Brownlee
Woods Community on Site of “Beauty Woods”
Howard
Price Sums Up Public-Spirited Community
in
Winning Essay for Ganesa Club
Youngstown
Vindicator, June 24, 1926
“One hundred and twenty-eight years ago,
when John Young and his intrepid followers encamped on the banks of the Mahoning River,
the camp fire signalized the beginning of the permanent occupation of the spot
that is now the city of Youngstown.
To them goes the honor, for history reckons as the founder of any community,
those who have come to make their homes therein, not those who came, tarried
awhile and then journeyed on, or retraced their steps.”
So wrote Howard Price of Brownlee
Woods in his winning essay for the Ganesa Club of that community. He continues:
“One of these communities is
Brownlee Woods. It is located in the southeastern part of the city. Its
precincts are G, H, M, T, and U of the Seventh Ward. The boundaries are: On the north, Pine Hollow ravine; on the
east, Loveland and Poland Roads; on the south, Country Club Ave.,
and on the west, Lane Ave. and Pine
Hollow Park.
There are 323 acres in Brownlee
Woods, and 225 acres in Pine Hollow making a total of 548 acres, or just about
one square mile.
The original owners of the land were
John Young and Colonel James Hillman, who loved to roam in our “Beauty Woods,”
as they called them. Later, in 1806, they sold the land to the Connecticut
Western Reserve Land Company. In 1812, it was sold to Abraham Powers, upon
whose death, it went to his son, Isaac Powers, whose son married a daughter of
John Hines, thus taking the inheritance into the Hines and Powers families.
Isaac Powers’ son sold it to the Simons, Ipes, and Brownlees, who in turn sold
it to the Realty Security Company, at whose head was Judge Rose.
The John Liddle homestead on Leah Ave., is where
Abraham Powers lived. His son, Isaac, built the lovely mansion on the northeast
corner of our community. The Hines homestead faces Leah Ave. George Simon’s
home is at the corner of Midlothian
Boulevard and Poland Road. The Brownlee farm is
situated on the Poland Road,
and the Ipe homestead is on Midlothian
Boulevard.
We know that the Indians lived here from
the legends told. Also, we know from the signs, such as arrow and spear heads
that have been found. We know from the flat footprints in the caves in the
ravine in Pine hollow Park. Isaac Powers killed the last two Indians on the war
path on the Hazelton bridge. They buried him and his wife and the two Indians
in the mound in the Park. The private cemetery is still on top of the mound.
“Three-fourths of the platted lots were
50 by 150 feet. By 1915, there were 200 families in our community according to
the census of 1924. Our community is 90 per cent American and there are no
colored people living here. Professions represented are: Doctors, lawyers, dentist, judge, minister,
principals of schools and teachers.
“Our business houses are of almost every
kind. We have groceries, meat markets, confectionery stores, drug store,
automobile repair shops, gasoline stations, barber shop, dairy, barbecue,
Mourey’s potato chip, milk mush and noodle factory and we also have two real
estate offices.
“Our Community has almost every kind of
public service. Most of the streets are paved and we hope to have them all
paved soon. Lighting facilities are in every home. We have street lights in
Pine Hollow and will soon have the full quota in Brownlee Woods. Our fire
protection is excellent, but we need a better truck. We also have police
protection, although not much. We have box alarms and one policeman is seen
occasionally. Our garbage is disposed of once a week. We have three miles of sewer
lines and three and one-half miles of water lines. Our gas and water is fair.
Our transportation is not so good. The cars will seat 52 and make 32 trips a
day. We could get better service if the people would demand it. The Municipal
Railway Company says it never was a paying line. The Realty Security put it
through in 1912.
Churches
“The first church was on Neilson Ave. It was
called the ‘Union Chapel’ because those of all denominations went there.
Reverend John Burroughs was pastor. The Brownlee Woods United Presbyterian
Church held its first service on December 24, 1916, Rev. McAuley becoming
pastor at that time. A Sabbath school was organized January 7, 1917. The
charter membership of the church was 60. A small frame chapel was the first
building, but at present a large red brick building is in use. The cornerstone
was laid in May 1919. The Third Reformed Church held its first service
September 1917, Rev. E. D. Wettach being the pastor. A small frame chapel was
built. They now have a new church, built of white brick. The cornerstone of
this building was laid in 1925.
“We have a practically new school
building, built in 1916. At first a portable school was erected on Neilson
Ave., later we went
to the new building, Jackson
school, to complete our first eight grades of school. We have about everything
a school needs. We have the advantage of most schools because of the attractive
forest surroundings, which is unequaled in any part of the city. We have plenty
of room in the building. The children are grateful they have so nice a school
to go to and they are proud to go to it. We get our high school education at
Central Junior and South High.
Library
“A library is an educational institution
because one can get any book for any study, no matter what it is. Our library
was started by some women who interviewed the library officials of the city,
asking for one for our community. A canvas was made of the community and about
200 books were donated. More were sent out from the large library on Wick Ave. A small
room in Walker’s
confectionery was used for one year, being opened in July 1921. In 1922, it was
moved to the office of the fire station. During that year, the circulation was
7988. In 1925, more than 13,000 books have been circulated with December yet to
count. Of the one thousand books at our library, more than four hundred are
children’s books. The books taken out every week would make a stack 47 feet high.
Miss Margaret Williams was the first librarian upon whose illness Mrs. Weaver
took up the work and is our present librarian.
“We have few recreation facilities. Pine Hollow
Park occupies a deep
gorge which is heavily timbered. This is a new park but it has great
possibilities. The City has promised to work on it in the spring. The park is
22 acres in extent.
“Our only playground is situated on our
school lot. It was started of the community. The second year, the Playground
Association took it over and furnished supervisors. It is only in use (during)
the summer vacation. We hope to have it next season again.
Community
Needs
“Some of the needs of our community
are: a large Community House with room in
it for the library and a reading room; a room for the local clubs to meet in
and a gymnasium for the use of young and old; the Jackson school moving picture
machine in use; a better police protection; a junior community civic club
organized by one of the adult clubs and an adults’ lively community organization.
We need our beautiful park developed. Every one should try to beautify their
own homes and the community, then we would all be proud of our community. Also,
we should have an annual “Community Clean Up Week”. If we will beautify, love
and be proud of our community, we must put unity into community.”
Brownlee
Woods Is 20th Century Oasis for Industrial Youngstown
Community
of Pretty Homes, It Offers Peaceful Change
from
City Bustle—Is Linked to Pioneer History
Youngstown Vindicator, February 12, 1928
BROWNLEE
WOODS—one of the modern type of residential communities which in these days are
the oasis of the great bustling industrial centers—boasts a population of more
than 3,370, according to the census of 1924.
Included in its roster of residents
are representatives of all the professions. Midlothian Blvd., the main artery through
the town, is a well-paved thoroughfare, on each side of which are the business
houses of the community. An elaborate program of street paving is at present
suspended until better weather conditions arrive.
Motorized fire apparatus afford the
little community the best protection possible with a thoroughly modern box
alarm system.
The town’s history is closely linked
with the history of pioneer Ohio.
John Young and Col. James Hillman were the original owners of the land. In 1806
they sold the land to the Connecticut Western Reserve Land Company. Again in
1812 the title changed hands, this time to Abraham Powers, upon whose death it
was inherited by his son, Isaac. Still a later generation of that family
married a daughter of John Hines, another early settler in the region, whose
family was destined to share in the growth of this community.
Relics found buried in the ground
and unearthed by building operations, reveal that Brownlee Woods was once the
habitat of large tribes of Indians, and it is believed that Redskins wiped out
the original Isaac Powers, who is buried with his wife in a private cemetery
atop the big mound in Pine
Hollow Park
as sort of local shrine. Two Indians are also buried there, and local tradition
asserts that these savages were killed by Powers and were the last natives to
molest this settlement with war whoops and scalping knives.
Today this once primeval forest is
listed as containing precincts G, H, M, T and U of the seventh ward of the city
of Youngstown.
Brownlee Woods itself includes 323 acres, while the adjoining section of Pine
Hollow, now time to be considered as a part of Brownlee Woods, contains 225
acres, a total for the two plots of 548 acres or about one square mile.
The first place of worship in the
Woods was on Neilson Ave.,
and was called Union Chapel. The Rev. John Burroughs was shepherd of the small
flock at that time. Not until 1926—on Christmas Eve—did the more modern United
Presbyterian Church open its doors for services. These were held in a small
frame building which has since been replaced by a more pretentious brick
edifice, although part of the former frame building is still discernible in the
rear of the church.
A year later the Third Reformed
Church was organized and will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its chapel
opening next Sunday. The anniversary observance however, will be held in a new,
strictly modern church building of yellow brick.
The community has excellent school
facilities, and caters to 664 students, divided almost equally between boys and
girls. There are only 12 more boys than girls attending the classes. High
school students are accommodated at Central Junior and South High in Youngstown.
The latest civic development in
which the community justly takes pride is its new library. The present
well-stocked reading room is a tribute to the fine community spirit of Brownlee
Woods.
Old-Timers
in Brownlee Woods Recall Early Days
James
and Mary Brownlee, Descendants of Earliest Settler,
Reminisce
About Times “That Used to Be”
Youngstown Vindicator, February 12, 1928
‘TIS a far cry for most Youngstowners back to
the days of “Dinny” Ryan, King of Kilkenney, and peacemaker extraordinary, but
out in Brownlee Woods there are still a few “old settlers” who recall the
well-loved Irishman and the land of his “reign”.
Chief among these few are James H. and Mary A.
Brownlee, brother and sister, and descendants of that sturdy old Scotch widow,
Margaret Winslow Brownlee, who first settled in the northeastern part of
Boardman township in 1833.
“There’s been many a change since the days of
Dinny Ryan, “ reminisced by Brownlee when found in the house that has withstood
the ravages of time and weather for nearly a century there on Poland Rd. “Yes,
sir, Margaret Brownlee was my grandmother, and she and grandpa were preparing
to come to America from Glasgow, Scotland, when he up and died just after the
sale of all their farmlands there.
“Seemed a shame it had to happen just then, “
interposed Miss Brownlee, “for grandpa, I’ve heard, had his heart just set on
coming over here. So, as long as he wanted to have his sons reared in America,
our grandmother carried out his plans just as though he were with her.
“She brought her seven boys over here on a trip
that took more than a month, and came to a farm site here which one of her
brothers-in-law had picked out for her. That is where our father got his start,
and Brownlee Woods began to grow.”
Mr. Brownlee’s father, James A. Brownlee, was
the only one of the seven children who stayed by the maternal hearthstone, and
it was to him that the aged widow left the farm when she passed away in 1865 at
the age of 81years.
Industrious and frugal, James A. Brownlee found
it easy to gradually extend the boundaries of his inherited farm farther and
farther from the original lines until he was controlling practically all of
this section which at that time was definitely separated from Pine Hollow.
“Time sure has wrought great changes in the life
of peaceful Brownlee Woods,” continued Mr. Brownlee. “Today, my sister and
myself are the only ones occupying an original homestead on the whole Poland Rd.”
Miss Brownlee, who admits a fast approaching
three score years and ten, recalls the time when Brownlee Woods was practically
isolated even from the nearby Youngstown or still closer Poland.
“Now with good roads, automobiles and trolley
cars, it seems hard indeed to think that once Poland was a good day’s journey
away from us. It was, though. We had a sister who attended seminary in Poland,
and it was part of my chore for a long time to drive (…a few words rubbed out of
original document…) morning and go get her at night with the buggy and
our good old horse Dexter. In the spring, when the roads were muddy, it used to
take the greatest part of a whole day to get her to school and back again. At
last they built a stable on the school grounds and we used to let her keep the
horse over there for the day.
“Now, when brother or myself go up to the center
of town, it is indeed strange to recall how we used to hitch old Dexter around
there. Up were the new fire station is, (…a few words rubbed out of original document…)
the motorized apparatus roars out, was one place. Another was where the modern
Sacred Heat school busses stop now.”
“Old Dinny Ryan used to own most (…a
few words rubbed out of original document…) in the woods that my father
didn’t own in the old days,” explained Mr. Brownlee, “and although most of the
early settlers in those days hereabouts were Scotch, that Irishman, by his good
nature and his fairness, won the love of every bairn in the land.
“Our land ran all through this section, and up
where the new public library stands was a great meadow and thick woods all
around. That new library is a great improvement to our town.
“To us old-timers here, instead of leaving the
farm and moving to the city, it has seemed as though the city literally has
moved out to us.”
Live on
“Fat of Land” as Father Did 77 Years Ago
Youngstown Vindicator, September 18, 1930
By Esther Hamilton
Jars of ruby preserves. Luscious
strawberries in syrup. Raspberry jam. Yellow plums. Golden yellow butter beans.
Glass after glass of jelly.
Sounds like your grandmother’s pantry all
ready for the winter, doesn’t it?
There is a home in Mahoning county where
they still live that way, have a cow, churn their own butter, raise chickens,
have a big vegetable garden, literally live on the “fat of the land”.
Miss Mary, James and John Brownlee live
just as their father, James A. Brownlee, did when he built the Brownlee
homestead on the Youngstown-Poland
Rd., 77 years ago. Almost everything is home-made.
Miss Mary is 76. James is 74 and John is
70. Their father died a few years ago at the age of 91. Their father and mother
celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary together.
Everything at the old homestead is just
as it used to be when most of the butchers of Youngstown drove down to Brownlee’s to buy
their stock. At times they had 125 head of cattle on the farm, besides pigs,
sheep and several hundred chickens.
More than once they have shipped a
train-load of cattle at a time into Youngstown.
This was in the days before the big packing houses and when news would spread
of the big shipment, the Youngstown
butchers would flock to the Brownlee farm.
They farmed more than 300 acres in
addition to carrying on their stock business, and were known all over the Youngstown district. The
father, one of seven sons to come with their widowed mother to America from Scotland, founded the business. The
sons, John and James, carried it on.
Of late years they have retired, sold
their farm and are content to live in their 16-room house on a six-acre plot,
although they admit it kind of crowds them.
At the holidays there is usually a family
reunion at the old home and there is always room enough for everyone. Dr.
Edward Brownlee, Struthers, a brother of those now on the farm is dead. The
rest of the family includes Mrs. David Blunt, Poland; Irvin Brownlee,
Youngstown; Ralph Brownlee, Gary, Ind.; Mrs. George Hunter, Beaver, Pa.
The Brownlees spend their reclining years
in leisurely fashion, and never miss an “Amos and Andy” program.
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