Early Settlement 1772-1799

Early Settlement 1772-1799. . Despite the threat of Indian attack and the hardships of life on the frontier, early white settlers began trickling into the area south of the Ohio River, attracted by fertile farmland, river transportation, and an abundance of natural resources. This area was claimed by the colonies of both Pennsylvania and Virginia, which caused many issues with the administration of government and resulted in overlapping land claims.

With the onset of the Revolutionary War, Indian attacks increased as the British incited the native tribes to wage war on the settlers. But as the Revolution ended and independence was established, the native tribes moved further west, thus opening the land north and west of the Ohio River to settlement. Also during this period, the Pennsylvania and Virginia border dispute vwas finally settled, and the "Point of Beginning” was established as the starting point for all land surveys of the new Northwest Territory.

Ca. 1772 , The earliest recorded white settlers in the county were established on King's Creek and Raccoon Creek (now Hanover Township) by Levi Dungan and others. A part of his original farm is now the Ponderosa golf course.

1772/1773 , George Baker family settled in present-day Center Township.

1775 , The first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.

November 1778 , Fort McIntosh was built during the Revolutionary War at the present site of Beaver, becoming the first United States military post on the "Indian side" (northern side) of the Ohio River.

Before 1780 , Thomas White built a three-story grist mill on Raccoon Creek near the mouth of Potato Garden Run. The oldest mill in what is now Beaver County, White's mill marked the boundary with Washington County in 1800 and became part of the Village of Murdocksville. Supposedly, the burrs for the mill were quarried from the Seine River in France.

1783 , The United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War.

1784 , Mill Creek Presbyterian Church, the oldest religious institution in the county, was established in present-day Greene Township.

January 21, 1785 , The Treaty of Fort Mclntosh with the Delaware, Wyandot, Ottawa and Chippewa nations opened up the Northwest Territory for settlement.

August 23, 1785 , The "Point of Beginning” was established on the north bank of the Ohio River on the border of Pennsylvania for use in measuring all lands in the Northwest Territories. The original marker is now covered by the Ohio River.

1792 , The first settlements are made on the north side of the Ohio River by Nicholas Dawson, Neal McLaughlin, William Foulkes and William Williams.

November 1792 , General "Mad” Anthony Wayne established Legion Ville near the former Logs Town site to begin training his troops for war against the Indians.

April 21, 1794 , Service Theological Seminary (Eudolpha Hall), founded by Dr. John Anderson, became the first seminary west of the Allegheny Mountains and only the second in the nation.

Ca. 1799 , John Wolf established a flour mill on the east bank of the Beaver River at the middle falls (present-day New Brighton). David Townsend erected a savw mill at the lower falls (present-day Fallston). These were the earliest recorded mills north of the Ohio River. Dr. Samuel Adams settled at the upper falls of the Beaver River (Eastvale), becoming the earliest physician to practice in the county. . This historical marker is in Beaver in Beaver County Pennsylvania