Saturday, March 26, 2016

Marion County was the Home of the World's First Oil Boom

Proposed boundaries of Marion County and Titusville as the seat
Everybody knows that the northwest corner of Pennsylvania is made up of Crawford, Erie, Warren and Marion counties: The last named after the Revolutionary War hero, Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion, whose guerrilla tactics in South Carolina made him a thorn in the side of any British commander who opposed him.

Marion County is justifiably called "the home of the world's first oil boom." The money generated by the petroleum industry there led to the development of not only a rich history and solid infrastructure, but one of the grandest courthouses in the state.

Whoa... Wait… Hold on there a second… Marion County? Yep. Absolutely.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

How the Trolley Arrived at Conneaut Lake Park

Allegheny students wait at the Exposition Park trolley station - 1913
On May 30, 1906, the Meadville and Conneaut Lake Traction (M&CLT) Company formed with a goal of bringing trolley service to Exposition Park (Conneaut Lake Park today).  A suitable route was agreed upon that would continue from where the tracks left off in Fredricksburg and then follow the general course of the Cussewago Road to Harmonsburg (vicinity of Routes 102 and 3016) before turning south, crossing the lake’s inlet, and entering the park along Comstock Street. 100 immigrant laborers, primarily Italians, along with two freight cars full of work horses were assembled and brought in later that summer to begin the arduous task of grading an earthen avenue, laying the 85 pound rails, and stringing the overhead electric wire.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Oakwood Farm: Home to Oil Tycoons, Millionaires, and Hula Hoop Makers

The Carter Mansion was built at Oakwood Farm in 1930 
Crawford County has lost a landmark with the recent fire of the 1930 Luke B. Carter mansion, known as Oakwood Farm, on the Hydetown Road just west of Titusville.

Its builder was significant. Luke B. Carter (1876-1940) was the younger son of the four Carter children who survived infancy. His father, John J. Carter (1842-1917) was as a Medal of Honor winner in the Civil War.[1] He lived the typical Horatio Alger story: his parents died in Ireland, leaving him a penniless orphan, his sister brought him to the United States, but could not afford to support him; but he established a successful haberdashery in Titusville in the 1870's, and invested his profits in the oil business. His Carter Oil Company was a spectacular success, and became a part of Standard Oil.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Underground Railroad's Secret Operations in Crawford County

As we reflect on this country's African American heritage, it’s worth noting Crawford County’s role as a branch of the Underground Railroad. In the years leading up to the Civil War, area residents, like much of the state, predominantly held to anti-slavery views, even though the Census of 1810 shows that 32 slaves were registered by owners in the northwestern counties including Crawford. Pennsylvania, however, was among the first states that attempted to legislate the abolition of slavery beginning with the 1780 Act which prohibited residents from importing new slaves into the Commonwealth. This was further reinforced in 1788 by an amendment closing loopholes in the original Act that slave owners had been using to their advantage. 

While Pennsylvania may have chartered an anti-slavery course, at the Federal level the stance was much different. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 which, in effect, gave teeth to the Constitution’s provision under Article 4, Section 2, protecting the rights of slave owners to recover their property in the form of escaped slaves. When Pennsylvania attempted to extend freedoms to these escaped slaves in 1826, it sparked a legal debate concerning state versus federal authority on the matter.  With Prigg v. Pennsylvania, the issue reached the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court deemed the escaped slave law unconstitutional as well the previous Acts of 1780 and 1788. The harsher penalties imposed by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 only aggravated Northern states which by then, were already teaming with slave owners, agents, and spies relentlessly hunting down escaped slaves without recourse. 

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Early Days of Meadville's Diamond Park

The Tarr Mansion with its balconies intact
We are excited to announce the Crawford County Historical Society is now the proud owner of the James and Elizabeth Tarr Mansion on Meadville’s Diamond Park! Even though we have purchased the building, the work is far from completed with fundraising efforts stepping up to begin restoration projects. You will find a donation form in this issue to assist with these efforts. Any amount, regardless of how large or small, is a great help in saving this beautiful structure.

Diamond Park was a gift from David Mead to the city of Meadville in 1795, and was used by residents in many different ways, including drill practice by the Pennsylvania militia led by Mead. It eventually became surrounded by churches, government buildings, businesses and residences, many of which are still standing today. With the newest structures (the exception being the new county Judicial Center currently under construction next door to the Tarr Mansion) dating to the early 1900s, the Diamond has retained much of its charm-or gained charm it didn’t have.