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1885 Seven Counties History - Bradford
County PA
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1908 Postcard of Springfield
contributed by Creig Crippen
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“HISTORY OF SEVEN COUNTIES presented by the Elmira Weekly
Gazette". It is an “Outline History of Tioga and Bradford Counties in
Pennsylvania, Chemung, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins and Schuyler in New York by
TOWNSHIPS, VILLAGES, BORO’S AND CITIES.” Written expressly for the Gazette
Company, Elmira, N. Y. Copyright 1885.From AN OUTLINE
HISTORY of Tioga and
Bradford
Counties in Pennsylvania, Chemung, Steuben,
Tioga, Tompkins and Schuyler in New York by TOWNSHIPS, VILLAGES, BORO'S AND
CITIES"
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SPRINGFIELD
TOWNSHIP
The town of Springfield was formed in 1813, taken
from Smithfield. The town was named by the first settlers in honor of
Springfield, Massachusetts. The town is bounded on the north by South
Creek and Ridgeberry, on the east by Smithfield, on the south by West Burlington
and Troy, and on the west by Columbia. Leona, Springfield and Mill City
are villages in the township. The soil is well adapted to grazing and the
dairy. The chief pursuit of the inhabitants is farming, and the beautiful
fields and well managed farms denote the prosperity of its citizens.
The early settlers were: Capt. John Harkness,
Ezekiel Leonard, John Leonard, William Eaton, Abel Eaton, William Harkness,
Ichabod Smith, Josephus Wing, James Mattocks, Luke Pitts, Joshua Speer, Stephen
Bliss, Oliver Gates, Henry Stever, Amaziah Thayer, Joseph Grover, Gurdon Grover,
James Harkness, Joseph Grace, Nehemiah Wilson, Abiel Fuller, Isaac Cooley,
Gaines Adams, Samuel Kingsbury, Thomas Pemberton, Samuel Campbell, William
Brace, John Parkhurst, David Brown, Charles Phillips, Lemuel White, William
Evans, Elam Bennett, Quartius Ely, Amos Sargent, John Sargent, Elisha Fanning,
Alexander Kennedy, Charles Burgess, Joseph Brooks, Wakeman Brooks, William
Faulkner, Austin Leonard, Charles Satterlee, Hosea Kennedy, John Salsbury, Seth
Salsbury.
--Springfield was originally known as Murraysfield.
--John Harkness was the first permanent settler,
March 1, 1804.
--The village of Leona, was formerly known as
“Leonards Hollow.”
--Hannah Morey died in 1809, the first death in
Springfield township.
--Samuel Campbell erected a distillery in 1810, in
Springfield township.
--William Nevins taught the first school in the
township, in the year 1808.
--John Harkness erected the first framed dwelling,
in 1805, in Springfield township.
--Austin Leonard erected the first saw mill in the
town of Springfield, in the year 1808.
--Prof. J. C. Doane, of the Mansfield State Normal
School, is a native of Springfield.
--Mt. Pisgah, is in the town of Springfield, is
one of the highest points in Bradford county.
--Luke Pitts erected a grist mill, in 1813.
The first grist mill in the township of Springfield.
--Hiram Harkness was born, April 20, 1805, the
first white child born in Springfield township.
--Abel Leonard and Abigal Leonard, were the first
couple married in Springfield township.
--James Mattocks, an early settler, received his
commission as captain from Governor McKean, August 3, 1807. He was
the first Justice of the Peace, and received his commission from Governor
Snyder, February 9, 1810.
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