USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania : a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 66
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Resolved That $150 be specially appropriated for turnpiking State street from Ninth to the south side of Twelfth street and that John Hay be authorized to make the contract.
Resolved That the street regulators be instructed by the high con- stable to ascertain and mark without delay the centre of State street and make report to the council at next meeting, the expense to be paid out of the above appropriation.
Now it is not to be understood that there was at the time a passable road between the points named in the above resolution which directs turn- piking to be done, though that might be inferred. As a matter of fact there was no road more than a mere wagon trail. On May 26, 1807, 10 days after council ordered the turnpiking done, this resolution was adopted :
Resolved That the balance of this year's tax (after deducting $30 for incidental expenses and $5, to be laid out as hereinafter mentioned) be laid out in improving State street northwardly from the south side of Twelfth in manner following, to wit: All the timber, etc., within the same to be cut within one foot of the ground and be burned, the timber
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(stumps?), etc., to be grubbed out eighteen feet on each side of the centre, and to be turnpiked 32 feet wide with a ditch two feet wide on each side thereof. turnpike to be raised 18 inches in the middle ; and that John Hay and Thomas Forster be authorized to contract for making the same and to draw on the treasurer for the amount thereof.
The little town was in a corner of the woods. All of the space west of French street, including the parks, was the primeval forest. The authorities had taken steps to reach out into the world in a southerly direction, but at home the pioneer life still prevailed and the crude meth- ods, one of which found rebuke by the passage of the following ordinance on Aug. 4, 1807 :
An ordinance prohibiting persons from throwing stumps, etc .. in the water course that passes through the borough.
Be it ordained and enacted by the town council of the borough of Erie, That from and after the 12th day of January next, any person who shall throw stumps, logs, or any other substance subject to decay into the gully or water course that passes through the borough where the streets cross the same, or in the public square, shall pay a fine of $5 for the use of the borough, with costs of prosecution and the same shall be removed at the expense of the person throwing them in.
Here you have in an official enactment the story of the ravine that passed through the park, and somehow that ordinance to me contains hints of the scent of hemlock spruce and sweet fern that would hover about that gully in the park, and in imagination I can hear the rippling of the water down below the rustic bridge and the trill of the wood thrush overhead. It was in the park, that then was not so formal as our park today, but was more charming.
It was not until 1810 that attention was directed to the lower part of State street. That became the subject of importance at a meeting held at Mr. Bueller's July 30, of that year, with these councilmen present, Wil- liam Wallace, Conrad Brown. Arch. McSparren, Samuel Hays and Thomas Forster and this resolution was passed :
Resolved that the burgess be authorized to draw a warrant on the treasury of the borough of Erie in favor of any person or persons for the sum of $14, payable in county warrants, who shall clear State street from the north side of Front street to the centre of the public square of all brush, logs, and wood of every description, lying or being in said street. to be approved by a majority of the council when the same shall be said to be completed.
Resolved that Samuel Hays and Arch. McSparren be a committee to contract for taking out the stumps for 20 feet on each side of the centre of State street and filling in the holes from the south side of the public square to the north end of the bridge between Ninth and Tenth streets.
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Slowly but steadily the borough was making progress. On May 6, 1807, a resolution was passed. "That the inhabitants of the borough are at liberty to plant trees on the streets." The first market ordinance was passed May 26, 1806, but it proved abortive, and others to take its place were passed in 1814 and 1815. On September 15, 1815 it was voted to appropriate $350 to buy a fire engine, and next year a second- hand one was procured, and then the inquiry was set afoot, "what will it cost to get it in repair?" On September 9, 1815, the County Com- missioners reported that they had completed the filling of the ravine in the public square as far as they intended to and asked the borough officers to take hold now and do the rest. This improvement was in front of the new courthouse that had been built in 1808, and it indicated how the march of progress had set in toward the south, even at that early day.
CHAPTER III .- THE BOROUGH CHARTERED.
EARLY TROUBLES .- TOWN FINANCES .- WATER SUPPLY .- THE CANAL .- WAR OF 1812 .- VISITS OF NOTABLES.
The borough, having become incorporated and organized, and having bravely set out upon the road to become great, hewing its way out of the forest in the construction of that road, it is interesting to note how the founders of Erie set about the work before them and how they met the various problems that were constantly arising to confront them. There were no guide books available in those days to point out the way or direct the Burgess and Council what to do or how to do it; nothing but the pressing problem of the time, that continued to arise, though always in some new form or aspect. It was not much more than an opening in the woods for many years, but that opening was being gradually extended, and in an orderly fashion, for there was a plan to work up to, and de- velopment was along lines so laid down that they could not be varied.
This plan was with reference to the streets, and it has been already stated, by what means the laying out and improvement of the town's high- ways was prosecuted. Then, as now, funds were required with which to pay for the work done. To levy a tax and collect it was of course the approved method of procuring the needful, and accordingly a levy of half a mill was imposed. They were economical; extremely so. But it cost money to grub out stumps and turnpike the streets, and the adventitious aid that was afforded by sentencing the town drunkards to dig out the proper number of stumps that the offence against public good order called for. besides the Saturday afternoon grubbing bees of the good citizens, was not enough to enable the town government to do all that was re- quired by the slow but yet steady growth of the little town. So it be- came necessary to look about for another source of revenue. This was found in the water lots, which the act of 1805 permitted the Burgess and Town Council to sell, and devote the proceeds to public improvement. At the beginning there was not much demand for these water lots, for the commerce of the port was not extensive, and anything of greater tonnage than a batteau, or at best a small sloop, was halted at the harbor entrance, and the public landing on the sand beach, with the warehouse erected there, afforded ample facilities for Erie's 'import and export trade. It was not until the business in salt developed that Erie's com-
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merce became entitled to the name. So the proceeds of the sale of the water lots were not available as a dependable prop upon which to lean at the time the borough was begun. But soon this source came into prac- tical use.
Then arose another problem. The lots when sold were not paid for in full, in cash. There was a hand payment and two or more deferred payments. There seemed to be no Erie banker then who was ready to discount the notes received from the purchasers of the lots. Years after- wards Rufus S. Reed, and, succeeding him, his son, Charles M. Reed, could always be depended upon for such accommodations. But then it was different. Consequently it became necessary to resort to an expedient, for money was wanted, and at once. The problem was solved by the adoption by the borough council, on August 3, 1816, of the following resolution :
"That the Burgess and Town Council do issue small bills or notes (bearing interest) to an amount equal to four-fifths of the purchase money arising from the late sale of water lots; that said bills or notes be redeemable out of said purchase money, and that the Borough be author- ized to send to Pittsburg and obtain a quantity of suitable paper for said bills."
This resolution was carried out as appears by the action of Council taken on November 4, the same year, when the Burgess was directed to issue 24 bills of the denomination of 25 cents ; 48 of 50 cents; 22 of 31} cents ; 192 of 25 cents, and 240 of 12} cents. The currency issue of the borough, it will therefore appear, amounted to the sum of $147, all of which was to be devoted to the work of public improvement (about enough at the present time to pay for a street intersection). Money went farther in those days. But, look over the schedule again and note the deference paid to the shilling, which was then and for nearly three- quarters of a century afterwards the standard unit of monetary computa- tion.
For a long time the Borough was bothered by the financial bugaboo -indeed the city has troubles of much the same sort even at the present time. It was not a steady practice to issue currency in the name of the corporation, but instead, warrants were issued that became current, and these it appears were from time to time turning up, along with the regular Borough scrip, not all of which had been redeemed with promptness, for it was directed by a resolution adopted on July 7, 1827, "That the treasurer of the Borough receive for all debts now due the Borough, for water lots and otherwise, Borough money issued by the Burgess, and receipt for the same as if paid in specie. The fruit of this resolution is apparent in similar action taken on May 3, 1828, when it was voted
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"That the uncurrent money in the Borough treasury, amounting to twelve dollars (in paper), is not worth preserving, and that it be burnt and the treasurer credit himself with the same." Then came an act of re- pudiation. It is sad to record it of those who were striving to build up in this wilderness a community that was destined to become a great city, but that is what it amounted to, as the following extract from the record of the date of July 15, 1829, will show: "Resolved That the treas- urer of the Borough and the collector be required not to receive small bills purporting to be bills drawn by the burgess and treasurer of said Borough, on account of taxes and debts due the Borough." It is barely possible the paper referred to in the last quoted act was spurious, though that is not stated. However that may be. the ghost of the Borough currency had not been laid, for as late as April 12, 1832, it again made its appearance. Apparently it had been forced upon the attention of the council and came up out of a disputed claim, for the resolution adopted was "That the Treasurer receive from Anson Jewett small bills or Bor- ough warrants issued by the Burgess and Treasurer in 1816, in payment of his market house rent and due by him, year 1828."
It thus appears that for sixteen years the Borough of Erie was oppressed with the incubus of a currency debt that at the start appeared to be so harmiless. And it amounted to only $147! But it was not the last experiment in Borough currency. On July 23, 1847, the period of the flush times soon after the canal was opened. there occurred another financial strait which was bridged by the following resolution :
That the Clerk be, and he is hereby instructed, to order of Messrs. Danthforth. Spencer & Hufty of New York, two plates in the simili- tude of bank notes for this borough, and to print therefrom bills to the amount of $6,000, $4,000 of which sum shall be of the denomination of one dollar and the balance of the denomination of two dollars.
In the year 1816 the Borough authorities for the first time had the subject of a general water supply brought to their attention. It does not appear that the wells had run dry or that there had been any calamity or conflagration to urge it upon their attention, for the resolution is without preamble. At any rate Thomas Laird, Robert Brown and Sam- uel Hays were appointed to confer with Rufus S. Reed and Major David McNair respecting the privilege of bringing water from Ichabod's run into the borough. Ichabod run was a stream that had its rise in the southwestern corner of the present city, and that was fed by springs from the gravelly ridge south. Its course was east from about Twentieth and Cranberry streets to Millcreek at Sixteenth or Seventeenth street, and it is now taken care of by the Seventeenth street sewer. It does not appear that any report was made by that committee. At any rate the water works matter slumbered until 1822, when, on May 6, the Council
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in a general way laid the matter before the public in such form as to invite and encourage private enterprise, the declaration being that any one who may wish to do so "has every permission and privilege the Council can give, to bring water in pipes underground through any of the streets of the Borough." The only conditions prescribed were that no damage be done to streets, sidewalks or property, and that water be furnished in case of fire.
No one was ready to take advantage of the liberal offer made, and again the subject hibernated, this time for a period of sixteen years. But when again it awoke from its lethargy it gave evidence of having devel- oped strength. On May 14, 1838, a resolution called for an examination of Ichabod's run and the spring on Reed's farm with the view of testing their capability of supplying the Borough with water. On the 25th of the same month there was a favorable report on the capacity and altitude, and, after considering the matter, on June 29 of the same year it was voted to advertise in Philadelphia for a loan of $40,000 for waterworks. It was a big project. But it failed. The spring on Reed's farm referred to was located between Holland and German streets at about Twentieth street, and supplies the water for the artificial product of the Consumers Ice Co.
There were no results from the advertising, but meanwhile there had been an occurrence which put spurs in the sides of the town officials and set things in motion. The Mansion House, Erie's leading hotel, was burned down on January 24, 1840, and it set the people to considering. After a year of thought, on April 16, 1841, a petition was presented ask- ing that immediate steps be taken to supply the town with water as a means of safety against fire, and on June 11 following it was voted to advertise for proposals for carrying water into town in logs. The advertising failed in results, and a committee was appointed on June 25 (R. S. Reed and T. G. Colt) empowered to contract for bringing water into Erie in wooden pipes and to provide ways and means therefor. The result was that the pump-log water works was constructed at a total cost of $442.28. Again it may be remarked that money went farther in the good old days than it does now. But then ; consider what that water works amounted to.
They had their scares in the olden times, and plagues and pestilences were as great a menace as they have been known to be later. In 1831 Dr. Vosburg and Dr. Kellogg reported that a family named Martin, in- fected with small-pox, were quartered in one of the buildings in the old navy yard. The navy yard, established in 1813, while Perry's fleet was being built, was abandoned by the Government in 1826, but there were buildings remaining. The action of Council on the report of the doctors was to order the family removed to the old block house on the peninsula. Vol. I-39
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The next year there came the cholera scare. Happily Erie was not visited, though many other places were, including some on the shores of Lake Erie. Here prompt action was taken. The town was quaran- tined. Steamboats were kept at a distance and travelers forbidden ad- mission. It was ordered that the town should be thoroughly purified ; that the houses should be cleaned; that drunkards and vagrants were to be locked up, and all tippling places and groceries were to be proceeded against. Perhaps Erie's immunity at the time that plague was so trouble- some elsewhere was due to the vigorous action taken, but whether it was due to the precautions or escaping exposure, the dread disease found no foothold here.
For a time there seemed to be nothing more serious to disturb the peace, good order and safety of the little community than fast driving and the vagrant cattle, swine, sheep and geese, all of which the Council felt called upon to take notice of by pretty regularly recurring public declarations with now and then a protest against rubbish in the streets and stumps in the ravines. However, in 1847 the confidence and feeling of security received a gentle shock that prompted the Council to take up the subject of a hospital and declare that one should be built. But it was not. Instead the matter dragged along for a year, when the matter was indefinitely postponed. But there were happenings, and in 1849 Councils passed a resolution (legislation was then principally by resolution) to build a hospital, and the records show that one was built, but how, or where, or what manner of building it was, what it cost, and what its scope are left to the conjecture of those of future generations who scan the pages of the minute books.
After it had become a settled thing, by the passage of favorable legis- lation, that the Pennsylvania Canal was to be extended from Pittsburg to Erie, there was an immediate and notable awakening of interest in Erie, from outside as well as at home. In the year 1836 it developed into a boom. In that year the Erie branch of the United States bank at Philadelphia was built. being by far the most costly and pretentious building-or collection of buildings, for there were three in the group -- that Erie could boast of. It is one of Erie's most noteworthy buildings of the present day, now going by the name of the old Custom House. Real estate quickly took on sensational values, and the sales were enor- mous. The extent to which the boom attained may be estimated from the fact that during a single week in March, 1836, the sale of lots in the little borough of Erie amounted to $1,500,000. The boom in real estate continued into 1837, when there was a bursting of the bubble, far more sudden than the inflation had been, and hundreds who had believed themselves rich in a day found themselves in poverty and even in dis- tress. It was a picturesque. thuogh brief epoch in the history of the town.
Then there came on the epoch of the town pump. Now the town pump was more of an institution in Erie than the mention of it will
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suggest. To be sure it served as a place where the thirsty citizen could supply his pressing need and country cousin could water his team, for each of the wells was provided with its watering trough. But it was more. It was the main reliance of the populace in time of fire. There was a fire department in Erie-a fire department after its kind. It was organized in 1813, when hooks, ladders and leather buckets were pro- cured and these served until an engine was bought in 1815 and put in commission after repairs, in 1816, when a fire engine company was or- ganized. But it was one of the earliest design, and the town pump was a necessary adjunct, with its watering trough, for the water was lifted from the trough in pails and emptied into the engine to be pumped from that into the hose, while the supply in the trough was kept up by per- sistent work at the pump handle. This being the modus operandi it can readily be guessed that the town pump had to be multiplied. At that time 300 feet of hose was regarded as an abundant supply. Therefore the town pump was distributed through the town, and with discriminat- ing care. In the year 1839 there were seven, located as follows: One at Capt. Dobbins's, Third and State ; at the American Hotel, where the Erie Trust Company's building now stands; on lower French street, not definitely stated ; on Fifth street; on the Public Square; at Sixth and French streets, and on Fifth and State streets. They were located in the highway, and bills for repairs, to keep them always in serviceable condition, were frequently coming before the meetings of council.
The construction of the pump-log water works to some extent sup- planted the town pump, and at the same time resulted in modernizing the engine equipment. It is not to be understood that the town was equipped with fire hydrants or that the engines were operated by steam, for both of these later day civic necessities were then still many years in the future. But, the best they could then do the council did. Reser- voirs of considerable capacity were constructed, one at the intersection of Fifth and French and another at State and Seventh streets. These were supplied with water from the wooden pipes of the water works and out of them the water was drawn by the new engines through a suction hose.
It will be observed that all the time Erie was making progress up- wards. The next important step was recorded in the minutes as follows : "Council convened July 30, 1845, in pursuance of the order of the Burgess to take into consideration a petition from citizens, praying council to purchase a town clock. Said petition contained the signatures of Smith Jackson and 97 others." The story of the town clock as gleaned from the musty old records is not without something of interest. It appears that H. T. Dewey had a clock to sell and the petition was in consequence of that circumstance. Council at once took action. A committee was appointed to negotiate with Mr. Dewey and buy the clock, provided its cost was not more than $400, and another was appointed to examine the different cupolas of the town and select the one most proper to re-
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ceive the clock. On the 8th of August a committee was appointed "to provide ways and means, upon the faith of the corporation, for the pay- ment of the in-hand installment due Mr. Dewey for the town clock bought of him."
Then ensued the usual clock troubles. In July, 1847, a committee was appointed "to examine the condition of the town clock"; in Decem- ber of the same year a committee was named to make a contract for winding the town clock, and in May, 1848, came Moses Koch and asked Council to pay the notes held by him, given by Council for the town clock, whereupon a committee was appointed to examine the clock and report. Then came the end. It appeared that the cupola selected when the clock was bought was that of the First Presbyterian Church. In August, 1848, the officers of the church served notice that they were about to repair the building and asked that the clock be removed, as it was in the way. From all that appears of record that was the last of the town clock. It does not appear that Mr. Koch was paid for the notes he held.
During nearly the whole history of the borough of Erie the princi- pal attention paid to the streets was to get the stumps out and to turn- pike them sufficiently to permit the water to find the ditches on the side. The grading was far from perfect, and when the ground was compara- tively level the method adopted to render the highway serviceable was not by the employment of a civil engineer to carefully lay out and grade the roadway, but to depend upon the assistance rendered by nature-very much the same method that is pursued on most of the country roads at the present time. After a section of road had been "made," the authori- ties left it to itself and patiently awaited the next shower. If the rain was heavy enough it indicated where more filling was necessary, and the places where pools of water collected were marked, so as to receive more filling. It was not until 1850 that a regular borough surveyor was ap- pointed in the person of Samuel Low.
Nor were sewers a source of trouble to the citizens of the borough. The first mention of a sewer at a meeting of Council was on May 23, 1845. when R. O. Hulbert appeared and petitioned the council for a sewer in French street to furnish drainage for the cellars of citizens. There is no record that any action was taken on the petition. The first work entitled to the name of sewer was probably the covered drain that extended through the ravine passing diagonally across State street and a portion of the east and west park, under the City Hall and Park Church, on the south, and Brown's Hotel and the Gallagher building on the north. Another drain of a similar character was found some years ago in Eleventh street from French street to Millcreek. Neither of these, however, existed by the authority of an act of the borough council, and the date of their construction cannot be given. Public sewers came years after the incorporation of the city.
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