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Origins of Conewango

Conewango Township.

Conewango Creek.

Conewango Ave.

Conewango Valley Country Club.

Conewango Towers.

Conewango Club.

By now, you probably know what I’m getting at, right? Do I need to continue?

“Conewango” is one of the most common names in our location lexicon here in Warren County.

It’s a Seneca word that means “in (or at) the riffles.”

You’ll find numerous spellings throughout the centuries, though – Kanonogan, Schatacoin, Conawagy, Conewanga, Conewagoo, Canawago and, of course, Conewango.

Schenck’s History of Warren County gives us a more detailed look at how the Township came to be in the county’s very early days.

He writes that from 1808 until 1832 the City of Warren was actually part of Conewango Township when the county only had two townships – Conewango in the east and Brokenstraw in the west.

Conewango Township picked up its name and first boundaries by a commission appointed by the Venango County Court in 1806 and implemented in 1808 (until 1819, Warren County did not have its own courts and county government structure.

The first township election was held at the home of Daniel Jackson (think Jackson Run) in Warren in 1808. Schenck says it’s believed that Jackson was probably the first settler, arriving in the township and building a home on Jackson Run as early as 1797.

In 1821, the boundaries of the county’s two municipalities were divided into 12 townships but, according to Schenck, Conewango Township still included much of what we now know as Glade Township.

The township split a little further when the Borough of Warren was created in 1832.

While Schenck is an invaluable resource on the county’s early history, it’s a historical artifact in its own right with an 1880s publication.

“Those of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry have given place to those of Alsatian and German origin to such an extent that at this time the latter seem to be largely in the majority. They are an honest, moral, and industrious class of citizens, of which any country should be proud.”

Forgive Mr. Schenck for the description of the people who lived in the township at the time. We just don’t talk like that anymore.

Though I live in the township now so if his estimation of our moral fabric is accurate, then we could probably do worse!

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