Town & Township History

Allen Township lies along the Monongahela River. This was part of both Fallowfield and East Pike Run until August, 1852. In 1859, a small portion of Allen was attached to East Pike Run Township, and during the years since then the original area of Allen has been greatly reduced by several boroughs incorporated from its territory: Long Branch, August 21, 1893; Twilight, February 12, 1894; Stockdale, April 28, 1894; Roscoe, May 14, 1894; Elco, originally called Woods Run, May 14, 1894; and Dunlevy, November 10, 1913.

One of the first settlers in this region was Henry Speers, a German, who settled there about 1780, or shortly thereafter. Rev. William Riggs settled in that section about 1773; Lawrence and John Crow in 1784; Joshua Dixon, in 1784; David Englands, in 1784; William Jackman, in 1788; Jeremiah Proctor, in 1785; Thomas Stockdale, in 1799; Peter Hazelbaker, in 1800, and Joseph Chester, and William Huggins, at other dates.

With the excellent river frontage, Allen Township is in the very heart of the early coal development of the river district of Washington County. The township was formerly underlaid with large deposits of the Pittsburgh vein of coal, but the coal has been exhausted under much of the township. The Vesta Coal Company formerly had three mines there which supplied coking coal for the Jones & Laughlin mills in Pittsburgh. It still has an office, house and stables at the town of Vesta.

One of the first schools in that section was located near Mt. Tabor Church, now in Long Branch Borough. In 1859, Allen Township had three schools and in 1860, four, at the present time there are three school houses in the township - Allenport, Vesta, and the Allen school.

The following statistics show the present state of Allen Township:
Taxables, 476
value of real estate, $981,310
value if real estate exempt from taxation, $11,500
value of real estate taxable, $969,810
number of horses and mules over four years of age, 15
value of same, $1,050
number of meat cattle over four years of age, 29
value of same, $1,160
value of salaries, trades, posts of profits, professions, and occupations, $47,305
aggregate value of all property taxable for county purposes, $1,019,325
amount of county tax, $7,646.21
money at interest, mortgages, judgments, bonds, etc., $60,050
county tax on money at interest, $240.20
amount of tax levied or appropriated for roads and bridges, $5,096.63
tax levied for schools, not including state appropriations, $10,196.20
tax levied and appropriated for other purposes, $7,886.41
total amount of tax levied or appropriated, $23,179.24
tax levied on personal property, $289.92
tax on occupations, $1,064.31
tax on real estate of railroads, $38.25
tax on real estate of corporations, other than railroads, including limited partnership, $18,481.24

Allenport, originally called Independence, is the principal town in this township. It stands on land originally granted to Henry Dixon on August 13, 1784, containing 142 acres. Henry Dixon sold his land to John Baldwin on April 29, 1816, but Baldwin had evidently agreed to purchase the tract before that time, as he made arrangements to lay out a town, as shown by the following advertisement in The Reporter, on March 18, 1816:

"The subscriber has laid out a new town on the western back of the Monongahela River, in Washington County and State of Pennsylvania, called West Freeport, immediately opposite to Freeport, which is on the eastern bank of said river, in Fayette County, and offers for sale therein forty-five lots of ground, which will be sold at public vendue on the 15th day of April next, on the premises, sale to commence at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.

"West Freeport is situate in the very midst of a very wealthy settlement, and presents as many natural advantages to men of enterprise and industry as any other site in the western country. Glass-works as well as other manufactories might be established and carried on at this place to great advantage, as material for such purpose are found in great abundance within its vicinity. There is an excellent grist and saw-mill at the place, and places of public worship within a very short distance. A turnpike road is expected to be made from Bedford, In Bedford County, to Washington, in Washington County, Pa., which, if carried on or near a straight line from the one place to another, will pass through West Freeport. John Baldwin
"West Freeport, March 7, 1816."

This attempt to lay out a town seems to have been a failure, as Mr. Baldwin sold no lots and on May 1, 1817, he sold seventy-nine acres to John Allen, who on May 29, 1828, purchased 172 acres from David England. On January 30, 1839, the estate of Joseph Allen sold 122 acres to Francis McKee.

The town of Independence was laid out by Mr. McKee about 1850, but the lots sold very slowly. On August 17, 1852, Lots 55 and 56 were purchased by Davenport Phillips, and on July 27, 1853, Henry Stimel bought Lot No. 9. The next sale was not until five years later, and is rather interesting. On December 4, 1858, Mr. McKee conveyed Lot No. 2 on Water Street to Robert Fields, "for and in consideration of the sum of twenty cents (the price of taking me and Charley across the river and back). The consideration and principal reason for my giving the above described plot of ground is because I think him a poor, good boy, and hope he may make a rich, good man, never steal, get drunk, swear, or play cards, but be honest and industrious, and it is my desire and design that if Robert should die before he becomes to years of twenty-one the lot should go to his sister Eliza." Whether Robert Fields lived up to these hopes is not known.

The name of the town was changed in 1865 from Independence to Allenport. When the post office was established it was named Belle Zane, but it was never popular and the place is known today as Allenport. The first postmaster was John Fields, who served for many years. A ferry started by Francis McKee is operated at this point.

John Baldwin built a water mill about 1816, north of the town, and in 1848 a new steam power mill was erected. It was afterwards owned by Joseph Allen, Abia Allen, William Brightwell, Isiah Frost, Francis McKee, James B. Angell, George Maxwell and Jesse Boyd. The latter turned it into a distillery, and in later years it was knows as the J. M. Vandergrift Distillery No. 29 building.

Coal was mined extensively in this township at a very early date, one mine being the famous Clark's Coalery. Other early mines were the Champion, Limestone, Courtney's, Lucyville, and American Bottom, or Wood's Run, now in Elco Borough. The Vesta Coal company has a colliery at Vesta at the present time, but the coal has practically all been removed from Allen Township. On May 2, 1882, the Alps Coal Company laid out a town of thirty-eight lots. There are now five stores in Allenport.

VESTA is a small mining town built about thirty years ago by the Vesta Coal Company at Vesta Mine No. 2. It contains about fifty dwellings, three stores, a school house, a United Brethren Church, Local 187, United Mine Workers of America, is located here. The Monongahela Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the electric line of the Pittsburgh Railways Company run through Allen Township