Carbon County
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Quakake Valley
CHAPTER XIII.
BANKS TOWNSHIP.
The earliest settlement in Banks township was made in that portion which was in 1897 set off to form the borough of Beaver Meadow. The township was contained within the territory of Lausanne until January, 1842, when it was separately organized, being named in honor of Judge Banks, then on the bench of Northampton county, of which Carbon formed a part until 1843.
The township is about ten miles in length, from east to west, and approximately two miles in width. Its territory comprises the top of the Spring mountain, varying between fourteen and sixteen hundred feet above sea level.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman" "5 North Parkview Drive 100 East Broad Street
Tresckow, PA 18254 PO Box 247
(570) 454-8291 Beaver Meadows, PA 18216
(570) 455-7841
Bowmanstown Borough
Bowmanstown, which is a neat and prosperous village, derives its name from John Deter Bowman, who settled here in 1796. He was a grandson of the original settler of that name.
" "Mill & Ore Streets East Penn Township
PO Box 127 167 Municipal Road
Bowmanstown, PA 18030 Lehighton, PA 18235
(610) 852-2455 (570) 386-5735
http://mapzones.org/Bowmanstown_Borough_Pennsylvania.html
EAST SIDE BOROUGH.
East Side borough enjoys the distinction of being the smallest incorporated town in Pennsylvania. It was formerly known as East Haven, lying directly opposite White Haven on the east bank of the Lehigh river.
It is bounded on all sides excepting the west by Kidder township, of which it formed a part until January 22, 1892, when the borough was incorporated conformably to a decree of court. The western boundary is marked by the Lehigh. In 1900, the year when its first census was taken, the town had a population of 210. During the succeeding decade, this number was augmented by but ten. There are less than forty voters in the place.
Almost without exception the men of the village are employed as railroaders. The Wyoming division of the Lehigh Valley road passes through the town, while the Lehigh and Susquehanna division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey is on the opposite bank of the river. The place is pleasantly situated and practically all of the people own the homes which they occupy. A single school is maintained, but there is no church, the inhabitants worshiping at White Haven.
FRANKLIN TOWNSBIP.
As Virginia once claimed the proud title, ""Mother of the Presidents,"" so Franklin township is coming to be known as the ""Mother of the Sheriffs"" of Carbon county. Certain it is that most of those who have been called to fill this office during a long period of years have come from this division of the county.
Originally Franklin township formed a part of old Towamensing, and in 1841, when a division was made, it became a part of Upper Towamensing, or, as it is known to-day, Towamensing. It so remained until the year 1851, when it was separately organized and the new township named ""Franklin"" by the court. This designation was deemed appropriate because it was on the borders of its territory that Benjamin Franklin erected Fort Allen as a measure of protection for the white settlers after the Indian massacre at Gnadenhiitten.
EAST SIDE BOROUGH.
East Side borough enjoys the distinction of being the smallest incorporated town in Pennsylvania. It was formerly known as East Haven, lying directly opposite White Haven on the east bank of the Lehigh river.
It is bounded on all sides excepting the west by Kidder township, of which it formed a part until January 22, 1892, when the borough was incorporated conformably to a decree of court. The western boundary is marked by the Lehigh. In 1900, the year when its first census was taken, the town had a population of 210. During the succeeding decade, this number was augmented by but ten. There are less than forty voters in the place
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman
" "100 North Sheaman Road 900 Fairyland Road
Agmar Estates Lehighton, PA 18235
White Haven, PA 18661 (610) 377-1773
(570) 443-7011
" "History of Franklin Township
http://www.franklintownshipcarboncounty.com/history.html"
Kidder Township
Strange as it may seem to-day, Kidder township, which is as undeniably a portion of Pennsylvania as is the land on which Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are built, was for years claimed and actually governed by Connecticut.
Under the terms of her charter, given in 1662, and antedating that of William Penn by a score of years, Connecticut claimed a strip of land as wide as herself and extending westward to the Pacific ocean. It was admitted by the claimant that New York presented a barrier; but overleaping this, the strip began at the Delaware river and embraced the whole northern section of the state. The southern boundary line was formed by the forty-first parallel, which crosses the state at Stroudsburg, and this line took in all of the present township of Kidder and a small fraction of Penn Forest." "Jim Thorpe Borough Kidder Township Municipal Building
421 North Street, Rear PO Box 576
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 Lake Harmony, PA 18624
(570) 325-3025 (570) 722-0107
"
LEHIGHTON BOROUGH.
Before its incorporation as a borough, Lehighton formed a part of Mahoning township, by which it is bounded on all sides except the east, where the Lehigh river forms the boundary line.
The first settlement here was that made by the Moravians in 1746. Gnadenhiitten mission, which was then established, occupying the present site of South Lehighton. This was also the first settlement made by white men in Carbon county, which then belonged to Bucks, one of the three original counties of Pennsylvania.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman
" "Lehigh Township 1 Constitution Avenue
1741 South Lehigh Gorge Road PO Box 29
Weatherly, PA 18235 :Lehighton, PA 18235
(570) 427-4950 (610) 377-4002
Lower Towamensing Township
CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWAMENSING TOWNSHIP.
Towamensing township is bounded on the north by Penn Forest, on the east by Monroe county, on the south by Lower Towamensing, and on the west by Franklin township.
The Poho Poco, or Big creek, flows eastwardly across the full breadth of the township. Pine run and Wild creek, flowing southwardly, are its principal tributaries within the township. The surface of the land is of a rolling nature, and is principally given over to agriculture.
Count Zinzendorf, the Moravian missionary, spent some time in this portion of Carbon county in the year 1742, when he negotiated a treaty with the Indians at the spot on which, a few years later, the mission of Gnadenhiittten was established.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman" "595 Hahns Dairy Road 2685 Mahoning Drive East
Palmerton, PA 18071 Lehighton, PA 18235
(610) 826-2522 (570) 386-4002
"
Meadows Borough
Beaver Meadows Borough Hall is located at 117 Church Street, Beaver Meadows PA 18216; phone: 570-455-7841.
http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Carbon_County/Beaver_Meadows_Borough.html
Nesquehoning Borough Packer Township
The Nesquehoning creek, forming the northern boundary, flows eastwardly and empties into the Lehigh opposite Coalport. The valley drained by this stream lies between the Broad mountain on the north and Locust mountain on the south. The last named forms an angle with Sharp mountain, which extends westwardly into Schuylkill county. Mount Pisgah, on the Lehigh, and Mount Jefferson, near Summit Hill, tower above the summit of this mountain. The Mahoning mountain lies on the southern border of the township. Between this and Sharp mountain Mauch Chunk creek flows eastwardly into the Lehigh. Between Locust and Sharp mountains is the Panther Creek Valley, where most of the coal in the township is deposited.
The Landing tavern, situated at the junction of the Nesquehoning creek and the Lehigh, was the first dot of civilization to appear upon this wild and mountainous tract, so entirely forbidding in appearance, yet containing a vast concealed treasure, which, when found, brought wealth and comfort to thousands. The spot where it stood was known as Lausanne. This tavern, erected at an early period in the last century, was the resort of hunters, surveyors, prospectors for coal, raftsmen and the occasional travelers who found their way into the picturesque but desolate valley of the Upper Lehigh. It was built at about the time of the opening of the Lehigh and Susquehanna turnpike, the line of which diverged from the river at this point, following a more direct course over the mountains toward Berwick.
114 West Catawissa Street 2234 Hudson Drive
Nesquehoning, PA 18240 Weatherly, PA 18255
(570) 669-9588 (570) 427-8969
Palmerton Borough
Palmerton, the youngest borough of Carbon county, and one of the model communities of the state, is of very recent growth. Until the autumn of 1912, when the town was incorporated, it formed a part of Lower Towamensing township.
It owes its existence and its many excellencies solely to the enterprise of the New Jersey Zinc Company of Pennsylvania, the works of which are located near here.
Its name is derived from Stephen S. Palmer, the president of this company.
The place is beautifully located near the western bank of the Lehigh within the northern shadows of the majestic Blue Ridge, commanding a view of the wild grandeur of the Lehigh Water Gap. The southern portion of the town borders on the Aquashicola creek.
This stream was thus named by the Delaware Indians, and in their tongue signified the place of fishing with bush-nets
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman" "443 Delaware Avenue 317 Centre Street
Palmerton, PA 18071 PO Box 10
(610) 826-2505 Parryville, PA 18244
(610) 852-3800
"
Parryville Borough
BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS
The borough of Parryville is located on the eastern bank of the Lehigh river and on the line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, about half a dozen miles below Mauch Chunk.
The first settler here was Peter Frantz, who came to the locality in 1780. Leonard Beltz and Frederick Scheckler took up land in this vicinity in 1781.
Soon thereafter Scheckler and Frantz erected a stone grist mill on the banks of Poho Poco creek, which flows into the Lehigh at this point. This property passed into the possession of Peter and Jacob Stein in 1815. The latter conducted the mill, while the former built a large stone hotel, which was later utilized as a dwelling house.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman"
MAHONING TOWNSHIP.
Mahoning township, the richest agricultural district of Carbon county, was organized in 1842, its territory being taken from East Penn.
The name Mahoning is corrupted from Mahonhanne, which in the tongue of the Delaware Indians, meant a stream flowing near a lick.
It is bounded on the north by Mauch Chunk township; on the east by the Lehigh river; on the south by East Penn, and on the west by Schuylkill county.
The Mahoning creek, rising in Schuylkill county, and flowing eastwardly into the Lehigh, is the principal stream. The beautiful valley drained by this stream lies between two gently sloping mountains, the sides of which are often dotted almost to their tops with cultivated fields.
Since the first settlement of the valley, the northern, or Mahoning mountain, has been referred to lo cally as the Summer mountain, while that to the southward has been called the Winter mountain, from the position of the sun at these seasons of the year.
A portion of the present territory of Mahoning township was the first to which any title was obtained by white men in the immediate region north of the Blue Ridge. In 1682, William Penn deeded a tract of five thousand acres to Adrian Vroesen, of Rotterdam, which after several changes of ownership came into possession of Richard Peters, of Philadelphia. He, in 1745, conveyed one hundred and twenty acres of this land near the mouth of the Mahoning to the Moravians of Bethlehem, who established Gnadenhiitten mission thereon during the following year.
Penn Forest Township
BOROUGHS AND TOWNSHIPS
CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWAMENSING TOWNSHIP.
Towamensing township is bounded on the north by Penn Forest, on the east by Monroe county, on the south by Lower Towamensing, and on the west by Franklin township.
The Poho Poco, or Big creek, flows eastwardly across the full breadth of the township. Pine run and Wild creek, flowing southwardly, are its principal tributaries within the township. The surface of the land is of a rolling nature, and is principally given over to agriculture.
Count Zinzendorf, the Moravian missionary, spent some time in this portion of Carbon county in the year 1742, when he negotiated a treaty with the Indians at the spot on which, a few years later, the mission of Gnadenhiittten was established.
This whole section of country was christened by him as ""Saint Anthony's Wilderness,"" and it was so designated on a map published in 1749. The name, however, did not strike a popular chord among the settlers, and, later, the term Towamensing, meaning a wilderness, was applied to all that section lying north of the Blue Ridge, and was known as Towamensing District.
In a petition for the division of the district, addressed to the Northampton county court, dated June 22,1768, the length of the district is given as thirty-six miles.
When the walk has been finished, it still remained to run the line to the Delaware. The Indians maintained that, starting from the extreme northwesterly point reached by Marshall, the line should be run straight to the Delaware. Instead of this it was slanted northward to such a degree as to take in about twice at much territory as would have been included by the other arrangement. Again, while the walk had been made through Smith's Gap, terminating near the Tobyhanna creek, on the borders of Monroe and Carbon counties, the arbitrary line was run through Lehigh Gap, ending in what is now Penn Forest township, directly opposite Mauch Chunk.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman" "2010 State Route 903 Summit Hill Borough
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229 40 West Amidon Street Suite 3
(570) 325-2768 Summit Hill, PA 18250
(570) 645-2305
"
"CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWAMENSING TOWNSHIP.
Towamensing township is bounded on the north by Penn Forest, on the east by Monroe county, on the south by Lower Towamensing, and on the west by Franklin township.
The Poho Poco, or Big creek, flows eastwardly across the full breadth of the township. Pine run and Wild creek, flowing southwardly, are its principal tributaries within the township. The surface of the land is of a rolling nature, and is principally given over to agriculture.
Count Zinzendorf, the Moravian missionary, spent some time in this portion of Carbon county in the year 1742, when he negotiated a treaty with the Indians at the spot on which, a few years later, the mission of Gnadenhiittten was established.
This whole section of country was christened by him as ""Saint Anthony's Wilderness,"" and it was so designated on a map published in 1749. The name, however, did not strike a popular chord among the settlers, and, later, the term Towamensing, meaning a wilderness, was applied to all that section lying north of the Blue Ridge, and was known as Towamensing District.
In a petition for the division of the district, addressed to the Northampton county court, dated June 22,1768, the length of the district is given as thirty-six miles.
In response to the prayer of this petition, the Lehigh river was made the dividing line, and the territory west of the river was organized as Penn township, while that on the east retained the name of Towamensing. After this division was made, Towamensing township embraced all of the territory north and east of the Lehigh river, within the confines of the county.
Chestnut Hill was taken from Towamensing anterior to the year 1783, as was Tobyhanna, at a later date. In 1836 these two became a part of Monroe county, while in 1841 the lower part of this territory became Penn Forest township, which in 1843 was attached to Carbon county.
During 1841 Towamensing was again divided, and Lower Towamensing was set off. Franklin township was taken from the territory of Towamensing in 1851, since which time there have been no territorial changes.
It appears that the first permanent settlement in what is now Towamensing township was made at about the time of the Revolutionary War.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman
" "120 Stable Road Weatherly Borough
Lehighton, PA 18235 10 Wilbur Street
(610) 681-4202 Weatherly, PA 18255
(570) 427-8640
"
"Weissport Borough
Among the villages of Franklin township the first in importance and population is East Weissport, which is only arbitrarily separated from the borough of Weissport, and to which its history more properly belongs. This village has many of the conveniences and improvements of modern life. It has an excellent water supply and is electrically lighted by the plant of Lehighton borough.
History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania: also containing a separate account ... By Frederick Charles Brenckman" "440 Allen Street
Weissport, PA 18235-2709
(610) 377-5606
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