Why "Colerain"?

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First published in the December 2024/January 2025 Colerain Courier Newsletter

A visitor from the last open house asked me why they decided to call the iron master’s mansion Colerain. The simplest answer is that the Stewarts, the family who lived in the mansion during its heyday as the hub of an iron-making community, were Scot-Irish and “Colerain” is a name from Northern Ireland. After giving it some thought, I decided to explore more of the backstory and see if there is a solid answer as to why the name Colerain was chosen. 

My first theory is the most fanciful one. The definition of the word “Colerain” is ferny nook or fern corner. Anyone that’s walked around the mansion property can quickly see the many ferns and pines growing everywhere. Early surveys of the original 375 acres describe the land as pine barrens. Ferns are the one plant that grows the best in pine barrens. Fern plants can live up to 100 years and are multi-generational. In most of the early deeds, the property is described as “in the forks”—in other words, a nook or corner. Hence, the name may well have been chosen to highlight the natural setting of the mansion.

I explored a second theory that looked promising about why Colerain was given its name. In 1818, the property went into sheriff sale and was purchased by John Lyon and Robert Stewart who were the owners of Pennsylvania Furnace. Both men had fathers that migrated to America from Northern Ireland and whose families had moved to Northern Ireland from Scotland. Coleraine is a county and a town in Northern Ireland. At first, I thought that Lyon and Stewart had roots In County Coleraine, but research has shown neither men did. The Stewarts were from County Down and the Lyons were from County Fermanagh. I also looked to see if Coleraine was known for its iron industry, and that is not the case either. 

Further research has revealed that Colerain is a common name for townships and towns in several Pennsylvania counties where Scot-Irish have settled. This suggests that the name Colerain was popular with many of the Scot-Irish in our region and might have influenced Lyon and Stewart’s decision on the name. The simplest answer may be the most correct after all.

We may never know the true reason as to the why behind the name. One thing that we do know is this last tidbit of information that comes from the Huntingdon Gazette. On January 11, 1821, the post office on the property was changed from Marshall’s Mill to Colerain. For over 200 years, Colerain has held its name, and it is still nestled in amongst the pines and ferns.