In the year 1792 Michael Rager,
ancestor of many of the Rager families now residing in Jackson township, settled on land near the line of the Cambria and Summerhill townships, on the first public road that crossed the mountain.
He came here with Prince Gallitzin and was successful as the proprietor of a tavern. Many of his patrons were the teamsters that traveled the highway, hauling freight between Hollidaysburg and Pittsburgh. When the location of the road was changed, Mr. Rager moved to “Rager Mountain” which was described as “a most unfriendly piece of ground,” a dense forest at that time and in its wildest state. By dint of great hardship, Mr. Rager was able to make a home for himself and family which turned out to be a large one. He married three times and was the father of twenty children, many of whose descendants are still
living in this community, which was named for his son, Jackson Rager, who lived where Hiram Rager now has his home. Michael Dan Rager, a great-grandson of the first Rager, died within the past year in the community where he had lived his entire life. Jackson Rager had a shook shop at his home, and also a sugar camp.
The first Michael Rager died in 1841 and was buried with military honors, having been a faithful soldier in the Revolutionary War. He is buried in the old Lambaugh cemetery which is located near the Jack Rager school. No burial stone marks the grave of the last resting place of this soldier and pioneer. – Burkhart, Betty (1942). “Communities and Their First Settlers.” Nanty Glo Journal. Annuals of Jackson Twp. Chapter 18
Additional Information:
Photograph above taken by Brian Ensley
Johann Michael Rager Family tree (WikiTree 2021)
Johnann Michael Rager (WikiTree 2023)