Pincherville
An
interesting item about the placing of the name Pincherville on the region's
only village in that era dates back to 1835 when Almanza Rogers kept a store
there. Cash money being almost non-existent in that pioneer period,
Rogers traded merchandise for shingles, a product of the region.
Feeling he was being hoodwinked by the shingle makers, and aware that some of
them were passing off badly made workmanship on him, Rogers employed a pair
of pinchers to examine the quality of the preferred trade. He used the
pinchers to extract shingles from the center of each bunch to assure himself
he was receiving full value for his goods, and was not being cheated by the
shingle- makers. Because of this circumstances the shingle-makers named
the village Pincherville, which epitaph it retained for many decades.
It is said the shingle-makers in
order to match Rogers, in the Winter season poured water on their bunches of
shingles and then allowed them to freeze overnight, prior to taking them to
Rogers' store for sale.
Thomas Price, a native of
Walesboro resided in Wyoming Valley for 50 years, was a resident of Franklin
Township in 1874. He was regarded by some historians as being the first
man to engage in underground mining, at the Blanchard Mine in Port Blanchard
section of Jenkins Township in 1833. He opened the Butler Mine in
Pittston Township, near Dupont, in 1838, his first mine opening.
James Hadsell, then 87 years of
age, resided near Orange in 1874, the oldest man in that community. He
came to this region with his parents in 1789, when they returned after the Battle
and Massacre of Wyoming on Friday July 3, 1778.
Hadsell's grandfather, James
Hadsell, and his father Edward Hadsell, and uncle, James Hadsell, were3
residents of Exeter Township by 1774. They settled on a large tract of
land adjacent to the Susquehanna River, which ran westward along Sutton
Creek, in the area now known as Harding, to the present limits of Franklin
Township.
When Indians, directed by Tories
and British troops invaded the Harding section, June 30, 1778 the elder James
Hadsell and his son James were murdered by the Indians at a spot near the
residence occupied in 1874 by Samuel Bailey.
Hadsell recalled when roads in
Franklin and Exeter Townships were little more than footpaths. He
stated that at that time the nearest post office was in Wilkes-Barre and that
neighbors took turns making weekly trips to Wilkes-Barre on foot to pick up
the mail. He mentioned that Conrad Teeter, a stagecoach driver, carried
the mailbags to that region and beyond in 1810.
Two villagers in 1874 were former
residents of Wyoming Valley, Courtright from Wilkes-Barre and Davenport
from Plymouth. A news item of Monday December 6, 1875, mentioned that
Davenport was struck by the 2:12 P.M. express train on the Lehigh Valley
Railroad in Port Griffith. His wagon was smashed to fragments and he
was thrown several feet away, receiving a severe cut on his head as he fell.
Teams of horses had stopped at the crossing as the drivers heard the whistle
of the approaching train, but Davenport calculated he had time to clear and
said "giddy-up" to his horses. He didn't make it. The
injured Davenport was placed on the train and was taken to the Farnham House
at 25 Water Street, Pittston, from where he was removed in a carriage to the
office of a surgeon. His wounds were dressed and in a few hours
commenced his returned trip to Pincherville.
Another newspaper piece, dated
April 15, 1885, mentioned that George Munson of Pincherville visited
Wilkes-Barre where he contracted a cold, which resulted in his death a week
later.
It was also noted that Robert
Wicks of Pittston purchased a valuable tract of land near Pincherville, on
Saturday January 14, 1899, on which he planned to establish a vineyard.
It was located near the farm plot owned since the summer of 1889 by Chandler
Williams of Exeter Street in West Pittston.
Arch Baird of Inkerman section of
Jenkins Township, who conducted a truck farm in the vicinity of Orange
Village, stated that on Friday March 29, 1919, that seed growers were making
farmers pay stiff prices for onion seeds. Baird claimed that in the
previous year onion seeds were selling for $1.40 per pound, and that the cost
in 1919 was raised to $6 per pound.
Baird also reported that farmers in the Orange region were losing heavily
by effects of a mysterious disease, which struck cattle. He said that
more than 50 milk cows had died from this disease in a two-week period in the
Franklin Township area. After loosing two blooded cows, Baird called in
Dr. Terry, the veterinarian, who diagnosed the affliction as a form of
paralysis. He noted that when an animal caught the disease, it fell to
the ground and was unable to rise again.
Reprinted with permission from the Times
Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Article originally appeared Friday, May 4, 1982
Written by: Charles A. McCarthy
