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It’s the Fourth of July! Independence Day! And it’s time to remember the true meaning of this national holiday fireworks! And food that’s been grilled into charcoal! And beer! And trips to the emergency room because your kid found firecrackers someplace!
Oh, wait I got kind of carried away there. I mean independence and freedom, and the history of this great country of ours. (Though I contend that Benjamin Franklin would have definitely agreed with me about the beer.) When it comes to history, I’ve got a lot to work with. As the country was being founded and this area was settled, there was a lot going on. So if you have a moment between fireworks, let’s read about it.
Early on, there were forts through this area along the Susquehanna. Fort Reed and Fort Horn were the big ones, built in the 1770s. Fort Carson and Fort Harris also existed between them, but didn’t last long – when they were damaged by the river, the men abandoned them and simply moved to the other forts.
Most of these forts were for some sort of defense against the Native American tribes that lived in the area. For the most part, the tribes were pretty benevolent, but there were some conflicts, and friction on both sides. And 237 years ago this month, things were really beginning to heat up.
So on July 8, 1778, it began.
One lone Native American appeared across the river from Fort Reed, which stood on the north bank of present-day Lock Haven. He was signaling for someone to come across and get him – he’d clearly run a long way – but the men were hesitant, discussing whether or not it was a good idea. So, in what may have been the first act of feminism in American history, Jane Reed got into a boat on her own and rowed across to pick up the native.
She brought him back, and he warned the settlers – there was going to be an attack. They brought him into the fort and laid him down on a bed, where he rested. He’d been running for much of the day in order to warn the settlers, probably because of young Jennie Reed, Jane’s daughter. Jennie had been kind to the tribes, offering them butter and milk, which probably fostered some goodwill.
The settlers began preparations for the attack – the women began packing for an evacuation, and the men began loading their guns. One settler, named either Dewitt or Delong (I’ve seen it both ways) was loading his musket while drunk, which is generally not recommended. He drunkenly declared that he was going to make sure that bullet killed an Indian. And then he turned around and shot the Indian who had warned them, killing him.
This caused immediate havoc. Dewitt (or Delong) was chased from the fort and exiled. No further record shows what happened to him. The rest of the settlers packed up and got into the river to run away, hence the name. They got on rafts, logs, whatever would float, and headed for Fort Augusta in present-day Sunbury.
Settler Robert Covenhoven lived in the Loyalsock area at the time. He ran with his family to Sunbury, and then went back for some of his possessions. Covenhoven met the fleeing settlers midway and encountered them on their trip. In Linn’s History, he said, “Such a sight I never saw in my life. Boats, canoes, hog-troughs, rafts hastily made of dry sticks, every sort of floating article, had been put in requisition, and were crowded with women, children, and plunder. There were several hundred people in all. Whenever any obstruction occurred at any shoal or ripple, the women would leap out into the water and put their shoulders to the boat or raft and launch it again into deep water. The men of the settlement came down in single file on each side of the river to guard the women and the children.”
The fleeing settlers arrived safely in Sunbury, taking refuge in Fort Augusta. Some of them moved to other areas, and some stayed in Sunbury. It took years before they returned to their cabins. Meanwhile, the Native Americans arrived to find the valley more or less empty, except for, probably, Dewitt or Delong. The Natives sulked a bit, and then went about their business.
Much later, the settlers returned. Young Jennie Reed found a teapot that she’d buried under her cabin and claimed it again. Everyone resumed their lives, and the history of the area went on from there. Happy Independence Day, everyone.
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Lou Bernard is a Lock Haven resident with a keen interest in the history of this area. He is adult services coordinator at Ross Library and may be reached at ross13@rosslibrary.org or 570-748-3321.