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EARLY BEAVER COUNTY
By William J. Bowan
Milestones Vol 10 No 4--Fall 1985

In 1785 Daniel Leet was named as the Surveyor for District 2 by the new United States government.

The land was to be laid out in tracts of approximately four hundred acres each. These tracts were to be granted to soldiers and officers who had participated in the Revolutionary War in exchange for script received as pay for their services. The script was regarded as almost worthless and many soldiers had bartered them away at a depreciated value.

Some of the soldiers of the scrip would visit the land offices in Philadelphia where they were shown the Western Pennsylvania Land Survey Maps. They would exchange the scrip for various sections of unseen lands.

Officers were allowed to receive more than one tract of land depending upon the value of their services. For instance, Isaac Melchior of Philadelphia was granted patents to tracts 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. This area included land from Ambridge to Legionville Run and from the Ohio River to Ridge Road in Harmony Township.

At that time this end of western Pennsylvania was a part of Westmoreland County, Melchior planned and mapped the county seat of Montmorin laid out on the site of Logstown. The town was to be built with the principal government buildings in the area of Eleventh Street in Ambridge. The lots Were to cost ten dollars each. Each package of five lots was given an out-lot on the hillside. This plan was advertised in the Pittsburgh Gazette and the Philadelphia papers. However cash was scarce and the plan did not succeed.

Shortly thereafter Westmoreland County was formed into smaller counties such as Sewickley, Allegheny and Beaver.

Depreciation tracts 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 were merged by their owners to form the Beaver County settlement of Baden.