Newcomers to the Cove: And More Cove Names

This is the third and final article about names in the Cove written from a newcomer’s perspective. It was fun figuring out why places in the Cove were so named.

Rodman is located in Taylor Township between Roaring Spring and McKee. Two iron furnaces were built, one in 1862 and the other in 1872, by Knapp and Company. In 1873, there was a financial panic and subsequent depression which forced operations at both furnaces to cease. The Blair Iron and Coal Company leased the furnaces in 1877 but in 1885 the furnaces were shut down and dismantled shortly thereafter. In 1930, New Enterprise Stone and Lime bought the quarry at Rodman which is still operating today. According to one source, Rodman is allegedly named for US Navy Admiral Hugh Rodman who was from Kentucky so the tie to Morrisons Cove is unclear. And the fact that Admiral Rodman wasn’t born until 1859 also makes this unlikely. A more plausible conclusion is that Rodman was named for General Thomas Jackson Rodman (1816 – 1871) who was a Union Army officer during the Civil War and inventor of the famous Rodman cannon. At least the timing is right.

Shellytown is located on Clover Creek Road between Williamsburg and Fredericksburg in Woodbury Township. It was also known as Patchtown at one time. I found no sources that described how either name was given to this village. What does “Patchtown” mean? Who was Shelly? When did the name change and why? Findagrave.com lists 31 Shelly surnames in the Shellytown Fairview Cemetery so my guess is that the preponderance of “Shellys” in the area forced the name change. This remains a mystery.

McKee is a village in Freedom Township located in the McKee Gap between Short and Dunning Mountains. (This was once called the Frankstown Gap.) In 1810 or so, George McKee bought the land upon which the town now sits. The town was known as McKees Gap by the 1870s and then McKee’s Gap in 1894. Finally, in 1910, the name became simply McKee. An interesting side note (although I imagine an important activity back then) was that fortifications were built in McKee in 1863. As a natural gap through which an army could easily travel, an anticipated invasion from the Confederacy was thus prevented.

Waterside dates from 1791. It’s located where Routes 868 and 36 meet in the southern part of the Cove, just north of Northern Bedford County Middle/High School. The old woolen mill is the famous landmark. The town rivals Williamsburg as one of the oldest in the area, dating from the 1790s. I could find nothing definitive about the town’s name except common sense tells me the name is derived from its location on the Yellow Creek.

Rebecca, located in Huston Township, is famous for the furnace built in 1817 and abandoned in 1882. Rebecca Furnace Road exists today and runs by the WJSM-FM radio station. Rebecca was the daughter of Dr. Peter Shoenberger who built the furnace. Sheonberger became the most prominent iron master in Pennsylvania so this was an important furnace. For reasons of safety, the furnace was torn down in the 1960s but apparently the old mansion and some slag and stones are still on site. I have not yet traveled to the location and cannot confirm what actually remains.

Middletown is an area on Route 164 east of Martinsburg. I cannot find the source of the name but can assume, perhaps, that the area was halfway between Fredericksburg and Martinsburg. Although the name is listed in several text sources, I can find no maps, old or new, that list the town. Even a map from 1873 that I studied did not list the name. Perhaps this was a local name only. I don’t know.

Millerstown was a village on Clover Creek between Fredericksburg and Henrietta. (Newer maps don’t currently list the town, although Millerstown Road exists.) Ostensibly the name is derived from an early settler, James Miller, and was founded about 1862. From 1864 until 1926, the town had a school. There was also a bank, a church, and a cornet band for a while!

I had fun sorting out names in Morrisons Cove although this last account was a bit challenging because information was harder to find and verify. But I hope you enjoyed reading these articles as part of our collective Morrisons Cove history.