History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 114

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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Nine-tenths of the inhabitants, it is believed, were Germans. Naturally the first local publi-

1 Dallas' Laws of Pennsylvania, Second Volume, pages 124-240. Set of Reports (4) are in Law Library of Berks County.

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cation was in the same language.1 But an English publication followed some years after- ward; and newspapers in both languages have continued in circulation thence till now. Two are worthy of special mention for their long duration ; one being the Reading Adler (German), established in 1796, and the other, the Berks and Schuylkill Journal (English), es- tablished in 1816, the former having been the fourth aud the latter the sixth publication begun at Reading. Many were begun, but they did not flourish. From 1820 till 1847 it would seem to have been quite fashionable to start and run a newspaper, judging from the number instituted, but not strongly constituted. Two English newspapers in this period are worthy of mention, the Berks County Press and the Gazette and Democrat, the former established in 1835 and the latter in 1839. Both figured conspicuously for thirty years, and chiefly as the advocates of the Democratic party.

The general development of the borough through these newspapers cannot be fully esti- mated. Their influence was certainly wonder- ful. At first their power over the public was trifling ; but it grew with passing years. Long before the inhabitants thought of growing out of their boyhood into manhood, in respect to local self-government, it was felt as a strong agency amongst them. And it was as good as it was strong.2

POST-OFFICE .- Several years after the in- troduction of the newspaper, the post-office at Reading was established. This was in 1793. We of to-day cannot imagine what a step this was by the people out of the wilderness of in- convenience and labor, if not anxiety. The nearest post-office, since the establishment of this department of public service in the country, was at Philadelphia. Letters therefore were comparatively few in number. If a letter were addressed to a person residing at Reading, it was delivered at Philadelphia, and there pub- lished in a newspaper. Through this publica- tion, notice would reach Reading, and event-

ually the persons. Correspondence was almost entirely indulged in by those who could for- ward it by an express messenger. The stage. was then a prominent institution. It was used for transporting letters, as well as persons and goods from place to place. After the establish- ment of postal routes the mail-bag was substi- tuted for the driver's pocket. There was a daily mail between Philadelphia and Reading from 1793 till the establishment of the rail- road in 1838. In this period of about forty- five years the intercourse of the people for social' and business purposes was stimulated to a high degree. During nearly the whole time, letters were folded and closed with red sealing-wax. There was quite an art displayed in the folding so as to admit of opening the letter without mutilating certain parts of the manuscript. The envelope was introduced here shortly before the railways. From 1835 for a number of years, mail matter was received twice a day regu- larly.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS .- Great thorough- fares had been established which led through this section of country before Reading was laid out in 1748. From the Schuylkill at the foot of Penn street, roads extended to the west, to the north, to the southeast and to the south- west. The Indians had doubtless marked out these courses in passing to and from their re- spective encampments along the Tulpehocken, Ontelaunee, Schuylkill and Wyomissing, and they were adopted by surveyors in viewing and laying out public roads between the settlements. But, notwithstanding the rapid growth of the population round-about and in Reading down to 1783, there was no movement towards the creation of great highways by either land or water to encourage as well as to facilitate the business enterprises of the town. This was a very important matter to them, but apparently they did not feel the need of easy and rapid inter-communication. However, soon after the town had developed into a borough, a pro- gressive spirit appeared, and this continued to show itself persistently from one decade to another till the people came to enjoy turnpikes, canals and a railway. These were accomplished before 1840. By studying them respectively

. 1 It was entitled Neue Unpartheyische Zeitung, and first issued February 18, 1789. See Rupp's " History of Berks and Lebanon Counties," p. 470.

? See chapter entitled " The Press," ante, p. 892.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

it would seem that they were plants of slow growth. It is possible, if not probable, that the demands of trade were not ur- gent. Both dealers and people took ample time in business transactions, the former in supplying and the latter in demanding articles for use and consumption in daily life. And this may account for the apparent slowness of actually realizing their practical utility. Every- thing was slow, and competition was com- paratively an unknown factor in the market, especially that competition which is now recog- nized for its energy and keenness, and without which a merchant would certainly be left far in the rear. These agents were useful to the borough in the development of manufactures and commerce, and they continued active till it was advanced into a city. Before 1810 they were of no consequence to the borough. But subsequently in every decade they manifested their power by an ever-increasing influence. In respect to population this is perceptible ; for from 1810 to 1820, the increase was twenty five per cent ; from 1820 to 1830, it was thirty-five per cent ; from 1830 to 1840 it was 43.6 per cent .; and from 1840 to 1850 it was 87.2 per cent. Allowing the town to have had 2000 in- habitants when it was incorporated into a borough, and the borough to have had 12,000 when it was incorporated into a city, it would appear that Reading increased in population 10,- 000 during sixty-four years, quintupling itself in two generations. A great, if not the greater, proportion of this surprising increase is attri- butable to internal improvements.

FERRIES-BRIDGES .- At the foot of Penn Street there was a ferry across the Schuylkill from the beginning of the town till 1816, when a bridge was constructed. The first efforts of the inhabitants in this direction were made in 1796. The subject of this important improve- ment for the convenience and safety of the public was constantly before the people during a score of years. A stone bridge was first sug- gested, and the project was encouraged by lib- eral legislation. Even the " Lottery Scheme" was brought to the rescue, with the aid of prom- inent, influential commissioners. A beginning was made by the erection of stone piers and the

county commissioners paid large sums of money on account of their construction. But the "old ferry" could not be supplanted. The people knew it was unsafe and uncertain. They ex- perienced it, especially every spring. What was the cause of this inaction ? Was the en- terprise of the commissioners too weak, or was the stone bridge, as an enterprise, too strong for the times ? What a contest this was ! It amuses us of to-day. And yet have we not weakness, insecurity and uncertainty about us in the sev- eral departments of our daily life which we fail to remedy, notwithstanding the spirit of agita- tion on the one hand and our wealth and edu- cation on the other ? It would seem that all efforts were fruitless till the turnpike was intro- duced. And yet stages ran to and fro across the ferry daily, for at least thirty years. Im- mediately after the turnpike had become estab- lished, a strong determination manifested itself towards the completion of the bridge. In 1816 it reached a passable condition, and in 1818 it was completed. It took the name of " Harrisburg Bridge" from the turnpike, the eastern terminus of which was at this point and the western at Harrisburg. Twelve years after- ward a second bridge was erected across the river about two-thirds of a mile below. It took the name of " Lancaster Bridge" from the road which led to Lancaster. It was construct- ed also of wood. There was no delay in its construction. The county commissioners were authorized by an act passed in 1829 to erect it. They proceeded at once in the matter, and com- pleted it in the following year. At this point there had also been a ferry for many years. It was commonly called "Strohecker's Ferry," afterward " Garber's" The first privilege for a ferry at this point had been granted by the Penns to one Levan, and during his time it was called " Levan's Ferry."

FIRE COMPANIES, BANKS, WATER SUP- PLY .- In the development of the borough, special mention must be made of three useful bodies which contributed much towards the general welfare of the community-the first in respect to fire, the second to money, and the third to water.

When the borough began its eventful history

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the " Rainbow Fire Company" was the only association in the place for the protection of property from fire, and it continued alone for a number of years. Two other organizations of this nature were in existence for some time, but no information was obtainable to show when they began or ended. One was called the "Union Fire Company" and the other the "Sun Fire Company." They were in active operation in 1808. At April term of that year they united with the " Rainbow" in a petition to the judges of the Quarter Sessions asking for pecuniary assistance. This petition was as follows :

"Petition of the Inhabitants of Reading, setting forth that a number of the inhabitants of the Borough of Reading have at a considerable expense established three fire companies, and provided engines, buckets, baskets and other necessary articles for saving property from destruction by fire, but that they have not funds to provide buckets sufficient to supply those who are un- able to furnish themselves with them ; that the pres- ervation of the Court-House and other public build- ings is for the advantage of the whole county, and, therefore, part of the expense of guarding against their being consumed by fire ought to be paid by the county instead of throwing the whole burden on the borough of Reading. Your petitioners therefore pray your Honor to recommend it to Grand Jury to grant a sum of money to enable the commissioners to pur- chase a competent number of fire buckets to be placed in some public place in the town of Reading under their care for the use of the inhabitants in case of fire.

" WILLIAM MOORE, " Prest. of Union Fire Co. " PETER FRAILEY, " Prest. of Sun Fire Co. " JOHN LOTZ, " Prest. of Rainbow Fire Co."

It was laid before the grand jury, and on the 5th of April, 1808, an appropriation of two hundred dollars was recommended.

Subsequently, during the history of the borough, three fire companies were instituted, viz .: Junior, December 2, 1813; Reading,1 July 4, 1819 ; Neversink, April 14, 1829.

Several early conspicuous fires which occurred

in Reading are worthy of mention. On No- vember 5, 1799, between one and two o'clock in the morning, a " shocking " fire broke out in a stable on " Moravian Alley." The property burned consisted of a large stable, including seventeen horses, ten dwelling-houses and a large warehouse, including a large quantity of tea, and a lot of coffee and other articles. The

cause was not ascertained. It was reported that two men, who were sleeping in the stable, were also burned.2 Some months afterward (March 31, 1800) another fire occurred, which con- sumed a large house (the property of Daniel Strohecker), a large barn, including a horse and seven pigs (the property of Michael Madeira), and a stable, including a cow (the property of Jacob Good). The fire began in Strohecker's house.

A costly conflagration occurred on May 5, 1820, at midnight, on Penn Street, between Fifth and Sixth. Six valuable buildings were burned, five of which were stores, viz. :

Two-story stone building, occupied as a store by Lane & Orrick.

Two two-story brick buildings, one a store and the other a dwelling, the property of William Bell.

Two two-story buildings, one frame and the other brick, both occupied as stores, the property of Wil- liam Moore.

Two-story brick building, occupied as a shoe-store by O'Brien & Foster, the property of James Bell.

The fire was caused by an incendiary. It originated in the back building of William Bell's store. The loss was great and could not be estimated.

PANIC OF 1837 - SHIN-PLASTERS. - In 1837 the " panic " struck Reading. Owing to a suspension by the United States Bank, the banks at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other places suspended specie payments, and the banks at Reading were forced to do likewise. The suspension here took place on May 12, 1837. Notwithstanding this suspension, the business men of the borough published a notice of their entire confidence in the banks at home, and of their willingness to accept the notes of the banks in payment of debts, goods, etc.

1 A "Reading Hose Company" was in existence in 1815. In August of that year a notice was published requiring the payment of moneys due. The officers were Samuel Baird, Jr., pres. ; William Tilton, sec. ; M. Rich- ards, treas.

2 This item was taken from the Readinger Adler. The fire is not mentioned in the Weekly Advertiser.

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The scarcity of money compelled the people to resort to an expedient for a circulating medium. This was found in the "Shin- plaster," commonly so called, and also “ Rag- Barons," " Hickory Leaves," etc. The Borough Council came to the relief of the people by authorizing an issue of loan certificates to the amount of twenty thousand dollars, in denom- inations of five, ten, twenty-five and fifty cents, and one, two and three dollars, which were to be redeemable on August 1, 1838. These cer- tificates were loaned to business men on good security to indemnify their redemption and afterward redeemed. A public meeting was held on June 10, 1837, to denounce this pro- ceeding. It was only a noisy demonstration, and resulted in a failure.

temporary hearth built of stones gathered from the vicinity.

LIGHT .- The light of the town was still the light of the borough. Tallow, moulded in the form of candles, and oil and camphene in lamps were used. The streets were not lighted. Public buildings were very seldom used in the night for meetings or entertainments ; and store keepers could get along with the light afforded from lamps. The times did not re- quire a superior light, for the people had not yet come to convert part of the night into day.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS .- The public buildings of the borough constituted the court-house, prison, State-House and market-houses. The old court-house was found too small and incon- venient, and a fine, large, brick structure was supplied in 1840. The prison of 1770 re- mained, and accommodated all the prisoners from the county and the county-seat. The rooms were not numerous, but the county com- missioners and sheriff, nevertheless, found place for all the prisoners.

WATER .- Water was entirely supplied from wells and cisterns to the citizens till 1821. Then a company was organized for the purpose of supplying good water. It was called the " Reading Water Company." This was a great improvement, especially for those people who did not have a pump upon their premises and In 1791 the "State-House " was erected on the northeast corner of Penn and Callowhill (Fifth) Streets. This important building was supplied in order to provide offices for the county clerks, treasurer and commissioners. Upon the erection of the new court-house the offices were removed thither, and the building was sold. were compelled to carry water for some dis- tance to their homes. This company, by means of pipes, conducted water throughout the borough into the yards of their patrons. But the pumps were not abandoned, notwithstand- ing that the water was of a limestone quality and not adapted for general household use, especially for washing purposes. Throughout When the town was incorporated into a borough there was only one market-house. It stood in Penn Square, above Callowhill Street. About 1799 a second was built after the same plan, below Callowhill Street. They were both rebuilt at the close of this period. this period many people from all parts of the borough resorted to the Commons, along the stream which flowed from the " arched spring" near the " gravel-hole," to carry on washing. The " Commons " was a great place on " wash- day." The most popular portion was at the There were no halls for the accommodation of public entertainments. Balls, amusements, etc., were carried on in large rooms of cer- tain inns. Two places were conspicuous : Weldy's, adjoining the " Harrisburg Bridge," or the south side, and Fricker's, on the south- west corner of Penn and Sixth Streets. head of Washington Street, within several hundred feet from the present entrance into the "Fair-Ground." Many women and girls were there at a time. The days most commonly de- voted to this purpose were Mondays and Tues- days. The numerous heads bobbing up and down over tubs, and long lines, with " wash " STAGES-CANALS-RAILWAYS. - Reading had been an active inland town, and public roads had been laid out extending to the north, east, south and west, for nearly forty years be- flapping in the breeze, presented an interesting sight indeed. The water was heated in large iron kettles, suspended from cross-bars which rested on notched upright posts, or placed on a | fore the inhabitants were afforded a means of

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transportation by public conveyance at regular intervals to the surrounding settlements and towns, both near and distant. We are naturally inclined to wonder what subjects occupied the attention of prominent enterprising men to such an extent as to hinder them from devising so important and yet apparently so simple and trifling a thing as a stage for the accommodation of the public in respect to travel, soon after a considerable population had settled in the town, say in 1760 or 1770. People generally, and business men especially, moved about from place to place to a greater or less extent. Some had their own conveyances ; but the majority had not. We can therefore readily understand that progress was necessarily slow without an accommodation of this kind, and that consider- able time would have to pass away before any per- ceptible improvement was realized. Elsewhere the stage-coach was then a useful institution and in successful operation. At Philadelphia, just fifty miles off to the southeast, it had been in. use for over forty years before Reading was laid out.

The stage was first introduced on the great highway between Reading and Philadelphia in 1789. Several years afterward stage-lines were extended to the west, through Lebanon Valley to Harrisburg, to the north over the Blue and Broad Mountains to Sunbury, and to the north- east through East Penn Valley to Easton. At first, weekly trips were made; afterward, as public demands required, they gradually became semi-weekly, tri-weekly, and eventually daily, the last having been reached in 1826-a period in the development of our local affairs about as long after the introduction of the stage as it was to obtain it after the settlement of the town in 1751. When the daily stages ran to and fro, trade and travel were lively. Their constant and increasing activity provoked competition. In order to " make time," "relays " for fresh horses were established at points along the lines every six miles, and the horses were urged onward over hills and dales under the twirling, cracking lash. How the coaches must have rocked on their leathern support ! how the horns, blasted by long-winded drivers, must have sounded on the way in announcing their ap-

proach and arrival ! The highest point of competition was reached in 1830. The fares had been cut to half their regular rates, and the stage-coaches had come to fly over the turnpikes at a gallop-especially to the south and west- even racing side by side at times to reach prominent places first. Then the conrt-house on Penn Square was the prominent point of obser- vation in town to witness arrivals. Betting on first arrivals of competing stages was frequently practiced. It was common to see fifty and even a hundred persons assembled there, to receive the stages with a welcome of shouts and ap- plause. What times, indeed ! Men now, who are beyond the middle age of life, inform us that the times were better then than now, because more real business life and energy pre- vailed through individual enterprise, and be- cause men had equal chances in their efforts for traffic and success. But legislation was then devising, if it had not already devised, a new and powerful competitor, and it was then nin- wittingly creating a great inequality amongst the several agencies in this department of commer- cial life. The Democratic party had had the reins of government over the affairs of the State and the direction of legislative policy for over thirty years. By looking back over this period it would seem that this great party had been developing a creature which was in princi- ple undemocratic and which would soon manifest a tendency to hinder the development of personal enterprise for a time and then eventually drive it out of the market altogether. And this com- petitor, this creature, was the corporation. It did not take hold of the stage-coach as an institution worthy of its genius. But it had taken hold of the turnpike and afterward of the canal, and had struggled hard with them through many years till they were put into practical and successful operation. And these were hardly given an opportunity to display their utility before it developed the railroad with steam as a propelling power. What a step forward this was-a step to speed, to ease, to power ! What was the horse in a coach or boat by the side of steam on a firm railroad track, which the seasons could not render precarious or impassable-even four-in-hand, fresh every six

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

miles, flying under a lash and speedy before a horn ! Naturally, the stage business passed away with the introduction of this new agent, a factor in our daily life which wind or weather, heat or cold, could not affect, and which was tireless and irresistible.

Hauling over steep hills and bad roads was slow and tedious, but it was not discouraging. The early settlers kept themselves and their strong teams at it in spite of hills and roads and weather. Navigation was recommended, but it was generally deemed impracticable. Efforts were being made to introduce it, but their pro- gress was very slow, if not imperceptible. A discovery, however, beyond the mountains led to a change, and by it, physical energy was to be somewhat relieved. One of the great ele- ments of nature was to be substituted in the place of the common road and turnpike in order to satisfy the demands of trade as developed by this discovery-water was to become a high- way and the boat a conveyance.

In the upper regions of the Schuylkill coal had been discovered as early as 1770. But it was not mined successfully till the lapse of forty years later. After it began to be mined in large quantities, the ordinary wagon, capable of carrying but a few tons, became impracticable for the purpose of carrying it many miles over mountains and through gorges. This process was laborious, slow and costly. A way had to be found to make its transportation much less laborious and costly, and to hasten its delivery. This way was afforded soon afterward by the Schuylkill Navigation Company. It came with the demand. It began to carry coal, lumber, merchandise and produce in 1818, and every year, for several decades afterward, demonstrated its great utility. Its traffic increased from hundreds of tons to hundreds of thousands. The canal extended along the Schuylkill for a length of one hundred and eight miles,-from Mount Carbon to Philadelphia,-and was fin- ished for traffic, through from one end to the other, in 1825. Its success stimulated a similar enterprise through the Lebanon Valley from the Schuylkill to the Susquehanna. This latter scheme for a highway by navigation had been projected more than fifty years before, but it

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 114

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418