Warriors Mark, 1768–1968

Reprinted from the Warriors Mark 1768–1968 Bicentennial Booklet.

Much legend and fact are combined in the name of Warriors Mark. Michael Maguire, who came with his parents to the county in 1773, said that in 1845, when they first came here, they found marks made by Indian warriors on trees near the village. Four great oaks, about a half mile or so northwest, where the Indian village once stood, bore marks of arrows and hatchets. Stones found in the crotches indicated that perhaps the Indians used them for games of skill or war games. They may have stood in the center of the four trees and then whirling around let fly arrows at the stone marks something like the modern-day skeet shooting. Gashes in the trees indicated that the Indians may have hurled their tomahawks at them also.

About 1863, J. Simpson Africa said Henry Krider took him to a spot on his farm northwest of Warriors Mark and showed him four trees with their healed gashes. He saw “the remains of four forked oak trees standing on the angles of a quadrangular figure; in the fork of each was a stone almost wholly covered by layers of wood.” These Krider called the warriors’ marks, and he said that “he had heard a tradition that this spot was a favored camping place of the Indians.”

What is believed to be the last remaining of these oak trees is on the Mrs. Edwin Grazier farm, formerly the Henry Krider farm, between Warriors Mark and Spring Mount. If this is one of the oak trees, it must be well over two hundred years old and more likely closer to three hundred years.

Settlers and the first Methodist church

Life for the Indian changed as the first white settlers came seeking game and good fertile soil for clearing and cultivation. The Indians became more and more hostile, and many uprisings and massacres occurred as they saw their land being taken from them. By the end of the Revolutionary War, the white man had taken over so much of their territory that the tribes moved farther and farther west. The last Indians reported in the valley were Job Chillaway, a Delaware; Shaney John, a Mingo; and Captain Logan, a Cayuga. Captain Logan was a very prominent friendly Indian who formed a strong attachment for the Ricketts Family, who were the first white settlers in the township.

Some of the earliest land warrants were granted in 1768. Joseph Grazier, a German, settled in the township about 1790 along with many others; namely, Thomas B. Hyshell, William Hutchinson, Andrew Robison, David Beck, John Buck, Jeremiah Beck, Samuel Cox, John Henderson, Jacob Ganoe, John Addleman, James Calderwood, Thomas Weston, David Buck, Joseph Krider, Adam Mong, George Guyer, John Mattern and Henry Nearhoof.

Thomas Hyshell owned three hundred acres of land which he and his family had cleared and improved. The Hyshells were Methodists, and in 1810 they gave the land and the timber for the building of the first Methodist church. The building was made of hewn logs, and for that period was a “large and commodious structure.” A cemetery was also part of this church property, and today it is known as Burket Cemetery. A marble marker erected in 1919 marks the spot where this church once stood.

Spring Mount and the platting of the village

Spring Mount, or Cross Roads, is closely associated with Warriors Mark, since it lies just about one mile north of the village. James Cox was a cabinet maker and was one of the earliest settlers to enter the business. One of the first buildings in Spring Mount was a blacksmith shop where David Caraher worked. Later a saddler shop, a cooper shop, a foundry, and a store were built to serve the people there.

In 1821 William Reed plotted the village of Warriors Mark for the proprietor, James Gray. There were eighteen lots, each 66′ x 165′. Africa says that “unrecorded additions have subsequently been made, and since the Tyrone and Spruce Creek railroad has been opened to the public and a station house built east of the village in 1881, a number of lots have been sold below the village proper.”

Some of the businesses of that day were a gristmill owned and operated by Jeremiah Beck and a tanning shop owned by David Mong. Robert Hazlett was a wheelwright; Hooper and Addleman were blacksmiths; George Shank, a tailor; Henry Adams, a storekeeper. John Gemmill and Abednego Stevens opened a second store and Jeremiah Cunningham built a building for a hotel and a store. Later this building was converted into a tavern by William Irwin about 1836. When the Chamberlain Family acquired it, it was then known as the “Warriors Mark Exchange”. In 1915 Harry C. Burket purchased it; and his widow, Mrs. Anna T. Burket, now resides there. It has been made into apartments and offices for the United States Post Office.

In 1870, the Mattern Family, namely J. H. Mattern and John F. Mattern, went into the mercantile business. Frank K. Mattern, son of J. H., owned and operated the store until his death. His daughter, Mary E. (Mattern) Hoover, owns it today; and it is operated by the John O’Rourke Family.

The doctors of Warriors Mark

Warriors Mark was fortunate in having many physicians live in its bounds. Dr. Oliver G. Scott, the first to settle here, Dr. David Diller, Dr. Henry K. Neff, Dr. Isaac Kay, Dr. James N. Dinwiddie, Dr. J. A. Deaver, as well as Drs. Bates, Harvey, Banks, Reed, and Light, to name a few. Dr. Tobin, Dr. Peterson, Dr. Crawford, and Dr. Burket also practiced medicine here; but the doctor known best to the writer and many others living here now was Dr. Harry C. Wilson. He began his practice in 1908 at the age of 29. He served the community faithfully and well for 48 years and died on February 1, 1956. In 1948, the entire area honored him for his untiring devotion through the years. His widow, Anna Wigton Wilson, resides in the house that served as an office for the doctor as well as a home for his family.

The Era of the Iron Masters

No history would be complete if we did not mention the Era of the Iron Masters. Iron ore was found in almost every part of the township and the county. Iron furnaces brought with them a period of colorful prosperity and gaiety as money came pouring in from the steady work and good pay which so many enjoyed. The iron masters such as the Lyons at Pennsylvania Furnace, Hamilton at Huntingdon Furnace, Stewarts at Colerain Forges, Wigtons at Franklin Forges, and J. O. Adams at the axe factory all prospered in this memorable period.

There is a large mansion in Warriors Mark now owned by Mrs. William Martin. It was built in 1847 by Anthony Shorb of the firm of Lyon Shorb and Co.—at that time the largest iron manufacturing firm in the United States. In Pennsylvania alone, the company owned 20,000 acres of land and ore rights. The property was bought in 1854 by J. R. Lowrie, attorney for the iron company; and it remained in the Lowrie Family until 1922 when it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Fleck. The Martins bought it from the Flecks in September 1958.

This Warriors Mark home was one of four mansions erected in this area by Lyon and Shorb. One is the Robert L. Harpster dwelling at Pennsylvania Furnace; another is the Louise Olds McMahon dwelling at Colerain; and the fourth is at Huntingdon Furnace, owned by John W. Newlin and formerly owned by J. E. Hindman of Pittsburgh. The most unusual feature of this Warriors Mark property is its trees and shrubbery brought to Central Pennsylvania by J. R. Lowrie from many countries of the world.

Malena: a household word

Warriors Mark had an industry that became a household word; and that was the manufacture of Malena, which business was started in 1886. In 1897 Rev. W. H. Wilson in a souvenir edition of a pamphlet wrote, “As Warriors Mark is no mark of a warlike disposition, for nowhere are there more gentle, spirited folks, so Malena is in no wise akin to malice, or malpractice, or malcontent. Its mission is to soothe, heal, and bless. It is a little thing but sorely missed if not at hand when misfortune befalls and when a sore or cut or bruise cries out for relief. Whether accident or inspiration led to its discovery, it has captured the confidence of the people in these parts. The making and the sending of this simple remedy employs from five to eight hands; and it is used in almost every state, to the Ocean on the west and the Gulf on the South. Orders for it crowd the little post office, and boxes and barrels are shipped out almost daily.”

C. F. York was the owner and manager of the factory which was located on the east side of railroad street south of the second alley. The office was located next to the dwelling where John and Mary Hoover now live. Mr. York moved the business to Detroit in 1910. His wife, Eliza Jane York, died at Warriors Mark on January 24, 1893. The Yorks had one son, Harry, a doctor who now resides in Santiago, California. Their property was sold in 1910 to Frank Mattern.

Burket Cemetery and the Civil War monument

The old Baptist Church has now been converted into a Grange Hall where many community meetings are held. The Presbyterian Church that once stood at the top of the hill just on the edge of “Lowrie’s Grove” has been torn down. It was sold in 1936 and removed to a site near State College. The Lutheran Church on the western part of town was converted into a P.O.S. of A. Hall in the twenties where many plays and community activities were held, and later it was purchased by Elmer Baney who converted it into a dwelling.

In the cemetery, known as Burket’s Cemetery, can be seen a fine monument of bronze, which was dedicated on July 4, 1878. It was placed there to honor the Civil War soldiers and is inscribed, “Sacred to the memory of our deceased comrades.” The monument is about twelve feet high and is surmounted by a figure of an “Angel of Mercy.” On the upper die is a profile figure of Abraham Lincoln which was modeled after one of the last photographs taken of him. Underneath are inscribed his immortal “With malice toward none, with charity for all.”

In the center of the village just in front of the Post Office is a monument honoring the World War I soldiers. It is constructed of native stone and stands about six feet high. It was dedicated in 1922.

The valley today

In the past two hundred years, every mode of transportation has played an important part in the development of the community. The footpaths of the Indian Braves, the trails and wagon roads through the mountains, the canals and towpaths, the railroads with their freight and passenger traffic, the automobile, the plane and the jet all have changed the tempo of the era and revolutionized the life of the people.

Today Warriors Mark has 91 houses, 98 families, and 301 people living in the village itself. Spring Mount has 22 houses, 24 families and 70 persons living there. Surrounding these villages are many of the finest farms in the state. Families who are direct descendants of the early pioneers, as well as many other progressive farmers include names such as Branstetter, Buck, Campbell, Clark, Conrad, Cox, Cupp, Durbin, Eyer, Fulcomer, Gilliland, Grazier, Harshbarger, Kimmell, Marshall, Nearhoof, Neff, Nowlin, Ormsby, Reed, Rumberger, Russell, Stiver, Taylor, Thompson, Wertman, Williams, and many others.

Contrast the work of these early pioneers who used shovel, hoe, plough, and pick with the modern-day methods of farming, where the tractor, combine, baler, and every new type of invention that can be conceived is used to make this land “blossom like the rose.”