LOCAL HISTORY: STOREY, Henry Wilson. HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY PA. Vol. 1 The Lewis Publishing Co., 1907. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Martha Humenik. There is an HTML version of this book, with page images, on the county web site: http://www.camgenpa.com/books/Storey/v1/ Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm _______________________________________________ CHAPTER XI. THE RIVERS, CREEKS AND RIVULETS--SAW AND GRIST MILLS, AND RAFTING. Spring on the farm of Andrew Strittmatter, in Carroll township, near Strittmatter's tunnel, on the Cambria and Clearfield division of the Pennsylvania railroad, is the accredited source of the west branch of the Susquehanna. Flowing in a northwesterly direction for half a mile, thence for an equal distance nearly west, the stream above mentioned is enlarged by another run, rippling down from Carrolltown, about a mile and a half to the northeast. This is the longer run of the two and is by some considered the source of the river, which from this junction of waters all unite in denominating the west branch of the Susquehanna. From this point, flowing northwest generally, though with many deflections to the right and left, the river passes through Carroll township to the Northeast corner of Barr, from where it follows the boundary line of Barr and Susquehanna into the latter. On its way it is augmented by the waters of at least eleven runs, some small, others of more volume, bearing such names as Walnut run, Moss creek, and Long run. At this point, on the right bank, is the mining town of Spangler, which extends for about a mile and a half along the river. Here the river turns due north for a short distance, when it makes a left curve, about a mile in length, down to Garmantown, on the left bank. It is soon afterward joined by a small rivulet from the west, and Pine run which rises near Plattville and flows into it from the east, is the last large accession the west branch receives in, but not from Cambria county. From this point the general direction of the river is northward until it leaves the county at the historic Cherry tree. Three other streams that rise in Susquehanna township flow north into the west branch in Clearfield county, the last of which is Beaver run. The West Branch and its tributaries have been to Northern Cambria what the Conemaugh has been to Johnstown and its vicinity--except in disaster. As public highways, between 1857 212 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. and 1880, they were of much more utility than the Conemaugh ever was, for on them were floated to the eastern markets hundreds of millions of feet of valuable timber, the proceeds from the sale of which built up thousands of happy homes and laid the foundation of the prosperity of Northern Cambria. The predominating timber prosperity Northern Cambria and adjoining districts of Clearfield and Indiana counties was white pine. The principal uses to which this species of wood is put are for lumber, shingles, and spars or masts for ships. Pine cut in the summer months would be speedily devoured by grubs, or worms, called sawyers; hence, it became necessary to cut the timber in the fall and early winter months. Formerly, the principal part of the timber intended for lumber was cut down, and hewn on three sides, the other side being "barked" with a peeling ax. A tree was hewn forty, sixty, or eighty feet- according to height--straight on two sides, that the timber might be lashed or pinned together into rafts. On the other side it was hewn to suit the crooks if there were any. It was then hauled to a landing, generally on a dam, put into the water, a number of pieces placed side by side, several poles laid across them through which auger holes were bored down into the timbers, and pins of wood securely driven in. A rudder made of a long pole fastened on a pivot was fisted at the front and rear of the raft for the purpose of guiding it through the water. A shanty in which the cooking was done and which sheltered the raftsmen was then built upon it, and the raft was ready for high water, which generally occurred in the spring and fall of the year. “Spars" were cut the length a tree would permit--eighty or one hundred feet--with some of them four feet and even larger at the base. As it is necessary to know if a mast is sound throughout, a simple expedient was used to determine that important point. Close to one end of the spar a man placed his ear, while another struck the other end with a heavy hammer or sledge. If the stick was solid throughout a sharp sound was heard by the person listening, while if the stroke was not heard, or but a dull thud was the result, the timber was condemned as unfit for use. Spars were made into rafts, sometimes along with square timber. The job of hauling them to the water's edge was often a very laborious and expensive one, many men and teams being required for the undertaking. In later years much timber was floated down in sawlogs, the logs being cut and peeled in the woods. It is remarkable 213 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. how fast an expert "peeler" can remove the bark from a log or tree with his doublebit peeling ax, the bits being thin, about eight inches broad, each bit being shaped somewhat like an ancient battle ax. The logs are hauled to the edge of a stream and placed on the landing or dumped into a dam made for the purpose. Sometimes logs were pushed for miles in chutes, or "slides," made of small trees. In making these chutes one tree was pinned on a piece of timber laid on the ground or sometimes elevated on blocks to overcome unevenness of the line, with a piece fastened at either side as a fender. Into the groove thus formed the logs were placed--sometimes many in number--a team of horses was hitched to the hindmost log by means of a grab driven into the rear end, and this log being shoved on and bumped started those ahead of it. On reaching the dump the team was turned around or run to one side of a tree or pole close to the chute, and the grab released from its hold. As much of this logging was done on small streams, resort was had to splash-dams to drive the logs down to the river. A splash-dam is constructed with a wicket that may be raised or lowered at pleasure, and when ready it is opened, releasing the water held in store and carrying the logs below down the stream, along which men, provided with pike-poles, are stationed to keep them in the channel. The boots of these men are armed with spikes somewhat like the climbers used by linemen on telegraph and electric poles, only smaller, and thus provided they often leap on logs to release jams with the greatest imaginable dexterity and fearlessness--a hazardous undertaking nevertheless. Sometimes a number of logs were made into rafts, but logs were often floated loose. When the spring had opened and the ice had left the river sufficiently to insure safety, the sluices of the great dams in which the rafts were securely held were opened and the downward journey along the river began. This was a perilous journey, and none but the hardiest of men were desirable for raftsmen. To steer the raft aright was a very particular job. Sometimes bends were to be rounded where the current hugged the shore, often boulders and obstructions had to be avoided, and dams had to be "shot" through chutes provided for the purpose. Here, if the raft was not kept straight in the current as it entered the chute there was great danger of its being wrecked. If the front bowsman was not an expert there was the probability of his being swept off by the 214 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. water or knocked off by the rudder when the front part of the raft dipped into the water below the chute. The rafts and logs were floated down the river to Lock Haven, Williamsport, Muncey, and sometimes even to Havre de Grace, Maryland, on the right bank of the river near the head of Chesapeake bay. Arrived at their destination, they were secured in large dams or along the shore by means of ropes thrown around stakes or poles fastened to piers or driven into the ground. The logs were run into booms, near which were located great sawmills which manufactured them into lumber. A boom is an obstruction of long logs securely fastened together by clamps and swiveled chains, or by cribs thrown diagonally across the greater part of the stream--generally from the inner curve of a great bend in the river or in a dam--thus reflecting the logs from the current into the slack water, where they remained until taken therefrom to be worked up into lumber, as was also the square timber of the rafts. The fall rafting generally consisted of the timber that was left over from the spring "drive," or that was not ready at that time. Often a summer freshet was taken advantage of and sometimes a lowness of water prevented or delayed a drive at the usual time. At first raftsmen on their return were compelled to walk, or ride on horseback or in the stage to their homes, but after railroad facilities became available that method of traveling was adopted. Rafting on the West Branch of the Susquehanna is now practically a thing of the past, the people of Northern Cambria having turned their attention to agricultural and mining pursuits, and, with ever increasing railroad facilities, the mineral resources of that thriving section of the county are being rapidly developed. After leaving Cambria county, the West Branch runs in a northeasterly and then in a northerly direction to McGee's mills, where it turns to the northeast, a few miles farther on receiving the waters of Chest creek, which general course it continues to Clearfield, where it is augmented by the waters of Clearfield creek. Down these two streams the greater part of the rafting from Cambria county found its way to the West Branch. Winding eastward to Northumberland county it empties 215 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. its waters into those of the North Branch, forming there the greatest river of Pennsylvania--the historic Susquehanna. Chest creek rises near Kaylor Station, on the Cambria and Clearfield railroad, in Allegheny township, and joined by the West Branch, which rises in Cambria township, near Winterset Station, on the same railroad, flows in a slightly northwest direction through Clearfield township and between those of Elder and Chest into Clearfield county, where it enters the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Before the town of Patton is reached, where the Little Chest creek flows in, Laurel Lick run, Chest Springs run and several others pour in their waters. Between the points where Flanagan's run and Blubaker creek join it, begins the outcropping of red shale that underlies the lower coal measures of the Westover and Johnstown basins, here separated by the Laurel Hill anticlinal. Blubaker creek, the largest tributary of Chest creek, rises in the southwestern part of Elder township, and passes through the town of Hastings to its junction with the Little Blubaker creek, four miles beyond. Blubaker creek unites with Chest creek, just a short distance before the latter enters Clearfield county. Of late years the development of the vast mineral resources of the Blacklick region following the construction of a railroad along the valley of the South Branch has brought that section of the county prominently before the people; but probably few are aware of the vast area of the drainage of the system, second only to the Conemaugh. The Blacklick in Cambria is composed of two large branches--the North Branch and the South Branch--and their tributaries. The North Branch of the Blacklick--if preference is given length and size-- rises in Carroll township, about a mile north of the Cambria township line, near the old Ebensburg plank road. Beginning its course in a northeasterly direction, swerving to the northwest, westward, and southwest, it unites, when between four and five miles in length, with another branch, which, rising about a mile to the southwest of the source of the stream already noted, runs in a less circuitous course toward the northwest. Forming from its source the boundary line between the townships of Cambria and Carroll it flows northwest, receiving various runs and rivulets from the north and south, 216 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. until it reaches the northeast corner of Blacklick township, which, in assuming a more westerly course, it divides from Barr on the north for a couple of miles. Flowing south, on the line of Blacklick township, it receives Dutch run. This run, rising in Indiana county, flows southeastward into Barr township, then in a southwesterly direction, crossing and re-crossing the line between that township and Indiana county, finally flows into the North Branch heretofore noted, from which place the united waters, now of considerable volume, continue their course southwestward, augmented from the east by what Pomeroy, who published the best map of the county ever produced, calls Elklick run, and its southern branch, Elk run, down to within a half mile of the southwestern corner of the township, where it enters Indiana county, and soon unites with the South Branch. The South Branch of the Blacklick, formed by the union of many considerable streams, the principal of which Pomeroy the calls the Middle Branch, rises in Cambria, within a quarter of a mile of Allegheny township, the dividing line between which two townships at this point is the West Branch of Chest creek, about a mile from the headwaters of Clearfield creek and also of the North Branch of the Conemaugh. Flowing south, northwest and west and modified by several short windings past historic Beulah close to the line of Jackson and Blacklick townships, and later dividing them, it emerges into Indiana county to form the considerable stream known as the Blacklick, and crosses the southeastern end of that county to a point near Livermore, below Blairsville, on the Westmoreland county line, where its waters are merged with those of the Conemaugh. The principal tributaries of the South Branch are the East Blacklick, which rises a short distance north of Ebensburg and flows southwest to its junction with the Middle Branch, which, receiving another large branch which rises in the northern part of Cambria township, becomes the South Branch; then two smaller tributaries from the western part of the same township and from Blacklick township four small runs, and from the south Steward's run, which, rising in Cambria, flows in a northwesterly course through Jackson township, augment its waters. Clearfield creek is the name of a stream which rises in two branches in Cambria county near the dividing ridge, along whose crest runs the Cresson and Clearfield railroad, one branch rising near Kaylor Station and the other near Cresson. They 217 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. unite in Himmelwright's mill dam and thence their waters flow northward into Clearfield county. It is a misnomer to call this stream a creek, as it has the size and importance of a river, having served as an outlet for hundreds of millions of feet of pine lumber to markets along the West Branch of the Susquehanna of which it is a tributary. The name of the stream, which is perpetuated in that of one of the townships of this county and also of a neighboring county, is derived from the "Clear Fields "--a few small acres of cleared ground on which the Indians raised maize, located along its valley near the old Kittanning path, not far from the present town of Ashville. John Storm, or Sturm, is said to have erected a grist mill on the Clearfield creek, near Loretto in 1792, now Seibert's mill, Dawson Station, on the railroad. Along what is undoubtedly the main branch, which, as before stated, rises near Kaylor's, was the first permanent settlement of white men, viz: that of Captain Michael McGuire, who, in 1787, moved his family to a clearing and started a colony, with which Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, prince and priest, twelve years thereafter cast his lot and established the Catholic congregation of Loretto. Gallitzin was a man who looked after the temporal interests of his people as the handmaid of their spiritual welfare, and on this creek, about a hundred yards up the stream from the bridge that spans the run, which is the highest name by which it can be here truthfully called, built the third grist mill in Cambria county. This was early in the present century, and was then an undertaking of considerable magnitude, as the fall in the stream is here so slight that a millrace about a half mile in length had to be dug to give the water sufficient "head." The water wheels of this mill might have been seen near the ruin of the mill until a few years ago. Some years after the erection of this mill Gallitzin had built on the eastern branch at the present site of the mill of the late B. Y. Anderson a sawmill, the dam of which is still in use. It was built, according to the testimony of one of the old pioneers, "at a cost of $1,500, at a time when men worked for fifty cents a day and did an honest day's work." This was probably the first water sawmill in the county. It was built on this stream at a distance of two miles from 218 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. the grist mill for the reason that the water power at the latter was not deemed sufficient to turn the crank of a sawmill. About a mile below this mill the two branches unite in Himmelwright's mill- dam, which, as well as Anderson's, can be seen from the Cresson and Coalport railroad, a branch of the Cambria and Clearfield division. Another mile further down is located Seibert's grist mill, near Dawson Station, a couple of hundred feet below which Bradley's run, which rises in Allegheny township, Blair county, enters Cresson township and flows down through Gallitzin borough and Gallitzin township and pours its murky waters into the hitherto comparatively pure stream of the Clearfield. Next from the west a small stream called Beaver Dam ran comes in from Allegheny township, Cambria county. On the eastern side, near the small mining town of Amsbry, a small, swift mountain stream, which formerly swarmed with trout, drains part of Gallitzin township, and at Ashville, a mile further down, Trexler's run empties in from the same side. At Ashville is Kratzer's sawmill dam, and close to it on the western side is the site of old Ashland furnace, the ruins of which were dug up and hauled away about 1896. While quarrying stone for the foundations of this furnace, about 1840, the workmen found on a high rocky bluff the skeletons of several human beings, buried in a horizontal position with the feet towards the east. The bones of one of these skeletons indicated that in life the individual whose remains were ruthlessly disturbed, must have been of gigantic stature, probably eight feet in height. The mode of burial, so different from that of the Indians, who interred their dead in a crouching, vertical position, and the size of the skeletons would appear to indicate that they were those of people of a prehistoric race of a higher degree of civilization than the Indians--a supposition that is borne out by the fact that many articles of pottery have been found in the vicinity. Within sight of this cemetery is one of the "Clear Fields," about three acres in size, and about a mile farther up the creek is a smaller one, while about three miles to the northwest is a circular clearing, about three hundred feet in diameter, with a solitary old red oak tree exactly in the centre. To this place the old settlers gave the name of "The Indian Garden," but it was probably a place of meting for the council fires of the 219 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. red men who frequented the region, and near which several of their graves may yet be found. Between the first of the "Clear Fields" and the quarry where the large skeletons were found, lay the old "Kittanning Path," so well known to the early settlers of Northern Cambria. Tradition says that in the bed of the Clearfield creek at Kratzer's dam, and a mile below and also a mile above, lead ore of remarkable purity was known to the Indians. It was here the party that captured Mrs. Elder and Felix Skelly in the Juniata valley in the early part of 1775 camped the first night of their journey to Detroit, and, according to the testimony of Skelly, replenished their store of lead, of which they molded many bullets, and also loaded him with a bundle of hickory withes, presumably for bows. Just below this dam, some of the old settlers used to say, occurred a tragedy equal in atrocity to that of Hinckston's run, in which a poor Indian, who was standing on a log of a pile of driftwood, looking intently into the stream, was shot and killed by a white trapper named Beatty, whose brother had been murdered near Shaver's creek, now in Blair county, by a party of Indians during the Revolutionary war. From the west, a short distance below Ashville Swartz's run flows in from the direction of St. Augustine. This is the last stream of note on the west until the Beaver dawn system pours in the lamest volume of water the Clearfield receives at any one point in Cambria county. The name "Beaver Dam" is probably of more frequent application to streams in this and Somerset county than any other appellation--"Laurel run" coming next. But this stream is undoubtedly entitled to the distinction of being the most important of its name in Cambria county, deriving its appellation from the fact that on this run was formerly a large dam, covering several acres of ground, built by beavers. The valley of the Beaver Dam run, lying principally in White township, is, a deep alluvial soil, bearing traces of having been at an early period covered with water. The main branch of the Beaver Dam run rises near St. Augustine and flows in a direction west of north to its junction with the main stream, the direction of which throughout is east of north. Into this stream about half a mile below the Clearfield township line flows the Slate Lick; the direction of which is northward. 220 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. In sight of the forks of the Slate Lick and the Beaver Dam run is a hill two hundred feet high, from the summit of which an unobstructed view for miles around is obtainable, and from which, in prehistoric times, another race of men viewed, with what emotions we know not, the extended landscape round about. This is "Fort" Hill, so called because in the time of the early settlers there existed thereon earthworks of circular form, about three hundred feet in diameter and about five feet high, with two openings. The site of this work may still be seen from the absence thereon of pine stumps, which are found all around the area of the inclosure. When first known to the white settlers it was covered with a growth of maple, elm, and beech trees, some of them twenty inches in diameter. Some of the old pioneers think this was intended for a fort, but the absence of iron relics about the site indicates that it was not built by white men; and the probability is that it was never used as a place of defense, but rather as the site of council fires of the Indians or a place of worship by some former and more civilized race of men. Half a mile below the entrance of the Slate Lick, Mud Lick, which rises in Carroll township, flows in a northeasterly course. The North River Branch of the Beaver Dam run is the last stream of consequence that flows into the run from the west before its junction with the Clearfield creek south of the Clearfield county line. In Chest township rises a run which Pomeroy sets down as Whitmer's, but which the Geological Survey of 1895 calls South Wilmer run. Its direction is about north northwest into Beccuria township, Clearfield county, where, after being joined by its north branch, which rises in Chest township, Clearfield county, it enters Clearfield creek at Irvona. Going back to Ashville, where we left off the description of the eastern tributaries of the Clearfield, the first branch is Little Laurel run, which empties a short distance below the town. Next comes Big Laurel run, or Cook run, which rises near Burgoon's Gap, up which ascended the old Kittanning Path. Then Sandy run, Figart run, Fallen Timber run, Curtis run branch and Muddy run. Clearfield creek holds a position in the history of the county that but few people fully appreciate. It is for a great part of its length the dividing line between the townships of Dean and Reade on its eastern bank, and Clearfield and White on the west. 221 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. Down its stream hundreds of millions of feet of the staple timber of Northern Cambria--the pine--have been floated to market, and along its course may yet be seen the remains of immense dams with wooden sluices where logs and rafts were impounded awaiting the rise of the water at the breaking up of the ice in the spring. An idea of the immense proportions of some of the lords of the forest may be formed when it is known that spars, or masts, one hundred and twenty feet in length and six feet in diameter twelve feet from the larger end have frequently been cut in Northern Cambria. The price of such a piece of timber, when floated to market, used to be $400, but the expense of getting it there, if it did not chance to stand near a stream, was so great that the profit was not as much as might be imagined. Now, along this noble stream another industry has developed, and the railroad annually carries thousands of tons of coal to the Eastern markets; and there is no telling what the future has in store for this part of our country, as the earth beneath is undoubtedly as rich in mineral resources as the surface formerly was in forest products. Bell's Gap run, in Reade township, Beaver run, in Susquehanna, and others in Reade and Jackson, helped to drain the northern part of Cambria county. First in prominence in the past, present, and future history of our county is the world-famed Conemaugh, for both in our early days and in more recent years its name is inseparably interwoven with the history of Southern Cambria in general and Johnstown more particularly. The name Conemaugh is derived front the Indian "Canna-maugh" or Caugh- naugh-maugh, a more outlandish form of this appellation being "Quin-nim-mough- koong." The meaning of the name is Otter creek. The Conemaugh river proper begins its course at the junction of the Stonycreek, the larger, and in the early history of Pennsylvania the more notable, of the two rivers, and the Little Conemaugh a short distance above the historic stone bridge of the Pennsylvania railroad at Johnstown. The Little Conemaugh rises in Cresson township, this county, a few miles northeast of Lilly. The waters from the vicinity of Cresson drain into this branch--Laurel run--above Lilly, and at Lilly another branch of about equal size--Bear Rock run--unites with it from the southward. Into these two streams empty the waters from some of the best springs in Pennsylva- 222 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. nia. These springs--all the far-famed Cresson water--will repay the tourist, or the busy toiler for a visit to them. Little the people in the crowded city, accustomed to the use of hydrant water, however pure, know of the delicious draughts that may be quaffed from these crystal fountains, bubbling up from the caverns of the earth in vast volumes from the centers of pools, some of them six or eight feet wide and from two to three feet deep, so cold that you can scarcely bear your hand in them long enough to draw forth a handful of the silver sand that is being continually forced up by the water. Leaving Lilly, the stream receives only a few rivulets from the springs on both sides of its course, shooting thrice through the roadbed of the Pennsylvania straight-line, until Benscreek pours down its rapid torrent of about four miles in length from Portage township and the southern part of Washington township. On this stream, about two miles above the Benscreek mines, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company has placed an intake and laid a line of pipe to Portage Station, where the engines on the mountain take water, and from which many a train load of the crystal liquid is hauled to Altoona in times of drouth. The headwaters of this stream are about 2,100 feet above sea-level, and the fall is probably one hundred feet to the mile, while some of the springs that drain into the Little Conemaugh are located at an altitude of at least 2,300 feet. After being swollen to a considerable stream by the waters of Benscreek, the Little Conemaugh turns to the northward under the massive stone bridge of the Pennsylvania straight-line a few hundred yards below. It winds around through the woods and about half a mile further on receives a small stream-- Noel's run--from the north side; thence on down to the Old Portage, where it was at first spanned by a stone-arch bridge which gave way in a freshet in 1847. On the abutments on which were erected the second bridge now rests an iron bridge built by the county. Just below empties in Sonman run, augmented by a little stream from Portage. Seven hundred yards further down--the stream here running in a southerly direction--the New Portage crossed the river on an iron bridge on substantial stone abutments. About two hundred yards below this embankment the stream turns in a westerly direction, and a quarter of a mile below was recently turned from its course to make room for the Pennsylvania railroad improvements. This new channel is about half a mile in length and in part 223 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. of the old course of the river. Trout run, which rises near the Blair county line, near Portage receives the waters of another stream from Summerhill township. Continuing on its westward journey, half a mile farther down is the dam that impounds the water for the Wilmore grist mill, now owned and Operated by Sylvester Crum. A mile farther on, and about three hundred yards from Wilmore Station in a northwesterly direction, the North Branch mingles its waters in a stream of nearly equal size, forming a stream at a medium stage of about thirty yards wide. Here we leave the Little Conemaugh for a time and ascend the North Branch to its headwaters, which we find to be in the vicinity of Ebensburg, one branch rising near the fair grounds, to the north of the town. On this stream is located one of the pumping stations which supply the town with water. One of the other branches rises to the northeast, and, the third to the east, and flowing southward, furnish the water-power for Ludwig's woolen mill. About two-thirds of a mile further down is what used to be called Williams' Dam, which was an unsightly expanse of water two hundred yards wide and six hundred yards long jotted over with hundred of stumps of forest trees that had been killed by the water and their trunks allowed to fall into the dam. This rubbish was cleared away a few years ago, neat houses were built near the head of the dam, boats were placed thereon, and the tourist or summer guest can now take a row on Lake Rowena. On the eastern bank of this resort, hidden by the dense foliage of small hemlock trees that fringe its border, is a cool spring, the temperature of which is said to be 52°. Ludwig's grist mill is run by water from this dam except when the water is low, when steam is used. A short distance below this, from the westward, enters a little stream that rises near Maple Park and flows past the Ebensburg steam tannery. Into this run the liquor from the vats is emptied, and when this is done the water in the north branch assumes an inky hue for the entire length of that stream. It is then augmented by the waters of Roaring run--sometimes called McCarthy's run--formed of three branches, one rising near old Pensacola,, in the southern portion of Cambria township, near New Germany, with a central stream shorter than the others, flowing in the general direction of the run, which is to the northeast, and continues its course in a general 224 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. direction until it reaches the mill dam of Samuel O'Hara, in Munster township, receiving on its way Sanders' run from the north and in the dam a creek whose headwaters are in the vicinities of Kaylor Station and Munster. This stream is marked on Caldwell's map as "the North Branch of the Conemaugh," but it is not. The East Fork of the North Branch would be a more appropriate name. Below O'Hara's Dam a new iron bridge has been erected by county aid--the first on the stream. Spanned by another iron bridge, which probably is of use to fewer people than any other bridge of its class in the county, it enters Summerhill township, a large part of the water of which is drained into it through Settlemyer's run. Less than one hundred feet from the confluence of these streams is a famous artesian well, drilled to a depth of 628 feet by Phillip Collins, of Ebensburg, while prospecting for oil in 1865. From a depth of ninety feet through a bore hole five inches in diameter has ever since been flowing a stream of water forced up from the subterranean channel of a stream thirty-two inches in depth. The water is slightly impregnated with sulphur, but is palatable to drink. The capacity of this well has been estimated at 60,000 gallons per day. Less than a mile from the oil-well spring the North Branch, which has in the meantime received but one small tributary from the westward, is crossed by an iron bridge, a span of one hundred feet, on the road from Wilmore to Ebensburg. One end of this structure is in Summerhill township and the other in Wilmore borough, the center of the stream forming the line between the township and borough for about a quarter of a mile to another iron bridge that crosses on the line of the Old Portage railroad on abutments built in 1847 to sustain the railroad bridge that took the place of the stone bridge that, like the bridge near Portage, was undermined by the flood of that year. Here the stream turns to the southward, and about one hundred rods further on unites with the Little Conemaugh. An idea of the volume of this stream may be formed when it is known that on the memorable 1st of May, 1889, the water at the junction of these streams extended from the embankment of the Pennsylvania railroad to that of the Old Portage, a distance of about five hundred yards, about three feet higher than the highest previous high-water mark. Resuming the description of the Little Conemaugh: That stream now flows for a distance of about one hundred rods in 225 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. a direction south by west, where it receives a considerable accession from waters of the central and western part of Summerhill township, south of Wilmore, turning its course it continues into Croyle township, where it is crossed by the stone bridge of the Pennsylvania railroad, prior to the late improvements between Lilly and Portage, designated as Little Conemaugh bridge No. 1, about one hundred yards east of the Deep Cut. Bending again to the west in a compound curve in the shape of an inverted S, about a mile in length, it is crossed below the Deep Cut by Bridge No. 2, and about three hundred yards east of Summerhill Station by the three-span stone bridge designated No. 3. From this point the river makes a regular curve to a point about half a mile west of Summerhill Station, where it is crossed by Bridge No. 4. Nearly midway on this bend is located the dam that furnishes the water power for the grist mill of D. A. Sipe, formerly the Thomas Croyle mill site, where he built a grist mill in 1801. This is the most powerful waterpower as yet utilized in Cambria county. Into this dam flow the waters of Laurel run, a stream which rises in the northwestern part of Summerhill township and flows into Croyle township, where it receives the waters of a branch flowing from New Germany, and rushes down through Summerhill borough, a rapid mountain stream, to its junction with the Little Conemaugh. This bend in the river is crossed by two iron bridges--one above Sipe's mill on the township road leading to Southern Croyle and the other below, on the road to South Fork. From Bridge No. 4 the bend continues a short distance, when, curving slightly to the left, the river makes a bend of half a mile, and then several shorter curves, receiving a large run from the vicinity of Webster Mines, after which it once more approaches the Pennsylvania railroad at Ehrenfeld Station, from which point it continues southwest to its junction with the South Fork a short distance below which it is crossed by the Pennsylvania railroad on a substantial stone bridge known as Bridge No. 5. Leaving the Little Conemaugh once more, we commence the description of a branch, the name of which is inseparably associated with the history of Johnstown--the historic South Fork. The South Fork of the Little Conemaugh rises near the line between Bedford and Cambria, and is the boundary between the townships of Croyle and Summerhill on the north and Vol. I-15 226 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. Adams on the south. Its entire length approximates ten miles. Its waters before the opening of the mines along its branches were as clear as crystal, which even a heavy rainfall on its headwaters scarcely clouded, as little land was then cleared in those localities, the water draining principally from a mat of roots and stones and herbage. In these pellucid streams innumerable game fish-- especially trout, some of them of prodigious size--were found. Indeed it is doubtful if any other stream of equal size in Pennsylvania has produced so many millions of speckled beauties as the South Fork and its branches. The first tributary of this stream is Beaver Dam run, which rises in Bedford county and flows westward through Summerhill township to its junction, at a point where both are about two miles in length. From the south, Rachel's run flows from the Somerset county line. It is much longer than the South Fork to their confluence, and is undoubtedly the parent stream. Some two miles further down, on the same side, Otter Creek, enlarged by the influx of Yellow run, pours in its waters; and a half mile farther on, on the north bank, Cedar Swamp run, which rises about four miles eastward in Summerhill, flows in through Croyle township. At the junction of these streams, a short distance below the present town of Lovett, is the head water-line of the old reservoir, a half mile farther down which the North Lick run entered, and on the south a larger run, not far from the breast of the dam. About a quarter of a mile above Sandy run is the site of the reservoir which will ever occupy a conspicuous place in the history of the Conemaugh valley. In 1835, Sylvester Welch, engineer of the Old Portage road, suggested to the legislature the propriety of building a reservoir for impounding water sufficient to supply the canal from Johnstown to Allegheny, the previous sources of supply from the Stonycreek and Little Conemaugh, with what additional water was collected lower down, being inadequate to the demand. During the administration of Governor Ritner, which was one of retrenchment, little outlay was made for public works; but in 1838 David R. Porter was elected by the Democrats, or Masonic party, on a platform favoring the completion of these works. However, little was done until in about 1841, when the work was put under headway. The dam was an embankment of clay, gravel, and stone, 227 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. about three hundred feet through at the bottom, sloping to the top, about seventy feet high, at an angle on the upper slope, which was counter-scarped with a stone slope wall, of about 35° and on the lower, which was rip-rapped with boulders, at an incline of 45°. The width on top was about twenty-five feet. Through the middle was a puddle wall about twenty-five feet in thickness. On the north side through a spur of the hill was cut the spillway, about seventy feet in width. Through the embankment at the bottom was a stone arched culvert, in which were laid five water pipes, about thirty inches in diameter, and connecting with the valve-house above, where the water needed was let in by means of a wicket operated from a room in a frame derrick, which extended up above the water in the reservoir, which, when full, formed a large lake--about eight hundred feet wide at the breast, about a mile in the widest part, and two and nine-tenth miles in length, with an average depth of twenty-five feet. In 1847 this dam, not yet finished was badly damaged by a freshet, and was subsequently completed; but in 1862 the stone arch gave way, by reason of a leak in the dam, and a huge break which incapacitated the dam for further use was the result. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting club of Pittsburg, rebuilt the dam in 1880, which broke on May 31, 1889, as elsewhere noted. Below Sandy run, the South Fork unites with the Little Conemaugh below the railroad bridge at South Fork. As illustrative of the rapid growth of our mountain neighbor, it is only necessary to state that on Pomeroy's map of Cambria county, published in 1867, the name South Fork does not appear, except as the name of a branch of the Little Conemaugh. From the junction of the South Fork the Little Conemaugh continues its course in a gentle bend, for about a mile and a quarter, where it strikes the high bluff known as the "Hogback." Around this it winds in a great bend, about a mile and three-quarters in length, at the middle of which Bear Run enters from the south, to the viaduct over that stream, a point less than two hundred feet from where it strikes the bluff before mentioned. Through the bluff in its narrowest part is Hogback Cut, through which the Old and New Portage railroad ran and which is now occupied by the tracks of the Pennsylvania railroad. From the viaduct the river assumes a northwest direction 228 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. for about a mile and a quarter, receiving the waters of the formerly famous Sulphur Spring from the south, to Mineral Point, where the waters of Salt Lick run flow in from Jackson township, through East Taylor. It is crossed by No. 6 Bridge of the Pennsylvania railroad, near the foot of Plane No. 1 of the Old Portage railroad. At the head of this plane may yet be seen the first, tunnel pierced through a hill for the use of a railroad on this continent. Between this point and Conemaugh in many places are still visible, on the southern hank, the remnants of the slope wall that protected the fill of the Old Portage roadbed from the ravages of the river. From No. 6 Bridge the course of the river is for a short distance in a southerly direction to the junction of Clapboard run, which, rising in Richland township, flows through Conemaugh township, uniting its waters with those of the Little Conemaugh at the upper end of Franklin borough. From this point the course is southwesterly to Peggy's run, just above the Ninth ward, there commencing a right curve opposite the Eleventh ward, and then another long gentle curve, more to the westward, down to a couple of hundred yards below the Lincoln bridge, where another bend to the northwest reaches to The Point--the original course as marked on Pomeroy's map being west of north. The following figures taken from a profile of the Old Portage by Antes Snyder, civil engineer of the Pennsylvania railroad, will give a pretty correct idea of the various elevations of different points on the Little Conemaugh and the South Fork Branch: Feet. Elevation head of Plane No. 6-highest point on Old- Portage 2,341 Elevation foot of Plane No. 4, on a level with Bear Rock run, Lilly 1,906 Elevation foot of Plane No. 3---near mouth of Benscreek 1,756 Elevation foot of Plane No. 2--Little Cone- maugh, near Portage 1,613 Elevation at Wilmore 1,573 Elevation at Summerhill 1,536 Elevation, basin of reservoir 1,546 Elevation of ordinary water in reservoir 1,615 Elevation of water when dam broke 1,618.4 229 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. Feet. Elevation of channel of Little Conemaugh-- after the Flood--at South Fork 1,464 Elevation of Little Conemaugh at viaduct 1,355 Elevation of Little Conemaugh at Mineral Point 1,365 Elevation of Little Conemaugh at Conemaugh 1,147 Elevation of Little Conemaugh at Johnstown Station 1,154 Elevation of Little Conemaugh at Stone Bridge 1,147 Flood line at Stone Bridge 1,179 Miles. Length of river from reservoir to Conemaugh 13.9 Length of river from reservoir to Johnstown Station 16.3 Length of river from reservoir to Stone Bridge 16.6 Sq. Miles. Area of territory drained by reservoir 32 THE STONYCREEK AND ITS BRANCHES. This noble stream, which from the extent of its drainage area, about two- thirds the size of Cambria county, and its size, should have been denominated a river, probably owes its present appellation to the rendering into English in Colonial times of its Indian name--"Sinne-hanne," or "Achsin-hanne," "hanne" meaning "stream," especially a swift mountain stream. Had the noble red men dignified it with "Sinne sipu" we would now doubtless be calling it "Stony River." A neatly-walled spring on the lot of Mr. Samuel Heffley, in Berlin, Somerset county, is the accredited source of Stonycreek. About a quarter of a mile westward another rivulet rises, the two streams flowing in a northeasterly direction for about three-fourths of a mile, where the first bends to the left and the second to the right and unite in one stream, which runs in a course nearly north northeast for about three miles, and then, deflecting gently to the northward, receives from the east the united waters of Buttermilk run, formed by the union of three rivulets, one of which rises close to Berlin. The second is formed by the mingling of the waters of two rivulets which rise, as do the others, in Brothersvalley township. After uniting, the augmented stream flows into Stonycreek township in a direction almost due north, where it receives front the east a large run 230 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. formed by the junction of two rivulets that rise near the crest of the Allegheny mountain. The first confluent of note of the Stonycreek from the west rises in the northwestern part of Brothersvalley township, and receiving the waters of runs from both north and south, enters Stonycreek township and unites with the Stony creek, which here makes a long, gentle curve of about three miles in length to Shanksville. From Berlin to Shanksville, a distance of about ten miles, the broad valley is so gently undulating that the fall is said to be only about twenty-seven feet from the source of the creek to the breast of Speicher's dam at Shanksville. Many fine farms, with large and substantial buildings, are to be seen in all directions. At Shanksville is located the grist mill and sawmill first built by Jacob Shank about three-quarters of a century ago. The old-fashioned burrs are still in use in the grist mill, while there is now not a great deal of use for the sawmill. At Shanksville, the volume of Stonycreek is greatly increased by the accession of Calendar run, of which Rhodes' creek is a tributary. Calendar run rises in the northern part of Stonycreek township, near Buckstown, and is augmented by the waters of Clear run. On Rhodes' creek is situated the sawmill of Josiah Walker, at which a considerable quantity of lumber is still cut. At Shanksville, the valley of the Stonycreek suddenly becomes rugged, and high hills loom up on the western bank. The course of the stream from this place to a stream called by some of the people of the vicinity Foos creek is a curve, the general direction of which is northwesterly. Further down the stream Wells' creek, rising in Somerset township, not far from Geiger's Station, on the Somerset & Cambria railroad, finally merges its waters with those of the Stonycreek at Mostoller Station. Its valley affords a route for the Somerset &, Cambria Railroad, which below this point follows the valley of the Stony creek. Here is located the new process flouring mill of E. G. Mostoller. From the mouth of Wells' creek, the Stonycreek speeds on, receiving the waters of Beaver Dam run--the first of a series of tributaries of the same name in the Stonycreek system, and passing Stoyestown on the east, about a mile and a half farther on receives the waters of Oven run. 231 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. At Stoyestown Station is located the woolen mill of W. L. Rininger, the grist mill of J. Coleman, the sawmill of Dr. Burnet, and the Trostle grist mill, the latter being located higher up the stream. At Sprucetown is the grist mill of J. Specht. Oven run rises in Shade township, and its entire length is somewhere about six miles. On the north side of the run, not far from its mouth, on land of Daniel Berkeybile, is the site of one of two forts--the other being on the Quemahoning- --built by Colonel Bouquet, probably in August, 1758, during the memorable campaign of that year led by General Forbes against Fort Duquesne. Near the run is still to be seen the outline of an oven, in which it is said bread was baked for Forbes' soldiers and from which the run derives its name. The fort was a breastwork of earth of four ravelins connected together, pointing respectively northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, each ravelin being about seventy-five feet in length and from twenty-five to thirty feet in breadth, surrounded by a ditch. In the southwest ravelin, opening to the northwest, was the sally port, near which several relics have been found. These relies consist of sections of tire of wagon or gun wheels, each piece of tire being about three inches broad, beveled at the ends, with a groove in the middle about three-fourths of an inch wide, in which were sunk the rivets at the joints and broad-headed wrought-iron nails were evidently driven through the felloes and clinched on the inside midway between the rivets; worn horse shoes, etc., have also been picked up. It is probable that, in addition to these two forts, there was a stockade at the crossing of Stonycreek referred to in Colonial history as "The Stockade at Stoney Creek" and "Jollys." Bouquet was at Loyalhanna on September 7, 1758, but about the middle of October of the same year he was reported to be at Stonycreek with seven hundred men. A letter front him dated at Ray's Dudgeon October 13, 1758, speaks of having gone with eighty men that morning to reconnoiter Laurel Hill. Ray's Dudgeon may have been on the eastern slope of the Allegheny, near Breastwork run. From Post's journal, December 27, 1758, we quote: "We encamped by Beaver Dam, under Laurel Hill; 28th-we came to Stoneycreek, where Mr. Quicksell is stationed." In notes to Fort Ligonier (76), in "Frontier Forts of Penn- 232 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. sylvania," we read: "Stonycreek was a station on the Forbes Road, where it crossed that stream, now Stoyestown, in Somerset county. Guards and relays were kept here. There was a kind of stockade erected here when the road was cut by Bouquet and a small garrison stayed there. It was deserted for a time in Pontiac's War, 1763." Under date of October 13, 1777, in the journal of Fort Preservation of the Revolution, erected at the site of Fort Ligonier, appears the following: "At Two o'clock P. M. an Express from Capt. Lochry at Stoney Creek that he had three Brigades and Packhorses with Continental Stores under escorte; that a Man had been kill'd & Scalp'd the day before within half a Mile of that place; that he look'd upon it unsafe to stir them without a further reinforcement, as he had only fifteen Guns to defend one hundred and forty packhorses with their Drivers. At Day break Capt. Shannon with 24 Men march'd to Stoney Creek to his Relief. The Works lay still for want of men--there being only a Guard for the Town left. "[Octr.] 14th. "About 4 o'clock this afternoon the escorte arriv'd safe at Ligonier without any accident on the Road;--The Works lay still." A short distance above the fort in the bed of this run may be seen quite a number of indentations in the stratified sand rocks somewhat resembling the foot-prints of animals of the elephant species, only very much smaller and irregular in shape, doubtless due to the influences of one or more of the forces of Nature. Below the site of the fort about a quarter of a mile is a fall in the run of about eight feet, below which is a pool of water about three feet deep, in which tradition says that two soldiers, whether of Forbes' army in 1758, or of Colonel Loughrey's command during the Revolutionary war, it is difficult to determine, were fishing when they were fired upon and killed by Indians concealed in the bushes. Their graves are pointed out near the fort. After receiving the waters of Oven run, the Stonycreek enlarged by Foy run, Fallen Timber run and others, winds on its northward course to Hooversville, where Dixie run adds to its volume. At Hooversville Perry Blough's large grist mill is situated. From Hooversville the Stonycreek continuing its way north, 233 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. bending in and out, is greatly increased in volume by the accession of its largest tributary--the Quemahoning. Its sources are the headwaters of the North Fork of the Quemahoning and the South Fork of the Quemahoning, of which Rhodes' Camp run, the head of the former, is found in Lincoln township and the latter in Somerset township. From the confluence of Spruce run the direction of the North Branch is about east northeast to the mouth of Beaver Dam run, about two miles distant. This Beaver Dam run is augmented by the waters of Coal run and Picking's Little Trout run before it unites with the South Fork, and the united waters become the Quemahoning. The South Fork of the Quemahoning rises in Somerset township, and, receiving Ferguson's run, soon joins the North Branch. The Quemahoning joined by Picking's run and Carding Machine run flows past Jenner before Roaring run and Gum run pour in their waters. Past the site of Morgan's woolen mill and Stanton's mills, and receiving Higgins' run and others, the Quemahoning joins its forces with Stonycreek near Holsopple. Although the drainage area of the Quemahoning is quite large, the volume of the water, except in times of freshets, does not appear to be as great as it formerly was, owing no doubt to the cutting away of the timber from the valleys and slopes along its tributaries. This system was formerly the home of many sawmills and grist mills, not many of which are now in active use, but, in addition to those already noted, there is situated above Morgan's woolen mill the Rieville grist mill, the Covall sawmill, and the site of the Hoffman grist mill, while one mile below Stanton's Mill is the Bondrager grist mill, and farther down the grist mill of C. Boyer. Near the confluence of the creek with Stonycreek, not far from Holsopple, is situated the grist mill of the Farmers' Milling Company. On the Reininger farm, on the east side of the stream, between the Bondrager and Borer mills, is the site of an old fort built during the French and Indian war, near which numbers of arrow heads, some of them of large dimensions, have been found. This fort was somewhat similar in shape to the one found on Oven Run, but somewhat larger, and probably was the scene of 234 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. the siege of Colonel Loughrey, mention of which has been already made. Shade Creek is an important branch of the Stonycreek, not only on account of the considerable area of its drainage, but the historic interest that attached to it on account of its early iron industry and latterly of its extensive lumber operations. The principal branch of Shade creek is Dark Shade creek, the two main forks of which rise in the southwestern part of Shade township on the western slope of the Allegheny mountains; then Beaver Dam run, composed of two forks rising on the mountain, soon flows in from the eastward, and a short distance below this confluence is the site of McGregor's dam and sawmill, built nearly forty years ago, and three-quarters of a mile below this dam, the course of the creek being nearly the same, is located Reitz's sawmill and grist mill. From Reitz's dam to Mill run, Dark Shade flows on past Mill creek, to where the combined streams become Shade creek. Clear Shade creek drains the southeastern part of Ogle township by its two upper forks, and is the site of the splash dam of the Johnstown Lumber Company. On Shade creek is the site of old Shade furnace, which occupies in the early history of the iron industry of Western Pennsylvania so conspicuous a place. Of this furnace James M. Swank, in his first edition of "Iron in All Ages," page 169, says. "Shade Furnace, on Shade creek, in Somerset county, was built in 1807 or 1808, and was the first iron enterprise in the county. It used bog ore, the discovery of which led to its erection, although the location was otherwise unfavorable. It was built by Gerehart & Reynolds upon land leased from Thomas Vickroy. In November, 1813, Mr. Vickroy advertised the furnace for sale, at a great bargain. A sale was effected in 1819 to Mark Richards, Anthony S. Earl, and Benjamin Johns, of New Jersey, constituting the firm of Richards, Earl & Co., which operated the furnace down to about 1830. In 1820, the firm built Shade Forge, below the furnace, which was carried on by William Earl for four or five years, and afterward by John Hammer and others. About 1811 Joseph Vickroy and Conrad Piper built Mary Ann Forge on Stonycreek, about five miles below Shade Furnace and half a mile below the mouth of Shade creek. David Livingston was subsequently the owner of the forge and operated it for several years. Richard Geary, the father of Governor John W. Geary, was the millwright who built the forge for the owners. Pig iron was sometimes packed 235 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. on horseback to this forge from Bedford county, the horses taking salt from the Conemaugh Salt Works and bar iron as a return load." Rockingham Furnace was situated two miles above Shade Furnace on Shade creek. It was built in 1844 by John Foust, and was subsequently operated by Custer & Little. About half a mile below the mouth of this run, the course of the stream being northwestward, Roaring Fork, a stream some six or seven miles in length, the two principal forks of which rise near Ashtola, flows in a southerly direction almost its entire course. A curve in the Shade creek is the site of the Johnstown Lumber Company's dam, half a mile above where it unites with the Stonycreek. The "Willomink," as the Indians named it, or what is now Paint creek, another tributary of the Stonycreek, rises in what was formerly Paint township, now Ogle township, Somerset county, and flows in a direction--generally west to Scalp Level, on the line between Richland township in Cambria and Paint in Somerset county. "The Big Paint creek at Scalp Level is augmented by the waters of Little Paint creek, which is formed near Elton, in Adams township, Cambria county, by the union of two runs that flow down from the southeast. Beginning at Scalp Level Paint creek flows almost due west, with short curves, to Stonycreek, about three miles distant, and from the confluence the Stonycreek flows northwest, the next runs of importance being the run flowing in from the vicinity of Davidsville, and nearer the bend Benscreek, which flows in from the westward. Benscreek has quite a large drainage area. It is composed of two large branches and many smaller tributaries. The South Fork of Benscreek rises in the Laurel Hill region in the northwestern part of Jenner township and flows southeast through Forwardstown. The North Branch of Benscreek rises in the northwestern part of Conemaugh township, Somerset county. From the junction of its forks, the course of Benscreek is toward the Cambria-Somerset county line, Millcreek, on which are situated two dams of the Johnstown Water Company, flows in a southeasterly direction from the western part of Upper Yoder township, and, bending to the eastward, Benscreek a short distance below merges with Stonycreek, as already men- 236 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. tioned, on the horseshoe curve, which is succeeded by another short curve around Ferndale; thence turning to a direct course north northwest for about a mile, past the Seventh ward, in Johnstown, it makes another staple bend to the eastward, on the right leg of which Sam's run flows, in from Richland, through Stonycreek township and the Seventh ward, and almost opposite on the bend at the upper end of Dale borough, Solomon's run, which half a mile above receives Shingle run, flows in from the east; on the opposite bank, about five hundred and fifty yards further down, Cheney run flows in from the direction of Whisky Springs. At and below Cheney run the river curves slowly to a north-by-west course for about three hundred yards, and then swerves north by east eight hundred yards to the head of Baumer street. From this point the direction of the stream is about north north-west to a point opposite the upper end of Vine street. On this last stretch of the creek a run flows in from the direction of Daisytown. This is the last accession of note the Stonycreek receives in its vast area of drainage, embracing about four hundred and fifty square miles. Near the head of Vine street, Mr. James M. Swank, in his "Iron in All Ages," says was built in 1809 the first forge in Cambria county, which marked the beginning of the great iron industry that has since made Johnstown an important and ever increasing city. The forge was probably built by John Holliday, of Hollidaysburg, John Buckwalter being its first foreman. The dam for this forge was swept away by a flood in 1811, and subsequently the forge was removed to the Conemaugh river, where the schoolhouse now stands on Iron street. It was used to hammer bar iron out of Juniata pig iron, and was operated down to 1822, Rahm and Bean, of Pittsburg, being the lessee at that time. In 1817 Thomas Burrell offered wood-choppers fifty cents per cord for chopping one thousand cords of Wood at Cambria Forge, Johnstown. About two hundred pounds of nails, valued at $30, were made at Johnstown in the census year of 1810. About this time Robert Pierson established an enterprise by which nails were cut by a machine worked with a treadle, the heads being afterward added by hand. From the head of Vine street the direction of the Stonycreek is northwestward for three hundred yards to the Kernville bridge, where it lends to the westward for about three hundred and fifty yards, and from this point northwestward 237 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. five hundred yards to the Westmont Incline Plane, and thence, bending gradually to a north-by-east course about five hundred and fifty yards in length, to The Point. Its waters are there blended with the smaller volume of the Little Conemaugh, and the rushing Conemaugh river is the result. Below the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh, the Conemaugh river runs in a northerly direction for a thousand yards, and then bends toward the northwest for two hundred and fifty yards, where Hinckston's run, which empties below the Cambria Works, brings down a considerable volume of water from Jackson township, in the northeastern part of which it rises, and flows in a south southwest direction for about nine miles of its course through East Taylor, receiving a large number of branches from either side of the stream; then, bending to the southward for half a mile, it deflects to a course nearly west by south to its mouth, a mile and a quarter distant. Hinckston's run derives its name from a tragedy that occurred at its mouth in May, 1774, in which John (or Joseph) Wipey, an inoffensive Indian--the last of the Delawares--was shot to death while fishing from his canoe in the Conemaugh by two renegade white men named John Hinckston (according to his own signature to a deed "Hinkson") and James Cooper. When the Delawares left Frankstown, Wipey remained behind and built a cabin in East Wheatfield township, Indiana county, and lived by hunting and fishing. He was an inoffensive Indian, and was regarded as the friend of the whites, being on intimate terms with the Adamses, the first white settlers within the borders of Cambria county. From Hinckston's run the course of the Conemaugh river is northwestward for about thirteen hundred yards to Elk run; which flows in from the southwest from Upper Yoder township, through Lower Yoder township. Below Elk run, Mill run, sometimes called St. Clair's run, flows in between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth wards of Johnstown, and receives near its junction Strayer run from the northwest. From this point to Sheridan Station, seven hundred yards distant, the direction of the stream is nearly northward, from which point, for six hundred yards, the direction is north by east to a point below the Twenty-first ward. At two right curves, six hundred yards across, bring us to Laurel run, which, rising in Jackson township, flows in through West Taylor in a southwesterly direction. 238 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. On this run, which is the last stream of note to enter the Conemaugh in Cambria county, the Johnstown Water Company has a dam; it also has one on Mill run, on the other side of the river. After a short curve to the westward the course of the Conemaugh is nearly north northwest for about three miles, when it leaves Cambria county and forms the boundary between Indiana county on the north and Westmoreland on the south, as far as the junction of the Loyalhanna, from which point to the junction with the Allegheny at Freeport the name of the noble stream is Kiskiminetas, an Indian name, the signification of which is "Cut Spirit," doubtless from the change in the character of the stream after the influx of the waters of the Loyalhanna, denominated by the noble red man "La-el-hanne," meaning "Middle Stream." Even before the great disaster of eighteen years ago, which made its name familiar to the civilized world, the Conemaugh had a wide celebrity, for after the introduction of the iron industry in 1807, as heretofore noted, its waters, which appear to have been too rough for the frail canoe of the Indian, bore many a flatboat loaded with iron to Pittsburg, and the town of Conemaugh sprang up at the head of navigation and continued to grow under that historic name until 1834, when the name was changed to Johnstown, after the flatboat had passed away and the packet proudly navigated the western division of the Pennsylvania canal. Mr. John McCormick of Willmore, a careful and industrious student of historical events, is the author of these graphic verses: TO THE CONEMAUGH. O! Conemaugh, rapid and turbulent stream, Thy name is historic; thy water's bright gleam Reflects the warm sunbeam, the moon's silver light, In glory of noonday or dead of the night. Thy waters of old bore the dug-out canoe, Where later the flatboat came often in view; The packet succeeded; in time passed away-- Man's greatest achievements are doomed to decay. Next rushed 'long thy valley the swift iron steed, Surpassing all things save lightning in speed, Or the swift-twirling bullet that sped through the air And pierced the wild panther that sprang from his lair, To feast on the lambkins that fed in thy vale, Whose people's proud spirit did never say "Fail"; Not, e'n when try waters in torrents came down, O'erwhelming the dwellers in city and town; 239 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY. But rose from the ruins of that one dire day To clear the last trace of its wreckage away, To build a great city all over its track-- Its victims, alas! they can never bring back. Then flow on, swift river, between those high hills, Indented so deeply with cold, sparkling rills; And be in the future what thou long hast been-- A safe route for commerce our great States between While Time shall endure and our Nation shall be The home of the brave and the land of the free.