History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 163

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158

USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I > Part 163

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In opening of the quarry in 1907, it was soon discovered that there was also a large deposit of limestone which avoids the necessity of import- ing this material from other places and which forms a valuable asset to this plant to manufac- ture a grade of cement to compete with any grade of cement manufactured.

The plant is located on about twenty acres of land, and the quarry contains about twelve acres. The resources are scarcely possible to be over-estimated. The company, having about 1,300 acres of land at its disposal for the manu- facture of cement and agricultural purposes, this industry has practically unlimited resources and its continued operation secured.

The manufacture of cement is a very interest- ing procedure, as it is performed at these mills. A short description follows. The attention of

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the reader is first directed to the large quarry from which the raw material is gotten.

The quarry contains twelve acres of land. The breast of the quarry is sixty feet deep. The stone are drilled by two large well-drill machines. These machines drill a six-inch hole the full depth of the quarry. After all the holes are drilled they are loaded with dynamite, some- times as much as twelve tons of dynamite being loaded into these holes for one blast. This blast is set off with an electric current, from the large generator at the mills. Such a blast loosens as high as 75,000 tons of rock. This rock is then loaded on five-ton cars by large steam shovels. These cars run by gravity to the foot of the plane whence they are hoisted and dumped into a large No. 9, Gates crusher. The crushed stone then pass up a large elevator into a stock bin. From this bin they pass into five No. 5 Gates crush- ers, from which they are taken by elevators on to belt conveyors to stone driers, of which there are five, being six feet in diameter by 60 feet long. The stone is here dried from the waste heat from the kilns. The stone is then carried from the driers to the stone storage, which holds 30,000 tons of crushed dried stone. From here the stone is carried to the raw grinding depart- ment. The stone then pass through eight large commuters or ball mills. Here the stone is crushed to a fineness of 56 per cent. The ma- terial is then conveyed by means of conveyors and elevators into stock bins. From these bins it passes through tube mills, 16 feet long, by five feet in diameter. There are eight of these tube- mills. The material passes out of these mills at a fineness of 95 per cent. From these mills it passes through elevators into stock bins about 180 feet long and 12 feet wide, and 15 feet high. The material passes out these bins by conveyors into kilns, eight feet in diameter, and 125 feet long. As the material passes through these rotary kilns, pulverized gas coal is added for burning purposes. This coal is pulverized by six Fuller mills to a fineness of 95 per cent. This coal is conveyed into stock-bins in the kiln rooms. Compressed air is used to blow the coal into the roasters to burn the material for cement. The material is then burned into a clinker. These clinkers then pass up large elevators into coolers from which they are tapped below into a large scraper line. The clinkers are then conveyed upon scales and weighed, from which they pass up through elevators, come down through four sets of rolls where it is crushed, after it passes up through elevators into large stock bins, hold- ing 5,000 barrels of clinker, after which it passes through twenty griffin mills. These mills do the preliminary grinding. From these mills it

passes through elevators into stock bins. From these bins it passes down through eight tubes, five feet by sixteen feet, out of which it comes finished cement at fineness of 95 per cent. From here it is conveyed to an elevator, through which it passes up to conveyors which convey the fin- ished product into the stock house.

These mills have a daily output of 5,000 bar- rels of manufactured cement, ready and prepared for the market. For the performance of this work the company employs about 425 men, in- cluding quarrymen, and mill hands. The fore- going process of making cement is regarded as being the best method in vogue to produce a high grade of cement. This plant is modern in con- struction and the quality of the product compares favorably with the best produced in Europe or America. This type of cement manufactured by the Lehigh Portland Cement Company is used by the government for fortifications and dry-docks. The product, as manufactured at the Fogelsville mills, has been used on the greatest architectural feats of cement construction in the world. From these mills went cement for the construction of the Panama Canal and the large Allentown bridge, and vast railway improvements in this country. The superintendent of these mills is George Moritz, and his assistant, Martin Lehr, both of East Fogelsville.

Sittler's Machine Works .- These works origi- nated with William Sittler, who was operating a Inachine shop and foundry in that part of the township as the New Mauch Chunk. He made the first patterns of the Excelsior mowing ma- chine. In 1892 he moved his place of business to Trexlertown and located near the branch of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville railway, which leads to Breinigsville and Kline's Corner. Wil- liam Sittler built the shop which is standing on the same site at present. William Sittler con- tinued the business until his death, Jan. 2, 1900. In 1892 his son, Henry Sittler, became associated with his father in the business at Trexlertown. After the death of his father the property went into his possession, being the only child. Being the sole successor of his father, he continued the business and is still operating the works. In 1901 Henry Sittler built a large warehouse and paint shop. In 1902 he purchased the Fogel's property below the railroad, which was formerly a grain depot, and upon which is a large building, which is used to store the agricultural imple- ments, and shedding for the storing of lumber. The buildings cover about one and one-half acres of land. The business is principally the manu- facture of farm wagons and agricultural imple- ments. The business has been successfully con- ducted since its beginning. There are seventeen

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men employed in the manufacture of these imple- ments.

Trexlertown Knitting Mills .- These mills are owned and operated by Silas G. Croll and John Y. Schultz, of Trexlertown. The mills were established in January, 1912. They occupy the store house and dwelling of the Gideon Yoder estate. The company purchased the prop- erty from the Yoder estate in March, 1911. The property had previously been used as a general merchandise store, but for a number of years the merchandise business had been discon- tinued. The building occupied by the knitting mills is a brick structure, part of which is three stories high and the dwelling part which is two stories high. The building is 27 feet by 50 feet and 27 feet by 40 feet. On the first floor are ten Nye and Tredick knitting machines, each machine having a capacity from 20 to 25 dozen per day. These machines are operated by two operators. On the second floor are eight finish- ing machines operated by eight operators, each machine having a capacity of 50 dozen per day. On this floor are also a number of stock rooms. When the plant is running full it produces 175 dozen finished wear per day. The product of these mills is underwear. The power to run these machines is furnished by a steam boiler and engine. An electric dynamo is also attached, which furnishes the power for the lights which are used for lighting purposes in the mills. Since their establishment the mills have been running regularly, except during a part of the summer months, a part of July and a part of August, dur- ing which months industries of this class are usually not in operation. The mills employ 15- 17 operators regularly, and besides these there are from 30-40 in private homes, who at their leisure perform the work of taping. These mills are the youngest industry in the township.

Fogelsville Shirt Mills .- These mills were put into operation June, 1912. They are the branch of the Alburtis Shirt Mills, operated by R. F. and R. J. Butz. This branch was started to in- crease the output of the Alburtis shirt mills. There is always a great demand for the manu- facture of shirts and therefore these mills took this step to supply the increasing demand made upon their plant. These mills are located in the building which was formerly used as a canning factory at Fogelsville. The building is owned by L. J. Mohr. In the spring of 1912 arrange- ments were made between the operating company and the owner of the property for the manufac- ture of shirts. An agreement was made and the operating company rented the building. Imme- diately steps were taken to install machinery. Twenty-two machines were installed, stitchers

and two union specials. The room which is occu- pied by the mills is 30 feet by 60 feet. In June, 1912, the factory was put into operation. This was a new style of industry for the community and it took some time before enough hands could be secured to operate the factory. After having been in operation for nearly two years the indus- try promises to be a permanent fixture for the community. There are twenty men, women, boys, and girls employed in the mills. The work which is done is the making of sleeves. These are then taken to the Alburtis shirt mills where they are used in the manufacture of finished shirts. The operators have in this short time de- veloped a large degree of proficiency, producing nearly 700 dozen pairs of sleeves per week. The machines are driven by the power furnished by a large gasoline engine. The mills have been running uninterruptedly since their establish- ment, except for the making of necessary repairs.

VILLAGES.

There are a number of villages in the town- ship, the largest of which are Trexlertown, Fog- elsville, Breinigsville, and Chapman's.

Trexlertown is a post village, distant eight miles from Allentown, on the road from Al- lentown to Reading, which was founded by the Trexlers. It is situated along the route of the Reading and Allentown Traction Com- pany. It is regarded as the oldest town in the valley, the Macungie valley. It has a Reformed and Lutheran church, two schools, three hotels, a store, a tinsmith shop, a Masonic hall, and a grain, coal, and lumber depot. It is situated along the Catasauqua and Fogelsville railway, in the midst of a fertile farming district. It was formerly a great center for the mining of iron- ore. The population is 400, occupying nearly fifty dwellings.

Dr. Pulte practiced medicine at Trexlertown many years ago, removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he founded a medical college. He died there in 1883. Dr. W. S. Herbst practiced med- icine here for many years. Dr. H. H. Herb re- sides here and practices medicine.

Fogelsville was named after Judge John Fogel, who built the old hotel in 1798, which was the first building in the place. This building was torn down in 1883, and on the same site a large and commodious brick tavern was erected by Kistler and Lenhart. Here Judge Fogel carried the trade of dyeing, kept a hotel, and a small store. Most of the old landmarks have disap- peared. The old stone building in which Solo- mon and Willoughby Fogel kept store is still standing, but in late years has been greatly re- modelled. The town has some very nice resi-

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dences, two hotels, two churches, an Odd Fel- lows' hall, two schools, three stores, a tailor- ing establishment, a saddler-shop, a shirt-factory, and a grain and lumber and coal depot, with which a creamery is also connected. A limestone quarry is situated here, from which stones were taken for building purposes, and from which lime was formerly burned, but which is now used to furnish stones for the improvement of the roads. Formerly it had two savings banks, which, however, were closed during the panic of 1873. It has a postoffice, and is the town- ship seat where all the elections are held, for the upper district, of the township. It has a popu- lation of 425, occupying 72 dwellings. Fogels- ville has the honor of sending forth from its midst more professional men than any other town of its size in the entire county. Among them were some of the ablest preachers of their generation, able and successful physicians, able teachers, successful university professors, and sev- eral very able musicians. Among the foremost clergymen were Rev. W. A. Helffrich, D.D., and Rev. E. J. Fogel, D.D., both of whom have passed into the great beyond, and Rev. Madison Peters, D.D., of New York City. There is a physician residing in the place, Dr. C. E. Hel- ffrich, son of the late Rev. W. A. Helffrich, D.D., one minister of the Gospel, several school teachers and two university professors, one of which is an ordained minister of the Gospel.

East Fogelsville, which is about three-fourths of a mile distant from Fogelsville proper, no doubt was given the foregoing name on account of its proximity to the parent town. This vil- lage was established in 1905, since the erection of the Fogelsville Mills of the Lehigh Portland Ce- ment Company. This village was established by the company for the housing of its employees, for which purpose substantial and convenient dwell- ings were erected. A schoolhouse was erected by the township for the convenience of the people living in this section. This village has a popula- tion of 135, occupying thirty-three dwellings.

There is also a village composed mostly of foreigners, who are employed at the Fogelsville Mills, situated about one mile northwest from Fogelsville. The dwellings were erected by the Lehigh Portland Cement Company for the hous- ing of the foreign element, working at the Fog- elsville Mills. The population of this village is about 200 living in about twenty-four dwellings.

Breinigsville is a beautiful village located along a branch of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway, a branch of the P. and R. Railway. The town was named after George Breinig, who settled on a tract of land in its vicinity, contain- ing 123 acres in 1789. This property is now

in the possession of Charles Breinig. The origi- nal dwelling is still standing.

The town was formerly a great center for the mining of iron-ore, and furnished employment to many men. These mines have been abandoned. It has a United Brethren church, one school, one store, a hotel, a lumber, grain, and coal depot, and a carriage works, and a postoffice, and a veterinary surgeon. The population is 200, liv- ing in forty-five dwellings.

Chapman's; a small village on the Catasauqua and Fogelsville railway, and about eight miles distant from Allentown, was named after Charles W. Chapman, formerly superintendent of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway. Since the building of the Fogelsville mills of the Le- high Portland Cement Company, this village has been enthused with new life which has resulted in the erection of a number of modern dwellings. It has a postoffice named Litzenberg, one store, a hotel, a grain, coal, and lumber depot, and a blacksmith shop. It has a population of 117, occupying thirty-three dwellings.

Ruppsville, Krocksville, Newtown, and Haafs- ville sometimes called Frogtown are smaller vil- lages of the township, which have no postoffices.

CHURCHES.

Trexlertown Church .- The Rev. Michael Schlatter, the missionary who sailed from Hol- land in 1746, mentions in his journal that he visited the Trexlertown congregation on the 25th of June, 1747, and that on the 29th of January, 1749, he received letters from this con- gregation to come to administer the communion to its members, which Rev. Philip Boehm took upon himself to do at the earnest request of Rev. Schlatter. In spite of the foregoing facts it is found that only on the 26th of May, 1784, was the erection of a church edifice begun. This building, the dimensions of which were 46 feet by 60 feet, is still standing and used as a house of worship by the congregations at Trexlertown. The cornerstone was laid with appropriate re- ligious services, into which four kinds of grain were placed, wheat, rye, oats, and buckwheat, besides the creeds of both the Reformed and Lu- theran denominations, a bottle of wine, and the constitution of the church. The church was erected as a union church, for the worship of both Reformed and Lutheran congregations, and that neither congregation might take advantage of the other, and that neither might be censured, the above mentioned articles were deposited into the cornerstone by twelve small children. In the choosing of the name for the church, lots were cast to determine which of the congrega- tions should be mentioned first, and the name

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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Reformed was always to be mentioned first, so that the church is known by the name of the Re- formed and Lutheran church of Trexlertown. The church was consecrated to the worship of Almighty God on the 17th of April, 1785, Rev. Tohn Helffrich, representing the Reformed con- gregation and Rev. Caspar Diehl representing the Lutheran congregation, officiating. The cen- tennial of the church was celebrated on Whit- suntide, 1884. The church has been repaired at different times and modernized. In 187,9 a steeple was erected, and a bell weighing 1,100 pounds was installed, at an expense of $1,400. The house for the sexton, belonging to the church, was rebuilt at a cost of $800. In addition to the old burial ground, a cemetery was purchased later on, which was laid out into burial lots. The congregations are strong, numerically and finan- cially. Thie pastors who have served the Re- formed congregations are the following: Rev. John H. Helffrich, 1784-1810; Rev. Jacob Wil- liam Dechant, 1811-1815; Rev. Daniel Zellers, 1815-1857; Rev. A. J. G. Dubbs, 1857-1876; Rev. Thomas Reber, 1876-1891; Rev. M. H. Brensinger, 1891 to the present. The pastors who have served the Lutheran congregation are the following: Rev. Caspar Diehl, 1784-1806; Rev. Henry Anastasius Geissenhainer, April 15, 1806-1814; Rev. George Wertman, and Rev. J. Doering, 1814-1837; Rev. Jeremiah Schindel, 1837-1859; Rev. E. B. Kramlich, 1859-1903 ; Rev. Irwin B. Ritter, 1903-1908. Rev. David Kauffman, who began his pastorate in 1909 and continues as pastor at present.

St. John's Reformed Church, at Fogelsville .- This church was organized as a Union church by the members of the Trexlertown and Ziegel churches. Jacob Moyer and Judge John Fogel donated one and one-half acres of land upon which to erect a church and to be used for burial purposes. At a meeting held October 4, 1834, it was decided to build a Union Lutheran and Re- formed church. A building committee was elect- ed, composed of Henry Mohr, and Jacob Moyer (Reformed) ; and John Lichtenwalner, and Daniel Schlauch (Lutheran) ; and Solomon Fogel, treasurer; Benjamin Fogel, John Keck, Peter Musselman, and Jonathan Mohr were ap- pointed to solicit subscriptions. The cornerstone was laid on Whitsuntide, 1835, at which occasion Rev. John Helffrich preached the sermon. The church was dedicated in the fall of the same year. On Nov. 15, 1835, an election was held for pastors, which resulted in Rev. C. G. Her- man being chosen by the Reformed congregation, and Rev. Isaac Roeller, by the Lutheran congre- gation. Rev. C. G. Herman continued to serve the congregation until Feb. 23, 1862, when his

son, Rev. A. J. Herman, succeeded him. Rev. Isaac Roeller resigned as pastor of the Lutheran congregation, January 6, 1850, who was succeed- ed, March 3, 1850, by Rev. Jeremiah Schindel. Rev. E. H. M. Sell succeeded Rev. Schindel. Rev. O. E. Leopold became the pastor in 1861. In 1874 the Lutheran congregation, with their pastor, Rev. O. E. Leopold, withdrew from the old church and built the St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church, a sketch of which follows. A few of the Lutheran congregation, however, re- mained in the old church, organized, and called Rev. W. G. Mennig as their pastor, who was assisted by Rev. C. E. Hay. Rev. Singmaster preached for the Lutheran congregation until 1896. Since that time there have been no serv- ices conducted by any Lutheran congregation. Most of the Lutheran membership remaining with the mother church have become members of the Reformed congregation. The church is solely used by the Reformed at present.

The church edifice which was originally a building, 60 feet long and 40 feet wide was built of stone and was plastered on the outside. This structure was extensively remodelled in the last few years, 1910-1911. An addition of 20 feet was built to the length and 40 feet in width to correspond with the former structure. The gal- leries were torn out, the floor was raised, and a basement was made and equipped for the use of the Sunday school, which had formerly met in the school house. The auditorium was equipped with new furniture, the floors carpeted, the walls frescoed, and an acetylene gas plant was installed for lighting purposes. A gallery was built in the rear, thus giving the auditorium a seating capacity of 400. The building is heated by steam heat. The cost of the remodelling was $9,000. The re-consecration of the church building took place on the 4th of June, 1911. The following min- isters took part in the services: Rev. P. H. Fogel, of Fogelsville; Rev. James O. Oswald, of Slat- ington; Rev. Madison Peters, of New York City, and the pastor. In 1913 a pipe organ was installed at a cost of $2,100. The following ministers took part in the services of dedication which were held on the first of June, 1913; Rev. C. E. Kerschner, of Allentown; Rev. W. F. Curtis, president of the Allentown College for Women; Rev. W. L. Meckstroth, of Mertz- town, Pa .; Rev. William U. Helffrich, of Bath, Pa., student, Henry J. Herber; Rev. E. J. La- ros, of Philadelphia, and the pastor.

The first consistory of the Reformed congre- gation was composed of the following: Elder, Jacob Moyer; deacons: Joseph Fry, Jonathan Mohr, Isaac Haas, and Henry Rauch. The first officers of the Lutheran congregation were the

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following: Elder, Adam Litzenberger; deacons, Samuel Fetherolf, John Lichtenwalner, Daniel Kuntz, and Henry Stettler. The first Sunday school superintendent was A. W. Held. The fol- lowing Lutheran ministers served in this church: Rev. Isaac Roeller, 1835-1850; Rev. J. Schindel, 1850-1858; Rev. E. H. M. Sell, 1859-1860; Rev. Owen Leopold, 1861-1874. After the de- parture of the Lutheran congregation, the fol- lowing ministers of the General Synod Lutheran Church preached here: Rev. W. G. Minnich, Sept. 3, 1875-July 1, 1883 ; Rev. Hay, Aug. 26, 1883-July 27, 1884; Rev. J. A. Singmaster, Oct. 5, 1884-Jan. 9, 1887; Rev. Berndt, Feb. 20, 1887-Oct. 25, 1887; Rev. Fritch, March 30, 1888-March 21, 1891; Rev. J. A. Singmaster, April 26, 1891-Nov. 1, 1896, after which the Lutheran services were discontinued.

St. John's Lutheran Church, Fogelsville, Pa. -A meeting of the members of St. John's Lu- theran congregation, hitherto worshipping in the old Union church, was held Dec. 14, 1872, to take such action in reference to the building of a new church as seemed proper to them. The ob- ject of the meeting was expressed in the follow- ing words: "Whereas, the house of worship built by our fathers, and in which they were accus- tomed to assemble for the purpose of worshipping their God, has become more or less dilapidated, and is no longer meeting our wants, and, believ- ing it to be due to the memory of our fathers that we should not suffer any dilapidation of that which they have reared for us, but, on the con- trary, to profit by their example and continue the work by them commenced, and believing that the time has arrived in which a new and appropriate house of worship could be built by taking proper action, therefore a preliminary meeting of some of the Lutheran members was held in order to devise means by which such a result might be ob- tained."

Encouraged by liberal subscriptions from the members, a building committee was appointed, consisting of John H. Lichtenwalner, Joseph Miller, Samuel Kuhns, Moses Rabenold, and Adam Stettler. In order to avoid dissatisfaction an election was held, Feb. 8, 1873, for the pur- pose of ascertaining whether the Lutheran mem- bers of St. John's Lutheran church were in favor of dissolving the relation hitherto existing be- tween them and the Reformed congregation, which resulted in favor of a separation, by a large majority, only four dissenting. The build- ing committee took immediate steps to prosecute the work of erecting a new church, and on May 24, 1874, the cornerstone was laid. Services were conducted in the Union church, in which Revs. S. K. Brobst, Professor G. F. Miller, M.

J. Kramlich, and O. E. Leopold, the pastor, par- ticipated. The church was dedicated July 4, 1875, on which occasion Revs. William Rath, J. D. Schindel, M. J. Kramlich, and O. E. Leopold took part in the services. The church edifice is a brick building, seventy feet in length and forty feet in width, with a basement for Sunday school purposes, and was erected at a cost of $13,000. The pastor at the time of the erection of the church, was Rev. O. E. Leopold. d. The first church council consisted of the following: El- ders, Samuel Kuhns and John H. Lichtenwalner ; deacons, Joseph Miller, Edwin B. Clause, Moses Rabenold, and Charles Musselman; trustees, Henry Stine, treasurer ; Samuel Kuhns. The first superintendent of the Sunday school was John · Lichtenwalner.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 163

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1158

Author: Roberts, Charles Rhoads; Stoudt, John Baer, 1878- joint comp; Krick, Thomas H., 1868- joint comp; Dietrich, William Joseph, 1875- joint comp; Lehigh County Historical Society
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Allentown, Pa. : Lehigh Valley Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1158