History of Reynoldsville
Chapter IV - Highways

Indian Trails and Bridle Paths. The first passages through this wilderness were deer paths, crossings or runways, and Indian trails, and there were many of them going in all directions. Later white men came and drove the savages out, their trails and paths faded away and bridle paths made by white men appeared. White men's trails were called bridle paths because they were frequently used by travelers on horseback. Horseback riding was much more prevalent before 1850 than it has been since. Women rode as well as men and frequently a woman sat behind a man on the same horse. Many a young fellow thus took his lady love from a dance or frolic late at night along a trail through the woods.

The first path was Mead's trail made by the Mead brothers in 1787, of which mention is made under the head of "First Adventurers and Early Settlers."

About 1830 and previous the Irishtown path connected Prescottville with Irishtown, or Beechwoods, as it has been called since 1840, in what is now Washington township. It crossed the Sandy Lick Creek over a log at Pancoast about four miles above Reynoldsville. Another path connected what is now Reynoldsville and Punxsutawney.

The Old State Road. The legislature passed an act April 10, 1790, "to provide for the opening of a road from near Bald Eagle's Nest (Milesburg, Centre County) to Le Boeuf," (Waterford). April 4, 1796, it passed another act authorizing and empowering the governor to appoint "three skilled persons to view the ground and estimate the expense of opening and making a good wagon road, from Bald Eagle's Nest (Milesburg) to the town of Erie." William Irvin, Andrew Ellicott, and George Watson were appointed as commissioners. Joseph Ellicott took the place of Andrew Ellicott, who resigned, William Irving returned home and the other two proceeded on their journey. The road was then built and It was officially taken from the contractor and a quietus entered as to the contract, April 2, 1804.o The road went through Winslow township. The route lay just east of Rathmel and crossed the Sandy Lick Creek a short distance east of Reynoldsville. Until the completion of the turnpike In 1822 the road was the only public thoroughfare for emigrants from the East to the Northwest. It was abandoned in Winslow township before 1830 and now exists only in a few places elsewhere. Ruts where wagon wheels once ran can yet be found In the township though they are grown over with trees. A few places where cuts were made are discernable and the loge of an old bridge across a stream near Rathmel now can be seen.

The Susquehanna and Waterford Turnpike. February 22, 1812, an act was passed by the legislature enabling the Governor to incorporate a company to build a turnpike from the west branch of the Susquehanna River near the mouth of Anderson Creek, Clearfield county, through what is now Reynoldsville to Waterford, in Erie county.

James Barnett and Peter Jones, of Jefferson county, two from each of the other counties through which it passed, and two from Philadelphia, were appointed commissioners to receive stock. Each of these counties was slotted a specific number of shares at $25 each. Jefferson county was required to take 50.

The building of the road was delayed six years on account of The War of 1812. It was called the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike and the company which owned and operated it was called The Susquehanna & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, incorporated in 1817. The survey was begun in 1818 and completed in October of that year under the supervision of John Sloan. Work started in 1821 and in November, 1822, the road was practically completed, though the bridges and a few short sections were not built until 1824. James Harriett, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, took the contract for building the turnpike and he gave it to subcontractors. Some were given five miles, some 10 and some more. Apportionments were made in each county through which the road passed, to people whose duty it was to receive the money so appropriated and to pay it out. Charles E. Gaskill and Carpenter Wilson represented Jefferson county. Our part of the turnpike was 126 miles long. The entire road cost $190,000. The State appropriated $140,000 and the individual subscriptions amounted to $50,000 up to March, 1822. The link through this region was not entirely completed until November, 1824. There was then one continuous pike from Philadelphia to Erie. The "clay turnpike" was the name given this section and the early Settlers claimed that it was the most convenient and easily traveled road in the United States. It was certainly a magnificent thoroughfare. Along each side were strung logs and the road was elevated in the center to turn off the water. Main Street in Reynoldsville at one time was a part of this historic old route.

About a mile and a half west of Reynoldsville in the second ravine (Wild Cat Hollow) there still remains ruins of an old stone oven erected and used by the laborers who built the road. In the first years of the pike when hotels and farm houses were few the workmen, whose duty it was to keep it in good, condition, were obliged to camp out at night and one of their camping places was at this oven.

The first bridge across the Sandy Lick Creek at Reynoldsville was constructed to 1822. The present bridge made of concrete, was built in 1913, and is the eighth. The two preceding were iron and were on the site of the present one.

After the completion of the Allegheny Valley Railroad in 1873 the turnpike lost much of its importance and, in 1874, the company abandoned the road from west of Brookville through Reynoldsville to the Jefferson-Clearfield county line. Later the road by a decision of the court became the property of the county and finally by an act of the legislature, passed in 1908, this and all similar pikes in the State came into the possession of the townships in which they were situated. In its time the old pike has been an important factor in the improvement of this region.

Milestones. Immediately after the completion of the turnpike milestones were erected on the south side of the road. The stones were white, square and well finished. On each was inscribed "To S. -miles. To F. -miles." "S." was for Susquehanna at the east, and "F" was for Franklin at the west. Eight of these stones were in Winslow township. Going west the first was 19 miles from Susquehanna and was a short distance west of the Clearfield county line. The next was 20 just east of Prospect Hill. Then came 21 part way up the hill east of what is now Rathmel Junction. At Prescottville, just east of Reynoldsville, was 22. Following was 23 on Main Street, Reynoldsville, about 100 feet east of where that street 1s now crossed by Seventh Street. Next was 24 immediately west of town. Between the two branches of Prior Run came 25. The last was 26 just east of Deemer's Crossroads.

Going east the stone just east of Deemer's Crossroads was marked 54 miles from Franklin. The others in the township were marked respectively 55 to 59 miles inclusive.

Tollgates. Tollgates followed immediately after the completion of the turnpike. The gate In Winslow township first stood 225 feet east of the Sandy Lick Creek, directly in front of the old log tavern owned for many years by Woodward Reynolds. In 1849 it was moved a few rods cast to directly in front of The Reynolds Tavern, and in 1860 to about 200 feet east of what is now the corner of Main and 10th Streets. There the gate remained until in 1874 when, after the post had been maliciously blown out one night, the gate was abandoned. Several times previously it had been taken down at night but it was always replaced. The nearest tollgate to the east was two miles west of Luthersburg and the nearest to the west was at Brookville. The gangs of men employed upon the road were paid from the receipts of the gates, and it was kept in fine condition. The gates were attended to by the keepers from early in the morning until 10 o'clock at night. From then until the next morning they were raised and travelers went through free. People look advantage of this and many drove over the pike after dark.

The toll charged was as follows: Man on horseback, 12 1-2 cents; one horse and spring wagon, 64 cents; one horse and one common wagon, 12 1-2 cents; two horses and common wagon, 24 cents; six horses and common wagon, 64 cents; cattle 28 cents, and sheep 20 cents per score. These rates were for 12 miles, the distance to the next tollgates. Persons entering or leaving the pike between the gates were charged in proportion to the miles they traveled over the road. Many who lived along the pike paid by the year and not for each trip. No charge was made for clergymen. There le now in Reynoldsville an old toll book in which the totals of each day's receipts were kept for four years, beginning with 1839. According to the book the receipts varied from $5 to $17 per week. Those were large amounts when the laborers were paid 50 cents per day and board for working on the road. In collecting toll the gatekeepers had more trouble counting sheep than doing anything else. When passing through the gates the drovers kept them moving back and forth, making it impossible for the gate keeper to count accurately. He was often obliged to guess at the number.

Sometimes men who were not ministers attempted to pass as such. Woodward Reynolds was a gate keeper so long that he declared he could tell a minister when he saw him. One day a man attempted to go through without paying, and when asked for toll he stated that he was a preacher. Mr. Reynolds doubted it, but to test him asked the fellow to come in and pray with the family. "I'd rather pay the toll," said he, with an oath, which he did and went on. Later another stranger endeavored to get by free. Mr. Reynolds asked him for toll and he, too, claimed to be a clergyman. "Well," said the tollgate keeper, "if that is the case we will be pleased to have you come in the house and pray with the family." "Certainly," was the prompt reply, "that is one of my duties and I will be only too glad to perform it." "Ahem," answered Mr. Reynolds, somewhat embarrassed, "my wife is busy now and I can't leave the gate just at present, so you must excuse us." The man went through without paying.

Travel on the Turnpike. Travel on the turnpike began as the road neared completion in 1822. It increased gradually until about 1846 or 1847 when it reached enormous proportions. More business was done then than has been done in several of the less prosper-out years together. But thereafter it began to decrease mostly on account of the building of the railroads, until 1874, half a century after its completion, when the business of the road had dwindled to a mere shadow of its former greatness.

The first stagecoach passed over the pike about November 6, 1824. John O'Neil was the driver and Mr. Clark, of Perry county, the contractor. Coaches continued to carry passengers over the road for 50 years and the express matter of The Adams Express Company from about 1860 to 1874. The coaches were drawn by four large bones in good weather and six in bad, until the last few years of their existence when the number was reduced to two. The owner of the stage line which served this part of the road, extending from Clearfield to Brookville, was a leaseholder of The Susquehanna & Waterford Turnpike Road Company, and was employed by the Federal government to carry the mail. The vehicles were rockaway or Concord stages. The upper part rented on wide straps extending from front to rear and were easy to ride on. The coaches were beautifully finished. The bodies were painted green, red, brown or yellow, and generally striped golden. The wheels were black with yellow stripes. There were three seats, one facing the rear. From eight to 12 passengers rode in a coach. A lantern was on each side of the carriage which at night illuminated the road ahead. Six to 10 trunks were strapped on the boot behind, protected by a leather cover. Sometimes trunks were strapped on top. The mail was thrown in the boot underneath the driver's seat . Stages ran all night when made late by muddy roads and the occupants slept the best they could while being thrown about on the seats.

In Imagination one can see a stagecoach at a backwoods settlement on the Susquehanna and Waterford turnpike. The United States mail is thrown on the coach by the postmaster. The driver ascends to his seat, picks up his lines and cracks a long whip lash over the backs of the four horses. Then follows prancing and clattering of hoofs, away dash the animals and the heavily laden coach goes rolling after. They reach a corduroy road of logs laid across the thoroughfare, generally built in swamps and frequently across streams, and the stage bounds over it The forest is so dense and the overhanging boughs so completely shut out the light of the sun that the road is dark even at noon and in the blackness of the night it is like the Stygian gloom.

At certain places the driver stops. Out rush men and unhitch the horses. In another instant four prancing animals already harnessed, are hitched to the stage and before the passengers are scarcely aware of having stopped they have started again with fresh animals. The coming of the stagecoach is anxiously looked forward to in every town and hamlet along the line. The stage passes milestone after milestone. On either hand is the primeval forest cool and fragrant with the odor of moss, ferns and wild flowers. Drovers with sheep and cattle, bound eastward, are encountered. Deer, foxes, rabbits and other wild animals dart across the road. Birds are to be seen everywhere. At a turn a small clearing comes to view and the humble log cabin of a pioneer. Across a mosey ravine the stagecoach rolls, and down this ravine there flows a sparkling, splashing woodland brook. Up and along the road the travelers go until now they have arrived at the top of the hill west of where Reynoldsville has since been located. The passengers look through the tall pines and in the valley below there can be seen a great wilderness. Running through it is the Sandy Lick Creek. Just east of the creek is the log tavern of Woodward Reynolds away out among the pines and hemlocks. As the stagecoach comes down the hill, and the driver applies his brakes which grind, groan and squeak, he reaches to the rear end of his seat for the long horn. It is brought out and he places it to his lips. To-to-to-o-o-o, it blows forth from the hillside and echoes and re-echoes up and down the valley and over the tree tops.

The horn is heard at the tavern. Dinner, which is prepared, is soon on the table, and by the time the stage dashes up the landlord is ready to welcome the tired, dusty and hungry passengers with a good warm meal. The horn at other points warns the postmasters of the approaching of the stage, and they always stand with the mail pouch by the roadside as the four-in-hand comes along. The men at the relay station where the horses are changed are always ready, having been warned by the horn.

Under favorable conditions the stagecoach traveled about five miles an hour. No tickets were used. The fare, which was six cents a mile, was paid to advance. The charge for freight from Philadelphia to Jefferson county was about $6 a hundredweight and it took about a week for it to go through.

Drovers went by on their homeward journey from Philadelphia to as far west as Ohio, walking all the way. It was very common for footmen to travel from 35 to 40 miles every day. Men going both long and short distances frequently went on horseback.

About 1835 Joseph Morrow, an Irishman, first made his appearance on the turnpike. He was a familiar character in this region until 1850. In 1855 he was killed by one of his horses kicking him.

His turn-out consisted of two Conestoga wagons. They were each drawn by six horses in good weather and by eight in bad. Three or four brass bells about two inches in diameter adorned the harness of all the horses at the neck. Bells at that time were the style on the harness of most draft animals both summer and winter. They were very popular about 1825 but went out of style near the time of the Civil War. Morrow's wagons were painted blue. The tires were from five to six inches wide and the hubs and axles were very large. The immense boxes turned up at each end, at the back to prevent freight sliding to the rear when going uphill and at the front to prevent its sliding forward when going down. Above these boxes were canvas covers. The vehicles were loaded from the rear the distance from the ground to the top of the canvas was over 12 feet, and from the front to the rear, not including the tongue, it was 18 feet. The wagons, when loaded, weighed many tons. They each contained enough for a store. He drove from Philadelphia along the pike to Shippenville, Clarion county, and back peddling on the way. His trips were made periodically and his coming was looked forward to with much interest. His stock consisted of fish, cheese, coffee, sugar, and many other things used in the house. There were other peddlers who now and then drove through.

Pack peddlers on foot were quite common, sometimes carrying 100 pounds on their backs consisting of wax, needles, thread, shoestrings, pins, buttons, laces and other articles. The peddlers were Irish at first, but Jews began coming in about 1855 and eventually monopolized the trade. They sometimes remained at Woodward Reynolds' tavern for several days selling to people who called.

Beggars, or tramps as they are now known, were never seen until long after the Civil War.

Sleigh riding parties from Brookville soon began driving up through the wilderness on the long winter nights to the log tavern of Woodward Reynolds where they danced until the early hours of morning. Then they started homeward for a 12-mile ride, often in the silvery light of the moon, the gleaming white road stretching away amid the glistening snow-covered boughs and through the deep shadows which were thrown across the way by the tall pines and hemlocks. The tinkle, tinkle, tinkle of the bells and the merry laughter of the young people tucked beneath the robes made the forest ring as the musical sound echoed among the trees.

During the winter of 1850, soon after the brick tavern was built by Woodward Reynolds, a large number of people drove up from Brookville and held the first party ever given in the house. They danced and sang, many being accomplished in both arts. One of their songs was "Napoleon."

In 1830 droves of cattle began passing over the pike to the eastern markets, but this did not assume the proportion of a business until after 1835, and it was not until 1840 that it became very large. In 1846 it was at its highest, but soon materially dropped off. In about 1872 the last herd from a long distance went through.

Stampedes occasionally happened. One day in the summer of about 1846 about 150 heavy stall-fed cattle were being driven east down the hill, just west of where Reynoldsville now is, when a drover hit a big lazy steer with a chestnut bur. The animal was in the rear of the herd and near the top of the hill. He became frightened and charged down the road, bellowing loudly, and causing a panic among the other cattle. The man riding ahead on horseback barely got out of the way in time to escape from being run over and killed. The heavy, terror-stricken beasts plunged down the pike at a frightful speed. The trees were so close together that none could turn to the right or left. Upon reaching the log bridge across the Sandy Lick Creek many cattle were crowded off and killed. The loss to the drover is said to have been; from $500 to $1,000. He had so much meat for sale and so few to buy it that splendid cattle were sold for less than the value of their hides. The settlers within a distance of five miles had all of the best kind of beef to eat for as long as they could keep it.

Droves generally consisted of from 100 to 250 cattle. The season for that business began in June and ended on or about November first. In September and October more driving was done than at any other time of the year. It was the desire of the drovers to keep the animals fat and in good condition until they arrived at the eastern market and so cattle were never made to travel over 10 miles a day. The farmers along the road fared well as most of their hay was sold to the drovers for their stock. Frequently animals became lame and the settlers had opportunities to buy the finest to the herd for almost nothing. There were few days during the summers of 1846 and 1847 when one could go to Brookville without meeting several droves of cattle. During September and October of those years a drove would have hardly disappeared around the road at the east and the dust have scarcely settled when one would hear the cry of "Come boss, come boss," as another drove would appear from the west. Most of the cattle were from central Ohio and were being taken to Philadelphia, and the pike was the only way the drovers had of going from one of those points to the other.

Many herds of sheep of from 500 to occasionally 1,000 in number were driven east through Winslow township. Several times droves of horses, tied together in groups of six or eight, with a man for each group, and numbering about 25 horses Ii all, were taken east over the pike. Hog droves were quite common. Flocks of 300 or 400 turkeys were frequently driven through and one large flock of geese is said to have passed over the road. The drovers found great difficulty in getting feed for their animals and a place to put them over night on account of the demand made upon the farmers along the route for feed and pasture.

Cattle were branded on the hip, each drover having a special brand to enable him to distinguish his own animals from others. At times, during the busy season, two and three droves remained over night in Woodward Reynolds' pasture in the locality of what is now Jackson Street, near Pitch Pine Run, and also west of that run on Grant Street. Four cents yen head was generally paid for pasture up to 10 cents for a field of clover. During the night fences were sometimes broken down and two droves got together, but they were easily separated by the brands. Sheep were marked also, but by tar instead of by hot irons as was done with cattle. Pigs were branded by a slit in the ear. Farmers marked their animals, too, so that they could be recognized when running at large in the woods. In the afternoon a man always drove ahead and arranged for a field in which to pasture over night. Some of the drovers went through so frequently that Mr. Reynolds knew them well.

Woodward Reynolds' log tavern became an important stopping place for drovers, and often they and other travelers were so numerous at night that the floors of the rooms and hallways were so crowded with lodgers that one could scarcely move around without stepping on a sleeper. The brick hotel was as well patronized as the old log tavern.

From the west came Immense wagon loads of dried apples, cheese, butter, fur, wild meat, maple sugar and the like. From the east came groceries, dry goods, iron, manufactured articles, and other products.

Between 1840 and 1850 emigrants traveled over the pike to the west. A few went through as early as 1835 but more after 1840. They were principally farmers many of whom were from Eastern Pennsylvania seeking homes in Illinois and Missouri. Their wagons were known as prairie schooners and were covered with canvas. In each was a family and the provisions, bedding and cooking utensils that were necessary. They generally went in trains of from 15 to 25 wagons each. Sometimes one family went alone and again from two to four wagons went together. At night they camped by the road on the bank of some small stream which crossed it, sleeping to the wagon and cooking over their camp fires.

When one heard a creaking axle he knew that emigrants were coming. This pike was their shortest route. Not a day during the summer of 1845 passed without emigrants going by. There were nearly as many in the two or three years preceding and in the two or three years which followed.

Runaway slaves escaping from their masters in the South and seeking freedom in Canada often came through Winslow township. This wilderness gave them a better opportunity to avoid capture than the more thickly settled sections. Many traveled north over the Ceres road, while others went by the turnpike. In 1842 a couple of negroes, Bill and Tom, stopped at the home of John Fuller above Prescottville and worked for him for some time. One day Mr. Fuller was in the town of Indiana attending court when he saw a poster offering a reward of $500 for two escaped slaves. Bill and Tom, and their description answered to that of the men working for him. He told the negroes about it upon his arrival home. They talked the matter over together, got the money due them from Mr. Fuller, inquired the way to Buffalo and Canada and left, never to be heard from again.

In about 1858 an escaped slave, a young fellow not 16 years old, was on the turnpike in front of the Reynolds tavern, now the corner of Main and Third Street. He evidently did not know the direction he was going for it was toward the east. He was being pursued by white men on horseback who were crossing the Sandy Lick Creek bridge when they caught sight of him. By the time he reached the bridge where the pike crosses Pitch Pine Run, now Main between Third and Fourth Street, his pursuers were in front of the tavern. The fugitive went beneath the bridge but those after him saw the fellow and were soon at the bridge and one of them crawled under, pulled him out and, ultimately, he was taken South. Benton Stebbens, a schoolmaster and a very strong Abolitionist, lived on the hill south of the pike and just west of what is now Reynoldsville. His home was a station for an "underground railroad," a route over which one Abolitionist took runaway slaves to another until they were safely in Canada.

Few persons were robbed by highwaymen along the turnpike though there were many opportunities. Purchasers going West to buy cattle, and drovers returning home from the East after having sold them carried large some of money when they stopped at Woodward Reynolds' tavern. There were many lonely spots along the turnpike In this wilderness where men might have been robbed of everything and even murdered, with comparative ease and the culprits could easily have escaped.

Previous to 1850 oxen furnished all of the local transportation in Winslow township, along the pike, in the woods and on the farms. After that time the horse gradually superseded the ox as the land became cleared. There were few mules until during the '70s when mining became an important industry where they were employed in large numbers until gradually supplanted nearly a quarter of a century later by mechanical haulage underground. Horses were always driven on the pike for long trips. Wagons without springs were used almost exclusively in Winslow township until after the Civil War. On the pike, for through travel, the finest turnouts were driven from its very beginning. The first automobile owned in this vicinity was bought in 1902 by a Reynoldsville citizen.

Ceres Road. In 1825 the Ceres road, a State highway, was laid out from Ceres, McKean county, Pennsylvania, near the New York State line, through Smethport, and what afterwards became Winslow township, to the town of Indiana, Indiana county, Pennsylvania. It was so often altered that abandoned parts passed through both Winslow township and Reynoldsville in several places. The name of the highway was changed slightly several times until it is now the Serious road. Travel on it was never very great.

A Proposed Canal. The legislature in 1836 passed an act which was approved February 18th, of that year, for the extension and improvement of the State railroads and canals. The ninth section of the act provided for the "survey of a route for a canal and backwater navigation from the headwaters of the West Branch Division of the Allegheny River." In compliance with this act a survey was made for a canal from the Allegheny River along the Red Bank and Sandy Lick Creeks, through Reynoldsville to the headwaters of the Sinnemahoning. The grade was good but it was too thinly settled in this region and the canal was never built. A third of, a century later the route of the Allegheny Valley Railroad was located to Winslow township over practically the same route selected for the canal.

Railroads and Trolley Lines. In 1853 a line was surveyed from Pittsburgh to Buffalo, via Reynoldsville, but it was abandoned, another course surveyed and, finally, built along the Allegheny River which eventually became known as the River Division of the Allegheny Valley Railroad.

In 1853 Jefferson county offered assistance in building a railroad but it was not until 20 years later that the Low Grade Division was constructed through what afterwards became the western part of Reynoldsville. The road was built under the charter of The Pittsburgh, Kittanning & Warren Railroad Company later changed to The Allegheny Valley Railroad Company. The division extends 110 miles from Red Bank, on the Allegheny River, east to Driftwood. The agitation for the building of the road was begun by J. Edgar Thompson, president of The Pennsylvania Railroad Company during the '60s. Grading was begun in 1872. The road was opened to Brookville for passenger service June 23, 1873. August 5, 1873, at 3:15 o'clock, p. m., David Reynolds stood on the porch of the Reynolds hotel, corner of Main and Third Streets in Reynoldsville, and saw the first locomotive which had come far enough east through the deep cut below town to show its stack. The first car load of freight came here over the railroad, according to Mr. Reynolds' diary, August 16, 1873, and the goods were consigned to Doctor R. M. Boyles, druggist, Henry Iseman, druggist, and Mr. Barton, hardware dealer. The first passenger train arrived November 5, 1873, at 5 o'clock, p. m., It is stated in the diary, and brought a brass band and citizens from Brookville. There was a general good time in Reynoldsville that night and the visitors did not return home until a late hour. Passenger trains began running to Reynoldsville at once. May 4, 1874, the entire line was opened for all business from Bed Bank to Driftwood. The division headquarters were moved from Brookville to Reynoldsville in 1882. August 1, 1900, The Pennsylvania Railroad Company leased the Allegheny Valley Railroad for 20 years and April 6, 1910, it came into full possession of the line by purchasing the last of the outstanding shares.

The Powers-Brown Coal Company opened the Soldier Run Mine in Prescottvllle, and The Hamilton Coal Company opened the Hamilton Mine in Reynoldsville, in about 1878. The two companies jointly built a railroad from their mines to the Allegheny Valley Railroad that year. Later it was extended until It formed the Reynoldsville & Falls Creek Railroad from Rathmel to Falls Creek where it joined the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway. A branch was built in 1890 to Soldier and another in 1901 to Wishaw. Few railroads in the State have bad as much coal hauled over them per mile as this. It is now practically owned by The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway Company.

In 1896 a corporation known as The Reynoldsville, Warren & Buffalo Railroad Company was organized and chartered which surveyed to a line from Reynoldsville to Warren, Pennsylvania, but the road was never begun.

The Jamestown, Franklin & Clearfield Railroad was planned to go through Winslow township and Reynoldsville but the line has not yet been built. The road, if constructed, will form an important link in through traffic east and west.

In 1903 The Jefferson Traction Company built a trolley line from Punxsutawney to Reynoldsville, a distance of about 15 miles.

That year a six mile line was built from Reynoldevule to Sykesville but it was torn out in October, 1922.

Streets and Roads. The first paving done in Reynoldsville was in the early summer of 1893 when Main Street was planked from the Sandy Lick Creek bridge to Seventh Street. The first street paved with brick was lower Fourth Street in 1904. In 1905 the wooden pavement was torn out on Main Street and that section was also paved with brick. More brick paving has since been done in various parts of Reynoldsville, some of it being by State aid. The Commonwealth assisted in paving the road from the east borough line to the Jefferson-Clearfield county border in 1908. It was the first State help given to the highways in Winslow township.

The Pennsylvania State Highway Department, to 1918, planned the Lakes-to-the-Sea State Highway from Erie to Philadelphia. It passes through Winslow township and Reynoldsville.

By 1910 picket, iron and board fences along both town streets and country roads had nearly disappeared. Fence advertising signs on country roads went with them. By that time the traveler in the country seldom saw stone fences, rail fences had nearly all gone and stump fences of the early settlers had about passed away. Wooden bridges were disappearing and no new iron ones were being erected. Concrete bridges were taking their places. Concrete and tile culverts were replacing wooden ones across roads and streets. Until a short time before 1900 cattle, sheep and hogs ran at large on public thoroughfares. Horse blocks for getting in and out of carriages were gone in a few years. In 1910 automobiles were not uncommon and horse drawn vehicles became less by comparison each year thereafter.

Every week-day during the summer horse drawn vehicles once stood lined on both sides of Main Street from just west of where it crosses Pitch Pine Run west of Fourth to a short distance east of Fifth Street. But gradually automobiles took their place and by the summer of 1918 they were parked there instead, horse-drawn vehicles having become rare. In 1920 the last livery stable in Reynoldsville, where horses were hired out, ceased to do business.

Airplanes. The first airplane known to have passed over Winslow township carried mail on an experimental trip from New York to Chicago, September 5, 1918. It went by just before noon, and could be seen to the north of Reynoldsville. Afterwards airplanes passed over quite irregular for a time one, generally, going each way every day. The first to fly above town was about 12:50 o'clock, p. m., September 20th and was westward bound. Soon thereafter they were discontinued for a while. About June 1, 1919, the service was reinstated permanently and somewhat larger machines were used.

SOURCE:  Pages 66-78, History of Reynoldsville and Vicinity Including Winslow Township by Ward C. Elliott. Punxsutawney, Spirit Publishing Company, 1922