It is now called New Astola and it is just south east of Johnstown On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 3:22 AM, Batha Karr wrote: > Some of my family came from Ashtola and this is a town I have not > heard of. Can anyone tell me what it is like there today? It must be > near Windber. > > The biggest industry around the turn of the century was timbering. > Edward > Vose Babcock and five associates chartered the Babcock Lumber Company > in > 1898 after purchasing 17 tracts with 6,415 acres in Somerset County > for > $100,000. A sawmill was constructed along Shade Creek and equipped > with a > new Allis double-acting band saw, which enabled logs to be cut from > both > directions. A standard-gauge logging railroad was constructed through > the > Clear Shade area, and the town of Ashtola grew. In 1901, Babcock > Lumber > Company grew by incorporating the James Curry & Son operation. The > company became the fourth largest producer of lumber in the state, > producing 64 > million feet of lumber in 1905. In 1913, the last log was cut at the > Ashtola > mill. In just 15 years, the Babcock Company had clear-cut the large > virgin > forest along the Allegheny Front, which today is known as the Babcock > Division of Gallitzin State Forest. > > > > - - - - - - - - - - > > Search for more Cambria County information on our webpage: > http://www.camgenpa.com/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PACAMBRI-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message