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 62

Author: Gordon, Thomas Francis, 1787-1860. dn
Publication date: 1833
Publisher: Philadelphia : Published by T. Belknap
Number of Pages: 584

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 62

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

treasury in 2831, for tax on writs,

. 198 85

Tavern licenses,

. 511 07

Duties on dealers in foreign merchandize,

. 286 38

Collateral inheritances, 23 16

Tin, and clock pedlars licen-

ses,

. 28 50

$1047 96

STATISTICAL TABLE OF PERRY COUNTY.

Townships &c.

Greatest Ltlı.

Bth.

Area in acres.

Pop. in 1820

1830

Buffalo,

23,680

875

1270

Greenwood,

6 1-4

17,0-10

1660

967

Juniata,

10 1-2 8 1-2

48,660

1748

2201 1104

Rye,

58,880

1704

843

Saville,

8 1-2 7 1-2

38,400

1154

Toboyne,

16 1-9/10 1-2

84,480

1965

1319 2310

Tyrone,

42,880

2236

2758

Wheatfield, in- cluded in one of the prece- ding t-ships.

1485

11,342 14,257

Perryopolis, p-town of Washington t-ship, Fayette co., on the Youghiog- heny r., N. of Washington run, and 14 ins. N. of Uniontown, 209 ms. N. W. of W. C., and 186 S. W. from Harrisburg; contains from 70 to 80 dwellings, 1 church, 2 schools, 3 stores, 2 taverns, and 1 glass manufactory.

Perrysville, p-t., Ross t-ship, Alle- gheny co., near the N. line of the t-ship, about 8 ms. N. of Pittsburg, 230 from W. C., and 208 from Ilar- risburg ; contains 9 or 10 houses, store and tavern.

Perry, p-o., Venango co., 301 ms. N. W. of W. C., and 234 from Har- risburg.

Perry. t-ship, Armstrong co., boun- ded N. by the Allegheny and Clarion rivers, E. by Toby t-ship, S. by Sugar Creek t-ship, and W. by Butler co. Centrally distant from the borough of Kittanning 19 ms. ; greatest length 8, breadth 7 miles. Pop. in 1830, 853 ; taxables, 157. The Allegheny river flows into the co. and t-ship from the N. W. On Bear creek are consider- able beds of iron ore, and a furnace is established on its bank within a mile of the river. Clarion river unites with the Allegheny, about 3 ms. below the N. W. point of the t-ship. The p-town of Lawrenceburg is on the W. side of the Allegheny r., 20 ms. N. W. of Kittanning, and about the same distance from Butler.

Perry, t-ship, Union co., bounded N. by Beaver and Centre t-ships, on the E. by Washington and Chapman t-ships, on the S. and W. by Mifflin co. Centrally distant from New Ber- lin S. 11 ms; greatest length 8 ms., breadth 7; area 32,000 acrs .; surface, mountainous ; soil, loam and gravel. Pop. in 1830, 1050 ; taxables, 200. Mount Pleasant p-o. is in the N. E. part of the t-ship, which is drained by the E. & W. branches of the Mahan- tango creck.

Perry, t-ship, Jefferson co., bounded N. by Rose t-ship, E. by Young, S. by Indiana, and W. by Armstrong counties. Centrally distant S. from Brookville, 16 ms .; greatest length 11, breadth 9 miles; area, 49,280 aeres ; surface, rolling ; soil, gravel & loam. Little Sandy Lick creek flows on the N. boundary, and the Maho- ning creek runs through the S. E. an- gle, Pop. in 1830, about 500; taxa- bles, 86. Punxatawny we believe is the nearest p-o.

Liverpool,

6 1-2 5

17,040

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Petersburg, town of East Hempfield t-ship, Lancaster county, about 5 ms. N. W. of the city of Lancaster.

Petersburg, post-town, Adams co. on the line dividing Huntingdon front Latimore t-ships, and on the turnpike road leading from Carlisle to the Ma- ryland line, 13 miles S. of Carlisle, and about the same distance N. E. of Gettysburg, 77 N. of W. C. and 20 S. W. of Harrisburg, contains 2 stores, 3 taverns, 1 church and 1 academy. Two miles S. of this town is the York sulphur spring.

Petersburg, post-town, Adams co. Germany t-ship, on the turnpike road leading from Gettysburg to the Mary- land line, 10 miles S. E. from the former.

Petersburg, post-town of Rye t-ship, Perry co. on the W. bank of the Sus- quehannah river, above the mouth of Sherman's creek, 8 miles S. E. of Bloomfield, and 15 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, contains from 35 to 40 dwellings, 3 stores, and 1 tavern. There are 1 Presbyterian and 1 Meth- odist church near the town.

Peter's mountain, a high mountain which rises on the E. margin of the Susquehannah river, about 12 miles N. W. of Harrisburg, and extends about 28 miles N. E. across the coun- ty of Dauphin, forming the N. boun- dary of Middle Paxton and Rush t-ships.

Peter's mountain, post-office, Dau- phin county, 125 miles from W. C. and 15 N. of Harrisburg.

Peters, t-ship, Franklin co. bound- ed N. by Metal and St. Thomas' t- s hips, E. by St. Thomas and Antrim t-ships, S. by Montgomery t-ship, and WV. by Bedford co. Centrally distant S. W. from Chambersburg, 12 miles ; greatest length 12, breadth 8 miles ; area, 30,720 acres ; surface, level ; soil, limestone. Pop. in 1830, 2268 ; taxables, 410. It is drained by the West branch of the Conecocheague creek, which runs S. through the mid- dle of the t-ship. The turnpike roads from Chambersburg to Bedford, and from Mercersburg to Bedford, run

through it. On the former, is the post-town of Loudon, near which, on the creek, are some iron works, and near the S. boundary of the t-ship, a noted sulphur spring. A very inter- esting cave has lately been discovered in this t-ship, which, if properly exam- ined and described, might rival in sto- ry the much celebrated one of Antipa- ros.

Petersburg, a post-town of Addison t-ship, Somerset co. on the Cumber- land or national road, 22 miles S. W. of Somerset borough, contains 20 dwellings, 2 taverns, and 2 stores.

Peters, t-ship, Washington county, bounded N. by Allegheny county, S. E. and S. by Nottingham t-ship, S. W. by Strabane, and N. W. by Cecil. Centrally distant N. E. from Wash- ington borough, 11 miles; greatest length 9, breadth 4 miles ; area, 15,- 360 acres ; surface, hilly ; soil, loam. Pop. in 1830, 1196; taxables, 259. It is drained on the W. and N. W. by Chartier's creek, and on the S. E. by Peter's creek, which interlocks with a branch of Little Chartier's creek. The post-town of Findlaysville, is in this t-ship.

Petersburg, post-town of West t- ship, Huntingdon county, on the N. side of the Frankstown branch of the Juniata river, about 6 miles above Huntingdon, at the mouth of Shaver's creek, contains about 30 dwellings, 4 stores, 6 taverns, 2 country schools. Juniata forge, whose iron has contrib- uted essentially to establish the high character of the Juniata iron, is in this town. The town was erected into a borough by act 7th April, 1830.

Pheasant, and Little Pheasant val- leys, Miles t-ship, Centre co. are moun- tain vales, lying between the Nittany hills, in the western part of the t-ship,

Philadelphia county, was one of the 3 counties erected immediately after the establishment of the provincial government, in 1682. It was then limited, as now, on the N. E. by Bucks county, and on the S. E. by Chester, which included the present county of Delaware, but it extended

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indefinitely towards the N. W. Its extension in that quarter was first cur- tailed by the formation of Berks co. on the 11th March, 1752, and subse- quently, of Montgomery, 10th Sept. 1784. It is now bounded on the N. E. by Montgomery and Bucks, on the S. E. by the river Delaware, on the S. W. by Delaware county, and on the N. W. by Montgomery. Its greatest length is 18, breadth 7 miles ; area, 120 square miles, or 77,000 acres. Central lat. 39º 56' 54". Long. 1º 51' E. from W. C.

The whole of the county is of primi- tive geological formation, and its con- stituent rock, gneiss, in great variety of combination, occasionally mingled with small portions of other rocks, as hornblende, serpentine, slate, &c. ; for a minute description of which, and of the interesting minerals found in this vicinity, we refer the reader to the geological survey of Dr. Frost, and to the notices of Messrs. Lea, Say, Van- uxen, &c. An alluvial margin cx- tends along the Delaware river, above and from the Poquessing creek, having an average width of a mile, to the Ta- coney or Frankford creek. The shore is generally gravelly, high and bold, except at the mouths of the crs. and is handsomely adorned by country seats and farm houses, scarce a gun shot distance from each other. The interval, between the mouth of Taco- ney creek and the village of Rich- mond, was originally a marsh, which has been reclaimed by banking, and now affords rich pasture and farm lands, but the buildings of the owners arc remote from the tide. From Richmond, to the navy yard in South- wark, the shore is again bold, but from the navy yard to the embouchure of Darby creck, the S. boundary, and westward to the great Baltimore post- road, the country was a marsh, over which the waters of the Delaware, Schuylkill and Darby creek, commin- gled. It is now, however, well banked, well drained meadow, yielding abun- dant pasturage for thousands of cattle, destined to the Philadelphia market.

The soil of the county varies much in fertility. That which is not alluvi- al, may be generally characterized as a loam, depending generally but not always, upon the character of the rocky base, but more universally up- on the constituents of the sub-soil. It is mixed with sand, gravel and clay, and in places these adjuncts re- spectively predominate. Aggregate- ly, the soil cannot be deemed fertile, and its natural power of production is soon exhausted, but in most places it repays the money and labor expended in manure, which is obtained in abun- dance from the stables, streets and pondrettes of Philadelphia, and from the lime quarries of Montgomery and Chester counties.

The Delaware river washes the east- ern border of the county for about 23 miles, receiving from the N. boundary Poquessing creek, and about 2 miles S. of it the Pennypack creek ; three ms. S. of that, the small stream of Sissi- mocksink ; then Frankford creek, Gunner's Run, between Balltown and Kensington ; Cohocksink cr. through the Northern Liberties ; Hollander's creek S. of the city and N. of Glouces- ter Point, and finally on the S. border Bow creek, an outlet of Darby creek. The Schuylkill river enters the coun- ty at the N. W. angle, and for the distance of 41 miles forms the boun- dary line between Philadelphia and Montgomery counties ; thence by a meandering and southeasterly course of about 11 miles, bounded by steep, rocky and picturesque shores, crowned with country seats and noble farm houses, it flows by the great manu- facturing village of Manyunk, and thence by the city of Philadelphia in- to the river Delaware, about 5 miles, in a direct line below the city. There aro 2 artificial dams across this river which cause beautiful cascades, and add much to the beauty of its scenery, but this effect is merely incidental to the noble and useful purposes for which they were designed. They supply the short canals of the Schuyl- kill navigation company with water, and the first at Fairmount drives the

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simple but effective machinery of the || the superstructure. The masonry is on city water works, whilst the second gives motion to the mills at Manyunk. Over the Schuylkill river within the county there are now 5 bridges ; a floating and drawbridge below the city, the permanent bridge at High street, the Upper bridge, near Fairmount, a very neat and handsome structure resting on stone piers at the Falls, and the Flat Rock bridge, above Many- unk and below the Flat Rock dam. The permanent bridge was the first great structure of the kind, in Ameri- ca. It was built by a company in- corporated in 1798, who commenced it in 1801, and rendered it passable in 1805. The nominal capital of the company was $150,000, but the actual cost' of the work was $300,000. Its length is 550 feet, and that of the abutments and wing walls, 750 feet ; breadth, 42 feet. It consists of three wooden arches, supported by stone piers with two abutments, and wing walls. The westernmost pier is sunk in a depth of water unexampled in hy- draulic architecture, in any part of the world ; the top of the rock on which it stands being 41 feet 9 inches be- low the common tides. The coffer dam for this pier, the plan of which was furnished by Wm. Weston, Esq. of Gainsborough, Eng. had-800,000 feet of timber, (board measure) em- ployed in and about it. With the ex- ception of the assistance rendered at the commencement of the work by Mr. Weston, who was then about to return to England, and of Mr. Palmer, the whole of this great labor was per- formed by the mechanics of Philadel- phia, under the direction of a commit- tee of the board of managers. And it is to be remarked, certainly not with a view of discrediting science, but as exemplifying the benefits of determined resolution and perseverance, that nei- ther the workmen nor directors had any pretension to science in hydraulic architecture, nor had they experience in such labors, with the exception of Mr. Timothy Palmer, of Newbury- port, Mass. who designed and erected

PHI

a plan which, at that time, was uncom- mon, if not new. The walls of the abutments and wings are perpendicu- lar, without buttresses, and supported by interior offsets. These have been found competent to support the press- ure of the filling, without battening or contreforts. The abutments are 18 feet thick. The wing walls 9 feet at the foundation, retiring by offsets, till at the parapets they are only 18 inch- es. The eastern abutment and wing walls are founded on rock, the western are built on piles. In the western pier there are upwards of 7500 tons of ma- sonry. Many of the stones in both piers weigh from 3 to 12 tons. Mas- sive chains are stretched in various po- sitions across the piers, and are worked in with the masonry, the exterior of which is clamped and finished in the most substantial manner.

The wooden superstructure com- bines the principle of ringposts and braces with that of a stone arch. Half of each post, with the brace between them, form the vousseur of an arch, and lines through the middle of each post, would describe the radii or joints. The platform for travelling, rises only 8 feet from a horizontal line, and the top or cap pieces, are parallel to this. The middle section has the most pres- sure, owing to the weight of trans- portation being thrown nearer it, than towards the sides, to which the foot- way prevents its approach. These ways are 5 feet in width, elevated above the carriage ways, and are neatly protected by posts and chains. The span of the small arches is 150 feet, and of the middle arch 194 feet. Height from the surface of the river, 31 feet. It is believed that this bridge in all its parts, will not suffer by com- parison, with one so composed, in any part of the world.

The bridge at Fairmount has one arch only, whose chord is 348 feet 6 inches, exceeding that of any other bridge, of ancient or modern times. The one over the Rhine erected in 1754, by Ulrich Grubenhamn of Teaf.

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fen, at Schaffhausen, in Switzerland, which was 390 feet in span, having been destroyed by the French, in 1799. This was built by Mr. Lewis Wernwagg, a German millright.

Two additional bridges over the Schuylkill, are now being erected ; one by the state at Peter's island, for for the accommodation of the Colum- bia rail road, and the other at Many. unk by an incorporated company.

There is no creek, scarce any rivu- let, crossing a public road in the county, over which there is not a stone bridge erected at the expense of the county, or of some turnpike company. Many of these have cost large sums of mo- ney, but they are too common to just- ify particular description. We may add, however, that authority was giv- en several years ago, for building a bridge over the Delaware, but no ef- fort has yet been made after the failure of the first, to commence this work of doubtful expediency.

All the great roads leading from the city, have been turnpiked, viz. : the road through Frankford and Holmes- burg, to Bristol; the road through Milestown to the Willowgrove, through Sunville and Nicetown to Chestnut bill, and thence by the way of Perkio- men bridge to Reading ; the road by the falls of Schuylkill to Norristown and Reading ; and the road from Phil- adelphia to Lancaster ; to these may be added the Sheet road from Frank- ford through Bustleton to Smithfield, the Manyunk road, and the road lead- ing to Chads ford. All these are paved with broken stone, and make an aggre- gate distance of fifty miles within the county. A company has been incor- porated for making a rail road from the city to Norristown, of which a single tract of 6 miles, to Germantown, has been completed. A company has al- so been incorporated, for making a sim- ilar rail road from the city of Phila- delphia to Morrisville, opposite to the city of Trenton. The Columbia rail road now being made by the state, runs N. W. along the ditch of the old, Union canal, crossing the Schuylkill!

at Peter's island, about 6 miles through the county. The country roads du- ring the summer months are general- ly in good order ; but in the winter season, by reason of the soft nature of the soil, are frequently almost impass- able.

The county includes for county purposes, the city proper with all its suburbs, comprehending the incorpo- rated districts of the Northern Liber. ties, Kensington,Spring Garden, South- wark and Moyamensing. For the space of 2 miles N. of the city and between the two rivers, the extension of the city is almost unbroken. The great turnpike roads for 8 miles further, are the streets of thickly settled villa- ges, parts of which have names, whilst. others are innominate. Adopting the ordinary parlance, we may mention in this part of the county, Frankford, Holmesburg, Bustleton, Smithfield, The Foxchase, Sunville, Nicetown, Millerstown, Germantown, Chestnut hill, Roxborough, Manyunk, &c. &c. as villages of the county. West of the Schuylkill are Mantua, West Phila- delphia and Hamiltonville, Haddington, Powellton, &c. &c.

The whole county including the city, had by the census of 1830, 188,961 inhabitants, which were distributed thus,

White Males. White females. Free color'd males.

City. 33,031

37,619 4025

Dist. 38,047 39,677

2191

Restof) 12,458

12,513 576

the co.)

83,536 89,809

6792

Free col'd females. Male Blaves. Female slaves.

City.

5771 3

Dist.

2476

Restof) 556

the co.

8803

Grand Total, 188,961

In the city and county there were 4179 aliens, and including those in the asylum, there were deaf and dumb un- der 14 years of age, 44

Between 14 and 25 years,

Above 25 years, 14

Total, 124

In the city and county there were 54 blind persons.

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These 188,961 inhabitants are di-by the Evangelical society, in differ- vided into many religious sects, em- bracing almost every species of Chris- tians. We have no means of deter- mining the number of each religious persuasion, save by -the number of

churches belonging to eachi. The Roman Catholics have 6 including their cathedral church, and 1 now being erected at Manyunk. The

Protestant Episcopalians have 9 churches in Philadelphia and the Lib- erties, 1 at Mantua, 1 at Germantown, 1 at Hamiltonville, 1 in Penn t-ship, 1 in Oxford, and 1 in Lower Dublin t-ship. The Presbyterians have 19 churches within the city and Liberties ; 1 at Frankford and 1 at Germantown, 1 Scotch Presbyterian, 1 Covenanter's. The Baptists have 6 houses of wor- ship in the city and Liberties; 3 in Lower Dublin, 1 in Blockley t-ship. The Methodists have 10 in the city and suburbs ; 1 in Germantown, 1 at Holmesburg. The Friends or Qua- kers have 8 meeting houses in the city and Liberties ; I at Germantown, 1 at Frankford, and 1 at Byberry. The Free Quakers have 1 place of wor- ship in the city. The German Lu- therans have 6 places of worship in the city, and 1 at Germantown. The German Reformed have 2 in the city. The Dutch Reformed 3 in the Liber- ties. The Universalists 2 in the city and Liberties. The Swedenborgians have 1 in Southwark. The Swedish Lutheran 1 in Southwark, the oldest place of worship in Philadelphia, and of very peculiar architecture. The Mount Zion Christians have 1 in Moy- amensing. The Menonists have 1 church in the Northern Liberties, and 1 at Germantown. " The Bible Christians" have 1 also in the Liber- ties. The Mariner's church in the city, was established for the instruc- tion of seamen. The Unitarians have 1 church, the Jews 2 synagogues. The African Episcopalians have 1, the Presbyterians 2, Baptists 2, Meth- odists 5 in the city and Liberties. Be- sides the places of worship above cnu- merated, there are 4 buildings erected purtenances occupy the entire square

ent parts of the suburbs, and public worship is holden at the Walnut street prison, at the Arch street prison, at the Alms house, Orphan's asylum, Widow's asyulum, and the Magdalen asylum.

The number of institutions for the promotion of religion and morality in the city and county is very great ; we give here, however, only those which are most prominent. The Philadel- phia Bible society and auxiliaries ; the Episcopal Missionary society; the Evangelical society for promoting Christianity among the poor in the suburbs of Philadelphia ; the Baptist. Missionary society ; the Board of Mis- sions of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church ; the Philadelphia Missionary society, auxiliary to the United Foreign missionary society ; the Young Men's Missionary society ; the Female Missionary society ; the Missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal church ; the Common Prayer Book society ; the Episcopal society for the advancement of Christianity in Pennsylvania ; the Episcopal Female Tract society ; the Religious Tract society ; the Mosheim society ; the Female society for educating the hea- then; the Education society for pro- paring young men for the ministry ; the Philadelphia Auxiliary Coloniza- tion society ; the Pennsylvania Peace society ; Pennsylvania Temperance society ; Young Men's Temperance society ; the Pennsylvania society for the promotion of public schools, the Phila. Auxiliary Soc. for ameliorating the condition of the Jews, &c. &c.

The institutions of an eleemosynary character, are not excelled, perhaps not equalled by those of any city of the same extent in the world. In this particular Philadelphia has admirably illustrated its name. At the head of these praise worthy associations stands the Pennsylvania hospital. It was founded in 1750, chiefly by the exer- tions of Benjamin Franklin and Dr. 'Thomas Bond. The house and its ap-

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of ground between 8th and 9th, Spruceflis a large building in the north west part of the city.

and Pine streets. It consists of a square central building, united by wings, in the form of the letter L, hav- ing 80 feet on the shorter, and 110 ft. on the longer legs. On a line of the eastern wing, and on the north side, is a lock hospital, three stories in height, neatly built and capable of containing fifty patients. The patients of the hos- pital are paupers, and pay patients; the former average about 100, of whom about one third may be insane. The number of maniacs will average about 110, whose treatment is remarkable for its mildness and humanity. In the central building is a very commo. dious lying-in ward for married wo. men. The library contains more than 7000 volumes, many of which are rare and costly. The hospital affords an admirable practical school of medi- cine, and has thereby contributed great- ly to the incsease and reputation of the Philadelphia medical college. The institution is governed by 12 managers, elected annually, who choose eight physicians and surgeons. In case of recent accidents, the patient is admit- ted without preliminary order or ques- tion with regard to remuneration. The funds of the institution arise from the in- terest of its capital stock, say $11,500 Profits on the exhibition of a

painting by Benj. West, rep- resenting Christ healing the siek, (a donation by that cel- ebrated artist,) 500

And from board of pay pa- tients, about 22,000

From students' tickets, and medical fund, and contribu- tions, 3000

37,000

In 1830, there were admitted 1343 patients, of whom 782 were paupers, and 561 pay patients.

The area in front of this building, is adorned by a colossal statue of Wm. Penn, in bronze.

There are three dispensaries, estab- lished for the purpose of rendering gratuitous medical assistance to the poor at their own houses. These are maintained by private contributions and donations from the humane. The Philadelphia or central dispensary, was established in 1786, and is now locat- ed in a neat and commodious building, erected for the purpose, in 1801. It extends relief to more than 4000 pa- tients annually, at the small expense of about $2400. The northern dis- pensary in the Northern Liberties, was established in 1816. It relieves from 7 to 800 patients annually, at an expense little exceeding $400. The southern dispensary, also established in 1816, gives relief to about 1500 pa- tients annually at the cost of about 600 dollars.

For the relief of the poor of the county, there are several institutions, independent of each other. The prin- cipal of these is the incorporation of " the guardians for the relief and em- ployment of the poor of the city of Phil- adelphia, the district of Southwark, and the townships of the Northern Lib- erties and Penn," which possesses an alms house and house of employment. This corporation is under the govern- ment of 12 managers, elected by the several districts.

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Author: Gordon, Thomas Francis, 1787-1860. dn Publication date: 1833 Publisher: Philadelphia : Published by T. Belknap Number of Pages: 584

Author: Gordon, Thomas Francis, 1787-1860. dn
Publication date: 1833
Publisher: Philadelphia : Published by T. Belknap
Number of Pages: 584