History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 59

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532

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At this meeting 136 men joined the society. They chose for president Charles Dorrance; corresponding secretary, Thomas P. Hunt; librarian, L. D. Shoemaker, and the following vice-presidents: Charles D. Shoemaker, Kingston; Samuel Wad- hams, Plymouth; E. W. Sturdevant, Wilkes-Barre; Benjamin Harvey, Huntington; William W. Bronson, Carbondale; David G. Driesbach, Salem; Clark Sisson, Abing- ton; Abram Drum, Butler, and Calvin Parsons, Plains. At a meeting of the execu- tive committee two days later Anson A. Church was elected treasurer, and Thomas P. Atherton recording secretary.

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

James Jenkins offered fair grounds at Wyoming for four years free, fenced and provided with a trotting track, and the offer was accepted. Since the expiration of that time the grounds have been rented from several proprietors.

In the summer of 1859 an exhibition building, 100 covered stalls and a secre- tary's office were constructed, and a well was dug. The expense of these improve- ments was $1,436.48. In arranging for the fair of 1859 it was voted that there should be no "shows or Jim cracks " on the ground.

At the annual meeting held February 21, 1860, the number of vice-presidents was changed to twelve, and the time of meeting thereafter to the second Thursday in February.

By invitation of this society the State Agricultural society held its fair on the Wyoming grounds in 1860. Additional sheds and stalls were built for the occasion, which were bought by the county society for $100.

The proceeds of the fair of 1862 were appropriated to the aid of the families of soldiers engaged in the suppression of the Rebellion.

November 14, 1867, it was announced that James Jenkins, J. B. Schooley and John Sharps, Jr., wished to resume the occupancy of portions of the fair ground belonging to them, and arrangements for reducing it were made accordingly.

On July 5, 1873, it was voted to reorganize the society on a stock basis, shares being offered at $10 each. August 16 the reorganization was completed by the election of officers, including John Sharps as president, and ten vice-presidents, of which John B. Smith, of Kingston, was " first vice-president." That officer and the president, secretary and treasurer were made the executive committee.

At the annual meeting of 1879 it was voted to pay John Sharps $50 per year for the use of the fair grounds. The annual meetings, as well as the fairs of the society, have been held at Wyoming. Quarterly meetings of the executive commit- tee were held under the old regime.

The presidents of the society have been as follows: Charles Dorrance, 1858-68; Payne Pettebone, 1869-resigned September 11, and Peter Pursel was elected for the unfinished term and the next year; Ira Tripp, 1871; Steuben Jenkins, 1872-3; John Sharp, August 16, 1873, after the reorganization, and for the succeeding term; John M. Stark, 1875; J. B. Smith, 1876-9.

In 1891 the grounds were plotted and laid off into lots, and are now a part of Wyoming borough.

The fair association had dissolved previously, and the grounds had been deserted for fair purposes. This ended practically the struggle between agriculture and coal in the valley.

The only representative of the agricultural interests now in the county, repre- sented by a fair association, is that of Dallas, and this is appropriately located in the north part of the county, the only portion that can longer be classed as exclu- sively agricultural.

Concerning early industries in the country we take the following items from Stewart Pearce's Annals :

In 1812 Messrs. Buckingham, Cahoon, Tuttle & Parker erected a paper-mill on Toby's creek,in Kingston township,near the present flouring-mill of Col. Charles Dorrance, and the first paper manufactured was used in the printing office of the Gleaner during the same year.

In 1829, when the mill was owned by Mathias Hollenback, four men, one boy and ten girls were employed, producing, when working on foolscap writing paper, eight reams per day; when on super royal, five reams; and when on wrapping paper, ten reams per day. The entire work, except preparing the rags, was performed by hand, and the annual sales of paper amounted to about $7,000. It was the first paper manufactory erected in this county. It was abandoned several years ago, but it manifested the spirit and enterprise of the people of that day.

In 1778 John and Mason F. Alden erected a forge on Nanticoke creek, near

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Col. Washington Lee's gristmill in Newport township. It contained a single fire and one hammer. This hammer was brought from Philadelphia, in a wagon, to Harris' Ferry (Harrisburg) and thence up the Susquehanna in a boat. The iron ore of Newport produced about thirty-five per cent of metal, and was manufact- ured into bar iron, affording the only supply for the smith shops of that day. As to the quality of the iron, we have the testimony of several persons who used it, and who declared it to be of a superior sort, equal to the best bar iron of Centre county. In 1828, a short time before the works were abandoned, Col. Lee, then owner, sold bar iron at $120 per ton of 2,000 pounds.

In 1830 E. & J. Leidy erected a forge on the Nescopeck creek, in Nescopeck township, containing two hammers and three fires. They manufactured bar iron and blooms from the iron ore of Columbia county, and also from pig-metal. For several years Gen. Simon Cameron was connected with this forge, which finally passed into the bands of S. F. Headley, Esq., who enlarged the buildings, increased the number of fires and conducted the business successfully. The works were in operation until 1854, since which time they have been unemployed.

In 1811 Francis McShane erected a small cut-nail manufactory in Wilkes- Barre, and used anthracite coal in smelting the iron. He conducted a successful business for several years, selling nails by wholesale or retail to suit purchasers.

In 1836 George W. Little built a small charcoal furnace on Toby's creek, near the site of the old paper-mill. The wood for the charcoal was procured from the neighboring hills and mountains, and the iron ore was brought from Columbia county in boats to Wilkes-Barre, and carted thence to the furnace, about three miles, in wagons. Mr. Little and his successors, Benjamin Drake and others, found the business unprofitable, and after a few years the works were abandoned.

In 1842 H. S. Renwick, of New York city, erected an anthracite furnace, operated by steam-power, at Wilkes-Barre, eight feet in the boshes. These gentlemen carried on the manufacture of pig-iron for about one year, after which the furnace was suffered to lie idle until 1854. It was then purchased by John McCauley and the Messrs. Carter, of Tamaqua, who enlarged it and put it in blast.

The iron ore and limestone were transported by canal from Columbia county; and the works, under the direct management of Mr. McCauley, yielded six tons of iron per day. The establishment was consumed by fire in 1856, and has not been rebuilt.

In 1847 Samuel F. Headley, Esq., and the Messrs. Wilson, of Harrisburg, erected a charcoal furnace of water-power, eight feet in the boshes, at Shickshinny, and for several years manufactured a considerable quantity of superior pig-iron from the Columbia county and Newport ores, which they mixed. The charcoal-iron of this furnace was sought after by the owners of foundries in Bradford and other counties, as being superior for stove purposes. In 1852 Messrs. Headley & Wilson sold this furnace to William Koons. Mr. Koons built another furnace on Hunlock's creek, 11} feet in the boshes, and capable of manufacturing seventy-five tons of pig-metal per week.

In 1840 Thomas Chambers, E. R. Biddle & Co., erected a large rolling-mill and nail factory at South Wilkes-Barre, about one mile from the courthouse, at a cost of $300,000. While these works were in operation, during a year or two, Wilkes- Barre increased in population and business; but the establishment becoming involved, it was finally sold on a debt due the Wyoming bank. It was purchased by the Montour Iron company and transported to Danville. It seems strange that our capitalists would allow these works to be sold for one-fifth their value, and to be conveyed away to a neighboring county. This circumstance will act as a discour- agement to others, who, looking to our location in the midst of a superior coal field, might be inclined to establish manufactories here. It is beyond all question that a superior quality of iron can be profitably manufactured in Luzerne county by com- bining our ores with those of adjoining counties or States. What are essential to

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

success are intelligence, experience and prudent management. Surely, the day can not be very distant when the smoke of scores of furnaces will ascend from the valleys of Wyoming and Lackawanna.

The first engine constructed in the county for service was manufactured in Wilkes-Barre by Benjamin Drake and J. C. Smith, in 1836. Its cylinder was nine inches in diameter, with three feet stroke, and 15 horse power. It was placed in Smith's gristmill in Plymouth.

CHAPTER XIX.

CITY OF WILKES-BARRE.

THE PROUD QUEEN OF THE NORTH SUSQUEHANNA-FOUNDED BY JOHN DURKEE-FIRST SETTLERS-FIRST IMPROVEMENTS-FIRST HOUSE WAS ABBOTT'S, CORNER OF MAIN AND NORTHAMPTON STREETS-FORTS-REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLY PEOPLE AND BUILDINGS -BANKS, FACTORIES AND INDUSTRIES-CITY IMPROVEMENTS-ETC.

THE important city and the first settlement in Luzerne county is the one descrip- tive phrase applicable to this city. A beautiful city, queen of the Susquehanna north of Harrisburg to its source; a crown-jewel on the east bank of the river and in the center of the far-famed Wyoming valley; the county seat of Luzerne county, the center and hub from where flows out in every direction by electric and steam rail- roads, her rich trade, and the daily and hourly ever swelling stream of visitors for business and pleasure; a city truly, a rich and beautiful city, now invested with all that you may find in the way of luxuries in the great metropolis, as well as the forest trees, the flowing peaceful river and the pure air that comes of a rural life; where is elegance, refinement and culture; where there are more families of great wealth, comparatively to numbers, than can be found in any other city in the United States. A city that never had a "boom" but that now is forging ahead at a marvelous step, and on every hand are suburban boroughs that are progressing rapidly. Here is the capital of a county that is of itself a rich and distinct empire.

The settlement of Wilkes-Barre by whites began within the limits of the present town. According to a certified warrant many of Wilkes-Barre, which has been con- sulted, the land now embraced within the township limits was granted to the follow- ing named persons: Wilbur Bennett, Ebenezer Bowman, Samuel Bowman, Robert Bennett, Lord Butler, Hugh Conner, Aziel Dana, Anderson Dana, Amelia Durkee, Jabez Fish, Jesse Fell, Hugh Forseman, Matthias Hollenback, Rev. Jacob John- son, William Ross, Jonathan Slocum, Stephen Tuttle, Andrew Wickeizer, Conrad Wickeizer and Elizabeth Wigton.

Prior to 1772 the small population being busily engaged in the pioneer steps of agriculture, there was no organized local government, nor was such needed under the existing circumstances. Owing to the unsettled condition of civil affairs, arising from disputed proprietorship, the local government was inseparable from that of the five townships as organized by the Susquehanna company in 1773; each of which was entitled to three representatives whose duty it was to meet in Wilkes-Barre every three months for the settlement of any disputes which arose from time to time. June 2, 1773, Maj. John Durkee, Capt. Zebulon Butler and Obadiah Gore, Jr., residents of Wilkes-Barre, were appointed to serve in such capacity until the first Monday of the following December.

The laws were not elaborate, though sometimes enforced with undue zeal. They required that the people live orderly, soberly and peaceably, and they were im- partially executed. Idleness and disorder were punished at the whipping-post and

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

at the stocks. The more serious crimes of burglary and adultery were sometimes attended with exclusion from the community or forfeiture of property.

Lands in Wilkes-Barre, as the town was then bounded, were very cheap in the early days. From records of sales in 1772-3 it appears that lots brought the fol- lowing prices: July 6, 1772, Silas Gore sold to Jonathan Stowell of Ashford, Conn., for £20, one whole settling right, which included "the home or house lot No. 28, the meadow lot No. 50 and the third division or back lot No. 44." August 21, 1772, Asa Stephens sold to Enoch Judd for £43 one settling right, "being meadow lot No. 20, house lot No. 27, and back lot No. 8." February 22, 1773, Elijah Loomis, of Harrington, Litchfield county, Conn., sold to Elisha Swift a whole right, including "town lot No. 2, meadow lot 28 and back lot No. 26," for £100. The old Wilkes-Barre burying ground with an area of nearly three acres, was purchased in 1772 for £9 10d .; and in that burial place were laid to rest many whose names will live in the history of Wyoming long after the monuments erected to their memory shall have crumbled into dust-the fathers and mothers and defenders of the valley.

At the first town meeting for the town of Westmoreland, held March 1 and 2, 1774, Wilkes-Barre was made a district of the said town, which included all of the settlements from the Delaware river to fifteen miles beyond the Susquehanna, and from the Lehigh north to Tioga Point.

In 1776 a struggle occurred between Wilkes-Barre and Kingston for the county seat of Westmoreland, which, during that year, was created a county by the assembly of Connecticut. The contest terminated disastrously to the last-named settlement. The first court of the new county was held at Fort Wyoming, on the river bank at the foot of Northampton street. From 1778 to 1782, when the Connecticut juris- diction ceased, the courts were held in Fort Wilkes-Barre on the public square.

In the measures taken by the authorities of the town of Westmoreland for the , public weal and progress, residents of Wyoming, the Wilkes-Barre district bore an important and conspicuous part, holding many offices; but the civil history of West- moreland, embracing so extensive a territory, can not be treated in an article relating to the township or city of Wilkes-Barre, which by a decree of the county court in 1790 became one of the eleven original townships of Luzerne county. Those honored with positions of trust in the town of Westmoreland were Zebulon Butler, Anderson Dana and other residents of Wilkes-Barre. Capt. Butler was chosen moderator at the first and several succeeding town meetings.

After a period of rivalry on the part of the citizens of Kingston, Wilkes-Barre was regarded as the most important point in the town, and there most of the public business was transacted. At the second town meeting, held April 1 and 12, 1774, it was voted ".that for ye present ye tree that now stands northerly from Capt. Butler's house shall be ye town sign-post." This house stood on the corner of Northampton and River streets, in the town plot, and the tree stood on the river bank.

"This matter of a legal sign-post," says Miner, "is of weightier import than, without explanation, might be imagined. Newspapers were little known in those days, save in the larger cities. It had, therefore, been enacted that a sign-post be established in each town, on which notices of public sale, stray animals taken up, etc., should be nailed or placed to render them legal. It is proper to add that, as an accompaniment to the sign-post, which was also the legal whipping-post, a pair of stocks was provided for a punishment of the guilty and warning to deter from crime. These (now abjured) monuments of civilization and law were derived from England, and brought over, nay, almost venerated by our Puritan fathers." That this tree had previously been used as a public sign-post is evident from a notice dated November 18, 1772, which can be seen at the rooms of the Historical and Geological society. It is a call for a town meeting of the proprietors, and shows the perforations of the tacks which held it to the tree. By the operation of the

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Trenton decree of December 30, 1782, the jurisdiction of Wyoming was transferred from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, and the town of Westmoreland ceased to exist.

Upon the erection of Luzerne county a strife arose between Wilkes-Barre and Forty Fort, in Kingston, as to which should be the county seat town, which, for various reasons, was ultimately decided in favor of the former. From 1782 to 1786 no courts had been held at Wilkes-Barre, as under the Trenton decree Northumber- land was the seat of justice of what had been Westmoreland. The first court of the newly-created Luzerne county was held May 27, 1787, at the residence of Zebulon Butler, at the corner of River and Northampton streets, the site of the present resi- dence of Hon. Stanley Woodward. The public offices were in the building for sev- eral years, in charge of the celebrated Timothy Pickering, who performed the multi- farious duties of prothonotary, register, recorder and clerk of the courts.

The civil history of Wilkes-Barre under the Luzerne county organization is even more difficult to trace than that of a prior date, there being no regularly kept records in existence.

Wilkes-Barre township has been reduced as follows at the dates given: By the erection of Wilkes-Barre borough, March 17, 1806; by the erection of Covington town- ship in January, 1818; by the setting off of a portion to form part of Plains town- ship, November 10, 1851; by the erection of Bear Creek township, April 7, 1806; and by the erection of the city of Wilkes-Barre, May 4, 1871.

As a matter of interest, the names of some of the early constables are appended, though it has been found impossible to complete the list. The successive constables elected by the combined vote of the township and borough, previous to 1819, were as follows: Josiah Lewis, 1806: Enoch Ogden, 1807; Jonathan Bulkley, 1808; Isaac Carpenter, 1809; Peter Yarrington, 1810; Joseph Vonsick, 1811; Andrew Coget, 1812; John Hancock, 1813-5; Phineas Walker, 1816; James Gridley, 1818. The first high constable elected was George Griffin, a member of the Luzerne county bar. He did not qualify, for the reason that it was decided that the two positions were incompatible. A special election was ordered to fill the vacancy thus occasioned, and Peter Yarrington was elected and sworn in. The first constable elected by the voters of the borough for "Wilkes-Barre, county town," was Barnet Ulp, in 1819. John Hancock, son of Jonathan Hancock, was his deputy.

The Wilkes-Barre town plot was surveyed and dedicated in 1772, by Col. John Durkee. It was near the center of the township north and south, on the river, and embraced 200 acres of land, laid out in eight squares, with a diamond (the public square) in the center. By the opening of Washington and Franklin streets these squares were afterward divided into sixteen parallelograms.

March 17, 1806, the borough of Wilkes-Barre was duly incorporated, embracing the town plot and the public common bordering the river, according to the following survey:

" Beginning at a stake at low water mark, on the south side of the northeast branch of the Susquehanna river, and running thence south thirty-four degrees forty minutes east, ninety-four perches, to a stake on the main street; thence on the south side of said street south thirty-four degrees forty minutes east, sixty-four perches and two-tenths of a perch, to the south corner of said town plot; thence on the southeast side of said back street, and continuing that course fifty-five degrees twenty minutes, four hundred and five (405) perches, to a post where that line intersects the north side of Jacob Johnson's lot; thence on the line of said lot north fifty-one degrees thirty minutes west, ninety-nine perches to a post; thence south fifty-five degrees twenty minutes west, one hundred and eighteen perches, to a post on the north side of North street; thence north thirty-four degrees forty minutes west, fifty-six perches, to an iron bolt in a rock at low water mark of the said Sus- quehanna river; thence down the said river the several courses thereof at low water mark to the place of beginning."

By act of assembly approved March 13, 1847, the borough limits were changed as follows:

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

"That portion of the borough lying northeasterly of North street, whichruns southeasterly and northwesterly below the tannery of Bowman & Lewis in said borough is separated from the borough and attached to the township of Wilkes- Barre, and the upper or northeasterly side of said North street extending from the Susquehanna river to the southeasterly line of the borough shall be the north- eastern boundary, and the line between the borough and township of Wilkes- Barre."

By an act passed in 1868 the limits were a second time changed, as follows:

"Beginning at a point on the Susquehanna river, at low water mark, in line with the northerly side of North street; thence along North street to the road leading to Coal brook; thence along the northerly side of said road about twenty rods; thence by a line nearly parallel with Canal street to the southerly side of the towing path of the canal; thence along the southerly side of the towing path of the North Branch canal to a point in line with the division between lots number 22 and 23 of certified Wilkes-Barre; thence along that line about one hundred and fifty-three rods toward the river Susquehanna; thence by a line parallel with River street to a point on the river aforesaid, at low water mark; thence up the said river to the beginning."

By an ordinance approved May 2, 1870, the following territory was added to the borough:

"Beginning at the south westerly corner of the borough, thence south westerly by the prolongation of the southwesterly line of the borough to a point on the west- erly side of the Careytown road; thence southwesterly and along the westerly side of said road to a point opposite the division line of the lands of E. W. Sturdevant and of the estate of Mary Richards, deceased; thence southeasterly by the said division line and the prolongation thereof to a point on the easterly side of the roadway of the Lehigh & Susquehanna railroad; thence northerly along the east- erly side of said railroad roadway to the westerly bank of Coal brook; thence north- erly along the westerly bank of said brook to the southerly bank of Mill creek; thence westerly along the southerly bauk of Mill creek to the Susquehanna river at low-water mark; thence southwesterly down the river at low water mark to the northwesterly corner of the borough; and thence by the northerly, easterly and southerly lines of the borough to the point of beginning."

By an ordinance approved October 29, 1870, another addition was made to the territory of the borough, as follows:

"Beginning at a point on the easterly line of the borough in the prolongation of the southerly line of Stanton street or road toward the borough lines; thence by said line and the southerly line of said Stanton street or road southeasterly "to the easterly side of the Empire road; thence northeasterly along the easterly side of said Empire road to the northerly side of Coal street; northwesterly to a point in the prolongation of the line between lands of Mrs. Ellen J. Wells and the Hollen- back Coal company; thence by said line north westerly to a point on the easterly line of the borough in the line of the prolongation of the southerly side of Union street, and thence by the easterly line of the borough to the point of beginning."

The act of creating the borough did not separate it from the township of Wilkes- Barre nor constitute it an independent election district, but left its citizens still inhabitants of the township, its voters being voters at the township elections for the township officers until 1818 or 1819, when the borough ceased to have any connec- tion with the township election and from that time forward elected its own constable under the somewhat lengthy title of "Constable of Wilkes-Barre County-town;" but it was not until 1835 or 1836 that the borough was made a separate election district and ceased to vote with the township at general election. The first men- tioned of the two changes above referred to was effected by an action of the voters in Wilkes-Barre township outside the borough limits, who took possession of the election board and ballot boxes and denied the right of any resident of the borough

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HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

to vote for township officers; and at the succeeding session of the legislature the borough was empowered to elect its own constable, of which right the voters availed themselves as above stated.

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History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with biographical selections, Part 59

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.) Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1532

Author: Bradsby, H. C. (Henry C.)
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1532