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Dar Award
Wellsboro Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution honors Timothy Coates and his descendants as part of their Historical and Bicentennial program.
A presentation and dedication of a memorial plaque
honoring Timothy Coates, Revolutionary Soldier and pioneer of Cowanesque
Valley, will be held April 12, 1976 at 7:00 p.m. at the Elkland Community
Library, Elkland, Pa. Descendents of Timothy Coates and Content Stuart
are urged to be present.
Sandy Crawford, Gracia Tubbs. Rhoda ENGLISH Ladd
Those participating and representing the Wellsboro Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution are Mrs. A. William Ladd [Rhoda ENGLISH Ladd], Chapter Historian of Wellsboro, Pa., Betty Campbell, Chaplain of Osceola and Sandy Crawford, chapter member and co-chairman of the book "Elkland, Pa. 1976 As We See It", which is being printed.
Accepting the memorial plaque for the Elkland Community Library at Elkland is Gracia Tubbs.
Timothy Coates, a pioneer and Revolutionary Soldier, who settled in the Elkland area prior to 1790 was born about 1750 and died after 1804. He was married to Content Stuart, and served in the Revolution as a private from Connecticut. The above has been accepted by the National DAR Society and is listed in the DAR Patriot Index.
Members of this family also use the (Stewart) spelling. Timothy Coates was born in Stonington, Connecticut. He was married to Content Stewart who was born June 6, 1754, a daughter of William and Elizabeth Stevens Stewart, Jr.
Timothy Coates enlisted in the 6th Conn. Regiment, under Col. Parsons, 3rd Company, as a private; discharged December 10, 1775. He lived in Otsego County, New York during the war and was in Tioga County prior to 1790.
Descendents claim that Timothy Coates is buried in the Fairview Cemetery at Osceola, Pa., but a stone was never located. Therefore permission was granted by the Historian General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution for Wellsboro Chapter to place a bronze memorial plaque at Elkland on the Elkland Library as part of their Historical and Bicentennial Project for 1976.
The father of Timothy Coates, the Revolutionary soldier, was Timothy Coates Sr. and he served in the French and Indian War and died at Fort Edward Hospital, New York, September 2, 1758.
I give here the children of Timothy and Content Stewart Coates: Frederick married a woman by the last name of Bliss; Timothy married Louvina Boyce; Harriet married Amasa Culver; Linsford married Mary Jane Taylor; Polly married James Carpenter; Betsey married Robert Joy; Sabra married James Daily; Elizabeth married first Samuel Tubbs, who was the son of Samuel Tubbs, Revolutionary Soldier and grandson of Lebbeus Tubbs, also a Revolutionary Soldier who both were in service at the Wyoming Massacre. She married second John Mascho.
Descendents of the above families are welcome to attend the presentation and dedication services.
History of Tioga County
Tioga County was not organized as a separate county until the year 1804, at which time it was separated from Lycoming County, Lycoming County had previously been a part of Northumberland County. The territory embraced in Tioga County as well as a considerable part of other present northern Pennsylvania territory was originally claimed by Connecticut as well as by Pennsylvania. This land was included in both the grant of Charles II of England to the Connecticut Colony and the grant to William Penn in the 17th century.
During the early years of both colonies the fact that the same land had been included in both grants was not a matter of importance as there was sufficient undisputed land granted to both colonies to take care of the needs of the settlers. However, by the middle of the Revolutionary War the land in the colony of Connecticut was beginning to wear out, and the New Englanders began to push west. A company was formed in Connecticut for the purpose of exploiting the land in present northern Pennsylvania which Connecticut claimed.
Connecticut settler began to push into northern Pennsylvania armed with Connecticut titles to the land. This activity on the part of the Connecticut claimants stimulated the Pennsylvania colony in asserting its rights to the disputed territory. In 1784 the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, Pennsylvania purchased the Indian title to all the land in Tioga County and several other counties in northern Pennsylvania Land Speculators. The controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania as to the disputed territory was settled in favor of Pennsylvania by the Decree of Trenton, which was a board of arbitrators appointed to settle the dispute. The Connecticut people were not inclined to accept the Decree and continued to push into northern Pennsylvania for the purpose of settlement.
The first settler in Tioga County, Samuel Baker, a Connecticut claimant, located at or near the present site of Lawrenceville in 1787. Within the next two or three years there was a settlement at Lawrenceville consisting of several families, all Connecticut claimants.
The land speculators who had purchased the Pennsylvania titles to the disputed territory in 1785 did nothing with regard to the settlement for several years but were content to have the warrants surveyed and patents issued to them for the land. However, in about 1792 one of these Pennsylvania speculators, James Strawbridge, established himself in Deerfield Township approximately 19 miles west of the Connecticut settlement at Lawrenceville. Strawbridge made a clearing, built a house, a barn, and a mill. It was apparently the intention of Strawbridge to make his home in the wilderness. However, in nearly 1793 a controversy took place between Strawbridge and the Connecticut people at Lawrenceville over the title to the land. No details are known as to the extent of this controversy, but it is known that there was a fight between the rival claimants. As a result of this fight, both sides became afraid of the other. Strawbridge abandoned his settlement and went back to Philadelphia. Samuel Baker and other Connecticut people abandoned their claims and went into New York State and settled.
During the next few years other Connecticut people came into Tioga County and extended their settlements up the Cowanesque and Tioga Valleys. These valleys contained the best farming land within the present county. Although the settlements from New England had to give up their claim that the territory was a part of Connecticut and acknowledge the sovereignty of Pennsylvania, they maintained their habits and customs. The early influence of New England upon the settlement of Tioga County is still in evidence today by the types of architecture of the other buildings, the lay-out of the towns, and the speech accent of the people.
Wellsboro, the county seat, was settled about 1808. Tioga County was formed as a separate county as the result of the political manipulations of the Pine Creek Land Company. This company owned considerable land in southern and central Tioga County. The company brought about the formation of the separate county of Tioga with the idea that it would enhance the value of its lands and promote the sale thereof. The selection of the site of the county seat in the heart of the area owned by the Pine Creek Land Company was the result of the workings of this company to increase the value of its lands. Although the county was formed in 1804, separate government did not get under way until 1812.
The chief early industry of the county was lumbering. The mining of coal in the southern part of the county was also an early industry. An outcropping of coal was discovered as early as 1793 when the Williamson Road from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to Bath, New York was cut through the county. By 1900 lumbering ceased to be an important industry. In recent years coal mining in the county has declined and is negligible at the present time.
Today, Tioga County is chiefly an agricultural area specializing in the production of milk. The chief industries are tanneries at Elkland and Westfield, a branch of Corning Glass Works at Wellsboro, and foundaries at Blossburg, and gloves were manufactured at Elkland, Knoxville, and Westfield.
Military History of Early Elkland
Although Elkland was not settled until some years after the close of the Revolutionary War, many of our settlers were veterans of that war. Among the soldiers of the Revolution who settled in Elkland were Reuben Cook, Sr. who settled in Elkland about 1795 or 1796; Andrew Holiday who came here around 1800; Samuel Tubbs, Sr. who removed from Southport, near Elmira, in 1811; and John Ryon, Sr. who also came from Southport some time after 1811.
In our day of wars and rumors of war we are apt to forget that our forefathers had the same worries. Also the founders of this country, as well as the settlers of Elkland, did not like compulsory military training any better than we do today.
In 1807 a law was passed by the legislature of Pennsylvania directing the organization of the militia. But no militia was organized in the Cowanesque Valley until 1812; at which time a company of militia was formed. Battalion training in Tioga County was usually held at Knoxville, or at Willardsburg (Tioga). Later "trainings" were held at Osceola and at Elkland. Company training was held at Osceola and at Elkland. Company training was held the first Monday in May and battalion training the second Monday in May of each year. These trainings were compulsory for all able bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45.
During the War of 1812 the British burned the city of Buffalo and this apparently exposed eastern New York and Pennsylvania to invasion by the British army. Many men from Tioga County and the Cowanesque Valley rushed to the aid of their country. A company of militia was formed at Lawrenceville and four men from in and around Elkland and Osceola were in the company. They were Samuel Tubbs, Jr., David Taylor, Reuben Cook, Jr., and Andrew Bozard. But the British withdrew after the burning Buffalo and did not attempt an invasion to the east. The local militia was disbanded and the men sent home.
Col. Marinus Stull, an early settler of Elkland, served in the War of 1812 from New York state and after the war settled in Elkland.
On May 15th, 1830 a battalion training was held on the south side of the Cowanesque river on the low flat lands near the Elkland – Osceola boundary. Among the field officers on that day were Philip Taylor, Colonel and Marinus Stull, Major. Timothy Coates was Captain of the Elkland company. The day was very cold and snow fell. The men came on foot and on horseback. They had to ford the river or cross on a foot bridge which had been built over the river near this point.
A roster of the 6th company, 2nd
battalion, 3rd regiment, Pennsylvania militia dated June 1848,
and under the command of James Tubbs, contains the names of all the able
bodied men of Elkland and vicinity. Many of the names are represented in
and around Elkland today. This is the list of the 6th company:
| Thomas Allen | Lintsford Jay |
| Joseph Baker | Sam. T. Jenkins |
| Wm. Barker, Jr. | David P. Knapp |
| Cornelius Beagle | David McCann |
| James Beagle | Ebenzer Mead |
| Henry Bennet, Jr. | Elisha Montgomery |
| Anson Blackman | P. Norcross |
| Jacob Brooks | Chas. Ouderkirk |
| Abner Blanchard | Abram Palmer |
| Malachi Bosard | John Parkhurst |
| Peter Bosard | Joel Parkhurst |
| William Brooks | Beebe Parkhurst |
| Samuel Buck | Wm.Peaslee |
| Sylvester Bullock | Wm. Peck |
| Isaac Bullock | John Ransom |
| James Cady | Henry Rathbun |
| Miner Cady | John Rathbun |
| Robert Campbell | John Robbins |
| William Campbell | Milo W. Rose |
| Edward Cary | James Rowley |
| Timothy Coates | Geo. L. Ryon |
| David Coates | Beager Saxbury |
| John Coates | Stephen Scallin |
| Alfred Congdon | Henry Seeley |
| Banj. Congdon | Allen Seeley |
| Russell Crandall | D. B. Schoff |
| John Culp | Orlando Shutes |
| Chas. Frederick Culver | Stephen Shutes |
| Amasa Culver | Geo. Simons |
| Ferry Dailey | Henry Smith |
| Vincent Dailey | Eleazer Smith |
| John Davenport | Sylvester Smith |
| L. S. Dolson | Stephen Stacy |
| Daniel K. Finch | Sam Staples |
| Albert Fowler | Hiram Stephens |
| Henry Gage | David Teachman |
| Franklin Gage | Harvey Tinney |
| Wm. Guernsey | Hoyt Tubbs |
| John M. Hammond | James R. Tubbs |
| John A. Hammond | John Tubbs |
| Lewis Hammond | Geo. Tubbs |
| Philip Harwell | E. A. Tuckey |
| Edgar Harns | John F. Turner |
| Justus Haraway | Stephen VanZile |
| Samuel Hazlett | Chas. VanZile |
| John Haxlett, Jr. | Soloman VanZile |
| E. W. Helms | Isaac VanZile |
| Wm. Heyshane | Sam. R. Westgate |
| Nathan Hill | Joseph M. White |
| Horatio Howe | Wm. Whiting |
| Jesse Howe | Chauncey Wright |
| David Hoyt |
Old Cemetery Uncovered on Barney Hill
When the railroad bed was laid on Barney Hill an old cemetery was unearthed. One stone has the name Taylor on it and dated 1810, it was moved to the Osceola cemetery.
Joel Parkhurst began banking business in Elkland in 1867 in the Fillman house. The tinning shop stood on the site on Buffalo Street where Foremans Barber Shop was later erected. On the site of the old Parkhurst orchard there used to be a large cemetery.
The building now occupied by O. E. Thompson and used as a plumbing shop was at one time the Post Office and was located on the Prindle lot and faced Main Street.
The Warren building was built in 1887 by Case, owner of the Elkland Hotel at that time. Roy Warren bought the building in 1921, before that the Warrens were located where Barnharts are now.
The kitchen on the Eli Warburton house used to be the original barber shop of Joe Dulso. He made his money in this building when it was located on the lot which later held Longwells shoe store which burned on February 28, 1934. The lot is unoccupied at this time. At one time the old Kenyon home was located where the Parkhurst home stands.
The old Borough building burned August 15, 1900. It has a skating rink and the Journal office in it.
Jerome Bottom originally owned Jerome Park, it had a fence around it and a cow was pastured in it.
Copied from some of the old stones in the Osceola cemetery, which are badly weathered (March 20, 1938):
Abner Gleason
1745-1816
First burial on this hill
Permilla
Wife of
Ebenezer Taylor
1738-1808
removed from Barney Hill
Reuben Cook
Aug. 25, 1747
Jan. 25, 1829
A soldier of 76
Erastus Cady owned a blacksmith shop and a wagon shop where the Kenyon store now stands. The shop was moved to the lot where Lewis’s Theatre now stands when Kenyons bought the lot. (The blacksmith shop was destroyed when the theatre was built, before Kenyons built they were located where the Signor Hotel store now stands.) Theater now remodeled for office purposes.
The book that contains these clippings and etc., is the hotel register for the Waverly House in Elmira about 1856.
This book was found in an attic in Elkland by William Hammond and given to Frank Simpson. Mr. Simpson, who was devoted to the past history of Elkland, began to keep the clippings pertaining only to Elkland and to put them in the book. After the death of Mr. Simpson, his son gave the book to Thurman Pattison (1930).
Lumbering Was Principle Business
The principal business of the early inhabitants was lumbering and as the hills which skirt the valley were covered with a heavy growth of pine, the manufacture of which timber and boards occupied all the time of the hardy settlers. Sawmills run by water power were constructed at different points on the river, where large quantities of pine logs were sawed into boards, which at the time of the annual spring freshet were rafted in the river and floated down to Liverpool, Columbia, Marietta and Port Deposit on the Susquehanna, where a market was usually found.
It was not until 1850 that the people began to turn their attention to agricultural pursuits. Since that time a steady and progressive development has been going on, until at this time the valley of the Cowanesque is one of the most fertile and beautiful in the Keystone State.
Cowanesque meaning "Beautiful Squaw".
Industries in 1883. There were two dry goods stores, H. Miner and R. K. Kimm, proprietors; the drug store of C. C. Ward and Son, and a furniture store, and two feed and flour stores, a hardware store, a tannery, a furniture factory, two wagon shops a blacksmith shop, a banking house, a shoe store, a ladies furnishings goods store, a meat market, a flouring mill, a saddle and harness shop, and two livery shops. There is one practicing physician: Dr. W. W. Wright. There are two lawyers: Col. R. T. Wood and John S. Ryon, one general insurance office, one Natoary public and pension agent, and one real estate and brokers office. There are two churches, Methodist and Presbyterian and a large, elegant and commodious school building, under the exclusive control of a board of directors, employing three teachers, and having seats for two hundred and fifty people.
Elkland Weather in the Year 1816
The year there was no summer from the Dansbury, Connecticut Newspaper:
The year was 1816 and was known throughout the United Stated and Europe as the coldest ever experienced by any person living. There are persons in northern New York who have been in the habit of keeping diaries for years, and it is from the pages from an old diary begun in 1810 and kept unbroken until 1840 that the following information regarding this year was taken.
January was so mild that most people let their fires go out and did not burn wood except for cooking.
February was not cold, March came in like a small lion and went out like an innocent lamb. April came in warm, but as the days grew longer, the air became colder, and by the first of May there was a temperature like that of winter, with plenty of snow and ice.
In June the young buds were frozen to death, ice formed half an inch thick on ponds and rivers. When the last of May arrived in 1816, everything had been killed by the cold.
June was the coldest month of roses ever experienced in this latitude. Frost and ice were as common as buttercups usually are. Almost every green thing was killed, all fruit was destroyed. Snow fell 10 inches deep in Vermont. There was a seven inch fall in the interior of New York State, and the same in Massachusetts.
There were only a few moderately warm days. Everybody looked long and waited for warm weather, but warm weather did not come.
It was also dry, very little rain fell. All summer long the winds blew steadily from the north in blasts, laden with snow and ice. Mother knitted socks of double thickness for their children and thick mittens.
Planting and shivering were done together and farmers who worked out their taxes o the county roads wore overcoats and mittens. July came in with snow and ice. The fourth of July ice as thick as window glass formed throughout New England, New York, and in some parts of Pennsylvania.
To the surprise of everybody, August proved worst of all. Almost every green in this country and England was blasted by frost. Very little corn ripened. There was great privation and thousands of persons would have perished in this country had it not been for the abundance of fish and game.
Early Land Grants in the Cowanesque Valley
In early colonial times Connecticut claimed title to the northern part of Pennsylvania since their grant of land from the King of England stated: "From sea to sea." Pennsylvania claimed the same territory saying that they had title to it through William Penn’s grant from the English crown. Neither colony made any attempt to settle this part of Pennsylvania until the middle, or latter, part of the 1700’s.
In 1754 Connecticut purchased the Indian title to the northern portion of what is now Pennsylvania and organized a land company to sell this land. The Connecticut Company surveyed and cut the territory into townships five miles square and into "Shares" of three hundred acres each. These "shares" were then sold to Connecticut people who wished to settle here, however, no settlements were made in what is Tioga County, until many years later. The Connecticut people gave names to the newly surveyed townships so where Elkland Borough is now, was once called "Gorsburgh".
Pennsylvania also proceeded to cut this same territory into grants or tracts and sold them to the people. The Pennsylvania grants were called "Warrants" and the first of these warrants were sold about 1785. This overlapping of claims led to violence and bloodshed as claimants from one state drove off settlers from the other. This warfare lasted for many years, but the only evidence of trouble in the Cowanesque Valley was at Academy Corners.
James Strawbridge bought several thousand acres of land in the Cowanesque Valley soon after the close of the Revolutionary War. This land had Pennsylvania titles and was situated in Osceola and Academy Corners. Strawbridge made his home in Academy Corners and was the first settler in the valley but was driven off the land or frightened away by threats. His partly cultivated lands and some of his deserted buildings were found later by other settlers.
Two large tracts of land on the site of what is now Elkland Borough were sold by Pennsylvania to George Latimore and John Steinmetz. The Latimore tract was sold May 13, 1786 and contained 980 acres, extending from the Osceola line on the west to a point east of what is now Buffalo Street, and from the Cowanesque River on the south to New York State on the north. (The New York – Pennsylvania State Line had not yet been established). In 1787 George Latimore transferred his holdings to Dr. Henry Latimore of Delaware. Pennsylvania gave names to its land grants and this one was known as "Friendship Rewarded".
The grant to John Steinmetz was dated May 17, 1786, and covered 908 acres. The grant was bounded on the west by Latimore’s land and extended east to a point near what has for many years been called the Ryon farm. Its northern boundary was also over into New York State and its southern boundary line was practically an extension to the east of the Latimore southern boundary line. Latimore and Steinmetz were land speculators and not pioneers so never actually settled on this land. Both tracts were later sub-divided and sold to others who in turn resold to the actual settlers of Elkland. Practically all of Elkland Borough, as we know it today, was originally comprised of the Latimore and Steinmetz tracts in 1786.
Elkland Borough Incorporated
In 1815 Elkland Village was a tiny settlement of a few log houses scattered along the State road which ran thru the center of the settlement. This road was the only street in Elkland. There were no schools, no churches, no stores in the village. Tubb’s sawmill and grist mill were located just east of Elkland, and these mills sawed the logs and ground the grain for the settlers for miles around. The principal industry of Elkland was farming.
By the early 1820’s a school had been started in the village, a store or two had been opened in the center of the settlement, and Elkland took on the aspect of a village. Soon a church was established, more stores opened and by the 1840’s the people of Elkland gave much thought to the idea of having the village incorporated as a Borough.
Elkland village continued to grow and by the year 1849 had a population of a little less than three hundred people.
At this time the people of Elkland requested that the town be incorporated as a borough. By an act of the legislature of Pennsylvania, approved April 10, 1849, Elkland Borough was incorporated.
In May 1850, the first election of the town was held at the home of J. L. Davenport and the following officers were elected: John Parkhurst, Burgess, and Leander Culver, J. L. Davenport, J. C. Whitaker, D. B. Schoff and Joel Parkhurst, Councilmen. The first Justice of the Peace of the Borough was Charles Ryon.
Burgesses of the Borough from 1851 to the present were: W. T. Humphrey, E. I. Kelsey, Edward Kennedy, S. C. Hunt, Truman Sanford, Joel Parkhurst four terms. F. G. Loveland, Kassen Parkhurst, John Parkhurst three terms. John Chase, J. C. Whitaker, T. S. Coates two terms. C. P. Evens, R. K. Skinner, T. d. Chase, W. W. Wright, Henry Miner, G. T. Harrower, R. P. McCann, W. H. Redfield, E. W. Webb, J. E. Wilcox, John Brown, G. G. Walker, Charles L. Pattison, E. B. Campbell, J. C. Edwards, J. O. Patison, A. B. Kenyon, D. H. Buckbee, William Martindell, G. W. Buckbee, T. A. Fessler, A. B. Carey, C. W. Campbell, O. C. Stalker, W. G. Myers, J. T. Surina, Otis Preston, Ernest Smith, Carl Morgan, and C. D. Morgan one term. E. B. Hillman one-half term. W. C. Bailey one and one-half terms. Mr. Bailey was the last Burgess and the first Mayor. L. W. Thomas two terms. John Griffin one term, and Ward Mileouski present mayor.
Elkland Borough
Elkland borough was formed in May, 1850.
The township of Elkland was one of the oldest townships in Tioga County, having been formed in the year 1814, from Delmar. By gradual disintegration it was cut up into various townships, until there remained of its large territory only what is now embraced in the borough of Elkland, and when that borough was formed, Elkland township was absorbed and ceased to exist. Elkland is situated in the very garden of the Cowanesque Valley, and surrounded by an excellent farming country. The valley of the Cowanesque broadens at this point, forming a basin of land unexcelled in the county. The Elkland and Lawrenceville Railroad, now operated under the management of the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railroad, was completed from Lawrenceville to Elkland, in September 1873, and for ten years remained the terminus of that road. This made Elkland a great shipping and receiving point for localities west of it, up the Cowanesque Valley and into Potter County, Pa. It stimulated business of every kind. In 1882, the Addison and Northern Pennsylvania Railroad was constructed from Addison and thence westward up the valley to Westfield, thence southward to Pine Creek. This road added largely to the shipping facilities of the citizens of Elkland. The same year the Fall Brook Coal Co., which controlled the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim road extended their road to Harrison Valley. It contains two hotels, two churches, bank, newspaper office, graded school, several industrial establishments, two depots, telephone and two telegraph offices, tannery, number of stores, etc.
Leander Culver built the first hotel in 1836.
Col. Lemuel Davenport built the first flouring mill.
Hon. Benjamin Dorrance died June 26th, 1881, age 45 years.
Large quantities of tobacco are raised in and about Elkland.
The first store was opened in 1824, by John Ryan and Robert Tubbs.
Joel Parkhurst settled in Elkland, in 1828, and engaged in mercantile pursuits.
Hon. George Dorrance settled in Elkland, in 1829. Died June 13, 1881, aged 79 years.
Elkland Furniture Manufactory established in 1883, O. Pattison, superintendent and manager.
One of the most active businessmen of Elkland is Mr. C. L. Pattison, son-in-law of the late Joel Parkhurst.
One of the wealthiest citizens of Tioga County was the late Joel Parkhurst of Elkland, who died in December 1884, aged 81 years.
The elegant graded school building, costing $6,000, was the gift of Joel Parkhurst, Esq., to the school authorities of the borough of Elkland.
Early settlers of Elkland were, George Dorrance, David Hammond, Lemuel Davenport, Robert Tubbs, Benjamin Tubbs and Leander Culver.
Last Big Area Herd of Elk Killed in 1871
Elk, the massive deer from which Elkland takes its name, once roamed the Cowanesque in great number, or so we are told by patriarchs who claim that the Cowanesque Valley just east of Elkland, and the hill areas of the property now owned by the families of Will and Phil Tubbs, were abounded by the beast with palmated antlers. Never have we seen conclusive proof of these stories but from Henry W. Shoemaker, president of the Pennsylvania Folklore Society, State Museum, Harrisburg, comes this story concerning the hunting of Elk in tioga County.
"The antlers of some of the largest native elks ever killed in Pennsylvania are said to hang on the walls of the former Cameron Mansion at King’s Gap," near Mount Holy Springs, Cumberland County.
"Prior to the Civil War, Colonel James Duffey of Anderson’s Ferry, now Marietta, Lancaster County, established a deer park at his home over-looking the Susquehanna river where with his friends he retired to enjoy much of the same shooting as still could be found in the forests of northern Pennsylvania," Shoemaker said. "To stock this preserve, he employed craftsmen who came to Marietta, spring and fall, to sell their timber, most of them walking home to their mountain homes.
"In early life, Colonel Duffey had hunted in the old Black Forest in Clinton, Potter and Tioga counties and had shot some mammoth elks. It was easy to stock his game park with the native deer; they were still found at the headwaters of Conestoga Creek in Lancaster County and in the Blue Mountains of Lebanon and Dauphin Counties.
"The elk driven back to limited areas in the north, the Elk Spring on the Jersey Shore – Coundersport Turnpike, Hammersely’s Fork on Kettle Creek, and on Bennett’s Branch of Sinnemahoning. The elk would come from the Black Forest, principally by their path down Soldier’s Run in single file; herds of a dozen or more cows and calves led by a massively antlered bull.
"The very last herd to turn up in Tioga County appeared about 1871 or 1872, 18 in number and were rounded up four or five miles north of Wellsboro on the road to Academy Corners, near a big spring shaded by immense white pines, where there were all but a few slaughtered and the rest captured.
"One elk was kept alive for a year in a barnyard with a high fence.
"The elk for Duffy’s park were rounded up and roped; their long horns sawed off (they could grow a new and larger set the year following) and hauled on carts or sledges to Thorne’s Eddy in Clinton County, a favorite stopping place for timber rafts. There they would be crated and loaded aboard for the voyage to Marietta. Up until about 1869 or 1870, when no more could be captured, Colonel Duffey was unceasing in his demand for ‘more elk’. These would be kept until they grew fat and grew new antlers and shot by the Colonel’s guests. The idea was to get a trophy with the largest horns for which a magnum was given and General Cameron is said to have shot the record head in 1867, probably one of those whose horns adorn King’s Gap. The killer was given the head, the meat consume din a grand torch-light barbecue in hunting camp belonging to the Colonel. The length of the General’s record horns were six feet each from coronet to tip and of even and massive contours. This seems extremely large and heavy, yet S. N. Rhoads in his Mannuals of Pennsylvania and New York, tells of several sheds in Portville, Cattaragus County, New York, covered with Pennsylvania elk horns, each horn six feet in length."
Reminiscences of Elkland As It Was 85 Years Ago
The original town of Elkland comprised all the territory between Deerfield on the west, New York state line on the north, Lawrence on the east and Farmington on the south. Along the river the town boasted of four small hamlets: Viz what is now Osceola, also known as "Pindarville"; Elkland known as Ryonville; Rathbone settlement known as "Clipknockie" and Nelson known as Beechers Island.
The elections of the township were held at the log tavern of Samuel Rathbun as the most central location and those days of free whiskey and generous hospitality unless there were a half dozen scraps on election day it was considered a very tame affair; hence the name of Clipknockie.
The first school I attended was I the little red schoolhouse now occupied by James Brockleysby (now Mrs. Lee Redfields) as a dwelling. Cynthia Bell was the teacher and the next year Henry Sherwood, after wards one of the leading lawyers in Tioga County.
Beginning at the west line of the township, the old settlers of that date, 1836, were Deacon Abel Hoyt, thence eastward, Deacon Elihu Hall, Then Andrew Bosard, Co. Phillip Taylor, Samuel Tubbs, Nathaniel, Seeley, Truman Crandall, and several others comprising the hamlet. Continuing thence easterly was Robert Tubbs who built the first brick house in the valley, now occupied by his grandson e. R. Tubbs. It was in the Tubbs family until an auction was held and sold to Smith Pease of Lawrenceville and later sold to Leon RoDee who sold it in 1974 to Mrs. Carol Congdon and daughter Jean Congdon. Then Daniel Taylor, Linsford Coates, John Hammond, Marinus W. Stull, a Mr. Johnson, and then the farm of John Ryon, Joel Parkhurst, Samuel Mascho, George Dorrance, Benjamin Tubbs, David Hammond, a Mr. Barngiff on Barney Hill, W. C. Bottom, C. F. Culver and Samuel Rathbun. Within the hamlet of Elkland Joel Parkhust and John Ryon were the Merchants. Leander Culver keeper of the only hotel. E. B. Benedict and J. C. Whitaker the physicians and Rev. Porter the Presbyterian minister. Ed Taylor the cabinetmaker owned a shop and Mr. Stanley a tailor and some other minor industries.
The population of what now comprises Elkland Borough was at that time 107 souls, now 2,732. The only church in the township in 1836-37 was a structure near the schoolhouse made of rough boards and seated the same where the children played hide and seek during the noon hour and recesses. Then a more pretentious edifice was built on the same lot now occupied by that splendid brick church erected by the heirs of the late Joel Parkhurst as a memorial to him who had for years been a ruling elder and pillar of the church, and may it long remain such a memorial!
From the foregoing I wish to inoculate and stamp upon your minds the following lesson: When we reflect on the hardships, toils and privations of those early pioneers, how they immigrated into this valley more than 100 years ago, then an unknown wilderness, how the fathers and their boys felled the forest and opened up the farms that for richness and fertility are not equaled by any other spot in this commonwealth; how the mothers and daughters attended to the household affairs in their rude log huts, spun the yarn, wove the cloth and made the garments for the entire household; how can we at this day and age of modern improvements with everything at hand furnished for the necessities of life. How can we I say, form even a faint conception of their trials, tribulations and battles with the wilderness to make it bloom as the rose, and bring forth its fruits a hundredfold, that now the fifth generation after them are enjoying the fruits of their labor.
[ILLUSTRATION: Courtesy of Thurman Pattison
Replaced by color version from Joyce's collection
Elkland High School 1907. Parkhurst School House
built in 1876. Picture taken in 1907.]
Elkland Borough Schools
Long before the incorporation of the Borough of Elkland in 1850, the townspeople had been active in supplying educational facilities for their children.
In the earliest years "select" schools were held in various homes in the village. The term "select school" meant that the parents paid the teachers for their services. Part of the payment was board and lodgings. The length of time a teacher remained in a given household was determined by the number of children that family sent to school. "Boarding around" was, in many instances, quite an ordeal to hear the experiences told by old-time teachers. In addition to board, one early contract called for waged of "one bushel of good mercantible wheat per week." Others called for varying sums of money; James Tubbs who taught here during the winter of 1839-1840 listed his salary at sixteen dollars per month.
Some teachers of the early period were Mr. Henry Womer, Miss Mary Ryon and Miss Harriet B. Wright. The latter taught for a thirteen-week period beginning June 14, 1824 in a log dwelling situated on the northeast corner of Main Street and Pattison Avenue.
The first building within the bounds of our Borough erected specifically for school purposes was built in 1827 by Rodney Shaw of Wellsboro with funds raised by subscription. The site was the south side of Main Street immediately west of the Presbyterian cemetery on land given for school use by John Ryon. The building itself, believed by many as being the oldest structure in Elkland, is now incorporated in the home of A. L. Redfield, but the children of one hundred years ago would probably find no recognizable feature. References to its outer appearance as scanty: Col. R. T. Wood in his "Reminiscences of Elkland" called it "The little red school house". The interior has been described by Benson Tubbs who attended this school from 1836-1844 as follows: "The interior arrangement was very simple. Sloping shelves were fastened to the walls all around the inside of the room. These were the desks. In front of them were benches without backs. When we used our desks, we faced the wall. When we faced the center of the room, we could lean our backs against the edge of the desks. In the center of the room was the teacher and the stove."
The teachers of this school during the period of Benson Tub’s attendance were: Cynthia Ball, Roxy Powers, Sumner Stickney, Henry Sherwood (who later became a prominent lawyer in the county), A. K. Bosard, James Tubbs and R. H. Tubbs.
James Tubbs, one of these teachers, has left an interesting account of the course of study and teaching methods of his school: "I had no blackboard. My only classes were in spelling and reading. Grammar was not a branch of study in my school. In arithmetic I had no class. Each student began and ciphered as far as he or she could in the science of numbers with my assistance. In teaching geography, the same method was pursued. Considerable attention was given to penmanship – more, I think, than in schools at the present day. I made and mended the goosequill pens and set the copies. There was no uniformity in text books. The books mainly in my school were Cobb’s spelling book and readers, Daboll’s arithmetic and Olney’s geography and atlas. I had a few copies of Webster’s spelling book and of the English reader in the hands of my pupils."
The same books are listed by Benson Tubbs as in use throughout his school days from 1836 to 1844. The system must have remained fairly static.
No certain amount of school was required by law, nor was attendance compulsory. It was fairly common practice during this period to have a term of three months in the winter for the older children with a man teacher to cope with the unruly boys. Another term of three months was frequently held during the summer for the benefit of the younger children under the guidance of a woman. In those days no holidays were observed, not even Christmas, and school was in session every alternate Saturday.
By 1850 the quarters of the one-room school were beginning to seem cramped. On March 20th, 1852 the following petition was drawn up: "The undersigned agree to pay the President and Directors of Common Schools in Elkland Borough, the Sum set opposite our names Respectively for the purpose of Building a School House in Said Borough when called for. The Location Shall be at or near the Methodist Church on Buffalo St. If the Land is obtained Directly East of Said Meeting House upon land agreed to be given by Timothy Coates One Eighth of an acre East of Said House. The Dimensions of said School Shall be as nearly as may be thought advisable by the Directors Twenty Six feet wide & thirty Six feet Long. Two stories High. The first Story to be finished as soon as can be conviently & the other Story as soon as may be wanted for a Select School. And each Department Shall be finished in a State and Manner to accommodate at least Sixty or Sixty five Scholars or more and upon the plan of the attached draft. For value Received in the nonassessment of a Tax for the above purpose of Building a School House." The subscribers whose names follow this petition were: Joel Parkhurst - $50.00, Charles Ryon - $15.00, Hiram Mayhew - $5.00, A. B. Shoff - $20.00, Edward Kennedy - $5.00, Wm. T. Humphrey - $5.00. We cannot tell at this time whether or not these funds were paid as pledged. If all were collected, the total of one hundred dollars for a building of this size certainly emphasizes the difference one hundred years has made in the building trade.
When the original contract for the land was drawn up on March 22nd, 1852, the consideration was given as the one dollar customarily used to signify a gift. However, when the final deed was executed on December 24th, 1852, the price was listed as twenty-five dollars. As we know the land was a gift, this amount was probably considered a fair cash value for the donation Timothy Coates and Almira B. Coates, his wife, made to the Elkland schools. The deed, recorded on August 19th, 1853, represented the first piece of property actually owned by the Elkland School District.
This lot, 82 ½ feet from east to west and 99 ½ feet from north to south, is now owned by the Methodist Church. It lies immediately in back of the original church lot and comes within twenty-eight feet of forming the eastern boundary of the present church property. At that time the Methodist Meeting house comprised only the back part of the present structure. It was situated nearer the street than now and faced west. The present kitchen was the vestry. The Sunday school room was the main body of the church. The school house set quite well back on the lot described above. It was reached by paths on each side of the church and the space between the two buildings was used as a playground.
It is believed the old one-room school on west Main Street was abandoned in the Fall of 1853 in favor of this new one. As far as we are able to learn, however, the course of study and technique of teaching remained very much the same. Some of the teacher of this school were Kate (Beagle) Buckbee, Frances (Stull) Dunbar, Cora Trim, and Charles C. Ward. There must have been many others. Select schools were also taught during this period by Mrs. Grace (Joel G.) Parkhurst, Mr. Wagner, and others.
As far as can now be ascertained the only living Elklandites to attend school in this building were Mr. Emmett Stull and Mr. George Newberry, but all of you are familiar with its appearance for until about three years ago it looked exactly the same as when it was first built. Its location and use had been changed, but not its form.
When it was given up for school purposes in 1877, the School Directors represented by Ambrose Close, President, and A. A. Amsbury, Secretary, sold the property to L. K. Parkhurst and C. C. Ward for one hundred twenty-six dollars ($126.00) on April 10th, 1877. They in turn sold it to Helen Hull on May 21st, 1877 for one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00) – a neat profit for those days. Helen Hull deeded it back to L. K. Parkhurst on May 1, 1878 and the latter sold it on contract to the Methodist Episcopal Church under date of October 21st, 1878 for the sum of ninety dollars ($90.00). From the difference in price, we may infer that the building was removed from the land during the summer of 1878. It was moved to the north of the present New York Central tracks and slightly east of the present Elkland Lumber and supply company. There is was used as a lumber store house by Edwards, Campbell and Company (L. K. Parkhurst being the Company). Later they sold it to Clark Bailey who used it for hay storage. He in turn sold it back to J. F. Edwards who subsequently gave it to a religious group which had it moved to its present location on northwest Parkhurst Street where it is known as the Gospel Mission.
Elkland, however, was not without a school. Some time during the Spring of 1876 Joel Parkhurst (then seventy-six years of age) conceived the idea of erecting at his own expense a brick building which together with the lot was to cost not less than $4,000.00. This he planned to donate to the School District under certain conditions.
The first of these conditions was the raising of $1,500.00 by the townspeople for the purpose of establishing a trust fund. The interest therefrom was expected to pay for repairing the premises, fencing and ornamenting the grounds, insuring the building, purchasing furniture and apparatus for the school.
On May 29, 1876 circulation was begun of a subscription list which contained, in addition to the above, the following provision: "Now, we, the undersigned severally agree to pay the sum set after our respective names … provided … that in case said school house shall be destroyed or sold or for any reason case to be owned and kept up (or in case of destruction rebuilt by said School District) said fund to revert and be paid back to the said subscribers, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns with the unexpended interest thereon, each subscriber to receive a proportionate amount."
The subscribers’ names follow: C. L. Pattison - $150.00, John Parkhurst - $150.00, L. B. Brown - $100.00, Oliver P. Babcock - $100.00, Henry Miner - $50.00, Ambrose Close - $50.00, Joseph Cornelius - $50.00, Dr. W. W. Wright, Jr. - $50.00, Mrs. A. Bedford - $5.00, William Taylor - $25.00, George Dorrance - $100.00, Robert McCann - $10.00, Windsor Gleason - $25.00, C. C. Ward - $25.00, Benjamin Dorrance - $25.00, David W. Stull - $75.00, John g. Hammond - $100.00, George Hull - $5.00, R. K. Skinner - $50.00, Justice W. Bailey, $20.00, Frank M. Schott - $1.00, George W. Buckbee - $3.00, John A. Brimmer - $3.00, Clark Lockwood - $0.50, Robert Traver - $20.00, John A. Hammond - $50.00, William Lackson Lewis - $8.00, W. Irvin Radeker - $10.00, Wm. B. Mead - $10.00, Wm. C. Trim - $50.00, J. C. Whittaker, Sr. - $10.00, Theo. D. Case - $10.00, A. B. Graves - $5.00, W. R. Baird - $20.00, N. D. Murdough - $20.00, John H. Brock - $10.00, J. W. White - $3.00, A. J. Kelley - $3.00, Wm. Hollands - $5.00, J. C. Edwards - $5.00, G. T. Harrower - $25.00, Dr. W. E. Hathaway - $5.00, Decker and Metcalf - $35.00, C. P. Evans - $25.00, Edward M. Bixby - $3.00, Horace L. Daniels - $2.00. The pledges totaled $1,506.50 for the forty-six persons listed above.
A meeting of the subscribers of the school fund was held in Parkhurst Hall on October 26, 1876. H. Miner was chairman and C. L. Pattison, secretary. The group elected John Parkhurst, C. L. Pattison, and John G. Hammond trustees of the fund with the provision that future vacancies in the board of trustees be filled at the next ensuing election for school directors. No school director could be a trustee. They also elected H. Miner, C. C. Ward and David Stull as a committee to collect the securities from the subscribers. Most of these securities were I the form of judgment and promissory notes; all of which were eventually paid off with the exception of that of C. P. Evans for $25.00.
The Articles of Agreement of the trustees and the list of subscribers were presented to Joel Parkhurst on December 1, 1876. He certified that the within named securities were satisfactory to him. The trustees swore to the Agreement before Justice of the Peace William B. Mead and the paper was properly recorded in Tioga County Record Book No. 57, page 451, on December 8th, 1876.
Joel Parkhurst, being satisfied with the fulfillment of his first condition, proceeded with deeding his gift to the School District. This deed, executed December 1st, 1876, contained the remaining restrictions. In the first place the property was conveyed directly to the Elkland School District. All references in the printed form to Heirs and Assigns were carefully deleted. This means, of course, that the property can never be sold, but there is no provision for revision to the Parkhurst estate as many people believe. The other considerations were (1) that the lot should be enclosed with a post and board fence, or fence of other good material, and at all times to be kept so fenced; (2) the school house building should not be used for sectarian purposes; (3) the premises should be used for school purposes only; (4) the building should at all times be kept insured for not less than three thousand dollars; and (5) in event of loss by fire, if the building were not replaced, the insurance money should be paid back to Joel Parkhurst, his heirs or legal representatives.
The description of the lot thus conveyed is of interest in view of the qualifications noted above: "being fifty (50) feet from East to West and forty-two (42) feet wide from North to South, and being the same lot on which the brick school house now stands." These dimensions were the actual foundation measurements of the original building; the building itself extended an extra ten and one-half inches in each direction.
Thus you can see the lot and building stood in the midst of a larger plot which would have to be acquired, if the building were to be used. Mr. Parkhurst sold this lot to the School District, on contract, for the sum of seven hundred dollars with interest at six percent, payable from the preceding June 22nd. This lot measured two hundred forty-four and one-half feet from East to West and one hundred thirty-three feet from North to South, reserving the school house land previously mentioned. The interest was very carefully calculated and added to the contract, but each time a payment was made, Parkhurst gave them an additional credit covering the interest due to the date of payment. The only limitations placed on this land when the deed was finally drawn on October 8th, 1880, called for a fence between this lot and lands owned by Parkhurst and along the street. In all other respects the School District can use this land as it sees fit.
The original building was built by Decker and Metcalf. It formed the back part of the present structure and consisted of two large rooms, one above the other, with a large hall across the front of the building downstairs. The upstairs hall was divided to form a small class room on the southeast corner of the building. The partition east and west making two rooms of the downstairs room was probably done during the summer of 1887, for in that year the school took on a third teacher and advertised its new "Intermediate Department." The porches on the North and South sides of the building were added during the summer of 1891. The front section was added by the District in 1901.
During this period the school was thought to be one of the most "elegant" in the County. Large advertisements were run in the Elkland Journal for three weeks preceding the Fall term for most of the years from 1855 to 1906 to attract "foreign scholars", as tuition students were then called. These advertisements also revealed that the school year was divided into three terms of twelve weeks each: this would compare in over-all time with our present school. The advertisement for 1897 was the first to mention twelve grades. We know this was a ten-year school for many years, but whether or not the actual change was effected in 1897 we cannot say.
By 1910 this building, even though it had been enlarged, was overcrowded and the primary grades sought quarters upstairs in the Borough Building. As this arrangement was not popular, the District, in 1913, purchased the L. D. Jacobs home (now Van’s Sales and Service) which adjoins the Parkhurst Street lot on the North. The house was converted into three classrooms which served the first, second and third grades for a couple of years. Then, when the fourth grade elbowed its way in after being ousted from the brick building in 1915, the first graders went back to their old rooms in the Borough Building.
In an effort to overcome crowded conditions, the Board bought a two-room prefabricated building which was erected o the northwest corner of the Jacobs lot in the year 1916. Because of its appearance; long and low, with many windows, it was immediately nicknamed the "chicken coop" and was never referred to by any other title. This building, although it was intended to be a temporary expedient, was kept in constant use by the first and second grades until the new elementary building on Buffalo Street was ready in 1932. (The "chicken coop" was sold on May 7th, 1934 to the highest bidder, T. J. Allen, for $112.00. It was then taken down and removed from the lot.)
Even this extra building did not alleviate conditions for long. By 1925 it was necessary to teach first grade in shifts – part in the morning and the rest in the afternoon. This condition gradually worked up through the grades. From 1929 to 1932 all grades up to the sixth were keeping a complicated schedule. The first shift had use of a room from 8:30 – 10:30 and from 12:30 to 2:30; the second section of that grade used the same room from 10:30 – 12:30 and from 2:30 – 4:30. This method presented many difficulties; all concerned were relieved when it was no longer necessary.
During part of this same period, namely from 1927 to 1932, the sixth grade was housed in the Community Building (now the Methodist Parsonage) on West Main Street.
Agitations for a new elementary building grew in number and volume. The Board had been considering ways and means since 1922, but it was not until 1930 that action was finally undertaken. A large lot containing 4.71 acres of land was purchased from E. W. Coates and the Coates estate for the sum of thirty-eight hundred dollars. The land extended to Coates Street on the east and Coates Avenue on the North, but both the southern and western boundaries were hemmed in by other properties. It was thought best to make an entrance from Buffalo Street. There ensued a series of dickerings to make this possible.
On August 14th, 1931 Charles R. Judd and Jennie S. Judd were paid $200.00 for a small garden patch which had formerly been the eastern part of the old Humphrey (now Glen Carpenter) property. On March 6th, 1933 the Board completed a three-way deal with the Methodist Church and Miss Virginia Wood. The latter had been selling the Church a parsonage under contract. As this property adjoined the Church lands on the South, if offered the best approach to the school. In this deal the Methodists were given the community building and $75.00 cash; they paid off their debt to Miss Wood who deeded the desired lot to the school. On July 7th, 1933 the School board paid $200.00 to Mrs. Jeanette Humphrey for the driveway which formed the northern part of the old Humphrey lot. Thus the land deals for the entrance were completed.
The school sold the house from the Virginia Wood
lot to Mr. Adelbert Smith for $175.00 on May 15th, 1933, provided
he move it at his own expense before June 1, 1933. This he did, and as
the Methodists had already removed the garage from the property, all physical
obstructions were now removed.
[Illustration: Elkland High School built in 1931.
Thurman Pattison]
In the meantime the main wing of the Buffalo Street brick building was constructed. It extended from the southern end of the building to the front room which is used as a library. Architect Russell G. Howard of DuBois, Pennsylvania was the designer. Actual construction was carried out by the following firms which had submitted the lowest bids for the job and were awarded contracts on October 13, 1931: Eldred Lumber Company, Eldred, Pennsylvania – general building - $29,330.00; Arick and Eltringham, DuBois, Pennsylvania – plumbing and heating - $11,267.00; J. E. Decker, Waverly, New York – electric work - $1,083.00. These three amounts total $41,680.00 but architect’s fees and other expenses brought the total cost to approximately $50,000.00. The building was completed in June, 1932 and occupied the following September.
Money to finance the above building was obtained by State Aid of $12,000.00 and a bond issue of $30,000.00 made possible by vote of the qualified electors of Elkland Borough at a special election held May 12, 1931. The last of these bonds were retired July 1, 1940. The balance of the money came from the General Fund.
When the first eight grades moved into this new building in the Fall of 1932, the High School took over the entire brick building on Parkhurst Street, but even so the place was overcrowded. Almost at once plans were considered to build an addition to this or to the new Grammar School building. Architect Harry Child of Sayre, Pennsylvania, drew several sets of plans covering either possibility. Finally, on February 24th, 1936, after nearly three years of planning by the Board, contracts were let for the High School wing and Gymnasium to be added to the Buffalo Street school. The following contractors were low bidders: Henry W. Streeter Corp., Elmira, New York – general building - $44,139.00; American Warming and Ventilating Company, Elmira, New York – heating and ventilating - $7,207.00; George E. Dyer, Mansfield, Pennsylvania – electrical - $4,025.00; G. M. Burgam, Troy, Pennsylvania – plumbing - $3.485.00. A few extras brought the total cost to $60,033.00. The work was financed by a grant of $22,909.00 in Serial Notes which were completely paid off in 1943; and the balance from General Funds. The building was accepted by the Board on December 15th, 1936 and the High School students moved in January 4th, 1937.
A few of the other larger items of capital expense in finishing the school plant were: grading - $300.00, sidewalks - $1,315.84, shrubbery - $155.00, stage curtain and cyclorama - $750.00, chairs for use in the gymnasium - $1,977.25, and lockers for the high school - $1,306.50.
After the Parkhurst building was vacated by the High School, it was used for a time by the Music Department which had been created in 1926. Later by the short-lived Agriculture Department in 1938-1939, the Home Economics Department from 1939-1948, and Industrial Arts from 1940-1948.
The first step toward consolidation became official on July 1, 1938 when Elkland Township School District joined that of Elkland Borough. This step was made mandatory by Act 157 which required all districts without teachers to merge with another. This change had little real effect on the school, as the children from the Township had been coming to the Borough schools for some time.
The next major step toward a larger system came ten years later, on March 18, 1948. Elkland, Farmington, Nelson and Osceola form a Joint School. The political unit which was subdivided one hundred years ago, is again one, for school purposes at least.
Before closing we would like to pay special tribute to three persons, who have since deceased, who have contributed a great deal to our schools. They are (1) Mrs. Sara (Baxter) Seeley, now in her ninety-fourth year, who taught here when the school was just beginning to be a true graded school; (2) Miss Eleanor Donovan, whose forty-seven years of service made it possible for her to touch the lives of more people in Elkland than any other one person; and Mr. E. B. Hillman, who had the longest record as principal – from 1919 to 1947. He piloted the course of the school during its years of expansion.
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