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History of Jefferson County
Native Americans and Moravian missionaries once crisscrossed the paths of
Jefferson County. On March 26, 1804, the state legislature of the
Commonwealth formed the county and named it after the country's third
president. In 1830 the county commissioners selected Brookville as the
county seat.
The first family of European descent to settle here was that of Joseph
Barnett. They built their "shanty" and mill on the banks of Mill Creek east
of Brookville. Other families followed and slowly the county population
grew. These families timbered and farmed and rafted their products to market
on the streams and rivers.
The men of the county responded to President Lincoln's call for troops when
the Civil War began. Many were part of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteers,
nicknamed "The Wild Cats." When the war ended, people built a railroad so
that lumber, coal, and other products could be sent to market. Workers from
eastern and southern Europe came to mine the coal at places like Eleanora,
Conifer, and Wishaw. Brockway Glass expanded in Brockway. The railroad yards
grew in Punxsutawney. So did the county's population. 63,000 people had
lived in Jefferson County in 1910.
Then, when World War I ended, so did the need for coal. Families moved away.
To help them, President Roosevelt created the "New Deal." Civilian
Conservation Camps sprouted in Sprankle Mills and Clear Creek. When World
War II began, the Sylvania and Cameron companies hired lots of men and women
to make vacuum tubes and things for the military. When the war ended, new
machine shops started up. So did the lumber industry. Second-growth hardwood
was ready for harvesting.
Today large companies that operate in Jefferson County include
Owens-Brockway Glass Containers, Carrier Commercial, Miller Welding and
Machine, Trail King Industries, Rexam, Union Drilling, Matson Lumber,
Niagara Cutter, Femco Acquisitions, ProForm Powdered Metals, Allegheny
Clearfield, Brookville Equipment, Universal Well Services, and Symmco.
Interstate-80 extends across the northern tier of Pennsylvania providing a
route to the cities for county folks and easy access to the Pennsylvania
Wilds and Lumber Heritage Region for visitors. Each year many of the more
than 150 million visitors who come to Pennsylvania join the 46,000 county
residents who live here and enjoy what rural Pennsylvania has to offer.
Information provided by the Jefferson County History Center. More
information is available at
www.orgsites.com/pa/jeffersoncohistsoc |
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