I live a few miles away from what is left of a place called Millerstown. It was started, according to my county's historical society, back in the 1800's as a settlement or an outpost for weary travelers seeking trade or rest from a long journey.
By the 1850's it became a small town but by the 1880's it became an official town but it wasn't until 1882 that it became known as Millerstown. By the 1900's, the town was in it's prime with a grocery store, post office, a college, a newspaper and a mill. (The last four is from accounts told to me by my mother and a by others who still lives in or around the area and have passed some of the stories on to us younger folks.)
I can account for the Grocery store, and the newspaper. The grocery store was still in use until the early to mid 90's. Unfortunately the store had to close because the gas storage tanks were located to close to the river according to the EPA rules of the times. It remained open for a short time afterwards but not for long since the store's main source of income was based on the gas they sold. so after a year, the store was forced to lose it's doors. Now the place is a church.
The newspaper, is located on a lone dirt and gravel road away from the prying eyes of the population. I haven't seen it in awhile but the time when I did, the lettering on the window looked as it did when it was open, meaning the lettering had never faded. But I'm guessing it's because of it's location and very little travel on the road.
As for the post office and the college, I have yet to find where they were, unless the post office itself was located in the grocery store before I was born. As for the Mill, it's no longer standing, according to the people that I've spoken with, including the historical society, has told me it was washed away in a flood. But I do think I know where the old mill was located at because near the main highway and bridge, which is very close together, you can see the remains of an old brick building hidden in a Small patch of forestry; probably used as storage. However this is my own personal beliefs and will freely change my story until told otherwise.
There is also one other thing I forgot to speak of... A church with a green roof. This church has been standing and is still used today. It was built back in the early 1800's as the very first church to built in the area.
After thought: As I did the research for the town to base it on a fictional town of a possible short story, i came to find that Millerstown had, at one point, three families, the Blessitts, Skaggs and the Millers. While growing up my mother had always told me stories that her mother had always told her as a child. My grandmother's maiden name was Miller before she married. Anyway, she had told me that the family, her mother's side, was the ones who had helped in the creation of Millerstown. As a child growing up, i had never believed this to be true because of the family's namesake, Miller. But upon speaking with the historical society, I came to realise what my mother had told may be true, that the Millers, may have, indeed, help create the town. My great aunt, may she rest in peace, could have confirmed the story because she was well into her 90's when she died.
So who knows what history may hold in store for you when you start investigating history. It may be your own family history or it maybe the history of a town, time or events. In your search of the history, it just may take you to places that you never even knew...
Happy history hunting...
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