Henry Shaffer

July 06, 2011

             The central part of DuBois including the areas of Brady Street and Long Avenue grew without planning, and as a result developed with narrow streets and even narrower alley ways.

            Ownership of large sections of land was vested in a few individuals, subdivided in building lots, and without thought as to future growth or expansion.

            Tree Stumps and brushwood went with the properties and it was up to the new owner to clear his own land.

            In 1872, the largest land owner in what is now central city was Henry Shaffer, grandson of George Shaffer who was one of the early immigrants into the wilderness.

            Henry Shaffer was born in 1817 in what was known as the Rumbarger House, a hewed log house at the corner of Main Street and W. Long Avenue.

            There were no schools in the community and his education was that of the wilderness.

            He had little conception in planning a town or of the valuation of properties when he began his subdivision around 1872.

            Residing in a log cabin on Stockdale Street, he had inherited land from his father and grandfather extending to Rumbarger and on the north side as far as Sandy Lick Creek.

            Roadways of 33 feet in width were planned, but travelled areas of only 16 feet were in use, the extra width being regarded as a waste for horse and buggy travel.

            Most of the land was low and swampy, and even the area where the Presbyterian Church now stands had springs flowing off in different directions.  Mr. Shaffer placed little value on the land and wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

            Sales were made in acre plots and it was up to each purchaser to lay out his own roadways, resulting in a veritable hodge-podge, varying from 12 to 20 feet.

            The acreage was further subdivided and the new owners did not know any more about a town then he did.

            In 1875, Mr. Shaffer became tired of selling his land in blocks and J. E. Long of Brookville bought the remaining 50 acres for a price of $5,000, later to be known as the “Long Addition.”

            The area was becoming too cluttered for his likes at that time so he went over the hill and constructed a house and barn as far off the highway as he could get them.  It was later to be known as the “Tozier Addition.”

            He was again annoyed by people who wanted to buy portions of his land and to once again get away from the growing population traded the balance of his property for a farm in Lawrence Township, near Clearfield.

            In the meantime he had sold acreage to George Schwem Sr., Annie Evans for the Evans Addition, to Jack Foster for a brick yard, to Jack Stone (later to be transferred to W. N. Prothero) to the Askeys, and to others with their progeny still living in the community.

            Mr. Shaffer was not an ambitious man, and once having owned most of what was in later years to become “central DuBois,” he was glad to see it pass out of his control.

            His desire for quietness was respected and he died on his farm in peace, many years after he had left the burgeoning DuBois community.

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