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Mifflin County, PA
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Created on September 19,1789, from parts of Cumberland
and Northumberland Counties and named for Governor
Thomas Mifflin. Lewistown, the county seat, was laid out
in 1790 and incorporated as a borough on April 11, 1795.
However, the charter apparently was not accepted, for it
was reincorporated on February 6, 1811. It was named for
William Lewis, local ironmaster.
 The
first legitimate settlers had barely arrived after the
Albany Purchase of 1745 when the area was involved in
the Indian raids of 1755 to 1763. Fort Granville fell to
Indian assault in 1756. Lewistown and Mifflintown were
rivals for designation as the county seat because there
was topographical division at the Narrows. The formation
of Juniata County settled the matter. The Pennsylvania
Canal arrived in 1829 followed twenty years later by the
Pennsylvania Railroad, and the county was also favored
by being on the route of the William Penn Highway (later
U.S. 22). Despite mountains, the Kishacoquillas Valley
is fertile, and limestone, glass quality sand, silica
sand, and ganister are profitable. A silk industry was
converted to rayon, then to nylon, and now to polyester.
In the 1930s Vicose Silk had 4,000 employees, 10 percent
of the county’s population. Iron and steel were once
produced, leaving in their trail the current trades of
fabricated forgings, rolled rings, and railroad wheels
and axles. Forty percent of the work force is still
engaged in manufacturing. One-third of the area is in
farmland, and egg and dairy production is high. |
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