensions as a village until the discovery of oil, when Mr. McMillin sold his farm to the McMillin Oil Company. William Cross opened the first store in 1867, by which time the settlement consisted of three houses- McMillin's, the Mackey hotel on what was afterward the site of the "Williams House," and the Cross store. The next three years saw rapid growth, and there was another active period during the Bullion excitement. Several destructive fires visited the place, the last in 1878. In 1867 John A. Canan secured the charter to operate the ferry, his successors therein being Richard Kennerdell, Williams & Van Fleet, and Hulings, Simcox & Stowe. From the fall of 1879 to February, 1881, the Allegheny, Kennerdell & Clintonville railroad bridge afforded a means of crossing the river. A second ferry was established in 1882 by J. R. Williams, A. Hahn and others, and from that time the legality of the franchise originally

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granted to Canan was in litigation until 1888- 89, a decision of the Supreme court passing favorably upon its validity and ending a legal struggle which interested the entire commun- ity. The old ferry by that time had passed into the ownership of D. K. Buchanan.

Davis' Corners is on a site originally owned by Jacob Smith. He sold to John S. McKean, from whom the place derived its first name, McKean's Corners. Charpes Shippen estab- lished the first store, and William Gates suc- ceeding to the business for a time the place was Gates' Corners. The next merchant was H. M. Davis, in whose honor the present name was adopted. The post office at this point is known as Rockland, and Daniel Smith was the first postmaster appointed. The population is probably 250, there being about fifty houses, a church and one store here now.

Smith's Corners, at the intersection of the road from Brandon's Ferry to Freedom with the road from Falling Springs to East Sandy, was certainly so named with eminent propriety, there having been seven families of Smiths liv- ing upon the land settled in 1834 by William Smith a half century after his arrival. Now there are two or three houses, placed near the four corners. Rockland is the post office.

Barr's Corners is on land originally owned by Milton Barr, a hamlet not quite a mile from Rockland. No business was established here for a number of years, and a blacksmith shop is the only business place now. Here twenty-five people reside.

Miller's Corners is situated at the intersec- tion of the road from St. George's siding to Davis' Corners, with the road from East Sandy to Rockland station. James Miller opened a store there. hence the name, but only the cross- roads are there now.

Georgeville is a little settlement on Pine run, in the eastern part of the township, named in honor of George S. Myers, who came here in 1833 from Harford county, Md., and in 1835- 36 built a mill upon the same site as the one erected in 1879. Half a dozen houses and a church are the only other buildings at the point.

Coal City, in the northern part of the town- ship, is a hamlet with a population of 23. It has rural free delivery service from Kenner- dell.

Fanning is a little station on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad in the northern part of the township.

Foster and Brandon are stations on the Pennsylvania railroad, which received their mail from Kennerdell.

Roberts Run, another station on the Penn- sylvania railroad, at the mouth of Roberts run, is on the north side of the river.

St. George, the next station below on the Pennsylvania road, receives its mail from Pittsville.

Farther on, around the bend in the river, are Rockland at the mouth of Shull run (mail Emlenton), Blacks (at the lower point of the bend) and Woodhill (mail Emlenton).

PINEGROVE TOWNSHIP

Pinegrove township is bounded by Presi- dent township on the north and Cranberry township on the west, on the south and east being Ashland, Elk and Washington townships of Clarion county. Tionesta township, Forest county, forms part of the northeastern bound- ary. The surface is much diversified. Porcu- pine creek and Reis run, branches of Hem- lock creek, drain the northeastern part; Sandy creek flows through the township a distance of three miles, and with its two affluents, Glade and Prairie runs, waters the southern portion ; Horse creek receives a few unimportant tribu- taries from the western section.

Upon petition of a number of citizens of Pinegrove and Farmington townships made at August sessions, 1823, it was ordered at Feb- ruary sessions, 1824, that the former should be organized, and that Farmington and Toby's Creek should be provisionally attached there- to. The boundaries of Pinegrove at that time were as follows: "Beginning at the north corner of Fairfield township on the Allegheny river, thence up the same to the west boundary of tract No. 2,844 granted to William Willink and others, thence south to the southwest cor- ner thereof, thence east to the northeast cor- ner of tract No. 2,826, granted to William Wil- link and others, thence south to the southeast corner of tract No. 2,801, granted to William Willink and others, thence west to the east boundary of tract No. 2,539, granted as above, thence south to the corner thereof, thence west to the southeast corner of Fairfield township, thence by the same north to the place of be- ginning." Farmington was separately organ- ized in 1828, and in 1866, upon the annexa- tion of part of Venango to Forest county, Pinegrove was reduced to its present limits. It is one of the smallest subdivisions of the county.

Pioneers .- In 1786-87, ten years before this region was regularly opened for survey and settlement, Dickinson College, at Carlisle, Pa., received a grant of land from the State, of

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which three thousand acres were located in the central and southern portions of Pinegrove, surveyed in nine tracts of about three hundred' acres each. In consideration of an appropri- ation in money, this was allowed to revert to the State, and it was resurveyed in eighteen tracts in 1823. A still larger holding was that of the Lancaster Land Company, successor to part of the interests of the much larger as- sociation known as the Holland Land Com- pany. Among the members of the former were Henry Shippen and Samuel Miller, who upon the dissolution of the company and the division of its lands by lot come into possession of large areas in the township. This region was surveyed in tracts of 990 acres, one mile wide, 523 3/10 rods long. Tracts Nos. 2,541, 2,566, 2,634 and 2,678 upon the survey were allotted to Miller; Marvin Perry bought Nos. 2,531 and 2,535 from the county commission- ers; Shippen's holdings aggregated about five thousand acres. At present it is difficult to un- derstand that settlers could hardly be induced to take these lands at two dollars an acre.

What is known as the State road was origin- ally opened in 1812, for the transportation of military and naval stores from the East to Lake Erie. The Hemlock road was also opened at an early date. King's highway was so named, it is supposed, from "King David," a local character whose home was along that road, and who earned his title by his attempts to rule in politics.

When the first permanent settlers came in there was a hunter's cabin on the State road built, and occupied by John Hicks, Sr., whose name appears among the taxables of 1805, as- sessed at forty-one dollars. It was afterward occupied by Ebenezer Kingsley, who was also assessed in 1805, at eleven dollars. While game was plenty hunting was profitable, the bounty on old wolves having been ten dollars, and on young ones five, and two wolf dens are still pointed out, one in the hills of Sandy creek and the other in the northern part of the township. The timber was burned over every year, and afforded excellent pasturage.

H. G. Spofford, the first to come in with the intention of settling, bought a large tract from Shippen, expecting to sell out at a profit to smaller purchasers, located here in 1817, and made some slight improvements on the farm later owned by George Powell. But he never paid anything on his purchase, and left in 1819, afterward establishing "Spofford's Magazine" in one of the Eastern cities. A Swiss family named Amsler moved into the house which he vacated, but remained only a few years. Sam-

uel Powell, who settled here July 19, 1818, was from Concord, N. H. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, after which he engaged in the shoe business in Albany, N. Y., where Shippen was then advertising his lands. He started for the west with a two-horse team, and at Olean transferred the household effects to a "family boat," by which they were safely carried down the river. The horses were to follow by bridle path, but were lost through the dishonesty of the guide. The first white child born in the township was George W. Powell, the date being Feb. 5, 1819.

Jeremiah Johnson, also from Concord, N. H., located on land owned by Thomas Mc- Loughlin, and worked for Spofford a year and a half with the promise of land in pay- ment, but lost all his labor when the latter be- came insolvent. In the spring of 1819 A. G. Siverly moved into Powell's house, and his im- provements were made in the vicinity of Un- ionville. This family afterward gave the name to Siverly borough, now a part of Oil City.

Among the first settlers in the neighborhood of Centerville was John Stover, whose two brothers, Peter and Matthias, came later. This family was originally from Maryland, and had lived in Rockland township previous to their location here, being attracted by the apparent smoothness of the land. John Stover cut a road from Sandy creek, four miles, over which he drove the first wagon into this part of the township. George Blosser settled near him in 1830, bringing a large family from the Nittany valley. Marvin Perry, later county commis- sioner, located on tract No. 2,531 in the south- western part of the township. On May 16, 1834, John McCalmont settled on what became afterward known as the Deshner farm.

There was a settlement of Massachusetts people north of Unionville, the names of Gil- son, Hale, Whitney and Dimond appearing among these early residents. Two brothers named Gayetty, also from that State, were here as early as 1828. Among the first im- provements in the central part of the town- ship were those made by William Walker, an early school teacher, and Alexander Craig, who was an old man when he came here. Henry Schwab, Sr., bought part of the Dickin- son tract. Jacob Byers, a native of Fayette county, born in 1798, was an early resident near Lineville. One of the first deaths was that of Ebenezer Kingsley's little son, who was fatally bitten by a rattlesnake in 1816; his sister died the following year, and their graves were marked by a rude inclosure of rough logs in a secluded spot on the State road.

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For some years settlers depended for their milling on Best's mill, on Pine creek, a branch of the Clarion river (fifteen miles distant), and a mill on Deer creek a mile from Shippens- ville, Elliott's mill, established at the mouth of Hemlock creek, and that of Henry Myers, on East Sandy at the crossing of the old Sus- quehanna turnpike, afterward became more convenient. The first mill in the township, built in 1834 on East Sandy by J. F. Ricken- brode, has not been in use for years. Ephraim Kulp built the first sawmill, on Prairie run. No stream in the township has sufficient power to operate a mill, and steam has not been in- troduced for milling use, consequently there are no mills in the township now.

Population .- In 1890 the township had 1,234 inhabitants ; 1900, 1,265 ; 1910, 1,132.

Villages .- Centerville was laid out in 1859 by Jacob Dietrich, on a site previously owned by Andrew Campbell and David Derkson, and he built the first house, near that occupied by his family for many years. Dietrich was from eastern Pennsylvania, and located first in Bea- ver township, Clarion county, removing to Pinegrove prior to 1840. J. H. Stuck built the first hotel, put up a sign, and intended to call the town Lorrahville, after another small vil- lage near St. Petersburg, Clarion county, but James Anderson suggested Centerville, be- cause the location was midway between Fry- burg and East Sandy, President and Kossuth. The post office, however, has always been called Fertigs. There are two churches in the town, two stores, a hotel, and perhaps thirty houses. The population in 1918 is probably 150.

Coal Hill is only an elevated region under- laid with coal and gas, where the Hampton station of the Speechley gas field is located.

The crossroads called Coal Hill or Union- ville was the mail distributing point of a thick- ly settled locality for some time. It was laid out in 1865. Its thirty inhabitants now receive their mail from Fertigs. The telegraph office is at Hampton gas station. There are tele- phones at different places in the township.

Lineville-Venus post office-is partly in Clarion county, as the name suggests, and stands at the intersection of five roads. It was laid out in 1854 by A. W. Owen and Samuel F. Plumer, each having eighteen lots, offered for sale at twenty-five dollars apiece. At that time the country east of the county line was all woods. There was but one house, that after- ward long occupied by J. W. Kahl, who opened the first store in 1860. Mr. Owen opened a hotel in 1867. The population has been about

a hundred for many years. There are now two general stores, two groceries and two mil- linery establishments.

In 1880 the Lineville Anti-Horsethief Com- pany had more than a hundred members, with the following officers : T. E. Baker, president ; Simon Korb, treasurer ; A. L. Byers, secretary. The membership doubled in the years from 1880 to 1890. The coming in of automobiles having decreased the number of horses, the need of horsethief catchers is not now so great. Doubtless the older members of the "Antis" could tell some interesting tales of social conditions in the early times of this sec- tion.

Gas City had a spectacular beginning fifty years ago. First some large oil wells attracted the usual crowds. This soon ceased, when some fine gas wells were struck which burned for a time, converting night into day and win- ter into summer. The "city" is now off the map.

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP

Cranberry township, the largest subdivision of the county, borders upon the Allegheny river a distance of twenty miles. It has a pop- ulous and diversified territory. The principal streams are Horse creek, Sage run, Lower Two Mile run and Hall's run, the last a branch of East Sandy creek.

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Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 70

Author: Babcock, Charles A. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: