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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES
law, John M errill, rebuilding the gristmill. T he gristm ill w as operated thereafter by Jones & M ears and then M ears & Thom as, until 1868, when Francis W . and Jam es E . Jones, sons of Richard, bought it. It is now operated by H . S. Gruver. Jonestown derived some im ^ rtan cc in (he past from its position on the Susquehanna & I'ioga turnpike. John M . B u ck acw graded one mile o f this road fo r $ 13 0 . T he charter o f this company is still in force, a though the collection of tolls ceased many years ago. The road is now under the charge of the State, which had a definite interest in the road from the first, having contributed several thousand dollars towards its construction.
A t the junction o f Fishing and Huntington creeks is the sawm ill built in 18 10 by John Padcn. T h e next owner w as Andrew l^ u bach, then came £ . M. Laubach, next his daughter, M rs. E . A . I’tfnnington. N ow E . A . Pennington, the oldest grandson, runs the mill. 'T h e old machines fo r manufacturing wooden pumps are still in use, as is the oldtime cider press, worked by a lever. A chop mill and a circular saw are run by the turbine, which has replaced the old overshot wheel of the past. The wheel pit is o f cribwork and has an ancient look in comparison with the more modern tu r bine it houses. One of the largest sawmills in the county w as that o f Evan and E li A . Bcishlinc, built in i88t at Van Camp, east o f Stillwater, it PORKS scarcely Iiad time to get under w ay before it w as burned in 1884, together with a large quan Although aspiring to be a village in form er tity o f lum ber; there w as no insurance on cither times, this place is now simply a station on it or the mill. (he Bloomsburg & Sullivan railroad. Rush H arrison is the station agent, expressman, RELIGIOUS storekeeper and postmaster, l l i c r c are but T he first denomination to hold services in three houses at the station, but around it and along the two creeks are (he summer resi this township w as the Methodist, Revs. Jolm dences o f many citizens of the larger towns and Christopher Bowman, from Briarcreek, of the county, who form a considerable popu holding services in the home o f Abram Dodder some time before 18 12 . Preaching w as con lation in the warm er months. Bernard Aminerman settled at Forks about tinued at Dodder's until a schoolhouse was 1820. and opened a store a little later. In built. Meetings were also held at John A n 1855 he was made postmaster at that point, and drews’ liouse, on the road from Asbury to held the office until 18 6 1, when it w as trans Jonestown, in 1836. T he Stillw ater church ferred to Pealertown on Huntington creek. w as organized af>out the same time at the home In 18 7 1 J . M . .Ammerman, his son. became o f A lexis Good, some distance from the vil postmaster there and continued to hold (he lage. on the banks o f Fishing creek. The office until the installation of the rural routes. Jonestown church w*as built in 1880, the one In 1908 the old Ammcrman home w-as sold at Stillw ater in the same year, while the .As to William H . Derr, o f Bloomsburg, wrho ob bury church, west o f Jonestown, w as built in tained a hotel license, changed the name to 1848. T be first two mentioned are now in “ F orks Inn,” made many alterations and addi the Orangeville circuit, while that at .Asbury tions to it, and has converted it into an at is abandoned. Stillw ater Christian Church (D isciples) w as tractive hotel, the resort o f auto parties and fishermen from (he surrounding countr)*. one of the first to be established in this county. i.ocAtcd at the immediate junction o f H un In J8 35 Revs. John Kllis. J . J . H are y and tington and Fishing creeks, it is surrounded John Sutton associated together to establish by picturesque spots and has .some fine trout preaching places from Union to Luzerne coun poo s near by. .An artistic wire suspension ties, Rev. John Sutton coming to Stillwater. bridge connects the inn with the railroad flag H e preacliM here occasionally until 1838, when a monthly appointment w as begun. Moses station. A little farther up Fishingereek is IVilliams M cH enry was one of the founders o f this Grove, an equally popular resort. T he beau church and w as the first person in the town tiful scenery along these two streams has long ship to be baptized by immersion. M any protracted meetings preceded the or held out invitations to the lovers o f nature, and numerous cottages and camps line the ganization of the church, which took place in banks, summer seeing a throng o f fishers, 1838, with a list o f twenty-nine members. T he boatmen and campers taking full advantage of first church and parsonage were built here in 1842, the latter being a log schoolhouse, rebuilt. these many allurements.
