Crawford County, Pennsylvania


History
Historical Borough Boundaries

VENANGO
Date
Event
Origins: Platted as Strawsburg in 1817 by John Lasher and Solomon Walter "on the plantation formerly of Philip Straw."  Surveyed in 1838 as Klecknersville by John Kleckner; called Klecknerville on the 1848 county map.  Venango P.O. established 1849.1
` May 1852 Incorporated from Venango Twp. 2
Be it enacted ... that the territory lying in the townships of Hayfield and Venango, in the county of Crawford, included within the following described limits and boundaries, to wit: beginning at the township of Hayfield, at French creek, the southeast corner of Jacob Keplar's land; thence a westerly course by the south line of said Jacob Keplar's land to the southwest corner of the same; thence a northerly course by the west line of the aforesaid Jacob Keplar's land and through lands of John Campbell, John Pieffer, and others, in the same direction to the north line of land of Robert Coulter, in Venango township; thence an easterly direction by the said north line of the said Robert Coulter to low water mark of French creek; thence by low water mark of said creek and down the same its various courses to the place of beginning, is hereby erected into a borough, to be called "Venango."
15 March 1853 "Limits defined"3
Be it enacted ... that the limits of the borough of Venango, in the county of Crawford, be, and is hereby restricted to an area not exceeding 150 acres, and so located as to embrace the existing plan of village lots actually laid out ... [and surveyors are appointed] to survey and define upon the ground the lines and limits of said borough [subject to approval of the Court of Quarter Sessions].
April 1870 Petition for enlargement of boundaries presented.4

1 Crawford Messenger 31 Oct. 1817, p. 4, col. 1 (124 lots).  1871 Crawford Co. Dir., 230.  1876 Crawford Co. Atlas, 24.  1885 Crawford Co. Hist., 678.   RETURN

2 1852 Pa. Laws 495 (Act No. 308 § 1).   RETURN

3 1853 Pa. Laws 188, 188 (No. 135 § 1).  A survey of the borough (showing 151 acres and 100 perches) is filed with the papers for Nov. Session 1854 of Crawford Co. Court of Quarter Sessions [deposited in 1996 at the State Archives, Harrisburg].   RETURN

4 Crawford Co. Court of Quarter Sessions #51 April Session 1870 [not included in the docket [#11]; see papers (sent to the State Archives) for outcome].   RETURN