USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and Its Centennial Celebration, Volume II > Part 6
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1 P. L., 109.
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at a purchase price of $5000. Their report was adopted and these lots were bought. At the March term of court, 1865, a charter of incorporation was granted, with a final decree, June Ioth. The following persons were named as incorporators:
Samuel B. French, John May, D. M. Donehoo, Daniel Agnew, John Barclay, James Porter, I. N. Atkins, D. L. Imbrie, Thomas McCreery, William Davidson, Sr., Thomas Stokes, A. C. Hurst, James Darragh, George W. Hamilton, D. H. A. McLean, H. Hice, N. I. McCormick, William Barclay, J. C. Wilson, Samuel B. Wilson, M. Darragh, Hugh Anderson, William Davidson, Jr., John Sharp, Hiram Stowe, Scudder H. Darragh, Robert Dar- ragh, John Murray, William Cox, Charles B. Hurst, David Minis, Samuel Ecoff, Amelia Blake, William G. Wolf, James H. Dunlap, Thomas J. Davidson, Benjamin Adams, R. T. Taylor, William Henry,' Johnson Small, John V. McDonald, and James McConnell.
The first officers of this company were: Dr. John Murray, President; Henry Hice, Esq., Secretary; and George Hamilton, Treasurer. The name and style of this corporation is the Beaver Cemetery. The cemetery was dedicated with appropri- ate ceremonies, August 15, 1866.2
SECRET AND OTHER SOCIETIES
St. James Lodge, No. 457, F. and A. M., was instituted in 1870 by James Herdman of Pittsburg, Deputy Grand Master, with S. B. Wilson, Esq., S. B. French, George W. Hamilton, J. W. Hum, and J. Morton Hall as charter members. After many vicissitudes the lodge is now in good condition.
1 William Henry was acting as the executor and trustee for the estate of Richard P. Roberts.
" In this cemetery is buried a British soldier who was one of the famous Six Hundred of the battle of Balaklava. He was known to the community of Beaver as John Ubalto, but his true name was John Specht. Born Feb. 17, 1831, at Heerda, Germany, Specht drifted to London, where he became an assistant in a photograph gallery. While there he met an Italian count, a political exile, with whose daughter he fell in love. The father and the daughter both favored his suit, but the father would not permit the marriage unless Specht would become a Catholic. This he refused to do. The relations between the parties, how- ever, continued to be amicable, and the old count gave Specht his signet ring and promised him that if at any time he reconsidered his refusal, and the estate in Italy should become free, he should have the girl and the property. Entering the British army, Specht fought in the Crimea, and after many wanderings in various lands, including some time spent in Germany, where he married one of his own countrywomen, he came to America. He made many friends in Beaver, where he died Jan. 2, 1883.
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Occidental Lodge, No. 720, I. O. O. F., was chartered August 8, 1870, and organized on the 8th of the following month by D. Woodruff, D. D. G. M., and still flourishes.
Beaver Post, No. 473, G. A. R., was organized March 19, 1885. Its charter members were: Andrew G. White, Isaac Minor, Henry Edwards, John D. Irons, John McCullough, Moses B. Sloan, Samuel Hamilton, Henry E. Cook, Darius Singleton, Elliott W. McGinnis, John E. Harton, Thomas Clark, John Rising, Joseph W. Miller, James Crooks, James Fogg, George W. Johnson, Jacob Weyand, Samuel D. Swaney, Washington D. Tallon, Marcius C. Harton, Christie Craner, and James H. Cunningham.
This post, though reduced by deaths, is still vigorously maintained.
HOTELS
We cannot in every case give exact dates concerning the early inns and innkeepers of Beaver, but mention of the follow- ing is made. About 1838 there was a hotel called the American House, situated opposite the present site of the Buchanan block. Here was, thirty-five years earlier, the Clark Hotel, where the first Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Beaver County sat. This was also in 1807 the site of the house kept by Gen- eral Abner Lacock, mention of which is made by the early traveler, Cuming, quoted in a preceding part of this chapter. On the corner where Lawrence's drug-store now stands was a store of which James Wilson was the proprietor: since Cuming calls this "one of the best houses in the place," it may have also been a hotel. Just opposite was, as we have seen, the hotel kept by Joseph Hemphill, one of the first trustees of the county. At a later period Samuel Todd kept a tavern on the corner where Lawrence's drug-store is. His successor was George Robinson, afterwards sheriff, father of Mrs. S. B. Wilson, widow of the well-known attorney. A very early tavern-keeper of Beaver was Samuel Johnston. On the lot on which stands the house of F. H. Laird, Esq., a place of public entertainment was kept by Eli Moore. John Hunter was his successor, and a number of others followed him. Stephen Todd kept a temper- ance house in the brick building on the corner of Third Street and Elk, until recently the home of Mrs. Judge Thomas VOL. 11 .- 4.
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Cunningham. Reference has more than once been made also to the hotel kept by Jonathan Coulter on Second Street, on the middle lot between Elk Street and the alley east of Elk, called Branch Bank Alley.
The present hotels of Beaver are the Beaver House, Mr. John H. Ewing, proprietor; and the Park View, formerly known as the National Hotel, which name it kept from the time the Beaver Academy was removed therefrom until about 1900.
POST-OFFICE AND POSTMASTERS-POPULATION
In the early references to the county-seat its name is often given as "Beavertown," or "Beaver Town," and the latter was the style by which it was known to the postal authorities until 1829, when it was changed to Beaver. Following is a list of the postmasters of the place from the beginning:
James Alexander,' 1802; Joseph Hemphill, 1803; James Alexander, 1804; John C. Weiser, 1816; James Alexander, 1818; Andrew Logan, 1832 (after April 24th); Charles Carter, 1838; James Lyon, 1841; Elvira D. Carter, 1855; Miss Margaret J. Anderson, 1861; Mrs. S. J. McGaffick, 1866; Miss M. A. McGaffick, 1867; Mrs. Sophia C. Hayes, 1868; Miss M. A. Mc- Gaffick, 1869; Miss N. B. Imbrie, 1875; Mary E. Imbrie, 1883; Daniel M. Donehoo, 1887; A. G. White, 1891; L. W. Reed, Esq., 1895; Michael Weyand, 1900.
The population of Beaver borough for 1900 was 2348, show- ing an increase over 1890 of 796.
NAMING OF THE PUBLIC SQUARES
On the 24th day of November, 1903, the council of the bor- ough of Beaver, at the suggestion of John M. Buchanan, Esq., passed a resolution naming the public squares within that bor- ough as follows:
1 James Alexander, the first postmaster, great-grand-uncle of W. B. Cuthbertson, Esq., of New Brighton, came to Beaver County in 1702. He went to Carlisle, Pa., in 1795. where he married Lydia Davidson in that year and returned to Beaver County immedi- ately after his marriage, for permanent settlement. He was one of the first county com- missioners and held other county offices; was several times postmaster, holding that office at the time of his death in 1832. He was a merchant and probably held the office of postmaster for accommodation and not for profit, as the business of the office was certainly not very lucrative at that time. In 1797 Alexander bought a farm on Brady's Run, which he conveyed to his brother-in-law, William Beacom, in 1830, in whose family it has since remained.
Public Squares and First Methodist Episcopal Church, Beaver.
MOU
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The square upon which the court-house is located, being the northwest center reserved square, was called Gibson Square, in honor of Colonel, afterwards General, John Gibson, for a time commandant at Fort McIntosh.
The square upon the opposite side of Market Street there- from, and upon which the first court-house and jail were erected, -the northeast center square,-was called Harmar Square, after Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Harmar, also for a time commandant at Fort McIntosh.
The square upon the opposite side of Third Street from the square last named, and upon which were built the Presbyterian and Methodist Episcopal churches and the Beaver Academy,- the southeast center square,-was called Irvine Square, in honor of General William Irvine, who, in September, 1781, assumed command of the Western Department, in which was included Fort McIntosh.
The remaining central square, being the one upon which is located the Soldiers' Monument (on the opposite side of Third Street from the square upon which stands the present court- house), was called McIntosh Square, after General Lachlan McIntosh, who, in 1778, built on the present site of Beaver the fort named from him Fort McIntosh.1
The four squares at the corners of the town plot were named as follows:
The square at the southwestern corner, fronting on the Ohio River, was called Brodhead Square, after Colonel Daniel Brod- head, for a time in command of the Western Department, and associated with the history of the post at this place.
The southeast corner square, also fronting on the Ohio River, was named Wayne, after General Anthony Wayne, whose army, known as the "Legion of the United States," was, during the winter of 1792-93, located at Legionville, within the present limits of Beaver County, and whose splendid victory at the battle of "Fallen Timbers," gained with that army, won for this region deliverance from the domination of the savages.
The corner square at the northeastern portion of the town was named Bouquet, after Colonel Henry Bouquet, whose ex- pedition against the Ohio Indians in 1764 passed over the ground upon which the borough of Beaver now stands.
' A full account of the history of Fort McIntosh will be found in our third chapter.
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The remaining corner square, being in the northwestern por- tion of the town and now occupied by the old cemetery, was named Clark Square in honor of Colonel George Rogers Clark, who was one of the Commissioners Plenipotentiary of the United States, who, in January, 1785, made at Fort McIntosh a treaty with the Delaware, Wyandot, Chippewa, and Ottawa Indians.
CHAPTER XVII BEAVER FALLS BOROUGH 1
Situation-Water-power-Gen. Daniel Brodhead's Land Warrants- Doctor Samuel Adams-Adamsville-Early Enterprises-Town Plot -Constable Bros .- Names of Town-Other Early Enterprises- Harris's Directory for 1841-James Patterson's Town Plot-Pur- chase by Harmony Society and their Influence-Incorporation- National Armory Recommended-Manufacturing Enterprises- Banks, etc .- Churches-Public Schools-Business Colleges-The Young Men's Christian Association-Societies-Hotels and Theaters -Fire Department-Newspapers-Post-office and Population.
THIS busy manufacturing center is situated in the valley of the Big Beaver Creek, about three and a half miles from its mouth. The town occupies mainly a plateau some fifty or sixty feet above the creek, and has thus excellent natural drainage. The hills on either side, especially to the west, rise boldly to a height of perhaps two hundred feet, with immense perpendicular cliffs, making very wild and picturesque scenery. The high ground here was formerly covered with those blocks of granite known to geologists as "erratics," which are supposed to have been transported hither from the Canadian highlands by ice- bergs and deposited as the bergs melted.
Very early the immense water-power afforded by the Falls of the Beaver at this point, and the consequent possibilities of successful manufacturing being carried on here, impressed them- selves upon all visitors. Among those who perceived these advantages at an early period was General Daniel Brodhead, who, while commandant at Fort Pitt (1779-1781), became well acquainted with this locality, and on the very day that the
" We are indebted to Charles Reeves May, Esq., of Beaver Falls, for intelligent and energetic assistance in the collection of much of the data for this chapter.
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celebrated Land Act of April 3, 1792, was passed by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, offering for sale the vacant lands within the Commonwealth, he, being then Surveyor-General of the State, took out two warrants of four hundred acres each for lands lying on Walnut Bottom Run, opposite the great, or Middle Falls 1 of the Beaver, on which the town of Old Brighton (now part of Beaver Falls) was afterwards located. In August, 1801, Brodhead sold these two tracts of land to David Hoopes of Chester County, Pa., for three thousand dollars. Previous to 1800, Dr. Samuel Adams, spoken of in our chapter on the medical history of the county, had settled at the Upper Falls of the Beaver on a tract of four hundred acres, and had built a dam, erected a sawmill, and made other improvements. His land extended from what is now Seventeenth Street, Beaver Falls, north to what is known as Twenty-eighth Street, College Hill borough; and west including what is now called Mount Washington. The place was later named for him, "Adamsville."
In 1801, David Hoopes, who, as stated above, had purchased from General Brodhead two four-hundred-acre tracts at the Middle Falls, took possession of the same, and, with others, began to build mills. Hoopes, Townsend & Co. erected a saw- mill, which was shortly afterwards burned, but soon rebuilt, and later a flouring mill, the second of its kind in the valley, was added. They soon began also the erection of a forge near the mills, but before it was finished the entire property was sold to Isaac Wilson. The latter took hold of the plants in 1805, and completed the forge the following year, and commenced soon to build a charcoal furnace. September 13, 1808, Mr. Wilson sold a half-interest in the whole property to Messrs.
1 In early times there were three general divisions of the Falls of the Beaver, named respectively the "Upper Falls," the "Middle Falls, " and the "Lower Falls." They were situated about as follows: the Upper Falls, were near the present Fetterman Bridge; the Middle Falls, near the present Tenth Street Bridge, and the Lower Falls near the Fallston Bridge. Day's Historical Collections says (page 108): "The Beaver river, within five miles of its mouth, falls 69 feet. 'The Falls' originally consisted of a succession of rapids for about two thirds of that distance. By individual and state enterprise the stream has been made to assume a succession of pools and dams. Five miles from the mouth is a dam of 15 feet; a mile below, another of 20 feet; a mile below that two others, giving together a fall of 10 feet; and near the mouth another, with a fall of 15 feet at low water." The date of this publication is 1843. The dams are to-day about the same, except that at the point where it is said there were two, which is at Fallston, there is now but one, and the second one named in the excerpt ("20 ft.") has been built higher. This was done by the Beaver Falls Water Power Co., which supplies by means of it extensive manufacturing establishments.
Old Brighton, now Beaver Falls, 1853.
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History of Beaver County
Barker & Gregg for $16,000, and the firm was then known as Isaac Wilson & Co.
In 1806 a town plot was made by this firm and lots were sold, and a brisk business began to be built up. In 1808, Wil- son, Barker & Gregg were operating their iron blast furnace, and manufactured for several years stoves, pig-iron, hollow ware, etc., using the kidney ore found on the ground. In April, 1812, Barker & Gregg purchased from Wilson for $15,000 the other half-interest in the property. The plants later became the property of Oliver Ormsby of Allegheny County, who actively operated them under the able management of John Dickey and James Glenn until 1818. The financial depression then became so great that the furnaces could not be worked profitably, and the whole property was allowed to go down. When David Hoopes came on from Chester County to take possession of this property at the time referred to above, he had found several settlers seated on the lands and claiming them under the pro- vision of the law of 1792, relating to securing title by "settle- ment and improvement." General Brodhead had instituted suit in the United States Court of Equity against these persons and had secured judgment in his favor, but Hoopes had trouble with them also and had to buy from some of them fifty acres at one time and fifty at another. Had it not been for this trouble about the title, the Harmony Society, which later did so much for the development of the business interests of Beaver Falls, would have located here instead of going to Posey County, Indiana. Shortly before their removal thither they had tried to purchase these two tracts, with the improvements thereon, for $32,000, but were discouraged from the purchase by the difficulties in the way of securing a clear title to a large part of the property.
We have said that in 1806 a town was plotted on this prop- erty by Isaac Wilson & Co. The survey for this was made by two brothers, named Constable, from Brighton, England. As a favor they were allowed to name the new town, and they chose the name of their home town for it, calling it Brighton. This name was retained for some years, but when a town was laid out on the east side of the Beaver, which was first called East Brighton and afterwards New Brighton, the town on the west side came to be generally known as "Old Brighton," and
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History of Beaver County
continued to be so designated until the time when the Har- mony Society became the owners of the property on the west side. The latter place was thereafter called Beaver Falls, though that name is said to have been sometimes applied to it in the earliest days of its existence.
After the suspension of activity in the industries at this point of which we have spoken, the property remained idle until 1829, when it was bought from Mr. Ormsby by James Patterson of Philadelphia. Mr. Patterson acquired by this purchase 1300 acres, and the same year brought his family and some machinery to the place and began to improve the prop- erty, building a flouring mill with a capacity of 200 barrels a day, and a cotton factory which employed thirty-five hands and yielded 3000 pounds of yarn per week. Mr. Patterson did much by his various enterprises to revive the trade of the whole region.
In 1829 Archibald Robertson 1 built a steam paper mill in Brighton, which was operated successfully until 1849, when Mr. Robertson becoming convinced that water-power was more economical, built another paper mill at the head of the falls. Mr. Robertson manufactured an excellent quality of printing and wall paper, employed a considerable number of hands, and did much for the general business interests of the valley. This second mill was in 1876 under the control of Frazier, Metzgar & Co.
Harris's Pittsburgh Business Directory for 1841 gives the fol- lowing showing of the business occupations of the people of Brighton:
Laborers-David Ames, Jeremiah Maid, Emory Maloy. Millwright- James B. Angel. Paper makers-John Baker, James C. Fulton, James Roberts, H. Woods, Jessie Zeigler. Innkeepers-Luke Bland, Widow Sutliff. Blacksmiths-David Boiles, William J. King. Farmers-John Boiles, Robert McGaughey.
Engineers-William Carter, Daniel Loomis. Carpenters-Robert Cal- houn, Joseph Reeves. Calico printer-William Clayton. Clerks-J. K. Dean, C. H. Gould, William Harrison. Coal diggers-Charles Day, Nathan Dillon.
Machinists-James M. Greig and James Wilson. Canal-boat captain -George Hemphill. Tanner-John R. Hoopes. Foreman flouring mill -H. Huggins. Sign painter-Samuel Kennedy. Cabinet makers- Horatio Large, Henry Sims, Sr., Henry Sims, Jr. Forgemen-John Mar- tin, James Richards.
" Archibald Robertson, State Senator 1851-52. See vol. I., page 230 ante.
John Reeves.
James Patterson.
Macu
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Tailors-Ephraim Martin, William Wallace. Brick-maker-Robert Moffit. Teamsters-Joseph Mahaffee, John Murrell. Cooper-Peter W. Maltby.
Foreman cotton factory-Andrew Nelson. Storekeeper and flour mer- chant-James Patterson. Shoemaker-William B. Platte. Wheat agent -Ira Ransom. Paper mill owner-Alexander [Archibald] Robertson. Soap manufacturer-Isaac Warren. Saddler-David Whitla.
During the ownership of the lands here by James Patterson a town had been plotted by him, July 4, 1849, the plan of which was acknowledged before William Richardson, J. P., on the 4th of August following. The names of the streets starting with the creek were-Water, Front, and Second; those running at an angle of forty-five degrees with the former were-Tank, Main, and Cedar; those at a right angle with the latter-Fac- tory, Mill, Race, Mulberry, Linden, and Oak.
In 1859 the Harmony Society, which held several mortgages on this property, purchased it at sheriff's sale for the sum of $34,500, the deed being dated September 14th of that year. In 1866 the Society made a new survey of the town, and greatly enlarged its limits, extending it along the Beaver Creek nearly three miles, and began actively to carry on and to aid various manufacturing and other enterprises. The growth of the town in population and business became as a consequence very rapid, and in 1868 it was felt by the citizens that they should have the advantages of a borough incorporation.
INCORPORATION
Accordingly at the September sessions of the court in that year application was made for incorporation as the "Borough of Beaver Falls," under the provisions of the Act of April 3, 1851, and, November 9, 1868, the decree of the court was made granting the application.'
In 1822 the United States Government sent engineers to examine the water-power afforded by the several falls of the Big Beaver, with a view to establishing here a national armory. The report of the engineers favored this site, but it was not adopted owing to opposition from other sections. After the de- struction of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, efforts were made in the two sessions of Congress, 1861-2 and 1862-3, to have the
" Road Docket No. 3, No. 9 Sept. Session, pp. 422-3.
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Government purchase the Brighton property for the same pur- pose, but these were also unsuccessful.
Under the wise and generous policy of the Harmony Society Beaver Falls grew to be one of the most active manufacturing centers of western Pennsylvania, and we shall now give a brief account of the most important concerns of the town either in successful operation in the past or still running.
MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES
The Beaver Falls Cutlery Company was organized in 1867 by Dr. C. G. Hussey, General Thomas M. Howe, and James W. Brown of Pittsburg, the last-named gentleman being now (1904) member of Congress from Allegheny County and president of the Colonial Steel Company of Monaca. A charter was ob- tained, October 13, 1867, and the plant was started on a small scale in Rochester, Pa., but it was shortly afterwards removed to Beaver Falls, where operations were begun in 1868 on the extensive premises in the lower end of the town, familiarly known as the "cutlery property." In 1870 the concern was changed to a joint-stock company, the ownership passing largely into the hands of the Harmony Society. The capital stock of the com- pany was $400,000, and during the height of its prosperity its plant turned out over 1200 dozen of finished cutlery products. Labor troubles arising, the company tried the experiment of employing Chinese as workmen, having at one time four hundred of them in its shops. In 1886 the business having ceased to be profitable, the works were closed.
Metric Metal Works .- This concern, whose principal pro- duction was gas meters, occupied the cutlery buildings from 1888 until about 1892, when it was removed to Erie, Pa.
Eclipse Bicycle Company .- After the premises of the cut- lery works were vacated by the last-mentioned concern, they were occupied by a company from Indianapolis, Ind., which was organized in 1892 with a capital of $200,000 for the manu- facture of the Eclipse Bicycle. In 1896 this plant was moved to Elmira, N. Y.
McCool Tube Company .- This was the next firm to oc- cupy the buildings of the cutlery property. It was organized in
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1896 for the purpose of manufacturing iron and steel and other material into tubes. In 1901 it was absorbed by the Shelby Steel Tube Company.
The Shelby Steel Tube Company was in 1901 made one of the constituent companies of the United States Steel Corporation. Soon after its passing to the control of that corporation the buildings were all destroyed by fire, with the exception of the one used by the New York-Pittsburg Com- pany. (See below.)
Beaver Falls Car Works .- This enterprise was started in 1878 under the management of Hon. Henry Hice, president; John Reeves, secretary; Jacob Henrici, treasurer; and John Corbus, superintendent. The company manufactured all grades of cars, and did general repair and foundry work. January 15, 1886, the plant was destroyed by fire, with a total loss, except a little machinery. One week later the company secured room in the old cutlery-works property, and began anew in a general machinists' business, which they continued for about a year after the Eclipse Bicycle Company came into the premises; they then moved to a building almost opposite, in which they had operated a foundry since the fire. Mr. John Corbus bought the machine shop and foundry at the time the former was moved, and ran the business until 1897, when it was given up.
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