The Curious of Life of Phil Miller and his Friend Mark Twain

1865 map showing the site off Miller's home

Of the names associated with the history of Conneaut Lake, none carries the intrigue of Phil Miller. Philip W. Miller was a boat builder and expert outdoorsman with contradictory love for public oratory and quiet eccentricity. The facts surrounding Miller are as hazy as the morning mist rising above the waters of the lake he would become synonymous with. Even his arrival in the newly incorporated town of Evansburg in the 1850’s is clouded with vagaries and rumors. Some claimed he showed up with his wife Annie, along with a Negro man, and another woman. Wilder tales have Miller appearing in prison garb, on the run from the law for killing a man.

Whatever the case, Miller, we do know, took up residence along the west side of the lake on Hotchkiss Island, a piece of high ground cut off from the mainland by the dammed up waters feeding the Beaver and Erie Canal system. Once here, he soon ingratiated himself into the community becoming a member of the congregation at the Methodist church which he and Annie attended regularly.

The Meadville Mutuals: Baseball Champions of 1875

Meadville Mutuals Team Photo

Opening day of the 2016 Baseball season is upon us yet again which among other things, presents the opportunity to highlight the area's curious place as part of America's pastime.  Like many towns of the day, organized baseball first started to be played in the area sometime during the 1860's. The sport's growing popularity led to the organization of semi-pro clubs in rural and urban communities across the Eastern and Midwest parts of the country. Crawford County followed the trend with the formation of the Meadville Mutuals in 1871. Other area teams would follow in the decades to come--the "Meadvilles" of the 1880's who eventually entered the Oil, and NYPANO Leagues of the 1890's followed by competition in the Erie Railroad of the 1900's. Allegheny College fielded its first team in 1881, competing against the Mutuals in addition to the Keystones, Meadville Stars, and Meadville Grays. Moving into the new century, teams were built from the employees local companies, such as the Spirella-Pullmans who dominated regional play throughout the tri-state area from 1909 to 1913, and the Meadville Machinery Company Nine who were the main draw of the 1920's.

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.

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.

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.