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/259

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES F O fN D R W IL L B

T h e village o f Foundryville, a short distance nortlicast o i Berw ick, has had quite an inter­ esting history. Here William H. Woodin opened the foundry in 1847 which gave the town its name. H ere in i 8m Abraham Zaner built a small distiller)', which afterw ards was owned by D. Scybert, the upper miller. A grist­ mill and wagon shop were operated in the lower end 0! the village by Peter Haym an, and a tannery by O. Stokes. Mr. Woodin’s succes­ so r in the ownership of the foundry was A . W. Eaton, father of the present president of the American C ar & Foundry Company, at Ber­ wick. The cliarcoal iron furnace at Foundryvillc was built in 1835. Ore was brought from Bloomsburg by way of the canal and teams. A ll of these industries have passed into ob­ livion and the village will soon be a suburb of the rapidly growing town o f Berwick. T he Methodist Episcopal Church here is served from Berwick. RF-t.tr.lOUS

A detailed history of the churches o f this township is included in the sketch o f Berwick, as most of them arc served (only occasionally) by the pastors from tlu t city. T he foundations of the Evangelical denom­ ination in B riar Creek were laid in 1826 by Revs, ficybert and Nocckcr, who conducted services in the home o f George Zahncr. A fte r that date Daniel K ah r, Simon M c ljn c, Jam es Dunlap and others continued lo preach at pri­ vate houses. T he first Summer H ill church w as built in 1849, the present one in 18 9 3; both were o f frame construction. The Evansville church w as built in 1854. These charges arc now served from W est Berwick. T he suc­ cessive pastors have been: R evs. Jaco b Ilartzell, John Young, George Hunter, A. H. Irvin, S. D. Bennington, P. H. Rishel. H. W. Buck, S. P. Rcm cr, A. W. Shenburger, W. W. Rhoads, I. W. Pines, D. P. Kline. The date o f organization o f S t. Paul’s E van ­ gelical Lutheran Church o f M artzvllle is not known. T h e first communion service w as held there in 18 6 1. The congregation first met in the schoolroom, just below where the present church building stands, until 1867, when the present church was built. The members t h p w ere: John M artz, Abraham M artz, Daniel M artz, Nathan M artz, D. W. M artz, John H.

M artz, H enry H. M artz, George W. Martz, Z. 'J'. M artz, Lydia M artz, Disiah M artz, Lrah M artz, Ja n e Moharter, M ary H ill, Elizabeth Jones. T he membership at present is thirtysix, and that of the Sunday school, seventyfive. T he pastor is R ev. C E. A rnold, who is in charge of the congregation at W est Ber­ wick. N o definite records arc extant of the first meetings of the Lutheran and Reform ed cong r^ a tio n s who in 1807 built the union log church one mile front the Susquehanna and four miles from Berw ick. T he first known pastor of the Lutherans wSs Rev. M. ^ r l Solomon Fridrici, and his successors were Revs. J. F. Engel, Peter H all, J. K. H aal, Peter K essler, Isaiah Bahl, W. B. F o x ,,S. S. Henry, Thom as Stcck, J. P. German, S. B. Stupp, G. G. Kunkle, N. Scheffcr. T he congregation at present is served by the pastor or St. Jo h n ’s Church at Berw ick, Rev. W illiam Berk. Zw ingli Reform ed congregation is served by Rev. D. J. E ly. T lte first "F rc ith o f’’ day, or free-house day, w as celebrated in this church in 19 14, about 350 persons attending. The old church is in a good state o f preservation, con­ sidering its a^c and the moderate expense of construction, it having been built on the site of the log one in 1850, o f brick, at a cost o f $1,0 0 0 only. sch o o ls

held in the old stone Methodist church, four miles south o f Berwick. In 18 10 this school w as removed to a building erected fo r the pur[ w c at Foundiyvillc. (Tordelia A . Preston. Daniel Goodwyn, M orris H ow cr and John A m ey were the teachers in this school at various periods. A t present there are fourteen schools in the township, taught by fifteen teachers, and 47S scholars are on the rolls. The school directors o f Briarcreek township a r c; Bruce Lanning. L e v i K ocher. W illiam S. A sh, Claude Bower, J . O . Grasley. PO PU LATIO N
 * riie first school in Briarcreek township was

T h e population o f Briarcreek 1820 was 1,7 19! in 1830, 1.70 6; in in 1 ^ 0. 1,0 9 1; in i860, 1.7 3 4 : >" in 1880. 1 . 1 7 2 : In 1890, I, 2 9 2; in in 19 10 . 2.;t5i.

township in 1840, M 5 1 : >870. 1 . 0 ^; 1900, 1,8 3 3 :