Warren Township History
The information gathered for the purposes of writing this History was
obtained primarily from History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania (1770-
1878) by the Rev. Mr. David Craft (1878, Reprint 1992); History of
Bradford County, Pennsylvania by H. C. Bradsby (1891); and other
sources listed at the end of each section and/or contained in the text
below.
Introduction
Our past history plays a vital role in the preparation of The Warren
Township Comprehensive Plan. It lays out a path that has been taken by
our township and allows us to consider future options more clearly. By
considering our history, Warren Township and its residents can better
choose to continue along past directions or divert to pursue other
opportunities that may be more conducive to the ever changing local
environment and landscape. Most importantly, we need to understand
our past so that we do not repeat mistakes that may be avoided in the
future through proper planning.
From geography and pre-history we learn that Warren Township has
always been distinct from the rest of Bradford County. The surface of the
landscape is uneven and ill suited for large-scale commercial farming
operations. The timber is principally hemlock, birch, beech, and maple
with some basswood, pine, cherry, and ash. The soil is gravel and loam.
In the past, crops consisted of wheat, rye, oats, barley, corn, potatoes,
grass, and flax. Potatoes used to be the main crop, but now a much
smaller percentage of the land is under cultivation.
While the Susquehanna River valley was inhabited by Native American tribes since remote prehistory, our mountainous region was a wooded backland, used primarily for hunting and fishing. With a large state game land and many acres of private woodlands, marshes and lakes, Warren Township is still well suited today for these same purposes.
The economic and social focus of our township has always been to the
east and north, while never directly being involved with the activities in
the Susquehanna Valley, to our west. In addition to the natural
mountainous barrier between the lands claimed by the Iroquois (later
Susquehanna Company) and the Delaware (later Delaware Company),
there were no connecting trails between Warren Township and the rest of
Bradford County. No major Iroquois trails traversed Warren Township,
however one north-south trail, roughly following modern day Route 187
from Nichols, New York to Wysox (Shawanese Town) and Towanda
(Towandaemunk), Pennsylvania skirted near the western border of the
township. Towanda (Dawantaa) probably was a derogative Iroquois word
for "fretful" or "tedious" while the older name Towandaemunk meant "burial place". The Minisink Path, which ran eastward from Athens
(Diahoca) and Milan (Queen Esther) and past the areas of modern day
Rome and Leraysville, ran slightly south of Warren Township. The area of
Warren Township was linked to Owego, New York and Montrose,
Pennsylvania by a Delaware trail, later known as the Montrose Turnpike.
Pre-history of Warren Township
At the time of the first European contacts, the Iroquois territory extended through central New York from the Hudson River to the Genesee, and comprised five distinct nations confederated together. West of them were the Hurons, the Neutral Nations and the Eries. To the east were the various Algonquin tribes, which inhabited New England. The area now known as Bradford County was inhabited by the Andastes along the Susquehanna River, while the Delawares occupied the area along the river that bears their name and the area west to the Susquehanna Valley.
The Andastes were the inhabitants of the Susquehanna Valley by at least
1620, when the first European explorers discovered them there.
Archaeological information is still scant to provide collaboration with the
oral history. The Andastes were spoken of by early explorers as the
Andastes, Andastracronnons, Andastaguez, Antastoui, Minquas (by the
Dutch), Susquehannocks (by the English), Conestogas and
Conessetagoes.
In 1750, a Cayuga chieftain informed the Moravian missionary David Zeisberger that a strange Indian tribe whom the Cayugas called Tehotachse (according to German spelling) formerly inhabited this valley, and were driven out by the Cayugas. They were neither Iroquois nor Delaware. A letter dated 30 December 1794, by Captain Joseph Brant to Colonel Timothy Pickering corroborates that the Five Nations had driven out another nation from this region. In both instances, this other nation was in all likelihood the Andastes of the Susquehanna Valley.
The Andastes had been one of the most populous and powerful of all the Algonquin tribes. They were thickly settled in towns and villages from Tioga (modern Athens, Pennsylvania) to Virginia. At Sheshequin, Wysox, Wyalusing (Gohontato) and Mehoopany (Onochsae) the names of the Andaste towns have been preserved in modern place names. Little is known of their occupation of the mountainous hinterland, such as the area of Warren Township, but it is likely that they had small villages along the Wappasening (Mapachsinnink) Creek and hunting grounds in the hills. As the Five Nations pressed the Andastes southward in the last half of the 18th Century it is likely that these villages were abandoned.
Another factor in the abandonment of this region during this period of tribal warfare was that the Iroquois from time to time sold the lands of their dependencies to the Europeans. Sometimes the Iroquois sold the same tracts of land to different Europeans. This was the cause of the conflict between Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
The former Andaste settlement of Tioga (near modern day Athens) or as it is more frequently recorded in Pennsylvania records, Diahoga, was strategically located in the Iroquois territory, and was later to be used strategically by General Sullivan in 1779. Its name means the meeting of waters and is the Iroquois word for "gate" or "place of entrance". Thus, it was immediately resettled by the Iroquois after its conquest. But southward from there to Shamokin the Iroquois left the former Andaste country almost entirely unoccupied for a hundred years, when they forcibly colonized it with refugees whose possessions they had sold to the Europeans.
Once having conquered this area formerly held by the Andastes, the Iroquois systematically opened the Susquehanna Valley as an asylum where any people, whom they had deprived of their ancestral homes, and over whom they exercised the rights of protection and command, might settle. Through this policy of family resettlement of different Native American nations, strangers were forced to live together in the same settlements and even in the same wigwam. It was thus quite common to find Nanticokes, Mohicans, Monseys and Wampanoags living together without any tribal distinctions in this region. Such peoples had no claim on the land where they were settled by the Iroquois and could be easily removed whenever their Iroquois overlords desired it.
The famous October 1736 deed of pre-emption established the children of William Penn, or persons appointed by them, as the sole persons authorized to negotiate treaties and land purchases in territory south of that which was governed by New York and Albany. The Provincial Council of Pennsylvania met with the Native Americans at least four times to establish a lasting peace in the region in 1728, 1748, 1752 and 1762(http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/archives/dockett_317/317_58a.html). In each agreement, the Native Americans lost more territory due to their misunderstanding of English laws of male inheritance and primogenitor. The transcripts of these meetings provide a fascinating account of land for peace diplomacy.
Meanwhile, Connecticut also claimed this territory of northern Pennsylvania based on a royal deed dated 19 March 1631. By the mid 18th century, the territory of Connecticut, east of New York, was largely settled. Many bold settlers began turning their eyes westward to favorable locations within Connecticut’s chartered limits. Rumors of the wondrous beauty and fertility of the Susquehanna Valley circulated throughout Connecticut and a few prominent men sent an expedition. They were particularly charmed with the Wyoming Valley. Its broad plains, rich soil and beautiful situation made it a paradise when compared to the sterile, rock-bound New England. The report was so favorable that they formed a Susquehanna Company on 8 July 1753, for the purpose of securing the purchase and effecting settlement of the Susquehanna lands. The ultimate design was to establish a new separate colony by royal charter. By September there were 350 proprietary members and by January 1754, 500 members. Rules were adopted for new members and at its peak there were 1200 members in the Susquehanna Company.
In the Treaty of Albany, 9 July 1754, the chiefs of the Six Nations endorsed the 1736 deed granting Pennsylvania sole treaty rights. However, two days later, the seventeen sachems of the Six Nations signed a treaty, which gave all except the northeast corner of Bradford County, now known as Warren Township, over to the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut. While the transaction was open and above-board, done in the full knowledge of the Pennsylvania delegates to the congress, every sort of objection was made to the transaction and the Indians were forced into repudiating it. The Susquehanna Company of Connecticut was branded as a band of desperate adventurers, acting without the knowledge or consent of their government. Their deed was declared both defective in form and fraudulent in execution. Still, the Susquehanna Company at once began to take measures for occupying their lands in Bradford County, and in the fall of 1754, a considerable number came to select favorable locations for settlement. The eight-year long French and Indian War of 1754 to 1767, dampened interest in settlement, but when it concluded two townships were established, each being ten miles square.
Perhaps the main lasting effect of this Susquehanna Company document of 11 July 1754, was that it provided the first defining moment in the history of Warren Township, for in it this area was excluded from the rest of Bradford County, due to the geographically based Native American concept of land divisions. As previously noted, Warren Township is physically divided from the rest of Bradford County by a mountain range, which in the mid 18th Century was also the boundary between the Iroquois and the Delaware. Thus, the area of Warren Township should not have been officially included in Iroquois treatise, as discussed later in this History.
The Delaware comprised three major clans or totems in a confederation. These were the Unalachtigo (Turkey), Unami (Turtle) and the Munsee (Wolf). William Penn had made his charter for most of his four colonies with the friendly Munsee clan, who were then forced by European encroachment to resettle in Iroquois territory. The Delaware clans were originally divided into 30 or 40 autonomous communities, each with an individual hunting territory of approximately 200 square miles. Both the Nanticoke of Maryland and the Mahicans of the Hudson called them "grandfather" to indicate their long occupation of the eastern seaboard. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Delaware lived in the region since at least A.D. 1000. Their own migration legend, Walam Olum, details their prehistoric eastward journey.
During the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1767, after 60 years of humiliating displacement, a rekindled tribal fire beyond the Ohio inspired the Delaware to defeat the British General Edward Braddock. This began a 50-year period of victory and strength for the Delaware, divided into two groups on either side of the Iroquois. The east wing, which probably made the land deal with the Delaware Company, was under Chief Teedyuscung. The western group was pro-French in the French and Indian War and was under Chief Shingas. Even before the Delaware tribe sold this territory, several clans had moved westward in stages, stopping on the Susquehanna, the Allegheny, then the Muskingum in Ohio and the White River in Indiana. At first they supported the colonies in their revolution against England, but when settlers started encroaching on their Ohio hunting grounds the Delaware defected to the British.
Pennsylvania had also been very active in obtaining large tracts of land from the various Native American tribes. The previously mentioned Provincial Council of Pennsylvania had met with the various Native American leaders at least four times in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1728, 1748, 1752 and lastly in 1762 to establish a lasting peace in the region (http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/archives/dockett_317/317_58a.html). The record of those meetings provided an excellent insight into the tribal land politics and many cross-cultural miscommunications (see appended document transcripts). The area of Warren Township along with much of Bradford County was "officially" opened to European settlement through Pennsylvania after the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, in November of 1768. At that time, Pennsylvania purchased a tract of land from the Iroquois, beginning at Owego, New York, thence following the left bank of the Susquehanna as far as the mouth of the Towanda Creek, thence up the Towanda, along the Burnett Hills, down Pine Creek to the West Branch, and across to the Ohio. The Pennsylvania colony did not divide much of this land, prior to the Revolution. In Hartford, Connecticut, the Susquehanna Company upon learning that Native Americans had recently relinquished all claims on Susquehanna lands to Pennsylvania held a meeting, on 28 December 1768. There the former Susquehanna Company grants were rescinded and five new townships, each five miles square, were drawn up and offered to the first 240 settlers. The race to settle Bradford County was on between Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut, but Warren Township was not yet involved in that race.
First Historical Events of Warren Township
The European history of Warren Township begins in 1774, under the colony of Pennsylvania. In that year, a small part of Warren Township was guaranteed to a Benjamin Chew, Esq. as part of a very large parcel in the southwest corner of what was then named "Archerstown" and later identified as parcel number 76. Therefore, Warren Township could count the year 1774 as its earliest historical date. This sector was the only location in our township surveyed prior to the Revolution, between the 1st and 3rd of November 1774.
Benjamin Chew, Esq., was a distinguished lawyer at Philadelphia, a Quaker immigrant and was among the men who created the first life insurance company in America (Presbyterian Ministers’ Fund), in Philadelphia. He was also named Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania colony. In short, he was a person of the first consequence in Pennsylvania before the Revolution, greatly esteemed as a gentleman and for his knowledge of the law. In addition, Benjamin Chew, Esq. was a member of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania and highly involved in the last of these Indian treaty meetings at Lancaster, on Wednesday, 11 August1762.(http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/archives/dockett_317/317_58a.html). He obtained warrantee title of the 3246 acres, 11 perches on 20 August 1774. This large tract called "Archerstown" was subdivided from the start, but not occupied until the 19th Century.
The first Pennsylvania title deed patent for this same "Archerstown" in
what would later be Warren Township was issued to Samuel Meredith on
15 January 1801. Samuel Meredith was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in 1741, the son of merchant Reese Meredith, a native of
Radnorshire, Wales, and Martha (Carpenter) Meredith. After being
educated privately in Philadelphia and Chester, Pennsylvania, Samuel
Meredith joined his father's business in Philadelphia, "Meredith Sons".
Prior to the American Revolution, Samuel Meredith was a signer of the
famous "Non-Importation Resolutions adopted in Philadelphia, on 7
November 1765. Samuel Meredith married Margaret Cadwalader
(daughter of Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, born in 1748) on May 19, 1772.
Together they had seven children. One daughter, Martha Meredith,
married John Read, Jr., a lawyer and senator. One son, Thomas
Meredith, was also a lawyer and helped manage his father's estate.
General Meredith was evidently an owner of property in Trenton as early
as 1770, as he was a vestryman of St. Michael’s parish in 1770, and
again 1807-12. Meredith was the owner of "Otter Hall," an estate on the
Delaware two miles below Trenton. He attended the Provincial
Convention as a deputy from Philadelphia, in 1775. During the
Revolutionary War, Meredith served as an officer of the 3rd Battalion of
Associators, also known as the "Silk Stocking Company." He served with
distinction in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and
Germantown. Because of his outstanding service, he was promoted to
brigadier-general of the Pennsylvania militia, on April 5, 1777. He
resigned from the army in 1778, and returned to his business. In 1780
he and his brother-in-law, George Clymer, each gave £20,000 to carry on
the war. Between 1778 and 1783, Meredith served three terms in the
Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly, and in 1786 was elected to the
Congress of Confederation, in which he served until 1788. After serving
less than a year as surveyor of the Port of Philadelphia, Meredith
accepted an appointment as the first Treasurer of the United States, at
the urging of George Washington, a close personal friend. He began his
duties on September 11, 1789 and served until his health and financial
matters required his retirement on October 31, 1801, within the year
that he received title to this same tract of land in the northeast corner of
what would become Bradford County. During his tenure in office,
Meredith lent the government more than one hundred thousand dollars,
a sum that was never repaid. Upon his retirement Samuel Meredith
returned to his estate in Wayne County, Pennsylvania and managed his
lands there, but there is no clear record that he ever visited "Archerstown" here in the township. The property included the area now
occupied by Christiansen Tires. It is not likely that any of the Samuel
Meredith Letters and Documents now in the University of Delaware refer
to this property because those documents date to the period of 1786 to
1798. Meredith died at his Wayne County estate, on 10 February 1817
(http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/meredith.htm and
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~trenton/historyoftrenton/revolutionary.htm).
Soon after the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, in November of 1768, the most valuable tracts of land were "assigned" to the friends of the Pennsylvania government, such as Benjamin Chew, Esq., to be held or leased to their faithful allies. This did not mean that settlement quickly followed. The Sullivan-Clinton campaign of 1779, against the Iroquois and their allies, the British, was not only a major campaign in the Revolution but also opened this region to settlement. The Iroquois, British and Loyalists had been terrorizing the northern frontier with raids at Cherry Valley, NY and Wyoming, PA that sent shockwaves through the colonies. General George Washington had developed a plan involving a three-way invasion of Iroquois Territory. One force was to start at Easton, PA and move northward to Wyoming, PA then up the Susquehanna River to Tioga Point (Teaoga Diahoga). The second force was to leave Albany, NY, proceed westward along the Mohawk River, then south along the Susquehanna River to join the main army at Tioga Point. A third force was to leave Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) and proceed north to Geneseo, NY where they would join the other two forces. Washington also planned that this invasion would establish an American claim to what was then the western frontier. General Sullivan was appointed to head the army coming from Easton. His forces marched into Wyoming, gathered troops and supplies, and loaded onto 214 boats that poled up river. Additional supplies went by land. When the army reached Tioga Point (near Athens, PA), they erected Fort Sullivan on the spot where the Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers were about 100 yards apart. General Clinton met a group from Sullivan’s army at Union (Endicott, NY) and moved down to Fort Sullivan, making a combined force of 5000 soldiers.
On 26 August 1779, these combined forces moved westward up the Chemung River toward Newtown (Lowman, NY). There was a hotly contested battle, which resulted in a major colonial victory. Sullivan decided to not attack Fort Niagara because of his ailing men, lack of equipment and the fact that the army coming from Pittsburgh did not show up. Clinton’s forces returned to Albany, NY and Sullivan set up a new Fort Reed in Elmira, NY. Later, both forts, Reed and Sullivan, were destroyed as the army returned to Wyoming, but Native American and British resistance had been permanently weakened and this territory was opened for colonial settlement. Thus, except for the earlier 1774 parcel identified as "Archerstown," our earliest Warren Township warrantee records, granted through Pennsylvania, date to the period of 1784 through 1787. After 1784, the rest of the land area of Warren Township, including parts of Windham, Orwell Pike and sections of Susquehanna County, was divided into 75 parcels of roughly 400 acres each. Only two parcels were not warranteed until the 19th century. Parcel number 68, having 326 acres and 44 perches, was first warranteed to Benjamin Buffington on 27 October 1828 and parcel number 69, having 206 acres, 101 perches, was first warranted to Samuel Wheaton on 26 September 1828. It appears from their location that these two parcels had been originally drawn up as one and were later subdivided to accommodate a sale to those two parties. The northwest part of the Bradford County was also opened to Pennsylvania settlement following the purchase of 1784, but none settled in Warren Township before 1798.
Additional information concerning the Delaware:
D. G. Brinton, The Lenape and Their Legends, 1885.
Eli Lilly, Walam Olum or Red Score: The Migration Legend of the Lenni
Lenape or Delaware Indians, 1954.
W. W. Newcomb, Jr., The Culture and Acculturation of the Delaware
Indians, 1956.
A. F. C. Wallace, King of the Delawares: Teedyuscung, 1949.
P. A. W. Wallace, Thirty Thousand Miles with John Heckewelder, 1958.
N. Z. Dobrin, Delawares, 1963.
Additional information concerning Samuel Meredith:
Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1961. Vol. 6.
Graham, S. M. Meredith. A Short History of the Three Merediths, [n.d.]
Early Settler History of Warren Township
Despite the official Pennsylvania titled warrantees of 1784, and patent deeds that soon followed, few settlers from Pennsylvania ventured northward to stake claims. In fact, none of the earliest known settlers in Warren Township came from Pennsylvania. They held the land in name only. Warren Township was not claimed for Connecticut until the later separate Delaware Company’s treaty of 1795. There were no European settlers in Warren Township (Martell) before 1798.
As previously noted, the Susquehanna Company document of 11 July 1754, by default had established a different history for Warren Township from the rest of the county, for in it this area was excluded from the rest the Connecticut claim for what would eventually become Bradford County. This division was due to the geographically based Native American concept of land divisions. Thus, the area of Warren Township should not have been officially included in any Iroquois treaty. It had been part of the lands controlled by the Delawares and on that basis a second land speculation body from Connecticut, known as the Delaware Company, again attempted to stake a western claim for that state here in 1795. The Delawares ceded all control of their lands to the United States in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. In the same year, the Delaware Company acquired the last lands previously held by the Delaware in the east. A deed to Hezekiah Huntington and 360 of his associates, was obtained from the Delawares (the Ninnepuncs or Lenape, as they called themselves) for a tract of land extending through the breadth of the Connecticut charter, from the Delaware River on the east to the line of the Susquehanna Company’s purchase on the west. This included the northeastern part of Bradford County, comprising the township of Warren, with adjacent parts of Windham, Orwell and Pike. After 1800, remaining Delawares went to Missouri, Texas and finally Oklahoma. The most complete record of Delaware migration is by John Heckewelder.
Once acquired from the Delaware Indians, the Delaware Company surveyed this territory into townships of six miles square, appointed Elisha Hyde of Norwich, Conn., their agent to negotiate the sale of townships to companies of settlers. Andrew Tracy, Oliver Crary, Robert Gere (2nd), and William Young, Jr. formed a committee to grant townships for the company. Of the two townships located in Bradford County, Warren Township (known then as "Martell") was granted to Elisha Hyde on 14 Oct. 1795, "to defray his expenses as agent," and "Minden" was granted to Elisha Hyde and Elisha Tracy (both of Norwich, Conn.) on 25 April 1796. These two men subsequently sold parcels to the settlers of Warren and Orwell Townships. The Delaware Company was not a conspicuous party to the land controversies in Bradford County, only so far as their interests were blended with those of the Susquehanna Company to promote Connecticut claims to the area of Warren Township. However, these parcel sales directly conflicted with the Pennsylvania property divisions of 1784, completely ignoring Pennsylvania’s prior claims to the land, of at least eleven years earlier.
Three years after Warren Township (known then as "Martell") was
granted through Connecticut to Elisha Hyde, on 14 Oct. 1795, the first
four settlers arrived: James Bowen, William Arnold, Mr. Harding and
Thomas Gibson. Previous to 1798, this remote section of Bradford
County was an unbroken wilderness, inhabited by a few Delawares and
the wild beasts which roamed unrestrained over the hills and through
the valleys.
The four settlers first made a clearing on the south branch of the Wappasening Creek, at a place called for many years thereafter "the old clearing." But they found that they were not on the correct tract of land that they had been provided to settle, so after obtaining their first crop they abandoned the site. They went further north, to a place which has been known ever since as "Bowen Hollow" and is now the center of Warren Center. There James Bowen built a grist-mill on the middle branch of the Wappasening. James Bowen’s son Harry was the first child born in Warren Township, in the fall of 1800.
William Arnold returned with his wife Elizabeth from Swansey, Mass., in 1799. They came with three sons: James, William and Andrew, who all lived to be aged men, and reared families. A fourth son, Benedict Arnold, was the second European child born in Warren Township, born a few weeks after Harry Bowen. The third child in the township was born on 10 August 1801, A. S. Coburn, son of Parley Coburn.
In the spring of 1800, two brothers, named Capt. Ebenezer and Jonathan Coburn, came with their sons from Connecticut and bought, under a disputed Connecticut title, 23,040 acres of land and made a clearing on the same farm where they lived and died.
The Rhode Island Purchase (ca. 1800-1820)
The first major influx of settlers into Warren Township was initiated by the Rhode Island Purchase of the esteemed mercantile firm of Brown& Ives, of Providence Rhode Island. This firm arranged for the purchase of the township by New England settlers in units of approximately 100 acre lots. How the firm of Brown & Ives got involved with land sales in Pennsylvania is still unclear. Brown & Ives, as landowners, were anxious to induce settlers to come upon their lands, and made great inducements to secure the settlement of the first-comers upon their lands. Nicholas Brown Jr., a graduate of Rhode Island College and heir to a family fortune that was built on shipping and the slave trade, had founded the firm. The life of Nicholas Brown Jr. was so intertwined with that college that Brown University was named after him. Nicholas graduated from there in 1786 at age seventeen, and by age twenty-two was already a trustee. He just as quickly assumed a leading role in Providence's (and Rhode Island's) economic life by establishing the firm of Brown & Ives, which became one of New England's largest mercantile houses. His benefactions to Brown, totaled $160,000 over his lifetime, but it was his management of the Rhode Island Purchase of Warren Township that has left its mark on the history of our community. Many of the original families who purchased land through Brown & Ives still have descendants residing and owning property in Warren Township (http://www.brown.edu/webmaster/about/history/part1.shtml).
Establishment of "Coburn Settlement" in 1804
By 1804, there were fourteen taxable inhabitants of Warren Township, living in what was called "Coburn Settlement". This year stands out as the first time a European community was established here. Among them were William Arnold, J. Bowen, Henry Billings, Ebenezer Coburn, Jr., Amos Coburn, Jonathan Coburn, Moses Coburn, Jr., Amos Coburn, Payson Corbin, Thomas Gibson, Ebenezer Lee and Boswell Lee. The first school was started here in 1807, and was taught by R. Lee. Amos Coburn built the first framed house and had the first "house-warming." This may be the same frame house that was later owned by H. Coburn, and was only just torn down this spring. Only one structure from this period of settlement is still standing, the former home of C. Darling, which is pictured below. It is also a frame structure.
All of the other structures have been reduced to foundations. We are in the process of making a photographic archive of all first settlement foundations, first in the Coburn Settlement and eventually for the whole township.
In 1813, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania established Warren Township as a distinct township. Previously, this area had been governed as a unit known as Mt. Zion, together with what at the same time became Orwell, Windham and Pike Townships. By 1815, the number of taxable citizens in the newly formed Warren Township had risen to 45 people. The first adult death from disease was Theda Corbin. There was an epidemic fever in 1814, which threatened to sweep off the entire settlement, since it was very difficult to obtain medical attention. Andrew Coburn practiced medicine a little, but generally the inhabitants had to get well as they got sick. Then there was no unusual sickness, at least no epidemic, until the winter of 1824-25. It was then that Amos Coburn and his wife died of a fever. Following are pictures of three memorials from this Coburn Cemetery, the markers for Mary Coburn, Margaret Coburn and Moses Coburn, who had fought in the American Revolution.
The name "Warren" was either derived from some location to the east or
was given in honor of Major-General Joseph Warren, who was slain at
the Battle of Bunker Hill. As he was endeavoring to rally the militia, Gen.
Warren was struck in the head by a musket-ball that instantly killed him
when it went through his head. He graduated from Harvard in 1759 and
married Elizabeth Horton in 1764. He studied medicine with Dr. James
Lloyd and practiced in Boston. As a Freemason, he joined St. Andrews
Lodge, a newly organized group, which included many political agitators.
A radical leader in activities leading to the Revolution, he delivered
addresses commemorating the Boston Massacre in 1772 and 1775, and
drafted the Suffolk Resolves. Elected to the Provincial Congress in 1774,
he served as president pro tem and was chairman of the Provincial
Committee of Safety. He was commissioned second major-general in
1775, but served as a volunteer in the battle at Bunker where he died.
General Warren was a physician, born in Roxbury, Mass., 11 June,
1741; died in Charlestown, Mass., 17 June, 1775. He was descended
from Peter Warren, whose name appears on the town records of Boston
in 1659, where he was identified as a "mariner." Peter’s second son,
Joseph, built a house in 1720 in what is now Warren Street, Roxbury,
Mass. and died there in 1729.
There is a Warren, Connecticut, located in Litchfield County, also named for that same Revolutionary War hero from Massachusetts. There are several family names common to both locations from the early 19th Century. In 1786, the town of Warren, Connecticut had been incorporated from a settlement that originally was settled in 1737. The town in Connecticut consists of a high plateau, bordered on the south by Lake Waramaug. The tiny village of Warren has an interesting Congregational Church, with pilastered pediment, a good tower, and fine interior woodwork. It was built in 1818, during the pastorate of Rev. Peter Starr, who served for 57 years. The church sent 16 young men into the ministry, including Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) the famous evangelist, associated with the early history of Oberlin College; and Julian M. Sturtevant (1805-1886) a member of the Illinois Band that went out from Yale, and founder of Illinois College. About 1 1/2 miles north of the village, a road turns west, 1/2 mile to a brick school house, built around 1793, one of the oldest in New England in continuous use. Another Warren was chartered in Vermont in 1780. There is also a Warren, Bristol County, Massachusetts and a Warren on the shore of Rhode Island, which may relate to the Rhode Island Purchase. Many of the early settlers, such as Alfred Allyn and James Bowen, came from Providence, Rhode Island. The Corbins and the Coburns both came from Pomfret, Vermont.
Additional information on General Warren from:
http://www.josephwarren.com/
http://www.masshist.org/bh/joswarrenbio.html
http://warrentavern.com/warren.htm
Additional information about Warren, CT from:
http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/CTGuideWar.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctlitch2/towns/warren/
The Century of Rapid Development (1813-1913)
The first century of Warren Township saw rapid settlement and widespread farm agriculture. Nearly all stands of primeval timber were cut down for settlement construction, timber sales and firewood. Among other early settlers who followed close on the wake of those already mentioned we should mention the following families: Barton, Brunt, Mapes, Mason, Pitcher, and Sutton. Family farms were the major form of livelihood. Tax records from this period reveal a steady growth curve up until the time of the Civil War.
| Year | Adult Male Inhabitants | Property Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1804 | 14 | NA |
| 1814 | 46 | $11,148 |
| 1824 | 129 | $76,156 |
| 1834 | 224 | $81,979 |
| 1844 | 304 | $91,594 |
| 1854 | 395 | $146,550 |
| 1868 | 377 | $209,464 |
Census records also reveal interesting facts concerning Warren Township
population developments. It was one of the few townships in the county
that had a population decrease after the Civil War. It is doubtful that our
population has ever been as high as it was in 1850. First, superior
farmland was available elsewhere, and then the entire country
experienced a population shift away from rural areas.
The Coburn Settlement continued to thrive. Ruth Coburn, daughter of Ebenezer Coburn first married a Dewing, and later married Joseph Armstrong. The Armstrongs arrived in the settlement in 1817/1818 and settled on the main road through the township, the Montrose Turnpike, near the home of Alexander Dewing. This community spread along the turnpike toward what became the settlement of Warrenham. Along this turnpike, Andrew Dewing built his home, shortly before his marriage to Elizabeth Fahnestock, of Harrisburg, on 1 April 1820. She died in July of the following year and Andrew married Nancy Dobson, of Susquehanna County, as his second wife. They had four children, and the home is still occupied and appears much as it did a century ago. See below.
The early Warren Center community was located north of Bowen’s Hollow, along the Coburn Hill Road. By the 1850’s, there was a considerable settlement there, including a post office and several stores.
Space in this History does not allow for a detailed discussion of all the noteworthy landmarks in the township, but consideration of preparing a more detailed study may be a possible goal for The Warren Township Planning Commission to investigate in the near future. Many of the commercial structures of the original Warren Center community are still standing, but have all been converted into private residences since the center of the community has gradually shifted from the area originally called Bowen’s Hollow to what is now called Warren Center around 1900. "The Center" as it is often called, has always been the most populous area of the township.
There were three other population centers that develop prior to 1900, Cadis in the north-west, West Warren in the west, and South Warren in the south-west. Both Warrenham and West Warren were considered business centers by the late 1870’s. The old maps from a century or more ago list a number of shops and stores in each of the five communities, but there now is only one general store in Warren Center, besides a number of specialty businesses run from family homes.
Churches within the Township
When the first settlers arrived, they came with their Bibles. In Warren Township, the Christian faith was also established in early years of the settlement as a community focus of Warren Township. Missionaries had visited the Coburn Settlement as early as 1806-1807 and soon thereafter the diverse cultural and religious beliefs began develop into various congregations uniting into their common beliefs.
First Presbyterian Church of Warren
Written by Sylvia Race with help from others, including Russell Dewing
In the Coburn Settlement, several of the settlers had established a "reading-meeting," as it was called. These meetings were held in the various homesteads, and this expression of religion continued for years before there was a man among them who could pray in public.
The Presbyterian Church, in Warrenham, was build after it became difficult for early settlers to continue meeting for services in their homes. On 15 September 1815 a small group met in the home of Preserved Buffington, where Rev. John Bascom and Rev, Solomon King led in the adoption of articles of faith and a covenant. By 1816, the Presbyterian Church was organized in Warren Township with 14 members, 8 being from Warren, and the rest from Orwell. An 1822 revival in Warren added 43 members to their number and by 1828 the congregation had grown large enough so that the Presbytery at Kingston allowed the Warren and Orwell congregations to divide. By 1832 the Warren congregation was building a sanctuary. The location of which was on the west side of Coburn Hill Road, about one quarter mile north of the intersection with Reagan Hill Road, and a parsonage was maintained on the northeast corner of this intersection.
The Warren congregation thrived until the end of the nineteenth century. Then it became difficult to keep a resident pastor. Services continued until the mid 1920’s. During the early l930s the Federal Government purchased many farms in the Warrenham, Aurora and North Warren area. The people moved away and the beautiful homes and farm building were sold to be torn down. The church building deteriorated and the pews were given to the Cadis Baptist Church. The communion set and collection baskets from the Warrenham church are on display at the Bradford County Historical Society Museum along with one of the pews built in 1832.
A final note contributed by Russell A. Dewing, Sr. (August 13, 2004) indicates that in 1956 the Presbytery allowed the last two living members, Gladys S. Dewing and Gertrude Bowen, to decide what to do with the building. It was given to Gladys’ son, Russel A. Dewing, Sr., to dismantle. The lumber and roofing has since been used by Russell to build a small barn on his property on the Warren Center – Little Meadows Road. The barn is called “The Teaching Barn” and is being used for weekly non-denominational Bible studies.
The History of Warren Center Methodist Church
(Grateful acknowledgement is made to Joyce M. Tyce, for permission to
reprint information provided in the History of The Warren Center Methodist
Church)
Tradition has it that Methodism began its work at Warren Center about 1825. The class was organized in 1848, Rev. G.H. Blakeslee being the preacher in charge, and Rev. D.F. Olmstead, junior preacher. They were on the Pike Circuit that year. Services were held in the Whalen Schoolhouse prior to the building of the church in 1874.
The church was dedicated on Wednesday, January 20, 1875. On July 7, 1908, the Methodist Church of Warren Center, known as the Whalen Church, was struck by lightning. As the church had to be repaired, the question of moving it to Warren Center was raised. By July 26 the required money had been raised and the work of moving the church began. On August 11, a lot for the new church site was measured, a part taken from the land of Walter Bowen and part taken from the land of Dudley Kinney and Mrs. M.A. Sleeper as described by the deed made the same day by J.C. Tripp, Justice of the Peace. The church was moved to its new location in a very short time without removing even the hanging lamps. Services were held in the church wherever it happened to stand, once in the pasture field and once near the creamery.
On July 22, 1919, the Warren Center Church was again struck by lightning at 5:30 in the morning. The steeple was set on fire but as it burned very slowly, it was possible to extinguish the flames.
Gasoline lamps were purchased in 1931 for $29.95 and at a special meeting on September 8, 1936 a committee estimated it would cost around $350.00 to build a balcony and partition the church. Money was raised by circulating a paper and by holding an entertainment and a box social. The Ladies Aid and the Careful Gleaners Class furnished some of the money. Work was completed in the fall of 1936. The next spring a new floor was laid and the church was wired including fixtures. Carpet and rugs were also purchased.
In 1944, new pews, a Pulpit and Communion Table were ordered. Due to the war and the scarcity of materials, pews could not be obtained at this time.
Warren Center had long felt the need of a resident pastor. They were finally able to fulfill this need in 1949, when they left the Apalachin charge and became an independent appointment. Rev. Sydney Boys, a retired minister, was secured to serve this charge. As there was no parsonage in the community, an apartment over the Bowen Store was rented. Rev. and Mrs. Boys moved there in June of that year.
On February 18, 1951, Sunday school and Church services were held in the church at the usual hour with a large crowd attending. About an hour after the worshipers had left, the church was discovered to be on fire. When first discovered, the whole interior of the structure was ablaze. The entire building with all of its contents was consumed in a very short time. The origin of the fire was unknown. The first Sunday after the fire, the congregation met and held services with the West Warren people in their church. The Methodists united with the Baptists in their church and held three evening services during the Lenten period. After that time services were held regularly in the Grange Hall and the W.S.C.S. Hall.
Plans were immediately started for erecting a new building where the old one had stood. A strip of land was secured from Mrs. Earl Anderson to enlarge the church property. The contractor, Mr. Walter Chaffee, started work in July 1952. The corner stone was laid at a service held July 20, 1952.
Aid came from many sources. The Fairdale Methodist Church was donated with all of its furnishings, with the stipulation that the windows be used with the names left on them. These were used in the dining room of the new building. This church was dismantled by the Warren Center people and trucked to Warren Center where much of the material was used in the new building. Other donations included pews from a boys’ school in Cooperstown, the altar rail by the Central Methodist Church of Endicott, some light fixtures from the Church of Christ in Sayre, the bell was taken from the Baptist Church in Camptown and donated by Mr. Mitten, and the piano by Mrs. Kenneth Thomson, a member of the Boulevard Methodist Church of Binghamton. Many hours were spent in refinishing the old pews and preparing for the formal opening which took place on May 3, 1953, when several hundred people came to help consecrate the new building.
In January 1953, the church officials purchased the house and lot joining the church property from Mrs. Earl Anderson to be used as a parsonage. This property included the old creamery.
On November 9, 1962, a special Quarterly Conference was held to consider building an educational annex and on Sunday, April 26, 1964, at 10:30 A.M., groundbreaking ceremonies were held. A service was held on January 3, 1965 to dedicate the church and to consecrate the new eleven room educational annex.
Cadis Baptist Church
Written by Mrs. Harold Race
In a tattered little notebook we find an account of the first mention of a “Baptist” meeting and what was to become the Cadis Baptist Church. On August 16, 1834 – “Elder Edward E. Dodge met a few brethren and sisters of Windham in covenant meeting at Br H. Dunham’s. The first elected officers were: bro. Henry Dunham, Deacon and Amasa Moulton, Church Clerk. The congregation subsequently formed was called the First Free Will Baptist Church of Windham, and covenant meetings were held regularly on the Saturday preceding the 2nd Sunday of each month.
Memories passed down thru the generations tell us that church services were held in the schoolhouses at Finch’s Corner (the south-western end of the Cadis Valley) and at Prince Hollow, now Cadis. There is almost no record of any business enacted, no weddings recorded or other activities associated with the church.
The community name of Prince Hollow was changed sometime prior to 1885 to Mecca, and by 1895 was changed again to Cadis. The name of the church followed, to Mecca and finally to the Cadis Baptist Church. An entry for October 8, 1881 tells, “The first bee on the church was this date. The following persons were present to lend a helping hand. Thompson Abell was the first man on the job. Then came M.B. Moulton with team, Myron Prince, A. Nichols, Edward Chilson, Silas Darling, John Sherman, A. Edwards and Selim Ward.”
The original stone wall still supports the building and the steeple is still topped with the arrow weathervane placed there by loving hands in 1881. Originally there was a large wooden porch with no roof but a lantern post on the corner. Ladies could step directly from their buggies to the porch.
A four stall horse shed was in the back. The outdoor privy is still in use. The inside of the building was originally plastered by Ezra Ward. Before the time of electricity, a chandelier oil lamp hung over the pulpit. It was lowered for filling and lighting then raised back into place by chains on a pulley. At each of the side windows was a bracket which held a kerosene lamp. A small wood burning stove stood on each side. The stovepipe from each stove went up toward the ceiling, along the side, across the back to meet and go out to the chimney. Instead of pews, there were rows of wooden chairs. This helped create an informal atmosphere which has prevailed. The chairs could be gathered close to the stoves on cold days or moved to a home for a meeting.
A ladies aid society was recorded in the church in early days. A 1913 newspaper clipping records the reorganization of this society at the home of Mrs. Grace Prince. At that time the society was named the “Busy Bees”. The monthly dinners were a social highlight of the area for church members and non-members alike. The whole family attended. Oyster dinners were popular and in the spring there were dandelion greens with boiled eggs. The money collected (probably $3.00) was given to supplement the pastor’s salary. The salary was whatever the Sunday morning offering was, $1.50 to $6.00 normally. Entertainment was usually a ball game by the men, called the “Bumble Bees”.
On August 26, 1934, a centennial day was held with a morning service, a picnic lunch on the church grounds, an afternoon service and an evening service. The names of ninety-nine people were recorded as attending that day.
The church was closed for a while during World War II. Since then most of the pastors have been students or recent graduates of Practical Bible College of Johnson City, NY or of Baptist Bible College of Clarks Summit, PA.
In the early 1950’s pews were brought to Cadis from the abandoned Presbyterian Church in Warrenham. Electric lights were installed. In the 1970’s the wood stoves were replaced with electric heat. New carpeting and new pews were bought. An addition was built on the back of the building for classes and fellowship.
A Sesquicentennial celebration was held on August 19, 1984. Nearly two hundred people attended. After the morning worship service old acquaintances were renewed as the people gathered under a tent on the church lawn to enjoy a buffet lunch served by the church members. An afternoon service was held at which time many of the former pastors shared their memories.
In March 2003, due to dwindling attendance and lack of pastors with fundamental beliefs who were willing to service such a small congregation, services were suspended
Regular Baptist Church of Warren
Written by Sylvia Race (from information recorded by E.O. Green)
During the early years of the Coburn Settlement, there were very few Baptist Ministers in the local area and most of those did not have the formal education that we expect of a minister today. Because of the foresight of a faithful member of this church, E.O. Green, we have some written records which give us a glimpse into this early church.
Mr. Green in his notes informs us that “In 1841 there was a minister by the name of Fox living in Nichols, N.Y. where there was a small Baptist Church. He was induced by the people of Bowen Hollow who persuaded him to come and preach to them in their homes. The congregation continued to grow and on 17 April 1844, Elder P.B. Peck was moderator as representatives of Baptist Churches of Nichols, Owego and Tioga, NY and Windham, PA met to extend the right hand of fellowship to the newly organized Regular Baptist Church of Bowen Hollow (later Warren Center). The people of Warren moved their membership from Nichols to this new church.
The Regular Baptist Church of Warren continued to prosper and traveled to Prince Hollow, West Warren and Potterville schoolhouses for meetings. Some of these meetings were also held at the Union Schoolhouse which at the time was on James Road at the corner of Green Road. On 9 June 1849 the congregation voted to build a meeting house and on February 6, 1852 a second vote was ratified to purchase the land of Henry Allyn. The parcel was just north of the Wappasening Creek on the West side of Main Street in Bowen Hollow and the subsequent building, 32 feet by 48 feet was topped with a cupola. The dedication service was held 30 November 1853
On 3 February 1857 several churches sent delegates who formed a council to question Henry W. Barnes about his beliefs. They proceeded to set Mr. Barnes apart as a minister of the gospel. Rev. Barnes stayed as pastor of the church until 10 March 1861. Then on 14 February 1865 William F. Nixon succeeded Rev. Barnes as pastor.
September 7, 1867 the church purchased a house and lot for a parsonage from Robert Cooper for $600.00. The meeting house required extensive repairs in 1878 and a rededication service was held 2 January 1879. By the summer of 1882 the old parsonage had been sold and a new one finished. Two years later a barn was built on the parsonage lot. A baptistery was built on the church in 1892.
At a meeting on 15 March 1913 a committee was formed to facilitate a merger with the Free Will Baptist Church on Coburn Hill Road. The new congregation (The Warren Center Baptist Church) used the building on Coburn Hill Road.
Warren Center Baptist Church
Written by Silvia Race with the help of others, including Jeannette
Pendleton
Also in 1841, another group of Baptist residents in and around the township, having an equal religious conviction organized into the Free Will Baptist Church. Their meeting house was located on Coburn Hill Road, one quarter mile north of the intersection with Main and East Streets in Bowen Hollow (now Warren Center). The church building is noted on a map from 1850. One quarter acre of land with meeting house was deeded to the church trustees 29 October 1855, by William and Sara Chaffee.
During a fierce wind storm on 15 March 1913 several buildings in Warren Center were severely damaged, the worst of which was the Free Will Baptist Church. Subsequently, the Regular Baptist Church on Main Street near the Wappasening Creek merged with the Regular Baptist Church of Warren (as indicated above) resulting in the formation of the Warren Center Baptist Church.
At the union of the two churches some equipment from the lower church was transferred to the upper church, including the woodwork around the pulpit and the inside front doors. Electricity was added in 1938. Other improvements were made such as new floors and in 1953 new porches and walkways.
On 16 August 1953, the church celebrated its 112 years of God’s faithfulness. The pastor was Dorothy O. Gardinor, with Howard Hayes and Kenneth Gosney taking charge of the services. A dinner was served at the Grange Hall after the morning service. An afternoon and an evening service were held. Speakers were Rev. Charles Morrison, Rev. Fred Drew, Rev. John Slocum and Rev. Elmer B. Pitcher, Jr.
December 31, 1958, as the congregation gathered at the pastor’s home for fellowship prior to the New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service, smoke was seen coming from the church building. Preparations had been underway to put a basement under the church and install a new furnace. It was too late, however, as the fire was blamed on the malfunction of the old oil burner. Before the night was over not only was the church consumed but also the Merton Allyn barn which was north of the church. The valiant effort of the firemen saved the Allyn home.
A new church building was constructed on the site of the one destroyed. A basement provides space for Sunday school rooms and fellowship hall. Services were held at the Grange Hall for about a year during the construction. The Warren Center Baptist Church continues to be an active part of the spiritual community in Warren Township.
The first Congregational Church of West Warren
1888 – 2004 (Author Unknown)
In 1879 Rev. E.J. Morris started coming from Potterville on Sunday afternoons to preach the gospel, first at the old school house and than later at Jillson Hall. Several years later a Sunday school was formed. When Rev. Morris resigned to go to New York, the members of the Sunday school decided to organize themselves as a church. On September 1, 1884 the church was recognized by the Council of Congregational Churches and in the fall of 1885, Rev. J.D. Jones came to Neath and West Warren as Pastor. It was not long before he began to talk and plan for the building of a church. The present structure was erected, starting in the summer of 1888 and was completed; by late Fall of the same year. On December 7, 1888 the Charter was signed and the First Congregational Church of West Warren came into being.
In 1937 the West Warren Church joined the churches of LeRaysville, Potterville, and Neath, to form the “Dille Co-operative Parish”, named after Rev. & Mrs. Carl Dille, who went to Africa as missionaries in 1939 after serving a little over one year as Pastor.
In 1963 the membership of West Warren, LeRaysville, and Potterville voted to join the United Church of Christ. At this time the members of the Neath Church did not wish to join and since, have not been a part of the Dille Co-Op Parish.
When the “Dille Co-op Parish was first formed, church services were held every Sunday in each church. As the years passed services were then held in two churches per week and the churches alternated weeks, then it went to one church service held weekly and it rotates between the three churches. In 1990 the West Warren members voted to withdraw from the Dille Co-op Parish and later the U.C.C. The church was once again called The First Congregational Church of West Warren and in 1992 joined the Forcee’s Conference, (Conservative Congregational Christian Conference).
Over the years several modifications have been made to the church, which include the lowering of the ceiling in the Sanctuary and dinning room, paneling of the Sanctuary walls, carpet installed, addition of dinning room space, kitchen and bathroom and a new water system. Ground breaking ceremony for the new addition of six Sunday school rooms was held on Oct. 1, 2000. The church bell that was purchased and raised to the belfry in June of 1921 still rings every Sunday.
South Warren Community Church
Written by Sylvia race with the help of Ellicott Lee, Jr.
Finally, South Warren had a Methodist Episcopal Church. It is first listed on the Beers Atlas map in 1869. The early history is unknown, but by 1931 the structure was in disrepair and being used to store hay. The church was reorganized as the South Warren Community Church and kept going through supply pastors from Practical Bible School. In 1949, Rev. George Jatko started serving as full-time pastor and under his leadership the congregation flourished.
From the above information, it can be clearly seen that the tapestry of life which has become Warren Township over the years, could not have been created without the diverse and deep beliefs of many religious congregations. These threads continue to bind us together today and into the future.
Warren Township Schools
The first school in Warren was taught by R. Lee, in 1807. Overall, public institutions in Warren Township have undergone increased consolidation. Originally there were at least fourteen distinct school districts in the township. By the 1870’s there were twelve school districts, and they were still operating in the same way by 1903, when records indicate that the average number of months of instruction was seven. There were then two male teachers and ten female teachers, 148 male students and 104 female students. During the first half of the twentieth century, these districts were further consolidated to one school in Warren Center by the early twentieth century and eventually to the North East Bradford school district. The motives for this consolidation can be seen in H. L. Putnam’s report on Bradford County, from the 1903 record. Besides noting concerns over poor teacher salaries and student transportation his main position was, "Laws should be enacted which shall encourage the people in sparsely settled districts to better their schools … this should be apportioned in such a manner as to encourage needed improvements, such as transportation of pupils and consolidation of schools." (Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1903: p. 36, 362)
The school referred to in the Parley Colburn House was attended voluntarily by the children of a few settlers, the teacher either donating his time or was paid with free board, a few bushels of wheat, potatoes or apples. It will be noted that the term now known as “school tax rate” had not even been invented because maintenance was made by free will donations. Free schools under state supervision came thirty years later in 1834. The first County Superintendent of Schools to supervise Warren Township Schools was elected in 1854.
Information is scarce on schools in our territory up to 1893. The following, however is an exact account of a school board meeting held Saturday, September 2, 1893 in Abell’s Hall. “At the call of the President of the School Board met in Abell’s Hall, Saturday, September 2, 1893 at 2 o’clock P.M. for the purpose of purchasing books and supplies for the schools of Warren Township in compliance with the “Free text book” law approved May 18, 1893. Members present were: President C.E. Corbin, G.B. Sleeper, A.H. Bowen, R.C. Whitaker, M.H. Deuel. John Prince being absent. Minutes of previous meeting were read and approved. It was moved and adopted that we supply our schools with Barnes History of the United States in place of Swintons. Also, that we adopt Robinson’s Shorter Course Arithmetics in place of Robinson’s Practical Higher Course. Mr. H.W. Childs representing Sheldon and Company and Americal Book Company, publishers of New Yourk was present. Through him we ordered a Sheldon and Company Readers and Spellers to the amount of $48.64 and of the American Book Company, books to the amount of $159.58. They allowed us 20% discount from their list price. Guy w. Peck of Towanda was present. Of him we ordered school supplies to the amount of $29.27. There being no further business, the board adjourned to meet later over J.F. Cooper’s Store. Members present were: C.E. Corbin, G.B. Sleeper, A.H. Bowen, M.H. Deuel and R.C. Whitaker.” The selection of the teachers for the fall and winter term of 1893-1894 was unamiously ratified. Each teacher received $26 monthly. The term of five months was changed to six months. The County Superintendent was G.W. Ryan.
The minutes of the meeting continued to state that Miss Annetta Patton
(Mrs. Silas Sleeper) came to the board with an apparatus for teaching
Astronomical Geography. The Board decided not to purchase it. At the
same meeting the Board voted to secure boxes in which the books were
to be placed and the boxes nailed up for the summer. Facts concerning
the finances of the schools were: Receipts – State Aid - $1102.11 – Taxes
levied $2012.92 – Dog tax $.69 – Sale of books and pencils $.22.
Expenses: - Thirteen teachers’ wages - $2374.77 – sheep damage $21.00
– auditors’ fees $6.00 and other items amounting to $3676.34. The
auditors found the district in debt amounting to $314.01. The following
teachers were approved by the Board:
School No. 1. Warrenham – H. Louise Ring
2. Aurora – Winifred Hickey
3. Dunham – Mary Hickey
4. Warren Center – Miles Allyn
4. Warren Center – Annah Bowen
5. Shingle – Elmer Jones
6. Pendleton – Eva Root
7. Brown – Nellie Arnold
8. West Warren – Hattie Stanton
9. Union – Eunice Davies
10. Cadis – Hattie Wolcott
11. Sleeper Hill – Anna Powell
12. Whalen – Nathan Young
13. Folk – Lizzie Hickey
At the time of this meeting – Warren Township had 160 males – 176 females – school attendance of 207 – a six month school term and at the approximate cost of $95 per month.
Going back just a bit, records tell us that a school in 1880 known as the Red School was then located on the flats of the farm, we know as the George Allyn Farm. Because of frequent water flooding this school was moved to higher ground on the site of the old High School Building. There on the new location another room was added. At the time of the 1897-98 term there were 14 schools and 15 teachers – the number of pupils enrolled – 306- the amount levied for school purposes were $1902.58
The first local Institute was held at LeRaysville, Pa in 1899. The teachers received the same pay as for a school day.
The board decided to close the Dunham and Folk Schools June 3, 1901 and on April 26, 1902 it was decided to advertise the Dunham, Folk, Sleeper Hill and Shingle School houses for sale. On May 10, 1902 the Sleeper Hill school building was sold to Silas Sleeper for $18; the Dunham to Monroe Dunham for $11; the Folk to Eugene Allyn for $20 and the Shingle school building to A.H. Bowen for $18.50.
It was decided to close the Warrenham School, June 1, 1903. Arrangements were made to transport the Warrenham children to Warren Center thus closing the Warrenham School, August 8, 1903.
At a meeting of the Board June 6, 1904, the Whalen School was closed. It was also voted to close the Aurora School. It was decided to sell the Warrenham School August 6, 1904 to Andrew Dewing for $20. The Aurora School was reopened at this time temporarily. On September 16, 1905 the Whalen School was closed.
On August 10, 1907 the Union School was closed and pupils were sent to Warren Center School. The Board voted to close the Pendleton and Brown Schools June 1, 1908 and pupils were transported to the West Warren School.
At a meeting July 1908 the Board decided to specify certain regulations to the drivers of school routes such as: they should furnish good wagons covered by curtains, should have plenty of blankets and soap stones. Teachers’ salaries had gone up to $40 and $50. The principal received $75. Drivers of school routes received from $.86 to $1.50 a day for transporting pupils.
On February 18, 1911 the Whalen school building was sold to Frank
Southwick for $41 and the following June, the Brown schoolhouse was
sold to S.S. Brainard for $42. It was also decided to close the Union
School.
The last two schools to be closed were Cadis and West Warren. West Warren School was closed in 1938. The building reverted back to its owner.
The Cadis School was closed in 1940. Twelve years later in 1952, the building was sold to John Hastings.
The High School was changed from three years to two years in 1921. It is known to have been changed back to a three year high school in 1923. In 1923 the vacated Union School was moved to the back end of the High School building. The woodshed was moved to make a place for it. Board meetings were held in the High School building with the aid of a kerosene barn lantern. In January 1937 the building was wired for electricity. Part time Agriculture, Home Economics and Music were added to the course of study.
In 1943 the high school was changed to a two year high school. Two years later - 1945, it was permanently closed and pupils were transported to Vestal, and/or LeRaysville. At this time in 1952, it was voted to build a new building rather than renovate the old one. A corporation - or the municipal authority was formed which was composed of Milo Wilson, Aubrey Brister, Max Dewing, Leonard Barnes and Merton Wheaton. It was also this same year that a joint school board was formed to operate the schools of Rome, Windham, LeRaysville Boro, Orwell, and Warren Townships.
In September 1953 the new Warren Township Elementary School was occupied. The following year, the old high school building was sold at auction to Carl Wilson.
Northeast Bradford Junior/Senior High School opened its doors September 7, 1955 replacing Rome and LeRaysville High Schools and serving all high school students now in the Northeast District.
The Warren Center Elementary School was closed June 1970 and all pupils are now transported to the new Northeast Bradford Elementary School located near the Northeast Bradford High School at Rome, Pennsylvania, R.D. #1.
As time goes on, it may become increasingly difficult for younger
generations to pin point the location of the thirteen schools described in
this report above. This committee has endeavored to make this an easier
task. Half of these schools were located on the present government tract.
The acre or less ground used, reverted back to the original owner when
the school ceased to exist. In most cases the buildings were liquidated.
A part of a stonewall - a lingering lilac bush even now is the only tangible
evidence of what was one time a part of the township’s greatest interests.
Following were the locations:
• Aurora – On the Turnpike two tenths mile past Michigan Road
on right.
• Dunham – On site of old Monroe Dunham farm and near the
Catholic Cemetery.
• Folk – Midway on road leading from S. E. Pendleton farm to
Ashley Allyn farm.
• Shelton – Midway on the Catholic Cemetery – Harry Strope
Road or on the corner known as Boland’s Corners.
• Warrenham – On Montrose Turnpike on the corner bend of road
leading to Hiram Dewing farm.
• Warren Center – North of creek on former George Allyn farm –
Later up the road to higher ground where the present Warren
Township Fire Station now stands.
• Sleeper Hill – On corner of roads known as Sleeper Hill road the
road connecting with Warren Center – Lake O’Meadows – on the
property of Sylvenus Gower.
• Brown – On or about the spot where either the Kenneth Oakley
home or the present telephone building stand.
• Whalen – At the juncture of Warren Center – Highland Lake and
Neath roads.
• Cadis – Continued location – now latest building, a replacement
of one by fire is a home.
• Pendleton – (South Warren area) Near Pendleton’s Corners or
more accurately on site ¼ mile south on former Howard Kelley
lot.
• Union – Beyond Highland Lake on road passing “the brick
house”. The building moved to Warren Center to become part of
Warren Center School – an addition on the back of the building
for the seventh and eighth grades at the time.
• West Warren – Building still stands on the present Antisdel
farm.
Other schools existed for brief periods before the “era” of the thirteen schools but little or no information is known. As an illustration a school did exist about Civil War time near Runyon’s Corners and juncture leading to Keith Newman farm. A school known as the Arnold Hill School was located on the hill north of the present Audra Allyn farm and also a school somewhere near the brick house in the Highland Lake Area. There may have been others.
It is evident that education has always been a cornerstone in Warren Township. The constant upgrading and improvement to our local school system continues today. As with our religious convictions, we are proud of our educational heritage.
Other Community Services
Likewise, consolidation has been a principle focus in other aspects of our public facilities. There were originally five post offices in the township (South Warren, Warren Center, West Warren, Warrenham, and Cadis), while now there is just one, located in Warren Center.
However through regionalized programs, our seniors have better access to services, the county library reaches out into our community with mobile locations and county services are easily reached by all.
Other Organizations
The earliest organization of the Patrons of Husbandry in Bradford County had been Grange, No. 39, of Pike Township. When it was organized, on 23 November 1873, the grange movement in Pennsylvania was only slightly over two years old. Many grange organizations followed quickly, including the earliest grange in Warren Township, West Warren Grange, No. 298. It was founded on 7 October 1874, with 30 members, led by master I. S. Rogers. A second grange was founded in Warren Center on 4 February 1907, Warren Center Grange, No. 1337. Both of these granges in Warren Township became important centers for rural community life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Their history is typical of scores of granges. The West Warren Grange disbanded, but for twenty years, the Warren Center Grange sponsored a fair called "Old Home Days" that included parades, visiting bands, speakers, dinners, barbecues, and exhibits. The grange ran a variety of fund raising drives, but by the late twentieth century, membership dropped so low that the remaining membership decided to also disband and join the nearby Wappasening Grange, No. 188 in Windham, which had been founded on 9 April 1874. The Warren Center Grange donated their grange building and land to the township. The structure was razed by the Township Supervisors in 2004. (Information from Grange History 1873-1985: Bradford – Sullivan Counties, The Village Press, West Warren, PA 1985)
The Century of Restructuring (1914-present)
Since the First World War, the general population movement has been out of rural areas and into urban and sub-urban regions. The development of the automobile as a quick and easy means of individual transportation has led to many changes in rural development. As family farms have dwindled, areas have had to deal with aging populations and more consolidated resources. In Warren Township, the process was already underway by the post-Civil War period. The changes of the twentieth century have only accelerated the existing changes.
Historically, the Great Depression was a major factor in the rapid decrease in Warren Township population. Entire communities of farmers lost their property to the bank, the store, or for taxes. The federal government responded by purchasing a large number of contagious parcels with the intent of possibly constructing a military base. The military base never came to be. The federal government then transferred the land to the Commonwealth. Whether the transfer was by sale or long-term lease has not been researched at this time. The Commonwealth used the land to establish what is now State Game Lands 219. This move consolidated areas that would be returned to wilderness and provide recreational attractions for sportsmen.
During roughly the same period, two lakes in Warren Township were being developed as recreational facilities: Highland Lake and Lake-OMeadows. Of the two lakes, the first to develop lakeside cottages was Highland Lake. These facilities attracted an increasing number of summer vacationers to the relative peace and quiet of Warren Township. Over the past decades, many of these city residents who discovered the beauty and serenity of our township have decided to use Warren Township as either a seasonal residence or as a retirement home.
Since the 1950’s, the development of major business in the greater Binghamton metropolitan area have attracted a certain number of suburban commuters to the pastoral landscape of Warren Township. The ease of automobile transportation to journey the roughly 30-mile distance, combined with an affordable tax structure has made Warren Township an attractive bedroom community. The ease and efficiency of the internet and other electronic means of global communication make it increasingly feasible to telecommute to work, while at home. This is an alternative to relocating to a more expensive area and an aid to developing home businesses, both of which are very well suited to Warren Township.
As traditional family farms continued to fail during the subsequent decades, a growing number of Amish families have bought up several farms in our township, and the neighboring townships. By diligence and hard work, they continue to turn dilapidated structures into efficient agricultural producers. They have added to the entrepreneurial spirit of our township by building shops and stores. And the Amish provide a sense of an old fashioned era of the horse and buggy, which is itself an attraction for the urban vacationer seeking a place to "get away from it all." As we look forward, we are always reminded of our past. Warren Township provides a memory of a slower pace of rural life that is a welcome relief in an increasingly hectic world.
We wish to extend our sincere appreciation to all those individuals who provided information, photos, church histories, etc. In addition, we wish to specifically thank: Sheldon Gosline for his initial compilation of materials; Russell Dewing for his legwork in compiling cemetery information; Ruth Dewing for her tireless efforts in proofreading the many versions; and John Hayes for preparing the final compilation.
