Somerset County

This town was laid out by the Boswell Improvement Company in 1901 near the mine that was opened by the Merchant Coal Company in the same year. It was named in honor of Thomas T. Boswell, the president and general manager of both the mine and improvement company. A tipple built there by the mining … Read more

Bethel village has sprung up very recently. Though young, it is prosperous. It is laid out on land which was formerly the Henry Blough farm. The first building erected was the United Brethren church in 1874. The first dwelling was built by Hiram H. Boyts in 1880. The next building erected was a gristmill in … Read more

The town of Berlin was originally settled by Germans, who named it after the chief city of their fatherland. At what date the settlement commenced we have no means of ascertaining, but probably it was before the American revolution, The eastern portion of the town was laid out in 1784, by Jacob Keffer, on forty … Read more

Benson borough is one of the three boroughs of Paint township and is located in a bend of Stony creek. It was laid out by Emanuel Eash, in 1880, as the town of Bethel. A United Brethren church had been built here in 1874. The first dwelling house was built in 1880 by Hiram H. … Read more

Barronvale was a small village in the southern part of the township. It was here that John Koozer established his gristmill in 1806, and the village eventually grew around it. The Barronvale covered bridge, built in 1830, is located here. H. L. Martz had a grocery and general merchandise store which also housed the post … Read more

Formerly called Petersburg, it was renamed Addison for Judge Alexander Addison who was the first president judge of Somerset County. Originally founded in 1798, it was laid out as a small town in 1817 by Peter Augustine and received the name of Petersburg in honor of his first name. When the post office was established, … Read more