USA > Pennsylvania > A gazetteer of the state of Pennsylvania : a part first, contains a general description of the state, its situation and extent, general geological construction, canals, and rail-roads, bridges, revenue, expenditures, public debt, &c. &c. ; part second, embraces ample descriptions of its counties, towns, cities, villages, mountains, lakes, rivers, creeks, &c. alphabetically arranged > Part 53
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the loose rubbish and soil, as was also the rock above." These circumstan- ces, he conceives, confirm strongly the truth of the supposition, that an up- heaving force, exerted with great en- ergy, has bent, dislocated and broken the strata.
This vein is broken by the ravine, & worn down by the stream which pass- es thro' it, but reappears on the oppo- site side where it sssumes a form more curious and extraordinary. The stra- ta as in the corresponding part ra- diate from the surface, and the inte- rior upper angle, so far as it has been uncovered, is filled with sand stone ar- ranged in reversed concentric arches, laid so regularly as to have the ap- pearance of having been placed by art. The writer saw three of these arches, and the abuting parts of a fourth ; the remainder of the last was covered by earth. The stones of the respective arches increase their di- mensions with the size of the arch. The form of these arches would seem to militate against the hypothesis of an eccentric force, unless we presume, what is probably true, that the gravi- tation of the strata in opposite angles of about 45°, produced this result.
To avail themselves in the best man- ner, of these new treasures, the com- pany have made a rail way, of 5 miles and 1631 feet, of which the following is a correct outline.
Branch from wharfto section 1 commencing 14.23 feet above the top of Mauch Chunk dam, 14.23 1200 feet section], and branch-ascent, 11.90 26.13 1260 do. do. 2, incl. self act. plane, 120.13 146.26 9912 do. do. 3, ascent,97.29 243.55
11348 do. do. 4, ascent,96.50 340.05
1260 do. do. 5, incl. self act. plane, 120.15 460.20
891 do. do. 6, ascent,54.82 515.02
1160 do. do. 7, ascent, 11.15 526.17
750 do. do. 8, as far as excavated, 21 547.17
250 to 50 feet in ascent, to 6 feet above water, 15.33 56.250
28031 feet, 5 miles and 1631 feet in length. Total elevation above the bed of the Lehigh at Mauch Chunk 570 feet. The curve of the road is on a radius of 1600 feet.
This road follows the curve of the mountain along the Lehigh for about two miles, and then still winding with the mountain, turns easterly and runs parallel with the Nesquihoning creek
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to the ravine of the mountain made by|ja year, and that without extending Room run which it ascends. It would our quarries more than one mile from the summit. And when our succes- sors have done quarrying they may follow the veins under ground east- ward to the river about 7 miles more, and five miles in a western direction." be difficult perhaps to conceive a meth- od of making a road more substantial- ly than has been adopted on this. The rails are about 20 feet long, 7 inches deep and 5 in width. They are sup- ported on massive blocks of stone, pla- ced in line 4 feet apart, and imbedded firmly in smaller stone, and are secur- ed to these blocks by iron clamps on each side of the rail, about 6 inches wide, but at right angles, and nailed to the rail and to the block by means of four holes drilled in each stone, and plugged with wood. The iron barsare 21 in. wide, § thick. The whole of the road from the coal mines to the landing is descending. On the self act- ing plane the descending wagon will bring up an empty one. The inter- mediate road is graduated from 10 to 12 inches descent, in 100 feet, this be- ing considered the lowest grade on which a loaded wagon will descend by gravity, and therefore the most favor- able one, that can be devised, when the freight as in this case is all one way.
Doubts have been expressed as to the continuance of the supply of coal from this region. On this subject we will let Mr. White speak, observing that the sceptical may at any time by personal inspection have a full confirm- ation of his statements. In his official report to the company of 1st Jany. 1830, he says, " in addition to the ex- tensive examinations which took place previous to my last report, explora- tions have been made which prove we can uncover and quarry our coal in a continuous opening, about two miles in extent east and west, having our present quarries about the centre. We have uncovered coal at the summit of the mountain, 320 feet north and south, across the strata of coal, which is of a quality similar to that in the great quar- ry ; so that we have, beyond all doubts, enough coal that can be quarried with- out mining, to last more than one generation, even supposing that our shipments exceeded one million of tons
In his report of the 31st December, 1830, Mr. White adds, my conviction is, that our great coal mine, or quar- ry, will prove to be a vein of coal about 60 feet thick between the top and bottom slate, and that its extent will bear out my last annual report. Since that report I have examined our coal field in, and about Room run, where that stream breaks across the coal formation, and have had the good fortune to lay open a series of veins of unparalleled extent, of the follow- ing dimensions viz., 28, 5, 5, 10, 19, 39, 5, 12, 15, 15, 50, 20, 11, and 6 feet, making the whole number of veins opened 14, and the whole thick- ness, measured at right angles with the veins 240 feet. Other veins have since been explored. The width of the coal basin at this place north and south exceeds half a mile; and the bearing of the strata lengthwise is south 88° west. If we allow 60 cubic feet of these veins to make a ton of coal in the market, after leaving enough for piers, waste, &c. they will give four tons of coal to each su- perficial square foot, (counting the whole as one vein,) or 10,560 tons for each foot lengthwise of the coal basin, and consequently 55,756,800 tons for each mile; and allowing our demand to be one million of tons each year from these mines, one mile would last more than 55 years. The part of the coal basin belonging to the company, extends 10 or 12 miles.
We must not omit to notice here a very important and ingenious inven- tion of Mr. White, for the purpose of raising burdens, in which, more than one of our operative classes, will take a deep interest. We allude to the propellers, for which he has taken a patent.
That this machine is very effective,
,
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is made apparent by the following minute of one day's work, done by it at the Mauch Chunk mines. In 103 hours, 3 horses drove the machinery, and raised 204 wagons, loaded 1} tons each, up a plane of 35 feet rise, and 210 feet in length. As the propellers require no more attention in passing a wagon, than a piece of common rail road, and there being no gudgeons or machinery to grease except the driv- ing part, the expense of going up hills is reduced to a mere trifle; being con- fined pretty much to that of the driv- ing power.
As farther exemplifying the facil- ity of labor possessed by the company, we incorporate the following note of one day's work at Mauch Chunk. " Three hundred and forty tons of coal quarried at the mines loaded and brought on the rail road nine miles, unloaded from the wagons, down the chute and loaded into boats. The boats for this coal all built the same day. Forty hundred feet of lumber sawed in one day and night."
The other great improvements made by the Lehigh navigation and coal company, are the villages which they have created, and are creating. These are Mauch .Chunk, Lowry- town, Anthracite, Nesquihoning and South Easton. A description of the two first will be given here. The others are noticed under their respect- ive titles.
Mauch Chunk village, is situated on the western bank of the Lehigh, in a deep and romantic ravine, between rocky mountains that rise in some parts precipitously to 800 or 1000 feet above the stream. Space was procured for dwellings, by breaking down the adjacent rocks and by filling a part of the ravine of the Mauch Chunk creek. This stream has been used to drive a tilt hammer, two fur- naces and a grist mill. The company have erected, and are proprietors of 120 dwellings here, of which, all ex- cept " Whitehall," the residence of the acting manager and two or three occupied by the chief clerk, and oth- er superior agents, are of the plainest
character, designed solely for protec- tion against the inclemency of the sea- sons. The hotel, admirably kept by Mr. Kimball, is a large and commodi- ous building of stone, having adjacent another, built for lodging rooms. There are also here a large and very well furnished store conducted by the company, three saw mills, each with two saws, sundry workshops, and lime kiln. The company have from mo- tives of policy heretofore excluded from their premises all persons not im- mediately under their control. By this means they have been enabled to enforce a stricter practice of morality than could otherwise be obtained, un- der the penalty of dismissal from a very desirable service, and the eject- ment of tenants, at will, from their dwellings.
Tippling houses and the retail of ar. dent spirits, are prohibited. Drunk- ards are not suffered to remain. Abuse or neglect of his family, and cruelty to cattle, are grounds of dis- missal of any person. There is no regular place of worship; the school house has been appropriated to that pur- pose, where clergymen ofevery denom- ination are invited to preach ; and dis- sipation is prohibited on the Sabbath. By a small annual contribution from each laborer and the heads of fami- lies in the village a physician is procur- ed who attends the sick without fur- ther compensation.
The completion of the canals and of the rail roads and landings, having en- abled the company to ascertain what parts of their property may be sold without interfering with the extension of their coal business ; they now. offer to the enterprize of the public, lots in the towns of Nesquihoning and Mauch Chunk. They propose an ad- dition to the latter town, to be called E. Mauch Chunk, located on the compa- ny's land in what is commonly known by the name of the " Lehigh Kettle," on the east side of the Lehigh, and about one fourth of a mile above Mauch Chunk ; at the head of the great navigation of 140 ton boats ; jjand at the foot of the contemplated
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mountain navigation from Susquehan- |about 250 hannah for boats of 70 tons, and di- rectly opposite to the landing of the company for the coal from the Room run mines. It is the nearest ground to those landings, suitable for an exten- sive settlement, and has a favorable surface for this purpose, to the extent of half a mile in width by a mile in length. On the upper corner of the plot the river Lehigh may be used with a fall of 20 feet for manufactur- ing purposes, and the sterility and roughness of the country on the Up- per Lehigh will preserve the volume of the river forever undiminished. This spot is four miles from Nesqui- honing, 32 from Berwick, 44 from Catawissa, about 38 from Wilkesbarre, and 46 by the canal from Easton.
Mr. White speaks thus of the advan- tages of this position : "when it is recol- lected that 1,000,000 tons of coal will employ 1000 workmen in the various business connected with it, and that these with the families will require the aid of professional men, merchants and mechanics of all descriptions, it will not be deemed extravagant to say, that the location and advantages of East Mauch Chunk are such as must insure its speedily becoming one of the largest inland towns in the state, and that it will furnish a nursery from which the coal business may derive as many hands as may be required."
Mauch Chunk village and depend- eneies contained on the 1st Jany. 1831, 1316 inhabitants, viz. 199 male, 275 female adults, 318 boarders, 73 male children over 10 years, females 64, males under 10, 82, females 74; native children 231. Besides which there were at the pine forest 180 in- habitants.
The hamlet of coal of Anthracite or Coalville, is upon the summit of the mountain at the " great mine," and contains about 40 houses, a hotel, a neat and comfortable establishment, at which Mr. Ray, the keeper, hospitably entertains his visitors, a school house, and a residence for the superintend- ants. There are ordinarily here
inhabitants, principally miners.
Before we quit this article it will be proper to take a concise and rapid view of the possessions and advantages of the Lehigh navigation and coal company. They have 13,000 acres of land, extending across the Lehigh, and occupying, with the exception of a small tract in and about Lausanne, the whole of the t-ship, and another tract of 3000 acres about 15 miles from Mauch Chunk upon the Lehigh, abounding in valuable timber, in the pine forest, where they have built Lowry town. They have inexhaust- ible supplies of the best coal, approach- able in the most advantageous manner, and for the transportaion of which, to the great markets of Philadelphia and New York, they have the best and most direct means, their own rail ways and canal, the Delaware canal from Easton to Philadelphia, the Delaware river, and the Morris and Trenton canals to New York. They have at and near Mauch Chunk four villages, containing together about 200 houses and a population of more than 1500 souls. They have on the line of their canal many valuable portions of land, which they have acquired in settling the claims for damages accruing to in- dividuals by their excavations, &c., together with many highly valuable mill sites, with the unrestricted use of the surplus water of the Lehigh after the supply of the canal. They have a large town plot and very valuable mill sites, on the dam on the Lehigh, just above its confluence with the Del- aware, where all the advantages of water power, cheap fuel, abundant and valuable iron ore, excellent and cheap building materials, a plentiful and cheap supply of provisions, a healthy and picturesque country, and a near and populous town, are combined with the very important requisite of ready access to the best markets.
All these sources and means of prosperity are now, or soon will be, available to the company, but there are others in prospect which are not
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less important to the productiveness of their canal, and to the business of their towns. The product of the Beaver Meadow coal mines, which are situated about 11 miles N. W. of Mauch Chunk, near the Berwick turn- pike, will probably seek this outlet, as will also the still more important com- munication with the Susquehannah by the Lehigh r. and Nescopeck creeks, or by the Lehigh, and a series of in- clined planes across the country be- tween Mauch Chunk and Berwick, on the Susquehannah r. By the former mode of connection, the distance be- tween Phila. and Berwick, will be 42 miles less, than by the Union canal, and between Berwick and New York, it will be one half less than by the latter canal. By the adoption of planes a further reduction of 38 miles may be made. By the canal, which we understand has been recommended as the only practical one connecting the Susquehannah and Delaware riv. ers north of Blue mountain, the com. pany very properly anticipate that the trade of the north branch of the Susquehannah and a fair proportion of the west branch will be made tributary to them.
'The Lehigh canal unconnected with the Susquehannah is a very important part of the company's possessions, and the tolls receivable upon it will be an important portion of their income; and perhaps the company may find, that it will be more advantageous to them, to throw open the coal trade as they have done their town plots, to public enterprize; contenting them- selves with a coal rent, a toll on their roads and canal, and the profits on the increased value of their territorial possessions. In favor of such a course the following remarks may merit con- sideration. It is impossible now for any company,or companies, to monop- olize the coal trade ; competition will reduce the profits to the minimum on the cost of getting it to market. That cost will be less, the present facilities of transportation continued, where the business is conducted by individuals.
The cost of transportation by the Le- high routes will be less than by any other. In the hands therefore of in- dividuals, the Lehigh coal may be brought to market cheaper than any other, & in such case, as the quality is unexceptionable and the supply ade- quate to any demand, the great con- sumption of the Union would be fed chiefly from this source. Enterpriz- ing individuals assured of a certain business and moderate profits, would by their exertions extend the use of coal, applying it to new objects, and their congregation near the mines would introduce a large population, manufactories of various kinds, and all the arts indispensable to a thriving and increasing people. Under such circumstances the income of the com- pany would become abundant from rent of coal mines, toll on roads and canal, sales of town lots and water sites, &c. &c. But whilst the coal business is in the hands of the compa- ny alone, the inducements to settle their lands do not appear very attrac- tive.
Mauch Chunk creek, receives its name from the mountain at whose foot it rises, and along which it runs into the Lehigh r. on the W. side, about a mile and a half below the Nesquiho. ning. It is a very rapid, though not a large stream. But its great fall ren- ders it very efficient as a mill stream, and it serves to turn several mills em- ployed by the Lehigh navigation and coal company at their village. (See Mauch Chunk mountain, &c.)
Mauch Chunk, t-ship, Northampton co. bounded N. by Lausanne and Tow- amensing t-ships, E. and S. E. by Towamensing, S. by East Penn, and W. by Schuylkill co. The larger portion of this t-ship belongs to the Lehigh navigation and coal company. It is about 12 ms. in length and some- thing over 2 in breadth, and comprises about 13,000 acres. It includes parts of the Mahoning, Mauch Chunk, Nes. quihoning and Broad mtns. on the W. side of the Lehigh, and parts of the Broad mtn., Big Creek mountain, and
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Kettle mtn. on the E. side of that r. There are 4 villages in the township, Mauch Chunk, Anthracite or Coalville, Lausanne and Nesquihoning ; the lat- ter erected on the Nesquihoning cr. within a half mile of the newly disco- vered coal mines on Room run, and 4} ms. by a rail-way from the coal landing at Mauch Chunk, was com- menced in April, 1831, and in Sept. in that year contained 21 houses and a store. It is drained by Beaver cr. Mauch Chunk cr. Room run, Nesqui- honing and Kettle crs. The surface of the t-ship is covered with mountains, the soil gravel. Pop. in 1830, 1348. Taxables in 1828, 262.
Maxatawny, t-ship, Berks co. bound- ed N. E. by Lehigh co., S. E. by Longswamp t-ship, W. by Rockland, and N. W. by Greenwich. Greatest length 5}, greatest breadth 42 miles ; area 14,960 acres; surface generally level ; soil, limestone and gravel, and highly productive. Pop. in 1810, 1530, in 1820, 1845, in 1830, 2108 ; taxables in 1828, 290. The t-ship is intersected by roads in various direc- tions. Sacony creek, a tributary of Maiden creek, passes north westerly through it, turning several mills in its course ; and a branch of the same cr. runs S. W. for about 3 miles in the t-ship. Upon both streams there are several mills. Between the forks of the main branch of the creek is situa- ted a church, common to the Presby- terians and Lutherans, and another at Kutztown. Kutztown, distant 17 ms. from Reading, is in this t-ship. It comprises about 100 dwellings, 3 stores, 6 taverns, and a Lutheran church. Maxatawny p-o. is 165 ms. from W. C. and 74 miles from Harris- burg.
Maytown, p-t. of W. Donegal t- ship, Lancaster co. about 15 ms. W. of the city of Lancaster, 104 from W. C. and 23 from Harrisburg, and about 3 ms. from the r. Susquehannah, con- tains some 25 or 30 dwellings, stores and taverns.
Meadow run, a small tributary of the Quitapahilla cr. which rises in Leba-
non t-ship, Lebanon co. and flows N. to its recipient.
Meadowville, p-o. of Lebanon co. 131 ms. from W. C. and 21 from Har- risburg.
Meadville, t-ship, Crawford co. sur- rounds the town of Meadville, and contained, in 1830, independent of the borough, a population of 1026 souls.
Meadville, p-t. and st. of justice of Crawford co. is situated on the left bank of French cr. near the northern margin of a rich and handsome valley, through which that stream meanders ; about 87 ms. from the town of Erie, on lake Erie, 24 from Franklin, on the Allegheny, and 90 N. of Pitts- burg, 297 N. W. from W. C.and 236 from Harrisburg. The town plot gra- dually rises from the water to its cen- tre, where is a handsome public square of about 5 acres. Immediately front- ing the square on the E. is the court house, which, in point of beauty, con- venience and workmanship, is said not to be surpassed by any in the state. The plan was gratuitously furnished by the distinguished architect, Mr. Strickland, of Phila. Its walls are of brick and cut stone, and it is adorned by a handsome cupola. On the rising ground, a short distance E. of the court house, is the Presbyterian church, a good and convenient building ; its walls are of brick, and it has a spire and well-toned bell. Immediately fronting the public square, on the W. and near to the N. W. corner, stands the Epis- copal church, a very tasteful, neat and convenient building, of the Gothic or- der, with a tower, and contains a neat and well-toned organ ; its walls are of brick, painted in imitation of free stone. A short distance W. of the public square is the academy, a large, hand- some and convenient building of brick, with a neat cupola and bell. Near the northern border of the town is the state arsenal, a spacious, neat and convenient brick building ; and a short distance N. of it, on a commanding eminence overlooking the town and the valley, stands Bently hall, the edi- fice of Allegheny college. Its walls
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are of brick and cut stone, in the Ionic course of instruction given by this order. It consists of a main building, system is full and thorough, embra- cing the following branches of litera- ture and science : 60 feet front by 44 deep, and 3 stories high, and 2 wings of 30 ft. front each, and 2 stories high, with a basement story under the whole, and has also a handsome cupola. This building would justly be considered an ornament in any city in the Union. The Metho- dist society have a neat and spacious church ; and on the N. border of the town Col. Magaw, well known as the patentee of straw paper, has fitted up a large and convenient frame building for the manufacture of that cheap and valuable article.
Allegheny college was founded by a number of public spirited gentle- men of Meadville, in the year 1815, and was incorporated by the legisla- ture in 1817. $2000 were granted to the institution by the incoporating act, and a further sum of $5000, pay- able in equal annual instalments. The name of Bentley hall was given to the building, in commemoration of a mu- nificent bequest, made to the institu- tion by the late Rev. Wm. Bentley, D. D., of Salem, Massachusetts. The library of the college embraces the private library of that gentleman, esti- mated at more than 3000 vols., and a number of English books, presented by Isaiah Thomas, Esq. of' Worces- ter, Mass., to whose liberality the in- stitution is indebted for a pair of fine globes. A noble and splendid addition was made to this valuable collection by the bequest of the late Judge Win- throp, also of Massachusetts, of nearly the whole of his private library, valu- ed, by a low estimate, at $6,500. In rare and valuable works, the library of Judge Winthrop was probably not surpassed, by any one of similar ex. tent in the Union.
In the year 1829, the trustees of the college, deeply impressed with the excellence of the system of education adopted by Capt. Alden Partridge at his academy, at Middletown in Conn., made arrangements with a gentleman from that academy, to establish a similar institution in the college. The 2N
Pennmanship, Arithmetic, Geogra- phy, English Grammar, Composition, Rhetoric, Logic, Metaphysics, Histo. ry, Mathematics, theoretical and prace tical, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Natural and Political Law, Moral Philosophy, Political Economy, Natural Philosophy, Civil Engineer: ing, Topography, Chemistry, Mine- ralogy. These comprise the branches usually included in a full course of collegiate studies, and the cadets who shall have gone through this course, and sustained the requisite examina- tion, will receive a diploma from the college.
As the military organization is the peculiar trait in this system, those in- stitutions in which it has been adopted, are distinguished as military, and an erroneous impression has thus been obtained in regard to their character ; it being supposed that their principal object is the training of youth in the art of war. But such is not the fact ; for, although a knowledge of the means of defending the country in the field as in the cabinet be essential, still the more immediate and principal benefit of this system, is found in the order, discipline, energy and promptitude, which is thus introduced into our semi- naries of learning, together with the manly and noble exercise to which every student is subject, tending to form a sound mind in a sound body.
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