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McKean was organized
as one of the original townships. Its limits were much larger when the
township was established, but were reduced by the taking off of a slice
for Franklin in 1844, and another for Summit in 1854. These curtailments
of its territory account for the odd and irregular shape of the township.
McKean is bounded on the north by Fairview, Mill Creek and Summit, on the
east by Summit and Waterford, on the south by Waterford, Washington and
Franklin, and on the west by the latter township and Fairview. It has a
breadth in the widest part of about eight miles from east to west, and
about seven from north to south. The old State line, before the purchase
of the Triangle, ran a little north of the center, and cuts the borough
limits of Middleboro into two almost exact halves. It also forms the north
and south lines of many of the farms, and its location is as familiar to
many of the residents as their own homes or the course of the public
roads. The township was named in honor of Gen. Thomas McKean, one of
Pennsylvania's most distinguished soldiers in the Revolution, and second
Governor of the State, after Independence, serving three terms, from 1796
to 1808. The township has given Erie a number of its best known citizens,
among whom may be mentioned Hon. Joseph M. Sterrett, the four Crouch
brothers, the four Minnig brothers, and the Stancliff brothers. By the
United States census, McKean had a population of 440 in 1820, of 984 in
1830, of 1,714 in 1840, of 1,921 in 1850, of 1,600 in 1860, of 1,426 in
1870 and of 1,394 in 1880. The assessment of 1883 gave the following
results: Number of acres, 21,517; value of real estate, $632,065; number
of cows, 932; of oxen, 10; of horses and mules, 526; value of the same
$52,788; value of trades and occupations, $9,480; money at interest,
$78,696.
Streams and Lands
McKean is wholly watered by Elk Creek and its branches, with the exception
of a small district in the south containing the head-waters of Big and
Little Conneauttee Creek, which empty into French Creek below Edinboro.
Elk Creek rises in Tamarack Swamp, in the western portion of Waterford
Township, and flowing nearly through the center of McKean, across the
southern portion of Fairview and the northeastern portion of Girard, falls
into the lake a short distance north of Miles Grove, having a length of
between thirty and thirty-five miles. Its general course is westerly till
it reaches the Girard Township line, where it turns to the northwest. A
branch of Le Boeuf Creek has its origin in Waterford Township, near the
head of Elk Creek, the two streams running in opposite directions, the one
to the Gulf of Mexico, the other to the Atlantic Ocean. The South Branch
of Elk Creek rises in Washington Township, near the line of McKean, and
flowing directly north, unites with the main stream at Middleboro. At one
time there were within the township eight saw mills and two grist mills on
the chief stream, and two saw mills and one grist mill on the South
Branch; now, all that are left are four saw mills and one grist mill on
the former and a single grist mill on the latter. Its valley is generally
narrow, but it begins to spread out just above Middleboro, near the
crossing of the Edinboro road, reaching a breadth of about two miles.
Below that it is from a quarter of a mile to half a mile in width.
McKean is one of the elevated townships of the county, and its surface is
hilly, with numerous deep gulfs along the streams. The valley lands are
first-class, and grain is easily raised. Off the streams the country is
naturally cold and clayey, but cultivation makes it fairly productive. In
the southeast portion is a ridge known as South Hill, which is said to
attain an altitude of 800 feet above the lake. The township contains two
quarries of good stone, one on the place of David Dunn, in the north east
section, the other on that of Albert Lampson, in the south part. Land
ranges in value from $25 to $75 per acre.
Mills and Schools
The grist mills of McKean Township are Sterrett & Barron's, on Elk
Creek, at Sterrettania, and Wiswell & Hilliker's, at Branchville, on
the South Branch. The first named, which is one of the largest in the
county, was built by David S. Sterrett, in 1839, and has always done a
flourishing business. A mill was built on the site of Hilliker's some
thirty-five years ago. It burned down, was twice re-built and each time
was destroyed by fire. The last fire occurred early in the morning of
October 18, 1882, causing a loss of about $5,000, on which there was no
insurance. The miller's home burned down at the same time. The first saw
mill in the township was built in the summer of 1812 on Elk Creek, by
Oliver Dunn, near where his son, James Dunn, now resides. The mill was
operated about twenty years before it was abandoned. The second mill was
built by Eber and Lemuel Stancliff on the South Branch of Elk Creek, about
a mile south of Middleboro, about 1827; it was operated about twenty-five
years, during which time it changed name and ownership repeatedly. The saw
mills propelled by water are owned by Edmund Wood, charles Osborn, August
Decker and Sterrett & Barron. There is a steam saw and cider mill near
the Plank road, a mile or so north of Middleboro, owned by A. T. Leland's
heirs. W. W. Reed, of Erie, owns a cheese factory in the western portion,
established about nine years ago, and another owned by William A. bean,
just outside of Middleboro, was started in 1872. There are three tanneries
in the township -- the Sterrettania, erected by William Potter about 1843;
Chisholm's, a mile east of Sterrettania, established in 1864 in a building
formerly used as a woolen factory, and Charles Rappold's at Sterrettania,
built in 1858. The township contains five cider mills, owned respectively
by A. T. Leland's heirs, Henry Hauck, Henry Smith, William Wiswell and
John P. Wagner. Several of these make apple jelly in large quantities.
The first school in McKean Township was taught during the winter of
1811-12 by Seth Spencer, who hailed from Fredonia, N. Y., and returned
thither soon after completing this primal school. Among his pupils were
Seth Stancliff, still living at Erie at the age of ninety years, Joseph
Weldon, who lives at West Springfield, this county, and who was the first
male white child born in McKean Township; Anna Stanclift, living in
California, at the age of eighty-eight years; Levi Grant, Eunice Joiner
and others. Betsy and Sally Aldrich, sisters, from near Boston, Mass.,
were two of the earliest teachers. For several years, from about 1820 to
1825, they taught schools in the vicinity of Middleboro. They afterward
married and settled in Springfield Township. Hiram Bumphrey taught for
five terms at Sterrettania, commencing about 1828. He afterward became
editor and proprietor of the Rochester (N. Y.) Democrat and was a
prominent man. Ansel and Ludim Crouch, who hailed from Peru, N. Y., were
early noted pedagogues in the region about Middleboro. Polly Chambers
taught at Sterrettania about 1830. Other comparatively early instructors
of the township's youth were Frank Lampson, Orrin Reed and David Stancliff.
The township schools are thirteen in number, as follows: The Union, in the
Marsh neighborhood (used jointly by McKean and Waterford); the Aubrey, in
the Grant settlement; the Dunn, in the Dunn neighborhood; the Glazier, on
the plank road; the South Hill, on South Hill; the Marsh, in the Stancliff
settlement; the Branchville, at the hamlet of the same name; the Harrison,
in the Harrison district; the Barron, in the Barron neighborhood; the
Sterrettania, in the village of that name; the Roher, in the north part of
the township, and the Wagner, on the farm of Alex Wagner.
Churches, Cemeteries and Roads
There are three church buildings in the township, viz.: United Brethren at
Branchville, and Methodist Episcopal at Sterrettania and on South Hill.
The South Hill Church was dedicated on December 9, 1880, and cost $1,400.
The land on which it stands was donated by O. Reed. Previous to the
erection of the church building, the congregation held services in the
schoolhouse. It forms a part of the McKean Circuit.
The Sterrettania Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1842. The society
was organized years before, and worshiped in the schoolhouse. Among its
earliest ministers were Revs. Aurora and Nathaniel Callender, and Rev. J.
Chandler. This charge was attached to the McKean Circuit, until 1880, when
it was made a part of Fairview Circuit, which embraces besides this
appointment Fairview and Fair Plain. The church building was erected in
part by a Presbyterian congregation, which had met previously in the
schoolhouse. Soon after the church was built, it became a Congregational
society, and a few years later passed out of existence.
The United Brethren Church at Branchville is a neat and modest frame
structure, which was built about 1865. The society existed for a number of
years previous and met for worship in the schoolhouse. It is now greatly
reduced in membership, scarcely a half dozen remaining, but regular
services are still maintained. Rev. Lewis is the present pastor, 1882-83.
A cemetery, used by the township in common, has long been established on
the Waterford & Girard road, a short distance east of Middleboro;
another on the plank road, about a mile south of the same village; one at
Sterrettania; one attached to the old Catholic Church north of Middleboro,
and a small one on South Hill. The Wiswells, Dunns and others have private
burying grounds.
The main roads of McKean are the Erie & Edinboro plank, running
through nearly the whole width of the township from north to south, and
the Waterford & Girard road, which crosses the township from east to
west,following the valley of Elk Creek. The township has a post office at
Sterrettania and formerly had one at Branchville. A mail route was
established between Erie and Edinboro in the winter of 1835-36, Ansel
Crouch being the contractor.
Villages
The villages of McKean are Sterrettania and Branchville. Sterrettania is
on Elk Creek, near the Fairview line, in the extreme western portion of
the township, twelve miles from Erie. It received its name from the
numerous Sterrett family living in the village and vicinity. Robert
Sterrett, the pioneer of the flock, came from Cumberland County and
located there in 1804, remaining three years, when he sold out to his
brother James. Of the seven sons and two daughter of James, all are dead
except Hon. Joseph M. Sterrett, of Erie. The village contains a Methodist
Episcopal Church, a schoolhouse, a large grist mill, a saw mill, two
tanneries, one cider and jelly factory, one wagon shop, one store, one
blacksmith shop, one shoe shop and one tailor shop. The private residences
number fifteen or twenty, and the population is about eighty. Thomas
Sterrett, a resident of Sterrettania, is one of the wealthiest and most
influential men in the county. The Sterrettania School was taught at
various times by Hon. George H. Cutler and William Benson, afterward two
of the leading members of the Erie County bar.
Branchville is a small collection of houses along the plank road, in the
south part of the township. It embraces a United Brethren Church, a
schoolhouse, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop and about a dozen residences.
The South Branch of Elk Creek runs through the hamlet, giving it its name
and furnishing water-power to the mill.
Early Settlers
The first settler within the present limits of McKean was James Talmadge,
who came from Genesee County, N. Y., in 1795, and located in the Dunn
neighborhood, near the east line, in the valley of Elk Creek. During the
season of 1795, Mr. Talmadge ran a sail boat between Buffalo and Erie,
which carried passengers and freight; among others, he brought in Col.
Seth Reed and family, and Amos Judson, of Waterford. On settling in
McKean, his wife and father accompanied him. Mr. Talmadge brought in the
first bushel of wheat sown in Erie County. Thomas and Oliver dunn, who had
gone first to Springfield, moved into McKean in the fall of 1797, having
been preceded by Stephen Oliver; Lemuel Stancliff, a New Englander,
settled a mile south of Middleboro in 1799; Benjamin Grant, from
Connecticut, in what is still known as the Grant neighborhood, in March of
the same year; Robert Sterrett, at Sterrettania, in 1804, and James Aubrey
about 1806. Eliachim Cook, who accompanied Mr. Grant, located in what is
now Summit Township, but removed to Waterford in 1809. In 1807, after Mr.
Sterrett sold his McKean property to his brother James, he removed to the
bank of the lake, five miles west of Erie. John Evans, father of Robert
and Thomas, came from Maryland in 1802, and first took up land on the
present Mill Creek and Summit line, but removed to Mill Creek in 1811, to
the farm now owned by his son Robert. Among other early settlers were
Russell Stancliff, Rufus Trask, benjamin Collum, David Weldon, Joseph S.
Bush and the Dunlaps. The Staffords, a New England family, settled around
Middleboro about 1815, and with the Stancliffs laid the foundations of the
Methodist society in that village. Ansel Crouch went in from New York, in
1817. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. Hannah, daughter of James
Talmadge, was the first white child born in the township. The event
occurred in 1798. David Sterrett, son of Robert, settled on the homestead
farm. He was the father of Robert W., Thomas, James and Andrew J., and of
Mrs. Wright, Norton, Brockway and Hall. James Aubrey's father was a
Surgeon in Wolfe's army at the storming of Quebec. Stephen Oliver enlisted
in the American Army at the outbreak of the Revolution and served until
its close. He died January 14, 1857, aged ninety-seven years.
Lemuel Stancliff, one of the first settlers referred to, was a soldier in
Washington's army at the time of Arnold's treason. Among the other early
settlers were the following: In 1809, Ira Glazier, from Oneida County, N.
Y., and Ezra White; in 1825, the Washburns, from Massachusetts; about
1826, Benjamin F. Morey, of Berkshire, Vt.;in 1831, John Drown, of Lyons,
N. Y.; about 1835, the Marshes, from Nova Scotia, and Peter J. Barron,
from France; in 1837, Oren Reed, from Otsego County, N. Y.p; in 1840,
Lorenz Antony and Daniel Hauck, all from Germany.
Public Officers
The State and county officers from McKean Township have been as follows:
State Senate, Joseph M. Sterrett, 1837 to 1841. Associate Judge, Joseph M.
Sterrett, 1850 to 1856. Assembly, Stephen Skinner, 1840 and 1842. County
Commissioners, Joseph M. Sterrett, 1829 to 1831; Stephen Skinner, 1834 to
1837; Thomas Sterrett, 1837 to 1839 (died in office); Thomas Dunn, 1850 to
1853. Clerk to Commissioners, A. J. Sterrett, 1863 to 1881. Directors of
the Poor, David Sterrett, 1847 to 1850; John Parmeter, 1852 to 1855; James
Dunn, 1874 to 1877; Seymour Washburn, 1877 to 1880. Steward of the
almshouse, Thomas Dunn, 1858 to 1863. Jury Commissioner, William Grant,
1873 to 1876. County Surveyors, Hiram Bumphrey, 1833; Stephen Skinner,
1836 to 1839. County Auditors, Thomas Dunn, 1810 to 1821, 1822 to 1825;
Eli Webster, 1829 to 1832; Oren Reed, 1852 to 1855, 1863 to 1865; Elias
Brecht, 1857 to 1860. Joseph M. Sterrett left his father's house in McKean
when a boy, to learn the printing trade. He founded the Erie Gazette,
and ever after resided in Erie. A. J. Sterrett was born in McKean, but
left home at an early age.
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