Skip to main content

Those Places Thursday: Octorara

Octorara Lake is a great little fishing and picnic area in Colerain Township, Lancaster County. Today the Octoraro Reservoir falls under the authority of the Chester Water Authority. Years ago, circa 1880 and into the early 1900s, Octorara was a thriving little community.

A History of the Octoroaro Farmers Club mentions an Octorara Post Office. Originally the post office in that area was called Andrews Bridge Post Office. However it was changed in 1850 to Octorara Post Office. In 1860 Wilson Dobbins bought the store, as well as 14 acres, according to LivingPlaces.com. He managed both the store and the post office, which was housed there as so many were then, until his death in 1878. (Wikipedia photo)

Unfortunately the census records do not list Octorara as Dobbins’ post office. The 1870 census lists “May” and the 1860 census simply says “Colerain”, which is the name of the township. The US IRS Tax Assessment List for 1866 (see below) does note his address, that is his post office, as being Octorara.



The Lancaster Historical Preservation Trust identifies a four bay brick store/house along Creek Road as Wilson Dobbin’s Store, which housed the Octorara Post Office. It is also listed by the Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. The building was built circa 1800-1835 and was used as the post office in the early 1880’s.

Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans, in their History of Lancaster County, note that in 1883 the Octorara Post Office was housed in Roop’s Store. The building is part of the Andrews Bridge Historic District. The Historic District comprises less than a dozen buildings in what is essentially little more than a crossroads village.

The Octorara Post Office however had to have included a larger area. Many older residents have recalled a town – a hamlet really – where the Octorara Lake now stands. In fact, when the water is low, you can still see the outlines of a few foundations. The houses there are believed to have belonged to the quarry workers.

In 1952, according to Jim Neary of Jim Neary’s Live Bait & Tackle, the reservoir was impounded. Today it is home to many varieties of fish and birds. Visitors may rent a boat or a kayak or enjoy fishing in the lake.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. A history of the Octoraro Farmers Club, 1856-1946 : prepared as a tribute to those men and women of yesterday, the charter members [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

“Andrews Bridhe Historic District” LivingPlaces.com. Accessed 30 July 2015 http://www.livingplaces.com/PA/Lancaster_County/Colerain_Township/Andrews_Bridge_Historic_District.html

“Our Present Past” Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, Lancaster, PA, 1985. Pp 65-66.

Dobbin’s (Wilson) Store. Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Accessed 30 July 2015. https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/phmc_display.cfm?KeyNo=078751

 

Those Places Thursday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.
 
© Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Comments

  1. The 1870 census reference to "May" is what gave the southbound road from Strasburg its name, MAY POST OFFICE ROAD.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he found hi

Living History Offers Opportunity to Step Back in Time

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to work the fields on a plantation during the Revolutionary War? Or stroll through an 18th century village? Or fight in battle during the Civil War?  Living history  offers an interactive perspective which incorporates  historical  activities and dress providing a sense of stepping back in time. So, how can YOU step back in time? Rock Ford volunteer Nancy Bradley in the Study of the mansion Rock Ford Plantation, in Lancaster County, PA, will be hosting a Volunteer Tour Guide Recruitment Event on Sunday, 22 March. They need tour guides for its upcoming tour season.  Built circa 1794, Rock Ford was the home of Edward Hand and his family. Hand, an Irish immigrant and physician, served as Adjutant General to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.   Volunteer tour guides at Rock Ford bring the past to life for museum visitors. A tour guide can be any person aged 18 years and up. No experience is necessary, and trainin