Allegany County
MDGenWeb
A longing for knowledge makes us strive to ascertain
what happened long ago in far off places, but especially in the community where
we live. We stand in imagination with the Indians, the early German settlers,
the builders of the iron furnace, the miners of coal and iron ore, the makers of
brick and mortar and the skilled workmen who produced pig iron. We sympathize
with their problems and glory in their achievements. We consider, with
admiration and amazement, the lives of those brave souls who developed the coal
industry and who made their living in the varied subsidiary occupations
necessary to the successful establishment of a community.
In 1674, before
there was a Lonaconing, the Iroquois Indians subjugated the Susqehannocks, the
Delawares and their allies, the Shawnees, as well as smaller Algonquin groups.
Artifacts found in "Indian Hollow", a depression in Dan's Mountain between Pekin
and Lonaconing on the east side of Geroge's Creek, indicate that there may have
been a Shawnee settlement in that area. Arrowheads, tomahawks and simiar items
have been found in some abundance.
"Con" was the Indian word for creek.
Aliconie (Allegany) refers to people of the mountain streams. Many scholars
accept the translation of Lonaconing as "the meeting place of many streams." The
claim possibly of Lonaconing being derived from the Delaware Indian guide,
Nemacolin, seems far fetched.
Indians from what became known as the
George's Creek area provided furs for Thomas Cresap's Ohio Company, with store
houses at the junction of Will's Creek and the Potomac River on the Maryland
side.
Nemacolin remained for some time in the service of Colonel Thomas
Cresap. When he decided to rejoin his tribe, he left one of his sons with
Colonel Cresap as his ward. The youth was given the Christian name of George.
The Lonaconing creek valley was his hunting area, whence came the name "George's
Creek".
The earliest white settlers-farmers, hunters, and woodsmen-came
to Lonaconing in the latter part of the eighteenth century. They came with their
families, prepared to stay, although the area at that time was an unbroken
forest with just a wagon trail and bridges over the creek. Their names live on
in their descendants, residents of Lonaconing to this day--Duckworth,
Fazenbaker, Green, Dye, Grove, Van Buskirk, Knapp and Miller, to name a few. The
stone house built in 1797 by Samuel Van Buskirk still stands in Knapps Meadow.
Lonaconing can trace its beginning as a town and a commercial center to the
coming of the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company, a Baltimore and London,
England, syndicate which purchased 11,000 acres of land along the George's Creek
and, in 1837, built a furnace complex to manufacture pig iron, using coal and
coke rather than charcoal for the smelting process. The Lonaconing iron furnace
was the first in the United States to successfully use bituminous coal and coke
in making pig iron.
Besides building a furnace it was necessary for the
company to bring in workers and furnish houses for them. The local farmers
contracted to erect log houses-about 20 from West Main Street to Watercliff and
Knapps Meadow. The furnace workers and their families lived under the "Rules of
Residency" set down by the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company. The company
endeavored to meet the needs of the people. A store was opening and a post
office established. A doctor was brought in to care for the health needs of the
community. From the beginning, education and religion held a high priority.
The furnace produced pig iron from 1839 until 1855, when, because of a
combination of circumstances, the operation ceased. By then the mining of coal
had assumed a much more important industrial role and the George's Creek Coal
and Iron Company, which already owned thousands of acres of land along with the
mineral rights, turned to coal mining as its sole interest.
The
developement of the coal industry issued in an era of growth and prosperity for
Lonaconing as well as all of the George's Creek environs. Numerous coal
companies were formed and mines were opened on all hillsides. Workers flocked in
from Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland and Germany. Business was booming and all
varieties of stores came into being to meet the needs of the people.
Transportation improved and the railroad made several runs each day, bringing in
people and materials and transporting goods to the market.
Hotels were
opened in the vicinity of the railroad station and provided livery stables for
the many "drummers" who came to sell their wares. Using Lonaconing as a base,
these men would hire a horse and wagon and travel the country roads with the
various items needed in households along the way. Many of thes drummers were so
successful that they were able to open stores in town to sell their merchandise.
Eventually other businesses offering employment and economic stability were
a glass factory, silk mill, brick plant, grist mill, ice plant, undertaking
establishments, blacksmith, carpentry and tin shops, saddlery and livery stable.
With the growth of the population, schools came into being, each section of
the town having its own small school, with the largest in the town proper. A
library was established and newspapers published in Lonaconing furnished news of
the world as well as items of local interest.
Music played an important
part in the life of the town and a city band, along with several cornet bands,
had no difficulty in getting members. Plays were presented in the "Opera House"
by traveling companies and also local talent. Later, two moving picture theaters
were quite popular with the residents.
On a more somber side the town
experienced serveral fires and floods, tragic deaths in mine accidents, five
wars and a depression. When the coal industry declined, men and women found
employment in other factories in Lonaconing and surrounding towns. Sadly, many
of these factories are no longer in existence or have decreased their work force
to a minimum, so that the young people have had to seek employment in other
areas. The town is now a community consisting mostly retired citizens and a
minority of the younger generation. Through it all Lonaconing has been a
friendly, happy place, with a prevailing neighborly spirit, where a warm welcome
and a helping hand in time of need are ever present.
In all the wide
world there is only one Lonaconing. It holds a unique place in the hearts of its
people, whether they are still in residence or gone to far away places to make a
living. To them Lonaconing is, and always will be "Home".
The people are
the history of the town. Their strong desire to return to that home year after
year attests to the solidity upon which Lonaconing was built and still stands.
Sources
Reprinted with permission of Mary Meyers. Transcribed by Pat Hook.
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This page was last updated
12/02/2023