Join the Harborcreek Historical Society June 14 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for a special evening at 6 Mile Cellars, Harborcreek’s first winery. The winery is housed in the historic Towell family barn on Firman Road. Towell family members will be on-hand to talk about the renovation of the barn and share photographs of their work. Your $20 donation includes wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and a 6 Mile commemorative wine glass. Proceeds benefit the Harborcreek Historical Society. Tickets are limited due to space. Call 814.899.4447 or stop in our office to make your reservations today!
We’re pleased to announce that the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority has awarded funding to the Harborcreek Historical Society, Fairview Area Historical Society, Erie Center for Design & Preservation, Edinboro Area Historical Society, Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society, Corry Area Historical Society and North East Historical Society. Erie Yesterday applied for the grant on behalf of these seven groups and came away with an award totaling $12,937. For this round of funding, ECGRA awarded $149,489 in grants to 23 local arts, entertainment and cultural organizations in Erie County.
How will the monies be used? The Society received $2,174 to purchase media equipment to further document and present the history of the Township.
At the Annual Meeting in January, Cam Stadtmueller was recognized for her years of service to Harborcreek Historical Society. During her 12 years as a director, she has served four years as president and four years as secretary. Cam was an active writer in the Society’s publications Harborcreek’s Yesteryears (2003) and Open for the Season (2010). Presently, Cam volunteers as organizer and editor of The Harbor View. Our Society thanks her for the continued dedication to promoting Harborcreek Historical Society within the community.
Harborcreek Township Community Days occurred at the end of June. We drew four winners of items raffled by the Society, as well as met with many area residents who viewed the historic photographs we had on display.
We’ve been watchful waiting for the Harbor Creek School District decision to keep Clark and Klein Elementary Schools open. The board decision was to renovate and not close one of the schools, both of which are named for prominent HC educators, Fred S. Clark and Edith King Klein.
Erie Yesterday’s DiscovErie Passport program for 4th grade students interested 26 Erie County students and 42 visitors to meet us between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Students did a scavenger hunt among items displayed in our office and received a sweet treat.
The Class of 1962 held their 50th Reunion. HHS volunteer Eileen Kriner narrated a Township Tour of historical spots on September 8th. Class arrangements were made by Carol Moser Perrotto.
Society hosted a Member Picnic at the Wilson Picnic Grove on the campus of PSU Behrend. Guest speakers for the Perry 200 Commemoration were Corrine Egan and Joyce Savocchio.
The Harborcreek Chamber of Commerce sponsored Harvest Day at the Community Park on Firman Road. On October 6th we were there for the family-centered event!
HHS office hours are on Wednesday from 1-3 pm and Saturday from 10 am to noon. If you have an hour or so to volunteer at an event or at office time, we would like to hear from you.
On Sunday, September 23rd the Jefferson Educational Society held a Memorial Tribute at the Erie Maritime Museum as part of the Perry 200 Commemoration. It was designed to honor citizens of Erie County who volunteered their service to the building, guarding and sailing of the naval fleet in 1812-13. Six citizens were honored; one of them was the great, great, great grandfather of Nancy Richards Brown (pictured), a Harborcreek Historical Society director. Her ancestor, Arthur Davison, came with his two brothers, Robert and George, from their home at Lake Pleasant to volunteer for the militia. Captain Dickson was so impressed with their marksmanship that he made Robert a lieutenant, Arthur a sergeant and George a corporal before giving them their assignment to guard the ships being built in Erie Harbor.
Nancy learned some interesting facts about Arthur at the tribute. Her ancestor had been assigned to guard the storehouse in Harborcreek. Early in the War of 1812, the stone schoolhouse near Old Shades Beach Road and East Lake Road was closed by the militia and used for storing arms and ammunition. It was the duty of Arthur and his men to protect them; British spies made this difficult. The British knew the fleet was being built here and sent spies. The men traveled the creeks in Harborcreek, walked to Erie and volunteered to help. The spies soon discovered the storehouse and made plans to blow it up. That never happened! Did Arthur Davison and his men do such a great job that the British failed or was the fleet finished and sailing before the British had a chance to destroy the arms?
Nancy, whose mother is Lillian Davison Richards, received a Star Spangled Banner with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes in gratitude for her ancestor’s service. By the way, while Arthur Davison was assigned to Harborcreek, he stayed at Wilson’s Inn. There he met the Wilson’s second daughter, Elisabeth. She became Nancy’s great, great, great grandmother and they settled one branch of the Davison Family in Harborcreek.
One of our newsletter articles on the Thunder Bowl Track at Iroquois and Nagle contained information provided by former driver Dave Turner (Car 222). Included in his response was a brief report on the Highmeyer Road Track. In winter, after leaves and vegetation have disappeared, remnants of the track can be spotted on the west side of the road, slightly north of Dutton Road, which is where the Zack Family lived. Mr. Dick Zacks, a race enthusiast, built and operated that short-lived track. Memorable to Dave were its long straight-aways and that “it was a really nice track”.
Shorty the flagman was another prominent figure and important person who came to mind at the mention of this track. Although his real name escapes Dave, he recalls that he had been the flagman at Sportsman Field, which was a NASCAR track, featuring some excellent drivers and required a first-class flagman. Apparently, he also impressed Dick Zacks, who recruited him.
Finally, Dave remembers an occasional drop-in from around the corner – Mrs. Zacks in her J2Allard Roadster!
For you former racing fans and history buffs, the names taken from a 1950’s era list might be of interest. They are local but do not pertain specifically to Harborcreek alone.
Located in Harborcreek Township overlooking the banks of Lake Erie stands a small turret, the stone walls of which reach not much more than eleven feet high and are capped by a wooden conical roof. It has an arched doorway facing the lake, a circular window opening approximately halfway up, which would catch the morning sun, and an arched window opening, which would catch the afternoon sun. There are no signs that any of these openings ever had windows or doors attached but, rather, are bare openings in the walls. The interior is about eight feet in diameter with stone-mortared walls about twenty inches thick. It has essentially stood undisturbed for the past 100 or more years. Its purpose is not obvious, and most viewers will guess that it had some adventurous or playful use in its design.
The most common thoughts are that it was to watch or signal ships upon the lake, or it was built as a play spot for children, but no one is ever quite satisfied with their guesses. To find the answer, it helps to look to the people who would have owned and used the property shortly before and after 1900.
The Galbraith family, William A. and Fanny, owned several properties in Erie County, including their primary home, the site of what is now the Woman’s Club of Erie on the southeast corner of West Sixth Street and Myrtle Street. As early as 1852, William A. Galbraith had part ownership in portions of Irvine’s Reserve, in Harborcreek Township, consolidating his interests by about the mid-1880s. The Galbraiths created a “cottage” or summer residence along the banks of Lake Erie near Six-Mile Creek, which included the parcel upon which is now found the stone tower. Fanny Galbraith survived her husband, William, and upon her death, passed title to the properties unto her sons, John W. and Davenport Galbraith. The sons separated their titles, with Davenport and his wife, Winifred, taking the West Sixth Street and Harborcreek properties.
Winifred D. Galbraith was an avid reader and a talented amateur artist. She had the stone tower built as a suitable place for her to sketch and paint, as well as read, giving her shelter from the sun or rain when the occasion required while giving her access to the land and seascape. It was not unlike the Victorians to go to such extravagant measures to provide for those small pleasures.
The stone tower still stands, children playing and occasional picnickers about. There is probably no one alive who can remember it having last been used as an artist’s shelter or some good-weather reading spot, but that was its original purpose.
However, “Folly,” or not, it’s still not a bad idea!
All information for “Tales & Treasures” comes from source material found in the archives of the Harborcreek Historical Society. Such material may be based on facts, family legends or popular history. Anyone having substantiated conflicting data please contact the Society.
Back in the early 1900’s when young people “ran away to join the circus” what did they do during the off-season? For a true runaway, it was like they say, “you can’t go home again.” Many circus performers and workers tended to spend the off-season near where the circus was wintering over so that they could work at the quarters, full or even part time, helping to care for the animals or maintaining the equipment and barns. For the Cole Brothers employers this meant living in Harborcreek from November through to April each season. Some even took jobs with local businesses or on farms nearby and, in addition, local people were hired to help at the quarters thus greatly affecting the economy of the area. Following are some examples taken from the Erie Newspapers of the time that illustrates the impact of the circus on our small village:
The winter quarters of the Cole Brothers shows, at Harborcreek, near this city, from the blacksmith shop to the harness room and wagon shop to the wardrobe department, is one of the busiest spots in the vicinity. It is hard for the layman to conceive what the wardrobe department accomplishes during the winter months, for he does not know that this show has a complete new wardrobe every season. Miss Ada Forbes, wardrobe mistress, and her 12 assistants are busy as the traditional bees. Imagine a dressmaker measuring elephants, camels, horses, ponies and even monkeys for clothing as well as making costumes for the lady and gentleman performers. There are over 2000 pieces in the wardrobe.
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Miss Chambers, teacher of the primary rooms treated her pupils to a visit to Cole Brothers Ring barn Thursday afternoon. The utmost order was preserved and the little ones voted the afternoon well spent.
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Cole Bros. show leaves Harborcreek on April 20. Our little town is quite a busy place at present. Scores of beautiful horses consisting of eight and ten horse teams are being exercised, also the chariot horses.
Special worship services were frequently held at the First Presbyterian Church for the circus personnel and Harborcreek lawyer R.J. Firman often represented the interests of the Cole Bros. employees. Nancy Brown says that her Mother (local teacher, Lillian Davison) was named after Cole Bros. circus equestrienne “Lill.”
With all the animals in the menagerie (some very large) we know there was an environmental impact on the community but as you can see there were also economic and social aspects to having the circus winter over in our area.
All information for “Tales & Treasures” comes from source material found in the archives of the Harborcreek Historical Society. Such material may be based on facts, family legends or popular history. Anyone having substantiated conflicting data please contact the Society.
Nowadays when people think of an old time mill, they picture in their mind a water wheel and a small, quaint, wood or log building nestled beside a picturesque stream. Such mills of course did exist. They were called custom mills and for the most part served one family or a group of farmers in a small area. The miller usually took a percentage of the grain for providing his services.
When we see pictures however, like the one shown here of Harborcreek’s Empire Mills on Four Mile Creek or Neeley’s Mill on Twelve Mile Creek, we wonder why they were so large and contained three or four floors when the custom mills were only one or two small rooms. These large mills were called merchant mills. They ground grain and produced flour for profit and export.
The milling process required to produce commercial grade flour is a lengthy one. The grain travels up and down from floor to floor and back and forth its length as many as seven times. Starting at the bottom of the mill the grain is picked up by a series of buckets attached to a conveyor belt and taken to the top floor and put into bins to wait its turn to be processed. When the bin is opened, gravity allows the grain to flow down to the main floor to be ground by millstones or by rollers as was the case in the Empire Mill. Three or four trips up to the second or third floor and back down were required as sifting and cleaning of the ground grain was needed following each rolling or grinding operation. To transverse the length of the building wooden conveyors or augers were used to move the ground grain to various sifters, separators, scalpers and graders where dirt, stones and bran are removed and various grades of meal and flour are collected. The last trip down to the main floor is then made where the final product is packaged for shipment or for sale at the mill store. The Empire Mill had a capacity of seventy-five barrels a day and was one of Harborcreek’s most profitable industries.
On August 3, 1883, about daybreak, fire was observed issuing from the windows of Cooper’s large flouring-mill on Four Mile Creek. Accelerated by explosions of fine flour dust, the fire had made such headway that it was impossible to save the building even though willing bystanders formed a bucket brigade.
The loss was estimated to be $30,000, upon which only $11,000 was covered by insurance. A few days earlier Mr. Cooper spoke of increasing the insurance, but his son advised him to wait. I guess his son never heard the expression, “Father knows best.”
All information for “Tales & Treasures” comes from source material found in the archives of the Harborcreek Historical Society. Such material may be based on facts, family legends or popular history. Anyone having substantiated conflicting data please contact the Society.
The Let’s Move Outside! Erie County Recreational Passport is a collaborative program of Erie Yesterday, Erie County Department of Health and VisitErie, and is Erie County’s pilot initiative as a Let’s Move! County. It’s an innovative program promoting healthy living and physical activity to people of all ages and demographics through the use of public art, local history and outdoor recreation.
The LMO! Passport uses ten Erie County walking/biking trails, including rural trails in Union City Area School District, Fairview Township, Washington Township, Asbury Woods Nature Center and Harborcreek Township and urban trails in the City of Erie, North East, Corry, Waterford and Girard. The LMO! passport has trail maps, trail information, local history content and other interesting things to see and do within each trail community, and will be available at locations throughout Erie County during the summer.
A trail marker placed near the middle of each trail will serve two purposes: to identify the trail as a passport trail and present necessary program information. Local artist Tom Ferraro designed and constructed ten public art pieces which will serve as the LMO! trail markers. Using methods he learned as a residency artist, Mr. Ferraro engaged youth from each trail community in the design process. Markers are scheduled for installation in May.
Why? In 2010, First Lady Obama launched Let’s Move!, a national campaign encouraging counties, cities and communities to use local resources such as museums, parks, trails and schools to help children and adults be more active. Erie County offers many opportunities for recreation and fitness with more than 140 parks and trails, dozens of annual walks, runs and outdoor clubs, and many cultural sites and attractions to explore. Despite these great opportunities for physical activity and outdoor fun, Erie County joins communities throughout the nation in the “battle of the bulge.” The 2009 Erie County Adult Profile found that 65% of all Erie County adults are overweight or obese. Recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health Growth Screens 2007-2008 shows that the City of Erie has some of the lowest percentages of healthy body weight among school-aged children.
How will it work? STEP #1: Register on the program website www.letsmoveoutside.org. Registration allows you to document your progress and work your way toward qualifying for the grand prize drawing in November. STEP #2: Walk, run or bike the passport’s 10 trails and find the single artist-designed marker located along each trail. A unique 10-digit pass key is displayed on each trail marker. Once you find a marker, record the pass key in your passport booklet. (Remember to take a pen or pencil with you!) You can log in to the program website at any time and enter the pass key. After entering all 10 pass keys, you are automatically entered into the grand prize drawing. You could win a mountain bike or one of several other great prizes.
The program runs June 1 through October 20, 2012. Grand prize winners will be drawn and awarded by November 30.
The program is supported by Highmark and many other local businesses and community partners, such as ArtsErie, The Erie Community Foundation, Northwest Savings Bank, Erie Reader, Eriez Magnetics, Lilly Broadcasting, EnjoyErie.com.
“Participating in regular physical activity is one of the keys to developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle,” said Jim Martin, Highmark’s director of community affairs. “Through our support of this program, we hope to encourage individuals to take advantage of our local parks and trails by using them as a place where they can exercise while enjoying the beautiful scenery of our community.”
Behind the Scenes
The LMO! planning team is working with ten community teams which have agreed to identify locations for trail markers and assist with installation, provide content for both the printed passport and the LMO! website, assist with distributing passports and other print materials, and offer general support to the project. Each team consists of 3-4 members, many of whom are historical society/museum volunteers, borough managers, township supervisors, community leaders, and art teachers.
Organizational partners, such as the YMCA of Greater Erie, Erie County Public Library System, Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Stairways Behavioral Health/Center City Arts, Erie Center on Health and Aging, the French Creek Council (BSA), Girl Scouts of Western PA and Lake Erie Regional Conservancy are committed to engaging the broader community in the LMO! program and making Erie County a Let’s Move! community.
Located in Harborcreek Township overlooking the banks of Lake Erie stands a small turret, the stone walls of which reach not much more than eleven feet high and are capped by a wooden conical roof. It has an arched doorway facing the lake, a circular window opening approximately halfway up, which would catch the morning sun, and an arched window opening, which would catch the afternoon sun. There are no signs that any of these openings ever had windows or doors attached but, rather, are bare openings in the walls. The interior is about eight feet in diameter with stone-mortared walls about twenty inches thick. It has essentially stood undisturbed for the past 100 or more years. Its purpose is not obvious, and most viewers will guess that it had some adventurous or playful use in its design.