History


History of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania

(Thank you to Borough Manager, Randy Stoltz who compiled most of this information)

The land on which the Borough of Martinsburg now stands is part of a tract that was purchased from the Six Nations of Indians by the Penn family. This purchase is known as the “Albany Purchase of 1754″. A Cayuga Indian Chief named Logan was instrumental in bringing about the purchase.

The “Great Cove” or “Big Cove”, which were names given to our area by the Indians, was in 1770 named “Morrison’s Cove” for surveyor James Morrison. In 1785 there were 1500 acres of land surveyed for John Brumbaugh, which is the site where Martinsburg is now located. In 1792 Thomas and Richard Penn issued Brumbaugh a patent for his land.

In 1815 the first commercial building was erected near the square in Martinsburg at 100 East Allegheny Street, which has an elevation of 1407 feet above see level. In 1817 the growing village was made a “Post Town” with George Davies being named the first postmaster in 1821. On April 2, 1832 Martinsburg, which was then part of Bedford County, was incorporated as a Borough by an act of the State Legislature. Martinsburg, which is thought to be named for an early cove pioneer John Martin, is the oldest continuously incorporated borough in Blair County, which was formed from Bedford and Huntingdon Counties in 1846.

By 1850 Martinsburg had grown to a population of 442 and had seen the formation of several churches along with various businesses. The second half of the century showed modest population growth along with the establishment of the first bank, newspaper, cemetery association, a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, kerosene street lights and telephone company. The first Borough Ordinance was passed on Sept. 28, 1878 and stated that no one shall place any material on a public street except for public improvement, the sum of one dollar shall be paid for every such offense committed. On July 4, 1881 the Martinsburg High School building was built at 133 East Allegheny Street and this building is presently being used as the Martinsburg Municipal Building.

The year of 1892 was a very important year with the formation of a fire company, the purchase of a hose cart with 500 feet of hose and water being furnished to the Borough from the Lock Mountain Reservoir. In 1893 a blacksmith shop was purchased to house the fire equipment.

The turn of the century brought continued growth to the Borough with the population reaching 590 in the year 1900. The first decade featured the ground breaking at Bean Hill to build the Brownstone building to house the University of Southern Penna. The Martinsburg Old Folk’s Home, presently the Morrison’s Cove Home, was dedicated along with the first electric light plant being established along South Market Street. Roads were on the agenda for 1919 when West Allegheny Street, South Market Street, and a portion of Locust Street were being paved with vitrified brick. Then in 1924 East Allegheny and North Market Streets were paved with reinforced concrete.

The Morrison’s Cove Memorial Park which currently encompasses nearly 30 acres was incorporated in 1921 and in 1934 a memorial was dedicated to all the soldiers and sailors of the Cove. In 1940 the Borough fire equipment was moved to 133 East Allegheny Street. The need was realized for a wastewater treatment plant and in 1942 a 250,000 gallon per day plant was put into service. In 1948 the Martinsburg Community Library was opened to the public on the second floor of the Municipal Building on Allegheny Street.

By 1950, the population had jumped to 1562. In the 50′s, Valley Rural Electric opened an office and the Martinsburg Shoe Co. began operations on Highland Street. Fred B. Higgins, general Borough employee, was appointed on March 6, 1951 by ordinance No. 221 as the first Borough Manager and a new card system was set up to record water and sewer rent.

The 1960′s were a busy time for the Martinsburg area. The Morrison’s Cove High School became a Junior High resulting from the construction of the new Central High School building. In 1962 the Cove Apple Packers Cooperative was started in the former Green Giant Cannery building South/West of the Borough. On December 1, 1963 Joseph C. Beach took over the duties of Borough Manager. May 30, 1966 featured the dedication of the “Dr. and Mrs. J. W. Hershberger Memorial Swimming Pool” located at the Morrison’s Cove Memorial Park. The continued growth of the area necessitated the upgrade of the water supply and wastewater treatment. In 1967 Wineland Wells #1 and #2 were drilled just east of the Borough line to provide 350 gallons per minute of water for the Borough and in 1968 the wastewater treatment plant was expanded to double its capacity to 500,000 gallons per day. The last classes were held in the Brownstone building in 1969 as a result of the new Spring Cove Junior High School being built in Taylor Township near Roaring Spring and the consolidation of the Martinsburg and Roaring Spring Junior High Schools. The new Martinsburg Little League Field which was constructed by the D. Merle Tipton Post No. 43 VFW was dedicated in 1969.

In April, 1971 L.C. (Red) and Don Metzler purchased Martinsburg Auto Sales, renamed it to Metzler Auto Sales, and supplied the Cove with new Ford cars & trucks, Mercury cars, Jeep vehicles, and GMC trucks. The 1970′s also gave rise to more construction in the area starting in 1972 with a new Post Office being constructed on the North/East corner of the Borough square. Later that year the Borough’s first complete Zoning Ordinance was adopted and in December the Borough fire equipment was moved from the Borough Building to its new and present location at 205 South Market Street. In January, 1974, the newly constructed Homewood Retirement Center located just West of the Borough off South Market Street began accepting residents. 1975 saw the formal opening of the Showalter Apartments on the West side of the Borough. 1982 was a time of celebration when the Borough marked its sesquicentennial year. The Martinsburg Municipal Authority increased its board from five to seven members and in 1985 John K. Hite was appointed as Borough Manager/Borough Secretary. The Roaring Spring Blank Book sewage pump station was built in 1989 to serve the expanding needs of the company which had relocated to the Cannery building..

The 1990′s with the population standing at 2119 has possibly seen more change than any previous decade. M. Jane Staily was appointed as the new Borough Secretary on February 5, 1990. The new Martinsburg Elementary School was built in 1991 to replace the Benson and Martin Schools. Also the Municipal Authority had a one million gallon water storage tank constructed to replace the existing reservoir due to requirements in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The Wineland Well Field water pumps were connected to a radio telemetry system to aid in operational efficiency and water conservation. On January 6, 1992 Randy K. Stoltz was appointed as the fourth Martinsburg Borough Manager after serving as Borough Coordinator since February 20, 1990. The square widening / new signal lamp construction project was completed in May 1994 to accommodate turning lanes for East / West motorists on Allegheny Street and a new storm water drain system was also installed in the square as part of the project. Over 10,000 feet of main sewer pipe was installed to replace existing lines in conjunction with the new $2.9 million, 700,000 gallon per day wastewater treatment plant that was completed on May 19, 1995. To improve water / sewer billing efficiency a radio read water meter replacement program was started in 1996 and also that year the Roaring Spring Ambulance Service placed an advanced life support ambulance in Martinsburg. In February 1997 Wineland Well #3 was added to the water system, with a water supply output of 245 gallons per minute. The demolition of the Benson School, the railroad station, and the former Querry Motors building all occurred in 1998 with the Replogle Locker Plant building demolition on Railroad Street in 1999. The Martinsburg Milling Co. built a large warehouse on the Querry Motors site in 1999 and the Hershberger Memorial Pool was rededicated after a $140,000 renovation project. The 32 year old Hoover Drive pump station was replaced along with 700 feet of main sewer line at a cost of $197,500. The first Annual Drinking Water Report was delivered to all water customers in September. The end of the decade finished with Y2K planning and Year 2000 census map and address verification.

Into 2000, the future for Morrison’s Cove looks great to make a living and raise a family.  The population of the Borough has increased to 2236 with the completion of another national census. Water and sewer service was extended from Homewood under Cross Cove Road to the new apartments at Dog Wood Circle. Hershberger Well was updated with the addition of underground chlorine contact piping and a new white split faced concrete block pump house. The well was placed back in service on July 26th 2001 at a total cost of $ 181,000.  The Spring Street ditch had 108ft of gabion baskets filled with #4 stone installed by Borough employees to sure the South ditch wall along the street. On November 24th Teeter’s Hotel located at 108 East Allegheny Street and built in 1855 was destroyed by fire.  June 9th 2001 Borough Manager Randy Stoltz was given permission by Borough Council to kick off a fund drive for a new EMS Station. The new South First Alley 6” water main project will be remembered as the project being constructed when the tragic events of September 11, 2001 occurred with the suicide plane crashes into the twin towers, the pentagon and the flight 93 crash in Somerset Co. PA. The line was completed on September 21st from Centennial Avenue to 100 ft east of South Market Street. October brought more water line construction as the 8” main from South Market Street to the Blair County Airport was replaced. The Municipal Authority recognized the importance of managing the timber on its 287 acre Lock Mountain water shed so on February 1, 2002 a Forest Stewardship Plan was completed. After a successful EMS building fund drive April 25th was the groundbreaking of the building with the footers being dug at the 203 West Allegheny Street site, which was donated by W. Gene and Edward Henry in memory of their parents Harry and Marion Henry. On July 2nd www.martinsburgpa.org was registered as the domain name for the Borough web site. A Source Water Protection Grant for $ 50,000.00 was received to conduct a study with USGS of the area around the Borough of Martinsburg. A grant was received for $ 99,000 to study the feasibility of constructing a compost site and methane digester to process liquid cow manure and produce electricity. Borough Council purchased a house for $ 25,000.00 at 131 East Allegheny St. then demoed it to provide much needed parking and the Municipal Authority purchased the property at RD# 2 Box 249,for   $ 87,000.00, a two acre site with house on the west side of the Wastewater Plant. 2003 began with the Village at Morrisons Cove starting Phase 1 of their 100 acre development of the Spring Hope Farm along Spring Street. July 28th marked the dedication of the new Martinsburg Area Emergency Medical Station at 203 West Allegheny St. The $ 75,000.00 building was completed as a result of the generous donations of time and money from area citizens. The building was debt free at the time of dedication. July 2nd marked the end of a long running battle with Dr. George Espy concerning the condition of his property at 505 West Allegheny St. The Borough police and employees authorized by a court order cleaned out the house of many drugs and chemicals including Strychnine. The clean-up costs of $ 15,527.00 were reimbursed by Mr. Espy in his 83rd year. Timber was cut from a portion of the Lock Mountain water shed. On December 29th the Hollidaysburg American Legion Ambulance Service started 24-7 ALS service from the Martinsburg Area EMS Station. April 10th 2004 the Uniform Construction Code was adopted by the Borough of Martinsburg. The USGS Source water Protection Survey was completed and the report indicates that the underground water flows from south to north under the Borough. September 8th brought heavy rains associated with Hurricane Frances totaling 5.5” and resulting in flooding along N. Nicodemus St. Nine days later on the 17thHurricane Ivan dumped 6” of rain causing flooding at Nicodemus St and the waste water plant was flooded from the surrounding area causing the sewer lines to back up in several areas of the Borough. The record total rain fall for September was 14.23”. December 9th the Roxy Theater building at 110 E. Penn Street was demolished. September 27,2005 a “Martinsburg Junction 1872” sign designed by Manager Stoltz was erected at the Junction. October 19th the Spring Street Ditch culvert pipe project was completed at a cost of $ 153,651.79. The project included the formation of a “wet lands” behind the Borough Garage which was required by DEP. The water line from Spring Street to State St. on Maple and the line from Maple to Mulberry on State Street was replaced with a new 6” PVC line at a cost of $ 12,867.00. A new fire hydrant was added at the corner of Mulberry and State Streets bringing the total hydrants on the system to 95. An earthen dike was built at the Wastewater plant at a cost of $ 22,000.00 to prevent any future flooding like occurred in September of the previous year. The first “slip lining” of a sewer line was performed on the Cross Cove Road line on January 24, 2006 with the manholes also being grouted and sealed. April 22, 2006, Dean A. Smith passed away at the age of 74. Dean was a member of the Municipal Authority representing Taylor Township since 1982.