Six Penny Creek Community

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History

The African-American community at Six Penny Creek was established around 1835[1]. The area was affiliated with the Underground Railroad, and the community was founded in the valley of Six Penny Creek by self-emancipated individuals (escaped slaves) from the south[2].

Iron Production

The location was close to Hopewell and Joanna furnaces[3]. Self-emancipated slaves leaving the south had the opportunity to be housed within the Six Penny Creek community and work at Hopewell Furnace to earn money to aid in their continued journey north[4]. Many of the records that Hopewell Furnace show that some people worked at the furnace for very limited amounts of time, which may be indicative of escaped or freed slaves moving further north[5]. As the community grew, the individuals within Six Penny Creek began to establish themselves as professionals. Some took work as colliers, farmers, stonemasons, laborers, or woodchoppers who worked on Harvesting Wood for charcoal production. Many were involved in the iron production industry. For example, Peter Jones was listed in the 1850 and 1860 Censuses and John Hart in the 1850 Census of Union Township in Berks County, PA[6] and both men were recorded in the nineteenth century Hopewell Furnace journals as cutting cord wood that was then used in the production of charcoal to fuel furnaces[7].

Mt. Frisby African Methodist Episcopal Church

The Six Penny Creek community established Mt. Frisby African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1856[8]. The church was erected on land owned by the Cole family, a notable family in the community. Isaac Cole was a woodcutter at Hopewell Furnace from 1858 to 1883[9]. The church became a station on the Underground Railroad[10]. It was also significant for being the location of the oldest African-American cemetery in Berks County, PA[11]. Several former Hopewell Furnace laborers were buried in the cemetery[12].

Residents

Isaac Cole (1825-1890)[13]

Isaac Cole was a woodcutter at Hopewell Furnace from 1858 to 1883[14]. Isaac Cole enlisted in the Union Army in 1864 at forty years of age where he became part of Company H, 22nd Regiment, United States Colored Troops[15]. He was listed in the 1870 Census of Union Township, Berks County, PA as a laborer and as being born in Maryland. He was residing with his wife Annie and six children[16]. In the 1880 Census of Union Township, Isaac Cole was listed as a stone mason, as were two of his sons. He lived with his wife, seven children, and a collier named William Ford[17]. Isaac Cole was involved in preparing for "colored woods camp meetings" in the area[18]. He passed away on August 21, 1889[19].

John Hart

At the time of the 1850 census, John Hart was approximately sixty-five years of age and was residing with two younger Hart men and one teenaged Hart girl, two Nixons, four Fords, and one Lee[20]. He was recorded in the nineteenth century Hopewell Furnace journals as cutting cord wood[21].

Notes

  1. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  2. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  3. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  4. ↑ DCNR 2019
  5. ↑ Walker 1966, 307
  6. ↑ United States Census, 1850
  7. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  8. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  9. ↑ Crimmins 2018
  10. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  11. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  12. ↑ National Park Service 2015
  13. ↑ Find a Grave
  14. ↑ Crimmins 2018
  15. ↑ Hebblethwaite 2010
  16. ↑ United States Census, 1870
  17. ↑ United States Census, 1870
  18. ↑ Reading Times 3 September 1882, 4
  19. ↑ Reading Times 22 August 1889, 3
  20. ↑ United States Census, 1850
  21. ↑ National Park Service 2015

References

  • Crimmins, Peter. 2018. Forging a Sense of Hopewell Furnace’s History Through its Citizens and Visitors. WHYY.[1]
  • DCNR. 2019. Stories of Black History in Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.[2]
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 November 2020), memorial page for Pvt Isaac Cole (1825–1890), Find a Grave Memorial no. 101121496, citing Mount Frisby Church Graveyard, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by N.D. Scheidt (contributor 47099775)[3].
  • Hebblethwaite, Frank. 2010. “Isaac Cole, 32nd Regiment U.S.C.T.”[4]
  • National Park Service, Hopewell Furnace. 2015. African-Americans at Hopewell Furnace. National Park Service: U.S. Department of the Interior.[5]
  • Reading Times. 1883. Colored Woods Meeting Near Geigertown, September 3, 1883.[6]
  • Reading Times. 1889. Birdsboro Local News, August 22, 1889.[7]
  • United States Census, 1850, database with images, FamilySearch [8] : 9 April 2016, Pennsylvania > Berks > Union > image 22 of 40; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch [9]1 : 15 June 2019, Pennsylvania > Berks > Union > image 52 of 56; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  • United States Census, 1880, database with images, FamilySearch [10] : 24 December 2015, Pennsylvania > Berks > Union > ED 68 > image 24 of 31; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.).
  • Walker, Joseph E. 1966. Hopewell Village: A Social and Economic History of an Iron-Making Community. Oxford University Press.
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