Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 78

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 78

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On Jan. 28, 1878, Clintonville was incorpo- rated as a borough, by decree of court, and its organization was ordered to take place on the third Tuesday in April following. J. G. Cal- vert was appointed to act as judge at this elec- tion, with Eli Hovis and Eli Vanderlin as in- spectors, and the first borough officials chosen

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were: J. H. Kelley, burgess ; W. C. Cross, J. C. Nutt, J. B. McMillan, T. J. Robinson, A. D. Crone, Edwin Heath, members of council.

The following have officiated since 1900 (there were no elections in 1912, 1914 and 1916, owing to legislative changes, the officials holding over those years, and the first election under the act of 1915 was held in 1917, at the same time as the general elections in Novem- ber) :

1900-01-02-Burgess, C. W. Davis ; Council- men, 1900-William Thorn, J. W. McKee, G. A. Ramsay, G. W. Shaffer, J. H. Thomp- son ; 1901-F. J. Sloan, R. A. McKee, J. W. Brocks; 1902-W. N. Thorn, J. M. McKee, C. M. Riddle.

1903-Burgess, R. A. Hutchinson ; Council- men, John Ford, E. W. Eakin, W. N. Thorn.

1904-Burgess, S. B. Braden; Councilmen, G. W. Shaffer, W. G. Coulson.

1905-Burgess, W. G. Coulson; Council- men, J. C. Matt, Lester Hovis, Lester Cross.

1906-07-Burgess, J. M. McKee; Council- men, 1906-C. E. Imbrie, J. A. McKee ; 1907- Harry Hawkins, R. A. McKee.

1908-Burgess, R. A. Hutchinson; Coun- cilmen, H. N. Kelly, A. E. Sloan.

1909-10-11-Burgess, R. A. Hutchinson; Councilmen, 1909-George Eakin, C. E. Im- brie; 1910-J. M. McKee, Harry Hawkins, R. A. McKee ; 1911-H. N. Kelly, A. E. Sloan. .

1913-15-Burgess, W. S. McKee; 1913- E. W. Eakin, H. N. Kelly, J. A. Mckinley, James McQuiston ; 1915-W. J. Atwell, G. A. Blair, J. M. McQuiston, J. F. Hovis, R. D. Price, Carl Smith.

1917-Burgess, C. L. Irvin (four years) ; Councilmen-W. J. Hovis ( four years), John E. Williams ( four years).

The population of Clintonville was notably larger during the Bullion oil excitement, and has not increased since, in fact, two census returns show a considerable falling off. In 1880 it was 339; 1890, 253; 1900, 262; 1910, 335. Clintonville has no railroad, but it is growing both in wealth and population. The location of the town is very beautiful, situated upon an eminence overlooking the surrounding country.

Summit City, at one time a place of a thou- sand inhabitants, has left few reminders of its existence except the name of its post office, Bullion, by which the location is still known, with one general mercantile store to cater to the needs of the local residents. The site was orig- inally the farm of S. Simcox, three miles southwest of Kennerdell, and the town flour- ished during the excitement incident to early

developments in the Bullion oil field. The first house was built Dec. 8, 1876, and by the next June there were one hundred and eighty build- ings and a population of about one thousand, with banks, hotels and all kinds of stores, and the usual features of an incipient oil town. As the excitement died down the people went elsewhere, and the town was deserted within a few years. The last inhabitant, Abram My- ers, left in April, 1889. The general store is now operated by C. W. Irwin.

Phipps' Mills stood on Big Scrubgrass creek, a mile above Kennerdell, and was an active place for about a quarter of a century. In 1824 John Anderson built the first furnace in the township at this location. He came from Juniata county and was an experienced iron- master, doing well in his venture. Ore was obtained from the surrounding hills, and the neighboring forests furnished charcoal. In 1835 he sold the property to David Phipps, who carried on the furnace some years longer, manufacturing metal for the Pittsburgh mark- et, and stoves, pots, pans, kettles, etc., for the local trade. A village containing a score or more of houses and a large store sprang up around the industry, an old file of 1835 show- ing that Phipps & Clapps were associated in the operation of the iron business, with forty employes. David Phipps also acted as post- master. He banked the furnace in 1847-48.

Kennerdell was established at a romantic spot in the valley of the Scrubgrass, two miles from the station of the same name on the Pennsylvania (formerly the Allegheny Val- ley) railroad. It has been an active milling center from an early period in the history of the township. In 1812 David Phipps built a gristmill on the south side of the creek, a log structure with crude machinery, but a great convenience to the local inhabitants and a prof- itable enterprise for the proprietor, who also had a sawmill farther down the creek. A modern mill eventually replaced the primitive gristmill. Mr. Phipps also built a woolen fac- tory furnished with carding and spinning ma- chines, looms, and all the other appliances nec- essary for the production of flannels, cloths. blankets, shawls, carpets, etc., with a fulling mill, dye house and oil mill in connection. It was an extensive plant for the time and place, the most important ever attempted along the Scrubgrass, and the transportation of the ma- chinery from Philadelphia by wagon involved great expense and labor. The operatives were principally from England. The whole estab- lishment was destroyed by fire one night, and

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Mr. Phipps never fully recovered from the financial loss sustained.

Richard Kennerdell, a native of Lancashire, England, born March 19, 1817, came to Amer- ica when nine years old and passed his boyhood in Philadelphia. In 1837 he removed to Pitts- burgh, and thence in the same year to Arm- strong county, Pa., where he remained seven years, in 1844 locating at Agnew's Mills, in Richland township, Venango county. In 1853 he bought the mill property above mentioned, at the village that has since borne his name, built a large woolen mill, and continued busi- ness there until his death. . Operations at the mills ceased over thirty years ago. The old Kennerdell property is now owned by J. L. Eakin.

About 1823 William Cassidy, a native of Westmoreland county, came to Scrubgrass and went to work in the Phipps Mills. In 1828 he removed to a location in what is now Clinton township, building a pottery on land later owned by S. Simcox where for a number of years red ware for domestic purposes was manufactured.

For several years a unique enterprise prom- ised success, but was not kept up. The morus nigra, a species of the mulberry tree, being na- tive to the soil here and abundant, suggested the possibility of silk culture, and a man named Waite planted an orchard of the morus alba, not far from the place occupied by Alexander Witherup's heirs, but the project was aban- doned before any great results were attained.

Jamestown was established by William Cross and named in honor of his wife, whose maiden name was Jane Weakley. Mr. Cross moved to Franklin from his old home in Cen- terville, Butler county, in 1831, and became one of the wealthy business men of the coun- ty during the prosperity of the iron industry. Within twenty years he had placed six fur- naces in operation in the county, two of them in Clinton township. When he came to Clin- tonville, in 1835, the region was heavily tim- bered and there were ore deposits accessible at comparatively slight expense, while the water power of Scrubgrass creek was practically all at his disposal. The mill built by Craft Ghost, on its west branch, was still in operation, and Mr. Cross purchased the establishment to- gether with several hundred acres of land. In 1837 he built a frame mill, with two sets of buhrs, a mile west of Clintonville, where the Mercer road crosses Scrubgrass creek, build- ing a race to the dam at Ghost's mill, a mile and a half distant. It was a marvel of engi- neering skill for the period. Being cut through

a wild and rocky region, the channel was made at great labor and expense in many places, and when completed provided a fall of fifty feet, sufficient to furnish motive power for a grist- mill, sawmill, foundry, carding mill and blast furnace. The foundry stood on the north side of the road, and here hollow-ware, plows, pot- ash kettles, stoves and similar goods were turned out, finding a ready sale in the surround- ing territory. In 1840, farther down the creek, a carding mill was built with two machines, which prepared wool for domestic manufac- ture. A little later a tannery was built on the east side of the creek, and a furniture factory, blacksmith shop and tailor shop were added to the conveniences at this settlement. Patrick Thornbury and William Baird were in charge of the foundry; James and Andrew Russell were engaged as cabinetmakers; Isaac Miles, as tanner; William Atwell, as blacksmith; George Jack, as tailor; and James Weakley had charge of the carding mill.

The construction of Jane Furnace was start- ed in 1840, and it was first put in blast Nov. 7, 1842. It was built of stone, and had a cupola thirty-five feet high, with a bosh diameter of seven feet. As in all furnaces of the time, the cold blast was used, and charcoal was employed for fuel, a fact which brought charcoal burn- ing into the list of important local activities. Wood choppers received from forty to fifty cents per cord, and colliers from $2.50 to $2.75 per hundred bushels, after deducting the cost of the wood. The cost of ore ranged from $2.50 to $3.25 per ton, the best limestone ore coming from the Buchanan bank in Butler county, ten miles away. The metal was hauled to the mouth of Scrubgrass at a cost of $1.50 to $2.00 per ton and shipped to Pittsburgh by flatboat at a freight charge of a dollar per ton. The wages of furnace operatives ranged from sixteen to forty dollars per month, and there were about fifteen houses in the vicin- ity to accommodate the workmen. The tan- nery, foundry, and other establishments grad- ually fell into disuse, and at last the furnace blew out in 1859, while nothing now remains to mark the site of this once prosperous set- tlement. The course of the old millrace may still be traced, however, and the remains of the old mill are standing.

William Cross also owned the Bullion Fur- nace, built a little earlier than the one at Janes- town, and of about the same size and capacity. It stood on Bullion run, a mile and a half from the mouth of Scrubgrass, Mr. Cross owning fourteen hundred acres of land in that vicinity. Here a store and houses enough to accommo-

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date thirty operatives made quite an active community, which dwindled to nothing after the furnace was banked, in 1859.

Beringer City, a village established on the George Beringer farm, during the oil excite- ment in 1877, grew within six months to a place of one hundred and ninety-five houses, from February to July of that year. Various kinds of business houses were opened and the place prospered for a year or so, but declined rapidly, and within a decade was reduced to a few houses and a single store. It is not on any map now. The post office at Summit City sup- plied this place and Dean City.

OIL CREEK TOWNSHIP

The first movement in the direction of sep- arate organization for this territory was made at August sessions, 1859, when a petition from citizens of the northern part of Cornplanter and western part of Allegheny was presented for the consideration of the court. On the Ioth of January, 1860, the question was sub- mitted to a vote of the citizens of Allegheny township, with the result that out of the 216 votes cast at the election there was a majority of 56 against the proposed innovation. In January, 1866, the. matter again became a sub-

BULLION RUN FURNACE STACK

Dean City had a location adjoining Berin- ger, on the McCalmont farm. After the first impetus subsided, its only activities were those kept up by the employes at the wells, and it has passed entirely out of existence.

Clinton township is one of the best in Venan- go county, or in any other county. It still has untold wealth in its soil, and hundreds of feet below the surface. It is still rich in oil, gas and coal, but its greatest wealth is in its soil, which will never be exhausted. The richest soils in the world are those that have been cultivated longest, some of them more than two thousand years, and getting better. The soil will never be spoiled or become unfruit- ful while the sun shines and the rains fall, and man treats it intelligently.

ject of judicial consideration. S. Thomas, Samuel F. Dale and T. H. Martin were ap- pointed viewers, and reported in favor of the division of Allegheny by a line "Beginning at the southeast corner of lot No. 124, thence by line dividing said lot from No. 163 north by the original lines of the tracts and by the east line of the borough of Pleasantville to the Warren county line," which was confirmed nisi Aug. 30, 1866. There is no record of the final proceedings in this case, but the formal erection of Oil Creek probably occurred at the following term of court.

Settlement .- The Flemings were probably the first permanent settlers in the township, having established a residence here in 1796 In 1795 Andrew and Daniel Fleming made a

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visit to this section of the country from their home near Redstone Old Fort, Fayette county, where their father, a native of England, was among the first settlers. He had come to America before the Revolution, served during the war as a commissary in the Continental army, and died in Fayette county leaving a family of grown sons. The brothers returned to Venango county in 1796, Andrew securing 400 acres of land, and their mother, Mrs. Sa- rah Fleming, followed them hither in 1798 with four more brothers, Samuel, James, Eze- kiel and Edward. The family has been well represented in this section down to the pres- ent time. Andrew married Ann Mcclintock, sister to Francis and Hamilton Mcclintock, and had three sons and three daughters. Dan- iel married Nancy Harding, of Harrisville, Butler county, and died in Forest county. Samuel bought land six miles south of Titus- ville, on the hill east of Oil creek, the claim of Jacob Richards, who had cleared several acres of land and planted a small orchard, subse- quently removing to Gallipolis, Ohio. Sam- uel married Jane McClintock, daughter of Hamilton McClintock, and reared eleven chil- dren. The other brothers also located here.

In the summer of 1799 a settlement was made by Samuel Gregg, from Center county, in the vicinity of Pioneer station, in the ex- treme southwestern part of the township. He was a native of Ireland.

Another of the early settlers was James Mil- ler, in whose honor Miller Farm station, on the western edge of the township, was named. It was once a flourishing oil town, and the post office of Meredith was established there.

James Shreve, who came from the same lo- cality in Fayette county as the Flemings, bought the improvements of Abraham Sowers near the Titusville and Oil City road. Pre- vious to his removal into this locality he had lived in Ohio for a time, and while there joined the Christian Church.

John Lytle, who came to the township in 1812 and settled what is known as the Mill farm on West Pithole creek, was a native of Ireland.

William Poor settled here in 1818; he had removed from Massachusetts to Crawford county, Pa., the year previously Other pio- neers were William Broadfoot, David Hender- son, William McCaslin and Robert Watson.

Population .- In common with other oil re- gions, the township has experienced many fluc- tuations of population due to activities in the local fields. When the productiveness of this region as oil territory became apparent many

of the older families left, few remaining, and much interesting history regarding early con- ditions in the township was thus lost. The oil operations carried on in the sixties accounted for great accessions to the population, which in 1870 is recorded as 5,098; in 1880 the number had fallen to 526; in 1890 it was 852; 1900, 623; 1910, 577.

The first road through the township led from the Hickory flats in Forest county to Frank- lin, passing a mile south of Pleasantville, cross- ing Oil creek at the Fleming mill, and contin- uing through Cherrytree village to Coopers- town before turning south to the county seat. The Brokenstraw road entered this county at a point south of Enterprise, Warren county, and met the Warren and Franklin road at Rynd Farm; the principal part of its course has been abandoned.

Early Industries .- The first mill in Oil Creek township, and the first on Oil creek, was built by Andrew Fleming, and the original machin- ery. which included two runs of native stone and a waterwheel of primitive but ingenious construction, was principally of his own con- triving. When the trade had increased suffi- ciently with the growth of population to war- rant it, improved appliances were brought from Pittsburgh, and a sawmill was added to the equipment.

Before 1800 the Holland Company built a mill on Pine run, the east branch of Oil creek. which was patronized from this vicinity until local facilities were provided. Both have now "passed," like King Arthur.

At an early date John Lytle built a sawmill on West Pithole creek, where waterpower was furnished by a large pond. Many years after- ward the timbers were used in the construction of a barn.

Pleasantville borough, in view of its desir- able location and many other attractions as a place of residence, was appropriately named. Abraham Lovell made the first improvement on the site, which lies in the northeastern part of Venango county, six miles from Titusville, this being the southern terminus of the Titus- ville Traction Company, operated between Pleasantville and Tryonville, Crawford coun- ty. The altitude above the level of Oil creek is six hundred feet at this point.

Mr. Lovell had visited various localities in northwestern Pennsylvania on his return from service in the war of 1812, for which he had been drafted at his old home nine miles from Ithaca, N. Y. The abundance of spring water in this vicinity influenced him in making his choice, and here he brought his family about

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1820, in a covered wagon which continued to provide them with shelter until a permanent dwelling could be erected. Their land ad- joined the graveyard on the west. The fam- ily was characterized by remarkable longevity. Abraham Lovell was a member of the Presby- terian Church, and rigidly Calvinistic in faith and practice.

It was Aaron Benedict who named the place and to whose enterprise its early prosperity was due. He was a native of West Stock- bridge, Mass., born Feb. 17, 1779, of English parentage, and as a young man settled in New York State, where he acquired substantial business interests. During the war of 1812 he was the proprietor of flouring mills between Cortland and Homer, in Cortland county, be- coming quite wealthy, and at the close of the war he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Fa- bius, Onondaga county, at which place he was a leader in business and social activities. He built a Baptist Church, and was prominent gen- erally in enterprises designed to promote the

public good. When the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike was constructed, in 1818- 19, he took a contract to do a considerable part of the work. His own operations were profitable, but heavy losses occasioned by the failure of others, with whom he was associated, made it necessary for him to sacrifice his prop- erty in order to meet his obligations, and the results of years of successful labor were swept away. Having formed the acquaint- ance of Mr. Huidekoper, of Meadville, agent for the Holland Land Company, and having also gained some knowledge of this section while carrying out his contract in the construc- tion of the turnpike, he saw an opportunity to retrieve his fortunes by venturing into the new region, and made a settlement in the spring of 1821 on a tract of 400 acres which he had secured, embracing the site of Pleasantville. His son, Aaron, Jr .. had come out the previous year and sowed a field of wheat, which helped to provide the family with food until they could make a start at the new home. In the summer of 1821 Peter Vhreum, a stonemason of Mead- ville, built a stone house for the Benedicts on the east side of what is now known as Main street, which was for many years one of the most substantial and commodious residences in the county. It cost one thousand and sixty dollars. There was a fine spring at the side of the house then, but like many others it dis- appeared after oil operations were begun. Mr. Benedict became agent for the survey and sale of the Holland lands, and an influential mem- ber of the community, holding various local

offices, including that of justice of the peace for many years. He was originally a Whig in politics, later a Republican. Though he had nineteen children, he was represented by com- paratively few descendants in the locality.

Austin Merrick, who arrived shortly after Aaron Benedict, like him came from New York State, was a Baptist in religion and a Whig in politics. He lived on Main street near the Baptist Church, and seems to have been vari- ously occupied, having taught the first school in the village and acted as the first postmaster at Holland post office, besides farming to some extent. He moved to Corry when the oil ex- citement began. Mr. Merrick was married four times. Merrick street was named for him.

William Porter was a son-in-law of Aaron Benedict, who induced him to come to Pleas- antville. He removed here from Rochester, N. Y., where he had been following his trade of potter, and established himself in that line at his new location, his pottery being situated originally on the west side of Main street, op- posite the Benedict home, but later removed to the other side of the street, below the opera house. Mr. Porter first lived in a hewed-log house which stood on a lot later owned by Dr. John Wilson.

In 1831 E. R. Beebe, a nephew of Aaron Benedict, located here at the solicitation of his uncle and immediately started a tannery on State street, one of the most important indus- tries of the place in its pioneer period. The equipment included vats and a bark mill, and the establishment was well patronized. The original proprietor lived to an advanced age. After he gave up the business it was conducted by John Brown, William Dawson and others, in turn, until discontinued many years ago.

John Brown, the first merchant at Pleasant- ville, came here in 1833 from New York City, where he had engaged in business several years after his arrival from his native country, Scot- land. He had his first home and store on State street, at the crossing of the run, and was re- markably successful in business, as his de- scendants have been down to the present. He was a man of strong religious tendencies, and was largely interested in building and sustain- ing the Covenanter Church at Pleasantville, as he was in other beneficial enterprises!

As the location of a pottery, tannery, post office and popular general store, Pleasantville acquired considerable local prestige, but its growth was not rapid, and the only important addition to its business institutions in years was the ashery established in the forties, where

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saleratus was produced. Ebenezer Sanford capital was one hundred thousand dollars. In was one of the proprietors of this plant. The 1879 Mr. Irwin was succeeded by D. W. Hen- derson.

discovery of oil, however, brought about an immediate expansion of general business inter- ests and a rapid increase in population. The first productive well in this vicinity was drilled in 1865 on the Porter farm. Land was in great demand at once, and within a short time the village was thronged with strangers seeking profitable opportunities for investment. Build- ings of all kinds were erected without delay, for hotel, store and bank accommodations, as well as all the other wants of business and habitation. A railroad bed was graded from Pithole City, and with the prospect of good transportation facilities, added to the natural healthfulness of its location, Pleasantville seemed in a fair way to become one of the larger towns of the oil country. But with the decline of production those who had no inter- ests here except in oil gradually withdrew to new fields, the railroad was abandoned, and the life of the town resumed its normal course. However, oil operations took on new life in the eighties, giving business a new impetus, and there are a number of profitable leases under exploitation in the vicinity. Manufac- turing has never had any important part in the development of the place. The Eagle iron and mill works established in 1868 by J. Locke & Son, on State street, were removed in 1876, to Grant street, where flour and lumber mills were erected and the manufacture of oil well machinery, wagons, etc., carried on until the early eighties. House & Kelly also had a wagon shop for some time. S. H. Wallace & Company and Frederick Propheter engaged in the building of tanks. The business ele- ment now consists largely of oil producers and drillers, together with dealers in oil well sup- plies, besides the merchants who supply the borough and surrounding territory.

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Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 78

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

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