USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume IV > Part 7
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That the ferry privilege grew to be very remunerative, especially to the lessee, is evidenced by a communication of Stephen Wilson on the subject, published many years afterward in Vol. 4 of "Johnson's Historical Narrative." In its ferry reference, this communication read as follows:
' In the Spring of 1811, father (Elnathan Wilson) leased the old ferry house, with its equip- ment of flats and skiffs and about five acres of land for $100 a year. It was on the West bank of the Susquehanna opposite the foot of Northampton street. The road to Kingston village was an extension of Northampton street, though it has now long been abandoned for the Market street road. The first year father built two flats and a skiff and put $3,000 in bank. He often took in thirty or forty dollars a day, though in winter when the river was frozen over his income stopped, except what he took in from his tavern, for the ferry house was a hotel in those primitive days."
The roadway which led diagonally up the river bank on the Wilkes-Barré . side from the water's edge to the Common above, proved a source of considerable loss to the acreage of the lower River common during its existence.
Spring freshets would all but flatten it out against the steep sides of the bank. As the waters receded, it would be again dug deeper into the bank and more nearly approaching River street in its annual terminus.
In fact, such were the inroads made into the bank near this point at the time the Market street bridge was opened, that the foundations of the Arndt warehouse were then described as having been undermined so that the western end of the building projected far out over the bank and it was considered unsafe for further use.
Being regarded as a lucrative means of livelihood, the solitary ferry developed opposition. Under terms of the ordinance no other ferryman was permitted to ply his trade within the Borough limits who charged for the service. John Meyers circuinvented this measure by opening a free ferry at the foot of North street in 1813, being dependent upon the tipping generosity of his patrons for their passage.
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But whatever supervision the Borough Council was able to give the ferry, its services did not measure up to the growing transportation demanded between banks of the Susquehanna. High water was a menace during freshet periods of the year. Ice, in its turn, sometimes put the ferry out of commission for weeks at a stretch. The number of trips to be made, even under favorable circumstances, necessitated vexatious waits. As early as 1807, a bridge was a matter of con- siderable discussion.
In fact in the spring of that year these progressive desires of the community were carried to the legislature, which on April 9, 1807, passed a measure entitled "An Act to authorize the Governor to incorporate a company, for erecting a bridge over the river Susquehanna, at the Borough of Wilkes-Barre, in the County of Luzerne."
Provisions of the act named Lord Butler and Lawrence Myers, of Luzerne County, Samuel Sitgreaves and Daniel Waggoner, of Easton and John B. Wallace and Thomas Allibone of Philadelphia as Commissioners. The general plan followed by terms of the act was much the same as had previously been adopted in connection with the organization of the Easton and Wilkes-Barré turnpike. The par value of shares was fixed at $50.00 each. Books were to be opened in Philadelphia and Easton for the sale of 150 shares at each point, and in Wilkes-Barré for the sale of 300 such shares.
The measure authorizing a structure to span the river at Wilkes-Barré was quite in keeping with steps being taken elsewhere in the State along similar lines. A bridge across the Schuylkill at Philadelphia, erected by a society incorporated in 1798, was the first permanent bridge in America. It early became a paying investment and proved an incentive to other companies seeking like franchises. Two other companies were authorized by legislative enactment to span the North Branch of the Susquehanna at about the same time the Wilkes-Barre bridge bill was passed.
It did not necessarily follow, however, that the companies which the Governor was empowered to charter were immediately able to comply with provisions of the act. In point of time, the bridge at Northumberland was first to struggle to completion. In October, 1812, two abutments and three piers of this bridge were finished and ready for inspection by State authorities. In April, 1813, it was reported to the Governor that the Northumberland bridge would be open to traffic January 1, 1814. The second bridge to be erected over the North Branch was that "at the Falls of Nescopeck" connecting Nescopeck with Berwick.
Munsell, page 323, is authority for the statement that this structure was completed in 1816.
The Wilkes-Barré enterprise dragged much more discouragingly. Sub- scriptions at Philadelphia and Easton were not up to expectations and it was not until the community made up its mind to finance its own public improvements that success was finally to come.
Bickerings and disputes over the location of the bridge were not uncommon. Residents of the vicinity of North, Market and Northampton streets were stren- uous in their endeavors to have the eastern terminus located at the foot of the streets which abutted on their respective properties. Ferrymen entered their protests against the bridge being built at all. Eventually, Market street was chosen as the site of the structure.
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The original bridge act was supplemented March 20, 1811, by additional legislation requiring that at least twenty-five shareholders be secured, subscribing for a minimum of 100 shares before actual incorporation would be authorized. It was not until the Spring of 1816, that these requirements were met .*
The company organized on May 15, 1816, at a meeting held in the Court House, by electing Matthias Hollenback, President; Jacob Cist, Treasurer; Joseph Sinton, Stephen Tuttle, George Chahoon, James Barnes, Elias Hoyt and Henry Buckingham, Managers. On May 18th, Benjamin Perry was chosen Secretary.
On June 11th of the same year 20 per cent. of the stock was called in, to be paid on or before July 1st, and it was resolved that the Managers should forthwith advertise for proposals for erecting the bridge. On July 15th another call was made for the payment in full of all stock held in three or more shares, payable September 1st.
On August 27th, the proposal of Lewis Wernwag to build a bridge of four arches of 185 feet each (without roofing or siding and the company to fill up the
MARKET STREET BRIDGE-REBUILT 1824
wing walls) for $40,000 was accepted and a preliminary agreement entered into. On September 14th, Mr. Wernwag having offered to deduct the sum of $1,000 from the price of the bridge, on condition that the length be reduced forty feet and the ribs be altered, the offer was accepted and a formal contract made with Lewis Wernwag, Joseph Powell, of Chester County, and George C. Troutman, of Philadelphia County, the bridge to be completed by the 1st of December, 1817.
The bridge, however, was not to be finished within the stipulated time, nor for months afterward. The minutes of a meeting held May 5, 1817, disclose that only $7,284 had been collected on stock subscriptions, and of this sum, $7,200 had already been paid to the contractors. It was then decided to increase the number of shares from 600 to 800. Not much success seemed to have attended these additional efforts at raising the needed capital, and on November 29th, Jacob Cist set forth the plight of the company before the legislature in the hoped of securing State aid. Failing to secure this assistance, the expedient was adopted
*Lord Butler, Henry Buckingham, John B. Wallace and John II. Brinton, a majority of the Commissioners natned to receive subscriptions, certified to the Governor that the following named persons had subscribed the number of shares set opposite their names: Lord Butler 4, Matthias Hollenback 10, Benjamin Dorrance 4, Jacob Cist 5, Isaac Bowman 2, George Chahoon 10, David Peckins 1, David Scott 6, Samuel Thomas 10, Elijah Shoemaker 7, George Lane5, Henry Buckingham 5, James Barnes 10, Joseph Sinton 10, Nathan Palmer 1, Jesse Fell 2. Stephen Tuttle 2, Calvin Wadhams 3, Jonathan Hancock 5, Elias Hoyt 2, Daniel Hoyt 4, Naphtali IIurlbert 2, Darius Landon I, M Thompson 4, Joseph Tuttle 5, George M. Hollenback 10, Wm. Barnes 5, Eliphalet A. Bulkeley 1, David Smith 2. Isaac S hoemaker 2, Adam Shafer 1, David Brace 2, Henry Courtright 4, Barnet Ulp 1, Collings & Bettle 3, Elijah Loveland 2, Albert Skeir 1. Benjamin Drake 5, Joseph Slocum 5, Chas. Catlin 4, Joshua Pettebone 5, Christian G. Ochmig 2, John Peckins 1, Franklin Jenkins 1, James Hughes 2, John W. Ward 2, Alexander Jameison 4, Henry Kern 2-a total of 186
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of issuing script to the amount of $30,000. This seript was in notes of small denominations and, as its value kept fluctuating from time to time in keeping with the prospects of the company issuing it, the expedient resulted in adding materially to financial troubles with which this period was burdened.
Some preliminary work had been done by engineers in the summer of 1815, on locating piers for the proposed structure, the later assumption by the contractors of accounts for which work has given rise to frequent disputes among local historians as to the exact date of the beginning of actual construction. Newspaper accounts furnish a fairly accurate basis for tracing the work of erec- tion from that time forth. The Gleaner of June 6, 1817, describes the status of the work on that date as follows:
"We observe with much pleasure the progress which is making with the bridge at this place. The work was commenced on the opening of the present season, under the superintendence of Mr. Powell, one of the contractors. The two abutments are nearly completed, and the piers ready to be sunk as soon as the present swell of water has subsided. Present appearances give us the most ample assurance that the contract will be completed by the stipulated time."
The winter of 1817-1818 was noted for its severity; for the thickness of ice which formed on the Susquehanna, and for destruction wrought in consequence of exceedingly high water which carried off the ice in March of the latter year. In lieu of the completion of the bridge, teams and pedestrians used the ice bridge erected by nature across the Susquehanna, from late December until the river broke. Contractors made use of the ice to sink a third pier of the bridge through an opening made for the purpose late in February, 1818. Then came the freshet which, for a time, seemed to blight the hopes of those concerned that any portion of the completed foundations of the bridge would escape destruction. The Gleaner of March 6, 1818, voiced these fears as follows:
"In consequence of a heavy fall of rain our ice bridge left us on Monday. The river immedi- ately after the ice started, rose to an unusual height, and as the ice was from 12 to 18 inches thick, and the river high, considerable damage was sustained. The two piers of the Bridge which was begun last season-one of which was quite, the other almost finished, were destroyed. The pier which was sunk by cutting a hole thro the ice, a few days before it started, we believe has escaped uninjured. * *
In its issue of March 13th, at which time the waters had receded to below the danger line, the same newspaper reassured its readers that their fears had not been entirely realized, in the following more cheerful message:
"We are happy to learn that the injury done to the piers of the Bridge, by the late extra- ordinary ice freshet, is much less than was at first believed, and that the completion of this elegant and noble structure will be but little retarded in consequence of the event From the spirited exertions making by the contractors we are warranted in the belief that it will be rendered pas- sable in the early part of the ensuing summer and that proper measures will be taken by the erection of ice-breakers to prevent the like occurrence taking place again.
"The great bridge at McCalls Ferry was swept away by the ice in the night of Tuesday last. It is said the river Susquehanna has been higher this week than it has been in forty years before."
Notwithstanding all that human ability could accomplish, Wilkes-Barré's first bridge seemed to have been touched heavily by the hand of fate. Work on the repair of damaged piers and the construction of two additional supports in the shallower water of the Kingston side proceeded rapidly in the spring and sum- mer of 1818, thus permitting the four wooden spans to be thrown between the five piers in the late summer and fall.
By way of describing the general interest manifest in the work, the Wyoming Herald, of September 18th of that year, stated the following:
"We have observed with much pleasure, the progress of this excellent structure. The severe ice freshet in the Spring cut down the piers, which had not been completed the preceding season, owing to the frequent occurrence of high water; and in consequence of that circumstance,
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the work has been greatly delayed, the present season. The low water, which has for some time prevailed, has been extremely favourable to the work, and it now progresses as rapidly as the nature of the work will allow.
"Two entire arches are raised, and the raising of the others is fast progressing. Should no unfortunate circumstance occur, we may expect to see the bridge passable in a few weeks. The structure is different in some respects, from any other bridge, which has been built in the State- and we are of opinion, that when finished it will be in workmanship, superior to any other bridge over the Susuqehanna."
The bridge was floored and opened for traffic in December, 1818, although the sides and roof were not finished at that time. Once again, in the Spring of
THE TOLL HOUSE Erected 1824
1819, the bridge was to suffer severely at the hands of the elements. Under the largest type in its issue of April 30, 1819, the Wyoming Herald thus describes a "PUBLIC CALAMITY":
"Contrary to the general opinion entertained at the publication of our last paper, about 4 o'clock on the afternoon of Monday last that pier of the Wilkesbarre Bridge which stood next to the Wilkesbarre shore, and which for some days preceding wore a very threatening aspect (being continually settling towards the Kingston shore) suddenly gave way at the top, and the two entire arches of the bridge resting thereon were, with a tremendous crash, precipitated into the river. The shore-arch remains in the water where it fell-the other was towed to shore about half a mile below, where it remains-the timber of both being very much shattered, and much of the iron work injured. The other half of the bridge remains in a perfect state-in consequence of measures being previously taken to disconnect it from that part which had been destroyed."
To Luther Thurston and Erastus Hill, was given the contract for renewing the damaged pier and relaying the dislodged spans, at their bid of $9,500. Not only was the deeper and swifter water near the Wilkes-Barré shore to be con- tended with in finding a substantial support for that pier, which had twice been destroyed, but river quicksands likewise had to be overcome by the use of piles,
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which were driven to a more secure footing. A notice in the Herald of August 20, 1819, related the following :
"We learn with much pleasure that the managers of the Wilkesbarre Bridge have contracted with Mr. Thurston to rebuild that part of the bridge which fell in May last. The work is already commenced, and from the character of Mr. Thurston, we are warranted in assuring the public (if no unforseen circumstances occur) that the bridge will be passable by December next."
The same publication of December 24, 1819, confirmed the promises made by the Contractors in the following announcement, which must have added considerably to the Christmas cheer of promoters and the community alike:
"We are happy to inform the public that the Bridge is now passable for waggons. Much credit is due Messrs. Thurston and Hill for their great industry and perseverance in accomplisli- ing the work, which appears to be done in a very strong and substantial manner. The Managers too deserve the thanks of the people for their exertions in rebuilding the bridge."
After an uneventful use of the bridge for a period of four years, another un- propitious circumstance was to weld itself with other misfortunes of its early career. On February 18, 1824, the entire superstructure was swept from the piers by a windstorm which seems to have reached the violence of a hurricane. In writing of the event to the Record of the Times, on January 6, 1858, a con- tributor, signing himself A Sexagenarian, preserved the following account of an eye witness:
"The former bridge was destroyed by wind in February, 1824. My father and myself happened to be crossing on the ice a few rods below the bridge that evening, loaded with a fine lot of bass that we had taken with hook and line at Toby's Eddy. There had been a heavy rain the night and day previous, and the wind was blowing almost a gale from the south west, which seemed to be stronger along the river than anywhere else. It took the bridge bodily from the piers, and it fell with a tremendous crash on the thick blue ice below, and broke into atoms. The ice broke up next day towards sundown, and carried downstream with it the most of the broken timbers and iron (a small portion having been removed that day) which was totally lost from the owners. I afterwards saw what purported to be a log house, standing on the bank of the river not far from Columbia which was built of the smooth pine timbers from the bridge, that had been taken up whilst floating down the stream."
With this latest calamity to contend in their business affairs, officers and shareholders of the Bridge Company knew scarcely which way to turn to secure the necessary finances to again place the structure in shape for traffic. An appeal was made to the legislature for assistance on the ground that the bridge was a part of the State's system of transportation and therefore entitled to more than local financial support. The legislature thereupon evolved a plan, which for originality in detail, has few equals on our statute books.
By an act passed March 30, 1824, Calvin Wadhams, George M. Hollen- back and Garrick Mallery were named Commissioners for the purpose of re- organizing the company's affairs, paying its debts and securing additional funds for reconstructing the bridge by "collecting, of the purchase money due this Common- wealth, on certificates, liens or mortgages, on lands in the Seventeen Townships or such of the Townships as are in the County of Luzerne, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, which sum is hereby appropriated for the use of the President, Managers and Company for the purpose of reconstructing a bridge over the river Susquehanna, at the borough of Wilkes-Barre, and to be by the said Commissioners, expended, exclusively and for no other purpose than in rebuilding and repairing the said bridge, if the company and its creditors comply with the terms of this act, but not otherwise."
The collections thus made were to be evidenced in the form of shares of stock in the company delivered to the commonwealth .*
*In advertising a list of securities held in the State Treasury, in September, 1842, the Secretary of the Common- wealth named 580 shares of the Wilkes-Barre Bridge Company in the list, as was the case of 416 shares of the Bridge- water and Wilkes-Barre Road Company and 154 shares of the Clifford and Wilkes-Barre Road Company.
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That these conditions were accepted is evidenced by the fact that the Com- missioners, by advertisement and personal solicitation, made known their rights under the act as collectors of all claims due the State.
Realizing that the Commissioners were in earnest in enforcing payment of claims, and comforted, no doubt, by the thought that these long overdue accounts would now be spent on a local improvement rather than become a part of the State's general revenues, debtors throughout the affected area settled with such promptness that in October, 1824, the managers announced they were ready to let a contract for replacing the superstructure.
As soon as weather conditions in February, 1825, permitted, a large force of men, under the capable supervision of Reuben Field, began the re-erection of the spans. December 6, 1825, was set aside as the occasion for dedicating the completed structure. Col. Benjamin Dorrance presided over a substantial dinner with which the ceremonies ended. The event was described in a sub- sequent issue of the Susquehanna Democrat in the usual flowery language of the time:
"The day was ushered in by the discharge of cannon which thundered from mountain to mountain in grand style. The citizens awoke with joy on the occasion and gazed with onspic- uons pride upon the Bridge, which in point of strength and beauty is not surpassed by any one in the United States.
"But yesterday nothing but naked and shattered piers seemed to stand as monuments of the mighty ruin which once overwhelmed it. To-day as if by magic this most elegant structure rests proudly upon its arches, a blessing and ornament to the Borough. and surrounding country. Much gratitude is due from the people to Mr. Reuben Field- to those who procured the appro- priation-and to those whose unremitted and active exertions have contributed so largely to its accomplishment. At two o'clock the workmen and numerous assemblage of our farmers and citi- zens sat down at the discharge of a signal gun, to an excellent dinner prepared by Mr. O. Helme."
With the completion of the toll house, sides and roof of the structure in the Spring of 1826, the "old covered bridge", by which name it was known to several subsequent generations of residents of Luzerne County, became a reality. An initial dividend of $1.25 per share was paid on the stock, January 1, 1829, from which time forward, until the County of Luz- erne took over its property on June 16, 1908, securities of the company were held in high esteem by local investors.
There is little more of its his- tory to be narrated. The Spring freshet of 1861, wrought some dam- age to its piers, and the bridge was closed to traffic for several weeks. Repairs were concluded in June however, and with the exception of some replacements necessitated by the freshet of 1865, service continued MARKET STREET BRIDGE TOLL HOUSE Flood of 1865 to be uninterrupted by any further action of the elements until it was decided to demolish the structure. In the Spring of 1885, the toll house at the Wilkes-Barré end being considered unsafe, was torn down. The year 1892 sealed the doom of the old bridge. The present (1924) steel structure at North street having been completed September 1, 1888,
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traffic from Market street was diverted to this new highway while the timbers of the historic old structure gave place to the then modern steel spans which were to supersede them. The old bridge was closed to traffic January 1, 1892, and on April 16th of the same year, the new and present Market street bridge was thrown open to the use of the public. At this writing, it, too, has out- lived its usefulness as a means of accommodating the pressure of modern traffic and, like its predecessor, it will eventually give way to what is hoped will become one of the most commodious and beautiful bridges of the country.
Events of any growing community in America cumulated in such volume and moved with such rapidity, in earlier decades of the nineteenth century, that no historian, in attempting to set them down, can do more than select matters of permanent importance from among the mass of happenings of that period.
Court sessions were invariably a matter of interest. A notice appearing in the Gleaner of August 16, 1811, indicated with what curiosity the community viewed the appearance of Judge Seth Chapman of Northumberland, who suc- ceeded the learned buit arbitrary Judge Cooper who had been impeached as President Judge :*
"The court was numerously attended, curiosity called many to Court to see the new judge. The deportinent of Judge Chapman is very mild and conciliatory, and his decisions have been very satisfactory. Judge Cooper has formally protested against the Judge's taking his seat, claiming still to be the President Judge of the Court, as he contends he was not constitution- ally removed."
*Incidents connected with the dramatic proceedings leading to Judge Cooper's impeachment will be found in the following obituary of Judge Cooper, published in the Williamsport Gacette and Bulletin shortly after his death:
"JUDGE COOPER, a distinguished Englishman, was born in London, October 22, 1759. He was educated at Oxford and became proficient in chemistry and acquired an extensive knowledge of law and medicine. lle was driven ont of England on account of the very active part he took in favor of the French Revolution of 1789, which brought him in conflict with Edmund Burke, who threatened him with prosecution. He fled to America and joined his friend. Dr. Priestly, at Northumberland, in 1794, who had preceded him a few years. Soon after his arrival here he entered on the practice of the law, in the courts then presided over by Judge Rush.
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