QUICKTOWN
Quicktown is an area that is located on the Eastern side of Madison
Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania known as Madisonville.
Madison Township (Madisonville) formed on August 7, 1849
from parts of Covington and Jefferson Townships and is named after President
James Madison.
Located about 1.2 miles northeast of Madisonville corners is
Quicktown.
At the center is Quicktown Corners, the intersection of Quicktown
Road and Route 690 in Madison Township.
This intersection was previously known as Carey’s Corner
after the Carey family that had lived there near the intersection.
The Carey family no longer resides in the area, but was
still present at least 1930 according to census papers.
Quicktown is named after the Quick family that lived in the area, but
there are no records of Quick's that actually resided in the Madison Township in
the census records other than Matilda Quick, a school teacher boarding with
George Weldy in 1880.
The family and descendents of Daniel Thomas Quick and
Almira J. Pedrick lived just across the county line in Hollisterville, part of
Salem Township, Wayne County.
Daniel came from Pike County near Milford and first
appeared in Salem in the 1860 census.
Daniel’s son used the address of Hollisterville on his
WWI draft registration.
Madison Township was given in 1912 by Thomas Biesecker and Richard
Edwards both arriving in 1825.
The first settler in the Quicktown area is unknown.
Alfred Wilcox, Benjamin Pedrick and Benjamin Parker
Carey are named.
Wilcox lived about where I-84 now passes under Route 690.
Pedrick lived about where Flip’s Market is now located.
Benjamin Pedrick is also the father of Almira Pedrick,
the wife of Daniel Quick.
The Alt family moved from Salem, PA to Quicktown in 1847, buying a farm
from Balser Fetherman.
The Swartz family was one of the earliest families to settle Quicktown,
although the original Swartzes in Madisonville, George and Jacob, seem to have
settled in parts of Madisonville that are outside what is usually considered
Quicktown.
By 1850, census records show the Alt, Dings, Hornbaker, Pedrick, Swartz,
Wilcox families in the area.
Of these, only the Pedrick and Wilcox families appear in
the Jefferson 1840 census, but a section is missing and includes the name of one
family.
In 1861, Peter Alt sold his property to Joseph and Esther Ellis Mead and
moved to Wisconsin.
Joseph Mead was born in New York and was the son of
Selah Mead and Tamar Griffen.
Esther Ellis was born in Connecticut and was the
daughter of Isaac S. Ellis and Sarah Ann Pepper.
Joseph had been a farmer in Providence, PA prior to
buying their farm in Quicktown.
The farm is still in the possession of Joseph Mead’s
descendents.
Peter Alt’s son, John Alt, a Civil War veteran, married Sarah Ann Clouse
and settled at Carey’s Corner where he worked as a Blacksmith.
Many of their descendents still reside in Quicktown.
Floyd Smith bought property in Quicktown from the Quick family,
according to local word-of-mouth.
Today this farm is owned the Thomas family, descendents
of Floyd Smith.
In 1873, Quicktown had a Blacksmith shop and Madisonville Hall located
at “The Corners.”
Later, Billy Fuegline built and operated a small one
room store at Quicktown Corners.
Eventually is was ran by Durward “Huck” and Mary June
(Alt) Field.
The stand sold bread, candy, gasoline, etc. and Huck ran a small
equipment repair area there as well.
The stand closed sometime between 1950 and 1960.
The Dings, Hornbaker, Pedrick, Swartz and Wilcox names have since
disappeared from Quicktown.
The Alt and Mead families still remain.