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/445

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COLUMBIA AXD MONTOUR COUNTIES

T he first b u ^ c ss w as I L C. Snyder, and Joseph B. Seidel, Andrew C. Ellis and Jam es A. M iller were the first councilmcn. T he first known settlement o f Washingtonville antedates the w ar of the Revolution, Among the early buildings o f Ihe community were the Bosley water, grist and sawmill, built prior lo 1780. TTic structure which housed these industries w as destroyed by fire in 1826* and subse­ quently another building w as erected. T his mill formed the nucleus o f a fort which was built td afford protection to the residents of the few homes which had sprung up in the vicinity. T he fort w as locally known as Brady s fort, although State historians define the blockhouse as "B o y le ’s Fort.” Portholes were pierced in its walls, and fo r a white a small howitzer was mounted within the inclosurc. l l i i s armament gave protection to the settlers who fled to the shelter of the fort at the approach o f savage bands o f red men. The fort w as named after two Kevolutionary heroes, Samuel and Hugh Brady, and the name o f "B o y le 's Fort,” as mentioned in the histories of the State, is apparently a mistake. A great famine affected this and many other localities of the State in 1788. Philip Maus purchased a quantity o f grain in that year from John Montgomery, who inhabited P ara­ dise farm, and delivered it to the Bosley mill. A t the time the place was called Washington. From old records it is ascertained that in 1788 Samuel Smith. Adam llempleman and R o ^ r t K < ^ r $ were settlers in the village, and their wants were relieved by the grain secured from Paradise farm, which they obtained from the mill. TTic ownership o f this business later passed from the hands o f Bosley to Samuel Hutchinson, who eventually became a leading man of the community and its principal prop­ erty owner, lie successfully conductca the mill for a nnmlicr o f years and also owned and managed a Lirgc fan ii in the vicinity. Mr. Hutchinson was a virile man. with un­ usual intelligence, and had strong and indeixmdent views on all subjects, particularly that o f religion. Through his generosity the P res­ byterians of the village reccivetl a donation o f land upon which, in 1832, they erected a Preshyicrian church. Samuel Hutchinson, a son, is also identified with the early life of W ash­ ing! on ville. He taught school, and later re­ moved to a laiger sphere o f activity in Huntingdon county, becoming a lawyer and eventually being elected lo Congress. Before achieving that honor the younger Hutchinson had served his Commonwealth from the judicial lictich.

T he first postmaster at Washingtonville w as Mathew Calvin, and the first physician w as Dr. Newcombe. T he first hotel in the place w as built and conducted by one Allen, who before the Revolution realized the possibility of the occasional traveler passing through the community. Robert W alker was the first blacksmith. He was an excellent mechanic and evolved the W alker plow, an agricultural utility which became celebrated in that day and time. H is industry and enterprise re­ sulted in the building 01 a foundry and fac­ tory fo r the manufacture o f plows and kin­ dred products. Eventually he moved to Lan­ caster, where he died. Nathaniel Spence was the first merchant of the place. Succeeding him was W illiam McCormick, a native o f Ire­ land. who later rose to considerable promi­ nence in the v ill^ c. The question o f where the old Washington­ ville fort stood is a matter o f some uncer­ tainty. Some think that the site was located across the creek, adjacent to (he present borough limits, while others contend that it stood just back o f what is now Front street, bctw'ccn Church and W ater streets, wiihin the borough limits. T he first schoolhouse was built after the Revolution came to a close. T he structure was a square pen o f unhewn logs, and light and a ir were provHded Tor by the omission o f a log when the structure was erected. T he building w as roughly thrown together and in every sense primitive and typical of the pioneer day.s. E arly in the nineteenth century Washingtonville had achieved con­ siderable distinction as an important place, and was included in the route of the mail Stage as it passed through the county. In 1838 four hotels and four stores were doing business there. T h e leading business n>en of the time were Jam es and David M cCor­ mick,, sons o f William M cCorm ick; Neal M c­ Coy, son o f Robert, and (he firm o f (rrim, D err & Dye. 'File W^ashingionville mills arc now oper­ ated by L. C. Cooper and Jacob W. K eefer. The ] X ) s t m a 5 t c r is Elm er Cotncr. The storekec|Krs arc E ves & Diehl, Charles Gibson, C . L. Cromis, T. B . Y erg and G . K . Hed­ dens. The Excelsior Hotel was started in 1837 by Jam es T. Heddens, who conducted it fo r fo r­ ty-four years. A fte r his death his wife, Fannie, kept it until 1906, when E . E. Fr>*mcyer bought it, and is still the proprietor. The hotel was burned in i8<>i. but at once relmilt. Mrs. Heddens was one of the most