Girty is located on Crooked Creek several miles downstream from the Village of South Bend. It was originally called Clayton because of the clay deposits suitable for pottery and brick. The date of the name change is not known.

The local citizens say it was changed to Girty by one of the early settlers, James McNees, Jr., after one of his daughters named Gertrude was drowned in a swimming hole on Crooked Creek south of the town.

(Editor's Note: Ruth Silvis, in her history of South Bend Township written in 1979, has a different view of the origin of the Girty name: "In 1890, a post office was obtained and the name had to be changed from Clayton to Girty because of another town named Clayton in Pennsylvania. It was then named Girty after the postmaster employed at that time.")

One of the first exports out of Girty was from a stone quarry where large flat stones about two inches thick could be obtained. They were very suitable for sidewalks. This was a very popular material used in Elderton in 1782 when property owners were required to place sidewalks. The flat stones were quite heavy and fragile, and it was a real construction feat to quarry and transport the 3' by 6' stones without breaking them.

James McNees, Jr. had lived in Butler, Pennsylvania and moved to Girty sometimes previous to 1858, for the records indicate he was married in Girty, perhaps called Clayton at that time. In 1872 he lived in the house later occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Rupert on the main road about 500 feet north of Crooked Creek. The date on the stones in the house is 1872.

About 100 feet to the south of this house, McNees built a pottery 90" by 28'. It was in operation in 1874, turning out crocks, jugs, stone jars, shaving mugs, mustache cups and ink wells.

One fast seller was a water jug called a "monkey jug" with two spouts for drinking, one on each side of the jug. This was the original "his" and "her" arrangement for sanitation. One jug had a pottery handle, but it also had two metal hooks embedded in the pottery so that if the hand was broken, a wire handle could be made and attached to the hooks.

Later McNees made glazed pottery designs shaped like lions and acorns. The acorn was used as a doorstop and was made in two shades.

In 1876 the firm of McNess and Son had branched into the manufacturing of stone pumps and pipes. The sections of the pumps were bolted together. Water from wells was supposed to taste better when stone suction pipe was used. Twelve pumps and 200 feet of pipe was made in a day.

The volume of business was about $5,000 annually. Eight laborers were employed. Uriah S. George traveled all over the state selling stone pumps. Orders were delivered to Apollo for shipment.

The capacity of the works is such that the daily product of the latter can be increased to 1,000 feet. The building is 90X28 feet, and the machinery is worked by horse-power.

George W. McNees was a son of Jame McNees, Jr. and inherited the business. In 1884 he sold one half of the pottery lot to Uriah S. George. Later George McNees was manager of the Kittanning Clay Products Company in Kittanning. He was referred to as the Honorable George W. McNees, one of the best informed men in the area of geological formations.

Two Scenes of Girty in 2001

Three Old Scenes from the Girty Area

Picture of the Old Girty Bridge

Girty One-Room School ~ 1955-56

Sleigh Ride at Kunkle Reunion 1907