Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice 1885 Seven Counties History - Bradford County PA

1908 Postcard of Springfield  contributed by Creig Crippen

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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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