Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I, Part 67

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846; J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1018


USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > Historical and biographical annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, embracing a concise history of the county and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Volume I > Part 67


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Weavertown (1775)


33


Lobachsville (1835)


7


Yellow House (1800)


10


ROCKS OF ROCKLAND


FIRST SETTLERS .- The first settlement in this sec- tion was made by a small colony of Swedes in 1701 along the Schuylkill river, four miles above the outlet of the Manatawny creek, in the vicinity of where Douglassville is now situated. They took up large tracts of land, which extended from the river northward for five miles. Some of their descendants are still there, notably the Joneses, Lud- wigs, and Yocoms.


The second settlement was made in the central portion by Huguenots, English, and Germans, from 1712 to 1730, who also took up large tracts and then extended their movements to the north, even to the Blue Mountain, and to the west toward Read- ing. Many of their descendants are still in the vicinity ; and in several instances ( Bertolets, Boones, Deturcks and Lees) the land has been transmitted in a direct line of descendants of the first settlers, until now, a period covering one hundred and eighty years.


And the third settlement was made in the portion along what is now the eastern line of the county and within several miles of it, by English and Ger- mans, for a distance of fifteen miles ; and here, too,


1Formerly New Storeville. "Churchville. "Towerville. ‘Exeter Station.


there are many of the first settlers, notably the Bauers, Bechtels, Livingoods, Rhoadses, Stauffers and Schultzes.


The hilly country of Earl township is the habita- tion of more old residents than any other district in the county. To the pure fresh air and most excellent water the old residents attribute their longevity. This township was the birthplace and home of Betzy Trout, who lived to be 101 years old. In the spring of 1909 the following were among the oldest residents in the township: Matil- da (Weller) Motz, aged 87; Aaron Weller, 86; Henry Clauser, 86; Philip Haring, 85; Joseph Heckman, 85; Ezra Hartline, 84; Isaac Heydt, 84; Charles Clauser, 83; Mary Mathias, 83; Jonathan Swavely, 82, and wife, Emmeline (Shollenberger) Swavely, 77; William Dilliplane, 80, and wife, Sarah (Clauser) Dilliplane, 79; Catharine (Swavely) Mathias, 80; Mary (Focht) Clauser, 78; Samuel Rhoads, 78; Jacob Rhoads, 76, and wife, 73; David M. Mathias, 76; Simon Clauser, 73; William Rei- chart, 73; Hannah ( Mathias) Clauser, 73; Ephraim Weidner, 73.


Among the old residents immediately outside of Earl township in the county are: Adam Levengood, 95 ; Abraham Ehst, 93 ; Jacob Bechtel,88 ; Levi Hess, 86; Godlieb Falkenstein, 82.


INDUSTRIAL PROMINENCE .- This section was par- ticularly active for over an hundred years in the successful operation of numerous large industries for the manufacture of iron, every township hav- ing had one or more furnaces or forges ; but shortly after the close of the Civil war, and more especially before 1880, they passed away like the dying twi- light of evening. It may well be asked, "What was the cause, or what were the causes, of this great change?" Iron industries at comparatively few pop- ulous centers have, since 1880, developed extraordi- nary capacities whose annual production runs into thousands of tons, whereas the earliest industries together produced only limited quantities; and the general prosperity of the State and nation (1909), as evidenced by congested railroads and overflow- ing banks, surpasses everything heretofore known or experienced in industrial affairs. And yet these great centers, with all their success, wealth and power, are apparently as helpless in directing and controlling political policies and municipal matters as the depopulating centers in the townships, with exterminated plants of various kinds (furnaces, forges and grist-mills), are in improving their en- vironment, social as well as financial !


Various and opposing causes are assigned for the tion ; but the one great overshadowing cause is the manipulation of the ramifying railway systems in the interest of stock speculation for the enrichment of managing financiers.


from generation to generation, from the beginning peculiar and inexplicable, if not inextricable, condi-


The three other sections were similarly situated as to iron industries and grist-mills, though the num- bers were not so large; and they, too, became sim- ilarly affected.


Herefordville (1830) 15


Stonersville (1847)


Black Bear (1810) 30


New Jerusalem (1828)


TOWNSHIPS


3.01


Hieronimus Spies


Philip Walter, Sr.


Frederick Wambach Christian Wigle


Daniel Wills, Sr.


Peter Yoakam


ROCKLAND


First list of taxables, prepared in 1758


John Albrecht


Jacob Keim


George Angstadt


Michael Keim


John Angstadt


Michael Kerber


Peter Anstat Simon Kerber


Conrad Bair


Peter Kieffer


Mathias Beck


Peter Klassmoyer


Nicholas Benninger


Michael Klein


Lorentz Berig


Christian Kobb Jacob Krebs


Philip Berminger


Charles Bernhard


Andreas Krett


Casper Bicking


Peter Lobach


Peter Breifogel


Henry Long


Ludwig Bitting


Ludwig Long


Nicholas Blatner


Michael Long


Jacob Boger


Nicholas Long


Peter Luder


Henry Mertz


William Bot


Henry Mertz


Ludwig Brem


Nicholas Clementz


William Dabitsch


Nicholas Debb


Casper Rap


Henry DeLong


George Reif


Frederick Reish


Peter Remer


Conrad Roth


Deobald Drumheller


Ludwig Rouzanner


John Eck


Peter Ruff, Jr.


Jacob Ellinger


Peter Ruff, Sr.


Herman Emrich


Casper Rubbert


Peter Ernst


Frederick Schackler


George Fleck


George Scheffer


Peter Folck


Michael Scheffer


William Folck


George Hefner


Jacob Hefner


George Schumacher


Christian Henry


George Seibert (Seuwert)


Frederick Hersch


Henry Showash


George Hoffman


Frederich Ubrick


Jacob Hoffman


Adam Wagner


Michael Jacobi


Adam Wecht


Nicholas Jacobi


Jacob Ziegemfuss


DISTRICT


First list of taxables prepared in 1756


Conrad Arnold


Jacob Hard


Jeremiah Bacon


Peter Hardman


Thomas Banfield


George Hartlein


John Barns Michael Hartman


Jacob Bernhard Paul Hartman


Christian Brensinger


Lorentz Hauck


George Brown


Stephen Hauck


Israel Burget


Jacob Herb


Jacob Bush


Jacob Hill


John Colron Michael Hoffman John Kabron


Joshua De La Plain


Henry Dener


Conrad Keim


Christian Conrad


Peter Levengood Adam Miller


Valentine Foght George Fritz


Jacob Nagle


Jacob Frey


Nicholas Koutz


George Gearinger


Yoakam Nagle


Jacob Fridge (Fretts)


George Lantz


George Hanselman


Martin Nahr


Bernhard Gembling


Henry Machanet


Philip Hapelbaker


Philip Parthner


Jacob Gross


William Mackey


Leonard Hersger


John Potts, Jr.


Andreas Hacker


Tobias Mauck


Michael Hoffman


Nicholas Reem


George Haltzshoe


Frederick Martin


Christian Bender


Andrew Huling


James Burns


Christian Kasebeer, Sr.


Samuel Buzzard


Michael Kaspotz


Derick Clever


Valentine Keely


John Clous Michael Cougler


William Keepers


John Keffer


George Dotterer


Adam Kildan


Nicholas East


George Klauser


Jacob Davidheiser


Daniel Eyst


George Koutz


Andrew Miller


John Fare


Michael Klein


First list of taxables, prepared in 1756


Andrew Ringberry


Simon Ringberry George Shadler Christian Sheeler


Peter Sheener Henry Shomberger John Slice


Iron Ore Mines .- In Colebrookdale township (now within the limit of Boyertown), the mining of iron ore was started at the very beginning of the settlements in connection with the manufacture of iron, and operations have been carried on there until now. The main shaft of the mine has been sunk to a depth of seven hundred feet. The deposit is inexhaustible notwithstanding the removal of many hundred thousand tons.


Operations were carried on also at Barto for fifty years, and for half of this period quite extensively. The shaft was sunk to a depth of five hundred feet. The mine was abandoned about 1900. The ore was rich in character and many thousands of tons were removed.


HIGHWAYS .- Numerous roads have been laid out in this section and consequently each township is well supplied. The most prominent are the follow- ing: Four from Reading, to Boyertown, seventeen miles; to Friedensburg, nine miles; to Pricetown, nine miles; and to Kutztown via Temple, seventeen miles. One from Douglassville, via Amityville and Pleasantville, to Kutztown, with a branch at Yellow House, via Friedensburg to Pricetown and Blandon. And one from Boyertown via Barto to Alburtis in Lehigh county.


Four turnpikes were constructed in the section: the Perkiomen, from the southern county line, via Douglassville and Baumstown, to Reading; the Douglassville, from Douglassville, via Amityville, to Yellow House; the Oley, from Pikeville, via Pleas- antville and Oley Line, to Black Bear ; and the Cen- tre, from Reading to Tuckerton, which extended northwardly through Ontelaunee Section, via Lees- port and Hamburg; beyond the county line to Potts- ville and Sunbury. The Centre turnpike was aban- doned as a toll-road in 1885; the Douglassville in 1898; and the Perkiomen in 1902.


ADDITIONAL TAXABLES .- The names of the first taxables of the several townships at the erection of the county are given in Chapter I; but the names of those in Douglass, Rockland and District are given in this connection because the townships were sub- sequently established. Previously, the taxables within their limits had been included with Amity and Oley. They are given to show the place in the section where the earliest settlers were located.


DOUGLASS


Jacob Boral


John Bot


John Moll


Nicholas Moyer


George Oberdorff


Melchoir Donner


Michael Dressler Jacob Drog


John Scheuerer Christian Schumacher


302


HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


Dietrich Mathias Jacob Mathias S. Mayberry Frederick Mayer John Miller Peter Miller William Miller John Moatzer Frantz Moser


Nicholas Schlister


Christopher Schock


Henry Schoerham


Michael Schuhmacher


Jacob Schweitzer


Laurence Sheeler, Jr.


Laurence Sheeler, Sr.


Jacob Steinbrenner


George Stevenson William Stork


Andreas Norgang


George Oyster


George Trust


Samuel Oyster


Adam Ulrich


Frederick Potts


Jacob Walter


Michael Radecher


George Adam Weidner


John Reidenauer


Charles Weis


Jacob Roth


Philip Weismiller


Valentine Schaeffer


Casper Weisner


George Schall


Peter Weller


NOTEWORTHY ENTERPRISES


FRIEDENSBURG BANK .- The First National Bank of Oley was chartered April 27, 1907, with a capi- tal of $25,000, and located at Friedensburg. Israel M. Bertolet was selected as president and Sydney J. Hartman as cashier. In November, 1908, the total resources were $141,277.


READING WATER SUPPLIES .- The Egelman sup- ply, appropriated in 1838, and the Antietam supply, in 1874, both from Lower Alsace; and the Bernhart supply, in 1858, from Muhlenberg. The first filtra- tion plant was established at the Egelman reservoir in 1904, with a capacity of 500,000 gallons daily ; the second plant in East Reading, in 1905, with a capacity of 3,500,000 gallons daily ; and the third plant at the Bernhart reservoir in 1909, with a ca- pacity of 3,000,000 gallons daily.


MOUNTAIN RAILROADS .- MIt. Penn Gravity rail- road was constructed on Penn Mountain in 1890, length eight miles; and the Neversink, in 1890, length eight miles ; both in Lower Alsace. They have had increasing success for the past ten years, thereby popularizing Reading very much.


CARSONINA PARK, established by the United Trac- tion Company in Lower Alsace in 1896, embracing 150 acres. It has become a popular resort, there having been 250,000 visitors during the season of 1908.


BRUMBACH MILLS, established in 1853 in Exeter by William Brumbach for manufacture of woolen goods, and operated, since 1862, by his son Albert J., who rebuilt and enlarged the plant.


STONY CREEK MILLS, established in 1864 in Lower Alsace by Louis Kraemer & Co., for manu- facture of woolen goods, and operated successfully since then.


TEMPLE FURNACE, established in Muhlenberg in 1867 by Clymer & Co. In 1873, the company se- cured a special charter. In 1900 it was re-organized with a capital of $30,000,000 for the purpose of op- erating anthracite coal mines. On account of its extraordinary powers it occupies great prominence in financial and industrial circles. The furnace pro- duces 40,000 tons of pig metal annually.


plant and has carried on operations since then. produces forged iron for locomotive engines.


BROOKE FURNACE, No. 3, established in Exeter along the P. & R. R. by the E. & G. Brooke Iron Company in 1872. Annual product, 21,000 tons. Carried on with the Birdsboro works.


NEVERSINK DISTILLERY, established by John H. Close and A. H. Kretz at Exeter Station (Lorane) in 1892. Plant was enlarged in 1899 by Neversink Distilling Company. Mashing capacity, 434 bushels.


THE MUHLENBERG BREWING COMPANY was or- ganized in 1895 and a large plant was erected along the Kutztown road in the southern end of Hyde Park, with annual production exceeding 10.000 bar- rels. Simson Becker served as president of the company for fourteen years.


COLEBROOKDALE IRON WORKS, established in Douglass by Brendlinger & Co., in 1867. Thirty years before, W. W. Weaver had started a foundry and tilt-hammer for the manufacture of wood-burn- ing stoves. The works were enlarged several times. They produced sad-irons, kettles, fixtures, etc.


RAILROADS .- The Reading Railway was con- structed in this section in 1837-38 from Reading to the Montgomery county line along the Schuylkill river, a distance of fourteen miles ; and the Cole- brookdale Railroad in 1869 from the county line via Boyertown northwardly to Barto, a distance of eleven miles.


Strect Railway .- The trolley line to Stony Creek was constructed in 1890, and extended to Boyer- town, via Oley Line, Friedensburg and Shanesville, in 1902.


STATE ROADS .- A section of State Road was put down from Barto to Bally, two miles, and thence to Schultz's Mill, two miles, in 1907 and 1908, being the second in Berks county and the first in this sec- tion. And another section was put down from a point near the Exeter meeting-house to Amity- ville, four miles in length, in 1908, which was the third in the county.


COLEBROOKDALE MINES .- Iron ore was discov- ered in Colebrookdale, now within the southern portion of Boyertown, as early as 1520, but it was not worked extensively until about 1845. In 1854 the first engine was put there by the Phoenix Iron Company to lift the ore, and from that time until now the mines have been in almost continuous oper- ation. During this period of fifty years, it is believed that fully 800,000 tons were removed. It is one of the best equipped underground plants in the coun- try ; and next to the great "Cornwall," near Leban- on, it is the largest mine opened in Pennsylvania. There are four fire-proof shafts in operation : Phœ- nix slope, 500 feet deep: Warwick four-compart- ment shaft, 720 feet : Gable No. 2, four-compart- ment shaft, 665 feet : and Gable No. 1, three-com- partment shaft, 515 feet. The character of the ore is "Bessemer Magnetic," yielding 55 to 56 per cent


SEIDEL FORGE. established in Exeter in 1870 by of metallic iron. On account of the great depth of John Hennon. In 1872, Harry Seidel purchased the the shafts, enormous quantities of water must be


It


303


TOWNSHIPS


pumped out ; for which purpose four large pumps tends from the road eastward beyond the East were put there at great expense.


Prospecting for Ore .- In 1907 certain persons from Philadelphia organized the Berks Develop- ment Company for prospecting for iron ore in the eastern portion of the county. They secured min- eral rights on different tracts of land in Earl town- ship in the vicinity of Shanesville, aggregating fif- teen hundred acres, and have discovered consider- able quantities of ore. They sank a number of shafts and found the best grade of magnetic ore. The general superintendent of the company is Jacob Schupp, of Reading. They employ twenty-four men. Aside from agriculture this is the only indus- try in the township. The company has its office in Philadelphia. Similar companies are being or- ganized to secure such rights in District, Hereford and Longswamp townships, where large quantities of iron ore are also supposed to exist.


OIL PUMPING STATION, established at Barto in October, 1908, on tract of land covering twenty acres, for propelling oil along pipe-line ..


MANATAWNY IRON WORKS, established along the Colebrookdale railroad in 1882 to take the place of the Pine Iron Works on the Manatawny creek, where the Bailey family had been prominently iden- tified with the iron business for nearly forty years. The site of the "Pool Forges," started about 1720, was near the latter.


ST. MICHAEL'S SEMINARY was founded by direc- is set forth in the following table :


tion of the last will of Henry F. Felix at Hyde Park, in Muhlenberg township, in 1894, for the education of young ladies by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of West Chester, Pa., they hav- ing secured fifty acres of ground and erected a superior building for that purpose.


TELEPHONE EXCHANGE .- The long distance tel- ephone exchange of the Pennsylvania Telephone Company, is situated at the cross-roads on the Kutz- town road, at the upper end of Hyde Park in Muh- lenberg township, about three miles north of Read- ing. It was established in the "Centre Hotel" in December, 1889; the first building was erected Aug- ust, 1896 ; and a brick fire-proof two-story building was substituted Jan. 1, 1905, with latest switch- board improvements. Annual messages outward from Reading, about 30,000; inward to Reading, 35,000.


FAIR GROUND, established in Muhlenberg town- ship along northern city line in 1888, with area of twenty-four acres, at an expense of $40,000; for annual exhibitions of the Agricultural Society, in place of the Fair Ground at the head of Penn street, Reading, where they had been held for thirty years.


SUBURBAN TOWNS .- Edward A. Larter and Sig- mund Morris purchased 120 acres of land in Muh- lenberg township, along the Kutztown road, beyond Hyde Park, and laid off eighty acres 'in 1903, and forty acres in 1907, comprising altogether 1,200 lots, which they named Rose Dale. The plan ex-


Penn railroad. Up to June, 1909, 1,100 lots were sold, forty dwellings erected, and also a public school-house and Union Chapel.


They also laid off forty-two acres of land in Low- er Alsace, east of Carsonia Park, into lots (400), which they named Melrose. They had sold by June, 1909, upward of 300 of them. Several dwell- ings have been erected there.


CHAPEL ROCK, a remarkable collection of rocks, in Alsace township, two miles north of Antietam Reservoir, exceeding any other natural wonder in the county ; visited by many pedestrians from Read- ing in all seasons of the year.


OLDEST BUILDINGS .- The oldest buildings in the county are in this section. The Mounce Jones build- ing was erected in 1716, in Amity, near Douglass- ville, along the Schuylkill, and it is still standing, though somewhat altered.


A Moravian church was erected in Oley in 1742 and this also is still standing. The walls and win- dows are as they were then; but the roof has been removed and the interior altered.


Dwelling-house on the eastern half of the Ber- tolet farm in Oley, erected in 1754.


ONTELAUNEE SECTION


The Ontelaunee Section comprises nine town- ships, and the time of their settlement and erection


ORIGINAL


Settled


Erected


Albany


1740


1752


Longswamp


1734


1761


Maiden-creek


1732


1746


Maxatawny


1732


1742


Richmond


1732


1752


Windsor


1740


1752


ADDITIONAL


Taken from


Erected


Greenwich


Albany


1755


Perry


Windsor


1821


Ontelaunee


Maiden-creek


1849


DERIVATION OF NAMES .- The derivation of the names was as follows:


Albany, from the name of a place in England.


Longswamp, from the peculiar condition of the soil of a large portion of the township.


Maiden-Creek, from the stream which flows through the township.


Maxatawny, from an Indian word, Machksi- thanne, which means a bear's-path creek.


Richmond, from the name of a place in England. Windsor, from the name of a place in England.


Greenwich, from the name of a place in England. These English names were suggested by the Friends, who exerted a controlling influence in the local government.


Perry, from the name of a distinguished naval officer in the United States Navy, Commodore Oli- ver Perry, who said, after the successful battle on Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." One of the companies in the English war of 1812-15 was commanded by Capt.


304


HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


John May from Windsor township, which included


INDIAN ATROCITIES .- Along the Blue Mountain thirty-five men also from this township: and the in Albany, in 1755 and 1756, Indian cruelties were political influence of these men led to the selection of the name for the new township.


Ontelaunee, from an Indian word, Ontelaunee, which means a little maiden ; and from this transla- tion Maiden creek was derived.


BOROUGHS .- The following boroughs have been established in this section :


Kutztown, in 1815. Hamburg, in 1837.


Fleetwood, in 1873. Topton, in 1875. Lenhartsville, in 1887.


Waterworks have been supplied at the first four, and electric lighting at the first three.


TOWNS .- The following towns are in this section :


Name


·Houses


Name


Houses


Blandon (1859)


.135


Mertztown (1857) 54


Bolwers (1860)


26


Mohrsville (1836)


20


Buena Vista. .


8


Molltown (1839)


16


Eagle Point


10


Monterey (1830)


12


East Berkley (1820)


7


Moselem (1856)


10


Farmington


15


Rothrocksville (1830)


23


Hancock (1870) 16


Shamrock (1859)


26


Halfway House (1800)


12


Shoemakersville (1833)


140


Kempton (1874)


22


Virginville (1874) 33


5


Leesport (1840) 131


Wessnersville (1858)


24


Lyons (1860)


95


Windsor Castle (1856)


5


FIRST SETTLERS .- The territory embraced in this section was not released by the Indians to the heirs of William Penn until 1732, and on that account there was no general influx of immigrants before that time. Immediately afterward, a number of Friends entered and took up large tracts of land in localities now included in Ontelaunee and Maid- en-creek townships. About 1752, nearly the entire area of these two townships was owned and occu- pied by Friends. The names of the more promi- nent families were Meredith, Parvin, Penrose, Lightfoot, Starr, Wily and Willits; and some of the descendants are still in this vicinity. These settlers went there by way of the Schuylkill Valley.


About the same time, a considerable number of immigrants of different nationalities, but mostly Germans, entered the section by way of the Mana- tawny creek and the Oley hills, and also by way of the West Branch of the Perkiomen creek and the Hereford hills, and they took up great quantities of land which reached from one end of the section to the other; indeed, they were so numerous and energetic that by 1740, within the short period of eight years, they had es- tablished six townships, embracing the entire sec- tion. There are numerous descendants of the first kels, Rothermels, Greenawalds, Dunkels, Heffners, Kutzes, Delongs, Hottensteins, Levans, Wanners, Kemps, Steins, Sells, Winks, Sharadins, Schaeffers, Zimmermans, Fenstermachers, Longs, Mertzes, Luckenbills, Mayberrys, Shappels, Grims, Smiths, Wessners, Dietrichs and Kistlers, as will be readily seen by comparing the taxables of 1909 with the lists of the taxables published in Chapter I.


inflicted upon the settlers during the progress of the French and Indian war. [See Chapter VIII.]


BLUE ROCKS .- There is a natural curiosity lo- cated in Albany township, near the Greenwich town- ship line, about three miles northwest from Len- hartsville, which has attracted much local attention from the time of the first settlements in the county in that vicinity. It consists of a large collection of rocks tumbled together irregularly, covering an area of thirty acres, which have a bluish appear- ance. They are surrounded by trees and vegeta- tion, and visitors can distinctly hear the roll- ing and splashing of waters underneath, though invisible. The rocks can be seen from the State road, and the origin of the peculiar formation has excited much comment.


IRON ORE was discovered in Richmond, Maxa- tawny and Longswamp townships before the erec- tion of the county in 1752. Active and successful operations in mining ore and manufacturing iron were carried on here for over an hundred years; but the industries were not so numerous as in the Manatawny Section. The Moselem Forge was one of the early iron industries.


HIGHWAYS .- This section is intersected by many roads in all the townships. Three prominent high- ways are worthy of particular mention: Centre Turnpike, from Reading via Leesport to Hamburg and beyond the county line, which was abandoned as a toll-road in 1885, after having been maintained for over seventy years; the Kutztown Road, from the Centre Turnpike at Berkley, via the Halfway House and Kutztown to Allentown; and the "State Road," across the upper section, from Hamburg via Lenhartsville to the Lehigh county line, being a continuation of the highway from Harrisburg and Jonestown, in Lebanon county. to Millersburg and Hamburg, in Berks county.


CANAL .- The Schuylkill canal was constructed in 1822 along the river from Leesport to the county line, twelve miles in length, and operated success- fully for fifty years with numerous boats owned by private individuals.


RAILROAD .- Five railroads have been constructed in this section :


The East Penn, in 1837, from Temple northeast- wardly to the Lehigh county line, a distance of twenty miles.




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