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Journal of the Lycoming County Historical Society, 1971 Fall

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Journal of the Lycoming County Historical Society, 1971 Fall 32 T HE JOU R NAL PURCHASE AT THEMUSEUM H 0 P (Jhique Gifts of Significance contemporary crafts Roesen note stationery copper miniatures decorative tiles authentic indian artifacts jigsaw puzzles THE postcards b/JOURNAL historical literature OFTHE Lycoming County Historical Society VOLUME Vll FALL NUM:BER TWO 1971 JOU R NAL MUSEUM S'TAFF of the Director LY'COMING COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY John W. Strawbridge lll Adw Hist at ve Aide Pwbtisbed Semi-Annaatl] in W'illiamsport, PennsyLvaia Jean Layton Museum Office - 858 West Fourth Street Exhibits Aide Anne Gstalder Telephone (Area Code 717) 326-3326 Bztilding Cwstodiat} Ralph Wikstrom BOARD OF TRUSTEES CARL. H. SIMON, PRESIDENT A. F. BEIGHLEY RALPH R. CRANMER, TREASURER W'n.I.IAM E. NICHOL.S, JR., ESQ. WALTER J. HEIM ANDREW K. GRUGAN, MICHAEL LAGANA CURRENT SOCIETY PRESIDENT MUSEUM VOLUNTEER STAFF BOARD OFGOVERNORS Gewealogist Mrs. Donald Carson ANOREW K. GRUGAN, PRESIDED'r DR. SAMUn. LONG, 3RD. VICE PRES. Regis ration Co r mit ee Miss June Foresman, Chairman ED. J. DURRWACHTER, IST. VICE PRES. MRS. DONALD M. CARSON. SECRETARY Miss Ethel Ertel Mrs. Frederick Snell DR. LORING B. PRIEST, 2ND. VICE PRES. HAROI.D B. TAMI.OR, TREE.SURER Mrs. Fred Foresman 1970-1972TERM 1971-1973TERM F4.ne Arts Progfa7}} Committee Dr. June E. Baskin, Chairman SamuelDornsife MR. D. M. CARSON MRS. JOHN LINDEMUTH Mrs. John Fischer MRS. JOHN W. BITNER MRS. ALLAN YOUNG, JR. Mrs. Robert Maples MR. SAMUEL J. DORNS]FE MRS. MARGARET BALDWIN C. Robert Schultz MR. WILLARD A. SCHELL MRS. NORMAN INGERSOLL Andrew K. Grugan EX-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS OpeTatio? Z\ll seam Mrs. John Goodwillie, Coordinator MRS. JOHN GOODWILLIE, REPRESENTATIVE, PabticitT a7M Pzlblic Relations CharlesE. Noyes JUNIOR LEAGUE OF WILLIAMSPORT C a arial DePartrLents'. James P. Bressler, Chairman MR. MAX E. AMnGH - PRESIDENT Archaeology Willard Schell THE GREATER WILLIAMSPORT ARTS COUNCIL William Turnbaugh SOCIETY STAFF Archives a?M Records Miss Gladys Tozier, Chief Miss Jean Little EXECUTIVE SECRETARY MRS. KATHRYN J. CHUTE Mrs. Robert Nevel Mrs. 'John Holland Mrs. Joseph Stewart VOLUME Vll F.ALL NUMBER TWO 1971 Edt&ca o Andrew K. Grugan Fine Arts EDITOR; Dr. June E. Boskin MRS. EDITH L. WRIGHT 1%d s v Francis Maneval Military History Dr. Samuel Wiersteiner Extra Copies of The Journal Fif ty Cents Each Textiles Mrs. Norman Ingersoll CONTENTS PxaE Membership Meeting Program for 1971-1972 4 President's Letter 5 Museum Showcase:A Summary of Lycomin8oCounty History by James Bressler 6 In Memoriam -- Gibson G. Antes 8 In Memoriam -- Margaret B. Coryell 8 Dedication of Courthouse by Judge Charles F. Greevy 9 Early Settlers on the Loyalsock by Fred M. Rogers 11 GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK The Ring of the Axe and Whit of the Sawby G.addsTozier 13 PICTURE --T A VIRGIN ' FOREST OF PENNSYLVANIA 16 As the President of your Society, I wish to addressa few remarks to the member- PI(:TURE LOYALSOCKCREEK. 1917 ship describingin brief someof the projects with which che Societyis currently very Original drawing by J. Wesley Little 17 much involved. Piracy on the Pennsylvania Canal by Dr. Lewis E. Theism 23 A Tour of the SchulzeMansion 26 In particular I am thinking of a Historic SitesSurvey which is in progressin the A Sign of Old Times by Scott Schreiber 28 county to determine a county-wide inventory of important historic locations and build- Prayer on an Indian Grave 29 ings. This survey is being funded through the Lycoming County Planning Commission, Contents of Vol. 11, No. 10 30 and is spearheadedby the Ai:chitecture Committee of the Greater Williamsport Com- V munity Arts Council and other cooperating organizations. MEMBERSHIP MEETING PROGRAM Anotheritem of interestto the membersof the Societyis the fact that in 1970 the TiadaghtonElm was seriouslydamaged in a storm. With the financial assistanceof 1971-1972 the WiIJiamsporr Foundation, Inc., and under the supervision of our Past President, Mr. Donald M. Carson, expert repairs are being made to the Elm in order to save it September11, 1971 (6:30 p.m. dinner, Lycova Grange Hall) for posterity. CHARLES E. NOYES, Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer of rhe Keystone Shortway Association, and HON. Z. H. CONFAIR, President of the Keystone Shortway Association, I would strongly urge members to visit the Museum periodically to examine the :Progress along the Keystone Shorcway' many interesting temporary exhibits displayed there. October 21, 22, and 23, 1971 Andrew K. Grugan, President Pennsylvani.a Historical Association annual convention co-hosted by Lycoming LYCOMING COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY College and the Lycoming County Historical Society ' ' la list ot programstof tberemaitMer ot tbe 1.91\-\912Tear Hill be sent >o all vrtembers tbe tbsp part ot October.) COVER PICTURE---This. sculpture was done particularly for our lumbering gallery by Steven Collier of Muncy. 6 T HE JOU RNAL 7 MUSEUM SHOWCASE Battle of Bull Run it lost 52 killed and 57 that a boom in the river was not ony proc wounded,while at Antietamit lost 27 kil- tical but essentialif logscut upstreamand A SUMMARY OF LYCOMING COUNTY HISTORY led and 89 wounded.Its losseswere in floatedon the river were to be caughtand similar pmportions at Fredericksburg, Chan- stored for large-scale operations. When the (M%sewn Dbecto?s Note. 1% tbe coarse of ,preparing aw orienta lait exhibit tor tbe cellorsville, and Gettysburg. Lycoming Coun- SusquehannaBoom Company under Perkins Mztseztm, caPsuLizing tbe bzlman bis orT ot tbe Cozlnt], Mr. James Brewster ptodaced }be rians were prominent in the famous "Buck- finally completed its gigantic pmject, 300 allowing SHw}7ml'T of cozlntT distort wbicl) Flat be ot valle to reaieri o{ this pzlbLica- 0 rail" i:egiment. In all, men fmm Lycoming million feet of logscould be scoredat one ££o#. ) served in 33 regiments. They served solidly lime. In spite of periodic flood ravages,the in the cause of the Union advantages were so great that it served the THE INDIAN PERIOD LYCOMING COUNTY ISBORN apptoximately 25 mills that lined the river GROWTH OF INDUSTRY Incredibly, ninety-eight per cent of the What is now Lycoming County was banks and mill ponds. Williamsport soon history of man in the West Branch Valley originally a part of the vast wildernessem- Because it was isolated beyond the mimics became a huge lumber mart. bracing aU of North Central Pennsylvania, of effective tmnsportation,early industries Vase supplies of Williamsporc lumber belongs to the American Indian. From the were used for the Civil War. Soon lumber- close of the lash lce Age to che middle of lying north and west of Sunbury and known of Williamsport were mostly for the con- rhe 1700's, the Indian was always the hunt- as Northumberland County. Pressure to venience of its immediate inhabitants. But related industries as well sprang up in the er. Living in harmony with nature, with create a new county mounted as more set- with the comingof the canalin 1833and city to add to the growing importance of lust rhe toolsthat could be fashionedfmm tlers pored into the rich West Branch Val- the railroads around 1839, expensivecom- Williamsport as an industrial center. natural objects, he left behind only a few ley. As early as 1786 a bill was pi:esenced mel:cewas at last practical. The first iron By the time of the First World War, the indestructible relics which hint of his [o the legislature to create a new center or foundry was startedby John B. Hall in greater part of the forests was gone and meager existence. From the Paleo Indian government,but not until 1795was the ef- 1832. He made many of the components cheriver cities on the West Branchhad to hunter to the semi-agrarianvillage dweller, f ort successfuldue to much opposition from for sawmills and the canal. He imported look elsewhereto maintain their prosperity. as the white man found him. we can trace the mother county of Noi:thumberland.The rhe first steam engine ever used here. Early INTO THE 'l'WENTIETH CENTURY his history in changing types of weapons, building of the WilliamsonRoad to the manufactures centered largely in producing domestic tools, pottery, and the kinds of Genesee country helped swing the senti- machinery for the growing lumber industry. At the dawn of the twentieth century sheltershe built. ment. The Valley Iron Works was establishedin many of the industries mar were to become 1865 to make steamengines for export as rhe lifeblood of Lycoming County's pros The new Lycoming County embraced a well as for local use. Machinists and mach- THE COLONIAL PERIOD vast territory of 12,000 square miles out of perity were already established. The wealth which 16 counties have since been sub- inery repair shops were popular from 1850 that lumber had brought could not be sus- Northward expansioninto the hinterland divided. It took in all of north central Penn- [o 1890. tained.and the river towns had to look of Pennsylvaniafollowing the close of the sylvania from Luzerne County to the Alle- In 1850 Williamsport had a population elsewhere if they were to grow and prosper. French and Indian War brought white set- gheny River. of 1615. By 1860 it had jumped to 5,664, A major industry, AVCO Corporation, tlers into the rich bottomlands of the West After a bitrei: rivalry between Jaysburg, largely reflecting the dynamic spirit of had its roots in the DemorestManufactur Branch Valley. The typical pioneer was Chenthe most settledpart of the West Peter Herdic. who seemsto have dominated ing Company, which was scarred in 1845 hardy and self-reliant, surviving only by his Branch, and William Hepburn and Michael rhe industrial growth of his day. It was lar- by Madame Demorest for the manufacture brawn and ingenuity.
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