The DeMott School, Madison Township Columbia County

 
The DeMott School, Madison Twp, Columbia County PA

Ellen Allbeck Maurer wrote a book about her grandmothers life, with many stories from the DaMott school. She describes the classes, teachers, activities, and other students, throughout the book.

Snicklefritz: Winifred Elizabeth Manning Allbeck Tells Stories from an Earlier Time https://amzn.to/3R2UP09

The Montour County Fair - Montour Delong

 

The Montour Delong Fair website tells us that the first Montour Delong Fair was held at the Delong Memorial School in 1935.  That was not however, the first Montour County Fair, nor was it the first fair to be held in Washingtonville.  

The first mention I could find of a Montour County Fair was in an 1853 edition of the Sunbury American, where it referenced the "late fair at Danville."  The next mention was in 1858, when the Montour County Fair opened in Washingtonville. The fair that year was held "at the mouth of the Mahoning Creek, and later fairs were held at Washingtonville." 

Fairgrounds on the 1867 Map

 In 1860, the new "Montour County Agricultural Fair" opened in Danville, and an annual  fair was held there through 1899. In 1900, that association folded and the fairgrounds in Danville were to be sold.

 Beers 1915 History tells us - "In the course of time, a difference arose between the representatives from the town and country and the society divided, the Northern Montour Agricultural Society being organized.  The headquarters of the latter are at Washingtonville, where the annual fairs were held.  The Montour County Agricultural Society held annual fairs in Danville.  "

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A Time Line Of the Montour County Fairs

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• 1853 - The Sunbury American reported that the Fair at Milton "was not what it should have been, especially in its arrangements, and the same is said of the late fair at Danville"
• 1856 - Montour County Agricultural Society was organized Feb 18th 1856
• 1858 - Montour County Fair opened at Washingtonville, September 28-Oct 1
• 1859 - Montour Agricultural Fair held at Danville, Oct 5-7th
• 1860 - Montour County Fair held at Washingtonville, 3-5th of October
• 1870 - First annual Montour County Agricultural Fair held
• 1879 - Montour County Fair held at Danville Sept 24-27th. "The Northern Montour Fair commenced yesterday at Washingtonville... nearly all places of business will close Friday afternoon allowing the merchants to visit the fair."
• 1882 - Montour County Fair Oct 4-7, held at Danville
• 1884 - Fair held at Danville, Closed on the second day on account of wet weather.  Would open again on the 28th and continue for 4 days.
• 1885 - Montour County Fair at Washingtonville.  Advertised the racehorse "Maud S.", and "palmed off a Danville horse by the same name.  A large number of gamblers were arrested on the grounds." https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/10/when-fake-race-horse-came-to.html
• 1886 - 16th Annual Montour County Agricultural Society Fair held at Danville, Oct 6th-9th
• 1891 - Fair held in Danville October 6-9
• 1896 - Fair held at Danville October 21-24
• 1900 - Meeting was held to discuss the feasibility of reorganizing the Montour Agricultural Fair. Grounds owned by J.L. Riehl.  Not enough interest was garnered, the grounds were to be sold.
• 1907 - An article in a Chambersburg newspaper reported "Edward Pentz... a resident of Danville, has purchased the old Montour fair grounds at Danville and will re-establish the annual county fair there."
• 1915 - "At present there are no fairs held in Montour County, most of hte people attending the Bloomsburg Fair." -J. H. Beers & Company, 1915.
• 1935 - The first fair by the new Montour Delong Fair Association was held October 24-26, at the Delong Memorial School
• 1942-1945 - No fairs were held during World War II.
• 1968- The Fair was moved to August

"It is the purpose of the directors of the Montour-Delong Fair Association to maintain the fair as an educational institution, rather than allow it to expand into a midway entertainment type of organization." Danville Morning News Oct 1935

1966 Advertisement

1977

August 20 1977

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1884

1886

1900

June 1900

1935

When Thomas Beaver Built A Library For Danville, Pa

 

The Library and original YMCA building in Danville Pa were a generous gift by Thomas Beaver, in 1886.

Peacock Gardens, Grovania Pa

Peacock Gardens in Danville Opened in 1934 and closed in 1942.

The location " Just off route 11, north of Danville, on the left as you turn to go over Grovania Hill To Catawissa", was formerly known as Montour Park.  

Or, "when journeying from Bloomsburg to Danville on Route 11, at Grovania, you turn off on your left, on a dirt road, and continue for about 200 yards.  On the left side of the dirt road is what remains of Peacock Gardens."

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MONTOUR PARK
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The Danville and Bloomsburg Trolley, named North Branch Transit Company, opened Montour Park as a trolley park, near Grovania, in June of 1916.  The 4 acre park was a popular dance venue.  Tables were placed under the trees, and "the best music was engaged".

After the trolley line ceased operations, Benjamin Miller purchased the trolley tracks and cars. Also included in the purchase was the pavilion of Montour Park.  

The track was sold for scrap, along with some of the trolley cars.  Other trolley cars were given to friends, who used them as cottages.

Miller's daughter Helen then operated Montour Park, for a time. 

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PEACOCK GARDENS
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On June 14th 1934, 500 attended the grand opening of Peacock Gardens, in Grovania (Between Bloomsburg & Danville)

"NIGHT OPEN THURSDAY Floor Show And New York Orchestra Will Feature First Night. With a floor show and orchestra from New York City as its opening attraction the Peacock Gardens, this section's newest night club, will open Thursday night at Montour Park in the remodeled dance pavilion.

 Several months have been devoted to turning the spacious building into the most beautifully decorated restaurant and dancing space in this part of Pennsylvania. Lester Herr, of Bloomsburg, brother of Max Herr, Mill street, women's apparel merchant, is proprietor

The grove surrounding the building has also been equipped with tables and converted into an attractive garden for refreshments. The ceilings and wall of the building have been repainted and papered and the floors sanded. New furniture and equipment have been installed, and a modern kitchen and grill installed. Dressing rooms for the members of the floor shows, and sleeping quarters for employees, have been provided. 

The enterprise gets its name from main decorating motif, which consists of large paintings of peacocks about the walls. The orchestra pit has been decorated, a large crystal ball suspended from the ceiling and individual lights placed on each table. Sea food will be a specialty. No reservations will be made for the opening night, the management said, but arrangements will be made to give prompt service to all comers" - The Danville Morning News, June 13 1934

Nearly 500  were turned away on opening night,  for lack of space.  The entertainment that night was Buddy Harrison's Radio Band.

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"A giant metal peacock mounted on a Model A Ford chassis helped publicize the late Lester Herr's Peacock Gardens, as it was drive around the Susquehanna Valley.  two windows cut into the fowl provided a view to the rear"

1969

Many of our local trolley lines created amusement parks as an incentive for trolley travel.  The North Branch Transit [trolley] created dance halls.  Their first was Columbia Park, midway between Bloomsburg and Berwick.  In the 1920s, they opened Montour Park in Grovania - between Danville and Catawissa.

At their Columbia Park location, there was a swimming pool and a small zoo.  It was a popular picnic spot.  At Montour Park, there was no land available for outdoor amusements, the spot was limited to a dance hall.

Shamokin News, June 1939

The club featured live peacocks in the garden, and many paintings of peacocks inside.

A 14 foot mechanical peacock, covered in light gauge wire and lavishly painted in yellow and lavender, was used to promote his club.  

The venue was open Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for dinner and dancing, and was a popular venue for weddings, class reunions, and banquets.

Herr sold his peacocks to a farmer, and closed his club in 1942.  

September 1944

By 2009, only a small section of the foundation remained.

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There was also  a game farm named "Peacock Corners".  Located outside of Lightstreet, there were bears, deer, exotic birds, and other wild animals.

This Peacock is at the library in Danville, but they are uncertain of where it came from

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1937022316434629&set=a.1943811432422384

Mr. Lester Herr Mr. Lester Herr, a well known resident of Bloomsburg, died at 10:30 a.m., yesterday, in Bloomsburg Hospital where he had been a patient for a week. His death followed a lengthy illness. A native of Russia and the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Israel Herr, he came to this country with his family when a child and resided for some years in Lock Haven. From there he moved to the Benton area where he was employed in the store of his late brother Max Herr. Following his return from service in World War I he owned and operated a men's shop in Lock Haven. He came to Bloomsburg a number of years ago and for some years operated the Peacock Gardens midway between Bloomsburg and Danville and also developed real e estate interests.

A member of Beth Israel Synogogue, he was also a member of the F. and A.M., St. Mary's Caldwell Consistory and Irem Temple Shrine, Bloomsburg. He was interested in horses through much of his life and affiliated with the Columbia Horsemen's Club. Surviving are three sisters, Miss Rae Herr, with whom he resided: Mrs.

Henry Baer and Mrs. B. W. Krauss, all of Bloomsburg, and a number of nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held art noon Monday at the Baker Funeral Home, with Rabbi, Emanuel Kramer, of Williamsport, officiating.

Burial will be made in Beth Yehudi Cemetery, Lock Haven. The family has requested that in place of floral tributes, memorial contributions be made to the cancer society. There will be no viewing..

Danville News June 1934

August 4th 1939

Her also ran the cafeteria for Kennedy Van Saun

October 1942

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Old Home Week, Watsontown 1915

Old Home Week celebrations were popular from 1899 into the early 20th century.  They were a Town wide reunion, a large scale celebration to encourage those who had moved away to come back and visit their hometowns, the towns of their ancestors.

Watsontown held their Old Home Week in August of 1915.  It was a week long celebration, from August 22nd to August 28th.

 

The Lewisburg Journal, May 1915

Shamokin, PA

Shamokin, Northumberland County PA
Assorted Photos, Stories, & History

Independence St, Shamokin Pa, Block By Block Through The Decades

A Post Card Tour Of Shamokin Pennsylvania, Through The Decades

Eventually this will be like the other Post Card Tour posts on this site, with sanborn fire maps, and postcards sorted by street to show how the streets have looked over the years.  But for now, this is simply various photos and post cards, not yet sorted.

When A Shamokin Boy Left The Coal Mines For The Baseball Hall Of Fame

 

"There was nothing strange in those days about a twelve-year-old Polish kid working in the mines for 72 hours a week at a nickel an hour", he later recalled. "What was strange is that I ever got out of there".  Stanley Coveleski left the Shamokin coal mines to play baseball, and was elected into the Baseball Hall Of Fame, February 2nd, 1969.

The Lewisburg & Buffalo Valley Railroad

Locomotive No. 7 and four cars, of the Lewisburg & Buffalo Valley Railroad,  derailed into Buffalo Creek near the Clingman Farm in February 23rd 1899.

The Old Mill Creamery, Cowan Pa

The Old Mill Creamery, Cowan Pa

Located in the restored Gristmill, at the corner of Buffalo & Church Roads, outside of Lewisburg  in the village of  Cowan, Pa.

Address for your GPS: 6542 Buffalo Rd. Mifflinburg, PA 17844

The mill building is the 3rd or 4th building constructed on the site. The first two or three mills here were destroyed by fires, and this building, constructed somewhere around 1873,  was also gutted by a fire in 1942.   See more of the history of the old Cowan  Mill below.

Cowan, Union County Pa

 
Main Street Cowan Pa, with the Cowan Grist Mill visible.  The town was originally named "Guldy's Mill", for an earlier mill building on this site.  Later it was renamed Farmersville, and finally in 1886 when the village opened it's first post office, it was officially named Cowan.

Historical Snyder County Watercolors, by James Dippery

Six Historically Significant Locations, Painted In Watercolor by James Dippery
For the Tri-National Bank, 1971

Edgewood Park, Shamokin

Edgewood Park Hotel and Entrance, Shamokin PA

Edgewood Amusement Park in Shamokin was once the largest Amusement Park in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Trolley Station At Edgewood Park

Congressman Monroe "Farmer" Kulp was president of the Shamokin and Edgewood Electric Railway [Trolley Line] from 1900 until his death in 1911.

Kulp was responsible for the development of 97 acres into a destination that would provide a welcome escape from summer heat. 

Houston Avenue, Montgomery Through The Decades

Houston Avenue, West from High Street

Houston Avenue in Montgomery is named for Levi Houston.  Houston moved to Montgomery from New Hampshire in 1873, to manage a foundry and machine shop.  That shop eventually became the Levi Houston branch of the American Wood Working Machine Company.  He built a hotel, and contributed much to the town in the less than 20 years he resided in his summer house there.  Houston died in 1902, at age 57.