USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Annals of Luzerne County; a record of interesting events, traditions, and anecdotes > Part 25
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In 1836, George W. Little built a small charcoal fur- nace on Toby's Creek, near the site of the old paper-mill. The wood for the charcoal was procured from the neigh- boring hills and mountains, and the iron ore was brought from Columbia county in boats to Wilkesbarre, and carted thence to the furnace, about three miles, in wagons. Mr. Little and his successors, Benjamin Drake and others, found the business unprofitable, and after a few years the works were abandoned.
In 1842, H. S. & E. Renwick, of New York city, erected an anthracite furnace, operated by steam-power, at Wilkesbarre, eight feet in the boshes. These gentle- men carried on the manufacturing of pig-iron for about one year, after which the furnace was suffered to lie idle until 1854. It was then purchased by John MeCauley and the Messrs. Carter, of Tamaqua, who enlarged it and put it in blast.
The iron ore and limestone were transported by canal from Columbia county ; and the works, under the direct management of Mr. McCauley, yielded six tons of iron per day. The establishment was consumed by fire in 1856, and has not been rebuilt.
In 1847, Samuel F. Headley, Esq., and the Messrs. Wilson, of Harrisburg, erected a charcoal furnace, of water-power, eight feet in the boshes, at Shickshinny,
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AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
and for several years manufactured a considerable quantity of superior pig-iron from the Columbia county and New- port ores, which they mixed. The charcoal iron of this furnace was sought after by the owners of foundries in Bradford and other counties, as being superior for stove purposes. In 1852, Messrs. Headley & Wilson sold this furnace to William Koons. Mr. Koons built another furnace on Hunlock's Creek, 11} feet in the boshes, and capable of manufacturing 75 tons of pig-metal per week.
In 1839, through the exertions of Mr. W. Henry; George W. and S. T. Scranton, Sanford Grant and P. H. Mattes were induced to visit Slocum Hollow or Capouse, now Scranton, with a view to purchase coal and iron ore land, and to erect an anthracite furnace. The land was purchased, and the furnace commenced in 1840. It was successfully blown, for the first time, in 1841. Since then other capitalists have united with the company, and three additional furnaces and a large rolling-mill have been erected. The size of the furnaces is respectively 15, 17, 18, and 20 feet in the boshes; and they are 50 feet in height, capable of producing 30,000 tons of pig- iron per annum. The first engine erected for blowing the original works is of immense size, the steam-cylinder being 54 and the blowing-cylinder 110 inches in diameter, while the fly-wheel weighs 40,000 pounds. To this there has been added the power of two other engines, with steam- cylinders of 59 and blowing-cylinders of 90 inches in diameter, and fly-wheels of 28 feet in diameter, weighing 75,000 pounds. The rolling-inill is capable of making yearly from 15 to 20,000 tons of railroad iron, and 3000 tons of merchant iron, and, with the furnaces, consumes 100,000 tons of coal mined from the adjoining lands of the company. The iron ore mines of the company in the Moosic Mountain are connected with the works by a rail-
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ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
road three miles in length; but a considerable quantity of ore is also procured from mines in New Jersey and New York, and is transported to the furnaces via the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad. This is mixed with the Luzerne ore, and produces an excellent quality of iron, which has been fairly tested with English iron on the New York and Erie Railroad, and proved to be superior. These works, the result of a well-directed energy on the part of the Messrs. Scranton and their associates, laid the foundation of the flourishing town of Scranton, led to the construction of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna, and Western Railroad, and filled the valley of the Lackawanna with an industrious and thriving popu- lation.
In 1840, Thomas Chambers, E. R. Biddle & Co., erected a large rolling-mill and nail factory, at South Wilkesbarre, about one mile from the court-house, at a cost of $300,000. While these works were in operation, during a year or two, Wilkesbarre increased in population and business ; but the establishment becoming involved, it was finally sold on a debt due the Wyoming Bank. It was pur- chased by the Montour Iron Company, and transported to Danville. It seems strange that our capitalists would allow these works to be sold for one-fifth their value, and to be conveyed away to a neighboring county. This cir- cumstance will act as a discouragement to others, who, looking to our location in the midst of a superior coal- field, might be inclined to establish manufactories here. It is beyond all question that a superior quality of iron can be profitably manufactured in Luzerne county by com- bining our ores with those of adjoining counties, or states. What are essential to success are intelligence, experience, and prudent management. Surely, the day cannot be
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AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
very distant when the smoke of scores of furnaces will ascend from the valleys of Wyoming and Lackawanna.
In addition to the iron manufactories already men tioned, there are several foundries and stationary steam engine establishments in the county. We give the names of the proprietors, location, number of men employed, and capital invested.
Proprietors.
Location.
Men employed.
Capital.
Lanning & Marshall
Wilkesbarre
60
$50,000
R. Jones & Co.
South Wilkesbarre
60
30,000
Lewis & McLean
Wilkesbarre
20
15,000
Strong & Wisner
Pittston
40
25,000
Mr. Conyngham
Pittston
30
20,000
Dixon & Co.
Scranton
100
100,000
Clift Works
Scranton
25
25.000
White Haven Works
White Haven
20
8,000
Total
355
273,000
.
Besides these, there are several plow and stove foun- dries, which do not manufacture steam-engines ; and there are 5 machine-shops connected with railroads and iron works, constructing from 5 to 15 steam-engines per annum. In the borough of Providence, there is an axe and scythe manufactory, established by Pulaski Carter upwards of twenty years ago, and also one owned by J. White, each employing from 4 to 8 hands, and producing cutlery of an excellent quality.
The first steam-engine manufactured in Luzerne, was made by Richard Jones, in 1833, at Wilkesbarre. Richard was an ingenious young mechanic, and though he had never seen a steam-engine, except as represented in books, constructed one in miniature, with a cylinder 12 inches in diameter, and with a stroke of 3 inches. In 1835, at his suggestion, Joseph White, another ingenious work- man, built a small boat 6} feet in length, with side-
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ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
wheels, in which the engine inade by Jones was placed. The boat was launched in the canal-basin, at Wilkes- barre, on the 4th of July, 1835. The engine was set in motion, and the little boat dashed through the water, amidst the cheers of a great crowd of boys, among whom was the author.
The first engine constructed in the county for service was manufactured, in Wilkesbarre, by Benjamin Drake and J. C. Smith, in 1836. Its cylinder was 9 inches in diameter, with 3 feet stroke, and 15 horse power. It was placed in Smith's grist-mill in Plymouth.
We have given a brief sketch of the several iron manu- factories in our county from 1778 to the present time, a period of eighty-eight years, and though the number is small and the increase slow, yet the fact is placed beyond doubt that properly managed establishments of this kind are re- munerative. They, who may desire to invest capital among us, for the manufacture of iron and iron machinery, need not do so in the dark. There is a record of encouraging faets, from which they may derive information, and there is the light of experience which will rescue such an enter- prise from the charge of being a mere experiment.
The demand for powder, occasioned by the increased mining operations, has led to the erection of several mills in the county for its manufacture.
George Knapp, G. P. Parrish & Co., built two powder- mills on Solomon's Creek, and four mills on Wapwallopen Creek, in Hollenback township. The capacity of the latter extends to 300 kegs per day, or 100,000 kegs per annum. Within a few years these mills have passed into the hands of the Messrs. Dupont, the celebrated powder manufacturers.
George Damon & Co. have an extensive powder manu- factory at Old Forge, on the Lackawanna, which, in con-
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AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
junction with those of the Duponts, and two or three smaller mills, chiefly supply the demands of the mines.
The large quantities of hemlock and other bark, found on the head-waters of the Lehigh, and on other streams, induced a number of the capitalists in our large cities to erect tanneries convenient to these localities. Thither · they transport the raw hides from the sea-board, and return the manufactured leather. The establishment of Maynard & Peck, at Duning in Madison township, is on a large scale. The main building is 350 feet in length, and 40 feet wide. The vats are of sufficient number and capacity to tan 50,000 hides per annum. The entire works are valued at $75,000.
TANNERY, AT GOULDSBOROUGH.
In 1856, Zadock Pratt and Jay Gould erected a large tannery on the Lehigh at Gouldsborough, said to be the most extensive establishment of the kind in the United States. The two principal buildings are each 400 feet in
362
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
length by 100 feet in width, with vats underneath and drying-rooms above. The establishment contains 70,000 cubic feet of vat room, and 36,000 cubic feet of leach room. The machinery is propelled by water-power, and by a steam-engine of 75 horse-power, and 100 cords of bark can be ground in 24 hours. They manufacture 75,000 sides of leather, at this tannery, in one year. These works cost $175,000. They are connected with the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, by a plank-road 9 miles in length.
The extensive tannery of Smull & Sons, located on the Lehigh 2 miles below White Haven, is within the limits of Carbon county, but receives a large portion of its supplies from Luzerne. The main building is 640 feet in length, by 45 feet wide. It contains 216 tan vats, besides soak- ing, leaching, and sweat vats. 'The machinery is pro- pelled by a steam-engine of 80 horse-power. It consumes annually 75,000 cords of bark. Four hundred hides are removed daily from the vats, and 400 others introduced. Forty men are employed in the building, besides those engaged in preparing the bark in the woods. The cost of the works is estimated at $155,000.
The tannery of D. H. Morse is located in Fell town- ship. It is 360 feet in length, and 50 feet in width. It employs 25 men, and manufactures annually 45,000 hides into sole leather.
The only point in the county, where the manufactur- ing of lumber is extensively carried on, at the present day, is on the Lehigh. In the chapter on " Navigation on the Susquehanna" we gave an account of the lumber trade, mainly its past history, and the transportation of rafts and arks on that river. We have reserved, for this chapter, the following statistics of saw-mills, on the Lehigh and its tributaries. We give the number of feet annually manufactured : -
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AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES.
Brown & Brothers, in Buck township, 2 mills, 4,000,000
Day & Saylor,
2 2,000,000
Temple Hines, 66 66
1 500,000
Stoddartsville,
.
2
4,000,000
Forest Company,
4 6,000,000
White Haven,
4 6,000,000
McKean & Pursel, at Bear Creek, 2 4,000,000
Yohe & Co., at Black Creek, .
2 66 1,000,000
Other mills on the Lehigh,
4,000,000
Total number of feet annually manufac-
tured on the Lehigh, .
31,500,000
Add to this 1,000,000 feet manufactured by Hollen- back & Urquhart at Harvey's Lake, and transported thence in wagons, to Wilkesbarre, a distance of 12 miles, and also 1,000,000 feet manufactured by Jameson Harvey, C. Reynolds, and others, and we have 33,500,000 feet of lumber, chiefly pine, annually furnished from Luzerne county. The Lehigh lumber is conveyed to market through the works of the Lehigh Navigation*Company. Before their construction it was rafted down that rapid river. There were saw-mills on the banks of the Lehigh upwards of eighty years ago.
The following table exhibits the number of men, and the amount of capital employed in the manufacture of iron, lumber, and leather :-
Men employed.
Capital.
Furnaces and Rolling Mills
650
$650,000
Lumbering
500
450,000
Tanneries
225
550,000
Foundries and Steam Engines
355
290,000
1730
1,940,000
* Since the destruction of the Lehigh Navigation, this lumber has been conveyed to market by rail.
CHAPTER XII.
MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE .*
COAL was discovered in England in the year 853, but it was not mined or used until 1239, when Henry III. granted mining privileges to the inhabitants of Newcastle. It was soon introduced into London, but encountered opposition from the mass of the people, who imagined it to be deleterious to health. They petitioned Parliament to prohibit its consumption in their city during the sitting of that body, assigning, as one reason, that it would endanger the health of the king. It is well known that the English coal is the bituminous variety, burning with considerable flame and smoke, but that it is an unhealthy fuel was a mere conceit of an ignorant age. Parliament, however, was induced to grant the prayer of the peti- tioners.
In the United States the knowledge and use of anthra- cite coal do not, perhaps, extend back beyond one hundred years, and its introduction into general use has been gradual and difficult. It is possible that the Indians, at Wyoming, had some knowledge of the combustible nature of anthracite coal. Two chiefs from the valley, in company with three others from the country of the Six Nations, visited England in 1710, and it is presumed they witnessed the burning of coal, then in general use in the cities of England, for domestic purposes. The con- sumption of black stones instead of wood, could not fail
* For an account of efforts to discover coal-oil, see Appendix W.
(364)
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MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE.
to make a deep impression on their minds, and they would naturally infer that this fuel was nearly allied to the black stones of their own country. The appearance of anthracite had long been familiar to their eyes. The forge or seven feet vein of coal had been cut through and exposed by the Nanticoke Creek, and the nine feet vein at Plymouth had been laid open to view by Ransom's Creek. The Susquehanna had exposed the coal at Pitts- ton, and the Lackawanna at several points along its banks. If the Indians, at that day, were ignorant of the practical use of coal, they were at least acquainted with its appearance, and not improbably with its inflammable nature. That the Indians had mines of some kind at Wyoming, the following account fully establishes :- In 1766, a company of Nanticokes and Mohicans, six in number, who had formerly lived at Wyoming, visited Philadelphia, and in their talk with the governor, said, " As we came down from Chenango we stopped at Wyo- ming, where we had a mine in two places, and we disco- vered that some white people had been at work in the mine, and had filled canoes with the ore, and we saw their tools with which they dug it out of the ground, where they made a hole at least forty feet long and five or six feet deep. It happened that formerly some white people did take, now and then, only a small bit and carry it away, but these people have been working at the mine and filled their canoes. We inform you that there is one John Anderson, a trader, now living at Wyoming, and we suspect he, or somebody by him, has robbed our mine. This man has a store of goods, and it may happen that when the Indians see their mine robbed, they will come and take away his goods," &c. We are aware there is a deposite or vein of some mineral, a useless, silvery-looking substance, near the Susquehanna, above the mouth of the
.
1
366
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
Lackawanna, but we have no evidence that the Indians referred to this. The substance alluded to by the Indians had been carried away in small quantities, for some time, by the whites, perhaps to test its qualities, and it is highly improbable that it would have been afterwards removed by canoe-loads, unless it had been found to be a useful article. What could that useful article have been but coal ? There were settlements of whites on the Susque- hanna, a little below the site of the town of Northumber- land, several years before the period when these Indians had their talk with the governor, and the coal may have been taken there for blacksmithing purposes.
In 1768, Charles Stewart surveyed the Manor of Sun- bury, on the west side of the Susquehanna, opposite Wilkesbarre, and on the original draft is noted "stone coal," as appearing in what is now called Rosshill. In 1769, the year following, Obadiah Gore and his brother came from Connecticut with a body of settlers, and the same year used anthracite coal in his blacksmith-shop. We do not believe, as do some, that the Gores were the first whites who used anthracite on the Susquehanna for blacksmithing. Stone coal would not have been noted on the original, draft of the Manor of Sunbury, if it had not been known to be a useful article. Hence, when the first settlers came into our valley, the evidence inclines us to believe the knowledge of the use of anthracite coal was communicated to them by the Indians, or by some of their own race.
In 1776, two Durham boats were sent from below to Wyoming for coal, which was purchased from Mr. R. Geer, and mined from the opening, now the property of Mr. John Welles Hollenback, above Mill Creek. From Harris's Ferry, now Harrisburg, the coal, "about twenty tons," was hauled on wagons to Carlisle, where it was used
367
MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE.
in the United States' Armory, recently erected there. This was done annually during the Revolutionary War.
Major George Grant, of Sullivan's army, writing from Wyoming, in 1779, says, "The land here is excellent, and contains vast mines of coal, lead, and copper." Science and subsequent investigation show us he was mistaken as to the lead and copper.
But it may not be improper to state that Alexander Jameson, Esq; of Salem, then a very aged man, informed the writer, years ago, that he had heard it said the Indians got lead in the Honeypot, near the Nanticoke Dam, and that there was silver in the same mountain range, known only to an old mineral smelter, who died twenty years ago on the West Branch of the Susquehanna. We have no confidence in the tradition.
In 1791, Philip Ginther, while hunting, accidentally discovered coal at what is now called Mauch Chunk, and communicated the fact to Colonel Jacob Weiss, who pur- chased the land, and soon after carried specimens of the coal to Philadelphia in his saddle-bags. He exhibited them to several persons, who called them worthless black stones, and laughed at the colonel's folly. But Colonel Weiss was not discouraged. In 1792, he and others formed themselves into a company called the "Lehigh Coal Mine Company," the first of the kind in the United States. In 1803 the company succeeded in getting two ark-loads, about 30 tons, to Philadelphia, but no pur- chaser could be found. As a matter of experiment, the city authorities at length consented to take it. An attempt was made to burn it under the boilers of the steam-engine at the Water-works, but it only served to put the fire out. The remainder was then broken up, and scattered over the sidewalks, in place of gravel !
Up to this time the blacksmiths in the vicinity of the
368
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
mines, wherever discovered, were using the coal in their shops. But no one had as yet discovered the art of con- suming anthracite for domestic purposes. This happy discovery was made, eventually, by Jesse Fell of Wilkes- barre. Mr. Fell was a native of Bucks county, and early removed to Luzerne, where he acted for many years as one of the associate judges of the county courts. Under- standing the composition of anthracite, or, as it was then called, stone-coal, he concluded that a good draft of air was alone necessary to make it burn freely. He accord- ingly constructed a grate of green hickory saplings, and, placing it in a large fire-place in his bar-room, filled it with broken coal. A quantity of dry wood was placed under the grate and set on fire, and the flames spreading through the coal it soon ignited, and before the wooden grate was consumed the success of the experiment was fully demonstrated. A wrought iron grate was now con- structed, and set with brick and mortar in his fire-place, and was soon glowing with the burning'stone-coal. The judge made the following memorandum at the time on one of the fly leaves of a book, entitled "The Free Mason's Monitor :"
" February 11th, of Masonry 5808. Made the experi- ment of burning the common stone-coal of the valley, in a grate, in a common fire-place in my house, and find it will answer the purpose of fuel, making a clearer and better fire, at less expense, than burning wood in the common way.
"February 11th, 1808. JESSE FELL."
News of the successful experiment soon spread through the town and the country, and the people flocked to the old tavern of Judge Fell, of which he was proprietor and keeper, to witness the strange but simple discovery.
369
MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE.
Circle after circle gathered about the glowing and wonder- ful fire, and bowl after bowl of punch, and mug following mug of flip, were drank, with many kind expressions for the judge's health. Similar grates were soon constructed by his neighbors, and in a short time were in general use throughout the valley. The public-house, in which this . memorable experiment was made, stood on the corner of Washington and Northampton streets.
FELL HOUSE.
In the spring of 1808, John and Abijah Smith, having witnessed the successful experiment at Fell's tavern, loaded two arks with coal from the old Smith bed, on Ransom's Creek, in Plymouth, and took it down the river to Columbia; but on offering it for sale, no person could be induced to purchase. They were compelled to leave the black stones behind them unsold, when they returned to their homes. The next year the Smiths, not dis- couraged by their former ill success, taking two arks of
24
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ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
coal and a grate, proceeded to Columbia. The grate was put up in the presence of spectators, and the practicability of using the black stones as a fuel was clearly demon- strated. The result was a sale of the coal and the establishment of a small trade.
Colonel George Shoemaker, in 1812, discovered coal on the Schuylkill, and conveyed nine wagon-loads of it to Philadelphia, where he offered it for sale. He sold two loads by dint of great perseverance, to persons who afterwards denounced him as an impostor, for inducing them to purchase a worthless material. The other seven loads he gave away to such as promised to try to use it.
In 1813, Colonel George M. Hollenback sent two four- horse loads of coal, from the mine now worked by Colonel H. B. Hilman, above Mill Creek, in this county, to Philadelphia ; and James Lee, Esq., in the same year, sent one four-horse load from Hanover to a blacksmith at Germantown. This was, probably, the first consider- able quantity of Wyoming coal which reached Philadel- phia and the vicinity.
The pens of Charles Miner and of Jacob Cist, Esqs., of Wilkesbarre, were now busily employed in giving informa- tion on the use and value of anthracite coal. The news- papers of that day, published in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, bear ample testimony to the ability with which the subject was commended to the public. Mr. Cist sent specimens of Wyoming coal to all the large cities in the Union, to England, to France, to Germany, and even to Russia. Messrs. Miner and Cist, having obtained the' co-operation of John Robinson and Stephen Tuttle, Esqs., leased the Mauch Chunk mine, the most convenient to Philadelphia, in December, 1813. On the 9th of August, 1814, they started off the first ark from Mauch Chunk. "In less than eighty rods from the place of
371
MINERALS AND THE COAL TRADE.
starting, the ark struck on a ledge and broke a hole in her bow. The lads stripped themselves nearly naked, to stop the rush of water with their clothes." In six days, however, the ark reached Philadelphia, with its twenty- four tons of coal, which had by this time cost fourteen dollars a ton. "But," says Mr. Miner, "we had the greater difficulty to overcome of inducing the public to use our coal when brought to their doors.
" We published hand-bills, in English and German, stating the mode of burning the coal, either in grates, in smiths' forges, or in stoves. Together we went to several houses in the city, and prevailed on the masters to allow us to kindle fires of anthracite in their grates, erected to burn Liverpool coal. We attended at blacksmiths' shops, and prevailed upon some to alter the Too-iron, so that they might burn Lehigh coal; and we were sometimes obliged to bribe the journeymen to try the experiment fairly, so averse were they to learn the use of a new sort of fuel."
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