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 V > Part 24
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It should not be forgotten, of course, that all these activities, this steady progress of the municipality, hinged largely upon the development of its main industry-coal mining; and these operations depended almost wholly upon the efforts of a few very capable operators. More than in other coal centers of the anthracite fields, Hazleton shows in the history of its coal industry some outstanding personalities-not corporations, but men ; independent operators who were strong enough to prevent absorption of their coal interests by the transportation combines that at one time desparately sought to sweep away all private operators of anthracite coal. Ario Pardee's great part in the devel- opment of Hazleton mines has been referred to; the part taken by the Markles has been, to all intents, a continuation of that of the pioneer. They held indus-
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try in the quick-step that Mr. Pardee had set, but the central figure in the fight that saved the private operators of the Lehigh coalfield from domination or ruin by the railroad companies was Eckley B. Coxe. The operations of Coxe Bros. & Company, from 1865, pivoted from Drifton, but affected Hazle- ton as much as many other parts of the Lehigh region. Rather than be squeezed out of their coal properties by the avaricious railroad companies- who wanted the properties so as to be sure of the freight-Mr. Coxe started to build a belt line of railway that would give most of the large independent operators of the district access to most of the rail routes out of the coalfield. In this way, he broke the strangle-hold that one carrier company thought it held on the Eastern Middle coalfield; and to the present time the majority of the large operators of the "independent" class-so classed, to differentiate them from the "railroad coal company" class-are found to be in the Hazleton District.
George Bushar Markle, a carpenter, settled at Hazleton in 1849. By mar- riage, he was related to the wife of Ario Pardee, and his first work in Hazleton was as clerk in the "company" store of Mr. Pardee. The Pardee and Markle families were next-door neighbors. Indeed, both at first lived in the double house that stood where the Markle Building now is. When the Markle Bank Building was erected, the old frame house was drawn to the rear, on Mine Street, and torn down. Markle was Pardee's "right-hand man"-the right man to carry mining operations through a difficult period. The preparation of coal for domestic uses was getting increasingly difficult. The coal breakers then in use could not meet the need. More than half of the coal in the ground was wasted in mining. Other methods of mining and breaking must be devised. Markle, by this time, was in business for himself-at least, was in direction of a mine operation for a company of which he was the head, the other partners being Ario Pardee, J. Gillingham Fell, and William Lilly. The company was formed in 1858, and the mine they opened was the Jeddo Col- liery. There, Mr. Markle laid the sound bases of the vast fortune that he made; but he made the mine a success mainly by his mechanical genius which enabled him to see what other engineers and master mechanics could not. He designed what is to all intents the coal breaker of even recent years. For this service to the anthracite coal industry, Mr. Markle has been called the "Father of the Breaker." His breaker brought him no advantage, except in its use in his own extensive operations, but its use benefited dozens of other operators, and the industry in general. He also invented the "Markle pump," which came into demand after shaft-mining became general.
The history of mining in the Hazleton District cannot be spread exten- sively on these pages, but in giving current statistics, showing the magnitude of the coal mining industry of today, the great services rendered to all the communities of the Eastern Middle coalfield by the pioneer operators will be emphasized. Within a radius of twenty miles of Hazleton are twenty-six col- lieries and one hundred and twenty-three mines. In 1924 the output was 6,820,317 tons, giving employment to 13,671 mine workers, who were paid $28,450,343.97 in wages during that year. The value of the output was $42,365,632. The coal operators of the Hazleton District in 1926 were: The Lehigh Valley Coal Co., Coxe Bros. & Co., Inc., Jeddo-Highland Coal Co., Pardee Bros. & Co., Inc., Cranberry Creek Coal Co., Harwood Coal Co., C. M. Dodson & Co., Hazle Brook Coal Co., Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Co., Upper Lehigh Coal Co., M. S. Kemmerer & Co., Coleraine Colliery Co., Evans Col- liery Co., East Point Coal Co., Wolf's Collieries, Inc., Haddock Mining Co., Scotch Run Coal Co., Clift Coal Co., Harleigh Coal Co., Buck Mtn. Coal Mng. Co.
A reliable index to the prosperity of a city is in the condition of its banking institutions. Hazleton has seven such corporations, the aggregate surplus
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funds of these, on June 30, 1926, being $3,903.767. Their capital then was $2,200,000, and their total deposits were $28,457,849.41. Bank clearings for the year then ended totaled to $168,771,410.83. It is not necessary here to trace the individual histories of the Hazleton banks, for they have been reviewed in Chapter LI.
On December 4, 1891, Hazleton became a city. Charter was granted on that day, and election held soon afterwards, distributed the city offices as follows: N. L. Gavitt, mayor; J. W. Bogle, T. D. Jones, F. Lauderburn, William Martin, Frank McHugh, H. C. Mills, James E. Roderick, Anton Wagner, select council, with H. B. Casselbury as president and James B. Mac- Cartney as clerk. Henry Bontz, Thomas Coburn, John W. Cooper, Peter Deisroth, George J. Heyer, Andrew Houston, Henry Iffert, John F. Lemmer- hart, Philip Lindemann, John H. Moyer, William L. Murphy, Clark Price, Anthony Reilly, Andrew Ringlaben, Oliver Rinker, Josiah Smith, Andrew W. Wagner, Elliott P. Kisner constituted the common council, with the last named as president, and C. H. Lindemann as clerk. The city clerk was James P. Gorman. The city then had a population of 11,872, an assessed valuation of $9,000,000, a school attendance of about 2,000, and an aggregate of people's savings accounts of about $5,000,000. "Today," said John H. Bigelow. in January, 1927, "from State and Federal agencies, we gather the information that our population is now estimated at 38,732; our assessed valuation is $28,500,000; our school attendance is 7,600, and our bank deposits reach a total of more than $27,000,000." In other words, the city has more than trebled its possessions during the last thirty-five years.
Hazleton adopted the commission form of government in 1913, James G. Harvey being the mayor who introduced this method, and who is still mayor. His four city commissioners are: Jacob Martin, C. B. Bittenbender, Miss Caroline Kemp, and Michael Fescina. Ira Mann is city clerk, and A. D. Thomas is superintendent of schools.
The city has a bonded indebtedness of $1,560,000, but to offset this liability can show 60.62 miles of opened streets, 13.13 miles of paved streets, 32.2 miles of sewers, 35 miles of water mains, 154 fire hydrants, boulevard lighting sys- tem, a modern city hall, many large schoolhouses, three parks and eight play- grounds, five firehouses, eight sets of motor-driven fire-fighting apparatus, and 62 fire alarm boxes. The public buildings include a modern post office and a pretty library building. Hazleton Public Library, in its modern form, was organized in 1907, and in 1912 entered into possession of the Markle Memorial Library, "the only all-marble library in Pennsylvania," which building had been erected by John Markle, in memory of his parents, at a cost of about $65,000. It faces city hall, and houses about 26,000 volumes. A city tax of one-half mill covers the cost of maintaining it.
In transportation, Hazleton is served by two steam railroads, the Lehigh Valley and the Pennsylvania; one electric (third rail) railway, to Wilkes- Barre, and electric trolley service in all directions, also by a dozen or more motor bus lines. All roads seem to lead into Hazleton, and in one important respect, all lines seem to lead out of this city. This one recent development in public utilities is the Hazleton power plant, which distributes electric power to more than two hundred communities within a radius of 100 miles of Hazleton -power generated from culm, the waste product of anthracite coal mining.
In addition to this huge electric plant, which uses the waste of Hazleton's main industry, the industries of this essentially mining center are more diversi- fied than one would suppose. Hazleton has seventy-one manufacturing establishments that provide work for 3,267 males and 4,163 females. The pay roll in 1926 totaled to $6,530,154. This is in addition to the $28.450,343 mining pay roll. The manufacturing plants include a bleaching mill, a facing mill, six knitting mills, five silk mills, eight clothing factories, two iron and
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steel plants, a centrifugal pump manufactory-these in addition to the estab- lishments that draw the bulk of their business from the community itself.
Hazleton has twenty-one Protestant churches, fifteen Catholic edifices and two Hebrew synagogues ; she has fifty-six fraternal and secret societies, seven instrumental band organizations, forty clubs of social, civil or other character ; forty-seven societies of professional, cultural and other purpose, eight recrea- tional clubs-indeed, so many organized bodies of Hazleton citizens that one begins to realize that here, in this mining center, few citizens live their lives apart from their fellows. The community spirit-the spirit of democracy- is apparently strong in Hazleton.
Hughestown was taken from Pittston Township. Its early history will, therefore, be part of that of that township. It has always been an essentially mining community, adjoining Pittston Borough, and extending toward Avoca. The borough charter was granted on April 7, 1879, with jurisdiction over approximately four square miles. In 1892, its estimated population was 1,350; and the subsequent Federal figures of population are: 1900, 1,548; 1910, 2,024; 1920, 2,244.
In 1926, Hughestown had 1,256 taxables, its assessed valuation was $1,558,- 537 ; Fred Leppart was burgess, William Hutchings was president of school board, and Gail B. Young was supervising school principal. The borough then employed four teachers in high school and fifteen in the graded schools.
Jeddo-The village of Jeddo had its beginning in the mining operations of the Markle brothers of Hazleton. It was incorporated as a borough on Octo- ber 23, 1871, its territory being taken partly from Hazle Township and partly from Foster Township. To what extent it functioned separately from those townships for some years is not known ; its municipal affairs were apparently in disorder for some time, as Bradsby, in his "History of Luzerne County" (1892) makes the following reference to Jeddo, on page 582: "Jeddo was authorized to form a borough in 1871, but has neglected to perfect any of the machinery of such a municipality."
In 1900, the population of Jeddo was 1,632; in 1910 the borough had shrunk to 377 inhabitants; and in 1920 to 364. In 1926, it had 308 taxables, with an assessed valuation of $357.468. Harry W. Buckalew was burgess in 1926, W. C. Pierce was school board president, and Sam Shellenberger was school principal.
Kingston-The village of Kingston was advanced to borough status on November 23, 1857. The first election was held at the house of Thomas Wam- bold on December 15, 1857, and resulted in the election of the following : Reuben Jones, burgess ; Bestor Payne, Marshall G. Whitney, Reuben Marcy, Thomas Pringle, and Richard Hutchins, councilmen ; Edward A. Pringle, high constable.
The outstanding events of Kingston's history are in many instances linked with those of Kingston Township, and, indeed, with the settlement history of the Wyoming Valley. Many other pages of this work contain Kingston his- tory. The coming of the forty men of Connecticut to this part of the Wyom- ing Valley in 1769 gave Kingston its first settlers. Who the first settler within the borough limits of Kingston was is not certainly known, but it is generally recognized that James Atherton, who came in 1769, with his sons James, Ashael, and Elisha, was the pioneer who built Kingston's first log house. Its site was later that of the old academy on Main Street.
Prior to 1796, the first frame house was built. It was occupied by Epaphras Thompson, "a silversmith, and a Baptist of the Hardshell order." The first and only mills-grist and saw-built in Kingston were those of Peter Grubb, on Toby's Creek, in 1790. They were torn down in 1826 and became the site
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of the Kingston Coal Co.'s No. I Shaft. The first storekeeper was Henry Buckingham, who was doing business in the village even before the time when Conestoga wagons, drawn by four, six, or eight horses, began to bring goods from New York or Philadelphia into the valley. It is said that in Revolu- tionary days a schoolmaster and poet named Tracy (or Tracey) kept a tavern in Kingston. He comes into particular notice as the author of the ballad, entitled "The Massacre of Wyoming." The Exchange Hotel was built in 1804, by John Ebert. A distillery was built opposite in 1808. There "corn juice" was made-mostly from potatoes. The first interment in the first cemetery, which was on the Gallup farm, was the body of Nathaniel Gates. He died on November 7, 1793.
Basing its prosperity mainly on coal, Kingston has gone steadily forward in other directions as well. It is now an important silk manufacturing center, especially since Kingston and Dorranceton merged municipalities. The con- solidation of these two places took place in 1921, and in the two places, all now in Kingston Borough, are the West Side Mills, Crane Bros., Inc., Dorranceton Silk Works, Hess-Goldsmith Co., the Fromberg Silk Co., Kingston Silk Throwing Co., Luvan Silk Co., Gillis-Krych Co., Fashion Silk and Belmont Silk, these employing approximately 2,500 mill workers. The mining com- panies of the West Side are the Glen Alden Coal Co. (formerly the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western), Lehigh Valley Coal Co., Hudson Coal Co., King- ston Coal Co., East Benton Coal Co., Haddock Mining Co., and the Temple Iron and Coal Co.
In 1900, Kingston's population was only 3,846; in 1910 it was 6,449; and in 1920 it was 8,952. With the population of Dorranceton, the enlarged bor- ough of Kingston, in 1921, possessed a population of 15,286. In 1926, King- ston's taxable inhabitants numbered 12,543, and the assessed valuation then was $19,791,061. Burgess, 1926: G. Murray Roat.
Kingston has had phenomenal growth in industrial directions, and it has always been an educational center, widely known as the home of the Wyoming Seminary. In secondary and elementary public schools, also, Kingston has high rating. The public schools of the borough employed no less than one hundred and thirty-five teachers in 1926. When incorporated, Kingston prob- ably had not that many pupils.
As the birthplace of Henry M. Hoyt, one of the ablest Governors Pennsyl- vania has had, Kingston comes into distinctive place in State records. The old Hoyt house was on "Goose Island," now "an extension of Main Street, west from Railroad Avenue."
Laflin began in the activities of the Laflin Powder Company, which in 1872 erected powder mills, at a cost of about $100,000, along Gardner Creek. The inhabitants of the village were employees of the mills. Corporate munici- pal powers were sought in 1889, and charter secured on September 10 of that year. The first borough officers were: Josiah Twist, burgess; John George, C. M. Rouse, William Weaver, Anthony Brown, E. R. Scureman. Albert Wil- liams, councilmen.
The first settlers in Jenkins Township, in the vicinity of what became Laflin, were Isaac Gould and Joseph Gardner. The latter was operating a gristmill, on the creek which bears his name, in 1794.
Population in 1900 was 254, in 1910 it was 526, and in 1920 only 473. In 1926, Laflin taxables numbered 192. Assessed valuation then was 244,981. M. J. Walsh was burgess, Edward Hart president of school board, and Thomas Carl, Jr., school principal. School enrollment was 144.
Larksville-Until Kingston and Dorranceton consolidated, in 1921, Larks- ville was the largest municipality in Luzerne County, at least in population. In 1900, Larksville's population was part of that of Plymouth Township, but
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as a borough Larksville was given separate enumeration. So we find the Federal Census Bureau crediting Larksville in 1910 with 9,288 inhabitants. Kingston then had only 6,449. In 1920 Larksville had 9,438 inhabitants, and Kingston only 8,952.
Larksville, incorporated as a borough on November 10, 1909, was formerly a village of Plymouth Township, and at one time was known as Blind Town. Many references to Blind Town will be found in the history of Plymouth Township. Hendrick B. Wright's work is the most extensive. Here it may be said that the industry of the borough, also that of the township, has always been mainly coal mining, with the progress that normally comes to a steadily operated mining property.
The taxables of Larksville in 1926 numbered 5,072. Assessed valuation : $8,916,130. Burgess: Michael Fender. President of school board: M. L. McCann. Supervising school principal: F. R. Gilbert. Number of teachers : Ninety, including twenty-six in high school.
Laurel Run-The borough of Laurel Run takes its name from station on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, in Wilkes-Barre Township. The village was separated from that township in 1881. Elections were held in February, 1882, and the following officers began the municipal government: Henry Race, burgess : H. C. Burrows, Emanuel Marshall, Patrick Walsh, Alexander Young, Thomas Hughes, and James Spearing, councilmen ; O. H. Hartland, clerk. It was an isolated community, and might well be, for its main industry was powder manufacturing, the Oliver Powder Mills having opened its Laurel Run plant in 1873.
Population : 1900, 696; 1910, 790; 1920, 774. Taxables in 1926: 555. Assessed valuation, 1926: $664,479. Burgess, 1926: Joseph G. Davies. Presi- dent of school board, 1926: John Edwards. School principal: E. R. Austin.
Luzerne Borough-In 1882, the village of Luzerne was detached from Kingston Township and became a borough. Its early history is to some extent told in that of Kingston Township, also to some extent in the general county review. John Mathers, in Johnson's "Historical Record," also gives a most complete narrative. He writes: "Josiah Squires built the first house ever in Luzerne, the noted log that stood on Toby Creek, a few rods from Waddell's Shaft. The first child born there was Elizabeth Bowman, July, 1807; the first preacher was Benjamin Bidlack; the first Sunday school super- intendent, James Abbott ; first physician, Eleazer Parker, 1809; first school- house, the Island, built 1818; first teacher, Esther Dean, fifteen pupils ; first blacksmith, Johnny Bowman ; first butcher, John Woods, 1825; first whiskey seller, Adam Shaver, 1814; first cabinet-maker, George W. Little ; first wagon- maker, Daniel F. Coolbaugh; first politician, William Hicks, Sr .; first under- taker, John W. Little; first miller, James Gray; first shoemaker, Peregrine Jones ; first carpenter, Jonas DeLong; first tanner, Samuel Thomas; first painter, Rhode Smith ; first cooper, Josiah Squires; first miners, William Evans, Henry Beck, Abel Flint; first news agents. William Barker and John Karkoff : first tailor, David Laphy; first merchant, Reuben Holgate; first gunsmith, Abel Greenleaf; first combmaker, George Houghton; first mill- wright and surveyor, James Hughes, Sr .; first milliner, Amanda Pettebone ; first dressmaker, Maria Trucks; first tailoress, Esther Marsh; first moulders, George Shafer and William Norris; first temperance lecturer, Thomas Hunt ; first gristmill, Little & Gore's ; first plaster, oil, and clover mill, George Hol- lenback's ; first drug store, William Tucks ; first postmaster, E. Walter Abbott, May 15, 1866; first tinsmiths, Martin Pemberton and James Pettebone, 1869; first candy shop, Morris Gibler's; first culm bank, the Black Diamond."
This to all intents gives the formative history of Luzerne. In the early days, it was known as Hartseph, taking that name after Zachariah Hartseph,
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"the early settler." In 1866, having four mills and a post office, the village name changed to Mill Hollow. In 1882 it was incorporated as Luzerne Bor- ough. The first borough officers were: Ziba Mathers, burgess; T. M. Fry, secretary ; Jesse T. Welter, president of council; Thomas Wright, James L. Crawford, Michael Laphy, John Thomas, and Michael Farley, councilmen.
The population and industry until 1864 were agricultural ; from that year it has been mainly mining. Wilkes-Barre water was piped to Luzerne in 1880. Kingston electric light in 1890, and Wilkes-Barre street railway con- nection in the same year.
Luzerne Borough had 3,817 inhabitants in 1900, 5,426 in 1910, and 5,998 in 1920. In 1926 its taxables numbered 3,881, with assessed valuation then totaling $1,868,231. Burgess in 1926 was Fred J. Banta. President of school board was William R. Thomas, and T. J. Osborne, supervising school prin- cipal, headed a corps of thirty-five teachers.
Miner's Mills-The history of the community known as Miner's Mills is to all intents the history of the Miner family and of Charles A. Miner and Company, millers. That is elsewhere given, and need only be briefly stated here.
Thomas Wright came from Philadelphia into the Wyoming Valley in pre- Revolutionary time. He founded Wrightsville, which is now Miner's Mills. erecting a mill at that place in 1795. This milling business passed to his son-in-law, Asher Miner, and has passed, in turn. from generation to genera- tion of the Miner family. It is still one of the leading flour milling companies of northeastern Pennsylvania. Likewise, the Miner family continues to hold the prominent part in Luzerne County's public affairs that it has always held.
The borough of Miner's Mills was chartered on December 12, 1883, and began to function with the following officers: Joseph Moore, burgess; Evan T. Morgan, secretary; John Gallagher, treasurer; George Ayres, Bernard Burke, Gavin Burt, and Thomas Borland, councilmen. The borough charter has, however, now been given up, and, with the consent of the voters, Miner's Mills was absorbed by the city of Wilkes-Barre on January 1, 1927.
Nanticoke, platted for William Stewart in 1793, became a borough in 1874 and a city in 1926.
Originally. Nanticoke was Lot No. 27. First Division, of the Hanover Township of the Susquehanna Company. For services rendered to the Con- necticut settlers, in preventing Pennsylvanians from encroaching upon the lands that Connecticut claimed as her own, Captain Lazarus Stewart, William Stewart and others were given land in Hanover Township in 1771. Lot No. 27 belonged to William Stewart, but it was not until 1793 that he tried to turn the land to advantage by town-siting it. The plat showed one hundred and thirty-six village lots, and these are approximately the old part of the present Nanticoke. At Sio each, he sold thirty-six lots quickly to Pennsylvanians who lived near Harrisburg, but not one of these buyers, it seems, took up his abode upon the acquired lot. It was a speculative age, and realty was the favored speculation. However, Stewart could sell no more than thirty-six lots at $10 each ; so he sold the remainder of Lot No. 27, First Division, of Han- over Township, to Matthias Hollenback, another large land owner. He, in turn, sold to John Mills and others; and some of those who purchased these lots settled upon them. By the way, Lot 27 was not the only tract of Hanover Township land that William Stewart owned. The several members of the Stewart family were granted thirteen of the twenty-seven lots that made up the township.
There were some settlers in the vicinity of Nanticoke, even in colonial days. William Stewart had a ferry service at this point, and in 1774 Captain William McKarrichan (McKerachan) opened a school here, also a store. He
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was killed in action, at the head of his column, in the Battle of Wyoming, on July 3, 1778. Captain Lazarus Stewart was also killed in that action.
Hanover Township, in 1796, had ninety-one "taxables," these heads of families probably being widely spread over the township. However, there was much activity along the stream that is known as Nanticoke Creek, but which Plumb, in his "History of Hanover Township," refers to by many other names-Lee's, Miller's, Robins, Bobbs, Rummage, and Warrior Run Creek. That McKarrichan should open a store and school at that point indicates that many families were settled in that part of Hanover. In 1793 a gristmill was built on Nanticoke Creek, near where the Dundee Shaft was later sunk. Plumb thinks it was Pelatiah Fitch's mill. John P. Arndt owned mills and forge at or near Nanticoke in 1818. They had evidently been long in use, for Harry Plumb was asked to go there at that time to repair them. Iron-making and iron-working was an important industry of Hanover Township until about 1830. Bradsby's "History of Luzerne County," page 606, gives this informa- tion : "A man named John Oint in 1820 built the pioneer gristmill, sawmill, oilmill, and the old forge called the trip-hammer shop. Oint sold soon to Colonel Washington Lee, who in addition opened a store and built and oper- ated a distillery." Possibly this John Oint and John P. Arndt are one and the same.
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