LOCAL HISTORY: Tarring S. Davis, History of Blair County, Volume I, 1931, Blair County, PA - Chapter 6 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ html file: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/1picts/davis/tdavis1.htm _______________________________________________ A HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA UNDER EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF TARRING S. DAVIS LUCILE SHENK, ASSOCIATE EDITOR HARRISBURG: NATIONAL HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, INC., 1931 VOLUME I CHAPTER VI ORGANIZATION OF BLAIR COUNTY, 1846 64 BLAIR COUNTY HISTORY IN June, 1846, Blair County, with a population approximating 16,000, began to function as an independent political division in Pennsylvania. Eleven townships, three small boroughs, Hollidaysburg, Gaysport and Martinsburg, were within the borders of the new county. An area of 549 square miles was included within it and the total assessed valuation of holdings was $4,200,000. The territory included in this county was under some county organization since Cumberland was formed on July 6, 1754. From that time until Bedford County was formed in 1771, Blair was a part of Cumberland. In the years between 1771 and 1787 it was part of Bedford and in the latter year the major portion of it came under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Huntingdon County. More than half a century elapsed then before Blair County was formed from some Huntingdon County Townships and Greenfield and North Woodberry Townships in Bedford County. Citizens of the Blair County section agitated for the formation of a separate county as early as 1838. On January 21, 1839, a public meeting was held in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Hollidaysburg to consider the matter. Christian Garber was elected president of the meeting and the following committee was appointed to define boundaries of the proposed county, draft petitions and procure signatures and present them to the state legislature: William Williams, Peter Cassidy, Dr. James Coffey, Peter Hewit, John Walker, Samuel Calvin, Esq., and Edward McGraw. These preliminaries were accomplished but more than a half- dozen years elapsed before the plans were finally consummated. In 1843, a bill providing for the erection of Blair County was presented to the legislature but it failed to pass and it was not until February 26, 1846, that Governor Francis R. Shunk signed the necessary legislation for its organization. The following June, the details of the organization were complete, and the new county was named for the Honorable John Blair, son of the Revolutionary Captain Thomas Blair, and a native of Blair's Gap. John Blair was a leading citizen of western Pennsylvania during the early national period and was active in the political and economic life of his community. He is particularly regarded for his leadership and support in the matters of internal improvement to which many citizens of Blair County have owed their livelihoods for generations. He died on the 1st of January, in 1832, in the same neighborhood where he was born and the county which bears his name has the distinction of being the only one in Pennsylvania to be named for a native son. The act of legislature, February 26, 1846, that refers to the establishment of Blair County follows in part: "Sec. I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the territory within the townships ORGANIZATION OF BLAIR COUNTY, 1846 65 of North Woodberry and Greenfield, in the county of Bedford, and the territory within the townships of Allegheny, Antes, Snyder, Tyrone, Frankstown, Blair, Huston and Woodberry, and within that part of Morris Township lying west of the line lately run by William Reed and other viewers, under an order of court, for the purpose of dividing the same, in the county of Huntingdon, are hereby erected according to said boundaries into a new and separate county, to be called Blair; and the inhabitants thereof shall, from the fourth Monday of July next, have all such courts, jurisdictions, offices, rights and privileges as the inhabitants of the other counties of this Commonwealth are or may be entitled to. "Sec. 2. That each of the portions of said Morris Township, according to the said division line made by William Reed and others, shall hereafter be separate and distinct townships for all purposes; the portion lying westward of said line to be called Catherine Township, and shall hold its general and township elections at the house now occupied by Walter Graham. "Sec. 3. That the qualified electors of said new county shall, at their next general election, elect three citizens thereof as commissioners for said county, one of whom shall serve one year, one for two years, and one for three years, and to be accordingly designated on the ticket of the electors, and the said commissioners, together with their successors in office, shall be qualified and elected according to existing laws respecting such officers; and at the same time said electors shall also elect three citizens to serve as county auditors, to be designated as to their term of service as aforesaid, one thereof to serve for one year, one for two years and one for three years, who, together with their successors in office, shall be qualified and elected in the same manner as the auditors of other counties. "Sec. 4. That said commissioners shall have full power to take to themselves and their successors in office sufficient deeds and assurance in law for such lots or pieces of ground as shall have been selected for sites for the public buildings of said county under the provisions of the thirteenth section of this Act. "Sec. 5. That the return judges of elections in said county of Blair shall meet at the place where the courts may be held in said county, and having received the returns shall dispose of the same as directed by law with respect to other counties. "Sec. 6. That one person shall fill the offices of Prothonotary, Clerk of the Courts of General Quarter Sessions of Oyer and Terminer, and of the Orphans' Court in said county of Blair, and one person shall fill the office of Register of Wills and of Recorder of Deeds in said county. "Sec. 7. That until the court house shall be erected, as hereafter authorized, the several courts of said county of Blair shall be held in such house, within said county, as shall be designated by the commissioners thereof, elected at the next general election. "Sec. 8. The county of Blair shall be annexed to and compose part of the Sixteenth Judicial District of this Commonwealth, and the courts shall be held and commence as follow, to wit: On the fourth Monday of March, July, October 66 BLAIR COUNTY HISTORY and December in each year and the first court shall be held in said county of Blair on the fourth Monday of October next. "Sec. 12. That the said county of Blair shall be attached to and connected with the Seventeenth Congressional District, and the qualified electors of the county of Blair, together with the counties of Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin and Juniata, shall continue to elect a member of Congress, and the qualified electors of the counties of Blair, Huntingdon and Bedford shall continue to elect a Senator of the State Legislature; and the said counties of Blair and Huntingdon shall each elect one member of the House of Representatives of this Commonwealth. "Sec. 13. That the Governor be and he is hereby authorized and required, on or before the first day of May, next ensuing, to appoint three judicious and disinterested persons, not residents in the counties of Huntingdon, Bedford or Blair, as Commissioners, whose duty it shall be, after being duly sworn, to perform their duties with fidelity, to run correctly, ascertain and mark the boundary lines of said county of Blair and to fix upon a proper and convenient site or location for the seat of justice of said county of Blair, and for a court house, prison, and county offices within and for the said county of Blair; and that the said Commissioners, or a majority of them, having run, ascertained and marked the boundary lines aforesaid or caused the same to be done and fixed the site or location which they shall have chosen for the purpose or purposes aforesaid, shall, on or before the first day of August next, by a written report under their hands and seals, or a majority of them, certify, describe and limit the site or location which they shall have chosen for the purpose or purposes aforesaid; and make out a correct plot or draft of the said county of Blair, and shall transmit the said report and draft to the Secretary of the Commonwealth; and the said Commissioners shall receive two dollars per day for their services, together with their reasonable expenses in running, or causing to be run, the said boundary lines, and in doing what is required to be done by them, out of the moneys to be raised in pursuance of this Act. Provided, that the said Commissioners in and on or before fixing the site and location of the seat of justice, court house, prison, and county offices for the use and benefit of said county of Blair, shall and are hereby authorized and required to receive propositions and agreements from any and all persons willing and desirous to make the same for the building of said court house, prison and county offices, or any of them, at their own expense, free of charge to said county, or for the giving of money, land or other valuable things for, towards, or in part of the expense of building the same, or any of them, by which propositions and agreements the person or persons making the same shall be bound to and for the use of the said county of Blair, if the terms and conditions of the same, or any of them, are acceded to and concurred in by the said Commissioners; and the said Commissioners shall take into consideration and be influenced by said propositions and agreements in fixing and determining upon the site or location of the seat of justice, court house, prison or jail and county offices of and for the said county of Blair; and provided further, that in case the seat of justice, court house, prison or jail and county offices of ORGANIZATION OF BLAIR COUNTY, 1846 67 and for said county of Blair should be located by the said Commissioners at or within the limits of Hollidaysburg or Gaysport, in said county of Blair, the bond bearing the date the twenty-ninth day of August, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and forty-five, in the penal sum of twenty thousand dollars, conditioned to indemnify and secure the inhabitants of the said county, created or to be created by this Act against any increase of county taxes by reason of for the erection of the said court house, public offices and jail of said county, created or to be created by this Act, signed by James Gardner, Samuel Calvin and others, and deposited in the office of the branch of the Exchange Bank of Pittsburgh at Hollidaysburg, on said day shall be binding on the obligers therein and thereto according to the terms and conditions thereof and other like or similar bond or instruments of writing which may be given by other persons in relation to the location of the seat of justice of said county of Blair at any other point, town or place, within the limits of the said county of Blair, shall in like manner be binding on the obligers or signers therein and thereto." On April 20, 1846, a supplement to the act providing for the creation and organization of the county was passed by the legislature. This supplement referred to the sessions of the county courts and provided that the October term should begin on the third Monday of the month, the July term should be changed to meet the second Monday in June and on or before the last named day the Governor should appoint three commissioners for the county to serve until successors should be elected, and to attend to such duties with reference to jurors and a place for holding court as the law provides. Much of the foregoing material has been culled from the "Semi-Centennial History of Blair County, Pa., 1896," edited and published by C. B. Clark. Of the steps taken to carry out the provisions of the act, part of which has just been related, Mr. Clark says, "Under the Act just recited the Governor appointed on the Commission to run the county lines and determine the location of the seat of justice, Henry McBride, of Westmoreland County; General Orr, of Armstrong County; and Judge Christy, of Juniata County, who acted promptly, established county lines as they now are and chose Hollidaysburg as the county seat. The choice of Hollidaysburg was a foregone conclusion, it being then the largest town in this part of the State and the residence of most of the active workers for the new county; the only other towns of importance in this vicinity were Frankstown, Martinsburg, Williamsburg and Gaysport. Altoona and Tyrone, now so greatly exceeding it in population and importance, were undreamed of. The number of townships in the county at its formation was eleven, since then four more have been added by dividing the original ones. The townships are now Allegheny, Antes, Blair, Catherine, Frankstown, Freedom, Greenfield, Huston, Juniata, Logan, North Woodberry, Snyder, Taylor, Tyrone and Woodberry, of which the following have been formed since 1846, viz.: Juniata in 1847, Logan in 1850, Taylor in 1855, Freedom in 1857." By June 1, 1846, the report of the commissioners, appointed to run the boundary lines, was completed and the governor appointed the following county 68 BLAIR COUNTY HISTORY officers: County Commissioners, Valentine Lingenfelter, William Bell and William C. McCormick; Sheriff, Benjamin Betts; Associate Judges, George R. McFarlane and Daniel McConnell; Prothonotary and Clerk of the Courts, Jeremiah Cunningham; Register and Recorder, John M. Gibboney; District Attorney, John Cresswell. The County Commissioners were sworn into office by Ephraim Galbraith, a Justice of the Peace, on June 8th and then held their first session. They discussed plans and bids for a court house, rented temporary quarters, employed H. A. Caldwell as clerk and appointed Robert H. McCormick, County Treasurer until an election should be held. John Mahoney's stone house was secured for a temporary jail. Rooms for some of the officers of the county were rented from Major William Williams on the northeast corner of Allegheny and Wayne Streets. The Prothonotary, Register and Recorder were established in a building once owned and occupied by Christian Garber. The Commissioners had their office in the Episcopal meeting-house that William McFarland had erected in 1833 and had used as a combined cabinet shop and warehouse. On Monday, July 27, 1846, Judge Jeremiah S. Black presided at the first court in the county held in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Hollidaysburg. The temporary buildings were used for about a year when permanent ones were secured. The contract for the court house and jail was granted to Daniel K. Reamey, of Hollidaysburg, and the cost of these buildings was $14,576.18. They were ready for occupation in June, 1847. The first court house was of brick, two stories high with collonades, and faced Allegheny Street on the site of the present court house. A cupola, planned by Hayden Smith, surmounted it. The increase in population of the county with the accompanying increase in county affairs made it imperative that larger quarters be secured. In 1874, two grand juries are reported to have expressed themselves very emphatically on the matter of the inadequacy of the building for the conduct of legal affairs. Consequently, Commissioners John Clark, David Aurandt and Alexander Carothers decided to erect a new court house. On May 26, 1875, Andrew Myers received the contract to remove the old court house and jail and after the removal Michael Walls was authorized to excavate the foundations for the new structure. David S. Gendell, Philadelphia architect, presented plans that were chosen on August 11, 1875. Twenty-three bids were made for the right to construct the building and that of John Schreiner, of Pittsburgh, was accepted. The building has undergone alterations since its erection. An additional court room and some more offices were included. In appearance it is substantially the same. The exterior walls of the building are of stone. The facing is of cut stone from the Massilon quarries and the color of the building is buff. The court house was complete in 1877 and dedicated July 2nd of that year. Hon. Samuel Calvin, then the oldest member of the local bar; Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, the first judge, and Hon. John Dean, judge in 1877, delivered addresses on that occasion. After serving for less than a year the county officers who had been appointed by the Governor were replaced by elected ones on October 13, 1846. The results of the first county election were: County Commissioners, John K. Neff, ORGANIZATION OF BLAIR COUNTY, 1846 69 Edward McGraw and William Bell; High Sheriff, Samuel J. Royer; Prothonotary and Clerk of the Courts, Joseph Smith; Register and Recorder, Louis H. Williams; Auditors, Charles E. Kinhead, William P. Dysart and James Wilson; Treasurer, Joseph Morrow; Coroner, Captain Joseph C. Morgan. Blair County was represented in the State Senate, after the organization of the county and before the adoption of the Constitution of 1873, by two men who served as Speaker, then the presiding officer of that body. They were John Creswell, Jr., who served in that capacity in 1859, and Louis W. Hall, in 1862 and again in 1867. In 1881, Benjamin L. Hewitt, of Blair County, was Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Among the State Senators who represented Blair since 1846 were, in addition to Creswell and Hall, Alexander King, Robert A. McMurtrie, Kirk Haines, W. A. Wallace, Charles J. T. McIntire, John K. Robison, S. T. Shugert, R. Bruce Petriken, David M. Crawford, Hiram Findley, Henry A. Boggs, John A. Lemon, Charles O. Templeton, Enos M. Jones and Plymouth W. Snyder. The present representative in the State Senate is Richard W. Williamson, of Huntingdon, who has served since 1927 and was reelected for the term beginning in 1931. Representatives in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania from Blair County since its organization were, Henry Breidenthall, Joseph Higgins, Charles E. Kinkead, Seth R. McCune, William B. Smith, Samuel S. Wharton, James L. Gwin, James Maguire, George Leas, George W. Smith, John M. Gibboney, John H. Wintrode, Jacob Burley, James Roller, Thaddeus Banks, R. A. McMurtrie, Joseph G. Adlum, Samuel McCamant, Joseph Robison, Benjamin L. Hewitt, J. C. Everhart, I. H. Rawlins, David M. Jones, Daniel Shock, Edgar M. King, David A. Gilland, Theodore Burchfield, J. A. Rohrer, Edmund Shaw, S. B. Isenberg, C. S. W. Jones, Albert P. MacDonald, J. Levan Metzgar, Andrew S. Strayer, John K. Patterson, James Pritchard, Harry E. Stall, Samuel E. Stewart, George M. Patterson, Matthew M. Morrow, J. Lee Plummer, William H. Irwin, Harry A. Thompson, Edward P. Gamble, William B. Ward, Plymouth W. Snyder, George Irwin, D. Lloyd Calycomb, H. Atlee Brumbaugh, James E. Rininger, Simon F. Zook, Samuel McCurdy, Fred A. Bell, Kenzie S. Bagshaw, Walter E. Lotz. The present assemblymen from the two districts of Blair County are, Fred A. Bell, Altoona, 1st district; Jesse R. Wike, Roaring Spring and Samuel G. Hartsock, Eldorado, 2nd district. J. Banks Kurtz, of Altoona, is the present Congressman and has served in the Congress of the United States since the 68th Congress. In 1930, the population of Blair County was found to be 139,840, an increase of 9 per cent over the report of 1920. Changes in the township organization were made on several occasions when parts of Logan and Blair Townships were annexed to Altoona. These annexations will be considered under the discussion of the growth of that city. The present county officers are: Sheriff, Robert A. Cook; Prothonotary and Clerk of Court of Quarter Sessions and Orphan's Court, Paul L. Hall; Register and Recorder, Thomas G. Peoples; Treasurer, Max C. Dunmire; District Attorney, Richard H. Gilbert; Commissioners, John F. Royer, 70 BLAIR COUNTY HISTORY John C. Gorsuch and Daniel S. Brumbaugh; Clerk to Commissioners, Chester H. Edwards; Jury Commissioners, Ray F. Lingenfelter, F. A. McMullen; Poor Directors, Samuel C. Bowen, Clair C. Fleck and Charles C. Marks; County Controller, Merrill T. Beringer; Engineer, Charles Stout; Coroner, C. C. Rothrock; Solicitor, John J. Haberstroh; Surveyor, Frank M. Hunter; Sealer of Weights and Measures, George H. Creamer; Mothers' Assistance Fund, Mrs. Maud E. Piper, Mrs. Roberta B. Patterson, Miss Elizabeth Akers, Mrs. Clara S. Bobb, Mrs. Cordelia Selwitz, Mrs. Helen M. Robb and Mrs. Mary A. Kerns; Road Viewers, J. H. Hemphill, Arch Brumbaugh, Hays W. Culp, Nelson Keim, Joseph M. Delozier, R. J. Puzerbaugh, E. U. Patterson, James Foust and Alex Weir; County Superintendent of Schools, Tarring S. Davis; Assistant County Superintendent of Schools, Harry S. Fleck.