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/288

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES mill has changed but little since its erection and still has the long wooden flume running from the side of the hill to the second story of the building. A t one time a 22-foot overshot wheel operated the machinery, but since 1881 a turbine has furnished the power. The mill is three stories in height, and has three runs o f buhrs, with a ca]>acity for grinding one hundred bushels of buckwheat per day. This is now the only mill in the township in regu­ la r operation. A nother mill was crcctetl on Ten-mile run in 1869 by George N u i^ csscr, who ran it till 18 8 1, when his son William j. took charge. It is three stories high and 3O by 4 5 feet in size. T he mill about a mile north of this one, on the same stream, w as built about the same tim e by Peter Yohc, father o f J. R. Yohc, who a lso ran a sawmill for a time. Both of these m ills were for buckwheat alone. The Yohe m ill w as burned some years ago. T he Nung esser mill is still occasionally operated. On the eastern border of the town stood the tannery and brickyard o f Freeze & Smith, which flourished during the period of the to w n ’s prosperity, but are now in a slate o f dilapidation and disuse. Southeast o f town is the large brick plant of the Nanticokc Brick Com pany, which w as built to produce common red brick, but after the discovery o f a flne stratum o f shale in 19 13 the plant w as altered to make paving brick. Some of the product h a s been used on the streets o f Bloomsburg an d Berw ick. There arc three kilns in opera­ tion. In 19 14 (he Creasy B rick Company was chartered by Oden R . Lew is. Samuel W . Gillam, Jam es T . Brennan and Jam es L . Reilly, w ith a capital o f $75,000. T hey began in that y e a r the erection o f a large p.aving brick plant and acquired leases of the B . D. Freas, Robinholt and George S . M iller farms. M IFFLIN V ILLE

T h is most beautiful and admirably located village w as laid out in 1794 by John Kunchel (K u n k le ) and William Rittenhouse, on the "flats” almost in the center of the township, upon the banks of the Susquehanna, directly opposite a cleft in the Montour ridge on the northern side o f that stream. The original d ra ft of the town’s charter described it as "situate on the south side of the river Susque­ hanna. opposite three islands (now gone) in Catawissa township, Northumberland county ( o f which it w as then a p art), about thirty

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miles above Sunbury, and the same distance below W ilkes-Barre. " The last part o f this description reveals the motive of the proprietors in founding the town. T h e erection o f Northumberland county in 1772, and of Luzerne in 1786, with their seats o f justice sixty miles apart, made it probable that the formation o f a county from adjacent parts o f each would eventually be necessary; so these enterprising founders took time by the forelock and built for the future, with the de­ sire o f capturing the county scat. T h is de­ sire, however, failed o f accomplishment. A t one time it was hoped to secure the location of the Columbia county courthouse here, but it was merely a su ^ estio n o f disgruntled poli­ ticians and had no effect on the hnal decision. In 1808 an unsuccessful effort was made to induce the projectors of the Mauch Chunk and Towanda turnpike to locate its course through the town, but the inducements were insufficient. On a later map o f this State by Reading Howell this turnpike is traced through Mifllinville (or Miffiinburg, a s it w as then called). T h is w as but an error of the maker of the map, however. In laying out the town (he founders were most generous in the matter of streets and alleys. Front street w as laid out one mile in length and the town plat extended (he same distance to the rear. T he streets were named in a systematic manner, and a space o f great size reserv'cd for the projected courthouse and public square. A ll of the streets arc wide, M arket and Third being 13 2 feet across. Ten corner lots on Fourth street were reserved for houses o f worship, the title remaining in the corporation, with a perpetual tease to occu­ pants. T w o lots were set aside on T hird street fo r German and RngUsh colleges, which failed to materialize. ' The first house in the village was built by Peter Yohe. who came from ^ r k s county. It stood on a lot adjoining the present "C reasy Hotel.” H e must have come from the home county .at an early date, as he w as obligcil the first year to go to W ilkes-Barre for corn, his crop having not yet matured. Other old houses were those o f John Reynolds. Christian Kunchcl and Michael W chr, located respective­ ly on Race and Third, M arket, between Front and Second, and Front, above Market, streets. Matthias H eller built the first tavern on Front street, lo cater to the trade of the river ra fts­ men. L ater .another public house w as built by Jacob Harman, who opened the first store in the township. The first regular physician to locate in the (own w as Dr. Oement M illard, o f Philadelphia, in (825.