The Rails of Perry County

During the Railroad’s golden age, Perry County was seen as the gateway to the west. From Philadelphia to all points south and west, the great Path Valley which had been the main route of the Indians for thousands of years, was still considered the easiest route. On the western shore of the Susquehanna River that meant following Sherman’s Valley west to the Path Valley. Unfortunately, the route west took a more southerly route and Perry County missed the Railroad boom. Cut off from the main line, the Perry County Railroad and the Newport and Shermans Valley Railroad still served the people of Perry County for forty years and provided a rich history.

Rails Across the River: The Rockville and Dauphin Narrows Bridges

Three great bridges crossed the Susquehanna River at Marysville, PA. This is the history of the Susquehanna River Bridge built in 1847, its upgrade to an iron bridge in 1877, and its replacement, the stone arched Rockville Bridge built it 1902. About a mile upstream was the longest bridge in the Commonwealth, the Dauphin Narrows Bridge built in 1856.

Towpaths and Aqueducts: The Canals of Perry County

Perry County enjoys more water frontage than any other county in Pennsylvania. It is not surprising that nearly 200 years ago Perry County became the central hub of the massive inland waterway system known as the Pennsylvania Canal. Many engineering marvels of the time were located where the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers meet. The longest covered bridge in the world, the Clarks Ferry Bridge, crossed the Susquehanna to Duncan’s Island. Just two miles north at the junction of the Juniata and Susquehanna Divisions of the canal near Amity Hall was the 600 foot aqueduct that allowed the canal to cross the Juniata River. The canal caused an economic boom for river towns like Newport, New Buffalo, and Liverpool and changed the region forever. Towpaths and aqueducts connected the eastern United States to the vast unsettled lands to the west and Perry County played an important role. Now the canals have eroded from our memories and the boats have long since rotted away, but they will always be an important part of our rich Perry County Heritage.

A Civil War Diary

In the summer of 1864 John W. Howell of Millerstown, Pennsylvania was a carriage maker. Two weeks later he was in a Union camp with the Pennsylvania 208th Infantry on the James River in Virginia. This is his personal account of events and battles happening around him. He mustered into the Army as a Musician. During battles musicians were assigned to the company surgeon and served as litter bearers and administered basic first aid to the soldiers. Muc. Howell served the Army of the Potomac from September of 1864 until General Lee surrendered and the 208th mustered out on June 1, 1865.

The Civil War: In Their Own Words

Many brave men from Perry County answered the call of duty during the Civil War. Here is the story of three soldiers from Newport that preserved their experience and told their stories –In Their Own Words.

The Noble 300 – The Untold Story of the Battle of Sterret’s Gap

“In the year 1863 and the latter and the first parts of June and July, the rebel hordes were threatening and invading our loyal State; war was even coming to our own firesides. We could hear the rebel artillery throwing the missiles of death into Carlisle. True to the instincts of preservation, from our firesides we rushed, three hundred strong, to the top of the Cumberland Mountain at Sterrett’s Gap, and determined to be a Spartan band and allow no foe to desecrate the soil of Perry with his foul footsteps unless he passed over our stark lifeless bodies.”

One of the Three Hundred, The Perry County Freeman, 10 August 1892

Secrets of Clarks Ferry Tavern

The Clark’s Ferry Tavern, now owned by the Historical Society of Perry County, is one of the most important historical structures in Perry County. This book examines the property from historical, architectural, archeological, genealogical, and metaphysical perspectives to build a complete overview so we can truly appreciate its value to our history and community.

The Search for Fort Robinson

“The Indians waylaid the fort in harvest time and kept quiet until the reapers were gone; James Wilson remaining sometime behind the rest, and I not being gone to my business, which was hunting deer, for the use of the company, Wilson standing at the fort gate, I desired the liberty to shoot his gun at a mark, upon which he gave me his fun, and I shot; the Indians on the upper side of the fort, thinking they were discovered, rushed on a daughter of Robert Miller, and instantly killed her, and shot at James Simmeson, then they made the best of it that they could, and killed the wife of James Wilson, and took Hugh Gibson and Betsey Henry prisoners; the reapers being forty in number returned to the fort and the Indians made off.”

Narrative of Robert Robinson