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/255

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

ing a dam above town on W est creek and in­ stalling a powerhouse and pumps, so that in the future Benton will not suffer fo r lack of protection from fires. The president of the company is John K. Stone. So satisfactory are the arrangements fo r tire protection to the in­ surance companies that they have voluntarily reduced the rates on property in 19 14. T w o volunteer fire companies and the same number o f hose and ladder trucks constitute the fire fighting resources o f Benton. Intorporofion A n effort was made in 1890 to have Benton incorporated as a borough, but failed. Finally in 1 8 ^ the grand ju ry approved the application and the town was regularly incorporated. On A p ril 2d o f that year the following officials were elected: Burgess, A. L. M cH en ry; coun­ cilmen, C. B. M cH enry, R. T. Smith, C. A. W esley, A lfred M cH enry, B. G. K cllcr, W. M. A w lem an. T he council fo r 19 14 is composed o f C. H. Y o rk s, burgess; G. D. Y ost, V. S. Laubach, R. T. Sm ith, councilmcn. M any improvements were made after incor­ poration, among them being (he building o f sidewalks and the improvement of the streets, and contracts were let fo r light and water supply. T lie town is supplied with electricity by a company o f which Charles Bellas is president and m anager; C. B . Whitmire, vice president; G . L . H ess, secretary and treasurer. A con­ crete dam, 280 feet long, has been built at the site of the old Swartwout mill, and the power­ house contains a 75-kilowatt generator, oper­ ated by a loo-horsepower turbine. R E U O iO U S M ATTERS

Presbyterian services were held in St. Gabri­ el’s Church. Sugarloaf township, as early as ] $ i2. In (859 a number o f persons from Coles M ills petitioned the Presbytery o f Northum­ berland for a church organization, in response to which John Doty, D. J . W aller and John Thom as were appointed a committee to in­ quire into the matter. They met in the log Christi.'in church at the site o f Denton borough on Aug. 12, 1859. and o ^ n i z c d a congrega­ tion consisting o f E a rl Boston. Frederick l>aubach, Jam es W ilson, Simon W . Tubbs, Freas Conner, and others whose names arc not re­ corded. Serv'ices were held in the Hamline church until 1874. when the building at Raven Creek w as dedicated.

In the early part o f I902 three services were held by the I’rcsbyicnans o f Benton in tlic Christian Church building, at one o f which a proposition was made to organize and build a home of their own. The Presbytery o f N orth­ umberland was appealed to and appointed Rev. G. H. Hemingway, o f Bloomsburg, Kev. Joseph Hunter, o f ^ r w t c k, and Elder John H. Sterling to assist in the organization. They met on A p ril 28, 1902. and elected Dr. I. L. Patterson, Dr. I. L. Edw ards and D. W. K r a ­ mer as ruling elders. Soon after this the fol­ lowing trustees were elected: John G. M c­ H enry, D r. J. B. L a u n c h, 1. K. K. Laubach. Norman Ile ss, S. B. K a m s, Dr. 1. L. ^ wards, Dr. I. E. Patterson. T he pastors of the church until 19 13 were Revs. F. V. Frisbie, W. H ays Topping and Robert P. Howie. T h e first church w as erected m 1903 at a cost o f $23,000, and w as a pretentious struc­ ture for so small a town. It w as o f wood, with brick veneer and brick and stone but­ tresses. On M ay 16, IQ 13. it w as burned to the ground, leaving only the outer shell o f brick partially standing. In this condition it s t o ^ until the fall of 19 14. when the congre­ gation began to rebuild, having a fund o f $3,800 from the insurance on the burned building as a foundation. The new structure is to be similar to the old one in some respects. T h e list of the first members o f this church is as follow s: I. E. Patterson. M. D.. and w ife, I. L. Edw ards, M. D ., and w ife, M rs. .■gncs A lexander, M iss Mabel A lexander. J. S. Baker, M iss Effie Edw ards, Peter U. F arley and w ife, Norman W. Hess, Mrs. Lclia S. Hess, S. B. K a m s and w ife. Daniel W. K r a ­ mer and w ife, M rs. Russell K a m s. M rs. W il­ liam Kline, H. A. K em p and w ife, M rs. Rcl>ccca M allicr, M rs. M ary M orey, J. B. M cH enry and w ife. J. G. M cH enrv and w ife. Dr. J. K. Laubach and w ife. M iss Estelle l.aubach, M rs. Agnes McHenr)', M rs. Jam es Sm ith, FrecmI and w ife, George D . Y ost and w ife, M rs. J . S . Baker. N ^ron P . Edw ards and w ife. T h e Christian Q iurch w as organized at Benton in 1849 by Rev. John Sutton, with thirty members. Robert Colley and E lias M c­ Henry were elected elders and served until 1889.” The first meetinghouse was o f logs, and stocid on the hill across the creek, southeast of the village. It was built in 1856 and tom dow-n in i8go, that year the present church in the town o f Benton being built. T his building is a frame and has had many repairs made on it. Steam heat and other modem improvements have been since .added. It is valued at $8,000.