The Townships
Colebrook: Known for being in two places at once, a misspelling, Queen’s Mansion
By Christopher Miller
Welcome to Colebrook Township! Or was it Coalbrook? Known for being in two locations at the same time…and also two names of varying spellings.
What? You read that correctly.
As far as an 1862 map of Clinton County shows, which is currently hanging in the Ross Library in Lock Haven, there are two Colebrook Townships; the Colebrook Township we all know today, and another little northeastern tip called “part of Colebrook.” This tip looks to have hugged modern-day PA Route 44 and may have been ceded to Tioga or Lycoming County at some point within the last 160 years.
Historical View of Clinton County says this about the original Colebrook Township: “Colebrook township is one of the twelve into which the county was first divided, and when formed covered a much greater area than at present; its territory having since been encroached upon in the organization of other townships, till it is now but. fragment, or rather two fragments of the original township.”
Colebrook is still almost as wild as when it was first formed, and as the history book said, “…and almost entirely unimproved, except that portion lying along the river, which crosses it near its southern boundary.”
Farrandsville, which is located within the confines of the township, was known for coal mining and the production of fire clay for fire brick. The Farrandsville Iron Furnace still stands today and was used in the production of iron, at one point producing 50 tons in one week.
One of the first settlers, George Saltzman, had settled in the area prior to 1777 as his brother George had been killed by Indians then.
Animals abound within the township then as they do now. One story in particular told of a bear that was near the Saltzman homestead that was caught in a trap. It had escaped with the loss of two of its toes which were later found in the trap.
Along Lick Run was once a large nail establishment which was capable of producing ten tons of nails per day which probably ended up in many of the homes in the surrounding area today.
An oddity which may still exist if it was not completely blown apart for the creation of Route 120 was known as “The Ice Cave” where ice may have been seen all year. This was known as a “natural curiosity.” We now call it the “ice mine cut.”
Farrandsville and Colebrook Township were (or are?) the home to the Queen’s Mansion. The Fallon Brothers came to Clinton County from Philadelphia in charge of investing some of the Queen of Spain’s money she received for the sale of Florida to the United States. As Lou Bernard puts it, “in case she ever wanted to visit her money here, a fine mansion was constructed for her outside of Farrandsville.” Though she never visited, the home eventually succumbed to fire and was completely destroyed.
Today, Colebrook Township is home to less than 200 people but it also boasts of a property that was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the Iron Furnace.
