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Subject: Re: [PAFAY] McClurgs from Huron
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 23:24:59 EST
<< Yes, there was a Huron, German Township, Fayette County, Pa., once
upon a time. It was located between Ronco and Masontown, very close to
the new power plant they are building on this side of the river. I seem
to recall someone having posted about this on the list in the past.
Might have been a post office there at one time too. >>
Ed,
Huron is a little north about 1 1/2 to 2 miles by air from the electrical
plant. The site where the new gas turbine electrical plant is being built is
almost directly across from Little Whitley on the Green Co., side. The
Flennikens that I descend from had a ferry there before the Rev. War. The
Fayette Co., side of the ferry was operated by the Jennings. In later years
it was called McCann's Ferry. But this is on the South side of Ronco. These
Flennikens also had another ferry a little down river but in the deeds for
the property the mouth of Little Whitley is mentioned. About 30 years
afterwards the Flennikens bought out the Jenning's share on the Fayette Co.
side.
A small tributary of Brown's Run is where Huron is located. Brown's Run
comes out above Ronco next to the Ferry Road which used to lead to the
Masontown/Ronco water plant next to the River. Nemacolin would be the town
across from that point.
The area around Rabb's mill was greatly affected when the French took over
New Orleans from the Spanish. It was a free port under the Spanish but the
French charged a heavy tax on all goods exchanged there so this had an impact
on German Twp. Many people left the area around this time period c. 1803-8.
I don't remember the exact date but I do have it in my files. But it slowed
commerce and this was at the time there was a national recession and cash not
available. It really hurt the economy in the area.
Rabb had the saw mill and grain mill near where Huron is located. He
built the rafts from his timber and took whiskey from his distillery and
others to New Orleans. A foundation of an early house with fireplace on
the first and second floors was also nearby. All that remained near that
site in the 1970s, was the cut stone of the chimney and foundation of perhaps
a dwelling. Rabb's house still stands and is well kept. The description of
it is on the Window Pane Tax/Direct Tax of 1798 and it certainly fits the
discription. Carved into the house is the date it was erected.
On the cliffs above the river on the Fayette Co. side where the new power
plant is being built was one of the areas locally named Robber's Den. There
seems to be a number of these sites called Robber's Den along the river. It
was an outcrop of sandstone high above the River. Over the years people
carved their names along with a date into the outcrop. The oldest one I
remember was from the 1840s but many were illegible. I believe some of these
are now gone. The last time I was there was in the early '70s and some of
the boulders hand broken from the rock face. It is a nice precipice to view
the area especially into Greene Co. I doubt that it would have been affected
by the construction of the recent plant. At one time a water tower had been
built at the site but it was long gone by the 1960s.
Robert
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