Conneautville Is One Of Crawford's Oldest Villages

Much of historical interest is connected with Conneautville, Crawford county. E.T. Mason, 12 years secretary of Conneautville school board recalls the romance of the village.

Power Pioneer

Alexander Power, one of the surveyors of the Holland Land company, received 400 acres of land in payment for his services under the famous Jan Huidekoper of Meadville, agent for the company. This was 120 years ago. The first cabin was built in 1802 not far from where the Bessemer depot now stands, and near the Conneaut creek, close to a spring. The next year a two story log house was built at the rear of the present Presbyterian church. The name Power, and the descendants of the Power family, has been intimately connected with the history of the village.

Snow Place

Conneautville is from the Indian word closely resembling Conneaut. It means snow place. Accurate translation is place of lingering snows. The Indians at the advent of the white men in 1800 and before referred to the high interior lands south from the lake shore area as the area where the snows remained late in the spring. A wide area received the name. This included Conneaut Lake, Conneaut township, Crawford and Ashtabula counties, Conneaut creek and Conneautville.

Conneautville gained in importance. Canal days covered the period from 1845 to 1870. Even after 1870 there was some down canal traffic. In the 70s the viaduct at Girard was drained, making impossible further use of the canal from Lockport or Platea to Erie. The Bessemer railroad was constructed in 1890.

Brown Family

Important in the history of Conneautville is the life of Dr. George Brown, cousin of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. These men were also cousins of Mr. Mason's father, H.A. Mason

Find Newspaper

Dr. George Brown was founder of the Conneautville Courier. He also published the great abolitionist paper, the Herald of Freedom. The first issue of The Herald of Freedom was published in Conneautville. Dr. Brown sold the Courier to H.A. Mason, then led the migration which founded Lawrence, Kansas. It was in 1854 that Dr. Brown undertook this with 300 followers.

Complete printing equipment was taken west. This was destroyed in the border warfare and replaced. Dr. Brown and his followers made this trip by the old Pittsburgh-Erie canal, the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers to the territory. Dr. Brown headed a law abiding group and in his paper sponsored an orderly referendum among permanent settlers on the question of whether Kansas should become slave or free. Kansas became free, became a part of the union and this balance in favor of the north saved the nation in the Civil War.

Stephen Allen and C.B. Robinson are present editors. H.A. Mason, father of E.T. Mason purchased the paper from Dr. Brown, giving notes of $100 each, payable at his convenience. Mason was but 19 years of age when he made the purchase. H.A. Mason was killed in the Civil War at Fredericksburg. He was captain of a company which he recruited at Conneautville. From the close of the war until 1915 the Courier was owned by J. and W.A. Rupert. Neal Robinson, a young Erie newspaper man published the Courier for a time until his death 17 years ago. The late Margaret Spaulding was editor and publisher for more than a dozen years.

Vocational School

Conneautville Vocational school is widely known because of achievement. Few schools have the record of training of boys and girls for rural life and home making. The achievement of Conneautville not only under the present school faculty but under earlier teachers has been important. Fourteen seniors will receive diplomas. G.D. Decker is principal; A.L. Waugaman, teacher of science; Miss Mary Duffy, Latin; Miss Myrl Dunlap mathematics; Mrs. Frances Smith, English and French; G.A. Enders, vocational; C.F. Frisbie, assistant in vocational department; Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, home economics; Miss Gertrude Lick, assistant; other teachers are Miss Lillian Wright, music; Miss Georgiana McCabe, grammar school; Miss Flora MacFayden, fifth and sixth grades; Miss Alice Thompson, second primary, and Miss Sarah Johnson, first primary.

School board members are: Henry Shawkey, president; E.T. Mason, secretary; M.D. Thompson, treasurer. Other members: Mrs. Frank Rumsey and Charles Melcher.

Senior Activities

Pearl Benedict is president of the senior class, Sterle Penfield, vice president; Jeannette Hotchkiss, secretary, and Howard Sloane, treasurer. Baccalaureate sermon May 29, 8 pm Rev. R.S. Naylor, pastor of the Methodist church, Conneautville will be speaker.

Wednesday evening, June 1, will be commencement exercises, high school auditorium. Pearl Benedict will be valedictorian, Jeannette Hotchkiss, salutatorian; James Gevin*, orator; Sterle Penfield, class prophecy; Jane Billingsley, reading; Anna May Fobes, musical reading.

Class Play

Senior class play, "Oh, Susan!" will be presented in the high school auditorium evenings of May 12 and 13. Those participating: Sterle Penfield, Lillian Hotchkiss, Madlyn Parker, Anna May Fobes, Pearl Benedict, Jane Billingsley, Howard Sloan, James Gevin and Mary O'Donnell. Senior play will in part finance senior trip to Washington. Members of the class leave Conneautville for six-day trip June 6. Members of class are Jane Billingsley, Beatrice McBride, Anna May Fobes, Robert Naylor, Pearl Benedict, Mary O'Donnell, Jeannette Hotchkiss, Howard Greenfield, Howard Sloan, Keith Merchant, Genevieve Johnston, Madlyn Parker, Sterle Penfield, James Gevin. The senior class has a smaller membership this year than in other years. The Conneautville junior class is unusually large, numbering 40 members.

Churches

Closely interlocked with community life is church activity. Rev. James Gillespie is pastor of the Presbyterian church, founded with congregation of nine members 97 years ago. Rev. R.S. Naylor is pastor of the Methodist church. This was founded 105 years ago with 27 members. The Episcopal church, pulpit unoccupied, was founded in 1868. Rev. John A. McAndrew has charge of St. Peter's parish. This was founded during canal days in 1852.

Library and Clubs

Mrs. Mary A. Friel is librarian attending the James A. Stone memorial library. This eminent citizen left $20,000 of his fortune after the death of his widow for its establishment. The library was established 26 years ago, is open to public Tuesday and Saturday afternoons, and Saturday evenings. Three thousand volumes and leading magazines are available. Mrs. Zoe Klumph is a relative of the benefactor. The Current Topics club and the Shakespeare club are important social groups co-operating with school and of the surely intelligent people of Conneautville.

Park Lawrence, young business man of Conneautville is a Dispatch-Herald writer. In this capacity is ably serving Conneautville and community with exceptionally fine news service.