Isaac Burlingame: Pioneer Stone Mason

"In 1827 the Red Mill was built near Clermont by Isaac Burlingame, who did the mason work."

-Source: History of Sergeant Township from History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron, and Potter, Pennsylvania J.H. Beers, Chicago, 1890

There is a document in the Smethport Historical Society veryifying that Isaac Burlingame cut and laid the foundation stone for the first schoolhouse in Smethport. As noted above, he cut the stone work for the surprisingly large along what is now called the Red Mill Brook and he is said to have cut and laid the foundation stone for the first jail in McKean County. The History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron, and Potter, Pennsylvania (p. 152) notes that the Red School House was built in 1834 at the site of the Freeman house in the 1890's in Smethport. Jedidiah Darling, Anson Burlingame, William Burlingame and a Dr. Graves were noted as the first teachers in that school.

"The Forester and Smethport Register, Volume I, No. 12, was issued by Hiram Payne June 30, 1832. The motto was: "The uncultivated forest shall become a fruitful field." W. E. Wolcott, of Sergeant, advertised cattle for sale; Tobias L. Warner his shoe factory at Smethport, and Isaac Burlingame advertised for stone masons; Isaac Harvey placed his books in the hands of John E. Niles for collection; Orvil Ketchum, of Farmers Valley, asked his debtors to pay up; the Erie Canal Company advertised their lines, giving as reference J. M. Hughes, of New York, an uncle of the present editor of the Reporter; P. E. Scull wished his neighbors to have their goods imported to Bushnell's basin; Sartwell & Rice offered ten barrels of pork for sale; the death of Harriet Young, aged twelve years, at Farmers Valley, was noticed, and the marriage of Harman Sprague and Adaline Vredenburgh, of the west branch of Tunuanguant creek was announced. B. B. Cooper advertised 60,000 acres of land for sale, and E. A. Smith his stock of goods"

Another Smethport paper that was published in the 1830's was the McKean County Journal. Its motto was "Along the cool bequestered vale of life, we keep the noisless tenour of our way". In today's Hamlin Library (Smethport) digital archive, there is (sadly) just one edition of each of these pioneering papers -- and no ads run in either by Isaac Burlingame in either edition from 1833 or 1836.