Millville - The First 200 Years
Chapter II
Others Follow
Although the John Eves family was numerous enough to establish a community alone, it was not long left by itself in the wilderness. Many of the new arrivals, however, chose sites well removed from what is now Millville. From 1785 to 1790, Lemons, Lundy, Battin, Oliver, Rich and others arrived and settled in the Greenwood Valley.
The result was that the community of Millville grew slowly. The lack of highways was a principal drawback. Lundy settled on the farm later occupied by Sylvester Stere. John Lemon purchased a tract of over 300 acres and in 1800 built the brick house later occupied by the Guy Bangs family. To the east of the dwelling, he gave land for a cemetery and a church long known as the Lemon church. John Lemon was a wheelwright and during the Revolutionary War followed his trade. In 1802, he built a sawmill on Little Green Creek on the property later owned by Roy and Marie Miller. In 1820, his four sons, Joseph, Jonathan, Isaac and William rebuilt it and did a thriving business. They owned a tract that extended from the creek three miles to the west. Jacob Link, in 1797, opened the first tavern along the creek in Greenwood Township.
When the John Eves family returned in 1785, they built two houses and a gristmill on the west side of Little Fishing Creek. Piles at the site of the old millrace were in a good state of preservation after 100 years. Very shortly the mill was replaced by one on the east side of the creek, north of where the later familiar mill stood, but where better advantage could be taken of the waterpower.
While the early population was scattered, provision was made for both worship and education. Services and classes were held in the homes in the first years of the community, the school being taught by someone with educational advantages. Such a school was started in Millville in 1785. A two-room log Meetinghouse was built in 1795.
Sawmills and gristmills were the first industrial considerations, for they met the needs of the early arrivals.
In those years things moved slowly and events often overlapped. Thus, through worship and education had begun in 1785, years passed before the Friends Meeting gained recognition. In the meantime, a remarkable document was executed by John Eves. On eighth month (August), 28th day, 1794, he signed an indenture between himself, John Kester, Thomas Eves, Paul Kester and Jesse Haines, whom he made trustees for two acres of land for a Meeting House, "for 999 years, next ensuing." The consideration, for one, was required by law, was the "yearly rental of one peppercorn on the 28th day of eighth month in the respective year should the same be lawfully demanded."
Only once in modern times has the rental been paid and it was made the occasion for a ceremony that attracted wide attention. The Federal government has declared the present Meetinghouse a historic building that should be preserved.
Aside from the saw and grist mills, the first industry worthy of the name was the woolen mill started in 1813 by John Watson on the north side of the creek at what is now the upper end of the town. Two carding machines and a fulling mill were installed. Wool was brought in by farmers to be cleaned and carded. Spinning and weaving were performed in the homes. Some were returned in the shape of homespun to be colored and pressed.
Chandlee Eves succeeded Watson and built a frame building on the opposite side of the creek. The business was continued by his son, Benjamin, and later Benjamin's son, Charles W. Eves, who built the brick structure and enlarged it. The brick used for the building was made nearby.
The mill dam, just above, was built about this time and so was the suspension footbridge across the creek, which was removed only within the past few years because it was unsafe. A cluster of brick houses grew up around the mill, and the small immediate area became known as Bentown.
For years the suspension bridge was a source of delight to young people in the community. It was anchored on the north side into the rock wall, and steps led down from the other end.
In later years, a cinder path led almost a half-mile from the built-up part of town to the mill. On a Sunday afternoon, a dozen or more boys and girls often disported on the so-called "swinging bridge" and the girls screamed when the boys caused the bridge to sway and shake.
Child labor was common for many years after the mill was in operation, and even as late as 1907 boys dropped out of schoolwork for work in the mill when they had reached no more than the third or fourth grade. Wages were usually about $1 for a 12-hour day. This mill was no exception to others about the country.
Brick plants seemed numerous in the area, and one wonders why none remain. Several kilns were in operation around the town, but the last brick houses put up in the community used brick brought in from Watsontown.
Somewhat better fortune followed the establishment of a wagon shop by Charles Eves in the building in which he lived at the lower end of town. This was in 1837 and the southern end of the village attained the name of Charleytown. After his death in 1855, his four sons, John, Ellis, Webster W. and Bart carried on the business. Additional shops were built but were destroyed by fire in May 1879. They were rebuilt on a larger scale and the firm was changed to Ellis, John and W.W. Eves.
They added the mercantile business in a storehouse built by Thomas Eves at the corner of Main and State streets and rebuilt the wagon shops, which again burned on May 11, 1897. They were rebuilt and enlarged by John Eves and his son, Charles. Farm wagons and carriages were turned out as well as bob sleds, buggies, spring wagons, huckster wagons, prop wagons, coal wagons, sleighs, dead stock wagons, land rollers and truck bodies.
Mechanization and the automobile took their toll on this industry. In 1907, 144 wagons were sold, in 1927, 28, and in 1930 only two. The regular force of men was laid off on December 1, 1929, but during the next eight years from one to three men were employed making up the stock on hand into wagons or repair parts. The sturdiness of the products was noted and the name "John Eves & Co." painted on a wagon usually resulted in a used wagon bringing a far higher price than any other make at a farm auction.
Waterpower was of major importance in the early days. The gristmill at Iola, the woolen mill, the gristmill in Millville, and the wagon works all depended on waterpower.
Strangely, the community was long in the backwash of the electrical age. Except for individual power plants, neither homes nor industries had access to electric power in any quantity until 1914.
One spurt to the growth of Millville was given when the road from Bloomsburg to Laporte was constructed. This afforded access to the canal and later the railroad at Bloomsburg and made marketing of farm and wood products comparatively easy. The town experienced considerable growth in the years immediately following this construction. Such plants, as existed, were thus able to accept contracts from the government for materials during the Civil War. The woolen mill turned out Army blankets by the thousands.
The second period of rapid growth came with the construction of the railroad, which entered the town in 1887. Storage yards for lumber, railroad ties, and telephone poles were opened. Long, roofed sheds erected where shingles, baled hay and straw could be stored in the dry. These sheds became trysting places for couples of all ages for many years and bales of hay or straw would be broken open for reasonably soft bedding. Often the clandestine lovers had an unseen audience of small fry.
While Millville was in this period of expansion, other settlements sprang up in Greenwood township. Rohrsburg was named for Frederick Rohr, a Prussian who fought against Napoleon, who secured the site of the town in 1825 from Samuel Shorts. It was part of one of the Chew surveys. In 1826, the wheelwright shop of Robert Campbell comprised about all of the village. In 1828, Peter Venett opened a store in his shop and later Shoemaker and Rees opened a second store.
Rohrsburg Grange was organized in 1874 with 30 members and by 1886 the number had grown to 84.
Joseph Fulmer of Limestoneville built a flouring mill on Green Creek below the town, but the structure disappeared long ago. In 1832, Joseph Sands opened a fulling and carding mill on the same stream. In 1820, the Lemon brothers opened a sawmill and in 1847 Kester Parker opened a pottery on Greenwood Road. It continued in operation for many years.
Eyers Grove came into being before 1860, when Jacob Eyer built a mill and opened a store. It was on the same site where Robert Montgomery had put up a similar structure in 1807. What happened to the original building is not recorded. By 1887, Eyers Grove had 15 dwellings.
Jacob Eyer was the son of Ludwig and Catherine Long Eyer (Dyer) and the mill he built more than a century ago is still in operation.
Mrs. Ruth Eyer reports that he had a leading role in the construction of the Lutheran Church in Bloomsburg, which originally was known as Oyertown, and achieved its present name after travelers along the river noted the blossoming trees on the hillsides and gave the place the name it has today.
Jacob Eyer also gave the land for the Eyers Grove Methodist church, which is believed to have been built by Isaac Kline and Wesley Miller. The church was dedicated June 3, 1869, and chartered December 6, 1870. Services are still conducted there, and the present minister is the Reverend Carmer P. Shelhamer.
Iola's first business was a mill, established in 1828, by Joseph and John Robbins.
The arrival of the Wilkes Barre and Western Railroad, which ran from Orangeville, on April 6, 1887, was also marked by the first publication of the Weekly Tablet by G.A. Potter. The railroad never reached either Wilkes Barre or the West. It connected at Orangeville with the Bloomsburg and Sullivan, which ran from Bloomsburg to the large tannery and sawmills at Jamison City. The railroad opened new avenues for the shipment and receipt of supplies, and Millville became a considerable center for handling lumber supplies and other wood products in even greater numbers. Coal docks also were constructed.
This railroad continued in use until the steel plant was erected in Berwick, but soon after 1904 this was abandoned. The new line was built from Berwick to Watsontown to bring supplies into the American Car and Foundry Company plant in Berwick. A spur ran from Eyersgrove Junction into Millville. The connection with the Bloomsburg and Sullivan was then at the paper mill near Light Street. The road changed ownership and became the Susquehanna, Bloomsburg and Berwick. Later it passed into the hands of the Pennsylvania and shared that road's troubles after the Penn Central was established.
It always was a homey sort of rail line. Youngsters were allowed to play in and around freight cars on sidings and often picked up 50 cents a day assisting in loading railroad ties or unloading carloads of fertilizer. At one time, four passenger trains a day were in operation. On numerous occasions, the departure of a train would be delayed so that some intended passenger could scoot home to pick up a forgotten handbag or some other item. Passengers known to the crew and short of money were allowed to bring their fares to the station the next day.
An indication of the extent of the wood products business is given by the record that Ellis and Webster Eves on one day, September 21, 1896, sold 100,000 railroad ties.
The popularity of the automobile cut into the passenger business and also terminated the "stage" service between Millville and Bloomsburg. This had started even before the railroad was built and first consisted of a team and spring wagon, and later an automobile. Owners of the line usually gave up after a few years and nobody ever got rich from the business.
Few of today's residents realize that in the early days most of Millville lay on the west side of Little Fishingcreek. Here was the gristmill, several residences and a tavern run by William Sproul. It created quite a sensation when an altercation in this place between Thomas Polk and John Darnall (Darnall or Yarnall, records differ) resulted in the death of the latter. Court records do not indicate that Polk was ever prosecuted. The incident, coupled with religious beliefs, was sufficient to prevent a license for the sale of liquor in Millville for many years.
In connection with the development of the town in the latter part of the 1800s, it is interesting to note that the courts have held the wording of the early grants and deeds for property meaningless in recent years. These documents, even when they were grants from the Governor, like the patent to John Eves, read:
"To have and to hold the said parcel of land, with the appurtenances to the said Thomas Eves, executor of John Eves, deceased, in trust for the use of the heirs and legal representatives of John Eves, deceased, and their respective heirs and assigns forever."
That word "forever", according to court rulings, is entirely without meaning. It is a carryover from old English law and has been subjected to repeated court tests.
Millville, as the 19th century came to a close, was a far different place from the borough as most residents of the area know it today, and many of the habits and customs of the times have changed.
Streets were deep in dust in summer and clogged with snow in winter and it was said that every spring, not only in town but all around, "the bottom fell out of the roads" because the mud was so deep as frost disappeared. Winters were severe and the ground often froze to a depth of three feet or more.
Such streetlights, as existed, were kerosene lamps mounted on posts about seven feet high. The area of their glow was limited, and their number was few. For many years, the lamplighter was paid $8 a month to attend to the lighting and the dirty job of cleaning the globes once a week. An odd provision was that in the week of the full moon the lamps need not be lighted. Most lamplighters interpreted that to mean that even if it rained all that week, the lamps needed no attention. A device that could be set to turn the lights off in daylight controlled the fuel supply.
Typhoid fever epidemics were yearly occurrences in summer and continued for some years after the organization of the Millville Water Company and the installation of the sewer system.
Banking was done in Bloomsburg, often by courtesy of the driver of the "stage", until the organization of the First National Bank. As a result, many residents of the area made it a practice to keep large sums of money on their persons or in the house. Due bills were the forerunner of checks. These were issued by business firms to those selling their products and often were in considerable sums. They were negotiable and made of heavy paper, which would withstand much handling. Often the complete back was filled with endorsements before they were turned in for redemption. They were an unusual form of bank account but amounted to the same thing.
March 1 was settlement day for most due bill accounts, though many were carried on from year to year until after the bank was established. On settlement day, the businessmen visited one another and set off their accounts, much in the order in which a clearinghouse works with bank accounts today.
Oxen were still used on a few farms and their appearance in town created something of a sensation. With many people, walking was not a form of exercise, but of necessary transportation, and many thought nothing of walking four or five miles to town and then walking home unless they could pick up a ride.
It was customary to toll church bells on the occasion of a funeral and usually the number of taps of the bell indicated the decedent's age. Church sermons were often long-winded to the point of exhaustion of the minister and the soundness of sleep of the congregation.
In addition to the stocks available in the small stores of the town, peddlers made their rounds once or more a year with laces, needles, special linens, and the like. Many became well-known, and some went on to become owners of department stores in communities not far away.
Tramps were numerous, begging for handouts. They had a system of marking homes with cryptic symbols indicating whether or not a dog was on the premises and what the likelihood was of getting a meal or even lodging. Usually, the itinerants slept in the shingle sheds or in the open sheds around the neighborhood and occasionally in barns.
Tramp printers were hired regularly by G. A. Potter in his operation of the Weekly Tablet. They were usually good craftsmen, some college graduates, and some completely unreliable. Often, they were alcoholics. Once Potter gave an overcoat to one especially good typesetter, who promptly traded it for a couple of bottles of liquor at the Iola hotel. Another, with some grievance, once dumped much of the type from the printing plant onto an ash pile. Weeks were required to clean up the mess.
Another, lacking space to place type that was to be saved for future use, promised to solve the problem before morning and did. What turned up was a tombstone, and diligent inquiry never revealed where he had lifted it. Still, another, needing a higher step at an old Martha Washington hand press to be operated by a small boy, produced a coupling from a railroad freight car, which served for some years. The hand press is today an antique treasured in museums. It was slow, cumbersome, and backbreaking, but yielded a good impression. Anything up to a full-sheet poster could be printed on it.
Weekend leisure, such as is today enjoyed, was unknown then. The workweek consisted of six 12‑ hour days and Sunday included church and perhaps a chicken and waffle dinner. Barbecues, as known today, were not heard of then.
A normal breakfast often consisted of buckwheat cakes and sausage with plenty of maple syrup, locally produced, and lunch for a school child might range from nothing to a sandwich of some kind in an old-fashioned metal dinner bucket with a container for milk in the top. The sandwiches at times were buckwheat cakes left over from breakfast rolled around a filling of apple butter.
Apple butter was a staple throughout the region and was made at home, a chore few would relish today. The preparation of apples required hours, and the outdoor fire and the constant stirring consumed most of the day. Usually, a number of families combined forces to turn out a good supply.
Most families grew pigs and chickens, and some had milk cows for their own supply. Truman Eves long had a milk route in town. The housewife set out a container into which he poured the milk. Price around the end of the 19th century was four cents a quart delivered.
Several slaughterhouses existed in or near the community. Wild horses were brought in from the west by the carload to be broken and sold at auction. Some were driving horses, but mostly they were of heavier breeds, designed for farm work.
Additions and corrections made for this Second Edition. DBG
Second Edition- Copyright Dean B. Girton Dec. 30, 2022
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