History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 16

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > History of Berks county in Pennsylvania > Part 16

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).

At the sheriff's sale in 1788, the forge property was purchased by Cadwallader Morris, James Wilson and others, of Philadelphia ; and in 1796 John Louis Barde became the owner. Mat- thew Brooke married a daughter of Barde, and subsequently purchased the property. It has since remained in the Brooke family. Edward Brooke and George Brooke, brothers, began business here in 1837. The iron-works then comprised two forges, with a capacity of two hundred tons of bar-iron per annum. In 1846 they erected a charcoal furnace, called " Hampton;" in 1848 a rolling-mill and nail- factory ; in 1851 an anthracite furnace, and some years afterward two additional furnaces. Their total annual capacity is about thirty-eight thousand tons of pig-iron and one hundred and seventy-five thousand kegs of nails. After the death of Edward Brooke in 1788, the Brooke Iron Company was instituted ; and this com- pany is now carrying on the business. The iron industry at Birdsboro', which, in the course of one hundred and forty years, has been so admirably developed out of the " Hay Creek Forge" of William Bird, was in 1878 the

largest and richest personal enterprise in this section of the State.

OLEY FORGE .- The Oley Forge was situated on the Manatawny Creek, about ten miles from its confluence with the Schuylkill, and about a half-mile south of the "Oley Churches." It continued in active operation for one hundred and twenty years.

In 1744, John Ross, gentleman, of Philadel- phia, and John Yoder and John Lesher, of Oley, entered into a joint partnership for erect- ing a forge for manufacturing pig-metal into bar-iron. They then purchased from Sebastian Graeff a tract of one hundred and ninety-seven acres of land, situated in Oley township, on the Manatawny Creek, adjoining lands of Robert Stapleton and John Yoder, and the "Great Road " leading to Philadelphia, and thereon erected a forge, constructed a water-pond, water- courses and the necessary buildings, and sup- plied the utensils for the business of making bar-iron ; and they also purchased warrants for taking up land on the hills adjacent to the forge, in order to supply it with charcoal. In 1750 John Yoder sold to John Lesher his one-third interest "of said tract and of the forge, working-gears, tools, implements, dams, etc." Lesher and Ross held their respective interests in the forge till Ross' death. In the settlement of the partnership affairs, litigation arose between Lesher and the Ross estate. This was being conducted in 1784, when Lesher sold his two-thirds to his son, Jacob Lesher, an iron-master, and his sons-in- law, John Potts, a miller, and Jacob Morgan, a merchant. In 1794, Frederick Spang, an iron-master of Oley, obtained an interest in this forge property, and some years afterward secured all the interests. He and, after his decease, his son Jacob, and grandson of the same name, carried on the iron business there for seventy years, until the close of the Rebellion. During this long interval, especially for fifty years, the forge was known as the "Spang Forge." It was abandoned about 1870. Nothing is left to mark the spot excepting the dam. In the transfer by Lesher to his son and sons-in-law in 1784, mention is made of a furnace. It was situated in District township, near the head-

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

waters of Pine Creek, a tributary of Mana- tawny. The Oley Furnace was then in opera- tion several miles to the northwest. Lesher loaned money on it in 1768, and between that time and 1784 he may have come to own it, but the titles of record do not disclose the fact.

SPRING FORGES .- A Spring Forge was at one time in existence on the Manatawny, not far from "Pool Forge." It was owned by Anthony Morris, and in operation in 1729. Pig-metal was supplied . from Colebrookdale Furnace. No definite information in relation to it has as yet been developed.

Another Spring Forge was situate on Pine Creek, a branch of the Manatawny, in District (now Pike) township, about four miles north of the " Oley Churches." Its early history is in- volved in obscurity. In 1760 Rebecca Potts purchased at sheriff's sale a one-sixth interest in it. She died possessed of this interest, and in 1773 her executor sold it, and a like interest in six tracts of land, together containing eight hundred and thirty-eight acres, to John Old, an iron-master, resident in District township. Old subsequently obtained an increased interest in this industry, and in 1778 sold seventeen twen- ty-sevenths parts to Mark Bird. During its later history it was owned successively by Wil- liam Schall, Jacob Deysher and Francis R. Heilig. It was abandoned by Heilig about 1865.

A third Spring Forge was erected by John Schenkel Bertolet about 1812. It was situated on the Manatawny Creek, in the southern ex- tremity of Earl township, near the line of Amity. He carried it on till his death in 1828. Then his son, Dr. David K. Bertolette, took the forge property under his last will and continued operations till 1840. Subsequently it passed through various hands, and was finally abandoned about 1860. It is possible that the forge first mentioned of this name was situated here or near by. But it (the first) may have been the second mentioned. And this is prob- able, for it existed before 1760; it occupied a superior site, ore was not far distant and wood was abundant in the immediate vicinity.

MOUNT PLEASANT FORGE .- A forge, it is believed, was connected with the Mount Pleas-

ant Furnace ; but there is no definite knowledge concerning its early history. It, stood on the West Branch of the Perkiomen, about a mile above the furnace. If it was not erected and carried on by the Potts family, it is probable that it was by either Nicholas Hunter or his son-in-law, John Fisher, about fifty or sixty years afterward. Mr. Fisher, it is certain, car- ried it on for a number of years, till his decease in 1828, when his estate continued operations for over twenty years,-latterly by a son, J. N. H. Fisher, and son-in-law, Abraham B. Bech- tel. On the 25th of March, 1854, it was sold to Samuel W. Weiss, and then operated by him till the close of the Rebellion. The dam was washed away by a freshet several years ago. The Dale Iron-Works were situated a mile above it, on the same stream.

GIBRALTAR FORGE .- Mark Bird, it is sup- posed, in connection with his other enterprises, began a forge on the Allegheny Creek, about a mile from the Schuylkill, in Robeson township, and named it Gibraltar. The year of its erec- tion is not known,-though it is supposed to be about 1770, -- nor its subsequent history for many years; but this supposition is questionable.

It is more than probable that this industry was founded by Thomas Bull, John Smith and Thomas May about the time that they erected the Joanna Furnace, about six miles to the south in the same township. They were in-, terested then in Dale Furnace, and probably prepared the way for selling it by first erecting the Gibraltar Forge, which was to be used in connection with the Joanna Furnace.

In 1827 the estate of Thomas May owned it. Iu 1828 his two sons, Newton and Addison, by their guardians, sold it and four hundred and forty-four acres of land to Simon Seyfert and John Schwartz, for six thousand five hun- dred dollars. These two iron-masters then operated it in connection with the Mount Penn Furnace, several miles to the west ou Flying Hill Creek. In 1835 they dissolved partner- ship, Schwartz taking the furnace and Seyfert the forge. Subsequently, the forge property was transferred to Seyfert, McManus & Co.

CHARMING FORGE .- The Charming Forge is situated on the eastern border of Ma-

EARLY AND GENERAL INDUSTRIES.

rion township, on the Tulpehocken Creek, several miles north of Womelsdorf. It was erected by John George Nikoll, a hammer- smith, and Michael Miller, in 1749. Then, in pursuance of an agreement entered into shortly before, they, "at their joint expense, erected an Iron work or Forge and Dam, and dug a Race or water-course, and made other great improvements for the commencing of forging and the manufacturing of iron." After passing through several parties, Henry Wm. Stiegel be- came the owner in 1763. It was known as the Tulpehocken Forge. Soon afterwards he sold an undivided half-part of the forge property and of eight hundred and fifty-nine acres of land to Charles Stedman and Alexander Stedman, mer- chants, of Philadelphia. By 1770 the quantity of land used in connection with the forge had increased beyond three thousand seven hundred acres. In that year Charles Stedman bought his brother's interest in the forge property at sheriff's sale. In the sheriff's deed-poll to him, the forge is called, for the first time, in the title, Charming Forge. It had been so known and commonly called for some years previously. Its name arose from the picturesque, charming locality. In 1773 the sheriff of the county sold Stiegel's undivided half-interest in the forge property (then comprising one thou- sand two hundred and ninety-one acres) to Paul Zensinger, merchant, of Lancaster, for one thou- saud six hundred and sixty pounds. Zensinger, on the same day that he obtained the sheriff's deed-poll for the property (February 9, 1774), conveyed his interest to George Ege, iron-mas- ter, of York County, for eight hundred and thirty-eight pounds, fourteen shillings and nine pence. Nine years afterward Ege bought Sted- man's interest in the property for one thousand five hundred and sixty-three pounds, thirteen sbillings and six pence. From this time on- ward, for nearly fifty years, Mr. Ege was very prominently identified with the industrial life of Berks County. From 1791 to 1818 he was an associate judge. In 1804 he built and oper- ated the Schuylkill Forge, which was situated on the Little Schuylkill (Tamaqua Creek), a short distance north of Port Clinton. At that time he was doubtless the largest land-holder

in the county. His possessions then were,- Charming Forge, with four thousand acres ; Reading Furnace, with six thousand acres ; Schuylkill Forge, with six thousand acres; also four large and valuable farms, situated in Hei- delberg and Tulpehocken townships, comprising together nearly a thousand acres, and known in the vicinity as the Spring, Sheaff, Leiss and Richard farms. In 1824 he was forced to make an assignment. His debts and expenses exceeded three hundred thousand dollars. But his estate proved entirely solvent. Through the prudent management of his estate, for a period covering fifteen years, by his acting as- signee, Andrew Taylor, all the debts were sat- isfied, and a large balance was left for distribu- tion to his heirs. He died in December, 1830.

This forge property then passed through a number of parties until 1855, when it became vested in Andrew Taylor and his two sons, William and B. Franklin. In 1866 Mr. Tay- lor died, and his interest passed to the sons named by devise. They have since held and operated the forge. They own in connection with the forge about thirty-six hundred acres of land. Five-sixths of this large quantity lie in the Blue Mountain range. The land extends from "Round Head " eastwardly in an unbrok- en tract for seven miles.

In 1777 Ege improved the property at the forge by the erection of a large, commodious and conveniently arranged cut-stone two-story mansion-house. It is still standing in fine order. At that time he hired from the govern- ment thirty-four Hessian prisoners, for the pur- pose of cutting a channel from twelve to fifteen feet deep and two hundred and fifty feet long, through a bed of limestone, in order to supply with water-power a "slitting-mill " which he had erected. The channel is still used. No- vember 5, 1782, he allowed the United States government £1020 for their services.

In 1780 he owned ten slaves-seven males and three females-certified of record in the pro- thonotary's office of the county.

MOSELEM FORGE. - There was a forge, known by the name of " Moselem Forge," sit- uated on the Moselem Creek, in Richmond township, probably in the vicinity of tlie Moselem

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

iron-ore mine. In August, 1767, Jacob Shoffer, of Maxatawny, yeoman, for the consideration of five hundred pounds, sold one uudivided fourth part of a tract of land, containing one hundred and seventy-five acres, situate on the Moselem Creek, in Richmond township, and also one- fouth part of all forges, mills, etc., thereon erected, to Christian Lower, of Tulpehocken, a blacksmith. And I found the forge referred to in the description of a road laid out in 1768, leading from the " Moselem Forge " to Read- ing. I could not find any additional facts in connection with this early industry. It is probable that the forge was erected some years before 1767. Iron-ore had been discovered there before 1750, and doubtless this discovery led to the early erection of a forge near by.

OTHER FURNACES AND FORGES.

Furnaces and forges were erected in different parts of the county during or subsequent to the Revolution and before 1800. Among them there were the following: Furnaces-Union, District, Sally Ann, Joanna, Dale, Mary Ann, Reading and Greenwood ; Forges-Brobst's, Rockland, Burkhart's, Dale and District.

UNION FURNACE .- The Union Furnace is mentioned in connection with the Union or " Brobst's Forges."

DISTRICT FURNACE .- The District Furnace was situated on Pine Creek, in District township, about a mile from the line of Pike township. The time of its erection is not known, nor the builder, though it has been asserted that Jacob Lesher erected it previous to 1797. It was owned by John Lesher, father of Jacob, previous to 1784. He may have erected it about the time of the erection of the Oley Forge. This is possible, even probable. The distance be- tween the two industries was about six miles. The pig metal was obtained from some furnace. He was a man of wealth, energy and enterprise; and it is more than likely that he supplied his own pig metal rather than purchase it at the Cole- brookdale and Mount Pleasant Furnaces (which were situated across the "Oley Hills," and dis- tant from eight to ten miles), and haul it over rough and steep roads. In 1791 he conveyed it to his son Jacob, " out of love and affection,"

together with a grist-mill, saw-mill and three tracts of land. The " furnace tract" in Dis- trict comprised fifteen hundred and eighty-two acres one hundred and four perches. The other tracts were in Earl, and contained two hundred and thirteen acres sixty perches. Its subsequent history is not known. On a county map of 1820 it is marked as "Lesher's Furnace." It is supposed to have been abandoned about 1797 by Jacob Lesher, because he could not satisfac- torily work up to the primitive rock-ore of that vicinity. (By a deed of record dated in 1793 it would appear that John Lesher sold one-third of this furnace to John Teysher, it having been called " German " or District Furnace.)

SALLY ANN FURNACE .- The Sally Ann Furnace was erected, it is supposed, by Valen- tine Eckert, an iron-master, about 1791. It is situated on the Sacony Creek, in the northern section of Rockland township. This supposi- tion is, however, doubtful, if not erroneous. Previous to 1811 Abraham Biever, a farmer, owned the tract of ninety-four acres upon which the furnace stands. In the year named he sold this tract to Nicholas Hunter, an iron-master. There was no furnace on then. It is, therefore, probable that Mr. Hunter erected this furnace soon after the purchase of the land. Subse- quently he transferred the furnace and lands to his son, Jacob V. R. Hunter, whose estate still holds it. Active operations were discontinued about 1869. It was leased in 1879, but work was carried on for only a year.

JOANNA FURNACE .- The Joanna Furnace was erected in 1792, by Potts & Rutter, and named after a daughter of the former. It is situated on Hay Creek, in Robeson township, near the line of Caernarvon. In 1796 it was purchased by Thomas Bull, John Smith and Thomas May. Subsequently Levi B. Smith, son of John Smith, became the owner, and operated it till his decease in 1876, when it passed to his son, L. Heber Smith, who is the present owner. Nearly six thousand acres of land are connected with the furnace, lying together in a great, irregular tract, and situated in Robe- son, Caernarvon and Brecknock townships. The furnace was rebuilt in 1847. It is run by water and steam-power.

EARLY AND GENERAL INDUSTRIES.

DALE FURNACE .- The Dale Furnace was situated on the West Branch of the Perkiomen Creek, two miles above the Mt. Pleasant Fur- nace. It was erected about 1791 by Thomas Potts, Joseph Potts, Jr., and John Smitli, iron- masters. In the year named they purchased from Lewis Walker a tract of one hundred and fifty acres in Hereford township (but since 1839 in Washington), and doubtless imme- diately proceeded to erect thereon a furnace. In 1793 it was certainly in existence, for then Joseph Potts, Jr., sold his one-third interest to Robert E. Hobart. In 1811 it was owned by Thomas Bull, Robert May, John Smith and John Thompson, iron-masters. About that time, probably soon afterward, a forge was erected near by. Then this enterprise took the name of " Dale Iron-Works." In 1819 these works were in active operation. The furnace was abandoned about 1821. In 1822 they were owned by Dr. Jacob Loeser. In 1826 they were purchased by George Schall and David Schall for eleven thousand nine hundred dollars, comprising a forge, a large dam cover- ing fourteen acres, a fine commodious stone mansion and tenant-houses and other buildings and over six hundred acres of land. Subse- quently David Schall became the sole owner of the works and operated them till the year 1868, when he abandoned the manufacturing business.

MARY ANN FURNACE. - The Mary Ann Furnace was situated in Longswamp township, on the head-waters of the Little Lehigh. It was erected before 1797, possibly about 1789, by Jacob Lesher, and carried on by him active- ly till 1808. He then sold it to his son-in-law, Reuben Trexler. It was operated by Mr. Trex- ler till 1837, when he transferred it to his son Horatio, who carried on work till a suspension of business there was forced in 1869 by the scarcity of wood, high price of labor and the increased demand and cost of the Longswamp ore, superinduced by the introduction of the East Penn Railroad, through the East Penn Valley, from Reading to Allentown. The rail- way, instead of benefiting the " Mary Ann," as it had been argued and hoped that the result would be, actually robbed her of glorious and

profitable activity, and transferred the life of industry into the Lehigh Valley.

The first " stone coal " stoves manufactured in Pennsylvania were made at this furnace by Reuben Trexler. They were called the " Le- high Coal Stoves." The plates of these stoves were first made in the open sand about 1820; subsequently flasks were introduced. They were made here till 1857, but the development of foundries for this purpose caused the dis- continuance of this branch of industry.

READING FURNACE .- Upon the abandon- ment of the "Berkshire " Furnace by George Ege, he, in the same year, 1794, erected a fur- nace several miles to the west, on Spring Creek, in Heidelberg township, and carried it on suc- cessfully till his assignment for the benefit of creditors, in 1824. In 1807 he improved the property by the erection of a mansion-house (similar to the one occupied by him at Charm- ing Forge) for the manager of the furnace, An- drew Taylor. It subsequently became vested in Robeson & Brooke, who abandoned it about 1850. They improved the property by the erection of an anthracite furnace in 1845, and another in 1858. It was then purchased by White, Ferguson & Co.

GREENWOOD FURNACE .- In 1796 Lewis Reese and Isaac Thomas erected a furnace near Schuylkill Gap, on the north side of Sharp Mountain, and carried on the manufacture of iron till 1806. They then sold it to John Pott, of District township, in Berks County. In 1807 Pott tore it down and erected in its stead another furnace which he named " Greenwood."

Near the mouth of the Little Schuylkill, a short distance above Port Clinton, George Ege, it is said, erected the " Schuylkill Furnace " about 1804.

These two furnaces are also mentioned in this narrative because they were included in the territory of Berks County, beyond Blue Moon- tain, till 1811, when Schuylkill County was erected.

BROBST'S FORGES .- In Albany township, in the northern section of Berks County, on a branch of Maiden Creek, called Pine Creek, there were two forges and a furnace. It is not definitely known when or by whom they were

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

erected. In 1780, Arnold Billig sold to Mich- ael Brobst two tracts of land in this township, one of one hundred and fifteen acres and the other of fifteen acres, with the buildings, im- provements, etc., for the sum of eleven thousand pounds. No iron-works are mentioned, as they generally are in deeds conveying property in- cluding such important improvements. But why should Brobst pay such a large considera- tion for one hundred and thirty acres of land if there had not been erected thereon valuable improvements, such as iron-works ? Accord- ingly, it may be inferred that there were iron- works in this township then. Billig, however, is not described as an iron-master, nor Brobst. But Brobst was subsequently engaged in the manufacture of iron in this locality with his brother, John Brobst ; and in 1818 they were sold out by the sheriff, the properties sold com- prising one furnace, two forges and three thou- sand six hundred and forty-six acres of land. These iron-works were subsequently know by the name of " Union," and operated for a num- ber of years by George Reagan.

ROCKLAND FORGES .- The Rockland Forges were situated in the southern section of Rock- land township, on Beaver Creek, a tributary of Manatawny. One of the forges was erected by John Truckenmiller, an iron-master of Rich- mond township, in the year 1783; and shortly afterward he erected a second forge about one- fourth of a mile farther up the creek. In 1788 he was sold out by the sheriff of the county, and Richard Lewis, an iron-master of Robeson township, bought the forges. Ten years after- ward, in 1798, he sold them to Daniel Udree, who operated them continuously till his decease in 1828.

They, in connection with a very large estate, then passed to his son-in-law, J. Udree Schnei- der, and were operated by him also till his death in 1834. Subsequently the Udree estate became involved by its management, and in 1841 these forges were again put under the hammer by the sheriff and sold. After passing through several hands they were finally aban- doned about 1850. A third forge stood on the same creek a short distance above these forges. It was erected about 1830 by Daniel Oyster,

and operated ten years. Its site was just above the "Rohrbach Mill."

BURKHART'S FORGE .- The Burkhart's Forge was situated in Alsace township, on Antietam Creek, about one hundred and fifty yards north of the "Stony Creek Mill." It was erected by Philip Seidel, an iron-master, resident in this township about 1792. He, in 1791, had pur- chased tract No. 82 of "Penn's Manor," con- taining fifteen acres one hundred and eigh- teen perches. By the record it would appear that he erected forges on this tract. On the 12th of March, 1796, he sold these forges to Samuel Burkhart, of Bern township. Burk- hart operated them-at least one of them-sub- sequently for a number of years. In 1830 one forge was operated by Burkhart & Keen. It was known as the " Green Tree," having taken its name from the evergreen trees on the steep hillsides in the vicinity. It was abandoned about 1850.

DALE FORGE .- The Dale Forge is mentioned in connection with the furnace of same name constituting "Dale Iron-Works."

DISTRICT FORGES .-- The District Forges com- prised two forges situated on Pine Creek, in District township. The first of these forges was erected about 1793, by Jacob Lesher. About fifteen years afterward he conveyed it to his son- in-law, Reuben Trexler, who carried it on till about 1830, when he demolished it, and erected in its stead a large stone grist-mill. Another was built by Jacob Lesher, a half-mile farther up the stream, about the year 1812. He built it for his son-in-law, Samuel Sands. It was discontinued several years afterward. A third was built (it is supposed) by Jacob Else about the same time, lower down the stream, in what is now Pike township. Subsequently it was operated by William Schall, Jacob Deysher and Francis Heilig. This supposition must be erroneous. This forge was known in the vicin- ity as the "Pott Forge," formerly the " Spring Forge " hereinbefore mentioned. A fourth forge was erected by Reuben Trexler, in 1828, a half-mile distant to the north. He carried it on till 1846, when he sold it to his son, Horatio Trexler. This also subsequently became vested in Francis Heilig. He operated both for some

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 16

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