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FOREWARD

      It wasn't until the late 1990s that Richard Hughes, a young civil

engineer, had the perspicacity to note that 94 years had come and gone

without another comprehensive history of Clearfield County being written.

      In 1887, a premier comprehensive history, complete with accurate and

meaningful data, was presented to Clearfield County by Lewis Cass Aldrich,,

an accomplished historian in his day. This large and detailed volume, simply

entitled The History of Clearfield County.

      In 1859, "The Raftsman's Journal" presented a series of newspaper

articles highlighting our county's first 55 years, its people, and its

happenings. At a later date, these newspaper columns by S.B. Row, editor of

the paper, were presented in book form under the title of,  Clearfield County:

Or Reminiscences of the Past.

      In 1878, J.A. Caldwell presented a magnificent accounting of our

early history in the form of an atlas of maps of each township accompanied

biographies of well-known personages, drawings of homes, farms, and

businesses. Each township map placed names of its residents in proper

locations on its map. This book was indexed in recent years by Warren and

Gweneth Fox, a monumental task of several years duration.

      Despite the value of many books in our library, the only other

comprehensive history of Clearfield County was published in 1911. It was

written and compiled by Roland D. Swoope Jr. and entitled: Twentieth

Century History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania and Representative

Citizens. Noting that this book's date of publication is 1911, it is obvious

:hat not much about the 20th century was included in Swoope's volume.

Obviously the real history of the 20th century was yet to be written.

      Our present author, Richard Hughes, has spent most of the last decade

writing the volume with which he presents you now. It is a comprehensive

history of real note. Finally, the history of Clearfield County's twentieth

century can be enjoyed by all who take advantage of this present

masterpiece.

      Sara J. Stephenson, Clearfield, Pennsylvania, July, 2005