THE BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS
OF CENTRE COUNTY.
Brief Sketches of the Boroughs and Townships of Centre
County Compiled from Authorized Publications.—
The Story of the Organization and Early
Settlers of Each Told in Teres Tales.
The county is located in the geographical centre of the State—hence its name.
It is bounded on the north by Clinton, on the east by Union and Mifflin, on the south
by Huntingdon and Blair and on the west by ‘Clearfield. Tt is about fifty-eight miles
long and thirty-six wide, and has an area of one thousand three hundred and sev-
enty square miles, making six hundred and seventy-eight thousand ‘and four hundred: the Karthaus road, and pass
acres of land. It was originally divided into the following eight townships: Up- énrly sontliv n
per Bald Eagle, Lower Bald Eagle, Centre, Haines, Miles. Patton, Potter and War-
riors Mark, but now is composed of twen
lows. : F
Bellefonte Borough.
The original plat of the town of Belle-
fonte was laid altogether upon the Griffith
Gibbon warrantee application of the 3rd of
April, 1769, No. 248, surveyed July 20th,
1869, owned by Wm. Lamb, patented Feb-
ruary 5th, 1794, and conveyed to John
Dunlop, Nov. 3rd, 1797. Subsequent ex-
tensions by the Brockerhoffs and the Valen-
tines, on the east and on the south, were
made on the Wm. Moore warrant.
The town was laid out by Col. John
Dunlop and James Harris, Esq., in 1795,
the streets running east and west and north
and south. The first house was erected by
Col. John Dunlop, on lot No. 33 now occu-
pied hy Jacob Valentine, corner of Spring
and West High streets, and it was the | |
house in which the first conrt was held.
John Hall erected the first blacksmith
shop near the foot of Spring street. The
town was named at the instance and by the
suggestion of Mrs. James Harris, from the
beautiful spring within its limits.
The town was incorporated into & bor-
ough March 28th, 1806. :
In 1800 when Centre county was created,
Mileshurg and Bellefonte competed strong-
ly for the honor of becoming the county-
seat. Milesburg appeared to possess an ad-
vantage in the fact that it stood at the
head of navigation on Bald Eagle creek,
and as that circumstance seemed to operate
materially in favor of Milesburg, the pro-
prietors of Bellefonte were spurred to a
more than ordinary effort to overcome it.
In this emergency the tradition is that
those interested in having the county-seat,
attached a team to a flat boat having on
board a lot of second-hand furniture (bor-
rowed from some man’s house) and drag-
ged the boat up Spring Creek as far as
Bellefonte. That done, they hurried a
messenger to Lancaster, armed with a
properly attested affidavit that the first
boat of the season, with freight aboard,
had arrived at Bellefonte. This statement
of facts appeared to indicate that Bellefonte
and not Milesburg was at the head of nav-
igation and being expeditiously pressed
by parties in interest, it resulted in the
passage of the Act making Bellefonte the
County-seat.
The census in Bellefonte Borough in 1890
was 4,070 an increase of 1,000 over that of
1880.
The population of Centre county entire
for 1890 was 43,190, an increase of 5,268
over that of 1880.
eae
Centre Hall Borough.
In 1846 Henry Witmer built the first
improvement of anv consequence in Centre
Hall, a large building occupied as a hotel
and store, whose site was marked by an
old log school house. It became a post-of-
fice station the same year. The Penns
Valley Banking company was organized to
do business at Centre Hall, April 1st, 1373.
The village is located on the turnpike con-
necting Lewistown with Bellefonte and is
well supplied with water by the Borough's
own plant. John Hoffer laid out the prin-
cipal part of the town in 1867-8, on his
farm gotten from his father, Christian Hoff-
er, in 1862. ‘Centre Hall Station’ was
laid out in September, 1884. hy John B.
Linn for the heirs of Mary P. Wilson and
Gen. James A. Beaver. The borough was
incorporated, including Uentre Hall station
hy decree of Court September 12th, 1885.
oe
/ Howard Borough.
The Borough of Howard is situated in
Bald Eagle Valley, fifteen miles from Lock
Haven and eleven and one-half miles from
Bellefonte. The first house on the site was
built by Wm. Tipton in 1800. The first
store there was started by H. B. Packer, a
brother of Governor Packer, in 1830. The
Howard Iron Works were located near the
town as early as 1829. Thecanal was com-
pleted to Howard in 1837 aud is now ocon-
nected with commerce by the Bald Eagle
Valley railroad. The town was in-
corporated into a horough by Act of As-
sembly of May 3rd, 1864.
ate
Milesburg Borough.
The town plan of Mileshurg was survey-
ed in the year 1793 by direction of Colonel
Samuel Miles, of Philadelphia. Tt was the
site of an Indian village known as ‘‘Bald
Eagle's Nest,’”” having been the home of
the Indian Chief Bald Eagle. Andrew
Boggs was the first settler of the locality
in 1769. The Erie turnpike was completed
from Milesburg over the Allegheny mount-
ains in 1822 and in 1847 the Bald Eagle
canal opened to Milesburg. In 1864 the
Bald Eagle vallley railroad was conipleted
and after the flood of 1865 the canal was
abandoned. The post-office at Milesburg
was established March 13th, 1797, the first
post office in the territory of Centre county
and Joseph Green appointed postmaster.
By the Act of March 3rd, 1842, Milesburg
was incorporated as a borough.
itl ea ln
Millheim Borough.
The town was laid out by Philip Gunkle
in 1798. Two old mills occupied a portion
of the site of this town, Gunkle’s and Hab-
ler’s. This fact suggested the name of the
town, Millheim; home of the mills. As
early as 1802 it had about fifty inhabitants.
In 1826 the turnpike was extended to Mill-
heim from Mifflinburg, and in January,
1879. it was made a borough by a decree
of Court. In 1879 the Millheim turnpike
road,
Lewisburg and Tyrone railroad at Coburn
station. was laid out.
i Ql irri
Philipsburg Borough.
Philipsburg, on the east bank of the
Moshannon creek, the boundary line be-
tween Centre and Clearfield counties, was
laid out by Henry and James Philips’ di-
‘rection in 1795. The first: important im~
provements were made by Hardman Philips
who arrived in 1809. He built a screw
connecting the borough with the
ty-five townships and eight horoughs as fol-
x
Tha Olid Mud Church.— This historic
relic of the days gone by stands on Pres-
queisle street, Philipsburg, in one of the
prettiest residence portions of the town. Ig
was built as a Union meeting house, early
in the century, on the lot which Lord
Hardman Philips the founder of the town,
bequeathed to Philipsburg as a burial place
forever. or
The church and the cemetery are con-
spicuous there today and are kept np by a
commission of ladies who are elected at the
regular spring elections for that purpose.
factory, which was the first factory of the
kind in the United States. As early as
1830 he secured a charter of ‘a railroad. in-
tended to connect Philipsburg with Hunt-
ingdon. Thirty-three years, however,
‘elapsed before Philipshurg was connected
with the outside world by railroad, which
was accomplished by the Tyrone and Clear-
field railroad in 1863. The Borough of
Philipsburg was incorporated by a decree
of Court November 29th, 1864, and was
subsequently divided into three Wards. | -
ereree QA eerie
State College Borough.
State College Borough was erected on
Aug. 26th, 1896, out of College Township.
The demand for incorporation as a horough
grew out of the remarkable growth of the
village of State College under the stimulus
of being an exceptional educational centre.
Though the youngest borough in the coun-
ty it numbers among its public improve-
ments well graded streets and side walks,
a splendid water system, electric light, two
good hotels, drug store. a number of gen-
eral merchandise establishments and very
commodious Presbyterian and Methodist
churches.
————
Unionville Borough.
The Borough of Unionville is a station
upon the Bald Eagle Valley railroad with
post office designation of ‘‘Fleming.”” The
site of the borongh was purchased in 1843
by Zephaniah Underwood. who in connec-
tion with his son "William laid it out in
town lots in 1848. John Peters subse-
quently laid out an addition to it. It was
incorporated as a borough by a decree of
the Court December 3rd, 1859, and the
Bald Eagle Valley railroad was completed
through it as early as 1864. Fleming post
office was established before the town was
laid out and it retains that designation.
——
Benner Township.
Benner Township, so named from one of
Centre county’s most distinguished pion-
eers, joins Spring on the west, Union and
Spring on the north, Patton, Harris and
College on the south, Spring and Potter on
the east, and Patton and Union on the
west. The township was erected at April
term, 1833. In 1875 a corner of the sec-
ond portion was detatched and set off to
the newly created township of College.
Nittany mountain lies on the southeast,
and Muncy mountain on the northern
border. Otherwise the township is rolling.
Spring Creek and Buffalo Run pass through
the township. On the former there isa
good water power. Logan's Branch rises
in Benner, in what is known as the Blue
Spring. Ore is found in some places, and
and at an early day was mined to some ex-
tent. Population in 1890 was 1,222.
Ae:
Boggs Township.
Boggs was formed by a division of Spring
Township in 1814, and had in 1880 a pep-
ulation of about two thousand one hun-
dred, and an assessed valuation of three
hundred and six thousand one hundred
and twenty-eight dollars. Its bonndaries
are Snow Shoe and Curtin on the north,
Spring and Union on the south, Curtin
‘and Howard on the east, Union and Snow
Shoe on the west. Much of the territory
is rongh and a great deal of it is mountaiu-
ous and much yet a stranger to the plow
of the husbandmen. Timber tracts were
plentiful, and from them great quantities
of charcoal were annually taken for use
at the iron works at Milesburg and Curtin.
Charcoal-burning was an industry of no
small consequence. Along the course of
the creek passes the line of the Bald Eagle
Valley railroad, which at Central City
sends out a branch line to Bellefonte and
a short distance above Mileshurg inter-
sects with che Bellefonte and Snow Shoe
railroad. At Mileshurg the Bald Eagle re-
ceives the waters of Spring Creek, and
along its length in Boggs possesses mill-
power of no small value. The viliages are
Central City and Curtin, both stations on
the Bald Eagle Valley railroad, Runville
and Snow Shoe Intersection.
The population in 1890 was 2,042.
rp MA iene
Burnside Township,
The wild and mouutainous character of
land in Burnside township was a bar to
“early settlers and we find no trouble in
title occurs there arising from old settlers’
surveys. The northwestern portion was
taken up under warrants of July 31st.
| Spring Creek.
1792, in the names of Walter Stuart (situ-
ated on the south side of the West Branch,
opposite a deer lick) William Stuart Jr.,
“opposite the mouph of Little Moshan-
non” (as the creek coming into the river
from the northward at Karthaus was then
called,) Deborah Stuart, by Aaron Levy.
Directly east of these Stuart warrants were
laid the Boudinot surveys. so called, hav-
ing been devised by Mr. Boudinot to the
city of Philadelphia for the support of the
poor, and by reason of much litigation has
proved an exceedingly costly bequest.
These warrants are dated Aug. 6th, 1794.
At the April sessions in 1856, certain
citizens of Snow Shoe living in the north-
ern half petitioned for a division of the
township. The commissioners who were
appointed reported at the August sessions
‘the same year marking the line of division
at a point jnst west of the residence of J..
H. Holt. There the townships line crosses
es in a straight
line nearly southwest and northeast. The
report was confirmed at the November ses-
sious in 1856, and the place of election
fixed at the Pine Glenn school house. The
population in 1890 was 530. :
College Township.
The oldest surveys are upon application
I | of Benjamin Bayless and Samuel Bayless
gl | Sr.. and Samuel Bayless Jr., dated Aug.
24th, 1766, and surveyed June 4th, 1767,
about fifty rods west of Oak Hall Foundry,
| | which is located on the Robert Roberts ap-
plication, Dec. #3rd, 1766, surveyed June
2nd, 1767, north af the Benjamin Bayless
Sr., the creek running northerly about
mid-way throught it; noith of the Samuel
Bayless Sr., the Samuel* Bayless Jr., and
| | northwestward of the latter Joseph Hop-
kins, in which Slab Cabin unites with
College Township,
The Pennsylvania State College is located
within its bounds, was erected from Har- |
ris and Benner Townships, August 30th,
1875. It is remarkable for its number of
areLemont,Oak Hall, Hounserville and State
College. Settlements were made within
the township at a very early date. Jacob
Houser was there as early as 1788 and Rob-
ert Moore was there before him. Chris-
tian Dale began a settlement near Oak
Hall as early as 1790, and David Whitehill
settled where the village of Lemont now
stands in 1789. Col. John Patton, in con-.
nection with .Col. Samuel Miles erected
Centre Furnace in the fall of 1791. Oper-
ation at Centre Furnace was continued un-
sil the year 1858. Pennsylvania State
College is the distinguishing feature of the
township now. Population of College in
1890, 1,666.
mem te Al esr.
Curtin Township.
Curtin Township was formed by a divis-
ion of Howard Township November 25th,
1857, the dividing being along the top of
Marsh Creek dividing ridge. Beech Creek
and Clinton county divide it on the north-
east. Among the first settlers of the terri-
tory were John and Nicholas Lucas, who
came from Mayland, and there are now
in Centre county more people of the family
name of Lucas than of any other. In 1840
John Packer erected the first saw mill
within the territory of Curtin and in 1842
raised the first frame barn therein. It is
watered by Beech and Marsh creeks and
has now a post office, Romola. within its
borders.
459; in 1880, 624; in 1890, 546.
a
Ferguson Township.
Ferguson Township, was so named in
honor of Thomas Ferguson who was a pio-
neer settler and built the first mill at what
is now the village of Pine Grove Mills.
The township was erected at January Ses-
sions, 1801, out of Patton. Captain Geo.
Meek, a Revolutionary soldier, (ancestor
to P. Gray Meek, editor of the DEM-
OCRATIC WATCHMAN) was also a pioneer
settler in Ferguson township territory.
In 1810 William Patton, son of Gen. John
Patton, built Tussey Furnace at Pine
Grove Mills. It ceased operation in 1815.
Ferguson Township is remarkable now for
its numerous beds of iron ore, developed
and undeveloped, thongh there are no fur-
naces now within its boarders. Large
amounts of ore have been mined about
Gatesburg, which was settled at an early
period by the Gates, Rider and Rumberger
families. Population in 1850, 1601; 1860,
1784; 1870, 2,111; 1880, 1817; 1890, 1748.
eves
Gregg Township.
Gregg Township was erected in Novem-
ber, 1826, out of portions of Potter, Miles
and Haines township and named in
honor of Hou. And. Gregg who had heen a
member of Congress from 1791 for sixteen
years and United States Senator from 1807
to 1813. Its earliest settlers were George
Woods in 1774, and George McCormick
who settled at Spring Mills in 1773 and
built the first mill there. It is a rich agri-
cultural township. Penn’s Creek rises in
the northern portion, its source a minia-
ture lake in a cave. Penn Cave is now a
noted place of resort. Township post-offi-
ces are Spring Mills, Farmers Mills and
Penn Hall. Population in 1850, 1,473 in
1860, 1,556;in 1870, 1,636: in 1880, 1,795;
in 1890, 1,683.
ert
Haines Township.
Haines Township was erected while part
of the territory of Centre county was vet
in Northumberland county, in February,
1790, and so called after Reuben Haines, a
brewer of Philadelphia, who owned large
‘sorealled hecause ary Sessions 1810, hy dividing what was
Population in 1860, 237; in 1870, |
| veys date back to 1767.
bodies of land in the township. Its valley
surveys date back to 1766, and among its
earliest settlers were Adam Harper, Jacob
and Adam Stover. Its oldest village,
Aaronsburg, was laid out by Noah Levy in
1786. James Duncan was the first store-
keeper, and a post office was established in
Aaronsburg, April 1st, 1798, and Mr. Dun-
can appointed post master. It now con-
sists of two precincts, East and West.
The first resident physician was Dr. Xlep-
per, who was succeeded in 1811 by Dr.
Charles Coburn. The first settler on the
site of Woodward was John Motz in 1786,
and the valley was laid out in 1848. Pop-
ulation in 1860, 1,510; in 1870, 1,354; in
1880, 1,422; in 1880, 1,490.
: ——
‘Harris Township.
‘Harris Township was erected out of Fer-
guson, Potter and Spring at April Sessions,
1835, and was named in compliment to
James Harris, a prominent citizen ot Belle-
fonte, and.a noted land surveyor. Its ter-
ritory was considerably diminished by the
creation of College township in 1875.
Among its earliest settlers were Jacob Jack,
Michael Jack, James Watson, John Irvin,
James Galbrait, etc., and ‘its earliest sur-
Its oldest village,
Boalsburg, was laid ont by Andrew Stroup,
December 10th, 1810, and Boalsburg Aca-
demy was erected in 1853. Tts other vil-
lage, Linden Hall, is situated on the Lew-
isburg and Tyrone railroad. The Bear
Meadows located in the southern end
of the township is an interesting feature of
the township and now the scene of exten-
sive lumber operations. Population in
1850, 1,954; 1860, 1,949; 1870, 1,999; 1880,
942; 1890, 869.
nl ea
Howard Township,
Howard Township was erected at Janu-
then Centre township and called Howard
as a tribute of respect to the great philan-
thropist, John Howard. Survey was made
little villages and hamlets, among which 1° the territory of Howard as early as No
vember, 1769, and the earliest settler was
David DeLong, who located where the vil-
lage of Howard now stands in 1778. Capt.
Thomas Askey was also an early settler.
James Packer, father of Gov. Wm. F. Pack-
er, buils a mill in the territory of Howard
‘as early as 1793. Howard sownship orig-
inally embraced Curtin, Liberty and parts
of Boggs, Snow Shoe and Burnside Town-
ships. Howard Borough was erected out
of it May 6th, 1894. Mountain Eagle is a
village poss office in. Howard Township.
Howard iron works were first erected in
1829 by the Harrises. Population in 1850,
1,292: in 1860, 1.106; in 1870, 875; in 1880,
947; in 1890, 940.
Huston Township.
Huston Township was erected at August
Sessions. 1838, hy a division of Patton
Township and called in honor of Hon.
Chas. Huston, a former President Judge
of the District. The earliest settler in the
territory of Huston was Thomas Parsons
in 1784, who was followed by David Kil-
gour, and the Williams family is the most
numerous of present residents. The vil-
lage of Julian, a station on the Bald Eagle
Valley railroad, resulted from the estab-
lishment of Julian furnace on its site in
1837 by General James Irvin. It isa great
point of shipment for lumber. Martha
furnace was established hy Roland aad
James Curtin in 1830. Nothing remains
of either furnaces except their sites and the
names, preserved by post offices and sta-
tions at the respective localities. Popula-
tion of Huston Township in 1850, 375; in
in 1860, 633; in 1870, 863; in 1880, 892;
in 1890, 766. ‘
Liberty Township.
Liberty Township is bounded on the east
by Beech Creek; Marsh Creek runs through
its centre and Bald Eagle creek throngh
the southern portion. Its village is Eagle-
ville, or Blanchard, the latter being the
post office and station name. Surveys
within its territory were made as early as
July, 1769. Among its earliest settlers
were John Marsden, Christian DBechdel,
the Kunes, Gardeners, etc., etc. The
township was erected at August Sessions.
1845. In 1832 Elder Nathan J. Mitchell
organized the first Society of Disciples in
the territory and a meeting house was
erected near Eagleville shortly afterward;
and the same year Eagleville was laid out
in town lots by Solomon Strong and Dr.
Roberts and the first house erected thereon
by Michael Brickley. Population in 1850,
387; in 1860, 748; in 1870, 1,062: in 1880,
1,284; in 1890, 1,244.
——e AA
Marion Township.
The first permanent settler of the terri-
tory of Marion was Thomas Wilson, who
came into the valley in 1785. He was fol-
lowed hy the MecCalmonts and MeEwens,
David Lamb, vames Hutchinson, Hugh
McClelland, etc., and Lick Run Presbyter-
ian church was organized in October, 1798.
Its village is Jacksonville, its post office
name Walker. Marion Township was
erected by a decree of Court of August,
26th, 1840, by dividing Walker township
by a line along the top of Nittany ridge.
There is considerable iron ore of
good quality in the township. Popu-
lation of Marion Township in 1850,
595; in 1860, 661; in 1870, 823; in 1880,
674; in 1890, 611.
Miles Township.
Miles township embraces Brush Valley
proper, the arable portion of which was
taken up by warrants by Colonel Samuel
'Aaronsburg.—A birds-eye view of Aaronsburg, the oldest town in the county. It
was laid out by Aaron Levy in Oetober,
1786. It is truly an old fashioned town and its
wide streets, town pump, and peaceful, placid atmosphere are present reminders of an
historical past.
Miles, whose name is preserved in that of
the township. Surveys on these warrants
were made in 1773 and 1774. It was set-
tled by Pennsylvania Germans of Luther-
an and Reformed creed and the first church
in the valley was erected where Rebers-
burg now stands in 1804-5. The church
records of births and baptisms dates back
to July 9th, 1792. Rebersbarg, the prin-
cipal town, was laid out in 1809 by Conrad
Reber. The first mill at (Centre Mills) in
the township was erected by Mr. Kreamer
prior to 1798. Miles township was organ-
ized in 1797 by a decree of the court of ||
Northumberland Sonny and is one of the
original townships of Centre county. Its
post offices are Madisonburg, Centre Mills,
Wolf’s Store and Rebersburg. Population
of Miles township in 1850, 1,306; in 1860,
1,147; in 1870, 1,325; in 1880, 1.512; in
1890, 1,438.
——— el im,
Halfmoon Township.
Half moon township was erected at Jan-
var Sessions, 1802. Abram Elder was the
first settler in its territory in the year 1784.
A Quaker settlement was formed within its
limits as early as 1492 when George Wil-
son came into the valley. Among the
early settlers were Benjamin Way, Caleb
Way, Isaac and Thomas Moore, John Spen-
cer, etc. The township is noted for'iés
iron ore deposits. Stormstown was its
earliest village, laid out by Jacob Storm
early in the present century. Jacob Lebo
was its first storekeeper and Abram Elder’s
tavern a noted landmark of the valley.
The village of Loveville was founded in
1855 by James Love. Population in 1850,
714; in 1860, 703; in 1870, 698; in 1880,
563; 1 1890, 748.
— ooo
Patton Township.
Patton Township was called in honor of
John Patton, a Revolutionary officer, (who
resided at now Centre Furnace) and was
erected while the territory was in Mifflin
county, as early as 1794. The Gray and
Hartsock families were the earliest settlers
who came in 1788 from Frederick county,
Maryland. Iron mining was begun at an
early day in this township to supply ore
to Centre Furnace, the first iron furnace
built in the county. The Township is
still rich in iron ore, the famous Scotia
mines of the Bellefonte Furnace Co. being
located there. The first settlers of Pat-
ton were Methodists, which is the pre-
vailing creed yet. The Bellefonte
Central railroad to Bellefonte, and Lewis-
burg & Tyrone railroad to Tyrone are the
outlets -of the ore products. Quite a busy
hamlet known as Scotia sprung up in this
township through the mining operations
of Carnegie brothers of Pittsburg. Popu-
lation in 1850, 453; in 1860, 664; in 1870,
721; in 1880, 761; in 1890, 1,045.
oe
Penn Township.
Penn Township was erected by a decree
of Court on the 30th of November, 1844.
Brush mountain forms its northern boun-
dary, Haines Township is on the east and
Gregg Township is on the west, and its
southern portion extends into the Seven
mountains. Its principal village is Cohurn,
a station on the Lewisburg and Tyrone rail-
road at the forks of the Penns and Pine
creeks, Millheim, within the township lim-
its being now a Borough. A turnpike road
runs from Millheim to Coburn, constructed
1879. Surveys were made in _the territory
of Penn Township as early as October,
1766, and it had settlers, among them Sam-
uel Hoy, John Wall and John Livingston,
asearly as 1773 and 1774, and one of its
later prominent citizens was Hon. Jacob
Kryder. Population in 1860, 1,054; in
1870, 1,158; in 1880, 814; in 1890, 978.
——— lr
Potter Township.
Potter Township, one of the original
townships of Centre county, was erected
at May Sessions 1774, while the territory
was in Northumberland county, and was
called after Gen. James Potter, one of its
earliest settlers. Potter’s Old Fort is
within its present limits. The turnpike
from Lewistown to Bellefonte runs through
it from south to north, meeting the turn-
pike from Lewisburg at the Old Fort tav-
ern. Its villages mow are Centre
Hill and Potters Mills, Colyer and
Tusseyville, all post offices. “Grange
Park, belonging to the Patrons of Husban-
dry, is located within its limits, adjoining
Centre Hall station on the Lewisburg and
Tyrone railroad. Progress Grange, No 96,
P. of H., was organized February 12th,
1873. Hon. Leonard Rhone is now general
manager at the park. The township has
two precincts, North and South. Popula-
tion in 1850. 2,216; in 1860, 2,223; in 1870,
2,378; in 1880, 2,375; in 1890, 1764. Pop-
ulation of Centre Hill in 1880, 108; of Pot-
ters Mills, 180.
— lpn
Rush Township.
Rush Township, the largest in area, lies
on the southwestern side of the county,
bounded on the west by Moshannon creek.
Philipsburg, its emporium formerly, is now
a Borough. The principal surveys in'its
territory were made in 1793 and 1794. It
is now traversed by the Tyrone and Clear-
field railroad and the extension of the
Vanderbilt or Beech Creek system
railroad irom Jersey Shore. = At
Sandy - Ridge there are extensive fire
brick works. The township is divided in-
to two precincts, North and South pre-
cinets. Osceola Station, Powelton and
Sandy Ridge are its stations ou the Tyrone
and Clearfield Railroad. Rush Township
was erected in April Sessions, 1814, out of
Half Moon and called in honor of Benja-
min Rash. It is noted for its rich deposits
of coal and fire clay. Population of Rush
Township in 1850, 371; in 1860, 680; in
1870, 1,963; in 1880, 1,591; in 1890, 2,-
829.
ee
Snow Shoe Township.
Snow Shoe Township was erected out of
Boggs Township January 27th, 1840. Sur-
veys were made iu this township as early
as 1773 known as the ‘Snow Shoe Camp
Surveys.’’' The remainder of the lands
were not appropriated until 1792 and 1793.
The first permanent settler was John
Bechdol in May, 1818. The wild
lands ‘were principally owned by the
Gratzs. subsequently by the Snow Shoe
Land Association. Moshannon village was
laid out in 1849 by James Gilliland. Snow
Shoe village is a noted summer resort and
was laid out in 1858. It is 850 feet above
Bellefonte and about 2,000 feet above tide
water. The township is memarkable for
the amount of coal contained within its
limits. Its outlets are the Snow Shoe
railroad to Bellefonte and the Beech Creek
road. Population of Snow Shoe Township
in 1850, 432; in 1860, 505; in 1870, 1,162;
in 1880; 1,410; in 1890, 2,397.
Spring Township.
The name of Upper Bald Eagle Town-
ship was changed in 1801 to that of Spring,
Potter's Old Fort.—The historic old spot
on which Bellefonte Chapter D. A. R. erect-
ed the above marker on June 9th, 1898, is
the same on which the famous old Indian
Fort, known as Potter’s, was built in 1777.
It was a stockade fort, built square with
an inner and an outer stockade enclosure
—one for the shelter of families in times of
danger and the other for live stock—no set-
tler having more than one or two cows and
a horse, which answered all their wants,
consequently few animals needed shelter.
The famous Indian spring at the foot of
the eminence upon which the fort stood,
was about ten rods distant; a stockade pas-
sage led from the foot of the spring, to pro-
tect the occupants in going to and from it
for water, for men and for animals, at times
when Indians were likely to be hidden he-
hind trees watching for an opportunity to
shoot any of the inhabitants of the Fort, if
venturing out. The spring is still the
source of water supply for the village of
Old Fort.
The first forts were built by the settlers
in 1777—the Potter’s Fort, and afterwards
minor forts in the vicinity of Kreider’s
mill, in Penn township. and another in
Haines township. About 1780 the settlers
fled on account of the Indians, most of them
returning to Penns valley again about 1784.
a very appropriate name on account of the
numerous large springs within its limits.
This township is noted for its iron furnaces,
lime industries, scale works, ete. John
Dunlop erected a forge as early as 1798
near the borough limits of Bellefonte. He
was succeeded by the Valentines and
Thomas in 1815. These works have been
rebuilt and modernized and have been op-
erated successively by the Centre Iron Co.,
the Valentine Iron Co., and the Empire
Steel & Iron Co. Mann’s Axe factory was
started on Logan Branch at now village of
Axemann by William and Harvey Mann
in 1828. Population of Spring Town-
ship in 1850, 1,280; in 1860, 1,461;
in 1870, 1,608; in 1880, 2,238; in 1890,
3,190.
~oPo—
Taylor Township.
The land in Taylor Township was, for
the most part, taken up on warrants in the
vears 1792 and 1793. The first settler in
the territory was William Birge. The
Vaughn brothers came there first in the
vear 1792—Richard, Joseph and Benjamin
Vaughn. Elijah Merriman also came with
them. Hannah Furnace was built in 1832
but has not been in operation for many
years. Among its present residents is
John T. Fowler, who in 1871 commenced
large lumber operations. The township
was organized by a decree of court dated
January 27th, 1847, out of Half Moon
township. Populution of Taylor Town-
ship in 1850, 349; in 1860, 351; in 1870,
512; in 1880, 617; in 1890, 577.
Bp re
Union Township.
Union Township was erected by a decree
of Court dated November 29th, 1850, out
of Boggs Township. Its northern portion
lies along the Allegheny mountains and is
traversed by Dick’s run, Dewitt’s ron and
McCormick’s run, which empty into Bald
Eagle Creek, which flows through the
southern portion of Union Township.
Among the early settlers of the territory
were Martin and John Hoover, John Irvin,
a Friend from Chester county, Leonard
Peters, of Lancaster county, Wm. Blair,
Wm. Campbell, “etc. The Philadelphia
and Erie turnpike passed through its ter-
ritory and there were some noted taverns
on this turnpike: John Hoover's, Archy
Moore’s and the ‘‘Rattlesnake,’’ kept by
Benjamin Bennet at an early day, which
have all disappeared with the change in
public improvements. Population of
Union Township in 1860, 848; in 1870,
847; in 1880, 1,086; 1n 1890, 820.
rr pn
Walker Township.
Walker Township is situated in Nittany
Valley proper, and is traversed by Little
Fishing Creek. Its villages are Zion, Hublers-
burg, Snydertown Nittany, and Mingoville
and it has considerable iron ore deposits.
The township was erected at January Ses-
sions, 1810, and called for the then Presi-
dent Judge Jonathan H. Walker. The
earliest settlers were the McEwens, Wm.
McKee, John Harbison, Wm. McKean,
brother of U. S. Senator Samuel McKean,
etc. Hublersburg was laid out by Jacob
Bowlander for Jacob Hubler, May 10th,
1832. Hecla furnace, at Logan’s Gap, was
built by Judge Isaac McKinney in 1825;
nothing femaining of it now but the site,
and farming is now the main occupation of
the inhabitants of Walker township. Pop-
ulation of Walker township in 1850, 1,221;
in 1860, 1,587; in 1870, 1,356: in 1880, 1,-
467; in 1890, 1,333. :
>
Worth Township.
Surveys on the Bald Eagle creek in the
territory of Worth were made as early as
May 17th, 1770, but its whole territory is
nearly covered by the Gratz block of sur-
veys of July, 1793. Cyrus Cartwright
made the first improvement about 1785
where Daniel Frantz now lives. George
Records, George Ardry and ‘Wm. Kelly
were among its early settlers. The pioneer
grist mill was erected by Abram Elder in
1806 in the western end of the township.
Its principal viliage, Port Matilda, was laid
out in 1850 by Clement Beckwith Esq.
The township was erected out of Taylor by
a decree of Court, July 27th, 1848, and
called Worth in honor of Gen. Worth, one
of the heroes of the war with
‘Mexico. Population of Worth Township
‘in 1850, 302; in 1860 246; in 1870, 650; in
1880, 808; in 1890, 840. ei