Millville - The First 200 Years
Chapter XIII
The Townships
The history of this Little
Fishing Creek area is actually a record of the townships more appropriately than
of the single community of Millville. The townships were political subdivisions
long before the borough received its charter. Interestingly, the first
settlement was not made within the present town limits. Therefore, it must be
recognized that this entire offering should be read as an account of the area
rather than a single community's record; although John Eves' coming strongly
affected the eastern Madison and western Pine development more than any of the
remaining regions.
Other families strongly
influenced the communities of Eyers Grove, Jerseytown, and Rohrsburg to name a
few. Space and time have limited the coverage that could have been given to these
centers of growth. Hopefully, in‑ depth accounts can be done later to provide
the recognition they rightfully deserve.
Although many accounts of
Millville's history are included or appendaged to the Greenwood Township
listing, this is not truly the earliest location of the community. Madison deserves the honor of the first settlement in Columbia County. (At least
as the boundaries are now defined)
MADISON
TOWNSHIP
John Eves' little cabin at Larry Spring on Little Fishingcreek holds the undisputed honor of being the first permanent family settlement in the county. Although the deed of transfer to John was not made until 1774, his family was located during 1772 in the cabin, which he had built previously with the aid of his eldest son, Thomas. (Complete details are in Chapter 1.)
Following the Eves family to this area in 1776 were three other families which also settled in Madison. They were all originally from New Jersey and located their homes in a small area around the present community of Jerseytown which takes its name from the former home of these settlers.
Each chose a site on one of the
small streams in the area. Daniel Welliver, locating further from the center
than the others, picked a spot on Whetson Run which flows to the Little
Fishing Creek. Michael Billhime cleared six acres on Mud Run where he had
erected a cabin for his family. A family by the name of Whitmoyer built a cabin
west of the town only a short distance.
Each of the four families
proceeded to clear sizeable tracts of land for farming and worked diligently to
make their own tract self‑supporting. It is difficult for us today to
visualize the rugged conditions that prevailed in these settlements. Television
shows of the western frontier attempt to recreate this atmosphere that existed
in the late 1800s in those western states. But the vast expanses of heavily
timbered woodlands populated with wild beasts were unknown and faced the four
pioneer homesteaders with innumerable dangers.
Sickness and accidents were
responsible for many deaths. Generally, life was difficult and only the
possibility of a brighter future held them on these sites.
When the Indians, incited by
the British to deeds of horror, also became hostile, many families decided to
take a temporary `vacation'. They packed up their valuables and left.
First to receive word of
possible trouble were the Eves'. They had built their cabin near the Indian
trail and welcomed the red man as an equal. Thus, when other Indians were
brutally massacring other settlers in the Wyoming Valley to the east, the Eves'
were visited by friends in the tribe and warned of the present danger.
Word quickly spread and the Billhimes and Wellivers also fled the area. Each of these three families left the area on a westerly course, probably the Eves giving warning to the other three families in the Jerseytown regions as they moved to the fort near Washingtonville.
The Whitmoyer family was the
only group that decided to stay in the face of this possible trouble. They
remained and were not molested during this 1778 affair.
In March 1780, however, several
of the family were scalped while the others were away at a sugar camp. They
were the only family in this area ever to suffer at the hands of the Indians.
The Billhimes and Wellivers
returned that fall and many others followed during the next few years. The
Barbers, Peggs, Bruglers, and Hodges were in this early group.
The village of Jerseytown was
the juncture of the early trails from the north and east to the south and west;
thus, it also became the stage line juncture. The store that John Funston
opened in 1791 became the focal point for the development of the community.
At a time in the history of the
village, its importance surpassed that of all the others in the region. In
addition to the store, a blacksmith shop, a hotel, a tannery, another store and
a short-lived distillery all added to the industry and economy of the area.
Most of this is gone today. The residents normally look to other communities
for employment and for the major supplies of today's society.
The township is still a rural
area with farming the important base. A few small enterprises exist that
provide some services important to the household. They include William's
Garage, Hack's Garage, Rider's Store, Sid Shultz's Bar, and Magargle's Farm
Machinery.
Greenwood Township
Most early histories credit Greenwood with the early settlement of the county and apparently this political subdivision was one of the first settled. A portion of the land John Eves purchased from Reuben Haines lay in Greenwood Township and although this first home was across the creek from the township line, some recognition must be given to the fact that a portion of the original homestead lay in present-day Greenwood Township.
Closely following the Eves in their settlement came the Lemons, Lundys, Links, Battins, Olivers, Mathers, Pattersons, Robbins and McMichaels. Many of these settlers have left offspring to continue the settlement of the area. The major settlements in Greenwood included Rohrsburg, Eyers Grove and Iola. Each has a special story of its own.
Frederick Rohr, a member of the
Prussia Army, had purchased the land where the village of Rohrsburg now stands
from Samuel Shertz in 1825. A blacksmith shop was built in 1826 by Robert
Campbell and Peter Venett started a store around 1828 to be followed by the
firm of Shoemaker and Rees.
Joseph Fulmer built the first flour mill and Joseph E. Sands in 1832 started the fulling and carding mill north of the settlement.
It is difficult for us to envision the Greenwood valley completely forested and impassable at some points due to the foliage and heavy virgin timber of the valley. But this supply of raw materials was important to the industry here. Joseph Lemon had built a sawmill on Green Creek as early as 1820 which was operated by his sons until 1848. Another mill on this same stream was established by Mathias Appleman in 1835. Logs from these mills and others in the area were dumped into the creeks and formed into rafts which were floated to the river and south to the processing plants.
The
foundry, pottery, tannery, hotel and stores that followed provided employment
for a portion of the community. Others added their business ability to the
industries near the town.
Today the
Rohrsburg area enterprises include the Kline Trucking Company, Fought's
Construction, Wolff's Milk Store, Haffey's Garage, Gregorowicz's Sports
Equipment, and Righter Bowman's Body Shop.
Just north
of the small Millville settlement, John and Joseph Robbins started a gristmill
in 1828. The next owner, Elisha Hay man, named the village Iola for his
daughter. The town had several other businesses in its early years including a
clothespin factory, a sawmill and several stores along with a hotel and a
tavern. The mill burnt in 1968 and the hotel closed in 1970. Today Art Hock,
Sr. has an ice cream stand; Ron and Chet Fought sell recreational equipment in
the old dance hall; Dale Stackhouse sells used furniture in the original
Aquilla Eves store building; and Robert Stere owns a tavern at the south end of
the village.
The latest
village to be established was Eyers Grove. Although Robert Montgomery built a
mill in 1807 where the present structure now stands, it remained only a short
period and it was not until 1860 that Jacob Eyer erected this mill and other
settlers built near the site.
A hotel
operated here around the turn‑ of‑ the‑ century but was discontinued about
1913. Also, the farm machinery business of Frank Breece was closed. Today the
Reichenbach store and W. 0. Diehl and Sons auto agency are the principal
businesses in addition to the mill which is the only one operating in the
township.
PINE TOWNSHIP
The last
township to be permanently established was Pine. Jerry Lyon, a New Jersey
resident had originally settled in 1796 in
Greenwood but after six years moved into Pine and continued his shingle
business. Others followed him into the area: David Hamil ton, Daniel Whipple,
Joseph and Samuel Davis and John Thomas.
Davis and
Thomas had sawmills from which lumber was processed and hauled to the river to
be floated south. In 1835, Pine Township ‑ 1876
Richard Greenly built another
sawmill on Wolfhouse run which was destroyed by a flash flood.
The other major endeavor was
the tannery of Edward Ritchie at Sereno. It lasted only a few years.
Warnersville had a brief period
of prosperity. The sawmill, tannery and school provided the base for this
settlement. In 1853 the post office was opened and the name was fixed as
Sereno. It was one of three villages in the township.
Talmar is the northern center
and Pine Summit to the west were established as shopping centers when the
stores were opened there. Pine Summit was also known for the distillery of J. R.
Fowler who operated this business from 1880 to 1883. Others owned the business,
but in 1910 James C. Houghton closed the operation.
Brown's Garage, Abraczinskas
Nurseries, Carl DeWald's General Store and Potter's Mushroom Farm are the only
businesses left in Pine Township today.
Details of the churches and schools of the townships are recorded in Chapters 6 and 7 respectively. Other items of the area are distributed as the narration required throughout the text. A complete rendition is nearly impossible in this limited review.
Additions and corrections made for this Second Edition. DBG
Second Edition- Copyright Dean B.Girton Dec. 30, 2022
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