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/279

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

buckhom the name of the village now standing here received its name. T w o stores were opened in Buckhom by Vaniah Kees and M. G. & W. H. Shoemaker during the first days o f its founding. These stores arc now operated by Charles H. H arris and R oy Pursel. The first public inn in Buck­ hom was built by Vaniah Kees, the founder of the town, in iS io, and received the patronage of the stagecoaches running from Bloomsburg to Muncy. It w as the first house in the (Own and stood opposite (he famous buckhom tree. Tw elve years later Hugh Allen erected another hotel opposite, which w as last run by J. Apple­ man. The site o f Rees's inn is now occupied by the Pursel home, (he largest building in the town. Hugh Allen was the first postmaster, his sticccssors being Marshall Shoemaker, Joseph W hite, Charles H arris and R o y Pursel. Noah Prentiss carried the mail twice a week from 1850 to 18C6, when a tri-wcekly service was begun by Jacob Craw ford. In 18S3 the daily mail service w as begun .and has been continued since, despite the rural routes and (he nearness o f Bloomsburg. The first justice of the peace in the town­ ship after the fom iation of the county was H enry Ohl, the Revolutionary soldier from New Jersey. Jacob H arris served as the first justice in Buckhom, holding office for twentyone years. I lis successor w as N. P. Moore, the village blacksmith, who also served the pub­ lic for many years. Buckhom now boasts a fine hall, built by Hemlock Grange in 19 14 and dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on Ju n e 27th o f that year. T he Grange has a large membership in this township. SCHOOLS

T he first school in the township w as opened in 1801 in a dwelling on the road to Frosty valley, a M r. Davidson being the first teacher. Another w as soon thereafter ojiened by Thom as VandcrsUcc near Little Fishing creek, and a third in the I.iebenthal near the limits of the northern end of the township. T he lat­ ter became a resort fo r the entire neighbor­ hood as a place fo r singing schools and social gatherings. Other teachers of the early days were Henrv Ohl, Jacob Wintersteen and Charles Fortner. A t present there arc eight school buildings, attended by 123 scholars, in the township. The neat brick high school at Buckhom was built in 1905. the school directors at that time bein g:

I. N. Maust, E. R. Kestcr, S. M. Girton, W. H. M cCarthy, E. Beagle, H. Hartman. T he pres­ ent school directors o f Hemlock township are C. F. Girton, II. 1. Traub, H. E. Jones, Jam es G ulliver, E. R. Kestcr. M aurice J. Girton is the principal of the high school at Buckhom at the present writing. MEDICAL

T he first resident physician in Buckhom was D r. Hugh W. McReynoIds, who served the residents of the entire township from 18 5 1 to (876. I lis successors have b < ^ D rs. Stiles, Christian Lcn kcr and J . R . Montgomery. I ^ . Montgomery moved to Bloomsburg in 1904, and since that time Buckhom has b ^ without a local physician. REUtCiOUS

The spot where the Vandcrslice cemetery is now located, near the banks o f Little Fishing creek, w as at one time the site o f a combination .school and church, used by the Lutherans. Here Rev. Jolm P. H eister preached, and Squire Ohl taught an Knglish and German school. T his church had passed out o f e xist­ ence and even memory by 1868. The first religious services in the Hemlock region were held by R ev. Frederick n it t. a Lutheran minister who came with the early set­ tlers. The R evs. Ball, F rc^, W eaver and 0 )'cr also occasionally held sen-ices in private homes in (his section. T he first church building w as a union edifice, dedicated by the Methodists in 1848 and located at Buckhom, on a lot o f ground owned by John McReynoIds. Immc<tiatcly a fte r its erection services were alternately held by Revs. Funk. Price and Censor, of the German Reform ed, Evangelical and Methodist denominations. T he Mcthodist.s were supplied regularly by Revs. Hartman. Tannehill, Buckingham, G ear­ hart, R oss. Bolton, W arren. M cO ure. W. H. Tubbs. Chilcoat. Bowman. Brittain, A le. S a v ­ age, T. CIccs and J. F. Brow n. T he present pastor is Rev. George Martin. The old Methodist church, having seen its best days, w as tom down in 1868 and the fol­ lowing year the present imposing two-story brick building w as erected. T h e edifice has a bell and tower and cost $7,000. The trustees at that date were Thom as J. Vandersllee, John Appleman, Jacob Reichert, John K istlcr. A few years later a fine parsonage w as built near by. F o r a time after the erection of the new