Chapter 7
Kittanning
Blanket Hill � Relics of the Battle Fought There � Original Tracts of
Land In the Township � Residents In 1805 � Beers� Mills � John Guld
� a Circle Hunt � The Paper Town of “Benton” � Churches �
Population � Temperature � Postal � Humboldt Gardens � Geology.KITTANNING township, since it has been shorn of so much of its original
territory as is now included in that of six other entire townships and in the
major part of two others, as at present formed, is one of the most regular in
shape in the county, being nearly a parallelogram in that respect, as it
appears on the map.The earliest notable event that occurred on the present territory of this
township was the desperate fight between Lieut. Hogg and a superior force of
Indians, described in the general sketch of that country, on what has since
been called Blanket Hill, being on the tract originally surveyed on a warrant
to Christian Signitz, dated February 4, 1776, and, the same day, conveyed to
Joseph Cauffman by deed, the executors of whose surviving executor, June 30,
1834, conveyed it to Frederick Hileman and John Cravener; Hileman having
conveyed the larger part of his interest therein to Cravener, the latter
conveyed his interest April 1, 1844, to Philip Dormyer � commonly called
Dunmire.Besides the relics of the Blanket Hill battlefield, elsewhere mentioned, is
a one-edged sword, found by John Nolder, which came into the possession of
Gen. Orr. The blade had not been much injured by rust when it was found, but
the wood part of the hilt had completely decayed, nothing but the silver
mounting having been left. Its appearance did not indicate that it had been in
its scabbard when it was lost. Various other relics have been found there at
different times, viz.: a spear sixteen or eighteen inches long, an arm
carried, in 1756, by a commissioned officer; the iron and brass of a pistol; a
gun barrel; a black quart bottle, broken in two pieces, the glass remarkably
thick; and a piece of brass with a curious device on it representing several
Indians in different attitudes, supposed to have been a large clasp of a
swordbelt. About sixty-two years ago, Samuel Nolder found the iron-bound
bucket, heretofore mentioned, hanging on a limb of a tree, which had probably
swung there since the battle.About or soon after the beginning of the revolutionary war, are related to
the writer by Mrs. Joseph Clark, Fergus Moorhead and Andrew Simpson were, as
their turn came, sent out from the blockhouse at or near the site of the
borough of Indiana on a scout of two weeks duration, which was extended to the
Allegheny river probably by what Jacob Waltenbough says was the Pullen path,
which branched off from a tree on the farm now owned by Peter Heilman, and
struck that river near the mouth of Garrett�s run. On their return they were
unexpectedly surrounded by Indians in the vicinity of Blanket hill. Simpson
was shot and scalped in the presence of Moorhead, and soon afterward the
latter�s horse was shot. He was then taken prisoner by the Indians and
rapidly driven on ahead of them. One of them wrote a letter in English, placed
it against a tree and secured it from the rain by placing it in a saddle, the
purport of which was that that affair was nothing compared with what the
English settlers might expect. When Moorhead learned that the Indian could
talk English, he inquired why they didn�t shoot him as well as Simpson. The
Indian replied that they had shot and missed him three times, and that the
Great Spirit wouldn�t allow them to shoot at the same person more than three
times. Those scouts had a supply of venison, which the Indians took and dealt
out to their prisoner as rations. After it was exhausted the Indian fare was
hard and unpalatable. They took him to Quebec and delivered him up to the
English, where he was kept in garrison until he was released on his parole of
honor. It was about nine months from the time he left Indiana until he
returned.The above-mentioned letter was found, soon after it was written, by another
party that was sent out in search of those scouts, who found the body of the
one that was killed and the other�s horse.Col. Archibald Lochry, in his letter to Thomas Wharton, Jr., president of
the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, dated “Westmoreland, ye 20th
May, 1777,” stated that among other things that on his arrival on the 4th
of April he found the county in a confused situation. The alarm of the killing
of Simpson and the absence of Moorhead struck the people with such terror that
they fled from the frontiers into the heart of the settlements, and great
numbers of them over the mountains. In order to prevent them from entirely
evacuating the country, he stated that he had ventured to raise sixty men and
station them on the frontier between Two Licks and the mouth of the
Kiskiminetas, in four divisions, under command of two captains and two
lieutenants, which covered that frontier so well that the people generally had
returned to their plantations and resumed their labors. It will be borne in
mind that the territory of this township was then in Westmoreland county, over
which Lochry�s authority as county lieutenant extended.James White, of Pine township, informed the writer that John Guld was with
Simpson when he was killed, and escaped down Cherry run toward Crooked creek,
and that the Indians, after chasing him several miles, captured and kept him
seven years.The following are the original tracts within the present limits of this
township: George Gray,* 324.7 acres, partly in Manor township,
seated by William Hurtman; a part of the Michael Huffnagle tract; Robert Smith
tract, 317 acres, partly in Burrell, seated by John King; the Charles Uhl or
John Phillips tract, 335 acres, southwest corner in Burrell, seated by John
Shall; the William Stewart tract, 415 acres, partly in Burrell, seated by John
Serfoos; the James Todd tract, 439 1/4 acres, partly in Burrell and Plum
creek, seated by John Altman; the Thos. Smith, Sr., tract, 411 acres, seated
by Jacob Hankey and _____ Shised; Thomas Smith, Jr., tract, 415 acres; the
John Smith tract, 337 acres, seated by Jacob Waltenbough and Philip Harman;
the Robert S. Steele tract, 341.9 acres, seated by John Shotts; the Jacob
Rudolph tract, 366 acres; the Robert Smith, Jr., tract, 400 acres; the Jacob
Neninger tract, 330.9 acres, seated by Michael Hartman; the Charles Grubb
tract, 330.4 acres, seated by John and Daniel Hileman; the Jacob Lindeg tract,
339.9 acres, seated by Henry King; the Martha Phillips tract, 345 acres,
seated by George Wensel; the John Smith tract, 346 acres; the Martin Dubbs
tract, 365 1/2 acres, seated by James Patton; the Peter Thompson tract, 319.4
acres; the Charles Betts tract, 416.8 acres; the John Schenck tract, 301.8
acres seated by Fred�k Hileman and George Olinger; the Christian Signitz
tract, 406.4 acres, seated by Hugh Blaney; the Isaac Franks tract, 395.4
acres; the William Cooper tract, 408.4 acres, partly in Plum creek; the Samuel
Smith, Sr. (member of the assembly from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in
1777-8), tract, 416.8 acres, seated by Robert Lafferty; the Samuel Smith, Jr.,
tract, 387.8 acres; the Thomas Hutchinson tract, 300.8 acres, partly in Plum
creek, seated by Henry Bowers; the John Ewing tract, 400.6 acres, partly in
Valley; the William Henderson tract, 328 acres, seated by Sebastian Bowers;
the Peter Thompson tract, 407.6 acres; the Fred�k Rohrer, Jr., tract, 330
acres, seated by John Cravenor; the Thomas Salter tract, 384 1/2 acres; the
Robert Smith tract, 399.8 acres; the Johnathan Shoemaker tract, 312.2 acres;
the Clemburg tract, 294 1/4 acres; the John Guld tract, 359 1/2 acres, seated
by Andrew Lopeman; the Moses Bartram* tract, 338 1/2 acres, partly
in Valley, seated by Jacob Schrecengost; the Christopher Oury (or Ourich)
tract, 312 1/2 acres, seated by Richard Graham and Abram Tiscus; the Frederick
Kuhl tract, 313 1/2 acres, seated by Adam Olinger; the John Pomeroy tract, 283
1/2 acres, seated by George Williams; the Fred�k Rohrer tract, 90 acres,
seated by Francis Rupp; the Francis Rupp tract, 157 acres, seated by himself;
the Benjamin Hogan tract, 352 acres, seated by Daniel Fitzgeralds; the Peter
Hileman tract, 200 acres, seated by himself; the John Carson tract, 319 acres,
partly in Manor, seated by Daniel Bouch; the Tobias Long tract, 341 1/2 acres
seated by Daniel Hileman and Adam Waltenbough; the Benjamin Schrecengaust
tract, 200 acres, seated by himself.In the southwestern corner of the township a run empties into Crooked creek
at the upper or northern part of the loop, which received in early time the
name of “Horny Camp run,” because the Indians hung deers� horns on
the trees along its banks. Some years ago � Jacob Waltenbough, now
ninety-one years of age, from his early life familiar with the Crooked creek
region, thinks it was in 1840 � a tree was cut down on the land of a Mr.
Young, in which some deer�s horns were found, covered by the growth of the
tree and partially decayed.The Jacob Lindeg tract was called “Medway”; the warrant is dated
May 12, 1773; Lindeg conveyed his interest to Andrew Groff, to whom John Penn,
and John Penn, Jr., issued their patent, dated July 4, 1776. It was
sold for taxes in 1818 to Robert Orr, Jr., who conveyed it the Henry King
December 8, 1821, for two hundred and twenty-five dollars.The Benjamin Hogan tract was called “Worms;” patent to Joseph
Cauffman August 2, 1781, the executors of whose surviving executor conveyed it
to Daniel Fitzgeralds July 27, 2827, for $1,409.The Tobias Long tract was called “Georgia,” and one hundred and
seventeen acres of it became vested in Adam Waltenbough by deed in December,
1807.The Robert Smith, Jr., tract was called “Erasmus.” The proprietor
advertised it for sale in the Western Eagle September 20, 1810, and
described it as “situate on a run on the north side of Crooked creek,
about one mile southeast of Adam Waltenbough�s, and about the same distance
from Michael Hertman�s � Hertman lives west of this tract. About four
miles to the Kittanning county town.” He also stated that families might
have from forty to fifty acres, planting six fruit trees of different kinds on
each acre � to erect such buildings as would best suit themselves, to keep
the land improved and under good fence, and to supply rails in the place of
those decayed; and that there was a prospect of several very public roads
passing through that land by the then next summer or fall, which would be
“a market at the door for produce raised.” Those who wished to make
such improvements were directed to apply to William Crawford or Robert Sloan.
The warrant for this tract is dated September 13, 1784, and the survey
September 3, 1787.The George Stine tract, a considerable portion of which is in this
township, was called “Wheatfield;” the John Smith (337 acre) tract,
“Smith�s retreat;” the Moses Bartram* tract, “Hopewell,”
which was conveyed by the executors of the will of Mark Wilcox, deceased, to
Thomas McConnell July 17, 1827, for $1,600; the Isaac Franks tract,
“Walnut Bottom.”Glancing over the assessment-list for Allegheny township for 1805-6, the
writer infers that at least the following-named persons were then residing and
had perhaps for several years before resided on the territory now included
within the present limits of Kittanning township:George Beer, gunsmith, 140 acres of land, valued at $115 in 1805, and $126
in 1806, his trade being valued or assessed at $10. Samuel Beer, 30 acres, 1
gristmill and 1 sawmill, 1 horse and 1 head of cattle � total valuation, $69
in 1805, and $74 in 1806. John Beer, 53 acres, 1 head of cattle, $31.50.
Daniel Fitzgeralds, 100 acres, 2 horses, 3 cattle, $160 in 1805, and $155 in
1806. John Guld (often written Gold), 245 acres, 1 horse, 1 head of cattle,
$198.75. Daniel Guld, 76 acres, 4 cattle, $77 in 1805, and $77.50 in 1806.
Michael Hurtman, 2 cattle, $10 in 1805, and $15 in 1806. Peter Hileman, 200
acres, 1 horse, 2 cattle, $170 in 1805, and $180 in 1806. John Hileman, single
man, $5 in 1806. Daniel Hileman, single man. John Howser, 400 acres, 1 head of
cattle, latter $5 in 1805, both in 1806, $220. Jacob Howser, 135 acres, 3
cattle, $116.25 in 1805, and $121.25 in 1806. Jacob Hankey, joiner, 92 acres,
$61 in 1806. John King, tailor, 50 acres � trade $10 � land $37.50 in
1806. Jacob Lafferty, single man, 150 acres, $75 in 1805, “married a
wife,” $85 in 1806. Christopher Oury, 300 1/2 acres, 1 distillery, 3
horses, 3 cattle, $345.50 in 1805, and $350.50 in 1806. Adam Oury, 3 cattle,
$15 in 1805. Francis Roop, 157 acres, 1 horse, 4 cattle, $187. Adam
Waltenbough, 100 acres, 1 horse, 1 head of cattle, $65. Thomas Williams, 100
acres, 2 horses, 2 cattle in 1805, $70; no horse, 1 head cattle in 1806, $55.
Jacob Waltenbough, 1 head cattle in 1805, $5; 163 acres in 1806, $86.50. Peter
Waltenbough, 80 acres, 2 horses, 1 head of cattle, $85; only 1 horse in 1806,
$75. Daniel Yount, 341 acres in 1805, 1 head of cattle, $175.50; 152 acres in
1806, 2 cattle, $86.How long before 1805 the mills, assessed to Samuel Beer, were erected is
not known, probably two or three years. They were on Big Run, on a part of the
John Guld tract. Although then called Beer�s Mills, it is possible they at
first belonged to Daniel Guld, for John Guld conveyed the portion of his tract
on which they were, to Daniel Guld, August 10, 1795, and the latter to Samuel
Beer, December 2, 1809, who conveyed the same to John Howser, October 29,
1810, who conveyed it to Benjamin Schrecengost in June, 1820. Since his death
they have been owned by George Howser and Joseph Frantz, the present
proprietor. Some of the chestnut clapboard sawed at that sawmill are still a
part of the covering of the outer front side of the house erected by Michael
Mechling, on lot No. 120, in Kittanning, in 1804, they having been placed
there a few years after its erection. The warrant to John Guld for the tract
on which these mills are situated is dated March 22, 1786, and the patent,
August 8, 1787. He was a notable man in his day. The writer is informed by one
of his descendants, that he was a scout as early as 1749. He was often
employed, on account of his fleetness, intrepidity and power of endurance, as
a bearer of dispatches form one military post to another, during and after the
revolutionary war. He belonged to a company of rangers, and for a while
carried the mail from Fort Pitt to or near the Great Meadows, which point is
in what is now Fayette county, between Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Hill. While
on one of his scouting tours, a surveyor was shot from his horse by ambushed
Indians near Blanket Hill. He finally settled on that tract of land, from
which he was occasionally forced by the Indians to flee to the blockhouse on
the Allegheny river below the mouth of Fort Run. In part pay of his military
services he received a grant of 200 acres of donation land, situated near
Mercer, Pennsylvania, which he sold to John Dunbar for �5. He was frequently
in Kittanning during the latter part of his life, and his Indian-like
appearance is still distinctly remembered by some of the oldest citizens of
the borough. His last will and testament is dated December 9, 1815, and it was
proven and registered December 19, then instant. He thereby devised his
plantation in this township to his two sons, John and George, directed that
the former should properly keep him the rest of his life, and left bequests of
minor value to the rest of his children. It would be naturally supposed that
he died between the ninth and nineteenth of that month. Yet the records
further show, that on the 7th of May, 1818, he conveyed 183 acres
of that tract to his son George for $10 and his keeping the rest of his life,
and on the 14th of the same month, seventy acres thereof to Thomas
McConnell for $280.40 � nearly two and a half after the probate and
registration of his will, which is a singularity.These mills appear to have been the only ones within the present limits of
this township for many years. In 1849-50 John Hileman was assessed with a
sawmill, and thereafter Daniel Hileman, which is probably the one near the
Hileman schoolhouse, on a run flowing southeastwardly into the west branch fo
Cherry run. Jacob Hankey, Jr., was assess with a sawmill for several years
from and after 1852. George Loyster�s grist and saw mills, on Spruce run, in
the northeastern par of the township, were erected in 1868-9. Martin V.
Remaley�s steam flourmill, situate about 170 rods in an air line northwest
of the Hileman sawmill, was erected in 1872.For an agricultural people, as the great mass of the inhabitants of this
township have been since its first settlement, the number of tradesmen and
mechanics usual in every community has been adequate.From 1828 until 1855 the manufacture of whisky was carried on by a variety
of persons at and for different periods, as the assessment lists show. The
“Hileman” was regarded as being of very good quality and had the
reputation of being genuine among good judges of liquor. At least one person
who kept a quantity of it on hand, having occasions to dispense some of it
rather freely in a certain emergency, was grievously affected because of one
or more of its imbibers that it was not good whisky.A notable point in early times was on the Christopher Oury tract, where
Richard Graham settled and kept an inn, which was a favorite resort for
pleasure parties from Kittanning and elsewhere.On Wednesday evening, April 3, 1828, a large meeting was held in the
borough of Kittanning, of which the late Michael Mechling was chairman and the
late Chief Justice Thompson, secretary, for the purpose of organizing a grand
circular wolf hunt, for which necessary arrangements were made and the
following circle was agreed upon: From the mouth of Pine creek along the
Allegheny river to the mouth of Crooked creek, thence up to Cherry run, thence
across to Beck�s mill (near what is now Oscar), thence to Col. Robert Walker�s,
and thence to the mouth of Pine creek. The closing ground was to be on the
farm of Richard Graham and the time fixed for the hunt April 22. The result of
which was, not the capture of a wolf, but of a number of foxes. It was on that
occasion that a clergyman inadvertently became intoxicated, for which he was
suspended from the ministry by his Presbytery, but was subsequently restored
to his ministerial functions. The people then were deeply interested in the
hunt, and the marshals and the men whom they respectively controlled were
promptly in their places, and as the signal for starting, which was the
blowing of horns, passed round the circle they simultaneously commenced moving
from the outer circle to the inner ones, each of which was indicated by small
bunches of straw placed on the ground. The huntsmen were mounted on horses and
made all the din and noise possible with yells, horns, bells and
horse-fiddles, for the purpose of starting the various kinds of game that may
have been within the outer circle, which they finally concentrated within the
innermost, or smallest circle, where they were to be killed or captured. Some,
probably considerable, of the game then started was suffered to escape, says
one of the marshals, through gaps in the circles, caused by some of the
mounted men stopping or slacking the speed of their horses to talk, regardless
or perhaps oblivious of the preacher�s saying, “There is a time to keep
silence and a time to speak.” One of the times for the former is, from
the nature of the case, while a circle of huntsmen are closing in upon their
game.That was also a point for holding military reviews, one of which was on
Tuesday, May 21, 1839, of the first battalion of the 126th regiment
of the Pennsylvania militia, by the order of Philip Templeton, then the
Colonel of that regiment.“BENTON.”
On the 10th of February, 1836, Abraham Fiscus advertised that he
had laid out the plat of a new town, bearing that name, on the Armstrong and
Indiana turnpike road, about five miles southeast of the borough of
Kittanning. He stated that it was “beautifully situated in the midst of a
thriving neighborhood and will afford an eligible situation for the
prosecution of various branches of business;” and that on Thursday, March
15, then next, the lots would be offered at public sale, on the premises � a
part of the Oury tract. The deed books in the Recorder�s office do not show
that a single one of these lost was conveyed to a purchaser.CHURCHES.
The first organization of a church within the present limits of this
township was Christ�s, known in these later times at the one at Rupp�s,
four miles east of the borough of Kittanning, and one-fourth of a mile north
of the Indiana Pike. Its early records were destroyed several years ago by the
fire which consumed Mr. Rupp�s house, in which they were kept, so that the
writer is obliged to depend upon reliable tradition for the facts of its early
history. Jacob Hileman, now in his eighty-sixth year, who came with his father
to the Peter Hileman tract in 1796, and has lived there ever since, remembers
of this church having been organized about sixty-five years ago, or about
1811, by Rev. Lambrecht, a Lutheran clergyman. A log meeting-house was soon
afterward, probably the next year, erected on ground adjoining the site of the
present one, on the five-acre tract given as a donation by Christopher Oury
for church purposes. The Lutheran and German Reformed congregations had for
awhile a join interest in the church property, but which has for many years
been exclusively Lutheran. Rev. Wm. Weinel was the German Reformed clergyman,
who officiated here for most, if not all the time, while the joint occupation
by the two denominations existed.One of the early successors, if not, the first one, of Rev. Lambrecht, was
Rev. J. Sylenfelc, who, traditions says, having obtained the requisite
authority and credentials from the proper church authorities, went forth on a
mission to collect funds for erecting a new and better meeting-house. He never
returned, though as it was ascertained, he had collected several thousand
dollars for that purpose. The supposition is that he returned to Germany with
those funds. His successor was Rev. Adam Mohler, who became the object of
another kind of scandal, whether justly so or not, the writer is not prepared
to say. He was followed as early as, if not earlier than October 14, 1825, by
Rev. Gabriel A. Reichert, Lutheran, who thereafter made this one of his points
in his extensive ministrations, which, in his diary, he denoted as
“Williams�.” It may be that he sometimes preached at the home of
George Williams, Sr., which appears to have been a stopping-place � a
minister�s hotel � in those times, for itinerating clergymen, where, as at
other points, they were hospitably entertained. This became one of his regular
points for preaching on secular as well as Sabbath days. He preached at “Urich�s”
�Oury�s � May 27, 1826, form the sixth and seventh verses of the second
chapter of Colossians. Whether the services, on that day, were in the log
church or at Oury�s house does not appear from his dairy. He held a
communion service at “Williams�,” May 8, 1829, at which fifty-one
communed, many of whose residences were at considerable distances from that
point. In his entry, April 18, 1830, Conrad Schrecengost and George Wild
(Wilt) are mentioned as elders, and George Farster and John Cravenor as
deacons. Rev. ____ Burnheim succeeded Mr. Reichert. Preaching in English
commenced here in 1850. This church was incorporated by the proper court,
December 16, 1853, by the name of the Evangelical Lutheran Christ�s church,
of Kittanning township. The charter officers were Rev. George R. Ehrenfeldt,
pastor, who was the first who preached in English; Benjamin Schrecengost and
George Williams, Sr., elders; Isaac Fitzgerald and John Cravenor, deacons, and
George Williams, trustee. The charter members were Michael Kunkle, John Bouch,
Elias Bouch, George Shuster, Isaac Schrecengost, David Rupp, Lewis Coon and
Israel Rowley. The pastors since then have been Revs. J. A. Ernest, S. S.
Miller, and A. S. Miller. The present number of church members is 65, and of
Sabbath-school scholars, 50.A frame structure 30 x 22 feet was erected in 1850 on the present site,
which was burned before completion. The present frame superstructure was
erected soon afterward on the same foundation.The Emanuel (Evangelical Lutheran) church was organized by Rev. ____
Burnheim in or about 1840; the present edifice, frame, 32 X 40 feet, was
erected in 1843. It is situated on the Peter Hileman tract, now owned by Jacob
Hileman, a son of Peter Hileman, the warrantee and patentee thereof. Its
pastors have been Revs. ___ Burnheim, Geo. R. Ehrenfedt, J. A. Ernest, S. S.
and A. S. Miller. Members, 124; Sabbath-school scholars, 50.Both of these churches are attached to the General Synod.
The St. John�s (Evangelical Lutheran) church, commonly designated as the
one at Shotts�, was organized in or about 1840 by Rev. Henry Easensy, who
was subsequently silenced. A frame edifice 32 X 29 feet was erected in 1855-6
through the exertions, in a great measure, of Rev. Michael Swigert, who has
frequently supplied its pulpit in his itinerating ministerial labors. It is
situated on the north side of a public road, two mile and two hundred and
thirty rods, in a air line, south of the Emanuel church, and two hundred and
fifty rods east of “Horny Camp run.” Members, 100; Sabbath-school
scholars, 60. This church is attached to the general council.The Methodist Episcopal church was organized prior to 1860. It belongs to
the Knox circuit. A frame edifice 37 X 30 feet was erected in the
last-mentioned year; was blown down in June and the present superstructure
reared on its foundation.POPULATION.
The census has been taken only twice since the last curtailment of the
territory of this township, which was in the formation of Burrell in 1855. In
1850, before that curtailment, the number of inhabitants was 1,175. In 1860
the number of whites was 1,236; colored 1. In 1870 the native population was
1,431, foreign, 73; colored, none. The number of taxables in1876 is 396,
making the total population of about 1,820.The assessment list for 1876 shows that there are in this township, besides
the great body of agriculturists, laborers, 31; tenants, 18; hucksters, 6;
blacksmiths, 4; shoemakers, 4; carpenters, 3; stonemasons, 3; painter, 1; and
stores appraised, 5 in the fourteenth class.SCHOOLS.
The facts relative to schools which existed before the adoption of the
common school system, which the writer has been able to collect, are meager.
There was, as he is informed, one of those earyl schools in a log schoolhouse
situated about fifty rods south of Garrett�s run and about a mile and fifty
or sixty rods east of the Manor township line, and another about a mile and a
half southwest of the former and two hundred rods east of the above-mentioned
line, in the Hileman settlement, or about a hundred rods south of Emanuel
church. The names of early teachers met with are those of George Farster and
George Leighley.After the adoption of the common school system the requisite number of log
houses were erected, at the usual distances from one another, over the
township, which have finally been replaced by frame ones.In 1860 the number of schools was 8; average number months taught, 4; male
teachers, 6; female teachers, 2; average monthly salaries of male teachers,
$16.67; average monthly salaries of female teachers, $16.00; number of male
scholars, 155; number female scholars, 158; average number attending school,
251; cost of teaching each per month, 45 cents; amount levied for school
purposes, $715.53; received from state appropriation, $89.89; from collector,
$715.53; cost of instruction, $528; fuel and contingencies, $34.76; repairs,
etc., $10.In 1876 the number of schools was 9; average number of months taught, 5;
male teachers, 5; female teachers, 4; average monthly salaries of male
teachers, $27.20; average monthly salaries of female teachers $25.50; male
scholars, 264; female scholars, 199; average number attending school, 288;
cost per month, 61 cents; amount tax levied for school and building purposes,
$1,338.55; received from state appropriation, $332.94; from taxes and other
sources, $1,357.25; cost of schoolhouses, $78.23; paid for teachers� wages,
$1,272.50; for fuel, collector�s fees, etc., $ 197.58.TEMPERENCE.
The vote, February 28, 1873, on the question of granting licenses to sell
liquors, was 16 for, and 36 against.POSTAL.
Blanket Hill postoffice is the only one now in the township. It was
established, May 1, 1850, and John M. Daily was appointed postmaster, who kept
it at “Graham�s,” on the Christopher Oury tract, whence it was
afterward removed to its present locality.HUMBOLDT GARDENS.
In 1861-2, Charles B. Schotte began to extensively enlarge and improve the
culture of fruit and garden products on his farm, which he purchased in 1855
and which consists of parts of the John Pomeroy and Fred�k Rohrer tracts. He
estimates that he has since the planted from eight to ten thousand fruit-trees
of various kinds, among which are many imported from the largest nurseries and
gardens in Europe. Among his importations are different kinds of apple-trees
from Russia, which he received through the kind offices of Andrew G. Curtin,
while he was the minister of the United States to that country; various kinds
of fruits, including the small fruits, from the Botanical Gardens, at Berlin,
in Prussia; and numerous other specimens of novel productions from abroad,
obtained through the Agricultural Department at Washington, for experimental
purposes. The various fruits of California and Oregon are also well
represented in the Humboldt Gardens. The enterprise, thus inaugurated, it is
claimed, has stimulated the farmers of this section of the county to improve
their orchards and the culture of their lands. It had undoubtedly been and
efficient factor in so doing, and it may have considerably influenced them to
make the many and extensive purchases of fruit-trees from the nurserymen of
other states, which they have made within the last ten years.GEOLOGY.
The geological features of this township may be inferred, in part at least,
from those presented along Crooked and Cowanshannock creeks and in Manor
township. The anticlinal of the fifth, which is the axis of the fourth, basin
crosses this township diagonally from northeast to southwest, striking the
northern boundary line nearly two miles west of its eastern terminus, and its
western terminus. The major part of the township is, the, on the northern
slope of the fourth basin, and the rest of it on the southeastern slope of the
fifth basin. There is a spring on that part of the John Schenck tract now
owned by Peter Heilman, which, the writer thinks, a correct analysis would
show to be strongly chalybeate.Source: Page(s) 179-185, History of Armstrong County,
Pennsylvania by Robert Walker Smith, Esq. Chicago: Waterman, Watkins &
Co., 1883.
Transcribed October 1998 by Carl Waltenbaugh for the Armstrong County Smith
Project.
Contributed by Carl Waltenbaugh for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy
Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any
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