FOSTER TOWNSHIP Is named for Asa L. Foster, one of a company consisting of himself, Richard Sharp, George Belford, Francis Weiss, William Reed and John Leisenring, who came here in 1854 on an exploring expedition for coal on the lands of the estate of Tench Coxe, with a view of opening mines. Their examination was entirely satisfactory and they opened the place that is now Eckley-at first called Fillmore, where they erected, at a cost of 7,000, a sawmill and mining works, and opened a mine and the next year shipped 2,000 tons of coal to market. When they came this was an unbroken mountainous wilderness. The township contains fifty square miles of territory, and was erected into a township in 1855, of territory taken from the original Denison township. It has so little arable land that outside of its timber and coal, it would never have been able to support even a sparse population. But of these two articles it was immeasureably rich; the timber is now mostly cut away but new coal developments will go on for many years. Standing on any of the prominent points you can see the great towering black breakers or the white steam rising therefrom on nearly every hillside. Sandy Run creek flows east to the Lehigh river through the township and its narrow valley has about all the good farming land it possesses. John Lines was the pioneer settler, at what is now White Haven, in 1824. He cleared a "patch" near Terrapin pond. All the evidence shows that this was the oldest settled point off the river in the township. Terrapin pond is in Pond creek, the other stream besides Sandy run that rises near Upper Lehigh village, and is joined by Sandy run in the southeast part of the township. The nearest neighbors Lines had for a long time were at Lawreytown, now Rockport, seven miles down the River Lehigh. About 1840 Thomas Morrison came and located on Pond creek about three miles southeast of White Haven. Since White Haven is a separated borough this would make Morrison the first settler of the township in its present form. Morrison was a man of great enterprise and considerable means. He built two sawmills and a gristmill and to operate these mills and cut and haul the logs and then the lumber required quite a force of men and the place was soon a noted spot in the wilderness and roads were made over the hills to the river. So important was the Morrison settlement that it was granted a postoffice and Mr. Morrison kept it. Mrs. William Johnson (a Birkbeck), who lived with the Morrisons when she was young, thinks they settled at their place in 1838. She says Thomas Morrison was an Irish gentleman, a widower with two children-Sarah and James. A Mrs. Lytle was his housekeeper. She had two daughters-Mary and Catharine. Mr. Morrison married one of the girls and his son married the other. Mr. Morrison's valuable mills were burned and this crippled him financially, but after some time he rebuilt further up the pond. A schoolhouse was built and there were probably a hundred souls in the Morrison settlement. The next pioneer in Foster was Joseph Birkbeck, who came in 1844 and settled at what was for a long time called South Heberton, in the valley between Freeland and Upper Lehigh. He purchased a large tract of land of Edward Lynch, a part of which is now in the borough of Freeland. He built first a log house, and then a frame which stands a short distance north of the Freeland north borough line. The next settler was Nathan Howes (Howey), who purchased the west part of the Birkbeck tract and built his house to the west a short distance from Birkbeck's. Mr. Birkbeck, after the opening of the collieries at Upper Lehigh, laid off a village and called it South Heberton. Mr. Birkbeck's was the first clearing in this then forest; in it were raised the first crops, and here the first orchard was set out. The first child born at South Heberton was Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Birkbeck, born in 1845. The first death at this place was that of William, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Birkbeck, which occurred February 11, 1846, aged four years. In 1845 and 1846 Mr. Joseph Birkbeck cut the road through the woods from South Heberton through Eckley to Buck mountain. Eckley was then known as Shingletown, as no business was done there except by two or three parties whose occupation was making shingles, carting them to either White Haven or Hazleton and trading them for the necessaries of life, such as whisky, pork and tobacco. The first store at South Heberton was kept by a man named Feist, a little west of Birkbeck's. Soon afterward a Mr. Minig kept a little store near Feist's. The first tavern was kept by N. Howes, where Joseph Jamison now lives a little west of Birkbeck's. Previous, however, to the opening of Howes' tavern, Mr. Birkbeck accommodated parties who were prospecting in this region for anthracite deposits, with the best the house afforded. The first schoolhouse at this place was built in 1878, and is a frame building. When Mr. and Mrs. Birkbeck moved into this then wilderness they were far from any settlement. At Morrison, near White Haven, was the nearest store, and Straw's, over in Butler, was the nearest gristmill. South Heberton has long since lost its identity and is now simply a cluster of houses midway between Freeland and Upper Lehigh along the wagon road. Birkbeck's sawmill is at the turn of the road just east of Upper Lehigh, and what was mainly South Heberton is now known as Upper Lehigh, an important mining town owned by the Upper Lehigh company. It was platted in 1865 and has nice regular streets and blocks, and is well built and noted among mining towns for its orderly neatness and superior miners' dwellings, of which there are over 200, all double tenements. The mansions of the proprietors and superintendents, chief clerk, foreman and others are elegant and modern in all improvements. The Nescopeck branch of the New Jersey Central approaches the place from the east. In 1867 a postoffice was established and the mails came from Eckley. The company has first-class machine shops here, and expert machinists are employed in large numbers. The company store was opened in 1866. The Upper Lehigh hotel (built by the company) was opened for guests January 28, 1869, by Conrad Seiple. The village is supplied with pure spring water from the reservoir on the north hills. The mines at this important village were opened in 1866. Jeddo-named for Jed Ireland. A part of the borough extends into Foster, and in this portion is the railroad depot. A short distance below this is Foundryville, where Merrick had his foundry; it is now a station and mining town. The old, important mining town of Eckley, the place where first was developed the coal of this township in 1854, and is a part of the Coxe Bros. & Co. property, is east and a little south of Jeddo, a little more than a mile, on the north side of East Pismire hill; a branch road runs to it from the Lehigh and is on Coxe's belt line road. Highland, another mining town of the Markle mines, is northeast of Jeddo, about two miles, and is connected with the main line of the Lehigh Valley road by the Highland Branch road. On the wagon road east of Highland is a steam sawmill. In the extreme southeast corner of the township is the J. H. Neiss powder mill and a short distance east of it is the Pardee sawmill. The east line of the township is the Lehigh river until you approach the north line and reach White Haven. The old Woodside slope was once an active colliery but is not worked at this time. It is a short distance west of Freeland borough and toward Drifton. Drifton is the headquarters of Coxe Bros. & Co.; about a mile southeast of Freeland and at the junction of the two lines of that road. It is the end of the double track of the Lehigh as you go east. Operations of this firm commenced here in 1864. It is the headquarters of the Susquehanna & Lehigh railroad-the private property of Coxe Bros. & Co. For a better idea of the place see chapter "Coal" in the paragraph "Hon. Eckley B. Coxe." Sandy Run is another mining village on the Lehigh Valley road southeast of Freeland. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP Was formed in 1843, of territory taken from Kingston, Exeter and Dallas townships, and named in honor of Col. John Franklin, who was not only one of the heroes of the Revolution, but of the long and cruel Pennamite-Yankee wars that raged with such vigor over the beautiful valley. It is supposed that Gideon Bebee was probably the first settler on land belonging to the heirs of the late Rev. Oliver Lewis. The Bebee family did not remain long here, and when they moved away the place soon grew up with weeds and brambles. About this time Mr. Pease, of Hanover, walked twelve miles to his work, and made his clearing adjoining Bebee. Both improvements were abandoned; but the clearing was long known as Pease's field. The spot was in the northeastern part of the township. It is surmised that these attempts at settlement were made during the early seventies of the eighteenth century. The township contains sixteen square miles, and fully one-half is excellent farm land. The oak and pine and hemlock forests were in an early day cleared away, and farms took their place. On the side hills are lands that produce well. Ezra Olds and Michael Munson, from Connecticut, came in 1782. Munson's son, Salmon Munson, occupied his father's place in recent years, though the original settler did not tarry long when he came, but removed to the West. Walter Munson came from the East in 1807, and built near where his son long lived, near the Old's place. Rev. George W. Munson married Sally Ann Lewis, and resided on his father's old homestead many years. Walter Munson, Sr., was living with his family on the opposite side of the river from Wyoming when the massacre occurred; he was but five years of age at the time, but with his older brother Wilmot made the trip back to Connecticut. The old Revolutionary soldier, Capt. Artemadorus Ingersoll, made his improvement just below the Munsons. He entered the patriot army when fourteen years of age, and served throughout the war; married Miss Newberry just before he came to this county, where six of their children grew to maturity. He was an excellent farmer, and operated his sawmill. The last of the Ingersoll family descendants in this part of the country was a Mr. Holmes, who died several years ago. Capt. Ingersoll died fifty-two years ago. Another patriotic veteran who came to Franklin township in 1809 was Alexander Lord, born in Boston, June 19, 1777; when the War of 1812 broke out he volunteered, and was a drummer in the company of Wyoming volunteers. He died September 7, 1859, aged eighty-two years. Abel Hall came about the same time as the Munsons, settled just below the Flat Rock schoolhouse, where the family resided many years. Another family named Rogers were early settlers; one of them, Elisha Rogers, it is said built the first frame in the village of Orange. Elisha and his wife Rhoda lived to an advanced age; their son Alamanza married Mrs. Tyrrell. Her grave and that of Sylvia (Mrs. Cyrus Mann), were the first in the township marked by marble slabs. Mr. Munson built the first sawmill in the township; it was on Sutton creek, in 1808. About the same time Elijah Brace built the first and only gristmill on the same stream. This mill was rebuilt in 1828 by Conrad Kunkle. William Brace, Benjamin Chandler and James Hadersel, we are told by Stewart Pearce, were among the early settlers. Thomas Mann was an early settler, and improved the place where lived Charles Franz. A little later, but still old settlers, were Josephus Cone, Amos Jackson, Robert Moore, Jacob Halstead, Benjamin Decker and Jona Wood; David O. Culver came about 1790 and settled in the northeast part of the township, where he lived and died at an advanced age. The Culvers came of two brothers who were on board the "Mayflower." This Culver's father was David Culver. Rev. Oliver Lewis came about the time of the Culvers and possessed the Bebee land. He lived here and preached until his death, aged seventy-seven. A long-time resident of the township was Samuel Snell, from New York; succeeded by his eldest son, Abram V. Snell. The later of the prominent families were the Winters, Badles, Corwins, Sewards, Hallocks, Durlands, Casterlins, Longwells, Dewitts, and a German family named Wintz. The only village in the township is Orange, situated near its center, where Jacob Drake was the first settler, and for a long time it was called Draketown; when it became a postoffice it was called Unison. When the township was established A. C. Thompson kept store there, and he called it Franklin Center. This caused some confusion, and a new name had to be provided, and as many of the families had come from Orange, N. Y., that name was adopted. Before this name was the permanent one, it, like many other places, had all kinds of whimsical callings. When Almanza Rodgers kept the store, he, in order to keep the shingle-makers from cheating him, procured pinchers to pull out some of the inside shingles, and then the place was called "Pinchersville." The nucleus of the place has always been the store, and some of the keepers were Harley Green, James Lawrence Brown, Abel C. Thompson, Benjamin Saylor, James Holcomb and Henry Bodle. The first hotel in the place was by Peter Hallock, succeeded by John Worden, Jacob Shales, Dennis Alsop, Felton, Hiram Brace, Harvey Brace, Maj. Warring, Mrs. Warring, Housenick, Robinson, Thomas Totten, Albert Smith, Chauncey Calkins, D. A. La Barre. Dr. Skeels was the first physician; then Dr. Brace, Dr. Parker, Dr. William Thompson, Dr. McKee and Dr. John C. Morris. Orange is a very nice village, the trading and business point for the surrounding farming country. There is a store, hotel, harness shop. blacksmith shop and two churches in the hamlet. Ketcham post office, in Franklin, is a farmhouse. The first road passed from Wyoming over Olds hill to Tunhannock; a road starting at the river and following up Sutton creek intersected the other road on Olds hill. The population of Franklin township in 1850 was 833; reduced in 1880 to 593; again in 1890 to 521. FREELAND. Perched upon the Broad mountain 2,190 feet above tidewater, sits as a jeweled crown the beautiful, thriving and bustling borough of Freeland-one of the most rapidly improving of any of the boroughs of southern Luzerne county. Here is a town built by employes-laborers mostly, who worked in the collieries near by on every hand, and while they worked in the valleys they concluded to make their homes on the hill, and the result is that in rather quick order they built here the queen town of all the surrounding country for miles and miles. In 1842 Joseph Birkbeck purchased a part of the land on which the borough stands and immediately commenced to improve his farm, building his residence a short distance north of what is now the north borough line. The Birkbeck estate now owns the farm land joining the north borough limits. About the same time Aaron Howe (or Howey), commenced to open his farm to the west of Birkbeck, and the most of the town is built upon a part of his tract. These two then, were the pioneer settlers in this part of Foster township. They built their houses on the side of the hill and cleared and farmed the land along the hillside down into the valley. The first settler within the borough limits was William Johnson, laborer; then Thomas Morgan, a blacksmith from Jeddo; he sold to Patrick McGlynn; then came James Williamson, from Eckley, whose family still reside in the place. The first store was opened by Joseph Lindsey in 1875; then H. C. Koons started his place of business. Lindsey's store was on what is now the corner of Pine and Walnut streets, and Koons' was on the corner of Front and Center streets. The next store was that of Thomas Campbell, who is still one of the leading business men of 564 the place. The first schoolhouse was put up in 1868, and in time, where it stood In 1868 A. Donop, who was a clerk for G. B. Markle, at Jeddo, with an eye to good investments and a keen appreciation of the natural location, purchased the land and laid out the village and offered lots on favorable terms to settlers. ing his judgment, he at once built for himself the building known as the "Old BackHomestead," opposite the postoffice. He named it Freehold, and this name continued until they came to name their post office, when it was changed to Freeland. The "point" had already grown to such importance that a postoffice had been granted and considerable business was flowing in and out of the place. However, there was no rush of capital here, nor was there a marked inflow of people. But Mr. Donop was active in sounding the advantages of the place and he offered lots for $10 bills that now are held up in the thousand mark. for several years. The very modest business places that have been opened catered There was a steady but slow growth to the trade that was about the country at that time, when almost anything was more abundant than purchasers with hard cash. However, before the end of the first decade, such had been the prosperity of Donop's village that necessity demanded that proper clothes be provided for the youngster, and a movement was set on foot to organize a borough. An election was held and the vote was largely in the affirmative, and on September 11, 1876-the great centennial year-Freeland became a borough and the village swaddling clothes were laid aside forever. the seat, it has been suggested by Mr. Thomas A. Buckley that they be generously As the garments had not been so long worn as to be out at given to Drifton, Jeddo, Upper Lehigh, Oakdale, Highland, Sandy Run, Eckley, Pond Creek, Buck Mountain, Drums, Honey Hole, or any of the other of the contributary places to their capital and business place; for their valuable contributions in the way of bringing here their trade, and for the other contributions in the way of thrifty residents. The first officers were elected October 10, 1876, as follows: Burgess, Rudolph Ludwig; council, Henry Koons, president council, Manus Connaghan, John L. Jones, Patrick McGlynn, Hugh O'Donnell and Christopher Wiegand. High constable was appropriately enough William Johnson, who built the first house in the place. A. Donop, the village proprietor, was the first clerk. The borough was The formed from Foster township and is bounded by the township on all sides. incorporators had no very exalted ideas of the future of the place, and did not cut the clothes as is done for boys, "to allow for growing." The result is that to-day the smallest part of the place is the borough proper. It is emphatically mostly an "overflow 99 town, like they have overflow meetings in a hot campaign; the big end of the place is "out of doors," and it makes it a powerfully deceiving village. Strangers turn to the census and find it reported with a population of 1,730, but when you come to see it, you find the borough boundary line is one of the main streets in the place. A witty Irishman worked out the puzzle and said it was a kangaroo townall hind legs. This little oddity is in the course of rapid correction, and not much doubt that by the time this is in the book, the borough limits will be properly extended and then Freeland will have nearly 5,000 population, or thereabouts. A consummation the good patriots of the borough look forward to with great interest. The burgesses and clerks in the succession are as follows: Rudolph Ludwig; clerk, A. Donop; both re-elected. In 1888, Rudolph Ludwig 1877, burgess, and George C. Farrar; 1879, D. J. McCarthy and George C. Farrar; 1880, both |