Barrett Community Portal
Heart of the Poconos
History
A Presentation of Spruce Hill Productions, used with permission.
via Mounroe County Historical Association - seen on Facebook
Seguine & Shannon, a general merchandise store located near the Cresco railroad statiuon, was called "The Cresco Cash Store" when it opened in 1891. In addition to ready-made clothing, it sold dry goods, notions, gents furnishings, window shades, groceries, crockery, glassware, paints, and oils.
Snippets:
MST became part of Wayne County when it was formed in 1798 and it became part of Pike County when it was formed in 1814. The township originally ran from the Delaware River to the Lehigh River. But, when Monroe County was formed (1836), MST was one of the original townships to be taken from Pike County. Interestingly, the original township would today take in the current township land, Mount Pocono Borough and parts of Price, Coolbaugh, Paradise and Barrett Townships.
As you would now suspect, Price Township was taken in part from MST and Palmyra Township, which was then part of Pike County. The township was formed in 1830 and named for John Price, who was an early settler. It too was one of the original townships taken from Pike County to create Monroe County. Later, in 1848, a part of Price Township was taken to for Paradise Township and then in 1859 to form Barrett Township. Finally, a part of Price township was taken and added to Coolbaugh Township to increase its size.
Barrett was formed in 1859 from portions of both Paradise Township and Price Township. The Township is bordered on the south by Paradise Township, Price Township to the southeast, and Coolbaugh Township on the west. Barrett Township is bordered by Greene Township in Pike County to the north, and Porter Township in Pike County to the northeast.
by Violet Price
Seguine & Shannon, a general merchandise store located near the Cresco railroad station, was called "The Cresco Cash Store" when it opened in 1891. In addition to ready-made clothing, it sold dry goods, notions, gents furnishings, window shades, groceries, crockery, glassware, paints and oils.
An early view of Shafer's Corner in Mountainhome is seen in this 1906 postcard from our collection. Shafer's Store, which also served as the post office, is pictured on the left. Built by C. W. Decker, the store was located on present-day Route 191. Over the years, the building has also housed a waxworks, a paint store, an Acme store, an antique shop, and is currently home to Pocono Bible Church.
When I was a kid, The Inn at Buck Hill Falls was a huge part of the community. A lot of kids got part time jobs there. Mine, for a few years, was to be an usher at the Inn movie theater on the lower level. It was huge for a community the size of Barrett Township but other events were also held there. I graduated from high school on its stage. They showed first run films all year long.
Interested in local history? Our Searchable History Project is in the process of digitizing materials in three local history collections, beginning with items from the Buck Hill Falls community. The items that have been digitized are now available online, so you can view and explore the collection. So far, there are over 200 images from the early 1900s (many of the Cottages) and Buck Hill Breeze issues from the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. The archives web site and the project are a work in progress; come back often to see what's been added.
You can go directly to the site at https://barrettlibrary.catalogaccess.com, or look for the Searchable History link on the Library’s main web site: www.barrettlibrary.org.
