BETHEL
In March of 1846, Mr. S. S. Semple built a small frame house within the
limits of what became Bethel. The land had been purchased years before
by his father, David Semple, from David Kitch. In 1862, James McConnell
and Thompson Hyde built a steam saw-mill. A grist mill was put into
operation in the summer of 1863. S. S. Semple built the first store in
the village in 1868. Because the village owed its existence and
improvements to S. S. Semple, it became known as Sempletown.
"At
a Court of Quarter Sessions held in Mercer, May 22, 1872, a petition was
presented by divers inhabitants of those portions of Hickory,
Lackawannock and Shenango townships, included in, and adjacent to the
village of Sempletown - formerly known as Semple's Mills - praying for
the incorporation of a tract, including the village and containing 243
acres and 19 perches into a borough to be known as the Borough of
Bethel" (Taken from the History of Mercer County, 1878). This petition
was confirmed on that date and the first election was ordered to be
held on the second Tuesday of October, 1872. John Griffin was appointed
judge of election and R.S. Allen and James Orr, inspectors. Voters
numbered 28 and elected were: Burgess - John Wood; Town Council - James
Howard, D. W. Semple, Isaac Hilkirk; Inspectors - John Wood, G. W.
Thompson; Judge of Election and Assessor - Hugh Bond; Constable - John
Carter; Justice of the Peace - W. T. Reed.
The Borough was a
perfect rectangle along the road from Greenfield to West Middlesex -
now Route 318, then known as Mercer Street. The place derived its name
from Bethel United Presbyterian Church which was located just outside
its limits - in Hickory Township -on the "Y" formed by South Keel Ridge
and South Neshannock Roads. The Borough itself had no Church.
The
first postmaster, . S. Semple, was commissioned on June 26, 1871, and
the office was named Wheeler. Mail was carried daily from West
Middlesex to Greenfield (Worth post office). This post office was
located in a home near the school.
The first school house was
built in 1871 and the first teacher was Miss Sarah White. It was
located on what is now the corner of Route 318 and Lakeview Drive and
is now a private home. Some of the teachers were Gertrude Cairey, Ella
Felton, Mary Vance Garrett, Priscilla Miller and Lucile Artman. The
school was closed when the consolidated school opened in West
Middlesex. The Bethel School area covered Bethel Borough and extended
east to Reiber Road and out Reiber Road past what is now Wise Road and
down Gilliland Road (now Nych Road) to the Winger Farm.
In July,
1872, the Bethel Coal Company sank a shaft on land leased from S. S.
Semple in the western part of the borough. Thus the main business of
Bethel in the late 1800s was established. A railroad track ran from the
mouth of the shaft to West Middlesex. There was a railroad station - now
a house located at the line where Shenango and Lackawannock Townships
come together. This railroad line ran from Sharpsville to Wilmington
Junction and a train went through Bethel twice a day. John Thompson
served as the agent for more than 20 years. This line was discontinued
in 1931 and the tracks were removed in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
Knute Hofius wrote a poem about the last trip of the "Old Sharpsville
Railroad" and one verse is: "Now all the folks in Bethel, Are looking
down the track, The train has gone to New Castle, And it never will
come back."
Linc Stoner operated a blacksmith shop on the corner
of what is now Route 318 and Stoner Drive. He took over this shop from
his father in 1918 and renovated it in 1920. This blacksmith shop
remained a working establishment until the early 1940s. A gas station
was located across from the school in the 1920s and 1930s owned by Shem
Powell. Dolan Rowe owned and operated a garage on the north side of Rt.
318 near Reiber Road which is now the Gilliland Garage. According to
Alice Anderson Mild, there were several sugar camps in Bethel during
the 1920s and 1930s. She gives the following list of some of the
residents at that time: Frank Powell, Nanny Powell, Snyder, Lark,
Maynard, Lee, Stoner, Miller, Hedge, Sherm Powell, Buchanhon,
Flickinger and Wilson. Within the "Bethel Area" were the Felton Farm at
the corner of Rt. 318 and what is now Nych Road (this farm later was
owned and operated by "Big John"); the Robert Thompson Farm (north side
of Rt. 318); Madge Farm (south side of Rt. 318, east of what is now
Nych Road); Swogger Farm on Reiber Road; Gilliland Farm on what is now
Nych Road and the Winger Farm further south on what is now Nych Road.
Bethel
is now a small community of homes located on the western edge of
Lackawannock Township. Current residents include descendants of
families who lived in Bethel in the early 1900s.
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