Quintessential Pennsylvania

  MILLVILLE - Founded 1772. Named for grist mill erected on site of town. John Eves, an Ireland native living in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware, is thought to have been one of the first white men to visit the Greenwood Valley and Little Fishing Creek area in 1770. Although he returned to Delaware after this initial visit, he returned the following year with his son Thomas and built a log cabin on the property. The Eves family arrived in 1772 and began tilling the fields adjacent to the cabin as soon as they could be cleared. Thomas Eves succeeded his father in ownership of the grist mill and built the first house in what is now Millville Boro. How to Get There: Sources and Links: Millville Borough - History

  The 110 foot long Josiah Hess Covered Bridge is located on Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township. One of 23 historic covered bridges in Columbia County, the covered Burr arch-truss designed Josiah Hess Covered Bridge was constructed in 1875 by Joseph Redline and W.J. Manning at a cost of $1,349.50. Today, the bridge is only open to pedestrian access, providing a nice place to get photos, have a picnic or to go fly fishing. The covered bridge provided access to the Hess sawmill and farm. The bridge's namesake, Josiah Hess, was part of the 4th generation of Hess family members who called Pennsylvania home. Johann Conrad Hess, just 16 years old, climbed aboard the ship Glasgow in 1730 and set out on his journey to the New World and Philadelphia. It wasn't long after that when the Hess family migrated elsewhere in Pennsylvania, establishing farms and businesses in Columbia County. Now owned by the Columbia County Covered Bridge Association, it has been restored, and rededica...

  The Stillwater Covered Bridge is one of 23 covered bridges found within the borders of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, which is the third largest concentration of covered bridges throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Many of these covered bridges are located along Fishing Creek, north of Bloomsburg. This includes the Stillwater Covered Bridge, located in the Borough of Stillwater. Built in 1849 by local settler James McHenry, bridge construction of this 168 foot long covered Burr arch-truss designed bridge cost $1,124 to build. This bridge is now closed to motor traffic, but you can leisurely enjoy your time visiting the bridge or have a picnic inside of the bridge. While you can spot the bridge from PA 487, you can access the bridge through a couple of local streets on the east side of PA 487 in Stillwater. Side profile of the Stillwater Covered Bridge. Inside the bridge. Bridge over Fishing Creek. Fishing Creek. Leaving the covered bridge on the narrow Paperdale Road. How...

  BENTON - Founded 1793. Named for township from which it was formed. While settlers first came to the Benton area during the 1790s from New Jersey and New York as well as Berks and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania for agricultural opportunities in the Fishing Creek area, Benton was established as a township in 1850. Some reports state that Benton was named for Senator Thomas Hart Benton  from Missouri, who served in the U.S. Senate for thirty years. The majority of Benton’s growth took place after 1860, which coincided with the rise of the lumber and tanning industries north of town. A series of devastating fires severely undermined the growth and prosperity of the borough of Benton during the early years of 20th century. Most notably was the great fire of 1910. A major part of the community was lost, including 38 houses, 48 barns, the post office, a bank, a department store, the meeting hall, along with many other businesses in Benton. Less than a year later, a fire ripp...

ORANGEVILLE - Founded 1780. Named by first settlers, emigrants from Orange County, N.J., for that county. When I first saw this Keystone marker a number of years ago while driving up PA 487 north from Bloomsburg in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, the mention of Orange County, New Jersey caught my eye as a typo. After all, there's no Orange County in New Jersey, but there is an Orange County just over the border in New York State. However, there were settlers to the town that came from both Orange County, New York and Orange, New Jersey (near present day Newark, New Jersey), so there is a back story behind the typo that makes sense. Orangeville was almost named Knobtown or Rickettsville, after early settler Clemuel Ricketts, an Ohio native who came to the area to develop the land around the base of Knob Mountain as a commercial center. The town received the name Orangeville in 1824, due to the many settlers from New York and New Jersey that came to the area. How to Get There: Sources...