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New
Vernon Village, in the northern part of the
township, was formerly called Middletown, is still
frequently called by that name, and was on of the older towns of the
county in its settlement. It
has but one street, and presents an exceedingly venerable appearance,
and the houses are all of wood, and look as if they had weathered the
storms and blasts of a hundred years.
In
1839 or '40, J. W. Montgomery
opened a store there, and there have been various attempts, in the
years following, to make the mercantile business successful at that
point, but at present the village has no store. Two vacant store-houses
stand facing each other on opposite sides of the street, but that is
all. The country upon all sides of the town is fertile, the people are
prosperous, and there is no good reason why a store in the village
should not obtain a good trade, but former experiments have not
resulted in encouraging merchants to go there.
New
Vernon Grange, No. 608, was organized in the fall of 1875, at
the house of David Lynn,
one mile-and-a-half west of New Vernon village. Ira Hoyt was elected
master; A. F. Lynn,
secretary; and Patterson Turner,
overseer. There are, at present, about forty members, and the meetings
are held at the residence of Ira
Hoyt.
Mills.—Steam
saw-mills are located over various parts of the township, the first
having been built, in the fall of 1854, by George
Axtell, near the village; another, in 1868, in the
south-western part, by McClure
& Boyd; and
another, in the summer of 1870, at the Corners, two miles south of, the
village, and three miles from Sandy Lake. The latter was subsequently
removed, and again located upon the old site, in the fall of 1874,
where it still
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remains.
A steam saw and shingle-mill was established in 1868, by L. J. Gill, on the site of the
old Condit saw-mill.
In 1870, Isaac Schofield
was admitted as a partner with the builder, and an extensive business
is performed there; four hands being employed.
Physician.—The only permanently located
physician was Dr. J. R. Andrews,
who settled in time village, in the spring of’ 1845, and remained
there, with the exception of an absence of one summer, until his death,
which occurred in 1867. His practice was very extensive in all the
region around, from Oil Creek to Sheakleyville, and, aside from his
regular drive, he obtained a large office business. His widow still
[1877] lives in the old place.
Lusus
Naturae. - - A case of a singular family history, in [New
Vernon] township deserves special mention: Peter
H. Burnett, and Bethesda, his wife, reside a short
distance west of the village, and are both deaf-mutes. Mrs. was born in
1812, and Mr. Burnett in 1811, and were married in Sheakleyville, by Rev. David Waggoner, in 1840,
and the result of the union has been seven children, all of whom have
the senses fully developed. Two were, in the late war, in the 83d
Pennsylvania infantry, and Samuel, the younger, was killed at the
battle of Gettysburg, and the other, A.
H. Burnett, served as a lieutenant throughout the contest,
and is now secretary of the School Board in New Vernon, and resides in
the village.
The
Population of New Vernon, by the census of 1870, was 796. The valuation
of its school property is $4,200; the number of school children, 110
males, and 117 females.
History
of Mercer County,
1877, pages 76 and 77
Return to New Vernon
Village
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