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  History of Warren County
   Within the tapestry of Warren County history the threads of conflict and community are woven. The early history of this area was often on of conflict, as Seneca, French,
English and later, American struggled for control of the land. In the nineteenth century with the arrival of "settlers" from the new United States came the creation of
new communities. With these communities came houses, farms, schools, businesses and industries. Many of these early features are still visible in the landscape today.
   By the sixteenth century the Seneca, members of the Iroquois Indian Nation, controlled the area which is now Warren County. In the eighteenth century,
the most noted Seneca was the famous Cornplanter, the son of a Dutch trader from Albany and a Seneca mother. After fighting for the British during the Revolution,
Cornplanter switched his allegiance and became a defender of the new American government, and an instrument in establishing treaties between
with the American government and the Iroquois Nation.
   Despite the opposition of some of his contemporaries, Cornplanter warded off Indian incursions from the West. He was rewarded for his efforts with an outright
gift by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth of several parcels of land, one of which---the Cornplanter Grant--became his home until his death in 1836.
Until the waters of the Allegheny Reservoir flooded all but the highest portion of the Grant, Cornplanter heirs lived on their ancestral land.
   The French, the first European Americans to deal with the Indians of the area, had traded annually with them prior to 1749. In that year, Celeron de Blainville led an
expedition sent by the government of New France to establish French sovereignty over the Ohio Valley which was being threatened by increasing British incursions.
Near the mouth of the Conewango Creek, on the south bank of the Allegheny, he buried a lead plate signifying this sovereignty.
   During the ensuing years, after the French influence ended and the Revolution established American independence, men began to recognize the suitability
of the land for permanent settlement. The fine bottomland at the confluence of the Conewango and the Allegheny was natural location for a town,
and extensive pine forest offered a seemingly inexhaustible supply of timber.
   In 1795, the town of Warren--named for distinguished patriot, General Joseph Warren, Killed in the battle of Bunker or Breed's Hill--was laid out by the
Surveying team lead by General William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott. Warren's first structure (which stood until 1840) was a log building erected by the
Holland Land Company as a supply depot. In about 1806 the first settlers began to locate in Warren, and the town was incorporated as a borough in 1832.
With few exceptions, the earliest inhabitants of Warren were Scotch-Irish, from southeaster Pennsylvania, and New Englanders. Successive waves of immigrants
arrived from Germany, Sweden, and Italy during the remaining years of the century. Their descendants are numerous.
   The county, 902 square miles in area, was erected out of Lycoming and Allegheny Counties by an act of legislature in 1800. In 1805, it was attached to Venango for
judicial purposes; but in 1819, after a sufficient increase in population, it was organized as a full-fledged county. It is bordered on the north by New York State,
on the east by McKean County, on the west by Crawford and Erie Counties, and on the south by Venango and Forest Counties.
   Most of the land in the eastern and southern parts of the county is broken and hilly; the northwestern section is mostly glacial territory. Altitude ranges from 1200 to over
2000 feet above sea level. Originally, hardwood forest covered much of the western portion, while large stands of pine and hemlock grew in the creek alleys and southeast
of the Allegheny River. The river and its three major tributaries in Warren county--the Conewango, Brokenstraw and Kinzua Creeks--were natural waterways
for the rafting of lumber, which was the county's main industry for many years. Sawing and rafting of lumber continued to be a major activity late in the 1800s.
   Prior to 1830, only the keelboat provided two-way river transportation from Pittsburgh. but beginning with the arrival of the steamer "Allegheny" in 1830, a succession
of steamboats from Pittsburgh served as transportation until the early 1860s, just a few years after the Sunbury and Erie Railroad was completed from Erie to Warren.
By 1883, Warren had the hub of a network of railroads leading in all directions.
   As the rafting of lumber declined, and as the arable land was cleared of its timber, farming began to flourish, particularly in the northwest section of the county.
In addition, the manufacture of furniture and other wood products expanded; the availability of hemlock bark led to the establishment of a large tanning
operation in the Sheffield are; and the fabrication of products from iron began its steady climb.
   Concurrent with he arrival of the railroad in Warren, oil was discovered at Titusville. In a short time, an oil boom developed in Warren County. It added yet another
major industry, and by the early 1900s there were 13 refineries within a six-mile radius of Warren. Sensational oil finds occurred in numerous locations,
including Tidioute, Cherry Grove, and Clarendon. Oil production and refining still hold an important position in the county.
   For many years the town of Warren has been favored with a diversified industry; it has suffered less than many other localities in time of depression. Those businesses
in the county which have declined have been replaced by others more modern and comprehensive, and over the years the trend has been toward light industry.
Although farming has decreased in importance in the county, its status today is more stable than in many other parts of the state.
   Warren is the locale of a forward-looking public school system which has always borne a high reputation. Many religious denominations are represented in the county,
and an excellent county library cultural community; and it is also the center for a wide range of recreational facilities including hunting, fishing, and boating. The headquarters of the
Warren County Historical Society and the Clinton E. wilder Museum are both extensive repositories for memorabilia of Warren County and its citizens.
   Heart's Content and Tionesta Scenic Area are the only appreciable stands of virgin timber remaining in Pennsylvania. With their 300 year-old trees, they are breathtaking
evidence of the splendor that greeted the settlers as they moved westward. These tracts are within the Allegheny National Forest, a large portion of which is included
in Warren County and which provides vistas of beauty unequaled in any other part of the state. Chapman Dam State Park, a facility near Clarendon, offers
opportunity for swimming, fishing, camping and picnicking.
   The construction of the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir, a flood control project twelve miles above Warren, has been the impetus for a new and far-reaching
promotional program for outdoor recreation. Campgrounds, boat-launching ramps, swimming areas and scenic overlooks have been incorporated into the
overall development of the reservoir shoreline, which extends into New York State nearly to the town of Salamanca.

Thomas Struthers, the industrialist, built this imposing house as a wedding present for his only daughter, Anna Eliza, in 1870. Anna married George H. Wetmore, the youngest son of the second generation of Wetmores, whose parents had come to Warren 1815. The marriage was a source of great joy to both families, and the house which Thomas Struthers built was a tangible expression of the general pleasure that surrounded the event.

Completed in 1873, the house was built in the modern Italian Renaissance style, red brick with a white wood trim, a mansard roof, a large veranda across the front, and a balcony opening out from the parlor. Not only are the outer walls made of double layers of brick separated by an air space, but so also are the interior supporting walls which are carried down into the basement and which go down to bed rock. The woodwork throughout the main part of the house is solid walnut.

The house has the traditional wide central hall with a handsome staircase. The formal parlor was on the left of the entrance (the west side of the house); across the hall was a smaller sitting room and back of it a rather smaller study. The dining room was directly behind the big parlor. The kitchen and what probably was a servants’ dining room and a large pantry occupied the back part of the first floor.

The second story had four large bedrooms, back of which were several smaller rooms, probably sleeping quarters for the servants—all of whom “lived in.” The third floor had three large rooms and two smaller bedrooms, possibly the sleeping quarters of the gardener and the coachman.

In 1880, eight years after the Wetmore family moved into their beautiful home, Mrs. Wetmore died very suddenly at the age of 32. Ten years after that, in 1890, George Wetmore died, and six years after that their only child, Thomas Struthers Wetmore, died at the age of 24 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Thomas Struthers himself had died in 1892.

For approximately two years after George Wetmore’s death, the house was rented by Mrs. Emily Breed, a physician;; and in 1893, it was sold to Charles Schimmelfeng. It was modernized to a considerable extent at that time and for 58 years, the Schimmelfeng family lived there. In 1950, the only surviving member of that family, Miss Frances Schimmelfeng, sold the property to the Warren County Commissioners, who converted the house into the Court House Annex.

At that time, there was still evidence of the occupancy of the former owners. The elegant wrought-iron gate still hung at the entrance to the front walk, inside, several of the original gas chandeliers were still in place. During the early years of the Schimmelfeng ownership, they had been electrified except for one gas light in one bedroom. The fixtures in the parlor, the hall, and what is not the office of the historical society were especially lovely. In the parlor the elaborate fixture hung by a gold chain from the high ceiling, its original gas “candles” later replaced by electric ones. The hall fixture was an inverted white alabaster globe hanging by a brass (or Gilded) chain, and in the present office, the central chandelier was an intricately designed silver fixture.

As the home of the Warren County Historical Society, the house has been in part restored to its homelike atmosphere. Today the formal parlor is dressed in an elegant Victorian motif, the dining room serves as the library, the smaller sitting room to the left is the front office and behind that is the side office, both contain genealogy information for the many researchers that visit the research facility.

On August 4, 1900, after five years of gestation, the society was born at a gala reunion of the “Warren Centennial Celebration Association” held at Mr. A.J. Hazeltine’s country place in Pleasant Township. Forty-nine gaily-costumed ladies and gentlemen attended, and after a picnic supper, held their first meeting. The Honorable C.W. Stone was elected president, and the historical society became the official preserver of all things historical pertaining to Warren County. Along with Stone, the following were appointed officers: The Honorable L.D. Wetmore, Vice-President; C.D. Crandall, Secretary; and A.J. Hazeltine, Treasurer.

Incorporated in 1902, the society still maintains its original purpose: “the preservation of all materials, books, maps, public documents, papers, reports, etc., pertaining to the history of Warren County and the promotion of study of local history, including its connection to our state, national and international heritage.” Implicit in the goals of the society was the procurement of suitable storage and display area for the collection of historical items and documents which was steadily growing.

In 1915 an agreement between the society and the public library allowed use of a small area in the Struthers Library Building for storage of historical records. Then in 1917 the Warren Academy of Science agreed to joint use of its quarters on the second floor of the Struthers Building, and with the historical society, established the “Stone Historical Museum.” But this small area proved inadequate to house the burgeoning collection: so during the twenties every effort was made to generate the public support necessary to the society to purchase a suitable home. Although the “home” was not purchased at that time, a great deal of valuable work was accomplished by the inspired society members, including extensive genealogical research.

With the Depression of the thirties and the subsequent cessation of many worthwhile projects, the historical society entered a period of dormancy. However, the Depression did generate the WPA, several groups of which were assigned to assemble original source material concerning the early history of this area. The work with military reports of the Revolution resulted in an enlightened view of the involvement of area residents, both white and Indian, including the famous Chief Cornplanter.

During the early forties the State Historical Commission financed an archaeological survey of the upper Allegheny River. The resultant discovery of the Sugar Run mounds aroused an interest in local Indian lore and proved to be the impetus that awakened enthusiasm for the historical society as well. (One result was the election of new officers and board at the march 1942, annual meeting.) the annul Iroquoian Conference held at Allegheny State park attracted archaeologists and trained historians from all over the country.

In 1952, the Warren County Commissioners voted to provide the society with office storage and display space in the court house; and they arranged to supply the society with funds, under public law, for furniture and for equipment to house records. This was indeed propitious: for shortly thereafter, the historical society was given a substantial collection of manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers from the Thomas Clemons home, and Warren’s oldest county manuscript, the John Daniels Ledger. This leather bound ledger, which dates back to 1795, contains the daily sales records of an early trading post in the Brokenstraw area: and it has provided valuable information on our earliest settlers, as well as on John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, on of the county’s first noteworthy visitors.

In May of 1964, the Warren County Commissioners approved use by the society of the former courthouse annex, originally the Anna Struthers Wetmore home, as its headquarters. Today the house at 210 Fourth Avenue, is busting with activity in the business of preserving history.