Lou’s View: PETER AND THE RUMOR
By Lou Bernard
Across the river in Woodward Township, there is a high mountain peak. In Dunnstown Cemetery, there’s a small grave behind the church. And in Lock Haven, there’s a street downtown.
These things are all connected, but shouldn’t be. They are connected through a misconception, and an error in the documentation of local history.
If you’ve lived here very long, chances are you’ve heard about Peter’s Steps. It’s basically a cliff overlooking Riverview Park in Woodward Township. According to the story connected with it, the Revolutionary War soldier Peter Grove was attacked up there, jumped off with his horse and landed in the river, and he and his horse both swam to safety. And that’s why the peak overlooking the area is named after him to this day.
Great story. Completely untrue. Anyone who stands at the top of Peter’s Steps can see that there’s no way a horse could land in the Susquehanna from there. Just standing nearby, in the park, you can tell that. And don’t tell me that the river could have moved, because there’s no way in hell it moved that much in the past two centuries. Maps from the time show it pretty much right where it is. Maybe Peter Grove jumped his horse into the river from someplace else, but there’s no way in hell he leaped off Peter’s Steps and survived.
Peter Grove is buried in Dunnstown, behind the church. And Grove Street was named after him—Town founder Jerry Church named several of his streets after historical figures
But how did his name come to be associated with that peak? It’s a matter of name transference—Essentially, people get funny ideas, and begin to repeat the wrong thing as time goes by.
The same thing happened a bit upriver, with Queen’s Run. Ask anyone how Queen’s Run got its name, and they’ll tell you it was named after the Queen of Spain, who owned property in the area. Fortunately, you didn’t ask anyone—You asked me. And I’ve done my research.
Early maps show that area as Quinn’s Run, named after early settler Samuel Quinn. Though the queen did buy property, it was somewhat west of there, and much later. As time went by, people began to mispronounce it, and that led to the misconception that it was named after the queen. (I once had a senior citizen, sort of a matriarch of local history, get really irate at me over this point.)
The answer to Peter’s Steps is found in a July 6, 1876 article from the Clinton Democrat. Headlined simply “Peter’s Steps,” it describes the scene and location. It goes on to say,”Who cut the path there and for what purpose, although we have made diligent inquiry, we have not been able to learn. The name is said to be derived from an old hunter by the name of Peter McGinly, who in the early days had a number of deer ‘licks’ a little back from the brow of the hill.”
The horse-jumping incident may or may not have actually happened, but the research suggests it’s more of a fanciful story than actual history. I can’t find any mention of it prior to 1933—it’s not mentioned in any books or articles before that, suggesting that it was probably made up for the county’s hundredth anniversary.
Peter McGinly, however, can be documented. Property records from 1841 show that he owned land in Chapman Township, and signed documents that gave others the right to use it. He signed with an X—he may have been illiterate—But his name is prominently mentioned.
And there’s a will from 1824, in Lycoming County, that takes the research a step further. Jane Seymour left property to her son-in-law, and her will says,”To my beloved son-in-law George Walker, all real estate in
Dunnstable Township, Lycoming County, now in possession of Peter McGinly and others.”
Peter Grove was a real guy. Grove Street was named after him. But Peter’s Steps? Nope, that was a random hunter across the river. Let’s get the facts straight.
