Historic Firsts

April 06, 2011

             (From "The Best of Reflections" Book) According to historians, the first post office in this area was established at Luthersburg in 1830, with mail being carried by horseback.  It took two weeks to travel from Lewistown to Erie, with the carrier often sleeping in the woods.

            Clearfield County was organized in 1804, with the first census in 1810 showing less than a thousand residents.  The peak mark was in 1920, slightly in excess of 100,000.

            Brady Township was organized in 1830, just 10 years before Sandy.

            The first building used for religious purposes in the area was in a tavern in Luthersburg in 1825.  There were no hymn books or Bibles, with all meetings held early evening under candle light.

            The Sunday school was the forerunner of a church service and the first service in DuBois was said to have been in the city in 1865 in the old log school on the south of town.  In the entire neighborhood, not a person was found capable of making an audible prayer until a member of the Methodist Church at Luthersburg agreed to take charge.  He unable to read or write, but was said to be a lusty prayer, and that was all he was asked to do.

The first church was erected at the corner of  E. Long Avenue and Church Street in 1874, with a minister of the Brookville Evangelical Church in charge.  It is said that the building was built on posts about two feet above ground and sheep from the neighborhood used the under portion in the heat of the day for its coolness.  In shaking their heads to avoid flies, they often bumped their heads on the flooring, disturbing the service.

            The Evangelical Church later acquired property at the site of its present location for building purposes and the Methodists built at the corner of Long Avenue and Franklin Street shortly after 1870, a frame structure destroyed by the fire of 1888.

            The First Presbyterian Church was organized on May 9, 1876 in a barn at the corner of Main Street and W. Long Avenue.  Other denominations followed in later years.

            The first school in the area was also held in a bar at Luthersburg about 1827.

            Hewn log structures were later erected for dual purposes of school and church and by 1848 there were five, for such purposes in Brady Township.

            The first school to be erected by public money was on S. Main Street extension in 1860.  The term was for three months and the school was said to be shared by pupils and sheep alike during the year.

            In 1876, a two room school was erected on the lot on W. Scribner Avenue where Central stood, until demolished several years ago.  A second school was opened in a loft on N. Main Street at the same time.  Education was confined to the three “Rs” and the person who could work with fractions was considered to be brilliant.

            Class terms were limited to three months in the early years, extended to four and finally to five.  If one wanted additional education, he was forced to earn money to attend academies in other portions of the state.  Girls as a general rule did not go beyond the common schools.

Tags :

PREV NEXT September 2015
SMTWTFS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

LANTERN WALK ATTRACTS 143 PARTICIPANTS

October 28, 2011
0 comments
              When the high winds that swept the DuBois area earlier in the day abated, 143 people took the opportunity to attend the 4th Annual DuBois Area Historical Society Spirit of D.....

Penn State Volunteers Service Time

September 08, 2011
0 comments
Seven incoming Penn State DuBois students, their student facilitator, accompanied by Chancellor.....

Photos from inside Historical Society

August 30, 2011
0 comments

Railroads & Trolleys

July 06, 2011
0 comments
First Railroad         This section of the country enjoyed tremendous natural resources in the way of lumber, coal, oil, clay and natural gas, but it was not until the.....

Henry Shaffer

July 06, 2011
0 comments
             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.....

DUBOIS WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF A WORLD WAR II ACE              DuBois, March 4, 2002, was just like any other day in the life of DuBois residents.  And.....

MANSION TO COLLEGE An Historical Sketch of the DuBois Center Written by Samuel A. King             It was a happy day inn February, 1938, when .....

            The DuBois Area Historical Society concluded it spring speaker series at 7:30- p.m. Thursday with the annual program by Galen Kilmer, “DuBois Area Hi.....

DISSATISFACTION SPURRED SANDY TWP. ORGANIZATION   In 1872 the center of population of Brady Township was around Luthersburg. .....

MATTHEW IRVIN WAS FIRST MERCHANT IN LUTHERSBURG             Whenever a few people settle.....