USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania; also containing a separate account of the several boroughs and townships in the county, with biographical sketches, 2nd ed > Part 22
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
thereof, while, in 1849, the northern portion was set off as Kidder township. Muddy run forms the northern boundary of the township, while Drake, Stony, and Bear creeks are the other principal streams. All of these flow eastwardly into the Lehigh. Wild creek flows through the southeastern section. The Pocono mountain traverses the township, and much of its sur- face is wild and rough. Dense forests of pine and hemlock formerly flourished here, and the region is still indefinitely referred to as the "Pine Swamp." In the early days this swamp, which extends northward into Luzerne county, was known as the "Great Swamp," or the "Shades of Death." It received the latter appellation after the battle of Wyoming, when many of those who had escaped from the clutches of the Indians flew to it for protection, and perished within its gloomy shades. It was in this swamp, too, that Teedyuscung and his warriors had their hiding places during the Indian war of 1755-56.
An interesting incident in the early history of Penn Forest township was the capture, here effected, of a detachment of insurgents who had raised the standard of revolt against the Federal Government in what is known as Fries' Rebellion, which took place princi- pally in Bucks and Northampton counties in the fall and winter of 1798-99. This organized opposition to constituted authority has also been variously termed the "Milford Rebellion," the "Hot Water War," and the "House Tax War." Soon after the inauguration of John Adams as President of the United States, on March 4, 1797, a number of laws were passed which were looked upon with great disfavor by many of the people of the country. Among them were the alien and sedition laws, and another known as the house tax law. This last named law was a crude and ill-con-
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sidered measure, and the efforts of the government to enforce it met with particular opposition thoughout eastern Pennsylvania. According to the provisions of the act, assessors were directed to measure, count and register the panes of glass in each and every house, and to make their number and size the basis of a direct tax for government revenue. Opposition to this scheme of taxation first manifested itself in public meetings of protest; later, threats were made, while occasionally those who attempted to enforce the law were assaulted and imprisoned. It appears that the most violent and uncompromising opponent of the law was John Fries, a Philadelphia vendue crier, who also had a taste for soldiering and politics, and who trav- eled about the country in pursuit of his daily occupa- tion. Through his influence the rebellion was actually organized in Lower Milford township, Bucks county, on October 5, 1798, when fifty men attached their sig- natures to an ultimatum declaring open revolt if further efforts were made to enforce the law. There was no response from the government to this declara- tion of war, one of the most peculiar ever issued by any band of insurgents in our annals. One of its features was that every assessor doing his duty, or attempting to do it, should be shot in the legs, taken into custody, and fed on rotten corn. In a short time four hundred men had flocked to the banner of revolt, and, led by Fries, who wore a plume in his hat and carried a sword, this army in jubilant spirits started out in quest of United States assessors who were at- tending to their duties. The army marched northward into Northampton county, its ranks being swelled by additional recruits as it proceeded conqueringly from one neighborhood to another. Scores of citizens who had been arrested and cast into prison for opposing the
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"house tax law" were liberated, while the United States marshals who had taken them into custody were themselves jailed. Upon promising to discontinue their duties, the officers of the law were set free.
Nearing Easton, Fries was advised to retrace his steps, being informed that the people of Northampton county were strong enough to resist the enforcement of the obnoxious law without re-enforcements. Fries, however, thirsted for military glory, and refused to return. Moving up the Lehigh Valley, he and his men continued arresting assessors, shooting them in the feet and putting them in barns as prisoners. Reaching the Irish settlement, Fries was confronted by Colonel Thomas Craig, who had fought in the Revolution, and who later came to what is now Carbon county. Colonel Craig was loyal to the government which he had aided in establishing, and he peremptorily ordered the insur- gents to disperse. When they manifested hesitation in complying with the request, the Home Guards, who had seen service in the War of Independence, were ordered to report for action. But before blood was shed, the insurgents had separated, one portion going south and the other making for the Pine Swamp in Penn Forest township, where many of them were captured by a de- tachment of General McPherson's troops on their way from the scene of the Whiskey Rebellion in the western part of the state. One of those taken captive paid the death penalty,-not for the treason of which he was guilty, but for highway robbery, a felony in those days.
Fries and those of his followers who remained loyal to him were pursued and taken prisoners in the lower part of Northampton county. The leader of the revolt and his lieutenants were tried in the United States Court at Philadelphia. Fries was found guilty of trea-
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son and sentenced to be hanged; but his execution was postponed and he was finally pardoned by President Adams. His subordinates were also leniently dealt with.
The solitude which reigned in the virgin forests that covered the ground now contained within the limits of Penn Forest township was not disturbed by the sound of the lumberman's axe until about 1835.
About this time companies were formed for the pur- pose of removing and manufacturing the timber. Mills were soon erected at available sites on the streams, and around these temporary settlements sprang up. In addition to the dwellings of the laborers, these cen- ters of activity usually contained a store, a tavern and a schoolhouse. During the years intervening between 1840 and 1860 most of the valuable timber was cut and marketed, although lumbering operations on a large scale were carried on for many years after this date. As time elapsed, fires in the woods destroyed many of the mills and much of the timber. Some of the mills were rebuilt and others not, while the denuded lands were allowed to remain desolate and unproductive.
Of the many fires which wrought havoc in the woods of the township, the greatest and most destructive was that which began near the mouth of Mud run on May 14, 1875. The fire burned slowly for eight days, when a strong wind came from the west, and in a few hours mills, houses, sawed lumber and standing trees for miles about were reduced to ruin. The ravages of the flames were not confined to this immediate section, the fire spreading eastward into Monroe county and doing much damage there. This was a great blow to the prosperity of the township, and each decennial census since that time has shown a decrease in its
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population. In 1880 the district had 653 inhabitants, but in 1910 the number had dwindled to 417.
Much of the unimproved land now produces large crops of huckleberries annually, and the gathering and marketing of these berries has become a source of con- siderable income to the people of the district. Among the natural products of the township are building sand and ochre.
While the large timber has now practically disap- peared, much mine timber is still being shipped.
One of the principal points of interest in the town- ship is the hatchery of the Penn Forest Brook Trout Company, which is situated at the junction of Hell and Wild creeks. This is one of the largest hatcheries of its kind in the world, and was established in 1895 by H. A. Butler and W. A. Leisenring, of Mauch Chunk. The land on which it is situated was purchased from William Sebring. Additional purchases of land were made from time to time, and the entire tract now con- tains several thousand acres. A portion of this has been inclosed as a deer park. The hatchery was for a period under the immediate supervision of Nathan R. Buller, now Fish Commissioner of Pennsylvania, and regarded as the foremost trout hatcher in the country. The controlling interest in the property has changed hands a number of times since the establishment of the enterprise.
About the year 1861 Samuel Donner commenced the distillation of wintergreen here. Many others have en- gaged in this business, as well as the distillation of oil from the birch, since that time.
The oldest tavern now in the township is the Stony Creek Hotel, which was opened by Enos Koch, one of the first settlers, and kept by him for about half a cen- tury. The present owner is J. J. Smith. A new build-
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
ing, replacing the original, was erected in 1860. About 1838 Frederick Suter opened the Hunters' Hotel on the Pocono mountain, and on the state road leading from Emmetsburg to White Haven. He remained the landlord until 1850, when the place passed into other hands. It was in this hotel that a recruiting officer of the government was shot during the Civil War. The shot was fired from without through a window by a person whose identity has never been discovered. The building is now occupied as a farm house.
The Idlewild Hotel, on the road to Mauch Chunk, was first kept by Frank Eckhart, who secured a license for the place about the year 1890. The original build- ing was destroyed by fire, while the present house was built by J. F. Christman who has been succeeded as the landlord by W. H. Bauder.
The township early accepted the free school law, and in 1844, a year after the organization of Carbon county, three schools were in operation. At present there are only two, one being situated at Meckesville, in the eastern portion of the district, and the other on Drake's creek, in the western end of the township.
Christ Lutheran church is the only house of worship in the township. It is located on the road leading from Mauch Chunk to Albrightsville, and was erected in 1883 on land donated by John W. Reed.
SUMMIT HILL BOROUGH.
One of the most far famed spots in eastern Pennsyl- vania is Summit Hill. It was here that the old hunter, Philip Ginter, accidentally found anthracite coal in 1791. The town is about nine miles distant from Mauch Chunk, and is situated near the summit of Sharp mountain at an elevation of more than sixteen hundred feet above sea level. This point of vantage
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furnishes a commanding view of the surrounding country for many miles, while the air, scented with the fragrance of the verdure of the hills, is pure and in- vigorating.
The surface of the soil here is covered with white gravel, lending an appearance of neatness and clean- liness to the streets of the borough not usually found in coal mining communities.
This general locality was formerly known as the "Old Mines," because it was here that operations were first begun in the anthracite coal region.
It was in 1818 that the Lehigh Coal Mine Company, the forerunner of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, began active operations at Summit Hill, but years elapsed before the settlement thus started pre- sented the appearance of an established town.
One of the earliest residents was James Broderick, who came to the locality in 1821, bringing with him his wife, the first woman to make her home in the embryo town.
Other early settlers were Patrick Breslin, the grand- father of Andrew Breslin; Robert and Andrew John- son, and Joseph Gormley, the latter being accompanied by his wife and nine children.
In 1826, there were but five houses in the vicinity, while four of these were situated west of the present site of the town. All were constructed of logs, and that of James Lehman, a foreman, was the only one of the five which was two stories in height.
The point where coal was first mined or "quarried" is a little to the southwest of the built up portion of the borough. Lying south of Railroad street, and di- rectly in the rear of the Summit Inn is a large bank of clay; this was formed in laying bare the first an- thracite coal produced in commercial quantities in the
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
world. Here it was that that giant industry, which has been such a potent factor in transforming our civiliza- tion, bringing material comfort and greater happiness to millions, had its birth !
Summit Hill did not begin to present the appearance of an established town until late in the thirties, when the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company built many houses for the use of its employes.
It was not until ten years later, however, that lots were sold and individual enterprise was permitted to assert itself.
Among the first purchasers of lots were: J. Edward Barnes, Nathan Patterson, D. D. Brodhead, Jacob Minich, Charles Hoffman, James Denton, Merritt Ab- bott, and Daniel Minich. In 1850 Abram Harris bought a lot upon which he erected the Eagle Hotel, which is still standing. Merritt Abbott and Alexander Lockhart in 1851 secured title to a piece of land upon which they built a foundry. This building stood for about twenty years, when it was destroyed by fire, and was never replaced. The development of the mines was naturally followed by the establishment of mer- cantile houses and other places of business, resulting in due time in the growth of a village of fair propor- tions on the mountain top.
In the early days of mining in this vicinity, leasing and the giving of contracts was practiced to some ex- tent. Among the prominent contractors were: Asa Packer, Daniel S. Bertsch and Company, E. A. Dong- lass, A. A. Douglass, Holland, Barber and Company, and Belford, Sharpe and Company. At one period the mines were leased to the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company. Most of these contracts or leases ex- pired in January, 1866, a few continuing a year after that date. With unimportant exceptions, the mines
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
have since been worked directly by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
With the opening of the mines in the Lansford basin, lying in the valley below Summit Hill, two inclined planes were built to carry the coal from the valley to the summit, whence it was conveyed to the Lehigh over the Switchback Railroad which was constructed from this place to Mauch Chunk in 1827. The first of these planes was placed in operation in 1846. The second connected with the mines at Coal Dale. The building of the Nesquehoning Valley Railroad, which was be- gun in 1861, together with other causes, operated to draw life from the older town on the mountain and bestow it upon the younger rival, Lansford, in the val- ley below. Upon the completion of this railroad, which later was absorbed by the Jersey Central system, coal was no longer shipped by way of Summit Hill. In 1870 the construction and repair shops of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company were removed from Summit Hill to Lansford.
The driving of Spring tunnel during the forties marked the beginning of underground mining in this locality.
Perhaps the most far famed curiosity of the region, and the principal attraction of Summit Hill, is the Burning Mine, which was discovered to be on fire on February 15, 1859. This mine was opened in 1850. The progress of the fire has been in a westerly direction from the town, and during the half century of its existence it has traversed approximately a mile, consuming millions of tons of coal in its slow but deso- lating march. Repeated efforts have been made to ex- tinguish this devouring under-ground conflagration, and the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company has ex- pended vast sums of money in that endeavor. Quite
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
naturally the first attempt made to quench the fire con- sisted in flooding the mine with water; but, surprising as it may seem, it was not successful, the heat being so intense as to convert the rock bordering upon the coal into a molten mass, which on cooling, crumbles to pieces. The plan next tried was that of cutting off the vein and boring holes down to the coal in advance of the fire, and then filling these with water, mixed with culm, or coal dirt. This scheme also proved a failure. There being grave danger of the fire eventually spread- ing to the mammoth workings of the Lansford basin, turning the whole Panther Creek Valley into one vast volcano, another heroic effort was made to head it off, and it is hoped that this may be successful. The method last employed was to cut a trench across the vein and to build a solid clay barrier twelve feet wide, reinforced on either side with walls of concrete, within the opening. The execution of this plan, which was conceived by W. A. Lathrop, president of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, involved a great engi- neering feat, while requiring the outlay of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The work was completed in 1910.
The origin of this famous fire is not positively known, and the stories that are told concerning its be- ginning are various. According to one account it was started by some boys who were playing on the slope, building the fire to warm themselves. In the early days of underground mining, it was a common practice to have a stove burning at the bottom of a ventilating shaft in order to create a draft of air toward the sur- face, and some well informed men hold to the theory that the mine was set on fire by the accidental upsetting of one of these stoves.
One of the landmarks of Summit Hill for many years was the old town hall, which also served the pur-
OLD ARMORY AND TOWN HALL, SUMMIT HILL.
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DILIGENCE. Nº1.
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
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pose of an armory. It was erected by a stock com- pany, known as the Town Hall Association, which was organized in 1854, principally through the influence of Merritt Abbott and J. J. Wintersteen. Its walls were of stone, and in appearance it resembled a French bas- tile, being flanked in front on either side with towers of solid masonry, each of which contained four long and narrow windows.
This building became the home of the Carbon Guards, a military company commanded by Wintersteen.
At the breaking out of the Civil War, the Guards went to the front, but so few of the men returned that the organization was disbanded. Later, the building was used as an armory by Company F of the Ninth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania. About 1890, the hall was purchased by the municipality, and an addition was built to it for purposes of a fire house. The interior of the structure, which stood on the site of the present town hall, was destroyed by fire on March 25, 1908. The stones forming the walls were used in building the foundations of the Citizens' Na- tional Bank of Lansford.
Summit Hill formed a part of Mauch Chunk town- ship until January 14, 1889, when it was incorporated as a borough. At the first election, which was held in the town hall on the 19th of the ensuing February, Joseph Richards, a successful business man, now liv- ing at, Slatington, was chosen as chief burgess. For years the borough was divided into four wards, but in 1911 it was reduced to three.
The postoffice here was established on February 6, 1832, Richard Hay being the first postmaster.
A building housing all the schools of the place was erected in 1875. This, with an addition which was added, is still in use. Close by stands the magnificent
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new high school building, one of the finest structures of its kind in Pennsylvania.
It is admirably adapted for the purpose which it is intended to serve, and was built in 1911 at a cost of ap- proximately ninety thousand dollars.
A new town hall, replacing that destroyed by fire was put up in 1908. The ground floor of this building is given over to Diligence Fire Company, No. 1, which was chartered in the fall of 1897.
The borough is supplied with water by the Summit Hill Water Company, which was chartered in 1876. The principal source of supply is an artesian well in Bloomingdale Valley, where a pumping station is main- tained. A large storage reservoir is situated on top of the mountain, sixty-five feet above the level of the town. George Kline was the first president of the water company.
A modern sewer system, costing $60,000, was but recently built by the borough. Summit Hill has been electrically lighted since 1894, the service being fur- nished by the Panther Creek Valley Heat, Light and Power Company, of Lansford. In 1897, the line of the Tamaqua and Lansford Railway Company, an elec- trical road, since absorbed by the Eastern Pennsyl- vania Railways Company, was built into the town.
The principal hotels in the place are the Eagle and the Summit Inn. The former has already been men- tioned as having been built in 1850 by Abram Harris, while the latter has been open for the accommodation of the public since 1908, and is owned by T. E. Davis.
In 1873, Daniel Eveland and Robert Harris began the publication of the Weekly Intelligencer, the first local newspaper. It was issued for about two years.
During the fall of 1879, J. W. Malloy and P. F. Gildea established the Summit Hill and Lansford Rec-
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ord. Gildea retired from the firm in 1880, while Mal- loy removed his printing establishment to Lansford in the spring of 1884.
The Miners' Bank was organized in 1873, Anthony Snyder being its president, and its capital stock being fifty thousand dollars. In the fall of 1880 the bank was transferred to Lansford; it was closed in 1883, and its affairs were adjusted by assignees.
The Homestead Building and Loan Association, which has been remarkably successful from the start, and through the agency of which many of the people of the borough have become the owners of the homes in which they live, was organized in 1893. The assets of the association at the end of its first fiscal year amounted to $18,130.00, while in 1911, at the close of the eighteenth year, the total had reached $387,000.00. Excepting a period of four years, E. E. Scott has been the secretary of the association since the beginning.
The Workingmen's Building and Loan Association, which was chartered in 1906, is also in a flourishing condition.
The adherents of the Presbyterian denomination appear to have been among the first to take up church work at Summit Hill, and the congregation they formed was one of the pioneer religious organizations of the Lehigh coal field. As early as 1835, Robert Henry, a Covenanter, organized a Bible class at the boarding house of Alexander McLean, also a Presby- terian. During the following year, James Edgar settled in the community and assumed a prominent part in the weekly assemblages, which partook largely of the nature of prayer meetings. Among the first missionaries here was Rev. Richard Webster, for many years thereafter pastor of the Presbyterian church at Mauch Chunk. During the summer of 1836, Rev. Web-
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ster induced Andrew Tully, a young theological student at Princeton to come to Summit Hill to teach school and to organize a Sunday school. The latter was es- tablished in July of that year, and was led for three successive summers by the young student. Later, G. W. Smith, of Mauch Chunk, revived the school and served as its superintendent. The church itself was or- ganized on April 19, 1839, and was termed the Presby- terian church of Summit Hill and Tamaqua. It began with twenty-eight members, four of whom resided at Tamaqua and the remainder at Summit Hill. In May, 1844, the congregation became independent of Ta- maqua and was named the First Presbyterian church of Summit Hill, Rev. A. G. Harned becoming the first regular pastor. The congregation worshipped in the school house until 1847, when a church building was erected. This edifice was enlarged and improved in 1872, while the present brick structure replaced it in 1895. The Sunday school, which was the forerunner of this church, has had but two superintendents in over sixty years. J. M. McCready, who succeeded Nathan Patterson as superintendent, has served in that ca- pacity since 1878.
Missionaries of the Roman Catholic church paid oc- casional visits to Summit Hill as early as 1826. Sub- sequent to 1832 the priests stationed at Pottsville and at Tamaqua came here quite frequently. In 1849 the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company donated a piece of land for the erection of a church and for purposes of a burial ground. Under the leadership of Rev. Patrick J. Hennegan the church was built soon there- after. It was named in honor of St. Joseph. Father Hennegan's name is one of much prominence in the early history of Catholicism in this region, and he ministered to the spiritual wants of his people over a
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