Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on May 25, 2013

The African American population as reported in the 1860 Census for selected areas of the Lykens Valley area is presented in today’s blog post.

In 1860, African Americans were enumerated in two “free” categories:  (1) Black; and (2) Mulatto.  These categories were combined in a category called “Total Free Colored.”

African Americans were not found as a significant percentage of the population in any of the communities in the Lykens Valley area.  Harrisburg (in Dauphin County), although outside the area of study of this Civil War Research Project, had a population of more than 13,000, with African American comprising  nearly 10% of that total.

The 1860 Census shows a concentration of African Americans in a stretch of communities along what is now Route 25 beginning with Gratz-Lykens Township, continuing east through Hubley Township, Hegins Township, through Tremont and ending at Pottsville.  This line of communities intersects the Tulpehocken Path that crosses the mountain from Berks County, continues through Pine Grove (where there is also a small concentration of African Americans), and crosses the Lykens Valley as is heads toward the Klingerstown Gap.  This gives some support to the theory that the Tulpehocken Path was one of the Central Pennsylvania routes of the Underground Railroad.  This route lacked the railroad “connections” that were found along the Susquehanna  River, but because there were no railroads on this route and because it was more rural and isolated, it may have been considered safer than the river route.

In looking at the Northern Central Railroad “river route” communities between Harrisburg and Sunbury, it is noticed that competitively fewer African American resided in those communities than in the more rural areas between Gratz and Tremont.  For example, Millersburg, a railroad junction, had only one African American resident in 1860.  See:  Lykens Valley Railroad at Millersburg.

Along the route of the Lykens Valley Railroad, very few African Americans resided.  Note that Washington Township (which included Elizabethville and Oak Dale, or Loyalton) had only two African American residents and Wiconisco Township and Lykens Borough had none.

The data tables below present the census information for selected areas of Dauphin County, Schuylkill County and Northumberland County:

Readers are urge to comment on the significance of these numbers.

Category: Research
Tags: African American, Elizabethville, Gratz Borough, Hegins Township, Hubley Township, Klingerstown, Loyalton, Lykens Borough, Lykens Township, Oak Dale, Pine Grove, Tremont, Washington Township, Wiconisco Township