| IRISHTOWN- located near Grampian in Penn township.. Earliest settlers, Rafferty brothers, Felix, Thomas and John came here in 1831 from Ireland and bought ground from Joseph Boone. Other names include Clark and Danvir. ---------------------------------------------------------------- IRVONA - named after Colonel Edward Alexander Irvin, a civil war verteran and lumber business who resided in Curwensville, PA. In 1895, the Presbyterian Church was founded. The Methodist church was founded in 1890 followed by the Christian Missionary Alliance sometime between 1900 and 1904 and then the St. Michael's Orthodox church. The school was built before 1890 and was torn down in the 1960's. Coal mining and the railroad were the key ingredients in delveloping this community. ---------------------------------------------------------------- JANESVILLE - located on route 253 near Ramey. The first settler was Amasa Smith, who built a grist mill, in 1826 he became postmaster appointed by President John Quincy Adams. Orginally know as Smithmill, the name Janesville came about after the prominent family, Abraham Nevling moved to the area about 1845, they named the down after their daughter Jane who later married Dr. G.W. Caldwell of Glen Hope.. another prominent family was Edward, Patrick and Anthony Flynn, who came to the area from Canada around 1865. They ran a store in the town. James, Guss and John Flynn followed and bought large timber lands. Another family to influence the town was S.J. and Ella Mountz of the Moutz Mines and chief employer in the area. Mrs. Mountz donated the land where the Janesville Dame was built. It's known as the Moutz Memeroral Park. --------------------------------------------------------------- KARTHAUS-Located along 879 North. Named after Peter Karthaus, who in 1815 came to the area with his son and J.F.W. Schnars. ------------------------------------------------------------- KEEWAYDIN - Located along 879 North in Covington Twp. Location of Kunes Family Farm. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KELLYTOWN - located on route 453 between Curwensville and Madera. Kellytown Union Church was built in the 1940s. Surnames in the area in the 30's and 40's were Rowles; Malinky, Cupp, Howe, Stewart, Klline, Rowley, Lockett, Ballute, Barnett, Rebon, O'Conner, Ensminger and Durandetta. Dan Barnett who lived on a farm ouside Kellytown was a Civil War vet who died in 1942 at the age of 102. He had a son, Ralph. ------------------------------------------------------------------- LaJOSE - Located between Mahaffey and Westover on route 36 south. Henry Hurd came to the area in 1842. Gilber Tozer was the first postmaster, he was the grandfather of Dr. A.W. Tozer. George Jose, a lumberman who came to the area from Maine, he built the LaJose Hotel. This community is also known as Newburg. -------------------------------------------------------------------- LANSE - located on route 53 abt, 3 miles from Kylertown in Cooper Township. Lanse had its start as a Swedish coal mining town. It was also the home of the Winburne Bottling Works. The town was named after Lansing Snyder, son of Martha Snyder. -------------------------------------------------------------------- LITZ'S BRIDGE - located near Clearfield Creek between Lawrence and Boggs townships. It was a mining and brickfiring community. The Mount Hope United Methodist Church, built in 1929 is located here. ------------------------------------------------------------------ LUMBER CITY - Located along route 969 from Curwensville, with the Curwensville Dam close by. Some of the area was taken and flooded to make the Dam, which really saddens me for many of my ancestors settled this area and now most of it is gone because of man. Coffins were moved, buildings are gone and all for the name of progress and the almighty dollar. A piece of history vanished. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MAHAFFEY - Located in Bell township in the southern part of Clearfield county. Robert Mahaffey one of the first settlers first named the town Franklin. William Ramsey arrived in 1830 and built a sawmill and later built a grist mill. In 1835 he built the first frame house in the area. Nathaniel Sabins, a great hunter came in 1831. Asaph Ellis another settler came in 1835, he built a sawmill on the river, was involved in lumbering and was the first justice of the peace. In 1886 Mahaffey was selected to be the site of a tannery. The oldest business is the McCracken Funeral Home that began in 1895. ------------------------------------------------------------------ McCARTNEY - Located about 5 miles from Madera and once a mining town. The 2 rooom school house at the top of the hill towards Ansonville was used for school and for church services. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- McGEES MILLS - Located at the intersection of route 219 and route 36 in Bell Twp. Rev. James McGee came from Centre County in 1826 and settled there. He also bult a sawmill and a grist mill. He was also the first Postmaster in 1833. Rev. McGee was one of the largest landholders in 1836, he died in 1855. A hotel was built near Bear Run and the intersection in 1890 by W.P. Mahaffey married to Susannah McGee, daughter of Thomas A. and Mary Holmes McGee. Later the hotel was bought by Grant Snyder who opened it in 1924. The hotel burned in 1970. Another member of the McGee family was Thomas A, son of Rev. McGee and a lumberman. Thomas was the builder of the McGees Mills Covered Bridge. --------------------------------------------------------------------- MT. JOY - located in Lawrence twp. north of Clearfield boro. Mt. Joy United Methodist church is located beside the Mt. Joy Cemetery, Surname associated with the area, OGDEN. -------------------------------------------------------------------- MT ZION - located abt. 3 miles north of Clearfield, known for the dairy farms. SURNAMES; BUTLER; GEARHART; TAYLOR; FULESDAY;OGDEN; ORRS; MULLENS. Some of Daniel Ogdens descendants lived in the area, Daniel Ogden the first white settler in Clearfield. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MUNSON - Located in Morris twp., settled by John "Judge" Munson. ------------------------------------------------------------- NEWBURG - see LaJose ----------------------------------------------------------- NEW LIBERTY - Located between Osecola Mills and Philipsburg off route 53. Some surnames: KANOUR;SWOOPE;VOYZEY (George Voyzey came with his wife 'Agnes and son "George from England in the 1890's) ------------------------------------------------------------ NEWTONBURG - Located in Bell township. Founded by Simon Cravner in the 1860's The town was once known as Stoney Lonesome ----------------------------------------------------------- NEW WASHINGTON - Located near LaJose, the first settler was James Gallaher, a vet. of the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812, he brought his family here in 1816. John Ludwig Snider, a Revolutionmary War vet and a pioneer of Bell Twonship was 113 when he died in 1860 and he is buried in New Washington cemetery. John Ludwig Snider's wife Anna Maria died in 1857, she was 105 years old. ------------------------------------------------------------- OKLAHOMA - located in Sandy twp. One of the early residents arriving in 1829 was Mrs. Hiram Ferrier (Sopie Fridley , Mrs. Ferrier died Jan 1, 1929, age 101 years old. ------------------------------------------------------------ OLANTA - located near Curwensville, Olanta began in the spring of 1884. Some of the first families of the area were: William Cathcart, Phillip Long and Emory Hoover. Also came Levi Bloom and Alfred A. Long and J. Rowles Bloom. In the early 1900's Fred Beckman ran a sawmill there and his wife ran a general store from her home. The teacher who taught in the one room school house was Miss Ruth Bloom who resided in New Millport. The Lutheran church construction was started on April 25, 1887, Aaron Wise, Levi Bloom and James Bloom did some of the labor. Also Joseph White. Construction was completed on Oct. 20, 1888 and Rev. A.K. Felton gave the first sermon. The church was destroyed by a fire on January 5, 1986. ---------------------------------------------------------------- O'SHANTER - another railroad town that sprang up consisting mostly of Scottish descendants. ----------------------------------------------------------------- PARADISE - Located in Lawrence township. Location of the Pardise Grammar School from the late 1800's to 1953. The names of some teachers: Lucille McCorkle; Samuel L. McCracken; duane Kyler; Otis Fulton; Virginia Crombine; Miss Katzman; Miss Mead and Ruth Beabes. Beverly Owens was the music teacher at this school as well as other schools in Clearfield school district. ------------------------------------------------------------------ PENFIELD - Located in Huston township. Had it's beginnings as a lumber town. The local livery stable was run by George W. Harriger. |
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