Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/113

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES in 17 7 5 (o fonn Malioning* and in 1786 another portion wa$ ronoved to lorm D erry township. The same year Chillisquaque was lonncd Irom Malioning. In 1785 "C ataw assa" w as (ormed from Augusta* the name o f that township grad­ ually being changed in spelling to "Catawese*” "Catawcssa*” and tinally remaining as "C ata­ w issa." T his latter township w as again re­ duced by the erection o f Kalpho or Shamokin township in 1788* and by Mifflin towmsliip in 1797. In 1786 the county o f Luzerne took aw ay part of W yoming township and the remainder w as named Fishingereek. In 1797 this area w as again abbreviated by the formation of Green Briarcrcek township, and the following ye ar (he township o f Bloom w as erected. In 179 9 Greenwood w as formed from Fishingcreck* and in 18 1a H arrison or Sugarloaf w as form ed from the latter. Columbia county was taken from North­ umberland and separately organized in 1813* by an act of Assembly o f M arch azd, and in** eluded the townships o f Chillisquaque and Turbut. Danville w as named in the report of the commissioners appointed by the governor to lay out the county and select a county scat. In 18 1 5 the two townships o f Chillisquaque and Turbott (o r Turbut* as it is now s p e lls ) were returned to Northumberland. This prompt return of (he townships after the loca* (k>n of the county seat was construed by many to be a trick to give Danville preference over Bloomsburg, and for years thereafter a con­ tinual controversy raged between the rival towns as to the location of the courthouse. In 18 16 the .Assembly restored a portion of the two townships (0 Columbia county, the parts annexed being now Liberty and Lim e­ stone tow'oships in Montour county. Again in 18 18 another legislative act cut o ff a large part of the eastern side o f Columbia and gave it to Schuylkill county. T his dismemberment of the county did not satisfy any of the rival claimants for the county seat. Repeated ap­ plications were made (0 (he Legislature to re­ move the scat of government to Bloomsburg, and finally in 1845 the act w as passed to author­ ize a vote on the question. The result w as a decisive one, the m ajority for removal hcing 1,334 out o f a total o f 4 49 2 votes. The county buildings being completed, the records were removed from Danville in November. f ^ 7. and the first session o f court was held in Bloomsburg in Jan u ary. 1848. B u t the location of the county seat at Bloomshurg created another complaint from those who now had to travel a great distance

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to reach the courts and officials* and the case w*as as bad as before* except that now Danville was the sufferer. So by an act approved M ay 3* 1850, the county o f Montour was created* including the townships o f Franklin, Mahoningi Valley* Liberty* Limestone* Derry* A n ­ thony* and the borough o f Danville. The wrangling w as not over* however* and complaints were made that too much territory had been taken from Columbia* so finally in (853 the division line between the (wo counties was established as it is at present. B y the same act* what w as Madison township in Columbia county w as renamed Pine* and the parts o f Madison township which had been set off to Mount Pleasant and Hemlock were reannexed to (he old territory in Columbia county. T h e division line as named in the act w as as follow s: Beginning at (he Northumberland count)' line* at or near the house o f Samuel Reader* thence a direct course to the center o f Roaring creek in Franklin township* twenty rods above a point in said crcck opM site the lK>use o f John V^ought, thence from the middle o f said creek to the Susquehanna river, thence up the center of the same to a point opposite where the present county line o f Columbia and Montour strikes the north bank of the river* thcncc to the 5iaid north bank, thence lo the schoolhouse near the residence of David Smith* thence to a point near the residence o f Daniel Smith, thence lo the bridge over Dcerlick run on (he line between Derry and Madison town­ ships, thcncc by the line between said town­ ship o f Madison and (he townships of Derry and Anthony to the line o f Lycoming county. The township o f Roaringcreek and parts of the townships o f Franklin, Madison and West Hemlock were also taken from Montour and rcanncxed to Columbia. A s at present consti­ tuted, Columbia county contains an area o f a little over 40a square miles, and a population of 48.467 persons. The division line o f 1850 so dismembered the townships o f Madison, Hemlock and Mon­ tour that some readjustment of the lines be­ came necessar)’, so in (852 what rcniaincd of Madison south o f M illville w as attached in part to Mount Pleasant and part to Hemlock, the old name adhering to that portion which extended along the county line northwest of Greenworxl. B y the act o f 18 53 the latter was renamed Pine, and the r c sto r^ portion, with those atlachc<l to Hemlock and Mount Pleas­ ant. formed into a township under the old name. The division effected in the township o f