As the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of Independence, it’s important to mention two individuals who had key roles in the Revolution and the future of what would become Montour County.

A biography of General William Montgomery in a booklet written by A.F. Russell in 1879 shows he was born August 3rd, 1736, in Londonderry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

“Montgomery was a prominent man in his native county before the Revolutionary war. His first appearance as a public man was as a member of the “Associators” of Chester County, and next as a delegate from Chester County in a convention “of the people of the Province of Pennsylvania called by the Philadelphia Committee” January 23rd, 1775.”

A few months earlier, in November 1774, he acquired 180 acres along Mahoning Creek and the Susquehanna River known as "Karkaase" from J. Simpson. Originally referred to as "Montgomery's Landing". 

In June 1776, then Colonel Montgomery’s battalion of the 4th Chester County militia, numbering 450 men, was “serving their tour” in New Jersey. Montgomery’s regiment was known as the “Flying Camp.” 

Following his military career, in late 1776 or early 1777, Montgomery brought his family to what is now Montour County. However, continued Indian hostilities forced Montgomery to remove his family until it was safe to return.

A log home was constructed at the corner of Mill and Bloom Streets in 1777. The stone house, which now serves as the home of the Montour County Historical Society, was built in 1783.

Montgomery became prominent in local affairs. He was a representative in Congress and President Judge of the Courts of Northumberland County. His son Daniel laid out lots for the town named in his honor. 

General William Montgomery died in 1816. They first buried him at the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Bloom Road, and then moved his remains to nearby Fairview Cemetery.

A full five years before General Montgomery came to the area, another Revolutionary War patriot, Phillip Maus, purchased some 600 acres of ground in 1769 along Mahoning Creek.

Philip was born in 1731 in Zweibrucken, Bavaria on the banks of the Rhine. His family came to Philadelphia in 1741.

In 1750, Maus was transferred from school to learn the manufacturing of stockings and other woolen fabrics, a business of much importance in the colony. In five years, Phillip became proficient and his business succeeded for nearly 20 years. It was then interrupted and suspended by the troubles with Great Britain.  

While the British Army occupied Philadelphia, Maus employed all the manufacturers of stockings in Reading, Lancaster, Lebanon, and other areas. He succeeded in supplying the destitute Army with 1000 pairs of stockings per week. Through his energy and perseverance, he continued to supply the army at the same rate until the end of the war. 

Phillip first visited his land purchase in 1782. But, again because of hostilities with the Indians, Maus had to flee before returning in 1786.

Phillip’s wife Frances, died in 1789. But he continued to make improvements to the land, including a sawmill in 1793, which provided most of the lumber for buildings in the area. 

Revolutionary War merchant and supporter Phillip Maus died in 1815. Some 240 years later the legacy of the Maus family lives on. 

Cemeteries throughout Montour County are final resting places for many unsung heroes of the American Revolution. 

We are reminded of a quote by General George Washington to the New York legislature in June of 1775, “When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.”