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/267

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

w as one of the first teachers. It w as estab­ lished soon after the coming of the Quakers and in 1796 passed into the carc o f (he Cata­ wissa Month!)- Meeting, being continued after that date fo r twelve years. Other schools were later opened by the German population at Slab­ town, Kcrntown and Esther Furnace, the tcache r s o f which were Jam es Miller, Samuel Kittler. Joseph Stokes, Alexander M ears, Joseph llu gh es, Isaac Matsh. T he public school system w as adopted in 1839 by a m ajority o f hut one vote. During that year the Numidia, Beaver. Miller, Fisher, W)*nn, Lciby. Eck, D cily ami Furnace schools were estnblishcd. There are now eleven schools in Ixicust

township, attended by 242 .scholars. The school directors a r c : M. h. Stine, David E. Y eager, Jam es M. Leiby, Jolm Hughes, Jam es Yeager. In O eveland township there arc seven schools, attended by 447 scholars. T he school directors a r c : Samuel Shuler. Edw ard Rhodes, Henry Adam s, Herman Rupp, Isaac Rhodes. POPULATION

T he population o f Locust township in i860 was t. ^ 7; in 1870, 1,5 5 0; in i88o. 2 ,0 14; >n 1890. 1.9 7 3 : in 1900. t,200; in 19 10, 1 ,19 1. T he population o f O eveland township in 1900 w as 899: in lo to, 909.

CHAPTER XXIII F I S H I N G C R E E K T O W N S H IP — S T I L lv W A T E R B O R O U G H Being divided almost in half by the waters o f Fishing creek, this division o f Columbia county, formed in 1 7 ^, was given the same name. It w as once o f much larger size, but the erection o f Briarcrcek, Greenwood. Sugarloaf, Benton and parts o f Mount Pleasant and Orange townships at various periods greatly curtailed the area. T h e settlers o f this portion of the county were mainly o f English, Irish and Scotch de­ scent. but a number o f Germans also settled here. There was sufficient o f different nation­ alities to cause much dissension regarding the names o f creeks and villages, the post office o f Fishing Creek being named by one faction and Huntington creek, upon which it w as sit­ uated, being named by people who se ttM along that stream in Luzerne county. T h is name came from one of the signers of the Declaration o f Independence, and w as given by the settlers who came from Connecticut. T he first settler o f this region w as Daniel M cH enry, who came here in the summer o f 178 3 and located above the site of the present village o f Stillwater. H e w as o f pure Irish descent and had been a resident o f N ew Jersey. In 1784 he brought hts fam ily here, and in 178 5 his son, John M cH enry, the first white child bom north o f Knob mountain, saw the tight o f earth. Abram Dodder, from Muncy, came here in 1786 and settled at the qtouth o f Pine creek. Ludw ig Smith came in 1800 and settled on Huntington creek near the county line. S e ­

bastian K isncr located near Smith in 180S, and the same year Jolm Buckalew, father o f Jo h n M. Buckalew, established the fam i later oumed by his descendants. A fte r 18 10 the arrivals were Samuel Creveling, Samuel Cutter, R ich­ ard Brow n, Benjamin Jones and John Fadcn. T hereafter the immigration w as rapid until the township became one of the most thickly populated portions o f (he county. INDUSTRIES

M any sawmills were built in this township in the first years o f settlement, one of the first being that o f John M. Buckalew on Pine crcck, in 18 0 8; that o f Benjam in Jon es w as erected in 1800, at the site o f Jonestow n; and that o f John Padcn, at F orks, in 18 10. A sm all fu ll­ ing mill was also established in 1820 on Little Pine creek by a man named Kennedy, but did not run long. Later industries are treated in the paragraphs relating to the localities bear­ ing distinctive names. STILLWATER

T his is the largest village in the township and is the home o f many members of the M c­ H enry family. T he first store in the town w as opened by Daniel and Jam es McHcnr)- in 1847. M oses M cH enry ran it next and w as succeeded by the present owner, M . M cH enry, who has his son in partnership with him. L^nicl M c­ H enry w as appointed postmaster in 1854 and