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 33
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In a new and thinly settled country, the opportunities for popu- lar education must necessarily be much restricted. The distance which children must travel to reach a school, and the difficulty of collecting a sufficient number to warrant the employment of a teacher, have an unfavourable effect on the progress of general education and intelligence among the youth of our forest counties. Jefferson contains 14 districts, all of which have accepted the pro- visions of the law regulating the common school system, and 49 schools are reported as being established. The average period of instruction is about 33 months in the year.
The inhabitants are mostly settlers from other parts of Pennsyl- vania, with a few Germans and other emigrants from Europe.
How is Jefferson bounded ? Describe the face of the country and soil ? What valuable minerals are found ? What is said of the forests, the staple productions, and of agricultural improvement ? Mention the principal streams. What is the name and situation of the county town ? What other places are mentioned ? What is said of the opportunities for education, and of the schools ? By whom is the county chiefly settled ?
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JUNIATA COUNTY.
30. JUNIATA COUNTY.
Juniata county has Union on the north ; the river Susquehanna for a short distance on the east ; Perry county on the south-east ; Huntingdon on the south-west; and Mifflin on the north-west. Population 11,080.
The Tuscarora mountain forms most of the south-eastern boundary, dividing Juniata from Perry; and on the north-west the Shade and Black-log mountains separate it from Mifflin.
For variety and beauty of scenery, few parts of the State can be compared with the banks of the Juniata. The river frequently winds among deep and narrow gorges in the mountains, whose rocky precipices rise abruptly from the shore, with their pine-clad summits towering high above the placid stream, forming singu- larly picturesque views of wild and savage grandeur: and then, leaving this scene of romantic wildness, it passes through a rich and cultivated valley, whose luxuriant fields, green meadows and well-built farm houses give evidence of an industrious and thrifty population. Busy towns and thriving villages occasionally give life and animation to the scene; but in a few minutes the traveller again finds himself in some rude mountain pass, where all traces of cultivation disappear, and he sees around him nothing but the primitive solitude and desolation of nature, and hears no sound but the roar of the mountain torrent leaping from rock to rock, or madly dashing over some lofty precipice in sheets of white and feathery foam.
Rocks on the Juniata.
A series of nearly parallel belts of various rock formations range across this county from north-east to south-west, following the direction of the
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
mountain ridges, and being brought successively to the surface by undula- tions or lines of elevation and depression. The variegated and red shale (V,) overlying the mountain sandstone, appears along the north-west side of Tuscarora mountain, and again on the Juniata above Mexico, having be- tween these points a belt of the overlying fossiliferous limestone (VI) and sandstone (VII,) as seen between Thompsontown and Mexico, on the turn- pike. A similar belt of this limestone, with the sandstone accompanying, appears at Mifflintown, above which place we find the red and variegated shale formation extending to the foot of Shade mountain. In the valley of Tuscarora creek, a few miles south-west of the Juniata, the fossiliferous sandstone divides into two branches, having between them the overlying olive slate (VIII,) which still further up the valley is itself overlaid by the red shales and sandstones (IX) next in the series.
Much of the soil is productive, and agriculture is the chief occu- pation of the inhabitants. Wheat and flour are the staple produc- tions. There are about 30 flour and grist mills, 3 woollen factories, and some extensive tanneries.
Mifflintown on the Juniata.
The Juniata river passes through the middle part of this county, which is also well watered by numerous smaller streams. Tusca- rora creek runs north-eastward and falls into the Juniata below Mifflintown, being joined by Licking creek. Lost creek empties on the north side of the river above Mifflintown, and Cocalamus is in the north-east, flowing into Perry county.
Mifflintown is the seat of justice, situated on the north side of the Juniata, and having a population of about 450. It has the usual county buildings; two churches, one Presbyterian and the other Lutheran; and about 100 dwellings. Mexico and Thompson- town are on the same side of the Juniata, below Mifflintown. Wa- terford is in Tuscarora valley, in the southern part of the county.
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LANCASTER COUNTY.
The Juniata division of the Pennsylvania canal, and the north- ern turnpike from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, both extend through this county along the Juniata river, passing through the principal towns, and affording easy means of transportation for the surplus produce of the county, as well as for the reception of merchandise from the commercial cities.
According to the assessment of 1842, the value of property sub- ject to county taxation was $2,779,121 : county tax $2,779: State tax $3,022.
The school districts are 9 in number, all of which have accepted the law. The number of schools established is 62, which are open for the instruction of scholars nearly 5 months in the year. Tuscarora academy has about 40 pupils.
The inhabitants are mostly of Irish and German origin. Of the religious persuasions the Presbyterians are believed to be the most numerous.
How is Juniata county bounded ? What are the principal mountains ? Mention the various rock formations. What is said of the soil and produc- tions ? Describe the principal streams. What is the county town and how situated ? Name the other towns and their situation. What canal and turn- pike pass through the county ? What is said of the schools ? Of the origin of the inhabitants, and the religious persuasions ?
31. LANCASTER COUNTY.
Lancaster county is bounded on the north by Dauphin and Le- banon; on the north-east by Berks; on the east by Chester; on the south by Cecil county in the state of Maryland; and on the south- west by the Susquehanna river, which divides it from York county. It is about 38 miles in length and 30 in breadth ; con- taining an area of upwards of 1100 square miles. Its population by the last census was 84,203, of whom 3,103 were coloured persons.
A large portion of Lancaster consists of a broad and fertile val- ley, having on the north a range of hills extending from the Cone- wago hills, eastward to the Welsh mountain ; and on the south, those which range from Mine ridge westward to the Susquehanna. The valley thus formed is diversified and undulating on its sur- face ; but only sufficiently so to render it the more desirable for agricultural purposes. It is chiefly occupied by a broad belt of limestone, and the soil is rich, loamy, and exceedingly fertile. It is one of the finest agricultural regions in the State, and has been justly called " the garden of Pennsylvania."
This county contains several geological formations. The principal rock in the southern part of the county is talc slate, containing a few occasional beds of mica slate, with some serpentine, and much injected white quartz. The soil of this region is naturally thin and unproductive ; but, notwith- standing this defect of quality, much of it has been greatly improved by the liberal use of lime as a manure, which is brought with considerable labour and expense from the limestone valley on the north.
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
The limestone (II) of the valley is overlapped on the north by a belt of the middle secondary red shale and sandstone, the southern margin of which passes near Churchtown, Ephrata, Litiz and Manheim, reaching the Susquehanna at the village of Bainbridge. In the lower portion of this formation, near the last mentioned place, is a bed of the " calcareous con- glomerate," a rock containing imbedded pebbles of variously coloured limestone, which yields a variegated marble susceptible of a high polish, and which might be applied to various ornamental purposes. A similar rock is also frequently found on the upper, or northern side of this red shale formation.
The high bold ridge which is seen in such picturesque beauty on the Susquehanna above Columbia, is of white sandstone (I,) belonging to the next geological formation below the limestone. This ridge extends east- ward for several miles, gradually diminishing in height, until it finally sinks below the limestone of the valley. The same sandstone appears in the Welsh mountain in the eastern part of the county, and also in some smaller ridges in other places, where it has been protruded through the limestone.
Extensive ranges of trap rock are found in the Conewago hills, and along the northern border of the county ; some ridges and dikes of the same formation also occur in other places.
On Chestnut hill, about four miles from Columbia, is a very extensive and rich deposit of iron ore, from which immense quantities are taken for the supply of furnaces in this and the neighbouring counties. It is of the variety termed brown argillaceous ore, and is similar to that which is usually found on the borders of most of the great limestone valleys in the State.
Good roofing slate is quarried on both sides of the Susquehanna near Peach Bottom ferry ; and in the serpentine associated with the primary rocks in the southern part of the county, chrome ore and the silicate of mag- nesia are found in considerable abundance. From the last named mineral, large quantities of Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia) are manufactured in Baltimore.
The principal streams in this county are the Conestoga, Octo- rara, Pequea, Chicquesalunga, Conoy and Conewaga, with their tributary branches, which flowing generally in a south-westerly course, and watering the whole county in every direction, dis- charge themselves into the Susquehanna river. In the limestone region of this county, as in similar formations elsewhere, many of the smaller streams, after flowing some distance, suddenly dis- appear, and then running sometimes several miles under ground, reappear again on the surface with increased strength.
The streams above enumerated, together with their branches, afford numerous seats for mills and manufactories. There are within the limits of the county 263 grist and merchant mills, 106 saw mills, a number of oil, clover and hemp mills; fulling and carding mills ; 5 rolling mills, 7 furnaces, 13 forges, 3 foundries, 3 tilt hammers, 3 sickle factories, 3 paper mills, 10 woollen facto- ries, one cotton factory, and one card machine factory. Besides those which are driven by water power, there are three foundries in the city of Lancaster and one in Columbia, driven by steam, thus making the whole number of foundries seven.
The city of Lancaster is pleasantly situated, nearly in the centre of the county, about one mile west of the Conestoga creek. This city was first laid out in the year 1730, by Andrew Hamilton, the proprietary, under a deed or grant from the heirs of William Penn,
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LANCASTER COUNTY.
at which time it became the seat of justice for the county and has remained so ever since. It was originally incorporated as a bo- rough in 1742, and in 1777 the ancient corporation was re-esta- blished by a special act of the general assembly. In 1818 it was erected into a city under the government of a mayor, recorder, nine aldermen and a select and common council, the former con- sisting of nine and the latter of fifteen members. It contains about 1,500 houses, which are mostly built of brick, and has a popula- tion, according to the last census, of 8,417 inhabitants. The streets are wide and cross each other at right angles, giving to the city an appearance of neatness, elegance and convenience.
Situated in the midst of a rich and populous country, immedi- ately on the Philadelphia and Columbia rail road, communicating with Philadelphia and with the Susquehanna river ; with the city of Baltimore, by means of the Baltimore and Susquehanna rail road, and with the Chesapeake bay by means of the Conestoga slack-water and the Susquehanna and Tide-water canal, which thus afford an uninterrupted water communication with Baltimore and Philadelphia-it has consequently become a place of considerable trade and importance. It has manufactories of rifles, hats, combs, &c., an extensive cooking stove foundry, several other foundries and steam engine manufactories, coach and car factories, several large tanyards, breweries and distilleries, together with establish- ments for the manufacture of thrashing machines, ploughs and other useful articles.
The public buildings are a court house, erected in a square near the centre of the city, from which the four principal streets diverge in opposite directions ; a market house, and a large building for the accommodation of the county offices, all of brick ; and a strong, though antiquated and inconvenient stone jail, which it is pro- bable will be soon supplied by a new and more convenient one, as efforts are now being made on the part of some philanthropic citizens to effect this desirable object. It has two banks, incorpo- rated in the year 1814, with a capital of $1,200,000, and another incorporated in 1841, with a capital of $200,000. There is also a branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania at this place.
There are thirteen places of public worship in the city, viz .: one Presbyterian, one Episcopalian, one Methodist, two Lutheran, one German Reformed, one Moravian, one church of God, (a peculiar sect of Baptists,) one Roman Catholic, one New Jerusalem temple, or Swedenborgians, one Friends' meeting house, (but the members of that society having generally left the place, their meetings have been discontinued for several years,) and two coloured or African churches.
There is also a theatre, and a fine hall erected by the enterprise of the mechanics of the place, called "the Mechanics' Institute," and reflecting great credit upon their spirit and liberality, in which, during the winter season, lectures are maintained for the benefit of the institute. There is an excellent classical and mathematical academy in this city, established by legislative bounty and fostered by the funds of the old Franklin college, under a recent act of as-
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
sembly. The common school system is in full and successful operation : the schools are kept open eleven months in the year, and facilities are afforded for educating all the youth of the city.
According to the assessment for 1842, the valuation of real es- tate within the city was $2,411,990. The State tax on this was $2,411.99. The personal State tax for the same year was $2,728.55, making a total paid to the State of $5,140.54.
The original settlers of this city were English Friends and Epis- copalians : but after the lapse of a few years it became the point of attraction to German immigrants, from whom the greater por- tion of the present innabitants are descended. Lancaster was for- merly the seat of the State government, but in the year 1812 the general assembly passed an act for its removal to Harrisburg.
Columbia is situated on the Susquehanna, about ten miles west- ward from Lancaster, and is built upon the high sloping bank of the river. From its commanding position at the termination of the eastern division of the Pennsylvania canal, and the western termination of the Philadelphia rail road-having communication with Philadelphia and Baltimore by means of rail roads, with the interior of Pennsylvania by means of canals, and with the Chesa- peake bay by means of the tide water canal-it has become a place of considerable business. It is the principal depot for the lumber trade of the Susquehanna, and for much of the coal sent from the mines on its tributary streams.
This town was originally laid out by Samuel Wright, in the year 1788, and was incorporated into a borough in 1814. It con- tains about 400 dwelling houses, a bank, a town hall, and seven places of public worship, viz. Friends, Presbyterians, Methodists, Roman Catholics, German Lutherans, each one,-and two Afri- can meeting houses. It has a good brick market house, and an academy also of brick. Columbia is an accepting district under the common school law, and the schools established are well con- ducted by competent teachers.
There is a noble bridge, a mile and a quarter in length, across the Susquehanna at this town, which was built in 1832-3. The one formerly erected here in 1813 -- 14 was swept away in the spring of 1832 by an extraordinary ice freshet in the river. A rail road track is laid on this bridge, connecting the Philadelphia and Columbia with the Baltimore and Susquehanna rail road. The Susquehanna and Tide-water canal commences opposite to this place, being connected with the Pennsylvania canal by means of a dam thrown across the river a short distance below the town. The population of Columbia, according to the last census was 2,719. The original settlers of the town were Quakers or Friends.
Marietta is built on a beautiful piece of sloping ground, on the east side of the Susquehanna, about 3 miles above Columbia, and one mile above the mouth of Chicquesalunga creek. A considera- ble trade in lumber is carried on here ; but the town does not seem to be in a very thriving condition, though the Pennsylvania canal passes through it, and a good turnpike connects it with Lancaster, Columbia and Harrisburg. It was incorporated into a borough in
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LANCASTER COUNTY.
1812. It contains a town hall, a market house, an academy, and three places of public worship. Population 1,428.
Susquehanna river below Marietta, from S. S. Haldeman's spring house.
Elizabethtown, is near the mouth of the Conewaga creek, about 18 miles north-west from the city of Lancaster, on the turnpike leading to Harrisburg, and near the Harrisburg and Lancaster rail road. It was made a borough in 1827, and contains a brick mar- ket house, a town hall, and four churches. Population about I500. The first settlers were Germans, and their descendants still inhabit the town.
Manheim, is an ancient and pleasant town, situate on the west side of Chicquesalunga creek, about eleven miles north-west from the city of Lancaster. It was originally laid out in 1762, by a German of considerable wealth, named Henry William Steigle, who erected several furnaces in the neighbourhood, an extensive glass manufactory, and a splendid mansion for his own residence, where he resided in a kind of feudal magnificence until his death. The glass factory has long since gone to decay. The town is in the midst of a fertile country, but has no manufactories. It has four places of worship, and a population of about 400.
Washington, is on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna, about three miles below Columbia. It has little trade except in lumber and coal for the supply of the neighbourhood : there are two places of public worship, and about 300 inhabitants. On the high- est point of land in the town is an ancient Indian burial place, which is still religiously preserved by the inhabitants from dese- cration ; and in digging cellars, &c., in the town, it is not uncom-
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
mon to come upon an Indian grave, with earthern vessels, pipes and other rude articles deposited therein.
Strasburg, is situated in a rich and highly cultivated valley, about 8 miles south-east from the city of Lancaster. It was origin- ally called Bettelhausen by the Germans. This is one of the old- est settlements in the county, being on what is called " the king's old highway," a road leading at a very early day, and before the organization of Lancaster county, from Philadelphia to Conestoga at Postlethwaite's, the scene of most of the earlier treaties between the colonial governors and the aborigines. Strasburg is a pleasant place, though not remarkable for business. The inhabitants are generally well educated and intelligent. The town supports an excellent classical academy, and the common schools are well sus- tained. There are three places of public worship, for Presbyte- rians, German Lutherans, and Methodists. Population about 900. It was incorporated as a borough in 1816.
In addition to the towns already mentioned, the county contains many villages of considerable wealth and importance, inhabited by an industrious and thriving population. Among the most pro- minent of these villages are Mountjoy, Maytown, Litiz, Reams- toum, Churchtown, New Holland, Ephrata, and Williamstown.
The agricultural products are chiefly wheat, rye, barley, oats, indian corn, potatoes, grass, live stock, &c. Great quantities of flour are manufactured, and whisky was formerly a considerable article of produce ; but since the general prevalence of temperance the number of distilleries has greatly diminished.
The surplus produce is sent to the markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore, to which there is convenient access by rail roads and canals.
This county is well supplied with many varieties of excellent timber : oak, chestnut, hickory, walnut, and ash are the most abundant. The timber finds a ready market at home, for the sup- ply of the furnaces, forges, &c., and for domestic consumption.
Besides the flour, saw, oil, fulling and other mills already enu- merated, together with the furnaces, forges, &c., the county, in- cluding the city of Lancaster, contains 58 tanneries, 10 breweries, and 117 distilleries. Of the distilleries, however, perhaps not more than 15 are now continued in use: of the 28 in the city of Lan- caster, but two are now in actual operation, and they only upon a very limited scale.
The valuation of real and personal estate in the city and county of Lancaster, subject to taxation by the county, in 1842, was $33,907,409 : county tax $53,132: State tax $46,615.
Lancaster county is favourably situated with regard to inland and water communication with the north, south, east, and west. The Eastern division of the Pennsylvania canal enters the county at Conewaga creek, the boundary between Lancaster and Dauphin, and continuing down the bank of the Susquehanna, terminates at Columbia, a distance of about 15 miles. At the latter point, the Susquehanna and Tide-water canal commences and continues to Havre de Grace, thus forming an outlet to Chesapeake bay for
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LANCASTER COUNTY.
the produce of the county. The Conestoga slack-water navigation extends from the Susquehanna river to the city of Lancaster, a distance of 17 miles by the course of the stream, and connects with the Tide-water canal by means of a dam thrown across the river.
The Philadelphia and Columbia rail road traverses the county, from the Chester county line to its termination at Columbia, a dis- tance of about 34 miles, and nearly equidistant from the northern and southern extremities of the county. The Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy, and Lancaster rail road branches off from the Philadel- phia and Columbia rail road about a mile west of Lancaster city, and passes through the county in a north-west direction for about 20 miles, by means of which a communication is had with the Cumberland valley, the Franklin and other rail roads in the west and south-west.
The Philadelphia and Lancaster turnpike passes through about 20 miles of the county, connecting at Lancaster with the Lancas- ter and Susquehanna turnpike, which extends to Columbia, 10 miles. It also connects with the Lancaster and Harrisburg turn- pike, which extends in a north-west direction to the Dauphin county line, about 20 miles. There is also a turnpike from Lan- caster to Marietta, a distance of 12 miles ; another called the Har- risburg, Ephrata, and Downingtown turnpike, passing through the northern part of the county in a north-west direction, from the boundary of Chester county to that of Lebanon, about 29 miles. Another turnpike leads from Lancaster to New Holland, 12 miles ; connecting with the Conestoga turnpike, which leads from Church- town to the Berks county line, about 10 miles. The Marietta and Columbia turnpike connects, at Marietta, with another leading up the eastern side of the Susquehanna to Harrisburg, and passes through this county about 14 miles. The Marietta and Maytown turnpike extends from the former to the latter place, a distance of 5 miles. An aggregate amount of over 132 miles of good stone turnpike road, within this county, has thus been constructed at great expense, principally by its own citizens.
The common roads are generally in excellent order, being kept in good repair by the supervisors of the several townships.
The progress of education is beginning to be much encouraged among the mass of the people in this county. There are 31 school districts, of which 18 have accepted the provisions of the law. With the exception of Lancaster city, most of these districts ac- cepted the law soon after its passage. The city became an accept- ing school district in 1838. Previously to that time it had a peculiar free school system, under a special act of assembly, by which the schools were supported from the county treasury. The common schools in the country districts are kept open, on an average, about six months in the year. In the city of Lancaster, and the accept- ing boroughs, they are open about eleven months.
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