The Story of Talley Cavey
THE STORY OF TALLEY CAVEY: THE ROOTS OF HAMPTON TOWNSHIP By Jonathan Klemens, MSLBE Author and Historian With the granting of the Depreciation Lands in 1783, settlers began westward migration into the western Pennsylvania wilderness (the Ohio Country). The Depreciation Lands were divided into five districts from west to east, and eight surveyors were appointed to lay out the land in lots of 200 to 350 acres. Talley Cavey was one of the first villages settled and named after a village in Northern Ireland, which means “hill over the borough” in Gaelic. In the 1780s, James Cunningham, a surveyor, bought much of the Depreciation Lands, and built a log cabin on Talley Cavey Circle (off Wildwood Extension). James McCaslin, a hunter and fur trapper, settled “Castle Town” (later “Oak Hill Farms”) along Mt. Royal Blvd in 1794. Early settlers included Scots-Irish, Irish, Welsh, and Germans. Some of these brave pioneers and their families included John Walters, Alex McDonald, Frank Black Jacob Burkhardt, Robert and John Sample, Robert Hardie, Charles Anderson, and John McNeal. The first school, the Wildwood-Hardies School, was built in 1800. Armstrong Family The Armstrong family built their log house in 1803 along Middle Road near McNeal Road. This original log house is now proudly displayed at the Depreciation Lands Museum. Talley Cavey was incorporated in 1805. It was the first village in the area to have a post office and general store. It was divided into Upper and Lower Talley Cavey. The first mill in the area was built on Pine Creek by Philip Mowery in 1808. Charles and Sarah Anderson, natives of Ireland, moved the family from Baltimore to Talley Cavey in 1837. The Parcel of land was known as the “Green Grove Tract” (along Route 8, Allison Park). The Andersons operated a brickyard to supply bricks for his house and the Pine Creek Covenanter Church. (Reformed Presbyterian). Talley Cavey In the 1850s, Talley Cavey was flourishing along the Butler Plank Road (now William Flinn Highway, in the honor of Senator William Flinn). The community became an integral part of Hampton Township in 1861 when the Honorable Moses Hampton, a well-respected judge and member of Congress, signed incorporation documents, making Hampton Township a municipal entity encompassing sections of Indiana, McCandless, and West Deer Townships.
