Shirleysburg borough

Three Died In The Store Fire

Did you know? On January 2, 1840, fire destroyed the store James Brewster kept in Shirleysburg, in the brick house that Africa's 1883 county history calls the Leas building.

John Brewster had started business in that brick house in 1834 and later moved his goods to another building, and James Brewster succeeded him in the Leas building.

According to the 1883 history, the fire caused not only a loss of property but the death of three persons, who were burned in the building: Mrs. Brewster, the mother of James; Robert, the son of Henry Brewster; and Miss Mitchell, a hired girl.

The history names them no further than that: Mrs. Brewster appears only as the mother of James, and Miss Mitchell only by her surname and her work.

Checked and confirmed. CONFIRMED 2026-10-30 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

J. Simpson Africa, History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania (1883)

Checked 2026-10-30 · County histories and primary sources, read in full

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Photographs from Shirleysburg borough

East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company, Roundhouse, State Route 994, West of U.S. Route 522, Rockhill FurnaceLibrary of Congress · pa3371

The United Methodist church, Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, PennsylvaniaPhotograph by the Wikimedia Commons contributor Smallbones, 2016. Released under CC0, a public domain dedication · Shirleysburg PA United Methodist.jpg

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