Laquin, in Franklin Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, now a ghost town, was founded in 1902 as a lumber town, but when the forests played out and the mills could no longer be fed, the industry left, and the people soon followed. The population of Laquin at one time approached 2,000. (The nearby ghost town of

Barclay Barclay may refer to: People * Barclay (surname) * Clan Barclay Places * Barclay, Kansas * Barclay, Maryland, a town in Queen Anne's County * Barclay, Baltimore, Maryland, a neighborhood * Barclay, Nevada, a town in Lincoln County * Barclay, ...

was a coal mining town.)

History

Laquin was home to five companies, all of which processed wood in one way or another. The Laquin Lumber Company (later the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company) started out under the leadership of Watson L. Barclay. Laquin Lumber Company was under contract with the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company to produce lumber from the land of the Union Tanning Company, a subsidiary of the

United States Leather Company The United States Leather Company (1893"The Big Sole Leather Trust," ''The New York Times,'' May 3, 1893, pg. 2-1952), was one of the largest corporations in the United States circa 1900, and one of the original companies in the Dow Jones Industria ...

, one of the largest companies in the United States at that time. The bark would go to their tanneries. Four additional companies in operation in Laquin were Schrader Wood Company, Pennsylvania Hub & Veneer Company, Pennsylvania Stave Company, and Barclay Chemical Company. In 1933, after the Barclay Mountain was clear cut and the lumber companies pulled out, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established. The CCC was one of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. The CCC in Laquin was responsible for replanting trees on the mountain, building access roads, feeding game, and restoring the ecology. By 1941, after the CCC pulled out, Laquin was a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

. There are a few traces of the town today, though the last building disappeared sometime in the 1960s. The main street, which once sported a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, two churches, a

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

, a boarding house, store, depot, town building and several homes still exists in the form of the major access road. The ghost towns of Laquin and Barclay are in close proximity to one another, but Laquin came into existence after

Barclay, Pennsylvania The ghost town of Barclay, in Franklin Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, was a coal mining town. Coal was transported down the mountain by a gravity powered incline plane rail system. There was a brake house at the top of Barclay Mountain. ...

. Both towns were served by the also long defunct Susquehanna and New York Railroad, which operated between Towanda, Pennsylvania and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Most of the trackbed and bridges of the Susquehanna and New York are still in evidence throughout the valley of the

Schrader Creek Schrader Creek (also known as Schrader Branch or Schrader Run)is a tributary of Towanda Creek in Sullivan County and Bradford County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Fox Township in Sullivan Count ...

. The LeRoy Heritage Museum, in LeRoy, Pennsylvania, preserves the history of Laquin. More information can be found at the museum website at www.leroyheritage.org.

History

References

Further reading