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Pieces of the Past: Columbus

February 1, 2023

I’m 72 years old. For 70 of them, I’ve lived in Warren County. I spent a couple of years in Corry which is in Erie County, and moved to my home in Columbus in 1976.

YES! Columbus Township is in Warren County. A lot of people are shocked to hear that. There are some very interesting facts that make learning about Columbus fascinating.

Like many other areas around here, Columbus was part of a larger region. Parts of Lycoming and Allegheny counties, when it was founded in 1800. Long before oil, Columbus had one of the richest tracts of forest in the nation. Trees perfect for ship masts. Located on the way to Bear Lake, Pine Valley has been harvested completely out of its massive trees that were once highlighted in the newspaper column PENNSYLVANIA PROFILES.

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It wasn’t until the election of 1824 that Columbus Township got its name. The streets and properties were laid out by a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers. His name was David Curtis. His great-great-great-great (you get the picture) great-grandson was my fire chief when I joined the Columbus Volunteer Fire Department in 1976.

Between 1800 and 1824 Curtis had a fight on his hands with one of the township’s original settlers. Curtis was bound and determined to name the area Sheerboorne after his hometown. The other man wanted it named after HIS hometown of Columbus, New York. Historians claim that the two men did indeed take to fist fights over the issue. Finally, it was decided that whoever brought the most moonshine to the election of 1824, would have the honor. Curtis showed up with four gallons of hootch and the other guy brought five! Columbus might be the only place where a gallon of liquor led to its name.

Behind the fire barn, you’ll see a concrete structure. It’s all that is left of Columbus Dam. About 80 years ago, the dam broke and the lake it created flooded the town. Several attempts to rebuild the dam and the recreational lake failed. Legislators called the reconstruction plan a “political football.” The properties where the lake-waters were are pretty much not developed.

I grew up in Warren and had no idea that there used to be a lake, much like Findley Lake, in Columbus.

         

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