COLUMBIA A N D M ONTOUR COUNTIES church in 1848 the only denomination which had regular services w as the Methodist, the Lutherans being occasionally served by R evs. Ball and W eaver. T h e latie r's first regular pastor was Rev. M r. F re y, w ho w as succeeded by Rev. W illiam J . E y e r. T h e latter succeeded in adding a large number o f members to the c o n g r ^ tio n, and in the spring o f (860 an oiganization w as effected with a membership of sixty-three. D uring the C ivil w a r the serv ices were discontinued, but in 1867 J* MRice came to the field, his charge including the Espy and MUIertown Churches. A reorganiza tion w as effected by the election o f Jam e s Em mitt and Peter W erkheiser as elders, and George W enncr and Jo h n H . M iller as deacons. “ Christ’s 'E van gelical Lutheran Congrega tion o f Buckhorn then became a part of the Espy charge, and the people took steps to sup port a regu lar pastor. In 18 6 7 a building committee consisting o f lames Em m itt, Peter W erkheiser, Jo h n H . Vfiller, Reuben Bomboy and G eorge R ussell was appointed, and on N ov. 25, 1869. the p res ent b rk k building w as dedkated by Rev. E . ASharretts. T h e cost w as about $5,000, all o f whkh w a s settled fo r in a short time. A fte r R e v . M r. R k e the congregation w as supplied occasionally by R ev. B . F . Allem an, of St. M atth ew ’s Church, Bloom sburg. and
241
R e v . H en ry C H eathcox, a student at Selinsgrove. In 18 7 2 the E sp y clu rg e, composed o f S t. Jo h n ’s, E s p y; Oainby, at M illertow n; C hrist’s, B u ck h o m; and S t. Peter's, N ew Colum bia, called R cy - J - M . Rcim cnsnydcr to be their regular pastor. In M arch, 1875, he resigned and the church w as without a pastor fo r two years. Then R ev. W illiam K e lley ac cepted the charge fo r a year. T h e next pastor w as R e v . E . A . Sharretts, who remained eight years. Successive pastors have been R evs. M . O . T . Sahm, A . R . G U zc, C harles W . Sechrist, Peter B . Fassold, H . W . Hilbish, W. J . W agner, G . D. S lra il and the present pas tor, R e v . E . A . Chamberlin. T fie parsonage, purchased from G . W . H art man and remodeled in 1894, is occupied by the pastor, whose charge a b o includes the churches at N ew Columbia and F ro sty V alley, M ontour county, and Canby and M ordans ville. Columbia county. POPULATION
T h e population o f Hemlock township in 18 20 w as 1.4 6 4; in 1830. 1 ,6 8 1; in 1840, 9 5 7 : in 1850, i ,c8 7; in i860, 1,0 3 7; in 1870, 1 ,17 0 : in 1800, 1.0 8 0; in 1890, 9 4 6; in 1900. 9 2 7; in 19 10, 8 ^ .
CHAPTER X X V II J A C K S O N T O W N S H IP The first division o f Greenwood and Su garloaf tow nships w as made in 1838, when Ja c k son township w as form ed from portions o f both. In 18 4 0 the section taken from Su garloaf w as returned and the present lim its were defined. T h e whole of the area o f this town ship w as at first owned b y the A sylu m Lan d Company, a syndicate o f land speculators whose actions prevented an early settlement of their property. T h e lack o f roads and the hilly nature of the country w ere also important hindrances to settlement. Jacob L u n g er came from Northampton county to this section in 1800 and settled on Green creek. About 1805 A bram Whiteman located at the headw aters o f Green creek, four miles from N orth Mountain. Jonathan R ob bins came in 1 8 1 0 from S u g a rlo a f, where he bad settled in 1795. In i S i i P au l H ess. I.evi Priest and G eorge F a rv c r arrived. O thers
who settled in this section at later dates were the Y o rk, G oldcr, W aldron, E verh art, Camp bell and P ark er families. T h e industries o f this township w ere few and cam e into being a fte r the opening of the first good road through the country from U nityville to Benton, in 1828. M ost of the first industries were small sawm ills, as the ch ief occupation of the pioneers w as lumber ing. Ju d g e Iram D err built a saw m ill on Little Fishing creek in 18 4 1 and soon the settlement that grew up around it w as given his name. H is son, A ndrew J . D err, ran the mill from 18 6 1 until its abandionment in 1874. H e w as the first postm aster here in 1879. T h e first post office in the township w as that o f Polktnile, established in 1848 at the home o f John P . H ess, near W aller. M r. H ess w as the first o ffk ial, and the next w as Lot P ark er, in 18 6 3;
- 866 D . L . F.verhart took the office.
