Pike
Co. Townships
Pike County was formed on March 26, 1814 from part of Wayne County Pa. The earliest settlers about 1700 were Dutch pioneers making their way from Ulster Co. NY. and settling on the NJ. & Pa. sides of the Delaware River .This area was known as the Minisink Valley or Lower Minisink. By the mid 1700's there were 27 houses and 4 stockades built along the river flats. The names of the people who occupied these homes: Van Ettens, Decker, Dingman, Rosenkrantz, Van Gordens, Brinks, Swartouts, Schoonover, Custards, Captain Hoover and Emanuel Gunsalis. Stockades were built and located at: Dingman's Choice, Coneshaugh, Decketown and Fort Brink which was about 2 or 3 miles above Bushkill. Emmanuel Gunsalis also had his home fortified for defense. When formed in 1814 , Pike Co. Included the Townships of Middle Smithfield, Delaware, Upper Smithfield, Lackawaxen and Palmyra. In April 1, 1863 a portion of Pike became Monroe Co.
Formation
& History
From the History of Wayne, Pike & Monroe counties by
Alfred Mathews 1886
Porter
Porter 16 Dec 1851 from Delaware & Lehman
It lies in the southern part of Pike County, is bounded on the southwest by Monroe, on the west by Greene, on the north by Blooming Grove and Dingman and on the east by Delaware and Lehman. The Blooming Grove Park Associations lands extend into the northeastern corner, through which runs Taylors Creek, emptying into the Big Bushkill, which flows through the northwestern part of the township and receives the waters of Rocky Hill Creek, which joins it west of Porterville. Rocky Hill Creek is the outlet of Rocky Hill Pond, in Dingman township, and also receives the outlet of Porter Lake. Saw Creek rises in the northern part of Porter township, and flows south through the east central part of Porter and the southwestern part of Lehman, into the Big Bushkill. It receives the outlet of Twelve-Mile Pond, which is in the south central part of the township. Porter township was named in honor of Hon. James Madison Porter, who bought a large tract of land of James Place, cleared a farm and built the first house out by Porter Lake, at Porterville, in 1849.
Blooming Grove
Blooming Grove 17 Dec. 1850 from Lackawaxen & Palmra
It is the central township of Pike County, and the only one that does not border on some township outside of Pike. It is bounded on the north by Lackawaxen, northeast by Shohola, east by Dingman, south by Porter and Greene, and west by Palmyra. The High Knob is the highest point of land in Pike County, being seventeen hundred feet above the Water Gap. On this mountain, on what is called the West Knob, the Brodhead, Bushkill, Shohola and Blooming Grove Creeks rise, within one-fourth of a mile of each other. The Big Knob and Grasser Ponds lie on top of the knob, about one-fourth mile apart. Another pond is at the foot of the knob. Edmond Lord says that the "Big Indian Swamp" was a pond when he first came there, in 1810, but that it has since grown and become a cranberry marsh. Blooming Grove is mostly unfit for cultivation. It consists of pine and scrub-oak barrens, off of which most of the valuable timber has been taken.Dr. Philip P. Monington, a land speculator, sold a tract of land in Blooming Grove township to Levi Lord and his twelve English associates, Joseph Brooks, Robert Hatton, Samuel Hunt, Wilson Croft, William Whittaker, John Whittaker, Thomas Harselden, Robert Ogden, Abram Johnson, James Powers and William Manly, who all came from England in the same ship, in 1809. On investigation they found Moningtons title not good, and all but Levi Lord settled elsewhere in Pike County. Mr. Lord had a survey made and repurchased the land where Lords Valley now is. He and his son Simeon settled there about 1810. They found the noted hunter, Sam Helm, and his son Solomon, as squatters, having built two log cabins. Sam gave possession peaceably. He remarked, "Come in; the land is yours, for you have bought it and paid for it." Sam Helm was a tall hunter and trapper, with an eagle eye. He lived by hunting and fishing, and had, probably, been there a number of years. They had made a small clearing, and Mr. Lord, having satisfied them for their improvement, moved into one of the Helm cabins. This cabin was located on the old Indian trail from Milford to Dolph Binghams, and has, for many years, been known as Lords Valley. The main, traveled road, at that time, was from Bushkill through by Shohola Farms. In 1850, after the stage route was opened, Levi Lord and his sons built a brick hotel, from brick which they burned on the premises.
Delaware
Delaware was in existence before 1766 as part of Northampton Co.
Delaware Township appears in the list of Northampton County townships continuously after 1766, but the record of its erection cannot be found. Old Delaware township, which extended west from the Delaware River to the Luzerne County line, was bounded on the south by Smithfield (now Middle Smithfield) and extended north from the mouth of the Bush kill, up the Delaware River to the lower end of the Minisink Island. The present township of Delaware is bounded on the north by Dingman township, on the east by the Delaware River and New Jersey, on the south by Lehman township and on the west by Porter. The first settlements on the Delaware River were made on the New Jersey side; but in or about the year 1735, Andreas Dingerman, or Andrew Dingman, as it is now written, crossed the Delaware and chose a place in the wilderness for his home, which he called "Dingmans Choice," a name which it still retains in local usage, although the post-office is called Dingmans Ferry. When Andrew Dingman first crossed the river to make his habitation on the Pennsylvania side, he had an opportunity to make a choice, as he was the pioneer settler of Delaware township. If he was not the first, he was among the first, and is the first of whom we have authentic account. He certainly made an excellent choice of location for his future home, judging from present developments, for here the Delaware River flows close to the New Jersey hills and leaves a wide flat of rich bottom land on the Pennsylvania side.
Dingman 17 Apr. 1832 from Upper Smithfield
It is bounded on the north by Shohola and Milford; on the east by the Delaware River and New Jersey; on the south by Delaware and Porter, and on the west by Blooming Grove. The Sawkill Creek, which flows into the Delaware near Milford, forms part of the boundary between Dingman and Milford. The Raymondskill is the outlet of the Log Tavern Ponds and breaks over its mountain heights in the beautiful Raymondskill Falls, which consists of three parts, a fall of about twenty-five feet, a steep rapids of about one hundred feet, and another fall, flowing onward through a deep gorge to the Delaware. The scenery along the Raymondskill, as also along the Delaware, is grand. There is a river road running along the Delaware from Milford to Bushkill. The Minisink Valley consists of the river flats on both sides of the Delaware, from Port Jervis to the Delaware Water Gap. These flats are from a quarter of a mile to a mile wide. There are several islands in the river at this point. On the Jersey side the hills recede in gentle slopes, but on the Pennsylvania side the cliff rises abruptly from the flat land, forming a rock-capped bluff about one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet high, from Milford to Bushkill. These rocks have crumbled, leaving a steep side-hill of thin stone clippings banked against their base to within twenty feet of the top, which makes excellent material for roads, the river road being one of the best in the State. In some places the river hugs the base of the bluffs so closely that the roadway is dug out from the hillside, and in others there is fine fertile flat and varying from a few rods to a half-mile in width.
Greene
Greene 24 Apr. 1839 from Palmyra
It is the southwestern township of Pike, County and bounded on the north by Palmyra and Blooming Grove, on the east by Porter, on the south by Monroe County and on the west by Wayne County. The Seventeen-Mile Run, Nineteen-Mile Run, Sugar Hill Creek and East Branch all flow southeast into the south branch of the Wallenpaupack. The Big Bushkill takes its rise in the eastern part of the township. There are five ponds, among them the East Branch Pond and Promised Land Pond, which is an artificial or saw-mill pond covering about twelve hundred acres. It was formed by damming up the head-waters of the East Branch, a low, swampy region, covered with spruce, laurel, pine, etc., the lair of bears and wild-cats in former times. That part of Greene which adjoins the Paupack was part of Salem from 1808 until 1814, after which Pike was formed and the Paupack made the dividing line, when Greene was assessed and became part of Palmyra; previous to that it was included in Delaware township. Greene has several large hills. On approaching from Houcktown the first hill is Buck Hill, as it slopes south. It was a favorite resort of deer; hence the name. Panther Hill lies south of the Little Sugar Hill Creek. Big or Carleton Hill lies northeast of Sugar Hill, while Sugar Hill lies southwest of Sugar Hill Creek. The township has been principally settled from the Paupack Valley, and it is not known who first built a cabin on the flats, on the east side of the Paupack. The first settlers on the flats were mere squatters and located their cabins to suit their convenience.
Westfall 31 Jan 1839 from Milford
It is named in honor of the Westfall family, who were among the pioneer settlers within its limits. Westfall is the eastern township of Pike County, and is inclosed on the northeast and southeast by the Delaware River, which makes a decided bend at Carpenters Point, changing its general course from southeast to southwest. New York State lies northeast across the Delaware, and New Jersey bounds it on the southeast, Milford township borders it on the southwest and Shohola on the northwest. Across the Delaware, below Port Jervis, stands the Tri-States Rock, at the point of a rocky peninsula, lying between the Delaware and the Neversink. This rock is the corner of the three States, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The distance from Matamoras, situated on the Delaware just across from Port Jervis, to Milford, is seven miles, which is traveled by stage-coaches. The valley from Matamoras varies from a mile to one-fourth of a mile in width, having a high bluff on the right, over which the little Buttermilk Falls descends during a part of the year. The valley up the Delaware from Matamoras is narrow, and traversed by the Erie Railway from Saw-Mill Rift to Pond Eddy. The interior of the township is a rocky pine barren and generally uncultivated.
The pioneer history of Westfall township dates from the Revolution, and like most of the old settlements along the Delaware, is largely lost or preserved only as a tradition. The Quicks, De Witts, Westfalls, Van Akens and Rosecrances were the pioneers of Westfall township and the Middaghs and Carpenters were there at an early day.
Lackawaxen 1798 was a Township in Wayne
It is the northern township of Pike County, and is bounded on the northwest by Wayne County, on the northeast by Delaware River and New York, on the southeast by Shohola and on the south and, southwest by Blooming Grove and Palmyra. It is named for the Lackawaxen River, which passes through the township from west to east and enters the Delaware at the village of Lackawaxen. Lackawack, Lackawaxon or Lackawaxen, as it is variously spelled, is an Indian name, meaning "swift waters," and it is very appropriately applied to this stream, which is a very rapid-flowing river. It rises among the hills of Mount Pleasant, in Wayne County, and flows southwardly through Honesdale, where it is joined by the Dyberry at the foot of Irving Cliff, whence it continues its onward course through a narrow valley scarcely more than one-quarter of a mile wide to Hawley, when it flows between Lackawaxen and Palmyra for a few miles through the famous Narrows, where was once a waterfall, blasted out by State appropriation, for the accommodation of the raftsmen, who formerly floated a large amount of lumber down this stream to the Delaware and thus down to Philadelphia. The valley is very narrow through Lackawaxen township and in many places the steep hills lay so close to the river as to become a mountain gorge rather than a valley, and the Delaware and Hudson Canal and Erie Railway Companies, which occupy the right and left banks of the stream respectively, have been compelled to blast out great rocks to pass through. The scenery along the Lackawaxen is rugged and grand, and often visited by city visitors in summer. The Lackawaxen receives the waters of Blooming Grove Creek and Tink Creek, outlet of Tink Pond. Wolf Pond and Westcalong Pond are the other principal lakes. The scenery along the Delaware is also fine. Masthope Creek flows through the northern part of the township and enters the Delaware at Masthope.
Jonathan Conkling and John Barnes were the first settlers in Lackawaxen. They located at the mouth of the Lackawaxen River, Conkling on the south side of the stream and Barnes on the north side. They came before the Revolution. Absalom Conkling related that his father took his family and a few things in a canoe and paddled down the Lackawaxen and Delaware to the stone fort of the Westfalls. One day, after he thought the Indian trouble was over, he and two of his boys rowed up to their home at nightfall. They saw a light in the cabin, and creeping up carefully, looked through a crack of the house, when they discovered two Indians who had taken peaceable possession. They had a fire in the fire-place and one lay asleep while the other was busy picking the flint of his gun. Conkling and his boys slipped back to their canoe and floated down to the fort again, whence they and the Barneses came back after the war and again occupied their old homes.
Lehman 19 Aug 1829 from Delaware
The most southern township in Pike County, it is bounded on the north by Delaware, on the east by New Jersey and the Delaware River, on the south by Middle Smithfield township, in Monroe County, and on the west by Porter township.
The physical features of Lehman are similar to those of Delaware, though the bluffs are not as precipitous and more broken and irregular. The falls are beautiful, particularly the Bushkill Falls, which are on the Little Bushkill, about two and one-half miles from the village of Bushkill. The first fall, which is in Rocky Glen, is about eight feet high. After flowing through the glen a distance of about two hundred and fifty feet it falls about six feet on a rock shelf or step about ten feet long, when it takes a perpendicular plunge of eighty feet into a circular basin, whose rocky sides are two hundred feet high, and flows onward through a deep gorge into the Big Bushkill. Josephine Compton, of Philadelphia, fell one hundred and eight feet from the rocks above these falls and recovered from her injuries. The Pell Falls are just above the Bushkill Falls. There are also three falls on Pond Run, which enters the Bushkill just below the falls. One of these falls has a perpendicular descent of one hundred feet over the rocks. There are also five falls on the Saw Creek, that runs through a beautiful gorge and enters the Big Bushkill about three miles above the village. Lehman is undoubtedly one of the oldest settlements in Pike County. Bushkill was first settled by the Gonzales or Gunsaulis, the Smiths, Schoonovers, and later the Hellers, Peterses and others. Manuel Gonzales, a Spaniard, lived in Bushkill as early as 1750, and perhaps earlier. He had two sons, Manuel and Samuel. A Gonzales is buried at Wurtsboro, and is said to be the first white man buried in Orange County. His name was Manuel, that and Samuel being favorite names in the family.
Shohola 25 Sept 1852 from Lackawaxen
It is bounded on the north by the Delaware River, on the south by Dingman, on the southwest by Blooming Grove and on the west by Lackawaxen township. It is a rugged, rocky township, like most of Pike County, and largely covered with scrub pine and oak. The Big Brink Pond covers about five hundred acres, and the Little Brink Pond being near, although it has no visible outlet or inlet. Brink Creek, the outlet of Big Brink Pond, flows northwardly and enters Parkers Glen at the Delaware. The Great Walker and Little Walker Ponds are northwest of the Brink Ponds, and Walker Creek, their outlet, flows into Brink Creek above Parkers Glen. Shohola Creek rises on the High Knob, in Blooming Grove township, and breaks over the rocks in rapids and falls of about forty feet descent at Shohola Falls, thence onward in its tortuous course through the western part of Shohola township, till it bursts through the rocks at the beautiful Shohola Glen and enters the Delaware at Shohola village.
SHOHOLA VILLAGE. The first settler at Shohola was Jesse Wells or James Wells, who had a little tub grist-mill and a saw-mill at this point about the time of the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Cowan, whose maiden-name was Bishop, lives across the Delaware, at Handsome Eddy, where Canope was killed. She is nearly ninety years of age, and remembers hearing Mrs. Wells say she heard the gun when they shot Canope, in 1784.* Mrs. Cowan used to ride on horseback with her brother to mill at Shohola, seventy-five years ago. Van Zant & Robison had the mill then. One winter the streams were low and frozen. The Delaware could be crossed anywhere, and the little mill at Shohola was patronized by the pioneers along the Delaware and through Orange County.
Borough of Milford
Milford Borough incorporated 25 Dec. 1874
About the year 1733 a Hollander named Thomas Quick emigrated from the Fatherland to the colony of New York, and not long afterwards located on the Delaware, in what afterwards became known as Upper Smithfield, and still later as Milford, Pennsylvania. His circumstances were equal to those of the affluent Dutch immigrants of that period. He pitched his tent considerably in advance of his predecessors, and, according to the testimony of his descendants, was the pioneer settler of Milford. Quick erected a log cabin, cleared land and built a barn, which he stored with wheat and maize, the fruits of his industry. In 1734, Thomas Quick, the Indian killer, was born. He was the pet of the household, and the Indians who frequented Quicks house, where they found a friendly shelter whenever they desired, admired the fine, healthy boy, and often made him presents of plumes of feathers and other articles. As he grew up among the Indians he learned to speak their language, and was also taught how to take the otter, beaver, etc. He thus imbibed a liking for the savage life of a hunter, trapper and fisherman, and could not be induced to follow regularly any other occupation. He had two brothers, James and Cornelius, and two sisters who became the wives of Solomon Decker and Francis Magee. A Dutch school was established in the neighborhood, to which the children were sent, but Thomas had become so much of an Indian in his instincts and habits, that he could with difficulty be induced to attend school, and thus learned but little. Meanwhile, Thomas Quick, Sr., continued to prosper and erected a saw-mill and grist-mill on a stream entering the Delaware near Milford, probably the Vandemark.
Palmyra formed in 1798 from part of Wayne Co.
PALMYRA is one of the townships erected at the time of the organization of Wayne County, in 1798. Palmyra when first formed was bounded north by Damascus, east by the "Hilborn road," which was the west boundary of Lackawaxen, south by the township of Delaware and west by Canaan. The erection of Dyberry, in 1803, took five miles in breadth from the northern end of Palmyra, and by the formation of Pike County, in 1814, all that part of the township east of the Wallenpaupack was included in Pike and became Palmyra. That portion of Salem township lying east of the South Branch of the Wallenpaupack was assessed as Salem in Pike in 1815, but subsequently became a part of Palmyra, together with a slice from the western part of Delaware township. Thus when Greene township was erected, in 1829, it was taken from Palmyra. The present township of Palmyra is bounded on the north by Lackawaxen township, on the east by Blooming Grove township, on the south by Greene township, and on the southwest by the Wallenpaupack River and the townships of Paupack and Palmyra, in Wayne County. The Wallenpaupack has a slow current through the flats and formerly retained the waters a long time. In case of a freshet or flood, the stream would attain high-water mark on the flats thirty-six hours earlier than at Wilsonville, only six miles distant on an air line. From Ledgedale to Wilsonville, a distance of twelve miles, the stream is very sluggish. The Indians aptly named it "Deadwaters." In 183132 the people were stricken with fever, and but two well persons were to be found in the settlement. The inhabitants attributed the sickness to want of drainage, and asked aid from the State. An appropriation of three thousand dollars was accordingly made to be used in straightening the stream, Enos Woodward, Otto Kimble and Moses Killam being appointed commissioners to look after the expenditure of the money. The stream was shortened about four or five miles and several large rocks removed at Wilsonville, besides lowering the bed of the stream about two feet for one or two hundred feet near the bridge, giving the waters free vent.
WALLENPAUPACK SETTLEMENT. Some time between 1750 and 1760 a family named Carter settled upon the Wallenpaupack Creek. This is supposed to have been the first white family who visited the neighborhood. The old Indian path from Cochecton to Wyoming crossed the Wallenpaupack about thirty rods below Carters house. When the emigrants from Connecticut reached the Wallenpaupack, the chimney of the house and stone oven were still standing. Carter and his family had been killed and his house burned during the French and Indian War. When the first Wyoming emigrants from Connecticut reached the Wallenpaupack they halted and sent forward scouts to procure intelligence of the country along the Susquehanna. They took the old Indian trail across the Wallenpaupack, near the Marshall Purdy place, thence through what is now Paupack and Salem townships, westward still through Cobbs Gap to the Lackawanna Valley, and thus on to the Susquehanna River. They encamped at Cobb Mountain, built a beacon-fire that could be readily seen by those whom they had left behind on the Wallenpaupack, but their return is doubtful.
Matamoras Borough
Matamoras
Borough. incorporated 18 Jan 1905,
Matamoras
was originally part of Westfall Township. Named during the Mexican
War after the American Army captured the Mexican town of Matamoras.
That town had originally been named for Rev. Mariano Matamoras, a
hero of the Mexican Revolution
Milford
Township
Milford Township 17 Apr 1832 from Upper Smithfield
John
Biddis laid out the village in 1796. Some say it was named for
Milford Haven in Wales where William Biddis (father of John) was
born. Other say the Wells' Mill and the spot where the Delaware was
forded resulted in the name Mill-Ford.