[53] Ibid.
[54] Ibid. See also John H. Carter, "The Committee of Safety of Northumberland County," The Northumberland County Historical Society Proceedings and Addresses, XVIII (1950), 44-45.
[55] See [map] of the Fair Play territory in Chapter One.
[56] Linn, History of Centre and Clinton Counties, p. 469. See also, Carter, "The Committee of Safety," pp. 33-45, for a full account of the activities of the Committee. Carter notes that the county committee consisted of thirty-three members, three from each of the eleven townships chosen for a period of six months.
[57] Ibid., pp. 472-474.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Farmers' Frontier
The economy of the West Branch Valley was basically agrarian—a farmers' frontier. The "new order of Americanism"[1] which arose on this frontier was in part due to the cultural background of its inhabitants, the knowledge and traditional values which they had brought with them. It was further influenced by the frontier status of the region itself—an area of virgin land in the earliest stages of development. And finally, it was affected by the physical characteristics of the territory, particularly the mountains which separated these settlers from the more established settlements. It has been said that "many of the enduring characteristics of the American creed and the American national character originated in the way of life of the colonial farmer."[2] The Fair Play territory was typical of this development.