Susquehanna FootprintsStories from the Susquehanna Valley
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Early Pioneer Farming in Northern Pennsylvania

Early settlers in northern Pennsylvania used clumsy axes and hoes to clear land and prepare the soil for farming. Thrashing was done with a flail or trampled by oxen or horses. Men usually worked at lumbering, clearing land, building fence[s], and raising field crops, while women and children tended livestock, made dairy products, and preserved food.

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May 09, 2024 · Terry Diener

Fanny Heddens Hotel

In his book, Pennsylvania Mountain Stories, Henry Wharton Shoemaker shares a trip he made to Fanny Heddens Hotel in Washingtonville, Montour County in the early 1900's.

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May 05, 2024 · Terry Diener

Fort Antes

In 1893, Pennsylvania Governor Robert E. Pattison appointed a commission to come up with a report on the forts erected throughout Pennsylvania to protect early settlers from the Indians prior to the year 1873. Here is a brief story on Fort Antes, in Lycoming County

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May 02, 2024 · Terry Diener

The Lost Coffin

An anecdote from Otzinachson: or a History of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna by J.F. Meginness

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April 30, 2024 · Terry Diener

Captain Jack Crawford, Indian Scout and Poet

Captain Jack, whose baptismal name was John Wallace Crawford, was born in the late 1840's in Donegal, Ireland. After his father came to this country and obtained a job in the mines near Minersville, Schuylkill County, Jack, his mother, and the rest of the Crawford offspring arrived to join the elder Crawford.

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April 27, 2024 · Terry Diener