History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 4

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

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IRON ORE.

During a period of about 75 years iron min- ing was carried on extensively in Lehigh county and many iron furnaces were supplied entirely by local ore. With the discovery of vast beds of iron ore in the Lake Superior district and else- where and the improvement in railroad trans- portation, iron mining in Lehigh county has de- clined rapidly during the last two decades. The numerous abandoned open-cut iron mines in the limestone valley southwest and northwest of Al- lentown remind one of the former activity in this line.

Evidence is not at hand regarding the first irort mine opened in Lehigh county but it was proba- bly in the vicinity of Shimersville as there is where the first furnace was erected in 1809. Since that time it is probable that some ore has been mined in the county every year up to the present. Although much ore has been removed there is much evidence that great bodies of ore still remain and no doubt will eventually be uti- lized.

The iron ore of Lehigh county occurs in two forms. In the gneisses of South mountain there are beds and veins of magnetite iron ore that have been extensively worked near Emaus and Vera Cruz Station, while in the quartzite northeast of Emaus on the north slope of South mountain and in the limestone valleys on both sides of South mountain limonite iron ore occurs in bodies. The largest production of iron ore has probably come from the vicinity of Ironton, Guth's Station, and the Saucon Valley.

Most of the limonite ore seems to have been worked by open pit, although underground min- ing was carried on in many places, while the magnetite ore was entirely worked by means of shafts.

ZINC ORE.

In 1845 Mr. T. H. Roepper, of Bethlehem, discovered a deposit of zinc ore near Friedens- ville in the Saucon Valley but it was not until 1853 that plans for working it were prepared. A plant was then built and operations started in the fall of the latter year. Both spelter and zinc oxide was made, the ore being especially well adapted for the latter purpose.

From 1853 to 1876 the Ueberroth mine was worked almost continuously and a great amount

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

of ore removed. It was again re-opened in 1886 and in 1891 but only a small amount of ore was produced. Other mines opened were the Hart- man, New Hartman, Correll, and Three-Corner- ed Lot.

The ore consisted of calamine and smithson- ite at the surface and zinc blende below 150 feet. With depth the amount of water encountered became so great that it became necessary to in- stal the largest pump that had been constructed up to that time. It had a capacity of 17,000 gal- lons per minute from the 300-foot level.

The zinc mines have now been idle for more that 20 years 'but at some time will undoubtedly be re-opened as the ore body has not been es- hausted.

COPPER ORE.

In certain places throughout the southeastern part of the county copper stains, consisting of the green mineral malachite, have been observed in the Brunswick conglomerate. Just east of the Lehigh county boundary line attempts have been made to find a body of copper ore of sufficient value to work but without success.

GOLD ORE.

A few miles west of Coopersburg in the Bruns- wick Conglomerate gold was reported to have been found several years ago and considerable money expended in development work but, if any gold was actually found, it occurred in such small amount that the project was abandoned. It is extremely improbable that gold in commercial quantities exists in Lehigh county.

PYRITE ORE.

Iron pyrite has been noted in many places in the South mountain hills in association with magnetite iron ore but has never been worked. The largest deposits seem to be near Emaus and about 2 miles northwest of Breinigsville.

MANGANESE ORE.

Manganese oxide occurs in many places in small amounts associated with the brown iron ore. In one place between Mountainville and Emaus the ore was worked at one time.

OCHER.

Ocher is found in almost every brown iron ore deposit in the county but has been used in only a few places. In most operations the ocher was washed from the ore and thrown away as useless. Near Trexlertown and Breinigsville some of these washings caught by dams have re- cently been worked as they were found to be of value for paints. In a few places in the vicinity of Alburtis and Wescoesville deposits of iron ore and ocher have been worked primarily for the ocher, the iron ore being regarded as the by- product.

GRAPHITE.

Graphite gneisses occur in two places in Le- high county, about I mile east of Vera Cruz Station and on the top of South Mountain about I mile east of Emaus. Considerable development work has been done at both places, especially the former locality, but no concentrating mill has ever been constructed.

CORUNDUM.

Corundum in the form of large barrel-shaped crystals has been found 1/2 mile north of Shim- ersville where a trench has been dug along the vein for a considerable distance. It is question- able whether the corundum occurs in commer- cial quantities.

MICA.

Pegmatite veins carrying large crystals of mica are occasionally found cutting the gneiss in the South mountain hills. At one time an at- tempt was made to mine the mica in one of these veins between South Bethlehem and Allentown but apparently the project was unsuccessful.

MOLYBDENITE.

Thin flakes of molybdenite are common in the rock quarried for ballast about 3/4 mile east of Vera Cruz. The locality is of interest only from a mineralogical standpoint as there is too small an amount to ever be utilized commercially.

CHAPTER II.

FLORA OF LEHIGH COUNTY HAROLD W. PRETZ

In general the flora of Lehigh county is that of the Middle Atlantic states. In so far as there are included within the county a number of spe- cies of wide distribution that it shares in com- mon with this general region, this statement is correct ; but if a clear understanding of the char- acter of its flora is desired, an inquiry into the relation of its flora with that of the general re- gion of which it is a part, is not only desirable but necessary. The flora of any given area con- sists of all the plant species within that area, col- lectively and systematically considered, including this inquiry into its relations. It is manifestly impossible within the scope of so brief a space as a chapter to treat adequately these relations, but a few considerations of interest with reference to the flora of the county may be briefly indicated.

Various factors combine to give a flora its peculiar character. Those having to do with the general distribution of plant life may be grouped under historical (including geologic and physio- graphic) factors, and climatic, of which temper- ature is the most important.

Since earliest times temperature has been recognized as a chief factor in the distribution of organic life, and the surface of the earth has been divided into characteristic areas of organic life called "zones." The lines bounding these areas are inaccurate to a large degree, nevertheless the areas that they bound are well characterized. There are subdivisions based on the same factor, and this country has been thus divided by various writers according to their different conceptions. The investigations along these lines by C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the United States Biological Survey and his associates are perhaps best known .*

According to the latest revision of these zonal lines, Lehigh county as far as its flora is con- cerned should probably be included entirely within the Alleghenian area of the Transition.

The Transition zone is the ground upon which the species of the great Boreal and Austral zones meet and is characterized according to Merriam "as a whole by comparatively few distinctive ani- mals and plants, but rather by the occurrence together of southern species which here find their northern limit, and northern species which here find their southern limit."

Adjoining the Transition zone is a zonal area called Upper Austral, known in the east as Caro- linian. In this latitude the limit of the Caro- linian area coincides very closely with the Fall line of the so-called Coastal Plain. In Bucks county, just south of Lehigh, and in the counties thence westward there occur areas where typical Carolinian species occur in association. These areas trend rather definitely eastward and west- ward, roughly paralleling the mountains, and mark the extension northward in that direction of typical Carolinian association. There are no such areas of characteristic Carolinian associa- tion within Lehigh county. However, owing to its position with reference to this zonal division, it can be readily seen why certain species fre- quent in such associations are found to occur in isolated localities within Lehigh county.

In close relation to the changes affecting the flora of this general region during successive geologic periods is the influence of the Pleistocene or Glacial Period, the geological period imme- diately preceding the present.

In this immediate region, the Terminal Mo- raine of the last ice invasion crosses the upper end of Northampton county, and continues west- ward across the Pocono plateau as well as east- ward across the state of New Jersey. The in- fluence of glaciation on the topography of the region in which it occurs is very marked. Be- sides such evidences as erosion and the occurrence of deposits of drift, extensive marshes, bogs, swamps and small lakes abound as is well illus- trated for instance in northern New Jersey. Marshes, etc., of this character are absent from Lehigh county and many of the species normally of more northern distribution found in associa- tion in such habitats do not occur here.

The effect of the advance of the great ice sheets was to cause the flora of the regions in- vaded to migrate southward and the flora in the

*Laws of temperature control the geographic distribution of terrestial animals and plants. "Nat'l Geogr. Mag., vol. 6, pp. 229 to 238, 3 col. maps, 1894"; The geographic distribution of animals and plants in North America, Yearbook Dept. Agr. for 1894, pp. 203 to 214; Life Zones and Crop Zones of the United States, Bull. No. 10, Div. Biol. Surv., U. S. Dept. Agr.

HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

south in turn to move further southward. The result was an intermingling of forms. Upon the recession of the ice, the movement was reversed and the flora again migrated with changing con- ditions. The northern species thus followed the receding ice sheet and were gradually replaced by the southern species migrating northward ex- cept in such congenial habitats within the gla- ciated region as the marshes, etc., and the tops of the higher mountains. Here they are still to be found in an association peculiar to such regions and habitats. ,In congenial habitats further south not due to glaciation some of these species still exist as outposts of this retreating flora. Some such examples occur in Lehigh county though many of the species that occur within the gla- ciated area of Northampton county are not repre- sented here.

These larger considerations do not include many factors which determine not only the local distribution of the many species within any area but also not infrequently their occurrence or ab- sence. Congenial habitats for different species are the result of several factors among which are the agencies recognized in geology that have to do with the physiographic features that surround us. These habitats vary with the different geological formations in which they occur.

Of these factors perhaps of greatest importance are the physical and chemical characteristics of the soils resulting from the geological formations. Thus the soil of the limestone region is charac- terized by greater fertility than the colder, moister soil of the shale region. The rather fre- quent occurrence, often in abundance, of the Walking Leaf [Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link.] and the Purple Cliff Brake [ Pellæa atro- purpurea (L.) Link.] on the outcrops of shale and limestone in the county is an illustration of preference as to rock formation. The Wall Rue (Asplenium Ruta-muraria L), relatively less fre- quent and abundant on our limestone outcrops, is another. None of these ferns are quoted as occurring exclusively on calcareous rocks but all and especially the last two are often either absent or rare in regions of other formations within the range of their general distribution .. .

Indication of such soil preferences are becom- ing more frequent in current botanical literature. Downy Golden Rod (Solidago puberula Nutt.) for instance is said to grow "In dry or sandy soil * *

* mainly near the coast" and "near the coast and on sandstone rocks in the Appa- lachian mountain system." This beautiful Gold- enrod is abundant along the base of the Kitta- tinny mountains in the county but the writer has never seen it anywhere on the South mountains

or elsewhere in the county excepting in sandy soil east of Wescoesville, an occurrence perhaps explained by a local geological factor. The lovely Trailing Arbutus (Epigæa repens L.) is a frequent species of the South and Kittatinny mountains and is not rare on the shale slopes along the Jordan. Like some other members of the Heath family it does not like limestone and at least in the county has never been recorded, c.s far as the writer knows, on soil of this forma- tion.

The forest cover of the South mountains, and southward in the county, is practically purely de- ciduous in character ; but Conifers become mixed with the cover northward principally along the streams, until along the Kittatinny mountains and on its slopes they are well represented. Only in relatively few places locally do Conifers pre- dominate. On some of the steep shale slopes along the Jordan creek practically pure stands of Hemlock occur, which give a peculiar beauty and character to the scenery of this stream. This species and the White Pine (Pinus Strobus L), which is not rare locally especially northward near the Kittatinny mountains, are both north- ern forms that become relatively less abundant away from the mountains in this latitude. Our woodlands are frequently denuded and when this mixed cover is removed the succeeding cover is usually purely deciduous in character. The de- ciduous type is the more accurately adjusted to conditions except perhaps in a few situations and is therefore the dominant type of arborescent vegetation in the county.

What has just been said of a dominant type of arborescent vegetation is true of herbaceous and all other vegetation as well, though probably to a lesser extent. Many of our rarer species are found only in the marshy or boggy lowlands, the mountain bogs, the richer woods, etc. Many of these habitats are destroyed by man, or through natural causes and the rarer species disappear with them. Denudation of a woodland bog will often so change conditions that an invading host of species more accurately adjusted to the changed conditions will almost entirely replace the spe- cies dependent on the tree cover for protection. These invading species in turn retreat before the growing tree cover, and original conditions are apparently restored. This is in a measure true but many of the original species have perished in the meanwhile and are absent. This is the in- evitable result when the equilibrium of a plant association is disturbed.

Some changes have occurred within the history of the white man's occupancy in the county. When the first settlers crossed the South moun-

FLORA.

tains into the Great or Kittatinny valley, forests covered the land. Now this forest is mostly confined to the more precipitous slopes of our mountains and along our streams or is scattered in small pieces among the cultivated fields. A large proportion of the county is given over to agricul- ture, and low meadows normally rich in native species are in pasture or under cultivation. With the white man has come a host of invading spe- cies that in many cases enrich our flora only by name and give it no distinction. More often than not these introduced species represent an organic factor that disturbs the adjustment of native plant associations.

"It. would appear to a certain extent from its position that Lehigh county is so placed as to include within its boundaries many normally 'southern' and 'northern' plants. It is true that on account of these extensions the flora of the county is rich and that some species apparently have their limit of extension within the county, but it is doubtful whether Lehigh county equals in number of species any of the counties that bound it, with the possible exception of those to the north. This is an inference due to a review of some of the factors influencing the flora of this region, which have been briefly sketched. Thus, Berks, Montgomery, Bucks, and North- ampton counties include within their boundaries many of the species of typical association in the mountains to the northwest, principally along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. All of these counties, excepting Northampton, are rich in ex- tensions of Carolinian flora, which extends well up the river valleys. Northampton county shares with Lehigh the Lehigh river, and in addi- tion its flora is enriched by the addition of a num- ber of species associated with the glaciated re- gion, besides such species as find their way into that county along the Delaware river. Whether the position of Lehigh county is unique with

reference to the flora of the region when com- pared with these bounding counties will best be proven by future records. It has seemed suffi- cient to the writer merely to indicate such a possi- bility.

Like the forests, many of the species that give to our flora its peculiar character are scattered. Though the region is rich in species, it is only by constant search that many of the now rarer ones are detected in isolated habitats 'that have pre- served their original character. These habitats are constantly threatened and in the no distant future the occurrence of many of our present spe- cies within the county will be chiefly historical.

The general region of which Lehigh county is a part is thus gradually being occupied by a cli- max vegetation, that is, by forms of plant life that are most accurately adjusted to the condi- tions. Change is the very essence of evolution, and if we can conceive of a flora as a living thing continually changing through or by innumerable influences, we can in a measure realize the dif- ficulty of presenting any characterization that will outlive the immediate present. Within the limited space here allotted the writer, even such a presentation is impossible. It has seemed best therefore to touch briefly on certain controlling influences with respect to local flora, rather than to note the names of a few of the many species necessary to characterize properly the present status of the flora, and omit the necessary criti- cal comment that should accompany such men- tion. By thus defining the position of the county through its relation to some of these controlling influences, the character of the flora may be suf- ficiently well indicated, excepting perhaps for some species of rare occurrence and also for those at the limit of their range in a certain direction.

*Flora of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Intro- duction. Harold W. Pretz. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 38: 45-78. 1911.

CHAPTER III.

THE LENNI LENAPE OR DELAWARE INDIANS ALFRED FRANKLIN BERLIN

Corr. Member, Anthropological Society, Washington, D. C .; Corr. Member, Archaeological Association University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Hon. Member Royal Italian Didactic Society, Rome, Italy, with Gold

Medal. Hon. Member Alabama Historical Society, Montgomery, Alabama; Corr. Member Wy- oming Historical and Geological Society, Wilkes-Barre, Pa .; Charter Member Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pennsylvania, etc.

Between the years 1500-1600 the Algonkin Nation, then at the height of its prosperity occu- pied the Atlantic Coast from the Savannah River on the South to the Strait of Belle Isle on the North. The whole of New Foundland was in their possession, and in Labrador they were neighbors to the Eskimo. Some of the sub-tribes of this great nation to which linguistically be- longed the Lenni Lenape, wandered as far west as the Rocky Mountains. They surrounded on all sides that ferocious, crafty and diplomatic people called the Iroquois, who with the Hurons, it is said, presented the finest type of the North American Indian. In state-craft and diplomacy the more peaceful Delawares, of whom we are about to write, were not equal to the Iroquois, and often later on did they have reason to regret having listened to their blandishments.

The name Lenni Lenape, we are told by the Moravian Missionary, Heckewelder, is the na- tional and proper one of this tribe and signifies "original people," a race of human beings who are the same that they were in the beginning. The late eminent anthropological authority, Dr. D. G. Brinton, combats this and believes that the word means a "male of our kind" or "one more." He came to this conclusion after a careful ex- amination, as he says, in all its parts of the word.

Living in greatest numbers on both banks of the Delaware river, they were given this name by the Europeans then assembling here. Think- ing the title thus given them was one of derision, they objected to it until they were told it was a complimentary one: that it was the name of a great white chief, Lord De la War, and that the river, on the banks of which they lived, and from which they derived their sustenance was given the same name. After this explanation they were greatly pleased. According to tradi- tions handed down to them by their ancestors the Lenni Lenape people lived many hundred years ago in a distant country, in the Western part of the American continent. For some un- accountable reason they determined to migrate

eastward, and in a body set out together in that direction. After a very long journey, and many nights' encampments by the way -. this meaning a halt of one year at a place-they at length reached the Namaesi Sipu, or now the Missis- sippi river. The Lenape spies were told that the country toward which their people were emigrating was occupied by a very powerful na- tion, who had many large towns which were built on the great rivers flowing in every direction through their land.

When the Lenape reached the banks of the great river above mentioned, they sent a message to the Alligewi, the people occupying the country, asking permission to settle there. This request was refused, but they were given permission to pass through the land and seek a settlement fur- ther on. The Alligewi changing their mind on seeing the great numbers crossing the river made a furious attack on those who had reached their side, and threatened with destruction all of the others still remaining on the other side if they persisted in crossing. The Lenapé, aided by the Iroquois, who were also at the same time going eastward, declared war against their opponents. After many hard fought battles, in which many warriors fell on both sides, the Alligewi finding their destruction inevitable if they persisted in their obstinacy, abandoned the country to their conquerors, and fled southward from whence they never returned. This war, so they say, lasted many years and the brunt of it always fell upon the Lenapé, the crafty Iroquois hanging back in the rear, while the battles were fought. Through intrigue and craft they, the Iroquois, however, gained the land they desired, which was that bor- dering on the Great Lakes and their tributary streams. The Lenape took possession of the country to the South, and at last reached the large river upon which they lived when found by the Whites.

They say that the whole of their nation did not reach this country; but that part of it re- mained on the other side of the Mississippi on

INDIANS.

being informed of the reception met with by those who had crossed.

Another ethnological writer notes that this tribe whose traditional history reaches farther back in the past than that of any other native group east of the Rocky mountains appears to have been one of the oldest and, at some former period, one of the most powerful organizations of the Algonkin stock, being looked upon by other members of the family as ancestor or "grandfather" as they designated the tribe. According to their tradi- tion, preserved orally, and also scratched or painted on bark or wood, as interpreted by Dr. Horatio Hale, an eminent ethnological authority, they came from some point north of the Great Lakes in Canada, crossed the Straits of Mack- inaw into Michigan, thence southward into Ohio, where they turned eastward, keeping on their march over the Alleghanies to their historic seat, which they say they reached three hundred and seventy years ago, or about the closing of the Sixteenth century. It is a fact well known to the student of American anthropology, that be- fore the indian occupation of this geographical section, the Eskimo, now the most northern tribe of Aborigines roamed over it as far south as North Carolina. We are told in a tradition of the Tuscarora Indians, who claimed that they came to the Virginia coast about the year 1300, that they there met a race who knew nothing of the cultivation of maize but were eaters of raw flesh.

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History of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania and a genealogical and biographical record of its families, Vol. I, Part 4

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