Laquin, Pennsylvania
Laquin, in Franklin Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, was founded about 1902 as a lumber town, (although the ghost town of Barclay is nearby and it is an old coal mining town). The death of the town was from economics. When the forests played out and the mills could no longer be fed, the industry left and the people soon followed. A CCC camp was established here in the 1930s but this would be abandoned and by 1941 Laquin was a ghost town. Population at one time probably approached 2000, maybe more. There are abundant traces of the town today, though the last building disappeared sometime in the 1960s. The main street still exists as the major access road, and once sported a hotel, two churches, a school, a boarding house, store, depot, town building and several homes.[1]
Laquin, and Barclay are in close proximity of each other, but Laquin came into existence after Barclay, Pennsylvania, and was served by the long defunct Susquehanna and New York Railroad. This operated between Towanda, Pennsylvania and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The railroad is quite an interesting story in itself, and most of the trackbed, and bridges are still very much in evidence throughout the valley of Schrader Creek.[2]
The LeRoy Heritage Museum, off Rt. 414 in LeRoy, preserves the history of Laquin and Barclay Mountain through exhibits, Barclay Mountain walking tours, etc. More information can be found at the museum website at www.leroyheritage.org.
References
Further reading
- Abell, Guy; Martha Abell (2007). Barclay Mountain. A History. Towanda, Pennsylvania: Bradford County Historical Society. p. 359.
Coordinates: 41°37′56″N 76°39′03″W / 41.63222°N 76.65083°W