A geography of Pennsylvania : containing an account of the history, geographical features, soil, climate, geology, botany, zoology, population, education, government, finances, productions, trade, railroads, canals &c. of the state : with a separate description of each county, and questions for the convenience of teachers : to which is appended, a travellers' guide, or table of distances on the principal rail road, canal and stage routes in the state, Part 14

Author: Trego, Charles B., 1794-1874; Marian S. Carson Collection (Library of Congress) DLC
Publication date: 1843
Publisher: Philadelphia : Edward C. Biddle
Number of Pages: 430


USA > Pennsylvania > A geography of Pennsylvania : containing an account of the history, geographical features, soil, climate, geology, botany, zoology, population, education, government, finances, productions, trade, railroads, canals &c. of the state : with a separate description of each county, and questions for the convenience of teachers : to which is appended, a travellers' guide, or table of distances on the principal rail road, canal and stage routes in the state > Part 14


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The traveller in the older settled parts of Pennsylvania is par- ticularly struck with the neat and substantial appearance of the buildings, fences, &c., as well as the order and convenience of the whole domestic arrangement of a well regulated farm. The pride of a Pennsylvania farmer is his barn, many of which are from 60 10 120 feet in length and substantially built, either wholly of stone, or the lower story of stone and the superstructure of wood, hand- somely painted or white-washed. The interior arrangement of stables, thrashing floor, granaries, places for depositing hay, &c., is admirably convenient and useful. The horses, cattle and other domestic animals are comfortably sheltered during the winter, and like their master and his family, enjoy the plenty provided by good husbandry and provident industry.


Within the last few years considerable attention has been given to improving the stock of domestic animals; a subject which had been too much neglected by our farmers. The horses of Penn- sylvania have generally been bred more with a view to draught than to swiftness, in accordance with the quiet pursuits of their owners, who prefer the sure speed of the plough and the wagon to the exciting and hazardous sport of the race course. Oxen are frequently used for labour, particularly in the newly settled and rougher parts of the country ; and mules are becoming numerous, being preferred to horses for many kinds of employment, particu- larly at the coal mines and iron works.


The breed of milch cattle has been recently much improved by the importation of many noble animals from England, and so manifest is the advantage that it will probably not be many years before the present inferior stock will have disappeared from every good farm in the State. The sheep have been also much im- proved by crossing with the Spanish and English breeds; and even the swine are now ennobled by alliances with European families of their kind. The increased attention bestowed upon the improvement of their stock by many of our most judicious and enterprising farmers will operate as an example to others; and it is to be hoped that many years will not have elapsed before a nobler race of domestic animals will supplant the present inferior breeds.


The number and average value of each description of live stock in Pennsylvania is nearly as follows:


113


PRODUCTIONS.


Horses and Mules


365,129


at $60.00


$21,907,740


Neat Cattle


1,172,665


15.00


17,589,975


Sheep


1,767,620


2.50


4,419,050


Swine


ยท 1,503,964


3.50


5,263,874


Poultry


estimated value


685,801


The following statement of the principal agricultural products of Pennsylvania annually is believed to be considerably below the real amount.


Wheat


13,213,077 bushels.


Hay


1,311,643 tons.


Rye 6,613,873


Flax and Hemp


2,650


Indian corn 14,240,022


66


Hops


49,481 pounds.


Oats


20,641,819


Wax


33,107


Buckwheat


2,113,742 66


Tobacco


325,018


Barley


209,893 66


Silk cocoons


7,262 66


Potatoes


9,535,663


Sugar


2,265,755


Wool


3,048,564 pounds.


Wine


14,328 gallons.


Value of products of the dairy, $3,187,292.


Value of products of orchards and gardens, $901,218.


II. Productions of Manufactures.


The productions of the manufacturing industry of Pennsylvania are so various, and so little authentic statistical information has been collected respecting them, that we shall only be able to give a general and imperfect sketch of this division of our subject. The account of such branches of manufactures as were embraced in the late census appears in many cases to be imperfect, and manu- factured articles to a considerable amount, as well as home made family goods and other productions in the minor departments of domestic industry, are believed to be not fully contained in the re- turns of the marshals.


Iron .- The production and manufacture of iron, the great staple of Pennsylvania, ranks first in importance; the ore being the pro- duct of our own soil and wrought into value by the laborious in- dustry of our own people. Whatever of this material is manu- factured in the State is so much additional wealth gained; and almost every department of manufacturing industry is in some measure dependent upon this indispensable article. Not a furrow can be turned by the ploughman without the aid of iron; every house erected, every mechanical trade carried on, every canal or rail road constructed, every ship built, every implement of national defence used, must be by the employment of iron. The support of the people employed in this branch of manufactures, with their families, and of the horses and mules used about the iron works, consumes a large amount of agricultural produce and affords a market for the farmers in their neighbourhood, thus encouraging this branch of industry as well as many mechanical employments.


The counties most noted for the production of iron are North- ampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Huntingdon, Centre, Columbia, Armstrong, Venango, and Clarion. In several other counties considerable quantities of iron are produced from furnaces and forges; rolling mills, nail


10*


114


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


works, foundries and other manufactories in which iron is the principal material are also numerous in many parts of the State.


Pennsylvania has 213 furnaces for the manufacture of pig iron and castings, which according to the census returns of 1840, pro- duce annually about 100,000 tons. There are also 169 forges, bloomeries and rolling mills, manufacturing annually 87,244 tons of bar, rod, sheet and boiler iron and nail plates. The capital in- vested in our iron works is nearly $8,000,000, and the men em- ployed about 12,000, who with their families may be estimated at nearly 100,000 persons deriving subsistence from this branch of our manufactures.


Flour, Grist, Saw, and Oil mills .- The number of flour mills in the State is 736, manufacturing 1,193,405 barrels of flour annually : grist mills 2,554; saw-mills 5,389; oil mills 166: the total value of these branches of manufactures is $9,424,955. They give em- ployment to about 8,000 men, and nearly $8,000,000 of capital.


Cotton goods .- The number of cotton factories is 105, containing 146,494 spindles; the establishments for dyeing and printing cot- tons are 40 : value of manufactured articles, upwards of $5,000,000: persons employed 5,522; capital invested $3,325,400.


Woollens .- Of woollen manufactories we have 235, together with 346 fulling mills, which produce annually woollen goods to the amount of $2,319,061, and afford employment to about 3,000 per- sons. The amount of capital invested in this branch of manufac- tures is upwards of $1,500,000.


Silk .- The quantity of reeled and other silk made in the State annually is about 2,350 pounds, valued at $14,644.


Flax .- Though the manufactures of family goods from this article have much diminished since the general introduction of cot- ton fabrics, it yet seems evident that the valuation of $75,672 given to them by the census returns is considerably below the real amount.


Mixed goods .- The value of mixed manufactures is $1,098,810; persons employed about 4000; capital invested $287,859.


Home made family goods .- Value $1,303,093.


Leather .- The number of tanning establishments is 1,170, which produce annually 415,665 sides of sole, and 405,993 sides of upper leather; employing 3,445 men and $2,783,636 of capital invested. Of other manufactories of leather, saddleries, &c., there are 2,223, manufacturing articles amounting in value to $3,482,793 annually.


Hats, caps, bonnets, &c .- This branch of industry employs 1,470 persons, who produce hats and caps to the amount of $820,331 ; straw bonnets valued at $80,512; capital invested $449,407.


Tobacco is manufactured to the value of $550,159, employing 950 persons.


Soap and Candles .- The quantity of soap made is 5,097,690 pounds; of tallow candles 2,316,843 pounds; of spermaceti and wax candles about 5,000 pounds ; but a very large amount of soap and candles is made in families, which is not contained in this estimate.


115


PRODUCTIONS.


Distilled and fermented liquors .- Although the number of distil- leries has much diminished within the last few years, we yet have 1,010 remaining, which produce 6,240,193 gallons of spiritu- ous liquors annually. The number of breweries is 82, making 12,765,974 gallons of fermented liquor. These branches of busi- ness employ 1,607 men, and a capital of $1,589,471.


Drugs, medicines, paints, &c .- The various manufactures of drugs, medicines, paints, and dyes, are valued at $2,100,074; of turpentine and varnish at $7,865, employing 519 men, and requir- ing a capital of $2,179,625.


Glass, earthenware, &c .- For the manufacture of glass we have 28 glass houses, and 15 establishments for cutting glass, which employ 835 men and produce articles to the value of $772,400. The number of potteries is 182, and the value of their productions is $157,902.


Sugar, chocolate, confectionery, &c .- The number of sugar re- fineries is 20, and the value of their products $891,200; value of chocolate manufactured $14,000; of confectionery made $227,050.


Paper .- Of paper manufactories there are 87, which produce this article to the amount of $792,335 : value of all other manu- factures of paper, cards, &c., $95,500. The amount of capital in- vested in this business is $581,800, and the men employed about 800.


Printing and book-binding .- The number of printing offices is 224, and of establishments for book-binding 46. Of the newspapers published in the State, 18 are daily, 165 weekly, 10 semi and tri- weekly ; and 42 periodical publications. Men employed 1,709; capital invested $681,740.


Musical instruments are manufactured to the amount of $33,728.


Carriages and wagons .- This branch of domestic industry em- ploys 2,783 men, who manufacture articles valued at $1,207,252.


Ships and cordage .- The value of ships and vessels built is esti- mated at $668,015: the number of rope walks is 39, in which 272 men are employed, and the value produced is $274,120.


Powder .- The number of powder mills is 30, and the quantity of gunpowder manufactured is 1,184,225 pounds.


Machinery .- In this flourishing and rapidly increasing branch of manufactures, the annual value of the articles produced already amounts to about $2,000,000, employing 1,973 workmen.


Hardware, cutlery, &.c .- Value of articles manufactered $786,982; men employed 770.


Cannon and small arms .- Number of cannon cast 5; number of small arms made 21,571.


Precious metals .- The value of articles manufactured from the precious metals is estimated at $2,679,075 ; and from various other metals $1,260,170; workmen employed in these branches about 900.


Furniture .- Value manufactured $1,155,692; men employed 2,373 ; capital invested $716,707.


Salt .- Bushels produced 549,478; men employed 265; capital invested $191,435.


116


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


Bricks and lime .- The value of these articles produced is estimated at $1,733,590; but probably greatly exceeds that amount, as large quantities of lime are burned by the farmers of which no account was taken. Men employed 3,888.


Stone, marble, &c .- Value manufactured $443,610; men em- ployed 536.


Houses .- The number of brick and stone houses annually built is estimated at about 2,000; of wooden houses 2,428; men em- ployed in building 9,974; value of constructing $5,354,480.


Other manufactures .- Of manufactures not enumerated in the foregoing list, the estimated value in the census returns is $3,204,403; capital invested $2,083,398.


The total amount of capital invested in manufactures in Penn- sylvania is returned at $31,815,105.


III. Productions of the Mine.


In mineral wealth Pennsylvania stands pre-eminent and unri- valled among her sister States. The incalculable amount, the extensive variety and the superior quality of the coal, iron ore, and limestone found within our borders, constitute an inexhaustible source of wealth and prosperity to the people of this State ; form- ing, as they are developed and brought into productive usefulness, a sure basis and permanent supply for the employment of industry in the manufacturing, commercial and agricultural interests of the Commonwealth.


It is, perhaps, fortunate for Pennsylvania, that no available mines of the precious metals have as yet been discovered in the State. If we are to judge from the past history and present condi- tion of those countries which have been most productive in gold and silver, we must conclude that the wealth produced by an abundant supply of these metals is by no means favourable to na- tional prosperity. The true source of national wealth consists in the active industry of the great mass of the people; not in the creation of enormous fortunes for a few individuals from their mines, by the mere labour of digging and refining. A pound of gold or silver, as produced from the ore, has nearly its maximum value with but little labour, and consequently yields employment to but a few persons; while a pound of iron, in its various changes from the ore through the furnace, bloomery, forge, rolling-mill, steel manufactory, and then into fine cutlery, watch springs, and the thousand other delicate and useful articles made from it, em- ploys hundreds of men, and is increased by their labour in value almost equal to its weight in gold. It thus furnishes innumerable workmen with employment, and yields food and clothing for themselves and their families; while the pound of gold or silver, after being dug by the miner and separated from the ore, passes into the coffers of the proprietor of the mine, and adds nothing more to the productive industry of the country.


Spain and Portugal afford instructive examples of the effect of an abundant supply of the precious metals. The Mexican and South American possessions of these nations yielded them gold,


117


PRODUCTIONS.


silver and diamonds, which increased their wealth without a cor- responding increase of national industry. Luxury, extravagance, pride and idleness followed as the invariable consequences of sudden affluence. Enterprise languished, agriculture and manu- factures were neglected, their wealth was squandered in luxurious ostentation and idle show, while the mass of the people, on the decline of national energy, sank into idleness, apathy and poverty.


As an example of the effect of an abundant supply of coal and iron in promoting national wealth and power, let us turn to Great Britain. Coal is the food and iron is the muscle of her vast manu- facturing industry. Her coal supplies the fires of thousands of steam-engines, which spin, weave, grind, hammer, blow, pump, lift, travel the railroads and navigate the rivers and seas; it sup- plies also the necessary fuel for her countless furnaces, rolling- mills, forges, smitheries, and other operations in iron and steel, as well as the fires of her vast workshops in other branches of arts and manufactures. Her iron supplies not only the material for her own enormous consumption in rail roads, architecture, ma- chinery, ship building, agricultural implements, tools, cutlery, &c., but affords a surplus which in various stages of preparation or finished manufacture is exported to other countries. It will thus be seen that these two mineral productions of Great Britain afford, in all the industrial operations of manufactures and trade dependent upon them, employment and support for millions of her popula- tion; and how greatly the productive industry thus called into action by these two important staple productions has added to the wealth, power and prosperity of this great nation.


In order to produce a like effect from the coal and iron of Penn- sylvania, nothing is requisite but a proper encouragement of our own manufactures, the judicious employment of the needful capi- tal, and a perseverance in domestic industry. Several varieties of our iron ore are greatly superior in quality to much of that which is generally worked in Great Britain; our coal is fully as good as hers, and of inexhaustible extent. Our territory is nearly as large as that of England alone, and our capacities of agriculture and manufactures, with proper encouragement and attention, would not be found inferior. Pennsylvania has less than two millions of inhabitants, while England supports thirteen millions ; the extent and variety of her manufactures not only sustaining her redundant population, but at the same time affording a market for her agri- cultural productions.


In the present infant state of the mining operations and coal trade of Pennsylvania, it is hardly possible to predict, or even to imagine what may be its future extent and importance. Coal is becoming the general fuel in our Atlantic cities, and many of the large towns and villages, not only for household use, but for steam engines, manufactories and various other purposes, and will finally become the common fuel for most operations in which artificial heat is required.


Anthracite coal. The anthracite of Pennsylvania may be con- sidered as existing in three separate coal fields, having the same


118


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


geological character, and being separated from each other by anti- clinal axes or lines of elevation which bring up between them the rocks below the coal. Some of these fields are in like manner divided into a series of minor basins, by a similar, though not so extensive an elevation of the lower rocks. The coal basins have been already described as long canoe-shaped troughs, containing the beds of coal interstratified with slates, shales and sandstones of various thickness, which generally dip in a direction towards the middle of the basins, and are found with almost every degree of inclination from nearly horizontal to perpendicular.


The beds of coal vary in thickness from one to twenty or thirty feet; some have been found measuring fifty or sixty. They are exposed above the water level in innumerable places by deep ravines, abrupt precipices, and the channels of streams in their passage between the hills. Beds from five to ten or twelve feet thick are generally preferred for working, as they can be more readily and profitably mined than those of greater thickness. In beds of this size the roof can be supported by props and all the coal taken out, while those of twenty or thirty feet must be worked in chambers, and large pillars of coal left to support the roof or superincumbent mass.


The usual mode of mining is by running a tunnel or drift into the hill, above the water level, either upon the coal bed or until it is reached. This drift is of sufficient size to admit the passage of rail road cars, and at the same time serves as a drain for the water of the mine. The breast of coal lying above this drift is then pursued by the miners to the summit or out crop, working out the coal as they proceed, and throwing it behind them or sliding it down to the drift, where it is loaded upon cars and drawn to the mouth of the mine, from which it is conveyed to the landings where the canal boats are loaded. Several beds of coal are fre- quently found in the same hill, sometimes separated but by a few feet of slate or sandstone; others are several hundred feet apart. When that portion of the bed which lies above the drift has been exhausted, the process of working below water level must be commenced, and steam engines employed to raise the coal and water from the mine. The extent of the beds in their downward slope has not been ascertained, and ages will probably elapse be- fore the workings will have reached a depth sufficient to determine this question.


The southern coal field may be considered as divided into four mining districts: the Lehigh, the Schuylkill, the Swatara, and the Susquehanna, which are separated from each other by the summits that divide the waters of these several streams.


The Lehigh district is at the eastern extremity of this coal field, immediately north of the Sharp mountain, and is owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The summit mines are on the top of a high ridge, about nine miles from the river at the Mauch Chunk landing. Here is an immense mass of coal, about sixty feet thick, lying in nearly a horizontal position, which ap- pears to be composed by the union of several coal strata, with


119


PRODUCTIONS.


small intervening bands of slate. At this place mining operations have been extensively carried on for several years. The coal is uncovered by removing the superincumbent mass of earth and loose stones, which is from ten to twenty feet thick, and is then quarried out by the light of day ; while in most other mines tunnels are worked under ground into the hills, and the miner pursues his labour lighted by a solitary lamp, which glimmers but feebly in the profound and murky darkness of these subterranean exca- vations.


At Rhume Run, north of the summit mines, a number of beds of coal have been opened, from five to nearly thirty feet thick, making a total thickness of more than one hundred feet of coal. Rail roads are laid from these and from the summit mines to the river near Mauch Chunk, and the coal is sent down the company's naviga- tion to the Delaware canal at Easton, whence it finds its way to market at Philadelphia, New York, and other places.


The Schuylkill district is extensive, and comprises that portion of the southern coal field which lies on the various branches of the Schuylkill, between the waters of the Lehigh and Swatara. It in- cludes the Tamaqua, Little Schuylkill, Pottsville, Mine Hill, and other local subdivisions, all of which send their coal on the various rail roads and branches that extend in different directions from the mines to the river, where they communicate with the Schuylkill navigation, or with the Philadelphia, Reading and Pottsville rail road. In this district are a few companies which have mining privileges ; but most of the operations are conducted by individual enterprise, for which the field is fairly open. Many beds are ex- tensively worked, yielding coal of different qualities; some being hard, compact, and leaving white ashes after combustion; another variety softer, igniting and burning more freely, which leaves red ashes; and some intermediate kinds commonly called gray ash coal.


The Swatara district lies on the waters of that stream, west of the Schuylkill, and the coal mined here is sent from the neighbour- hood of Pine Grove down the improvements of the Union Canal Company to the Susquehanna canal at Middletown, or eastward towards the Schuylkill. The coal produced in this district is gene- rally less compact, lighter, softer, and burns more freely than that from the same field farther eastward. The Sharp, Red, Coal, Lit- tle Lick, and Big Lick mountains contain beds from three to thirty feet in thickness, and being broken by the passage of many streams through them, afford great facilities for mining operations.


The Susquehanna district includes the two points or western terminations of the southern coal field, which branches out towards the Susquehanna into two divisions. The southern of these, commonly called the Stony creek coal region, has been suf- ficiently examined to ascertain the existence of valuable beds of coal, some of which appears to possess a semi-bituminous cha- racter ; but from the want of facilities for transportation to the river, no mining operations of consequence have been undertaken in this region. The northern division, lying between Williams'


120


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


and Lykens' valleys, commonly called the Bear Valley coal region, communicates with the river Susquehanna by a rail road from Bear Gap to Millersburg. The mines of the Lykens' valley com- pany at Bear Gap have been worked for several years, and produce a soft, free-burning coal of good quality. Numerous beds of coal exist here, and but a few of them have yet been opened. At Klin- ger's Gap, on the north side of Bear Valley, many fine beds are exposed, several of which have been opened and preparations made for working them as soon as a means of conveyance to the river shall be afforded.


The middle coal field, which is composed of several minor basins, lies north of the Broad mountain, and includes the Beaver meadow and Hazelton mining district at its eastern end, the Mahanoy near the middle, and the Shamokin towards its western extremity. The coal of this region differs but little from that of the southern coal field either in character or quality; some of the beds producing white and others red ashes. The same change is noticed in the character of coal as we proceed westward, which has been men- tioned as occurring in the southern field. Thus at Hazelton and Beaver meadow we have a hard, shining, compact coal, of con- choidal fracture, consuming slowly and yielding an intense heat ; while at Shamokin we find it more brittle, lighter, less compact and of much more ready combustion. Except at the points men- tioned, but little has yet been done towards developing the im- mense coal deposits of this field ; and it can only be when the ex- tension of rail roads into the various portions of this wild and mountainous region shall afford the means of conveying its hidden treasures to a market, that they will become fully known and ap- preciated.




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