There are several stories as to why the name was later changed to Beavertown. One was the fact that the beavers had a dam in nearby Swift Run; another says that there were many ponds in the community and these were infested with beavers; and still another says that it was named because of the many people named Beaver living in the community at the time.
At the time the town was laid out several log houses were already constructed. The first house to be built after it was laid out was on the northeast corner of Market and Sassafras Streets where Mr. Ammon Smith now lives. It was built by John Rush. In 1812 J. C. Weiser started hotel in the place and continued in business until 1823.
The building which houses the Main Street Hotel and Hockenbrock's Store was built in 1846 by Moses Specht and was used for a hotel. It was known as the Oregon Hotel. The first store in town was also located in this building, and the original building still stands.
The second store was started where Harold Hassinger lives. Other original houses are where George Walter, George Doebler, and Nellie Bingaman now live. Another hotel was located on Bailey's corner and was run by George A. Smith. The dates of these buildings are not known but the atlas from which much of the information was taken was printed in 1868.
The following is a business directory taken from the same book:
Moses Specht--Proprietor of the Oregon Hotel and dealer in general merchandise; manufacture of threshing machines, ploughs, etc.
Jacob Freed--Tanner and currier; dealer in hides and leather.
Elias Specht--Gunsmith
John Montgomery--Foundryman
S.A. Wetzel--Justice of the Peace
I. D. Conrod-Doctor
Beavertown was a slow growing Pennsylvania Dutch community and in the earliest days farming was the chief occupation of the inhabitants. The methods of farming were very crude in the beginning, but as time went on and new improvements and inventions were made the people were able to arm more efficiently. The first binder was owned by John Hetrick and it required eight horses to pull it.
As early as 1840 there was a foundry in which plows, kettles, and farm implements were made. They also made bells which were very popular with the farmers who used them for dinner bells and many other things. A second foundry was established where Mr. Rudolph Coleman lives. After the foundry ceased to operate it was used as a bicycle shop operated by the Stetlers.
In 1860 there was a sumac mill where Mrs. Ruth Dreese's garage now stands. The berries were dried and ground up like flour and packed in small bags. This was used to tan Morocco shoes which were then in style for women. The machines were oiled with tallow and bee wax.
The run which flows from DeLongs by the home of Mrs. Ruth Dreese was dug by hand in order to furnish power for a furniture factory located somewhere in that locality.
Cattle raising brought about the establishment of a small tannery and by 1871 it was a rather large industry which produced a large amount of leather for the Philadelphia markets. It was owned by John S. Wood and Son on the site where Clarence Walker and Ira Bobb now have homes. It employed thirty to forty men in the winter and over a hundred in the summer.
About 1876 the first steam sawmill was brought to the surrounding forest and the town was quite a lumber market for years. Then came the mine prop industry which took prop timber from Shade Mountain and was shipped by the carload to the coal mines until the mountain was stripped. This was about the greatest boom the town ever had. At the same time there was also a great amount of iron ore being hauled from the ridges to the railroad and shipped to some distant furnaces. It was around this time that the Beavertown Hotel was built to furnish rooms for all the miners.
In 1884 the Keystone Match Company was formed to make matches and it did quite a large business and employed a lot of men, women, boys and girls. Eventually, after changing hand several times, it was sold and move to Selinsgrove. This was located where Park Wagner has his garden. Men and women received 25 cents a day and after they became experts they got 50 cents a day.
Then came the shirt and glove factory which still survives today as a shirt factory run by Charles T. Saylor and Sons. This was first located on the first floor of the Kerns building, then it moved to where the Grange Hall is now, and later to the present location. This building was built to be used as a furniture factory.
Sometime around 1890 Johnny Bingaman had an undertaking establishment where Pete Marks now has a shoe repair shop.
During the years there were several black smith shops, coach shops, stave mills, planning mills, and a hemp mill. The exact location and dates of many of these are not known. One stave mill was located where Hennie Bingaman's barn now stands. There was a planning mill near Roy Hackenberg's house and another in 1879 where Mollie Bingaman lives.
Around 1900 James Kline invented a hydraulic ram that was used quite extensively in the west. Earl in the 1900's John P. Kearns and John A. Kearns manufactured automobiles on a small scale.
In 1918 B. Edmund David chose Beavertown as a site for a silk mill and the present mill was built and operated to this day. It has changed ownership several times and there have been many additions to the building.
The Beavertown Brick Company was organized in 1926. Later it changed ownership and became known as the Hill Brick Company and in 1946 the present company took over and it is now known as the Glenn Gery Shale Brick Company. Approximately 35,000 brick are made each day from the shale taken from the fields southwest of the plant.
In 1943 Ira Middleswarth and Son started a potato chip factory. It is a prosperous industry in our community and it is continuing to expand.
The first church to be built in the community was the Reformed and Lutheran in 1851. This was used by both congregations until some dispute arose and the case was taken to court. The Reforms won and then the Lutherans built their own church which was dedicated in 1880.
It is said that on the Ada Carpenter place a cabinet shop was run by Peter Kline in what now is her washhouse. He made furniture and it is said that every Saturday evening he swept the shop, lined up benches and Sunday it was used to hold religious meetings. Some time later this group of people built what was then called the little brown church. It was so called because it was built of planks and painted brown. This church later became known as the Evangelical Church which was built in 1865.
Since that time all three churches have remained but many additions and renovations have been made.
The first school houses were located on the corner lot where William Specht lives and in the southeast corner of the present cemetery. It is said that the children from one side of Main Street attended one school, while those living on the other side went to the other. During the winter they would meet on Main Street for snow ball battles.
Then in 1875 a two story brick building was built east of the cemetery but this was condemned because it wasn't substantially built. It is said that when the wind blew hard it shook the ink out of the inkwells on the desks.
The present building was built in 1880. There have been many changes made in the structure of the building and at the present it is a four-room brick structure.
Another building used for a school house was first located on the vacant lot next to Aaron Snyder's home. This was later rolled down the hill to where Annie Thomas lives and was used for a high school. Later the high school was in the second story of Bailey's Restaurant building and then in 1928 the present high school was built.
At one time there was a stage route which carried mail from Lewistown to Northumberland. It was called the old rocker coach because it rocked so much. The trip was made every day except Sunday and at noon it stopped at Beavertown to change horses.
The Post Office was started in 1815 and in 1827 the receipts were $20.19 for the year.
In 1867 grading was begun for a railroad from Sunbury to Lewistown. The track was laid in 1871 and the first train ran on November 1 of that year. Labor was 8 cents an hour or 80 cents for a 10 hour day. At one time several passenger trains stopped at the station each day. At the present time a freight train makes one trip a day.
You will notice that on all the older properties there are barns. This is because before the automobile days everybody had a horse or two.
The only means of transportation, besides the automobile, out of Beavertown, at the present time is the Lepley-Kline bus line which runs from Beavertown to Lewistown three times a day.
During the years there have been many organizations. Of these there are ten that are active at the present time. They are The Grange, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, the Beavertown Mutual Insurance Company which was incorporated in 1879, the Fire Company organized in 1939, Ladies Auxillary of the Fire Company, the Home and School Club, and in 1950 the Chamber of Commerce.
At one time there was a P.O.S. of A., a P.O. of A., the Nights of Malta, and a town band composed of all men. It was called the Beavertown Brass Band.
In 1948 the Fire Company started to sponsor a baseball team. The first year it belonged to the Snyder County League and the next year it stepped up to the West Branch League. That year the team captured second place and in 1950 it won the championship. This team was managed by Sam Herman.
In the spring of 1948 a war memorial was started in the form of a rose garden. This is located on the corner lot next to the Lutheran Church. It has become a very beautiful garden with lots of roses and many other flowers and shrubbery.
Beavertown was incorporated as a borough in 1914 and at that time the population was 561. At the present time it is 814.
As we look over the 141 years we can truly say that our community has been prosperous and we should be proud of it. It will be out duty, as the future citizens of Beavertown, to see that it continues to prosper and to be a better place in which to live.