The following is quoted from Thomas Murphy's 1928 History of Lackawanna County . 1 (Remember that references to now or today refer to 1928 and do not necessarily reflect life in 2003.)
p531..... Railroad line was put through the township about 1853. Stations were established at lehigh Summit, Moscow and at Sand Cut. Previous to the building of the railroad, products of the turning mills at Turnersville and Holgate Mills had to be shipped to Philadelphia and outside markets by wagon. The lumber industry too was stimulated by the building of the railroad and supplies of merchandise became more plentiful and varied. We may marvel at the simplicity of the life, not to mention the hardships of the early pioneers in Covington and other sections of the county. Products of the farm were often transported miles to a village store to be exchanged for snuff, tea, tobacco, etc. Money was seldom seen or used.
Hardly had the first settlers in Covington cleared a little land, planted crops and built rough cabins to shelter their families than thoughts turned to schools and a church. By 1824 a school was established in the home of John Fish, in Daleville. He was the teacher. In 1829 village schools were erected in both Daleville and Turnersville. The records show that a class of Methodists was taught at Daleville in 1826 by William Noble, a local preacher from Sterling, Wayne County. The Methodist Episcopal Society was organized in 1877, and in 1878 was joined with Moscow in pastoral relations. A new church was erected that same year. D F Wardell was the first pastor. Rev George W Peck, presiding elder, officiated at the dedication of the church. A Protestant Methodist congregation flourished in the village for a time, but later merged with the regular Methodist Church. At Trnersville a class of Methodists was formed in 1830 by Rev George Evans of the Oneida conference. A church was built there while the village still was a wood working center.
William Cottrell was the township's first mail carrier. He traveled the turnpike from Stroudsburg to Great Bend. Daleville was the earliest post office. As township tax collector in 1827, Edward Wardell had a duplicate which showed taxes of $96. Mr Wardell is said to have been the first justice of the peace, serving 25 years. Richard Drinker, a son of the original purchaser of the Beeches and who lived near Clifton, was likewise a justice in 1840. Dr C Frieschkarn was the pioneer physician. John Dale and Miss Ellen Yates of Philadelphia, who were wedded in 1823, were the first couple married in the township.