Huntingdon County Information Page
Send a story

Orbisonia borough, Cromwell township

A Hogshead Of Rum For Orbisonia

Did you know? One of the first storekeepers near Orbisonia was buying his rum by the hogshead from Baltimore in 1773.

George Irvin settled near where Orbisonia now stands within a few years after 1760. He kept store, it is said, in a log storeroom one story high, and traded with the Indians and the early settlers, exchanging wearing material and groceries, boots, shoes, guns and powder for grain and corn.

One of his bills survived. On May 28, 1773, David McLure of Baltimore billed him for one hogshead of molasses and one hogshead of New England rum. McLure wrote that New England rum was getting very scarce, and that flour was low and likely to fall. The 1876 county history noted that a letter took three days to go from what is now Huntingdon County to Baltimore.

Checked and confirmed. CONFIRMED 2026-10-03 against the sources listed: every factual sentence was tied to a verbatim passage and a script confirmed each passage is in its source. Where sources disagreed on a number, the number was left out.

Sources

  1. Milton Scott Lytle, History of Huntingdon County (1876)

Checked 2026-10-03 · County histories and primary sources, read in full

← All stories from Orbisonia borough

Have something to add to this story, or a photograph of it? Send it here →

Photographs from Orbisonia borough

East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Roundhouse, State Route 994, West of U.S. Route 522, Rockhill FurnaceEast Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Roundhouse, State Route 994, West of U.S. Route 522, Rockhill FurnaceLibrary of Congress · pa3371
View of Locomotive No. 12 about a quarter mile north of Orbisonia, crossing steel I-beam plate girder bridge after clearing yard at Orbisonia - East Broad Top RailroadView of Locomotive No. 12 about a quarter mile north of Orbisonia, crossing steel I-beam plate girder bridge after clearing yard at Orbisonia - East Broad Top RailroadLibrary of Congress, No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government · pa1798.photos.355887p
Birds eye view of Orbisonia and Rock Hill, Pennsylvania, 1906. A perspective map, not drawn to scale.Birds eye view of Orbisonia and Rock Hill, Pennsylvania, 1906. A perspective map, not drawn to scale.Fowler & Kelly, 1906. Library of Congress, Panoramic Maps collection. Public domain · LOC 75696513
General View Looking South Across Meadow Street (Rte. 994) from Orbisonia Depot Toward the Rockhill Shop Complex - East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Orbisonia DepotGeneral View Looking South Across Meadow Street (Rte. 994) from Orbisonia Depot Toward the Rockhill Shop Complex - East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Orbisonia DepotLibrary of Congress, No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government · pa3448.photos.360090p
northbound U.S. Route 522 in Cromwell Township, Pennsylvania. Photo taken looking north-northeast between Starr Farm and Covered Bridge Road.northbound U.S. Route 522 in Cromwell Township, Pennsylvania. Photo taken looking north-northeast between Starr Farm and Covered Bridge Road.Photograph by Mr. Matté, 2024-05-03. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; reused with credit, and the same licence travels with any derivative · US 522 nb in Cromwell Twp., PA, May 2024.jpg

All photographs →

More from Orbisonia borough

Cromwell township, Cromwell Township 1836

Did you know? Cromwell Township is named for a man who was already dead when they named it, and who had put up the…

Rockhill borough, East Broad Top Railroad

The East Broad Top Railroad's shops stand on Meadow Street in Rockhill Furnace, a middle point on a three-foot-gauge…

Shirleysburg borough, Purdue's Founder

Did you know? The man Purdue University is named for was born in Huntingdon County, and he had to quit school at…

Also about County history

elsewhere in the county, Born In County Tyrone, 1775

Did you know? William Robb was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in December 1775, and settled in Woodcock Valley in…

elsewhere in the county, They Lived In Tunneltown

Did you know? More than 200 immigrant Italian and southern Black laborers dug the second railroad tunnel at Spruce…

Search all the stories →