TRACING HISTORY: The Montgomery & Boyd Houses By Nancy Bishop
Looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon? Tired of our modern era? Take a step back in time and visit the Montgomery and Boyd Houses at the corner of Bloom and North Mill streets in Danville. Built in the late 1700s by Gen. WilliamMontgomery, whose son Daniel is the “Dan” in Danville, the Montgomery House was home to descendants of Montgomery until his great- granddaughter, the last resident, passed away in 1939. At that time it was put up for sale and local residents were concerned that it would be demolished, so the Elks Lodge (B.P.O.E.) bought it anddeeded itover totheMontourCounty Commissioners, who turned it over to the newly formed Montour County Historical Society for a “Historical Shrine.” Lovingly restored and maintained by tireless volunteers from the Historical Society, the house has two parts – the original log home built around 1777 and a Federal-style stone building added later. Anofficer in theRevolutionaryWar, Gen. Montgomery came to the area from Chester County near Philadelphia. When he bought land on the Mahoning Creek in 1774, the area still had occasional altercations between the settlers and
the Native Americans. The Montgomery’s had lived in the log home only a short time when there was an uprising in the Wyoming Valley. After moving temporarily downriver to Fort Augusta, the family returned in 1779 and Gen. Montgomery built a sawmill, grist mill and woolen mill.. Helped by his father, Daniel Montgomery operated a trading post that provided items settlers in the surrounding area needed. They began calling the area “Dan’s town,” which eventually evolved into “Danville.” Both father and son donated land for public buildings in the new town. In a Fourth of July speech in 1800, William said hills around the area were full of iron. He predicted “great iron factories employing large numbers of workman and yielding much wealth to the community.” A dedicated public servant, Gen. Montgomery, who was born in 1736, served in the Army for 34 years, and was elected or appointed to 16 different offices, including the Continental Congress, Pennsylvania Congress and the United States Congress. He died in 1816.
After the new historical society acquired the house, local residents began donating their prized memorabilia and
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