Before I get started, I just want to wish my parents a very happy wedding anniversary! Thank you both for all your generosity and support over the years.
I had mentioned it a while back, but when I gave presentations at Zenkaikon back in March, some of them were recorded, and the tech crew is still hard at work getting them uploaded to the convention's YouTube channel. For those of you who didn't see it on Facebook, my presentation about Celtic mythology and its impact on modern media is now available, so if you'd like to watch me babble my way through almost a full hour of the topic, you have the option. You can find it here.
Meanwhile, today I'll be making a return to Montour County for the first time this year, to take a look at the county's general history. Once again, hi and thanks to Shane and the rest of the staff at the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau for their kind interest in my work!
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| The marker is in front of the Montour County Courthouse at 253 Mill Street, Danville |
Other sources, including the county marker, state that it was actually named for his mother, a French and Oneida woman known as Madame or Mrs. Montour; her first name may have been Elizabeth, or possibly Isabelle, but this is unconfirmed. (She was a member of the same family which produced a woman known as Queen Esther, who will be the subject of a future blog post.) Like her son, she spoke multiple languages and provided interpreter services to many of the European transplants. She was born in a village known as Otstonwakin, which was located near what is today the community of Montoursville. It's known for sure that Montoursville was named for Madame, but whether the county was named for her or her son is unclear. It's an interesting puzzle that will likely never be solved.
The seat of Montour County is Danville, which I've visited in a few blog posts. It was first laid out in 1792, at which time Montour County didn't exist; it was then part of Columbia County. Danville was incorporated as a borough in 1849, and the following year, Montour was established as a separate county with Danville as its seat. The county lines were rearranged a little bit in 1853, giving some townships back to Columbia while changing the borders of a few others, but it has been as it is ever since then. Danville is probably most famous for the Montour Iron Works, which in 1845 produced its first "T rails" for railroad tracks. They were definitely the first ones manufactured in Pennsylvania and very likely the first in the United States, although there is a tiny dispute about that; you can read more about it in my blog post on the subject.
During the colonial era, what is now Montour County was - like most of its neighbors - home to a garrisoned fort to protect settlers from wild animals and hostile attacks. Like many of those other forts, it has a historical marker of its own, so I'll be telling you more about it in the future. Fort Bosley was named for John Bosley, who constructed a grist mill near what today is Washingtonville. It was fortified after the Battle of Brandywine, where General Washington's defeat led to the construction of many such forts to defend residents from the British. It was the only fortified location in all of Montour County during the Revolutionary War.
Montour County has contributed plenty of soldiers to the various wars since well before its establishment as a separate county. The earliest known record of a company is of the Danville Militia, which served in the War of 1812. It had roughly one hundred men, but the names of only two have survived - Captain Samuel Yorks, who commanded the outfit, and one of his subordinate officers, Thomas Bell. Slightly better records survive of the members of the Danville Blues, a rifle company from around the same time who were commanded by a Captain Isaac Blue; they unfortunately lost a number of their men to an epidemic of what was known as Black Rock Fever. When the Civil War broke out, a unit of one hundred men under the command of Captain William McClure called themselves "the First in War" and headed into service for the Union. One of their number, Amos Zuppinger, was among the first to lose his life in the war. Also in the Civil War, Montour County provided the members of Company F of the Second Pennsylvania Artillery, most of whom came from the Danville area, and a few companies in the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, who quickly assembled when word came that the rebels were invading the northern states.
On the recreational side of things, Montour County features a fair bit of state game land and easy access to two state parks, Susquehanna and Shikellamy. The celebrated Montour Preserve has, for over fifty years, provided nature lovers with beautiful scenery and educational programs, as well as the chance to dig in their well-known fossil pit. Being nestled in the watershed of the Susquehanna River means that Montour County also has plenty of water-based activities available seasonally, including swimming, boating, fishing, and even ice fishing. The county's tiny size also means that it's not hard for residents and visitors alike to enjoy the offerings of neighboring counties, like Knoebels Amusement Resort on the border of Columbia and Northumberland Counties, the World of Little League Museum in Lycoming County, and Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Union County.
Basically, it's as big as it needs to be. And whatever you're seeking, from history to hiking and everything in between, Montour County is close to it.
Sources and Further Reading:
Official website of Montour County
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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