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 39
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43. PERRY COUNTY.
Perry county has the Susquehanna river on the east, Cumber- land county on the south, Franklin on the south-west, and Juniata on the north-west. Its population by the census of 1840 was 17,096.
The Kittatiny or Blue mountain forms the southern boundary, and the Tuscarora the north-western, enclosing the county in the form of a triangle, of which the Susquehanna river forms the east- ern side. The face of the country between these mountains is broken by a number of lesser hills and ridges.
The geological character of this county will perhaps be best understood by considering the several rock formations which it contains in a descend- ing order, beginning with the highest. Two synclinal axes or lines of de- pression pass across from the troughs of the coal basins on the east of the river, rising gradually to the south-west and causing the rocks extending around their ends to die out and disappear successively in this direction. Thus we find the red shale (XI) which underlies the conglomerate floor of the coal fields, extending across the Susquehanna above the town of Dau- phin, and occupying a little nook or cove on the west side of the river ; and again above Millersburg the same formation, the red shale of Lykens' val- ley, crossing into Perry county and occupying a triangular area enclosed ' by Buffalo mountain. The sandstone (X) next in order below this red shale encloses it in Cove mountain, which is the union of Peters' and Se- cond mountains ; and in the north in Buffalo, which is an extension of Ma- hontongo mountain joining with Berry's. Outside of these enclosing ridges we have red shales and sandstones (IX) extending for some distance on the river, and then uniting at the western points of the mountains and stretch- ing for some miles up Sherman's and Buffalo creeks. The next inferior series (VIII,) composed chiefly of olive coloured slates with strata of gray sandstone, beginning on the Susquehanna near the mouth of Fishing creek,
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ranges westward, widens out east of Landisburg, and thence sweeps round on the north of the red shale and sandstone of Sherman's creek, again reaching the Susquehanna above Halifax. Here it unites with the corre- sponding formation of the northern basin, which extends westward on the north of Bloomfield to a point on the head waters of Sherman's creek, north-east of Moreland church, whence its northern division passes north- eastward, crosses the Juniata below Millerstown and reaches the Susque- hanna above Liverpool. The exterior limit of the area occupied by the last mentioned series is generally marked by a range of hills and ridges con- taining the coarse fossiliferous sandstone (VII) with the accompanying lime- stone (VI) next below in geological position. These extend on the north of the Blue mountain as far as Wagner's gap, where they pass northward near Landisburg, and then north-eastward by Bloomfield across the Juniata on the east. From the neighbourhood of Bloomfield, the northern division of these formations passes westward to near Germantown, and there, fold- ing back to the north-east, crosses the Juniata near Millerstown, and ex- tends by Pfoutz's valley to the Susquehanna. The red and variegated shales (V) lying between the last mentioned limestone and the sandstone (IV) of the Kittatiny and Tuscarora mountains, are seen in a narrow belt along the northern side of the former, until widening out in the neighbour- hood of Landisburg, it extends north-eastward nearly to Bloomfield, and up Sherman's creek to the foot of Conecocheague ridge, and thence north- eastward along the base of Tuscarora mountain to the Juniata, and so on towards the Susquehanna. Iron ore is found at several places in various parts of the county.
The soil, where it is not too much broken by stony ridges, is mostly productive; that portion of it which is formed from the decomposition of calcareous rocks is highly fertile, and when well cultivated produces abundant crops.
The Susquehanna river flows along the eastern side of the county : the Juniata passes through it south-eastward and emp- ties into the Susquehanna at Duncan's island. Sherman's creek is a considerable stream in the southern part; Buffalo creek runs eastward to the Juniata ; Rackoon and Cocalamus creeks fall into that river on opposite sides near Millerstown.
Bloomfield, the seat of justice, is situated towards the eastern part of the county, and has upwards of 400 inhabitants. The public buildings are those usual in small county towns, namely, court house, prison, academy, and several churches.
Millerstown, on the east side of the Juniata, has a population of nearly 400, and Newport on the opposite side, about five miles below, exceeds that number. Liverpool, on the Susquehanna, near the north-eastern corner of Perry, has upwards of 450 inha- bitants; and Petersburg in the south-east, at the junction of Sher- man's creek with the Susquehanna, has a little more than 200. Beside these the county contains a number of villages, among which are Landisburg, Ickesburg, and Buffalo.
The principal productions are those of agriculture. Iron is manufactured to some extent, there being within the county eight furnaces, with some forges, rolling mills and nail works. Dun- cannon iron works, at the mouth of Sherman's creek, is an exten- sive establishment, having a great command of water power, which is employed in driving a large rolling mill, nail works, &c. There are 24 flour mills and 26 grist mills, which manufac-
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ture flour to a large amount, mostly from the wheat of the county.
Assessed value of property subject to taxation for county pur- poses in 1842, $3,226,780: county tax $8,166: State tax $3,854.
Two lines of the public improvements pass through Perry county. The Susquehanna division of the State canal is on the west side of the Susquehanna river, and the Juniata division branches from it, extending up the Juniata. The northern turn- pike, from Harrisburg to the west, also crosses into this county at Duncan's island, and passes up the northern side of the Juniata. There are some good common roads, but many of them are rough, owing to the nature of the country.
Popular education has been much neglected in this county, though at present the common school system is adopted in all the districts, 17 in number. One hundred and eleven schools are es- tablished ; but being kept open for instruction only during an ave- rage period of 33 months in the year, but little benefit can be derived from them.
The inhabitants are chiefly of German and Irish origin : Ger- mans are numerous in some parts of the county, and generally speak their own language, though there are few who do not un- derstand English. The religious denominations are various ;- Presbyterian, German Reformed, Methodists, &c., who have alto- gether about thirty places of public worship.
How is Perry county bounded ? What are the mountains, and general face of the country ? Describe the range of the principal geological forma- tions ? What is said of the soil? What two rivers are in this county ? What other streams ? What is the county town ? Where are Millers- town and Newport ? Liverpool ? Petersburg ? Name some of the vil- lages. Of what kind are the chief productions ? What is said of the num- ber and extent of the iron works, &c .? Mention what two divisions of the State canal pass through this county, and what turnpike road. What is the condition of education and common schools ? From whom are the inhabitants mostly descended, and what language besides English is spoken ? Name the prevailing religious societies, and the number of places of worship.
44. PHILADELPHIA CITY AND COUNTY.
Philadelphia county is bounded north-west and north by Mont- gomery; north-east by Bucks; south-east and south by the river Delaware; and west by Delaware county. Total population, in- cluding the city, 258,037, which is distributed among the different districts as follows : City proper 93,665; Northern Liberties 34,474; Spring Garden 27,849; Kensington 22,314; Southwark 27,548; Moyamensing 14,573; Townships 37,614.
The face of the country along the Delaware is level ; but at a little distance from the river it becomes more hilly and undulating. The soil, though not generally of a very fertile nature, has been so highly improved by cultivation, as to produce excellent crops of grain and grass. Near the city, much of it is occupied by gar-
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dens for the production of vegetables for market, and by grass lots for hay and pasturage.
The rocks of this county belong to the primary class, and in the southern and eastern portions are generally covered by a deep deposit of diluvial soil, except where they are exposed along the courses of the streams. The prevailing variety of rock is a gray granitic gneiss, which is quarried in the vicinity of Fairmount, at the falls of Schuylkill, and various other places in the neighbourhood of the city, supplying a large quantity of stone for building and other purposes. Veins of coarse granite frequently occur, in which the quartz, feldspar and mica, instead of being intimately blended, are found adhering together in irregular masses, forming a rough amor- phous rock, which is very subject to decay, from the natural tendency of the feldspar to decomposition by atmospheric influence. Some beds of the gneiss also exhibit the same disposition to decay from exposure. Occa- sional bands of hornblende rock appear among the gneiss ; and proceeding northward we find the quantity of mica contained in the rocks to be greatly increased, while that of the feldspar is much diminished. From the mouth of Wissahiccon to some distance above Manayunk, the prevailing rock is mica slate; beyond which is a belt of magnesian rocks, consisting of stea- tite, talc and serpentine, crossing the Schuylkill near the line of Montgo- mery county. The steatite or soapstone rock has been quarried to con- siderable extent, for the various purposes to which that material is adapted. Garnets are abundant in the mica slate along the Wissahiccon, and in the neighbourhood of Germantown, where are also staurotide, cyanite, and ac- tinolite : beryl, tourmalin and phosphate of lime sometimes occur in the gneiss. Foliated oxide of iron is found in the quartz rocks, and octohedral crystals of iron in the chlorite slate which accompanies the serpentine. A curiously radiated asbestus, and asbestoid actinolite are found on the Wis- sahiecon about eight miles from the city. Zeolite and laumonite occur in the rocks on the east side of Schuylkill above the Columbia rail road bridge, and other interesting minerals in different parts of the county.
Besides the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, this county is wa- tered by several creeks, which afford seats for numerous mills, factories, and various other purposes for which water power is required. Poquessing or Poqueston creek is the north-eastern boundary, separating Philadelphia from Bucks; below this is Pennypack creek, flowing south-eastward from Montgomery county, by Bustleton and Holmesburg to the Delaware. Ta- cony, or Frankford creek, rises by two branches which unite above Frankford and fall into the Delaware at Bridesburg. Wis- sahiccon is a beautiful stream, flowing southward from Montgo- mery county, and falling into the Schuylkill about six miles above the city. This stream is remarkable for the romantic and pictu- resque beauty of the scenery along its high and rocky banks.
The climate of Philadelphia may in general be justly termed healthy and pleasant; being less subject to extremes of tempera- ture than many other parts of the State. In summer the thermo- meter seldom indicates a greater degree of heat than 95º, and in the coldest weather of winter rarely, if ever, falls to 0; while in the middle and northern counties it is frequently from 10 to 200 below this point. Snows are less frequent in winter, and continue on the ground for a shorter time, than in those parts of the State which are more elevated above the level of tide water.
Excellent turnpike roads lead from the city in every direction,
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and substantial bridges, mostly of stone, are constructed over the streams. There are seven bridges across the Schuylkill in Phila- delphia county : the rail road bridge at Gray's ferry, below the city, one side of which is appropriated to vehicles and foot pas- sengers ; the Permanent bridge at Market street ; the Wire suspen- sion bridge at Fairmount; the Columbia rail road bridge, which has also a way for carriages and foot passengers ; one at the Falls of Schuylkill, five miles above the city ; one at Manayunk ; and another a short distance above that town at Flat rock. The Per- manent bridge was erected by an incorporated company, and was finished in 1805 at a cost of about $300,000. It is now open for public use free from tolls, having been purchased from the com- pany a few years since and placed under the care of the city au- thorities. The new Wire bridge at Fairmount is much admired for the ingenuity of its construction, as well as for its light and beautiful appearance. It is also a free bridge, having been erected by the county in 1841, at a cost of $55,000.
The city of Philadelphia, the metropolis of the State, and the largest city in the United States except New York, is situated between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers about five miles above their junction. The distance between the two rivers on Market street is about two miles; but as they curve towards each other at this place, the distance widens above and be- low that street. The extent of the city front on the Delaware, from the lower part of Southwark to the upper end of Kensington, is about four and a half miles. The city proper, or that part which is incorporated by the city charter and under the jurisdiction of the corporation, extends from the Delaware on the east to the Schuylkill on the west ; and from Vine street on the north to Cedar or South street on the south. The adjoining dis- tricts of Southwark, Moyamensing, Northern Liberties, Kensington, Spring Garden, &c., though belonging to the county of Philadelphia, and governed by their own separate municipal authorities unconnected with the city, yet, being closely built and densely populated, may be considered as forming a portion of the city in a general and descriptive view.
Numerous families of Swedes had settled along the Delaware below the mouth of Schuylkill as early as 1642, and their settlements extending up the river into Wicacoa, Moyamensing and Passaiung, a log church was erected at Wicacoa in 1677, five years before the arrival of the colony under William Penn. It appears from old records that about 800 acres of ground, partly in what is now the lower portion of the city about the navy yard, were granted by the Dutch governor in 1664 to a Swedish family named Sven, or Sven-sæner, the sons of Sven,-called Swenson or Swan- son by the English ; and this land was in their possession at the time of Penn's arrival, who finding it within the limits of his proposed city, gave them in exchange for it a tract on the Schuylkill above Fairmount.
Soon after his arrival in 1682, Penn held a treaty with the Indians at Shackamaxon (Kensington,) under a great elm tree near the bank of the river, at which certain grants of land were confirmed, and the most amica- ble relations established between the natives and their newly arrived visiters. This tree was long held in veneration, and during the revolution- ary war, while Philadelphia was occupied by British troops, a guard was placed to preserve it from being felled by the soldiers for fuel. It stood to mark the memorable spot until 1810, when it was blown down, and much of its wood made into work stands, chairs, cups, and other articles to be preserved as relics. Its age, as ascertained by counting its circles of an- nual growth, was 283 years, having been 155 years old at the time the treaty was held under its branches. A marble monument, with an appro-
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priate inscription, has since been erected by the Penn Society on the spot formerly occupied by this venerable tree, in order to perpetuate its me- mory.
The town was laid out in 1682; the first English colonists erecting tem- porary huts for their accommodation, and many living in caves excavated in the high bank along the river, until the timber and bushes could be cleared away and more commodious dwellings erected. William Penn himself did not come over with his first colonists; but landed at Newcastle in October 1682, going from thence to Upland, now Chester, to hold the first assembly, and thence proceeding with some of his friends in a boat to Philadelphia. The spot where he first set foot within the infant city seems to have been at the "Blue anchor," one of the first built houses, which stood near the mouth of Dock creek, at a place which is now the north- west corner of Front and Dock streets. This was for some time the centre of business, having a ferry across Dock creek (then of considerable width, but now entirely arched over and its place filled up) to Society hill on the south ; and another to Windmill island, so named from a windmill having been erected there for grinding grain : it was also the place where small vessels employed in the primitive traffic usually landed. The first houses were chiefly built on Front street from Dock to Race, and on Society hill, about Pine and Front streets southward. For several years there was scarcely a dwelling west of Third street, and a Friends' meeting house having been erected at or near Centre square, benches were placed under the trees in the woods at the corner of Market and Sixth street, that the people might rest in the middle of their long walk from the city to the meeting house. For a long time the whole space from Eighth street to the Schuylkill was covered with forest trees, and after they were cut down it remained an open grass common for pasturing cattle. Within the memory of persons yet living, there were but few houses west of Sixth street.
By the close of the year 1682, twenty three ships had arrived with pas- sengers, and numbers following in the succeeding year, the population in- creased so rapidly that at the departure of Penn for England in 1684, the city contained 2,500 inhabitants. Numerous settlements were established in the surrounding country, agriculture and commerce soon began to flou- rish, and the tide of emigration from England, Wales, Ireland and Ger- many, added greatly to the population of the colony. The city was incor- porated by charter from the proprietary, October 25, 1701. The general assembly of the province, which had previously met at Upland, held their first session at Philadelphia in 1683, in the Friends' meeting house, where they continued to meet until the court house at Second and Market streets was built and prepared for their reception in 1707.
The State house, now called Independence hall, was begun in 1729 and finished in 1735, on the northern side of the square bounded by Chestnut, Walnut, Fifth and Sixth streets. The wings extending from the main building to Fifth and Sixth streets are of modern construction. The wood work of the steeple by which the building was at first surmounted, was found to be so much decayed that about the year 1774 it was taken down, leaving only a small belfry to cover the bell for the use of the town clock ; and so remained until 1829, when the present steeple was erected on the plan of the original one which had been removed. The bell for the first steeple was imported from England in 1752, but was broken by accident when first hung up. A new one was cast in Philadelphia, under the di- rection of Isaac Norris, then speaker of the Colonial assembly, to whom we are probably indebted for the remarkable motto inscribed upon it, and which at that early day was little thought to be so singularly prophetic of its future use : " Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and to all the people thereof." Twenty-four years afterwards a period arrived "in the course of human events," when the memorable Declaration of Independence was signed in the building beneath this very bell, and its joyous tones rang loud and clear as it proclaimed to anxious thousands that they were now a free
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and independent people. The chamber in which the declaration was signed is on the first floor, at the eastern end of the centre building. Some years since the interior wood work was removed to make room for more modern decorations ; but a more patriotic feeling and a better taste than those which had dictated this change, soon demanded the restoration of the hall to its original simplicity, and it now presents the same appearance as it did when the representatives of the people, assembled within it, declared these United States to be " free, sovereign and independent."
State House, Philadelphia.
The spirit of change and improvement has been so busy in Philadelphia as to leave us but few relics of the olden time to show the character of its primitive architecture. One of the oldest buildings now standing, is the house occupied by William Penn in 1700, at the south-east corner of Nor- ris' alley and Second street. The Swedish church, on Swanson street in Southwark, near the navy yard, was built in 1700, on or near the place where stood the log church of Wicacoa, erected in 1677. The present quaint and antiquated little brick building was considered as a great edifice at the time of its erection, and had not its equal in the city. Christ church, in Second street above Market, was originally a on? story wooden building erected in 1695, having its bell hung in a tree growing near it. It was en- larged in 1710; and in 1727 the western end, as we now see it, was raised, the eastern end not being completed until 1731.
St. Michael's Lutheran church, in Fifth street above Arch, is a venera- ble old edifice erected in 1743, and its centennial anniversary has just been celebrated.
Plan of the city .- The general plan of the city is remarkably uniform and regular ; the streets with some few exceptions crossing each other at right angles ; those leading from river to river having a direction very nearly from east to west, and those which cross them being nearly north and south. 'I'he carriage wavs are paved with rounded pebbles, bedded in gravel, forming a dry and durable, but somewhat rough surface. Paving with wooden blocks has been tried as an experiment ; but though pleasing to the eye and agreeable to the traveller, these pavements have been found to decay so rapidly as to lead to the abandonment of the plan. Chesnut street from Fourth to Sixth has been recently paved with square blocks of stone, which, though expensive at first, promises to combine the essential requisites of smoothness and durability in a greater degree than any other mode yet tried. The side walks are universally paved with bricks, except in a few instances where a better taste has led to the use of smooth well dressed flag stones. The city is drained by common sewers, or arched culverts of brick work. constructed under most of the main streets.
Public Squares .- It is to the wise and liberal foresight of the great founder
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of Pennsylvania that we owe most of the public squares which now orna- ment our city. In the original plan, as laid out by Thomas Holmes, Penn's surveyor general in 1682, there was to be a public square in the centre containing ten acres, and one in each quarter of the city containing eight acres. By the same plan it was also intended to leave an open space between Front street and the Delaware, and Penn long resisted the appli- cations of the inhabitants to build nearer the river. But at last, owing per- haps to his pecuniary embarrassments, he unhappily consented to the sale of lots on the river bank ; thus depriving his favourite city of a healthful and open area along the wharves for the landing of merchandise and the transaction of business ; as well as destroying the symmetry of the city front, and creating a crowded, dark and unsightly mass of buildings which makes an unfavourable impression upon the mind of every stranger enter- ing in that direction.
It was intended by the proprietor that the public buildings should be erected on the centre square at Market and Broad streets; but its great distance from the then closely built part of the city probably led to the purchase of the square between Chestnut, Walnut, Fifth and Sixth streets, since called Independence square. The northern part of this lot was first purchased, and the State house erected in 1735 ; in 1760 the southern part, fronting on Walnut street, was purchased, and the whole square surrounded by a brick wall, which was afterwards removed to give place to the pre- sent more graceful iron palisade. Though this is the general place of meeting for civic and political assemblages when they are to be harangued on such a great scale that no house or hall will hold them, and also the re- sort of prodigious crowds on the day of the general elections ; yet much to the credit of the population at these periods of excitement, no injury is of- fered to the trees and other ornaments of the place, which always presents the same neat and orderly aspect.
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