The village of Greason is unknown to most people traveling on Cumberland County's major roads. It sits between Newville Road in the north and Ritner Highway (Rt. 11) in the south. It is less than one mile south of Plainfield and grew up along the old Cumberland Valley Railroad line. Approaching the village today, the first thing you notice is the abandoned warehouse. Vines cover the gable end of the warehouse and cling to its board walls that show little of the paint that once covered them. The railroad tracks are gone, and their route is now part of the Rail Trail walking path. The Station Depot is gone, the Greason Academy building, with its many additions, is a private home, but many of the dozen or so houses remain and evoke an image of what the village was like in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the summer of 1859, Members of Carlisle’s First Presbyterian Church, and a large number of their friends, held a picnic in Dunbar’s woods at Greasonville, as it was called then. The editor of the Carlisle Herald published the following account of the event.
“For the benefit of those who do not know the geographical position of Greasonville, we may mention that it is a village, on the Cumberland Valley Railroad, a short distance from Plainfield, which has sprung up within a few years, and although not large for its size, its population, including the suburbs, is composed of a people as intelligent, enterprising and generous, as are to be found within the same limits, in any part of the county.” He reported that about six hundred people left Carlisle on the morning train, accompanied by the Carlisle Brass Band, and they were joined by two hundred more people when they arrived at Greason station. They proceeded to Dunbar’s woods and had a delightful time. When dinner was ready, almost one thousand people sat down to enjoy the food. After dinner Rev. Conway Wing was in the middle of giving an address when it began to rain. The crowd dispersed, and the rain “forced many to seek refuge in the houses at Greasonville, where every facility was afforded them to pass the afternoon agreeably, until about 5 o’clock, when the party returned safely to town, nothing having occurred throughout the day to mar the pleasure of the company.”1
In 1861, the editor of the Carlisle Herald published another article about Greason, and it warrants quoting it in its entirety, as it describes much about the town that is not available from other sources.
“Greason. This flourishing village deserves more than a passing notice. About five years ago, Mr. Jno Greason, to whose energy and enterprise the credit of originating and carrying out the project belongs—broke ground for the first building. Now the place boasts of at least a dozen substantially and tastefully built two-story brick houses; half as many frame ones, a store, warehouse, lumber, and coal yard etc.
But the prominent feature of the place is the school of Mr. F. M. L. Gillelan. The large brick edifice formerly occupied for both recitation rooms and boarding house, is now exclusively devoted to the latter purpose. The new school building is a model of its kind of architecture and would do credit to a place of infinitely greater pretentions.
The school opened its fall season on Monday last, with about forty pupils, principally the sons of farmers in the vicinity, The salutary effects of the training here imparted, is manifested in the improved condition of society generally in the neighborhood. The intelligence and refinement evinced by the young people are the most valuable and satisfactory encomiums on Mr. Gillelan’s ability as an instructor that can be produced.
On the whole, we would say that Greason is about the livest little place it has been our good fortune to visit in Cumberland County.”2
Eighteen fifty was the first year that U. S. Census takers were required to list the names, ages, and place of birth of every person in every household, as well as their occupations. Except for major towns, the census was classified by township. Therefore, small villages were not enumerated separately, but they were included in the township censuses.
Fortunately, there are two sources that help identify some of the residents of Greason in 1860. In 1872, an Atlas of Cumberland County was published. It included the villages in each township as well as a map of the village that indicated the houses, shops, churches, and schools as well as the names of the owners or residents of the properties. The other source is the 1880 U.S. Census. The census taker specifically wrote where the enumeration of Greason residents began and where it ended. By comparing the names of the residents on the 1872 Atlas and the 1880 U. S. Census, it is possible to use those names to identify many of the residents of Greason listed in the 1860 census.
Like many towns and villages, some people lived a good deal of their lives in a village while many came and went within a few years. The following people are most of the residents who lived in Greason in 1860. Their ages and occupations provide a look at the makeup of the village.
Robert Greason, a wealthy farmer, aged 45, his wife Mary, and eight children. Fifty-five-year-old William Greason lived with them. Newlyweds Jeremiah Givler, a dealer in produce aged 25, and his wife Eliza [Lizzie J. Diller] aged 20. Farmer, Joseph Paul, aged 23, his 20-year-old wife Emma, their 4-month-old baby, and Sarah Paul aged 63. Master carpenter, David Weaver, aged 42, his wife Mary 39, seven children as well as 29-year-old Henry Geisman who taught at the Academy. David Paul a 28-year-old farmer, his wife Rebecca 29, two children and Benjamin F. Myers, a Presbyterian clergyman. Rebecca Givler, 66, and Sarah Atcheson, aged 60, lived together. Farmer William Line, aged 45, his wife Isabella, 36, five children, and Lydia Martin, an 18-year-old domestic. John Dunbar aged 51 was listed as a “gentleman,” his wife Agnes 49 and two children. Well digger Robert Stewart, aged 50, his wife Mary, and four children. William Kistler, a tailor, aged 35, his wife Emmeline, 28, and four children. Farm laborer, William Albert, aged 25, Lavina his wife, 20 and one child. Daniel Givler, the village butcher, was 27. His wife Mary was 25, and they had three children. Philip Shell, a master carpenter was 35, his wife Ann was aged 35, and they had six children.
The census reveals that minus a dozen or so unknown people, there were 71 people in the village in 1860. Fifteen adult men, 16 adult women, and 40 children. Almost half of the adults were between 20 and 30 years old. Four of the men were farmers and one was a farm laborer. There were two master carpenters, a well digger, a butcher, a tailor, one dealer in produce, and two men listed as “gentlemen.” Two families had domestic help, one family had the teacher at the Academy boarding with them, and one had a Presbyterian minister staying with them.
In January 1860, Shaffner, Greason & Co. opened a lumber yard at Greason. They advertised that they had purchased a large tract of pine timber land and sawmills on the west branch of the Susquehanna River and have opened a lumber yard at Mechanicsburg, at Greasonville, and at their Harrisburg yard.3
Greason Academy, established to prepare men and women to teach school, leant prestige and added visibility to the village. During the first few years of its existence, it was variously called Greason Seminary, The Normal Institute, and Greason Academy. The earliest reference to the school was in June 1859 when a newspaper reported that “The students of Professor Gillelan’s Academy at Plainfield will have a pic-nic on Tuesday next.”4 Prof. Gillelan was still teaching at the academy in 1861 when the Civil War began. In July 1862, the paper reported that “The Normal Institute at Greason…under the immediate charge of Prof. F. M. L. Gillelan” would begin the fall session on September 1.5
The winter term of Greason Seminary commenced on January 4, 1864. E. Huntington Saunders took over after Prof. Gillelan. In April 1864, he advertised that the summer term of Greason Seminary would begin on April 6. “Pupils of both sexes’ would be received, and an experienced female teacher would teach instrumental and vocal music.”6
“Greason Seminary. A Select Boarding School for both sexes, six miles west of Carlisle, on the Cumberland Valley Railroad. Ancient and Modern Languages, Bookkeeping and Higher Math taught. NORMAL DEPARTMENT. Special opportunities are afforded to those who intend teaching in the County Schools. Applicants have free access to the Principal’s Study, and for a small fee, the benefit of Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Teaching. Plainfield, Cumb. Co. PA.”7
Saunders only taught for one term because the Academy was reopened on September 6, 1864, by Reverend I. J. Stine who was “well known as an ‘old teacher,’ not yet so old in years but in experience.” The editor of the newspaper wrote that “We are pleased to know, that even in these war times, his school has opened very favorably, and we doubt not that under his management the Greason Academy will rank among the best in the State.”8 It is interesting to learn that in 1862, Rev. Stine had been accused of treason. He was taken to Philadelphia on Friday, October 25, 1862, by a Deputy U.S. Marshal who had tracked him down to his residence in Newport, Perry County and arrested him on a charge of treason in betraying Captain Palmer of the Anderson Troop, into rebel captivity. The Newville, PA newspaper, The Star of the Valley, published a long article about the charges and his capture in its October 30, 1862, edition as well as another long article about Stine’s defense in their November 13, 1862, edition.
A post office was established in 1864. John Greason was its first postmaster. He served from August 12, 1864, through May 8, 1865. On August 9, Josiah S. Carothers was appointed postmaster.9 He continued in the post through 1871.10
In 1868, J. N. Allen, who was intending to leave Greason, advertised that he was selling the following valuable property in Greason. “Two lots of ground containing each 40 feet front by 200 feet in depth to an alley. One of the lots has erected upon it a two-story frame house, nearly new. Lot No 2 has upon it a large shop in front and a good stable in the rear.”11
William A. Lindsey, Cumberland County School Superintendent took over the Greason Academy in April 1870, for those who wished to pursue teaching.12He taught for several years in the 1870s and most of the 1880s.
In 1870 the Cumberland Valley Railroad established a ticket office in Greason.
A sheriff’s sale of C. H. Beelman’s property was held at the Court House in Carlisle at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 25, 1871. His real estate was described as “A lot of ground in West Pennsboro Township, bounded on the west by a public road, on the north by Daniel Givler, on the east by Robert Greason, and on the south by William Snyder, containing 40 feet by 190 feet, more or less, having thereon erected a two-story frame dwelling house and other buildings.”13 You can see his property in the 1872 Atlas of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Business Notices for Greason in the 1872 Atlas
C. H. Beelman, Carpenter and Joiner
D. Bear, Farmer, and Stock Grower
J. S. Carothers, Dealer in Groceries, Grain, Plaster, Fish, and Salt
D. Givler, Butcher and Stock Broker
J. Kissinger, Tax Collector
John W. Minich, General Blacksmith. Particular attention paid to Horse Shoeing.
S. B. Mountz, Superintendent of the Iron Ore Co.
David Paul, Clerk of J. Carothers, and Ticket Agent for the C.V.R.R.
In January 1875, Andrew G. Bear of Plainfield began publishing The Plainfield Register. Although it was discontinued in December 1875, items from its newspaper were published in Newville’s The Star of the Valley and provide a glimpse of some of the happenings at Greason in 1875. During the first week in March 1875, “Mr. Carothers, of Greason, was ransacking some old boxes in his garret and found $18 in currency, principally three cent notes of the issue of the first years of the war.”14
In April 1875, the editor of The Plainfield Register noted that Greason is only 9/10th of a mile from Plainfield, and he wanted to know “When will Greason and Plainfield be built together and constitute one town.”15 Some people thought that the Academy at Greason should be renovated and used for public purposes. The Greason Lodge of the Patrons of Husbandry held their sessions in the house of Josiah S. Carothers.16
In June it was announced that “Greason now has a good and well macadamized street. The work was superintended by Prof. Kissinger and is a credible job.”17 June was also the month Mr. Josiah S. Carothers erected a handsome fence around his dwelling.18 In July, the Sovereigns of Industry met in the Grange Room at Greason, and the newspaper noted that “Daniel Givler, butcher of Greason, is now supplying the people of the neighborhood twice a week with superior beef.”19
The excellent work of the blacksmith, J. W. Minich, was lauded by the newspaper in October. “We noticed some steel shoes, the work of J. W. Minich of Greason, made expressly for trotting horses, that were a model of workmanship and finish. Friend Minich is an expert in the shoeing business.”20
On Friday evening, November 25, 1875, “Prof. Franciscus gave one of his popular entertainments to a moderately good house in Greason…. A sufficient number of bills were not circulated, and it was not generally known in the neighborhood, or the Professor would certainly been favored with a crowded house. The professor, however, did his very best to entertain those who were present, and his magical tricks were admirably played. The Hindoo Box Trick attracting the most attention and exciting the most curiosity on the part of the audience. We tried to hang the Professor with a piece of red tape to a nail on the wall, but he wouldn’t hang worth a cent. We had to acknowledge ourselves “badly sold.”21
In December, plans were underway to start a dancing school in Greason.22
In February 1876, the newspaper reported that “A stone walk, three feet in width is being laid from Greason to Plainfield, a distance of ¾ mile. The people of the neighborhood gratuitously perform the work.23
“On Friday afternoon last, [March 30] while some boys were pushing a car back and forth on the siding at Greason, one of them, Ed Bear, son of Mrs. David Bear, narrowly escaped losing a leg and possibly his life. In attempting to get on the car he fell on the track, the wheel of the car stopping just in time to save his leg from being crushed, but badly hurt it. The wound was dressed by Dr. Van Camp of Plainfield.”24
On Saturday night, June 10, 1876, two stores at Greason were robbed of almost $100. It was supposed that a tramp was the thief.25
The village of Greason got its first doctor in 1878 with the arrival of J. Simpson Musgrave, formerly of Philadelphia.26 His stay was short lived, and Dr. W. O. Smith replaced him. The newspaper reported that Dr. Smith was the new physician at Greason, and he was gaining a lucrative practice. Unfortunately, six months after he arrived a defective flue in the house where he was living caught fire and destroyed it.27
Greason had 94 residents when the 1880 U.S. Census was taken, which was at least two dozen more than in 1860. The community would survive, but as the twentieth century approached, changes were unavoidable.
In the spring of 1900, Commodore Porter of Plainfield, had recently finished his twentieth sale of the season. A Chambersburg newspaper reported that he was “in his sixty-fourth year and is still hale and hearty and hopes to call many more sales.”1 It was not to be.
1 Carlisle Herald, August 20, 1859, 2.
2 Carlisle Herald, September 6, 1861, 2.
3 Carlisle Herald, January 25, 1860, 3.
4 The Valley Star, Newville, June 9, 1859. An item in the Carlisle Herald on June 22, 1860, mentions a pic-nic at Greason given on June 12 by the “Marion Select School at Greason…under the charge of Prof. F. M. L. Gillelen.”
5 Carlisle Herald, July 25, 1862, 2.
6 Carlisle Herald, April 1, 1864, 3.
7 The Star of the Valley, Newville, May 28, 1864, 4.
8 The Star of the Valley, Newville, September 17, 1864, 2.
9 U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959. 1865, Vol 1, 306. Ancestry.com.
10 Ibid, 1871, p. 780.
11 Carlisle Herald, August 28, 1868, 3.
12 The Star of the Valley, Newville, March 19, 1870, 2.
13 Carlisle Herald, August 24, 1871, 3.
14 The Star of the Valley, Newville, March 16, 1875.
15 The Star of the Valley, Newville, April 20, 1875.
16 The Star of the Valley, Newville, May 4, 1875.
17 The Star of the Valley, Newville, June 22, 1875.
18 The Star of the Valley, Newville, June 29, 1875.
19 The Star of the Valley, Newville, July 13, 1875.
20 The Star of the Valley, Newville, October 12, 1875.
21 The Star of the Valley, Newville, Tuesday, November 30, 1875.
22 The Star of the Valley, Newville, December 7, 1875.
23 The Valley Sentinel, Carlisle, February 18, 1876.
24 The Valley Sentinel, Carlisle April 6, 1877.
25 The Valley Sentinel, Carlisle, June 16, 1876.
26 The Valley Sentinel, Carlisle June 28, 1878.
27 The Valley Sentinel, Carlisle, February 14, 1879, July 25, 1879.