Shingle House, first known as Five Mile Corners,  got its name from a little log cabin north of town built in 1806 by a Frenchmen named M. Generet  (pronounced Jan dray) which was covered entirely with hand  made wooden shingles. This log cabin was located about a mile north from the present borough across the McKean County line. Shingle House became a borough in 1902, and became one word in 1906 ,and Shinglehouse was established as the only community to bear that name.

   Lumbering was the main occupation as pioneers began settling in the Oswayo Valley. The King  family built the first mill in Ceres, the second mill was built on "Bloody Corners" by Captain  Mix. There was a third mill built near what is  now the Shinglehouse Park by Willard Jones.

  The first mail route went through Shingle House in 1816 on the Jersey Shore, Pa. to  Olean, N.Y route. There were offices in Lymansville and Ceres, then Later adding one in Clara. In 1837 I. W. Jones was appointed  the postmaster of the Shingle House Post Office.

  The first commercial building  here was a store on the corner of Oswayo Street built in  the mid 1800's by Wiley Humphrey. At the time there were only a  few houses here.  The store was used for over a century and a half, going through several different owners and name changes. Sadly this building has been torn down and replaced in recent years by a  Unimart.

   By 1837 there were enough children in the area to warrant building a school  house. It was built at the end of Oswayo Street and Sunnyside. This area now serves as the Shinglehouse Assembly Park.  A second school was built on Honeoye Street in 1848 which was later used as the United Baptists Church and by  the Catholics Church. It was then moved to Church Street, and has long since been gone.
 

   In 1880 a young  woman from Shingle House by the name of Myrtle Meriwether  became the first Miss America, then known as Miss United States. The contest was held in Rehoboth, Del., where she had gone to a convention of the Business Women's League of which she was the corresponding secretary. She entered the contest for the fun if it and later was surprised to find she had won. Thomas Edison was one of the judged for the beauty contest. Her prizes  were a guilded plaque and a $300 complete bridal trousseau. Myrtle sold her winning costume  the next day for half of the value to pay her bills, then returned home to Shingle House to a quiet life.