USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Catasauqua > Early history and reminiscences of Catasauqua in Pennsylvania > Part 4
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There was built at the same time a row of "shan- ties" from Second street to Limestone alley; also frame houses from Limestone alley to near Hower- town Road, which were surrounded by a front yard, with fences neatly whitewashed and the occupants were the clerks and bosses at the works. This was the "boulevard" of the village.
A brick row was built on Wood street from Lime- stone alley to Howertown Road, and each house was generally occupied by four families. Some of their de- scendants now living in large houses were born here.
In 1839 there were few, if any, coal burning stoves. Every thrifty tenant had his cord of wood sawed, chopped and piled in the cellar.
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Bake-ovens were erected; one on Wood Street, the other on Church; and their fires were burning from Monday morning till Saturday night, for the neigh- bors took their turn. The dough was prepared and placed in straw baskets; then, by a dexterous move- ment, upturned on a wooden tray or shovel, and pushed into the ovens, on the burning embers. Oc- casionally, some belated house-wife would come and beg the privilege of putting only a small pie into the oven if there were still room.
After the water was introduced, several spigots were on Wood and Church streets, the only streets in the village where the mains were laid. The water was taken from the Lehigh river, but then it was free from impurities and adulterations.
STREETS-The first streets were opened on the land of Frederick Biery, from Race street to Wood, as far as his land extended. As the village grew in the cen- tre, Second street was opened to Church and made crooked so as not to interfere with buildings already erected. When it was extended to Middle alley, a stop was made at the line of Henry Breisch's land and the street was fenced off. Prior to this time, Second street had been opened by John Peter from Bridge street north, and when Second street was extended northward another crook was necessary to make the connection. Meanwhile, Bridge street was opened, and, in order to make it correspond with Church street, it also was made crooked, otherwise the lines would have overlapped and the lots would have be- come too long. Strange to say, the alleys between Church and Bridge streets were run as if these streets were at right angles. The consequence was that the lots on Bridge street at alleys were sliced off at the point of intersection. While this was not considered when the lots were cheap, in after years, when parties began to measure up and find themselves short from 8 to 12 inches, law suits arose, bitter feeling was devel-
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oped and expensive litigation naturally followed. Such was the situation on both sides of the street but it would not have occurred if the points of intersection had been a right angle.
In 1839, there were four public roads which lay within the present boundary of Catasauqua :
One extended from the dam along the canal west of the Faust farm house, crossing Front street where it is intersected by Chapel street, and proceeding due east along the north side of the Breisch farm house (near the site of Dr. Daniel Yoder's residence) to the Howertown Road.
The second from the Biery grist mill due east over the Deily hill by the farm house to a point where the road forks in the 3rd Ward toward Bethlehem.
The third from the mill race over the county bridge in the 3rd Ward.
And the fourth, the Howertown Road which originally extended due north on the west side of the Biery farm house to a point at Union street where it joined the road as it is at present, the last portion having been vacated long ago.
In 1841, Front street was laid out by the Court of Quarter Sessions, but it was known for some time as Cinder street because the slag from the furnaces was hauled on it to make it passable in wet weather. It was graded in 1853 by Elias Mertz, surveyor, right after the incorporation of the borough, which lowered the surface several feet between Union street and School alley, and required high stoops before the residences, as they are now seen.
In 1848, Second street was laid out from Race to Church, by direction of the Court.
BUILDING LOTS- During the period from 1845 to 1860, this town grew in population. The Biery lots were sold on Front and Second streets to Wood and John Peter sold his lots on those streets from Bridge to the borough line. The balance of the Peter farm was sold to David Thomas, and Henry Breisch also sold his farm, lying between Second and Third streets, from Church to Pine, to David Thomas; but Thomas for years sold very few lots, which eventually proved to be a good feature, because it paved the way
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for many fine residences between Second street and Howertown Road and from Bridge street to Walnut. Third street was only opened in 1870, twelve years prior to his death; and Fourth and Fifth streets were opened some years after his death in the settle- ment of his estate. The population at this time was 2,853.
War was in the air during the close of this period. The "Wide Awakes," a Republican Association, pa- raded the streets with torches and uniforms and many fears were entertained what another year might bring forth.
BRIDGES-There were two bridges across the river in the early history of the town; and a third was erected in 1906.
Biery Bridge-On March 5, 1824, an Act of Assem- bly was passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania to establish and maintain a toll bridge across the Lehigh river at Biery's-Port and in this behalf the following Commissioners were appointed to carry its provisions into effect by securing subscriptions of stock at $25 a share, viz. :
Owen Rice, of Bethlehem.
Jacob Blumer, of Northampton Borough.
George Yundt, of South Whitehall.
Peter Ruch, of North Whitehall.
Frederick Biery and John Sterner, of Hanover.
The response in subscriptions was sufficient to en- courage this necessary improvement, and in this be- half an election was held on July 24, 1824, for a pres- ident, four managers and treasurer of the Company, which resulted as follows :
President-Owen Rice of Bethlehem.
Managers-Frederick Biery, Philip Faust, Charles D. Bishop and George Helfridge.
Treasurer-Joseph Biery.
And on the 26th of July, Jacob Blumer was ap- pointed secretary of the Board.
Peter Miller agreed to grant as much land on the
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western or "Pennsylvania" shore of the river as the Board might deem necessary for the consideration of $10 and "free passage over the bridge for himself and his wife during their natural life-time;"' and Frederick Biery agreed to grant sufficient land on the eastern or "Jersey" shore in consideration "that he, his family and sons, as well as those in his employ, should cross free for the term of 20 years."
The Board accepted these offers, and decided that the bridge should be built with two chains, and the passage-way should be 13 feet wide in the clear.
Peter Rumbel agreed to supply all the lumber at the following rates :
White Oak at $13 per 1,000 feet; Pine at $10; Hemlock at $9; Shingles at $7.50; Half -- price boards at $5.
Jacob Blumer, the secretary, was also appointed to superintend the construction of the bridge.
The rates of toll were as follows :-
For every Coach, Landau, Phaeton, or other pleasure carriage with 4 wheels; or every sleigh or sled drawn by 4 horses 25 cents
18 3/4 cents For every 4-horse wagon loaded 25 cents For carriage with two horses
cents For single horse and rider 6 1/4
For every horse or mule 4 cents
For every head of horned cattle 2 cents For foot passengers 1 cent
For all carriages drawn wholly or in part by oxen, two oxen shall be estimated as one horse.
For carriage and 6 horses, 371/2 cents; 5 horses, 3114 cents; 3 horses, 20 cents.
The practice of granting passage by the year was common, the rates paid ranging from $1 to $4.50.
The shares of stock were regarded as of great value. The dividends were declared semi-annually, being from 75 cents to $1 per share.
When the Crane Iron Works started operations, the rate of toll was fixed at $3 for a weight not exceeding 15,000 tons.
The great freshet of 1841 swept away the bridge; but a similar chain bridge was immediately put up in its place.
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EARLY HISTORY
The chains were anchored in stone foundations on both sides of the river ; the ends, and the middle where the chains rested, were topped with a frame cover to protect them from the weather; and these tops at a distance looked like a fortress. The sides of the bridge were open. In the Lehigh Water Gap, there still re- mains a chain bridge which resembles the construction of the old Biery Bridge.
About 1850, this bridge was regarded as unsafe be- cause it swung to and fro while a team passed over it. Therefore, steps were taken to erect another bridge in its place and the following Notice was advertised in the newspapers and posted in the vicinity for the purpose of securing subscriptions of stock :
Notice is hereby given that in accordance with an Act of Assembly, incorporating a company to build a bridge over the river Lehigh under the name of "The President, Managers and Company of the Lehigh County Bridge at or near Biery's Mills;" books for subscription of stock for said purpose will be opened on Monday, the 26th day of July, at the public house of Nathan Frederick in Biery's-Port, to be kept open for three successive days, for 6 hours each day :
Joseph Laubach
Peter Troxell
George Breinig
Joshua Miller
Daniel Newhard
David Troxell
Henry Kurtz. James Gangewere
David Eberhard.
Charles S. Bush
June 24, 1852.
Commissioners.
The bridge was removed in 1852 and a covered wooden bridge was erected in its place with trusses in the centre for support, and a double drive-way. The total cost was $14,954. It was destroyed by the great flood of 1862, but immediately rebuilt in the same style. The trusses however were at the ends, and there was only one drive-way. The total cost was $5,161. The dividends were about 12% per annum.
This bridge was maintained by the Company until 1892, when it was purchased by the County author- ities; then a new iron bridge was substituted at the joint cost of the County, the Lehigh Valley R. R. Co. and the A. & B. Rapid Transit Co., amounting to
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$19,000, which was paid as follows :- County, $10,500; L. V. R. R. Co., $8,000; Rapid Transit Co., $500.
The trolley line from Allentown to the west end of the bridge, and from the east end to Siegfried, was built in 1891, and for thirteen months the passengers traveling to and fro walked across a temporary struc- ture.
Crane Iron Co. Bridge-About 1845, the Crane Iron Co. felt the necessity of a separate bridge for its use, because iron ore beds were discovered at different places in Whitehall and South Whitehall townships, and the hauling of the ore around by way of the Biery Bridge came to be considered as a serious item, and they therefore determined to erect a public bridge up the river half a mile above the Biery Bridge. But they found a statute of Pennsylvania in the way which interfered with their project, be- cause it was too near the bridge mentioned and the Legislature would not grant another charter which would disturb vested rights. To avoid this objection, they purchased land on both sides of the river where the bridge was desired, and erected a private bridge for themselves. But the traveling public soon dis- covered that this bridge could be used free from any charges of toll and it came to be used therefore as a general highway ; indeed, at times the teams became so numerous that they extended in a continuous row from the entrance of the Fairview Cemetery across the bridge to the Company's office.
A statute provided that as soon as the Crane Iron Co. acquired the majority of the stock of the Biery Bridge Co., they could then charge toll for passing over their private bridge.
When the Catasauqua & Fogelsville R. R. was constructed in 1857, this bridge was strengthened so that the company could lay a railroad track on it, and haul cars loaded with iron ore over it, drawn by a small locomotive, to their works. This engine was
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named "Hercules." The bridge was swept away by the flood of 1862, and a covered wooden bridge was immediately erected in its place. Later an iron bridge was substituted by the company.
Pine St. Bridge-In 1906-07, the county authorities erected a superior iron bridge across the river, a short distance above the Crane Iron Co. Bridge, at Pine street, to facilitate inter-communication between Catasauqua and West Catasauqua. This bridge had been agitated for many years, but it was realized at last. It is now much appreciated for its great utility. The abutment at the eastern end was constructed at the cost of the borough of Catasauqua, and that at the western end by the township of Whitehall.
FLOOD OF 1862-Catasauqua was the scene of great excitement during the flood of June 4-5, 1862, when the water rose above its usual level from 24 to 27 feet, and was about 41/2 feet higher than the flood of 1841. All the bridges, with a number of small build- ings, great quantities of lumber and fencing materials, and many wagons, etc., were carried away. The en- gineer of the Crane Iron Co. remained in the engine- room and was instrumental in rescuing several per- sons from drowning. Many of the boats which were here, loaded with ore from New Jersey, were lost including the possessions of the boatsmen. A German family from Newark (man, wife and two children) were on their boat at Parryville when the flood tore it loose; they reached Catasauqua but the boat was wrecked below the town, and all they had was their clothing on their backs. Another family from Stan- hope, N. J., also lost their boat and all their clothing ; they were knocked off the boat and rescued, excepting an infant, fourteen months old, which was drowned. When morning dawned, two men were discovered on a cinderbank, in the midst of the river; and at an. other point a man and boy were on a tree. A father was on a tree near by, and his screaming daughter
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on another; and a little girl was seen holding on to a ledge at an arch of the Biery Bridge. Fruitless at- tempts were made to save these people by a raft at- tached to a rope, but the current was too strong; finally the superintendent of the Crane Iron Co. rescued them by means of a flat-bottom boat, made by his carpenters, after struggling heroically for more than an hour.
The scene was awful to behold. While standing on the river bank, the roaring torrent could be distinct- ly heard, and also the agonizing cries of men, women and children, who were carried along on logs, boats, etc. Below the town a house was swept from its foun- dations and carried down the valley ; and at Wheeler's locks several houses and barns with household goods, animals and other contents were swept away. Words cannot describe the loss and suffering.
Relating to the flood of 1841, mentioned in the be- ginning of the foregoing article, the following entry was made in the books of the Crane Iron Co., to show how it affected the works :-
"On Thursday, January 7th, at nine o'clock in the evening, the river rose so that the back water prevented the wheel from turning, at half after ten covering the tow-path of the level above lock 36. At twelve it was two feet over the banks, and was one foot over the bottom of the hearth of the furnace. At 1.20 the water was at its height, and 34 inches in the furnace. It was at its height until 3.30 o'clock when the river began to fall. The water wheel was muddied all over and the water was nine inches over its top. The dam and canal bank was broken so that when the water fell in the river it was too low to turn the wheel, though every effort was made to fill up the bank, but they could not succeed and were obliged to throw the furnace out on Monday, the 11th of January.
DAVID THOMAS THOMAS S. YOUNG."
[The furnace was blown in again on May 18, 1841.]
CANAL-The navigation of the Lehigh river was agitated for many years, beginning as early as 1771, and legislation was enacted relating to it from that time till 1820 and afterward. The Lehigh Navigation
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Co. was incorporated in March, 1818, and in October following, the Lehigh Coal Co., and in 1820 the two were consolidated into the Lehigh Coal and Naviga- tion Co. Then it was that active operations were be- gun in the construction of a canal which was to extend along the river from White Haven to Easton and they were carried on with determination.
The great enterprise was completed from Easton to Mauch Chunk in 1828 and a favorable report of spe- cial commissioners to the Governor of Pennsylvania was made July 3, 1829. Three men were particularly prominent in its advocacy, construction and comple- tion, Josiah White, Erskine Hazard and Mr. Hauto.
In the course of its construction, a lock was placed at a point which came to be in front of the furnace at Catasauqua; dimensions of 22 feet wide by 95 feet long, with a drop of 8 feet from one level to the other. The number in the system is 36. The next lock to the north is about a mile distant; and the next to the south also a mile.
Grain and coal were "floated" down the river to the Delaware river, and thence to Philadelphia, on flat- bottomed boats called "arks," and these "arks" were sold there because they could not be taken back against the current. In passing Biery's-Port these boats attracted much attention. When the canal came to be opened for transportation in 1828 the movement of the boats through the locks excited as much public interest for a time as the "casting" of iron in the furnace in 1840.
The first excursion to Biery's-Port on the canal was made by a party from Allentown and an "ark" was used to carry the excursionists. The boat was hand- somely decorated with American flags for the occasion. This occurred on Friday, June 26, 1829. Ogden E. Frederick recalls how his mother-in-law, Mrs. James W. Fuller, with much spirit narrated the trip many years ago. She was amongst the party, having ac-
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companied her parents, then a girl (Clarissa Miller ) 11 years old. She remembers distinctly the crowded condition of the boat and the great pleasure the ex- traordinary trip afforded. Two horses pulled the boat, and though the movement on the water was slow, the sensation was pleasing and the passing scenery truly picturesque and inspiring, much beyond what she had yet experienced.
Another occurrence, worthy of mention, was several years afterwards when many of this community went by boat to Easton to witness the hanging of a man named Getter, on a small island in the Delaware river. My mother accompanied her parents (Mr. and Mrs. John Swartz) who joined other parents (Owen Frederick, Frederick Biery, Jacob Deily and John Peter) ; and I recall the spirit she displayed in de- scribing the incidents of the novel trip to and fro, the great crowd on the hill-side at Easton (now the site of Lafayette College) which overlooked the awful scene of the public execution of a condemned mur- derer, the terrifying screams of the multitude that broke the awful stillness when the rope snapped as the criminal dropped, the startling movement of the official witnesses about the scaffold, and the rapid horseback ride of the sheriff to the nearest store for a new rope and back to the scaffold to resume the per- formance of his legal duty and complete the execu- tion. The reader of these reminiscences of Catasau- qua can well imagine my intense interest as a boy in a mother's tale of such an event in its early history.
Boat-Yards-Along the canal, from 1845 to 1865, two boat-yards were carried on for the building and repair of boats; one of them by Bogh Brothers, situa- ted on the site of the Fire Brick Works between Wal- nut and Chapel streets, and the other by Ginder & Rehrig on the site of the lowlands opposite the Cata- sauqua Hotel.
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RAILROAD-It was in the fall of 1855 that the first locomotive, the "General Wall," borrowed from the Central R. R. of N. J., with a passenger car attached, came to Catasauqua, which was as far as rails had been laid. It was a gala day for the new borough, only two years old. On this train were citizens from Easton including Thomas Mckean (then 90 years old) and an army office on recruiting service. A dinner was had at the Eagle Hotel, while flags were flying and bands playing. After dinner a procession was formed which marched to Hokendauqua, to view the furnace just erected there.
On the way from Allentown, the train ran slowly, stopping now and then to cut down projecting limbs of trees which hung over the track.
David Kline, a painter by trade, was the first agent and the first freight he brought over the bridge on a wheel-barrow.
WATER WORKS-When Catasauqua was founded in 1839 by officials of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co., the water rights and land west of the canal, from the Hokendauqua Dam to the Allentown Dam were ceded to the Lehigh Crane Iron Co. as a substantial inducement to those capitalists to erect furnaces here and develop an increased market for coal and as a feeder to the canal project. At that time, the towns along the Lehigh river north to the coal mines were few, and it never entered into the minds of the in- vestors that the stream would become the sewer system of numerous populous boroughs and hundreds of coal mines.
When No. 1 furnace was erected, the blast power was secured from the canal, the original canal having been turned over to the Iron Company for power and landing ores and coal, and a new canal having been excavated, and used thereafter as the main line. The pump to furnish water for furnace use was attached to the blast wheel, which remained in use until No. 3
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furnace was completed in 1844. More extensive water facilities for the town were required and then a 4-inch main was laid from the pump to Wood street, up Wood to Second, up Second to Church, and thence to a basin located on that street above Church alley.
When this was about to be done it would seem that David Thomas wrote to his son Samuel then at Nazareth (going to school there), to stop off at Beth- lehem and take measurements of the pump used there to supply water to the inhabitants of that town, as he intended to supply water to the company's houses on Church and Wood streets. Richard W. Leibert, who is still living at Bethlehem, supplied him with the de- sired information. Work was then commenced with- out a charter and in time the mains were extended, a reservoir was built on Church street, and later on rear of Walnut between 5th and 6th streets. A charter was subsequently obtained and the company furnished the water until its merger with the Clear Springs Water Co
The leakage from the old company reservoir eventu- ally undermined the limestone soil, and necessitated its abandonment and a wooden tank was erected. In 1854, a 4-inch main was laid on Front street, as far as Bridge, and in 1856, a 3-inch main was extended up Second street, as far as Strawberry alley, to supply the new residence of David Thomas.
This pipe was recently discovered while laying the new mains on that street, and it was found almost closed with corrosion. The same year the Front street main was extended to the new rolling mill, and sub- sequently as far as Puddlers' Row, above Chapel.
By 1872, the demands upon the water supply had increased so largely that the company decided to make extensive improvements, and spent $25,000. On Front street from Wood to Bridge an 8-inch main was laid; Second, Union to Chapel, a 10-inch main ; 4-inch main on Union and Chapel streets; 10-inch main on
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Bridge, from Front to Second; and 10-inch main on Walnut to Fourth, where connections were made with a 12-inch main leading to a new stone and concrete reservoir on Currant alley, above Walnut, the highest point in the town. A new pumping station was built below No. 6 furnace, 23 by 25 feet in dimensions, with water and steam pumps having a capacity of forcing 185,000 gallons of water per day. A nearby stand- pipe, to equalize the pressure upon the pipes, was also built.
The use of the canal water for household purposes became objectionable, and some years since an artesian well was drilled adjoining the pumping station and alternating filters erected to overcome to some degree the frequent filthiness of the river water. The com- pany requiring more room for storage purposes, a 36- inch main was extended on the canal bed, from a point facing the canal below the bridge, which carried water to the forebay at the machine shop, and pumping sta- tion, while another of similar size ran from the fore- bay in front of No. 5 furnace and extended to the tur- bines opposite No. 1; the feeder canal was then aband- oned and filled in, giving the company large storage space in front of the furnaces.
All the town gutters and refuse from manufac- turing places north of Bridge street drained into the canal, the surface of which frequently presented mys- terious compositions.
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