1802. Lafayette Hotel is on site of “The Gibson Tavern,” where Lafayette

dined in 1825. A house on Water Street, corner of Steers Alley, is site of blockhouse built, 1794; and North Ward School is on site of the State Arsenal, 1816-58; all three marked with tablets by Colonel Crawford Chapter, Daughters American Revolution. TITUSVILLE, chartered as a city in 1866; population 8432; named for Jonathan Titus, first settler in 1796. Here in 1859, Colonel Edwin L. Drake, by drilling, gave to the world rock oil; first oil well half mile southeast of center of town, is marked by a boulder monument, with large tablet, showing replica of photograph of oil derrick and surrounding trees, taken when oil was discovered; inscription, “This native boulder marks the spot where, through the foresight, energy and perseverance of Edwin L. Drake, the first well was drilled for oil, August 27, 1859; oil was found at a depth of sixty-nine feet; this great discovery inaugurated the Petroleum Industry. Erected by the Canadohta Chapter, D. A. R., Aug. 27, 1914”; Drake Monument, entrance to Woodlawn Cemetery, emblematic figure of a driller, bronze, heroic size, curving architectural background, granite; sculptor, Charles Niehaus; tomb of Drake faces the monument; Drake Museum, west of Titusville, brick, architect, Edwin Bell, contains collections of interest relating to early history of the oil industry. Benson Memorial Library, Franklin Street, near Main Street, colonial, brick and Indiana sandstone, built, 1902, architects, Jackson & Rosencrans, New York. St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, built, 1863, Gothic, native stone, has fine Tiffany window. Presbyterian Church, built, 1887, Romanesque, Medina sandstone, is on site of log church built in 1815; stained glass window by the Montague Pastle-London Co. of New York. Presbyterian Chapel, 1907, Romanesque, stained glass window by Lamb, New York. The Commercial Bank has a portrait of John L. McKinney, former president, by John C. Johanson. [Illustration: DRAKE MONUMENT WITH STATUE OF THE DRILLER, TITUSVILLE _Charles H. Niehaus, Sculptor_] XXX ERIE COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800; named for Lake Erie, the name Erie from a tribe of Indians, Eries, conquered by the Iroquois Confederacy in 1653, their identity and language is lost; curious mounds and circular embankments, still found in several places, show traces of a race superior to the Indians; human bones in large quantities have been unearthed on line of the Pennsylvania and Erie Railroad, indicating huge physical development, one was nine feet in height. The triangle north of Pennsylvania and west of New York was purchased, by authority of Governor Mifflin, in 1791, from the United States, to obtain a lake port for the state; conveyance being signed by President Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State; afterwards the Indian title was purchased from the Six Nations, through the diplomacy of Cornplanter (Gyantwachia), the Seneca chief, for which the state gave him a reservation in Warren County; later the Indians resolved to prevent the settlement of Presque Isle by Americans, but General Wayne gained a decisive and final victory against them in the battle of “Fallen Timbers” on Maumee Road in 1794. The Shore belt, for ten miles in width, is noted for grape and fruit raising; back of this is a productive agricultural section. Iron and steel industries predominate. Principal roads are along the south shore of Lake Erie, called the East and West Lake Roads, [Illustration: Erie County] [Map of Erie County showing: City of ERIE; Towns of EDINBORO, WATERFORD, and LE BOEUF; Railroad lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central, and New York Chicago & St. Louis; _LAKE ERIE_; PRESQUE ISLE; and WALNUT, ELK, CONNEAUT, and FRENCH Creeks] that form a fifty-mile section of the international touring route across the continent. The old French Road from Erie southeast to Waterford, 18 miles, was originally part of the stage route between Pittsburgh and Erie, and also the old portage route from Lake Erie, for military and commercial purposes, to the head waters of the Allegheny River navigation, at Fort Le Boeuf, Waterford, on Lake Le Boeuf. In 1753, Major George Washington, twenty-one years old, first caught the attention of mankind; he came with a message from Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, to notify the French to discontinue fortifying Presque Isle and Le Boeuf, claiming them to be British territory. Captain Riparti came from Presque Isle for the conference. Washington was accompanied by Christopher Gist (White) and an Indian interpreter. They were in Fort Le Boeuf from December 11-16, and treated courteously by the French officers, who stated they would communicate with their superior officer, Marquis Du Quesne, but at present must refuse to comply. ERIE, county seat, population 93,372, on site of Presque Isle Fort, built by the Marquis Du Quesne in 1753; one of the chain of thirteen French forts extending from Quebec to Fort Du Quesne; is 35 feet above the lake, 573 feet above sea level. Surveyed by Andrew Ellicott, in 1795, first Surveyor General of the United States, three public parks of five acres each were in the original plan, along Sixth street, one mile apart. Perry Square, Sixth and State Streets, on original plan, is focus of public life, it contains memorial monuments to Captain Charles V. Gridley, bronze statue, erected in 1913, commander of the flagship of Admiral Dewey’s Squadron, in Manila Bay; Eben Brewer, bronze statue, first American postmaster in Cuba; General Anthony Wayne, large granite boulder surmounted by two cannon, erected, 1902; and bronze statue to Civil War soldiers, erected, 1872. Courthouse, facing Perry Square, classic, Corinthian columns, native stone, erected in 1852, the bell is a trophy of war, from the British battleship _Queen Charlotte_, in 1813; court room contains complete representation of portraits of Erie County judges. Public Library, South Perry Square, Italian Renaissance, granite, built in 1897, architects, Alden & Harlow, Pittsburgh, contains portraits of Commodore Perry, General Anthony Wayne, Captain Charles V. Gridley, President Lincoln; in the Art Gallery is a small permanent collection of works by American artists, among those represented are Childe Hassam, R. M. Shurtleff, F. S. Church, George R. Barse, Arthur Parton, H. Bolton Jones, Charles A. Hulbert, and Henry Mosler; annual art exhibitions are held here by the Erie Art Club. The Library also has a museum, with relics of the French and Indian, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and later wars. Erie has a conservatory of music, with an organized symphony orchestra, and glee club. The old Custom House, State Street, north of Perry Square, built in 1837, classic, brick with white marble steps and Doric columns, was first used as a United States bank, now in possession of the Grand Army of the Republic. Erie has fifty-five churches, eighteen missions, and [Illustration: WASHINGTON STATUE Site of Fort De Boeuf, Waterford _Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Kilpatrick, Sculptors_] other religious societies, also two cathedrals. St. Paul’s, Protestant Episcopal, West Sixth Street, Gothic, stone, built, 1866, architect, St. John of Detroit, rose window by Tiffany, who also made some of the memorial windows; St. Peter’s Roman Catholic, Tenth and Sassafras Streets, Gothic; Medina New York red sandstone, trimmed with white sandstone from Amherst, Ohio, and Mercer County, Pennsylvania, built in 1893, architect, C. C. Keely, New York; contains statues of St. Peter and St. Paul, Carrara marble, made in Italy; stations and stained glass windows from Munich, Germany; other windows made in this country. Memorial windows are also in the First Presbyterian Church; St. Mary’s and St. John Kanty (Polish). The State Soldiers and Sailors’ Home and Marine Hospital, built, 1867-68, brick and stone, is located on the lake front; on the grounds is a replica of the original blockhouse fort, where General Anthony Wayne died in 1796, after his conquest of the Northwest in 1795; he was buried here, until his body was removed in 1809 to St. David’s burial ground, Radnor. The blockhouse, showing plan of construction, was built in 1880, as memorial to General Wayne, it contains relics, and part of coffin lid with his inscription; these grounds were the reservation, on old City Plan of 1795, set apart for fortifications, in the most commanding position, for protection to entrance of harbor. Most of the military history of Erie is interwoven with the location between Parade and Wayne Streets, north of Fifth Street; here was the first white settlement, Presque Isle Village, and French fort in 1753. On bluff near Parade Street, blockhouses were erected, 1753-96-1813. Parade Street formed part of the old French road to Fort Le Boeuf, French garrison, 1753-59; English 1760-63, and in 1785 American 1795-1806, also 1812-13. Here in 1763 took place the hard fought two days’ battle of Presque Isle, with Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, who, with a vast force, simultaneously attacked all thirteen forts, and captured nine of them, including Presque Isle and Le Boeuf, and again this was the objective point of the Indians in 1794, when they were finally conquered by General Wayne. Here Thomas Rees, first justice of peace, entertained in his tent at the mouth of Mill Creek, a French exile, the Duke de Chartres, subsequently Louis Philippe, king of France. At the foot of Peach and of Cascade Streets, granite blocks, with brass markers, note approximate positions where Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s ships were built, on which he won the victory of the “Battle of Lake Erie,” in 1813. The powder used to fight that battle was made at Du Pont’s, Wilmington, Delaware, and brought through Pennsylvania in Conestoga wagons. The second flagship of his fleet, the _Niagara_, is in Erie Harbor, having been raised from the sand of Misery Bay, where it lay for nearly a century; it was rebuilt by the state at a cost of $75,000 for the Perry Centennial in 1913; the first flagship, _Lawrence_, was raised and rebuilt for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, in 1876; also in Erie harbor is the United States warship _Michigan_, now named _Wolverine_ and used as a naval militia training ship; built in 1844, it was the first iron warship, and brought to Erie in sections from Pittsburgh; the original engine is still intact and seaworthy; now oldest ironclad vessel in the world. At foot of French Street, Commodore Perry’s fleet landed with the captured British squadron. This place was camping ground of the Pennsylvania militia; in War of 1812-13, the British fleet was drawn up in front of the harbor, to destroy Perry’s vessels while under construction; Captain Daniel Dobbins of Erie, commander of the _Ohio_, was the guiding spirit in building the fleet; 2500 soldiers encamped here, with cannon mounted, and such military preparedness as to forebode disaster to an enemy attempting entrance to the harbor. General Lafayette visited Erie in 1825, and a banquet was given him. The Presque Isle peninsula, surrounding Erie harbor, has a state park, of more than 1500 acres, which is free to all; it gives Erie a large and thoroughly protected harbor; 100 acres were reserved for United States fortifications and dockyards; a life-saving station here, established in 1876, is place of interest. Presque Isle Bay is the finest natural harbor on the Great Lakes, four and one-half miles long, one and one-half miles wide. Lakeside Park, an irregular and sloping strip of land along the water front, from Mill Creek on east, to City line west, sixty-five acres, was laid out in 1888 by John L. Cully, landscape engineer; other open spaces are the Waterworks Park; the Reservoir; Erie, Trinty and Lakeside Cemeteries. Present city planner is John Nolan, of Massachusetts. Erie has also twenty smaller parks, of these the largest are Glenwood, between Sassafras and Cherry Streets, purchased by Erie Public Park Association in 1903, 114 acres, a natural forest with large stream of clear water and swimming pool; the Fish Hatchery, Twenty-third and Sassafras Streets, one of the most important in the state; Waldamere, four miles west on Lake Erie, and the State Normal School Grounds at Edinboro, sixteen miles south of Erie. XXXI VENANGO COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800, territory then recently acquired by treaties from the Indians, named from In-nan-ga-eh (a rude figure cut in a tree), Seneca language. A well-watered country, the Allegheny River meandering through rugged hills, about 400 feet high, presents places of rare scenic grandeur; into it flow several streams of considerable volume, among them Oil Creek, French Creek, and Big Sandy. For a number of years after the discovery of petroleum, in 1859, it continued to be the principal oil-producing field; now chief industries are manufacturing, refining of petroleum, lumbering, and agriculture. FRANKLIN, county seat, population 9970, named for Benjamin Franklin, was laid out by William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott, state commissioners, in 1795, on a plateau where a few Seneca Indians were living in comparative security, with a lookout on the highest point of the highest hill, giving views up and down the two beautiful rivers. Being a conservative town, the original city plan has been closely followed, descendants of the early white settlers are living on their own lands from original surveys. Courthouse, Renaissance, brick, in center of a fine wide park, contains portrait of John Morrison, first town crier; near by is Soldiers’ Monument, marble shaft surmounted by an eagle; on the pedestal are carved names of Venango County soldiers killed in the Civil War; opposite is the _Franklin News_ office, Renaissance, good modern construction. [Illustration: VENANGO COUNTY] St. John’s Protestant Episcopal Church has fine Tiffany windows; the Presbyterian, Baptist, and Roman Catholic churches all have good architecture and stained glass windows. Fine Armory Building. Original lock and dam are preserved intact, in an early canal extended to Franklin, from the “Feeder” Canal several miles below Meadville, on French Creek, its course is plainly seen at many places along the creek; five old bridges that were swept away by fire and ice have been replaced by modern structures; one is called the “Washington,” concrete, handsome design. Three early frontier forts were here, sites marked by monuments and tablets, Fort Machault, French, Elk Street near Sixth Street, 1753-59; Washington came here on way to Fort Le Boeuf, 1753; this fort had a share in the maneuvers that precipitated “the great seven years war” and dissipated the dreams of an extended French empire; the expedition which brought on actual hostilities was organized and received its impetus at Fort Machault. French troops passed through, and often a thousand Indians lingered here. Fort Venango, Elk Street at Eighth Street, English, 1760-63, captured and burned by the Indians during Pontiac’s war; and Fort Franklin, on Franklin Avenue west of Thirteenth Street, built by United States 1787-96, later abandoned; also the Old Garrison, on bank of French Creek near junction with Allegheny River, erected by the United States after Fort Franklin. This city has never failed in a military crisis; during the war of 1848, George C. McClellan led the “forlorn hope” which captured the fortified buildings at Chepultepec, making the taking of the palace possible. Six miles down the river is “Indian God Rock,” on which are still seen Indian picture writings; near this rock, Celeron, a Frenchman, under orders from the governor of Canada, is said to have buried one of the engraved leaden plates, placed at various points from Lake Erie to the Mississippi River, as marks of renewal of French possession. Opposite is a bald mountain, from which are fine views of river scenery; among the hills are numerous caves and ravines, a lovely ravine is Glen Fern south of Franklin; Monarch Park, halfway to Oil City, is a well-equipped pleasure ground. OIL CITY, on Oil Creek, population 21,274, so named because it was the center of the oil industry after discovery of petroleum in 1859. In early days, “Seneca Oil” was obtained from the Indians, who gathered it by spreading their blankets in Oil Creek, the surface of which was covered with oil. Hasson Park, with forty acres of natural wooded area, has rustic, stone, arch gateway at Bissell Avenue entrance. In Christ Protestant Episcopal Church are memorial windows by Lamb, New York. United States Post Office at the corner of Seneca and Clifford Streets, built by the Government in 1906, Romanesque, gray brick and stone. Carnegie Library, built, 1904, modified Romanesque, gray brick and stone; architect, Charles D. Bollon, Philadelphia. Five bridges over the Allegheny River include the original suspension bridge and “The Petroleum,” said to be finest in strength and dimension north of Pittsburgh; in 1892 a large petroleum tank caught fire and burning oil spread over the water in the creek, it also set fire to the buildings, and many lives were lost. From Franklin and Oil City, public highways, now under state control, lead along streams and over uplands of great beauty. [Illustration: IRON FURNACE--OIL CITY AND VICINITY When the iron and steel industry started, iron furnaces such as the above were built near deposits of bog ore, and the product shipped by the river to Pittsburgh long before railroads arrived or cities appeared] XXXII WARREN COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800; named for General Joseph Warren, who fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775; land is varied, with mountains, plains, and narrow valleys; the Allegheny River flows through, with tributaries large enough for floating rafts or propelling machinery. The beautiful Kinzua Hills, east, are nearly 2200 feet above tidewater, over them is the famous Kinzua Viaduct, said to be the highest in the world. Early industries were lumber and oil, now they are chiefly agriculture and manufacturing. WARREN, made county seat in 1819, was first laid out by General William Irving and Andrew Elliott, state commissioners in 1795; population 14,272; in 1800, first sawmill in the county was started which is said to have made the first raft of lumber ever floated down the Allegheny; it also sawed lumber in 1805 for Jackson’s Tavern, in which George W. Fenton, afterwards governor of New York, in 1806, taught school, until the schoolhouse of round logs with openings covered by oiled paper for windows, was ready. Courthouse, built, 1825, was first brick building in the county. A suspension bridge crosses the Allegheny here, built about 1871; near entrance to bridge is the Soldiers’ Monument, granite, erected in 1909, on which are inscribed the battles of Warren County men in Civil War. Bronze monument to General Warren and his soldiers is in the west park, dedicated, 1910, placed by the [Illustration: WARREN COUNTY] Joseph Warren Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Memorial Library, classic, Doric; architect, Wetmore, New York, is on site of residence of Francis Henry, Esq. TIDIOUTE, population 1065, in midst of most picturesque surroundings, hills 500 to 700 feet high, covered thickly with forests, where the Allegheny River makes a beautiful curve, crossed here by a suspension bridge built between 1860-70, was famous as an oil-producing community, and the center of a large and excited population, now a quiet residence of wealth and refinement. Also on banks of the Allegheny is the Cornplanter Reservation, given to the great Seneca chief and his heirs for ever, as a reward for military service and influence during the War of 1812; in 1866, the State Legislature authorized the erection of a monument here, inscription, “Gyantwahia, The Cornplanter, Died at Cornplanter Town, Feb. 18, 1836, aged about 100 years.” [Illustration: BUTLER COUNTY] XXXIII BUTLER COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800; named in honor of General Richard Butler, born in York County; natural scenery is varied, with hills, knolls, and ridges, intervening valleys and broad, fertile fields, while many streams dash over rocky bottoms in all directions and flash their clear waters in the sunlight. The county is rich in old traditions. In 1753, Washington passed through over the Indian trail extending from site of Pittsburgh to Franklin, Venango County; Lafayette stopped here overnight, and many stories of hairbreadth escapes from Indians are related, among them that of Massy Harbison and her baby, who after seeing two of her children killed and scalped, almost starved for days, but finally escaped; the descendants of that baby still reside in the county. Robert Morris owned about 100,000 acres of land in this region. Chief industries, notably its large output of oil and gas, also manufactories; the Standard Steel Car Works, one of the largest plants in the United States, and the Standard Plate Glass Works. BUTLER, county seat, population 23,778; laid out in 1803; rectangular, sheltered on all sides by hills; on the top of a small knoll is the public square, with fountain, walks, grass plots, and flower beds; it contains the Soldiers’ Monument, dedicated in 1894 to “Our Silent Defenders”; facing the park is the Courthouse, Gothic French style, with a high tower, stone, built in 1885; architect, James P. Bailey, Pittsburgh; remodeled in 1908 by J. C. Fulton, of Uniontown; interior has mural paintings, representing historic scenes in Butler County; the Woman’s Club furnished a rest room for women here in the basement. Two interurban street railway lines from Pittsburgh have their terminus near this point. Within two squares is the Post Office, built, 1914, Grecian; light brick with granite Ionic columns; architect, Oscar Wenderoth. Opposite is St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, English-Gothic, with stone tower 180 feet high; constructed of beautifully colored local sandstone in the rough, trimmed with the same stone dressed smooth; roof, variegated shingle tile; architect, John T. Comes, Pittsburgh; interior has mural decorations by the Christian Art Guild; the altars are known as “Tryptich,” said to be the only ones of their kind in America; the sanctuary is considered among the richest and most complete in this country; stained glass windows from George Boos, Munich, Bavaria. St. Peter’s German Catholic Church has stained glass windows from Munich, made by Meyer & Company, who also made windows for St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal Church. The county has numerous fine, concrete bridges; Butler Viaduct is the largest, 1060 feet between the approaches connecting East Wayne Street with Center Avenue across a deep ravine, built in 1915 by the Fort Pitt Bridge Works. Two miles northeast of town is a pleasure park of natural beauty in a wooded valley, well equipped with dining rooms, ball grounds, lake for boating, etc. Five miles from Butler on the heights above Herman Station is ST. MARY’S MONASTERY, Gothic, built by the Capuchin Fathers, of which St. Fiedelis College forms a part. SAXONBURG was laid out in 1832 by John Roebling, here he lived and manufactured the first wire cable, which he used in constructing suspension bridges that made him famous, notably the Brooklyn Bridge across East River, New York. At EVANS CITY, on a grassy knoll in the cemetery, is the Soldiers’ Monument; Quincy granite shaft, surmounted by an eagle standing on a globe, the names of forty-five soldiers are inscribed on it; dedicated, 1894. On the same road is HARMONY, an old historic settlement, founded by George Rapp of Germany; who organized a society known as Harmonites, they purchased 5000 acres of best farm land along the Connoquenessing Creek, amid beautiful scenery, and formed a communistic colony; all money and goods went into a common fund; all worked together in harmony and concord; the quaint old cemetery is surrounded by a wall four feet thick; at the entrance is a gate consisting of one large stone which turns on a pivot; more than one hundred of the sect are buried here; high up on the bank, above the creek, is a curious stone formation called “Rapp’s Seat,” here, tradition relates, “Father Rapp” used to sit and oversee the work carried on by the community; the tourist is well repaid for the climb by the beautiful view from that high point. Another historic place is known as the “Old Stone House” on Mercer Turnpike, ten miles north of Butler, used as a tavern in the eighteenth century; here in 1843, an Indian named “Mohawk” killed Mrs. Wigton and her four children. A State Normal School with fine large buildings and wide, shady campus is at SLIPPERY ROCK. About 1792, numerous depredations by Indians were quieted for some time by General Brodhead’s expedition to the head waters of the Allegheny River with Captain Samuel Brady’s help, a notable Indian fighter; his leap of 23 feet over the waters at Slippery Rock, 20 feet deep, with Indians back and front, gained the praise of the Indian chief, who said, “Blady make good jump.” At WEST SUNBURY an agricultural school has lately been established. [Illustration: VINEYARD HILL Harmony Rapp’s seat is back of the tree. The path leads to it.] XXXIV MERCER COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800; named for General Hugh Mercer of the Revolutionary War, who was killed in the Battle of Princeton; rolling land, well watered with springs and creeks; coal underlying one-fourth of land in the county; chief industries are iron, steel, and agriculture; early settlers were Scotch-Irish. In 1812, Mercer County people were frequently called upon to aid in defense of Erie; the whole county would be aroused in a day by runners; in a few hours most of the men, whether militia or volunteers, would be on the march; one call came on Sunday, while service was being held in the courthouse; the sermon was suspended, news announced, benediction given, and immediate preparation for march commenced; at another time, news of threatened invasion came in the middle of grain harvest; the response was immediate, only one old man was left in the town. MERCER, county seat, population 1932; was once an Indian village of seventy lodges; no settlement was made here until after Wayne’s victory over the Indians in 1795; it was laid out in 1803, on two hundred acres of land given by John Hoge of Washington County. The courthouse, built, 1909, colonial; brick, stone, and concrete; is in center of the public square of three acres; interior finished in white marble; mural painting in dome by Edward Everett Simmons, represents Power, Innocence, Guilt, and Justice; in the courtrooms [Illustration: MERCER COUNTY] [Illustration: MURAL PAINTING IN THE DOME OF MERCER COUNTY COURT HOUSE _Painted by Edward Everett Simmons_] on second floor are symbolic mural paintings, “Criminal Law,” by Vincent Aderente, and “Civil Law,” by Arthur Foringer, made in 1911; panels 11 by 12 feet; in the judges’ chambers is a portrait of Honorable Henry Baldwin, former member of the Mercer County bar, and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1830-44. On courthouse grounds is the monument, granite and bronze, to soldiers of Mercer County in the war of 1861-65. The Humes Hotel, at the northeast corner of the Public Square, built, 1817, then known as “The Hackney House,” oldest hostelry in the county, had as guests Marquis de Lafayette in 1824; his room, No. 12, is open to guests; President Taylor and Buchanan, and General John B. Gordon of Georgia also visited here. The celebrated Harthegig healing springs, named after an Indian chief, is near Mercer; Indians claimed it healed them of many diseases. HOPE MILLS was the birthplace and the early home of George Junkin, D.D., who was father-in-law of General Stonewall Jackson; his father was a captain in the War of 1812. GROVE CITY is a picturesque college town, being the home of Grove City College, founded by Dr. Isaac C. Kettler. Buhl farm, near SHARON, is a recreation park for citizens of Shenango Valley and has club house, swimming pool, golf, tennis, and baseball grounds. [Illustration: ARMSTRONG COUNTY] XXXV ARMSTRONG COUNTY Formed March 12, 1800, and named for General John Armstrong, who commanded the expedition against the Indians at Kittanning in 1756, and destroyed their town; a hilly and well-watered region with fine farming lands on bottoms and hills. Bituminous coal and limestone are found in all parts of the county; cannel coal of excellent quality, oil, gas, and iron ore; the plate-glass industry at Ford City is said to be the largest in the world. Historic places are, site of Fort Jacob; Battle of Blanket Hill; and point where Washington and Gist crossed the river, not marked. KITTANNING, county seat, settled in 1804; population 7153; on site of an Indian village of same name; later it was one of the French and Indian forts, extending via Venango and Fort Le Boeuf to Erie. An Indian trail left Horse Shoe Bend at Kittanning Point, Blair County, and came through Cambria County to Cherry Tree, Canoe Point, Indiana County, crossing from there to Kittanning. The courthouse, jail, and sheriff’s house are built together, of fine cut stone from Catfish Quarry, Clarion County, cupola, 108 feet from the ground, foundations, 7 feet wide, sunk in solid rock 24 feet below the surface; architect, James McCullough, Jr., Kittanning, built, 1870-73. At MAHONING, in 1780, was a fierce encounter with the Indians by General Brodhead, commander of Fort Pitt, and Captain Samuel Brady, and another encounter at Brady’s Bend. Captain Brady fought in the Revolution, at siege of Boston, in the massacre at Paoli, and in 1779 was ordered to Fort Pitt. FORD CITY, population 5605, has statue of Colonel J. B. Ford, father of plate-glass industry. Several fine churches are here. XXXVI INDIANA COUNTY Formed March 30, 1803. Named for Indians; early settlers, mostly Scotch-Irish, who not only had the Indians to contend with, but also venomous reptiles and beasts of prey, with which the country abounded; near the cabin door one would hear the quick snap of the viselike jaws of the wolf, one could see the panther crouching in a tree, or the catamount glaring from a thicket. Chief industries, agriculture and coal mining; entire county is underlaid with bituminous coal of finest quality; glass and brick-making are important; electricity and natural gas solve the heating and lighting problems. INDIANA, county seat, laid out in 1805; population 7043; courthouse, in center of town, brick and gray stone, Renaissance, built, 1871, jail in same style joins it, built, 1888. Town hall, brick with Cleveland limestone trimmings, Renaissance, built, 1913, architect, H. King Conklin, Newark, New Jersey. Savings and Trust Company, white brick, Renaissance. Presbyterian Church, semi-Gothic, Hummelstone, has fine windows, one by Dodge, New York, formerly with Tiffany. United Presbyterian Church, Moorish, brick, built, 1851. State Normal School, northeast of town on high ground beautifully kept, buildings all of stone or brick, modern school construction, contains good reproductions of famous paintings and replicas of celebrated sculpture, distributed throughout the [Illustration: INDIANA COUNTY] [Illustration: THE DEVIL’S ELBOW, EAST OF INDIANA One of the most picturesque spots in the county _Illustration loaned by “The Indiana Progress,” Indiana_] buildings as a decorative and educational element; portrait of Jane E. Leonard, principal since opening in 1875, artist, H. S. Stevenson, Pittsburgh, was given by the alumni; and interesting class windows in Leonard Hall, given by three separate graduate classes, makers, Rudy Brothers, Pittsburgh; near the borough is Devil’s Elbow, one of nature’s beauty spots. Armstrong Spring, an old Indian camping ground, on Indian Trail, “Kittanning Path,” which passed north of the Rice Hill, west to this spring, in private property, and through normal school grounds to Kittanning, Armstrong County; over this trail Lieut. Colonel John Armstrong was sent with seven companies against Indians, at the battle of Blanket Hill, Kittanning, in 1756. Two miles west on Kittanning Pike is site of Clark’s blockhouse, first building in the county, the spring and part of old stone fort are still there, not marked. CHERRY TREE, on Susquehanna River prominent point on old purchase line, in treaty of William Penn with the Indians at Fort Stanwix, 1768, also called “Canoe Point”; from here, the Indians carried their canoes to the Allegheny River at Kittanning, sixty miles away; a direct line between these two points formed part of the boundary of lands acquired from the Six Nations. Where original Cherry Tree stood is the meeting point of Indiana, Cambria, and Clearfield counties, monument erected by county commissioners; designed by E. F. Carr & Company, Quincy, Massachusetts, unveiled 1894; Governor Beaver made the address; inscription, “This monument is erected to mark Canoe Place, the corner of the Proprietaries Purchase from the Indians by Treaty at Fort Stanwix, New York, November 5, 1768.” In the southeast is a tunnel, part of old portage railroad through spur of Alleghenies, where the Conemaugh makes a bend of two and one-half miles. Near are Aurora Falls, for sixty feet over rock and through a picturesque gorge to the Conemaugh River (Kiskiminetas) which forms southern boundary, tributary streams fall twenty to thirty feet to the mile. Near ARMAGH is the old Buena Vista Furnace, one of three operated in southeast section in the early forties, relic of the early iron industry when ore was taken from the hills, melted into pig metal, and transported to the markets over the old Pennsylvania Canal. BLAIRSVILLE, on proposed William Penn highway, settled, 1819, population 4391, named for John Blair of Blair’s Gap. First United Presbyterian Church, Tudor Gothic. LUZERNE is said to have largest electrically equipped coal (bituminous) operations in the world, and develops power to other operations within a radius of twenty-five miles. SALTZBURG, settled in 1817 by Andrew Boggs, is near site of an Indian village, beautiful Kiski Falls are here; several wells producing salt of excellent quality were put down from 1813 and later. ELDER’S RIDGE, academy, stone, built in 1816, was the first state vocational school in Pennsylvania. The underground railway was in active operation in Indiana County during the latter days of slavery. XXXVII CAMBRIA COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; named by early Welsh settlers for the Cambria Hills in Wales; has been called the Switzerland of America. Here are many places of historic and scenic interest. The old Kittanning Trail crossed the country in the north through Ashville, where there is an Indian burial ground. Near Carrollton is Hart’s Sleeping Place; he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence; the British made special exertion to take him a prisoner, so he wandered through the woods, sleeping in caves, being constantly hunted by the enemy. South is LORETTO, a quaint old mountain town with one street, and an almost entirely Roman Catholic community, founded by Prince Demetrius Gallitzin, who brought a colony of settlers into the Allegheny Mountains about 1796, and labored as a missionary in this district for forty years; he died in 1840; the church he built here has been rebuilt in a costly manner by Charles Schwab in honor of his birthplace. St. Francis College has the tomb and monument of Prince Gallitzin in grounds. Southeast is GALLITZIN at western end of a tunnel two-thirds of a mile long on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 2160 feet above sea; a bronze statue of the prince is here. PRINCE GALLITZIN SPRING, with a monument near by, is along the State Highway near Summit, on top of the Alleghenies. Beyond is CRESSON, a noted and beautiful summer [Illustration: CAMBRIA COUNTY] [Illustration: MONUMENT TO THE UNKNOWN DEAD OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD] resort; here is Mount Aloysius Academy and the State Tuberculosis Sanatorium No. 2. EBENSBURG, county seat, laid out in 1805; population 2179, is also a summer resort; through the woods and around the lakes of this region the rhododendrons grow as tall as trees and are gorgeous in their bloom. Descending along the upper waters of the Conemaugh, numerous vestiges are seen of the old Portage Railroad, a series of inclined planes, connecting the State Canal at Hollidaysburg east and Johnstown on the west. Dickens wrote of the scenery along the canal, “Sometimes the way wound through some lonely gorge like a mountain pass in Scotland.” Many dams, which are really lakes, have been built by manufacturers, the largest is three and one-half miles long, surrounded by wooded hills with here and there a waterfall. JOHNSTOWN, population 67,327, at confluence of the Conemaugh River and Stony Creek, was founded in 1800 by a Swiss Mennonite, Joseph Schantz (Johns). A glance at the deep, narrow valleys, with their high inclosing walls, goes far to explain the possibility of so tremendous a catastrophe as that which overwhelmed Johnstown on May 31, 1889. Conemaugh Lake, two and one-half miles long, one and one-half miles wide, was reserved as a fishing ground by a club of Pittsburgh engineers, its waters were restrained by a dam 1000 feet long, built by the state as a reservoir to store water for the state canal during the dry seasons; a continuance of violent rains filled the lake to overflowing; the break occurred at three o’clock in the afternoon, a gap of 300 feet being formed at once. The water that burst through swept down the valley in a mass one-half mile wide, forty feet high, carrying everything in its way, completely destroying Johnstown and other towns and villages in its track, going 18 miles in seven minutes, the distance between Johnstown and the lake. The mass of houses, trees, machinery, railway iron and human bodies was checked by the railway bridge below Johnstown, which soon caught fire, probably burning to death hundreds of persons imprisoned in the wreckage. About 2205 lives were lost; in the Grandview Cemetery a large space is dedicated to the “Unidentified Dead,” with a Westerly granite monument, having heroic size statues of Faith, Hope, and Charity; sculptor, F. Barnicoat, Quincy, Massachusetts; there are 778 individual markers for the bodies, largely unidentified, laid out geometrically, so that from whatever angle the plot is seen, they are in curved rows. Johnstown was an important shipping station on the canal connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. An interesting feature now remaining is the canal tunnel at bend of the Conemaugh, four miles east of Johnstown; second such tunnel built in America; constructed by the state about 1828 or 1830; the first is in Lebanon County, made in 1827. The Carnegie Library received by bequest from James M. Swank, historian and iron and steel statistician, his books and historical relics. Franklin Street Methodist Episcopal Church, Gothic, gray sandstone; the sills under the windows of the auditorium are dressed stones from the abandoned Pennsylvania Canal Locks, near site of the present Pennsylvania Railroad station; architect, George Fritz. First Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Walnut and Lincoln Streets, dedicated, 1913; modified English [Illustration: THE GAP BELOW JOHNSTOWN] Gothic, Cleveland gray sandstone and green tile, architects, Badgley & Nicholas, Cleveland. The Cambria Steel Company began in 1840, when George S. King and David Stewart discovered a vein of iron ore about fifteen inches thick, on the Laurel Run, west of Johnstown; they built the first blast furnace in Cambria County in 1842, calling it the Cambria Furnace; in 1843 Dr. Peter Shoenberger bought out David Stewart’s interest; he was the great ironmaster of his time, conducting a chain of furnaces, forges and rolling mills, stretching almost 500 miles, from the old Marietta furnace in Lancaster to the Wheeling, West Virginia, iron works. The Cambria Iron Works were completed in 1853, and sold to a syndicate of Philadelphians who selected Matthew Newkirk as president; in 1854 they rolled the first iron rails; the first steel rails in America were rolled here in 1867 from blooms imported from England. Iron is the county’s chief industry. [Illustration: CLEARFIELD COUNTY] XXXVIII CLEARFIELD COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; named by the first settlers from a cleared field in the forest made by the Indians, site of “Chingleclamouche’s old Town,” said to have been the most considerable Indian village on the upper West Branch of the Susquehanna, now Clearfield Borough. The whole county is a continuous prospect of intensely picturesque scenery; surface mountainous, with ranges broken into innumerable, irregular spurs, indented by streams; from many hilltops views of the greater part of the county may be seen; the “Knobs,” its loftiest summit, is constantly in view, and the intermediate country, a panorama of natural beauty, ever changing in atmospheric effects; all the creeks, tributaries of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, have scenery which beggars description, a veritable feast for the painter, poet, and romancer; Moshannon and Clearfield Creeks had their beaver dams. Up Anderson’s Creek, on the old Milesburg and Le Boeuf road, opened prior to 1802, a detachment of regulars marched against the British at Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Important Indian trails traversed this county, crossing the head waters of Clearfield Creek, Chest Creek, near “Hart’s Sleeping Place,” and the West Branch at Canoe Place. Another ran from Bald Eagle Creek where Marsh Creek empties, in Blair County, going west crossed Moshannon and Clearfield Creeks to Chingleclamouche; this was also called the Trader’s Path; none of the present roads are made upon the Indian trails. A mortar-shaped stone has been located about five miles east of Clearfield, on the State Highway, and has been marked by local Daughters of the American Revolution as site of an Indian mill for grinding corn. Early settlers were mostly from older Eastern counties; these were followed by Germans, Irish, Scotch-Irish, and French. Chief industry, the mining of bituminous coal. In 1828 Peter Karthaus arrived in Harrisburg with six arks, laden with bituminous coal from his mines in this county, it was exhibited in front of the Capitol; not until about 1870 did the industry begin to assume any great magnitude; today the yearly output aggregates millions of tons, and the lower measures are not yet developed. Peter Karthaus also started the iron industry, near KARTHAUS, but it was short-lived; here, it is said, the first successful attempt was made in Pennsylvania to smelt iron by means of bituminous coal. Other important industries are vitrified brick, drain tile, and tanning. CLEARFIELD, county seat; population 8529; on land owned by Abraham Witmer, laid out, 1805, in regular squares like Philadelphia; streets running east and west are named, those north and south numbered. Two small parks were reserved along the West Branch. Principal buildings are scattered. Courthouse, brick, Romanesque, built in 1860, architects, Cleveland & Bachus, contains portraits of former judges, among them Honorable John Holden Orvis; it is located in center of the original plan of the borough. Near are most of the churches, of which the Trinity Methodist Episcopal, Romanesque, and St. Francis’ Roman Catholic, Gothic, may be mentioned for architecture. The high school is well lighted and of best school construction; each of the principal towns of this county has its high school. Prominent men of Clearfield were, Honorable William Bigler, State Governor, and Honorable William A. Wallace, United States Senator; they are buried in Hillcrest Cemetery; a monument to Governor Bigler was erected by the state. [Illustration: TIOGA COUNTY] XXXIX TIOGA COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; name, corruption of the Iroquois word “Tiagoa” (gateway); noted for its high altitude and wonderful views; part of Allegheny plateau, where it breaks into parallel flat-topped mountains, supporting, in shallow basins, several isolated bituminous coal fields. Heritage of timber is being dissipated; the State Tree Nursery at Asaph is trying to replace the great waste. Chief industry, agriculture, land for dairy purposes is among the finest in the state, several extensive milk condenseries. Indian trails crossed the county from Big Tree on the Genesee, among the Senecas, to the frontier at Northumberland. First great road was built by Charles Williamson of New York in 1792, agent for Sir William Poulteney, who had received a large grant of land in New York State, adjoining Pennsylvania, in the “Genesee Country,” home of the Seneca Indians; the road, commencing at Loyalsock, passed through what is now Williamsport, up Lycoming Creek to Trout Run, over Laurel Hill to “Block House,” now Liberty; here Williamson built a blockhouse of logs 20 by 40 feet, as place of refuge; to Peter’s Camp, now Blossburg, where coal was discovered in 1792; ending near Bath, New York, it opened up to settlers 15,000,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania north of Williamsport; this road is still used from Williamsport to Tioga County. County seat, WELLSBORO, population 3452, named for William Hill Wells, United States Senator 1799-1814, laid out March 21, 1806, in a primeval wilderness. Courthouse, center of group of county buildings facing the public green, colonial with cupola, built in 1835, native sandstone and conglomerate, which was hauled on ox sleds for several miles over poor roads; high on the southwest wall is carved the outline of an eagle, insignia of one of the stonecutters from the neighboring Welsh settlement. Opposite, across the green, is the brick office of the Bingham Estate, built in 1855, and still occupied by the agent, patent of 1,000,000 acres, land mostly in northern tier, included site of Binghamton, New York. William Bingham, lived 1751-1804, was a Philadelphia merchant, member of Continental Congress, and of the United States Senate. Facing the courthouse is a Soldiers’ Monument to Civil War heroes, dedicated, 1886; also on the green is a monument to the late John Magee, who developed the coal fields and railroads of the county, a colossal portrait bust on polished granite pedestal; sculptor, Samuel Conkey, New York. Best modern buildings are, The Presbyterian Church, Gothic, Ohio sandstone, erected in 1894, architects, Culver & Hudson, Williamsport, contains, among memorial windows, one to George Dwight Smith, killed in the battle of Smith Mountain; also Tiffany tablet to Mrs. A. C. Shaw, white marble, framed in mosaic of favrile glass. St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church, fronting the green, is a choice example of Norman Romanesque, the last ecclesiastical work of the late Halsey Wood, New York, built in 1897, [Illustration: ANTIQUE CAPITAL, CHESTER PLACE, WELLSBORO Used as a sun dial _From Stanford White collection_] native sandstone, windows furnished by Tiffany, are quiet and pleasing in tone, of unusual harmony with the masonry; pulpit and altar are also from the Tiffany studios; the church contains many fine memorials. St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church was remodeled from the old academy, locally an important and historic institution; standing on a hill the church raises aloft a gilded cross, impressive and beautiful above the surrounding foliage. The broad main street is paved with brick, around a central strip of green grass, and shaded with fine old elms and maples. The Wellsboro Cemetery, purchased in 1855, was laid out by B. F. Hathaway, landscape gardener, of Flushing, Long Island; stone arch gateway, Romanesque, of local conglomerate, is memorial to Honorable Henry Warren Williams, Justice of Supreme Court, buried here; architect, J. H. Considine, Elmira; on summit of the knoll is the grave of George W. Sears, poet of outdoor life and wood lore, monument has bas-relief bronze portrait, set in granite; Honorable John J. Mitchell, Judge of Pennsylvania Supreme Court and United States Senator, is also buried here. Woodland Park, twenty-six acres, is owned by Leonard Harrison, Esq., who generously maintains it for public use; has surface of hill and dell, stretches of natural forest, and fine views from its higher outlooks. Several citizens have grounds formally laid out, and planted under professional advice; of these, designed by Bryant Fleming, of Townsend & Fleming, Buffalo, is Chester Place, left to the borough by bequest, for a public library; the garden has an Italian roofed pergola ending with a marble bust and seats, on top of the terrace which divides the upper and lower gardens; a sundial, fastened to an old Spanish Renaissance capital, which came from the collection of garden marbles made by the late Stanford White, is on a rectangular plot of green, and forms the center of one garden room, surrounded by a brick walk, in turn framed by a broad border of shrubbery; into the brick pavement are set little marble panels, carved with designs of roses, birds, etc., other insets contain quotations appropriate to gardens; set into the wall outside at right and left of entrance, are tiles with trees in bas-relief, inside, correspondingly placed, are reliefs showing old Italian garden decorations, Socrates and Hercules. Just outside of Wellsboro is an old covered wooden bridge, in Pine Creek Gorge, through which the Tyadaghton (River of Pines) runs, mountains rise perpendicularly on either side for 1000 feet; the gorge is sixteen miles long, filled with trout stream tributaries, where also bear, deer, and other game abound. In MANSFIELD is a state normal school, on beautifully terraced hill, five buildings, brick with marble or brownstone and terra-cotta trimmings, built 1889-1909, later buildings, modified classic; contains many fine carbon prints of famous paintings and buildings, also plaster replicas of noted pieces of sculpture. Carnegie Free Library, classic architecture, built, 1912, light-pressed brick; architects for school and library, Pierce & Bickford, Elmira, New York. XL McKEAN COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; named for Thomas McKean, second Governor of Pennsylvania; mean altitude 1700 feet. Mount Jewett is one of the high points in the state; half a mile from Mount Jewett is the great Kinzua Viaduct on the Erie Railroad, said to be the highest bridge in the state across a ravine. The electric line to Olean, New York, eighteen miles, through Red Rock, reveals great scenic grandeur. Chief industry, producing and refining petroleum. SMETHPORT, county seat; was incorporated in 1807; population, 1568. In the courthouse grounds is a granite monument to the Civil War soldiers of this county; it was shown in the Centennial Exposition, Philadelphia. St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Church, a gift from Hon. Henry Hamlin; consecrated 1892; is pure fourteenth century English Gothic; architect, Halsey Wood. Altar and reredos of Caen stone, surmounted by a very beautiful, delicately carved canopy; memorial font, Caen stone; all memorials were designed by the architect; organ from Johnson & Sons, Westfield, Massachusetts. In the public school grounds is a tablet marking the route of General Brodhead’s expedition. On the highway, near Lafayette, is a tablet marking place where General Brodhead passed across the county from Allegheny River, when he came from Pittsburgh against the Indians; placed by Smethport Daughters of the American Revolution. BRADFORD, chief city; population, 15,525; is said to contain the only plant in America for the manufacture [Illustration: MCKEAN COUNTY] [Illustration: KINZUA BRIDGE The highest bridge in the world] of oxalic acid, it produces 10,000 pounds daily. The City Hall, Post Office, and Carnegie Library are fine buildings. The McKean County Historical Society has rooms in the Carnegie Library; among their collections are valuable historical papers and autographs, photographs, and samples of products relating to the oil industry, portraits of distinguished Pennsylvanians, and busts of General Kane and of Abraham Lincoln; the latter, by Theophilus Mills, is said to be one of the only two living masks ever made of Lincoln; it was made six weeks before the assassination, and after many years it was purchased from the son of the sculptor by Mr. R. B. Stone, and placed in the Bradford Library. The Museum and Art Gallery, owned by Lewis Emery, Jr., Esq., is at times open to the public. On the public square is a boulder, in honor of Governor McKean, from a tract of land in Annin Township, deeded to Thomas McKean by John Bull, a patriot of the Revolution. A tablet commemorating the Spanish War soldiers was erected by Spanish War veterans. KANE, a beautiful mountain resort, has Evergreen Park, a native forest, given to the town by the Erie Railroad, through their agent, General Thomas L. Kane; a path through the forest is named for General Grant, who frequently enjoyed trout fishing here with General Kane. Facing this park is the high school; classic style, architects, Davis & Davis, Philadelphia; contains good collection of photographic reproductions of famous paintings and architecture. The Presbyterian Church is memorial to General Kane, commander of the Bucktail Regiment, erected by his family. At LEWIS RUN the great Indian hunter, Jim Jacobs, lived. [Illustration: POTTER COUNTY] XLI POTTER COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; named for General James Potter, an officer of the Revolution, is an almost trackless wilderness covered with dense growth of pine and hemlock, the haunt of bear, deer, wolf, panther, fox, and other wild game. Mean elevation is about 1900 feet above sea. At head waters of the West Branch, Genesee and Allegheny rivers, in the north, the ground is rolling, with beautiful farms; the southern part is broken by deep valleys and lofty mountains, with most picturesque scenery, especially in the Kettle Creek and Sinnemahoning valleys. Probably the first white man to cross the county was David Zeisberger, who passed down the Allegheny River to mouth of the Tionesta, Forest County, in 1767; his journal, now on file in the Moravian Library at Bethlehem, tells of the wild beauty of the county. Farming and stock raising are gaining, but the main industry is still lumbering, with second growth of hardwoods, maple, beech, and birch, which will in time be a great nucleus of wealth. Earliest important road is the Jersey Shore Turnpike, running from Jersey Shore at the mouth of Pine Creek, Lycoming County, through most wonderful scenery to Coudersport and on to Buffalo; an effort is being made to have this historic highway improved, as it is the most direct way from the West Branch Valley to Buffalo. On this road is the site of Oleona. Ole Bull, the famous violinist, attempted the settlement of a colony of Norwegians; in 1852, he purchased 11,144 acres on Kettle Creek, in the then almost unbroken forests; and laid out four villages, New Norway, New Bergen, Oleona, and Walhalla; this proved a sad failure, and the land is now included in the State Forest Reserve. Ole Bull’s Castle, with a great stone wall, still partly standing, was built about a mile below Oleona, on the crest of a bluff. Travel is generally good in summer, during the winter the heavy snowdrifts are often too deep for passage, temperature often falling to 40° below zero. COUDERSPORT, county seat, settled in 1807; population 2836; courthouse, substantial, colonial building in the square, on the main street; in the grounds is the Soldiers’ Monument, a granite shaft, pedestal has names of Potter County men who fell in war for the Union. The famous Bucktail Regiment was recruited largely from Potter County, noted marksmen, many had been famous hunters, and because of their wonderful skill with the rifle were made sharpshooters in the Civil War. Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, incorporated, 1833, present stone building, Gothic, built in 1885, on ground given by Miss Katharine Dent. The beautiful little church, “All Saints,” at Brookland, near the old Dent Homestead, memorial to Henry Hatch Dent, by his children, maintained by endowment, is native stone, with stained glass windows, marble memorial altar, and other artistic furnishings, open by appointments of the Bishop, it stands, as old “St. Martins-in-the-Field,” a solitary witness for Christianity and the Church. First Presbyterian, oldest church organization in [Illustration: ON THE SINNEMAHONING CREEK] Coudersport, established 1832, first building made in 1849, on ground given by John Keating, Esq., present building, Fourth and Main Streets, dedicated in 1903, Italian Renaissance; other denominations have good church buildings. The Pennsylvania Historical Commission has made an appropriation for the placing of a monument to David Ziesberger at Coudersport; they will also place tablets at site of Ole Bull’s Castle and near the Austin disaster; the Austin flood, in 1911, when the town was almost blotted out, and many lives were lost and property destroyed, was perhaps the worst calamity which has ever visited the county. Three miles east of Coudersport is “The Sweden Valley Ice Mine,” in a shaft about six feet square and twelve feet deep; during the hot summer weather ice is formed here in large quantities; the Smithsonian Institution has published a number of articles concerning these ice caves. [Illustration: JEFFERSON COUNTY] XLII JEFFERSON COUNTY Formed March 26, 1804; named for Thomas Jefferson; steep and rugged hills line the watercourses of every stream, alternating with fine valley land, traversed by good roads through most picturesque scenery; the views are a continual delight. In early days large tracts of this land were held by rich proprietors who would neither improve nor sell at a fair price. The pioneer hewed his canoes out of pine trees, large enough to receive a barrel of flour crosswise; a homemade rope of flax was attached to the front to pull them over the ripples. The county is wonderfully rich in coal and an abundance of natural gas, and has developed more along commercial than it has along artistic lines. Chief industries: stock raising, coal, iron, glass, and silk. County seat, BROOKVILLE, laid out in 1830; population 3272. Hunts Point, now Carrier’s addition of Brookville, was once an Indian village. Main Street runs east and west. Pickering Street crosses at right angles. Courthouse, at the corner of Main and Pickering Streets; Renaissance, brick; contains portraits. The Brookville Park Association is making great civic improvements; a park of ten acres is in the center of the town and a fine new park building or auditorium is being erected; the organization being truly altruistic, to the intent that no dividends shall be paid to the subscribers, but all profits applied to municipal improvements. There are several churches, among them may be mentioned the Presbyterian and Methodist for architecture; both Romanesque; stone. The Presbyterian has good stained glass windows. The Daughters of the American Revolution have placed a small monument to Joseph Barnett in the old cemetery. Fort Barnett was one mile east of Brookville, on the old turnpike (Mead’s Trail); his cabin in 1799 is said to have been the only one within seventy-five miles. PUNXSUTAWNEY, population 10,311, was an Indian village; during the eighteenth century, Moravian missionaries labored here among the Delaware tribes of the Algonquin Indians; Brother Ettewein kept a faithful record of his travels and work, describing his journey along Mahoning Creek, then named by the Indians “Mohulbucteetam,” or place where canoes are abandoned. Rev. David Barkley and his son-in-law, Dr. John W. Jenks, from Newtown, Bucks County, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in 1816, later made an associate judge, owned the land and laid out the town in 1820 in squares, including one for the public, which in this century has been made into a beautiful park by Frederick Olmstead, landscape gardener, of Brookline, Massachusetts; on each corner are old cannon from the Civil War. A fine brick post office with Ionic portico is here, built by the United States Government, and many beautiful churches. Christ Episcopal Church is built with stone taken from the creek bed and laid without any cutting; the soft brown color was caused by the mineral in the water, and is permanent. XLIII SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY Formed February 21, 1810; named for situation, at head waters of the Susquehanna River, which completely drains the county, every stream flowing into it as it flows around a spur of the Alleghenies with the highest outline of two mountains; original Indian names, Onaquaga and Miantinomah. The scenery is beautifully diversified; there are numerous lakes, the largest, Crystal Lake, is over a mile long; from Elk Mountain, with its three peaks, sixteen lakes are visible, and the Water Gap is plainly seen on a clear day; from Ararat, 2040 feet above the sea level, is also an extended view. A panorama of great beauty is seen from the heights of Gibson Township; the slopes furnish unsurpassed grazing and abound in orchards and gardens; named for Chief Justice Gibson, the town was first settled in 1792 by Joseph Potter. The most beautiful auto ride through the county is from Montrose to SUSQUEHANNA, incorporated in 1853, called the City of Stairs; Erie Railroad shops are here, the buildings, covering eight acres, include a Library and Lecture Hall. Martin’s Creek Viaduct, 1600 feet long with eleven spans, on the Lackawanna Railroad, is said to be, next to the Tunkhannock Viaduct on same road, the largest concrete bridge in the world; this road is known as the shortest route between New York and Buffalo; owing to its high elevation through this county, the views are of extraordinary [Illustration: SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY] beauty. Earliest white settlement was at Great Bend; General James Clinton, with 1600 men, encamped here in 1799, _en route_ to join General Sullivan at Chemung against the Indians. Chief industry, agriculture and butter making. MONTROSE, population 1661; made county seat in 1811, first settled by Stephen Wilson of Vermont in 1799, is a notable health resort because of its altitude; it was developed through the liberality of Dr. R. H. Rose and Isaac Post, the latter was first postmaster in 1808. Dr. Rose purchased 100,000 acres in 1807, partly in Silver Lake Township, and developed the resources of the county. Public buildings face the square, in which is the monument to Civil War soldiers. Courthouse, a fine structure, colonial architecture, built in 1842, contains a portrait of Honorable Galusha A. Grow, who was sent to Congress from this county. The conference building seats 3000; here The Bible Institute is held each summer. At SPRINGVILLE was farm of Zophar Blakeslee, whose daughter, Sarah, was married to Honorable Asa Packer. BROOKLYN was early residence of George Catlin, who became noted as a painter of Indians. JACKSON started as a beaver meadow. When THOMSON was first settled, in 1820, an unbroken forest of beech wood stretched eastward for fifty miles. [Illustration: BRADFORD COUNTY] XLIV BRADFORD COUNTY Formed February 21, 1810, as Ontario; on March 24, 1812, named in honor of William Bradford, an attorney general in the cabinet of Washington; surface hilly or rolling. Chief industries are dairying and breeding of fine cattle and thoroughbred horses. Said to be first place on record visited by a white man in Pennsylvania; in 1615 Stephen Bruhle, explorer and interpreter for Samuel Champlain, with twelve Huron Indians, came to Carouantian, a palisaded village of the Carouantiannais, on Spanish Hill, just above present towns of Sayre and Athens; he found here 800 warriors, 500 of whom went with him to aid Champlain against the Onondaga stronghold in New York. Bruhle returned to Carouantian, remained during the winter of 1615-16, and explored the Susquehanna River to the sea, making report to Champlain. First road was the great Indian warpath along the Susquehanna, used by General Sullivan and his Continental Army in expedition against the Indians in 1779; the state road, from Wilkes-Barre, up the river, through Wyoming and Bradford counties, is substantially on this old trail; historic places along the road are well marked, a monument thirteen feet high, native stone, from Campbell’s Ledge above Pittston; erected by the Moravian Historical Society in 1871 near Wyalusing, marks location of the Moravian mission, inscription, “To mark site of Friedenshutten (Machwilusing), a settlement of Moravian Indians between 1765-1772”; this mission was removed to Beaver County in 1772. Farther west, near the Presbyterian church, is a large boulder with bronze tablet, inscription, “Near this site from August 5-8, 1779, camped the army of Maj. Gen’l Sullivan, on their expedition against the Six Nations, erected by Machwilusing Chapter, D. A. R. 1914”; this road after leaving Wyalusing, leads over the hill a distance from the river, to which it returns again at Rummerfield, near where Mrs. Roswell Franklin was killed by Indians; her family was rescued. Farther up the river is the county’s oldest historic landmark on west bank of the Susquehanna, “Standing Stone,” 25 feet high, 21 feet at base, tapers from 4 to 3 feet in thickness, rising out of the water; a landmark even in early Indian history; plainly visible from the road; General Sullivan’s army of 3500 men camped on the plain opposite; three miles east of Towanda is Wysox village and creek, in front of an old brick church is where Major Henry van Campen, with two other captives, succeeded in releasing themselves, under guard by twice their number of Indians, killing all except one. Near is a large boulder of Barclay sandstone, with bronze tablet; inscription: “This stone commemorates the passing through Wesauking, Aug. 9 and Oct. 4, 1779, of Maj. Gen’l John Sullivan and his troops against the Six Nations. Erected, 1908, by the George Clymer Chapter, D. A. R., Towanda, Pennsylvania”; on the level plain between this creek and the river General Sullivan’s army camped. From Wysox the road diverges west from the old trail, continues over a modern steel bridge, built in 1915, replacing an old covered wooden one made in 1834, to Towanda. Eight miles northwest is Ulster; passing on the way: near mouth of Sugar Creek is site of an important palisaded Indian village called “Ogehage,” later “Oscalui,” still later, in 1779, “Newtychanning,” marked; at junction of this great warpath along the Susquehanna, with one leading from this point to head waters of Towanda Creek near Canton; thence to head waters of Lycoming Creek, down that stream to West Branch of the Susquehanna near Williamsport. At Ulster (old Sheshequin) was a Moravian mission, removed at time of migration to Beaver in 1772; a steel bridge crosses the river here. Next is Milan village, near which was Indian Queen Esther’s Town, destroyed by Colonel Hartley in 1778. Proceeding on General Sullivan’s road, one crosses the Chemung (Tioga) River on a modern steel bridge and enters Athens, formerly Tioga Point; here was Fort Sullivan, base of supplies for the army; destroyed by themselves in October, 1779, on their departure for Wyoming; marked by boulder with bronze tablet, inscription: “In Sullivan’s expedition, the march that destroyed savagery and opened the Keystone and Empire States to civilization, four brigades, furnished by the States of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, with Proctor’s Artillery, and Farr’s Riflemen took part; at Tioga Point, long the southern door of the Indian Confederacy, 5000 troops encamped; here stood Fort Sullivan, with four blockhouses, from August 11 to October 3, 1779; tablet erected by Tioga Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.” Below the plate is embedded a ball from one of General Sullivan’s guns; the road separates here, one following the Susquehanna to Owego, the other following the Chemung to Elmira (Newtown), New York; near the latter road is the “Battlefield of Newtown,” where General Sullivan fought the Tories and Indians in 1779. A soldiers’ monument is on the campus in front of the old ATHENS Academy, designed by McKim, Mead & White, New York; ground foundation twenty-five feet square, inclosed in granite curbing with polished globes at each corner; pedestal, eleven feet high, rising from the center, polished granite, on unpolished granite coping, surmounted by a bronze group, “The Protection of the Flag,” a barefoot drummer boy with a flag over his shoulder and a tall, fearless soldier, holding a musket which points to the ground, sculptor, George T. Brewster; inscription, in bronze letters, fitted to the face of the granite: “_Pro patria et gloria_. Erected to the memory of our soldiers who fought in defense of the flag”; presented by Joseph Whipple and Charlotte Snell Stickler. Spaulding Library and Museum, classic Renaissance with Ionic porch, open to the public, contains paintings, portraits, and relics. In 1688 a Spanish fort was near the present borough of Athens; population 4384. TOWANDA, county seat, laid out in 1812; population 4269; courthouse native sandstone, classic Renaissance, built in 1897; in front is the soldiers’ monument, at base are bronze tablets inscribed with names of battles of Bradford County men in war for the Union; [Illustration: DEFENSE OF THE FLAG _McKim, Mead & White Pedestal George T. Brewster, Sculptor_] Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg; and the battle scene at Antietam; dedicated in 1901. Towanda Free Library, French Renaissance, brick, built, 1897, was given and endowed by Francis R. Welles of Paris, France; architects, Barney & Chapman, New York; contains a special set of art books, “L’Art.” In Christ Protestant Episcopal Church, native sandstone, is memorial window to William Ulysses Mercur, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, 1882-87; makers, Cox Sons & Buckley, London. The Methodist Episcopal Church, also, has memorial windows. Historical Society of Bradford County, fireproof building open to the public; contains Indian and Civil War relics, curios, and portraits of pioneer men and women, a reproduction of a pioneer log house, and specimens of all native woods in the county. In Riverside Cemetery is the grave of David Wilmot, who made the famous proviso, engraved on his monument, against slavery. There are many borough and township high schools in Bradford County. [Illustration: SCHUYLKILL COUNTY] XLV SCHUYLKILL COUNTY Formed March 1, 1811, named for the Schuylkill River; was purchased from the Six Nations in 1749. George Godfried Orwig, first settler, in 1747, lived at Sculp Hill; he was followed by other Germans. ORWIGSBURG, first county seat, in 1811, was founded in 1796, by Peter Orwig, son of George; old courthouse still standing, is used as a factory; extensive views from here of mountains and agricultural valleys. In chain of frontier forts, were Franklin, built, 1756, by order of Benjamin Franklin; Fort Henry, south of Pinegrove; and Fort Lebanon, later known as Fort William, the most important, its site near Auburn, is marked by boulder with bronze tablet, inscription, “On this site stood Fort Lebanon, built, 1775, by Colonel Jacob Morgan, for protection of early settlers against Indians, erected in 1913 by Mahantongo Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Pottsville, Pa.” Indian warriors came down from the mountains and made savage forays on the peaceful farms, in which many people were massacred, and mills and houses were burned; the old oak tree is standing near, from which sentinels took observations; in this fort the first religious services in the county were held. One mile from Fort Lebanon is the old Red Church, built in 1755, destroyed by Indians, 1756, rebuilt, 1776, celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1905. This county revels in picturesque scenery; excellent roads curve through valleys of surpassing richness and fertility, or wander along a ridge with glorious views on either side; in the north, the sky line of a mountain range is often broken by a weird coal breaker; in every direction there is beauty and interest. Laurel may be seen by the acre, and much rhododendron. Great cliffs of various colored conglomerate rock are found throughout the county. This is the southern limit of the ANTHRACITE COAL fields in east central Pennsylvania, the only ones of importance in the United States; divided into three well-known trade regions, Wyoming; Lehigh; and Schuylkill; comprising an area of 480 square miles, in the counties of Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Northumberland, Luzerne, Susquehanna, and Schuylkill. Discovered in Schuylkill County by Nicho Allen in 1790; while camping out overnight, he built a fire among some rocks, under shelter of the trees; during the night, being awakened by unusual heat he saw the rocks a mass of glowing fire, he having ignited the outcrop of a bed of coal. The birth of this great productive industry may be dated from 1820, when 365 tons were sent to Philadelphia from the head waters of the Lehigh River. 80,000,000 tons per annum are now produced; location of coal was shown in William Scull’s map of Pennsylvania published in 1770; three places marked. In 1795 it was used successfully for smithing by a blacksmith named Whitestone, but not generally for this purpose until 1806. In 1812, Colonel George Shoemaker produced coal from a shaft on land he owned, now known as the Centreville Tract; loaded nine wagons and drove to Philadelphia, where he was accused of being an impostor, attempting to sell stone for coal; he sold two loads for cost of transportation, and gave the rest away to those who promised to try to use it; he induced Messrs. Mellon & Bishop to try it in their rolling mill in Delaware County, where it was found to be a complete success; iron was heated in much less time than usual, and the workmen said, “It passed through the rolls like lead.” From 1830, rapid improvements were made in methods of mining and transporting coal. First breaker in this county was erected by Gideon Bast on Wolf Creek, near Minersville. The St. Clair shaft was sunk in 1845, by Alfred Lawton, to Primrose vein, 122 feet; in 1851, E. W. McGinness continued the depth of shaft to the Mammoth vein, 438 feet. At Wadesville a shaft was sunk 619½ feet. A shaft located by General Henry Pleasants is deepest coal shaft in the United States, 1584 feet. The collieries of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal Company are the most extensive. Property in Schuylkill and Columbia counties 18,333 acres, one third coal, devised by Stephen Girard to the City of Philadelphia in trust, comprises some of the most valuable tracts in the anthracite region; Girard was largely instrumental in building the Schuylkill Canal to Philadelphia, connecting with this was a railroad and a series of gravity planes between Girardville and Mount Carbon, head of the canal; the Girard Railroad, opened in 1834, was one of the greatest engineering feats of the time, attracting international comment; much of the masonry is still to be seen. In 1690, William Penn called attention to the feasibility of passage by water between the Susquehanna River and Tulpehocken Creek, a branch of the Schuylkill; in 1762 David Rittenhouse and Dr. William Smith surveyed a route for a canal, to connect waters of the Susquehanna and Schuylkill, via Swatara and Tulpehocken Creeks; and actually traced a line between the Delaware and Ohio Rivers at Fort Pitt, thence to Erie. The Union Canal connecting the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers was completed in 1826 by the Schuylkill Navigation Company; they did great work in their day; years of greatest prosperity were from 1835-41. In 1800, Reese & Thomas located an iron furnace on the site of Pottsville. In 1807 Greenwood furnace and forge were erected by John Pott. In 1839, Pioneer furnace at Pottsville, under Burd Patterson, was blown in with anthracite coal, by Benjamin Perry, and ran for about three months, among the first to use successfully anthracite coal in the blast furnace in United States. POTTSVILLE, county seat, 1395 feet above sea; population 21,876, laid out in 1816, has not one level street; flights of steps are frequently used to get to various heights; fine views from every point. A commission for city planning has lately been appointed. Courthouse erected in 1892, architect, Mr. Taylor, stands on a hill in a terraced square, has portraits of judges; in the old courthouse, to the rear, now torn down, the Mollie Maguires were tried and convicted in