The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1898-03-02

| Trunkeyville to buy groceries
In those early springtimes the RATS
passed by on their way to Pittsburg just
as they do now, for it was in the lumber
business that the early settlers made
their money, and many of them became
quite well.to-do, though in those days
there was almost no money in circulation
here. These raftmen nearly always
wake ed home from Pittsburg carrying
their provisions on their backs, and they
made the trip in three or four days time.
But about 1920 some enterprising men
commenced 10 run keel-boats up from
| Pittsburg. They were small boats poled
| by mer, and they delivered goods as far
up the river as Warren, for since the be-
ginning of the century settlements had
been started at points along the river.
About ten years later, in 1880 perhaps,
they improved matters, and used little
steamboats, when the water was high
enough, but when the river was low they
| again used larger keel-boats pulled by
three or four horses, and they had quite
tow-path along the shore. AS they
came in sight of the settlements the keel
boat men blew a horn Justify, and this
was a signal for all the little boys and
girls of the place. and maybe the big folks
too, to run hilter-skilter TO see the fun.
You can imagine what excitement it
was for the youngsters of that time. The
boat-landing was near where the pump
station is now. The steam boats did not
stop running till in the 70's, 50 one of my
1 l., l..
white boat putting up the river do not
know that ever saw but this one boat,
but my eldest sister can recall seeing as
many as seven keel-boats in sight at one
time.
At about this period OF our history two
great events came to break up the quiet
of this retired place. Civil war broke out
and many of the young men went TO join
the army. 1t is is hard for us to know
what these dark years meant to them, and
to those who were left behind, not know
ing what might be happening to their
soldiers far away, there being no tele-
graph to keep them posted, and letters
and news travelled slowly. And right in
the midst of this came anolher-the dis
covsry of oil, which soon made the history
, of this part of Pennsylvania different
from that of almost any other place in the
world.
There had been for years places wheIe
} oil oozed out to the surface of the ground,
and the Indians used to gather it from
! some of the streams; but it was not till a
t man named Drake drilled for oil that it
t was known that all this country had an
! underground stratum of petroleum, or
> Seneca oil, as it was called after the tribe
. of Indians who first used it.
r The oil enterprise developed slowly for
3 a while, wells being "kicked down. ere
and there in various places. The first one
5 here was drilled by foot power on the
f river bunk just across from this school
! house. But this happened a few years
, before the war.
, Then in 1864 came the great excitement
which we can compare very reasonably
3 with the gold excitement in California in
, 40, or with that other more familiar to
) you,-the Klondike fever of 1875. When
it was known that oil was here in some
quantity, men came from all parts of the
country to invest, and land became OF
! great value, the poorest old scrub b-oak
farmes selling for fabulous prices.
3 1t was in '66 that West Hickory was at
3 high tide. You are all familiar with the
beautiful farm of Col. Carter. Now /
. will try to tell you what it looked like
during the excitement. There suddenly
grew up a city of little board shanties,
= with population of 500. There were a
D number OF hotels to accommodate the
= constant flood of visitors. Just across
e the road was the Bay State House, and
= farther down the road and up in the flats
! beyond were the Hickory Farm Hotel
3 the West Hickory Hotel, the Allegheny
f Hotel, the Wicks House and numerous
: boarding houses. Those who came were
: a strange lot of adventures with a few
It good business men among them; but al
J.. had the widest hopes of SUCCESS. Blu
y these hopes were not realized. Far from
s it. And when you see out in the woods
= along West Hickory creek, old deserted
= oil wells, you may know that they stanc
y as monuments to lost fortunes and buried
l. no es, and hope is never so thoroughly
1t buried as when it rests at the bottom o
k an oil we'll. Indeed, these men left man,
h dollars lost in our forest for every on,
they took away with them, After a whil
J. the tide turned toward Fagundus, anC
1t the little board houses were torn dowI
er and packed off to the new oil field.
er believe it was just about this time ths
ie the railroad was built here; 1t was know
Of as the Warren and Franklin Railroad.
it So much for the history of Hickory
IS Now would like TO tell you something
h about my father, who was "Uncl
t. George" to all the country round. 1 an
Of sure many of you have heard that he wa
IN a very good man, but you may not know
IN what great hunter he was, and what al
to interesting life he had here in the earl,
in days. When my grandfather came her
le father was a little fellow eight or min
to years old. They csme ever the hills from
rs the creek along an Indian trail which le
IN down through our run meadow, an
le there in the valley was an Indian camp
lis but red-men were common sight to tn
)y little folks of that day and suppose m
lit father was not at all frightened to Sc
10. them. Any way the Indians who live
lis here were unite friendly Whan fatha