Singing of the quiet of Carroll

CARROLL - In 1883, historian John Blair Linn wrote of the village of Carroll in Clinton County's Sugar Valley, "In all, the place contains a dozen or so dwellings, most of which have been recently built. In time Carroll will be a prominent business point for the people of the east end of the valley."

His prognostication wasn't very accurate. At that time, the hamlet consisted of "one store, owned by D. A. Clark, but now in charge of G. C. Righter; one blacksmith shop, owned by Mr. Knauff; I. D. Barner's carpenter-shop; a sawmill owned by Hiram Murray and J. P. Barner; and a post office kept by I. D. Barner."

By 1892, historian J. Milton Furey described Carroll as having "about 15 dwellings, a store and post office, a blacksmith shop and several minor industries." Clearly, no economic boom occurred during that 10-year span, nor did it ever.

Nevertheless, Carroll, named after early 1800s resident William Carroll, did have its own unique and interesting history. It began with a reputed tragedy at the onset of the 19th century.

Specifically, in February of 1801, tradition holds that a Capt. Harry Greene and his party of perhaps six men were ambushed at night by American Indians 1 or 2 miles southeast of where Carroll later arose. According to the story, the men had been tracking the indians because they had burned white settlers' buildings and stolen cattle.

One version has it that Greene and all his men were killed. Another source states that just "some" of his men died including, perhaps, himself. Historian D. S. Maynard wrote, "By some it is said to have never taken place." Whatever the reality, it has earned the designation by some as the last American Indian massacre in Pennsylvania.

A monument was erected in 1916 by historian Col. Henry Wharton Shoemaker, Daniel Mark, A.D. Karstetter and J.W. Zimmerman 1 mile north of the supposed site. Today that stone stands in front of the Citgo gas station on East Valley Road at the Route 80 exit.

In Shoemaker's 1920 book "Extinct Pennsylvania Animals," he further wrote of the awful incident: "Wolves are said to have fought over the bodies of Capt. Harry Greene, the 'Regulator' from Juniata County (another source says he was from Milton), and his companions, murdered in 1801; 'the wolves' howling and yelping being so vociferous that settlers were attracted to the spot, and who gave the remains decent burial.'"

Greene's name lives on in Sugar Valley, as Greene Township, organized in 1840, honors his memory. Also, the pass southeast of Carroll through the mountain and the reputed location of the 1801 ambush, officially is labeled on maps as Greene's Gap.

On Sept. 13, 1853, Carroll became the third Sugar Valley village to have a post office, after Loganton (1829) and Logan Mills (1840). Carroll's first postmaster was Henry Barner (1853-63), one of four Barners to hold that position. The post office ran until June 15, 1918.

To fulfill the religious needs of Carroll's residents, in the 1860s an Evangelical Church was built on the mountain north of the village. It closed in 1961.

In 1880, Price Evangelical Association Church, also known as Bethel Church, was erected on Winter Road between Carroll and Loganton, on ground donated by John F. Price. A record of wages paid for its construction showed that laborers earned 50 cents per day with board (or 75 cents without), carpenters and masons $1 per day with board (or $1.25 without). Said to mark "the peak growth of the Evangelical Church in the valley," this church closed its doors in 1946. It then was sold to L. H. Hutzel, who dismantled it to use the pieces to build a home in west Sugar Valley.

In 1890, the Brungard Lutheran Church (also known as St. Martin's or St. Matthew's) was raised between Carroll and Loganton. Closed in 1943, it was sold in 1943 to Howard Ardry of Nittany Valley and then torn down shortly afterward.

Beginning in 1892, religion came to John Lehman's mountaintop grove about 2 miles north of Carroll just off the west side of modern Route 880. That August, United Brethren members from Sugar Valley held the first of what would become an annual picnic.

It became traditional to bring lots of pumpkin pies to the event. As a result, the site became known as the "Pumpkin Pie Picnic Grounds."

In 1947, members of the God's Missionary Church bought the land from Susan Lehman. They changed its name to the Mount of Blessings Campgrounds.

Reverends Joseph Hoffman and Truman Wise led the first summer meeting, using the grounds' old ice cream stand as a tabernacle. It served that function until 1958, when a new camp worship house was built for the 10-day meeting period. Cabins also were added to the grounds.

In 1955, the old Mt. Union Church (previously used by a number of different denominations) just south of the grove was reopened by God's Missionary Church for its regular Sunday services. Jersey Shore's Reverends Clifford Miller and Paul Miller were the first pastors, followed by Reverend Raymond Sassaman from Beaver Springs.

In the past, Carroll had another "camp" in a two-story building in the village- Camp 520 of the Patriotic Order Sons of American (POS of A). One of America's oldest patriotic and fraternal societies, it was founded in Philadelphia in 1847. Carroll's branch was disbanded in the first half of the 20th century, the building sold for taxes in 1953 to Robert Causey, then turned into a hunting club.

Music always has been important to Sugar Valley. Even the small community of Carroll had its own brass band. Organized in 1897 with J. M. Kahl and Oscar Harbach as directors, the band met for practices in Fred Miller's storehouse.

From 1907 until 1916, the White Deer and Loganton Railroad operated between White Deer Junction in Union County and Loganton, a distance of roughly 24 miles. Carroll was one of only two valley passenger stations; the other being at Loganton.

According to Sugar Valley resident Ernest H. Geisewite, "The Carroll station, a small two-room building, was located (on a spur) halfway between Carroll and Eastville. James Daugherty served as mail carrier and freight agent. Twice each day he would meet the train to transport the mail sacks by wheelbarrow to and from the Carroll post office, a distance of over one-half mile.

During the decade of the railroad's operation, a place along the route called Tea Spring (originally designated as Duncan's Station, after John Duncan, who chartered the railroad in 1900) became a popular picnic area. Located about 2 miles east of Carroll near where Clinton, Centre and Union Counties join, the spring there is the main feeder of Fishing Creek, which runs westward through Sugar Valley.

Excursion trains carried valley residents to the site for enjoyable outings. "Men rode flat cars, which were equipped with railings and benches. Women and children rode the coaches." The railroad company had built a pavilion, a bandstand and a refreshment stand for the arriving picnickers.

Tea Spring received this name because of the many goldenrods that grew there. It was believed that a "tea" made from its leaves had medicinal properties, causing perspiration and easing "abdominal bloating."

Today, picnic tables still are located at the Tea Spring site for the enjoyment of st century visitors. On the mountain plateau on Route 880, the cabins and worship house of the Mount of Blessings Campgrounds still stand,

On East Valley Road by the Interstate 80 junction are two gas stations. The larger complex, a trucker's travel plaza named the Pit Stop Citgo (with a restaurant and showers) is just east of the interstate ramps. Just west toward Carroll is the East Valley Road BP.

At the "heart" of the village of Carroll (at the intersection of East Valley Road and Route 880, also known as Rauchtown Road) is Scaff's Enterprises, offering "leather, plastic and vinyl products." Nearby is the business called "Wood Ya Like Cabinets." And yet a third "commercial enterprise" advertises "Fresh Brown Eggs For Sale."

Carroll never did "boom" as historian Linn predicted. Probably its st century residents are happy that it didn't, happy to live in their relatively remote and peaceful patch of Penn's Woods.

SOURCES: (1) D. S. Maynard's 1875 book, "Historical View of Clinton County, Pennsylvania": (2) John Blair Linn's 1883 book, "History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania": (3) J. Milton Furey's 1892 book, "Past and Present of Clinton County"; (4) the 1965 "125th Anniversary of Loganton and Sugar Valley" booklet; (5) the 1976 tenth-grade Sugar Valley High School class's "Country Pride I" booklet; and (6) the 1989 Clinton County Sesquicentennial book, "Clinton County: A Journey Through Time."