Glade Township

History of Warren County Pennsylvania                    Schenck 1887

               Glade Township produced wealth in the abundance of timber and oil production. Farming was poor in the area due to the clay present in the soil. The name Glade first applied to the stream now known as Glade Run, and probably from the surrounding scenery.

               The first permanent settler of Glade was James Shipman, who emigrated before 1800, cleared land, and built a plank house. The planks were sawn at Morrison’s Mill just over the river in Mead Township. By 1817, Shipman had moved to what is now known as Shipman’s Eddy. He was a man of extraordinary stature, and was well fitted for the toils of a pioneer.

               The Cobham family moved to Glade Township in the summer of 1835. Brigadier-General George Ashworth Cobham was the second son of Henry Cobham. He came to this country from England with his step-father, and lived with him, helping to improve the farm and build the residence now known as Cobham Park (Castle).

               There were many saw mills in existence in the area. There was also a tannery at the mouth of Glade Run. There was no store in Glade until the late 1800s. The second tavern in town was that of James Shipman, Jr. at Shipman’s Eddy. It was open as long as the raftsmen went down the river from that point in numbers to make it pay to accommodate them.

               As in all business respects, lumber and oil excepted, the proximity of so large a village as Warren prevented a large independent town of business in Glade. The same cause prevented the formation of large churches.

Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society