CHAPTER XIX.
MAHONING TOWNSHIP
(Including Packerton)
Pages
742 to 749
Including sections on:
PAGE 742
The first official information obtained of the erection of this township is found in the first assessment-roll in 1842 in the records of Northampton County, and is as follows:
“Northampton County, SS.
“Commissioners’ Office.
“To Charles G. Bauer,
assessor of Mahoning township (formerly part of East Penn township), Greeting:
We herewith transmit to you the last assessment of East Penn township. With
assistance of the assessor of East Penn Township you are to transcribe from it all
such taxable inhabitants, their professions and property, which now reside
within your limits, as they respectfully stand rated.
“Given under our hand and
seal of office this 7th day of April, 1842.
“John Santee, Com. Of
Northampton County
“John Lentz, Com. Of
Northampton County.”
The township was set off
from the north part of East Penn township, and is bounded on the north by the
Mahoning Mountain, which separates it from Mauch Chunk township, east by Schuylkill
County, south by the township of East Penn, and west by the Lehigh River. It is watered by the Mahoning Creek, which
rises in Schuylkill County and flows easterly through the valley of the
Mahoning, and enters the Lehigh River near Lehighton.
Martin Mack, who came to
Bethlehem with the first settlers at that place, went up to the new station,
“Gnadenhütten,” with Christian Henry Rauych as one of the missionaries in
charge. A church was erected and
dwellings built for the missionaries and Indians.
Loskiel, writing at the
time, said, “Gnadenhütten now (1746) became a very regular and pleasant
town. The church stood in the valley,
on one side the Indian houses forming a crescent, upon a rising ground; and on
the other stood the house of the missionaries and the burying-ground. The missionaries tilled their own grounds,
and every Indian family their plantation, and on the 18th of August
they had the satisfaction to partake of the first fruits of the land at a
love-feast.” As the colony increased
the church was found to be too small, and in September, 1749, Bishop Johannes
von Watteville visited Gnadenhütten, and laid the foundation-stone of a new
church. About the same time Rev. David
Brainerd, with several Indian converts, visited Gnadenhütten. The numbers increased, and the mission
prospered greatly, and in 1754 numbered about five hundred Indians. It was thought advisable for several reasons
to establish a new mission on the other side of the river, which was done in
that year. 1
The account of the attack by the Indians on the mission, Nov. 24, 1755, will be found in the chapter on Indian history. The massacre at that time so disheartened the Moravians that no further attempts were made to rebuild at that place, and after a few years it was left entirely to desolation.
No knowledge is obtained
as to who purchased other portions of the tract of five thousand acres, but the
valley was settled between 1750 and 1775 by Eng-…
1) An account of New Gnadenhütten will be found in
the history of Weissport.
…lish families, -- the
Custards, Thomases, Gilberts, Dodsons, Perts, Johns, and others. Most of these families remained till the
close of the Revolution, when they removed to the neighborhood of the
Susquehanna River. Sketches of a few of
the families are here given.
The name of Custard
occurs as that of one of the settlers who located in the Mahoning Valley. But little is known of him or his
family. The most that is trustworthy
concerning him is in a letter from Timothy Horsfield, Esq., of Bethlehem, who
writes to Governor Morris, Nov. 26, 1755, on receiving the news of the massacre
at Gnadenhütten. After speaking of the
escape of Joseph Sturges, George Partch and his wife, and their arrival at
Bethlehem, where they reported the affair, he says, that “Monday, the 24th
instant, an hour before sunset, George Custard with two others of the neighbors
came to Mahoning (the place the murder was committed at), and informed them
that in the evening they might expect a number of armed men to be with them all
night.” No further mention is made of
George Custard or the neighbors that were with him. The name does not appear on
the assessment-roll of the township in 1781 or 1808, and it is probable that
the family fled.
The family of Benjamin
Gilbert came to the valley of the Mahoning in 1775, and settled on the Mahoning
Creek at the place now owned by Michael Garber. His step-son, Benjamin Peart, located about half a mile away. Benjamin Gilbert was a native of Byberry,
fifteen miles from Philadelphia, where he was born in the year 1711. He was educated by the Quakers, and resided
near his birthplace till he moved to the Mahoning Valley, in 1775. He married a lady in his youth by whom he
had several children. They arrived at
years of maturity, and several of them settled there. About the year 1748 he published a trestise against war in answer
to Gilbert Tennent. In 1769 and 1770 he
published two large works on religious subjects. After the death of his wife he contracted a second marriage with
Elizabeth, the widow of Benjamin Peart, who also had several children.
It was some years after
this second marriage that it was decided to move north of the Blue Ridge. His sons and daughters, connections and friends
were not strangers to the dangers to which they would be exposed, and earnestly
besought them to remain in their midst.
The journey was
made. The party consisted of Benjamin
Gilbert, his wife Elizabeth, his sons, Joseph, Jesse, and Abner; Rebecca and
Elizabeth, daughters; Benjamin and Thomas Peart, sons of Mrs. Gilbert. After reaching the place selected, a
comfortable log house and barn were erected.
Later a saw-mill and grist-mill were erected on the creek, which drew
custom from a large extent of country and rendered the position of the family
comfortable. After five years of quiet
the family was surprised on the morning of the 25th of April, 1780,
by a party of eleven Indians and taken captives. The house was plundered and
all the buildings burned. The Indians
then visited the house of Benjamin Peart, who a year or two previous had
married and settled about half a mile away, and captured him and his wife and
child. Abigail, a daughter of Samuel
Dodson, a neighbor, had brought from home to the mill early in the morning a
grist, and she was still there and captured with the rest.1
The family was in bondage
two years and five months, and on the 22nd of August, 1783, its
members were gathered together in Montreal and soon after returned to Byberry,
with the exception of Benjamin, the father, who died June 8, 1780, while going
down the river St. Lawrence, Andrew Harrigar, who escaped and returned to
Byberry and conveyed the first knowledge of the fate and condition of the
family, and Abigail Dodson, who was adopted by one of the families of the
Cayuga Nation.
After the return of the
family, in 1783, the farm in the Mahoning Valley was sold to Capt. Joseph
Longstreth, who, with Robert McDaniel, went up to the place and rebuilt the
house and mill. How long Capt.
Longstreth remained is not known. His
name does not appear in the assessment-roll of 1808. Later the property was owned by Dr. S. Kennedy, and in 1820 was
bought by Septimus Hough.
The family of Samuel
Dodson came to the valley about the same time the Gilberts came in. They settled about a mile distant, on a farm
now owned by David D. Kistler, near Pleasant Corner. He was a native of Chester County, where he was married, and
where his children were born. Abigail,
when fourteen years of age, was sent by her father to the mill of Benjamin
Gilbert, on the Mahoning Creek, early on the morning of the 25th of
April, 1780. She was captured with the
Gilbert family by the Indians. She was
separated from the others, and adopted first by a tribe of the Cayugas and
later by others. The family of Dodsons
remained upon their plantation, and did not, like many others, abandon their
settlement.
In 1785, Thomas Dodson, a
cousin of Abigail, determined to go up to the northward and make a search for
Abigail. He was provided with the
necessary equipment, and started on horseback. After much search she was found
in the Genesee Valley with the tribe of Indians by which she had been
adopted. As her return at some time had
been anticipated, it had been decided that if her friends came for her she
would be allowed to go. The chief of
the tribe was away at the time Thomas arrived, and the family of which she was
a member, although loath to let her leave them, consented, and preparations
were made for her departure. A new suit
of Indian cloth, ornamented with beads, was made for her, and feasts were given
at which many gathered. When all was
ready …
1) An account
of their captivity and wanderings will be found in the chapter on Indian
history. An account was verbally given by them on their return, in 1783, and
was written by William Walton, and published by Joseph Cruikshank in 1784.
…
they departed. For some reason, Thomas
had left his horse at Genesee, a few miles away. Upon reaching the place and applying for his horse, the man in
whose care he had left him refused to let him have the horse except upon the
payment of one hundred dollars. As he
had not that much money, he was compelled to leave him. An arrangement was made by which they were
taken to Towanda, where Thomas obtained a canoe, in which they paddled and
floated down the Susquehanna River to Salem, and stopped at the house of Nathan
Beach. He provided them with a horse,
and they proceeded on their way to Mahoning Valley, where they arrived in
October, 1786. Abigail had been absent
from home five years and six months, during which time she had been with
several different tribes and had learned the languages of five of them. On arriving near home, Abigail went to the
house first and knocked. Her mother
came to the door, invited her in, stepped back and called her husband, saying,
“Here is a squaw, and a pretty good-looking one, too.” Her father came in, and neither of them
recognized her, upon which Abigail exclaimed, “Mother, don’t you know me?”
Thomas soon came in, and the family gathered around the long-lost one, and
great was their joy at her return. The
story of her captivity and wanderings was known to the family, up to the time
of her separation from the Gilberts, who returned in 1783, and adoption by the
Cayugas, but from that time no trace of her had been found until this
time. She had for so long been
accustomed to Indian life that she did not feel at home for some time, and
often longed for the old life, but this feeling passed away. She remained at home, and moved with the
family in 1797 to Shamokin, and later to Huntington township, Luzerne Co.,
where she married Peter Brink, and lived many years and died, leaving no
children.1
The family of Samuel Dodson
lived at the place where they settled in 1775 until 1797. Samuel Dodson, the father, died in 1795, and
was buried at Lizard Creek. His
children were John, Thomas, Samuel, Joseph, Hannah, Elizabeth, Polly, Abigail,
and Sally. John, the eldest son, after
the death of his father, took the management of the farm, and in 1797 sold it,
and the family all moved to Shamokin.
The children of Samuel had all reached maturity, and several of them
were married and settled on the homestead farm in Mahoning Valley. Joseph was married before the death of the
father; and Isaac T. Dodson, so well known to old citizens of the county of
Carbon, was born on the homestead farm in 1796. His father, Joseph, moved with the rest of the family to
Shamokin. After a few years most of the
family of Samuel removed to Huntington township, Luzerne Co., where their
descendants are numerous.
Isaac T. Dodson came to
Mauch Chunk in 1820, and entered the employ of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation
Company. He was appointed justice of
the peace Jan. 9, 1828, and served many years.
He died in Mauch Chunk in 1873, aged seventy-seven years. His son,
George W. Dodson, was a teacher in Mauch Chunk, and in the employ of the Coal
and Navigation Company. He died in
1863. Mary (Mrs. Abraham Focht), Elizabeth (Mrs. Owen Williams), and Mahala D.
(Mrs. Israel Beahm), all of Mauch Chunk, are daughters of Isaac T. Dodson.
It will be remembered
that Capt. Joseph Lonstreth purchased the Gilbert farm in 1783, and at that
time Robert McDaniel came to the valley with him. He was born Aug. 24, 1756, in a small lumbering village near the
Penobscot Falls, Maine. He was
apprenticed by his father to Capt. Joseph Longstreth, of Philadelphia, to learn
the trade of a tanner and currier, and lived in that city some years. After a residence of a year or two at the
mill with Capt. Longstreth in the valley, he bought a tract of land not far
from the Gilbert mill, now partly owned by Samuel Moser, and married Elizabeth
Hicks. She was born in 1766, and is
said to have been a native of Lizard Creek Valley, and when very young was
placed in charge of William Thomas, who lived near where the Benn Salem Church
stands. No other knowledge of the Hicks
family is obtained. They settled upon
the farm, and lived many years. They
died there, and were buried in the Benn Salem churchyard. Their children were Rachel, Nancy, Lydia,
Elizabeth, Robert, and James. Rachel
became the wife of Charles Haney, and settled in the township. Mrs. Henry Arner is a daughter. Lewis Haney, for many years a teacher in the
township and the first coroner of the county, was a son. Nancy became the wife of Samuel Solt, and
settled in Lehighton. Lydia married
Joseph Musselman, lived for a time in the township, and moved to Ohio. Oliver, a son, remained with his
grandfather, and taught school in the township, was elected register and
recorder in 1846 and 1849, and later moved to Ohio, where he is now a
journalist. Elizabeth became the wife
of Christian Klotz (who came from Lowhill, Lehigh Co.), in 1816. They settled near the homestead, and in 1823
moved to what is now the Hoppes Mill, where she died in 1826, aged thirty-one
years. Robert, son of Robert, emigrated
to the West. James, the youngest son,
settled in the township, and died there.
His son, J. T. McDaniel, keeps the old Freyman Hotel, and is postmaster.
The sketches given thus
far are of families who settle in the Mahoning Valley between the years 1750
and 1785. From the latter year, to
1805-6, no settlements seem to have been made, and but one or two of the
families that were there remained. In
fact, the descendants of Robert McDaniel are the only ones whose ancestors were
in the limits of the present Mahoning township prior to 1800.
The assessment-roll of
Penn township of 1781 con- …
1) One of the leggings, trimmed with beads, which
she wore upon her return is now in the possession of Robert Boehm, of Mauch
Chunk, who is of the family.
…tains the following names of
persons who were resident in what is to-day Mahoning township: Samuel Dodson,
Richard Dodson, George Gilbert, George J. Gilbert. The names of Michael Hoppes
and Michael S. Hoppes appear, but disappear in 1808 in East Penn, and are found
the same year in West Penn township.
The following persons are
named on the assessment-roll of East Penn township in 1808, when it was first
set off, and were residents of the present township: Andrew Beck, John and
Abraham Freyman, Robert McDaniel, Peter, Henry, and John Notestine, Peter
Musselman.
Andrew Beck, of
Siegersville, Lehigh Co., about the year 1800, purchased a lumber tract on the
Nesquehoning Creek, about half a mile below the present village of Nesquehoning,
upon which he erected a saw-mill. The
site is now owned by Cornelius Zangle.
About 1805 he purchased one hundred and thirty-five acres of land in
Mahoning township for his son, Andrew, who lived upon it three years, and in
1808 sold it to his brother, George Beck, who settled there and lived all his
days. He died in 1870. He left twelve children, all living except
one. Caroline (Mrs. Gabriel
Delcher) is living on the homestead;
Daniel is also living in the township; Thomas G. lives at Lehighton; Christiana
(Mrs. James M. Keller) resides at Lansford; others are in Ohio and Illinois.
John Freyman settled
about the year 1800 on a farm near Stewart’s Run, on which his grandson,
Thomas, now resides. He had sons, -
Jacob, Henry, and George. Jacob settled
on the homestead, where he died in 1882, aged seventy-five years. Henry lived unmarried, and built the hotel
where J. G. McDaniel now resides, and kept it for several years. George settled in the upper part of the
township, and later kept hotel and store at Pleasant Corner, and owned the farm
now owned by the Kistlers. He died in
1849, aged thirty-five years. His son, William G. Freyman, is an attorney at
Mauch Chunk.
Peter Musselman, a native
of Upper Milford, Lehigh Co., came to the Mahoning Valley in 1807, and
purchased the farm now owned by his grandson, Thomas Musselman. He died in 1860. Of his sons, Joseph married Lydia, the daughter of Robert
McDaniel, settled near the homestead for a short time, and removed to
Ohio. Oliver Musselman, of Ohio, is
their son. Charles settled near his
father, and still resides there, well advanced in years. Jacob settled on the homestead, and married
Rebecca, the daughter of John G. Kemerer.
Their son, Thomas, now owns the property. Susan became the wife of George Kamerer, and settled in
Lehighton. Polly became Mrs. Boaz, and
Walton, the youngest, emigrated to Warsaw, Ind.
It is not known what year
the Notestines came to the township, but in the year 1808 the three brothers (Henry,
Peter, and John) were owners of property at Centre Square. Their father, Peter Notestine, lived with
them. He had served in the
Revolutionary war, was well advanced in years, died there, and was buried in
the graveyard near Centre Square. Henry
resided at Centre Square, and about 1818 erected the store-house now owned by
David Longaker. A stone in the building
records that it was built by “Henry Notestine and his wife, Barbara.” He left several children, - Daniel, Henry,
Elias, and John. Daniel lived on the
homestead, and died in 1873. A daughter
(Mrs. C. H. Seidel) is a resident at Centre Square. Henry remained at home a few years after arriving at maturity,
kept the hotel at Pennsville at one time, and later removed to Kansas, where he
died. Elias lived at home, and died in
1878. John resides in the township of
East Penn. Peter Notestine settled on
Mahoning Mountain. His daughter,
Catharine (Mrs. Peter Xandres), lives on part of the homestead. Of his other children, Rachel (Mrs. Lauchner)
and Elizabeth (Mrs. Kochner) settled in the township, and are both
deceased. John, brother of Henry and
Peter, emigrated to Fort Wayne, Ind.
Matthew (a younger brother of Henry), Peter, and John, after arriving at
maturity, settled on a farm between Henry and Peter. His children were Daniel, Jonas, David, James, and Joseph.
Daniel, Jonas, and James settle in East Penn township, David in Mahoning, and
Joseph in Lehighton.
The names of Abram and
Jost Miller appear on the roll of 1808, and when Henry Arner came to the
township, in 1817, he rented a farm of Isaac Miller, which he afterwards
purchased. Henry was born in Lehigh
County in 1798, and when three years of age was taken with his father’s family
to what became, in 1808, West Penn township.
He married about 1817, and came to the Mahoning Valley and rented a
farm, where he now lives, and resided there seven years. About 1825 he purchased one hundred and
nineteen acres of land of James Brodrick, now owned by Ammon Arner, and resided
there thirty years, and purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres, including
his present place, of his son, Tilghman Arner, and moved to the old home, where
he now resides. He was engaged in the
manufacture of shoes about the time of the opening of the coal-mines at Summit
Hill, and later manufactured powder. He
had by his first wife five children, - Tilghman, Abigail, Eliza, Ammon, and
Louisa. Tilghman resided in and near
New Mahoning, and died in 1880. Abigail
(Mrs. Amos Reille), Eliza (Mrs. Benjamin Koontz), and Louisa (Mrs. Zachariah
Long) are residents of Lehighton. Ammon
resides at New Mahoning, where he carries on the mercantile business, and also
conducts a large farm.
In the year 1819, Jacob
Fenstermacher came to what is now New Mahoning, and soon after erected the
hotel which he kept till his death. It
is now kept by his son, Stephen.
Christian Klotz was born
in Lowhill township, Northampton (now Lehigh) Co., May 14, 1789. He …
… was a miller by trade,
and about 1814 came to the Landing Tavern, on the Lehigh River, and for a year
or two was at work rafting and in the mill.
In the year 1816 he went up the Mahoning Creek, and obtained work in the
mill on the site of the Gilbert Mill.
In this year he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Robert McDaniel, who
lived a short distance from the mill.
He remained at the mill till about 1823, when he built a mill on Pine
Creek, now known as the Hoppes mill-site, and moved his family there-to. At this place his wife died, Nov. 5, 1826,
aged thirty-one years, leaving five children, - Ammon, Robert, Charlotte, Anna,
and Joseph. Ammon and Anna (Mrs.
Grover) settled in Franklin township, where the former is still living. Charlotte became the wife of a Mr. Yost, and
is long since deceased. Joseph resides at
Pittston, Luzerne Co., Pa. Robert lives
in Mauch Chunk. He was elected the first register and recorder of the county of
Carbon in 1843, has filled many important offices, and was a member of Congress
for this district in the Forty-sixth Congress.
Christian Klotz married a second wife, by whom he had several children.
He died at Lehighton, March 12, 1848, aged fifty-nine years, and was buried by
the side of his first wife in the Moravian Cemetery.
John, Jacob, and Daniel
Klotz, brothers of Christian, came to the Mahoning Valley and settled. John died in Lehighton in 1829. Jacob and Daniel lived and died in Mahoning
township.
John G. Kamerer, a native
of Lehigh County, came to the valley in 1818, and purchased the farm now owned
by Zachariah Ham. Of his children,
Thomas is now president of the National Bank of Lehighton. Theodore R. and William are engaged in
business at Lehighton. Catharine also
resides in that place. Rebecca, one of
the elder children, became the wife of Joseph Musselman, and removed to Ohio.
Thomas Beltz, a son of
Leonard and Elizabeth Beltz, was a native of Towamensing township, where he was
born in 1805. In 1820 he engaged with
the Coal and Navigation Company at Summit Hill, and worked for them fifteen
years. During this time he married
Rebecca, a daughter of Jonathan Bachman, and settled in what is now Mahoning
township. She died early in life,
leaving two children, of whom Nathan resides in Stockton, Luzerne Co., Pa. He married, as a second wife, Maria, the
daughter of Henry Arner, who is still living.
Harrison A. Beltz, now justice of the peace at Lehighton, is a son.
The mother of Thomas
Beltz resided with him in her later years, and died at his house in February,
1867, at the age of one hundred and five years. She was a daughter of Frederick Boyer, and was born in
Towamensing township, Dec. 14, 1761.
Septimus Hough, a Quaker,
who was a native of Bucks County, born near Doylestown, in the year 1820
purchased the old Gilbert mill and farm and settled there. His wife died in 1845, and he survived her
until May 4, 1852. A son, John, died
many years ago. A son, James P., now
lives at Mount Jefferson, in Mauch Chunk township. After the death of Mr. Hough the property was sold to Michael
Garber, who now owns it.
A sketch of the Balliet
family will be found in the history of North Whitehall township, Lehigh Co., to
which place the first of the family, Paul Balliet, emigrated in 1742. Joseph Balliet, who settled in this
township, was a son of Leonard Balliet, a native of Northampton (now Lehigh)
County, who settled in West Penn township, Schuylkill Co. Joseph bought a farm first at Centre Square,
now owned by Joseph Hunsecker, and later he purchased a farm of Jacob Feller,
which he lived on and where he died in 1881, aged eighty-seven years. He left a son, Nathan, who lives on the
homestead. Thomas M. Balliet, the
present superintendent of common schools, is a son of Nathan Balliet.
Solomon Gordon, who, in 1808,
lived near the Gilbert Mill, was a blacksmith, and had a shop at that
place. Later he moved about half a mile
east, where he lived a few years and then emigrated to the West, and died on
the way.
Philip Sanders, in 1808,
lived on the road from Lehighton to New Mahoning, where his son, John, now
resides.
Jonathan Bachman is
mentioned in 1808. His daughter married
Thomas Beltz.
In the year 1842, when
the township was erected and the first assessment-roll was made, the following
persons’ names appeared in connection with the properties and pursuits here
given:
John Ammon, clock-maker
and trader.
Henry Arner, powder-mill
and saw-mill.
John Betz, grist-mill.
Jacob Fenstenmacher,
innkeeper.
Michael Garber, grist-
and saw-mill.
David Heller, tan-yard.
Reuben Hagenbuch,
innkeeper.
Christian Horn, innkeeper
and butcher.
Alfred Havline, merchant-
and powder-mill.
Morganroth & Hanline,
merchants.
William Horn, teacher.
Abram Horn, innkeeper.
George Heilman, saw-mill.
John Kuntz, grist- and
saw-mill.
Jacob Musselman,
saw-mill.
Henry Notestine,
saw-mill.
John Solt, saw-mill.
About 1820, Henry Arner
opened a shoe-factory on…
… the present farm of Ammon Arner to supply the miners at Summit
Hill. Henry Bretnich learned his trade
with Arner, and upon his retirement, in 1835, succeeded to the business, and
continued till 1855.
In 1832, Henry Arner and
Abraham Hanline erected a powder-mill on the site of the present bone- and
saw-mill of Ammon Arner. An explosion
occurred in 1839 or 1840, which resulted in the destruction of the
buildings. They were rebuilt, and on
the 8th of June, 1841 , another explosion took place, and Daniel
Arner, a son of Henry Arner, and John Snyder, a brother of the present State
representative, E. H. Snyder, were killed.
The mill was again rebuilt, and run under the management of Jonas Fritz
until 1854, when it was abandoned.
Hanline & Morganroth erected a powder-mill after 1842 on the run
where the bone-mill of David Kuntz now stands.
This was run for many years by John Erb for the proprietors. An explosion occurred and one man was
killed. It was rebuilt, and again
exploded, killing two brothers, Kemerer, and wounding Emanuel Durmitzer, then
one of the proprietors. These
powder-mills gave employment to charcoal-burners, prominent among whom was
Robert Blair, a Scotchman, who burned charcoal in the summer and taught school
in the winter. He also had a
cooper-shop, and employed several men to make kegs. Gabriel Dilcher and David Miller were coopers and worked at the
shop.
The first grist-mills
erected in the limits of the township were at the Gnadenhutten Mission soon
after the arrival of the Moravians, in 1746.
After this the first one built was one on the site of what is known as
the Heilman Mill, which was built before the destruction of the mission. It was owned by Nathan Hinkle. His name does not appear in 1781, and he
probably abandoned his settlement. The
next mill was built by Benjamin Gilbert, soon after 1775, upon the site of the
Garber Mill of to-day. After its
destruction, in 1780, Capt. Joseph Longstreth purchased the property, in 1783,
and rebuilt it. The property passed to
D. and S. Kennedy, and from them to Septimus Hough, who sold it to the present
owner.
The next mill of
importance was erected by Christian Klotz, in 1823, on the stream and by the
site now occupied by Solomon Hoppes.
The old mill is still standing.
The present mill was built across the street about 1850, by the present
owner. It was operated in 1842 by John
Beltz.
In 1832, David Boyer, a
native of Berks County, came to the township and established a gun-shop on the
site of the present St. John’s Church, where he manufactured guns for three
years. He removed to Orwigsburg. He married Hannah, a daughter of George
Beck.
Beaver Run Methodist
Episcopal Church. – A society of Methodists was organized
into a church in the spring of 1881, and a church edifice was erected, at a
cost of eight hundred dollars, on the road leading from Packerton to Tamaqua,
about three miles west from Lehighton.
It was dedicated on the 29th of January, 1882, and placed
under the charge of the Rev. L. B. Hoffman.
A post-office was established at Pleasant Corner, and later moved to the Freyman Hotel, where it is now kept by J. T. McDaniel.
Schools. –
The first schools in the limits of the township were kept by the Moravians at
the Gnadenhütten
Mission, between 1746 and 1755. About
1820 a log house was built on the site of the old mission, and used many
years. It was in charge of the
Moravians of Bethlehem. The site is now
embraced in the limits of Lehighton borough.
About 1823 schools were commenced in different parts of the township,
and at Centre Square a lot of thirty acres was purchased for church and school
purposes, about the year 1830, and placed in charge of trustees. A schoolhouse was erected, and used many
years; it is still standing, but unused.
When it became necessary to rebuild, it was decided that the trustees
could not give title to the board of school directors, and another lot was
purchased and a school building erected in 1873. Of early teachers in the township, Isaac Harleman, Samuel Dodson,
and John Fulton taught while the old system was in vogue, and John Fulton was a
teacher many years after the school law of 1834 was adopted. Harleman taught at Centre Square, and was
succeeded by Fulton. Dodson taught
between Centre Square and Lehighton.
About 1835-36, Lewis Haney, a native of the township, commenced teaching
at Pleasant Corner, and taught…
…
several years. The school law was
accepted by this township about 1840; the township was divided into
districts. The school-houses that had
been used were still continued, and where there were none in the limits of the
district, school was held in buildings fitted up – either dwellings or ships –
until a house was erected for the purpose.
The district in which Lehighton was situated was made an independent
district in 1866, and Packerton also became an independent district in
1872. The following districts are now
in the township:
District No. 2, Sendel’s,
is situated west from Lehighton. The
school-house stands on the road from Lehighton to New Mahoning.
District No. 3 is known
as Pleasant Corner. The school is
situated a little north of the hotel and on the main road.
District No. 4, or New
Mahoning, is situated in the center of the west end of the township. The school is situated nearly at the
corners, at New Mahoning post-office.
The present building was erected in 1873.
District No. 5 is known
as Centre Square, and embraces the southwest corner of the township. The present school-house was built in 1873.
District No. 6 is known
as Garber’s. The school-house is
situated on the road south of Mahoning Creek and near the Eagle Hotel.
District No. 7, known as
Nishollow, is situated between Mahoning Creek and the East Penn
township-line. The school-house is on
the valley road, in the west part of the district.
District No. 8 is bounded
by Lehigh River, East Penn township, District No. 7, and Lehighton
borough. The school-house is on the
road that runs along the township-line.
Districts Nos. 10 and 11
embrace the territory of the north part of the township. The school-houses in each are placed about
the center of the district, on the main road that runs along the base of the
mountain.
The school directors
elected since the erection of Carbon County have been as follows:
1844. – Charles Keyser,
Christian Klotz.
1845. – W. H. H. Barton,
Jacob Everts.
1846. – John Derr, John
B. Amon, Jacob Bowman.
1847. – Daniel Sendel,
Jonathan Freyman, George Cunfer.
1848. – E. Durmetzer,
Henry Arner.
1849. – Thomas Beltz,
John Sendel, Ammon Klotz.
1850. – Francis Stucker,
E. A. Bauer.
1851. – Benjamin Kuntz,
Tilghman Arner.
1852. – George Smith,
Conrad Solt.
1853. – Henry Bretnich,
William Horn.
1854. – Thomas Kemerer,
Oliver Musselman.
1855. – Thomas H. Beck,
Zachariah H. Long.
1856. – Amos Reigel,
William Horn.
1857. – Charles Xandres,
Nathan Klotz.
1858. – Nathan Mosser,
William Kistler.
1859. – Jonas Horn,
Gabriel Dilchert, Elwin Bauer.
1860. – Ammon Arner,
Elwin Bauer.
1861. – Thomas Kemerer,
John Lentz, Elias Sheve.
1862. – Jonas A. Horn,
Thomas McClean.
1863. – Ammon Arner,
Reuben Hunsicker, Jonas Miller.
1864. – Amos Miller,
Daniel Olewine.
1865. – Gabriel Dilchert,
Thomas Kemerer.
1866. – Conrad Hausman,
Josiah Musselman, George Kemerer.
1867. – W. G. Freyman,
Joseph Everts.
1868. – Elias Sheve, Amos
Miller.
1869. – David Kistler,
Charles Sittler.
1870. – Nathan Balliet,
William G. Freyman.
1871. – John McKelby,
Tilghman Amer.
1872. – Henry Nothstein,
John Sterner.
1873. – Daniel Bach,
William Horn.
1874. – -------- Bretnich, P. D. Keiser.
1875. – P. D. Keiser,
Jacob Hoffman.
1876. – Nathan Mosser,
David Longaker.
1877. – Moses Rex,
Godfrey Peters.
1878. – George Boyer,
John Freyman.
1879. – None reported.
1880. – J. T. Semmel,
Amos Riegel, John McKelvy.
1881. – William Sittler,
J. H. G. Horn.
1882. – Henry Long,
Godfrey Peters.
1883. – Jacob Frantz,
David Longaker.
The following is a list
of the justices of the peace since 1846:
Thomas Kemerer, elected
March, 1846.
John Horn, elected March,
1847.
Thomas Kemerer, elected
March, 1851.
Tilghman Arner, elected
March, 1852.
Thomas Kemerer, elected
March, 1856.
Tilghman Arner, elected
March, 1857.
William Kistler, elected
March, 1861.
Elias H. Snyder, elected
March, 1864.
William G. Freyman,
elected March, 1866.
Nathan Mosser, elected
March, 1867.
Thomas M. Weaver, elected
October, 1870.
Tilghman Arner, elected
March, 1872.
J. C. Xandres, elected
March, 1874.
Nathan Mosser, elected
March, 1875.
Thomas Weaver, elected
March, 1876.
Nathan Mosser, elected
March, 1880.
Thomas Musselman, elected
March, 1881.
Asa Packer, projector and
builder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, bought the Beaver Meadow Railroad
extension from Mauch Chunk. Mauch Chunk
was the shipping-point. After the great
freshet the increasing coal tonnage of the Lehigh Valley Rail-…
… road demanded more
room. Asa Packer therefore made large
purchases of land at this point of George and John Dolon and others, with a
view to making it the shipping-point for all coal passing east. A car-shop, roundhouse, and forwarding
office were built, additional tracks laid, and dwelling-houses for the employés were
erected. Shortly after this is the name
was changed to Packerton.
It is the central point
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company’s immense coal traffic. The forwarding department is located here in
a commodious brick building; also the weigh-scales, over which pass the entire
tonnage east, reaching several million tons per annum. The car-shops, employing several hundred
men, is an important feature. In the
shops is some of the finest and most improved machinery in the country. Upon the accession of Harry E. Packer to the
presidency of the Lehigh Valley Railroad great and much-needed improvements
were made. The shipping-yard was
enlarged, and is now one of the finest in the country. It will hold over three thousand loaded
coal-cars, and about the same number of empty cars. The approach to the upper end of the yard is of sufficient grade
to permit the movement of loaded cars by gravity. A large bulk of the coal is weighed by night. The entire yard, about two miles in length,
is illumined by the Metropolitan Electric Light. Two large round-houses, to house sixty engines, and also a large
machine-shop, are being pushed to completion.
The population is between two and three hundred. The male portion find
employment with the railroad company, some few on the Lehigh and Susquehanna
Division of the Reading Railroad, which passes through the place. There are but few private residences, owned
as follows: W. F. Brodhead, Levi Miller, Levi Krum, Alfred Vanscooter, John
Fritzinger, Tilghman Remaly, Mrs. Luke Boylan, Charles Langkamerer, John
McGinn, and George Dolon. John C.
Dolon, of Mauch Chunk, is a large real-estate owner, and has several
tenant-houses.
A post-office was established
here, with the late M. W. Raudenbush as the first postmaster. Lyman McDaniel is the present incumbent.
Packerton is an
independent school and election district, and has a fine large brick
school-house (the gift of Asa Packer), a Methodist Church (originally intended
to be a Union Church), two stores, and a large hotel (owned by the present
landlord, Leopold Myers). The
population is made up of all creeds and nationalities, composing a law-abiding,
Sabbath-observing people, frugal, industrious, and, of course, correspondingly
happy.
About the year 1835 a hotel was erected by Henry Freyman on the road from Tamaqua to Lehighton, and kept by him several years. He was succeeded respectively by Philip and James Ginter, and Jonathan Seidle. At present John T. McDaniel is the landlord.
********************************************************************************
From
The History of the Counties of Lehigh & Carbon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
By
Alfred Mathews & Austin N. Hungerford
Published in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1884
Transcribed from the original in April 2003
by
Susan Gilkeson Sterling
Web page by
May 2003