An Historical Look at Brookville, Pa.

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Our Cook Forest, Pa. home in 1960.

The house in 2026.

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 7-1-2026

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I was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. My father worked for 36-years at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. He enjoyed deer hunting and my mother loved to go fishing. They were both originally from The Berwick, Pa. area.

In 1957, my parents bought property on the River Road in Cook Forest, Pennsylvania and began building a home there. For the next ten years, until 1967, we worked on the house, clearing the property of many trees and dad finally went hunting. We did this on weekends and during summer vacations. Many of my best early memories were spent at that property.

There were several towns close by. Clarington was only four miles away. But it only offered a general store and gas station combo and a tiny post office. Segal was 12-miles and had another general store, meat market, barbershop and gas station. Brookville was 19-miles from home and was a complete town.

Brookville was a beautiful small town in the 1950s and '60s. It had just about everything needed for it's citizens. I loved walking the streets and looking over all the historic buildings and homes.

We had planned to move there after dad retired. Sadly, in 1965, it was discovered that he had cancer. He was 56 years old. He lingered for two years and died in March 1967. After his death, mom and I did move to the house in Cook Forest. But in 1968, she began having strokes and died, at the age of 55 in January 1970. I went into the U.S. Army shortly after and we sold the house at Cooks Forest after my discharge.

My wife and I visited Brookville in 1995 and again in 2004. We went back in 2026 and rented a cabin with family members. A lot has changed. Many of the old places that I remember well are now gone. Two things are new, The Dollar General and Bigfoot. There were no Dollar Generals or Bigfoots back when I lived there. Personally, I do not believe there are any Bigfoots there now. But there really are Dollar Generals and I can prove it.

The outskirts of Brookville are all built up now. Sad actually. But it will always be one of my favorite places on earth.

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Brookville is a borough in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, Brookville had a population of 3,995. Founded in 1830, it is the county seat of Jefferson County.

History ~

The area was initially settled in the late 1790s upon the arrival of brothers Joseph and Andrew Barnett, as well as their brother-in-law Samuel Scott, who together established the first settlement at the confluence of the Sandy Lick and Mill Creeks in the area now known as Port Barnett. The first non-Native American settler of the land within the eventual town limits was Moses Knapp, who built a log house at the confluence of North Fork Creek and Sandy Lick Creek (which form Redbank Creek) in 1801.

The 105th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, also known as the Wildcat Regiment, was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Geography ~

Brookville is located in west-central Jefferson County, bordered by Rose Township along its western half and Pine Creek Township along its eastern half.

The borough sits at the confluence of the North Fork and Sandy Lick Creeks, which together create the Redbank Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the Allegheny River.

Total area of the borough is 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), of which 3.1 sq mi (8.1 km2) is land and 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) is water.

U.S. Route 322 (Main Street) passes through the center of the borough.

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Brookville Historic District (Brookville, Pennsylvania) ~

Brookville Historic District is a national historic district located at Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 263 contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Brookville. The buildings date between about 1838 and 1930, and include notable examples of vernacular and high style Late Victorian style architecture. Notable buildings include the Judge Elijah Heath House (1836), Railroad House Hotel (1851), Blood Block (1875-1876), Marlin Opera House Block (1883-1884), McKnight Building, Northside School (1939), Methodist Episcopal Church (1910, rebuilt 1922-1923), Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (1872), Jenks Foundry (1878), Brookville Y.M.C.A. (1915), Columbia Theater (1918-1919), Jefferson County Courthouse (1867), Brookville Borough Building, and U.S. Post Office. Located in the district and separately listed are the Brookville Presbyterian Church and Manse, Joseph E. Hall House, and Gray-Taylor House.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.