Deerfield Township

A township. Named for the great abundance of deer in the region. Organized by the court March 8, 1821 and first called number 11.

Boroughs, Towns and Villages

• Tidioute
• Althom
• Magee
• Cobham Station

ALTHOM

Situated 8 miles north of Tidioute in Deerfield Township, at one time, it was

a community of about 300 people. The NAME, came from the words Allegheny and Thompson- (Al-Thom ) after Robert Thompson for whom Thompsons Island and Thomson Eddy was named.

Althom owes its origin to lumbering. It was the site of the Slater shingle mill,

The Slaters owned timber land on the opposite side of the Allegheny, where Slater Run is situated. They had a ferry on the river and a steam tugboat for hauling.

The old inn at Althom was located near the railroad and the foundations can still be seen. The Post Office was in the old Curtis D. Cross home, built in 1896, the date is inscribed in concrete at the front steps. The old school house is still standing but has been turned into a dwelling. The railroad station has been torn down.

The industry which made Althom grow was the quarryig of silican sandstone, the original plant was on the upper Morrison tract, land sold to Morrison by Cross. This plant burned down and the new one built below, on the site of better stone. The tract on top of the hill was not part of the original workings but was acquired from Nathaniel Averill and C.P. Henry. In 1856 Wm Martin rec'd a deed to the property. He deeded it to George Nelson in 1865. Nelson deeded to Uriah C. Whitlock, acting for the Warren & Beaver Oil Sand Association. It was later deeded by receivership to Wm J. Reedy and by him to Charles Shaw. In 1885 Sahw sold to Charles Stone and John Stone. The Stone estate sold to Catarina Decaria in 1917. After her death to settle her estate it was sold by the Warren County Treasurer to Francisca Torchia and by him in 1940 to the Commonwealth for State Game Lands.

When Mrs. Decaria bought the land in 1917, she started operations on a big scall. She came from Johnsonburg, hired Italian Laborers and ran 2 boarding houses. Her overseer was Frank Frigale. Frank Toche was his nephew. Mrs. Decaria son became a physician and practiced in Johnsonburg.

The plant had a capacity of 600 tons a day. A 1600 foot trestle was built from the top of the hill to the plant building. Estimated value of the entire plant was $140,000. The business was closed out, because the last owner could not meet the taxes, not because the stone had been worked out.......

Contributed for use by the Warren County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/warren/)

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