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Charleston. Is the
only village in the township, and lies in the southern part, upon the
Lackawannock line, and contains one church, a hotel, store,
blacksmith-shop, and several plain dwellings. It was originally laid
off in village-iota by Henry
Campbell, in the winter of 1838, which were sold for about
twenty-five dollars each. Campbell had said that the first purchaser
should have the honor of giving his name to the town, and Charles Beatty having
purchased, it was accordingly called Charleston. In 1852, Dr. Charles Atchison located
in the western part of the place, in a house belonging to Susan Jennings, but afterwards
bought, and became a permanent resident.
In
the same year, the first blacksmith-shop in town was built by Samuel Walters, and was
purchased, three years later, by William
Thompson. The post-office was established in 1858, and Ephraim Gundy was commissioned
the first postmaster. The present store is owned by Samuel Fry, and was built, for
the most part, in the
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summer
of 1875. Years before, however, a store-building stood in the place,
and a part of it is embodied in the present one. It was a frame
building, erected by Alexander
Campbell, and used a short time as a hotel by William Fry, but afterwards
sold to a man named Woods,
who, in turn, transferred it to Dixon
& Gundy, who stocked it with goods, and commenced
trade in 1856. Gundy
remained in the place until 1872, when he disposed of his property to
the present merchant. In 1861, a large frame hotel was erected by Levi Buchanan, in whose
possession it remains.
The
village lies upon the direct road from Mercer to Sharon, which was very
extensively traveled previous to the advent of railroads and
steam-engines in the county. Even at the present time, teams come and
go regularly and often, and the trade of the little store is brisk, and
the hotel often well-filled with guests.
History of Mercer County,
1877, page 50
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