History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 93

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 93
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 93
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 93

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1850. Number of dwellings, etc., 120. Prominent residents: George Armstrong, machinist; John H. Benford, tanner; Henry Benford, gentleman, and owner of tavern and tanyard; Benford & Sanner, merchants and tanners; Michael Berkey, physician ; Jeremiah S. Black, president judge; Cyrus Benford, merchant; George Chorpenning, associate judge; Robert P. Cummins, apothecary; Joshua F. Cox, attorney ; Abraham Dull, brewer; Daniel Flick, merchant; Ross Forward, attorney ; Samuel Gaither, attorney ; Joseph Herr, watchmaker; Joseph Imhoff, gentleman; Samuel Kimmel, owner of tavern ; John Kurtz, hatter; John O. Kimmel, merchant ; Francis M. Kimmel, attorney ; Gillian Lint, justice of the peuce ; George Mowry, gentleman; Josiah Lich- tenberger, gentleman ; Abraham Morrison, attorney ; John Neff and Jacob Neff, gentlemen; Neff & Flick, tanners ;. Andrew J. Ogle, attorney, also owner of foundry ; Samuel W. Pearson, attorney ; William H. Postleth waite, attorney ; John D. Roddy, attorney ; John A. Snyder, farmer; Michael A. Sanner, mer- chant; Joseph Stutzman, attorney ; Nicholas Snyder, merchant; William Snyder, hatter; John J. Schell, gentleman ; Henry F. Schell, merchant; Miller Tred- well, merchant ; John Witt, surveyor; Daniel Weyand, attorney, and John Walker, brewer. The foregoing were real estate owners. As tenants there were : Norman M. Bruce, physician; Andrew Bruce, phy- sician ; Joseph Cummins, postmaster; John Coffroth, gentleman; Joseph B. Earl, register and recorder ; John R. Edie, attorney ; Uriah Eberhart, preacher ; John M. Holderbaum, merchant ; Peter Hassinger, preacher; George Hay, innkeeper; Samuel Kurtz, apothecary ; Solomon Knee, innkeeper ; Curtis Kooser, wagonmaker; Robert Laughton, teacher; John Mong, millwright; Alexander Ogle, gentleman; William Picking, innkeeper; James Parson, innkeeper ; Jonathan Row, county treasurer; Robert Stewart, prothonotary ; Edward Scull, editor and attorney ; William Uhl, preacher; John Weller, sheriff, and Abraham Younkin, tailor. As single freemen there were : William J. Baer, attorney ; George Benford, printer; Isaac Hugus, attorney ; Adam Long, teacher ; John W. Patton, merchant; Robert R. Roddy, printer.

1860. Number of lots, 210. Number of freeholders, 160. Number of tenants, 52. Number of single men, 48. Total number of taxables, 260. Prominent resi- dents as freeholders : Henry G. Baer, attorney ; Solo- mon Baer, farmer ; Henry Benford, gent; George W. Benford, druggist; Thornton L. Benford, merchant ; Benford & Bro., merchants; William J. Baer, attorney ; Baer & Colborn, attorneys; Boblitz & Casebeer, tan- ners; William B. Coffroth, cabinetmaker; Isaiah

*George Parker was born in Stoystown in 1796. The follow- ing year his mother, with four small children, settled in Somer- set. Subsequently she became the wife of Capt. John Webster. George Parker, her youngest child, learned the trade of a sad- dler with John Tantlinger. He became a partner of Gen. George Ross (formerly of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) in the mercan- tile business, and thereafter the firm of Roes & Parker existed for period of about forty years. He married Catharine, daughter of Adam Schneider, one of the proprietors of the town. The children born of this marriage were: Agnes, Martha, John W., Amanda, Ann, Almira and George R. The latter has been engaged in merchandising from boyhood. His brother, John W., was also known as a merchant until his death, which occurred in 1865. George Parker, the father, died in May, 1870.

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Conley, merchant ; Elias Cunningham, attorney ; A. J. Colborn, attorney ; A. H. Coffroth, attorney ; John R. Edie, attorney ; Ross Forward, attorney ; Samuel Gaither, attorney ; Joseph Herr, watchmaker ; Peter Heffley, merchant ; John M. Holderbaum, merchant; John O. Kimmel, attorney ; William H. Koontz, at- torney and prothonotary ; Samuel Kurtz, druggist ; George Knee, teacher ; John C. Kurtz, justice of the peace; Knable & Sanner, merchants; Francis M. Kimmel, president judge ; Edmund M. Kimmel, phy- sician ; Gillian Lint, justice of the peace ; Robert Laughton, gent; R. R. Marshall, gent; C. F. Mitchell, printer ; Jacob Mier, gunsmith .; Jacob and John Neff, gents; William H. Picking, innkeeper ; John W. Parker, merchant ; Parker & Co., merchants; Barnet Picking, innkeeper; Rev. Graft M. Pile, minister ; John D. Roddy, attorney ; Henry F. Schell, attorney ; Michael A. Sanner, banker; Andrew Stewart, gent ; Edward Scull, editor and attorney ; Alexander Stutzman and Daniel Weyand, attorneys. As tenants : Henry Brubaker, physician ; A. J. Case- beer, merchant; Frederick Crook, saddler ; Cyrus Elder, attorney ; E. R. Haines, register and recorder ; Perry Walker, sheriff, and Enoch . D. Yutzy, county surveyor. As single men: John Altfather, miller ; William F. Altfather, merchant ; Rev. Walter Brown, minister ; G. J. Beachy, dentist ; Martin Conley, merchant; Sylvester Colborn, teacher; John C. Gaither, printer; Valentine Hay, attorney ; Isaac Hugus, attorney ; Hugus & Kimmel, attorneys; Rev. F. K. Lavan, minister; Lewis Lichty, attorney; Cicero Lawson, printer; John Meyers, teacher ; Cyrus Meyers, attorney; Alexander Ogle, gent; William A. Ogle, attorney ; Edward Pearson, printer, and John H. Uhl, student.

1870. Freeholders, 142; tenants, 49; single men, 46. Total number of taxables, 237; of whom were: William J. Baer, Herman L. Baer, Henry G. Baer, Elias Cunningham, A. H. Coffroth, A. J. Colborn, Samuel Gaither, Valentine Hay, John O. Kimmel, William H. Koontz, Cyrus Meyers, William H. Postlethwaite, Alexander Stutzman, Henry F. Schell, John H. Uhl, Daniel Weyand, Isaac Hugus, Francis J. Kooser and William A. Ogle, attorneys at law ; George W. Benford, John H. Benford, A. J. Casebeer, Joseph Herr, John M. Holderbaum, George Parker, William H. Platt, John F. Blymeyer, George R. Par- ker, Josiah H. Pisel and Joseph Cunningham, merchants ; Henry Brubaker, E. M. Kimmel and Samuel S. Good, physicians; Revs. James Darsie, J. P. Hentz, G. H. Johnson, Norcross and Mitchell, ministers of the gospel. Edward Scull, John J. Hoff- man, Albert Johnson and Charles S. Rice, publishers and printers ; Mrs. Harriet Ogle, postmistress; Michael A. Sanner, banker.

1883. The town of today has four hundred and thirty-three taxpayers, of whom two hundred and fortysix are freeholders, one hundred and fourteen are tenants, and seventy-three are single men. It also contains the public buildings of the county, two hundred and eight dwelling houses, one

gristmill, one machine-shop, one foundry, two school-buildings valued at $14,000, one banking house, six church edifices,-Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Episcopal, Disciple, Evangelical Association and Pres- byterian, valued at $15,000, $800, $6,000, $5,000, $600 and $6,000, respectively-and three spacious, well-kept hotels, known as the Somerset House, Glade Hotel and Central Hotel, which, with the Somerset and Cambria branch of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, afford excellent accommodations and facilities, for all who enter the town either on business or pleasure bent.

The following are among its present profes- sional and business men :

Attorneys at Law .- Samuel Gaither, John R. Edie, Isaac Hugus, Henry F. Schell; William J. Baer, presi- dent judge of the sixteenth judicial district; Alexander H. Coffroth, William H. Koontz, A. J. Colborn, Her- man L. Baer, John O. Kimmel, Valentine Hay, John H. Uhl, Francis J. Kooser, William H. Ruppel, John G. Ogle, James L. Pugh, Lewis C. Colborn, John R. Scott, Edward B. Scull, Harry S. Endsley, Samuel U. Trent, George R. Scull, Milton J. Pritts, Dennis Meyers, Parker Y. Kimmel and Frederick W. Biesecker.

Publishers and Editors .- Edward Scull and Edward B. Scull, of the Herald, and A. H., Coffroth, Jr., of the Democrat.

Physicians .- Edward M. Kimmel, Henry Brubaker, William Collins (dentist), Henry S. Kimmel, James O. Kiernan and William Rauch.

Clergymen .- J. B. Shearer, Hiram King, C. C. B. Duncan, Peter Vogel, D. K. Lavan, L. M. Boyer and W. L. McGrew.

Banker .- Charles J. Harrison.

Photographer .- William H. Welfley.

Postmaster .- A. C. Davis.

Merchants .- H. C. Beerits, George W. Benford, John H. Blymeyer, C. N. Boyd, Jonas M. Cook, J. R. Coff- roth, William B. Frease, Henry Heffley, John M. Holderbaum, James B. Holderbaum, Josiah Keller, A. W. Knepper, John H. Miller, George R. Parker, F. C. Sample, John B. Snyder, Solomon Uhl, Alex- ander Benford, Thomas Barnett, Charles H. Fisher, Josiah H. Pisel, M. Reck, Charles F. Uhl, J. J. Ber- keybile, Charles Holderbaum, Park W. Kooser, Will- iam M. Schrock and H. Zimmerman.

Hotel Proprietors .- George H. Tayman, of the Som- erset House ; Josiah Brant, of the Glade Hotel, and Jacob L. Picking, of the Central Hotel.

Among other well known residents are: E. Mc- Dowell, jeweler; E. W. Rhoads and Isaac Simpson, livery stable proprietors; George W. Pile, proprietor of meat-market ; D. J. Horner, county commissioners' clerk ; John H. Weimer, county treasurer ; T. J. Pick -. ing, dealer in horses, etc .; Ed E. Patton, railroad ticket agent; George M. Neff, hotel clerk; Abraham A. Stutzman, county register and recorder; A. F. Dickey, deputy sheriff, and E. E. Kiernan, deputy prothono- tary.

Having thus designated the founders of Som-

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erset, etc., many of its first settlers, and their successors to the present time, we invite the at- tention of the reader to other topics which per- tain to its history -its officers, conflagrations, physicians, bankers, secret associations and churches -all of which are herewith appended under appropriate headings.

BOROUGH OFFICERS.

The town of Somerset was made a borough by an act of the general assembly passed March 5, 1804, yet it appears that it was not assessed as a separate district until some two or three years later. Conflagrations have destroyed the minutes of town councils, but from books and papers on file in the prothonotary's office, we learn that chief burgesses and school directors have been elected during the years indicated as follows :

Burgesses .- Jacob Schneider, 1816; John Kurtz, 1817 ; Jacob Glessner, 1818; Alexander Ogle, Jr., 1819; Chauncey Forward, 1820; Abraham Morrison, 1821; Alexander Ogle, Jr., 1824 ; Abraham Morrison, 1825; Alexander Ogle, Sr., 1826; Joseph Williams, 1827; Abraham Morrison, 1828 ; Frederick Gebhart, 1829; Alexander Cummins, 1830 ; George Chorpenning, 1831-2; Emanuel Shaffer, 1833; Charles Ogle, 1834; Robert Fletcher, 1835; Charles Ogle, 1836-7 ; Joshua F. Cox, 1838; Miller Tredwell, 1839 ; George Mowry, 1840; Michael A. Sanner, 1843; Andrew J. Ogle, 1844 ; Jeremiah S. Black, 1845; John L. Snyder, 1846; Samuel Gaither, 1847; Isaac Hugus, 1848; H. Chor- penning, 1849 ; John Cunningham, 1850; Robert P. Cummins, 1851; Isaac Hugus, 1852; Ross Forward, 1853-4; Charles A. Kimmel, 1855-6; Henry F. Schell, 1857; John Knable, 1858; Jacob Mier, 1859; Perry Walker, 1860; William H. Picking, 1861; Edward Bevins, 1862; Joseph Cummins, 1863; Josiah Keller, 1864; Curtis Kooser, 1865; Samuel Gaither, 1866; Andrew J. Colborn, 1867; John W. Patton, 1868; Andrew J. Colborn, 1869; Joseph Cummins, 1870; Andrew J. Colborn, 1871-2; George W. Benford, 1873; Harrison Trent, 1874 ; William H. Welfley, 1875-6-7-8 ; Alexander Stutzman, 1879; William H. Welfley, 1880-1-2; Lewis C. Colborn, 1883.

School Directors .- Chauncey Forward, John Neff, 1836; Andrew Stewart, Michael Shaffer, 1837; Martin Holderbaum, Samuel W. Pearson, 1838 ; Alexander B. Fleming, Henry Chorpenning, 1839; John C. Kurtz, William Philson, 1840; Jeremiah S. Black, John L. Snyder, 1841; John A. Snyder, Abraham Younkin, 1843; George Mowry, Joseph Cummins, Jacob Cunningham, 1844; Isaac Ankeny, Jonathan Row, 1845 ; Daniel Flick, John O. Kimmel, John Neff, 1846; Andrew J. Ogle, John C. Kurtz, 1847; John J. Schell, Samuel Huston, 1848; William B. Coffroth, Samuel Kurtz, 1849; Samuel Gaither, Alexander H. Coffroth, 1850; Joseph Herr, Daniel Pile, 1851; Michael A. Sanner, Robert L. Stewart, William J. Baer, 1852 ; John R. Edie, John D. Roddy, 1853; Aug.

Babb, Robert Langhton, 1854; John Meyers, Cyrus Benford, 1855; Ross Forward, Jacob Neff, 1856; Gillian Lint, Curtis Kooser, John J. Schell, Jacob Boblitz, Samuel Gaither, John C. Kurtz, 1857 ; Ross Forward, Robert P. Cummins, 1858; George B. Fundenburg, Joseph Kerr, 1859; William A. Ogle, Robert R. Mar- shall, 1860; Ross Forward, John Knable, William H. Koontz, Robert P. Cummins, 1861 ; Curtis Kooser, David Knable, 1862; William H. Koontz, William B. Coffre th, Elias Cunningham, 1863 ; Charles A. Kimmel, John J. Schell, John Roberts, 1864 ; John W. Patton, John J. Schell, 1865; Elias Cunningham, William B. Coffroth, 1866 ; John H. Weimer, Henry G. Baer, 1867 ; A. Thomson Ankeny, Alexander H. Coffroth, 1868 ; Elias Cunningham, Charles A. Kimmel, 1869; Henry F. Schell, Curtis Kooser, 1870; William B. Frease, Isaac Simpson, 1871; Dennis Meyers, Jonas M. Cook, 1872; Ed. Scull, William H. Koontz, 1878; William H. Welfley, Josiah Shaffer, 1874; George M. Neff, J. R. Walter, 1875; William H. Koontz, Ed. Scull, 1876; Josiah Keller, William H. Welfley, Curtis Kooser, 1877; A. J. Colborn, William H. Welfley, 1878; Ed. Scull, Wm. H. Koontz, 1879; George W. Pile, Josiah Keller, 1880 ; Chas. J. Harrison, Jonas M. Cook, 1881; Ed. Scull, Wm. H. Koontz, 1882; John R. Scott, George W. Pile, 1883.

CONFLAGRATIONS.

The following graphic account of the great fire of October 16, 1833, is taken from the Som- erset Patriot of that date :

This morning, about half-past two o'clock, the cry of FIRE! was heard by the citizens of this town. It was discovered in the house owned by Joshua F. Cox, Esq., and occupied by several families, and by several mechanics as shops. In a few moments it spread into an awful conflagration, second only to that which laid Cumberland in ruins a few months ago. With incon- ceivable rapidity it spread both east and west, and notwithstanding the most energetic exertions made by the citizens to subdue it, its progress was not sen- sibly arrested until every house between the street which crosses Main street at Judge Kurtz's and Main Cross street, were entirely consumed. About daylight, Capt. Webster's hotel on one side of Main street, and the house of J. Snyder, Esq., on the other, were en- veloped in flames.

All chance of saving the remainder of the town was then' seen to be desperate. But the citizens made one powerful effort of united strength and concen- trated action, and although they were without fire hooks or ladders, the white frame house on the north- west corner of the square was razed to the ground, in a time unaccountably short.

The engine was then brought to play upon the house of Frederick Gebhart, and all the appliances that could be beneficial were used upon it, as well as upon the house of Ross & Parker. Finally those houses were saved, and the progress of the flames ar- rested by the most vigorous exertions that were, per- haps, ever made in a case of the kind. It was stopped

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in the west without much trouble, owing to a steady breeze from that quarter.

We have no means of ascertaining the loss-it must be immense. Upwards of THIRTY FAMILIES are turned homeless into the streets. The part of the town which is now in ashes was the most business- doing and populous, as well as most valuable- stores, offices, shops, taverns-all have been consumed. Many of the store goods of Messrs. Neff & Stahl, Mr. Michaels and Mr. Snyder have been saved. Some private families have LOST ALL. Some have saved much of their furniture. We would suppose the whole loes not less than EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

THE GREAT FIRE OF MAY 9, 1872.

The following is condensed from an account published immediately after the fire in the Cumberland Daily News :

It is pretty well settled that the fire origi- nated from sparks that flew from Keim & Co's foundry into the stable of Francis Weimer, close by, in which there were hay and straw. A bundle of straw first took fire. The owner of the stable, on discovering the fire in the mow, ran up and attempted to throw out the bundle, but as the band had been burned in two, he was unsuccessful, and the fire was scattered over the mow, and in a moment the contents of the stable were ablaze. When the fire first broke out, the wind was blowing a perfect gale, which was intensified by the fire. In less than five min- utes from the time that the alarm of fire was first given, a dozen buildings were burning. With ter- rible effect the flames now leaped from building to building, and seized upon everything of a com- bustible nature. House after house went down with frightful rapidity, and the inmates were compelled to flee for their lives. Whole blocks were swallowed up in an instant in a terrible whirlpool of flames. All attempts to arrest the progress of the devastat- ing fire proved powerless. Consternation and terror reigned supreme. The hearts of the stoutest men grew faint, and women and children were running for their lives, and screaming in the agony of despair. Men would rush to assist their neighbors in trying to save property, and on looking back would find their own dwellings in flames.

Homes with all their attractiveness, their valued contents, the fine shrubbery around, the product of years of toil,and attention, were consumed like stub- ble before the fire. Nothing could be saved. The air above and the earth beneath were filled with the devouring element. Elegant furniture and household goods of every description were carried out in the streets, only to be licked up by the fiames. Instances were frequent where goods took fire in the arms of persons attempting to save them, before they could be carried across the street. Persons who were worth their thousands in the morning, who had elegant homes for themselves and their families, were house- less and penniless by night, with not even a coat to shelter their backs.

The loss is variously estimated at from eight hun- dred thousand to a million dollars. It certainly can- not be much less. The wealth of the town is almost entirely destroyed. All the stores of every descrip- tion, except one, all the hotels but one, two banking houses, all the lawyers' offices, the two printing- offices, two churches-the Presbyterian and Luth- eran-are in ruins. Over one hundred and fifty build- ings, fifty-two of which were dwellings and stores, and which covered an area of about thirty acres, are now a mass of ruins. It must be remembered, also, that comparatively nothing was saved from these build- ings. This must be accounted for from the fact, tes- tified to by all who witnessed the conflagration, that in less than thirty minutes from the time the fire broke out, every building that was destroyed was on fire, and beyond redemption. The amount of insurance is about one hundred thousand dollars. * * * Standing upon the west side of the diamond looking eastwardly, nothing was left but broken, blackened toppling walls, and charred trees and shrubbery.

The names of a majority of the sufferers and the principal buildings burned were mentioned in the same article as follows :

The dwellings of Huntsecker and Baer, the grocery store of W. W. Davis & Bro .; cabinetshop of William B. Coffroth, with his fine block on Main street, includ- ing Flick's Washington House, and the Odd-Fellows' Hall; D. S. Knee's hotel, Noah Casebeer's tinware establishment, store and dwelling of A. J. Casebeer & Co., Sayers & Conover's hotel, the Ross House, and the finest establishment in the place, that of Knable & Patton, J. H. Miller's store; the postoffice, kept by Mrs. Ogle; the banking house and dwelling of M. A. Sanner & Co .; the Glade House, a large hotel; the dwell- ings of Henry F. Schell, Francis J. Kooser, Dr. Edmund M. Kimmel, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Chorpenning, Neff, and George Chorpenning, drug store of Dr. A. G. Miller, Heffley & Bro's clothing store, George W. Benford's drug store, J. H. Zimmerman's shoe store; the Baer Mansard block, including the library and photograph gallery of W. H. Welfley, the large grocery store of C. F. Rhoads & Co., the banking house of Schell & Kim- mel, G. R. Parker's store, and the entire block, ending with the Lutheran church ; also the law offices of A. J. Colborn, Samuel Gaither, Valentine Hay, William H. Postlethwaite and others; Marshall's and Pisel's stores, and Goodchild's watch and jewelry establish- ment, the dwelling of Mr. Stutzman, the variety store of Mrs. J. S. Hinchman, A. Dennison's saddlery estab- lishment; the dwellings of H. C. Beerits, John O. Kimmel, John Knable, Cyrus Meyers, Mrs. Ankeny and Mrs. Samuel Bricker ; the fine large building oc- cupied by Henry C. Beerits, J. F. Blymyer, A. H. Cof- froth, J. L. Pugh, county superintendent of schools, and the elegantly furnished lodge rooms of the Ma- sonic fraternity ; Mrs. Tredwell's millinery store and a barber shop and Mr. Isaac Hugus' dwelling; both newspaper offices, the Herald and Democrat, with their presses and material, were destroyed, and the Presby-

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terian church, and the dwellings of Michael Kiefer and Daniel Weyand, the engine-house and other buildings belonging to parties the owners' names of which could not be learned.

A volume could be written of this fire, of the many incidents (some very grotesque and ludi- crous in their nature, and observed and duly appreciated, even in the midst of the general alarm) and hairbreadth escapes, of the heroic deeds of brave men and women, and of the spontaneous generosity of the citizens of Berlin and other surrounding towns, but the space allotted us in this work forbids further enlarge- ment. We merely add, therefore, that no lives were lost and that Isaac Simpson, Esq., was the first man to put up a new building after the fire. In less than forty-eight hours after the confia- gration had ceased, his house was ready for occupancy.

THE FIRE OF 1876 .*

* * * It is probable that if there is ever a his- tory of Somerset written, the month of May will come in for a good share of the attention of the historian. Most of our readers will remember - we are sure all that live within the limits of Somerset county will - that on May 9, 1872, a large portion of our beautiful but old-fashioned town was destroyed by the agency of dire. Our citizens, with commendable energy, im- mediately commenced the erection of new homes and business houses of a more modern style, and on Thurs- day morning last there were but three of the lots that had been denuded of their buildings that were vacant. At 1: 10 P.M. on Thursday last (of course it was Thursday - we were burnt out on Thursday in 1833 and on Thursday in 1872) a fire broke out in the pattern-shop of the foundry of Davis, McCoy & Co. [very near the place where the fire of 1872 started]. The alarm was sounded, and soon there was a crowd of earnest, determined men on the ground ready to risk life and limb to stay its progress. The origin remains a mystery, though the most prob- able supposition is that it originated from a spark from the forge in the blacksmith-shop in the foundry. The wind was blowing a regular gale from the south- west at the time, and the flames immediately spread to the adjoining shops, the wind bearing them far in advance. The shed between the pattern-shop and the residence of Prof. George Schaefer was torn down, but before the fire could be got under control it leaped across the street to the carriage-shed and stables attached to the Somerset House.

The buildings were as dry as paper, and burned as readily. Though the wind carried the fire directly before it, it also by its gusts and eddies extended it, and a number of stables on Patriot street were soon on fire. Huge masses of burning material were taken up by the wind and carried far in advance, and where-

ever they fell they produced a fire. One of these torches lit on and ignited the residence of Frank Weimer, and another fired a frame building attached to the residence of George Holderbaum almost simul- taneously. The Somerset House was soon on fire at the east as well as at the west side, and the men who · had been trying to save it turned their attention to saving the goods.

Although the men of Somerset fought this conflagration stubbornly, and contested its ad- vance from every fancied point of vantage step by step, yet, by reason of the high wind, the lack of fire apparatus and an adequate water supply, the devouring element pushed on in a general northeast course until its force was spent in destroying the Hay block and Mrs. Ogle's residence, on the northwest corner of Union and Main Cross streets. Thus the foun- dry and the square bounded by West, Main and Patriot streets and Church alley were destroyed. Also all the buildings on the square bounded by West, Main and Union streets and Church alley, except those owned by Jacob Neff and Jonas Crook. On the square next east of the one last mentioned, the imposing. Baer & Cof- froth block alone was saved.

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History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 93

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 967

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967