Leetonia – Life and Afterlife of a Ghost Town

Presenter: Phillip Hesser

As part of spring session of the Kelsey Academy of Tioga, Phillip Hesser will present a talk on Tuesday, March 18, at 2:00 PM, at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center, discussing Tioga County’s most famous ghost town, Leetonia, in Elk Township. In particular, he will focus on the stories of the people who left the community in 1921, when the company that operated the lumber enterprise and railroad shut down its operations.

The talk is the first in a series looking back at the 13-volume Logging Railroad Era of Lumbering in Pennsylvania by Walter C. Casler, Benjamin F.G. Kline, Jr. and Thomas T. Taber, III, commemorating the publication of the series one half century ago, between 1970 and 1977. In addition to chronicling the logging railroad era between 1864 and 1948, the authors focused on the geographical areas that gave place to the logging industry, the empires of the lumbermen, and the manufacture of products from the forests. The accounts are rich with testimonies, archival information, maps and photographs.

As the centerpiece of the 1972 Sunset Along Susquehanna Waters (volume 4 in the series), Thomas Taber quoted the extensive account of Leo J. Bailey’s childhood in Leetonia, a Tioga County lumber town that boasted 500 residents at its height at the turn of the 20 th century. Taber’s use of “When Daddy was a Boy” illustrated one way in which the people of the ghost town of Leetonia preserved a sense of community away from a town that no longer existed.

Making use of memoirs, homecoming events, and genealogical records, Hesser will make comparisons between Leetonia and the abandoned communities of Maryland’s Eastern Shore to show the survival of community in the face of its physical erasure. He will draw from this story a few conclusions about Thomas Taber’s own approach to relating the history of Pennsylvania logging railroads by telling the story of ghost towns that were

“slipping into oblivion” at the time he interviewed over 100 people to relate “the human side of the story.”

Continuing the discussion of Thomas Taber and his chronicling of ghost towns, the second talk in this series will be given by Matthew Carl, LeRoy Heritage Museum President and Bradford County Historical Society Executive Director, who will discuss the ghost town of Laquin from his book of the same name and Taber’s research, as seen in Taber’s 1970 Ghost Lumber Towns of Central Pennsylvania (volume 3 in the Logging Railroad Era series). Hosted by the History Center on Main Street, Mansfield, and co-sponsored by Kelsey Academy, this session will take place on Saturday, April 12, at 1:00 PM at the

History Center.

Membership Renewal for 2025

The first 2025 issue of Voices from the Archives was mailed out this week. Membership renewal cards are included for members due for renewal. Annual memberships go from Jan 01 to Dec 31.

Spring Events 2025 Coming Soon to The History Center

Third Annual Celebration of Mansfield's Outstanding Women

Dr. Edith Flower

Physician

Ellen Bailey Williams

Traveler

Frank E. Buttolph

World Traveler & Collector/Curator

March 30, Sunday, 2 PM.

Presenters" Steve McCloskey, Joyce M. Tice

Third Annual Celebration of Mansfield's Outstanding Women.

The History Center, 61 N. Main St., Mansfield. Join us to hear the stories of these remarkable local women.

April 12, Saturday, 1 PM.

Presenter: Matthew Carl

LAQUIN: The Rise and Fall of a Pennsylvania Lumber Town

Based on the new book by the same name, LeRoy Heritage Museum President and Bradford County Historical Society Executive Director, Matthew Carl, will discuss his popular new book about the history of the lumber town of Laquin, located in southern Bradford County, PA. The 512-page book , released at the end of 2023, was 31 years in the making and over 750 copies have been sold. He will also present a PowerPoint presentation taking the audience on a tour of Laquin. The new book may be purchased at the event and Matthew will sign copies at the conclusion of the program.

The History Center, 61 N. Main St., Mansfield

Sunday, April 27, 2 PM

Presenter: John M. Ulrich

Byron Brown, American Abstract Art and Mansfield State College

Byron Browne (1907-1961) was a well-regarded New York City artist and one of the pioneers of American abstract art. His paintings and drawings are held in museums around the world. Although best known for his abstract paintings, his work encompasses a wide range of subject matters and styles. In 1961, Mansfield State College exhibited 14 of Browne’s oil paintings; this was the last exhibition of his work while the artist was still living. This presentation will introduce you to the work of Byron Browne, provide details on his exhibition at MSC, and explain his impact on the establishment of a permanent art collection at the university. Original works by Byron Browne will be on display for viewing during the presentation.

High School Reunions 2025

Is your high school class gathering this year?Let us know when, and we'll be glad to invite you to the History Center to remember the town and the [people you grew up with.

Our Library: History and Genealogy

     Our History-Genealogy Library is open any time the History Center is open. We invite you to stop by to browse, dip into volumes, do research, or just sit and read. We can search our database if you are looking for some specific book or topic. You can also check out a volume on loan to take with you.

Wander Through our Records Online

Online Collections | History Center (pastperfectonline.com)

While we have nearly 30,000 cataloged items, about 5,000 of them have so far been uploaded in our online catalog where you can see them.

Take a look. The ONLY way to learn your way around this utility is to read the guidelines and poke every link. Just explore, go wandering. You'll be surprised.

You will find lists of people (all by name at birth), lists of subjects, or try searching on keywords which is just about anything. Our genealogy database of local connections includes over 100,000 individuals. Over 11,000 of them are also included in our museum files with links to schools, cemeteries, businesses, etc. People are only included online if we have an object or photos associated with them, although they are in our files if they are/were local (lived here, buried here, went to school here). If your family is not shown, send us photos so they can be.

You can select Random Images and follow something that catches your eye.

Try searching for advertisements. They link to businesses and the life stories of the people who ran them, and even the buildings they operated in.

You can also link to the online catalogs through our landing page at joycetice.com.

We have lots more fine-tuning and linking to do for our online presentation, but you'll be surprised what you find when you get lost in our files.

Renewed Members - New Members - Join us for 2025

We'd like to have twenty new members for 2025. As a bonus, we'll send each of them an earlier journal issue from 2019to 2024 in addition to the 2025 issues as they are published. You can send a check or pay by PayPal. Directions link from the button at left.

If you are planning a reunion, consider a casual afternoon Meet & Greet at the History Center's Museum of Us. In an informal environment, you can chat with your friends, watch a slide show of Mansfield's historic photos, and find traces of yourself, your friends, and your family. Many of our exhibits are designed for those who grew up here. The Blue & Gold Room is full of MHS sports mementos. The pictorial display includes YOU along with all the other MHS graduates in its first hundred years.

Thank You to Our Gold Level Sponsors

Law Offices of Larry Mansfield

VFW Post 6757

Mansfield Auxiliary Corporation

Lutes Foundation