Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 56

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 56

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The T. W. Phillips Gas & Oil Company was chartered in July, 1904, with a capital of $2,000,000. T. W. Phillips is president of the company; Clarence Walker, vice- president; and T. W. Phillips, Jr., secre- tary and treasurer. Previous to the or- ganization of the new company the Phil- lips Oil Company had been supplying gas to a large number of consumers in the county, and were the largest producers of gas operating in this territory. In Aug- ust, 1904, the company purchased the plant of the Home Natural Gas Company of But-

own plants at Freeport, Punxsutawney, New Kensington, Braeburn, Slate Lick, West Kittanning and in addition supply many of the small villages throughout the county.

The Independent Natural Gas Company was organized February 1, 1888, with Henry Reiber, president, George L. Reib- er, treasurer, and Edward Reiber, secre- tary. It was the first natural gas company incorporated in Butler for the purpose of supplying fuel to the town, and the gentle- men named are the present owners of the plant. This company has over fifty miles of pipe supplied by their own gas wells within a radius of ten miles of Butler, and has a fair share of the local patronage. This company has furnished gas to the consumers at a lower rate than any other home company in the field, and has been the last to advance prices to the consum- ers.

The People's Gas Company had its in- ception in the fall of 1890, when Blair Hooks purchased a gas well from the Stan- dard Plate Gas Company, located on a lot in Springdale, and obtained a permit from council to pipe that part of the borough. During the winter of 1890-91 he supplied about forty families, and subsequently he drilled another well. In 1892 he organized the People's Gas Company, the incorpo- rators being Blair Hooks, Otto Limberg, and William H. Larkin. The company continued to extend their plant until 1895, when it was purchased by the Home Nat- ural Gas Company.

Citizens' Gas Company. - Dissatisfac- tion over the proposed raise in prices by the Home Gas Company in 1892 was the means of bringing a new organization into the field. At a meeting held on December 14, 1892, the Citizens' Gas Company was organized with Peter Schenck, president; H. H. Goucher, vice-president; Joseph Rocksenstein, treasurer; and T. M. Baker, secretary. This company obtained a per-

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mit to pipe the town, and having secured a large number of contracts for fuel, began business immediately. The supply of gas was obtained from wells east of Butler, and the company continued in business for several years when it suspended.

The Butler Electric Light and Power Company was first chartered July 21, 1885. The incorporators were R. H. McBride, Jolm S. Campbell, Chas. H. Taylor, W. C. MeCandiess, and A. H. Daniels. The offi- cers were R. H. McBride, president, John S. Campbell, secretary and treasurer, and W. C. MeCandless, superintendent. The capital stock of the company at that time was $10,000. The power house was located on South Washington Street, and was started running October 4, 1885.

The original plant was operated until 1890, when it was sold to the present com- pany, which was chartered March 7, 1890, under the title of The Butler Light, Heat and Motor Company. The incorporators of the new company were John S. Camp- bell, J. Henry Troutman, W. D. Brandon, William Campbell, Jr., L. R. McAboy, and B. H. Jack. The capital stock was $50,000. The same year the company located in a brick building on the corner of East Cun- ningham and Monroe Streets, and in- stalled two 300 horsepower engines to run the machinery of their plant.

In 1902 the present building on Spring Street was erected and a 1,000 horsepower light and power plant was established. From September, 1900, to February 26, 1907, the company furnished the power for the Butler Passenger Railway Company in addition to furnishing the street lights for the town and supplying a large number of private consumers. The officers of the company in 1908 were John S. Campbell, president, W. D. Brandon, vice-president, J. Henry Troutman, secretary, and L. R. McAboy, treasurer. John H. Humphrey, the general manager, has been with the company since 1890 with the exception of about one year in 1902-3.

The Butter Ice Company was incorpo- rated in 1902 for the manufacture of ice and was promoted by John S. Campbell, W. D. Brandon, J. Henry Troutman and others who are connected with the Butler Light, Heat and Motor Company. A plant having a capacity of twenty-five tons daily was erected on Spring Street adjoining the Electric Light Plant and has been in operation ever since. The present officers of the company are W. D. Brandon, vice- president; J. Henry Troutman, secretary and treasurer, and J. E. Flack, manager.

MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES. (Borough and County.)

The mutual fire insurance companies of Butler County have been uniformly suc- cessful and at the present time there are seven of these companies in existence car- rying fire insurance aggregating $10,000,- 000. One of the oldest companies in point of continuous service is the German Mu- tual Fire Insurance Company, of Zelien- ople. This company was incorporated April 4, 1866, and the present officers are Tobias Meeder, president, and J. Laderer, secretary.

The Glade Mills Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporated June 2, 1873, and is at the present time carrying policies amounting to about $1,000,000. The offi- cers are D. H. Sutton, president; W. W. Hill, secretary; and Rev. A. Kilpatrick, treasurer. The home office is at Valencia.

The Worth Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, which has offices at Slippery Rock, was incorporated January 13, 1875, and at the present time has about $1,500,000 in- surance on its books. The officers are James Humphrey, president; and S. J. Taylor, secretary.

The Farmers' Mutual Insurance Com- pany of Hannastown was incorporated March 23, 1860. F. W. Witte is president of the company and Alphonse Krause, sec- retary. The offices of the company are at Marwood.

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The Excelsior Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporated November 19, 1878, and has offices at North Washington. The president of the company in 1908 was Norman Glenn, and J. Harvey Bell was secretary.

The Butler Patrons' Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company was incorporated July 15, 1904, and is located in an agricultural com- munity. The home office is at Euclid, and the officers of the company are R. C. Thompson, president, and O. G. McCand- less, secretary.

The Butler County Merchants' Mutual Fire Insurance Company was organized September 17, 1902, by a number of mer- chants in Butler borough and the sur- rounding towns who rebelled against the high rate of insurance exacted by the old line companies. The leading spirit in the movement was G. D. Swain of Harmony, who was also the first president of the company. The first officers elected by the company in addition to the president, were Jacob Boos, of Butler, treasurer; and Har- vey Colbert, of Butler, secretary. The company has been successful from the start, and now has about $1,000,000 of in- surance on its books. It has made but three assessments since its organization, the last one being for one-fourth of one per cent., in 1908, which met all of the expenses for that year. The present officers of the com- pany are: J. H. Harper of Butler, presi- dent; M. M. Heinzer, of Butler, treasurer, and Harvey Colbert, secretary. The board of directors is composed of James Barr of Prospect, Edwin Meeder of Zelienople, A. L. Reiber, J. H. Harper, and M. M. Hein- zer, of Butler, A. Krause of Marwood, H. C. Litzinger, of Chicora, T. P. Mifflin, of North Washington, D. W. Humphrey of Harrisville, J. F. Shiever of Bruin, and J. E. Stroops, of Slippery Rock.

WATER COMPANIES.

Previous to 1877 the water supply of the town was obtained from springs and

drilled wells. During that year Charles Duffy and Samuel G. Purvis were the prime movers in the project to form a water company, the former subscribing for eight hundred and ninety-two shares of the stock. On the 1st of November, 1887, a charter was granted for the Butler Water Company, with a capital stock of $49,000.00. The Company then contracted with James McCollough, Jr., of Kittan- ning, to construct a plant for $49,000.00, payable partly in cash and the balance. in bonds and stock of the company. Mr. Mc- Collough thus became the principal owner of stock, and had a controlling interest in the company until the time it was sold to the present owners. The company built a dam on the Connoquenessing Creek above the old Reiber mill dam, from which the water was pumped to the reservoir constructed on the hill north of the Or- phans' Home. The reservoir had a capac- ity of 3,000,000 gallons, which at that time was sufficient to last the town for sev- eral days. The plant was completed and the water turned in the lines in the fall of 1878. The officers of the company were W. D. Brandon, of Butler, president, and W. B. Meredith of Kittanning, general super- intendent, and J. H. Conard, manager. In 1896 the company had trouble with the supply of water, on account of the drilling operations carried on in the Boydstown oil field, and the consequent pollution of the water by salt water pumped in the oil wells, and in order to obviate this difficulty an impounding dam was constructed above Boydstown. This dam held a large supply of water which was sufficient for the re- quirements of the town at that time, and continued to be the sole source of supply for a number of years. In July, 1897, the plant was purchased by the American Water Works & Guaranty Company, who are the present owners. In order to meet the new conditions arising in the town from the erection of the large steel car plant, the water company constructed the

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

Thorn Run dam in 1903. In 1902 large filter beds were constructed and the water supply for the town was filtered. The con- sumption of water daily in the town since 1902 is about 3,000,000 gallons daily. Since the typhoid fever epidemic in 1903-4, which was caused by extraordinary circum- stances, the company has had monthly tests made of the water supply from both the Boydstown and Thorn Run dams, and the water has proved to be of a quality su- perior to any of the towns in the surround- ing country. J. H. Conard, who was the first manager of the local plant, died in 1895, and was succeeded by M. F. Wright, who continued as manager until the 1st of October, 1908, when he was succeeded by the present manager, Mr. Watt.

The Mutual Water Company. - The South side of town is independent in re- spect to its water supply. In 1891 a num- ber of residents of the first ward associ- ated themselves together as the Mutual Water Association, organized for the pur- pose of building a reservoir and sinking wells. The capital stock of the concern was $12,000.00, and the official board con- sists of three trustees, and nine directors. Two wells were drilled at the top of the hill, and a strong supply of pure water was struck at 250 feet. The reservoir has a capacity of 3,000 barrels, and is supplied by the use of two hot-air pumps for rais- ing the water from the wells. The asso- ciation started with sixty-five consumers and about two miles of six-inch and four- inch water main, and the cost for the ordi- nary family has averaged about $1.00 per month. The first officers of the association were Prof. E. Mackey, president, and John Findley, secretary. The officers of the company in January, 1909, were C. C. Cochran, president ; R. L. Aiken, secretary and manager; Dr. M. E. Headland, L. C. Wick and Philip Crouse, trustees. The company has a plant valued at about $40,- 000.00, and at the present time supplies over three hundred customers.

The East Oakland Mutual Water Asso- ciation was organized in the fall of 1908 with the purpose of supplying the resi- dents of Institute Hill and in the vicinity of the Orphans' Home property. Wells were drilled and over one hundred houses are supplied, the owners of which are sub- seribers to the association. The president of the association is J. H. Gibson; and the secretary, W. S. McKee.

The McGeary Water Plant is a private concern established by W. B. McGeary in the west end of town about 1895. The water is supplied from drilled wells, and the business had grown from a half a dozen consumers in 1895 to over one hun- dred and fifty in 1899. The plant is located on Fourth Avenue and supplies that part of the town lying east of Fourth Avenue to First Avenue.

Another private water plant that sup- plies about two hundred consumers is lo- cated in Duffytown north of New Castle Street. It is owned by S. B. Cross who first began supplying a few houses in his neighborhood from a private well, and in the course of four or five years had ex- tended the plant to the present dimen- sions.

The Citzens' Mutual Water Company of the Fifth Ward was organized in the sum- mer of 1908, and established a water plant by drilling wells on the hill north of the town, and supplying a large number of customers in the Fifth and Third Wards. The directors of the company elected for 1909 were as follows: For three years, C. E. Cronenwett, John H. Robb, Charles Barnhart and J. E. Forsythe; for two years, C. R. Miller, Daniel Lardin, Theo- dore Schenck and Jacob Painter; for one year, George Heckart, John Murrin, Dr. Thompson and Milton Miller. The presi- dent of the company is J. E. Forsythe, John Murrin was vice-president, Daniel Lardin, secretary, and C. E. Cronenwett, treasurer.

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RAILROADS.

The history of the railroad systems of Butler appears in the chapter on Trans- portation, and need be but briefly referred to here. The first railroad to enter Butler borough was a branch of the Pennsylvania built from Freeport to Butler. Its open- ing for travel January 12, 1871, was made the occasion of a memorable demonstra- tion. How near the construction of this road came to changing the complexion of the old town of Butler was related not long ago by Charles Duffy, who was one of the young business men of the town at that time, and took an active part in bringing the road here and locating the depot. Some difficulty was encountered in getting a site for the depot, as the owners of the real estate demanded high prices. One morn- ing it was discovered that the chief en- gineer had received orders to locate the depot on the south side of the creek on land offered by William S. Boyd. This meant business disaster for the merchants of Main Street north of the Court House, who had anticipated making the corner of. Main and Jefferson Streets the business center of the town. Mr. Duffy and others immediately got busy, raised sufficient money to purchase the present site of the depot on East Jefferson Street, and Mr. Duffy donated a right of way between that and the creek, thereby securing the ter- minus of the road for the old part of the town.

The troubles of the early merchants were not ended wtih the completion of the railroad. Being sole owners and posses- sors of everything in sight, the railroad company charged such high tariffs and acted so independently about accommodat- ing the public that the town was little bet- ter off than it was in the days of the Plank Road freighters and stage coaches. Ar additional hardship was the fact that the freight house was closed at four o'clock in the afternoon, thus compelling the country merchants and others coming in from a

long distance, to remain over night, unless they could get away before that hour in the afternoon.

Realizing that something had to be done, a number of business men made overtures to the officials of the Karns City and Parker Railroads, who were then contem- plating extending their line to Millers- town, and thence to Great Belt. The result of this conference was that the company agreed to extend their line to Butler in consideration that Butler business men would subscribe to $50,000 of the railroad company's bonds. The required amount was subscribed after many delays and diffi- culties had been overcome, one of the busi- ness men becoming personally responsible to a number of subscribers for $15,000 worth of bonds. The completion of this road led to the extension of a branch of the Pittsburg, New Castle & Lake Erie Narrow Gauge Road from Callery June- tion to Butler, and resulted in the long hoped for advantages in freight rates and railroad accommodations. The next road to enter the town was the Shenango & Al- legheny, now the Bessemer, which was built from Branchton to Butler in 1882. The extension of the Bessemer Road south from Butler to North Bessemer was built in 1896-7, and this was followed in the next two years by the construction of the Buf- falo, Rochester and Pittsburg Road from Punxsutawney to Butler.

The construction of the lines of the But- ler Passenger Railway Company was com- menced in 1900, and the electric railway from Butler to Pittsburg was completed in 1906. The Pittsburg, Harmony, Butler and New Castle Electric Railway entered Butler in July, 1908, and other electric lines are being promoted which in the course of a few years will connect the town with the principal cities north and east.

TELEGRAPH OFFICES, ETC.

The first telegraph office was opened in Butler in 1861. It was a crude affair and

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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

merely used as a testing station on the line between Pittsburg and Franklin. The first regular office to receive and transmit mes- sages was opened in 1862 in the Lowry Hotel. This was also the first telegraph office to be opened in the county.

An office of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company was established in Butler in 1884, and is still in successful operation. This line was worked in connection with the McCabe-Bennett Cable Company and transmits messages to Europe.

The Bell Telephone Company estab- lished an exchange in Butler about 1888, and the People's Telephone Company had its inception in 1893. For a history of telephone companies in Butler and Butler county the reader is referred to the chap- ter on Public Utilities.

With the opening of the Butler Branch Railroad in 1871, the Adams Express Company opened an office in Butler. This was followed by the Wells Fargo, the United States and the American Express Companies.

BOARD OF TRADE, ETC.

The Butler Board of Trade was organ- ized December 9, 1896, for the purpose of helping along any industries then in But- ler, and to make an effort to secure new ones of a desirable nature that would aid in building up the town. As a consequence of this effort on the part of Butler's busi- ness men, the town has grown from a pop- ulation of about 10,000 until it now has a population in the neighborhood of 25,000.

The first regular meeting of the board was held December 22, 1896, when the fol- lowing officers and directors were elected for that year : President, J. Henry Trout- man; vice-presidents, Joseph Hartman and Peter Schenk; secretary, Ira McJun- kin; treasurer, William Campbell, and a board of directors composed of one mem- ber from each ward. At the annual meet- ing held on January 28, 1898, the board of directors was increased to fifteen, being

three from each ward. The officers chosen that year were: President, J. M. Leigh- ner; vice-presidents, C. N. Boyd and J. II. Troutman; treasurer, William Campbell; secretary, George W. Shiever. On Janu- ary 26, 1899, W. G. Douthett was chosen president ; A. G. Williams and William C. Thompson, vice - presidents; John W. Brown, treasurer; and W. F. Rumberger, secretary. In January, 1900, the old offi- cers were re-elected with the exception of W. J. McDowell being elected first vice- president in the place of A. G. Williams.

In January, 1901, W. C. Thompson was elected president, T. J. Shufflin and Daniel Younkins, vice-presidents; John C. Gra- ham, secretary ; and C. N. Boyd, treasurer. From 1901 to 1905 there were few impor- tant changes made in the organization of the board. In the latter year William H. Miller was elected president; H. B. Sna- man, vice-president ; John C. Graham, sec- retary, and Peter Duffy, treasurer. In January, 1906, the officers chosen were L. B. Stein, president; C. A. Abrams, vice- president; John C. Graham, secretary, and H. B. Snaman, treasurer. The officers of 1907 were those of the previous year. The organization at the close of 1908 was as follows: President, L. B. Stein; vice-pres- idents, M. E. Headland, J. H. Whiteside ; secretary, John C. Graham; treasurer, Elias Ritts.

During the thirteen years of its existence the board has done excellent work in se- curing manufacturing plants and advertis- ing and promoting the interests of the community. It has also been watchful of the interests of the public, and has been the means of preventing the people of the town from being imposed upon by pro- moters of fake enterprises and speculative schemes. In so far as they have been able they have assisted financially and other- wise legitimate manufacturing enterprises in locating in Butler, and have promoted in every way possible the business inter- ests of the town. One of the first enter-

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prises brought here by the board was the American Mirror Works located on the Southside in 1896. This plant is still in operation, employing a large number of men. The National Cigar Company, which employed a large number of people for several years, was brought here in 1898.

In 1899 the board secured the location· assisted a number of small manufacturing of the Davis White Lead Works. Charles Duffy donated the land needed on Fair- ground Avenue, and the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad laid the switch. One- fourth of the capital stock of $100,000 was subscribed by Butler people, and the four- story brick plant erected, which employed about 100 men until the company was ab- sorbed by the trust and the factory closed.

During 1900 the board purchased three and a half acres of land .from Judge Bredin for the location of a pickle factory. Considerable stock was subscribed by But- ler people, and a large factory erected at the junction of Pierce Avenue and the Bes- semer Railroad. The ground and factory was purchased in 1902 by the Standard Steel Car Company. The same year an eastern concern came before the board with a proposition to establish a silk mill. After some consideration the proposal of the eastern parties was turned down, and members of the board afterwards took the matter up themselves and organized the company that is now operated as the But- ler Silk Mill on First Street. The same year the board secured the machine shops of George A. Spang, which were moved from Renfrew and located on Etna Street, and have since developed a large plant operated by George A. Spang & Company.

Through the efforts of the board in ad- vertising the advantages of Butler as a manufacturing center, the securing of Pittsburg freight rates at this point, the attention of manufacturers was turned in this direction in 1901-2, and resulted in the establishing of the large plant of the Stan- dard Steel Car Company in Butler in the spring of 1902. In 1905 the board closed

their contract with the Pittsburg Dry Goods Company, which was operating a shirt factory on South Washington Street, and in its place secured the plant of Becker Brothers, which is still in operation and employing about fifty people.

During the past six years the board has concerns in the way of securing leases, manufacturing sites and along other lines that would help benefit the town indus- trially. No large bonuses have been paid for the location of plants, and the matter of subscribing to the capital stock of the various plants brought here has been left to the judgment of the people after the concern has decided to locate. The board opened the year in 1909 with an increase of membership, and a number of proposi- tions before it for consideration.

The Business Men's Association of But- ler borough was organized in 1906 and in- corporated in 1908. It comprises practi- cally all of the business houses of the town, as well as members of the professions. The purpose of the association is the mutual protection of its members as well as the promotion of the business interests of the town and community. The officers of the association in 1908 were W. A. Stein, presi- dent; A. C. Krug, vice-president; B. H. Jack, secretary; and W. G. Douthett, treasurer. The advisory board was com- posed of C. A. Templeton, W. A. Fisher, A. M. Reiber, Dr. W. S. DeWolfe, H. S. Klingler, George Whitehill, P. W. Ruff, L. G. Moore, H. B. Snaman and W. A. Stein.

The Grocers' Association was organized in 1899, and has enrolled as its members all of the grocerymen of the borough and Lyndora. The association meets once a week and arranges a schedule of prices and attends to such other business as may come before it. A social feature of the or- ganization is the annual outing, which has been held in August of each year since 1900. The present officers of the associa-

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 56

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526