Throwback Thursday: Glen Hope Was First Known as Mechanicsburg

Glen Hope was first known as Mechanicsburg. 

After postal records revealed another Pennsylvania town already had that name, the post office had to change the name. 

It first went by Clearfield Creek from 1838 until 1843, when the town’s name switched to Glen Hope. 

Pictured in the photo is Dr. G. W. Caldwell, one of the earliest practitioners of medicine who was born in Union County.

He established himself at Glen Hope in 1851, where he practiced his profession until his death on Oct. 5, 1885.

According to Aldrich’s History, 1887:

“He was regarded as a man possessing a high order of intellect. His practice was large and lucrative, extending over an area 60 miles in diameter.

“Many of the older residents of Cambria and Clearfield counties will recall his timely visits made by day and night during the years gone by.”

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