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41 " Historical and
)Pc.
Industrial County,
Edition.
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. ' g -.- i' - -muSQUEnANNA '.i COUNTY -- ,-AND
,11115 - REL - OURCE
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E AND FFWORED
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TF,DATING its . official
organization .in 1312,
when it *as, carved out
of old Luzerne, Susquer
- hanna county's history
may 'be said to extend •
back to the dine ;when it
was a part ;of the Western. Reserve, or; -
New' Connecticut, a period preceding%
even the era when it was a 'pottion of -
old Northuinberland.; ;It was r 497
that charterS were:i . Tranted -by the then
reigning-English ? -overeign to Connecti
cut and Pennsylvania/from which "all
kinds of trouble" arose. Voyagers from
France interposed and Clainied the land
by"right of discoveries;! but the Trenc
h. men were outclassed innerzibers'and by
diplomacy. England was nevertheless
alarmed at the encroachMents of the
French,. and in ;662 Charles II: reneW,
ed and confirmed the charter to . Con
necticut, the bohndaries including the
territory now more remote froin the
British 'crown than 'the antipodes.- . but
at that time 'a part of the .country we
now claim as our own ;Susquehanna
•
county.
- Early btrite- and Contention.
• Before it became what it is today,
howeYer,.it was the scene of much con
tention. 1664 the Dutch; who had
settled on the Hudson more that .fifty. •
years previous, and I wlto claimed the
land from, the Connecticut • river AO - the
Delaware, were subdued and for the time
being squelched by the English ; and the
territory claimed by the pipe-smoking
Hollanders was given to the Duke 61
York (because he was: the duke) after
-wards James ll.,the reigning monarch's.
brother. Because this line, as 'agreed
upon 'in. 1664, was pronounced "the
Western boands 'of the colony of coi 4 -
licglinesS' patent; the plea wet: later went in Wyoming (opposite, Wilkes- and adjoining counties was a val
made by-Pennsylraniathnt Connecticut . Barre.) . Twenty of them were Mas7.-derness. Then and for a long ti
bad relinquished all (claims to- land sacred by Delaware Indians the folloWing terwards elk,panthers,„ bears, y
west of the Delaware. "Dutch courage"_ year, which discouraged further efforts wild cats and Indians held fut
• haying arisen in the meantime the Van for nearly seven years. In 1769 two Late-in tha year a few settlements ht
Vans got possession of the: land once delegates went to Philadelphia' and en- white perso were made at Brooklyn.
more; it-.was again wrested from thein deavored to bring about- a peaceful set- Harmony,. t - eat-Bend and Oakland ap . d
by the • British, and anew charter was tlement "out of court"' with - the propri- the county has since grown slowly-lint
issued to the Duke of : York. This etaries,but their mission came to-naught,
solidly as Coinpared with some other
brought. on a fresh contention between Pennsylvania absolutely refusing to rec-
It
royalty; and the Connecticut burghers. cignize the Connecticut claim. counties in he state, until today the'
population estimated) is 40.200: • In
The line between ;hat of the Connecti, contrary, an act was passed in 1774 .
area the county is 823 square miles of
cpt-colony and the possessions invested. ereating-Westmoreland "town," attach la n d surface
in H is Royal ,Highliess was finally-ad- inc.; it to Litchfield county. This "town" The to,
was seventy miles square and the town- ' I . -
. ipograerally mountainous or hilly, diversified
. . Complicated '' Rights,„, Snips six miles square. .
by'inland lakes and mountain streams.
I Hostilities then ceased on the recorn-
The sUccessive giants , :of different The landscape view is one of mountain
mendation of a General-Congress of rep -kings 'complicated matters to such anrepose and luiet pastoral appearance.
extent that the proverbial Philadelphia .resentatives from all the colonies, as- The highest and is in the eastern part
sembled at Philadelphia to consult upon
lawyer would have been (and may hap of the countv. on the Moosic i divide.
was) puzz.ed to know who was who measures of mutual defence against the
It forms a belt, Live or six miles wide,
and what was what. I: •• . British forces.
~ . - and is the northcqi prolongation of the
in 1753 the foundation_of the Sus-•
Revolutionary Period. , Carbondale ceal basin. • ,
quehanna Company was effected. The I •
object of that ':.trust”, iiijay be, inferred' *. Not a civilized inhabitant was within Water -ways Plentiful.
from the fact that two
years .L a t er ,th e the boundaries of the territory now con- Water-wayS in the county are huni
"lrani_ stitnting Susquehanna county when the emus. The, usquehanna ,river, in its
General Assembly . of COnnecticut
fested their 'ready acquiescence in t h e Revolutionary war was begun, but that tortuous co ti e, receives the waters of '
purchase (1) made from the part of Westmoreland in the vicinity by Y all the creeks that drain the county, in
the Sus . quehanna Company, (lands, we pf Wilkes-Barre furnished nearly, • 3(10 whatever dire tion they flow. The Sus
nowto ,
inhabit), and gave men the Continental service. ' their consentquehanna enters the county from New
for an application to His Majesty to ' When Cornwallis surrendered, the York at its northeastern corner, hut af
o'erect them into a new colony:: The ever recurring dispute between Connecti- ter going south five.miles it turns abrupt
surv,eyors sent out were bushwhacked cut and Pennsylvania bobbed up again ly west, and after continuing about ten
by the red skins, whoat that time were 'and congress appointed a commission miles makes its great bend (from which'
endeavoring to cope with -. the _French, tO sit at Trenton and once and forever Great Bend isinamed) and passes north-
This caused our Yankee p re d eee i o d i rs . t o settle the vexed question. That corn- ward back into New York. ..There it
halt; and after, see-sawing with William mission decided that Connecticut had no again veers west., and flows to the mouth
Penn, to whom a charter had been grant_ right to the lands in controversy, :that of the Cheroung river, thence southeast
ed to Pennsylvania, the COnnecticuters - • c-- _ ...______ ___ ______ ._ _ -
were fmally andeffectually relegated to
the rear by an act of the Pennsylvania
legislature (1779) vesting in the coro
monweath the •!,'right of soil and estate
of the elate Proprietaries of Pennsyl-
justed
vaaia .*f
Sharp Rzashins. •
The Indians had already received
£2ono sterling from the Susquehanna
Company for the lands, which they after
*a-iiis sold to Pennsylvania, and as they
-never returned the X2OOO it is one n
,
stance and the only one ever heard.of
in which an Indian-"got the. best"... of a.
Connecticut Yankee in a trade. .
The Pennatnite war (x 769- to :77 1 )
ended with the Susquehanna Company
in full possession of the sectilna 'now ern
brace din 'Susquehanna county. At that
time the town and - county of Westmore
land bad cease.d to exist. It was known
as the Wyoming Valley and included
what is now known as Luzerne; Lacka
wanna, NVYoming, Susquehattna, Wayne
and a part of Bradford Counties..
The Pennamite war compriied the
struggles of Cqnnecticut settlers to re
tain possession of the: WyOming lands
which they had purchased frOm the Sus
quehanna'. Company, butwhich were
claimed also by the irroprietaries of.
Pennsylvania, who were.detennined up
'on securing .either the recognition of
their claims, or the ejection of the set
tlers.
Wyoming Mae4sacre,
f: Over roo persons had come from Con
necticut, in 176 i, and - began a Settle
,
NM
all, the
belong
ThuS, - 1
Tunk-
Trentoi
Drin k
xteCt„ict Lick,
'Wiley's, Snakb, Choconnt, Apolacion,
did not •"go down': with our Yankee
brethren, .nor did an act of the Penn- __
meshoppen, TUscarora. and Wyalusing.
sylvania legislature .1783, bouncing
The Lackawanna river flows south along
the Connecticut settlers.. . the - eastern li.ie of the county. There
:When Imierne Was - Created. , are many
,beautiful lakei in different
paits of the county. Crystal lake, Heartm
extending over a year, and it was, two
4 second Permarnite "war" "ensued,
lake, Silver lake, Carmait's lake and Elks
- ,7
lakeare the most important • in size.,
years later before "healing" measures 1
Among the mineral water; in the county
were adopted by the state of Pennsyl- .
vania creating the county of Luzerna sulphur spring in Rush is pethaps - tlie •
' -V
froth Northumberland. 'That new . coun-
best known. Salt springs near Great
ty extended from the mouth of the Nes-.
Bend, also on Silver Creek near` Ft
-
copec to the north line of the state (r 2 o lin Fork, e..
miles north and south) anfins9me parts In the valle
over 70 miles in width:- • , .of rivers and 0
, Prioi to.! 787 the area cw...red by this3:ai various
l' l :,?(P.:ir,olsttt..qo._
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SUSQUEHANNA:COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
The most observing critics have pronounced the architecture of
the 8u quehanna court house abso'utel classicall The first court wa4
held hi Isaac Post's tavern, and the' bascrucat Keeler's 11..tei was
the tirstj lb.' The court house was bold in ltltt-M. The contract cost
of the building was tl8.500; architect, $320; ftirialtare. including bc:l,Pl,- 4
195.70; total, $20,245.70.. The grodnd dimensional includit.g stylobate.
are 511 - 82 feet. In 1870 repairs were Made on the building amount tog
to it 1.0.25 09. In ISB3 an addititMwas bullion the rear end, 26V.5 feet, can- '
tattling rooms for the janitor; chambers for the fudge, waiting rams
sod the library room. The town clock was purchased by citizens o
Montrose and placed in the cupola in earlier yclirsl
Aly the county is
EMI
MEI
=s and along the toes
eeks the lands are alluvial;
Linda of grain crop 3 'are
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grown. Oh the bills and tpountains the el ttitil June, •181 . 3. It was a combi
sziil is apparently better adapted. for nation court house, jail and jailor's resi-
Iruit-raisi and dMrying: . . dence. . 1 .
.
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• •
First Assessment- of Taxes,
' I . Origin ongYirne.
Susquehpnaclattntilkty
'7!..- --- -- ast • • jr°
lakenm The first assessment of taxes WAS for
the territory of Luzerns,County by a n -
the year r 3 rs and. the total' Aninunt of
act of •the
I lc, islai - Ule, passed Peb. 21,
not cOmplcte , ,y organ- the lists was €:3,1!;•4, the townships and
13ro, but i( was
respective amounts of their ta,ces being:
ized and 'offi u
cers elected until Feh ruar y ._
ridgewater, $1,265.04; CliffOrd, $442--
1812. It drives its'narne from the Sus
-2' '• l'R S ••••• IlarEord,l 5273.7 x;
__.•l_, 4 _ ,„ , . ‘ -, Rush ; •-.41 •at ,
quehanna river first.- enterm, trit....stait.
Willinghoro.(Great Bend). 52.4).0r ; New
of_ Pennsyyania ;. within the • 6 aunty Milford' ,
.-,:. i0.4.n0; La•xs - ville,i Sist.Sc.;
in n it s . lnfthe 'lndian dialect of that Harmony, $7 I .22 j Braintrim (Auburn),
day ••s us( i t ie" meant 'cro(l,:e . d and
F2;0 ,.,
.77; Nicholson (Lenox), F....:17-'7-
"Hanna" stgnifed a stream of water.
.:
liter that gear the following nanii.•d
A s th o river is one of the crookedest -
additional WWI-1C . 114)S werei created:
Silver "suszqueljzinna':' is notnisnomer.
Silver Lake, Gibson, Choconut , -Middle
of &, toWn Sprin"Yille Waterford:" Jackson,
OrganizatiOn Dukinekanna C o vuntir. ' ' ' , .
• • Herrick, Dirnock,
.Thompson, i Fr a nkl i n,_
'''‘ mee t '9l4..';was held at the hom e of I. -Forest Lake, Lathrop, Jessup, ilpolacons,
Post. in Bridge craterto'tvll-Thip, Feb. 25. Ararat, and Oakland. -
--,,
!Sr i, to recOmmdrolpersons to the.gov- - • -
.ernor to fill-the several offices necessary , ' Our Natural - Resources..
to the organisation of the county. Davis Nature has done much for Stisquehan
.
Dimock waOihairtnan and J. W. Itayns- ' na county and -if we .as a people shall
ford secretary. GOvernor Snyder accord- take deeper interest in our material de- ...0 g....,...i openings s - .
ingly, appointed, Hdward Fuller sheriff, veloprnent and advantage'ofn; the oppo I ,
hops; journeymen painters can become qtrehanna-,tourity. .
.Isaac Post treasurer, Dr. Charles Fraser tunities offered we can ;extend. our en- i , I.
master .paanters; coopers will find a good' • •
.
~ n „
prothorot:tryi clerk of the` ourts, regis- sironment : and . take in according to de rui fbr barrels, and so 0n... But • • Good People. :•.
ter and recorder, and -'Bartlett Hinds, those advantages much that we can prof- fa ing, dair. -Mg, poultry . raising, and The People:of this county generally
I s aac: BrowriScin . and Labran Capron it; from.. •• , ' ho ticulture-affOrd thetetter opportuni- *industrious,. home-loving, law abid
• ...
commissioners, J. B. Giblion president • • A n y point in or part . of Susquehanna ties for - isons with sufficient capital ingand posieSsed of q4kielightful fundof
judge, and Davis • Dimock and William county is better fora poor manVocate an ener y to make a. Start in file and quiet cornmon•sense .Revolting crimes
;
Thompson asSOCiatejndges: The countY .in than if - he Were to remain in and dually attain toa competency. The are rarely if ever heard of, Within uur.
seat had pr4lziotisly ( July. r Sri) been°
breathe., the fetid and pestilential atrnos- pr lessions *a.re• si.ewhat crowded. at . borders and even petty offenses are in
located at MOntrose - by three commis- phere and struggle with all the nnspeak- pr Sent, •i-et there is "always - morn...foe . frequent. There are as many . churches,
sioners
,appointedby the governor- able discomforts 'of life in many g of: the .rn re" -.0",
dlawyers,,doctors, architects, schools . , 4ibraries, and societies which ,
The Were rfiquired to locate it • ; "at a large cities and congested. centers of pop- etc.', proYided they, ico, can affordJo ' tend towards .culture. and intellectual
distance not exceeding .!:eVij-ini!e s from ulation. ~If he is a, man of some means work . andwait. All achievements here,' development as will be found in any
the center o(the, coudy." BroOklyn, and much energy he can make good hweYer,l as elsewhere. require . deep, other section; of like' numerical Popu--
Harford and ;'Netir Milford were consid- headway' in various lines •of }business=st ng moral purpose, witbout,Which.no lation. Indeed, the county in-this ye
ered, but BareettlHinds and Isaac Post commercial, manufaCturing, .larming, t e manhood 'is posSible' anywhere. spect is.aboye the average•and it enjoys
having donated thp- ground here'for a dairying, fruit-raising, and fothei:;pur- Grit. and. the-m Otto -"I Wilr"can over- a 'w de' destinctionfor.hospitable, cut= .
• •.-
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---mar4i-Alcir- lorne independent. me almost any - obstacle. We, have. tured Ovnittrities,• •In the towns and
• villageX* rave '
no. yiaupers any- 'sqil, - climate, wood, water, coal„ railr oad .. 1: misperous,enter,-
. _ ;
of nioney, va'rying from s2oo down to
$5, towards building the first court house
were: Roberti H. :Rose, Stephen Wilson,
Abinoana Hinds, Conrad Hinds. Isaac
Peckins, David Harris, Jonathan Wheat
' on, James Trade, Simeon Taylor, Cyrus
Messenger, Sarnuel Quick, Joseph Hub
bard, Samuel! Cogswell, Joseph Chap
man, Edward nailer; Joseph Butter
field, Henry t'ost; Levi Leonard, John
Bard, Zebulon Deans, Edmond Stone,
Freeman k
b
Fishac, Thomas Scott, n
. Sa ,-
uel Scott
The fir s t cOurt how was a diminu
tivt:frair compared with the oite now
in stence, pits corner stone was laid
at 2, but the building was not finish
!
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=
BOAT : HOUSE AND LANDING, SILVER LAKE
shiftless and prone to idlenegs, he would
better tic a mill stone abont his neck
and jump into mid-ocean than to try his
"fortunes" in our county. We have - few
paupers within . our boundaries now and
want less, but there is lots of room and
good opportunities for hustlers and men
of brains, who care to come to this re
gion and are willing to work and wilt.
Men who are skilled . in the ' arts,
will also find splendid, Chances' in Sus
quehanna county to enkagelin business
on their own account. First-dais, so
ber, industrious carpenters can soon. be
come builders and contractors; machin-
_:. -. ..:.17 . r.,' , ... -..t.-7..r. 1 ; , : - ''' '' :'-'' ',T I. Z ., •711
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ME
- , Vit.s.,-.
ELWIN
Good, Industrious Mechanics,
~~~~~~:
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I t rut of
ho are
life a
1
ons of
MEM
The p 1 w and the cow are the ruling
eant o lilielihaud in Stiviuehanna
county. All kinds of grain, esculents
and many varieties of fruits are raised
iVith profit in almost every Part of the
county. [ This region is famons for. its
dairying interests. •It is one of,:theniost
elctensive industries in the county. Nu
merous Icreameries abound—centers
which buy the milk, bottle and ship its
make! butter,: cheeSe, etc. These
* Ve fra
sections 4
st r eeptib
R 4 o,4vei,
w`lich. he
This co.
condit in
and fa
anything
GIONS IN
• -
ellowship.to extend to thoSe
dnestly ambitious to succeed
dare hampered in other sec
he world by undesirable'envi-
arming and Da irying
handle large quantites of raw young people who would - enter lighC
-
_-••day• Lind ' pay -farmers - and,.• factories. aS woikers, and .we are 'farre- •
.•
a good price for it.: 1 - - moved from all . labor. troubles 7 and •
klyadmit that the agrieultui.al -strikes. ' The question of wages, too: is. :
f our county arc nevertheless 'An - iMporant factor - in cnnsidering ,
eof the farm-up-lift Presidertt Catieni.of 'enterprisea in
. this. county;
is so anxious about and. for the , Cps. tlof rents, etc., is - not`so
has appointed a commission, high.as iii the-larger citieS. . - •
MUGS
MEM
mission is intended to .create Other towns in , the countk. - such. itsi".
that will iraproVe , the farms ".Forest City, Suiquehannii, liallateadtt
ing in the United States and and- Great Bend, - New Milford - , Union-'
which will accomplish so de- dale,. etc., AVithbetter TaitrOad facilities
******i*******i***'** - **
SECOND
SECTION.
• -PAGE
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=I
clans and Others f the learned profeS.
sions are the intellectual eqUals of those
in any part of the world.
ItidUstries That Would Pas: t
Montrose is not adapted for a geneial
manufacturing center, with. its attend
ant volumes of smoke and grime. There
are unmistakable advantages here, how.u`
ever, for the lighter industries and en- .
terprises embracing the fine arts and up
on educational lines. No section of the
United States affords a ; finer opening
for a military, school for boys, and a fe-.
male college, az instances, and it is .our
sincere hope that movements may be
started soon looking to the establish
ment' of such enterprises. ...Montrose is
also ripe for some enterprising person 'or
persoiis to inaUgurate siich concerrii as:
A machine shop capable. of doing all
'kinds of machinery repairing. -
Woodworking 'establishments of all
kinds, including cooperage, the manu
facture of furniture, ax bandies, hoe
handles, etc.
Carpet weaving. _
Fruit canning.
A 'silk-bobbin. factory. ' -
-A wagon and carriage manufactory. •
Brick making.
. -
A large cheese manufactory.
A large modernsanitarium.
An incubator Manufactory. .
A '
•A basket manufactory: •
A hat rrianufactory„ •
' Knitting mills. .
Novelty works. •
• Glove manufactories.
Toy manufactories.
Pure food products.
Mattress making. - • . -
There is a considerable amount of
I B