USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 21
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Completion of the new bank and office building of the Norristown-Penn Trust Company, at a cost of about $1,000,000.
Completion of the $600,000 Thomas J. Stewart Junior High School.
Construction of the Norristown Auditorium, by Frank Leichthammer, at a cost of $100,000.
Dedication of the $80,000 hall of the Norristown Lodge of Elks.
Opening of the new Curren Arcade, owned by J. Frank Boyer and Joseph Curren.
Progress on the new auditorium of the Norristown Lodge of Moose.
Completion of the Montgomery and Hillcrest Annex Apartments by former State Senator James S. Boyd, at a cost of $200,000.
*Read before the Society, February 21, 1925.
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REPORT OF ANNALIST FOR 1925
Work started on the Westmar Theatre and Gloria Theatre.
About two hundred and fifty new dwelling-houses were also completed.
The County also derived great benefit from the spirit of progress. In every suburb new houses are in evidence. Montgomery County is getting to be a place of beautiful homes. Trolley and 'bus lines contribute much to the de- velopment. Good roads a big asset.
STATISTICS
Number of acres planted to corn, 33,050. Production, 1,920,205 bushels. Value, $1,478,557.86.
Number of acres planted to wheat, 20,590. Production, 428,272 bushels. Value, $608,146.24.
Number of apple trees: bearing, 100,428; non-bearing, 54,270.
Number of peach trees, 73,214.
Idle farms, 94,000 acres. The highest price paid for farm land per acre, $200 or $300. The nearness to a town controls the price. A number of farms have been sold for $1,000.
Bank clearings for 1925, $55,109,799.06.
Cost of Governmental Machinery for twelve months of 1925, $1,660,698.31.
Population, estimated, July 1, 1925, 216,225.
Number of fires in Norristown in 1925, 92. Fire loss, $127,465, the largest for some time.
Montgomery County has 606 manufacturing plants, which employ 32,000 workers. (Figures compiled by B. Brooke Barrett, for the County Manufacturers' Asso- ciation.)
Marriage licenses issued in the County in 1925, 1,651.
Deaths in the County: cancer, 208; heart disease, 446; pneumonia, 221; tuberculosis, 217; all causes, 2,706.
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RECORD OF DEATHS
1925
Jan. 29. Mrs. Margaret Schall Hunsicker, aged 85, widow of Charles Hunsicker, noted Montgomery county lawyer.
Feb. 9. George Tilkington, aged 102, oldest resident of Conshohocken.
Feb. 9. James Lawler, prominent Councilman.
Feb. 10. John Howard Wood, founder of the John H. Wood Company, operators of a chain of drug stores.
Feb. 12. Dr. E. M. Furey, a native of Norristown.
Feb. 18. John H. Spang, prominent in Perkiomen section, partner in Norristown Sanitary Market.
Feb. 19. Mrs. Walter H. Corson, of Plymouth; at Santa Barbara, California, of congestion of the lungs. She was a noted artist.
Feb. 22. George Heffelfinger, a Civil War veteran.
Feb. 23. William Seckels, Civil War veteran, aged 80.
Feb. 28. John Hampton, county official, aged 83.
Mar. 9. Margaret K. Kline; was born in the house in which she died.
Mar. 14. Edward D. Coulson; born in Lower Providence township.
Mar. 16. William Montague, carpet manufacturer.
Mar. 24. William Kneas, lumber merchant.
Apr. 3. Nicholas H. Larzalere, prominent lawyer; born in Warminster township, Bucks county.
Apr. 28. P. Frank Hunter, Assistant Treasurer, Pennsyl- vania Railroad; at one time president of the Nor- ristown Town Council.
Apr. 29. Dennis Farley, member of Massachusetts Legis- lature when President Coolidge was assembly- man.
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REPORT OF ANNALIST FOR 1925
May 18. C. Howard Harry, well-known dentist.
May 28. Joseph Rowan, Civil War veteran; born in Lan- caster.
June 1. Dr. Alice Bennett; twenty years at State Hospital.
June 1. Estelle Major; wife of Charles Major.
July 15. William Rutty; Philadelphia Trust Company of- ficial.
Aug. 17. Donald Rambo; died in Maine.
Aug. 17. Henry C. Warner, proprietor of Warner's De- partment Store.
Oct. 1. Rev. Harry W. Bright, pastor of the Reformed Church of the Ascension.
Oct. 12. Frank Stiles, member of wholesale candy com- pany.
Oct. 27. Samuel Kohn, formerly vice-president of Mont- gomery Trust Company.
Nov. 9, Paul M. Brooke, attorney and trust officer for Glenside Trust Company.
Nov. 10. William Yeager, pioneer florist, aged 91.
Nov. 12. Richard Kearns, Sr., of Coatesville, at one time a resident of Bridgeport.
Nov. 16. Dr. J. Edwin Grauley, former pastor of Haws Avenue M. E. Church.
Nov. 23. Mary A. Rees, teacher in Norristown for fifty years.
Nov. 30. Ambrose Umstead, Collector of Internal Revenue. Dec. 7. Joseph Miller, teacher in Thomas J. Stewart Junior High School.
Dec. 17. Ellen Thomas, temperance and suffrage worker. Dec. 17. Joseph V. Bean, at one time principal of Chain Street School.
Dec. 22. Henry A. Boorse.
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Dec. 22. Harry L. Yost, merchant, civic worker and church official.
Dec. 24. John E. Overholtzer; merchant for fifty years, great lover of nature, and philanthropist.
Dec. 26. Oliver K. Bean; former hotel owner.
Dec. 30. Albert Parker; well-known optician.
CHRONOLOGY
Jan. 2. Snow six inches deep, following small-sized bliz- zard.
Jan. 23. Montgomery Transit lines are still snow-bound be- tween Lederach and Harleysville.
Jan. 24. Eclipse of sun is viewed by thousands, aided by ideal weather conditions.
Jan. 30. A jump of $2,500,000 in real estate values is re- corded this year by local assessors.
Feb. 12. Interest increasing in campaign to feed birds until snow disappears.
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Feb. 19. New Armory for Norristown assured, as bill is placed before Legislature.
Feb. 21. Removal of County Prison to farm and quarry ad- vocated by G. M. Fratt in Legislature.
Feb. 28. Improvement of Welsh Road at an expenditure of $301,913.50 will directly benefit seven large townships.
Mar. 6. Increase of value in last three years of property listed for county tax purposes is $107,777,939.
Mar. 14. Nearly one thousand quarts of whiskey, alcohol and wine, seized by police in raids, distributed to hospitals.
Apr. 2. County aid is sought on road from Spring Mount to Delphi; over two thousand automobiles use it daily.
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REPORT OF ANNALIST FOR 1925
Apr. 10. Twenty-three miles of township roads in county to be rebuilt and maintained by state funds.
June 4. Intense heat forces change in school schedules; no afternoon sessions.
June 6. Mercury at one hundred degrees reaches new mark on sixth day of the hottest spell ever known at this time of year.
June 8. The dirigible, "Los Angeles," flies over town twice within twenty-four hours.
June 22. Forest fire is subdued after raging three days at Gulph Mills; several valuable properties saved.
June 23. County gives $11,000, to match like amount from Souderton, to build new concrete road.
July 8. Heat wave in this vicinity is broken by electrical storm.
Sept. 15. Montgomery County Fair opened at Hatfield.
Oct. 30. First snow of the year fell at 7.30 in the morning.
Nov. 16. Mrs. N. Howland Brown, of Norristown, elected Regent of Pennsylvania Daughters of American Revolution.
Nov. 14. Grand Jury recommended immediate enlargement of Court House.
Nov. 28. $600,000 mailed by local banking institutions to Christmas Club savers.
Dec. 7. Bill introduced in Congress by Representative Watson, at request of "Times Herald," to halt mis- use of mails for unfair mercantile competition.
Dec. 28. Hon. John Faber Miller took oath of office as President Judge of Courts of Oyer and Terminer and Common Pleas of Montgomery County.
Dec. 28. Burgess James W. Potter was accorded a testimon- ial banquet at Tom Brown's Inn, and administered the oath to Burgess-elect Hendrickson.
Textile Exhibit*
A rather ususual chapter in Pennsylvania history was unfolded at the spring meeting of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Saturday, April 25, 1925, in Historical Hall, this borough. It was concerned with "hooked" rugs, woven coverlets and patchwork quilts, and a bewildering array of each was exhibited.
In the morning, beginning at 11 o'clock, a display of rugs was made by a group of women from Morgantown, Berks county, and also an exhibition of rugs in the making. Miss Lizzie Kutz, of Morgantown, is head of a little colony of rug-makers, composing members of four families, who are kept busy, all the time, designing and making. Two of the women brought their frames, and showed the visitors the manner of "hooking" the narrow strips of wool into the canvas, on which the free-hand designs are roughly sketched. A number of specimens were sold, and orders taken for others.
The makers present were Miss Lizzie Kutz, Mrs. J. A. Zook, Miss Elsie Kutz and Miss Emma Stoltzfus, Miss Alice Petersheim and Mrs. Levi Petersheim, whose specialty is braided rugs. The Berks county visitors came to Norristown in four autos, there being thirteen in the party, men and women. Belonging to the sect known as Amish, they wore plain garb.
The luncheon has become a feature of the meetings, and the guests did full justice to the good things provided by the hospitality committee, Miss Helen E. Richards, chair- man.
The afternoon session was devoted to a talk by Adjutant General Frank D. Beary, of Harrisburg, a high authority
*Accompanying an address delivered before the Society by Adjutant General Frank H. Beary, April 25, 1925.
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TEXTILE EXHIBIT
on the weaving of coverlets. General Beary dwelt interest- ingly on the history of weaving, which he considers one of the very earliest of industries. He described the hand-looms, and gave many illustrations of the development of the art, which was at its height in this country from the early part of the nineteenth century until the Civil War, by which time machinery had superseded the shown process of hand- weaving.
In response to the invitation given at the February meet- ing of the Historical Society, at least fifty woven coverlets and patchwork quilts were loaned for this exhibition.
A special frame was made on which to show them, and the president of the society, Irvin P. Knipe, Esq., told some- thing about each specimen, as it was exhibited. Much Mont- gomery county history marks the making of the bed-cover- ings, and many well-known names were mentioned.
The woven coverlets were varied in design, and to the expert the different methods of weaving, and the colors, showed to which period the example belonged. The ap- pended list gives some idea of the families represented among the exhibitors.
There were three wonderful "Sunburst" patterns of quilts, each in itself a work of art. The infinite patience required for the thousands of patches put together with such marvelous skill, spoke of a day less restless than the present, and brought to mind pictures of quiet home life.
There were quilts of "tulip" design, as well as many of geometric patterns, and a number were autographed, the ink now faded, but in most cases legible.
Quite as interesting as the designs of the patches were the quilting patterns, showing the individuality of the designer.
The following is a complete list of exhibits, showing, also, by whom exhibited.
1-Miss Amanda Streeper-Made by her great grand- mother, 1800-1820.
2, 3 and 4-Mrs. J. R. Yost; from Mrs. Yost's mother
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and grandmother, both named Smith. Number 4, 170 years old, is from Mrs. Reiff, Skippack.
5 and 6-Mrs. Ralph Hunt, Jeffersonville. From family of Harvard Walker, New Centerville; probably 100 years old.
7-Martha J. Schultz; 1842. Mrs. Schultz lived with Christian Dull in 1841. The dogs killed a number of his sheep, and Mr. Dettra told Martha if she pulled the wool he would have a coverlet made for her. This is the coverlet.
8-George and Anna Highley, 1842; grandparents of Miss Nancy P. Highley ; exhibited by latter.
9-Mrs. Hannah G. Schultz.
10-Mrs. C. G. Kremer; quilt about 90 years old.
11-Belonged in the family of John K. Ralston, Brandy- wine Manor; exhibited by Miss Isabel G. Ralston.
12, 13-Mrs. J. O. Knipe.
14-Made by Mrs. John Condon; about 1875.
15-Lydia A. Conden.
16, 17-Mrs. William F. Moyer.
18-Mrs. Montgomery Evans; quilt made for Mrs. J. Grier Ralston in 1846 (patchwork).
19-Mrs. Irvin P. Knipe; star quilt made by Mrs. John Fritz, Bucks County.
20-Miss Anna E. Davis, Conshohocken; woven by man, about 1820.
21-Mrs. Charles M. Todd; made by her great-grand- mother.
22-Mrs. William A. Weber, 1842; formerly in family of Rev. Chas. Lukens, Port Royal, Frankford, 1842.
23, 24, 25-Mrs. Andora S. Koons.
26, 27-Mrs. Samuel S. Hartranft; made by mother of Governor Hartranft.
28-Mrs. J. G. Wilson, State Hospital; made in Susque- hanna County, time of Civil War.
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29-Dr. J. G. Wilson; 100 years old. Such weaving is now done at Berea College, Kentucky. The art of weaving these coverlets was lost, and re-discovered by Berea College.
30-Charles Shaw; Lord's Supper, handwoven linen communion cloth; 100 years old.
31-Miss Grace E. Bean; made by her great-grand- mother, Mrs. Sarah Kriebel, in 1860.
32-Mrs. Karl Keffer; 1820-1825; made in Indiana. Flax raised, thread spun, linen woven and coverlet made by Mrs. Lucy Gibbons Keffer, in Indiana.
33, 34, 35-Mrs. Frank Rittenhouse; all very old; 33 woven for Rachel and David Rittenhouse, and given to their daughter, Charlotte Rittenhouse, who was born 1799. 34, 35, patchwork quilts made by Charlotte Rittenhouse; born, 1799; died, 1893.
36-Mrs. William M. Gearhart; 1817.
37-Mrs. W. H. Poley; made in 1838 by Michael Weand, uncle of the late Judge Weand. Made for Mary Ann Bigoney, mother of Mrs. J. O. Knipe.
38-Mrs. William H. Poley.
39-Mrs. F. E. Craft; 1844. Yarn was spun and dyed by her great-grandmother, Ellen Hampton, of Bucks County, and woven in New Britain, Bucks County, in 1844.
40, 41, 42, 43-Samuel Yeakle.
44-Miss Margaret Blackfan; more than 100 years old.
45-Mrs. George R. Kite.
46, 47-Mrs. George Corson, Plymouth Meeting. Spun and woven by mother of Amos Lukens, before 1826. Amos Lukens was the first husband of Mary Caley Baynes.
48, 49-Mrs. H. Oscar Young. Quilted by Sarah Scho- field Wilson, Whitemarsh, grandmother of Mrs. Young.
50-Mrs. M. B. Dingletten; 1805. Woven by Abraham Hallman in his own shop, near what is now Arcola, in 1825.
51, 52, 53-General Frank Beary.
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54-Dr. and Mrs. N. B. Shearer, Worcester; made about 100 years ago; contains autographs of eighty relatives or friends. Made by Elizabeth Engard Shearer, Fort Wash- ington, Pa.
The idea of the coverlet and quilt exhibit was that of Irvin P. Knipe, Esq., who was his own committee, but was aided by different members of the Society, men and women. Mr. Knipe, at the conclusion of the meeting, thanked all who had helped make the exhibit one of the finest of any time. He regretted that it was not possible to have photo- graphs of the articles, as he considered many of them super- ior to those pictured in Eliza C. Hall's book of quilts and coverlets. Mr. Knipe expressed the gratitude of the Society to the Berks County rug makers, who had so graciously accepted his invitation to show their art at this meeting.
The attendance was the largest ever known at a meeting of the Society. The lecture room was well filled in the morn- ing, and in the afternoon the library and hall were crowded, many standing throughout the entire talk of General Beary, and the exhibition of coverlets and quilts.
The hospitality committee, Miss Helen E. Richards and her many aides, did everything possible for the entertain- ment of the guests, and Mr. Knipe was assisted in describ- ing the exhibits by the Misses Katharine and Emily Preston.
Note: As General Beary's address was extempore, we give the very complete report of it, and of the exhibit itself, as published in the "Nor- ristown Register," April 27, 1925, amplified by further data communi- cated to the Society by exhibitors and others .- Ed.
The Boyertown Ore Mines*
By HON. L. P. G. FEGLEY
INTRODUCTION
Approximately one hundred and fifty people of the Historical Society of Montgomery County made a pilgrim- age through parts of Berks County on Saturday afternoon, and stopped off at Boyertown to view the Boyertown Ore Mines. Hon. L. P. G. Fegley, of Boyertown, was asked to address this body of people when they arrived in Boyer- town, giving them the history of the mines. Mr. Fegley said in part: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen; although born, raised, and lived in the neighborhood of the Boyer- town mines continuously, little did I think that at any time during my long period of life, I should be called upon to speak to such a literary audience as the Historical Society of Montgomery County, but there is a maxim which says: "When duty calls it is ours to obey."
First, I, in behalf of our citizens, want to welcome you to our town. It is in response to that call and obedience to that duty that I will endeavor to give you an abstract or history of our Boyertown mines.
HISTORY
As early as July 29, 1718, David Powell obtained a patent for 227 acres known as the "Furnace Tract," situate in Colebrookdale Township, Berks county, extending be- fore and around us to the northern borough limits, to Gab- elsville and to Morysville, where the furnace was.
*Read at an outing of the Society, October 3, 1925.
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June 4, 1719, Powell sold this land to Thomas Rutter, and May 22, 1733, Samuel Potts, of Pottstown, obtained an in- terest in the same. These parties were the first to develop the mineral resources of this land. This brought on the erection of a furnace in 1720 by the iron men of Reading-the Eckerts.
December 29, 1769, the said owners sold this land to Henry Stauffer, reserving one acre where the vein cropped out, and also reserving the mineral right over the whole, holding themselves, however, liable for damages resulting from mining operations.
Subsequently, a claim for damages was made, when the owners of the "mineral right" purchased six acres at that point, known then as the Red Bank, and under title became the property of Robert and Morris Lewis, but was leased by the Phoenix Iron Co. which company was the first to carry on extensive operations and the first to install machin- ery for increase in products. The Phoenix Company was the first to use steam in 1855, and continued operations at the old mines until 1881.
From that time on, the Phoenix Company continued their operations southward, confining themselves to the said one- acre lot, but all slope mining at about forty-five degrees. This slope is about four hundred feet long, and yielded fifty-five per cent black magnetic ore.
The first ore discovered was at the rear of what is now the commons at the corner of Third and Walnut streets, back of the home of an aged gentleman, now in our pres- ence, Dr. Joel B. Bower, at about one hundred feet at the rear of the Doctor's premises, on the surface. Steps as though going down into a cave or cellar were the means of getting out the ore, mined by men, and carried away by women in old-fashioned bread baskets, to the furnace which I am free to say was the first furnace erected in Penn- sylvania, and if you will pardon the digression from the sub- ject at issue, I will say that Berks county was founded in 1752. There were many furnaces and so-called forges in Berks where much iron-ore existed. All located along some streams and thickly wooded territory, for charcoal was then the available fuel for furnace purposes.
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Further investigation will doubtless reveal additional facts with respect to some of our industries both before and after the Revolutionary War, and these may modify certain statements made, and opinions expressed. The furnace near Boyertown was erected by Thomas Rutter, Anthony Morris, James Lewis and Thomas Potts. Special mention of it is made in "Watson's Annals," in the "Potts Memorial" and in the exhaustive chapter on "Iron Making in Pennsyl- vania," by James M. Swank, and in the Centennial Exhibi- tion catalogue.
The facts about its inception, operations and abandon- ment are involved in considerable obscurity, but it is gener- ally conceded that this was the first furnace in Pennsyl- vania.
Thomas Rutter died in 1730, but at his death he, accord- ing to his will, did not own any part or interest in this furnace property; it was owned by twelve individuals; in equal parts; viz .: Thomas Rutter, Samuel Preston, Edward Fream, Nathaniel French, John Laycock, George Boon, Anthony Morris, Alexander Woodrop, William Pyewell, George Mifflin, William Attwood and Thomas Potts.
Pig iron sold at that time for $15.00 per ton, and to farmers and country, castings twice that of pig iron. Stove grate plates inscribed "Colebrookdale, 1763" were exhib- ited at our Centennial in 1876, and the furnace was aban- doned soon after this casting, like many others.
The first ore excavated and brought to the surface was at the Commons above-mentioned out of a slope extending about forty-five degrees northward to a depth of four hundred feet, with a gangway northward in the direction of the Reformed Church (with the clock, that you see be- fore us, from this hillside), but there wasn't sufficient quan- tity and quality of iron ore and it was abandoned at a point just before it reached the site of the then Union Church (Lutheran and Reformed). When that slope was aban- doned, another one was extended southward (both slopes in which horse power was used) and it was not until 1855 that steam was used, introduced by the Phoenix Iron Com- pany, who were then the main operators of our mines.
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James Ellis, the first manager of the Phoenix Mines, · of said Company, was burned to death under rather suspic- ious circumstances, savoring of robbery and murder, or through self-combustion, or negligence of the miners' tal- low candles, in a large frame building at the corner of Third and Walnut streets, on the site of the present Boyer- town Marble Works, which burned down in 1869.
The ore was conveyed by wagons propelled by six mules, single file, until Burdan's hill, in Montgomery county, was reached, when five of the mules of each team, four abreast, helped drag the load through the muddy roads up the hill, one trip being made one day and two the next day.
The vein of the Phoenix mines continued at a still greater depth beyond Reading avenue, until it reached what was designated, and ever since called, "The California Mines." In 1905-6, the present owners, the Boyertown Ore Company, pumped the water out, excavated and took out ore, and shipped it to the Warwick Furnace at Pottstown. Here a slope of forty-five degrees extended southward to a depth of five hundred and fifty-five feet.
The building contained two large engines of one hun- dred and fifty horse-power each, with four large boilers. There you find another cave-in, but gradually being filled.
In 1859, William Binder purchased fourteen acres of this mine land from James Ellis, and used the surface for from land until March 6, 1872, when he leased it to Henry and Jacob Gabel, Griffith Jones and Jacob and Isaac Feg- ley, for twenty years. June, 1874, the lease was extended to fifty years.
As is frequently the case in industries of this nature, accidents occur, oftentimes through carelessness, and I therefore quote those of the most serious nature.
May 26, 1876, a fly-wheel of eighteen feet in diameter, at the Warwick mines, bursted, and knocked off the right lower limb of Ephraim Rohrbach, the foot of which limb was later found in the ruins. It also knocked off two fingers of his right hand. The accident was caused by the too rapid speed of the wheel.
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February 22, 1879, at the Gabel Mines, at a depth of four hundred feet below the surface, where three drifts were made, one thirty-six feet long, an explosion took place and fearfully mangled the bodies of Jonathan Moyer and Jacob Gruber. The other miners nearby, who miraculously escaped, were Nathaniel Biehl, Jere. Gehris, William Floyd, Jackson Laity, Jonathan Heller, William Mutter and Henry Bollinger.
The most serious, however, was that in No. 2 of the Gabel mines, along the Englesville road, when the skip or bucket fell to the bottom of the six hundred and eighty- three-foot depth of the shaft, while the engineer, Henry Dengler, was giving attention to the burial of an old miner in the adjoining cemetery. There were five in the bucket: Casper Klebe, Keely Hagey, John Quick and Isaac Gehris. Isaac Gehris was the only one who escaped alive, but he was crippled for life.
In 1917 John Mutter, evidently through carelessness on his own part, was crushed to death in No. 2 shaft. At this time the skip or bucket was not brought to the surface, and the mines became almost abandoned.
In 1883, Gabel, Jones & Gabel opened a second shaft on what was originally the Ritter tract. The John Rhoads Mining Company opened a shaft October, 1883, on what is now the Tyson property, with equally rich iron ore. The united production of these mines was about six thousand tons per month. It is conservatively estimated that nearly one million tons of ore have been excavated and removed from the combined deposits.
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