MOTHER CUMBERLAND and the FORMATION OF
BEDFORD COUNTY
{A
capsule summary of the region that was formed as Bedford Township within
Cumberland
county through its changes to become the single county of Bedford at
the
present time.}
Brief
History of Cumberland formed from York County {formed from Lancaster County}
The
Act erecting Bedford County out of Cumberland
Geographical
boundaries of the new county {including map}
Eventual
separation of additional counties out of Bedford:
Huntingdon
(1787), Somerset (1795) and Cambria (1804), Blair (1846), and
Fulton
(1850).
THE AMERINDIAN SOJOURN IN THIS REGION
The
Tribe/ Clan
The
Kinship System
The
Historic Period Inhabitants According To Prior Historians
The
Tribes Which Sojourned In This Region
Evidence
Of Indian Occupation In This Region – Sites, Cultural Influences, etc.
THE EURO~AMERICAN SETTLERS OF BEDFORD
COUNTY
CUMBERLAND
COUNTY 1750-1771
1754 Ayr Township formed
1767 Barree, Bedford, Colerain, Cumberland
(Valley) & Dublin Townhips formed
1768 Brothers Valley Township formed
BEDFORD
COUNTY 1771-1783
1771 Armstrong, Fairfield, Hempfield, Mount
Pleasant, Pitt, Ross Straver, Spring
Hill,
Tullileague,
and Tyrone Townships formed / removed 1773
1773 Bethel, Hopewell & Turkeyfoot Townships
formed
1775 Frankstown & Quemahoning Townships
formed
1779 Huntingdon & Sherley Townships formed
1780 Milford & Providence Townships formed
The
Pioneer Settlers Of Bedford County
Traders
Homesteaders’
Daily Lives
Amerindian
Incursions / Settler Massacres
BEDFORD COUNTY IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN
WAR
Braddock’s
Expedition
The
Forbes Expedition
Erection
of Forts at Juniata Crossing and Raystown and string of supply redoubts
Colonel
John Armstrong’s Expedition
Boquet’s
Expedition
BEDFORD COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
The
Revolutionary Spirit ~ including the Black Boys incident at Fort Bedford
The Bedford
Resolves
The Raising Of
The Militia
The Rangers On
The Frontier
The Bedford
County Militia
The Battalions
The Homefront
The Birth Of The
Continental Line
The Pennsylvania
Continental Line
The Tories And Loyalists
The Massacre Of Philips’ Rangers (now
Huntingdon County)
The 3rd Of June,
1781 (The Engagement Of Frankstown ~ now Blair
County)
Fortifications
utilized during the American Revolutionary War
The Patriots Of
Bedford County
The Patriots Of Blair County
The Patriots Of Fulton County
The Patriots Of Huntingdon County
The Patriots Of Cambria and Somerset
Counties
The Patriots'
Final Resting Place
BEDFORD COUNTY AND THE WHISKEY REBELLION
BEDFORD COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE
OTHER WARS
The War Of 1812
The Mexican War
Of 1846
The Civil
War or
War Of The Rebellion
Bedford County's
Contribution To The Union Armies Of The Civil War
The
Fortification/Defence of Loys Gap
Fort Wagner To
Appomattox
The Spanish
American War
The Philippine
Insurrection
The Boxer
Rebellion
The Mexican
Revolution
World War I
World War II
The Korean
Conflict
The War In
Vietnam
Hotspots In The
Middle East – Kuwait / Desert Storm
The Iraqi War
The War in
Afghanistan
THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY OF BEDFORD COUNTY
UPMC Bedford
Hyndman
Area Health Center - Hyndman
Hyndman
Area Health Center - Bedford
A HISTORY OF THE
BEDFORD COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
THE BLAIR BEDFORD CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL
AFL CIO
BEDFORD COUNTY'S IRON INDUSTRY
THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF BEDFORD COUNTY
A CULTURAL HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY
From The Early Opera Houses To Theatres
Literature And
The Oratorical Arts
The Musical
Heritage Of Blair County
The Appreciation
And Practice Of The Visual Arts In Blair County
Historical
Societies In Blair County
Sports and
Recreation
Shawnee
Park
Taking the
Waters at the Hot Springs
Chalebeate
Bedford Springs
THE RAILROADS, THE HIGHWAYS/TURNPIKE AND
THE AIRPORT
THE TOWNSHIPS AND BOROUGHS OF BEDFORD
COUNTY
WEST PROVIDENCE
TOWNSHIP (Chapter divided into sections as follows)
Section 1
The
Court action (Commissioners’ Report, etc) stating the formation of the new
Township
[This should be a verbatim transcript (spelling, punctuation and
grammar
exactly as in original), including additional text highlighted and in
parentheses
(in place, or in a paragraph following), describing the present-
day
location of the various points.
For example: “…thence along a line south seventy-two
degrees east
five
miles to a white oak near George Lingenfelter’s
house
(at
a point to the south side of State Route 56
where
that road crosses the present-day boundary of
the
township)…”]
Section 2
A
paragraph describing the Origin of the Township’s Name
A
paragraph listing the Townhip’s Neighboring Townships and Any Boroughs and
Towns
Within the Township’s boundaries
A
paragraph listing all Rivers, Streams, Runs & Springs Within the Township
Section 3
The Early
Settlement Of West ProvidenceTownship
[It
is important to include information from past histories ~ BUT care must
be
taken to check the information as much as possible to determine if
it
is accurate. The 1884 History by Waterman, Watkins & Co (like so
many
County and State histories) was produced by the publishing
company
sending a group of individuals/researchers into the region.
Some
went to the Court House and copied the county’s vital statistics,
while
others went into the villages and towns and collect verbal
sources
- they asked the shopkeepers, postmasters and other business
owners
to tell them who were the earliest settlers and how the towns
were
formed and grew. When the historical information in those
history
books is compared to primary sources, such as tax
assessments and
court records, it is sometimes found that the verbal
sources often skewed
the information to their own families. The
previously published
history books can be used as guides, but original
research is advised.
~ And if the research finds that the story line
needs to be changed,
then change it to reflect the primary sources. If
all that is intended
is to repeat certain flawed information that might be
found in the
1884 History, then do just that – reprint that volume. I am
not advocating
that everything in the 1884 History be challenged –
most of
it is probably accurate – what I am advocating is taking
advantage of
this opportunity to ‘set the record straight’ if necessary.]
Section 4
Everett Borough
[This
can be treated as a ‘travelogue’ or ‘walking tour’ describing each
business
or public building encountered along the way as one moves
from
one end of a road or street to the other. As each new business or
public
building is added to the tour, its history can be included (type
of
business, date started, original owners/subsequent owners,
interesting
details).]
Section 5
West Providence
Township's Recent Years
Section 6
Churches And
Cemeteries Of West Providence Township and Everett Borough
Section 7
Schools Of West
Providence Township and Everett Borough
Section 8
Service Organizations Of West Providence Township and Everett
Borough
Section 10
Photos
of West Providence Township and Everett Borough
[It
is absolutely important that photos be taken throughout the township or
borough
– of road or street views, farms, landmark structures or
natural
features. The book should not contain only the usual group of
‘historic’
properties which were already included in past books. The
image
of a house built two years ago by a non-famous family will be
just
as important as a document of this time period, many years from
now,
as the Espy House or one of the churches in use one hundred
years
ago currently is. Also, with photos including their community,
many
more people might be motivated to use and/or purchase the
book,
feeling a sense of belonging by seeing their homes and
hometowns
in the photos.]
[The rest of the
townships/borough would be set up same as foregoing West Providence]
