A eye-opening history of East Central Cambria County.
A ROMP THROUGH CAMBRIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. 2003 by Jim Miller. This book is a history of East Central Cambria County. It is a timely addition to research on events and families of Early Cambria. This is especially true since Cambria celebrated the 200th anniversary of its founding in 2004. The book treats of a long-silenced, unwritten chapter in the founding of the young County. It is really impossible to deal with the history of this area without noting the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. In the person of one of its ministers, Rev. Demetrius Gallitzin, opposition was mounted to obstruct the founding of the young County. Gallitzin, a Russian aristocrat, was not about to tolerate another power base moving into his ballywick. He went as far as to publicly slander from the pulpit the officials of the new County in an attempt to negate their influence. It is an eye-opening view of things that were not always peaceful in Camelot. The Gallitzin affair is not the focus of the work, rather it treats of events and people who were formative influences in the little world of early Cambria. It deals with what we might refer to as the establishment of the 'establishment'. These were the beginnings of religion, education, and government in the young County. Most of the activity of the narrative takes place in the 19th century. However, some events before and after that century are dealt with. A spectacle is presented that gives views and insightful comments on events as diverse as the coming of the Portage Railroad, the Mountain House, the Ku Klux Klan's visit to Lilly, the sinking of Cresson Shaft, the rivalry between Munster and Loretto, and the arrival of the PRR's Mainline. The volume is replete with illustrations and maps, many by the author. Several side trips are taken that help put the little world of early Cambria in a larger context. These include trips to the PA/MD border area, where many of the early settlers came from, and to the Sinking Valley in Blair County. A thorough index makes the book a useful research tool in addition to its being a significant new addition to the literature of early Cambria. --Jim Miller. Indexed. 172 pages, 8 1/2 x 11 Softbound. ISBN 0-9744657-4-7
