Progress brings change! Prior to the 60’s, the Duck family, and other restaurateurs, operated Mill Hall’s “Blue Chimney,” now Advanced Family Chiropractic. A blue chimney was erected at the marquis and locals dubbed it “The Blue Flu.” It was next to Miller’s Furniture, behind Johnstonbaugh’s Dairy and near Net Hill’s famous Dutch Inn Gift Shop and Restaurant.

During Blue Flu visits you might find Richard “Dick” E. Winters, smoking a pipe and reading a paperback. For seven years he, along with WBPZ News Director Keith Kline, were Directors of the Lockettes Drill Team, a prominent female group that secured five state championships. And, Mr. Winner relinquished a book entitled “History of the Fallon Hotel.”

Progress has changed two Water Street restaurants in Lock Haven (“City”). First was “The Locks,” operated by Dr. Forney (“Fred”) Winner (1913-2010), a local surgeon who lived atop his Main Street Opera House during summer months.

The Locks offered a Blue Room, Pink Room, dining room with large wall murals of Indians at war and a long bar that, before dike-levee days, provided a fabulous view of the Susquehanna River. Whether geography or gin, one felt the bar was moving.

Fred authored seven books and we visited him in Florida where he collected many Lincoln Mark V’s and tended his horticultural garden with plants from around the world. His family owned the Winner Packing Plant, now the Lucky Seven Travel Plaza.

Fred’s most-novel book entitled “Blue Coal” revealed very unorthodox, or “spicy,” tales about local people of the time. He didn’t print names, but provided enough detail that you knew the characters.

His book, “The Gemology of Mankind,” was adopted as a social science text at a New England University. He bought up mountains and became the largest landowner in Clearfield County.

Fred’s sister, Isabel Winner Miller, wrote Old Town: A History of Lock Haven 1769-1845 and you can read it at The Heisey Museum on East Water Street or the Ross Library on West Main Street.

Fred owned the Jacob Grafius House, across from the Clinton County Courthouse. Jacob Grafius (181101881) operated the City’s first retail store, selling provisions to river travelers.

The tiny Grafius store remains as an apartment and has a side portico facing the newly restored Veteran’s Park, next to the Veteran’s Bridge. A portrait of old Mr. Grafius hangs in the building’s entrance.

Attorney Lee H. Roberts practiced law in the building, where an old Indian canoe was discovered in the basement. The three-story building was revived by a local developer incorporating nine facade colors from Victorian homes on Steiner Street in San Francisco, known as the “Painted Ladies.” The old “Locks Restaurant” sign hangs inside Fox’s Restaurant.

Progress came to the City years ago. The Fallon opened two restaurants inside the hotel, and it all began in Spain. The money to build the Fallon came from the Queen of Spain when she received $5M dollars from the United States in the 1821 sale of land that is now Florida!

Water Street was a dirt road. There were no autos, fountain pens, telephones, x-rays or dynamite and Franklin Pierce was the 14th President. Queen Maria Cristina was the Queen of Spain, a country that had become the most powerful nation in the world.

The Queen was known to be “troublesome.” It was she who negotiated alliances between Spain, Portugal, France and England. But given the political climate, she and her bodyguards decided it might be wise to flee to the United States. The Queen chose Lock Haven and Farrandsville to reside.

The Fallon, a place for the Queen’s visitors to stay, contained a barber shop, library, general store, news stand and mini-zoo. With a fourth-floor observatory, it attracted guests including writer Mark Twain, showman P. T. Barnum and General George Mead.

Maria Cristina, born 1808 in Naples, was the daughter of Francis I, King of the two Sielles, and she became the wife of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. She purchased a large tract of land in Clinton County with funds held up in the Bank of the United States by President Andrew Jackson.

Some Florida sale proceeds were spent to erect a mansion near Farrandsville, the small village six miles west of Lock Haven. It was to serve as the Queen’s Palace has she been forced to seek refuge in this country.

The small town of Farrandsville is home to a historic iron furnace owned by The Clinton County Historical Society. Its construction began in 1836 and measures 43 feet square by 54 feet high. It’s a rare example of an early attempt to adopt coke as a blast furnace fuel.

Farrandsville was a busy manufacturing village nestled among the mountains near the mouth of Lick Run, a 17-mile long tributary of the Susquehanna River. The stream is great for hiking and offers challenging trout fishing.

Philadelphia scientist William P. Farrand (1828-1899) acted as an agent for Boston capitalists and moved products on his ship named “The Farrand.” Farrandsville grew and there were more than 100 dwellings, hotels, taverns and boarding houses.

Today Farrandsville is a tiny town with not much happening since Mr. Knisley demolished Rockey Point, a former boy scout camp and one of the best eateries in the region. Clinton County once boasted dozens of exceptional restaurants and bars and it’s the goal of Fallon proprietors, Carey and Brittany Chisolm, to revive that progress in the hotel.

Philadelphia lawyers John and Christopher Fallon, as guests for Queen Cristina, purchased the Farrand building and constructed the magnificent Fallon in 1856. Its front porch was marked by four massive pillars and a platform to create a theatre stage.

There were fireplaces in many rooms. The upper floors were served by a stairway and landing to the second floor adorned with wooden carvings. The Fallon has a dumb-waiter that operated from the basement kitchen to upper floors.

There was a winding stairway from the attic to the basement and “speaking tubes” from the basement to the top floor. The basement also contained a bar, kitchen, two large living rooms, laundry and 100-foot deep hole.

Supported by Stephen Poorman, progress will soon provide beautiful rooms that overlook the Susquehanna in what is referred to as “The River Wing.”

The Queen’s lawyers also constructed a castle near Lick Run. The four-story structure, in colonial style, was painted white inside and out. There were fireplaces in all rooms with the exception of two. The marble fireplaces and mantles were imported from European quarries.

Close your eyes and imagine the Fallon fitted elaborately with mirrors, hangings and ornate furniture shipped from Philadelphia on canal boats. The Fallon, built with local brick, has a frontage of 100 feet on East Water Street. It has two wings, the longer one extending back tot he river, that was once used as a boat dock for boarding sailboats to cruise the Susquehanna.

A lavish enclosed garden housed a large squirting fountain and became a venue for theatricals and concerts, now the location of an outdoor courtyard. The front panel of the current Est. 1856 Bar, formally “The Dukes,” is finished in hand-carved mahogany with fabulous “coffered ceilings.”

Likewise, the lobby mirror and fireplace remain. If you walk into the lobby, you’ll see a restored portrait of Queen Cristina, provided by Mr. Poorman.

With a daily room rate of $2, the Fallon provided an electric call bell, attentive staff and a beautiful cafe and dining room. You would find a Yellow Room and Maria Cristina Room, soon to be revitalized with a Spanish flair.

City Mayor John W. Smith purchased the Fallon in 1984 and it’s never been the same. Local rumors suggest one woman torched the 1852 historic 800-foot Jay Street Covered Bridge and another threw herself into the Fallon hole. Some also believe men gave rise to these acts!

Well, the bridge is gone but maybe the unknown woman is down in the hole today?

This article is only a “taste of history and progress” with a goal to encourage young people to learn more about their hometown. If you’re seeking a more accurate or complete version, visit the Clinton County Historical Museum, The Ross Library, the Fallon or grab your hiking or fishing gear and head up to Lick Run.

This City is a fascinating place and while driving around you’re surrounded by beautiful old buildings and interesting stories from the past.

Stephen Poorman is a longtime area resident and business consultant.