Monaghan Township

The Monaghan Presbyterian Church was founded on the site of present day Dillsburg in 1737. Monaghan Township was formed in 1745 and included all the lands that today are Dillsburg and Franklintown, as well as Carroll and Franklin Townships. The early settlers were Scotch-Irish and farming was the predominant occupation. A considerable amount of whiskey was distilled from locally grown corn and rye in the township in the early 1800's. Monaghan Township developed as a great place to grow small fruit trees. The township web site describes stats from 1884 showing production of 73,000 quarts of strawberries, 39,900 quarts of raspberries, 3,000 quarts of blackberries and 7 tons of grapes. You can see some of this fruit farm activity in the Siddonsburg and Mount Pleasant area. Turn at Mount Pleasant and follow the signs toward Ski Roundtop.