USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Annals of Luzerne County; a record of interesting events, traditions, and anecdotes > Part 24
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The people of New England long ago manifested their appreciation of agriculture, by establishing societies for its promotion, and importing improved stock from the Old World.
In 1788, the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, which had been established several years before at the request of the Supreme Executive Council, made a learned report on the subject of the Hessian fly. The king of England had issued his proclamation forbidding the entry of American wheat into British ports, on account of this destructive insect ; and it was this circumstance which led to the investigation by the Philadelphia Society, and resulted advantageously to our farmers.
In 1849, the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society was organized, and the first State Fair held in the follow-
342
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
·
ing year at Harrisburg. Since then societies have been organized in almost every county in the Commonwealth.
In January, 1810, the Luzerne County Agricultural Society was first organized, in the old court-house at Wilkesbarre. Jesse Fell, Esq., was chosen chairman, and Dr. R. H. Rose secretary of the meeting. A constitution was adopted, and the following officers were chosen for the year : Jesse Fell, Esq., president; Matthias Hollen- back, Esq., vice-president; Thomas Dyer, Esq., treasurer ; Peleg Tracy, recording secretary; and Dr. Rose and Jacob Cist, corresponding secretaries. The preamble to the constitution declared the object of the society to be for the improvement and advancement of agriculture, by introducing improved breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and the best grain, such as wheat, rye, corn, &c., and the improvement of the soil by lime and manure.
The prominent and efficient actors in this movement were Dr. Rose and Jacob Cist, Esq., both enterprising men, laboring for the advancement of useful knowledge, and possessing perhaps a greater share of scientific agri- cultural information than any other two gentlemen in the county.
No proceedings of the Society have been preserved other than a report made in 1811, on 19 specimens of cloth, presented by Mr. Ingham, all of which were pro- nounced creditable. The pieces particularly noticed were those wrought by Miss Luckey, Raphael Stone, R. Ing- ham, A. Stevens, N. Stevens, and Joseph Ingham.
There is preserved also a list of premiums proposed in 1824, as follows: For the best field of wheat, less than 30 acres, $5; for the best field of corn and rye, $5; for the best field of oats or buckwheat less than 30 acres. $3; for the best acre of potatoes, $3; for the best half- acre of flax, $4; for the best quarter-acre of rutabaga
343
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
turnips and tobacco, each $3; best ram, $3; best ewe, $3; best bull, $5; best cow, $5; best piece of woolen cloth, $5; second best, $3; best piece of flannel, $4 ; best piece of domestic carpet, $4 ; best piece of linen, one yard wide, $3; best quality of cheese, less than 100 pounds, $5; best sample of butter, not less than 20 pounds, $3 ; best made plow, $5; best quantity of stone fence, not less than 25 rods, $5; for a bushel of the best apples or peaches, $1.50; for the best watermelon, 50 cents.
For the best essay on the Hessian fly, and preventing its ravages, there was offered a premium of $5; for the best essay on the various species of curculio, and the mode of destroying them, $5; for the best essay on agriculture or manufactures, $5.
To many readers this list may seem wholly uninterest- ing, but to some it will appear curious and instructive. showing the deep interest manifested by our people, near fifty years ago, in agriculture and manufactures. It exhibits a striking contrast with the apathy on this sub- ject which has characterized us for many years gone by.
About this time the several turnpike roads, connecting the centre and extremities of the county with Easton and Philadelphia, were completed, or in process of completion. John Stoddart, then one of the most wealthy citizens of Philadelphia, who had subscribed $50,000 to the capital stock of the Lehigh Navigation Company, and through whose influence Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Girard had sub- scribed each a like amount, laid out Stoddartsville, and in 1816 erected a large merchant-mill at that place, with a view to purchasing the grain of Luzerne county, and manufacturing it into flour for the Philadelphia market. The merchants of Easton deposited money at Wilkesbarre to buy grain, and during the winter hundreds of sleds, drawn by noble horses, might be seen wending their way
344
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
slowly with their heavy loads, up the mountain side, destined for the markets below. They returned with salt, sugar, molasses, and other necessaries. During the summer and fall the covered broad-wheeled Conestoga wagons, moved by four or six splendid draught-horses, were.constantly employed in transporting the productions of the county to market.
CONESTOGA WAGON.
The old route, by which the produce of the county was conveyed, in Durham boats, to Middletown, and thence by teams to Philadelphia, a distance of 220 miles, was now superseded by new avenues, which brought the market within 60 miles of us. It was these circum- stances which induced the efforts to advance the agricul- tural interests by premiums, and by the dissemination of useful information among the people.
In 1775 wheat sold in Wilkesbarre at 4 shillings or 68 cents per bushel, rye at 51, and corn at 34 cents. In
345
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
1799 wheat sold in Easton at 14 shillings per bushel, and in 1801 at 15 shillings, while 372 cents per bushel was paid for its transportation from Wilkesbarre to that place. In 1808 wheat sold in Wilkesbarre at 4 shillings and 6 pence per bushel, and in 1821 superfine flour sold at $3.25 per barrel. In 1822 wheat here was $1; rye and corn, 75 cents ; buckwheat, 55 cents ; and flaxseed, 87} cents. In 1827 wheat was $1.06; rye, 87₺ cents; oats, 43 cents ; and flour, $5 per barrel in Easton. In 1830 wheat in Wilkesbarre was 75 cents; rye, 45; corn, 40; buckwheat, 31; butter, 12}; and cheese, 6 cents. In 1831 flour was $5 per barrel ; wheat, 95 cents per bushel ; butter, 10 cents per pound ; cheese, S cents ; and eggs, 10 cents per dozen.
Occasionally, the farmer received a very high price for wheat, as in 1800, but the average price from that year to 1834, when the canal to the Lackawanna was com- pleted, and an avenue for our coal was opened, did not exceed $1 per bushel in Wilkesbarre, or $1.10 in Easton and Stoddartsville.
The average prices of other grains were not more than 50 cents per bushel, while that of butter was 12, and of cheese 7 cents per pound.
If, then, at these prices agriculture was encouraged and cherished, and the farmers became prosperous and wealthy, how much greater is the inducement to culti- vate the soil at the present day, when the prices of pro- duce are nearly double, and when the farmers find a market at their very doors ?
The following table exhibits the prices of grain and butter in Luzerne county, from 1847 to 1859, inclu- sive :-
346
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
Year.
Flour.
Wheat.
Rye.
Corn.
Oats.
Buck wheat.
Butter.
1847
$7.50
$1.37
$0.65
$0.56
$0.37
$0.50
$0.18
1848
6.50
1.25
.62
.56
.40
.50
.16
1849
7.00
1,30
.65
.60
.42
.55
.18
1850
7.50
1.37
.68
.58
.45
.55
.20
1851
7.00
1.25
.65
.56
.40
.50
.20
1852
8.00
1.50
.70
.60
.40
.50
.18
1853
12.00
2.50
1.00
.90
.58
.75
.22
1854
10.00
2.00
1.00
.75
.50
.75
.22
1855
10.00
2.00
1.00
.90
.56
.75
.25
1856
10.00
2.00
.70
.70
.45
.56
.25
1857
8.00
1.75
.75
.62
.45
.50
.25
1858
7.50
1.62
.75
.75
.45
.56
.25
1859
6.50
1.35
.60
.56
.40
.50
.20
Pork has risen in price from 5 to 7 cents per lb., and hay from $9 to $14 per ton, during the same period. In some years the prices of the articles before mentioned may have varied, but in the main this table, made up from reliable sources, is correct .*
Notwithstanding these remunerative prices for agricul- tural products, the farming interest has declined among us. Hundreds of acres of excellent land, once product- ive, have been purchased by coal companies, and now yield barely enough to pay taxes, while our farmers, in many cases, neglect the improvement of their lands by manures, and their stock by imported breeds. This state of things being manifest to every observer, a number of gentlemen, anxious to stimulate renewed efforts in favor of agriculture, called a meeting at the court-house in Wilkesbarre, in 1850, and after appointing delegates to the Farmers' Convention to meet at Harrisburg, adjourned to meet again in January, 1851. At that subsequent meeting, the second Luzerne County Agricultural So- ciety was organized. Addresses were delivered by Judge Conyngham, General E. W. Sturdevant, S. F. Headley, Esq., and others, and in the following April officers for the ensuing year were elected. They were, General Wm.
* During the late rebellion the above prices increased 100 per cent .; and in some instances 200 per cent.
347
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
S. Ross, president ; Hon. John Koons and Hon. William Hancock, vice-president; S. D. Lewis, Esq., treasurer ; George H. Butler, recording secretary; Washington Lee, Jr., corresponding secretary; and Charles Dorrance and Wm. P. Miner, curators. Two hundred farmers, and other persons interested in the promotion of agriculture, united with the society, and the promise was very fair for great improvement in that direction. This, however, was a delusion. The society, like almost everything else among us, was withered, and died away under the effect of the coal land speculation.
In 1857, the Abington Agricultural Society was organ- ized by the citizens of Abington township, and held its first fair in 1858, at which there was a creditable display of the productions of the northern portions of our county. This society is now known as the Northern Luzerne Ag- ricultural Society.
In 1858, the third Luzerne County Agricultural So- ciety was organized at Mr. Wambold's, in Kingston. Charles Dorrance, Esq., was chosen president; General E. W. Sturdevant, Samuel Wadhams, Benjamin Harvey, C. D. Shoemaker, Esqs., and others, vice-presidents. A constitution was adopted, executive and other committees were appointed, and preparations were made for holding the first fair of the society on the 27th and 28th of the following October, at or near the village of Wyoming.
The editor of the Times, at Wilkesbarre, speaking of the fair, says :-
" The first annual fair of the Luzerne County Agricul- tural Society, on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, was a decided success, far beyond the most sanguine anti- cipations of its most ardent friends. Too much praise cannot be awarded to the president, Colonel Dorrance, and those members of the executive committee who took
348
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
charge of the arrangements, and carried them to a suc- cessful termination.
" And we feel authorized to say, as the expression of the president and of the executive committee, that pub- lic acknowledgments are due to Mr. James Jenkins and his friends of Wyoming, for the faithful and prompt man- ner in which they carried out their offer to enclose the grounds and prepare a track and stands in time for the fair. It was done gracefully and splendidly. The State Fair never had finer grounds for an exhibition. And as if Providence, willing to help those who help themselves, smiled on the enterprise, the weather continued clear, mild, and delightful through the month, and particularly pleasant during the fair days.
" It is but very few weeks, not two months, since the idea of forming an agricultural society assumed a definite shape. Captain John Urquhart, a gentleman who pays much attention to the improvement of stock in the county, stepped in our office one day, and suggested the feasibility of forming a society and holding a fair. In pursuance of his suggestion, we penned and inserted in the Record of the Times, the call for a meeting at Wam- bold's, in Kingston, on the next Saturday, September 18th. The meeting was quite respectable, and a com- mittee was appointed to draft a constitution, to report at an adjourned meeting, the next Saturday, at the same place.
"The meeting was crowded-a constitution was adopted -nearly a hundred and forty members joined, and the society was organized.
" The executive committee met the next Monday, Sep- tember 27th, resolved to hold an exhibition, and accepted the proposition of Mr. Jenkins, to furnish the grounds at Wyoming. In just one short month the whole arrange-
349
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
ment was carried out, and the exhibition opened on the 27th of October."
Premiums to the amount of hundreds of dollars were awarded for the best stock, poultry, vegetables, machinery, &c., &c. The fair grounds are 50 acres in extent, on a level surface, and contain a splendid trotting course of one mile circular.
At this exhibition we saw a mountaineer with a num- ber of rattle and other snakes, the productions, as he represented, of his farm, winding themselves about his arms and neck. There was exhibited a horse with five legs ; a rooster with three legs ; a bald eagle, perched upon a pole, taken below the Eagle's Nest, near the Nanticoke dam; an ox, thin in flesh, weighing 1900 pounds; an ear of corn measuring 16 inches in length; a pumpkin weighing 200 pounds; a turnip weighing 10, and a beet
weighing 5 pounds. We also saw fine specimens of apples, pears, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables, but none excelled those of former times.
In 1824, David Adams, of Northmoreland township, now in Wyoming county, raised 284 potatoes in one hill, all from the seed of one potato.
In 1825, Jacob Cist, Esq., raised a plum, in his garden at Wilkesbarre, measuring 54 inches in circumference.
In 1827, Colonel H. F. Lamb raised a pear, in his garden at Wilkesbarre, weighing 22 ounces, and measur- ing 14} inches in circumference.
In 1832, Anderson Dana raised 15 beets in one bed, the aggregate weight of which was 119 pounds, the largest weighing 9 pounds 10 ounces.
In 1839, Henry Gabriel raised a common field pump- kin, in Plymouth, which weighed 120 pounds, and mea- sured 6 feet 42 inches in circumference.
In 1827, a mountaineer farmer collected, from his small
350
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
rocky plantation, 75 full grown rattle-snakes, which he exhibited to the editor of the Wyoming Herald, at Wil- kesbarre, and then proceeded with his crop to the Phila- delphia market.
In 1835, a goose, belonging to Abel Hoyt, in Kingston, laid an egg which measured 11 inches in length, 9 inches in circumference, and weighed 10 ounces.
Luzerne county contains about 915,000 acres of land, of which 138,000 were improved in 1850 .* The unim- proved land susceptible of cultivation is estimated at 165,000 acres, leaving 612,000 acres for mountains, water, and roads. In 1850, Lancaster county, with 400,000 acres of improved land, produced 1,365,000 bushels of wheat, 1,800,000 bushels of corn, and 151,000 bushels of rye, making the average production equal to 8 bushels per acre.
Columbia county, in 1850, with 90,000 acres of im- proved land, produced 154,000 bushels of wheat, 102,000 bushels of rye, and 200,000 bushels of corn, equal to a fraction above 5 bushels to the acre.
Wyoming county, with 46,000 acres of improved land, produced, in 1850, 62,000 bushels of wheat, 40,000 bushels of rye, and 116,000 bushels of corn, equal to 5 bushels per acre. This county produced also 211,000 pounds of butter, and 21,000 pounds of cheese.
In Luzerne county, in 1850, the average production of wheat, rye, and corn, was 4 bushels per acre ; of butter, 558,000 pounds ; and of cheese, 92,000 pounds.
The following table exhibits the agricultural produc- tions of Luzerne county, as taken by United States mar- shals, according to the census laws for the decades of 1840, 1850, and 1860 :
* 191,754 acres were improved in 1860.
351
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
Names.
1840.
1850.
1860.
Horses and Mules
6,933
4,950
7,061
Horned Cattle
30,241
18,797
26,037
Sheep
52,415
18,496
18,452
Swine
37,037
16,364
19,346
Bushels of Wheat
244,239
165,328
61,764
Bushels of Rye
97,504
125,604
253,055
Bushels of Corn
252,235
290,122
478,605
Bushels of Oats
349,094
287,797
477,090
Bushels of Barley .
45
291
619
Bushels of Buckwheat
131,923
116,173
244,264
Bushels of Clover Seed
997
1,690
Bushels of Potatoes
384,217
183,407
368,975
Barrels of Flour
34,275
18,000
6,550
Tons of Hay .
34,240
31,601
46,761
Pounds of Wool
98,643
49,372
46,892
Pounds of Butter
558,568
1,033,669
Pounds of Cheese
91,613
56,193
Pounds of Maple Sugar
4,217
19,758
35,339
Gallons of Whiskey
6,250
Distilleries
5
3
3
The cash value of the farms, in 1850, was $6,100,000; of farming implements and machinery, $236,000 .*
Wyoming county, which was set off in 1842, is, of course, included in the census of 1840 in the foregoing table.
We give these statistics for present as well as for future comparison. They show conclusively that Luzerne, ten years ago, when in our opinion more attention was given to agriculture than at present, was far behind Lancaster county, and produced less, in proportion to the number of acres under cultivation, than Columbia on the south- west, or Wyoming on the north. What the census of 1860 will exhibit we are unable to say, but we venture the assertion that the comparison will be yet more un- favorable for our county. While our population increases yearly, and we are becoming greater consumers, the inducements for improving our lands by lime and manures and the best modes of cultivation are made greater, and
* Cash value of farms in 1860, $12,497,545. Farming implements and machinery, $342,186.
352
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
it is to be hoped that Luzerne will throw off that wild spirit of speculation which has retarded her truest and most substantial interest .*
MANUFACTURES.
Agriculture and manufactures are twin sisters. They are always seen together, and hand in hand they yield each other mutual support.
As has been stated before, the wives and daughters of the early settlers, and of their immediate descendants, were manufacturers of woolen, linen, and cotton cloth. Besides producing a substantial article, they could give it all the brilliant colors from butternut to federal blue. We believe some of the old spinning-wheels of the last century are still in existence. They cannot fail to be objects of curiosity to the fashionable young ladies of the present day, who would wonder how their grandmothers could use such uncouth machines. As to the vessel in which the coloring was done, we presume the soft and lily-handed fair ones would shrink from it with expres- sions of horror and disgust.
The following table exhibits the number of looms and yards of cloth manufactured, in eight townships in the county, in 1810 :-
Townships.
Looms.
Yards of Linen Cloth.
Yards of Woolen Cloth.
Yards of Cotton Cloth.
Kingston
25
6135
1827
93
Plymouth
42
7847
1762
91
Pittston
28
5740
1690
59
Wilkesbarre
33
6531
1717
129
Exeter
31
3771
1394
80
Abington
39
2485
1429
34
Providence
36
5643
1430
147
Hanover
25
5369
1291
60
* Considering the increased number of cultivated acres in the last decade (53,754), our assertion in the foregoing pages will be found comparatively correct.
353
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
The first carding-machine of which we have any record, was one at the Old Forge, on the Lackawanna, owned by Mr. N. Hurlbut, in 1805, where wool was picked and carded at 8 cents per pound. The first fulling-mill in our borders, of which we have been able to obtain knowledge, was erected in Kingston township by Azor Sturdevant, who, in 1805, gave notice through the columns of the Federalist, that "London brown, chrome color, and federal blue, would be given to cloth in the best style." In 1811, the business was conducted by Roswell Sturdevant and Samuel Breese, who also dressed cloth. Stephen Hollister, at the same time, had a carding-machine in Kingston. John Watters & Co. also owned one on the Lackawanna, in Providence township, and Frederick Crisman one in Hanover. Indeed most of the townships appear to have had a carding and picking machine, where the wool was prepared for the spinning-wheels of the industrious matrons and young women of the neighborhood.
The 8 townships given in the foregoing table, con- tained, in 1810, 4556 sheep, the wool of which was manufactured into 12,540 yards of cloth. The number of inhabitants in these townships was 5800, and the number of looms was 259, or one loom to every three families, allowing 72 persons to each family. This shows to what an extent homespun cloth was manufactured and worn in this valley in former years. In 1850, the num- ber of sheep in Luzerne was 18,496, producing 49,372 pounds of wool, while Wyoming county, with only one- third as much improved land, contained 8809 sheep, bear- ing upwards of 20,000 pounds of wool.
Columbia county had 8392 sheep, producing 23,394 pounds of wool, and Susquehanna county had 42,971 sheep, yielding 91,456 pounds of wool. When we reflect that Luzerne is as well adapted to wool growing as Wyo-
23
354
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
ming, and has advantages over Columbia in this respect, we find she should have had, in 1850, at least 28,000 sheep, yielding from 75,000 to 80,000 pounds of wool. We suffer, in like manner, in a comparison with our neigh- bors, as to neat cattle. Luzerne contained 18,797, and Wyoming 8254 head. And so with respect to swine : while Luzerne had 16,364, Columbia had 12,783.
These are strong and unquestionable facts which speak against us. Luzerne, with great agricultural and manu- facturing advantages, with a population of from 80,000 to 90,000, and with more territory than any other county ir. the Commonwealth, does not produce one-half of the grain, beef, and pork consumed by her inhabitants, nor does she furnish one-twentieth part of their wearing apparel. We are consumers, depending upon the coal trade to bring our food and raiment from abroad, while we might be producers to the full extent of our wants, supplying the demands of our coal and mining interests from our own soil, and retaining at home large sums for profitable investment, which are now annually sent out of the county.
In 1812, Messrs. Buckingham, Cahoon, Tuttle & Parker erected a paper-mill on Toby's Creek, in Kingston township, near the present flouring-mill of Colonel Charles Dorrance, and the first paper manufactured was used in the printing-office of the " Gleaner" during the same year.
In 1829, when the mill was owned by Matthias Hollen- back, Esq., 4 men, 1 boy, and 10 girls were employed, producing, when working on foolscap writing paper, 8 reams per day ; when working on imperial printing paper, 4 reams per day ; when on super royal, 5 reams; and when on wrapping paper, 10 reams per day. The entire work, except preparing the rags, was performed by hand, and the annual sales of paper amounted to about $7000.
355
AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
It was the first and only paper manufactory ever erected in this county.7 It was abandoned several years ago, but it manifested the spirit and enterprise of the people of that day.
In 1778, John and Mason F. Alden erected a forge on Nanticoke Creek, near Colonel W. Lee's grist-mill, in Newport township. It contained a single fire and one hammer. This hammer was brought from Philadelphia, in a wagon, to Harris's Ferry (Harrisburg), and thence up the Susquehanna in a boat. The iron ore of Newport produced about 35 per cent. of metal, and was manufac- tured into bar iron, affording the only supply for the smith-shops of that day. As to the quality of the iron, we have the testimony of several persons who used it, and who declared it to be of a superior sort, equal to the best bar iron of Centre county. In 1828, a short time before the works were abandoned, Colonel Lee, then owner, sold bar iron at $120 per ton of 2000 pounds.
In 1789, Dr. William Hooker Smith and James Sutton erected a forge, with 2 fires and 1 hammer, at the falls in the Lackawanna river, now in Lackawanna town- ship. The forge yielded 400 pounds of iron in twelve hours, from the ore procured from the surrounding hills.
In 1800, Benjamin and Ebenezer Slocum erected a forge on Roaring Creek, near Scranton, containing 2 fires and 1 hammer. They continued to forge bar iron, from the adjoining bog-iron ore vein, until 1828.
In 1830, E. & J. Leidy erected a forge on the Nesco- peck Creek, in Nescopeck township, containing 2 ham- mers and 3 fires. They manufactured bar iron and blooms from the iron ore of Columbia county, and also from pig-metal. For several years, General Simon Came- ron was connected with this forge, which finally passed into the hands of S. F. Headley, Esq., who enlarged the
356
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
buildings, increased the number of fires, and conducted the business successfully. The works were in operation until 1854, since which time they have been unem- ployed.
In 1811, Francis McShane erected a small cut-nail manufactory in Wilkesbarre, and used anthracite coal in smelting the iron. He conducted a successful business for several years, selling nails by wholesale, or retail, to suit purchasers.
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