The youngest and fairest (in name at least) of the sisterhood of townships of Luzerne county. September 24, 1888, the court appointed Ira Hartwell, S. B. Sturdevant and Anning Dilley commissioners to examine and report the advisability of dividing Wright township. W. H. Sturdevant was substituted for Ira Hartwell as commissioner.
The commissioners reported in favor of the division on the line dividing the school districts. The court, February 9, 1889, approved the report, and an election was ordered to be held March 26 following for a vote on the question, and May 6 the court in accordance with the affirmative vote ordered the division, and that the new township be called fairview. Immediately after the boundary line was changed so as to include in the new township the properties of L. C. Constantine and H. Weiss; these properties being a part of a tract of land in the warrantee name of Benjamin Mifflin, containing forty acres.
The boundary line, without the change just mentioned, is as follows: Beginning on the Denison township line at the corner of lands in the warrantees' names of Kearny, Wharton and Richard Gardner on the line of the Rosanna Van Camp tract; thence north 307 perches to a stone corner of land in the warrantee's name of Daniel Van Camp; thence along the same west 140 perches to a stone corner in line of land in warrantee's name of John Brink, thence along the same north 36 perches to stone; thence by another line of said Brink tract west 336 perches to stone corner; thence by another line of said tract west 120 perches to a stone corner on land on E. Lowensteine and L. C. Paine; thence along said line and line of B. Mifflin and Roland [p.557] Perry warrants north 35 perches to a maple corner; thence by another line of Benjamin Mifflin warrant west 60 perches to a stone corner; thence by a line of land in warrantees' names of Susanna Heller, Roland Perry and Eleanor Hollenback north 223 perches to a stone corner on line of the certified township of Hanover; thence along said certified line, north sixty-eight degrees, forty-five minutes, east 105 perches, to a stone corner; thence along line between lots twenty and twenty-one in the second division of certified Hanover township, north twenty-two and a half degrees, west about 165 perches to the Hanover township line. The part of the township lying easterly of the described line and adjoining the townships of Hanover, Bear Creek and Denison, be erected, etc.
This is certainly description enough to bound Alaska, applied to the lines of Fairview.
Going south from Wilkes-Barre, on reaching the top of the mountain after the long going over the ox-bow that winds up the mountain side, then you can look to the right out of the car window and your eyes will tell you how this came to be called Fairview. For miles and miles the flat mountain top is spread before you and in the blue distance the hazy hills again rise above the wide depression. The two main lines of railroad parallel each other all the way from Mauch Chunk, going north to Mountain Top—Fairview—the head of the "planes," where the coal is hauled up the mountain by stationary power, and then the long trains descend toward the south. These coal roads up the mountain sides, ending at the top of the mountain at Fairview, and the converging of the two lines of the railroads in their long respective ox-bows, make of this quite a noted point. By either road in going south as your train winds along the mountain side, the greater part of the time you may look out upon as beautiful scenery as the eye can rest upon. The deep gorge on either hand often gives the car, in looking out of the train, the semblance of rushing along in mid air, and in the distance is the valley, Wilkes- Barre, Ashley, Plymouth, Kingston, Dorrance, Bennett, Luzerne, Wyoming, Forty Fort and the great coal breakers and their ever ascending columns of steam and the villages, hamlets, farms and residences and shade trees, wide roads and winding avenues and walks that are as beautiful as a dream.
Fairview is certainly properly named. It is the centering point of as lovely scenery as can be found in the world. The township name of Fairview is but an extension to the new township of the name of Fairview station on the Lehigh Valley railroad.
Conrad Wickeiser was the pioneer settler. He cut out his road for his ox team to this place at the close of the last century, 1798. He was followed by James Wright, who built the first tavern stand, also the first sawmill in 1820. When this was Wright township the place became a noted lumbering point, and many sawmills dotted its length and breadth. James Wright built three sawmills, long since gone to decay. The next settler was Harvey Holcomb, from Connecticut. He located a short distance down the creek from Wright's. Samuel B. Stivers and William Vandermark soon afterward located in the northwest part of the township, a little south of Triangle pond. They were natives of this county, and their families still live where they first located. John Hoffman, about the same time as the last two named, located near Stivers' place. Elias Carey, from the Wyoming valley, in 1833 bought the Holcomb improvements.
The first road was the Wilkes-Barre & Hazleton turnpike, running diagonally across the township from Solomon's gap to N. Hildebrand's; the surveyor was Harry Colt, of Wilkes-Barre.
The first schoolhouse was built of logs, in 1840, and stood near S. B. Stivers', in the northwest part of the township. The first teacher was Charles Fine. The first store was kept by Stephen Lee, near S. B. Stivers'. James Wright kept the first tavern, where he first located. Another was kept by a Mr. Willis, where R. Conedy lived. Almost every one kept liquors to stimulate the weary traveler.
The pioneer blacksmith, Stephen Lee, worked in connection with his store, near Samuel B. Stivers' place.
[p.558] Fairview is quite a railroad point, Bear Creek Junction is the point where branches off from the Lehigh Valley road their line to Meadow run, about sixteen miles. In addition to the already mentioned incline coal road from Wyoming valley to the Mountain Top, the converging at this point of the two main lines of railroad, the New Jersey Central railroad, commencing at that point, have built a coal road to Pittston, the cut-off. By this line they carry their coal and freight up the mountain. Thus, the trains, and they are many, from either direction here stop their extra engines that are used in the steep hauls up the mountain, every loaded train requiring two of these monster engines, and many three of them. This makes the stations of Mountain Top, Fairview and Penobscot all practically one, strung along the different tracks, quite a railroad rendezvous, and engine houses and small shops are numerous, and railroad employes have homes in the vicinity. Fairview is on the Lehigh Valley railroad, and Penobscot is on the New Jersey Central— practically all one.
Glen Summit is quite an institution in the way of a summer hotel and resort. It is an immense hostlery, and the hot weather drives people from the close cities to this place for the refreshing mountain air. It was built in its present form in l887. The place commenced by Mr. Patterson building, some years ago, a summer cottage there; then the people of Wilkes-Barre joined and built a small hotel, and finally, the railroad, realizing its importance as a summer resort, replaced it with the present improvement. A number of summer cottages have been built near by, and more are in contemplation.
Fairview township has 1,008 inhabitants, and of these 961 are in Mountain Top village.