Welcome to the Western Pennsylvania Neighborhood Webs of the: Chicora PA Area Including Craigsville PA, Fenelton PA, North Oakland PA, and surrounding Western Pennsylvania Communities History & Interesting Items With links to other Web sites with history and genealogy information.

Chicora, Pennsylvania was originally called Barnhart Mills.  Then it was called Millerstown and later named Chicora.

~~~~~

Millerstown Borough: History of Butler County Pennsylvania, R. C. Brown Co., Publishers, 1895:  Click here for Web page

~~~~~

The Chicora Meteor

    Almost 61 years ago Virginia Christies mother was almost crushed to death while feeding the chickens when a meteor ripped through the town, shook houses, broke windows and exploded into a large fireball.
    The "Chicora Meteor" was estimated to be 600 tons when it hit the atmosphere and disintegrated. Only 10 ounces were recovered, and were split between the Carnegie museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institute.

~~~~~

    In 1794 James Hemphill and Rudolph Barnhart came to what is now Chicora, Pennsylvania.  The men had first come to Butler, Pennsylvania in 1794.  Unable to find land to their liking, they found their way to the area which became part of Donegal Township.  James Hemphill selected a 439-acre tract from which the Borough was carved later.  Rudolph Barnhart selected land that later became the Kincaid Farm and is still known as the Kincaid Hill area.

    The first manufacturing in the settlement was a distillery constructed in 1803 by James Hemphill. In 1805, Abraham Lasher erected a grist mill, later purchased by John Wick, who sold it to James Hemphill. Benjamin Fletcher later acquired the mill, which he sold to Philip Barnhart. Barnhart tore down the old mill and erected a new structure. His son, Henry, later acquired the mill, and after remodeling it, used steam power to replace the undependable water supply of Buffalo Creek.

    A Mr. Burford was the next owner, and he sold it to Fetzer and Myers, who constructed a new mill in 1869 and remodeled it in 1884. The last owner was Bert Dunlap, who operated it for several years. The mill was razed and a new building erected after it was acquired by John Graham. When Philip Barnhart purchased the mill in 1836, he also purchased 150 acres of land that included much of the present  Chicora. The mill, when first erected by Lasher, was a welcome relief to the early settlers who had previously had to haul flour from Kiskeminitas and other long distances. While not a perfect milling process, it made flour easier to obtain. The mill could only operate about one-fourth of the time that it was needed due to the lack of water power.
    The village was then called Barnhart Mills after Barnhart razed the old mill and constructed a new, improved milling facility.
    Later, his son, Henry, remodeled the mill and installed steam power for the first time.  Later purchased by Fetzer and Myers, it again was remodeled, with then modern appliances and had a capacity of 60 barrels a day. According to early stories, when Philip Barnhart purchased the mill and surrounding land he made payment with silver.
    His safe was a large tin plate which was kept on a cupboard. After counting out the money, the previous owner, Fletcher placed it in a grain bag and left it under a bench.  The bag continued to lay under the bench, even though many people entered the building and the doors were never locked. It was quite a contrast to the present day, when even locked homes and businesses are not safe from thieves.  

~~~~~

    Chicora Borough was incorporated in 1855 with John Byers, Christian Gumpper, Solomon Fleeger, and Andrew Barnhart serving as councilmen, to remain in office until new officers would be elected at the first election.
   The first record of council action is from records of  J. C. Gaisford, the Borough Clerk, on August 13, 1856.  The members present were Solomon Fleeger,  H. L. Westerman, John Frederick, and H. Sanderson.

Submitted by Richard Hemphill

~~~~~

This year (2002) The E. F. Hays & Sons Hardware Store will celebrate 120 years of service for northern Butler County.  1882 - 2002.  The owners now are Ed and Linda Uber.

~~~~~

Junkers Greenhouse:  Located on Rt. 268, south of Kepples Corners in Sugarcreek Township, Armstrong County, just south of the Butler County line.  Bruce Junker and his wife Margie constructed a flower shop and greenhouse in 1968.  The Junkers purchased the home from Dick Graham who had operated a flower shop and small greenhouse there previously.  The green house had been removed, but Junker constructed new facilities in 1978.  Bruce Junker retired as the wood shop instructor in the East Brady High School, then in the Armstrong School District.  Bruce and his wife sold the business to Donna Hillwig and Margie Hillwig in the summer of 2001.  Source:  The Progress News.  Story by Leroy Andre.  Exact date of article unknown - sometime in July or August 2001.

~~~~~

     The major fires in Chicora, 1874 and 1906, resulted in fire lines being laid through the village, and in 1934, the first fire hall was constructed, which has served as the ambulance garage for many years before the new fire hall was constructed. Lawrence (Bud) Woods was recognized by Hile as the only surviving member of the firefighters who constructed the building in 1934.  (From newspaper article written by LeRoy Andre, September 11, 2002 about the dedication of the new Chicora Fire Department Building.)

In 1873 the first newspaper in Chicora, the Chicora Sand Pump came into life reflecting the booming oil business of that era.

In 1875  another newspaper, the Millerstown (Chicora) Review came into business, and was followed in 1876 by the Millerstown Herald.

In 1899 the Millerstown Herald merged with the Democratic Herald a Butler newspaper and continued until 1901.

~~~ Top - Directory ~~~

Chicora Water Tower with US Flag.
Photo taken by ButlerWebs shortly after September 11, 2001.
(Before the new paint!)

~~~~~

~~~~~

April 30, 2004
PennDot removed the overhead railroad bridge on
Route 68 between Chicora and Kaylor PA

~~~~~

Did you know that Chicora has an airport?
AirNav: Waltman Airport

~~~~~

The Local History Company
Publishers of History and Heritage
112 North Woodland Rd.
Pittsburgh  PA  15232
412-362-2294
Fax: 412-362-8192
Butler, Pennsylvania Celebrates Its Bicentennial
is available soon!  Call or write for details.

~~~~~

Saint Patrick's Log Church
RR 1, Worthington
724-526-5079 or 445-3309
Hours: 11AM to 9PM April - 15 through September - 30 
This church was built in 1806, and the adjoining cemetery dates back to 1798.
The Church is open daily.

~~~~~

~~~~~

~~~~~

~~~~~

~~~ Top - Directory ~~~

The History of Donegal Township, PA

~~~~~

A Link to an Old time Donegal Twp. Map

~~~~~

Chicora Research Center

~~~~~

Hemphill Family Genealogy Forum

~~~~~

The Butler Co., PA USGenWeb Web Site

The USGenWeb Project is a "group of volunteers working together to provide Internet websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States' and 'is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone." The Pennsylvania portion of this project is called the PAGenWeb Project.

~~~~~

SEDGWICK.ORG presents: My Most Interesting Ancestor

"...Elizabeth Hemphill was the sister of James Hemphill (d. 1818) who was the first white settler in neighboring Donegal Township, Butler County. He (and presumably, they) arrived in 1795 choosing 400 acres where the town of Chicora now stands. Elizabeth and Benjamin Fletcher were married about 1805. James Hemphill, Hemphills from Donegal Township (Butler, PA: privately printed, [N.D.]), Sec.1. 3p.)

SEDGWICK.ORG 
Sedgwick Genealogy Worldwide

~~~~~

Early Catholic Families of Western Pennsylvania

This site is primarily but not exclusively about Irish and German families and their descendants that settled in Armstrong and Butler Counties.  I will include church records, history, biographies, ships lists, places from which they emigrated and any other available information.  If you have any info that you would like to add please feel free to email me at wyllyrod@aol.com

St. Patrick's Deaths 
Listed by year 1901-1910

~~~~~

Do you have an interesting story or information about the history of Chicora?  Please Contact Us with your information or story so we may include it on this page. Pictures are welcome, too!

~~ Top of Page ~~

See separate pages for:
[ Chicora High School - Photo Album ] [ Chicora High School "Memories" - 1959 ]

Quick Links to the Chicora PA Area Neighborhood Web Pages:
Chicora PA Area - Home Page & Index
[ Activities, Recreation, Clubs, Sports ] [ Automotive, Travel - Cars, Trucks, etc. ] [ Beauty - Hair, Nails & Cosmetics ] [ Business Services - Banks, Insurance, etc. ] [ Church Directory ] [ Community Services & Government ] [ Computers, Internet, Web Site Services ] [ Gifts, Flowers, Antiques, Crafts ] [ Health, Medicine, Dental, Optical, Funeral ] [ History & Interesting Items ] [ Home Improvement and Lawn & Garden ] [ Lodging ] [ Pets, Animals & Livestock ] [ Real Estate, Mortgages, Moving & Storage ] [ Restaurants, Food & Beverage ] [ Other Shops & Businesses ]

Quick Links to the Western PA Neighborhood Webs:
[ ALL WESTERN PA AREAS - HOME PAGE & INDEX ] [ Beaver County PA ] [ Brookville PA Area & Jefferson County PA ] [ Butler PA Area ] [ Butler County PA ] [ Chicora, PA Area ] [ Clarion PA Area ] [ Cranberry Township PA Area ] [ East Brady, PA Area ] [ Grove City PA Area & Mercer County Listings ] [ Indiana County PA ] [ Kittanning PA Area ] [ New Bethlehem PA Area ] [ New Castle PA Area - Lawrence County ] [ Parker - Emlenton PA Area ] [ Petrolia - Petroleum Valley PA Area ] [ Pittsburgh, PA & All Others ] [ Rimersburg PA Area ] [ Saxonburg, Sarver, Cabot PA Area ] [ Sligo, PA Area ] [ Slippery Rock & Harrisville PA Area ] [ Venango County PA ] [ West Sunbury - North Washington PA Area ] [ Westmoreland County PA ] [ Zelienople - Harmony - Evans City PA Area ] [ CLASSIFIED ADS - Western PA Areas ] [ EVENTS CALENDARS - Western PA Areas ] [ Add Your Western PA Business or Event - Free Basic Listings ]

This page was last edited 05/11/06.

History and interesting items about Chicora, Pennsylvania and surrounding communities of Craigsville PA, Fenelton PA, North Oakland PA, Worthington PA, and neighborhoods in  Butler County, PA.