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A ~ A story, passed down through
the years, never fails to elicit good-natured groans
from those who hear it. Ralph Wolfgang related that
story in his book, A Short History of Tyrone Borough
[1850–1950]:
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“A curious
and fantastic story, long current and widely
believed, has it in the days when they were
seeking a name for the town, a farmer drove into
the village driving a spirited roan horse. As he
drew up in front of a store, he shouted to a
bystander, ‘Hey there, tie Roan!’ The
phrase ‘tie Roan’ caught the fancy of
another bystander, who suggested it as a possible
name for the new town. The name caught on, and
some ingenious citizen devised the present
spelling.”
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In reality, it’s
named after the county of Tyrone in Ireland. It was
brought to America by Irish settlers who made their
home in Sinking Valley during the 18th century. In
fact, the name of Tyrone Township appears in county
records (at the time it was part of Bedford County)
that date back to 1887. John Glonninger named his iron
forges in the Birmingham and Ironville area after
Tyrone Township. The Borough of Tyrone derived its name
from these forges. In Ireland, the name means
“Land of Owen.”
Before Tyrone was incorporated,
it was known by a number of names. First, it was called
Eagleville; however, the citizens wisely decided
another name would be better. It was then called
Shorbsville in honor of the Lyon, Shorb and Company,
which originally owned the land where the town stands.
In 1852, the name Tyrone City was adopted, but when the
petition was sent to court, it was shortened to
Tyrone.
Tyrone, in 1857, had a
population of around 700 people. Concerned that being
part of Snyder Township would hinder the town’s
ability to grow and make improvements to the streets,
the citizens incorporated as a borough that same
year.
At that time, Tyrone was one of
four boroughs in Blair County, which had split with
Huntingdon County. The other boroughs were
Hollidaysburg, Altoona, and
Martinsburg.
Those first seven years saw
Tyrone grow by leaps and bounds. There were many houses
built; streets were laid out; and several stores were
doing a brisk business.
The Pennsylvania
Railroad’s main line had a stop in town. There
were two hotels to service the travelers, three
churches to tend to the souls of the town, and one
doctor to take care of what ailed the
body.
There was a drug store, no
doubt specializing in the potions of the day; a school
taught the youngsters; there was a pokey; and two
firemen directed the buckets of the
brigade.
As 1857, the year Tyrone was
born as a borough, came to a close, the citizens
undoubtedly were optimistic about the future of their
little town.
— Adapted from an
article by Greg Bock, staff writer for The Daily
Herald
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