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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Long Overdue Update on the Book




Although I haven't updated this blog lately ~ in fact the last post was more than a year ago ~ that should not be interpreted as the book not progressing. The fact of the matter is that being so engrossed in working on the book is the reason I failed to provide an update before this. 

I currently have 579 pages of text completed. The completed sections include the earliest history of the county that involved the Forbes Campaign and the building of the fortifications and supply depots in the county. The establishment of the village of Bedford as the seat of the new county and the creation of the court system is covered in detail. Details about the construction of the various court house buildings is included. I explained how the settlement of the region, especially along the Forbes Road, was encouraged and facilitated by the taverns and inns, the grist and saw mills, the blacksmiths and wainwrights and eventually the coming of 'bespoke' craftsmen. The early history of the village of Bedford, and later its incorporation into Bedford Borough, provides the preface to a history of the changes the borough has undergone to the present time.


The histories of the various townships (and of the towns and boroughs within them) have been divided into groups according to 'regions.' The townships of King, Kimmel, Lincoln, Pavia, East St. Clair and West St. Clair are included in the 'Northwest Corner' region. The townships of Mann, Monroe and Southampton are included in the 'Southeast Corner.' The townships of Bedford, Colerain and Snake Spring are included in the 'Center' region. So as you can see from just these three examples, the townships will be presented in alphabetical order within each particular region.


At the present time, the chapters are completed for the townships of Bloomfield, East Providence, East St. Clair, King, Kimmel, Lincoln, Napier, Pavia and West St. Clair. Also completed are the boroughs of Alum Bank, Bedford, New Paris and Schellsburg. Where appropriate, individuals who assisted in either gathering research, providing proofreading or actually writing portions of text were noted. For example Doris Dibert assisted with information about a couple historic taverns in Snake Spring Township and Hubert Whysong proofread and supplied corrections and additions for the chapter on Pavia Township. The chapter and/or section titles include statements similar to "Research assisted by Doris Dibert".


And I should note that in the last post I noted a suggested title for the book. I am pleased to say at this time that the title will, indeed, be: Bedford County, Pennsylvania ~ Two And One-Half Centuries In The Making.



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