Brockway

In 1821, John Smith Brockway purchased the land upon which Brockway would be built at a treasurer’s sale in Indiana, Pa. A year later, James M. and Alonzo Brockway, brothers of John, settled along Toby Creek at the site of Brockway. In 1824, Henry Keys, John McGhee, Thomas Moore, Alexander Osborne, and John McIntosh arrived in the Beechwoods and began the Scotch-Irish settlement there.

From 1825 to 1828, the Ceres Road, from Indiana, Pa. to Ceres on the New York state line, was surveyed through Brockway. In 1826, Ridgway Township, Jefferson County, named for Jacob Ridgway, a Philadelphia merchant who owned much land in western Pennsylvania, was formed from Pinecreek Township. It included the site of Brockway.

The first school opened in the Brockway area in 1828, and A. M. Clarke was the first teacher. The following year, the post office was established in Brockwayville, and Alonzo Brockway was the first postmaster.

In 1836, Dr. A. M. Clarke laid out Brockwayville as a town incorporated in 1883. Later in 1925, Brockwayville's name was shortened to Brockway.

Industralization

From the 1830s, lumber was rafted from the Brockway area to Pittsburgh, the forerunner of a vast industry later in the century. In 1883, the B. R. & P. Railroad began service through Brockwayville. In 1890, Natural gas came to Brockwayville and was used for street lights.

Glass was first made in Brockwayville in 1897. In the following century, it became a locomotive for Brockway's industrialization. Brockway Glass Company started the mechanized production of glass containers. Bottles were pressed, blown, and annealed.