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/303

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COI.UMBIA A N D MONTOUR COUNTIES

an acre o f ground to any denomination which would build a church on his land. T h is o ffer w as accepted tw o years later by R e v. M. I*. Saunders, of the U nited Brethren Church, who held a meeting here and converted fourteen persons. T he Freew ill congregation w as organized

and the present church completed in 1876. The membership w as then increased to sixt)' and has continued near that figure ever since. Suc­ cessive pastors were R evs. S . R- Kram er, H. S. (iable, J. G. M. H errold. T h e present pastor is R ev. B. F. Goodman. T h e church was burned down in the fa ll o f 19 14.

CHAPTER XXXVI S C O T T T O W N S H IP T h is division o f Columbia county- w as form ed in 18 5 3 Bloom township and named fo r G eoige Scott, then entering upon his second term a s rraresentative in the State Legislature from the mstrict embracing Colum ­ bia and M ontour counties. T h e early settlers o f this section w ere chiefly o f English origin and came from New' Jerse y. Peter M elick came in 1774 and farm ed near E sp y. H e scrv'cd In the Continental arm y and spent the winter o f 1776 -77 at V'alley horgc. Me returned home in 177 8 to defend his home on the outbreak of the Indians, who burned the house on Sept. 17th o f that year. H e and his fam ily managed to escape to Fort W hcclcr, on Fish in g creek, near the site of the present paper mills, near Ligh t Street. H enry McHenr>'. a private soldier who had been sta(ionc<l at F o rt W hcclcr, settled at the site o f Light Street in 1779. H e put in a crop o f potatoes, but the yield w as poor and the fam ily suffered from hunger during the fo l­ low ing winter. L e v i A ikm an settled at B ria r creek in 1778. H is descendants still occupy his lan«ls. Zcbrcth Brittain came to this section in 178 2, but died before m aking a settlem ent: his w ife and children remained. Jo h n Bright and Alem M arr settled near the Brittains. O thers of the earlier fam ilies to settle in Scott township were the H enries, Seidles, Webbs. Crevelings and Boones. T h e fertility of the soil of the township may be judged from the f.ict that every acre not occupic<l by a home is cultivated and produces abundantly. But the ch ief wealth in the p.ast h.Ts come from the iron ore in M ontour ridge. T he first mines were opened on the land o f Sam uel M click by Rodm an, M organ & Fisher, the ore being hauled to E sp y and forw arded to the furnaces at Bloom sburg by w ay of the canal. T he M cDowell and Ent furnaces at

Ligh t Street fo r a time used the ore, but did not prove paying propositions. Between 178 0 and 1850 the fisheries of the Susquehanna w ere o f great value to the people o f Six>tt township, the industry bringing many traders to this region. T he good points on the river were preempted by different persons and bore (heir names. From the mouth o f Fishii^ creek to the rapids at M ifflinville they were known a s the Boone, M cC lure, Kinney, Hendcrshott, K u d ers, W hitner, Creveling. Webb and M iller fisheries. M ost kinds o f fish then caught are not now found here, the first to succumb to the incessant inroads of the waste­ ful fishermen being (he shad, g a r, salmon and rockfish. T he season began in Mareh and ended in Ju n e, a law prohibiting fishing on T hursdays to give the nsh a chance lo get to headw aters. T m-o hauls of the seines were m,adc in a day, the nets being about four hun<Ire<i yards in length and five yard s in depth, with meshes tw o inches square. Seven men handled the seine, fo u r men handled the oars of the flatlioats. one man in the stem paid out the seine, while two men on shore held the land end. A t the W ebb fishery 9,000 fish were caught at one cast in 1830. T h e price of shad in 1800 w as $ 6 per hundred and in 1830 h,-id risen to double (hat amount. People cam e lo the river from all points to buy fish, bringing in exchange corn, meat, cider, whiskey, etc., creating a steady and remuner­ ative traffic. But this industry w as destroyed by the ruinous method.# of the fishermen and at present it is a serious offense to cast a seine into the river, even i f there were fish to lie caught. D uring the season in u-hkb line and hook fishing is allowed .a few for­ tunate ]Krsuns land a trout or a bass .ind per­ haps a few of the other almost extin ct nsh. hut the day of the fisheries lias gone, never to return.