This article
is intended to give researchers (of regions / townships / towns) suggestions on
what kind of information to gather, so that there can be some uniformity from
one chapter to another. But please note: these suggestions are not the only
types of information that you should gather. Look at the region you are
researching and include anything that made in the past, or currently makes,
that region unique (for example, a certain type of industry, noteworthy
residents, influential event, etc.). If you are working on a region that
includes a number of townships, collect the following information on each of
them. [If you have any specific questions about what I mean in any of the
following points, please feel free to contact me by
email (schmitt@motherbedford.com).]
1.) Description of
the ‘genesis’ of the township ~ prior township(s) out of which it was formed,
the reason for its formation, the date of its formation.
2.) The court entry
describing the formation of the township. Transcribe this ‘act’ of the court
verbatim (spelling mistakes, punctuation and all). For example, if the document
uses the word ‘thou’ instead of ‘you’, don’t change it just because we use
‘you’ today. Also, try to get this from the court records (should be in the
Quarter Sessions records). If a survey is attached to the record of the
township’s formation, get a photocopy of that.
3.) Brief
description of physical / natural features ~ the geographical location of the
township. Note the mountains and rivers that form natural boundaries and/or
those that may lie or flow within the township. If other townships were formed
out of this one, note how they were separated (for example, using a mountain or
a river as a dividing boundary). An example of what is meant here would be if
you are working on East Providence township, a brief description of
‘Providence’ township should be noted, followed by the division into ‘East’ and
‘West’ Providence either by a surveyed line or a mountain range. Include a list
of the villages, towns and/or boroughs that are found within the township. Also
note any ‘traditional’ named regions that are not necessarily a specific town
or village, such as the Texas Corner.
4.) Narrate the
‘Early History of the Township’. Include noteworthy events that occurred within
the township. A Time-Line of suggested events/topics is attached. Pick and
choose from that list depending on what relates to your township region.
Describe how
settlements took place ~ did an industry within the region draw workers? (For
example, the iron industry through the 1830s to 60s drew many Irish immigrants
who had come to America because of the potato famine in Ireland. They found
ready work at forges and furnaces. German farmers were attracted to the rich
soil found through the Morrisons Cove valley.) Was the region settled primarily
because a certain religious group located there (such as the Quaker Valley)?
Another example would be how Bedford Borough developed around the fort.
In this
section, include a transcript of the first tax assessment return taken
following the formation of the township, and/or the first return taken in the
region from which the township was formed. For example, if you are working on
Snake Spring Township, you should include the tax assessment return for 1857.
And you could also include the return for Providence in 1783 and West
Providence in 1844 to reveal who was residing in the Snake Spring township when
it was part of those earlier two township regions.
Include any
‘traditions’ or ‘legends’ from the early history of the township / region. (Be
sure to note if the information can be proven, or if it is just a ‘tradition’.)
Work your way
to a milestone that would define when the ‘present-day’ started for the
township. That could be the changing of the township’s primary industry or the
building of a road that diverted traffic from the earlier towns (resulting in
the development of new ‘transportation oriented’ businesses such as
restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores etc.).
5.) Describe the
township and its towns / boroughs today. Include all businesses and public
places. Most townships or towns have had an anniversary celebration in the
past, and they might have produced a ‘souvenir booklet’. Gather what
information you can from those booklets as a starting point for your research.
A suggestion on
how to identify places that you need to obtain information about is to travel
over every road within the township and make note of every place that is either
a business at the current time or looks like it had been a business in the
past. (For example, if you see a ‘Kendal Oil’ sign beside an old garage-type
building, it might have been either a repair garage or a gas station years ago.)
If there is a residence near the site, stop and ask the homeowners if they know
anything about it. You’ll find that most people are proud to tell you stories
about their history. You should visit every current business also to ask the
questions below.
How to Approach
Businesses and Private Homeowners for Information
a.) Introduce yourself by name and state
that you are working with the Bedford County Historical Society on a book for
the 250th Anniversary of the county in 2021. (You can also tell them that the
BCHS received a resolution from the Bedford County Commissioners to produce a
book for the 250th Anniversary.)
b.) Ask the person who answers the door if
you may ask a few questions about what the business is, when it was started,
and who started it. [There is no need to argue with anyone – if they do not
want to provide information, simply thank them and leave. Information about any
particular business can probably be found by asking a neighboring business.]
c.) Ask if they can give you any additional
information or history about the business – such as who were successive owners
of the business, if it changed names over the years, or any other important
things they’d like in the history book.
I organized the
present-day history of the townships in the book for Blair County by treating
them like I was doing a travelogue. You might want to do the same. I started at
one end of a road at the township line, worked my way to the end of that road
and then went back and did the same on each road that branched off that first
one. I noted where each current business, and every past business, was located
by whether it was on the north, south, east or west side of the road and a
simple relationship between one business and the next. In others words, after
noting “business A”, being on the north side of the road, I might note that
“business B” was located about half a mile past “business A” on the same side
of the road, and then that “business C” was located on the opposite side of the
road to “business B”. The reason I did that was so that fifty years from now,
if only “business B” is still standing, it will be easier to remember/guess
where the other two businesses were located.
6.) I would suggest
compiling a list of churches and cemeteries separate from the foregoing section.
By collecting all the churches and cemeteries together in a separate section,
they can more easily be found by the reader ~ as compared to searching through
all the other businesses to pick out the churches. Most churches maintain their
histories, and so should be easily researched.
7.) A list of
schools and their histories can also be separate from the foregoing sections.
8.) A list of
service organizations, including fire companies, police, etc., and their
histories can also be separate from the foregoing sections.
TIME PERIOD MILESTONES & SEMINAL
EVENTS
~ SUGGESTIONS FOR REGIONAL HISTORIES
1750s-1800s
|
1800s-1850s
|
Earliest settlements (incl. both Amerindian and
Euro-American)
Indian Paths to Military Roads (incl. Burds Road and
Forbes Road)
French & Indian War
Revolutionary War
Whiskey Rebellion
County, township and town development
Individual-based Industry (incl. grist mills,
tanneries, blacksmiths, gunsmiths etc.)
|
Early ‘national’ military conflicts (incl. War of
1812, Spanish American War, etc.)
Development of roads and travel (incl. toll roads,
taverns/inns, etc.)
Covered bridges
Telegraph
Group-based Industry (incl. coal mining, iron
forging, woolen mills etc.)
Start of oldest continuously published newspaper
(Bedford Gazette 1805)
Public Education – 1830s
|
1850s-1900s
|
1900s-1930s
|
Civil War (incl. slavery history, underground
railroad and anti-slavery movement, etc.)
Railroads (incl. towns created at railroad stops)
Beginning of Auto Industry
Transportation and Recreation (incl. hot spring spas
and hotels)
|
World War I
Prohibition
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 (resulting in the The
Great Depression of the 1930s)
WPA and CCC
Start of movie theaters and other entertainment
Migration of work ~ from farms to towns (facilitated
by better transportation
Sports
Rise of Service Clubs – Lions, Elks, Rotary
|
1930s-1950s
|
1950s-1970s
|
The Depression
World War II (incl. air force radar station in Pavia
twp at Blue Knob and internment of Japanese at Bedford Springs Hotel)
The “Resettlement” / (development of state game
lands)
Pennsylvania Turnpike (opened 1940)
Education (one-room schools)
|
Korean Conflict and Vietnam War
Fort Bedford Bicentennial (1958)
Education (consolidation of one-room schools into
“school districts”)
Highway and Inter-state Highways (smaller towns
by-passed and start of new commercial centers)
Bedford County Memorial Hospital (1951)
Radio Stations (WBFD 1955)
|
1970s-1990s
|
1990s-present
|
Bedford County Bicentennial (1771)
Old-Bedford Village
Tourism
|
Refurbishment of Bedford Springs Hotel
Recent companies locating in the county
|
