This township was taken from Dallas in 1829, and named in honor of Dr. William Lehman. Its surface is undulating, and about one-third is good arable land; even the hill farms are productive, and when the many sawmills had done their work, the valleys and hill sides turned to green fields and beautiful lawns.
Its opening paragraph in history was one of the bloody episodes in the days of Indian troubles. March 28, 1780, Asa Upman and John Rogers were making sugar a short distance above the mouth of Hunlock creek, when they were suddenly surrounded [p.599] by Indians and captured. Upson was killed and Rogers carried off. Then they went to where Abram Pike was making sugar, near where is now the hamlet now called Pike's Creek, and captured Pike and his wife; camping here the first night and helping themselves to Pike's sugar. The ten Indian marauders the next day proceeded to where is the hamlet of Orange, where they captured Moses Van Campen and his aged father, and Peter Pence, killing old man Van Campen. They had painted Mrs. Pike and allowed her to return to her baby, which they had bundled and thrown on the roof of the cabin in the morning when they broke camp. How they carried the other prisoners to the mouth of Wysox creek, when by concert, Rogers, who was only a youth, and was the only one not bound at night, stole the Indian's knife, cut the others loose and they attacked their captors, killed some and the others fled. Some of the descendants of Rogers are now living in Lehman township. The story of Abram Pike and Moses Van Campen are told in the general history of the county. Pike has no descendants here; he spent the remainder of his life in the neighborhood, and lies buried in the Ide cemetary.
Nehemiah Ide and Jeremiah Brown in 1801 became the first settlers in Lehman township. The next man was named Avery, but he remained but a short time. William Fuller came in 1802, and two years after came his brother Isaac. Joseph Worthington in 1806 settled at Harvey's lake. That year came William Newman; John Whiteman in 1813; J. I. Bogardus and Ogden Mosely in 1814. About 1819 came Minor Fuller and Fayette Allen; Thomas Major in 1821, and Oliver Mekeel in 1823.
The first frame house was built by William Fuller, in 1801 or 1802, opposite the residence of his son, Chester Fuller. Isaac Fuller built a house in 1804; S. P. Ide in 1807; J. I. Bogardus and Ogden Mosely in 1814; Ezra Ide in 1819. Fayette Allen was the first carpenter; Daniel Whiteman, Nehemiah Ide and Oliver Ide were the others. Jonathan Heusted was the first blacksmith; his shop stood near the line of Jackson township, at Huntsville. David Gordon began blacksmithing in 1839, near Z. G. Gordon's. He was in partnership with Ira Lain, a cooper, and they carried on both trades. William Gordon was the first shoemaker. He lived where is William Wolfe's place. Dr. J. J. Rogers was the first physician; followed by Dr. Moody about 1857. The first schoolhouse was a log building, in 1810, near the site of W. H. Ide's house. J. I. Bogardus and Obed Baldwin were the earliest teachers, and were followed by Julius Pratt, Burr Baldwin, Mr. Perry and Elijah Worthington. The first schoolhouse at Lehman Center was built in 1836 by Daniel and Oliver Ide. Ellen Pugh and Maria Fuller were the first teachers here. Miss Fuller became Mrs. A. Ketcham. The next schoolhouse was the West Lehman schoolhouse, erected in 1842 by Nathan and Oliver Ide.
The first mill was erected in 1837 by Lewis Hoyt, Frederick Hartman, builder, on Harvey's creek. George Sorber built one this year, which was purchased by Jameson Harvey in 1840. This was burned in 1876, and Mr. Harvey built the present mill on the site. Mills were built by J. Harris in 1838; by Frederick Hartman, on the C. B. Major farm, in 1838, for Ephraim King; by Robert Major in 1836; by R. W. Foster and Ansel Hoyt in 1840; by Rice & Mumford in 1844; by George Shupp in 1856, and by the Rice Bros. in 1873. Several of these mills have been burned, and some are entirely gone. Morris Lain's stood where J. Harris built his; I. Rice, of Kingston, owned the mill built by R. W. Foster; Jefferson Miers rebuilt the Ansel Hoyt mill in 1856, and it became the property of M. V. Bogart; Sidney Major rebuilt the Rice & Mumford mill, which was owned by Jameson Meeker; the George Shupp mill was burned in 1873, rebuilt by W. O. Ruggles. The first store was opened about 1848, by Daniel Urquhart and Edward Shott, near where the Lehman Center schoolhouse stands. They sold to Bogardus Fisher, who sold to Flick & Flannigan. Mr. Flick sold to Flannigan, who ran it many years and sold to R. A. Whiteman; the first postoffice was kept in his store in 1820, by John Whiteman; a weekly mail was brought from Kingston.
[p.600] The first burial was Nehemiah Ide, age seventy-seven, February 8, 1823. The next was Amos Brown's daughter Annie, July 23, 1823, aged fourteen.
Lehman Center is the principal place in the township; two general stores, one hardware, one hotel, two blacksmiths. The first burial in the cemetery at this place was that of two children of Thomas Major, Jr.
Pike's Creek is a small hamlet—postoffice, store, church and a blacksmith shop. Named of course for Abram ("Indian") Pike.