Most of what is recorded here is taken from a souvenir program printed for Ludlow Old Home Week, July 1935 and reprinted July 1994.
Ludlow, Pa. is located in the southwestern corner of McKean County in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States of America. It was founded in 1871 and named after Andrew H. Ludlow. McKean county was established in 1804 and named after Thomas McKean who served as govenor of the state for three terms. Ludlow is located in the territory granted to William Penn by Charles II, King of England, by charter dated April 2, 1681. Ludlow is located in Hamilton township whish was formed in 1834. The first settlements in the township were either at or near the village of Morrison on the Kinzua Creek by settlers who came down the Allegheny river.
The original settlement of Ludlow was not at its present location but south on the East Branch of the Tionesta creek and was called Foxdam. No authentic records of the date of this settlement have been found but it is believed to have been before the Civil War. Foxdam was named after Charles J. Fox who was a pioneer in the logging industry in this district. It was at this point he built a giant "splash dam". Giant trees were "swamped" to the creek and floated downstream to Foxburg where Mr. Fox operated a sawmill. Especially valuable hardwoords were cleated together and floated down the Tionesta, into the Allegheny and onto Pittsburgh Foxburg is now known as Blue Jay.
It was not long until Mr. Fox had cleared all of the timber surrounding Foxdam and he turned to more virgin stands of timber to log. He purchased the land and timber on the site where Ludlow is now located. In moving his logging operation to Ludlow he cleared a piece of land that overlooks Foxdam, which has come to be known as Hoffman Farm. There are many stories of the size of the hay and wheat crops at Hoffman Farm.
The coming of the railroad brought the settlement from Foxdam to the present site of Ludlow. In 1863, a railroad grade was built through the valley of the Two-Mile Creek. The stop at the present site of Ludlow was known as Kinzua siding. This railroad connected Philadelphia with the port of Erie. It is interesting to note that in 1872 the railroad station at Ludlow was the first to operate electrically a railroad block signal.
By 1870 Charles Fox brought his logging operations to and end, selling his interests to Andrew H. Ludlow, a prothonotary. Andrew Ludlow died the succeeding year and the town was founded and named for him in 1871. His widow then married L.D. Hoffman, who took title to what is known as the Hoffman estate. The Hoffmans owned a sawmill and a store in the eastern section of the town.
In 1869, John Gould Curtis and his wife, Mary, together with David Curtis and his wife, Sarah, came to Ludlow. They purchased vast tracts of virgin timbered lands and started a logging and sawmill operation under the name of J.G. and David Curtis. In 1885, however, david Curtis withdrew from the partnership and moved to New Haven, Connecticut. J.G. Curtis continued in business and built a store and post office in what was then the westen end of the town. Every employee of J.G. Curtis traded at his store, being credited with his earnings and charged with his purchases the employee would recieve the remainder of his earnings in cash.
Ludlow was primarily a lumbering town. The hills were being stripped of their trees but in the town there were huge amounts of hemlock bark left over from the logging operations. This was being shipped to the tanneries in Sheffield but J.G. Curtis proceeded to erect a tannery of his own to utilize this bark and this developed into the J.G. Curtis Leather Company.
In the early 1880s J.Augustus Jones operated a "cider joint" which burned out but was later rebuilt. he also ran a meat and fish route to Kinzua selling fresh fish shipped to him via the railroad. He then became "carnival conscious" and left this business and started out on the road with a five-legged calf, a two-headed sheep, and a few trained dogs. At one time he became the largest carnival owner in the United States.
The first natural gas well in Ludlow, still known as the Curtis well, was drilled in 1882 by David Curtis. In those days "Wildcat" drilling was a secret and mysterious operation. A high tight board fence was erected around the drilling operation. It so happened that Curtis was drilling for oil and to ensure a "gusher" he had several barrels of good crude shipped in. When the operation reached the gas sand three barrels of crude were poured in blowing oil all over the derrick. Pospectors came from miles to witness this new oil "gusher" and high bids were made for leases and lands were bought and many drilling operations were started. However many must have been disappointed since hardly any oil was ever drilled. It is interesting to note that gas is still being produced from some of these wells.
The discovery of gas brought another industry to Ludlow in the form of the lamp black and carbon black factories. They were very small primitive operations and their product was used in the preparation of printing ink.
Another industry, that of making suspenders, was developed also. This came about as means of utilizing the odds and ends of the leather finishing shops. It came to be known as the Pennsylvania Specialty Leather Corporation. Because of insufficient local labor its operations were eventually moved to Warren.
Two men who were also instrumental in the growth of Ludlow were James Alexander Connelly and George Welch Olmsted. Mr. Connelly was at one time the President and general manager of the J.G. Curtis Leather Company and Mr. Olmsted was secretary fof the same company. Mr. Olmsted later went on to become vice president of the Long Island Lighting Company of New York City. Both were very involved in the establishment and growth of scouting in Lublow.
The first school house in Ludlow, a one-room building, was erected in 1873 on land donated by L.D. Hoffman. It was also used as a polling place and for church services. In those days students ranged in age from six to twenty. In 1887, an old wooden barrack, called the "Fish House" was opened and used as a school for 3 years. The school term lasted 6 months, three in the summer and three in the winter. In 1889 a new wing was added to the building and in 1897 a second story was added giving Ludlow a four-room building in which all eight grades were taught. In 1914 a new two-story eight-room building was constructed and because of increasing enrollment a new building for the four lower grades was built on the west end of town in 1926. It is interesting to contrast this with today since all of students in Ludlow today are transported to Kane for their education.
In 1922, the Ludlow Athletic Association purchases 6.16 acres of land in Wildcat (east of Ludlow) to be used as a baseball diamond. This was the beginning of what is now known as Wildcat park. In 1925, the Ludlow Community Asociation was incorporated "For the purpose of promoting wholesome and healthful sports and recreation and for the social and general welfare of the people residing in the village of Ludlow and its vicinity, and for that purpose to maintain suitable grounds, buildings and equipment for the use of itd members." Wildcat park remains today a beautiful place with many picnic tables, shelters and various playground equipment plus the baseball diamond (of course).
The first baseball team was organized in 1899. The first game was played by the Town Boys vs. the Farming Country Boys on the John T. Anderson Farm. The score was 77-55 in favor of the Town Boys. Baseball was played at various locations in and near Ludlow and Ludlow always had a strong team. The first game played on the Wildcat park field was on July 4, 1924.