Rafting Days in Pennsylvania, written in 1922, contains stories from the men who traveled the Susquehanna River when Pennsylvania’s lumber boom was in its heyday. It was a dangerous job and among those who followed the tales of the raftmen was John H Chatham. Chatham shares some of the rafting terms used by those who eked out a living in northern Pennsylvania.
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As the borough of Catawissa in Columbia County celebrates 250 years, the Quaker (Friends) Meeting House has had a significant part in its history. A cemetery contains the graves of some of the earliest Quaker pioneers in that vicinity. The one-story log house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The borough of Catawissa in Columbia County is celebrating its 250th Birthday August 7th through the 11th, 2024. Moses Roberts is said to have built the first house in that area, which at the time was part of Northumberland County. On May 14th, 1940, the Morning Press newspaper of Bloomsburg, featured the history of Catawissa in its popular column, The Passing Throng.”
An earlier Susquehanna Footprints post entitled Early Transportation on The North Branch of the Susquehanna River, noted that from 1762 to 1825, most of the conveyance of goods or persons was carried on the Susquehanna River (as well as the Juniata). There were few roads, and the trails along the river and through the wilderness were paths. Those waterways were crucial to the development of Pennsylvania's interior.
On August 1, 1756, Fort Granville, located near the present site of Lewistown, Mifflin County, was attacked by a hostile force of fifty French and a hundred Indians. Those inside the Fort surrendered, the structure was burned, and survivors were forced to march to Kittanning.
The Pittsburgh Dispatch newspaper of July 13th, 1857, carried Samuel Askey’s obituary entitled “Death of a Mighty Hunter.” "The life of Mr. Askey as a pioneer and hunter will compare with that of Daniel Boone or David Crocket. Many of the most thrilling adventures with and hair-breadth escapes from the wild denizens of the forest have been heard from his own lips by the writer.
Imagine pulling thousands of shad from the Susquehanna River from fisheries, including a number between Berwick and Northumberland. In 1881, Two men shared their recollections of the early days when the shad made their annual runs on the Susquehanna.
An old country preacher from north central Pennsylvania needed to cling to the promises found in the Bible, especially since his faithful horse received the same monthly pension that he did.
In January of 1948, Hiram Cranmer of Hammersley Fork, Clinton County, sat down with a newspaper reporter from the Lock Haven Express, to share stories of his life in the lumber regions of northern Pennsylvania in the early 1900's. Here is one of those stories.
Born in Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania in 1889, Anna Wagner Keichline became the first woman architect named to the state registry in Pennsylvania. Keichline was the youngest of four children. She was the owner of seven patents. Keichline was also involved in World War I efforts, serving as a "special agent with military intelligence."
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