USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Annals of Luzerne County; a record of interesting events, traditions, and anecdotes > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
The British government, in 1692, adopted preliminary measures for the conveyance of the mails in the colonies. In 1700 Colonel John Hamilton, of New Jersey, devised a post-office system, for which he obtained a patent, which he disposed of to the Crown. From this period until 1755, when Benjamin Franklin was made Postmas- ter-General, there was no improvement in the system. The mails were carried on horseback, between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and occupied several days in passing from place to place. The time from Boston to Baltimore was reckoned by weeks. Frank-
1
451
ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES.
lin introduced some judicious changes, and materially improved the system.
In 1756 John Butler engaged to run a stage, in three days, from Philadelphia to New York, by the way of Perth Amboy and Trenton. In 1765 a second line of stages was placed on this route, and the fare was reduced to two pence per mile. The stages were covered Jersey wagons without springs. In the same year a weekly line was established between Philadelphia and Baltimore, and soon after a third line of stages, with spring seats, was put on between Philadelphia and New York, through in summer in two days, and in winter in three days; fare, 20 shillings. Letters for Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks counties were delivered, to be called for, at the post-office at Philadelphia.
In 1775 the system passed under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. From a few thousand dollars, the expenses of this important department of government have increased to many millions per annum. Franklin, in 1757, received $1000 salary as Postmaster-General, but now (1866) the postmasters at Scranton and Wilkes- barre receive each about 1800.
In 1777 a post-route, once in two weeks, was opened between Wyoming and Hartford in Connecticut, and Prince Bryant was engaged as post-rider for nine months. The expenses of this route were defrayed by private sub- scription. During the Pennamite and Yankee war, all letters and communications were sent by private messen- gers, or by persons employed on private subscription. On one occasion, Abigail, the wife of Lieutenant John Jameson, left Wyoming for Easton, where her father, Major Prince Alden, with upwards of twenty other Con- necticut settlers, was confined in jail. The letters in- tended for the prisoners were carefully folded and con-
452
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
cealed in her roll (the hair in those days being done up in a roll), on the top of her head. As she passed along the Indian path, at night, she was discovered and arrested, near Bear Creek, by Colonel Patterson, the Pennamite commander. The letters in her roll escaped the observa- tion of the suspicious Pennamite, and she was permitted to pass without further molestation. She arrived safely in Easton, and communicated the state of affairs at home to her father and other prisoners.
After the civil war, and the organization of Luzerne county, a weekly mail was forwarded between Wilkes- barre and Easton. In 1797 Clark Behe, the post-rider, informed the public, through the Wilkesbarre Gazette, that as he carried the mail, once a week, to Easton, he would also carry passengers, "when the sleighing is good," at $2.50 each. During the same year the mail was carried, on horseback, once a week, from Wilkes- barre via Nanticoke, Newport, and Nescopeck to Berwick, returning via Huntington and Plymouth. The only authorized post-office in the county was at Wilkesbarre, and all letters and papers for Nescopeck, Huntington, and other places in Luzerne, were left at certain private houses designated by the Wilkesbarre postmaster.
In 1798, a mail was run, once in two weeks, between Wilkesbarre and Great Bend; and, in the following year, a weekly route was opened between Wilkesbarre and Owego, in New York. These routes were sustained chiefly, if not altogether, by private subscription, like those of the early, settlers ; the subscribers to newspapers paying as high as 50 cents per quarter to the mail car- rier.
Jonathan Hancock rode post from Wilkesbarre to Ber- wick in the year 1800; and, in 1803, Charles Mowery
453
ROADS, MAILS, AND STAGES.
and a man named Peck carried the mail, on foot, once in two weeks, from Wilkesbarre to Tioga.
In 1806, Messrs. Robison & Arndt commenced running a two-horse stage, once a week, between Wilkesbarre and Easton, through in a day and a half; fare $3.50. The stages from Easton to Philadelphia ran through in one day.
In 1810, Conrad Teter contracted with government to carry the mail, once a week, in stages, from Sunbury to Painted Post, by the way of Wilkesbarre and Athens. He, however, sold his interest in the route from Sunbury to Wilkesbarre to Miller Horton, but ran the other por- tion himself until 1816. In that year Miller, Jesse and Lewis Horton opened a new era in stage-coach traveling, and in carrying the mails in Northern Pennsylvania. These enterprising brothers contracted, in 1824, to carry the mails, in four-horse coaches, from Baltimore to Owego, by way of Harrisburg, Sunbury, Wilkesbarre, and Mont- rose ; and from Philadelphia to Wilkesbarre, via Easton .. They also contracted to carry the mails from New York city to Montrose, by way of Newark and Morristown in New Jersey, and Milford in Pennsylvania. Post-offices were established at Plymouth, Kingston, Pittston, Tunk- hannock, Providence, and other places in the county ; and comfortable and substantial four-horse coaches rolled daily and rapidly over our highways. Our post-offices* have gone on increasing until they now number 77. The state of Delaware has but 76 post-offices, and the state of Rhode Island has only 87, ten more than Lu- zerne county.
There was something exhilarating in the sight of those large four-horse coaches, as they rolled into town, with
* For names of the earliest post-offices and postmasters, see Appendix, V.
454
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
the blast of the driver's horn, and the crack of his long lash. Proud of his steeds, and proud of his skill, with the lives of many intrusted to his charge, the driver, in those days, was no unimportant personage. Philip Ab- bott was the driver of Robison & Arndt's two-horse stage in 1806; but no driver, in this section of country, has equal fame with George Root, who drove stage for up- wards of forty years.
Conrad Teter was a large, fat man of a jovial disposi- tion, and desirous of making a favorable impression on strangers. He drove stage-his own stage-up the river. He took pleasure in pointing out his farms to the pas- sengers. He frequently informed them, as he passed the large residence and farm of Colonel Benjamin Dorrance, in Kingston, that he was the owner; and if asked, why he drove stage, would reply, that he loved to rein four horses and drive, but had no taste for farming.
The Indian path, the common road with its rocks and stumps, the gig, the Durham boat, and the old stage- coaches, have disappeared. In their places we have the iron track, the locomotive, the steamboat, and the tele- graph. The next hundred years will probably produce changes equally marked ; for no Almighty fiat has yet gone forth, addressed to the human mind-Thus far shalt thou go, but no farther.
CHAPTER XV.
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
IN the year 1771, the Provincial Assembly of Penn- sylvania passed an act declaring the Susquehanna river a public highway. Portions of the lands along the river had been settled and cultivated for many years, and the inhabitants needed some commodious avenue to market for their grain and other products. They proposed to pay a certain proportion of the money required to render the river navigable. The Assembly appropriated an ad- ditional sum, and appointed commissioners to superintend the work. The gravel bars were cleared away, stumps and trees taken out, a channel opened, and towing-paths constructed along the rapids. Somewhat different from public operations of more modern times, the river was ready for navigation in a few months, from Wrightsville to Wyoming. Not many years later a way for trade was opened from the Chesapeake to the New York line.
The first transportation boat used on the river was called the Durham boat, from the town of Durham, on the Delaware, a few miles below Easton. This boat was built at that place about the year 1750.
The Delaware boats were sixty feet in length, eight feet in width, and two feet in depth, and when laden with fifteen tons' weight drew twenty inches of water. The stem and bow were sharp, on which were erected small decks, while a running board extended the whole
(455)
456
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
length of the boat on each side. They carried a mast with two sails, and were manned by a crew of five men, one at the stern with a long oar for steering, and two on each side with setting-poles for pushing them forward.
DURHAM BOAT.
The Susquehanna boats were of similar construction, but larger, and manned by a more numerous crew.
With one end of their long poles set in the water, and the other against their muscular shoulders, these hardy boatmen toiled the livelong day, forcing their way against a rapid current, at the rate of from one to two miles an hour. Their labor was severe, but not devoid of enjoyment. The anecdote, the jest, and the merry song, beguiled the hours of these hardy sons of toil. By these boats the surplus produce of the country was taken to Harrisburg and Middletown, and transported thence by turnpike to Philadelphia, and exchanged for merchan- dise and such articles as were needed in the interior.
But as trade increased rapidly, a more expeditious
457
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
means of transportation was sought after. Several efforts were made to introduce improvements in the construction of boats, and, among others, Isaac A. Chapman, Esq., built at Nescopeck what was called a team-boat, that is one propelled by poles, set in motion by horse-power machinery. When the "Experiment" was completed, Captain Chapman set out from Nescopeck on a trial-trip to Wilkesbarre, where he arrived July 4th, 1824. He was greeted by the people assembled on the bank, and saluted by Captain Barnum's company of volunteers. It was thought the old boats would be supplanted by the new, but after being thoroughly tested they were aban- doned.
STEAMBOATS.
Several countries have claimed the honor of the first invention of steamboats, but it properly belongs to the United States.
STERN-WHEEL BOAT.
Rumsey and Fitch contrived models of the steamboat as early as 1773, and in 1784 exhibited them with their improvements to General Washington. In 1791, a steam- boat was constructed by John Stephens of Hoboken, and, in 1797, another was built by Chancellor Livingston, on the Hudson. Watt's engine was used in these boats, and was attached to poles and paddles. They moved at the rate of from three to five miles an hour.
458
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
In 1803, the paddle-wheel boat was invented by Fulton, and was first experimented with on the river Seine, in France, in which he was encouraged and assisted by Mr. Livingston, then minister from the United States. The - experiment proving satisfactory, Fulton went to England and purchased one of Watt's best engines. He brought it to the United States, and, in 1807, set in operation the first successful paddle-wheel boat propelled by steam.
In 1812, steamboats were first introduced into England, and, in 1816, the first steamer crossed the English Chan- nel to Havre. In 1815, a line of steam-packets was established between New York city and Providence, Rhode Island, and in 1818 between New York and New Orleans. In 1819, the first steamship crossed the Atlantic from the United States to England, and in 1825 the first steamer made her trip from England to Calcutta.
In the summer of 1825, three steamboats were built for the express purpose of experimenting on the Susque- hanna, and, if possible, to establish the practicability of its navigation by steam. The "Codorus," built at York, or York Haven, by Messrs. Davis, Gordon & Co., was the first to stem the rapid current of the Susquehanna. She was constructed mostly of sheet-iron, and was sixty feet long, nine feet beam, and, when laden with her machinery and fifty passengers, drew only eight inches of water. Her engine was ten-horse power, and, with a stern- wheel, she moved at the rate of four miles an hour against the current. In the spring of 1826, Captain Elger commenced, with this steamboat, his voyage from York Haven. Proceeding up the Susquehanna, he was cheered, at every point, by crowds of people, who rushed to the shores to see the strange boat that traveled with- out poles, oars, or sails. After encountering and over- coming many difficulties, the Codorus reached the Nanti-
459
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
coke Falls. The news of her near approach was carried to Wilkesbarre, and soon all was bustle and confusion. Men, women, and children hurried over to the great common in front of the town, the cannon was made ready, and every eye was turned towards Fish's Island. In a short time the gallant little boat turned the point at the head of the island, and, dashing forward, came to anchor in front of the assembled multitude. Prolonged shouts of joy, ringing of bells, and the thunder of the cannon, greeted its arrival. This was the 12th day of April, 1826.
The next day, by invitation of Captain Elger, about fifty of the citizens of the town went on board, and en- joyed a delightful excursion to Forty Fort, and returned full of confidence that the undertaking would prove successful. It was believed that a new era in the internal commerce of the country had now commenced, and that the Susquehanna, like the Ohio, was destined to become a great thoroughfare for steamboats.
Proceeding up the river, Captain Elger, in a few days, reached Binghamton, from which place the Codorus commenced her return trip, arriving in York Haven after a voyage of four months. In his report to the company Captain Elger stated, that he was opposed to any further efforts to navigate the river by steam, as he believed it to be entirely impracticable.
The "Susquehanna," the second steamboat, was built at Baltimore, by a company of enterprising gentlemen, who were anxious to secure for their growing city the trade of the Susquehanna river. She was commanded by Captain Collins of that city. Her entire length from stem to stern was eighty-two feet, while her stern-wheels were each four and a half feet in diameter. With an engine of thirty horse power, and one hundred passen-
460
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
gers, she drew twenty-two inches of water, or fourteen inches more than the Codorus. Three commissioners, Messrs. Ellicott, Patterson, and Morris, were appointed to superintend the experiment, and all things being in readi- ness, she started on her trial trip. As she was a much larger and heavier boat than the Codorus, she advanced with great difficulty. After encountering innumerable obstacles she arrived at the Nescopeck Falls, opposite Berwick, on the afternoon of May 3d, 1826. The ascent of these rapids was looked upon as the most difficult part of the undertaking. The three commissioners and all the passengers, except about twenty, left the boat, and walked along the shore. A quantity of rich pine-wood had been procured for the occasion, and with a full head of steam, the dangerous passage was commenced. The banks of the river were crowded with spectators from the villages of Berwick, Nescopeck, and from the surrounding country. The angry waters seemed to dash with redoubled fury against the rocks and against the devoted boat, as if aware of the strife. Trembling from stem to stern, the noble craft slowly advanced, cheered by a thousand voices, until she reached the middle, and most difficult point of ascent. Here her headway ceased. The multi- tude stood silent on the shores, watching with intense anxiety the boat and her passengers. In a few moments she turned slightly towards the shore, and struck a rock. Her boiler immediately burst with an explosion, that sent the dreadful intelligence of her fate many miles throughout the surrounding country. Shattered, broken, and on fire, all that remained of the " Susquehanna" was carried down the conquering tide. The mangled bodies of her passengers and crew, dead and dying, lay upon her decks, or had been blown into the river. Men with ropes rushed into the stream to their shoulders, to save
461
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
the unhappy survivors from a watery grave. The rescued sufferers were taken into Berwick, where they received the kind attentions of a sympathizing community. The writer, then a small boy, was an eye-witness of this awful scene. The bodies of several persons were placed in a large room in the hotel of Mr. John Jones. What there presented itself will never be erased from our memory- the bloodstained floor-the mangled, scalded bodies-the groans and dying words of men far from home and kindred.
Colonel Joseph Paxton of Cattawissa, who was on board, in a letter to the writer says, "With our rich pine we succeeded in raising a full head of steam, and set off in fine style to ascend the rapids. The strength of the current soon checked our headway, and the boat, flanking towards the right bank of the river, struck a rock. I stood on the forward-deck with a long ash pole in my hand, and was in the act of placing it in the water hoping to steady her, when the explosion took place. Two young men standing near me were blown high into the air, and I was hurled several yards from the boat into the water. I thought a cannon had been fired, and shot my head off. When in the water I thought I must certainly drown, but, making a desperate effort, succeeded in reaching the shore. I was badly scalded, and lost my hair and a portion of my scalp."
Doctors Headley, Wilson, and Jackson, of Berwick, were actively engaged rendering all the medical assist- ance in their power. The citizens generally, especially the ladies, ministered to the wants and comforts of the suffering.
John Turk and Ceber Whitemarsh of Green, New York, were killed instantly. William Camp of Owego died in a few hours, and his remains were conveyed to his family.
462
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
Mr. Maynard, the engineer, lingered a day or two and died. He died in the triumphs of the Christian faith. He was a resident of Baltimore, and a class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The fireman, a brave little fellow, was most severely scalded, but recovered.
William Fitch and David Rose, of Chenango county, N. Y., were scalded and severely wounded.
Colonel Paxton and C. Brobst, of Catawissa, and Jere- miah Miller, of Perry county, were severely scalded. Messrs. Woodside, Colt, and Underwood, of Danville ; Foster, Hurley, and Barton, of Bloomsburg; Benjamin Edwards and Isaac Lacey, of Luzerne county, were slightly scalded.
" The Pioneer," the third boat, made its experiment on the West Branch of the Susquehanna. Her officers reported adversely, and here ended for a time all further attempts to navigate the Susquehanna by steam.
All eyes now turned towards the construction of a canal, as the only feasible means by which to reach the seaboard with the accumulating productions of the coun- try. A considerable appropriation of money, for this purpose, had been made in February, 1826, by the Gene- ral Assembly of Pennsylvania, and immediately after the failure of steamboat navigation the work was commenced on the lower division of the canal. The North Branch Canal, commenced in 1828, and completed to the Lacka- wanna in 1834, progressed but slowly beyond that point. Several gentlemen being anxious to introduce anthracite coal as soon as possible into the state of New York, resolved to make another experiment in steamboat navi- gation on the Susquehanna.
In 1834, Colonels Henry F. Lamb, G. M. Hollenback, and others of Wilkesbarre, and Messrs. Pompely, Hollen- back, and others of Owego, built a steamer at the latter
463
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
place at a cost of $13,000. They named her " The Sus- quehanna." She was a strong, well-made boat, with a fine engine of forty horse power, and made her first trip from Owego to Wilkesbarre, a distance of one hundred miles, in less than eight hours. She arrived at the latter place on the 7th of August, 1835. Laden with coal, she made a successful return trip, greatly encouraging the expectations of her proprietors. On her second trip to Wilkesbarre for a cargo of coal, she made an excur- sion to the Nanticoke dam, and, breaking her shaft, was anchored in the Eddy, at the Outlet Lock, where she afterwards sunk and was abandoned.
The completion of the North Branch Canal being still delayed, a company was formed at Tunkhannock, which constructed another steamer, and named her " Wyoming." She was launched in the spring of 1849, and placed under the command of Captain Gilman Converse, an experi- enced navigator, who had superintended her construction. Her length was 128 feet, and her beam 22 feet. With a stern-wheel of 16 feet and two engines, she was propelled up the stream, laden with forty tons of coal, at the rate of four miles an hour. During the years 1849, 1850, and 1851, when there was sufficient water in the channel, she was constantly employed in transporting coal from Wyo- ming Valley to Athens, and other places on the river. But finally she was abandoned, like her predecessors, for the enterprise was found to be unprofitable.
It remained for the citizens of Bainbridge, New York, to make the last effort in deciding the practicability of steam navigation on the Susquehanna. A stock company was formed, and Captain Converse was employed to con- struct and command the "Enterprise." The keel of the Enterprise was 95 feet, and her beam 24 feet. With a stern-wheel of 14 feet, put in motion by a powerful en-
464
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
gine, she carried 40 tons of coal, at the rate of four miles an hour, from Wilkesbarre to Athens. She was launched in 1851, and, in three months of successful navigation, paid to her owners three thousand dollars. Successive rains had supplied the river with water sufficient for navi- gation during the spring months, and the boat was kept in constant employment. But when the rains ceased, and the river found its usual low water mark, the Enterprise lay high and dry on the shore. Her machinery rusted, the sun's rays opened her seams, and she soon became unfit for service. No further attempts of the kind have been made, and thus has ended steamboat navigation on the Susquehanna.
It has been thought by many intelligent and compe- tent judges that a slack-water navigation should have been constructed on this broad and usually shallow river, admit- ting the passage of steamers of 500 tons burthen. This was the opinion of far-seeing men in 1826, when the first survey for the canal was made, but they were overruled.
Such an improvement would enable our coal operators to deliver coal at Boston, and all the sea-board cities, without transhipment, and at a reduced price.
SHIP-BUILDING.
It was imagined, at a very early day, by some persons in Luzerne, that large vessels could be built on the banks of the Susquehanna, and floated down, at the time of high water, to the sea-board. It was supposed that thus the ship-yards of the cities and seaport towns would be transferred, with their artisans, to the interior, to the great profit of the country people.
To test the practicability of the theory, Messrs. J. P. Arndt & Philip established a ship-yard on the public common in Wilkesbarre, and in 1803 launched the first
465
NAVIGATION ON THE SUSQUEHANNA.
craft, a sloop of 12 tons burden. They named it " The John Franklin," in honor of that indomitable and uncom- promising adherent of Yankee rights. The sloop reached tide-water in safety, and a flattering prospect of ship- building seemed to open to the citizens of the interior. A stock company was formed at Wilkesbarre, but it did not commence operations until 1811, when the first ship, as it was called, was placed upon the stocks. Sanguine spirits looked forward with confidence to the speedy realization of their dreams. The great common was to be converted into a grand ship-yard, and Wilkesbarre and all the towns along the river were to become flourishing cities. Town lots and timber lands advanced in price, and hopeful smiles beamed from the countenances of pro- perty holders, especially of holders of stock in the ship- building company. In April, 1812, the ship was com- pleted. The following is a description of its launch, as recorded in the "Gleaner" of April 12 of that year :-
" Last Friday was the day on which the launch of the vessel on the stocks in this port was announced. A 30
466
ANNALS OF LUZERNE COUNTY.
scene so extraordinary, 200 miles from the tide-waters of the river, raised the curiosity of every one. The old sailor, and the inhabitants of the sea-board, whom the vicissitudes of fortune had settled in this sylvan retreat, and to whom such scenes had once been familiar, felt all the interest so naturally excited by events that called up early and interesting recollections. The novelty to those who had never witnessed such a view, excited curiosity to the highest degree. The importance of the experi- ment too did not fail to augment the general solicitude, for on its success depended the important consideration whether the timber of our mountains could be profitably employed in ship-building, and our country be beautified by the increase of business which such a pursuit would naturally produce. On the Sunday preceding the inter- esting day, a beautiful new pair of colors was displayed from the stern, according to universal usage, as a token that in the course of the week she would be launched. From Monday till Friday all was bustle and activity. Early on Friday people began to gather from all parts of the country. The cannon on the bank at noon gave notice that everything was in preparation. A little after two, repeated discharges announced that all was ready. The bank of the river, far above and below the vessel, was lined with persons of both sexes, and it was not among the least gratifications of the day to observe the smile of pleasure mingled with anxiety for the success of the launch, which was evident in every countenance. A little after three the increased bustle and noise around the vessel, and the sound of sledges and axes, gave the interesting notice that they were knocking away the block. The vessel was built on the bank of the river 100 feet from the water, and 15 feet perpendicular height above it, so that she had a considerable distance to move.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.