History & Folklore Clearfield County Formed: March 26, 1804; the northern portion from an unorganized part of Lycoming County and the southern portion from a piece of Allegheny Township, Huntingdon County. Name derived from: Indian inhabitants who occupied the area in the early days cleared fields in the area. County seat: Clearfield First known by its Indian name, Chinklacamoose (many spellings), then Clearfield Town or Old Town. Laid out on lands owned by Abraham Witmer, a resident of Paradise, Lancaster County, PA. Chronological Township Formation From History of Clearfield County, Lewis Cass Aldrich, 1887 1804 Chinklacamoose: First and and only township until 1807. 1807 Beccaria: From Chinklacamoose. Formed the southern and southwestern part of Clearfield County; formerly part of Allegheny Township, Huntingdon County. 1807 Bradford: From Chinklacamoose. Formed the east centrl part of Clearfield County; formerly part of Allegheny Township, Huntingdon County. 1813 Lawrence: From Chinklacamoose. The northern part of Clearfield County. 1813 Pike: From Chinklacamoose. The northern part of Clearfield County. 1813 The township known as Chinklacamoose no longer exists—the townships of Beccaria, Bradford, Lawrence and Pike have replaced what was Chinklacamoose. 1817 Covington: From Lawrence. 1817 Gibson: From the northern part of Covington. Gibson Township became part of Cameron County in 1860. 1821 Sinnemahoning: From Pike. 1821 Fox: From Sinnemahoning. The township name was changed from Sinnemahoning to Fox in the same year it was formed. In 1868, part of Fox Township was added to Snyder Township, Jefferson County, another part was added to Horton Township, Elk County; and the remaining part was added to Huston Township, Clearfield County. 1826 Brady: From Pike. 1828 Decatur: From Bradford. 1832 Girard: Probably from Lawrence, records defective. [Note: This may not be correct. In the 1840 census, some families known to live in the area that is Gibson Township were listed as inhabitants of this township.] 1832 Jay: From Gibson and Fox townships. 1834 Jordan: From Beccaria. 1835 Bell: From Pike and ***** townships. 1835 Burnside: From ****. 1835 Penn: From Pike. 1836 Morris: From Bradford. 1838 Boggs: From Bradford 1839 Ferguson: From Pike, Penn, and Jordan. 1839 Huston: From Pike 1841 Karthus: From Covington. 1843 Part of Jay Township was incorporated into the newly formed Elk County, and the rest added to Huston and Lawrence townships, Clearfield County. 1843 Part of Gibson Township became a township in the newly formed Elk County, the rest was added to adjoining Clearfield County townships. There is no longer a township called Gibson in Clearfield County. 1845 Goshen: From Lawrence and Girard. 1846 Woodward: From Decatur. 1848 Union: From Pike and Brady. 1854 Knox: From Jordan, Pike and Ferguson. 1856 Graham: From Bradford and Morris. 1858 Gulich: From Beccaria. 1860 Bloom: From Penn, Pike, Brady, and Union. 1860 The portion of Gibson Township that was annexed to Elk County in 1843 was added to the newly formed Cameron County. 1868 Part of Fox Township was added to Snyder Township, Jefferson County, another part to Horton Township, Elk County, and the remainder to Huston Township, Clearfield County. There is no longer a township called Fox in the Clearfield County. 1873 Pine: From Pike and Huston. 1878 Sandy: From Brady and Huston. 1882 Bigler: From Woodward, Beccaria, Knox and Gulich townships. 1884 Cooper: From Morris. Records Location In Huntingdon or Lycoming county prior to 1805 At Bellefonte, Centre County between 1805 and 1812 In Clearfield, Clearfield County after 1812 Early Business and Occupations Lumbering and transportation of logs on the Susquehanna River to eastern markets Farming Coal mining Bibliography History of Clearfield County, by Lewis Cass Aldrich, 1887 Clearfield County, Present & Past, by Thomas L. Wall, 1925 20th Century of Clearfield County, by R.D. Swoope, Jr., 1911 Lumbering & Rafting in Clearfield County, by Jas. Mitchell Atlas of Clearfield County, by J. H. Newton, 1878 Links See these sites for more information on Clearfield County and its history, or to post queries regarding Clearfield County genealogy: Clearfield County, PA Genealogy Project (PA Roots) Clearfield County, PA Genealogy Forum (GenForum) Clearfield County, PA (Cathy Ball)