The first German families in Sheppton were the Bittlers, Peter Van Blargan, George Knelly and the Peifers. Thus in the beginning the German people were quite numerous; now there are only a few. The oldest living resident in Sheppton is Mr. Bittler, the son of the first settler.

The industries of Sheppton have not varied greatly since its beginning. The first really profitable industry was lumbering. The forests were so dense in some places that the sun could not penetrate them. After some time these were all cut down and the lumbering industry came to an end. Then came the mining industry, which was very profitable in the beginning, but is not lucrative at present. The prospect of wealth from these mines was really the motive for the settling of Sheppton.

One of the minor and temporary industries of Sheppton was the manufacture and bottling of temperance drinks (sarsparilla, cream soda, ginger beer, dandelion wine, etc.). The bottling works was owned by the Longos and was located on the west side of Main Street.

Sheppton also had a silk mill which lasted for a few years and gave employment to some people. In the building was then a paper box factory. The owners from New York began operating this factory in 1934.

All the early roads of Sheppton were Indian trails and corduroy roads. The oldest road through this section is the road which continues from East Brandon Street through the valley into Park Place. Along this road is a group of rocks which verify tradition which relates that they were formerly an Indian Camp. The building of the road from Humboldt to Oneida was for the purpose of conveying machinery to Oneida for the mines.

The main road to the Valley was a road which skirted Sheppton on the west, continued down over the mountain across Samuel Deebel's farm, and into the Valley. This road is now known as Sam's Road and is rough and rock filled.

No. 2, a small clearing containing one house, is located directly below Oneida and is very easily reached. However, in the early days, No.2 was separated from Oneida by a dreadful swamp and the people were compelled to make a round trip and enter No. 2 from the rear. They started at Oneida then to Sheppton, out to the end of present market Street, over the mountain in Cemetery Hill and finally into No. 2.

The members of St. James Reformed Church first held services in the old frame school building on West Market Street. This building, since torn down, was dedicated August 4, 1892 and the Reformed congregation solemnized its first service here in the year 1893.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church was consecrated August 15, 1895, and it is still standing on the right side of South Shepp Street. Before this church was erected the Catholic people of Sheppton attended the St. Joseph's Catholic Church of McAdoo.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church was built in 1898. However, before the church was built the Lutherans held services in the old frame school building on West Market Street. The first service solemnized in the new church was on February 13, 1898, with Rev. Shlanker as the first pastor. It was through the efforts and influence of this pastor that the church was built.

During the early days of Sheppton, people usually walked or rode horseback over narrow Indian trails or stump-dotted clearings. Some people used the wagon and horses, but his was a very slow method of traveling, because every now and then the wagon sank to its axles in the mud. After the railroad was constructed by the Coxes, it was the main means of traveling and many people were accommodated by these trains. However, after the bus line was installed, the train service practically ceased. The first person to own a car in Sheppton was the first physician, Doctor Jenkins.

The first school house at Sheppton was a frame building erected August 4, 1892, and situated on what is the present West market Street. It had two floors, heated by a large furnace in the basement. The pupils sat on benches, and wrote on slates distributed once a year. The school term was eight months.

December 22, 1926, the school was declared unfit for use and in 1933, the building was dismantled.

The second school house, a brick construction, was erected in the year 1902, at the south end of the present Sheppton. This school has one floor, heated by a large furnace in each room. In 1912, a three year high school was organized.

In 1912, through the efforts of Mrs. Laundahl, a three year high school was organized. The members of the May 4, 1915, graduating class were: Nicholas Walters, Ralph Klingerman, Katherine Fellon, Esther Laundahl, Marina Brennar, John Sullivan, Olive Lorah, Dora Dietz , Lottie Steimling, Florence Dietz , Minerva Neverla, and Stanley Heppe. The school is a township high school to which all students of the township are admitted after completing the eighth grade.

Brandonville is situated midway between Sheppton and Shenandoah. The land was surveyed in 1794 for Thomas Bittler, a first settler. The Bittlers, German nationality, came from Berks County. Soon after the Bittlers, the Brandons, also descendants of Germans, arrived.

Nelson Brandon was born March 3, 1831. He married Rebecca Hartley in 1854. She died in 1866 and then he married Sarah J. Rupert. Mr. Brandon was an extensive landowner in East Union Township, most of which he acquired by purchase from the Bittlers and other pioneer settlers and land owners.

In 1864, he laid out the land for the town. Louis Yetter, an engineer from Catawissa, made the survey. The town was called Brandonville in honor of the founder and owner of the land. The first settlers found the land covered with enormous trees and thick underbrush. the Brandons cleared a tract of land and built a log cabin at the northern end of town. After many remodelings, it is at the present time occupied. This old log house is over a hundred years old and is the oldest landmark in the town.

Water was not available close to the house. It had to be piped from the creeks of the mountains which ran through the upper end of the land. The pipes were made of wood, the hole of which was bored by hand. Some of the pipes can still be found. Today water is piped from deep wells with pumps. Some families still carry their water from a fresh drinking water stream called the Second Creek.

The first settlers were attracted by the large forests. Thus lumbering became the first industry. Early lumber operations were directed by Nelson Brandon, Charles Tete, Senator W.L. Torbert, William Reagan, William Fegley and Samuel Boone.

Many sawmills were built along the Old Catawissa Creek, all operated by water power. The first sawmill was built in 1861 and was located in the district now called the old fertilizer. This sawmill was owned by John Bittler. Old tradition states that, this being the period of the Civil War, the owner was forced to go to war, and his wife operated the mill. The first steam saw mill was built in 1865 and was located at Rattling Run. Also in the year 1865, a saw mill was built at the present pumping station. This saw mill was operated by Torbert and Tete, brothers-in-law.

Because of the great lumber operations, the forests disappeared and the industry decreased rapidly. Farming then became the main industry. Land was cleared and small farms established then later larger areas were cultivated. The Brandon farm, practically the first one operated, is still in existence. The town was mainly composed of farmhouses. Today very few exist within the town. The houses today are country homes with the men of the homes occupied in other lines of activities than farming.

The first store was built by Brandon and sold to Squire Cauley. It was situated at the Ringtown and Brandonville crossroad. This store was later owned by Featherloff. Before this store, the settlers had to go to Tamaqua, the nearest store in the district. In 1860, a store was built at Krebs, near the old White Church. This store was operated by the Culps.

In 1880, there were three hotels, one public hall, two stores, one blacksmith shop, and twenty-five dwellings in Brandonville. The first general store was owned by Calvin Hauck. Paulus Zimmerman carries on the business at present. It is situated in the lower end of Brandonville. The first gasoline station, owned by A.J. Mockaitus, is situated in the upper end of Brandonville. The first Green Hill grocery store, owned by Jane Mensinger, is situated in the center of town.

The first hotel was built by Brandon and sold to John Hem. It was located directly across from the Brandonville Railroad Station. This was later owned by Mr. Reichard. The Catawissa Railroad was built through Brandonville in the 1850s. The station was first called Mahanoy because the people from the Mahanoy City settlement had to come to Brandonville to take the train because there was no railroad through the Mahanoy Valley.

There are many creeks in the woods and meadows of East Union Township. These creeks had been fresh water trout streams. Trout a foot long were considered small during the early days of settlement. The Catawissa Creek was one of the finest trout streams. In the winter some of the old folks would cut the ice and catch enough fish for breakfast. Sulphur water from the coal mines has contaminated the water and killed all the trout.

Wild animals were plentiful during the early settlements. Many deer and bears were shot by hunters. Andrew Lorah claims to have shot the last two wild cats in the district.

Bee hiving was an amusement of the early settlers. The bees were first tracked to their homes in a hollow tree and then the tree was cut down. They were then hived and taken to their new homes. Some would stay and others would leave and find another hollow tree.

In 1900, a bicycle factory was established at Brandonville by Harvey Faust. He made his own machinery making all the parts from raw materials. It has since been torn down and a home built on the site.

An airplane landing field and beacon light were built on O'Hara's farm in 1925 but were abandoned in 1930 because of the modern devices of the airplanes today. It is not necessary to make many stops.

The race track owned by M.J. O'Hara was built in 1865. It has been the center of amusement for both horse and auto races.

The pumping station at the reservoir is a large plant built in 1898. It is situated a mile and a quarter east of Brandonville. This reservoir supplies the water for Shenandoah.

There are caves in the northern section of Brandonville which are believed to have been constructed by a small tribe of Indians who wandered up the Catawissa Creek from the tribe that had camped in the Nuremberg Valley. These caves have rooms, cut from huge rocks, large enough to live in. The entrance is now closed.

The first school of East Union Township was in Brandonville. It was an old log cabin, built before 1850, situated at the fork of the road directly below the present grammar school. The seats were benches around an old fashioned stove placed in the center of the room. This was not a free school as public schools were not yet established. The German language was taught and the teacher was hired by the parents. The pupils were punished with cat-o-nine-tails and hickory sticks.

The grammar school was erected in 1885. This contained eight grades until the erection of the primary school in 1913, then only four grades remained. In 1933, the eighth grade was taken to Sheppton High School.

Horn's school was built in 1875. W.F. Horn, a Civil War veteran, residing at Ringtown, owned the farm at the schoolhouse; hence the name. This school contains the first seven grades. Hauser's school, built in 1895, is now vacant.

The population of Brandonville in 1855 was very small. There were six log cabins and twenty-five people. But as the years went by, this population increased to five hundred people and approximately eighty dwellings.

The first roads were lumber roads which permeated the entire district. They were taken over by the townships which became the caretaker. In spite of frequent repairs, the dirt roads often were almost impassable. The cement highway from Shenandoah to Hazleton was started January of 1932 and completed in July 1933.

Electricity came into use for the first time in Brandonville in 1925.

The first services for St. John's Lutheran Church of Brandonville were held in the old log school house, mentioned earlier, by Rev. Samuel S. Kling in 1875. Sunday School was held in the old log school house at as early a date as the church services. In 1886, the present Sunday School building was erected in the center of Brandonville. This is now the Union Sunday School, open to all Protestant denominations. The Evangelicals held their services in this building until 1913 when they erected their own building.

The cemetery, directly back of the Union Sunday School, was started the same year as the erection of the building, 1886. There are four Civil War veterans buried in this cemetery: Lewis Dreisbach, born 1839, died 1923; Conrad Lutz, born 1842, died 1918; Samuel Cowley , whose inscription is Co. H, 6th Regt., P.V. Inf. (He is the only person buried North and South as was his wish, in case the South should rise again); and Daniel Vanhorn, who has no tombstone.

St. Paul's Evangelical Church, located in the upper end of Brandonville, was built in 1913. The Sunday School was organized the same year as the church.

St. Mary's Catholic Church of Brandonville is a mission of St. Mary's Catholic of Ringtown. The Catholic people of Brandonville at first went to nearly towns to attend church. This was very inconvenient so Mass was held in the grammar school, June 17, 1923.

Situated east of Brandonville and below Sheppton is the small valley of Phinneyville. It was named after a man named Phinney. At the time of settlement in was one large forest of tall trees. The exact date of settlement is unknown. Log cabins dotted the present road when Stephen Girard of Philadelphia purchased half of Phinneyville.

George Lorah took care of these lands which was cleared on each side of the road. After Girard's death, these farms were rented out to farmers with certain restrictions. They were to fertilize the soil with a certain amount of fertilizer each year; they were not allowed to sell straw. Hay had to be sold at $25 a ton.

A few years later these farms were sold to private owners. They were comprised of 113 acres each. Joshua Lorah laid out the town into 180 lots but died before they were all sold.

The oldest house was owned by Edward Konschnik . It was formerly occupied by John Lorah. The first settlers were the Blues, Lorahs, Peifers, Zimmermans, Bucks, Millers, Johnsons, Deebels, Clarks and Bittlers.

John F. Deebel was born in Baden, Germany, but came to Phinneyville and purchased tracts of land there. In 1874, he sold out to his son, Samuel, who prospered in the lumber and farming business. He also had the finest orchard in Phinneyville.

On the Henry Johnson farm at the upper end of Catawissa Valley, was a large sawmill where the present tunnels are. These tunnels are great works of engineering. They drain Green Mountain, Lehigh Valley and many other mines. The water of these mines runs into the Catawissa Creek.

The first settlers of Phinneyville attended the Old White Church on the road to Ringtown. But the inconvenience of traveling prompted them to use an abandoned school house as a church. The temporary Church was soon razed and the public school house was erected on the land. A church was built situated on land given by Mr. Buck. The building was a small log structure. The seats were uncomfortable hand-hewn backless benches. The parishioners would hasten to the church at the time of services to secure the rear seats to rest their back against the wall.

At first all services were conducted in German and were very lengthy. Due to the scarcity of hymn books, the minister used to read a line, then the members of the congregation would sing it. This they would do for the entire hymn.

The first minister was Rev. Shellhamer who rode on horseback over the Indian trails from Conyngham. Some of the later ministers were Sando and Miller.

The present "Little White Church" situated on the same spot where the former Church stood was built in 1895, through the aid of Mrs. Torbert. The lumber for this church was donated by the brother of James Lorah. Its construction was supervised by Rev. Nathan Sechler.

The first marriage ceremony performed by Rev. Sechler was that of Sara Brandon and Charles Bloom. The earliest baptism on record in the old church is that of Samuel Emanuel Peifer, November 15, 1874.

"Little White Church" adequately describes this building of worship at Phinneyville. When viewed from a distance, it appears as though an artist had sketched this small white edifice against a background of green pastures with a white cloud tinted in blue.

To the rear of the church is the cemetery which gives some important information to the historian. When this cemetery was laid out, tombstones were unknown in this section. The only markers were old shale stones, marked with crude inscriptions in German. One marker shows the burial of Thomas Gottschall in 1827. Many of the pioneer settlers are buried in private cemeteries.

This cemetery is the resting place of many prominent men and women of the early days of Union Township, among them George Spiece, a soldier of the War of 1812, who died in 1842. Prior to his death, he lived the life of a hermit near a stream in the upper section of the Catawissa Valley which was later the Wolfe farm. It is still known by the older people as "Spiece's Run." For many years after his death, there was no tombstone to mark his grave. In 1916, James Lorah, L.F. Brandon and J.M. Stauffer erected a monument to his memory.

There are also two Civil War veterans buried here: Elias Peifer, grandfather of the present Peifer family and the other an unknown soldier.

Clarence Deebel, Allen Faust, Fred Dietz and John Dietz served in the World War.

Girard Manor

South of Phinneyville and east of Brandonville is Girard Manor, the oldest settlement in East Union Township. Tradition has it that a tribe of the Oneida Indians had a settlement at this place. The first house was probably the log cabin near the present Hardy farm which was later used as a church. The first white settler was probably Henry Gilbert in 1811. The Gottschall, the Temon, and the Klase families were early settlers. Later Stephen Girard of Philadelphia purchased vast areas of land in East Union Township and, it is believed, that he lived here for a short time. At his death in 1831, these lands came into the possession of his heirs, and in 1854, John A. Girard, John Fabricus Girard, and Stephania (Girard) DeLentilhac made a settlement. John erected a Gothic manor, covered in the usual European manner, with a profusion of grape vines and finely shaded by handsome trees. Surrounded by elaborate pools and gardens, this mansion picturized the grandeur and beauty of France.

Col. Francis Murray Wynkoop, a colonel in the American Army under Gen. Scott, built the Valencia Manor at Girard Manor in 1856.

From the Standard-Speaker , Hazleton, March 11, 1996 by Richard W. Funk

Nestled against a picturesque mountain, Nuremberg, first known as Seiwellsville and later as New London, could fit perfectly in a postcard view of the Alps.

The earliest history of the area goes back to the days when Native Americans roamed the area and called the Nuremberg Mountain home. Reportedly, it is easy to find caves where they lived. One is said to have seven walls forming different rooms.

To the southwest is Red Ridge and what is locally called "Indian Rock." Legend has it that near this rock a fortune in gold was buried by a tribe which later moved to Ohio. The legend says that years after the move, a young Native American man returned to the area to search for the hidden gold after hearing about it from a tribal chief.

" The story of the lost gold was written way back in the (Schuylkill) county news," said Frank Bott, who was instrumental in publishing the booklet Nuremberg's 150th Anniversary in 1990. "As far as I know, nobody ever found the gold, but I know Indians used to live here."

Although the hiding place was supposedly marked by three trees, the young man never located the right spot. If the tale is true, the gold remains hidden to this day.

Bott said numerous arrowheads and other Native American artifacts were unearthed through the years in the vicinity of Indian Rock.

Much of Nuremberg's early history is unknown but reports suggest it was settled by several families, all of German descent, who came from Berks County. Some of these early pioneers were the Schlauch, Ulshafer, Applegate, and Seiwell families.

"The Seiwells owned a lot of ground around here and gave some to the Weston Church," Bott said.

In fact, the village was originally named after the Seiwell family, but when it was discovered this name was similar to another town, it was changed to New London, but this name did not suit the residents and was officially changed to Nuremberg when the post office was established there.

Because the area was mostly covered with forests, timbering was an early industry. After the forests were cleared, farming took over.

In 1870, only 30 families lived in the area.

The early settlers were very religious and felt the community needed a church to be complete. Services were held in several school buildings and people of all denominations worshipped together.

A log building that stood on the hill near the Nuremberg cemetery was the first in which services were held. It doubled as a school and stood until the early 1850s.

It wasn't until 1875 that the first "official" church was built on the site of the present day Emmanuel United Church of Christ.

But as with other local towns, the discovery of coal became a major factor in growth. Although anthracite was never mined in Nuremberg, the development of coal lands at Derringer, Tomhicken, Fern Glen, and Gowen gave the village a growth spurt. Many who worked in the nearby mines lived in the village or went there to shop.

There were no businesses in Nuremberg's early days, but that had changed by 1871. The first general store, owned by Stout and Breisch, opened that year. Around the same time, a tinsmith named John Marchetti opened his business where the Russell Schmidt home is today. In addition to these, another general store, post office, shoemaker shops and a tavern opened.

A major boost came to the village in 1918 when a silk mill opened there. This mill was reported to be the largest employer in town, with more than 100 workers.

The two-story brick building was completely gutted in a 1933 blaze and was never rebuilt. Today, the site of the mill is occupied by the Black Creek Medical Center.

Perhaps it was this fire that prompted local citizens to form the Nuremberg Community Fire Company one year later. With funds collected from a "community day," the fledgling department was able to buy three fire engines. Around this time, three fire chiefs were named.

The effort paid off in August 1934 when a fire broke out in the rear of Formolo's Store. With the help of townspeople, the fire was quickly controlled.

The company continued to grow and in 1986 merged with the Weston Fire Company. The firehouse was moved from downtown Nuremberg to a modern building on the Nuremberg-Weston Road.

This coal town, founded in 1885, no longer exists. Like many settlements of that era, houses were built by the coal company for their workers to live in.

There were only about ten houses at most built there. James Montgomery Fritz lived in one of the double homes when he worked as a mule stable boss.

There was never a breaker there so the cars of coal were pulled to the Audenried breaker via the company railroad.

The coal company also had a passenger car which was pulled back and forth several times a day from Green Mountain to Audenried.

The intent was to take workers back and forth from their homes to the colliery where they worked. The passenger car was also towed into Audenried on Saturdays and Sundays

It gave the Green Mountain folks a chance to shop at the company store and go to church. After the Green Mountain colliery shut down, the passenger car was used to take workers from Audenried to the No. 5 colliery.

During World War II, when gasoline rationing stopped most driving, workers used to ride the passenger car to No. 5. Long after the passenger car stopped running, it was still parked near the old breaker in Audenried.

Life was primitive by today's standards-coal oil lamps for light, an outside oven to bake the bread, outhouses, no doctor in town, one child a year, a one-room schoolhouse with grades 1 through 8 in the same room, etc.

One positive point-the school must have been good. All of the students who attended there had beautiful penmanship. And, whenever the children of those students needed help in arithmetic, their parents were always capable of working the problems.

It's fortunate that some of the residents had cameras. They preserved much of the life of Green Mountain in photographs. The last of the homes was torn down around 1940.

Audenried was a coal town from its inception. The village sign (which has been gone for years) stated it was named after Lewis Audenried, noted Swiss Land owner, in the year 1855.

It seemed that Lewis Audenried never lived there or in the area. In fact, in 1830, Mr. Audenried sold 300 acres of land to Stephen Girard. This piece of land was in Schuylkill County, nowhere near the site of Audenried.

Records show that there was at least one other important Audenried in the area, J. T. Audenried. He operated the Continental Colliery in Columbia County for the Girard Estate from 1869 until 1879.

Audenried was a fairly large coal town. It is located at a point where Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne Counties meet. The majority of the town was in Carbon County. There were five streets plus an alley behind each street.

There was the company store, a doctor, barroom, post office, a livery stable, an eight room school house, a hotel/boarding houseand a lodge/dance hall that was eventually turned into an apartment house.

In addition, there were four churches. However, in more recent years only two churches continue to exist. After the arrival of automobiles on the scene, a service station became part of the town.

Prior to a modern two-lane highway being built in 1930, the trolley car route from Hazleton to McAdoo passed through the town. The trolley stopped operating a short time before the new highway was built.