Haines Township was erected while part of the territory of Centre county was yet in Northumberland county, in February 1790, and so called after Reuben Haines, a brewer of Philadelphia, who owned large bodies of land in the township. Its valley surveys date back to 1766, and among its earliest settlers were Adam Harper, Jacob and Adam Stover. Its oldest village, Aaronsburg, was laid out by Noah Levy in 1786. James Duncan was the first store keeper, and a post office was established in Aaronsburg, April 1, 1798, and Mr. Duncan appointed post master. It now consists of two precincts, East and West. The first resident physician was Dr. Klepper, who was succeeded in 1811 by Dr. Charles Coburn. The first settler on the site of Woodward was John Motz in 1786, and the valley was laid out in 1848.
(SOURCE: Eleventh Census of the Population of the United States Published by Boroughs and Townships, in Connection with a Business Directory of the Same, Bellefonte, Pa., 1890.)
HAINES TOWNSHIP CENSUS FIGURES
1860--1,510 1870--1,354 1880--1,422 1890--1,490 1900--1,400 1910--1,176 1920--1,057 1930--1,048 1940--1,030 1950--1,081 1960--1,100 1970--1,224 1980--1,375 1990--1,494 2000--1,479
(SOURCE: U.S. Census of Population, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.)
TOWNS & VILLAGES
Villages and townships in Haines Township include Aaronsburg, Ingleby, Woodward, Woodward Narrows, Motz's Bank, Liberty Mills, Taylorville, Wolf's Chapel, Fiedler and Poe Mills. For a further discussion of these, see Paul M. Dubbs, Where to Go and Place-Names of Centre County, 1961.
TAX ASSESSMENT RECORDS
Tax assessment records for Haines Township from 1801 forward can be found in the basement of the Centre County Library and Historical Museum in Bellefonte. Persons wishing to use these records must first sign the Guest Researcher register in the Pennsylvania Room.