FRANKLIN COUNTY – There are so many things about Franklin County that make it a wonderful place to live and visit. But how well do the citizens know the land they call home?
Evidence of human occupation in the area has been dated back to the Ice Age through artifacts found around the region. One such artifact is a 12,000-year-old spear tip that is part of an exhibit at the Allison-Antrim House and Museum in Greencastle. The ancient hunting tool was found during an excavation at Ebbert Springs, a historic digging site just a little south of Greencastle.
Ebbert Springs and the Allison family
Ebbert Springs is also the location of the Allison-Ebbert house, which was built by William Allison (1693-1778) in the 1750’s. Allison immigrated to Pennsylvania from Ireland, and his family was one of the earliest settlers. Along with his wife Catherine Craig (1700-1777), they had four sons and two daughters.
One of his sons, John Allison (1738-1795), founded the town of Greencastle in 1782 after serving as a colonel in the Cumberland County militia during the Revolutionary War. There he would raise his family of six daughters and seven sons with his wife, Elizabeth Wilkin (1748-1815).
The frontier land of Franklin County called to settlers from many European backgrounds. Scottish, Irish and German immigrants traveled to the new land to start a new life. The natural beauty of the land, rich soil and plentiful resources made it an ideal spot for settling. However, they were not alone in the area; there were still the Native Americans who still called this land home.
Waynesburg takes root
In 1749, John Wallace, a Scottish immigrant, established a settlement named “Wallacetown.” He held the title to the property that was just within a few miles of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and was just over 630 acres. After Wallace’s death around 1782, his son Robert took over ownership of the property keeping it within the family. Eventually, rights to the land would be handed over to John Wallace Jr. after he returned from military service during the war.
Benjamin Chambers, Franklin County’s earliest settler
If there was a starting point to the land that would become Franklin County, it would likely start with Benjamin Chambers, who in 1730, built a grist and saw mill by Falling Spring Creek, which was used to power the mills. The settlement began to grow, and Chambers sought out additional 400 acres of land from the Penn family in the late winter of 1734.
The Penn family was eager to settle more of the land around the Mason-Dixon line due to a feud with residents of the Maryland colonies who were claiming the property lines across the border. Chambers was dragged into the conflict and would even testify before King George II in England. The settlement grew quickly and would become a central trading location on the “The Great Wagon Road,” which connected the Shenandoah Valley to Philadelphia.
Unity and the French and Indian War
In response to the growing threat of hostility against the Native Americans who were not pleased with what they felt was an intrusion on their land, the affluent members of the territory, which included William Allison, met at the home of Edward Shippen, the founder of Shippensburg, to plan out the construction of forts around the territory to be built for protection.
Their concerns would be prophetic as the colonists would soon be at war. The French and Indian War began in 1754, and the territory that would become Franklin County was in the thick of it.
A fortified homestead, known as “McDowell’s Fort,” was a mill located to the west of Shippensburg. Owned by John McDowell, the mill would become a notable location for the army during the campaign. It would be repurposed to house supplies and would eventually become a “fort” formed by militia after several attacks were committed in the territory.
Led by William Maxwell, the mill was fortified with several swivel guns, and a small army of men from Peters Township set up to protect the supplies that would be needed by soldiers to fight the war.
Nearly two years into the war, on February 29, 1756, the mill made its way into history books when 46 men from the Peter Township militia and 100 soldiers from Conrad Weiser’s 1st Battalion fought off 80 Lenape warriors who had attacked the fort. The fighting lasted for nearly three weeks, and the Lenape warriors were starting to wear down the beaten and battered soldiers when a blizzard hit forcing them to retreat.
Other forts around the area would not be so fortunate. Fort McCord would be captured in early April 1756, and Fort Granville would fall in August of the same year. Other forts in the area stood strong and became beacons of hope for citizens and important installations for the military as they fought off the threats of the opposition. Fort Morris in Shippensburg was another local blockhouse built in 1756 and served as a supply depot for the military.
Ben Chambers also built a private fort for protection during the war. The fort was equipped with cannons and a small battalion of troops.
Fighting for liberty
After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, life of the colonists went back to normal. They tended their farms, worked in their respective trades, and raised their families. However, discontent with the policies coming from England, particularly in the area of taxation, came to a boil in April of 1775, and the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord.
So began the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The colonists took the title of an American nation, and Pennsylvania was once again in the middle of the conflict. With the nation’s capital, Philadelphia only about 150 miles away, the towns that would make up Franklin County became a significant location in the protection of the new nation, and many of the local men would take up arms to fight for liberty.
