Babylon - Once a small village west of Tidioute in Triumph township, now only a house or two stands at this location. Here was the resort of the infamous Ben Hogan, often called "the wickedest man in the world". He maintained a house of ill repute at Babylon during the oil boom in the area, chiefly 1866-1868. A clergyman riding past Hogan's place one day was stunned to observe naked women playing in the yard and is said to have proclaimed, "This is the wickedest place I have ever seen! I name it Babylon!" Barnes - A village in Sheffield township. For postal purposes Barnes was called Sheffield until 1872 when it became Barnes in honor of Timothy Barnes who has aptly been called "the pioneer of Sheffield township." He was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1780 and later lived in Cooperstown, Clinton, and Italy Hill, in New York State, and at one time held a commission as Captain in the New York Militia. By 1828 he had settled along Tionesta Creek in Warren county where he built sawmills, operated them a few years, and then generally sold them. He died at the home of his son, Erastus Barnes, at the age of ninety-three. Beantown - A small village in Mead township. This name has often been used in place of Weldbank and both names refer to the same location. Years ago the Clark Bean farm was located here and the Beans had many children. They often traveled to Erie and back by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the evening train from Erie to the east came through Weldbank about 8:30 pm Bean children were so often on the train that one of the conductors started to announce the stop by crying, "Weldbank and Beantown!" and thus the second name for the place was derived. Bear Lake - Borough located partly in Columbus and partly in Freehold townships, and a lake located in Freehold township one mile east of the borough. The village was called The Summit until 1872 when it was named Bear Lake, taking this name from the nearby ten-acre body of water; it was a feeding and watering place for bears before the big timber was removed from the area. The village was organized as a borough on September 6, 1887. Brokenstraw - A stream and a township. From the Indian word Cushanadauga, meaning "broken grass". The French rendered it as Kachinodiagon and as Gachinantiagon from expeditions through the region in 1739 and 1749, and to them it was paille coupee or "cut straw". The English called the place Buckaloons, a corruption of a Delaware Indian name. Brokenstraw was the orginal Warren county township organized in 1800. In 1808 it was divided into Brokenstraw and Conewango townships by order of the Venango county court. The two were then split into twelve townships on March 8, 1821, but only seven were organized at that time. To be continued.......... Dennis R. Davis R8459@aol.com