Mr. Samuel Marshall Esq.

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First published in the February 2025 Colerain Courier Newsletter

There is a very deep, rich, early history to the Colerain property that I have researched and studied over the years to bring to the surface. One of the names of that earlier history is Samuel Marshall. The only evidence of his ownership of the Colerain property is the wooden section of the front of the mansion. Hopefully, in this brief biography of his life, I can shed some light on who he was.

Samuel was born in Ireland about 1772. At a very young age, he traveled to America, arriving in about 1790. He was possibly working as an apprentice for a wealthy merchant in Philadelphia by the name of Gideon Hill Wells. Why Samuel moved to Huntingdon County, only history knows. At that time, Gideon Wells was having certain tracks of land surveyed in Huntingdon County. Perhaps Samuel came out here to investigate the land for Wells.

Samuel was not quite 21 when he first appeared in the written record of Huntingdon County. In 1792, he was listed in the tax records of Franklin Township. Within those tax records, he is listed as having a grist mill, still and tavern. It is unknown where he received his money to be able to build so fast on the property. My theory is that his friend Gideon Wells probably helped finance his improvements. Through the 1790’s and early 1800’s, Samuel continued to improve the property and grow his merchant business, which sat along the road from Huntingdon to Bellefonte.

In 1801, Samuel advertised in the Lancaster Intelligencer and Journal the sale of the property. The advertisement listed all the improvements that were upon it. It listed a mill, distillery, cooper shop, 100 apple trees in an orchard, a tavern, store and a neatly finished frame dwelling house 28’x28’. The framed house does not appear on the 1798 Direct Tax so it was likely built between 1798 and 1801.

Samuel was not successful in selling the property and continued to own it. A post office was

established under the name Marshall’s Mill in 1811, which would become the first post office in Spruce Creek Valley. In 1814, he built a forge on the opposite side of the modern-day Spruce Creek Road. This forge later became one of the three forges of Colerain Forges.

The property wasn’t his sole pursuit. Samuel was also involved in local and state politics in addition to working as an attorney. He served as a representative for Huntington County in the State House of Representatives. Additionally, at different times, he served as an auditor and an adjuster, maintaining partnerships with John Walker and John Walker Jr., a father-son team, to deal with the property, estates, and debtors. Multiple times in papers and deeds, Samuel is mentioned taking care of estates and debts of others.

Unfortunately, even with all of Samuel’s endeavors, he was not able to avoid financial ruin. Like so many others in the Spruce Creek Valley, Samuel had to relinquish his business, losing Marshall’s Mill to a sheriff sale in 1818. John Lyon and Robert Stewart purchased the property and made it the business center for Colerain Forges.

Samuel would go on to spend the rest of his days living with his family in Huntingdon Borough as a gentleman. Research of Samuel’s family unfortunately has proven to be difficult. He married Sarah, maiden name unknown, about 1800. I have only been able to find one child for the couple. Anna Maria was born in 1805, and in 1828, married Thomas Smith Blodgett, an attorney from Huntingdon. She passed away in 1835 at the age of 30 and was buried in an unknown location. Samuel passed away September 24, 1826 at home in Huntingdon at the age of 54. His burial site also remains unknown. 

I plan to continue researching Samuel and write a more comprehensive biography of him for future publications.