The Townships
Lamar: Known for farming, an old wolf problem, long-forgotten distilleries
By Christopher Miller
Is it Lamar, or Yankeetown?
A Clinton County Times article ran in November, 1919 with reminiscences of the old village that the “natives” called Yankeetown.
To sum up a quite lengthy article, after settling in Northumberland and escaping to the Fort there, three sons by the name of Watson settled in a cabin on the hill overlooking the present site of Lamar in 1796. Being at a loss for more unique names back in those days, the sons were named William, John, and David.
Since that time, people have come and gone. Others went along making their marks on the small community, including Laird’s and Loveland’s.
The original township, as part of Centre County, was formed August 28, 1817.
The book Historical View of Clinton County adds to the illustrious history of this township.
“The name Lamar was given to the township by Judge Walker of Bellefonte, in honor of Major Lamar, a gallant revolutionary soldier who was killed at the battle of Paoli.” Remember, most townships in this part of our county once belonged to Centre.
This township was also once known, not only as Yankeetown, but as the “Garden of Clinton County” being so fertile and highly cultivated.
Do not be afraid of one day you see a stream and the next day it is gone – this is actually a natural occurrence in Lamar Township. “It is underlaid with limestone, and also like those valleys, many of its streams sink and disappear beneath the soil, and after flowing along subterranean channels, and through rocky caverns, again appear elsewhere, to continue their course to the sea.”
The first school building in Lamar was built around 1810 and very well could be considered one of the oldest in the county today. “It was heated by a large stove which projected through one side of the building and received its supply of fuel, in the shape of logs of wood four feet long, from the outside.”
It also appears that back in those olden days there was quite a problem with wolves in the township, so much so that every man for miles around took up arms, joined in a large circle, and walked into the forest to exterminate them.
Now for something I know the readers of this article would be most pleased to read is that five or six distilleries had been in operation at different periods within Lamar Township and all were “well patronized.”
The chapter on Lamar in this book, Historical View of Clinton County, also mentions that Lamar has produced more “public men” than any other township in the county. By public men, the book means politicians. As well, a great number of members of the clergy, teachers, Justices of the Peace, etc. were all celebrated being from Lamar Township.
1912 saw the year of the most disastrous and destructive fire that ever visited Lamar Township. The cause of the blaze was unknown, but speculated to have either been due to lightning or the burning of leaves nearby. “A half hour after the walls fell in, a heavy downpour of rain and severe electrical storm passed over, but too late to be of any aid in arresting its fatal work,” the news article stated. In all, the residences, stables, and outbuildings of Isaac Loveland and Mrs. Sylvester Dunbar were destroyed.
Today, the township is principally involved in the agriculture field, particularly due to the large Amish community in the area.
