The SNYDER COUNTY POST History Page

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From the Archives of
The
Middleburg Post

Presented by Emily Johnson, VP Snyder County Historical Society and the Simon Snyder of Pennsylvania: Citizen and Governor
1759-1819 exhibition committee

125 Years Ago
April 15, 1886

100 Years Ago
April 20, 1911

75 Years Ago
April 16, 1936

35 Years Ago
April 29, 1976

    Robert Middleswarth of Troxelville this past Saturday caught 209 trout in the mountain stream close to the village.
    A new Post Office at Lowell in the western part of Snyder County will soon be ready to send and receive US Mail.
     A child of Henry arbogast of Washington township while playing with matches one day last week sets its clothes on fire and was very seriously burned.
    John Thomas, residing near Troxelville, who is ninety-two years old, one day last week went out with his rifle and shot a robin for a sick friend.
    Gideon Cornelius of New Berlin has purchased John Jordan's bear for $10 and is now exhibiting him at 10 cents a peep.

    Isaac Boush of Beavertown has two colored eggs that he displayed on Easter that are 44 years old. Who can beat that?
    Mr. Calvin Schoch, who has been carrying mail to patrons of RFD No. 3, Middleburg, for a number of years, had the misfortune of losing his wallet containing $4.50 in stamps. Of course, Mr. Schoch will have to make good to Uncle Samuel out of his own pocket. It is hoped that the finder will return it promptly.
   While removing stumps near Middleburg, Earl Arbogast found a large copper cent in the stump of an old tree. The coin is in splendid condition and the date 1873 is plainly discernible.

Mr. John Troutman, the barber, will move from Selinsgrove to Penns Creek this coming Wednesday.
Charles J. Middleswarth and family moved from Troxelville to Bedford County and the community gave them a fine farewell party on Saturday.

The following is the vote cast in the Presidential Primary on Tuesday in Snyder County: Ford 2962, Reagan 699, Wallace 247, Udall 233, Carter 919, Jackson 229, Others 116.

    Shamokin Dam was founded by George Keen in 1745. At the time it was named Keensville. It sits on the western bank of the Susquehanna River, just south of the confluence of the river’s west and north branches.
    In 1754 Chief Shikellamy of the Oneida people negotiated with Conrad Weiser to set the Blue Mountains as the upper limit settlement in the native people’s homelands.   Conrad Weiser told the area’s settlers they could not remain.
    Encroachment upon Indian Territory was a delicate matter. The Six Nations Treaty of 1754 permitted settlements to move west of the Susquehanna River into lands that eventually became Snyder County. Many natives argued that they had been cheated by the treaty and were eventually pushed out by the white settlers after the French and Indian War.
    By 1772 steamboat ferries were run by Ira T. Clement of Sunbury, which transported goods and people between Keensville and the Shamokin (Sunbury) area. By the year 1800 a ten foot tall dam was built across the Susquehanna River thus Keensville was renamed Shamokin Dam.
    The dam provided water to the Susquehanna Division of the Pennsylvania Canal System which was constructed on the western bank of the river and also supported the steamboat ferries. Most of the residents were canal workers, rafts men, shad and eel fishermen.

Shamokin Dam -- Its History & Influence

By Jane Kessler, Snyder County Historian

gies and motor cars. A trolley track ran down the center and didn’t interfere with traffic, which at the time were predominantly horse-drawn vehicles.

    This transportation activity induced several hotels and taverns to be built in the area. Shamokin Dam was incorporated into a borough in August 1927 with the Honorable Ira T. Fiss as its first chief burgess who later served six terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
    Shamokin Dam has grown progressively throughout the years, businesses have come and gone.

    One business in particular that I remember of the 1950’s is the Custard Cup. The frosted-mug root beer and foot long hot dogs and who could forget those banana splits.

    A lock for the Pennsylvania Canal was located on the riverbank. Most of the local commerce there revolved around transportation and supporting the canal.
     Unfortunately the dam was destroyed by ice in March 1904. In 1907 the first toll bridge, known as the Bainbridge Street Bridge, was completed that connected Shamokin Dam to Sunbury, the county seat of Northumberland County.
    The cost for construction was $150,000. A full-time toll collector lived in the house that straddled the bridge. A gate closed the bridge at night and a bell was posted to summon the toll worker during the night.

    The bridge was used by pedestrians, buggies and motor cars. The toll was 3 cents for walkers, 4 cents for bicyclist, with 15 cents for horses, bug-

Rev. and Mrs. Frank Ulrich opened the Custard Cup in Shamokin Dam in 1950. It was one of the first in the area to serve Soft-Serv ice cream and was famous for its root beer and hot dogs. It closed in 1968.