Location(s)

Halfmoon Township, settled in 1784, was formally erected in 1802. It is said to be name for marks cut on trees along a Native American trail that was located at the base of Bald Eagle Ridge. In 1784 Abraham Elder arrived from Burnt Cabins to become the first settler. He built a home and later a saw mill, grist mill, and tavern. The NE-SW road through Halfmoon Township was reportedly laid out in 1791, near where Elder's and other farms were being located in the valley and must have been in place by 1792 when iron began to be shipped west to Pittsburgh. Originally, the whole east end of the township was known as Elders. It was named for the tavern owned by enterprising Abraham Elder and served as a stopping place for teamsters hauling iron. George Wilson began a migration of Quakers from Chester County in 1792. Among them were the families of Way, Moore, Taylor, Fisher, and others. Most early residents were farmers who sold their produce to nearby towns such as Tyrone, Philipsburg, and Centre Furnace. Late in the nineteenth century, some iron mining operations took place at Tow Hill at about the same time that Andrew Carnegie began his iron mining operation at Scotia in nearby Patton Township.

Information and text courtesy of The Centre County Historical Society
www.centrecountyhistory.org

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