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 47

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 47


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).


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The attention paid to education seems to be increasing. There are 23 school districts, of which 20 made reports to the superin- tendent in 1842, stating that there were 181 schools in operation under the law, in which the average period of instruction was upwards of five months in the year. The academy at Greensburg is reported as containing 27 pupils, and does not seem to be suffi- ciently patronized to maintain it in a very flourishing condition.


Presbyterians, Lutherans and Methodists are the most numerous religious persuasions; there also many Covenanters, Baptists, Catholics, &c.


The inhabitants are mostly descended from Irish and German families who, attracted by the fertility of the soil and other natural advantages, settled here at an early day when surrounded by peril and danger from the incursions of hostile Indians. Families were murdered or carried into captivity ;- dwellings were burned,- crops destroyed,-and all the hardships and sufferings incidental to frontier settlements exposed to Indian cruelty were inflicted upon them : the loaded rifle was the constant companion of every settler at a time when each bush and thicket might conceal a savage foe ; arms were carried to the field and to the church, and their lives were only secure by constant watchfulness. All this has, however, long since passed away, and fertile farms and thriving towns are now the abodes of those whose fathers heard the deep. forest resound with the Indian war cry, and seldom lay down to rest secure from the tomahawk and scalping knife of the prowling and relentless enemy.


How is Westmoreland bounded ? What two mountain ridges are there, and what is the name of the valley between them ? What is the general


-


372


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


character of the surface ? In what parts of the county are the Conemaugh, Allegheny, and Youghiogeny rivers ? Mention the names, situation and direction of the principal creeks. To what geological formation does this county chiefly belong ? What is said of the coal beds ? Limestone ? Iron ore ? What are the varieties of soil, and its general fitness for cultivation ? Give a description of the county town. Where is Mount Pleasant ? New Alexandria ? Youngstown and Ligonier ? New Salem ? Name some of the other villages. For what agricultural production is Westmoreland cele- brated, and what others are mentioned ? Where is salt manufactured ? Mention the furnaces and manufacturing establishments. What is said of the timber ? What canal passes along the northern side of the county ? Describe the various turnpike roads. Bridges. Give an account of the state of education, common schools, &c. Name the principal religious societies. From whom are the inhabitants mostly descended ? Relate some of the difficulties encountered by the early scttlers.


57. WYOMING COUNTY.


Wyoming is a new county, established in 1842 from the north- western part of Luzerne, and is bounded north by Susquehanna, east and south by Luzerne, and west by Lycoming and Bradford. Population about 11,000.


The surface is generally hilly and uneven : in the north-west is the Mahoopeny mountain, with other considerable elevations, and further south some spurs of the North or Allegheny mountain which form bluff's along the river below Tunkhannock, from six to eleven hundred feet in height.


The rock formations consist almost exclusively of nearly horizontal strata of red shales and red and grayish sandstones (IX,) overlaid, on some of the high grounds in the western part, by the coarse compact sandstone (X) next above in order.


In the low grounds along the river and other streams the soil is very productive ; the uplands, where not too rough and broken for cultivation, yield good crops of oats, potatoes, and grass : wheat thrives tolerably well, and indian corn grows on the bottom lands, but does not succeed so well on the hills.


The North Branch of Susquehanna enters this county at the north-western corner, flowing in a south-east direction to the southern boundary, where it enters Luzerne. The other principal streams are Mahoopeny and Bowman's creeks on the west of the Susquehanna, and Meshoppen and Tunkhannock creeks on the east.


Tunkhannock is the seat of justice, a flourishing town on the east side of the river, near the mouth of Tunkhannock creek, about 23 miles south of Montrose in Susquehanna county. There are a few small villages in other parts of the county.


Most of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Beech, oak, sugar maple, hemlock and pine are the prevailing kinds of timber. Lumber is manufactured to some extent, and maple sugar is made for domestic use.


That portion of the State improvements known by the name of the North Branch Extension, being a continuation of the canal from the mouth of Lackawana to the northern line of the State, passes along the river through the whole breadth of this county, but is yet unfinished. Its completion would greatly benefit the


373


YORK COUNTY.


people of this district by affording them a conveyance to market for their surplus produce.


When was Wyoming county established, from what county was it taken, and how is it . bounded ? Describe the surface, and name the principal mountains. What is said of the rock formations ? Give an account of the soil and productions. What river and creeks water the county ? What is the county town and where situated ? What is said of agriculture, timber, lumber, &c .? What canal passes through the county ?


58. YORK COUNTY.


York county is bounded north by Cumberland ; east by the Sus- quehanna river, which separates it from Dauphin and Lancaster ; south by the state of Maryland ; and west by Adams county .. Population 47,010.


The face of the country is generally hilly and uneven, except in the limestone valley, which has a comparatively level surface. The principal elevations are a number of slate ridges extending west- ward from the Susquehanna in the southern part of the county ; the Pigeon hills in the west; the Conewago hills towards the north ; and still further north a series of hills and ridges extending from the South mountain to the Susquehanna.


The southern part of the county is occupied chiefly by rocks of the stra- tified primary class, consisting principally of talcose slates with occasional silicious strata, some of which approach the character of a sandstone. Veins and irregular nests of white quartz are common in the slate. In some places are found beds of slate which may be split with great regula- rity into thin plates, yielding roofing slate of good quality. Extensive quar- ries of this material are worked in the neighbourhood of Peach Bottom : it also occurs in the slate ridge south of the limestone valley, about six miles east of York. Near Slate Ridge church, about five miles west of the Sus- quehanna, are two or three small belts of serpentine, one of which is crossed by the State line. This serpentine is accompanied by chlorite slate contain- ing beautiful octohedral crystals of iron, asbestus, actinolite, titaniferous and magnetic iron ore, &c. Red oxide of titanium occurs in several places, but is most abundant near the State line, about nine miles from the river. Beautiful cubic crystals of sulphuret of iron are foural in the slate along the canal below Wrightsville, and are common in many other places ; being frequently found loose in the soil and having their external surface changed by rust from a bright golden yellow to a brown colour. Iron ore has been dug near Susan Ann Furnace, 13 miles south-eastward from York ; but is found of a better quality 8 miles further westward near the turnpike from York to Baltimore. On the canal, above M'Call's ferry, purple sulphuret and green carbonate of copper occur in the white quartz veins of the slate strata, but from appearances only in small quantity.


On Cabin branch run, 5 miles below Wrightsville, is a belt of limestone crossing from Lancaster county and terminating in a point a few miles west of the river, being separated from the limestone formation of York valley by a slate ridge which extends westward from the river below Wrightsville. Near the western termination of this limestone is a valuable deposit of iron ore which has been extensively mined for the supply of Margaretta furnace, in its immediate vicinity. Pursuing the same range further to the west, we find bands of calcareous rock near the York and Baltimore turnpike, and a little west of the Baltimore and Susquehanna rail road, 10 miles south of York. Here the rock is quarried as a limestone, and though by no means


32


374


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


pure, it is valuable for burning into lime for agricultural purposes. From this place it extends westward towards the village of Jefferson, being ac- companied by iron ore which appears on the surface of the soil.


Extending westward from the Susquehanna at Wrightsville, is a belt of limestone (II) occupying the valley between the slate hills on the south, and the sandstone (I) and slates of Chicques ridge, which crosses the river above Wrightsville. This limestone stretches westward by York, as far as to the Pigeon hills, where it is divided into two branches; the southern extending south of those hills to Hanover, and thence into Adams county ; while the northern is soon lost beneath the overlying red shales and sand- stones north of the Pigeon hills. At several places within its range this limestone presents beds which are white, flesh coloured, and variegated, where a beautiful marble might be obtained if the strata were sufficiently thick and compact to afford solid blocks of sufficient size to be profitably worked. Iron ore occurs at several places along the south side of Pigeon hills, in the neighbourhood of Hanover, and between this and Littlestown ; but some of it seems to be of rather indifferent quality. A dike of trap rock crosses the limestone valley 4 miles east of York, and another a little west of the town.


The rocks of the Pigeon hills consist principally of slates and sandstones which rise through the limestone of the valley, forming an elliptical range of elevations that extend from within eight miles of York to the western line of the county. The slate of these hills occasionally contains a little green carbonate of copper, and fine specimens of foliated oxide of iron occur in the veins of white quartz which traverse the slate.


In the ridge prolonged westward from the Susquehanna above Wrights- ville, we have a hard white sandstone (I) with accompanying beds of slate, extending on the river from a little above Wrightsville to the mouth of Co- dorus creek, above which a small point of limestone crosses the river from the east side, appearing at the village of New Holland, and terminating a short distance west of the river. The western termination of the sandstone ridge is a little east of the turnpike from York to Harrisburg.


North of this is a wide extent of the middle secondary red shales and sandstones, the southern border of which overlaps the limestone at the river above New Holland, and west of it rests upon the slate on the north of the ridge last mentioned, until it reaches the main limestone of the valley about three miles north of York. Thence ranging south-westward the red shales and sandstones border upon the limestone, until, at a point about 10 miles west from York, they meet the slate on the north side of the Pigeon hills and extend along their northern base to the line of Adams county. The northern border of the red sandstone formation extends to the lime- stone of Cumberland valley, meeting it in an irregular line on the south of Yellow Breeches creek, and in the neighbourhood of Lisburn, crossing that stream into Cumberland county. The upper beds of this formation are here marked by their usual conglomerate character, containing rounded pebbles of calcareous and silicious rocks. The red sandstone in many places affords an excellent material for building, and has been much used for fur- nace hearths, architectural purposes, locks, aqueducts, bridges, and other uses where cut stone is required.


In the northern part of the county are many hills and ridges of trap rock, some of which are of such elevation as to assume the character of moun- tains. These are chiefly in the rough and rocky region between Cone- wago and Yellow Breeches creeks. Magnetic iron ore occurs in several places associated with these rocks; traces of copper also appear ; and the altered shales and sandstones in the vicinity of the trap ridges about Lewisbury and Newberry contain foliated and micaceous oxide of iron, epidote, &c.


The soil of this county is as various as its geological formations, In the southern part it is thin and unproductive; but by the free


375


YORK COUNTY.


use of lime as a manure may be so much improved as to produce good crops of grass and grain. The limestone valley has a soil of re- markable fertility and contains many beautiful and well cultivated farms. Much of the red shale soil is of good quality and suscepti- ble of high improvement by the use of lime and judicious cultiva- tion. The soil on the trap hills, though generally rough and stony, produces good crops when properly farmed.


The Susquehanna river flows along the eastern border, through a distance of about 50 miles. Yellow Breeches creek, flowing east- ward to the Susquehanna, forms most of the northern boundary. Conewago creek is a large stream, rising by several branches in Adams county, and having an easterly course to the Susquehanna at York Haven. A southern branch of this creek is called Little Conewago. The Codorus rises by two main branches in the south- west, and flows north-eastward by the town of York, emptying into the Susquehanna below New Holland. Muddy creek, is a considerable stream in the south-east, falling into the river above Peach Bottom. These, together with numerous smaller streams which water the county, afford power for a great number of mills, forges, furnaces and other manufacturing establishments.


York, the county town, is pleasantly situated on Codorus creek, in the limestone valley, eleven miles west of the Susquehanna. It is a neat, well-built town, and contains an elegant and spacious new court-house, a prison, a bank, an academy, and 10 churches most of which are substantial brick buildings. Its population, including the adjoining villages of Frystown and Buttstown, is 5,415. It is a place of considerable business; being connected with Philadelphia and Baltimore by rail roads, and having a canal and lock navigation down the Codorus to the Susquehanna. Good turnpike roads lead from it to Lancaster, Baltimore, Gettys- burg, and Harrisburg. The town is supplied with excellent water from a spring near the foot of the slate ridge on the south. Five weekly newspapers are published here, three in the English lan- guage, and two in the German. A county Lyceum has been established, which has a collection of minerals and specimens in natural history, and which holds meetings for lectures and the discussion of scientific subjects. There are also societies for the promotion of temperance, and for various moral and charitable purposes. During the Revolutionary war, when Congress were driven from Philadelphia, they retired to York, and occupied the court-house for their deliberations. While in session here, Philip Livingston, one of the members, died, and was buried in the cemetery of the German Reformed church, where a monument has been erected to his memory, consisting of a pyramid of white marble, surmounted by an urn.


Hanover is an incorporated borough, containing a population of 1,070, situated in a fertile neighbourhood in the south-west of the county, 18 miles from York, and inhabited chiefly by Germans.


Wrightsville is a flourishing borough on the west side of the Susquehanna, opposite to Columbia, with which it is connected by a bridge having a rail road laid on it.


376


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


Shrewsbury (Strasburg) is on the Baltimore turnpike, 14 miles south of York, and a few miles further south-eastward is Mecha- nicsburg. Liverpool is a village on the Harrisburg turnpike, 6 miles north of York; and York Haven is on the same road, at the junction of Conewago creek with the Susquehanna. Dover is 7 miles north-west from York : Dillsburg, Lewisbury, and Newberry are villages in the northern part of the county.


The agricultural productions are numerous and important, con- sisting of various kinds of grain, live stock, pork, clover seed, &c. The cultivation of tobacco is pursued to some extent and has been found profitable. Upwards of 160,000 pounds are annually pro- duced in the county.


There are four blast furnaces, four forges and several foundries for the manufacture of iron ; a great number of flour mills; 10 woollen factories ; 53 tanneries, producing a large amount of leather ; a number of establishments for the manufacture of car- riages, agricultural and domestic implements ; and numerous other productions of manufacturing and mechanical industry. York county has 216 distilleries, which is nearly double the number of those in any other county, and nearly one fourth of the whole number contained in the State.


The assessed valuation of real and personal property, subject to county taxation in 1842, was $9,276,514 : on which was levied a county tax amounting to $41,913 : State tax $12,150.


None of the state canals or rail roads are situated in York county ; but there have been a number of improvements constructed by companies, which are important to its trade and convenience. The Susquehanna and Tide-water canal extends from Wrights- ville down the western side of the river to the Maryland line, and is thence continued to Havre de Grace, at the head of Chesapeake bay. The Codorus navigation is by means of canal and slack water pools along that stream from the borough of York to the Susquehanna. The York and Wrightsville rail road connects with the Philadelphia and Columbia rail road; affording a con- tinuous line from York to Philadelphia, a distance of 94 miles. Another rail road extends southward from York to the Maryland line, and continues thence to Baltimore, by which a communica- tion may be had with that city in about four hours' travel.


A good turnpike road leads from Wrightsville through York to Gettysburg in Adams county, and is continued thence to Cham- bersburg, where it connects with the turnpike from Harrisburg to Pittsburg. The turnpike from Baltimore to York passes through the southern part of the county, and is continued northward from York to Harrisburg. There is also a turnpike from Baltimore to Carlisle which passes through Hanover, in the south-west of York county. A noble bridge crosses the Susquehanna at Wrights- ville, and substantial bridges are erected over the principal streams where they are crossed by the main roads.


The general state of education is not very flourishing. Schools are tolerably well sustained in the principal towns; but in many parts of the country they are much neglected. There are in all


377


YORK COUNTY.


32 school districts; 17 of which have accepted the law establishing a system of education by common schools, and have 117 schools in operation, which are open for instruction on a general average rather more than five months in a year.


There are upwards of 30 places of public worship, belonging principally to Lutherans, German Reformed, Presbyterians, Me- thodists, Episcopalians and Friends.


This county was originally a part of Lancaster, and settlements were commenced here at an early period. In 1722, the manor of Springettsbury was surveyed by order of the governor, in the name and for the use of Springett Penn. It was situated on the west side of the Susquehanna; extending on the river from nearly oppo- site the mouth of Conestoga to some distance above the place where Wrightsville now stands, and reaching westward from the river a distance of ten miles; containing upwards of 75,000 acres.


A considerable portion of what is now York county was claimed by the proprietors of Maryland, as being within their chartered limits; and settlements were made under their authority, which afterwards led to protracted and serious dissensions. Many Germans had settled west of the Susquehanna under Pennsylvania titles ; but in order to avoid the payment of the provincial taxes they accepted titles from Maryland. Being afterwards convinced that this step might be injurious to their interests, they renounced the authority of Lord Baltimore and sought protection from Penn- sylvania. The sheriff of Baltimore county was sent with a force of 300 men to eject them, and was met by the sheriff of Lancas- ter, also supported by a strong party, who without violence in- duced the Maryland officer to return,-the Germans having pro- mised to consult together and give an answer to the requisition of Lord Baltimore. But soon afterwards a party from Maryland, under Captain Cressap, attempted to drive out the Germans, and killed one of the persons who resisted them. The sheriff of Lan- caster county again came to the rescue, and after a sharp contest, in which some were killed and Cressap himself wounded, he was taken and conveyed to prison at Philadelphia. This led to further acts of violence on the part of Maryland,-and a series of con- tentions and skirmishes ensued, in which many of the Germans were driven from their farms, and the whole settlement harassed and disturbed. A number of the rioters having been seized and taken to the prison at Lancaster, a party of Marylanders proceeded thither, broke open the jail and released them. Soon after this, in 1737, an order of the king in council, on the subject of the boundary between the two provinces, induced both parties to re- frain from further violence.


Among the early settlers were also many emigrants from the north of Ireland, and the present population of the county are mostly descendants from them and from the Germans. The Ger- man language is still spoken in the middle and western parts; and newspapers are printed in that language at York and Hanover.


How is York county bounded ? Describe the face of the country, and name the principal hills. What kinds of rock are found in the southern 32*


378


GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.


part ? Where are the slate quarries ? What minerals occur ? At what places is iron ore found ? Describe the range of the limestone in York val- ley. What is said of marble and iron ore in it ? What is the rock forma- tion of the Pigeon hills ? In the ridge west of the Susquehanna above Wrightsville ? What formation lies north of this, and what is its extent from south to north ?


What valuable material is found in it, and for what purposes used ? Where are hills of trap rock, and what minerals are found there ? Describe the different kinds of soil. What river flows along the eastern boundary ? Name the principal creeks, and describe their course. How is the town of York situated, and what are its public buildings ? What is said of its business, and its facility of communication with other places ? Societies for literary and moral improvement ? What distinguished person was buried here, and on what occasion ? Where is Hanover ? Wrightsville ? Shrewsbury ? What other places are mentioned ? What are the productions of agriculture ? Of manufactures ? What canals and rail roads are in this county ? Turnpikes ? What is said of education and common schools ? Religious societies ? Of the early settlements ? Where was the manor of Springettsbury, and of what extent ? Relate some of the difficulties that occurred between the Maryland and Pennsylvania claimants. How were the disputes terminated ? From whom are the pre- sent inhabitants mostly descended ?


TRAVELLERS' GUIDE :


CONTAINING THE PRINCIPAL STAGE, RAIL ROAD AND CANAL ROUTES IN PENNSYLVANIA, WITH THE DISTANCES FROM PLACE TO PLACE.


From Philadelphia to Miles. [ Miles.||


Philadelphia to


Miles.[ Miles.


Pittsburg by turnpike.


Pittsburg by the north- ern turnpike.


Paoli


9


19


To Harrisburg, as above


98


Downingtown


10


29


Duncan's Island


16


114


Coatesville


7


36


Millerstown


13


127


Sadsbury


3


39


Thompsontown


6


133


Paradise


13


52


Mexico


5


138


Lancaster


10


62


Mifflintown


3


141


Mountjoy


12


74


Lewistown


12


153


Elizabethtown


7


81


Mc Veytown (Waynes- burg)


11


164


HARRISBURG


9


98


Huntingdon


22


186


Carlisle


18


116


Alexandria


8


194


Shippensburg


21


137


Frankstown


16


210


Green Village


6


143


Hollidaysburg


3


213


Chambersburg


5


148


Summit of Allegheny Munster


4


227


Loudon


6


162


Ebensburg


5


232


M'Connellstown


7


169


Armagh


18


250


Juniata crossings


17


186


Blairsville


14


264


Bloody run


6


192


New Alexandria


8


270


Bedford


8


200


New Salem


8


278


Shellsburg


9


209


Murraysville


7


285


Stoystown


20


229


Pittsburg


21


306


Laughlintown


16


245


Ligonier


3


248


From Philadelphia to


Youngstown


10


258


Pittsburg by rail road and canal.


Greensburg


10


268


Adamsburg


6


274


1. Philadelphia and Co- lumbia r. r.


Stewartsville


7


281


Pittsburg


19


300


To Schuylkill viaduct




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