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/271

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

about i860, abnost on the edge of the line. It is now owned by R ider Brothers. The other mill w as built later by Mendenhall Brothers, about a mile below P arr’s, and has been suc­ cessively owned by I'rancis Pensyl, R. S. M c­ H enry and the R ider brothers. T he latter mill is now strictly modern in its mechanical equip­ ment. W ILLOW VALE

T his village, sometimes called WiUow Grove. w as formed by a cluster o f houses around the Mendenhall mill, now called the Franklin mills. A post office w as established here at (he store o f Mendenhall Brothers, but there is no office here now, as the rural routes take its place. T he office w as at one time known as ' ‘P en syl.'’ SCHOOLS

Most of the scholars from this section in early times attended the Catawissa schools. A fte r the M cIntyre school in that township w as closed in 1804 a house was built just above the foundry on Catawissa creek to accommo­ date the settlers. Daniel Crist and Daniel Rigler taught in this school, and several grown­ ups were* numbered with his scholars. The O ayton school w as opened later near the home ^ J o s e p h T. Reeder and taught by Joseph A t present there arc four schools in this township, attended W 124 scholars. T he school directors a r e : tm crso n Creasy, Rolan-

dus A rtley, Glen Shultz, Jo h n Wintersteen, J. D. Fetterman. RELIGIOUS

T he Methodists are in the ascendancy in this township, although there arc a number o f persons o f different religious beliefs wlto at­ tend the churclics o f Catawissa. T he Bethel Methodist Church built its house o f worship in 1850 on the road from W illowvalc to Numidia. David Z arr, Jo n as Bem inger, Joseph Hartman, John Teitsworth, Nicholas Campbell, William Reeder, Peter Yocum and W illiam K ieslc were the trustees at the time. Mount Zion Methodist Church w as built in 1874 at the forks of the road in the north­ ern part of the township. Its trustees were William Fisher, Joseph Reeder, Peter G. Campbell, Wellington Q caver, Jackson Q eaver, John Hile. Joseph Fisher, Sylvester Cleaver, E li Kcilner. The church is a fram e building and is in good repair. Both of these imurches were form erly in the Danville circuit, and were scn-ed by the pastors of the times, whose names can be found in the chapter on religions. The pres­ ent pastor is R ev. John H. Grccnwalt. of the Roaringcreek circuit. POPULATION

T h e population o f Franklin township in i860 w as 5 3 3 : in 1870, 5 5 0 : in 18S0, 5 4 3; in 1890, 5 2 2; in 1900. 549: in 19*0. 537-

C H A P T E R XX V G R E E N W O O D T O W N S H IP — M I L L V I L L E B O R O U G H T h is division o f Columbia county is one of the oldest and first settled. Originally in­ cluded in W yoming and then Fishingereek townships, it w as formed as early as 1799. Benjam in Chew, a prominent Q uaker of Philadelphia, became possessed o f two thou­ sand acres of land in the region around M ill­ ville at various dates previous to the coming o f actual settlers. H e had the largest hold­ ings by one person in this county. T he site of the town o f Millville w as warranted to W il­ liam and Elizabeth McMcan in 1769. Their tracts and others adjoining passed into the hands o f Reuben Haines, a brewer o f Phila­ delphia, and from him to John E ves in 1774.

H e bought 1,200 acres for the sum o f £ 14 5. and in 1769 left his home at M ill Creek H un­ dred, Newcastle Co., Del., followed the S u s­ quehanna to Sunbury, and from tbere pro­ ceeded overland to his destination. H e viewed tbe land, relum ed borne, and the follow ing summer came back with his son Thom as, and they built a cabin on the west bank o f Little Fisning creek. T he following spring he brought his entire fam ily to the wilderness and settled down to the task o f reclaiming it. T he settlers, being members of the Society of Friends, were never molested by the Indians, although many west of them suffered from raids.

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