FROM THE "PEOPLE WE WISH WE HAD KNOWN" SERIES
John Rumbarger
MAY 1810 - JAN 1889
FOUNDER OF THE ORIGINAL COMMUNITY THAT BECAME DuBOIS
.
This article appears here with the permission of the author and WebMaster who retains exclusive and full ownership rights.
It is also fully protected by this website's copyright and may NOT be copied, printed or transmitted without written permission
John Rumbarger
by Ken Williams
John Rumbarger is seldom mentioned as the founder of DuBois. However, that is somewhat of an area historical oversight since he is accurately and historically regarded as having established the original town of Rumbarger, formalized with its own post office, which later evolved into and was later renamed DuBois.
One of a family of ten children, he had been born at Warriors Mark in Huntingdon County on May 25 of 1810 of German (some notes say Dutch) ancestry. He was only two years old when the George Shaffer family built a log cabin in this area, becoming the first real settlers in what 60 years later would become Rumbarger (Town) and finally DuBois.,
In 1834 Rumbarger married Elizabeth Leathers and parented four children, two sons and two daughters. His wife died in 1844 and in 1845 Rumbarger was remarried to Eliza Earhart, parenting nine more children.
In 1850 he settled in Kittanning, Armstrong County, where he lived for three years and then spent another two years at Black Fox Furnace ( Parker Landing ) along the Allegheny River. From there he moved to Brookville in 1855, continuing his occupation as a businessman and lumberman through to the end of the Civil War. Rumbarger worked for a number of jobs for Mr. Alfred Bell. One of those was located between Falls Creek and DuBois allowing Rumbarger to see his opportunity to secure land in this area./
In 1865 Rumbarger purchased the David Heberling farm, consisting of 200 acres ( some notes say 325 ) for some $8000 in what was then Brady Township and is now Sandy Township. He established his home in the Heberling house on Main Street while operating a fairly large farm. The boundary line of his farm ran back of the Catholic cemetery, DRMC Hospital , B. R. & P. car shops, boiler shops and miner's row on the old Falls Creek road.
The only buildings at that time were the old farmhouse, known later as the Rumbarger House, which stood on the lower side of Main Street and two barns. one above the road and thw other near the Catholic cemetery.
His nearest neighbor at that time was Henry Shaffer, who lived in a log house on Stockdale Street. The next nearest neighbor was Samuel Postlethwait, who lived near Luthersburg. The Resingers, Michael Shaffer, Thomas Wayne and Abraham Heberling families lived within a radius of two miles of one another and comprised the entire population at that time. With the exception of the cleared Rumbarger farm and the Henry Shaffer farm the area was a forest.
The first store was built by Elisha Evans near the foot of the hill on Main Street leading toward Falls Creek. The next was erected by John Goodyear (11) on the corner of Main Street and Long Avenue. Across from this was Tom Booth's blacksmith shop and on the opposite corner Tom Montgomery's grocery store. The area was beginning to grow.
John DuBois had begun purchasing land in the area around 1842 and, selling off his holdings in the Williamsport area, came to develop his holdings here in about 1871. John DuBois actually boarded with Rumbarger while developing his lumbering business.
At that time it was reported that the total area population was less than 100 persons. By 1873 with the completion of John DuBois' "Big Mill" the population had jumped to over 1300 persons.
In the interim Rumbarger had decided to sell of some of his holdings which would start a real community or village. He placed flowery ads in the Brookville and Clarion papers highlighting the beauty of the area and the employment opportunities John DuBois lumbering business and sawmill would bring along with the growth the new railroad that was being built would foster. According to the ads, the area had access roads to neighboring communities, bountiful spring water and rich soil and was forecast to be a thriving area that would provide numerous jobs in the emerging lumbering business. In truth, although destined for rapid growth, at the time it was little more than a small, rough, undeveloped frontier village
So it was that in 1872 Rumbarger divided a portion of his land into lots surveyed for him by George Kirk. The resulting village was laid out in lots, streets, alleys, etc. and with the sale of the first lots in 1872 became known as Rumbarger (some say Rumbarger Town). Lots sold at fifty to one hundred dollars each and he allowed buyers a long time to pay for them to encourage buyers to locate permanently. In addition, he had been correct that in his determination that John DuBois efforts would draw large numbers of workers to the area. The first Post Office was established at Rumbarger in 1874.
The village of Rumbarger experienced continued growth through the early 1870's with the completion of the Low Grade railroad and with John DuBois completing his lumber mills and offices, drawing hundreds of workers to the area.
Ironically, however, two separate settlements then developed on either side of Sandy Lick Creek.
The Eastern side of town with John DuBois' sawyers and lumbermen began to be called DuBois and was distinct from the older Rumbarger settlement on the western side of town located closer to Long Avenue and Main Street and mainly housing coal miners and their families. It was the area which had been settled by Rumbarger in 1865 and named for him in 1872. The post office was placed at Rumberger in 1874 validating his claim as town founder despite it later experiencing the name change to DuBois.
The rapid growth and building on the DuBois side had, however, soon outgrew Rumbarger. DuBois had built two lumber mills, one in 1872 and another in 1873 that was the reportedly the largest in the state. Employing hundreds of men DuBois expanded his holdings to include an Iron Works in 1875, a box factory factory in 1881 and a Hemlock Mill in 1884.
Eventually this growth led to the dual settlements becoming one town named DuBois. When the new station of the Allegheny Valley Railroad was built on the East ( or DuBois ) side of the community in 1876 the post office was moved there from Rumbarger and the entire community then took on the name DuBois to match the name of the station and of that section of town. In effect the town of Rumbarger ceased to exist. Rumbarger himself, suffering from asthma, was less actively engaged in business by the late 1870's although in 1886 when the Du Bois Agricultural and Driving Park Association was organized, J. E. Du Bois was elected president and John Rumbarger, vice-president
The Rumbarger Cemetery ground set aside by Rumbarger around 1877and is all that survives of his
original settlement which had evolved and been renamed DuBois.
John Rumbarger died on January 12, 1889 and is buried in the old cemetery ( visit cemetery site ) that bears his name located along Main Street adjacent to the DuBois Regional Medical Center.
SOURCES
Clearfield County PA Archives Obituaries.....Rumbarger, John, Jr.
usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/obits/rumbarger-john-jr.txt
Marshall family history http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/r/Kelly-Marshall/FILE/0019page.html
Click on any photo below for an emlarged image
John Rumbarger
MAY 1810 - JAN 1889
FOUNDER OF THE ORIGINAL COMMUNITY THAT BECAME DuBOIS
.
This article appears here with the permission of the author and WebMaster who retains exclusive and full ownership rights.
It is also fully protected by this website's copyright and may NOT be copied, printed or transmitted without written permission
John Rumbarger
by Ken Williams
John Rumbarger is seldom mentioned as the founder of DuBois. However, that is somewhat of an area historical oversight since he is accurately and historically regarded as having established the original town of Rumbarger, formalized with its own post office, which later evolved into and was later renamed DuBois.
One of a family of ten children, he had been born at Warriors Mark in Huntingdon County on May 25 of 1810 of German (some notes say Dutch) ancestry. He was only two years old when the George Shaffer family built a log cabin in this area, becoming the first real settlers in what 60 years later would become Rumbarger (Town) and finally DuBois.,
In 1834 Rumbarger married Elizabeth Leathers and parented four children, two sons and two daughters. His wife died in 1844 and in 1845 Rumbarger was remarried to Eliza Earhart, parenting nine more children.
In 1850 he settled in Kittanning, Armstrong County, where he lived for three years and then spent another two years at Black Fox Furnace ( Parker Landing ) along the Allegheny River. From there he moved to Brookville in 1855, continuing his occupation as a businessman and lumberman through to the end of the Civil War. Rumbarger worked for a number of jobs for Mr. Alfred Bell. One of those was located between Falls Creek and DuBois allowing Rumbarger to see his opportunity to secure land in this area./
In 1865 Rumbarger purchased the David Heberling farm, consisting of 200 acres ( some notes say 325 ) for some $8000 in what was then Brady Township and is now Sandy Township. He established his home in the Heberling house on Main Street while operating a fairly large farm. The boundary line of his farm ran back of the Catholic cemetery, DRMC Hospital , B. R. & P. car shops, boiler shops and miner's row on the old Falls Creek road.
The only buildings at that time were the old farmhouse, known later as the Rumbarger House, which stood on the lower side of Main Street and two barns. one above the road and thw other near the Catholic cemetery.
His nearest neighbor at that time was Henry Shaffer, who lived in a log house on Stockdale Street. The next nearest neighbor was Samuel Postlethwait, who lived near Luthersburg. The Resingers, Michael Shaffer, Thomas Wayne and Abraham Heberling families lived within a radius of two miles of one another and comprised the entire population at that time. With the exception of the cleared Rumbarger farm and the Henry Shaffer farm the area was a forest.
The first store was built by Elisha Evans near the foot of the hill on Main Street leading toward Falls Creek. The next was erected by John Goodyear (11) on the corner of Main Street and Long Avenue. Across from this was Tom Booth's blacksmith shop and on the opposite corner Tom Montgomery's grocery store. The area was beginning to grow.
John DuBois had begun purchasing land in the area around 1842 and, selling off his holdings in the Williamsport area, came to develop his holdings here in about 1871. John DuBois actually boarded with Rumbarger while developing his lumbering business.
At that time it was reported that the total area population was less than 100 persons. By 1873 with the completion of John DuBois' "Big Mill" the population had jumped to over 1300 persons.
In the interim Rumbarger had decided to sell of some of his holdings which would start a real community or village. He placed flowery ads in the Brookville and Clarion papers highlighting the beauty of the area and the employment opportunities John DuBois lumbering business and sawmill would bring along with the growth the new railroad that was being built would foster. According to the ads, the area had access roads to neighboring communities, bountiful spring water and rich soil and was forecast to be a thriving area that would provide numerous jobs in the emerging lumbering business. In truth, although destined for rapid growth, at the time it was little more than a small, rough, undeveloped frontier village
So it was that in 1872 Rumbarger divided a portion of his land into lots surveyed for him by George Kirk. The resulting village was laid out in lots, streets, alleys, etc. and with the sale of the first lots in 1872 became known as Rumbarger (some say Rumbarger Town). Lots sold at fifty to one hundred dollars each and he allowed buyers a long time to pay for them to encourage buyers to locate permanently. In addition, he had been correct that in his determination that John DuBois efforts would draw large numbers of workers to the area. The first Post Office was established at Rumbarger in 1874.
The village of Rumbarger experienced continued growth through the early 1870's with the completion of the Low Grade railroad and with John DuBois completing his lumber mills and offices, drawing hundreds of workers to the area.
Ironically, however, two separate settlements then developed on either side of Sandy Lick Creek.
The Eastern side of town with John DuBois' sawyers and lumbermen began to be called DuBois and was distinct from the older Rumbarger settlement on the western side of town located closer to Long Avenue and Main Street and mainly housing coal miners and their families. It was the area which had been settled by Rumbarger in 1865 and named for him in 1872. The post office was placed at Rumberger in 1874 validating his claim as town founder despite it later experiencing the name change to DuBois.
The rapid growth and building on the DuBois side had, however, soon outgrew Rumbarger. DuBois had built two lumber mills, one in 1872 and another in 1873 that was the reportedly the largest in the state. Employing hundreds of men DuBois expanded his holdings to include an Iron Works in 1875, a box factory factory in 1881 and a Hemlock Mill in 1884.
Eventually this growth led to the dual settlements becoming one town named DuBois. When the new station of the Allegheny Valley Railroad was built on the East ( or DuBois ) side of the community in 1876 the post office was moved there from Rumbarger and the entire community then took on the name DuBois to match the name of the station and of that section of town. In effect the town of Rumbarger ceased to exist. Rumbarger himself, suffering from asthma, was less actively engaged in business by the late 1870's although in 1886 when the Du Bois Agricultural and Driving Park Association was organized, J. E. Du Bois was elected president and John Rumbarger, vice-president
The Rumbarger Cemetery ground set aside by Rumbarger around 1877and is all that survives of his
original settlement which had evolved and been renamed DuBois.
John Rumbarger died on January 12, 1889 and is buried in the old cemetery ( visit cemetery site ) that bears his name located along Main Street adjacent to the DuBois Regional Medical Center.
SOURCES
Clearfield County PA Archives Obituaries.....Rumbarger, John, Jr.
usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/obits/rumbarger-john-jr.txt
Marshall family history http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/r/Kelly-Marshall/FILE/0019page.html
Click on any photo below for an emlarged image
