Submitted by Gaylene Kerr Banister
Springfield
Township
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| Springfield is the
northwestern township of the county, and has an area of 21,788 acres. It
was one of the original sixteen. The township is bounded on the north by
Lake Erie, on the east by Girard and Conneaut, on the south by Conneaut,
and on the west by Ashtabula County, Ohio. Up to the year 1885, the south
line was a mile or so further north than now, but by an arrangement with
Conneaut the latter ceded that portion of her territory lying beyond the
creek, on condition that Springfield should pay one-half the expense of
maintaining bridges along the boundary. The east line of Springfield
extended to Miles Grove, parallel with that of Conneaut and Elk Creek;
until 1832, when the township was reduced by the formation of Girard. The
first officers of the township were elected in 1811. Springfield contained
896 inhabitants in 1820, 1,520, in 1830, 2,344 in 1840, 1,916 in 1850,
1,742 in 1870, and 1,792 in 1880. Its greatest length is about seven and a
half and its greatest width about six and a quarter miles. The villages
are East Springfield, West Springfield and North Springfield, all of which
have post offices of the same name. The old State line of Pennsylvania,
before the purchase of the Triangle, terminated on the farm of Joseph
Hewitt, in Springfield, between four and five miles east of the Ohio
boundary. Lands, etc. The lake shore plain is about three miles wide in Springfield, and while there is a good deal of high broken land in the south part, the township is less marred by gullies than is the case further east in the county. The best portion of the township is conceded to lie along the Ridge road, in the vicinity of East Springfield. A mile or less west of that place, on the same line, the quality of the land deteriorates, though some excellent farms are found at and around the village of West Springfield. In the eastern part of the township, the lake shore lands are generally good, but in the neighborhood of Raccoon Creek they become sour, and from there on to Ohio are below the average of the county. Numerous stretches of sand are met with that hardly pay for cultivation, and other parts are cold, swampy and difficult of drainage. Back of the Ridge road, and from there to Conneaut Creek, the soil is usually clay, with here and there a sand hill, which forms a curious feature of the topography. As there are exceptions to all rules, so there is to this statement. A valley commences just south of West Springfield and extends clear into Ohio, with a width ranging from a half a mile to a mile, which is one of the best portions of the township. Wheat and other grains are raised everywhere, but the back country is best adapted for grazing. Great quantities of potatoes are produced, and many carloads are shipped annually from Cross's Station and North Springfield. The lake shore farms are valued at $30 to $100 per acre, the Ridge road at $40 to $100, and the back country from $30 to $70. The bank of the lake is bold and abrupt along the font of Springfield Township, ranging in height from fifty to sixty feet. The Moravian grant embraced 2,797 acres in Springfield and Conneaut, extending from the lake to a short distance south of Conneaut Creek, and taking in a strip about a mile wide, except at the Ridge road, where it narrowed to fifty or sixty rods. The reason for this diversion was that the surveyors encountered a formidable beaver swamp at that point, which has since been mostly reclaimed by drainage. William and James Miles were long the agents of the Moravians. The tract was bought in a body by N. Blickensderfer and James Miles in 1849, who sold it out in pieces from 1850 on. The Ridge road is closely settled between East and West Springfield, and many of the farmhouses are large, neat and pleasant, giving an impression of wealth and comfort. Several of the buildings are brick, and nearly all are surrounded by pretty grounds. Some delightful homes are also to be seen on the road from the lake to East Springfield. The assessment for 1883 gave the following results: Value of real estate, $941,410; cows, 558; value, $13,947; oxen; value, $340; horses and mules, 448; value, $28,660; value of trades and occupations, $9,750; money at interest, $34,860. Early Settlers The first settler in the township was Capt. Samuel Holliday, of Franklin County, who came on in 1796, located 700 acres at the mouth of Crooked Creek, built a cabin, and returned to his former home in the fall of the year. Soon after his arrival, he was joined by John Devore, of Bedford County, John Mershon, of New Jersey, and William McIntyre and Patrick Ager, natives of Ireland, but residents for a time in Eastern Pennsylvania, all of whom became permanent settlers. Capt. Holliday married in Franklin County in April, 1797, and the young couple started immediately on a wedding tour to their new home, Mrs. H. riding on horseback and her husband walking by her side with his gun over his shoulder. Their route was by a trail through the woods from Pittsburgh to Erie, and from there along the beach of the lake to the mouth of Crooked Creek. Their goods came some time after, in boats up the Allegheny and French Creek to Waterford. During the year 1797, the little colony was increased by the arrival of Oliver Cross, from Vermont, and of Thomas and Oliver Dunn, from Ireland. The Dunns remained but a few months, when they changed to McKean, where they settled permanently. Other pioneers reached the township as follows: In 1798, Nicholas Lebarger, of Bedford County; in 1800, Matthias Brindle, of Franklin County, and a Mr. Bruce; in 1801, Robert McKee, of Cumberland County, and Oliver Smith, from Massachusetts; in 1802, Isaac, Jesse, John D. and Thomas R. Miller, John Eaton and John Law, all of Franklin County, Henry Adams, of Massachusetts, John Hewitt, of Connecticut, and John Rudd, Jr.; in 1803, Andrew Cochran and Abraham Eagley, of Dauphin County, George Ferguson, of Cumberland County, and William Ferguson, of Ohio; in 1804, Samuel Rea, of Franklin County, and John Rudd, Sr., and family; in 1806, John Hall, of Mifflin County, in 1808, Erastus DeWolf, of New York; in 1810, Joseph Ware, of Vermont; in 1813, Zachariah Thomas, of Vermont; in 1815, William Gould, of Chautauqua County, N. Y., Anderson Hubbard, of Ohio, and Luke Thayer, of Massachusetts; in 1816, Benjamin Carr, of Essex County, N. Y.; in 1817, John Albert, of Cattaraugus County, N. Y.; in 1818, David Ellis, of Massachusetts, and Derby Walter and Ezekiel Currier, both of Lyme, N. H.; in 1819, Andrew and Henry Mallory and Thomas Ivory, all of New York; in 1820, James, Benjamin and Lucius Bond of Massachusetts, John S. Sherman, of New York, and James Anderson, of Virginia; in 1824, A. Whiton, of Ashtabula County, Ohio; in 1826, John Monell, of Otsego County, N. Y., and Peter Simmons; in 1829, Geo. Simmons, of Saratoga County, N. Y.; in 1830, Lorenzo Harvey, of New York, William H. Townsend, of Washington County, N. Y., and Selah Walbridge, of Vermont; in 1831, I. Pond, of New York, and Seymour Devereaux, of North East; in 1832, Scott Keith, of Girard, Penn., Stephen Warner, of Genesee County, N. Y., and Matthew Gray, of Lockport, N. Y.; in 1833, R. R. Robinson, of Sparta, N. Y.; in 1834, William Marsh and E. Smith, both of Wyoming County, N. Y.; in 1835, Clark Baldwin, of Vermont, Thomas Potter, of New York, and E. B. Hedden and William Church, both of New Jersey; in 1836, Thomas Webster, of Washington County, N. Y.; in 1839, T. S. Cowles, of Connecticut; in 1840, C. Lindsey, of New York; in 1841, Joseph Strong, of Massachusetts; in 1842, Gilbert Hurd, from Rock Stream, N. Y.; in 1846, L. W. Savage, of Genesee County, N. Y.; in 1854, Joel Day, of Wyoming County, N. Y.; in 1863, Humphrey A. Hills, of Conneaut Township. Mr. Brindle, like Capt. Holliday, first came on in 1800, located lands, went back and brought his family the next spring. He was a soldier of 1812, and the father of thirteen children. Jesse Miller removed to Mercer County in a few years, and remained there the balance of his life. Mr. Smith reached the county by an open boat from Canada, where it was his original purpose to locate. Incidents of the Pioneers Mr. McIntyre died in 1867, at the ripe age of ninety-five. He brought the first potatoes planted in the township, carrying them in a sack thrown over his back the entire distance from Pittsburgh. In 1802, a barrel of salt cost Robert McKee fifty Spanish dollars; it had to be brought from Buffalo to Erie in small boat, and from the latter place to Springfield on pack horses. In 1800, the only route to Erie was along the beach of the lake or by a bridle path through the woods. At that period, there was a wide beach along the whole lake front of the county. Andrew Cochran was Captain of a company of soldiers during the last war with Great Britain, who volunteered for the protection of our coast, and remained in service till the declaration of peace. It was attached to the command of Col. Wallace, at Erie; was frequently called out, but was never actually in an engagement. Some time during the campaign, a rumor reached the township that the enemy had landed at the mouth of Conneaut Creek, which created the utmost consternation in the infant settlement. Several families fled, and other had preparations made for a hasty departure. Luckily, the report proved to be false. The first female which child was Elizabeth Holliday, born May 14, 1798; the first mile white child was Joseph Brindle, born March 1, 1800; and the first funeral is said to have been that of the wife of Isaac Miller, whose grave, some assert, was the first in the old Presbyterian Graveyard. This is disputed, however, by one of the old residents, who is positive the interment of a Mr. Davis took place earlier. Mr. Simmons is the oldest man who has ever resided in the township, and one of the oldest in the county. He was still living in 1881 in his ninety-eighth year. Streams, Mills and Factories The chief stream of Springfield is Conneaut Creek, which forms its entire southern boundary. The stream does not receive a single tributary in the township; on the contrary the high but tillable hills which border its channel, are the head-waters of two or three creeks which flow northward to the lake. Next in importance to Conneaut Creek is Crooked Creek, which rises within the borough limits of Lockport, runs in a general northwesterly course, through the southern portion of Girard and the northeastern of Springfield, and falls into the lake about a half a mile beyond North Springfield, having a length of some ten miles. Raccoon Creek heads on the farm of J. Cross, near Conneaut Creek, and flowing north, after a course of about ten miles, reaches the lake at Eagley's Grove. Turkey Run takes its rise on the Gleason farm, a little south of West Springfield, and flows about four and a half miles within the township and a mile or more in Ohio. It falls into the lake east of Conneaut harbor. Two or three small streams run into the lake which are not of sufficient importance to have a name. The channel of Crooked Creek, from the Girard line to the lake, is wide and deep, but the banks are less precipitous through the lake shore plain than those of Elk and Walnut Creeks. Five substantial covered bridges span Conneaut Creek, built, owned and maintained by the tow townships. The Lake Shore Railroad culvert and embankment over Crooked Creek at North Springfield is one of the most solid and costly pieces of work in the county The embankment is ninety feet above the water, and from 700 to 800 feet long. It was through this culvert that a house was washed in the fall of 1878, during the greatest flood ever known on the stream. The manufacturing concerns of Springfield Township are Forter's grist and saw mill, on Conneaut Creek, half a mile north of Cherry Hill; H. V. Lines' grist and saw mill, on the Ridge road, a mile east of East Springfield; J. M. Strong's grist and saw mill, a mile north of East Springfield; Reed's saw mill, on the Ridge road, half a mile west of West Springfield; a cheese factory at the latter place and an extensive tile works. Lines' and Strong's mills are both in the valley of Crooked Creek, and propelled by the water of that stream, in connection with steam. The Porter Mill was built by Comfort Hay about 1823, and the West Springfield Tile Works were started in 1869. The cheese factory at the latter place was established in 1874, has run successfully from the first, and is still well patronized. The Strong Mills were built by Andrew Cochran about 1820, and rebuilt by Thomas Webster, about 1841 or 1842, who ran them till his death, in 1860, when they fell into the hands of Joseph M. Strong. He has recently overhauled them, and they are in as good condition as any similar property in the county. The first saw mill where Lines' mills are was built by Amos Remington and Oliver Cross about 1814, and rebuilt by Nathan Cass about 1824 or 1825, who managed it jointly with Willard Pope. The firm sold the property to Mr. Case, who built the grist mill about 1832. After Case, the mills changed owners frequently, being sold in succession to Tucker & Woodruff, Justin Nash, William Cross, Scott Keith and Walter and Henry Keith, who rebuilt them in 1857 or 1858. Two or three years after they were put up at Sheriff's sale, and bid in by Judge Cross, who gave the title to Jonathan Keith; from him they passed into the hands of Oliver & Brecht, of Mr. Finkinger, and finally about 1870, of Mr. Line. They were burned in 1871 and rebuilt in 1872. The very first mill owner in the township was Capt. Holliday, who built a saw mill about 1801 or 1802, and a grist mill in 1803, near the mouth of Crooked Creek, both of which have gone down. This grist mill was erected a little later than the Silverthorn Mill in Girard, contrary to the usual belief. Burial Places The cemetery at East Springfield is the principal burying place of the township, though small graveyards are attached to the Christian Church in the same village, at West Springfield, at the Town House, and in other localities. The inclosure takes in eighteen acres of high and dry gravel and loam on the north side of the village, is tastefully laid out, contains some fine monuments, is carefully kept, and is deservedly the pride of the people. It was originally the burial ground of the Presbyterian Church, to which other land was added by purchase. The cemetery was surveyed and graded in 1864, John H. Miller being the engineer and Robert P. Holliday the contractor. The first sale of lots was in October of that year, and the fires body interred was that of Henry Keith, which was placed in the inclosure in August, 1864, before the work was completed. The original officers were: William Holliday, President' I. Newton Miller, Secretary; T. Webster, Treasurer; William Cross, Samuel Holliday, Henry Teller, J. M. Strong and Samuel H. Brindle, Managers. Judge Cross was elected President in January, 1878, and still retains the position. Messrs. Miller and Webster have been officers from the day the cemetery originated to the present hour. Funerals come from Girard, Elk Creek and Conneaut. In the northeast part of the cemetery are still to be seen traces of one of the series of ancient earthworks, four in number, which extended from the western part of Girard to the southern portion of Springfield. The other mounds in Springfield are on the M. Oney farm, about a mile southwest of East Springfield, and on the Thomas McKee place, half a mile further west. They are all in a direct line from northeast to southwest, and are similar in character, each one covering over half an acre, being circular in form, and having earthen embankments two to three feet high by six feet thick at the base. During the war for the Union, Springfield sent about 150 men into the army. Every one of the departed patriots has a headstone at the township expense. Public Men The following is a list of citizens of Springfield who have held State and county offices: Assembly, thomas R. Miller, 1836; David a. gould, 1843 and 1846; L. Newton Miller, 1870. Associate Judge, William Cross, November 22, 1861, to November 8, 1866; elected without opposition, his name being on the Union and Republican ticket. Prothonotary, Maj. S. V. Holliday, January 2, 1882-85. County superintendent of Public Schools, L. W. Savage, 1860-63. Register and Recorder, Samuel Rea, Jr., November 17, 1863, to November 16, 1866; Henry G. Harvey, November 16, 1866, to November 19, 1872. county treasurer, Thomas J. Devore, December 23, 1878, to December 20, 1860. county commissioner, Thomas R. Miller, 1831-34; Richard Robinson, 1852-55.Directors of the Poor, Thomas R. Miller, 1840-42. John Spaulding was elected in 1856, but refused to serve. Co9unty Auditor, John Eagley, 1848-51. Mercantile Appraisers, Samuel Rea, Jr., 1858; Perry Devore, 1862. County Surveyor, Robert P. Holliday, November 5, 1863, to November 12, 1866, and February, 1869, to November 11, 1872; George M.Robison, January, 1879, to May, 1879. Hon. Humphrey A. Hills, County Commissioner from 1847-50, Deputy Marshal for taking the census in 1850, Commissioner to fix the boundary between Erie and Crawford Counties in the same year, and Assemblyman in 1852-53, has been a resident of East Springfield since 1863, moving there from Conneaut, his former home. E. B. Ward, the Detroit millionaire, was a native of the township, where he began life as a fisherman and sailor. The citizens of Springfield who have become residents of Erie City are Samuel Rea, Jr., Col. E. P. Gould, Carl Walbridge, Joseph Patterson and A. E. Sisson. Academies and Schools The township possess no less than three Academies, one each at the villages of East, West and North Springfield. The first of these, at West Springfield, was founded in 1853, and had a hundred and sixty-five pupils in 1855, with four teachers. Among its Principals were John A. Austin, W. H. Heller, Joseph H. colt and C. c. Sheffield. It was burned down in December, 1859, and rebuilt of brick two or three years subsequently. The East Springfield Academy, once an institution of high repute, opening with 150 scholars, grew out of rivalry between the two villages, and was built in 1856. The first Principal was B. J.Hawkins, and L. W. Savage held the position in 1858. Neither school has been maintained distinctly as an academy for some years. The one at East Springfield is now used wholly as a public school, and the West Springfield one as a select and public school, the former having two and the latter three teachers. The North Springfield academy was established in 1866, after the two others had rundown, and is still maintained as a select school. The other schools of the township are the Depot, at North Springfield; Anderson, on the Lake road, three-quarters of a mile north of Strong's mill; Weed, two miles south of East Springfield, on the Albion road; Baldwin, on the Ridge road, a mile west of East Springfield; Moon, on the road from West Springfield to Albion; Center, near the Town House; Brockway, one mile north of the Town House; Brindle, on the Lake road, a mile and a half west of North Springfield; Devereaux, near Devereaux Corners; Hubbard, on the Ridge road, beyond West Springfield; Blickensderfer, on the Lake road, one mile west of Raccoon Creek, and Hewett, in the southwest. One of the first schoolhouses was built at an early day on the Joseph Eagley place, near the lake. The material was logs, with chimney of stones and sticks. In 1818, a log schoolhouse was standing in what is now the village of East Springfield, in which James Porter was teaching school. William Clark, a Mr. West and a Mr. Smith were other early teachers in the East Springfield settlement. About the year 1822, Louisa De Wolf kept a school in a vacated log cabin located in the Ferguson neighborhood, about three miles southwest of East Springfield. Not long after this, another school was held in a similar building, probably a mile east of East Springfield, in the summer by Jane Ferguson and in the winter by William Branch. About the year 1827, a frame schoolhouse stood in the Vanderventer neighborhood, some two and a half miles southwest of East Springfield. Hiram Dixon was one of the early teachers in this house. Railroads, Common Roads and Hotels Springfield has the advantage of two through lines of railroad -- the Lake Shore and the Nickel Plate -- which cross the township from Girard into Ohio, the first at a distance of half a mile to a mile from the lake, and the second farther south. The Lake Shore has a station at North Springfield, and the Nickel Plate one each for East and West Springfield. The Erie & Pittsburg Railroad branches off from the Lake Shore in Girard Township, half a mile from the Springfield line, which it follows southward into Conneaut, at about the same average distance. Crosses' Station, in Girard Township, a mile and a half from East Springfield, was established for the accommodation of the township. The principal common thoroughfares are the Ridge road, which runs nearly through the center of the township, forming the main streets of East and West Springfield; the Lake road, which is half a mile from the water at North Springfield, and follows the lake front to the Ohio line; the Middle Ridge, which leaves the Lake road not far from North Springfield, runs southwest and strikes the Ridge road a mile beyond West Springfield; the Kingsville, which branches off from the Ridge road two-thirds of a mile west of East Springfield and continues to Kingsville, Ohio; and the roads from East and West Springfield to Albion, which come together at Sherman's Corners, near Conneaut Creek, in the southeast. From the close of the last war with Great Britain to the opening of the railroad, the travel on the Ridge road was very extensive, requiring numerous public houses on the route. Scott Keith opened a house at East Springfield for the accommodation of the public in 1832, which became one of the most famous and popular between Erie and Cleveland. It is still open. In 1822, William Doty removed to East Springfield from North East, and took charge of the old Remington stand, which he kept till his death in 1864. The Keith House is still kept open. The East Springfield Post Office, the first in the township, was established many years ago. The post offices at West Springfield was established in 1838 or 1839, with Samuel Castle as the first Postmaster, and the one at North Springfield some time after 1860. That at West Springfield was long kept by Riley Potter. On the night of the 6th of December, 1874, this office was broken into and robbed, set on fire by the burglars and destroyed with the store to which it was attached. Two of the guilty parties were caught, convicted and sent to the penitentiary. Churches The churches of the township are Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal and Christian at East Springfield, and Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Universalist at West Springfield. The Universalist and the two Methodist Episcopal buildings are brick; all the rest are frame. The Methodist congregations are one charge, having their parsonage at West Springfield. John Mershon was married to Miss Bathsheba Brush, of Greene County, in January, 1799, three years after his settlement in this county. When the bride came to her new home she brought with her a church letter from the Methodist minister at the place of her former residence. By her inducement, Rev. Joseph Bowen, a local preacher of the denomination at Franklin, Penn., held services in the Mershon house in September, 1800, and later in the same year he came again. These were the first Methodist services in the county. In the spring of 1801, a class was organized by James Quino, near Lexington, and in 1804 a church building was erected about a mile south of West Springfield, which was long known as the Brush Meeting-house. During the latter year, nearly a hundred persons were converted under the ministry of Rev. Andrew Hemphill. In July, 1810, nearly forty persons were awakened through the instrumentality of a powerful sermon preached by Rev. John Gruber, Presiding Elder. A second society, with fourteen members, was formed on the 7th of January, 1815, at the house of Mr. Webber, in what is now Girard, but was then a part of Springfield, which has since been known as the Fair Haven Church. This congregation divided in 1821, in consequence of a personal difficulty between two of the leaders, and twenty-one of the members formed what they styled a "Reformed Methodist Church." In 1825, a fourth society was organized in the east part of the town, which was the beginning of the church at East Springfield. The Cottage Church, which stood on the Ridge road, about half a mile west of West Springfield, was commenced in 1830, but was not finished till 1836. The present church at West Springfield was built in 1854, and the one at East Springfield about 1866. The second parsonage in eRie Conference was built at Springfield. S. Ayers and J. C. Ayers were the first pastors in 1830, and latterly E. M. Kernick, 1882-83. The first Presbyterian edifice was a small log structure which stood on the old portion of the cemetery grounds. A preaching point was established at Springfield in 1804, by Rev. Robert Patterson, of North East, who was then the only regularly settled minister in the county, and the building referred to was put up the same year. The congregation was organized in 1806, by Rev. J. Eaton, pastor of the church at Fairview, who assumed the same relation to the Springfield Church June 30, 1808. His relation with the Springfield Church continued until November 8, 1814. The original congregation consisted of about thirty members. Isaac Miller, James Blair and James Bruce were the first Elders. The present church edifice was built in 1844, at a cost of $4,000. The christian church at East Springfield was organized with twelve members in 1826 by Rev. Asa C. Morrison, and had Rev. Joseph Marsh for its first pastor. The church was built in 1839, and cost $700. A graveyard is attached to it, from which the bodies are gradually being removed to the cemetery. Elder H. Crampton is the present incumbent. The Baptist congregation was organized in 1826, and erected a church in 1833, which cost $1,600. This building, which stood on the Ridge road, about two and a half miles west of East Springfield, was sold to the township, and a new one was erected at West Springfield in 1858, at a cost of $1,600. Rev. Asa Jacobs was the first pastor of the congregation. The old edifice is used as a Town House. The present pastor is Elder Telford, who has served the congregation for three years. The Universalist congregation at West Springfield was organized January 10, 1848, and built a house of worship in 1850. The pastors of the congregation have been as follows: Revs. P. P. Fowler, J. S. Flagler, B. F. Hitchcock, A. J. Patterson, C. E. Shipman, I. George, H. S. Whitney, and the present incumbent, C.L. Shipman. Villages The village of East Springfield occupies a high and beautiful site along the Ridge road, three miles south from the lake, two and a half from North Springfield, on the Lake Shore Railroad, one and a half west of Cross's Station, on the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad, four and a half southwest of Miles Grove, five west of Girard, and twenty-one by common road from Erie. The country around is the best portion of the township, and the village is the largest settlement. East Springfield comprises three churches, one academy, one hotel, one general store, two groceries, one hardware store, one millinery store, one drug store, one harness shop, one tailor shop, one meat market, one wagon shop, one furniture store and undertaking establishment, one cider mill, three blacksmith shops, and about forty buildings. The population in 1880 was 102. West Springfield has grown up at the junction of the Albion with the Ridge road, three miles east of the Ohio line, four west of Each Springfield, and twenty-five by common road from Erie. It is not as large as its sister village, but contains some neat residences and other buildings. The institutions of the place are three churches, an academy, a cheese factory, hotel, general store, tile works and two blacksmith shops. The village sustains one physician and one minister. The old cemetery has fallen pretty much into disuse and the bodies are being removed to the more attractive burial ground at East Springfield. North Springfield has sprung up within the last thirty years o the Lake Shore Railroad, just west of the Crooked Creek embankment, about half a mile south of Lake Erie, and twenty by railroad from Erie.The railroad company have at this place a station house, two water tanks and an engine house to pump the water up from Crooked Creek. Besides these there are an academy, an old hotel building, now used as a boarding house, a general store, a grocery and a public school. The village consists of perhaps twenty buildings and sixty inhabitants. It stands mostly on a portion of the John Holliday farm.The station was established in 1852, the year the railroad was opened, ground for the purpose being given by Samuel and John Holliday. On the M. H. Gould farm, near the residence of Seymour Ware, in the valley of a branch of Turkey Run, is a famous salt spring, the water of which is so strongly impregnated with the mineral that the cattle on the place need no salting. Some sixty years ago Judge Gould drilled a well at this spot to the depth of 200 feet, but in putting the well down a fresh water spring was struck which diluted the salt water to an extent that rendered it valueless. |
Bibliography: Samuel P. Bates, History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, (Warner, Beers & Co.: Chicago, 1884), Township Histories, Chapter IX, pp. 750-760. |
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