Washington County PA Archives History .....History and Families of Mt. Pleasant Township ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/washington/ ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Gary L. Caldwell, caldwell.gary@gmail.com December 28, 2014 MOUNT PLEASANT Being a History of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania with Accounts of Families, Towns and Communities, Institutions and Events from its formation on May 12, 1806 to the present. Compiled by Alvin D. White Published under the Direction of the Board of Supervisors of Mt. Pleasant Township - Lee A. Robinson, James B. Athey and Thomas A. Herbst Final typing has been done by Priscilla J. Bernard of the Township Office BIOGRAPHY Alvin D. White who has written most of the articles in this volume, is a native of neighboring Smith Township, having been born on a farm near present Atlasburg on November 10, 1894. He attended the Cooke School in Smith Township and the Nosco Hall School in Cross Creek Township, and graduated from Cross Creek Township High School in 1913. He attended Muskingum College for two years, then began teaching: first in his home school at Nosco Hall, then at Slovan School in Smith Township and at the Cross Creek Township High School. He graduated from the School of Education of the University of Pittsburgh in 1924. He began working as Supervising Principal in 1927 and served in that capacity in the schools of Cross Creek, Jefferson and Hopewell Townships, severally and jointly, and he ended his career of forty years in educational work by serving as Elementary Supervisor in the Avella Joint Schools, retiring therefrom in 1959. Since his retirement, he has been active in writing in the local history and genealogical fields. His published writings include: The Lyles of Washington County, Pennsylvania 1934 and 1963 - History of Cross Creek Presbyterian Church 1969, History of Cross Creek Graveyard and Cemetery 1969 - History of Mt. Prospect Graveyard and Cemetery 1972 - History of Mt. Prospect Presbyterian Church 1950 and of Hickory United Presbyterian Church 1975 -History of the Cross Creek Country 1975 - Historic Sketches of Cross Creek Valley (in collaboration) 1976 - Historical Sketches of Northern Washington County 1978, and BETHEL 1981. INTRODUCTION This is perhaps the first history of Mount Pleasant Township which has ever been written for publication. It is not a complete history - limitations of time and space have forbidden any such ambitious project from being undertaken now. Since this year, 1981 marks 175 years of existence for this municipality, this writer suggested to members of the Board of Supervisors that something should be done to commemorate the event, and he offered to write a brief history to go with whatever else might be arranged. The brief sketches contained in this volume are about all that he felt able to be responsible for, so they are submitted with the hope that they may be of interest and value to a goodly number of our people. Acknowledgment of help received in the preparation of this history is given in appropriate places throughout the book. Thanks must be given, too, to the Board of Supervisors and to their office staff for all assistance and encouragement which they have given in the progress of this writing. A special thanks to Priscilla Bernard for her meticulous care in preparing the final copy for the printer. Also, thanks to Mrs. Minnie Cooke and to Miss Flora Carlisle of the Historical Committee and to Mr. Edwin B. Swartz for critically reading the final copy, and to any and all others who have helped in any way. We hope that you enjoy reading the book! A. D. White MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP "What's in a Name?" On May 10, 1788 a tract of land containing 236 acres plus allowances and situated about one mile east of the present town of Hickory was patented to one Matthew Hillis, and the patent name given to the tract was "Mount Pleasant". At that time, the area comprised within the present Township of Mount Pleasant was an almost unbroken wilderness. Quite a number of white people had already located here, but the clearing of the forests had only begun. However, the elevation of the land, the richness of the soil and the excellent drainage provided by Chartiers Creek, Raccoon Creek and Cross Creek had attracted a good class of settlers, and they could probably have agreed that Nount Pleasant was a good name for this area. The tract of land referred to above was, in part at least, the farm known for many years as the McCoy Farm, later owned by the Odis Schafer Family and now owned by Eugene Petricca of Smith Township. While this land does lie at a good elevation, yet it is not the highest point in the area. The high knob, once a part of the Griffith Farm, later the Berryhill Farm, and now the property of James A. Phillips, is higher and more prominent, and it might well have been called "Mount Pleasant". But since this name had been pre-empted by the Hills tract, John Griffith, when he obtained a patent for his land in June, 1818, had to be satisfied to call his tract simply "Mountain". The knob on this tract on which Mr. James J. Schollaert has erected his fine residence has an elevation of 1,330 feet, which approaches, if it does not exceed any other elevation in the Township. Mount Pleasant was not one of the original thirteen townships of Washington County. The territory included within the Township Has former1y a part of the now surrounding townships of Smith, Cecil, Hopewell and Canton, all of which were "original" townships, which were set up at the time Washington County was established in 1781. On January 6, 1806 a petition signed by citizens of this section of the County was presented to the Grand Jury of the Court of Quarter Sessions of the County, praying for the erection of a new township whose territory was to be taken from the four above-mentioned townships. The Grand Jury acted favorably on this petition, and in the May term of Court in that year of 1806, the action of the Grand Jury was confirmed and a decree ordered for the erection of a new Township to be called "Mount Pleasant", Therefore in this year of 1981, Mount Pleasant Township has had one hundred seventy-five years of corporate existence, So, as the State is observing three hundred years since its settlement by William Penn in 1681, and Washington County is celebrating its two hundredth Anniversary, so, on May 12, 1981 Mount Pleasant Township may observe its 175th Birthday, no small period of time in the History of our State, our County and our Township. An addition was made to the area of Mount Pleasant Township in 1831 when a small strip of land was taken from Chartiers Township and annexed to Mount Pleasant. The area of the Township and its boundaries have remained fairly constant over the years of its existence, However, two of its boundary lines have been in dispute in recent years. The line between Mount Pleasant and Smith townships, which begins at the former James Campbell farm, now the Pollana Farm and continues in a north-easterly direction for about 2 3/4 miles has been in dispute at various times, relative to the matter in which township certain residences near this line are located, The resolution of such a problem determines in which township the resident must pay taxes, and also where the children from the home will attend school. Farm homes located near this disputed line are those of the Nello Mungai family, the former McGugin or Fullerton Farm, and the old Leech Farm home, now the home of Robert Mungai. Likewise the line between Mount Pleasant Township and Chartiers has been in dispute involving in this case the collection of taxes on the properties of the Westland Mine of Consolidation Coal Company which is located near the disputed line. On government maps these two lines are called "indeterminate". It would be a source of satisfaction to the municipality and to the residents near these disputed township lines to have surveys made to determine the exact position of each boundary. THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE "I will give thee this land for an everlasting possession." During the years preceding 1770, settlement by the white people within the area of Western Pennsylvania west of the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers was not permitted. Treaties with the Indians then in existence forebade settlement by the whites in this area, But this rule was changed when, on November 6, 1768, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix was signed with the Indians, and following that event, white settlers could legally locate here. Any who had settled before that time did so illegally and could have been removed by the colonial government, and in fact, some were so removed, or at least were ordered to leave the area. Some few settlers had lived here in violation of the Law, and many hunters, trappers and traders had invaded the region in pursuit of game and in commerce with the red men. Following the signing of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, a Land Office was opened in Westmoreland County for processing applications from persons who were intent upon taking up tracts of land here. Thus, the way was opened for legal occupation of the land by white settlers. Dual ownership, or at least over-lapping claims to this area by the colonial governments of both Pennsylvania and Virginia complicated the orderly settlement of the land, as well as the issuing of warrants and patents for tracts of land as desired by the incoming settlers. Had not the Revolutionary War intervened, serious trouble between Pennsylvania and Virginia might have taken place. But fighting side by side in a common cause in the War prevented this trouble, with the result that settlers came into the area from east of the mountains in both Pennsylvania and Virginia; those coming from eastern Pennsylvania filed warrants with the Pennsylvania Land Office above mentioned, while the Virginians who settled here did so on so-called "Virginia Certificates", issued by the colonial government at Richmond. We are using the terms "warrant" and "patent", and perhaps we should pause here and explain the meaning and significance of these terms. When a settler came here with the intention of making a settlement, he usually selected his tract of land by marking trees at the corners and along the sides of the desired tract; this constituted what was called a ''tomahawk claim", and in some cases it was the only action taken by the settler and he became a "squatter" on the land. His claim was not a valid one, however, and would not stand up in a court of law if his right to the land was questioned by someone else. To obtain legal possession of the land, the settler took out a warrant for the desired tract of land. This was filed with the Land Office and was, in effect, a formal application for possession of the desired tract and also an application to have the land surveyed. When the survey was completed, a plot or map of the tract was made and it was submitted to the Land Office, and in due time, if no complications arose, a patent or deed was issued to the settler signed by the Land Office and the governor of the State, and the tract then became the legal property of the new owner, who was known as the patentee. Frequently, contending parties would claim the same tract, or parts of adjoining tracts and then the cause was taken to the Court having jurisdiction for adjudication. We will here list the tracts of land in present Mount Pleasant Township which were taken up on Certificates from Virginia: Heading this list must be a tract of 2,813 acres patented to the "Father of our Country", George Washington. Yes, General and later President Washington was not only a large landowner in present Mount Pleasant Township, but the patent issued to him was the first in point of time being given by the Colony of Virginia on July 3, 1774. This, too, was the largest single tract in point of acreage granted in this Township. This land lay just south of the location of Fort Cherry High School: It was a rectangular-shaped block of land and lay almost entirely within the bounds of Mount Pleasant Township, although the eastern boundary lay very near to the present western boundary line of Cecil Township. An account of General Washington's visit to this land in 1784 will be given later in this history. The General's nephew, Lund Washington also got in on an early land grant, when he received a patent for 1,000 acres of land near the present town of Cherry Valley, this one being dated February 1, 1779. The land speculators in the East at an early date saw the opportunity to secure sizable tracts of land at bargain prices. Matthew Ritchie and William Bruce received a warrant for 1,307 acres on May 3,1774, but the date on which the patent was issued does not appear on the record but this land lay directly south of the site of present Hickory. Then, on the western side of the Township, on December 23,1779 a patent was issued for 1,000 acres to Thomas Rutherford. This tract lay partly in Mount Pleasant Township and partly in Smith Township. The Rankin Family came here from Winchester, Virginia in 1774 and William Rankin, the head of the family took up two large tracts of land: Chestnut Ridge of 402+ acres and High Spring of 394+ acres, lying in the valley of the main stream of the middle branch of Raccoon Creek, and about where the West Penn Water Company dam is now located. Then, his son, Zechariah Rankin took up the tract Black Oak Ridge of 337+ acres, this 'being located where the former McCalmont Farm and the lands now belonging to W. Scott Russell are. And David Rankin, another son took out papers for two tracts: Ballentay of 400 acres and a smaller adjoining tract of 115 acres, this land lying in the vicinity of the present town of Westland. In the same part of this area, John Berry became the owner of a tract of 400 acres, the patent name being Bloomfield. This lay partly in Chartiers Township, or at least near the Chartiers Township line. On the northern side of the Township, John Conyer secured a warrant for 142 acres which was patented as "Turkey Corner" sometime later to his son, Thomas Conyer. This land lay about where Fort Cherry High School is now located. Going down the valley of Cherry Run for a mile or two, we find the Achesons, Humphrey and Matthew taking up sizable tracts of land on Virginia Certificates, and adjoining their land to the west, Thomas Cherry took out papers for three tracts: The Comely Green, Fairfield and Fallowfield, totaling more than 1,000 acres. It was on one of these tracts that Cherry's Fort was located. A tract known as Richfield of 350+ acres was patented to Abner Wilson and David Decker, possibly speculators, and immediately after the issuing of the patent, this land was sold to Robert Lyle who had come into the area from Northampton County in June, 1784. This land lay just north of Mt. Prospect Church, in fact, the church was located on a corner of this land when the congregation was established in 1825. Samuel Smith took up the tract Smithfield of 144 acres, this lying about one-half mile west of Mt. Prospect Church, and about where the farm formerly belonging to Jewel Hinerman is located. And John Smith, a brother took up another Smithfield just to the south of Samuel's tract; this contained 298 acres, being the farm presently owned by Richard and Barbara Stewart. William Price took out a warrant for 401 acres for a tract called Stevenson's Grove, since the patent was given to Robert Stevenson, who had title to the tract, Walnut Bottom just north of the first tract. These lands lay just south of Mt. Prospect Church and took in the present farms of Robert Brezinski, J. C. Ray, and the former Alfred Donaldson farm, and the land once owned by the Simpsons and still later by Glenn and Ruth Clarke. To the east of these lands lay the 398 acres patented to James Miller as Albee's House, and being the land included in the farm presently owned by Mrs Walter Cooper. And west of this tract was the land of 399+ acres which had been taken up by John Napier as Long Meadow, being in part the farm now owned by S. L. McCalmont. From the foregoing account of patents issued by the Colony and later the State of Virginia, one gets an idea of the interest which the Virginians had in this area, an interest which continued until 1784 when the Mason and Dixon Line was continued to the present south­western corner of Pennsylvania, and which, by agreement between Pennsylvania and Virginia terminated the claim of the latter State to the lands in this region. We will a bit later list the patents to lands obtained on Pennsylvania warrants. In the settlement of this land, it becomes apparent that the situation prevailed for a time, where settlers from eastern Pennsylvania had located here under the jurisdiction of their State, while their neighbors, as per the list just given were obtaining possession of their land under the terms outlined by the government of the Colony and State of Virginia. As suggested above, this might have created a potentially explosive situation had not the Revolutionary War intervened. As it was, conflicts did arise over the actual ownership of some of the land, but the rule was that "whoever got there first" and obtained valid warrants and patents to the land became the acknowledged owners of the various tracts of land, and where disputes did arise, most were settled in the courts, and very seldom, as far as is known, in a resort to force or violence. Eventually, all Virginia Certificates were accepted by the Pennsylvania Land Office. However, for complete records of ownership, search often had to be made in records at Richmond, Virginia. When the Pittsburgh vein of coal was sold under the farms then included in the Washington Lands, a complete search of title had to be made in the records at Richmond. This matter was described to the writer by the late Shelley Morgan who displayed to me the records which had been obtained at Richmond. For the patents received from the Pennsylvania Land Office, of course, the matter was more simple since land records for most tracts of land here were on record in the Washington County Court House as well as in the Office of the Department of Internal Affairs at Harrisburg. We will now give a record of the lands for which patents were issued by Pennsylvania to the early residents of Mount Pleasant Township: Name of Grantor Patent Name Acreage of Tract Humphrey Acheson Raccoon Haunt 292 (David Acheson) Samuel Agnew Nantucket 403 (two tracts) Strabane 321 Eli Allen Allendale 322 John Berry Bloomfield 400 William Campbell Bevington 228 Mary Cowden Horn Head 154 John Cowen Cowen Hall 242 John Downing Discord 417 James Downing Poland 368 (William Patterson) Timothy Downing Plenty 277 John Donahey Conceit 429 Elizabeth Donahey Linnen Hall 234 John Brown (no name) 96 Robert Gutry (Guthrie) Waterford 366 John Griffith Mountain 289 John Glenn Remnant 285 Matthew Hillis Mount Pleasant 236 Samuel Irvine Littleton 190 (Hugh McKnight) John Lyle Hollywood 400 Aaron Lyle Otter Hill 127 John Lindsey Linsey-Woolsey (two tracts) 76 and 84 John Leiper Conveyance 174 Robert Montgomery Gurnville 192 David McGoogan (no name) 268 (McGugin) Hugh McConkey Punch 165 James McClelland Peace and Plenty236 John McLaughlin Potato Flat 203 George McComb Edge Hill 325 John NcCarty Rhodes 300 John Orr Derry 182 John Porter Horne Head 192 Robert Robertson Rose Gill 141 James Stevenson Ringwood 398 (Robert Stevenson) (Walnut Bottom) Thomas Thompson Thorn's Hall 136 Joseph Wells Pleasant Valley 320 Isaac Wells Wellwood 269 Moses Wallace Cobham 135 As noted above, almost every tract of land when patented was given a name, and this name was written in the deed or patent paper issued by the Commonwealth. This deed was usually written on very heavy paper (parchment) so it was very durable, and many of these old papers could still be around today, if properly cared for over the years. This writer has the "sheep-skin" as it was sometimes called for the tract of 400+ acres, "Hollywood" patented to his great-great- grandfather, John Lyle in July, 1786. The consideration given is Three Pounds, 13 shillings and 6 pence (English money)which if translated into American money at present values would be about ten dollars and sixty-five cents. This is not to be considered as the purchase price of the land, but rather a fee paid to the Land Office to defray the costs of issuing the warrant, having the land surveyed, and issuing the patent. The land was actually given to the settler who had complied with regulations and had paid the assigned fee. The three Lyle Brothers, John, Robert and Aaron Lyle were all Revolutionary veterans. No donation lands" appear to have been given in Washington County for Revolutionary service, as was done in Beaver County and other counties to the north of Washington. John and Aaron Lyle received title to the lands on which they settled by patent, but Robert Lyle had to buy his land from Abner Wilson and David Decker as noted, and he probably had to pay a much higher price to obtain title to his land than did his brothers. It might be noted, too, that the McGoogan (or McGugin as it is now spelled) family who were the first regular white settlers in Mount Pleasant were among the last to take out papers to secure title to their land. James A. McGugin once told this writer that his Grandfather, David McGugin who took out the papers lost some of the land which he claimed by this delay in securing the patent. An adjoining land owner claimed a part of the land which Daniel McGugin considered as his, so the patent was issued to the McGugins for a reduced acreage. Also, this tract did not have a patent name, as did most other tracts Most of these patent names were fanciful titles without reference, in most cases, to anything about the tract itself, but occasionally the name might have had some significance. When John Downing gave the name "Discord" to has tract of 417 acres, it may have reflected some dispute that he had with someone else who claimed ownership of the same tract. When James McClelland gave the name "Peace and Plenty" to his land, it may have indicated peaceful possession of the land, and also the fertile, productive soil such as this land, the present John C. Dinsmore farm is still noted for. FIRST FAMILIES IN MOUNT PLEASANT "Return ye every man unto his own family" As the First Families of Mount Pleasant Township, we recognize those families who came here among the first settlers on each tract of land and who were either patentees of the land upon which they settled, or who purchased their land from the patentees at an early day. The order in which we present these has no particular significance except that they are covered, roughly, in about the order in which they appeared on the local scene. The McGugin Family As elsewhere noted, the McGoogans (now spelled McGugins) were the first white family to settle in the area now incorporated in Mount Pleasant Township. They were Irish immigrants and the date of their arrival here is given as 1770. Daniel McGoogan and his wife, Ann settled possibly on a tract adjoining the one on which they later made their home, but their permanent location was made not long after their arrival here. It is believed that Ann McGoogan was of the Catholic faith, but if so, she and her husband became adherents of the Presbyterian Church at Buffalo Village soon after its founding in 1779, and this pioneer couple are believed to be buried in the old graveyard there, but there is no legible marker at their grave . We have noted that Mr. McGoogan did not "take out papers" for his land during his life time, this having been done by his son, David in 1817. Evidently the first Mr. McGoogan believed that possession was nine points of the law", so the family lived as "Squatters" until the land title was properly obtained by the son, David. The farm which was cleared by the first two generations living on it, was occupied by the family for three more generations before being sold to the Ohio Valley Lutheran Bible Camp Association in 1964. It was among the last of the farms settled and occupied by original settlers to pass into ownership outside the family. Succeeding the first McGoogan as owner and resident on the farm was his son, David, who in turn passed the land onto his son, Alexander Vincent McGugin, who owned and occupied it from 1861 to his death in 1903, when it passed down to his son, James A. McGugin who with his family occupied the land until sold by him to the Camp Association as noted. Like other families of Mount Pleasant, so too did the McGugins increase in numbers so that the "old farm" did not provide room for all of them, so migrations occurred. Daniel, son of Daniel moved to West Middletown where he conducted a hotel business for many years. Another son of Daniel, the first, went on a flat-boat trip to New Orleans, where James A. McGugin told this writer he sold a shipment of flour and invested the proceeds in a large quantity of indigo and started with it by boat to New York City, but he died on the voyage and was buried at sea, with no report of what happened to the indigo. Other members of the family located elsewhere in the Mount Pleasant and adjoining areas. The family is represented locally by a daughter of James A, McGugin, Mrs Gertrude McGugin Phillips, wife of Robert S. Phillips, who occupies a home in the Township, which was the retirement home of her grandfather, Alex. V, McGugin and later of her father, James A, McGugin whose death occurred on August 7, 1980. So, this "First Family" has been prominent in agriculture, business and religious activities of Mount Pleasant Township for a full 210 years. Until it was taken over by the Lutherans for camp purposes, the McGugin Farm was conducted as a general farming operation with cattle, sheep and hogs being raised and crops grown as feed for the animals kept on the farm. In the earlier days when sheep raising was being attempted and wolves were still running rampant through the forests here, James A, McGugin told the story that, on one occasion, the flock of Daniel McGoogan was being attacked by a pack of wolves, a heavily-horned ram led his harem of ewes on to one of the large flat rocks which abound on the ridge on this farm, and from this vantage point, the ram was able to keep the wolves at bay until Daniel McGoogan came with his trusty flint lock rifle and drove the wolves away. It was on this farm that the Mighty McGugin Gas well was drilled in 1882: An account of it will be found among the "Exciting Events" in another part of this history. The Rankin Family The Rankin Family came to this area from Frederick County near Winchester in Virginia in the 1770's and they located on and patented sizable tracts of land in the middle branch of Raccoon Creek and on the adjoining ridge to the west of this valley. The tracts shown on the patent map for the township and for which the Rankins claimed ownership totaled at least 1,800 acres, and through purchase of other lands, William Rankin, the head of the Family, became the largest landowner in the present township, second only to the size of the tract which had been patented to George Washington. When William Rankin first came here, possibly in 1773, he cleared some land and erected a log cabin to which he moved his family in 1774, bringing with him his wife and seven sons and two daughters, and leaving in Virginia two sons, David and William Rankin who had married and were already settled in Frederick County. Thus fortified with large tracts of land and with seven stalwart sons to help the family establish itself here, the various tracts owned by the family were quickly cleared and homes were established on each tract, and the business of farming and related industries were quickly gotten under way. As owners of one of the largest tracts of land, the Rankin Family was, at one time, the largest single family entity in the whole area. For many years, the family prospered and increased in numbers and in prominence. Migrations to other areas occurred as in other families, but many of them remained here. But with the passage of time and the deaths of older members of the family and the migrations of younger members, the name Rankin declined in numbers until in this year, 1981, only one household bearing this family name exists in the area, and this is Mrs. Mary Frye Rankin, widow of S. Hupp Rankin who died on November 18,1980. In addition to the numerous farms once owned by this family, one of the important land-marks was the old Rankin Mill, established by Samuel Rankin, son of William, in 1806 as a saw mill and later changed to include a grist mill, too. The site of the water dam and the long mill-race carrying water to this old mill can still be easily traced on the old Rankin farm, now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Cowden and family at the head of the water dam of the West Penn Water Company on this branch of Raccoon Creek. The mill was operated by Samuel Rankin until his death, and then by his son, James Rankin until around the turn of the century. The Campbell Families This old family, also very numerous during most of the nineteenth century in Mount Pleasant and adjoining Smith and Cross Creek Townships came to the area in the early 1770's, with William Campbell locating in Mount Pleasant Township, his brother John Campbell just across the line on an adjoining farm in Cross Creek Township, another brother Charles Campbell taking up land mostly in Mount Pleasant Township but near the Smith Township line, while a fourth brother, James Campbell located on a farm near present Atlasburg in Smith Township. A sister of these men, Ann Campbell Ritchie with her husband became land-owners in Cross Creek Township near Cross Creek Village. The Campbells were of the Presbyterian faith and attended divine services at the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church during the life time of the original settlers, and all of the four brothers named and their sister, Mrs. Ritchie are buried in the old graveyard at Cross Creek. The family of William Campbell figures most prominently in Mount Pleasant Township, and later generations of his family were members of Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church after its founding in 1825 and later members of the family are buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard, including James Campbell, son of William and his wife, Elizabeth, who lived on the old farm which is now owned by the Pollana Family; another son of James was Jesse Campbell who lived on the present Mungai Farm. Some of his family migrated to Kentucky. The last of the Campbells to live on the old home farm ln Mount Pleasant was a bachelor, James S. Campbell and his maiden sisters who were all children of Napoleon Bonaparte Campbell and his wife, Margaret Simpson Campbell. Since only one of the children of Napoleon and Margaret S. Campbell was married and no children were born to that marriage, this section of the family no longer exists. However, Napoleon B. Campbell had a sister, Matilda Campbell who married James McGugin. This family lived on the Mount Pleasant-Smith Townships line near the medical center on Route 18 North. They are represented in Mount Pleasant by the Carlisle Family who are grand-children and great-grand-children of James and Matilda Campbell McGugin. The family of John Campbell, the original settler in Cross Creek Township is represented in Mount Pleasant by the children and grandchildren of the late Walter M. Campbell, whose widow, Florella Caldwell Campbell and sons, Richard and William Campbell are residents of the area. While the pioneers, William and John Campbell were among the early members of the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church, and they and their wives are buried at Cross Creek, upon the organization of the Mount Prospect Church in 1825, both families affiliated with it and later generations of both are buried at Mount Prospect Graveyard and Cemetery. The Acheson Family John Acheson, of Lowland Scotch origin, was born about 1710 in Ireland. He and his wife, Catherine migrated from Ireland, possibly from County Armagh, and settled in Little Britain Township in southern Lancaster County of the Province of Pennsylvania by 1738, in the wave of Scotch-Irish immigration which occurred in the 1700's. In all records of Lancaster County, the name was Atchison, but in frontier Washington County it ultimately became Acheson, which is the accepted spelling in the present day. The first record of the family so far found is dated September 5, 1738 when John Atchison warranted 233 acres one mile north of the village of Little Britain, and less than fifty miles from the City of Baltimore, Maryland, and five miles north of the famous Mason and Dixon line which was run many decades later. In the next forty years John Atchison prospered, and as his sons became of age, they married and acquired farms nearby. The two oldest sons and the oldest daughter married into the Reed Family. Because pioneering was in the blood of these hardy Scotchmen, the time for a change had arrived. Soon after John Atchison's death in 1778, all migrated to Washington County, except the youngest son, John who stayed on the original land in Lancaster County.Even sturdy 66 year old Catherine came with the aid of her 22 year old slave girl. Catherine died in 1792 in Washington County. It seems likely that John's son, Matthew was born on the trip from Ireland to America, as he was 44 years old at the time of the Acheson­ Reed migration from Lancaster County to Washington County. On a Virginia Certificate he warranted 500 acres of land in what is now Mount Pleasant Township two miles north of the present village of Hickory. This land lay directly west of the 2813 acre tract on which the two Reed brothers settled with eleven other Seceders (Associate Presbyterians). Later George Washington claimed this tract, it having been patented to him by the Colony of Virginia on July 5, 1774, and he visited the so-called "squatters" on his land in 1784 and took steps to evict them. Matthew Atchison's name first appears on record in Washington County in a bill of sale made by David Rankin to him on the 10th of April, 1778, in which Rankin sold "unto Matthew Atchison of said County a tract of land on the headwaters of Raccoon Creek adjoining lands of William Rankin, Thomas Cherry and John Reed". John's second son, Humphrey Atchison married to Rebecca Reed took a warrant for 300 acres near his brother, Matthew's land on the head­waters of Raccoon Creek on September 18, 1785 and he named the tract "Raccoon Haunt". Humphrey and Matthew both served in Capt. David Reed's company of Rangers during the Revolutionary War. In later years Humphrey gave his sons, David and John all the land of the warranty except 119 acres which was the homestead. Eventually, John and David moved to Ohio, and later their brother, Humphrey also went to Ohio after the father's death. Matthew's son, Humphrey Acheson was a school-master in Mount Pleasant Township from 1800 to 1809. He died in 1813 while serving as a private in Capt. Coulson's company in U. S. service in the War of 1812. Matthew's third son, Matthew Reed Acheson I lived practically all of his life on a part of his father's original 500 acres, and his son, Matthew Reed Acheson II, too, spent all of his life on the old homestead. John Smith Acheson, son of Matthew Reed Acheson II, and a life-long farmer of Mount Pleasant Township was the grandfather of Lois Acheson and Mildred Acheson Dallmeyer, who still live in Hickory, and of Matthew Reed Acheson IV of Midway and Raymond Worstell Acheson of State College, Pennsylvania. This sketch on the Acheson Family was prepared by Miss Lois Acheson of Hickory, who is a direct descendant of the original Achesons of Mount Pleasant. Before her retirement, Miss Acheson was a teacher in Mount Pleasant Elementary School at Hickory. The McCalmont Family 1806 is the year in which the name McCalmont first appeared in what is now Mount Pleasant Township, when John McCalmont and his wife, Mary Proudfoot McCalmont arrived in the area, coming from east of the Alleghenies. John McCalmont had been born in Franklin County and his wife, Mary in York County; she was a daughter of David and Nancy Livingstone Proudfoot. John Proudfoot (or Proudfit as it is now spelled) a brother of Mary, married Elizabeth Lyle, and they too migrated to Washington County and settled near Burgettstown. On March 3,1807, John and Mary McCalmont executed a mortgage for nine hundred eighty-five dollars and sixty-two cents, to be paid in 12 annual installments, without interest. The farm which they had bought with the proceeds of this loan was a 250 acre tract located out the ridge road two miles north of Hickory. This farm remained in the name of the McCalmont Family until the 1970's, when it was sold by Cora HcCalmont, widow of Allison McCalmont, they being the last of the family to own and live on this farm. In addition to conducting a good farm operation, John McCalmont was a "good" blacksmith, and he operated a distillery which was especially noted for the fine brands of apple jack, peach brandy and corn whiskey which it produced. Mary and John McCalmont were the parents of nine children, four of whom died young or left no descendants. Of the remaining five: James HcCalmont married Sarah McBurney and they settled on a farm near Candor in Robinson Township; Alexander HcCalmont married Mary Allison of Beaver County, and they settled on the home farm which Mr. McCalmont operated until his retirement when he and his wife moved to West Middletown. Then, creating a genealogist's night-mare! David McCalmont married Eleanor Moore, Eliza McCalmont married Samuel Moore, and John McCalmont, Jr. married Mary Ann Moore; These Moores were a brother and two sisters, children of John and Margaret McKee Moore. To further compound the complex relationships occasioned by three marriages of the McCalmonts and Moores, following the death of Mary Proudfit McCalmont in 1839, John McCalmont married Margaret McKee Moore, whose husband, John Moore had been killed in 1834 when he fell from a high timber in the construction of the first brick church of the Mount Pleasant Seceder congregation at Hickory. By this marriage of John McCalmont and Margaret McKee Moore, Mr. McCalmont became the step-father to his own three children. (A note of interests the mother of Margaret McKee Moore joined the forces of the colonial army in the American Revolution, entered the service with her brother, dressed as a man, chewed tobacco, swore and went through the War without it being discovered that she was a woman!) The McCalmont Family were traditionally adherents of the Presbyterian doctrine, and they could trace their ancestry back to a Scottish Covenanter preacher, Thomas McColman, who fled to Ireland in 1666 or 1668 to escape religious persecution during the reign of King Charles II. John and Mary McCalmont and their family were members of the old Associate Presbyterian (Seceder) congregation at Hickory, which later became the United Presbyterian Church of Mount Pleasant and now the Hickory United Presbyterian Church. Another marriage which involved the McCalmonts was that of Mary (Polly) McCalmont with John Henderson, a son of the Rev.Matthew Henderson, who was the first Associate Presbyterian minister in Washington County and who served as pastor of the Chartiers Associate Church at Canonsburg and the North Buffalo Associate Church in Buffalo Township. John and Polly Henderson were farmers and owned and conducted the farm known in later years as the Clarence Carter farm in Mount Pleasant. The McCalmonts in Mount Pleasant have, traditionally, been hard­ working farmers with very strong religious ties: Many of the family name have become church leaders, ministers and elders. Within the bounds of Mount Pleasant Township at the present time, there are few of the McCalmont family name, but there are many descendants of the family bearing names such as White, Miller, Robinson, Marquis, Ray, Moore, etc. This article on the McCalmont Family has been compiled by Miss Ruth White who is serving as genealogist for the Family, being a direct descendant of the original McCalmont pioneers of the Township. Miss White is a member of the faculty of the Fort Cherry High School, a teacher in the Sunday School of the Hickory United Presbyterian Church and a member of the choir in this congregation. The Cherry Family and Cherry Fort Thomas Cherry, born near Bristol, England migrated to America with his wife and three children in 1770. They settled for a short time in Frederick County, Maryland, but came to what is now Mount Pleasant Township in 1774. They located in what soon came to be known as the Cherry Run Valley (named for the family) about three miles north of the present town of Hickory. As has been noted, Mr. Cherry took out warrants for three tracts of heavily forested land totaling over one thousand acres. On this land, Thomas Cherry built a fort in 1774 for the protection of his own family and of the families of his neighbors: The McCartys, Rankins, and others. The fort consisted of three log buildings arranged in the form of a triangle. The largest building was a log house, two stories in height with the upper story arranged to be used as a look-out. The two other buildings could be described as cabins and were smaller. The fort was built to withstand a formidable attack, and was considered impregnable by the Indians who probably never made a direct attack on it. It was enclosed in a stockade. In 1780 Thomas Cherry was found dead at the spring near the Fort with a bullet hole through his brain, but the nature of the wound and the fact that he had not been scalped and that his empty rifle was found at his side pointed to an accidental discharge of the weapon. His body was the first to be buried in the private graveyard on the Cherry Farm. In the summer of 1782, John Cherry, son of Thomas, took part in the pursuit of a band of Wyandotte Indians who had come into the northern side of present Washington County and had taken Philip Jackson of Hanover Township prisoner. A party in charge of John Jack, a professional scout, and consisting of John Cherry, Adam and Andrew Poe, William Castleman, William Rankin and Thomas Whitacre started in pursuit of the Indians. Coming upon the party near Tomlinson's Run in present Hancock County, West Virginia, a fierce battle ensued. John Cherry fired the first shot and he himself was mortally wounded in the return fire when he was shot through the left lung. As the battle proceeded, Cherry sat under a sugar tree, praying that his companions would not let the red men scalp him. Despite his comrades' efforts to keep him alive, he died within an hour and his body was carried back to his home on horseback and was buried beside his father in the family graveyard. The Cherrys were fortunate that the land which they held was not a part of the tract claimed by George Washington, who had the settlers on his land evicted. The Cherry land adjoined the Lund Washington tract of 1,000 acres, and this Washington succeeded in evicting John and William Rankin, neighbors of the Cherrys, in a contest for possession of his land. But the Cherry Family escaped court battles and eviction as many of their neighbors had to submit to. Moses Cherry, another son of Thomas, occupied the tract, Fairfield which had been patented to his father, He married Jane Atchison, a neighbor's daughter, Moses was a veteran of the War of 1812. He died June 15, 1815 aged 46 years and he is buried in Mount Pleasant Graveyard at Hickory. All of his children went west and no descendants of this branch can be traced since the departure of the family from this area, The farm which they owned was bought and occupied by John McBurney. Edward Cherry, youngest son of Thomas, purchased the homestead from the other heirs and he occupied the house at the Fort until his death on July 1, 1856. He married Rebecca Perrin of Hopewell Township and they had a family of ten children. He, too, was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was a man of sterling moral worth and true piety but he was not a member of any church, He and his wife are buried in the Mount Pleasant Graveyard, Edward P. Cherry, son of Edward and Rebecca, was born in 1818 and died in 1892. He had a new house erected on the farm, and the residence in the old fort was then abandoned. Mr. Cherry was fond of hunting and was a skilled marksman. His wife was Mary Jane Lawton of Cross Creek Township, William P. Cherry, an older brother of Edward P. was born in the old house at the Fort on December 6, 1803. He became an eccentric man, had attended school for only a few days, but he was a student all his life and instructed himself in all that pertained to an ordinary English education. He was especially proficient in mathematics and he had studied surveying and could run lines and make plots correctly and neatly. But he was shy and could not impart to others what he had learned himself. He was industrious and frugal and plain in his living habits. He took no stock in churches, but was a careful student of the Scriptures and was moral in his conduct, and he lived more at peace with his neighbors than anybody else in the community. Following his death on April 12, 1892, a grateful tribute to his memory was compiled by a boyhood friend, the Hon. William M. Farrar of Cambridge, Ohio from which this account of his life is taken. The private graveyard on the Cherry Farm was used for several of the older members of the family, and it was cared for as long as members of the family remained on the farm. But after the death of William P. Cherry in 1890 and of Edward P. Cherry in 1892, the farm was sold to Martin Raab who removed the headstones from the graves and used them for other purposes, and then turned the graveyard into a pig sty. All traces of the plot have been erased, although none of the bodies were ever removed from the graveyard. Later members of the Cherry Family were buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery at Hickory. This account of the Cherry Family is based on a study made by Miss Janice Foflygen while a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1973. She compiled a paper entitled: "Fort Cherry, The Death and Burial of Local History". In her research in the vicinity of the site of Cherry's Fort, she decried the little knowledge and the lack of inter­est which most people .in the community seemed to have regarding the important historical events connected with the Cherry Family and Cherry Fort. This situation, of course, is due to the fact that our public schools do not teach local history! The old Cherry Farm is now in the possession of the J. H. Loffert family, and the Cherry Graveyard was located about where the garage is on the farm near the public road. No one of the Cherry Family now lives in Mount Pleasant Township, but the name is recalled in the Cherry Run Valley, the town Cherry Valley in Smith Township, the Fort Cherry Junior­Senior High School, and the Cherry Hills Inn and Country Club. The McBurney - Russell - Donaldson - McCarrell Families These four families are treated together in this history because of inter-marriages between them, and of other marriages of these families with other prominent families in Mount Pleasant Township and adjoining areas. James McBurney was born in Ireland in 1?40 and was there married to Jeanette Milligan in 1764. They migrated to America in 1783, coming on the first ship that sailed in peace after the close of the Revolutionary War. Mr. McBurney was a merchant tailor, and in Cecil Township where they settled, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. He was noted for his attention to the solemnity of taking an oath, and he was elected an elder in the Robinson Run Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. He died in August, 1822 and he and his wife are buried in the graveyard at Robinson Run. Their children were: Elizabeth McBurney who married John Moss and lived on a farm near Hickory: John McBurney who married Sarah Hunter; he was an elder in both the Burgettstown and Mount Pleasant U. P. Churches, and he and his wife lived and died on his father's farm near Midway. The family of John and Sara Hunter McBurney were as follows: 1. Jennie McBurney married Andrew Donaldson and they lived on the Steubenville Pike in Robinson Township. 2. James McBurney married, first Jane Acheson and second Catherine Lindsey Wilson. They bought and lived on his father's farm near Midway. 3. Esther McBurney married Richard Donaldson and they, too, lived in Robinson Township. 4. John 11cBurney married Jennie Keys and they bought and lived on the Hoses Cherry farm in Cherry Valley in Mount Pleasant Township. 5. Elizabeth McBurney married, first Major James Harper and second Andrew Miller. 6. Robert McBurney married Eliza Welsh, and they lived on a farm near Midway. 7. Sarah McBurney married James McCalmont and they lived on a farm near Candor in Robinson Township. 8. David McBurney married Eliza Jane Lyle and they lived at Scroggsfield, Ohio. 9. Samuel HcBurney married first Sarah Jane George and second Mary E. McCauslin George. They lived near the Conoton in Ohio. Ezra McBurney, son of John and Jennie Keys McBurney, above, married Letitia Russell and their children were: Jennie D., Mary L. who married Andrew D. McCarrell, a son who died young, Martha L., and Mattie B. McBurney. Of this family, only Mary L. was married, as shown. Andrew Russell was born in Scotland in 1732 and came to America in 1758. After his marriage to Isabel Mays, they settled near Oxford in eastern Pennsylvania, but came to Washington County to a farm in Cecil Towmship. But later they settled on a farm in Chartiers Township near McConnells' Mills, the farm presently occupied by Mrs. Robert H. Dinsmore. Mr. Russell was a blacksmith and worked at his trade here in Washington County. The Russell Family consisted of ten children, and they are listed here to show the families into which most of them were married: 1. Robert Russell, also a blacksmith married Nancy Woodburn. 2. Alexander Russell was a fife major in the Revolutionary War and died at the age of 26 years. 3. Polly Russel married James Miller and they located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania having among other children two sons who became ministers: R. J. Hiller of the United Presbyterian Church, and J. R. Miller of the Presbyterian Church U, S. A. These two men served as Editor of the official publications of their respective churches during a large part of their lives. J, R. Miller, in addition, was a prolific writer and during his long life-time wrote and published some forty books, all of a religious character. 4. Jane Russell married David Gault, a tanner and they lived near Canonsburg. Descendants of this couple now live in Union Township near Finleyville, 5. Peggy Russell married Robert Thompson and they lived on the headwaters of Little Chartiers Creek. 6. Ibby Russell married John Henderson and 7. Betsey Russell married Robert Henderson, both sons of Rev. Matthew Henderson of Canonsburg. 8. Hannah Russell married Wallace McCluskey and they lived in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, 9. Lydia Russell died young. 10.Andrew Russell, Jr. married Ann J.McClelland of Mount Pleasant Township. Their son, Andrew Russell III married Jane Hiller, and their daughter, Letitia Russell married Ezra McBurney, as shown above in the sketch on the McBurney Family. Jacob Donaldson, first of this family to migrate to America was born in Ireland in 1761.Coming to America as a young man, he settled for a time on a farm in Hopewell Township. He married Margery McKinney and they came to a farm in Mount Pleasant in 1816, settling on a tract of 277 acres located on the south border of the Township, this including land which eventually became three adjoining farms, Mr. Donaldson served as elder in the North Buffalo U.P. Church. Upon retirement from the farm, he moved to Hickory in 1849 but died a year later and he is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery here. The family of Jacob and Margery McKinney Donaldson consisted of the following: 1. William Donaldson married Eleanor Jenkins 2. James Donaldson married Catherine Reed 3. Richard Donaldson married Sinia Reed 4. Andrew Donaldson married Ellen Wilson 5. Isaac Donaldson married Sarah Maxwell of Hopewell Township 6. Mary Donaldson married James Ackleson We are concerned in Mount Pleasant with the families of Isaac Donaldson and Andrew Donaldson who occupied adjoining farms in Mount Pleasant Township near the old Fort Donaldson Schoolhouse. The old Isaac Donaldson home is in ruins, marked only now by a stone wall at the old spring-house on the farm. The Andrew Donaldson farm is now owned and occupied by the family of the late Lawrence Lowry. Among Isaac Donaldson's children: Jacob M. Donaldson married Mary Elizabeth Pry and they located on a portion of the old homestead farm which is now occupied by great-grandsons, H. Mac and James A. White. It is likely that Jacob M. Donaldson built the brick house in which H. Mac White and his family live. Robert S. Donaldson, the other son of Isaac Donaldson lived on a farm just south of and adjoining the White Farm. A son of Robert S. Donaldson, Charlie I. Donaldson lived on the home farm, which is now owned by others than the Donaldson Family. The family of Andrew Donaldson and Ellen Wilson Donaldson were all prominent in the life of Mount Pleasant Township, since most of them were life-long residents of Mount Pleasant. They were: 1. Esther Donaldson married Alexander V. HcGugin and were the parents of James A. McGugin, as noted in the sketch on that family. 2. Eleanor Donaldson married Leman McCarrell, and their family will be noted below. 3. Jacob H. K. Donaldson, long a colorful character in Mount Pleasant Township and Hickory, lived on a farm a mile south of Hickory and later in the town on a lot adjoining the public school property. He and his wife, Margaret McDowell Donaldson were the parents of the late Alfred Donaldson who lived on the home farm, and of the late Mrs. Millie Connor, Wife of Dr. R. E. Conner, long time physician of Hickory. 4. Sarah Jane Donaldson married H. H. McCarrell and they lived on the farm now occupied by the Village Green Golf Course and Restaurant. Their grand-daughter, Florella Caldwell Campbell and members of her family live near Mount Prospect Church. 5. William H. Donaldson lived until his retirement on the home farm in Mount Pleasant Township and upon his retirement and sale of the farm, he moved to Houston, Pa for his last years. Children of Leman McCarrell and Eleanor Donaldson who spent their lives in Mount Pleasant Township were: Andrew Donaldson McCarrell who married Mary McBurney, Thomas Leman McCarrell who married Stella Taggart, Elizabeth McCarrell who married Samuel A. McCalmont. Descendants of these three couples are numerous in Mount Pleasant Township at the present time. Lodowick McCarrell, born in Northern Ireland in 1769 came to America in 1790. He married Martha Leman whom he met in a most unusual manner. In a dream which he had on one occasion, he was walking along on a foot path and became very hungry. Coming to a place where there was an out oven, he saw a beautiful young girl baking bread. In removing the loaves of bread from the oven, she saw the young Scotchman for whom she selected the most beautifully browned loaf and gave it to him, and he accepted the gift with thanks. In attending a church service soon thereafter, during the intermission between sermons when the worshippers ate their lunch, lo and behold among the lassies present, young McCarrell saw the rosy­cheeked girl of his dreams. He immediately secured a cup and gave to her a cup of clear, cold water to requite her for her kindness to him, in the dream! This beautiful girl proved to be Martha Leman, who later became the wife of Lodowick McCarrell. Lodowick and Martha McCarrell located on a farm in Mount Pleasant Township, part of which is still owned by a descendant and name-sake, S. Lodowick McCalmont. Among their children: Isabel McCarrell married Isaac Hodgens of near Taylorstown; Andrew married Elizabeth Wilson and lived and died on the home farm; Elizabeth married John Cockins of Mount Pleasant Township; and Thomas McCarrell was married three times; to Esther McNary, then to Elizabeth McConaughey and last to Margaret Martin. A daughter by the first wife was Margaret McCarrell who married Joseph Cowden of Mount Pleasant Township; by the second wife, among other children were Dr. David M. McCarrell, long-time physician at Hickory and grandfather of the present Dr. John K. McCarrell; and Leman McCarrell who married Ellen Donaldson and whose sons, Andrew Donaldson McCarrell and Thomas Leman McCarrell were long-time residents of this Township. Andrew D. McCarrell married Mary L. McBurney and their daughter, Marthetta McCarrell occupies the A.D. McCarrell home at Hickory. Thomas L. McCarrell married Stella Taggart of Hopewell Township and their children are Ellen, wife of Alvin D. Carter, Lois, wife of Robert M. Brown, and J. Leman McCarrell, all of Mount Pleasant Township and Jay McCarrell of Somerset Township. This composite sketch of the families: McBurney, Russell, Donaldson and McCarrell has been prepared from information supplied by Miss Marthetta McCarrell, who is a lineal descendant of all four families. Miss McCarrell is a retired teacher with years of meritorious service in Hickory Elementary School. Since retirement, she has traveled extensively both in this country and abroad. The Hughes-White Families The Hughes Family came to Washington County in 1779, following the death in York County of Rowland Hughes, father of the small group who migrated here in that year. The mother, Elizabeth Smiley Hughes and her family traveled by wagon, on horse-back and by foot from their home east of the mountains, and they settled here within the bounds of the Upper Buffalo Presbyterian Church with which they soon became affiliated. The oldest son, William Hughes had married Jane Caldwell in March, 1779 and he and his bride had presumably traveled with the rest of the family, including the mother and eight younger brothers and sisters. When William Hughes purchased land from John Donahey in 1787, we have the first verified date as to when the family arrived in Mount Pleasant. William was a tanner by trade, as had been his father, and he needed a good stream of water for his tannery. This property was on Sugar Camp Run and the tannery was built on its banks, just below where Jewel Hinerman now lives. The property remained in the family line until 1975 when it was sold by William Hughes great-great-grandson, Clare M. White. William Hughes was a well-known and highly respected member of his home community. Prior to coming to Mount Pleasant, while living in the Buffalo Village area, he had been a member and an elder of the Upper Buffalo Church. Even after locating here, he continued attending church at Buffalo, since there was no Presbyterian Church any nearer to his home. Mr. Hughes was on the committee which met with Washington Presbytery and convinced that body of the need of a church of the Presbyterian order in this locality, with the result that the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church was organized with the approval of Presbytery in April, 1825. As Mr. Hughes had served as elder at Upper Buffalo, so along with John Cowen of the Upper Buffalo Church and William Simpson of the Miller's Run Church, he was chosen to the first bench of elders in the new Mount Prospect Church, and he continued in this office until his death in 1831. Mr. Hughes and his wife, Jane are buried in the Mount Prospect Graveyard, and he was one of three or four Revolutionary veterans who are buried in that old yard. The Hughes Family being strict Presbyterians believed strongly in the necessity of a liberal education; most early schools and other institutions of learning in those early days were initiated by Presbyterian ministers and many of them were held in the ministers' homes. Although not himself a minister, or a teacher, William Hughes had brothers who were both and his attitude toward education was favorable and he was appointed to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College from its incorporation in 1802 until 1817. One of his brothers, James Hughes received his education in the Academy of the Rev. Thaddeus Dod of Ten Mile, and in theology from the Rev. Joseph Smith of Buffalo, and he went to western Ohio to become pastor of a church there and to serve as principal of a classical school, which was to become the present Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. Another brother, Thomas Edgar Hughes attended the Academy at Canonsburg under Dr. McMillan and then entered Princeton to graduate in 1796. He served in several pastorates in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, but he is best known for having founded Greensburg Academy at Darlington, the school whose most famous student probably was William Holmes McGuffey. William and Jane Hughes had three children: Elizabeth, James and John Hughes. Elizabeth Hughes married William Cowen, a neighbor boy and their married life was spent within the bounds of Cross Creek Presbyterian Church, where William Cowen served as elder. There were no children from this marriage, and after her husband's death, Elizabeth Cowen returned to her father's home, and she is buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard. John Hughes was an apothecary, and he died during the War of 1812 at Lower Sandusky, Ohio. So far as known, John Hughes never married. James Hughes remained on the home farm, married Martha I. Gray and served his community much as his father had done. He succeeded his father as Justice of the Peace and as elder in the Mount Prospect Church and in that congregation, he served as first Superintendent of the Sabbath School. James Hughes and his wife had only one child, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Hughes who married James M. White of Buffalo Village. By a strange turn of events, James White died before his father, John White and also before his grand-father, Jacob White of Independence Township. Being left a widow with five small children (the youngest having been born after its father's death) Elizabeth Hughes White returned to her father's home, where she continued to live and raise her family. To document the White Family, briefly, before closing this article: John White, whose family probably were from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania had come to the Hopewell Township area in Washington County where he met Isabella Lyle, daughter of Robert Lyle of Mount Pleasant but who lived from 1824 to 1832 on a farm which he owned near Buffalo Village. While living in Hopewell, Mr. Lyle's daughter, Margaret married James Dinsmore in 1827 and another daughter Isabella married John White in 1828. Isabella Lyle White was said to have been a small woman, of slight build and weighing less than one hundred pounds, but she bore Mr. White eight children, the third one being James M. White, who married Elizabeth Ann Hughes. Back at her old family home, Elizabeth Hughes White raised her family to adulthood; among her children was John Parker White who eventually took over the old home and made it the home in which he raised his family, J. Mac White, Mary Elizabeth White and John Thompson White, children by his first marriage to Mary Allazanna McCalmont, and Dr. Edward H. White, Clare Miller White, Elizabeth Allazanna White, and the Rev. Rowland Hughes White and John Parker White, Jr. children by his second marriage to Mary Anne Miller. Clare M. White took over and conducted the old home farm until his retirement, and although he has sold the farm, he and his wife, Helen Trenary still occupy the old home, which, by now has witnessed the raising of so many generations of the Hughes-White Clan, and where Clare and Helen raised their own family of one daughter and three sons. Elizabeth Ann Hughes White's youngest child, Albert Reed White, the son born after his father's death, married Minnie Donaldson and they lived on the old Jacob M. Donaldson farm in southern Mount Pleasant where their grandsons, H. Mac and James A. White carry on the farm operation including a good-sized dairy. This article on the Hughes-White connection has been prepared from information supplied by Miss Ruth White, genealogist for this family and for the McCalmont Family as given above in this history. The McElroy Family The McElroys who came into Mount Pleasant were descendants of James McElroy who migrated from Scotland and located in 1788 on a tract of land near McConnell's Mills in Chartiers Township. From that location, members of the family moved up the two branches of Little Chartiers Creek which converged near the original farm, one son settling for a time near the location of present Westland. Another son, John McElroy located on the farm now the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Hoffman in the southern part of this township. John McElroy built the present farm house there in 1848. On the property, too, he had a horse mill which was said at the time to have produced the best wheat flour to be found anywhere in this part of the country. James McElroy, son of John, lived on the old farm until 1861 when he led a company of men from the West Middletown neighborhood into service in the Union Army in the Civil War. He was elected captain of this Company, which joined the First Regiment of the West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and took part in the Battle at Winchester and at other points in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After the War, John McElroy and his wife who was Mary Daugherty of West Middletown, went to Davenport, Iowa with the westward migration, and later they went to Chicago, where Mr. McElroy became a member of the Board of Trade involving commerce in hides, wool and leather products. Another son of John McElroy was Alexander who lived on the farm to the right as one drives down the Rasel Hill on Route 18 south of Hickory. Alex. McElroy married Jane McDowell of the local family of that name and their son was Joseph McElroy, married to Margaret Brown and he a prominent physician at Hickory for many years. Dr. McElroy took his medical training under Dr. D. M. McCarrell with whom he later engaged in practice at Hickory, later taking as his partner, Dr. Charles L. Campbell, and for many years before retiring, Dr. McElroy had a partnership with Dr. R. E. Connor. His entire practice covered a period of 52 years. Dr. McElroy was considered a doctor of the "old school" but he kept abreast of the times and developments in the medical field, and he was considered a good family practitioner for many years. The McElroys had two daughters: Mrs. Leila Kithcart of Steubenville, Ohio, and Mrs. Jennie Moore, wife of William A. Moore formerly of Hickory. William C. Moore, Jr. now of Phoenix, Arizona is a grandson. The Miller Families The Hiller name has been prominent in the annals of Mount Pleasant almost from the time of earliest settlements here. Three or four families, not recognizably related, have represented the name. As noted elsewhere, one James Miller took up a tract of land "Albee's House" - 398 acres which lay two miles south of present Hickory. It is related that he had a productive still on his property, and along with Robert Thompson, a neighbor, donated ten gallons of his home-produced whiskey to enable Richard Chapman to open a tavern at Mount Pleasant, the town by which present Hickory was then known. James Miller prospered and later took over adjacent tracts of land until his holdings totaled more than 1,000 acres. Part of this land remained in the Miller name well. into the years of the present century, and one of the old farms is now owned by Mrs. Mary Beaumariage of Hickory. This is located near the former Miller One-room School. In 1811, Thomas Miller, a brother of James came to America, migrating from County Tyrone, Ireland, and in 1812, he bought from James McClelland the tract "Peace and Plenty", now embraced in the farm owned by John O. Dinsmore, one mile east of Hickory on Route 50. Married three times, Thomas Miller had a family of eight children. At his death, he had a valuable estate which he left to his children, his youngest, John M. Miller inheriting the home farm, which he developed into one of the most complete stock farms in this part of Pennsylvania. A page of pictures of this farm can be found in Caldwell's Atlas of Washington County, 1876. Mr. Miller had a reputation as a breeder of North Devon cattle, a popular breed in his day, and his flocks of Spanish-Merino sheep were among the best to be found anywhere. He was described as a farmer who loved his vocation, and in it he was eminently successful. Following his untimely death in 1888 at the age of 46 years, his widow and children lived on the farm for a few years, then sold it to the Dinsmore Family, retaining a part of it to the east which was occupied by Frank Miller at whose death this family came to an end in Mount Pleasant Township. Another Miller Family who have attained prominence here are descendants of Jacob Miller, a native of eastern Pennsylvania who settled first in Chartiers Township near McConnell's Mills. His son, Samue1 Miller married Mary Ann Cockins of the Mount Pleasant family and they located in the Township. Their son, John H. Miller purchased one of the Rankin farms in 1884, and this property is still the home of this family, it being owned and operated now by W. Edwin Miller, grandson of John H. Miller, who conducts a modern dairy and an extensive grain production operation on his 170 acre farm, and adjoining properties. Still another Miller Family of recent German origin consisted of two brothers: David C. and James P. Miller who moved into the Mount Pleasant area around the turn of the century. David C. Miller married Sarah Vogle, a local girl and they located on a farm on present Route 18 north of Hickory where Mr. Miller operated a stock farm and stock-dealing operation until his retirement. His farm was later purchased by Joseph B. Henderson, who, with his son, J. Raymond Henderson raised Dorset Horn sheep on the farm for many years. James P. Miller married Clara Bell Sprowls from Greene County, and they located on a small farm at Woodrow, near the Cross Creek Township line. Their son, E. Park Miller operated a black-smith shop at Woodrow for many years. Park Miller married Herminia Somerlade of Hickory; their daughter, Elva Miller occupies the old home at Woodrow, and a son, William C. Miller lives near Mount Prospect Church. The David C. Miller family is represented in Mount Pleasant by grand-children: James A. Caldwell and Helen C. Caldwell, and Audley and Donald Miller. The Lyles of Washington County The Lyles of Washington County, Pennsylvania so-called, were really for many years only the Lyles of Mount Pleasant, since the residences of the three brothers: John, Robert and Aaron Lyle and their families who came here in 1784 were pretty well confined to this immediate area, They migrated here from Northampton County, Pennsylvania and settled on three farms a couple of miles north-west of the town of Mount Pleasant, now Hickory. As time passed and these families increased in numbers, it was only natural to expect members of the clan to migrate to other parts of Washington County, and to Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties to the north as well, eventually, to many other parts of the Country. Descendants of the three brothers and of another brother, Moses Lyle who did not come to Washington County, as well as the descendants of five sisters of these men, can now be found in every state of the Union, and in many other parts of the world, too. The history of this family has been pretty well documented in the publication of three editions of the Book; The Lyles of Washington County, Pennsylvania published and distributed in 1886, 1934 and 1963. A fourth edition of this popular genealogy is planned for publication in June, 1984, When the Clan well observe the 200th Anniversary of their coming to Washington County, They have been holding family reunions on a five-year interval for quite a number of years, The Lyle Family is represented in Mount Pleasant at the present time by only one of the family name and this is Donald N. Lyle of Hickory who is of the fifth generation of the family to live in Mount Pleasant. Numerous descendants of the family bearing other surnames still live in the home township. The former Lyle farm, settled by John Lyle in 1784 is occupied at present by the Welch Family who conducted a golf course on it for a few years. The two brothers: Richard and Jack Welch and their wives and families live in the two houses on this farm. The McDowell Family The McDowell Family in Mount Pleasant lived on farms 2.5 miles southwest of Hickory and just off present Route 18 to the east. The long hill on the road to Washington just south of their land has been known as McDowell Hill for many years and named, of course, for this family. The family is noted for several inter-marriages with other early families as will shortly appear. The family pioneer was Thomas McDowell who came to Mount Pleasant in 1787 and purchased land. His wife was Janet Clark, and their son, James McDowell married Mary McKnight, whose family lived in the same valley but across the line in Chartiers Township. James and Mary McDowell had children as follows: John McDowell married Margaret Miller, daughter of Jacob Miller. - see the Miller Families record. James McDowell married Catherine Miller, sister of Margaret. Jane McDowell married Alexander McElroy - see McElroy Family. Eleanor McDowell married John Nesbit of Chartiers Township. Rebecca McDowell married William Smith of Mount Pleasant Township. The family of John and Margaret Miller McDowell concern us most in Mount Pleasant. They were: Mary Jane McDowell - died young. James W. McDowell- attorney at Washington- married Nancy J. Rea of Mount Pleasant Township. Jacob F. McDowell married Margaret Dickson - lived on home farm - see family below. Margaret McDowell married Jacob M. K. Donaldson - see the Donaldson amily. Rebecca McDowell married James Agnew, a neighbor boy. Sarah and Elizabeth McDowell did not marry. Jacob F. McDowell and his wife remained on the home farm and spent their lives there raising the following children: John Howard McDowell married Margaret McPeak, remained on the home farm, and had children of whom John McDowell, Jr. who is married to Myrtle Neil represents the family name, living in Hickory. Thressa McDowell married Walter McPeak and they lived on a farm near the old home, where their son, Alan McPeak and his wife, Grace and their son, David and wife, Esther and daughter maintain the McPeak family name. Ida Margaret McDowell married Joseph Ryburn of Chartiers Township where their family still live. The McPeak Family The McPeak Family were best known in the area as builders and dealers in hardware and building supplies for some years before the turn of the century and later until the deaths of most members of the family. The oldest in the family was William H. McPeak who was born in Mount Pleasant on May 17, 1847, and he spent his life at Hickory. Early in life, he was the proprietor of a steam sawmill which was located in the east end of Hickory for some years, and from the location of that mill, that part of town came to be known as "Slabtown", Later Mr. McPeak engaged in carpentry contracting and he was the builder of a number of barns in the area, In his later years, Mr. McPeak conducted a hardware store in Hickory. Meanwhile, his brothers, David and Newton McPeak, with the assistance of their younger brother, Albert, opened a lumber and building supplies yard near their home in Hickory and on the property now owned by the Mount Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department. These brothers never married but maintained a home in which their maiden sister, Miss Sadie McPeak was the home-maker during most of her life. Another brother was a plastering contractor and engaged in that vocation for many years: this was James A. McPeak who was married to Elizabeth Davis; their home a joined the lumber yard, and they had a family consisting of a son, Vincent McPeak, a merchant in Hickory, and daughters: Margaret, wife of John H. McDowell, Leila, wife of Clifford McNary and Frances, wife of George Strouse of North Star, Michigan. William H. McPeak was married to Lou Aiken and they had one son, Robert W (Bert) McPeak, well known in Hickory until his death. He was married to Maude Mallory, and they had children: a son, Mallory and daughters, Mary Louise, Alice Elizabeth and Anna McPeak, all of whom have left the Mount Pleasant area, The McIllvaine Family This family had their Washington County origins in Somerset Township from which there came to Mount Pleasant in 1836. Guyan McIllvaine who brought with him his son, John McMillan McIllvaine who bought and settled on the farm lying directly south of Hickory, and known in more recent years as the Giffen Farm. John H. McIllvaine married Margaret Ann Carter and their family consisted of two daughters, Anna Jane and Maria Belle, and one son, William Elmer Mclllvaine. The son was a carpenter and he married Miss Anna Leech of Smith Township and their family consisted of two sons: John Elmer and Robert Lawrence McIllvaine, and twin daughters, Martha, who died at the age of 22 years and Margaret, wife of Ralph Patterson of Canonsburg. Elmer Mclllvaine married Mary Conkle and they had a son, Kenneth McIllvaine and a daughter, Mary Jeanette McIllvaine McCarrell, both deceased. Lawrence McIllvaine married Romaine Buchanan and they were the parents of one son, Robert S. McIllvaine of Canonsburg. No one of the Mci1lvaine name now live in Mount Pleasant. The McConaughey Family The McConaugheys who settled in Mount Pleasant were descendants of David McConaughey who was born in County Antrim, Ireland and who migrated to eastern Pennsylvania, later coming to western Pennsylvania and making a settlement on a part of the former George Washington land in 1804. Most early houses built in this area had been of log construction, but Mr. McConaughey was a stone mason, so he built a substantial house on his farm using stone for the building material. This stone house was the home of the family as long as any of them remained on the property. A wall of he old house is still standing, but it is now a part of a shed used for farm purposes on the farm presently owned by Mr. and Mrs.Duane Sprowls, From this family came Alexander McConaughey who married Martha Murdock. Of their family, Matthew McConaughey appears to have been the only one who remained in the area, and he never married, After he left the farm, he made his home in McDonald, where he was spoken of as a representative citizen and an earnest supporter of church work. While living in Mount Pleasant, this family were members of the Mount Pleasant Seceder and later United Presbyterian Church at Hickory, and several members of the family are buried in the cemetery at Mount Pleasant. The McNary Family The McNarys were never numerous in Mount Pleasant, most of this family having been residents of North Strabane and Chartiers Townships where they held a considerable acreage of land. James McNary settled in Chartiers Township and married Margaret Paxton of that well-known family of the same township. Their son, Samuel McNary came to Hickory, married Mary Miller and raised a family of seven children of whom a son, James McNary (1826-1866) married a cousin, Ellen McNary, who was left a widow at an early age. But she was married second to James Campbell of Hickory, but upon being widowed the second time, she married Jonathan Ralston and with him migrated to Lexington, Illinois. During her last years, it is said that she was totally blind, and she died in 1902.Her body was brought back to Hickory and buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard beside her first husband, James McNary. James and Ellen McNary's children were Mary Ellen McNary Duncan, Sarah Jane McNary Manson, both of whom had families, the Duncans living in Illinois, while the Mansons remained in Mount Pleasant until their later years. There was also a son, James Franklin McNary who was a merchant at Lexington, Illinois. From other sections of this branch of the McNary Family came the Forsythes, formerly of Hickory, the Achesons whose family is described in another part of this history, the Edward McClure McNary family who were born in Hickory but later lived in Ingram, Pittsburgh, and the Miller McNary family, once local residents but whose surviving members now live in Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Quite a number of these McNarys and related families are buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard. The Manson Family Robert Manson who married Sarah Ann Sharp was the head of this family in Haunt Pleasant. He died in 1831 and she in 1855 and they are buried in Mount Pleasant Graveyard. Of their family, these were well-know in Mount Pleasant: James Manson married Eleanor Lyle, and their family, Ella Manson married W. Elroy Rankin, and Lyle Manson married Sarah Jane McNary, as stated above. No other members of this family were married. They lived for years on the farm now owned by Ruth White near Mount Prospect Church. John Manson of the older family married Emeline Allison of Mount Pleasant Township and they lived on a farm in Cross Creek Township near West Middletown. Their grandson, John Manson lived for a time in Hickory and taught in the school here later engaging in the stationery business at Washington. Jane Manson married John Cummins and they were the parents of Attorney D. Mont Cummins, well-known in Mount Pleasant. Robert, David, Buchanan and Agnes Manson of this family were not married. The Griffith Family John Griffith was an early resident, having patented the tract "Mountain" just north of the town of Mount Pleasant, now Hickory. His farm lay at the foot of Station Hill; it is now owned by James A. Phillips. Mr. Griffith married Susanna Martin, and they died in 1828 and 1829. They are buried in Mount Pleasant Graveyard, just a short distance up the road from their farm home. Their son, Isaac Griffith inherited the home farm which then took in the present Phillips farm as well as the farm now owned by Alvin D. and Ellen Carter. John M. Griffith lived on the part now owned by the Carters. He was a son of Isaac Griffith and his wife, Elizabeth Esler. Thus, three generations of the family lived on this land until it passed into the ownership of other families. Edwin S. Griffith who married Alice Russell, and Margaret Venalla Griffith who married Frank Caldwell were children of John M. Griffith and his wife, who was Mary Smith, daughter of Ebenezer and Margaret Smith of the Smith Store section of Cherry Valley. Other children of Isaac and Elizabeth Esler Griffith: Robert Griffith who lived in Cass County, Missouri. James M. Griffith, assassinated in August, 1890 at Flagstaff, Arizona. Isaac M. Griffith, died of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound in Coffeyville, Kansas in November, 1884. Jane Griffith who married T. M. Berryhill and they settled on the home farm. Lizzie Griffith, unmarried, lived all her life at Hickory. Letitia Griffith married Thomas M. Liggett, and Hattie Ann Griffith married John Liggett - both couples settled in Independence Township. The Berryhill Family The Berryhills were of Scottish descent. They were a family who lived at various times in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, West Liberty, West Virginia, Nashville, Tennessee and Knox County, Ohio before locating in Cross Creek Township in 1848. William G. Berryhill married Maria Marshall of Venango County, Pennsylvania. He was a teacher in Cross Creek Township, and among their children was Thomas Marshall Berryhill who married Jane Griffith in 1861, as stated above. Mr. Berryhill followed the blacksmith trade at Hickory until 1863 when he moved to Jefferson County, Ohio, returning to Hickory in 1867 when they took over the Griffith Farm, which henceforth was known for many years as the Berryhill Farm. It remained in the Berryhill name until the retirement of Charles Berryhill, son of Thomas, when it was sold to the Phillips Family. The old brick house on this farm was built by Isaac Griffith about 1840, but it has been replaced by the present owners and is no longer in use as a dwelling. The children of T. Marshall Berryhill and Jane Griffith: Charles M. Berryhill married Eva Jane Denny and their children were: Marshall Berryhill and Clair Berryhill,-both Presbyterian ministers and Margaret Brewster of State College, Pennsylvania, Nettie A. Berryhill married Robert A. Russell. Dr. William G. Berryhill married Della McCarrell. Blanche Berryhill married Harry A. Smith. Lulu Berryhill, a teacher was unmarried. The Morgan Family Robert M. Morgan whose wife was Mary Martin was the first of this family to locate in Mount Pleasant, living here from 1851 to 1880 when they moved to Canonsburg. They were members of the Miller's Run Presbyterian Church in Cecil Township, and at their deaths, they were buried in the graveyard there. Luther M. Morgan was born on the home farm, located at the top of what is known as Morgan Hill on present Route 50 - 2.5 miles east of Hickory. This was the home of Mr. Morgan and his wife, Minerva Jane Shelley Morgan until their deaths, his in 1915 and hers in 1926.Their family consisted of: Leroy Shelley Morgan who married Maria Milliron and remained on the home farm until his retirement. Mrs. Morgan lives on a part of the farm in a home which they built for their retirement years. Robert M. Morgan married Alice Dinsmore; they lived on a large grain and dairy farm in Cecil Township, where sons William and Robert Morgan still live. Howard L. Morgan married Louise Crawford and they lived at Houston. Mary Morgan married James W. Stoffer, Maude Morgan was unmarried, and Jane Morgan married Vance M. Smith. Vance H. Smith, prominent farmer and dairyman of Mount Pleasant was born in the Township on September 18, 1892; he was a son of Robert V. and Emma Cowden Smith. As just noted he married Jane Morgan and they made their home on the former Robert Caldwell farm 1.5 miles northeast of Hickory where he operated a modern dairy farm before his death on July 21 , 1967. Mr. Smith was active in community affairs having served on the Mount Pleasant Township and Fort Cherry School Boards; he was a member and elder of Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church. The Smiths had a family of five sons and four daughters: J. Arthur Smith now conducts the home farm and dairy, living there with his mother. Robert M. Smith married Peggy Dunlap. Richard L. Smith married Gecoulia Dilling. Dorothy Smith married Wilbert Walker Olive Smith married John Ferrell, all of these living still in Mount Pleasant. Others in the family: Paul Smith married Bertie Fryer - he is deceased. Vance Smith, Jr. married Elizabeth Jane Crawford. Roberta Smith married Larry Farrar. Elsie Smith The Morgan Homestead farm was a part of the Washington Lands and the Smith Farm lay at the western edge of the Washington tract. The Caldwell Families There are at least three different Caldwell families, now or formerly residents of Mount Pleasant. John M. Caldwell married Helen Stewart of Cross Creek Township and he and his family are descendants of the family of Robert S. Caldwell, once a prominent resident of Hopewell Township; in this same line they are descendants of the Vance and Marquis families of Cross Creek Township, since Robert S. Caldwell's mother was Jane Marquis, and his second wife was Caroline Vance. The family of John M. and Helen Stewart Caldwell: Donald S. Caldwell of Hollywood, California. John T. and Gerald Caldwell of Hickory. Marjorie Curran and Barbara Fasnacht of Mount Pleasant Township. Shirley Fryer of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania. James A. Caldwell and his sisters are children of James M. Caldwell and Bessie Miller, and grandchildren of William and Jane Moore Caldwell. The family have been residents of Mount Pleasant for at least five generations. They descend, too, from the Lyle and McNary families. James A. Caldwell is married to Mabel Tustin and they are parents of three children: Gary, Larry and Cathie. Another Caldwell Family no longer represented in the Township were W. Frank and Robert S. Caldwell, sons of James and Nancy Caldwell, who lived on farms two miles northeast of Hickory on the road to Primrose. Frank Caldwell married Venia Griffith and their children were Mary Caldwell Jeffries and William Caldwell, both now deceased. Robert S. Caldwell married Jennie Timmons and they had three children: James Caldwell is deceased. Robert T. Caldwell of Donegal Township, and Eleanor Caldwell Lee of Cross Creek Township. The former Frank Caldwell farm is now owned by Michael J. Burke and the former Robert Caldwell farm by J. Arthur Smith. The Carter Family This family is of Scottish origin and came into Mount Pleasant with the arrival of William Carter who was married to Ann McKee. Of their seven children: John Carter married Ellen Jane Kemps, and they bought the farm two miles north of Hickory which is still in the Carter name, and now occupied by Elden Carter, a great-grandson. Robert Leander Carter, son of John and Ellen, married Annie Small, and they located on a farm, 1 mile northwest of Hickory, where they conducted a dairy farm until their deaths, Mr. Carter's being in 1945 and Mrs. Carter's in 1948. Their sons, Clarence and Alvin D. Carter, also dairymen in the Township, Clarence having married Bernice Bell and he is now deceased; their children: Robert and Elden Carter living on farms, Larry Carter of Avella and Gayle McDonald of Washington. Alvin D. Carter married Ellen McCarrell and operate a large dairy farm just north of Hickory. Their family consists of: Lois Ann Risser of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, McCarrell Carter married to Bertha Corwin, Lee Carter, Agriculture Supervisor at Fort Cherry High School and Jay Carter on the home farm. Glen N. Carter, youngest son of Robert L. and Annie Small Carter, and his wife, Mildred Walters located on his parents' farm and operated it for a few years, then selling it and moving to a home on the Hickory-Primrose road where they still live. Mr. Carter was employed by Canonsburg Milling Company until his retirement. They are the parents of three children: Ronald, Donna Jean and Ross Carter. W. Everett Carter, late of Woodrow, was a son of W. Vance Carter, former resident of Mount Pleasant. Everett Carter married Elva White of Cross Creek Township, and she lives at Woodrow with her son and daughter. The Robinson Family Henry Robinson, first of the family to come to Mount Pleasant, was born in York County, Pennsylvania and came here in the 1770's. He bought a parcel of land at Hickory, but the title was defective and he was not able to take possession of it. He did not purchase any other land, but remained in the area until his death in 1826. He was a Revolutionary War veteran, but the place of his death and burial is not known, nor is the name of his wife. A son, Joseph Robinson (1792-1870) located on a small farm lying near the west side of the present water dam on the middle branch of Raccoon Creek. He married Jane Morrow, and among their nine children was Henry Robinson (1818-1895) who married Jane Barnett (1829-1901), and they appear to have continued living on his father's farm. Among their seven children, we note the following: Joseph Robinson, Jr. was a druggist at Chadron, Nebraska. John Robinson was a stockman on a ranch in the same state. Jane Ann Robinson married a neighbor boy, David McGugin and they located in Custer County, Nebraska where both died. Martha Robinson married a neighbor boy, Perry Lyle and they migrated to the midwest, to Kansas, and later located in the Far West in California. These migrations' of four members of this family was typical of what was occurring in many local families around the middle and later years of the 1800's: The West was calling, and since there was not enough land to go around for all members of the family here, they took Horace Greeley's advice to "Go West, young man!". In this way, many of our older families were transplanted to other parts of o•ur Great Country. In many cases, contact was maintained between the folks back home and these western pioneers. But, with the passage of time, these contacts often were broken, and eventually, many of these families transplanted to the west lost almost all knowledge of their ties with the East. With the present increasing interest in genealogy, many later generations of these western people write back to the community of their forebears, or in many cases, they come back to Mount Pleasant of the present day, seeking ancestral ties to their own families in the West. This writer is solicited many times each year, either by letter or by personal call for information on these early Mount Pleasant families. It is always a pleasure to share information with these people whose families have left the old "stamping ground" of the East and who, literally, did Go West! But two members of the Robinson Family did remain in the Mount Pleasant area: James Negley Robinson married Agnes Dick; they had a good-sized family and lived on farms in Mount Pleasant, Cross Creek and Smith Townships. The youngest son in the family, Charles C. Robinson remained on the home farm, and on the death of a neighbor, J. Edgar Rankin, he leased Mr. Rankin's farm, which he later purchased and adding this land to the smaller Robinson Farm, he came into possession of 208 acres of good farm land. This farm descended to Oliver B. Robinson on the deaths of his parents: Charles C. Robinson (1863-1936) and Belle Caldwell Robinson (1859-1943)and it is now the property of their grandson, Lee Robinson, a dairyman and presently a member of the Board of Supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township. Lee Robinson is married to Billie Zollars and they have a son, Terry and a daughter, Jeanine, a teacher in the Hickory School. Betty Robinson Green, sister of Lee Robinson and her husband have a home adjoining the Robinson Farm. The Farrar Family The Farrars came into Mount Pleasant from Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the 1780's when Andrew Farrar made a settlement on the headwaters of Cherry Run, where members of the family lived for many years. The last to occupy the old homestead were the brothers, John C. Farrar and William H. Farrar who conducted a commercial dairy at the farm. They were sons of Henry and Esther Scott Farrar. John C. Farrar was prominent in civic activities in his home township, one of which was his long service as a member of the School Board of Mount Pleasant Township. After retiring from the farm, John Farrar moved to McDonald and he engaged in stripping of coal lands in partnership with Frank Nagode. He was married to Martha Young and they had one daughter, Helen Farrar who died in 1981. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Farrar also had one daughter, Mrs. Mary Helen Farrar Davis of Peters Township. Other branches of the Farrar Family located in Smith Township near Cherry Valley, and many of them, also, in Hopewell and Independence Township, and at West Middletown. Some of these people spelled the family name, Farrer, but they are all of the one family. The Buchanan Family This family has long been prominent in Mount Pleasant; they are descendants of James Buchanan, a Scottish immigrant who settled in Chartiers Township, where his son, Thomas Buchanan was born. He married Jane Smiley of Cross Creek Township and they settled on the farm now owned by the Hoop Family. Later generations who lived there were: James S. Buchanan, known for twenty-five years as "Squire" Buchanan - he married Martha L. McCarrell, and their son, Herbert S. Buchanan married Lena Lyle, and they lived on the home farm until it was taken over by their son, James R. Buchanan who married Catherine Angerer; they and their two daughters, Margaret and Marilyn were the last of the family to occupy the farm, which was sold to the Hoop Family upon the death of James R. Buchanan in 1960. This farm was always noted for the breeding and raising of blooded livestock. James S. Buchanan and his son, Herbert and his son-in-law, Joseph B. Henderson were early importers of Holstein cattle and Dorset Horn sheep, the younger men having made several trips to England and Europe to arrange for these importations. James L. Henderson of Washington, father of J. B. Henderson, also engaged in livestock raising and importations. J. Raymond Henderson, formerly of Mount Pleasant and now living at Hudson, Iowa is still engaged in breeding Dorset Horn sheep. For many years, he served as Secretary of the Dorset Horn Breeders Association, and his daughter, Marian Meno is now serving in this capacity. Miscellaneous Families The Engel Family lived in Cecil Township, but in 1915, Herman J. Engel, Sr. was living on a farm on Hornhead Road in Mount Pleasant. He married Clara England and they had two sons: John D.(Jack)Engel, married to Mary J. Snedeker and living on the home farm, and Herman J. Engel, Jr. married to Mabel Riggle and living on Dire Drive in Hickory. The Harvey N. Engel family also are residents of Mount Pleasant Township. Mr. Engel married Catherine Folkens who died in 1977. They were the parents of four sons and six daughters, several of whom live in Mount Pleasant and other nearby areas. Mr. and Mrs. John R. Wood, formerly of the Claysville section lived on a farm near Midway from 1942 until their retirement in 1960, when they moved to a home near the water dam. Here they lived until their deaths. both of which occurred in 1970. They had four daughters, Mrs. Jean Eckert, Mrs. Theo Zalaznik, Mrs. LeDora Heinlein and Mrs. Esther Marshall. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Bowen and their son, Charles and his family live near Fort Cherry High School. There are two daughters: Zona, married to H. Mac White and Donna, married to William Lowry. LATER FAMILIES OF M0UNT PLEASANT Most of the families now to be covered have come to Mount Pleasant a bit later, or their residence may not have been so long as the so-called First Families of the preceding chapter. It has been our hope to include all families who have been here for at least fifty years. If any prominent family has not been included, our sincere apologies. Be assured that omission has not been intentional. And it appears that, due to lack of space and also lack of relevant information, more recent residents will have to wait for Honorable Mention in the next History! Who will volunteer to write it? Samuel Allison married Mary Miller, daughter of James Miller and Polly Russell. They lived for a number of years in Beaver County, also in Hancock County, West Virginia, but eventually they came to Mount Pleasant where he died in 1878 aged 80 years. Their son, Russell Miller Allison married Martha E. Connell, and after living for a period in Beaver County, they came to Hickory where he engaged in the hardware business with W. W. Denny as partner. Upon the retirement of Mr. Denny, the firm became Allison Brothers with Willard K. Allison, Sr. as chief partner and proprietor. This business is being continued with W. K. Allison, Jr. being the present owner as well as serving as Post Master of Hickory. W. K. Allison, Sr. married Jane McCreary of Hickory and their children are: W. K. Allison, Jr., Jay R. Allison, plumbing contractor of Hickory, and daughters: Ruth Allison Thompson, Harlan Allison Hoon and Martha Jane Allison Little. The Bedillion Family is represented in Mount Pleasant by the families of the late John D. Bedillion who married Leila Redinger and of the late William K. Bedillion who married Eva McCluskey. These man were natives of Chartiers Township, who located here after their marriages. John D. Bedillion followed the trucking business until his death in 1952. Mrs. Bedillion is also deceased, and their children here are: John J. Bedillion, Mrs Barbara Shaffer, Mrs. Leila White, Ronald, James and Gary Bedillion. Wlliam K. Bedillion was the 1ast "Village Blacksmith" of Hickory and he worked at his trade on the site of the old Slabtown sawmill until he retired in 1970. Mrs. Eva Bedillion lives in Hickory as does her son, Glenn, and daughter, Mrs. Wilma Nunn. Another son, Warren of Cross Creek Township, is owner of the Hickory Feed Mill. Frank Briggs married Margaret Jane Walker and he was a farmer in Mount Pleasant most of his life, his death occurring here in 1950. His first marriage had been to Josephine Hendershot by whom he had one son, Griffith Briggs who married Edith Davidson. Griff Briggs, as he was known was an oil well driller. He died in 1961, but his widow is living; they had a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom Roy and Kay Briggs and Beryl Smiley are now living in Mount Pleasant Township. Matthew B. Brown who came to Mount Pleasant from the Noblestown area, married Isabel Russell. Their family consisted of: David A. Brown, John E. Brown, William Ralph Brown, Joseph McElroy Brown, Walter Earl Brown, Jennie Brown Daum and Margaret Brown. Their farm was at Acheson Station on the Wabash Railroad where they carried on extensive farming. This was continued by sons, William R. Brown as farmer and John E, Brown as orchardist. The old homestead is now occupied by Alvan D. Osbourne and family, while Robert M. Brown continues the orchard, producing large quantities of apples and peaches for the local market. Robert M. Brown married Lois McCarrell and of their children, Robert B, Brown and Mrs. David (Mollie) Errett live near the orchard farm. Other sons of John E. Brown are John C. Brown, retired electrician who lives with his wife, Blanche on Route 18 just south of Mount Prospect Church; and Richard W. Brown (deceased 1967) who married Margaret Clark, who lives at Hickory. George Brautigan married Georgia Elvira Trembly of Monroe County, Ohio and they were farmers in the Hickory area for fifty years until Mr. Brautigan's death in 1946. His wife died at Hickory in 1965. Their sons, Clarence and Elmer Brautigan lived at Hickory during most of their lives, but other children of the family are living in Ohio, New York State and in Independence Township. The Carlisle Family have lived at Hickory for many years. Several burials in Mount Pleasant Graveyard are of early members of this family. Joseph, Andrew and John Carlisle are listed as residents in 1876. The best known of the family here in more recent years have been the families of William A. Carlisle (1857-1936) who married Anna Patterson, and of Joseph M. Carlisle (1855-1941) who married Angeline McGugin. These men both had farms closely adjoining the village of Hickory. William A. Carlisle had a son, Alfred Carlisle, and two daughters, Mrs. Mary Galbraith and Mrs. Jane Borland, the latter living at Houston. The family of Joseph M. Carlisle consisted of: Miss Flora Carlisle, a retired teacher of Hickory, and four sons, Walter, Elmer, Dr. Milton, a veterinarian, and Clifford Carlisle, all deceased. James W. Carlisle, local mail carrier at Hickory, and Mrs. Dolores Loughrey also of Hickory are children of Clifford and Wilhelmina Stewart Carlisle. Mrs. Carlisle lives at Woodrow. William Clark, born in McDonald, lived in Mount Pleasant for 30 years during which he operated the Rea and Clark Coal Mines in the Township. His wife was Margaret Penderville who was born in Canton, Ohio and the members of their family were all active in the operation of the mines. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are both deceased, but two daughters, Mrs. Loretta Malone and Mrs. Margaret Brown live in the Township. John Cowen was an early settler and the patentee of the tract now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Nick Wussick. Mr. Cowen attended Upper Buffalo Church and was an elder in that congregation until the Mount Prospect Church was organized in 1825, when he transferred membership to it and was on the first bench of elders there. He married three times and his wives are all buried at Cross Creek, but he is buried at Mount Prospect. He was a Revolutionary veteran. A son, Samuel Cowen married Mary Dinsmore and they lived on the farm here until 1869 when they moved to Fort Scott, Kansas. They built the present large brick house on the farm here in 1858. Samuel Cowen raised and dealt in livestock while living here and he continued these activities in Kansas until his death. Various segments of the Cummins Family and related families have lived in Mount Pleasant and nearby communities for many years. Since this family and cognate families are so well covered in a book, compiled and published by Charles Cummins Hastings, Sr. -1976- of San Fernando, California, we refer the reader to this volume entitled: Settlers of Western Pennsylvania and their descendants, where very good coverage of all related persons can be found. Hampton Davidson was from a family long prominent in northern Hopewell Township. After his marriage to Lee Caldwell of Hickory, they settled on the farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Piacenza, where they raised a family of two sons: Lloyd and Walton Davidson, and of four daughters: Lulu Bedillion, Edith Briggs, Madeline Denny and Grace Kraeer. All of the family are now deceased except Mrs. Briggs, whose sons, Roy and Kay Briggs and daughter, Beryl Smiley live at Hickory. Lawrence Davidson was a son of Henry Davidson of Hopewell and he married Mae Dunn; they spent the last years of their life in Hickory, and sons: Renzie and Kline and daughters: Hilda Wagner and Nora Jean Simpson now live in the Township. The Dinsmores are descended from James Dinsmore, immigrant from Ireland who settled in Cecil Township in the 1770.'s. He later lived in Canton Township, but his family spread to other townships in the County. Around the turn of the century, James and William McClay Dinsmore who were then living in Cecil Township purchased farms in Mount Pleasant and moved here with their families. James Dinsmore and his son, John Yates Dinsmore occupied the former W. S. White farm, lying just northeast of Hickory until the retirement of John Y. when he and his daughter, Eleanor moved to Houston, where Eleanor still lives. The William McC Dinsmore family located on the tract "Peace and Plenty" just east of Hickory; their family consisted of W. Calvin Dinsmore, Robert M. Dinsmore and John C. Dinsmore, and Mrs. Margaret Glass, Mrs. Alice Morgan and Miss Martha Dinsmore. John C. Dinsmore and his wife, Ethel Lanier live on the farm which is operated by son, William G. Dinsmore, married to Norma Jean Wilkinson. Robert F. Bell married Lina Mitchell and they located on the Joseph Hervey farm in the Miller's School District south of Hickory. They conducted a large farm and dairy operation there until Mr. Bell's death in 1943. Their family was four daughters: Mary Bell married Alex Beaumariage, Roberta Bell married Jules Beaumariage, Bernice Bell married first, Clarence Carter and second, Jules Beaumariage, and Volena Bell who married Okley Lighthizer, Bernice Beaumariage and Mary Beaumariage, both widowed live at Hickory. They are retired teachers. Most of their families live in Mount Pleasant. A. Brice Frye moved to Mount Pleasant from Greene County and located on a farm adjoining the Reed Lyle farm one and one-half miles north of Hickory early in this present century. Following the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Frye, none of the family remained in the Township except A. Floyd Frye who married Viola Sloop. They built a home near his father's farm and they lived there until his death in 1933. Mrs. Frye moved to Hickory and lived there until 1954, moved to Washington, living there until her death in 1969. Albert F. Frye was rural mail carrier from the Hickory Post Office for several years. Members of their family who now live in Mount Pleasant are: William and David Frye, Elizabeth F. Sherwood, Mary F. Rankin and Thelma F. Marquis, and the family of Adeline Frye and Howard Sheller. The Glass Family of Mount Pleasant were children of William Glass who married Anne Jane Jeffrey of Cross Creek Township. They located on the farm formerly belonging to Major J. W. Crawford and now owned by the Herbst Family. It lies in the northwestern corner of the George Washington tract. Nine children comprised the Glass Family: Russell Glass married Mary Jeanette McCalmont, Lee Glass married Mary Willison, Howard Glass married Cora McBride, Walter Glass married Margaret Dinsmore, and Lillie Glass married Arley Berry of Smith Township and Mary Glass married S. M. Mitchell of Cadiz, Ohio and Lizzie Glass married William M. McCoy: three daughters, Frances, Clara and Martha Glass were unmarried. The father, William Glass was a prominent farmer and his sons, Russell, Walter and Howard also became farmers, all remaining in the township. Howard conducted the home farm and Walter lived on an adjoining farm. Miss Zelma McCoy of Washington, Mrs. Kenneth (Evelyn Berry) Smith of Cross Creek Township, and Mrs. Jeanetta Glass Bartins of Robinson Township are present day descendants of the Glass Family. The Herriott Family has occupied valuable land on the eastern border of Mount Pleasant Township for over one hundred years. The first to occupy this land was John M. Herriott, whose son, John G. Herriott succeeded him in ownership, and it is now owned by the third generation, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Herriott, whose son-in-law and daughter, Charles and Eleanor Wilson also have a home on the land, where they conduct an extensive orchard. Belonging also to this family was the late Miss Millocent Herriott, for 46 years a teacher in Mount Pleasant Township Schools. The Herriott farm is of excellent soil and John W. Herriott conducts a well-organized general farming operation. Adjoining the Herriott farm to the northwest is the former Darlington Johnson farm, which, too, has been in the family name for over one hundred years, being now owned and operated by Wayne and Ruth Johnson. John C. Hutchison, son of John and Esther Cowden Hutchison, owned and operated a farm on the eastern side of the Township until his death in 1967. His wife who was Ethel Cummins still lives on the farm. While the Lawton name belongs more consistently in Cross Creek, Hopewell and Independence Townships, the family of Luther Lawton and his wife, Hettie Dinsmore were residents of Mount Pleasant for some years earlier in this century, or until about 1925 when the survivors of Mrs. Lawton migrated to and settled at Larned, Kansas. Mrs. Lawton (1850-1922)and her daughter, Bessie {1883-1923) and son, John Orr Lawton and his wife, Marie Newcomer and their son Robert Lawton are all buried in Mount Prospect Cemetery, but Mr. Luther Lawton (1849-1927)and daughters, Louella Lawton and Mary Lawton Taylor are buried at Larned, Kansas, as is also another son, Paul Lawton. The Lees of Mount Pleasant are a branch of the Lee Family of the Cross Creek Country. General James Lee, veteran of the War of 1812 and a native of Cross Creek moved to a farm adjoining the grounds of Mount Prospect Church on the south where he spent the rest of his life. He owned too,the farm just north of the church, later ovmed by the Emery Family, and two daughters of General Lee, the Misses Ellen and Mary Ann Lee lived on this property. Another daughter married Joseph Graham and they remained at Cross Creek until her death in 1856. The Grahams had a family of three girls and five boys - four of the boys served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and their letters to their Aunt Ellen Lee here at Hickory have been edited and published into a Books "Aunt and the Soldier Boys", with the sponsorship of relatives, Mrs. Janice Reed McFadden of Orrville, Ohio and Col. William H. Bartlett of Aptos, California. General Lee and his second wife, Jane Cowen Lee and the daughters, Ellen and Mary Ann Lee are buried at Mount Prospect graveyard. His first wife is buried at Cross Creek, and a son, William N. Lee is buried at Holliday's Cove, West Virginia. D. Thomas McAllister, a native of Independence Township and a long time teacher in Mount Pleasant schools, lived in the Township from 1925 to about 1950 when he moved to Canonsburg, where he then lived until his death. His first wife, Mary Lillian Douglas Skiles, who, too, was a teacher before her marriage, was the mother of the McAllister children: Raymond McAllister married Marjorie Johnson. Millard McAllister married Clara Replogle. Donald McAllister married Margaret Jane Jenkins. Dorothy McAllister married Lloyd Kaufman, they live in Cecil Township and she is the only one of the family living nearby. D. T. McAllister married second, Blanche Morgan (died 1951) and his third wife was Carrie Buchanan who survived her husband at his death in 1966. The McCoy Family came to Mount Pleasant when Mr. and Mrs. James R. McCoy bought a farm 1 mile east of Hickory from Samuel D. White of Cross Creek Township. Mr. McCoy was married to Sarah Jane Dinsmore whose brother, William McC. Dinsmore bought and settled on an adjoining farm a few years later. A substantial brick house and good farm buildings enabled the McCoys to carry on an extensive grain and stock raising operation here. William M. McCoy who married Elizabeth B. Glass succeeded his father in the ownership and operation of the farm, and he continued there until his death in 1943. Miss Zelma McCoy of Washington is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William McCoy. A daughter of James R. McCoy, Elizabeth Margaret McCoy married A. Boyd Emery, whose son B. Irwin Emery was a prominent business man in Washington for several years. The Emery Family came to Mount Pleasant from Somerset Township when E. G. Emery purchased the farm from the Lee estate, which lies just north of Mount Prospect Church, this being about 1869. E. G. Emery had fought in the Civil War and soon thereafter married Martha A. Hamilton. They were the parents of Boyd Emery. The Marshalls were a Cross Creek Township family who were prominent in the affairs of the Woodrow community. Robert Marshall lived on the farm in Cross Creek Township later in the Jeffrey name, and now owned by Ralph and Martha Bell. This family attended Mount Prospect Church and are buried in Mount Prospect Graveyard. Mr. Marshall was in the infamous expedition led by Colonel Williamson against the Moravian Indians in 1782 and an inscription on his tombstone in the graveyard states "that he was one of the 18 men on this expedition who formed a second line in favor of saving the Moravian Indians from massacre at Gnadenhutten", He and his colleagues were over-ruled and 96 Indians were killed in cold blood. Mr. Marshall had a daughter, Esther Marshall who lived on the property now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Renzie Davidson near Mount Prospect Church. She was a colorful character and widely known until her death at the home of James McClain in Cross Creek Township in 1885. The house in which she lived was for years, referred to as the "Esther Marshall House". It once belonged to Mount Prospect Church, and Henry Nolte, janitor for many years lived in the house. John M. Morrison, son of Park and Mary Sleeth Morrison, was a lumberman in Mount Pleasant for many years. He married Cassie Kelly who now lives at Liberty, South Carolina with their only daughter, Mary Edna Crothers. Mr. Harrison died on July 11, 1965. Others of this family name in Mount Pleasant: Mr. and Mrs. Harold Morrison, now deceased, and the family of Glenn Morrison who operate an extensive farming operation just north of the West Penn Water Company dam. The Sleeth Family came as immigrants from Ireland about 1831 when Thomas Sleeth and his wife, Margaret and their 9 year old son, John located on the middle branch of Raccoon Creek near where that stream is joined by Cherry Run. They bought an 83 acre tract of land from the Rankin Family, and here young John Sleeth learned the blacksmith trade which he and his son, John practiced for many years. John Sleeth married Rachel __________ and they were the parents of three sons and five daughters, among whom were Mary Sleeth who married Park Morrison and Agnes Sleeth who married J, Milton Malone. This family is represented in Mount Pleasant now by Mrs. Roberta Miller and her sons and by Mrs. James (Lucille) Miller. William M. Paul, a native of West Bethlehem Township, married Vinta McGugin, and they located on a farm near the McGugin Tunnel on the Wabash Railroad. Mr. Paul died in 1914 and his widow later married R. Lyle McGugin of Washington, Iowa. The Paul Family consisted of Vincent H, Paul, retired telephone lineman of Hickory, Mrs. Mary Esther Ray, deceased - she and her husband lived on the Paul farm, McElroy Paul of Woodville, Ruth Paul Snyder, deceased and Brady Paul who as a corporal in the Pennsylvania State Police, was murdered while on patrol duty on the New Castle-Butler road in December, 1929. Wesley S. Reedy married Emma E. Hanenkrat of Summitt County, Ohio. They were residents of Mount Pleasant for thirty years before their deaths, his in 1939 and Mrs. Reedy's in 1942. He was a farmer. Of their family living at Hickory are: Lester W. Reedy and Mrs. Minnie Reedy Cooke. Another son, Hiram Reedy conducted a garage and service station on Route 18 south of Hickory. He is deceased but his widow, Mrs. Myrtle Marquis Reedy lives in the Township, as does her daughter, Mrs. Elaine Caldwell. There are grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the family, too. Two Scott families have long been prominent in Mount Pleasant: The family of James and Jane Scott, natives of County Tyrone, Ireland migrated to America in 1846. John T. Scott of this family married Nancy Ann Crummy. He was a farmer and painter in the Township for many years until his death in 1935. Their children included Miss Alverda Scott, retired teacher of Beaver County, and Anna Mary Scott, wife of Johnston M. Russell; the Russells were prominent members of the Grange in Washington County during much of their lifetimes. They were farmers and lived on a farm north of Hickory, part of which is now the home of their son, Scott Russell and his family. Walter S. Scott (died 1977) and Oliver S. Scott, brothers, were natives of Smith Township who came to Hickory at an early age. Walter Scott, a grocer for many years, married Matilda Cooke, and they had sons: Walter S. Jr., Kenneth, Paul D., Samuel, Wayne and one daughter, Julia Belle Scott Finney. Oliver S. Scott married Grace Allender and they had daughters, Elsie Scott and Mrs. Edith Scott Dewey of Kansas City, Kansas. Dr. Edwin B. Swartz, dentist, moved to Hickory in 1911 and made his home here while practicing his profession in Pittsburgh. His wife was Mabel Irene Killie and their family consisted of: Edwin B. Swartz, Jr., of Hickory, Samuel D. Swartz of Lakeland, Florida, Rev. Louis Swartz of Columbus, Ohio and Mrs. Dorothy Swartz Weiss of Pittsburgh. J. Albert Cooper, stationer, of Pittsburgh married Annie Swartz and they came to Hickory with the Swartz Family, locating in a new home which they built on present Grandview Avenue. They had a family of two sons: Marshall and Albert Cooper, and two daughters, Laura Cocper White and Miss Blanche Cooper, all now deceased. The Walkers of Mount Pleasant Township are descended from William Warren Walker (died 1919) and of his wife, Hester Ann Ashbrook Walker (died 1943). Several of their children lived in Mount Pleasant and other nearby areas. Longest residents here have probably been the family of Harry B. Walker who married Bena Miller of the Cooke School District in Smith Township. They located on the former Harry Rankin farm on Route 18 north of Hickory, where their son, Jay M. Walker and his family now reside. Another son, Wilbert Walker married Dorothy Smith and they live on Route 50 east. Margaret Jane Walker was the second wife of Frank L. Briggs. Cora Viola Walker was the wife of Charles F. Seabright and they had daughters: Annie Alrutz of Hickory and Cecil Brinkman of McDonald. Richard and Jack Welch are sons of the late H. Reed Welch, Jr. and of Dorothy Beadling Welch. They have remodeled the two old homes on the former Reed Lyle farm and are living in these homes. They conducted a golf course on this farm for some years, but it has been discontinued. These men are descendants, too, of the White and Reed families, formerly of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Richard Welch is married to the former Jo Ann Seitz, and they have one daughter; Jack Welch is married to the former Sue DeSantis, and they have a son and a daughter. Jewel Hinerman, a native of Marshall County, West Virginia purchased the former W.A. McCalmont farm in 1940. Moving to it at once, he began a large grain and dairy operation, which he continued until after the death of his wife, Ida Edgar Hinerman in 1966. He then sold the main part of the farm, but retained a good-sized parcel upon which he built a new home, where he is spending a comfortable retirement, with his son, Robert and wife also living there. Another son Melvin Hinerman and his wife, Romaine live at Atlasburg, and a daughter, Virginia Ferrell lives at Claysville. A second daughter, Olive is deceased. The Powelsons are from a Cross Creek Township family, part of whom transferred to Mount Pleasant, when Mr. and Mrs. John M. Powelson and most of their family moved here many years ago. Living in Mount Pleasant at the present time are daughters, Alverda Powelson Stewart and Martha Powelson Miller and their families; also, grandson, R. Glenn Powelson and wife Rosalie and son John live on the farm on which Aaron Lyle, original settler located in 1784. The patent name for this tract was Otter Hill, but the Powelsons have re-named it Glen-Rose Farm. One family of Whites has been mentioned in the article on the Hughes­ White families. Another family of this name was that of Dr. John White, who was a practicing physician at Hickory until his death in 1853. His wife was Agnes Park, and their son, William Snodgrass White owned a farm just north of Hickory where he lived until his retirement, then moving to Canonsburg. His son, John Stewart White then conducted the farm until his death, when it was bought by James Dinsmore of Cecil Township and it was the home of his family for many years. Samuel D. White of Cross Creek Township once owned the so-called McCoy Farm 1 mile east of Hickory, selling it to McCoys about 1883. Mr. White never lived on this farm, His son, William G. White married Lizzie Lyle, daughter of J. Reed Lyle, and they lived on farms in Smith, Cross Creek and Mount Pleasant Townships until their deaths about fifty years ago. Their son, Alvin D. White married Laura Cooper of Hickory and they lived in the Hickory Community since their marriage in 1919. Mrs. White is deceased, but Mr. White and two sons, John M. and Richard L. White and their wives and families live at Hickory. Robert S. Wilson was one of several children of Mrs. Joanna Patterson Wilson who migrated from Ireland and settled in Mount Pleasant prior to the mother's death in 1877. Robert Wilson married Margaret Irvine and their first home in Mount Pleasant was on the tract "Mount Pleasant", then owned by Samuel D. White, as noted above. When this farm was sold to the McCoy Family, the Wilsons purchased the farm in the southern part of the Township which was the home of the couple and their eleven children. This is the present John and Mary Hoffman farm. Mr. Wilson, in addition to his farming was Director of the Poor for Washington County and sudden death came to him while at the Home on February 22, 1899. His widow and children remained on the farm, but the children married and all left except Robert Alexander Wilson, known as "Zan" who took over the farm and operated it until his death in 1951. He was married to Edna McCollum, and their children are: Robert A. Wilson of Mount Pleasant married to the former Mary Moore and Mrs. Martha Hensel of Washington. R. Parker Wilson and his wife, Luetta Stewart were natives of the Wilson Valley in Cross Creek Township. Upon retiring from the farm, they located in Hickory. They were the parents of Bertha Wilson Craft, Elizabeth Wilson McTaggart, Dr. John S. Wilson, Samuel P. Wilson and Gailey B. Wilson. The sons are all deceased. Gailey B. Wilson and his wife, Louise Baker Wilson conducted an extensive antique business at their home in Hickory, and Mrs. Wilson continues this business. The Willison Family once had a large farm in the Westland section of Mount Pleasant, where lived Samuel Willison and his wife, Jane Johnston and their family. All were members of Mount Pleasant U. P. Church and all are now buried in the Cemetery at this church. Children of the couple were: William Willison, Calvin Willison, Miss Leila Willison, Mrs. J. C. Sharpnack of Chicago, and Mrs. Anna Willison Blackwood. Samuel I. Willison, nephew of Samuel Willison, above, married Elizabeth Ellen White and they had one daughter, Mary, who married S. Lee Glass. Mr. Samuel I. Willison conducted a wagon-maker's shop at Hickory. Mrs. Anna Lee Glass Orler of Alexandria, Virginia is the only living representative of this family. The old Willison Farm has been stripped of its farm buildings, part of it has been stripped for coal, and the whole farm is now occupied by the new portal of Westland Mine of the Consolidation Coal Company. Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Woodford owned a home on the ridge south of Hickory, where they lived for a number of years. They had a family of whom, remaining in the Township were: Laura Lee Woodford married to Dr. Edward H. White, both now deceased, and Robert L. Woodford and his wife, Margaret, both retired and living in Hickory. Other children of the Woodfords lived elsewhere. The McCarty Family were early residents of the area and owned the patent to the tract "Rhodes" of 300 acres near the site of present Fort Cherry High School. Their land was later purchased by the Farrar Family who occupied it until recent years. (See Farrar Family) Members of the McCarty Family located in McDonald where they engaged in various business enterprises. The family is now represented in the area by John K. McCarty, retired business man, and his wife, the former Jane Riggle. They have children: Mary Jane, Dennis and Andrew McCarty. M. Dawson Worstell and his wife, Ariel Forsyth, lived on a farm one mile southeast of Hickory until his death in 1925.Mrs. Worstell had died earlier. Their family consisted of: sons, Clyde Worstell and Edmund Worstell, and daughters, Emma Worstell and Mrs. Sarah F. Acheson, now all deceased. Lois Acheson and Mrs. Mildred Dallmeyer of Hickory are daughters of Mrs. Acheson. The family of Lawrence Lowry live on the former W. W. Donaldson farm in southern Mount Pleasant. He married Florence Davidson of Cross Creek Township, and their children are: Robert Lowry who operates the home farm, William Lowry of Hopewell Township, and twin daughters, Mrs. Jane Litman of the home farm and Mrs. Ann Litman of Claysville. Dr. George A. Hoop located in Hickory after graduating from dental school. He practiced his profession at Hickory and Avella for many years before retiring. He married Margery Deffenbaugh who is now deceased. Their children were: Willard B. Hoop, deceased, George A. Hoop, Jr. of Mount Pleasant Township, Dr. Darwin D. Hoop of Washington and Wendell Hoop. Dr. Hoop has been an enthusiastic hunter and naturalist. The J. Howard Moore family, once prominent in this area, owned a large tract of land lying east of Woodrow, and including the present farm of the John M. Caldwell family. The brick house on that farm was probably built by Howard Moore. They had a numerous family, all now deceased, and including the late William C. Moore, a newspaper columnist who wrote for the Washington Observer under the name of Cal Hunter. He married Jennie McElroy and their son is William Moore, Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona. Another Moore Family is that of Verner Moore, presently of Hickory, who married Alice Ayers of Burgettstown. He is a son of William and Emma L. White Moore. Now retired, Verner Moore was a trucker and carpenter during his working years. He and his wife, parents of nine children, observed the Golden Wedding anniversary of their marriage on July 20, 1980. Matthew Crawford was the head of a large family who lived on a farm near the Cecil Township line in the northeastern corner of the Township and one and one-half miles south of Primrose. Mr. Crawford migrated from Ireland to America about 1814 and located upon this land where his death occurred in 1894 at the age of 93 years. He was a man of strong character and convictions: He looked upon Saturday as the Sabbath of each week, and he was a strong abolitionist in the pre-Civil War days. At his death, he was buried in the Covenanter Cemetery in Chartiers Township. Descendants of Mr. Crawford still live in the Primrose section of the Township. Lester Martin was a farmer who owned and lived on one of the former Buchanan farms south of Hickory. He was married to Bertha Sells who was the mother of his four children. He later married Hannah Sprowls, who survived him. A son, James S. Martin still lives on the home farm. The Wilkinson Family were children of Andrew and Margaret Christie Wilkinson who were married in Scotland before coming to America in 1903. They lived near Westland and at Hickory, and Mr. Wilkinson and his sons were employed in Westland Mine. They had a family of four sons, James C. and George Wilkinson of Hickory, Dr. Donald Wilkinson of Missouri, and Andrew Wilkinson, Jr. late of Hickory, and three daughters, Christine Lee, Mrs. M. A. Lusk and Miss Robina Wilkinson, the last, an army nurse in World War I. The Morris Family of Hickory consisted of two bachelor brothers, John and Joseph Morris who were blacksmiths and maiden sisters, Hannah and Mary Ann Morris who kept house for the brothers. A nephew Edward Morris, also a blacksmith, and a niece, Edna Morris made up the family in this Hickory home. The Rossi Family were children of Angelo Rossi, an Italian immigrant and coal miner who had a small farm just south of Hickory. Of their family, there are Harry and Ernest Rossi and Mrs. Margaret Leopold who still live in the Township. Harry and Ernest, too, work in the coal mine at Westland. MOUNT PLEASANT'S "DUTCH GLORY" "You are no more strangers - - - but fellow-citizens" As was the case in several other Washington County communities; so did Mount Pleasant have the good fortune. around the 1870's and 1880's to have received as additions to its population a good number of families, immigrants from Germany who came here about that time, or in some cases later, and "adopted" our Mount Pleasant Community as their future home. Since the coming of these people has never been suitably recognized, it is our desire to partially do so in this article. In addition to their seeking new homes in a "new" country, these people came here, in many cases, so that the men in the families could get away from the military conscription requirements which were becoming so onerous to the liberty-loving people of the German Empire. This is not said to their discredit, for these people were seeking a peaceful freedom in addition to new homes, so they were warmly welcomed in this community. Among the first to come here were the Studas: Henry L. Studa (sometimes spelled Stute)and his wife, Melisine came to the area in 1850 and settled on one of the McKibben farms in Cross Creek Township, just south of the present hamlet of Rea. Like many others, they had come from the Kingdom of Hanover in western Germany, and once settled on their farm, they remained there until their deaths. Of their family of several children, two of the sons, David W. and John R. Studa became farmers in Cross Creek and Smith Townships. The older members of the family belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church (German) of Mount Pleasant Township. Another early family to come here were the Alrutz's. Christian Alrutz purchased the Robert W. Dinsmore farm in Hopewell Township in 1869 and his son, Frederick lived on that farm. Later the family bought the John C. Dinsmore farm in Mount Pleasant, where another son, Charles F. Alrutz, Sr. located. This is the farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. James Brezinski. In addition to general farming, the Alrutz's operated a steam sawmill and they were among the first to own and operate a steam threshing machine in the Township. Charles F. Alrutz, Jr. succeeded his father in the operation of this farm. A daughter, Edna May Alrutz married Vincent M.Paul of Hickory. It would be our wish to write at length on the various other families who followed these early arrivals from Germany to the shores of the United States, but since these people were numerous and our space in this work is limited, we must confine ourselves to these short sketches which follow. The Knauer Family, consisting of four brothers: Christian, Frederick, John and Charles Knauer settled near Mount Prospect Church. Nearby families assisted these men in learning the English language and all became proficient in its use. Christian Knauer decided to remain on the farm and he spent his life there. His three brothers all became well educated and entered professional life: Fred Knauer became a Presbyterian minister and he and his wife went as missionaries to Africa for a few years, but had to return to the States on account of Mrs. Knauer's health; John C. Knauer became a Lutheran minister, while the third brother, Charles Knauer received a liberal education and was a member of the faculty of St. John's Lutheran School at Fort Wayne, Indiana, None of this family name live in Mount Pleasant now, Christopher and Louise Kinemond Ahrns were the parents of Lewis H. Ahrns who lived on a farm one mile south of Hickory, which is now operated by a great-grandson, David Kraeer, Another son, Henry C. Ahrns married Elizabeth Carl and they had children: Grover L, and Elden N. Ahrns late of Mount Pleasant, and Ina Ahrns Jeffrey, late of Cross Creek Township. Hannah Ahrns, daughter of Christopher married, first Martin Raab, and second Gustave Bahre of Hopewell Township. Henry F. Carl married, first, Rachel McPherson, and second, Lou Adams. This family remained largely in Hopewell and Independence Townships. A sister of Mr. Carl married George Kinemond of Hickory; most of their family were residents of Mount Pleasant: Henry D. Kinemond married Dessie Frye. Fred J. Kinemond married Anna Lee Manson. George Kinemond married Cecelia Shotts. August C. Kinemond married Anna A. Kaste. John F. Kinemond married Dora Kaste. These couples are all deceased. Living in Hickory is Clifford Williams who is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. John F. Kinemond. He operates a radio­television sales and service store in Hickory. Ernest Kreikemeyer born in Germany in 1870 married Frederica Ebert. Their farm home was on present Route 50, two miles east of Hickory. Herman Kreikemeyer married Emma Seabright. Their farm home was three miles north of Hickory. Their daughter, Miss Clara remained on this farm and operated it with the help of her uncle, Frederick Seabright until his death in 1969, since which time, the farm has been sold. Frederick Creps and his wife, Hannah Carl lived in Mount Pleasant Township, but later settled near Cherry Valley in Smith Township where a son, Howard M. Creps continued to occupy the home farm. Henry Carl Gundlah married Louise Kinemond. They lived for a time at Wheeling, but later came to Mount Pleasant to spend the rest of their lives. Their four children except Harry H. Gundlah had all died before their mother's death in 1935. Harry died in 1945. Henry Conkle was a native of the "Dutch Glory" country in West Bethlehem Township. He came to Mount Pleasant and married Mary Vogle and they settled on the property belonging to his father-in-law t Godfrey Vogle who was a shoe-maker, living at the west end of Hickory. Their children remained in the Township for a time, but eventually all of them located elsewhere except Mary Conkle who married Elmer Mcillvaine.(see the Mcillvaine Family) August Carl, Sr. and his wife Charlotte came to Mount Pleasant with others of the German immigration and they died here, he in 1905 and she in 1915. Their son, August Christopher Car1 lived to the age of 89 years, dying in 19.57; h:i,s son, Charles August Carl and his wife, made the third generation of the family to live here. All those who are deceased are buried closely together in a section of Mount Prospect Cemetery which is devoted largely to burial of the deceased of the German families of whom we have been writing. Many of these families became members of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church in the area, but there being no burial ground attached to tht church, burial space was used largely at Mount Prospect Graveyard and Cemetery. Fredrick L. Seabright (1853-1941), a native of Hanover, Germany came to America in 1872; he married, first Augusta Perke, and second, Augusta Neibar. Of their children still living are: John Seabright of Cherry Valley and Mrs. George Norris of Pittsburgh. A brother of Frederick Seabright, Adolph (186)-1940) married Minnie Seik (1868-1907). Their children do not live in Mount Pleasant. Another brother, August Seabright (1853-1927) married Louisa Augusta Alrutz. Their son, Charles Seabright married Cora Viola Walker, and they were the parents of Mrs. Annie Alrutz and Mrs. Cecil Brinkman. Henry Carl Seik (1876-1947) married Effie Cummins; they lived for a time on the George Kinemond farm, now owned by Mrs. David Staudt. They had no children. Herman Somerlade (1843-1921) married Caroline Oberman. They had a farm at the edge of the village of Hickory. Of their children: Herminia Somerlade married E.Park Miller and they lived at Woodrow, where a daughter, Elva Miller now lives; and a son, William C. Miller, married to Martha Powelson lives near Mount Prospect Church; Mary Somerlade married Grover L. Ahrns, and they were the parents of Clair W. Ahrns of Hickory; William Somerlade married Lida Wilson, and they located at Akron, Ohio. Charles Retzer born in Northweller, Germany in 1854, came to America in 1868 and to Hickory about 1880. He married Mary Beddow. He conducted a grocery store and served as Post Master of Hickory for 35 years. Most of\ their family lived in the Hickory area: Ralph Beddow Retzer married Margaret Stunkard. Roy Retzer, grocer at Hickory was unmarried, Mary Retzer married Jerome Zoog. Florence Retzer married Richard L. Zoog. John Loren (Jack) Retzer was unmarried, Walter W. Retzer married Nelle Bosold, Charles J. Retzer married Nellie O'Brien. All of the sons of this family are deceased.Mrs. Ralph B. Retzer lives in Hickory as does her daughter, Mrs.Rowena Bedillion and her family. Christian Schafer (1844-1910) and his wife, Melzena Seabright (1847- 1926)lived in Mount Pleasant on the farm now owned by John M. Caldwell and family. Of their children: Fred Schafer married Mary Seabright, August Schafer married Della Louise Creps, their son, Odis Schafer married Margaret Descutner, Lena Schafer married Ellis Findling, Elizabeth Schafer married Albert Riggans and Anna Schafer married Brady Ahrns. The Odis Schafer family and the Ahrns family still live in the area. Henry Nolte, native of Germany lived in the Esther Marshall house until 1936; he served as janitor of Mount Prospect Church for many years then moved to Pittsburgh where he and his wife died. George Raab married Margaret Lutz and they lived on the farm now owned by Nelle and Norma Mungai. After his death, his son, David took over operation of the farm, but he was killed at an early age when a single tree from a farm wagon broke and struck him in the abdomen, causing peritonitis and his death. His mother and sisters then located in Smith Township and Burgettstown. Henry C. Rasel and wife, Nancy Alrutz lived on a farm along Route 18 south of Hickory until their deaths. They had a family of nine children, all of whom left the Mount Pleasant area. Fred T.Kraeer and his wife, Anetta Matchett lived in Cross Creek Township for most of their lives, but their son, Otto I.Kraeer married, first Bertha Fuller, and second, Jane Rossi and lived in Mount Pleasant during the later. years of his life. His son, Thomas 0. Kraeer, married to Viola Ahrns, and grandson, David Kraeer live on the former Lewis Ahrns farm near Hickory. Also, Esta Kraeer married George Alrutz and they lived much of their married life in this Township. The Leopolds are a former Burgettstown Family, descended from Henry Leopold who was a long-time stone mason at Burgettstown. Frank Leopold, son of Frank and grandson of Henry Leopold, married Margaret Rossi and they live at Hickory. Godfrey Vogle (1810-1887) was a shoe-maker with a shop at the west end of Hickory. His son, Ephraim Vogle married Jane Eaton of Midway, and they located on a farm in Cross Creek Township, which they occupied until selling it to a son-in-law, Robert R. Cowden. In their later years, the Vogles lived in Hickory, where they built two houses on West Main Street. Son, Henry Vogle occupied one of these houses; he married Margaret Holmes and their children were: Henry Vogle, Jr. of Hickory and Mrs. Mary English of Butler, Pennsylvania. A daughter of Ephraim Vogle, Sarah Vogle married David C. Miller and their family lived mostly in Mount Pleasant. Joseph Wittman, soldier of fortune in the German wars, came to Hickory after an extended service in the army; he worked as cook on railroad section crews, and also he was a shoe-maker who plied his trade at Hickory, working also for many years as farm laborer on the Lewis Ahrns farm. He was a colorful character! Herman Kaste migrated from Germany in 1845 and settled near West Middletown, later moving to McDonald, He married Fredrica Carl, and their son, William F. Kaste married Emma Doehre; they were the parents of these sons who lived in Mount Pleasant: Melvin, Arthur and Raymond J. Kaste. Fred Colwes (died 1901) married Caroline Kenimond (1860-1931). They lived in Hickory and were the parents of: Fred Colwes, Jr., Benjamin H. and Charles M. Colwes, the latter two barbers in Hickory for many years and now deceased, and of Miss Della Colwes who lives in the family home at Hickory. AGRICULTURAL HISTORY OF MOUNT PLEASANT Mount Pleasant Township's Landscape Artists by Jack Ferrell "They cut down the forests, and cultivated the land." Is agriculture Mount Pleasant Township's oldest and most enduring form of art? It could well be, considering our four distinct seasons and the influences of our agriculturialist so They have combined to produce a dynamic landscape portrait, highlighted by rich greens, subtle golds and earthy browns. Since climate and topography largely dictate what forms of agriculture are possible, one should briefly consider these factors. Mount Pleasant Township is located 40°north latitude or in other words, some 2,800 miles north of the equator. This area is characterized by 120 or more frost free days per year. Climatologists consider this area to have full summers, where mean temperature of the warmest month is over 68°and cold winters where mean temperature of the coldest month is below 36°. Rainfall equality can be seen here, where the 12 months have no appreciable wet or dry seasons. Thirty to forty inches of rainfall per year is normal. The topography of Mount Pleasant Township could best be described as rounded hilltops with the valleys tending to be narrow. The highest points in the township are 1,400 feet while the lowest points are 1,000 feet above sea level. Mount Pleasant Township is the source for three major watersheds, the Raccoon Creek watershed that flows northward from the Hickory area, the Chartiers Creek watershed that flows south/southeast from the Hickory area, and the Cross Creek watershed that flows westward out of the township. THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN INFLUENCE The North American Indians were the first known humans to utilize the abundance of resources, Mount Pleasant Township possessed. Putting aside the injustice Hollywood has done in depicting the Indians as war­like savages, the truth soon surfaces. These were noble people, able to withstand the severest winter blasts and to utilize native plants and animals. The plants and animals aside from their food value served many other domestic purposes. The Indians performed a type of agriculture that nowadays is referred to as permaculture. In other words, permaculture is the harvesting of endemic plants and animals in such a manner as to perpetuate a continued safe harvest year after year. PALEO lNDIANS Paleo (meaning ancient or prehistoric) is the name given to the first inhabitants to live in this region. During the last ice age, approximately 20,000 years ago, the Paleo Indians are believed to have arrived in North America. Collectively, these were nomadic people, following the large mammals and gathering fruits and seeds. ARCHAIC INDIANS The next classification of Indians to utilize this area are the Archaic (old)Indians. The Archaic Indians' livelihood remained basically the same as the Paleo. Considered to inhabit this area from 8,000 to 2,000 B. C., the Archaic were practicing subsistence agriculture-­ mostly hunting and gathering with little if any cultivation. Unfortunately much of their cultural heritage has been lost because much of what they made was organic (wood, animal skins)and has long since decomposed. The "arrowheads" which are common in the plowed fields of Mount Pleasant Township are the main cultural remains of these people. It should be pointed out that the term "arrowhead" in most cases is a misnomer. The pointed pieces of flint found date back roughly 4,000 years B. C. and the archaeologists have proven that the bow and arrow only became popular with these Indians around 1,000 B.C. The correct term would re "projecto - points" because they formed the killing end of their spears. Knowing the nomadic life styles these Indians practiced, we as residents of Mount Pleasant Township are fortunate to have the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter just 12 miles west. The Rock Shelter is the oldest confirmed archaeological site of human civilization in the western hemisphere. The University of Pittsburgh has dated artifacts back to 16,000 B.C. and though not verified at this writing, some materials have been dated upwards of 19,000 years B.C. Animals bones, wood ash and plant residues have been classified and dated. All of which verifies the agricultural tendencies of these people. One only has to speculate that, the very Indians who utilized the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter no doubt followed Cross Creek upstream to traverse this forested area now known as Mount Pleasant Township. WOODLAND INDIANS Filling the time slot from 2,000 B.C. to the immigration of European settlers, were the Woodland Indians. These people were astute naturalists. Of course their agriculture consisted of hunting and gathering, but now some new approaches were being instituted. The Woodland Indians were less nomadic. This enabled them to form a more permanent residence, usually along bottom land, close to a stream. Gardening developed with the women doing most of the gardening duties. Squash, corn, beans, sunflowers and Jerusalem artichokes were the mainstays. With the advent of the bow and arrow, wildlife management techniques were developing. They had learned to clear land by girdling and burning trees. By removing the climax vegetation, secondary growth (meadows, hedgerows, prairies, etc.) encouraged a wide variety of small animals to propagate. Other known facts indicate that the Woodland Indians set trap lines with the figure 4 and the noose style traps being their most common snares. When the 'European settlers began settling this area in the late 1700's the Woodland Indians were either pushed westward or perished in large numbers from "white-man's" diseases. Along with the demise of their society, much of their agricultural knowledge was lost. Though sparse accounts of their agriculture have been recorded, such things as the utility of native plants was largely overlooked. THE EUROPEAN INFLUENCE Though the frame remained the same, the agricultural portrait began to evolve rapidly. What began to differ, was the portrait's detail. A transition from forested tracts of nature's irregular method of seed sowing to a systematic and less diverse approach of seed sowing by man. In 1770, the McGugin family became Mount Pleasant Township's first "white" settlers, thus making them the first agriculturists. By 1780, other settlers mostly of Scotch-Irish nationality had populated the area. The Rankin, Cherry, Lyle, Acheson, Miller, Simpson, McCarrell and Cowden families were among the first to establish homesteads and acquire land patents. The first settlers were primarily subsistence agriculturists. The numbers of and the accommodations for livestock were quite limited. Crops that were grown served personal needs and little else. Hunting and trapping augmented their meat supply while any surplus provided spending money. The forests were viewed as more of a detriment than an asset by the settlers. The vast forests prevented them from performing the forms of agriculture (livestock raising and crop growing)that they had been accustomed to in Europe. Therefore, years of deforestation followed. The thud of axes and sledge hammers became a familiar message broadcast by the hard working settlers. In 1806, the Rankin sawmill (2 miles north of Hickory, on Cherry Valley Road)was established. Subsequently, other small scale sawmills were constructed. This abundant supply of timber served as the backbone for most of their agricultural necessities. Field implements, fences, wagons, sleds, houses, etc, employed the various varieties of native timber to complement the desired tasks. SHEEP HUSBANDRY Sheep husbandry was the dominant source of agricultural income beginning in the 18)0's and continuing into the early 1900's. Mount Pleasant Township, with its rolling topography and suitable climate, was considered a most favorable area to the growth of sheep. In the late 1700's, the United States with its newly acquired independence, not only found itself without manufactories of woolens but also destitute of the materials upon which to work. Attention was directed toward the superior characteristics of the Spanish Merinos. The Spanish government for years was reluctant to export them. It was not until the 1810's and 1820's that significant numbers of these sheep were exported and further propagated in this country. Clarence Paxton, a distinguished, retired farmer currently residing along the Hickory-Houston Road just south of the Mount Pleasant Township border, indicated that his original flock acquired in the early 1900's was part of a foundation flock driven into this area from New England in 1829. A famous axiom of that sheep era goes as follows: "The wealth of the farmer could be determined by the number of sheep he owned". Though this axiom was not an absolute gauge of ones monetary accumulation, it did have a certain amount of validity. Physical evidence to help bolster this statement was the 1876 Caldwell's Centennial Atlas of Washington County. In the township directory section, a resident's name, acreage, address, occupation, nativity and date settled were alphabetically recorded. Interestingly enough was a column preceding the resident's name column which gave the number of sheep said person owned. If this axiom were true, then James S. Buchanan would have been the wealthiest resident in Mount Pleasant Township. Buchanan was credited with owning 900 sheep on his 636 acre tract of land. The American Merino's (the cross of French, Spanish and Saxony Merinos)offered the farmer of this area what he most desired, namely a fleece of high grade and weight. In the Agricultural Report of 1861, (which soon evolved into the Yearbook of the USDA) a Washington County resident gave an account of Raising Sheep and Wool Growing. W. S. Calahan indicated that the Saxony Merinos were more sought after than any other breed of sheep, from the time of their introduction until 1850. The average weight of fleece was 2 3/4 pounds in 1847. Calahan was also of the opinion that the Spanish Merino, due to its hardy nature and heavy fleece, partly owing to the quantity, and partly to the amount of oil in the fleece, had a decided advantage in this area. This fleece served as a protectant against cold rains, which chilled the animals and in turn stunted the wool growth. Calahan cited that the average weight of fleece in 1861 was four pounds or an increase of one and a quarter pound per fleece over the 1847 figure. In 1861, William Berry with a flock of 147 sheared eight hundred and ninety-one pounds of wool, averaging slightly over six pounds per fleece. Due to lack of specific information in the Caldwell Atlas, the William Berry mentioned was either a resident of Mount Pleasant Township or North Strabane Township. In 1890 1 noted livestock breeders, J. B. Henderson of Washington and Herbert Buchanan of Mount Pleasant Township traveled abroad to purchase European livestock. They purchased Dorset sheep in England and Holstein cattle in the Netherlands. DAIRY HUSBANDRY At the turn of this century, a shift in local agricultural preferences began to occur. This preferential change was directly or indirectly linked to major technological advances. The increase of population due to new manufacturing and mining opportunities also increased the numbers of "man's best friend". In the case of the sheep farmer, the influx of roaming dogs attacking the flocks cut profit margins. An example of the indirect link to technological advancement. A direct link in this transition from wool to milk was the establishment of steam powered railroads. The railroads expanded the Pittsburgh milk shed, making it now possible for local farmers to ship fresh milk quickly and conveniently to Pittsburgh. Four railroads served as milk haulers for township milk. A Pennsylvania Railroad branch from Houston to Westland, a Pennsylvania Railroad branch up Raccoon Creek to Cherry Valley, Pennsylvania Railroad mainline at Primrose and the primary milk hauler for Mount pleasant Township dairymen, the Wabash Railroad completed in 1904. The going rate charged by the Railroads, to haul milk was 10˘ per 5 gallons. Daily jaunts by horse and wagon of fresh milk to the nearest crossing were commonplace. In the preco-operative period, once the milk reached the receiving terminal in Pittsburgh, a milk dealer would single out his shippers cans and commence peddling the milk in his neighborhood. At the end of the month the farmer would go to Pittsburgh to reach a settlement on what the dealer owed him for that months milk. Clarence Paxton related how he on occasion accompanied his father on these monthly treks to Pittsburgh in the early 1900's. "We were lucky, our peddler, an Irishman named Murphy, would no matter what the circumstances, pay us fairly! Other shippers were not as fortunate and many times got cheated." In the 1920's the Dairymen's Co-operative Sales Association (DCSA) was formed, relieving much of the marketing anguish farmers had experienced in direct dealings with the milk dealers. The Hickory area was referred to as the Wabash local and the McCalmont Brothers, Loudy and Don began hauling milk by truck. Mount Pleasant Township agriculture from the post-World War I era until the present day has largely coincided with what the trends have been nationally. Rapid advancements in technology and productivity, a demographic shift from a high percentage of agrarian residents to a high percentage of non-agrarian residents, and land speculation and development. Men such as, Donald Cowden, Shelly Morgan, Lee Carter, James Buchanan, Johnston Russell, Vance Smith, Oliver Robinson, Clare White and Reed Welch provided the mental thought and backbone that had direct bearing on what role agriculture would play in this post war period. In 1929, fourteen years after Hickory High School began offering secondary vocational training, a Future Farmers of America chapter was organized. Then agricultural supervisor, Eli Wiggins and the charter members named the chapter, the H. G. Parkinson Chapter, in honor of the first agricultural supervisor. Parkinson had gone on to become Head of the Department of Agricultural Education at Pennsylvania State College. In 1932, the FFA organized the first Mount Pleasant Township Community Fair. Held on school grounds, the fair emphasized the upgrading of crops and livestock, school work standards, and promoted the co-operation and fellowship of the community. After the 1940 fair and the impending world crisis close at hand, the fair was discontinued and has not been revived. One. of the main attractions at the fair was the horse pulling contest. The story goes, that several weeks before this October event, Elmer Carlisle would take his powerful draft horse to the John C. Dinsmore farm (t mile east of Hickory). John had a large stud horse. The two men would head for Dinsmore's woods, where the horses were teamed and worked. The horses gained the needed team experience by pulling some of the large logs. This team proved successful several times by winning the event. By the 1950's machines had all but replaced the horse, while filling the labor void created by the exodus of young men into non­farm jobs. In 1953, Thomas McCarrell was awarded the title of Master Farmer by Pennsylvania Farmer Magazine for his contributions to the dairy industry. Milk hauling in the late '50's reached its current rung on the ladder of progress. Namely, the introduction of the bulk tank trucks and the replacement of a milk can cooler with a bulk tank. This had a marked impact on some local farmers who had wanted to expand their herd size but were restricted by old milk can cooler capacities. The key to this expansion was offered by the larger capacity bulk tank. Edwin Miller was one of the first such dairymen in Washington County to increase herd size by incorporating loose housing of his cattle and milking them in a "new style" milking parlor. The rhythmic popping of the two cylinder John Deere's were quickly being replaced by the larger, more powerful diesel tractors in the 1960's. The Hickory Auction owned and conducted by David H. Williams peaked in the 1960's as a viable marketplace for local agricultural commodities. In 1962, a late morning fire at the Hickory Feed Mill leveled the structure. A new mill was built the following year along the Norfolk and Western Railroad, The rapid decision leading to the construction of this new mill clearly indicated that Mount Pleasant Township had a strong agricultural base in grave need of milling services. The round baler producing bales 400 pounds to 800 pounds beeame popular in the 1970's. It enabled some dairymen and most of the beef producers, such as Thomas McMaster and Paul Salansky, the option of haying their cattle without physically handling a bale. Alvin Carter and sons, Mac, Lee, and Jay, who operate a dairy farm 1 mile north of Hickory were one of the first to utilize the procedure of no till corn planting. The successful results of the Carters has helped encourage others to employ this minimal tillage practice. In 1977 and 1978, the Herbst Brothers, John and Tom, located 2 1/2 miles north of Hickory on Fort Cherry Road, appeared in two feature articles in the Pennsylvania Farmer Magazine. The Herbst Brothers had one of the first manure containment structures in Washington County, when it operated for the first time in 1977. They also hosted the third Washington County "Town and Country Day". A throng estimated at 1200 to 1500 people gathered to socialize and gain insights into the operation of a dairy farm. In 1979, Edwin Miller breeder of Millervale Brett Maud, an aged Holstein cow that had been sold to the Tedesco Brothers of Windsor, Canada, was awarded Reserve Grand Champion Female at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. In 1980, this cow achieved the Grand Champion Female honors. According to current information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service (SCS), Mount Pleasant Township is one of the 5 major crop and dairy production townships in Washington County. There are presently 104 active farms with 57 adhering to a voluntary farm conservation plan devised by the farmer and SCS. Total acreage of the township land under conservation status is 7534 acres. Conservation Practices Amount Contour Strip Cropping 1,756 acres Spring Development with watering trough 31 est. Tile Drainage 37,700 feet Diversions 6,154 feet Wildlife Management 235 acres Woodland Management 115 acres Pasture Management 549 acres Hayland Management 686 acres SCS has determined from soils map analysis of Mount Pleasant Township that 2,214 acres could be considered prime farm land. Is agriculture, Mount Pleasant Township's oldest and most enduring form of art? The landscape portrait has undergone some dramatic changes due mainly to the different ideals and needs of the people who have called this area home. Starting with the Paleo Indians and continuing to present day farmers, Agriculture has been the most enduring form of man's creative work. Agriculture in whatever form utilized, enabled man to take nature's offerings and shape them into a means of sustaining human life. Acknowledgments: Albert Miller, Clarence Paxton, The Caldwell's Centennial Atlas of Washington County, Pennsylvania, USDA's -Yearbook of Agriculture, USDA's -Soil Conservation Service - Washington, Pa. office. This article has been prepared for our History by Jack Ferrell of Hickory, who is a graduate of Slippery Rock State College, and one of the Associate Directors of the Washington County Conservation District. Jack also has considerable experience in farming having worked for some time on the farm operated by his uncle, J. Arthur Smith. A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MOUNT PLEASANT TOWNSHIP 1783-1981 by Edwin B. Swartz, Jr. "Upon the education of the people, the fate of the country depends". The beginnings of education in this area go all the way back to the emigrants who settled here from Eastern Pennsylvania. In addition to their material possessions, these early settlers of our community also brought with them their ideas of religion, government and education. The schools were established as Wickersham says in "A History of Education in Pa.", "without any controlling law on the subject, and therefore necessarily without systems, prompted by the wish to obtain at least some education for their children. Limited always by the scanty means at their command, our fathers built school houses, employed teachers and sent their children to school as best they could. The wonder is "not that under the circumstances so many sections of the country were poorly supplied with schools, but that education was so general." One of the earliest schools in Washington County was established in Mount Pleasant Township in the year 1783. This school was located on the farm of John McCalmont. One of the pupils of this first school was Daniel Johnson of Indian descent, who was later a teacher in this same school. The subjects taught were spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, and the Old and New Testament. The salary was $12.00 a month. The next school house was built near the Mount Prospect church about the year 1797 which was destroyed by fire a few years later. Another house replaced this school and was built on the farm of John Lyle. This site was "in the big woods known as Poplar Hollow". The first teacher of this school was John Dickey. About the year 1800 another school was built on the farm of George Carroll. The teacher for several years was Samuel Lyle. Within a year a school was also built on the farm of Joseph Knight "on the old road". A man named McCready taught there in the year 1803. He was known as a severe disciplinarian and was "much feared by both the big and little scholars". Within the next few years, several other school houses were built. One of these was on the farm of Jacob Donaldson, Jr. "on the State Road near Mr. Ornes". Among the teachers were Thomas Merchant, who taught a number of years, and John Hoge who taught there during 1812 and 1813. Mr. Hoge is interred in the Hickory graveyard. Other schools were located in loghouses on the farms of John Henderson, McCluskey, Edward Cherry, and Edgar Rankin. These early school houses were built of logs, sometimes hewed and sometimes round with cabin roofs, and a log left out on either side for a window opening. The seats were simple benches with no backs. The houses were built and furnished voluntarily by the people living within a radius of a few miles. The schools were sustained by subscriptions from the parents of the children attending. Consequently, the schools were known as "subscription schools" or by the term "common school" which was generally accepted to designate the elementary grades as they are known today. In the better managed schools a "Day-book of Attendance" for each pupil was maintained by the teacher for the trustees of the school. Based on these records tuition money was collected from those who were able to pay. Those unable to pay were allowed to attend free. Whatever money was needed to operate a particular school was raised by popular subscription through the trustees and paid out by them. In these early schools there was no attempt to classify students by grades. Each pupil came to the teacher in his order and said his lesson. There was little attempt at teaching, as we understand it today. Blackboards, maps, globes were unknown. For some reason the common schools in Mount Pleasant Township remained ungraded until the latter part of the century. At the 7th meeting of the Common School County Convention held in Hickory in 1855, a resolution was adopted "recommending the establishment of graded schools". Another resolution was adopted "recommending the Hickory school room as a model, and commending, as a rule, female teachers as equal to, and in many cases superior to males". From the 1869 edition of the Pa. School Report the following comment is made by the County Superintendent regarding ungraded schools "There remain but two places that ought to have graded schools, Ten Mile Village and Hickory. Why the board of Mount Pleasant Township will not establish a graded school there, is past understanding, when it is remembered that there is a house built for that purpose, and the gentlemen composing that board are intelligent and earnest men", The school house referred to in the preceding paragraph was erected at Hickory in the fall of 1855, and opened with ceremonies on December 3rd of that year. The Washington County Superintendent report of 1856 mentions the erection of the model school building at Hickory with the following description. "Size 40 ft. by 26 ft. with sash to let down as well as raise, 12 ft. ceiling, a plank wall upon the north side so as to afford an extended blackboard 40 feet long, a platform in front of the blackboard, one step high and 3 feet wide, extending its whole length, the teacher's rostrum at the west end, towards which face the seats and writing desks", It was built to seat 100 pupils. The log schoolhouses in the various neighborhoods within the township continued in use at least until the year 1835. During this year the township voted in favor of the new Pennsylvania Free School Act of 1834. S. Wort and William Rankin were chosen as the first school directors of the township. The township was divided into eight(8) districts and frame school houses were built in each district, These schools were known as: Hickory Moore Primrose McCarrell Cockins Rankin Miller George Westland Cherry Valley Fort Doaldson Westfield and continued to servethe area for over fifty (50) years. For the year ending June 7, 1869 the following statistics were re. ported in the Pa, School Report of 1869. Number of Schools 10 Number of Teachers 11 Average Salary $35 Pupil Attendance 241 Cost per pupil per mo: $1.33 Property Tax 3.50 Mils EXPENSE Cost of Instruction $2,100.00 Fuel & Contingencies 406.38 Miscellaneous 54.00 RECEIPTS Tax & Other Sources $2,434.64 State Appropriation 178.50 Debt of District 36.27 To supplement the subjects taught in the common school, academies were organized early the century and were generally taught by the local clergy, particularly in the beginning. About the year 1828 the first academy was started in Hickory. This academy was on a private basis and was under the direction of Reverend David Hervey, the first pastor of the Mount Prospect Church. In 1837, Reverend John Moore, second pastor of this church, erected a small building near the church, which was used as classroom for the academy. Other pastors of this church are known to have given instruction in "advanced classes" to the young people of the church and community. It is doubtful, however, that an organized school existed with any regularity. The Hickory Academy was formally organized as a school in 1891. Classes were held during the first year in the building previously occupied by the Retzer and Scott store. The next year an academy building was erected almost opposite this store building, and was used until 1915, when the Mount Pleasant High School was erected. The first class was graduated at Hickory Academy in 1894. A total of 250 persons attended this school during its existence and 70 were graduated. These academies rendered a service of great value to education in the community during those years which could have been performed in no other way. An excellent educated leadership was provided while the present educational system was being developed. The minutes of the Mount Pleasant School Board in 1912 and 1913 point up the problems of overcrowded classrooms, need for repairs at the various district schools, pupil discipline and "mischief" at the George and Primrose schools. The minutes of 7-16-1913 approved a bid for erection of Fort Donaldson schoolhouse, 26 feet x 38t feet to D.E. McPeake for $1,950.00. Minutes of 1-24-1914 states that reason for meeting "being on account of ----­ -----(student)striking teacher and blackening her eyes". At the meeting of the board on 2-17-1914, the motion was approved "that we proceed at once to erect a modern school building in the vicinity of Hickory of brick and not less than 8 rooms". The school board members at this time were Robert R. Hays, Charles M. Berryhill, Charles C. Coates, W. F. Caldwell, and J. A. Cooper. In 1914 the Mount Pleasant Township Vocational and High School building was erected. The school was established under authority of the Act of the Legislature of 1913 regarding vocational schools. At the time of its erection it was a 2 story, 12 room building. The School Annual of 1915 contains this report: "This Building is the first of its kind in the western part of Pennsylvania, as it was designed, especially to take care of the Vocational training of the students who elect this work. It contains a fine gymnasium and auditorium and the class rooms are modern in every respect. The new Vocational and High School building located at Hickory is one of the best of its kind in Pennsylvania." The actual cost of this building was $86,332.64 which was funded by the sale of $85,000.00 in bonds and other revenues of $4,701.25. In this connection it was approved by the Board that experienced carpenters wages for the construction would not exceed 45˘ per hour. Charge for admission to basketball games was set at 10˘ and charge for tuition students of $6.00 a month. The school was extensively remodeled and improved in 1966 to meet Pennsylvania Department of Education standards. It is currently used as an elementary school, grades 1 through 6, for students of Mount Pleasant Township. With the merger of the School Districts of Mount Pleasant Township, Robinson Township, McDonald Borough and Midway Boroughs to form the Fort Cherry School District, a new Junior and Senior High School Building was erected and officially dedicated. on November 13, 1959. The total cost of this building was $2,450,000.00. The last meeting of the Mount Pleasant Township School Board was held on June 13, 1964, a span of about 120 years from the time of the first board meeting following the Free School Act of 1834. The members of this last Board of Directors were: Dr. John K. McCarrell, President Robert M. Brown, Vice President John T. Caldwell Edwin B. Swartz John Yanosik Vance M. Smith, Secretary John Punola, Treasurer Guests at this last meeting included Dr. E. H.White, W. K. Allison, Jr., former board members, and G. E. Baker, Supervisor of Mount Pleasant Township schools for over twenty (20) years. The boroughs of McDonald and Midway and the townships of Mount Pleasant and Robinson had operated as independent school districts for many years. It was not until 1954 that the four municipalities decided that by operating as a jointure they could provide a higher quality of education, function more efficiently and effectively and thus derive economic advantages by a reorganization. Consequently, the Fort Cherry Joint School District was established on July 1, 1954. It was one of the earliest jointures created within the Commonwealth. The school directors from each of the municipalities continued to serve on the newly created district board until the Fort Cherry School District was reorganized as a merged school district on July 1, 1964. To consolidate the reorganization, nine school directors for the new merger were chosen by lot from the various boards; three members from the McDonald board, three from Mount Pleasant, one from Midway and 2 from Robinson. The administrative personnel for the newly created district consisted of James C. Dunn - Superintendent, Jack N. Schwartz - High School Principal, Guy Tornabene - Junior High Principal and George E. Baker - Elementary Principal. With the retirement of Mr. Dunn in 1964, Mr. Schwartz was elected Superintendent, Mr.Tornabene - High School Principal and Robert J. Loughrey - Junior High Principal. Mr. Baker retired in 1970 and Milton P. Diaz was elected elementary Supervisor in 1971. Mr. Loughrey resigned in 1971 and Joseph P. Lauff served as Assistant to the Principal during 1970 and 1971. In 1973, Richard J. Moran was elected Junior High Principal and Miss Eleanor B. Baron was elected as Assistant to the High School Principal. Mr. Tornabene retired in 1975 and Dr. Charles W. White was elected High School Principal. After completing her doctorate degree, Dr. Baron was elected as Assistant Superintendent in 1976. Mr. Schwartz retired in 1979 and Dr. John F. Manion was elected Superintendent. A brief history of the municipalities involved in this merger follows; McDonald - The land on which this village is located was originally a part of the McDonald family lands; it was the site of a fort and an Indian trading post in pioneer times. The plot for the town was laid out in 1871-by the O' Haras. It contained 488 lots, each 25 x 120. Before the town was plotted (about 1860), Henry C. McEwen built a sawmill and grist mill. At the time of the grading for the railroad through this area, William Johnson built the first house in the town and started the first hotel. McDonald experienced its first big boom when oil was discovered in 1889-90, and the real development of the town began. Midway - This town is on the line between Robinson and Smith townships and was taken up by William and David Elder. The plot was surveyed in 1865 and was divided into 53 lots and 4 outlets. James Bell bought the first lot and erected a sawmill. Midway developed because of the coal operations in the area. Robinson Township - This township is the eleventh of the original thirteen founded by the trustees appointed under the act creating the county of Washington on July 15, 1781. It was incorporated with Smith Township in 1803 and continued until 1838 when it again became a separate and independent district. Captain Samuel Beelor and his son settled in 1774 upon the land where the village of Candor stood. What was known as Beeler's Fort was his own house and was the rendezvous for all people of the vicinity in time of danger. The Baileys, McCandlesses, Shearers, and others were the early settlers. The first schoolhouse in the township was a log building built about 1800 on land be1onging to Richard Donaldson. Under the law of 1834, the township was divided into 5 districts. In 1835, with 210 households liable for taxation, a total of $173.04 was collected for school purposes. Mount Pleasant Township - According to history, Cherry's Fort was built in 1774 by Thomas Cherry, an early settler in Mount Pleasant Township. The name, Fort Cherry School District, owes its significance to him. The fort consisted of three log cabins and was located on the Cummins farm near the present Junior-Senior High School. Because of its strength, the fort, which was built to withstand attack, became the refuge for the settlers over a large area. Thomas Cherry was killed in 1775. His son, John, was also killed in the same battle in which the famous fight between Andrew Poe and Bigfoot of the Wyandotte Indians took place. The father and son were buried near the fort, but all evidence of both the fort and the graves has been erased by time. By and large, Fort Cherry is a district comprised of four municipalities with diversified interests, making it difficult for the district to function as a unit. There is no single organization which attempts to unify these municipalities - no Chamber of Commerce and no social, governmental, or economic agencies. The school alone, by virtue of its organization, becomes the most logical agent to preserve the community's social values, to cultivate the democratic ideals of self-government, the potential of its youth to shape tomorrow's world will be realized. To this end the Fort Cherry Schools will continue to both serve and be served by the local communities, acting as a common bond and becoming a real source of community identification. The school programs will be geared to the economic, social, and cultural conditions of the district so as to best meet the needs of Fort Cherry youth. Thus the organization and direction of the resources of the school district will have only one purpose: to provide the most completely favorable learning situation possible for the youth of the Fort Cherry School District. Edwin B. Swartz, Jr. who prepared the foregoing article, is a life-long resident of Mount Pleasant and he served for many years on the Mount Pleasant Township and Fort Cherry School Boards. His wife, Libera served as a teacher in the McDonald School of the Fort Cherry School District. The following article appeared in the August 13, 1888 issue of the Burgettstown Enterprise - Call: The Semi-centennial of the Rankin School The pupils and teachers of the Rankin School in Mount Pleasant Township, who trudged to this school through the winters of past years, held a reunion on July 15th to celebrate the semi-centennial of the organization of the Rankin School in 1838. The Hickory Concert Band enlivened the program with good music. A fine speaker's stand was erected under the old oak tree, and the odor of boiling coffee was suggestive to the orators that brevity would be the order of the day, and they took the hint. One thousand people dined free, and on the table was ample provision for as many more. John Stevenson, Esq. was the first teacher and eight of the boys who attended school here in 1838 were present for the reunion. These were J. Reed Lyle, Joseph Robinson, D. C. Fulton, Daniel McGugin, William Rankin, John L. Rankin, Hugh Ewing and Alex. Richardson. Miss Hannah Robinson of Burgettstown is the only surviving lady of this Class of 1838. The following is a complete list of the teachers who taught in this school during this fifty year period John Stevenson - summer of 1838 Samuel Speers - 1839 Henry Robinson, Sr. - 1838 and 1839 Andrew Hays - 1840 ana. 1841 (now living in Knoxville, Iowa) George McCluskey - 1841 (He is now living in Carbondale, Kansas) George W. Scantlin - short term in 1842 Andrew Miller - 1842 (He now lives in Canonsburg.) Samuel Rankin - 1843 John Craig - 1844 Rev. William F. Morgan - 1845 Miss Mary McConaughey - 1846 James White and Alexander Hays - 1847 Henry Woods - 1848 Rev. Samuel McFarland and Edward Campbell - 1849 (Rev. Dr. McFarland is now in educational work in Bangkok, Siam) Charles W. Campbell - 1851 and 1852 Joseph Robinson, Jr. - summer of 1851 (He was a student here in 1838, and now lives in South Burgettstown.) William H. Hammond - 1852 and 1854 (He now lives at Steubenville, Ohio.) Miss Sarah J. Douglass- summer of 1852 Preston B. Smith - summer of 1853 James E. Stevenson - winter of 1853 John H. Johnston - 1855, 1856, 1857, 1859, 1860, 1861, and 1862 (Mr. Johnston was a well-known teacher who taught in many schools of the area; he was known far and wide as "School-teacher Johnston". He now lives in Washington, Pa.) Rev. Elgy V. Campbell - 1858 (He is now a minister at St. Cloud, Minnesota.) J. Edgar Rankin - 1863 D. J. Dowden- 1865 Lizzie Cochran - 1867 Maggie Tannehill - 1864 George Ralston - 1866 Tillie A. McGugin - summer of 1868 (She now lives at Oakland, California.) Miss Maria Raybuck - winter of 1869 (She is now Mrs. Shreve of Marshall- town, Iowa.) Mattie J. Ghrist- 1869 Carrie Brockman - 1871 (She Mary A. Leech - 1872 Rachel L. McGugin - 1870 is now Mrs. Hill of Bast Liverpool, Ohio.) Joseph M. Robinson - 1874 He now lives at Chadron, Nebraska.) James Ralston and Maria Raybuck - 1873 Dr. J. M. Campbell- 1875 and 1879 (He now lives at McKeesport, Pa.) Sadie McDowell - 1876 Robert M. Kay - 1878 Kate McCalmont - 1880 Austin S. Bailey - 1882 Joseph M. Dickson - 1881 (He now lives at Washington, Pa.) Nettie J. McNary - 1883 Flora Buffington and Etta Fulton - 1884 Alice Miller - 1885 Amber Marquis - winter of 1885 Eva M. Johnston - 1886 Alice Miller - 1888 Ethie Brimner - 1887 The foregoing list was compiled by J. Reed Lyle, who had prepared and read a History of the School at this reunion. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. w. A. McConnell of Hickory and addresses were given. by the Rev. T. R. Alexander of the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church, by Dr. George Taylor Rank, by Joseph M. Dickson, Esq. and others. The day's activities were thoroughly enjoyed by all attending as every possible courtesy was shown. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The history contained in the above article on the Rankin School shows that that school was typical of the dozen or so one-room schools then being conducted in Mount Pleasant Township. Often a summer term would be held, and the winter term was broken with school not being held during the colder months due to heating problems. Usually, good teachers were employed. In the case of the Rankin School, several of the teachers were from the local area: Young people who took time off from their own education to teach a year or two to secure money that they might go on to school. Several of these teachers at Rankin School became well known and successful in their later careers, notably the Rev. Samuel McFarland who became Superintendent of English Education for the Government of Siam, the Rev. Elgy V. Campbell, and the well-known "School-teacher" Johnston. The one-room schools of Mount Pleasant Township have long been closed, and the pupils are transported to the consolidated school. We give here the dates of closing of each of these schools: McCarrell - 1914 Cherry Valley- 1918 Cockins - 1918 Moore - 1919 Rankin - 1919 Miller - 1929 Fort Donaldson - 1929 The out-lying graded schools of Mount Pleasant have also been closed upon the organization of the Fort Cherry School District. These schools were: Westland - 1958 Southview - 1958 Primrose .;... 1954 PHOTOGRAPHS NEW TOWN HOUSE Dire Drive Hickory. Built in 1967. FARMERS NATIONAL BANK used the right end of this building for its banking office until 1927 when its new building was erected. Retzer and Scott Store was in the other end. The Westland Band of many years ago. View of Mt. Prospect Presbyterian Church building before the addition of the new Christian Education Building in 1973. The Family of J. Campbell McCreary in front of their small home in the eastern end of Hickory - taken about 1900. Mr. McCreary was a stone mason and did much contract work in the Hickory area and on the Wabash Railroad. HICKORY HIGH SCHOOL 1954-1955 WESTLAND SCHOOL SOUTHVIEW SCHOOL THE "KIDDIE" WAGON First school bus used in Mt. Pleasant School District to transport pupils from McCarrell District to the new consolidated school at Hickory. About 1919-1920. MOUNT PLEASANT UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in the horse and buggy days. Note horse tied at the fence, and the horse sheds in the "parking" lot in the lower picture. HICKORY'S SECOND SCHOOL BUILDING Used until about 1914 Girls in front row, left to right: Hazel Marquis, Martha Stunkard, Mildred Phillips, Myrtle Peacock, Margaret Cowden. Fourth boy from right: Charles (Chuck) Colwes. Part of the student body of Mt. Pleasant High School in front of the old High School Building - now the storeroom of Jay R. Allison - taken in 1914. McCarrell One-room School - first school permanently closed in Mt. Pleasant Twp. Now the home of Mr. and Mrs. John R. Cowden. Rankin School Group Barefoot boy is Leman McCalmont Girl in white dress is Ellen McCalmont Hickory High School - Party held in 1912 First row, left to right: Leila McPeake, Dwight Jeffrey, Marian McMillan, Thompson White, Mary Caldwell. Second row: Mary E. White, Margaret Stunkard, Laura Cooper, Robert Stunkard. Third Row: Edward Acheson, Raymond Stewart, Alice Dinsmore, Clifford McNary, Harry Cowden, Lucille McClennahan, Teacher, Jack Giffin. Fourth row: unknown face back of M. Stunkard, Standing, Harry White, Wilbert Welch, Dora Colwes. Agriculture Class at Hickory High School Back row, left to right; Robert Lyle, Marshall Cooper, John C. Dinsmore and Glenn Farrar. Front Row; Walter M. Campbell, John M. Caldwell, Stanley R. Henning, Supervisor, Carl Martin and George Goodwin THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF MOUNT PLEASANT "Come All Ye To Church, Good People!" The religious history of Mount Pleasant began soon after settlement by the white people had been established in this area. Since a good proportion of the people were Scotch-Irish, and therefore of the Presbyterian order, they literally brought their religion with them when they came here, and as soon as possible, they began organizing churches. The old-line Presbyterians here began attending services at Raccoon, Cross Creek or Buffalo Village where congregations had been established in 1779, and some of them later at Miller's Run Church after it was established in 1792. Meanwhile, the Seceders here began holding services, at first in private homes, and as soon as a house of worship could be built, it became their meeting place; this led to the organization of the Mount Pleasant Associate Presbyterian congregation, possibly as early as 1795, although reliable records do not date earlier than 1802. This congregation, meeting at first on the present Walter Cowden farm, later moved into the town of Mount Pleasant, present Hickory, and here it became a well-established congregation. The Presbyterians did not have a "meeting house" in Mount Pleasant until 1825, when they erected their first church building on the lot where the present Mount Prospect building stands. The present Hickory United Presbyterian Church is a merger of the former Mount Pleasant United Presbyterian Church and the former Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church, the merger dating from June 30, 1968 and it was on September 15, 1968, when the members of session of the two uniting churches were constituted as the session of the merged congregation. On December 8, 1968, the Rev. Ronald Oglesbee assumed the pastorate of the Hickory Church, and he served in it until his resignation in the fall of 1978, when he accepted a call to the Presbyterian Church at Auburn, Indiana. The Rev. Harvey O. Johnson became the second pastor of the Hickory Church when he was installed on October 7, 1979. Since a history of the former Mount Pleasant United Presbyterian Church was compiled and published in 1965, and a history of the former Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church was published and circulated in 1975, and since these are still available, no further history of them will be recorded here. Their history, of course, is now being continued in the present merged congregation.. The second sizable ethnic group to settle in Mount Pleasant and who brought with them the "Faith of Their Fathers" which they sought to practice in their new home-land were the families who came from Germany to form the "Dutch Glory" Community of our area, whom we have discussed in an earlier chapter. Being traditionally of the Lutheran faith, they soon began exploring ways to establish that faith in our community. The result was the organization of the Evangelical Trinity Lutheran Church whose history we will now trace. History of the Evangelical Trinity Lutheran Church of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. by Mr. Lewis H. Ahrns It is appropriate for an occasion of this kind that a history of the congregation by given. Unfortunately, however, most of the records of this congregation have been lost, making it impossible to write a detailed history of it. Nevertheless, the general facts have been obtained from the recollections of some of our older members. In and before the year 1870, a number of German Lutheran families settled down in this part of Washington County. They were a poor, but industrious class of people, and although the conditions for their establishing homes of their own at that time were unfavorable, it soon became evident that they were to become permanent settlers here. Their spiritual welfare was first looked after by the Rev. Mr. Schweigert who served the people here in connection with his regular charge at Kittaning, Pennsylvania, preaching alternately in the Bulger and McCarrell Schoolhouses. Due to his increasing feebleness, together with the great distance involved in traveling here from Kittaning, the Rev. Mr. Schwiegert, after serving the people for five years, turned over his charge to the Rev. G. C. Friederich of Washington, who also served for five years. In the year 1880, the Rev. Bauman of Pittsburgh took charge of the field here and served until his death in 1886. By this time, the little mission had grown in strength, and the people felt that they would like to have a pastor of their own. They communicated with the office of the Joint Synod of Ohio, and the Rev. E. T. Dittmer was instructed to look after the field temporarily, and, if possible, to effect an organization, build a church, call a pastor, etc. In a very short while, a congregation was organized under the name of the German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Congregation of Hickory, Pennsylvania. A constitution was drawn up and adopted and signed by 28 members. The signatures were of the following persons: Fred Colwes, George Wiegman, August Carl, Carl Gundlah, Herman Kaste, Henry Imgreke, Henry Borchot, Herman Somerlade, Lewis Ahrns, August Seabright, William Seabright, Fred Kreikemeyer, Henry Nolte, August Wieneke, Henry Ahrns, Fred Knauer, William Gundlah, Charles Seik, Henry Kinemond, Charles Knauer, Gustav Bahre, Ernest Dittmyer, Adolph Seabright, Christ Knauer, Fred Klages. Ten of these are still living (in 1911). These 26 (or 28) voting members, together with their families, constituted the first German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Congregation of Hickory. After the congregation had been formally organized, steps were taken to erect a church building. The members themselves did the bulk of the work, and soon a modest, but neat little church stood here, erected for the purpose of worshipping their Lord and Maker. The church was dedicated on the 28th day of August, 1887 by the Rev. B. T. Dittmyer of Carnegie, and the Rev. H. J. Schuck of North Side, Pittsburgh, both of whom we are pleased to have with us on this occasion. On the first.of September, 1887, the Rev. Henry Wellhauser was installed as the first regular pastor of the congregation. He labored on the field for two years and was then succeeded by the Rev. Haur Friedrick, who served the congregation until the fall of 1891. After being without a pastor for a few months, we extended a call to the Rev. George Weining, whose career in the congregation was short, but active, During this time, an organ was purchased and a choir as also a Young Peoples' Society was organized Unfortunately, the Rev. Mr. Weining failed in health and was forced to resign after serving for only one year. In the spring of 1892, the Rev. Herman Zirl was called as pastor of the congregation, and he labored in the field for four years. During his pastorate, an occasional English service for the benefit of the younger members of the congregation was held. Since it was felt by some that this need for recognition of the growing numbers of young people be given, it was requested that one service a month be held, using the English language, but the request was promptly refused. This unfortunately, caused a break in the congregation, and its strength was considerably diminished by the loss to other churches of some of our younger members, who claimed that they were unable to understand the German language. After the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Zirl, a resolution which had been refused shortly before, passed, the congregation hoping thereby to recover from their loss. This hope was only partially realized. It was then resolved to call a pastor who would be able to master both the German and the English languages. The Rev. J. W. Born was next called, and he served the congregation for fourteen years. For a while, everything went along smoothly and peacefully until the language question again created difficulties. The English part of the congregation who had grown in numbers felt that they were entitled to half of the services in their language, and a resolution was again passed that the services be held alternately in German and in English, with the amendment that this arrangement should remain as long as there were six members who preferred the German language service. In the year, 1906, a parsonage was built, the congregation having heretofore rented a house for use of the pastor. On the 15th of October, 1910, the Rev. Mr. Born felt constrained to resign the pastorate on account of ill health. During the next six months, the field was again taken care of by the Rev. E. J. Dittmyer of Carnegie, until he was installed as pastor on July 4, 1911. During its existence of twenty-five years, this congregation had had some very discouraging experiences. Some of its pastors did not seem to have the welfare of the congregation at heart. Financial difficulties proved a hindrance to the growth of the Church and its interests, but the language question has been the chief bone of contention, and it is still awaiting a solution satisfactory to everyone. Nevertheless, a few faithful workers, whilst bemoaning their losses and set-backs, are still laboring for the welfare of our Church, striving for peace and willing to sacrifice their own wishes and desires in order that Trinity Church may yet become a congregation acceptable to God and instrumental for the salvation of human souls. May God Bless their efforts, that we may realize a more prosperous twenty-five years in the future than we have experienced in the past. This paper, obviously describing the first twenty-five years of the congregation, must have been read at an anniversary occasion, sometime in 1911, thus describing the history of the congregation since its founding in 1886. In later years, and until its disorganization, the congregation was served by the Rev. Forrest S. Eberle, who was pastor, also, of the St. Paul Lutheran Church of Canonsburg, After his retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Eberle built a home near that of their son, Paul J. Eberle about two miles south of the site of Trinity Church. Mr. Eberle is deceased but Mrs. Eberle still lives in that home, The land on which Trinity Church was located had been deeded to the congregation by Mr. Alexander V. McGugin for what it cost him to convey the land, and with the stipulation, if the congregation ever was disbanded, that the land revert to the original owner or his successor, so when the congregation disbanded, the land on which the church was located reverted to Mrs. Ruth Paul Snyder who then owned the adjoining land. Mr. A.V. McGugin also made a donation of fifty dollars to the congregation, in connection with conveying the land. When the parsonage was built, a small parcel of land was bought from Mr. Gus Bahre. After the disorganization of this congregation, the church and parsonage buildings were sold to Millers' Run Grange, and they were torn down and the materials were used by this Grange to erect their new Grange Hall near Venice in Cecil Township. The land on which Trli1ity Church stood is now occupied by the new home of Mr. and Mrs. James R. Phillips and Family, We will now present the history of the Westland United Presbyterian Church The Westland United Presbyterian Church has been serving the community of this coal company town since 1903. The present building dates from 1909. This date was used to mark the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary on October 11, 1959. This Church began as a mission sponsored by Mount Pleasant United Presbyterian Church of Hickory. The first pastor was the Rev. William A. McConnell, who was then pastor of the Hickory Church, and the first missionary was Miss Romaine Russell, also of the Hickory Church. The earliest meetings were held in the old Miner's Hall, a wooden building on the site of the present U. M. W. Hall. The first baby baptized in the Church was Mrs. Mary Ann Pilkington Atchison, who now lives in Downey, California. The oldest living member of the Church is Mrs. Louis Kendo of Westland. The church building was dedicated on September 26, 1909. It was built at a cost of three thousand, three hundred dollars. Early ministers were: Dr. Charles Stunkard of Hickory, Dr. C. T. Littell of Venice, and Dr. Kissler of Houston. Another early pastor was the Rev. Dr, E. V. Clements (1911-1912)who later served a long tenure in the foreign mission field in India, Early missionaries beside Miss Russell were: Maude Morrison and Miss Elizabeth B, Clarke, The Sunday School has always been an important phase of the work of this Church, Among the teachers have been Miss Dora Cowden, Mrs. Bessie Hensel, Miss Bertha Caldwell, Mrs. Bessie Bedillion, Miss Zelma McCoy, Miss Martha McBurney, Miss Violet Haberer, and Miss Elsie Cowden. In 1952, by order of Chartiers Presbytery, the Church was no longer a mission, but became the Westland United Presbyterian Church. In recent years, the Church has been served by several ministers: The Rev, John Mark Scott of the North Buffalo Church, the Rev Robert Caldwell of the Venice Church, the Rev, Philip Maronde, formerly of the Chartiers {Hill) Presbyterian Church, but now of New Salem, Westmoreland County, and the Rev. Joseph Hopkins, now of Westminster College, Miss Dorothy Partington, now of Live Oak, Florida, served the longest term as missionary. She had a strong influence both in the Church and in the Community of Westland. The Rev. James Kocsis, formerly of Mount Pleasant Township and now pastor of the Calvary Presbyterian Church of Canton, Ohio remembers the spiritual and social haven which the Church provided the youth of the area, In 1961, an interesting project of the Westland Church was holding one service in August in the restored Millers' Run Presbyterian Church. This was carried on for several years and several residents of Mount Pleasant took part in the 1964 service, when music was provided by a quartette: Mrs. Lois Coufman, Mrs. Sheila Phillips, Gerald Caldwell and the Rev. John Mark Scott. Miss Linda Herriott, now Mrs. Ernest Dietz of McMurray, Pennsylvania and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Herriott, was the accompanist, The present minister of Westland Church is the Rev. Andrew Jillson, who is serving, also as pastor of the Cross Roads United Presbyterian Church, Present elders are: Joseph Kencec, Harlan McCartney, Harry Atchison, Joseph Kencec, Jr., Mrs. Margaret Casper, Mrs. Marlene Kencec, Mrs. Roxanne Dessify, Mrs. Judy Garcia and Mrs. Charles Sethman, This history has been compiled by Miss Elsie Cowden from information furnished by Mrs. Hazel Coufman, Mrs. Margaret Casper, Mrs. A. D. Pilkington and Mrs. Mary Ann Atchison. The First Baptist Church of Westland This congregation was organized by and for the black families of this town and adjoining areas in 1926 and has served these people since that time. Services were held in homes of members for over twenty years. When Westland Grade School was closed in. 1952, the Mount Pleasant Township School Board offered the vacated buildings for sale. Members of this congregation were able to purchase the Primary School Building in 1953. The members spent the next few years in renovating this building and in adapting it for their use as a church building. An addition was made to one side of the building thus providing more room for the sanctuary for the growing congregation. In later years a basement was added and this room is used as a Fellowship Hall for the congregation. The transformation has been so complete that the outside appearance of the building has been entirely changed. This is a very active congregation and holds regular services throughout the year, under the direction of the Rev. Harold Fowler for some years and now of the present pastor, the Rev. Allan Middleton. Some of the early and present families are the Allen, Adams, Brown, Butler, Caldwell, Dillard, Elder, Finley, Gibson, Kemp, Lowe, McClain, Pollard, and Scott families. Some of these are of the third generation of their family in this congregation. Black citizens of Westland who are veterans of the armed services include: Nolan Adams, Merle Brown, Paul Brown, Dickie Butler, James Caldwell, Harry Elder, Gary Elder, Cloyce Finley, Ronald Finley, William D. Gibson, Leroy E. Gibson, Daniel E. Gibson, Joseph Jemison, Norville Jennings, William Lowe, Leonard Lowe, James McClain and Robert Pollard. This information on the First Baptist Church of Westland has been furnished by Mrs.Hazel Coufman with help from Mr. Jemison, Mrs. Elder and Mrs. Gibson. We are grateful for this record and the good report on this congregation. Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church of Southview Sunday School for children of Roman Catholic families of Southview was first taught in Krep's Hall in Mount Pleasant Township in September, 1917. Father Baccash of St. Mary's Church at Cecil had the first Holy Mass on Christmas Day of that year. In the summer of 1918, Father D. A. Lawlers gave the first Holy Communion here. Thereafter Sunday School was held in the Owls' Hall until 1935. During that time, Father Kopera, also of St. Mary's Church served the Catholic families of this Community. In January, 1943, Krep's Hall, up to that time owned by the Coal Company and used as a Community building, was purchased for use as a Church, and it was dedicated in November of that year with the Rev. John H. McMahon serving as pastor. Since that time, Guardian Angels Church has served the Roman Catholic families of Southview and adjoining areas. Rev. Fr. Gibson, who is in charge, also of St. Elizabeth's Church at Hills Station, now serves as pastor of Guardian Angels Church. Most Protestant families of Southview area attend church at the Venice United Presbyterian Church. INDUSTRIAI HISTORY OF MOUNT PIBASANT "If any man would not work, neither should he eat" This part of Mount Pleasant's history can be quickly told. From earliest times, agriculture was the principal industry here, and its story has been adequately told in Chapter VI in this book. Concurrent with the progress of agriculture in our area was the lumbering industry which was, in a way, forced upon our earlier settlers, in the necessity which faced them of clearing the forests, so they might have farms to cultivate. The abundance of good timber was, for a time, a hindrance to progress, as they struggled to get a patch for a garden, and then a larger acreage cleared for a farm. Of course, they could use good logs in building their first houses, and an abundant supply of firewood warmed their bodies, once as they perspired in cutting down trees and splitting the logs for posts and rails and firewood, and again as they burned great quantities of wood in their open stone fireplaces in their log cabins and houses. A bit later as conditions improved in our area and sawmills came into use for sawing lumber, the timber was used more economically as beams and girders and joists and boards were sawed out and used in the construction of frame buildings to replace or supplement the earlier log buildings, These early sawmills were run by water power and hence were located on the more sizable streams. In Mount Pleasant, the principal sawmills were: Rankin's Mill on Middle Raccoon Creek on the present Edwin Cowden farm; Simpson's Mill on the old Simpson farm, later owned by Glen and Ruth Clark two miles south of Hickory; the Woodrow Mill on Cross Creek at the township line just off present Route 50, and the McGugin Mill, on the Mount Pleasant­ Smith Townships' line near the site of the Medical Center along Route 18 to the north. Most of these old mills were a combined sawmill and grist mill, thus providing a variety of work for the operators. On the present John Hoffman farm in southern Mount Pleasant, John McElroy at an early date built a horse-mill on his farm, and it appears to have been used only for grinding grain and flour, the latter of which was claimed to be of much better quality than that produced at any of the water mills in the area, So, the advent of the sawmill and the grist mill provided a convenient service for the farmers and others in the community, who took their logs to be sawed into lumber and their grain to be ground into flour for domestic use and into meal for stock feed. Also, these mills provided employment for a number of men in each community where they were located. Later some of these mills were converted to steam power, and some were operated well toward the close of the Nineteenth Century. Occasionally, an accident would occur at one of these mills: at Rankin's Mill, on June 2, 1883, Levi Scott of Smith Township and grandfather of William B. Scott, presently of Mount Pleasant, was working at a portable sawmill and he was caught between two logs and crushed so badly that he was instantly killed. At the Woodrow Mill, one Rev. Harsha a Covenanter Minister, and father of Mrs. Miller McNary, late of Hickory was caught in the movement of the up-and-down saw at the sawmill and he was fatally injured. While the buildings at all of the old mills have long ago been taken down, at all of the former water mills, the locations of the dams for impounding the water, and the courses of the "races" through which the water flowed to the mill can still be traced. At some of these mills the dams were so located at the junction of two streams that water from both streams could be impounded. The mills could not be operated continuously: water had to be stored in the dam until it had reached a level high enough to operate the water wheel at the mill. Then the gates would be opened and the mill would be put into operation and run until the supply of water was depleted. In times of good water supply, the water could be stored overnight and the mill operated a good part of the following day. The late James A. McGugin told this writer that at his uncle's mill, water would be collected during the day-time and the mill was operated at night; in that way, the miller could do his farm work during the day and run the mill at night, really a continuous operation, if one could stand such tours of duty! Coal mining on a small scale began soon after settlement here by the white people, as coal "banks" were opened on hill sides where the Waynesburg or Washington veins of coal "out-cropped" and could be worked by horizontal entries into the veins. Most of this coal was used for heating homes and for use in cook stoves, to replace wood as a fuel. The development of large-scale mining of the Pittsburgh vein of coal in Mount Pleasant has been covered in other articles in this Book. Drilling for oil and gas came into Mount Pleasant Township somewhat sporadically, following the discovery of oil at the Drake Well in Venango County in 1869. The Great McGugin Gas Well was drilled in here in 1882 and we have its importance covered in another article in this Book. Since the days of the McGugin well, most of Mount Pleasant Township has been tested for oil and gas, with wells having been drilled on virtually every farm in the Township. As elsewhere noted, northeastern Mount Pleasant had quite a number of good wells drilled in following the oil "boom" at McDonald around 1890. In other parts of the Township, results of drilling have been fairly successful. Around Hickory a number of good wells were taken over by the Hickory-Penn Gas Company, a local firm which sold its production to larger companies. Also, in the vicinity of the McGugin well, the McGugin Gas Company had a similar operation, involving several good wells. On the Buchanan farm, now the Hoop Horse Farm, a well was drilled several years ago to a depth of around 800 feet and a "stray" pocket of gas was found, and this well was purchased by the Buchanan Family and piped to the dwelling house and used for many years. One "deep" well was drilled in Mount Pleasant Township when Norwood P. Johnson and the Gulf Oil Corporation located a well on the Andrew McBurney farm, southeast of Hickory and pushed the drill into the Oriskany sand, which was reached at a depth of around 6,695 feet and drilled through this sand to 6,789 feet. Drilling began on this well on March 16, 1936 and it was completed 22 months later and was abandoned since no gas was found at this depth, the Oriskany sand being the object of the testing at this point. Nine months of time were lost in drilling this well, due to the fact that the tools were lost at a depth of 6,171 feet and a long "fishing" job was necessary before drilling could resume. This was the first test of this deep sand in Washington County. Another facet of the natural gas industry in Mount Pleasant has been the laying of large transmission lines through this area by large companies such as Peoples Natural Gas Company, Manufacturers' Light and Heat Company and the Columbia Gas Company. From 1904 to recent years, an office and control station for controlling the transmission of gas through these lines was maintained at the west end of Hickory, where several of these large lines converge. This office has been discontinued in recent years, and the buildins housing this installation have been recently dismantled. Before dairying began on Mount Pleasant farms on the present scale, farmers milking a few cows either produced butter on the farm by churning, or in some cases, sold their surplus milk to local creameries which produced butter and various grades of cheese. Such creameries serving Mount Pleasant farms were located at Woodrow and Gretna, and as mentioned before also at Primrose. These creameries do not appear to have been eminently successful, but some of them did remain in business for several years. Attempts of various persons and organizations to bring large industries to Mount Pleasant Township have not met with much success. The Hickory Board of Trade promoted by the late William C. Moore and other civic minded men once attempted to interest Henry Ford in locating one of his plants here, but the auto magnate seemed to be more interested in procuring ancient machinery from the area to take to his museum at Dearborn than in advancing the industrial interests of this community. But in 1904, it did appear for a time that Mount Pleasant would soon come into its own as an industrial center of sorts. Let us quote from the Washington (Pa.) Observer of December 17, 1904: A NEW CURTAIN POLE FACTORY TO LOCATE AT HICKORY Washington Curtain Pole factory composed of Washington and Hickory capitalists will be located on the main line of the Wabash Railroad at Hickory in the northwestern part of the County. Incorporators of this Company are: E. F. Scott, Sr. of Washington, President, J. w. Siebert and Thomas C. Siebert of West Washington and E. F. Scott, Jr. and M. J, Scott of Washington, A capital stock of Twenty Thousand dollars has been subscribed by 21 stock-holders in Washington, Pittsburgh and Hickory. The site of one acre on the Johnston Farm on the Wabash Railroad at the west end of Hickory has been donated by citizens of Hickory, led by J. M. K. Donaldson. A two-story building 60 x 100 feet in size will be erected and twenty men will be employed. The out-put will be 500 to 1,000 curtain poles a day, made to sell from 25 cents to 8 dollars each. The office of the firm will be at Hickory. Six thousand dollars in cash will be required to get the factory into production. The factory was built and went into production for a short time. It was located at the south end of the Hickory tunnel on the grounds presently occupied by the buildings of the Township road supervisors and the Community Park. But production did not continue and the reason for this is not known by anyone of the present day. The subsequent history of this lone industrial effort by the capitalists of Hickory and these other places is shrouded in mystery. It might be remarked that some of the then affluent citizens of Hickory who had recently come into some money in the sale of their coal lands possibly were "taken for a ride" by their associates from the big cities. Anyway, it is sure that the Washington Curtain Pole Factory never paid any dividends to its promoters in Mount Pleasant Township. Another pioneer industry of considerable importance at the time was the tanning of leather. With hides and skins of animals in good supply and bark from cut trees so abundant, and the availability of commercially produced leather not good, it was logical that each pioneer community have a tannery, so that local ingredients might be used and the need for leather for clothing and boots and shoes might be met. In Mount Pleasant, an important tannery was that conducted by William Hughes on his farm which is presently occupied by his great-great- grandson, Clare M. White. This tannery was located along the stream on this farm and below the present farm buildings. The old buildings at this tannery are now gone, but their ruins could be seen at that point not many years ago. The White Family have old records of the transactions in connection with this tannery. William Hughes bought and sold hides and pelts in addition to tanning many of them, and he was a dealer in salt and a few other scarce commodities needed by his neighbors in those early times. Not to be forgotten, too, in the Township's early industrial history was the distilling of alcohol from grain in the production of whiskey. This industry must have been carried on fairly extensively throughout most of western Pennsylvania since some accounts state that nearly every farmer had a still on his property. We cannot be specific about this at this late date, but we do know that whiskey was produced in considerable quantities, the reason being that this industry provided a "market" for the abundant grain which the area produced. It was prohibitive in cost to. market the grain as such, but when converted to alcohol, and whiskey, in the distilling process, it was marketable and western Pennsylvania farmers sent great quantities of their product to points east of the mountains, where it found a ready sale. Selling the whiskey without paying the excise tax on it led to the so-called Whiskey Insurrection of the 1790's.This was a notable period in American History which is well covered in histories of the period as well as in the historical novels: The Latimers by McCook, Sim Greene by Wiley and The Freighter by Dr. Andrew Lyle Russell, the plot for the latter beg laid in the nearby Cross Creek Country. In quelling the Insurrection by force of arms, it is recorded that General Henry Lee ("Light-horse Harry Lee of Revolutionary fame") who led the Federal troops into Washington County had his headquarters at the home of Samuel Miller near Hickory. So, there seems to be little doubt that many Mount Pleasant farmers were distillers and hence involved, either directly or indirectly in the Whiskey Insurrection. After the Insurrection had been put down, the distillers agreed to pay the hated tax and normal life resumed in Western Pennsylvania. Gradually, however, with improved markets for grain and flour by shipping down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, distilling on the farms was discontinued. With this review of the industrial history of Mount Pleasant, we find, at present, that our Township remains largely rural in character with many good producing farms, and also with many of our people employed in industries of various sorts outside the township. TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF MOUNT PLEASANT "God made the country, but man made the town". A. Mount Pleasant, the Town (or Hickory Tavern, or Hickory) Every rural area in eastern United States has at least one small town, or hamlet, which serves as a center for the Community. To such a place retired people used to move to be near to church or to school. The town was needed as a trading place where farm produce could be brought for sale, and where there would be stores to provide commodities for the surrounding countryside, In addition to being the logical location for the church and school, a family physician would have his residence and office here, and there would be a blacksmith shop and a tavern, a shoe shop and a wagonmaker's shop, and usually, most other tradesmen whose services were required by the people on the farms out in the country-side. The town, Mt. Pleasant, later to be known as Hickory Tavern, and then, finally as just Hickory, fulfilled most of the qualifications for a small country town of earlier days, The land on which this town was located was warranted by one John Ross, whose death occurred before the patent for the land could be issued, so the transaction was completed by his wife, Mary Ross and by the executors and heirs, and the patent name given to the tract of 302+ acres was "Executorship". On the southern end of this tract is where our town of Mt. Pleasant was located. It was around 1800, or a bit later, before much activity in the way of establishing a town was apparent. An advertisement in the Washington (Pa.)Telegraph on March 20, 1797 mentioned a public vendue of lots to be held in the town commonly known as Mt. Pleasant, or Hickory Tavern, on the first day of May of that year, but there is no record of any sales having been made at that time. But in July, 1802 one hundred acres of the Ross land was sold to Andrew McCown, and at that time he opened a tavern and sold a few lots, and it was said in that connection that another tavern had been at this point several years before. The name "Hickory Tavern" is mentioned above, and we may as well here tell the story of how this name came to be: Some time before McCown bought the portion of Ross land just mentioned, a band of ax-men were engaged in cutting a county road from Well's Mill at present Avella to Canon's Mill at Canonsburg. The route passed through our town, probably following the course of present Route 50. At lunch time on a certain day, they had reached the highest point in the area, at just about where the barber-shop is located. Looking around for something to use as a table on which to spread their lunches, the men espied an old abandoned sled which they appropriated for their use; then, when the meal was finished, one man pulled down a nearby hickory sapling to which the old sled was attached, and the sapling was allowed to spring back into place. It is said that the sled hung in the tree for several years, so this marked the place which was jokingly called "Hickory Tavern". The name appears to have been used interchangeably with "Mount Pleasant", but old maps of the time show that Mt. Pleasant was the official name. As time passed, more lots were sold, and, in a few years, the town had assumed the general appearance of the present time, with most of the lots being sold and buildings erected along the main street from the present Colwes corner west to the site of the Fire Department building. Later lots were sold along the roads leading off Main Street on Washington Avenue, Wabash avenue and on the other roads leading off in the various directions. One of the earlier lots disposed of was a one-acre parcel sold to the Mt. Pleasant Associate, or Seceder Congregation, on which their first church building was erected, and about where the present Mt. Pleasant church building stands. Also, a small lot was sold on which to build a school. This was on the other side of the church property from the present school site. The town grew in a modest way, and in 1830 the first permanent post office was located here, and at this time, since there was already a Mt. Pleasant Post Office in Westmoreland County, this name was dropped here and the name Hickory Tavern was shortened to Hickory, and this is the name by which this Village has been known for a full one hundred fifty years. Hickory does not have the commercial importance which it once did, but we do have here a grocery store, a hardware store, a plumbing and appliance shop, a radio and T-V store, an antique shop, one physician and a dentist, a feed mill, two service stations, a battery shop, two taverns and a part-time barber shop. The glory has not departed from our Home Town, but the place has changed over the years: It is still a delightful place in which to live - a really good residential town! We have previously stated that a Post Office was established at Hickory in 1830; this may be only partially correct, since the records of the United States Post Office Department do not give the date when this office was first located here. The following list of the names of Postmasters serving this office would indicate that a Post Office was maintained here at an earlier date, but if so, then such may have carried the name of Mount Pleasant, The date, April 1, 1812 is the date of the first report from this office to the Postmaster General. This table gives the following information: Names of Postmasters Dates of Appointments President by Political Whom Appointed Party Peter Neill April 1, 1812 James Madison Dem,-Rep, Thomas Miller January 22, 1813 same same William Walker September 25, 1819 James Monroe same (Rotation in Office of Federal Employees was instituted by President Andrew Jackson during his administration, and using that "Spoils System", later appointees were usually of the same party as the appointing President.) Joseph McClaskey October 24, 1831 Andrew Jackson Democratic James McClaskey December 5, 1839 James McClaskey December 5, 1839 Andrew Jackson Democratic Samuel M. Griffith August 12, 1841 Martin Van Buren same David Hughes March 25, 1845 John Tyler Whig William Chisholm August 22 , 1845 James K. Polk Democratic Samuel M. Griffith March 28, 1849 same same John H. Buchanan April 7, 1851 Zachary Taylor Whig William Simcox June 6, 1853 Millard Fillmore same? John J , Reed April 2, 1861 Franklin Pierce Democratic Henry Cochran August 28, 1863 Abraham Lincoln Republican James M, Campbell May 7, 1866 same same Andrew J. Miller September 18, 1866 Andrew Johnson same William Simcox September 28, 1868 same same James M. Campbell February 9, 1870 same same Obadiah J, Campbell May 7, 1872 Ulysses S. Grant same James M. Campbell October 15, 1873 same same Joseph Hemphill June 11, 1885 same same Charles Retzer December 6, 1889 Grover Cleveland Democratic James M. Marquis January 28, 1915 Benjamin Harrison Republican Leila M. McPeake April 17, 1916 Woodrow Wilson Democratic Riddile S. Rankin May 15, 1918 same same Riddile S. Rankin January 8, 1930 ame same (Reappointment) Herbert Hoover Republican Willard K. Allison, Sr. March 16, 1934 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic Willard K. Allison, Jr. April 30, 1960 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican In the early days of a rural post office, incoming mail was delivered only two or three days a week. In the case of the early Post Office at Hickory, a route extended from Washington (Pa.)to Georgetown on the Ohio River in Beaver County. The mail carrier rode horseback and would stop and deliver mail at the offices along the way, at Hickory, Burgettstown, Florence, etc, making the trip one way one day and the return trip a day or two later. Early newspapers were published weekly, and later twice a week, so they would be delivered to post offices along the way as soon as possible after being published. The rural people had to come to the post office for their mail, so this trip, too, was made only once or twice a week, and one farm family would likely pick up the mail for some of their neighbors. So, communication in the "good old days" was very slow! After the Panhandle Railroad was built through McDonald in 1865, mail was brought there by train and then by carrier to Hickory by way of Venice and then on to Woodrow. Carriers on this Star Route were Godfrey Vogle, William Armstrong, James McBurney, William Parkinson and George Craft. Around the turn of the century, rural mail delivery was established and the first route came into the Hickory area from Burgettstown. In 1904, on the completion of the Wabash Railroad, mail was delivered to the Hickory Post Office twice daily. Eventually, a rural route was started out of the Hickory Post Office, and the following men have served as rural carriers: Walter Retzer, Charles Retzer, Jr., Floyd Frye, Samuel Reedy, David F. Miller and the present carrier, James W. Carlisle. The northern and eastern part of Mt. Pleasant Township is served by a route from McDonald, R. D. 4. B. Westland Mine Village The names given to the two principal mining villages in Mount Pleasant, viz, Westland and Southview do not have any significance in these names themselves, since Westland is located in the southeastern part of the Township near the Chartiers Township line, while Southview is in the eastern part of the Township and right on the Cecil Township line, in fact part of this Village actually is in Cecil Township. Westland Mine Village dates from around 1900, when Midland Coal Company opened here what were known as Midland Mines Nos. 2 and 3. In 1903, Midland Coal Company leased its extensive coal properties here to Pittsburgh Coal Company which had been organized in 1900, and which took this lease with Midland for a thirty-year period. In 1928, Pittsburgh Coal Company paid off the lease and built a new tipple at Westland, at the same time extending its operations into new coal acreage which it had acquired. In 1940, the tipple at Westland was re-built and a new rotary dump was installed. In late 1977 and 1978, Westland Mine No. 2 was opened into new areas of coal lands which lie under much of Mount Pleasant Township to the northwest from the earlier operations of this mine. When first settled, the Village at this mine was called Midland and this name appears on a map of the Township of around 1904, but since the mining camp of the Midland Coal Company in Chartiers Township near Houston was being called Midland, the name Westland was given to the camp in Mount Pleasant Township, and it is now known by this name. Along the main street of Westland were flrst the homes of the executives of the Coal Company, somewhat removed from the Village. In 1906, the Superintendent of the mine here was Edward H. Speakman, whose grandson, William E. Speakman, Sr. is the owner of the Speakman Funeral Home at Houston, and whose great-grandson, William E. Speakman, Jr. is an attorney in the County. On the edge of the "patch" as the rows of workmen's houses were called were the Company Store and the Post Office. In 1911, the manager of the Company Store was George P. Hensel, whose family lived in a large apartment over the store. Willard Hensel of Claysville, who owns Hensel's Dry Cleaners there remembers the activities of the Village when his family lived there. Across the road from the Company Store was the town jail. Nothing remains of it now, except in the memory of some of the oldest residents. On the main street a large double house was used as a dormitory for single men who worked at the mine. This house is now owned by the Samuel Milligan family. Nearby, the Justice of the Peace, Donald J. Wilkinson was both a magistrate and the owner of a small store. Sam Arcure also ran a candy store in this section of the town. On the north end of the village was a store and beer garden operated by Joseph Schmidt. Up the road from there lived the community physician, Dr. J. W. Shidler. Beside the doctor's home was the home of Harry Couch, a retired army officer, who was the village school-teacher. This residence is now owned by Gary Elder. The three-room school-house was also located in this section of the town. Another school building for the younger grades stood in the center of town. This building has been completely renovated and is now used by the people of The First Baptist Church, of which the Rev. Allen Middleton is serving as pastor. Many family names of the Westland Community have been preserved among the present day residents. Pioneer families were: The Arcures, Brumbaughs, Finleys, Pilkingtons, Sabos, Scotts,Ulaniches, and Zemaitises. Other family names which have been scattered all over the world, but which are still represented in the Village are: Allen, Allshouse, Atchison, Bentrem, Criquellion, Davis, Elder, Gibson, Grivetti, Haught, Kiemer, Liggett, McAnany, McCartney, McMillan, Pawlosky, Prime, Rockovich, Sethman, Sharek, Toczer, Zanoli, and Zapotosky. Other names of former Westland residents are preserved in this list of those who have lost their lives while working in Westland Mine: Edwin Ringer, Sr., Richard Davis, George A. Carter, Robert Liggett. The Honor Roll located in Westland Village honors those who served their Country in World War II - These are as follows: Robert W. Atchison Roy J. Atchison John Beddick, Jr. Milford Bowland George A. Carter J. H. Criquellion James Haught Mary E. Hensel Sheldon Hensel John L. Kennedy George A. Bowland Joseph H. Cass Louis Dixon John Haught William B. Hensel Ralph H. Kennedy Leonard L. Kendo Ross A. Bowland, Jr. Elsie Criquellion Howard Haught Wayne Haught Robert P. Hensel Clark D. Kennedy Robert B. Kendo Earl L. Kersten Alex. Kumer, Jr. A. D. Pilkington Frederick C. Kersten Harold E. Kersten Richard E. McAnany Samuel R. Milligan Elmer J. Schweinebraten Fred E. Silveus, Jr. Donald C. Snedeker John Tozser Samuel H. Snedeker Andrew Wilkinson Thomas C. Snedeker Donald Wilkinson Other veterans of the armed services include: Donald Atchison George Carter, Jr. Charles Cass Robert Casper Eugene McCartney Edwin Ringer Thomas Stedman Marion Szczerbienski Edith Allshouse Robert Allshouse Jeffrey Carter Frank Cass William Carter, Jr. David Frye Joseph Kencec Solan Lucas Terry McCartney Danny McAnany Jack Ringer Charles Sethman, Jr. Charles Stedman James Stedman William Stedman Charles Zapotosky This list has been furnished by Mrs. Hazel Coufman of Westland. Today, Westland does not seem so much like a mining village. Although Pittsburgh Coal (Consol) still operates the mine, the main portals are no longer in the Village. All of the coal, however, is brought out at the Westland installation and is shipped over Montour Railroad to the coal "washer" on Route 22 in Robinson Township. The homes are now privately owned, and there is no further need for a company store. There are two churches in Westland, as already mentioned; The Westland United Presbyterian Church, dating from 1909, and the later established First Baptist Church, a very active congregation, serving the blacks of the Village. Also, there are a miners' hall and a playground for the children. Many children and grandchildren of the old families here have gone out of the Community to become doctors, lawyers, ministers, teachers, and officials in the Pittsburgh Coal Company organization. In the foregoing article, information on Westland mine has been furnished by Mr. August Vandale, who served for many years as assistant to the President of Pittsburgh Consolidated Coal Company. The part dealing with Westland Village has been written by Miss Elsie Cowden. We express sincere gratitude to both of these persons for this fine help, Editor. C. Southview As elsewhere mentioned, this former mining town, but now a fine residential village is located on the eastern border of Mount Pleasant Township, with a part of the town actually lying in Cecil Township. Montour Coal Company opened their Mine No. 1 here in 1913. The Montour Railroad had a yard at this place prior to the opening of the mine, and when the mine was put into operation, the coal produced was shipped over this railroad, The mining town established here was near a station on the former Wabash Railroad which was called "George". When the Post Office was located here, it was called Southview, and this name the town still bears. By 1920, the Antil Brothers who owned farm land in Cecil Township had developed a plan of lots on their land on the township line, and about twenty-five private homes were built on these lots, part of them lying in Cecil Township, and the rest in Mount Pleasant. In a boundary dispute between the two townships, created by this situation, the matter was taken to Court for adjudication, and a line was run through the Antil Plan, leaving a part of it in each township. In this section there were eight stores with living quarters, an Owl's Hall, a S. N. P. J. Hall and a barber shop, Another sizable part of the town was built by the Coal Company some distance away in Mount Pleasant Township, and this section bore the name "Mexico", The division of the town between the two townships created a problem with regard to school attendance, Before a school had been built at Southview, pupils of the families living here attended the one-roon Cockins School, some distance to the west. This school became too crowded and was closed at the end of the 1917-18 school term. A two-room school was built a short distance west of Southview by the Mount Pleasant Township school board and this was increased to a three-room organization by the 1927-28 school term. This school was used for pupils in the Mount Pleasant part of Southview until it was closed at the end of the 1958-59 school term. In the meantime, the Gilmore School had been built along present Route 50 and this school was attended by the Cecil Township pupils living at Southview, During the years 1925 to 1928, the great coal strike was on and a camp for evicted miners was maintained on the former Henry Seik farm, with miners families from Cecil and Bishop living in the barracks erected for them at that place. These were difficult times for the miners who were under great harassment from the Coal and Iron police, The miners lost the strike, and it was not until 1933 that a contract was signed between the United Mine Workers and the coal operators which brought peace to the coal fields. In 1930,Montour Mine No.1 was closed and it was not reopened, so the miners living at Southview had to seek employment at other mines or in other industries. But most of the families remained at Southview and eventually purchased the company houses and made them into comfortable homes. These houses were sold by the coal company in 1942 and 1943. Southview has a privately owned ball field, used by the men's and women's teams from both Cecil and Mount Pleasant Townships. The Champion Softball Team from Southview took part in the World's Softball Tournaments: at Rochester, N. Y. in 1978, at St. Louis in 1979 and at New York City in 1980. Residents of both Cecil and Mount Pleasant Townships are members of the fire department at Southview which is known as Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department Company No. 2. The S. N.P. J. Lodge at Southview was chartered in 1918 and their hall was built in 1919. On January 1, 1981, this Society had 175 adult and juvenile beneficial members and an undetermined number of social members, Ben Davis was the last Superintendent of Montour Mine No. 1. Don Ewing was in charge of the Company Store at Southview for several years. This information on Southview and on the Guardian Angels Church has been furnished by Mr. John Yanosik, a life-long resident of Southview who has long been interested in the historic and civic aspects of the life of Mount Pleasant Township. His father, Steve Yanosik, a Slovak immigrant, came to Southview from Gladden in Cecil Township in 1913. In addition to the son, John, he had another son, Steve, Jr. and four daughters. Joe Gasvoda and his family, of Slovenian descent lived at Southview for many years, and Peter Perenic, also Slovenian, and the Lazorik family of Ukranian descent were long-time residents here. Julius Lukanski, whose family now live on the nearby former John Reed farm, lived and worked at Southview. D. Primrose Primrose, another former mining community which has reverted to the status of a small residential community is located on the northern edge of Mount Pleasant Township and in the Valley of Robinson Run which forms the boundary line between Mount Pleasant and Robinson Townships. It had been a rural community until the Panhandle Railroad was built up the Robinson Run Valley in the 1860's with the tracks at this point being in Mount Pleasant Township. Upon the completion of the railroad, a station was established here, and it was maintained as long as passenger service and local freight shipments were provided by the railroad. For many years, dairymen from both Robinson and Mount Pleasant Townships brought their milk to Primrose for shipment by train to the Pittsburgh market, Many years ago, a creamery was in operation here at Primrose and it used milk from the nearby farms. The Community had a store in earlier times, but at present, a garage and service station is the only business establishment, it being located opposite the railroad crossing at this point. With the opening of coal mines in the area, Primrose soon gained greater importance. The Jumbo Mine was located along the tracks some distance east of Primrose and in Cecil Township. The Robbins Coal Company opened a mine up the tracks from Primrose and it was taken over by Carnegie Coal Company and was known as the "old" mine. This Company built houses for its miners at Primrose, and these houses, now privately owned, with some other houses built later constitute the present village of Primrose. The "old" Primrose Mine of Carnegie Coal Company was closed in 1927 and was never re-opened. The "new" mine of this Company was located some distance away with the mine opening being across the Creek in Robinson Township, Also, the old Taylor Mine, known as the Black Diamond mine was in the area. The opening of the mines induced the migration to the area of men from European countries to work in the mines, Domenick Vincenti of Italian descent came here from Austria in 1892 when he was fifteen years old, He married Catherine Vicari, and their son, Joseph Vincenti lives at Primrose and operates the garage and service station and lives in the oldest house in the Community, it being over one hundred years old, Domenick Vincenti was killed in the "new" Primrose mine in 1937. Joe Vincenti very graciously furnished information on the Village, pointing out the location of the old railroad station, and also of the "Roundtable" maintained by the railroad company here for many years. The Post Office for Primrose was formerly located near the station, but was later moved to the Struth store a short distance southwest of the Village. Mr. Fred Struth was the last postmaster here, the post office being closed when rural routes took over the delivery of mail. The coming of mining activities brought to McDonald and Primrose a number of families of Belgian and French descent. Some of these located at Primrose and formed their own community in a section still known as "Belgian Hollow". Names still remembered here are the Dhans, DaBlander and Libert families, who were closely related by marriages. Most of the original members of these families are now gone, but Mrs. Thressa Schiff, aged 88 years, still lives here. She is of Italian descent but her husband, August Schiff was a Belgian immigrant who came here in 1913 and worked in both the "old" and "new" Primrose mines. He died in 1965, Many children and grandchildren of these early families live in Mount Pleasant and other nearby areas. Fortunata and Maria Machak of Slovenian descent came here from what is now Yugoslavia and their son, Ferd and daughters, Fanny Machak and Mrs. Robert Miltenberger still live at Primrose. The Machaks had a store in their part of Primrose for some years. A school was maintained in this Village until consolidation caused it to close. The original school building is still standing near the Machak home on the road to Midway. Later, pupils from Primrose attended the two room George School at the edge of the Village, and extra rooms were provided when required in a two room portable building standing among the homes in present Primrose. Pupils from the Village now attend the Fort Cherry Schools, Primrose and the countryside to the south and southwest toward Hickory and Southview were included in the oil "boom" of around 1890 which saw so many wells drilled at McDonald and on farms in this part of Mount Pleasant Township. Production from these wells provided a good income for many farm families. A bit later, the Pittsburgh vein of coal under these same farms was optioned and later bought by companies organized around the turn of the century, Income from these sales also helped many land-owners to become financially independent, The oil "boom" is long over, but some wells are still producing small quantities of oil. Some of the coal bought in the early years of the century has been mined, especially that near the railroads, but now, 75 to 80 years after its being acquired by the coal companies, much of it remains, yet to be taken out. Woodrow and Gretna have been mentioned as the locations of creameries in an earlier day. These hamlets originally were not in Mount Pleasant Township, Woodrow having been just over the township line in Cross Creek, while Gretna is located over the township line in Chartiers. However, the building of later homes in these two places have caused them to "spill over" into our Township, so they may be considered, in part anyway as being now in Mount Pleasant. PHOTOGRAPHS 1. House in which Washington met with Squatters. The Reed house as it appeared a few years ago. 2. FORT HILL Residence of John S. Dinsmore Family in 1876. Now, in 1981, the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Brezinski, it appears much the same as it did in 1876. The house is of log construction. 3. STONE HOUSE built by Matthew McConaughy in 1812. Only part of the house is still standing. 4. BRICK HOUSE built in 1836 by Joseph Lyle. It is now the modern home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Welch. 5. Wintertime view of the dairy farm of J. Arthur Smith - McDonald A.D. 4 6. MAIN STREET - HICKORY About 1925 EXCITING EVBNTS IN THE HISTORY OF MOUNT PLEASANT "Every period furnishes its own exciting times: There is never a dull moment in History!" A. The Visit to Mount Pleasant of General George Washington. As we have pointed out in an earlier chapter, George Washington, the "Father of our Country" was the first registered land owner in our Township. The tract of 2,813 acres patented to Mr. Washington on July 5, 1774 by the Colony of Virginia lay almost entirely within present Mount Pleasant Township. This tract had been located for Mr. Washington by his friend, Colonel William Crawford, who had also supervised the laying out of the tract and who had had it surveyed for Mr. Washington. The tract met its new owner's specifications as to elevation, drainage and fertility. The only question never satisfactorily answered was as to his reason for wanting to possess such a large tract of land in this then western country. It could well have been that Mr. Washington had once entertained the idea of moving here, or he may have secured the land as did other large patentees for purposes of speculation. Mr. Washington had been through this area in the fall of 1753, and he may have crossed the tract which was later conveyed to him, but if so, he didn't see it again until after the close of the Revolutionary War when he came to inspect the land on September 20, 1784. At that time, he had come to the home of John Canon at Canonsburg where he lodged over a week-end, and then came out with Mr. Canon to his land in Mount Pleasant Township on the following Monday morning. Apparently, he visited each "squatter" on his land in turn, to observe the portion of the land on which each had located, and also to note the improvements which each had made. Then he met with the group at the home of Mr. David Reed, which was located on the farm where the family of Mr.and Mrs. John Lukanski now live. The old log home of Mr. Reed stood on almost the same location as the Lukanski home. This log house stood here until recent years when it was torn down and removed to North Strabane Township where Attorney A.L. Zeaman reconstructed it and made it into a home. Mr. Washington had come here, apparently with the intention of ordering these squatters to leave his land, which he claimed they were occupying illegally. In their occupying the land, they, had been encouraged to do so by the land agent, George Croghan, who was a rival of Mr. Washington's and who had told the squatters that they had as much right to this land. as did Mr. Washington. Seeing the hardships which the people had endured, and after listening to their pleas for some consideration toward their remaining on the land, he relented somewhat and offered them terms: either that they purchase the land for eight shillings per acre cash, payable within three years with interest, or as an alternate, that they take a 999 years' lease under which an annual rental would be paid for the land. Both propositions were unacceptable to the settlers and they declared that they would remain on the land and stand suit of ejectment. During the conference on these matters between the squatters and Mr. Washington, it is related that the argument became heated at times. One version of the tradition of the event is that Mr. Washington took a handkerchief from his pocket, held it up and declared that as sure as he had this handkerchief, he would have this land. Another version states that Mr. Washington declared, using an oath, that he would keep the land and that no one could prevent him from doing so. According to this story, Mr. Reed, being a justice of the peace, fined Mr. Washington for using the profanity and Mr. Washington promptly paid the fine, This last part of the story is sometimes refuted, but in talking with a great-grand-daughter of Mr. David Reed some years ago, she declared that the Reeds firmly believed the story, and that Mr. Washington was really a very profane man. Any way these stories are viewed, it is known that, in so far as these squatters on Mr. Washington's land were concerned, they had little love or respect for him after they were put off his land, The ejectment suits were proceeded with and most of the squatters located elsewhere, some of them to return to the land later through an arrangement with some of those who eventually came into legal possession of this land, Sometime after this incident, Mr. Washington sold the land to Matthew Ritchie, who, at his death devised it to Attorney Alexander Addison, who sold some parts of it during his lifetime, and the rest was disposed of by his executors. This was General Washington's one and only visit to the County after it was named for him, and there is no record of his having given any recognition to the County for thus honoring him, while he was here, and no sort of ceremony was accorded to him while here except for his conference with the squatters on his land. He returned to Virginia, was elected President of our Country in which office he served until within two years of his death. So his dream of an empire in the West if he ever had such a dream never materialized, and the 2,813 acre tract which he owned in Mount Pleasant Township is now divided up into about fifteen different farms and other properties, B. Zechariah Rankin and the Mad Wolf When William Rankin came to Mount Pleasant from Virginia in the 1770's, he and members of his family took out for a tract of 337+ acres on the ridge north of Hickory, and along what is sometimes known as the Ridge Road to Burgettstown. This tract was called "Black Oak Ridge", a title appropriate to its location and probably also accurately describing the type of timber which was to be found on it. Here Zechariah Rankin built his cabin and other early farm buildings, and had begun stocking his farm with domestic animals. On a certain day in October, 1785 he had made the purchase of a pig and had brought it home and had placed it in a rail pen in his barn yard. That night Mr. Rankin heard a noise among his animals and rising from bed, he went to the door to look out to see what the commotion was all about. The door to his cabin was what was known as a "mill door", one in which he could open the top half of the door without opening the bottom half, so he had opened the top part of this door and was peering out and he saw a wolf trying to get to the pig in the rail pen. When the animal saw Mr. Rankin, it came to the cabin door and lunged at him, trying to jump into the half open door. Mr. Rankin was a large, powerful man and he caught the wolf under one arm and held it until his wife could bring a butcher knife with which he slashed its throat, but not before it had bitten him severely in his side. The wolf evidently was mad, or rabid, for within nine days, Mr. Rankin became ill, and it was found that he was suffering from rabies, a dread disease in which the brain is severely affected. During his illness much of the time he was like a raving maniac, unable to control the convulsions which continually racked his body. He did have some lucid moments and during these, he plead with those about him to put an end to his life to save him from further suffering, but, of course, this was not done and he suffered some days more and died a horrible death. He was attended by his wife and by neighbors: John Lyle, Aaron Lyle, Robert Lyle, James Edgar and others. Three days before his death, on October 17, 1785, Robert Lyle wrote his will and it was witnessed by Thomas Cherry and Isaac Wells. Mr. Rankin was buried in the Cherry Graveyard near Fort Cherry, but, as elsewhere noted, this graveyard has been desecrated and the gravestones removed. After his death, a daughter was born to Mrs. Rankin and she inherited the farm. She became the wife of Jesse Woods. The story of Mr. Rankin and the Mad Wolf is written up in Crumrine's History of Washington County (1882), in Doddridge's Notes of Western Virginia and Pennsylvania (1824)and in The Lyles of Washington County, Pennsylvania (1886). The Zechariah Rankin farm has been owned in recent years by the descendants of Samuel McCalmont and by W. Scott Russell, son of Johnston M. Russell. C. The Murder of Little Mary Stewart This long forgotten crime in the earlier history of Mount Pleasant Township is one of the unsolved mysteries of all time in the annals of this region. Mary Stewart was a child of around ten years of age who lived with her family on the present Saunders farm here in Mount Pleasant. Her father was deceased, and her mother had been married to James Ridgway, who was thus the girl's step-father. On Sunday evening, September 4, 1796, members of this family had gone to evening church service at the Presbyterian Church at Buffalo Village, leaving little Mary at home alone, and in charge of the house, When the family returned at a later hour, the girl was found in the home, murdered in cold blood, and the house had been ransacked and about one hundred dollars in money had been taken. No clues had been left which would identify the murderer, but suspicions were directed to a man sometimes called James Stewart and at other times Brown, who had been seen loitering in the community some days before, but who had disappeared and could not be found. A coroner's jury, one of whom was David McGugin, grand-father of the late James A. McGugin, brought in a verdict "that the child had come to her death at the hands of someone to the jury unknown." Some years afterward, John Brownlee, cousin of the murdered girl and a member of the household at the time of her death, encountered James Stewart at a tavern along the Ohio River. The men recognized each other and in conversation Stewart said to Brownlee, "Have you ever heard my name mentioned in connection with the murder of Mary Stewart?" Thinking that it was a time for real frankness, Brownlee replied, "Yes, and I believe that you are the one who murdered that little girl!" whereupon, Stewart turned and left the premises and was never seen again. If would appear from this interview that Stewart might well have been the guilty man in the case. For a short time after this murder, some suspicion was attached to the step-father, James Ridgway for this reason: After the family had gone a short distance on their way to church on that fateful evening, Mr. Ridgway recalled that he had left his tobacco at home and he returned to the house to get it, so he was the last one, except the murderer, to see Mary Stewart alive. Also, it was claimed by some that this child of Mrs. Ridgway was all that stood in the way of Mr. Ridgway's having joint ownership to his wife's property. But the excellent reputation of the man and the feelings of members of the family toward him entirely precluded any thought of his guilt. He was a man of exemplary life and conduct and was highly respected. Later in life, the Ridgways moved to West Middletown, where Mr. Ridgway died in 1824.On his tomb-stone in Grove Church Graveyard there is this inscription: "James Ridgway died 1824, a Sincere Christian!" D. Patriotic Picnic Held at Hickory on July 4, 1863. The people of Mount Pleasant Township, when really called upon to do so, always give ample evidence of their patriotism and of their loyalty to God and their Country. Never had this been more evident than on July 4, 1863, when a mammoth Levee and Pic-Nic was held on the Fair Grounds at Hickory. The Fair Grounds were located on a part of what as then the John M. Miller farm, now owned by John C. Dinsmore, and lying just to the east of Hickory. The old fair grounds are now detached from the farm and comprise the land on which the homes of Jay M. Sweetie and Joseph Kehn, Jr. are located, and just across Route 50 from the home of Mrs. Helen Brown. This mammoth celebration, of course, had been planned for this date, but the fact that it was held on the day following the great battle at Gettysburg was an unforeseen coincident, but that is how it was! There had been a rain on the morning of this July 4 which had effectively settled the dust, and it had also, made conditions too wet for the farmers of the community to do harvesting on that day, so nearly all came to the Pic-Nic. General James Lee, Mount Pleasant's most distinguished citizen of the time was called upon to serve as President for the occasion, and Mr. William Dinsmore of Canton Township and other prominent men of the area were honored by being named Vice Presidents. Upon assembling in the forenoon, the Rev. J. M. Donaldson, a native of Hickory and then a resident of Robinson Township led the invocation. The Declaration of Independence was read by Mr. Samuel Miller of Allegheny County. Patriotic letters were read from Rev. Col. Clark and Rev. J.P. Caldwell who could not be present. The Rev. W. B. Keeling, pastor of Mt Prospect Presbyterian Church then spoke, urging political unity in the crisis of the War then raging, and he read a number of patriotic resolutions, which were enthusiastically adopted. H. J. Van Kirk of Washington was called upon, and in an urgent appeal for recruits for the army, he enrolled a number of young men for a company of the Union Army which was to leave Washington later in the week. The West Middletown Brass Band rendered patriotic musical selections throughout the day. Letters from soldiers of the community who were serving in the armed forces were sold to the highest bidder, and specially prepared bouquets were sold at auction. At noon a bountiful repast was served to the hundreds of people present, the goodies for the occasion being spread on a table said to have been three hundred feet long! The many people present showed great patriotism in all that transpired during the day. No "drunks" were in the crowd, and no profanity was heard! Toward the end of the day, reports of the previous day's victory at Gettysburg began trickling into the crowd and these reports added to the enthusiasm of the large crowd assembled here at Hickory! A total of two hundred fifteen dollars was raised during the day for the relief of men in the armed services and this amount was forwarded to the Christian Commission and the Sanitary Commission, the Y. M. c. A. and the Red Cross of those times. At the close of the day's activities, the following "toasts" were offered and were enthusiastically endorsed by all in attendance! To the Constitution: The Constitution, as it is, Every word and every letter; For some who want to alter it Would make it worse instead of better! To the Ladies and the Brass Band: May those very fair young lasses Taste the lips that blow the basses. To Woman: May the sweet influence of woman's affections continue to attend each soldier's path through life, as they have clustered around and rendered pleasant this day's celebration. To Pennsylvania: May she ever remain the keystone in the arch of our glorious republic! To Those Who Were Afraid To Come To The Celebration: Your were awfully scared and worse confounded For fear you'd get shot or cruelly pounded. Now look at us here, not a tear in a shirt! Don't you see that you were far worse scared than hurt? This last "toast" would indicate that there were possibly some people in the Hickory Community who were not patriotic enough to have taken part in this day's celebration, but if so, they were in a distinct minority, and most people of the Community who could get there were probably in attendance! E. The Great McGugin Gas Well The story of this greatest gas well of all time, which was drilled on the former McGugin Farm right here in Mount Pleasant Township is here told by Janis Anderson in An Historic Event Essay written by Janis in 1964 when she was an eighth grade student at Fort Cherry High School. She calls her story: "THE MIGHTY MCGUGIN" Two miles south of Hickory, on a certain farm, you would not find anything really different from any other rural farm unless you took time to walk across the pastures. In one pasture in particular, there is vivid red soil caused by a great historical event of the past, 80 years ago to be exact. At that time, the pastures of the farm rang with the shouts of children, mothers' anxious calls, and scenes such as socials and picnics in the fields, for then was the time of the "Mighty McGugin". The "Mighty McGugin" was a widely known and much visited gas well. Today, we have movies, television, and other pleasures to keep us satisfied and happy. In 1882 and earlier years, pleasures were few and far between, so that, when anything happened, everyone had to see all about it. On March 4, 1882, after a cave-in in an unsuccessful well in which all drilling tools were buried, a new well drilled in by the Niagara Oil Company struck gas at a depth of two thousand two hundred forty-seven feet. The force of the gas was so great that the tools were blown from deep underground one hundred feet into the air!! This immediately became the largest flow of gas in the world, at twenty to thirty million cubic feet of gas daily. Soon the roar of escaping gas could be heard ten miles away at Washington, Pennsylvania. People became curious, and thousands visited the scene of the first big gas well in Pennsylvania. All went well until by accident or by an act of mischief, the well caught fire. It burned and burned for two years until it could be extinguished and the gas piped to Pittsburgh. During the burning time, the light of the fire could be seen twenty miles away at night. People wondered what was happening and so went to the well to satisfy their curiosity. Then they went home and told their neighbors, who also went to "see". The news spread to Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and eastern Pennsylvania, More people came. The crowds became so tremendous that lunch stands selling lemonade and sandwiches were opened to feed the throngs. Clubs and picnickers ate their suppers around the red glow at twilight. Churches held their spring and summer strawberry festivals beside the light of the well, During the time of the fire, thousands of people found enjoyment in visiting the scene of the "Mighty McGugin" for picnics and Sunday outings. Men gathered in groups to discuss the fire that burned unceasingly in the air. Women in frilly dresses gathered together under shade trees to talk about fashions and their children. The boys amused themselves by playing Indians and the girls fussed over and cared for their dolls. Birds became confused by the light and were shot after night-fall by hunters. Even after the fire was brought under control, people kept coming to the site of the well. Deep under their feet ran two pipe lines. The strongest flow of gas ran thirty-five miles to Pittsburgh and supplied all of the iron and steel mills in that City. On the way to Pittsburgh, a stand-pipe was erected in Venice, Pennsylvania to furnish light to that community after dark. The strangest thing about this well is that, in spite of the great quantities of gas which it produced, Alexander McGugin, owner of the land was never paid one cent for his work or royalty for the land on which the gas well was located. His son, James A, McGugin, now 81 years old and residing near Hickory, says his father would not take any money for it, but if he had done so, he would have been one of the richest men of his time. Today, nothing remains to even suggest a gas well. No shouts of children grace the fields. No families eat their suppers there. All that remains is the burned red soil, Guernsey cows, and blackberry bushes. The first big gas well in Pennsylvania has long been forgotten. It has truly become a ghost of the past. All that can be seen today of the pipeline is five or six feet of pipe along Route 50 in Hickory. I knew some of this story before I began to do research to write it because James McGugin is my great-great-uncle and I have heard the story from him many times. I feel that the McGugin gas well affected history in that it was the first big gas well in Pennsylvania and also that it was talked about and known in many states. The "Mighty McGugin" gas well is vanishing into today's history books. BIBLIOGRAPHY Crumrine, Boyd, "Crumrine's History of Washington County", 1882, page 850 McFarland, Joseph, "McFarland History of Washington County", 1910, page 238 "Burgettstown Enterprise" issue of October 7, 1896 "Washington Observer", issue of May 29, 1962 "Washington Reporter", issue of August 15, 1958 We are deeply indebted to Janis Anderson who is now Mrs. Melvin R, Hyatt of Hinckley, Ohio for giving her permission to include this excellent article in our History of Mount Pleasant. It gives the main facts regarding the McGugin Gas Well and more important, its impact on the Community and its importance at the time when it was such a spectacle in the Mount Pleasant Community. It might be added here that since the McGugin Well was drilled in by the Niagara Oil Company, it was drilled in search for oil not natural gas, and when the great quantities of gas were struck in this well, no one was prepared for the result, and the drillers were not able to contain the great flow of gas for nearly two years after the well had been drilled in. The moving spirit in this venture was Frederick Crocker, an employee of Niagara Oil Company, and an expert in drilling procedures. After drilling in the McGugin Well, Mr. Crocker was instrumental in the development of the Washington Oil field and he continued in the business until within five years of his death which occurred at Idlewood, Pittsburgh in February, 1895. Mr. Crocker was the inventor of a number of devices used in the drilling business and was among the first to use explosives in "shooting" oil wells to increase the flow of the precious fluid. No serious accidents seem to have occurred in the drilling of the McGugin Well. When the big pocket of gas was struck, according to one account, the drilling tools were-thrown one hundred feet into the air, then came crashing down on to the derrick and breaking a sill on the derrick floor 10 x 14 inches in size. It is likely that the workmen at the well sensed the danger and had betaken themselves to a place oŁ safety before the tools landed on the floor. In the course oŁ drilling other wells in the area, following the drilling oŁ the McGugin Well, accidents did happen and sometimes they were oŁ a serious nature. On December 4, 1886 while working on a well on the McKnight Farm on the line between Mount Pleasant and Chartiers Townships, Al Crocker, son oŁ Col. Alfred Crocker and nephew oŁ the renowned Frederick Crocker, met with an accident which cost him his life. He kicked at a frozen valve on a line leading away Łrom this well, and the separator exploded tearing away a portion of Mr. Crocker's foot. He was rushed to Hickory for medical care, but the exposure and shock were too great for him to stand and he died on the following morning. Serious and sometimes fatal accidents occurred too in the "shooting" oŁ wells, where nitro-glycerin was used, and if extreme care was not used in the handling of the explosive, it sometimes exploded prematurely, thus destroying everything within a short distance of the explosion. Another side-light on the McGugin gas well might be mentioned in the interest displayed in memoralizing this famous well by the late William A. Lindsey of North Strabane Township. In the Washington Observer of June 21,1965 and again in January 27, 1967, Mr. Lindsey, a native of Mount Pleasant Township had articles supporting the idea oŁ a road-side marker from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission being placed near the site of the well. This was accomplished in 1967 and the marker bears this inscription: "Drilled in 1882, one mile west of here, with the largest flow of gas in the world, and later piped to Pittsburgh for use as light and heat. This initiated the beginning and development of the great oil and gas fields in southwestern Pennsylvania". This marker was placed near the residence of Mr. James A. McGugin on Route 18 in Mount Pleasant Township, but it did not meet the approval of Mr. McGugin, who said that the inscription was not fully accurate. This marker stood here for several years, but being considered a traffic hazard in that it prevented those coming onto Route 50 from a side road from seeing approaching traffic, it has been removed. F. The Coming of the Wabash Railroad One of the dreams of the people of central arid southern Mount Pleasant Township for many years was that a railroad might be built through their part of the Township. Many of these people realized the advantages which had come to the people on the northern edge of the Township in the building of the Panhandle Railroad through that area in the 1860's. Until the Wabash Railroad was built during the early years of this present century, persons living in the more remote parts of the Township had to go to Primrose, or Burgettstown or to one of the other stations on the Panhandle Railroad, or to Washington or Canonsburg on the Chartiers Valley Railroad if they wanted to catch a train or to ship or receive merchandise by rail. This remoteness from railroad facilities made it virtually impossible to ship fresh milk by rail, since the daily trip to the shipping station would involve too much rural road travel. When it was finally announced that the Gould interests were to challenge other capitalists, and would build a railroad out of Pittsburgh and up the Chartiers and Millers Run valleys, and would cross the dividing ridges and then run their line down the Cross Creek Valley to the Ohio River above Wellsburg, West Virginia, joy came to the people of Hickory and to many other people along the proposed right-of-way, Comparatively little opposition arose along the proposed route, since the people wanted a railroad so badly, and to oppose it would probably be to lose it. Of course, almost every farmer along the route wanted a passenger station located on his property, but compromises were made, and by 1902, the right-of-way had been secured and contracts for the construction of the line had been let, Major obstacles in the way of completing this new line were: the necessity for building expensive bridges, one over the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh, and a longer one over the Ohio River just above Wellsburg, West Virginia, Also, numerous tunnels had to be cut through the dividing ridges which the line encountered, including the Acheson, Hickory and McGugin tunnels in Mount Pleasant Township, But the engineers soon overcame these hindrances, and work all along the line proceeded at a fast clip, Although most of the grading was done by hand labor and by horse-drawn scoops, the secret of rapid completion of the line was that contracts were awarded to a number of construction companies, each of which undertook a comparatively small part of the entire project, so that construction was proceeding simultaneously all along the line, In the Hickory area, the contractor was responsible for about three miles of the line, and he sub-let the work on the deeper cuts and on the tunnels, Wages for labor were set at $1.25 per day, and all work such as loading soil for moving to another location was done by hand. Many immigrant workers were employed, mainly Italians, who were imported by the contractors from the "old country" and brought here and located in work camps along the right-of-way, Needless to say, sanitary conditions were not good at these camps, and much illness prevailed, but the work went on. At a work camp near Avella, the dread disease of small-pox broke out and almost decimated this camp. When grading had been completed by the use of these primitive methods of work and the line was ready for laying the rails, the most up-to-date equipment was secured, and this phase of the work was done quickly, and soon the entire line was completed, and in July, 1904 the first through train was run over the line out of the new terminal which had been built at the corner of Liberty and Ferry Streets in the city of Pittsburgh. With the completion of this railroad, Hickory got a first-class passenger station on the former Berryhill Farm, and "way stations" or stops were provided at Woodrow, just over the line in Cross Creek Township, at McGugin Station, McCoys, Acheson at the Brown Farm, and at George, near present Southview. For many years, passenger service to Pittsburgh consisted of the early train at 6:15 A. M, each morning, and the late train out of the City leaving there at 6:00 P. M. and getting to Hickory sometime after 7 o'clock, This train, known as the "Hoodlebug" was a real accommodation train, making all stops between Avella and Pittsburgh, and taking aboard at most rural stops great quantities of milk being shipped to the Pittsburgh market from the dairy farms along the way, The trip took over an hour from Hickory to Pittsburgh, but it was a train, and was largely patronized for many years. A more De Luxe train was the express which left Pittsburgh each day at 4:00 P. M. and made stops only at Bridgeville, Hickory and Avella in Pennsylvania, and making connections in Ohio on another line for St. Louis, This train arrived at Hickory at 4:38 promptly each day, and for those working in the City who could get away from work in time to catch it, it provided an early way home, but most workers had to wait for the "Hoodlebug" and usually they got home after dark! An east bound train was the counterpart of the express, but its schedule cannot now be recalled. In addition to the convenience of travel and shipping afforded the people of Mount Pleasant Township in the building of the Wabash Railroad, another advantage came to the property owners of the Township in the optioning and subsequent selling of the coal under their farms. The availability of rail shipment made this coal much more marketable. So, by 1904 much of the coal land in Mount Pleasant Township had been acquired by the Pittsburgh Coal Company, or by one of the other companies which had been organized around the turn of the century. As we have seen in an earlier chapter, coal mining in Mount Pleasant Township was confined for many years to the mines at Westland, Southview, and Primrose where the coal veins could be reached at comparatively shallow depths. It is only now in this year of 1981 that the coal at greater depths is being actively exploited. But along the Wabash Railroad to the west, at Avella and farther downstream in the Cross Creek Valley, where, again, the Pittsburgh vein of coal is at a shallow depth, the building of the Wabash Railroad encouraged the opening of many mines, and much of the coal in those areas has been taken out, by deep mining for many years, and more recently, by "strip-mining" methods. Thus, with the, sale of the coal under their farms, and with better facilities for shipping their products, a certain measure of prosperity came to many of the farmers of the area with the building through here of the Wabash Railroad. Passenger service was maintained on the railroad here until about 1929, when it was discontinued, but it is still remembered by the oldest residents of the Hickory Community. On the old "Hoodlebug" two popular trainmen are recalled in the persons of Bob Sloan, brakeman and a conductor by the name of McCartney, who operated this train for many years. Also, the popular station agent, the ever accommodating and genial Charles C. Coates, who outlived he passenger service on the Wabash line and who had to supplement his income in his later years by conducting a small print-shop at his home. These fine men added much to the popularity of the old Wabash Railroad during the thirty years or so in which it served so well the people of the Hickory Community. Soon after the railroad came into general use by the people of Mount Pleasant Township, another facility which helped the people to start to "get out of the mud" was the building by the Supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township of a section of hard surfaced road from Hickory to the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church, one and one-half miles west. According to the November 14, 1906 issue of the Burgettstown Enterprise which reports on the matter: "The new Sproul Road from Hickory to Mount Prospect Church was completed recently and has now been put into use." The construction of this road proved of great advantage to the people of Hickory who attended Mount Prospect Church, and its building might have put an end to movement among some of its members to have the church moved into Hickory. The building of this Sproul Road, which was named for the man who promoted the legislation for the construction of this type of road, resulted in the Township supervisors' building several sections of brick roads on most of the routes leading out of Hickory. The road bed on these roads was only ten feet eight inches wide, but the roads were fairly well built, and their building did result in getting many of the Township's residents literally "out of the mud"! The supervisors who were responsible for the building of these early hard-surfaced roads were: David C. Miller, Samuel Farrar and Frank Miller, and the roads were constructed under the direction of Joseph W. Hervey, these men all being among the most progressive. of their time. G. The Murder of Corporal Brady Paul While this crime was committed in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania yet its impact on our area was so great that it is here included in the annals of Mount Pleasant Township. Brady Paul, a son of William M. and Vinta McGugin Paul, was born on the Paul farm in Mount Pleasant Township near Hickory in 1904. He attended the nearby McCarrell School and one year at the Mount Pleasant Township High School in Hickory. He quit high school to take employment with the Imperial Ice Cream Company, and in 1924, he trained for and became a patrolman in the Pennsylvania State Police, then an agency of the Pennsylvania Department of Highways. He served at several locations in the state and, in the fall of 1929, he was placed in charge of the police barracks at New Castle, Pennsylvania. Shortly before noon on December 24, 1929, the manager of the Kroger Grocery Store at Butler, Pennsylvania and his clerks were busy waiting on customers on this day before Christmas. Suddenly, the manager, Mr. Angert was confronted with two men and an attractive looking woman, the woman apparently being in charge, "Slip us the dough" she ordered gruffly and enforced her demand with a revolver leveled at the manager; "make it snappy, or we will drill you!" The customers and other clerks had been ordered to keep quiet by the two men who stood guard over them. Then the woman rifled the cash register, and within a minutes time, the trio had left the store with their loot, had gotten into a waiting car and had left, driving through the streets of Butler at a high rate of speed. Fortunately, for the cause of justice in this case, a new state-wide communications system had just been installed, and this famous case was the first to effectively use this facility. Within minutes the alarm went out and state patrolmen of the area were quickly dispatched to watch all roads leading out of Butler. Assigned to the Butler-New Castle road were Corporal Brady Paul and Patrolman Ernest Moore. They had not been at their post very long when a sedan, traveling at terrific speed came into sight, and its progress was blocked by the patrolmen's car. When the car came to a halt, Corporal Paul noticed that a woman and a child were in the back seat. Thinking that a mistake had been made and that this must not be the wanted car, the men started to walk around the car to make a routine check, and they asked for the driver's license, which was refused by the driver. By that time, the woman in the car had begun shooting and Corporal Paul fell to the highway, mortally wounded. Patrolman Moore, too, was shot before he could "pull his gun", and he fell to the highway, knocked down and disabled for a short time. This gave the bandits a chance to make their escape, but as they drove away, Corporal Paul was able to empty his gun at the fleeing car, and when it was later found, holes in the body of the car showed that most of the Corporal's shots had taken effect. In a very short time, the driver of a truck for a soft drink firm came upon the scene of the shooting, and sensing what had happened, he took the wounded men into his truck and took them to the hospital in New Castle. Corporal Paul was still living and he was admitted, but died soon after. But before he expired, he was heard to say, "Tell the boys that I did my duty; I did the best I could. I hope that they catch them (the bandits")" The news of Corporal Paul's death was conveyed to the Paul Family at Hickory by the Corporal's landlady in New Castle who called by telephone to give the family the sad news. They were, of course, deeply shocked, but Brady Paul's two brothers, Vincent M. Paul and McElroy Paul immediately drove to New Castle and claimed the body of their brother and had it brought to a mortuary at Avella where it was prepared for burial, and then was brought to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Ray in Mount Pleasant Township, who were then living in the home where Brady Paul had been born and raised. Mrs. Ray (Mary Esther McGugin) was a sister of the slain trooper. The body lay here until time for the funeral and was viewed by hundreds of people who called at the home. After the bandits had left the scene of the crime, they soon took over possession of another car from a couple whom they encountered and abandoned the car in which they had been riding at the time of the shooting on the highway. When this car was searched, certain items were found which led the investigators to believe that further clues could be found in the vicinity of Benwood and Wheeling, West Virginia. By this time, Patrolman Moore had recovered sufficiently to get involved in the investigative phases of this crime. In following a line of clues, officers were led to believe that the child in the bandit's car at the time of the murder was four-year old Donnie Schroeder. This boy was soon located at the home of a grandfather back in the hills of West Virginia near Benwood. On being asked if he was Donnie Schroeder, he replied, "Sure I am" and then noting the uniform of the officer who was talking to him, he volunteered, "Ho, ho, my mamma shot two cops like you". Following this revelation, the boy was spirited away to Pennsylvania by the officers who had found him, and his candid remarks to the investigators led to the identification and eventual capture of those who had killed Brady Paul. While Corporal Paul's body was lying at the Ray Home and awaiting the funeral service and burial, Donnie Schroeder was brought to the home and was permitted to view Brady Paul's body. When held up so he could see the body in the coffin, he again remarked, "My mamma killed a cop like that". Thus, although a long chase yet had to be made before the bandits in the case were actually caught, yet the mystery of who the murderers were was pretty well along the way to being solved. Funeral services for the slain trooper were held on the afternoon of the last day of 1929, December 31, in the Mount Prospect Presbyterian Church, one and one-half miles west of Hickory. Brady Paul had been a life-long member of that congregation, so his body was brought back to his home church for the final rites which were conducted by the pastor, the Rev. Joseph S. Morledge. The sanctuary was crowded with relatives and friends and a detachment of seventy-five officers and patrolmen of the State Police was led by Captain D. E. Miller, commanding officer of the Highway Patrol assisted by Lieut. John P. Oldham. This large attendance of his fellow patrolmen was a real demonstration of their regard for Corporal Paul. He was popular among the men on the force, and was considered an efficient and capable officer. He was a large well-built man, who stood six feet, three inches tall and weighed two hundred sixty pounds. In researching the Corporal's career, we have learned that prior to this time of his being fatally shot, on one occasion a motorcycle was shot from under him by a criminal with whom he was dealing, and on another occasion, an attempt was made to kidnap him, but with his great size and strength, he was able to get away from his would-be kidnappers. With the clues assumed from the statements of little Donnie Schroeder, it was determined that the "Trigger Woman" in this case was this boy's mother, Irene Schroeder, and further detective work identified her partner in crime to be one Glen Dague, an automobile salesman from Wheeling, who had left his wife and family and a respectable existence to join this woman in her plans for the notoriety which surely carne to her before this case against her was closed, As noted above, this pair and an accomplice had eluded officers by taking a back road into Ohio out of the New Castle area, then they went to the Wheeling area where they left the child with his grandfather near Benwood, and then had departed for parts unknown to all except themselves, Clues and reports on the fleeing pair came to the investigators from "all over", but most of these were fruitless "leads", and it looked for a time as if the pair might never be apprehended, and that this case would become one of many unsolved crimes in the history of the area. Then on January 13, 1930 a scene was enacted on the streets of Florence, Arizona which resembled what had taken place• in Mercer County, Pennsylvania some three weeks earlier. A sheriff's deputy was shot, then kidnapped by a trio of bandits, who then tried to escape and who did get past officers stationed to intercept them at the City line. They escaped into the nearby desert, where they barricaded themselves in a hide-away in the Salt River Mountains of Arizona. A posse of one hundred men who were afraid neither to throw nor to receive "hot lead" surrounded the bandits who finally gave themselves up, they were taken into custody and were quickly returned to New Castle, Pennsylvania where it was soon arranged to give them a speedy trial, for they proved to be Irene Schroeder and Glen Dague. The bandits were tried separately, with Irene Schroeder being the first to stand trial for the crime. A special prosecutor was retained in the person of Attorney Charles J. Margiotti of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. who had the reputation of securing verdicts of guilty in many cases which he had previously tried in the courts. In this case, with the evidence submitted by Patrolman Ernest Moore, the only witness to the crime except the criminals themselves, and with much circumstantial evidence all pointing to Irene Schroeder and Glen Dague as being the guilty pair, a verdict of guilty was obtained against the woman and in Dague's trial which followed immediately, the verdict was the same. These trials were largely attended by members of the Paul family and others interested in the case from Mount Pleasant Township, and much interest was shown in the case during the time of the trial. Although appeals were made for new trials and also to the governor of Pennsylvania for a stay of execution, nothing came from these appeals which were denied and, with all hope gone, the bandit pair were taken to Rockview Penitentiary in Center County, Pennsylvania where on February 23, 1931, just about fourteen months after they had gunned down Corporal Brady Paul on the Butler-New Castle road, Glen Dague and his erstwhile girlfriend paid the penalty for the crime which they had committed together. To memoralize the sacrifice which Corporal Paul had made "in the line of duty" the State Police erected at his grave in Mount Prospect Cemetery a suitable monument, where on each Memorial Day, a member of the State Police places a flag in memory of their fallen "buddy". Also a tribute was paid to Corporal Paul by one Miss Mary Emma White of New Castle, Pennsylvania possibly a girl friend of the Corporal, who wrote this poem which was printed in an issue of the New Castle, Pennsylvania News, after the capture of the pair who had been responsible for his death. The poem is as follows: "Sleep on, brave Brady Paul And may your sleep be sweet! And may you have a pleasant dream Until at victory we shall meet The struggle now is over, The bandits they have caught; They've fulfilled all your wishes And to justice they've been brought, Brady Paul, we honor thee! Thou who didst your bravest be; Till thy Maker call for thee Brady Paul, we honor thee!" H. Hickory Loses Its Bank One of the advantages coming out of the affluence created in the Hickory community by the sale of coal lands, following the building of the Wabash Railroad, was the establishment in 1904 of the Farmers National Bank whose capital stock of $90,000.00 was largely subscribed to by farmers of the Community, so it was truly a Farmers' Bank. This Bank was one of three 1n the area which were organized at about the same time and under the same circumstances, the other two being the Washington National Bank at Burgettstown and the Lincoln National Bank at Avella. These three banks were organized by local men with the assistance of Mr. John A. Ray of Pittsburgh who was an official of the Pittsburgh­ Buffalo Coal Company. Mr. Ray served as President of all three banks for a few years. Nothing is known of this man at the present time, but after getting these banks well started, he appears to have vanished from the local scenes and each of the banks was then under the control of a Board of Directors composed of local men. The Washington National Bank was conducted for several years under the management of its cashier, Mr. J. Winfield Reed, a native of Cross Creek Township, who later relinquished control of the Bank at Burgettstown and became affiliated with a bank in Washington, Pennsylvania, The management of the Washington National Bank then devolved upon Mr. John M, Scott who served as President of the Institution for quite a long time. This Bank is now continued in the Burgettstown Office of the Mellon Bank N. A. with Mr. Glen Newman in charge as a Vice President of Mellon Bank, and manager of the Burgettstown Office, The Lincoln National Bank soon came under the domination of a local business man, Mr. Lyde M. Irwin with Messrs. Andrew C. Wilson, James B. Wilson, Samuel S. Campbell and other prominent local men on the Board of Directors. During the years of great coal mining activity in the Avella area, the Lincoln Bank appeared to be in a very strong condition, and L, M. Irwin was considered a good business man who was esteemed and trusted by the people over the wide area which the bank served, It continued in business through the depression of 1929 and until February 26, 1931 when by a resolution of the Board of Directors passed on the previous evening, the bank did not open on the following day, and it did not re-open at all and went into a long period of liquidation, After this Bank's closing, it was discovered that its cashier, Mr. Irwin had misappropriated funds of the Bank in various transactions and this had led to its being unable to continue in business. At the time, Mr. Irwin had disappeared from the local scene and could not be located for several days. Then it was discovered that the shortage in his accounts amounted to $150,000.00. During its better years, the Bank had erected a modern bank building at Avella, but the depression years and these questionable investments by Mr. Irwin spelled the doom of the Bank, and now, its formerly fine building stands unused in Avella, a mute reminder of its better times. In 1905, Mr. Robert R. Hays, a 1902 graduate of Washington and Jefferson College became associated with the Farmers National Bank and this relationship continued as long as the Bank remained in business. He soon became cashier of the Bank and after so serving for about twenty years, he became cashier of the First National Bank of Washington, and was then elected President of the Farmers Bank. In the management of the Farmers Bank, he was assisted by a Board of Directors composed of such men as: Samuel A. Harbison, William H. McPeak, A. M. Carlisle, Andrew T. McBurney, John J. Ray, David I. Peacock and W. K. Allison, Sr. This Bank, too, was considered a strong institution, and those who had dealings with the Bank and its officers had a good measure of confidence in them. In 1927, having outgrown the narrow quarters in which it was operating in a small brick building which housed the Bank and the Retzer and Scott Grocery Store, ground was purchased from David I. Peacock on the other side of the street from its original home, and a commodious new modern building was erected on this site. Although the Bank appeared to be in a fairly favorable condition, yet the years of the depression had diminished its assets, and some of its investments were proving to be unprofitable. Then, with the closing of the Lincoln National Bank on February 26, 1931 depositors in the Farmers Bank started to become uneasy. With larger than usual withdrawals being made daily for several days prior to May 5, 1931, it was felt by the Board of Directors that a "run" on the Bank was imminent, so it was decided to close the Bank, since it was not believed that it could meet all the demands of its depositors in cash if such a run developed. So, the Bank was closed on that date and it did not re-open but went into the usual process of liquidation, during which the members of the Board of Directors, according to the banking laws of the Nation, had to forfeit double the value of their stock in order that claims of the depositors and other creditors might be met. Many claims which the Bank had against its debtors were compromised in the settlement for much less than face value, and when the liquidation was completed, the creditors had realized only about 90% on their claims. The Receivers who conducted the liquidation were Messrs. H. G. Graham, Don S. Lane and Louis B. O'Donnell. A sad aftermath of the closing of the Lincoln National Bank was that its cashier, Lyde M. Irwin, after a life time popularity as a substantial business man in the Avella community, faced the disgrace of having to serve a term in prison for his malfeasance in the affairs of this Bank. An even sadder aftermath of the closing of the Farmers National Bank was the death by suicide of Mr. Robert R. Hays, former cashier and then President of this Bank. He had been directly in charge of this Bank until February 1, 1926 when he became cashier of the First National Bank of Washington, which through a merger had become the First National Bank and Trust Company. On January 1, 1931, Mr. Hays became President of this Bank, at the same time retaining the Presidency of the Farmers Bank. Like so many sister banks of that time, the First National Bank and Trust Company closed on May 4, 1931 and when the Farmers Bank closed bra days later, it was a double blow to Mr. Hays. No personal blame was ever attached to Mr. Hays in the matter of these banks' closings. He was considered a capable business man, was highly esteemed by all who knew him, and it was believed that he had done all that was humanly possible to forestall the closing of these banks. But the burden of the worry of this situation was too much for Mr. Hays to bear, and on July 1, 1931 he took his life by shooting in his home on East Beau Street in Washington. A fellow banker explained the sad occurrence by saying that "Bob" Hays, as he was affectionately known was "broken-hearted" over the turn of affairs. That seemed to express the sentiments of all who knew Mr. Hays who were greatly saddened when they learned of the tragic end to his useful life. Sometime following the closing of the Farmers Bank, the new building which had been built in 1927 was bought by Willard K. Allison, Sr., a former director of the Bank and a local business man. He moved his hardware business into the building, and when he became Postmaster, the Post Office was moved into the building also. This arrangement is continued in this year of 1981 by Willard K. Allison, Jr., who still conducts the hardware business and who is also serving as Postmaster of Hickory. I. THE WOODROW PANTHER HUNT Dick Leatherhead Gives Trustworthy Account of the Gathering of the Clans to Track Monsters to their Lair. There recently appeared in the columns of the Washington Observer an account of a "Lion Hunt" at Woodrow, and following this account, written by a resident of the region, the correspondent who signs himself "Dick Leatherhead" writes as follows: One of the most exciting events that ever occurred in this County took place at Woodrow last Saturday forenoon. Two wild animals were reported to be in the woods near Walker's Rocks, where they had been seen by a number of people. A great circular hunt was organized, and nearby towns were notified by telephone to send their best men to Woodrow on Saturday morning, armed and equipped for battle. "Scared Faced Charley'' rode all day Saturday searching for men well versed in woodcraft. The local stores had been stripped of ammunition, a special train was run over the Wabash Railroad from Pittsburgh to Woodrow, and telephone exchanges were so busy that additional operators were required. J. Sherlock, a very near distant relative of the great Sherlock Holmes saw the beasts playing about the logs near the woods on Thursday, and he came to the conclusion that the animals were leopards. Josephus, son of James, heard them screaming like panthers. Hub Lee met them on the road on Thursday evening and would have taken them alive to Judge Criglers if they had kept up with him. He pronounced one a girl panther and the other a male lion! On Saturday morning, the men bade affectionate farewells to their mothers, wives and sweethearts and then started for Woodrow. The excitement was tense, and at 8:30 "Scared Faced Charley" mustered thirty-five picked men to the service. Armed with Winchesters, Mausers and a number of other rapid fire guns, they started in search of the Panthers at Walker's Rocks. A line of battle was formed and a "forward march" was ordered. One trip was made through the woods, but without success. On the second trip, a strange object was sighted by "Little More Eagle Eye". The men were then drawn up in the form of a V, and the order to "Fire" was given. The sudden roar of firearms started a hawk from a dead limb, so suddenly that the limb crashed to the ground. "Scared Face" with great presence of mind diverted a stampede by ordering each man to look out for himself! They obeyed by all trying to climb the same tree, Order was restored although several guns had been discharged when the order to fire had been given. It was then discovered that the object of attack was an old shaving horse used there in the woods by some person making shingles. Every man was then court-martialed and ordered to "shoot" for home! When Woodrow was reached, the hunters were met by "Pap" Livingstone, a great hunter himself and a sixteenth cousin of the great southern hunter, who reported that he and his son had captured the panthers on last Friday morning! The hunters were almost stunned by this revelation, but so eager that it caused an exchange of suspicious glances between "Lank Bob" and "Rubber Tongue Jim". "Rusty" Wilson dropped his palate long enough to remark that "people who was afeared to go panther hunting wasn't no good even to fight a coon"! "Pap" Livingstone ordered them to put their calipers in motion if they wanted to see the beasts, which, as he was out of cages, he had locked in his stable. They were so tame that one "Wiseboy" had called them dogs. Since their capture, the beasts have been seen by over one hundred people, all of whom have pronounced them to be fine specimens of the breed of canines known as Great Danes. It has been agreed that the next Panther Hunt at Woodrow will be kept a secret, although some of the male residents of the community are contemplating making a business of this dangerous sport. DICK LEATHERHEAD This greatly exaggerated article published in the Washington Observer some time in 1934 or 1935 was evidently a "take-off" an a situation in the Woodrow area in the 1930's when two supposedly wild animals had been sighted as told, and this had caused some excitement which led to this probably fictitious hunt, and the writing and publishing of the article. It is difficult at this late date to identify the persons involved by the names used, but Dick Leatherhead must have been Will Moore who once lived at the archway under the railroad at Woodrow and at about the time of this article, was writing more rational articles but using the pen name "Cal Hunter". "Scared Faced Charley" is believed to have referred to Charley Sharp, then blacksmith at Woodrow and later at Hickory; "Little More Eagle Eye" was undoubtedly J. Moore Stewart, then a resident of Hickory but who had a feed store at Woodrow. "Pap" Livingstone could have been no other than Humphrey Livingood who was then living in a log house on the present Dick Stewart farm. J. Sherlock must have been John Holmes, and Josephus was likely Joe Holmes of Rea Station. Hub Lee may have referred to Lee Wilson of the Wilson Valley, and "Rusty" Wilson could well have been either Clinton "Hack" Wilson, or his cousin, Gailey B. Wilson, both avid hunters. "Lank Bob" and "Rubber Tongue Jim" cannot be identified by this writer, but maybe some of our readers can tell us later who these men were. "Wiseboy" may have been Dave McPeak of Hickory, who is said to have been skeptical about the Panther Story, when he heard it and he remarked "Oh, those are only a couple of dogs"! as they turned out to be. Such stories as this, of course, have some basis in fact, for, in the issues of the Washington Observer for March 11 and 15, 1935 are accounts of a wild animal, killed on the Rasel Farm by Henry C. Rasel and Charles Seabright of Washington. After killing this animal, a male, and thought by some to have been a cross between a Bobcat and a tame Angora cat, a search for its mate was organized, but she was never found. It turned out that the animal killed was a Bobcat, since stray specimens of this animal, once so numerous in these parts occasionally are found here. This animal was mounted. In the issues of the Washington Observer for December 27, 1933 and January 16 and 27, 1934 are accounts of animals seen in Hanover Township and believed at first to have been a pack of wolves, but later found to be coyotes, which were roaming through Hanover Township and adjacent parts of Beaver and Allegheny counties, and doing considerable damage to flocks of sheep and other small animals on farms in the area. One of the animals was caught in a steel trap and identified, and the "pack" was later believed to have been killed off. As we write this, we learn that coyotes are again being seen in north-eastern parts of Ohio and in North-western Pennsylvania; these are being encouraged to come back to these sections by the increasing areas of second growth timber, which furnish shelter for the return of these wild animals and also for the return of Pennsylvania deer which were not to be found in this Community fifty years ago. XII. MOUNT PLEASANT 1981 "There is no time like the present -- unless it be the past". As has been noted elsewhere, Mount Pleasant Township is now 175 years old, having been erected by an order of Washington County Court handed down on May 12, 1806. The Anniversary of the Township will be observed with an elaborate celebration to be held on Labor Day Sunday, September 6, 1981. Mount Pleasant was not one of the thirteen original townships of Washington County, but its territory was included in at least four of its present neighboring townships, but mostly in the original township of Hopewell until 1789, when Cross Creek Township was detached from Hopewell, and most of present Mount Pleasant was included in the new Cross Creek Township. When Mount Pleasant was created a separate Township in 1806, much of its territory, therefore came from Cross Creek, but portions also from Canton, Cecil and Smith Townships. In 1831, a small addition was made to its area when a narrow strip was taken from Chartiers Township and added to Mount Pleasant. Since that time, Mount Pleasant has maintained its present area. A township is a division of a county, created to secure better local government. In the level states to the west of Pennsylvania, many townships are of uniform size and shape, usually six miles square. This arrangement is hardly possible, and not at all practical in our area, where hills and valleys with streams flowing in all directions prevent any such pattern for laying out townships; hence, the irregular and varied shapes of all townships in Washington County. Local government in our Township has always been in the hands of three township supervisors, one of whom is elected every two years and each of whom serves a six-year term. For many years, the chief function of the supervisors was to have charge of the building and maintaining of the township's roads. But, as township government has become more complicated in recent years, so have the duties of the road supervisors increased and changed, and at present, many of these duties are delegated to other persons and groups, as will presently be shown. The other traditional officers of our township are the School Directors whose duties have been to have charge of the educational program of the township; an Assessor who assists in setting values on p:poperty for purposes of taxation; the Tax Collector's duties are obvious from his title; Auditors traditionally have conducted annual audits of the accounts of the Board of Supervisors, A Justice of the Peace, or sometimes two justices, have served in a judicial capacity, holding "court" in minor civil or criminal cases which require adjudication within the Township. This office has been abolished in recent years, and the duties are cared for by a Magistrate, who has jurisdiction in more than one municipality. The Constable is empowered to keep order in the Township, serving as a police officer, and in cooperation with the Justice of the Peace, or Magistrate, issuing orders and summons for persons to appear in court. The elective officers of Mount Pleasant Township at this writing are as follows: Supervisors - Lee A. Robinson, James B. Athey and Thomas A. Herbst. School Directors - John T. Caldwell, Ronald E.Frye and Clair B. McCracken. (They represent Mount Pleasant Township on the Fort Cherry School Board.) Auditors - Donald R. Brown, Michael Pirih and Julius Finley Tax Collector - Robert C. Punola Assessor - Kay L. Briggs Constable - Robert Criquellion with Harry Wagner as deputy Magistrate for Mount Pleasant and Chartiers Townships - June Lilley The appointive officers of the Township are as follows: Wage Tax Commissioner - Cora s. Narigon The Planning Commission: Chairman - Richard L. White Secretary - David H. Williams Members - Harry 0. Corwin, Thomas E. Herbst and William C. Tustin Hearing Board: Chairman - John Yanosik Members - W. Scott Russell, Richard L. White and Attorney George Stegenga Zoning Officer - David H. Williams Park and Recreation Board: Chairman - William Finley Secretary - Helen Ruffennach Members - Juanita Corwin, Elsie Cowden, Ann DeBlander, Fred Grose and David Gregg Emergency Preparedness Director - David Willkens This officer is empowered to take charge in local emergency situations which might arise. Township Policeman - Dean Casciola Historical Committee: Chairman - A. D. White Members - Minnie Cooke and Flora Carlisle The Township Office Staff: Secretary - Cora S. Narigon Clerk- Priscilla J. Bernard For many years, the Township garage and office were located in a building on West Main Street in Hickory, but the lot and the building were both too small and did not permit expansion, so on December 14, 1971 land was purchased on McCarrell Road, just south of the Village, and here a modern plant has been developed, with a building consisting of a storage garage, shop, public meeting room, tax collector's office and administrative offices, all of which add convenience to ample room for carrying on the business of the Township. The grounds surrounding the township building have been graded and landscaped, and a Township Park has been created, with facilities for playing tennis and softball; picnic shelters have been built, and playground equipment has been installed for children. These facilities have been provided under the direction of the Park and Recreation Board. In addition to the activities of our township government working for the good of our larger Community, the Township, several organizations have been formed and are functioning to promote the welfare of Mount Pleasant Township, and to enhance our heritage. The Mount Pleasant Township Society of Farm Women was organized on September 29, 1926 by farm women of the Township and of closely adjoining communities. Carrying as its motto: "To be a good woman is better than to be a fine lady", this organization got off to a good start under the direction of Mrs. Calvin Herron, the first president. For a time, the club was a part of the County and State Federation of Farm Women's Clubs, but that connection has long been terminated. The Society is active in community drives and activities, has assisted in Red Cross drives, has given financial aid to health needs of the Community, and has helped to support the Community Library. Present officers of the Society are: President - Miss Elsie Cowden Vice-President -Mrs. Mary Blankenship Secretary - Mrs. Nancy Toward Assistant Secretary - Miss Elva Miller Treasurer - Mrs. Mary Zimmerman The Society meets in the Hickory Fire Hall on the first Wednesday afternoon of each month during the year. The Hickory Women's Club was organized during the years of World War I - in 1917 -and among its first services was helping in outfitting our soldier boys for overseas service, and in putting the Liberty Loan drives of those War Years over the top. The planting of vegetable gardens was encouraged and support was given to projects of the Red Cross. When the War ended the Club turned to local civic projects for improving the social and community life of the neighborhoods. In co-operation with its sister club, the Society of Farm Women, the Community Library was financed, Electric service and street lighting were proposed. Worthy students were aided in securing further education, and local school projects were undertake During World War II, toilet kits were provided for young men of the Community who were in the armed services, and the Club aided the rationing board in the sale of defense stamps and bonds, The Club was federated in 1920, but in 1953, federation with the state organization was terminated, This Club meets monthly in the social rooms of the Fire Hall at Hickory, Present officers of this Club are: President - Mrs. Gen Russell Vice-President - Mrs. Beverley Kaste Second Vice-President - Mrs. Helen Brown Secretary - Mrs. Linda Evers Treasurer - Miss Lois Acheson Men's organizations, too, have emerged in the Community in recent years, The old Hickory Fire Company dates back to 1916, At that time, no adequate water supply existed here, so the first fire fighters were armed with chemical extinguishers, and by their prompt use, much property was saved from destruction, After years of serving the Community, the company organization was allowed to languish, due to lack of interest and the feeling that a great need. did not exist. On January 7, 1936, fire almost completely destroyed the fine, large home of Dr. E. B. Swartz, Sr. right in the center of town. This disaster aroused the Community, so that the Fire Company was revived, and better equipment was secured. In January, 1950, the Company was re-organized and took the name of the Mount Pleasant Township Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. This new Company purchased its first big fire truck in February, 1951 at a cost of $11,000.00. The Company has been financed by membership dues, private donations, fund drives and from the proceeds of several annual horse shows held in the early 1950's. Under this organization, a brick fire department building was erected to house their several pieces of good equipment. A large social hall has been added to the original building. An active Women's Auxiliary to the Fire Company gives significant financial aid to the support of the Fire Company. The officers of the Fire Company are: President - Allan Zimmerman Vice-President - William H. Cowden Secretary - Tom Douglass Treasurer - Fred Kaste Financial Secretary - Duane Scott Line Officers of the Fire Company are: Chief - Lee A. Robinson Assistant Chief in Hickory - Fred Grose Assistant Chief in Southview - Michael Maga Captain in Hickory - Richard Wallace Captain in Southview - William Piazza First Lieutenant in Hickory - David Willkens First Lieutenant in Southview - Steve Yanosik Second Lieutenant in Hickory - Daniel Bykens Second Lieutenant in Southview - John Quinlan The officers of the Women's Auxiliary are: President - Sandra Stark Vice-President - Winifred Finley Secretary - Marjorie Southern Treasurer - Diane Bissett The Lions Club of Hickory is twenty-six years old in 1981. Its first meeting was held in April 1955 and one month later, the Club received its charter with twenty-nine charter members enrolled. With the objective of raising funds for Community Services, the Club supports the Blind Association of Washington County and of the State, helps supply medical needs, purchase glasses for needy children, supports a better sight clinic, helps in training guide dogs for blind people, and holds an annual sale of brooms made by the Blind Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. The present officers of the Lion's Club are: President - Harry 0. Corwin Vice-Presidents - Willis S. Weagley, Robert Phillips and Robert Hopper Secretary - Renzie Davidson Treasurer - Robert M. Smith The Club holds regular meetings on the first and third Tuesday evenings of each month. So, with a competent township government and these various organizations contributing to the welfare of the Township in so many ways, Mount Pleasant Township has come a long way from the early settlements of the 1770's and 1780's. Good roads have been provided in all directions, local facilities of telephone, electric light and power and excellent mail service are used by all of our citizens, and we have good schools and churches and adequate medical services: virtually everything which adds to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of our people are to be found right here in Mount Pleasant! What more can one want for a good place in which to live and work? Mount Pleasant has it all!