History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 43

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650

USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania > Part 43

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The Lehman Machine Company-A. T. Lehman and S. H. Smith, proprietors- was established in 1889. They manufacture all kinds of wood-working machinery, and give employment to about forty men. Their shops are on Vine street.

Frank Stutzman, machinist, started business in 1890. His shop is located on Campbell street. General repairing of machinery is a specialty. Five men are employed.

THE LUMBER INDUSTRY.

Williamsport owes its development, growth, and prosperity to the lumber manu- facturing industry, which long since attained vast proportions. The first saw mill of which we have any account was built on Lycoming creek, about four miles from its mouth, by Roland Hall in 1792. This was on what is known as the Carothers property. The mill was a primitive affair, but it furnished the lumber for many of the first houses in Williamsport. Samuel Torbert came next with a mill on Bottle run in 1798; and the same year Thomas Caldwell built one in connection with his grist mill on the creek, the site of which is now owned by John Good. It was afterwards rebuilt by John C. Oliver and Samnel H. Lloyd. Sheriff Bennett purchased the homestead property of Thomas Mahaffey and erected a saw mill and still house. The mill, however, never amounted to much. Scarcely a trace of these original mills remains to-day, which at the time of their erection were regarded as great improvements. Pine timber of the finest kind ahounded in those days, but the only demand for lumber was by those who were building houses and barns in the infant settlement.

The first saw mill within the present limits of Williamsport was what was known as the "Big Water Mill," built by Cochran, Biers & Company in 1838, forty years after Hall had erected his little mill on Lycoming creek. The firm was composed of Philadelphia gentlemen, and their mill stood on a framework of timber and cribbing, which extended from the mainland into the river opposite the lower end of the island, at the foot of Locust street. The mill contained four "up and down saws," or English gates, and the power was furnished by four reaction water wheels of Johnson's patent.

Cochran, Biers & Company ran their mill for three years, when they failed and the property was sold by the sheriff to Updegraff & Armstrong. Maj. James H. Perkins purchased the property of Updegraff & Armstrong early in 1846 and made preparations to run the mill. He also bought Hepburn island, then existing in the river opposite the mill, of Hugh Kinly, of Philadelphia. This island originally contained fourteen acres. It extended from the foot of Locust street to nearly opposite the mill of Payne, Cochran & Company, and formed a pond for the mill. It was originally heavily timbered, but the trees were cut to permit drift, which

354

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

usually collected in a great mass during high water, to pass down the river. When the stumps and roots decayed there was nothing left to resist the action of the water on the soil, which soon carried it away, notwithstanding large quantities of stone were transported there from the mountain in the hope of staying the work of destruction. But it did not prove a success, and now all that remains of this once large island is the small remnant in the river at the foot of Locust street.

In 1848 Major Perkins sold a half-interest in his purchase to John C. Cameron, of New York, and in 1850, or 1851, they put a "flat gang" in the mill, which was the first introduced in Williamsport. Charles Whitehead, of Du Boistown, came here in 1848 in the employ of Cameron, and he was the first man to run this gang successfully.

Some time in 1851 Perkins & Cameron sold an interest in the mill to Andrus, Langdon & Ransom, and the new firm enlarged the mill and put in several gangs and slabbers, and two more waterwheels. The mill now extended from the main- land to the island and was a large and solid structure.

Andrus, Langdon & Ransom soon sold their interest to Hodgman, Harris & Com- pany, and the firm was reorganized. Nehemiah Shaw, now one of the. pioneer lumbermen of Williamsport, took charge of the mill and ran it for two years. In 1852 he went to Fort Edward, New York, and there had built under his instructions a flat or rolling gang. It was brought by rail to Elmira and from there transported to Williamsport on sleds. It was the first improved iron gang introduced here.

Major Perkins finally sold his interest to Peter Herdic & Company, and the mill, after passing through various hands, was finally destroyed by fire in the fall of 1863.

To Peter Tinsman belongs the credit of starting the first steam saw mill. On the 1st of January, 1852, he and George W. Quinn purchased a lot from Thomas Upde- graff for $1,000. It was situated below what is now the Shaw mill, on the river bank, and there the mill was built. Tinsman ran it from 1852 to 1855. He then sold his interest to his brother, Garret Tinsman, who, in partnership with George W. Quinn, ran it several years. This pioneer steam mill was operated by different parties for several years longer, and was finally destroyed by fire.

Woolverton & Tinsman erected a steam saw mill in 1852 a short distance below the Peter 'Tinsman mill, and began operations soon afterward. For the past forty years the business has been continued at the same point under the original firm name, although the founders are both dead. Woolverton & Tinsman and Tinsman & Ryan operate this mill, which manufactures 14,000,000 feet of lumber annually.

About the same time that the Tinsman mills were built, John and Charles Dodge erected a small steam mill near the site of the Coleman mill. In 1854 they replaced it with a larger one. In 1863 the plant was purchased by Fletcher Coleman, who has since operated at this point one of the most extensive mills in Williamsport.

Peter Herdic and B. H. Taylor built a saw and flour mill in 1854 on the site of the Noble Mills. Seymour J. Noble, H. C. Miller, and Ezra Canfield bought the property in 1871, and on the death of Mr. Miller Mr. Noble purchased the interest of his surviving partner. The old saw mill was swept away by the flood of June, 1889.

White, Lentz & White had its beginning in October, 1859, when Peter Herdic, George W. Lentz, John White, and Henry White formed the copartnership of

355

WILLIAMSPORT.

Herdic, Lentz & Whites, and built extensive saw mills near the river above Centre street. In 1867 Herdic withdrew from the firm, which then became White, Lentz & White. The average annual production of this mill has ranged from 15, 000,000 to 20,000,000 feet.

After the boom was erected, and it was found to answer the purpose for which it was designed, a fresh impetus was given to the lumber business. The building of saw mills commenced, and as the civil war caused a great demand for lumber and prices rapidly advanced, the business of manufacturing soon assumed large propor- tions. Many of the mills were large and filled with expensive machinery. Every modern improvement was introduced by the manufacturers until the mills of Will- iamsport came to be recognized as taking rank among the largest, finest, and best equipped in the United States. The lumber yards were often devastated by fire and mills-destroyed, but the latter were generally quickly replaced and fresh lumber manufactured. The lumber industry gives employment to fully 2,000 men in the city eight months in the year. Over $9,000,000 are invested in the mills, and their product is estimated at nearly $7,000,000 annually.

The majority of these mills are first-class in every respect, and one of them ranks with the largest in the world, having a cutting capacity of 30,000,000 feet annually. The number of mills in and around Williamsport number twenty-five.

The planing mills are another important branch of the lumber industry and employ over 500 men and boys. It is estimated that the capital employed in these industries will reach $250,000 and the value of the product will exceed $400,000. Several of these planing mills are large establishments, filled with improved and costly machinery, and employ from fifty to eighty men. The larger mills are pre- pared to manufacture portable houses and ship them to any part of the globe ready to be set. Doors and other articles required in the construction of houses have been shipped to Europe and sold there. School and office furniture, ornamental chairs, stands, and racks of all kinds are turned out. Within the last few years machinery adapted for wood work has been so improved that there seems to be no limit to the range of operations performed by this class of machinery.

In connection with the dressing of lumber are many small industries, such as the manufacture of toys of various kinds and swings for the nursery. The manufacture of packing boxes from cheap lumber for use in the great mercantile houses of the large cities has been extensively carried on for years. Material for these boxes is cut to certain sizes, shipped in the piece and then quickly put together in the form of a box.

The principal saw and planing mill firms are herewith given, together with their annual capacity :

Dodge Mills, operated by the Pennsylvania Joint Lumber and Land Company, manufacturers of all kinds of lumber; the mill has a capacity of 30,000,000 feet annually. Officers: Henry James, president, Baltimore; Charles L. James, superin- tendent .... Williamsport Land and Lumber Company; production, 18,000,000; Officers: Elias Deemer, president; J. H. Price, Jr., secretary and treasurer .. . . Strong, Deemer & Company; (two mills), production, 28,000,000 per annum .... Star Mills, Williams & Foresman; production, 10,000,000; also B. C. Bowman & Company; production, 10,000,000 .... Payne, Cochran & Company; production,

356

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

19,000,000 .... F. Coleman; capacity, 12,000,000 .... W. Righter's Sons & Company; capacity, 18,000,000; this business was first established at Columbia in 1834; the yard and mill are at Williamsport; members of the firm: Dr. W. Righter, Michael Myers, J. C. Righter, and P. C. Righter; F. W. Benedict, special partner .... George B. Breon; production, 9,000,000 .... Elias Deemer & Company; production, 4,000,000 .... N. Shaw & Company; capacity, 15,000,000. . Brown, Clarke & Howe; capacity, 20,000,000.

Previous to 1854 there were no planing mills in Williamsport. The impetus given to building about this time demanded a more rapid method of surfacing and dressing lumber for building purposes, and in 1854 William A. McCann and Hiram Crafts made an effort to establish a mill, but, owing to lack of sufficient means, failed. In 1855 George S. Banger came from Philadelphia and took an interest with them and the firm of Banger & Company was formed. They introduced a Woodworth planer and a surfacing machine. At first their business was confined to the manufacture of flooring and siding, and the surfacing of lumber; but they were soon after induced to include also the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds, and mouldings. Mr. Banger subsequently purchased the interest of his partners and carried on the business alone for several years. The mill afterwards was operated by Brown, Allen & Company. Many mills have come and gone since that time, but the original is still in existence.

The following planing mill firms are now operating in the city: Howard & Perley; capacity, 20,000 feet per day .... Purdy & Green; capacity, 10,000,- 000 per annum; successors to Reading, Fisher & Reading. .... McCollum & Cline, City Planing Mill; capacity, 1,000,000 feet per annum .... John Coleman, Ninth ward; capacity, 10,000,000 feet per annum. . . National Planing Mill Company, Limited, Ninth ward; officers: S. M. Titus, John G. Hostetter, Franklin E. Eck, and W. D. Springman; capacity, 35,000 feet per day. . Susquehanna Saw and Planing Mill, foot of Susquehanna street; members of firm: Edgar Munson, Robert H. Munson; manager, C. La Rue Munson; annual production : saw mill, 12,000,000, planing mill, 6,000,000 feet .... E. A. T. Rathmell; capacity, 2,000,000 feet per annum .... The Mill Work and Mantel Company, Ninth ward; officers: Jesse Snyder, president, Charles H. Huffman, secretary .... The Wychoff Pipe Company, manufacturers of all kinds of wooden water pipe and tub- ing for underground wires .... The Williamsport Planing Mill Company, Limited; officers: Thomas Deutschle, chairman; Andrew Birkle, secretary; Henry J. Weas- ner, treasurer; Charles R. Krimm, general superintendent; planing mill work of all kinds done; seventy-five men employed.

SUSQUEHANNA BOOM COMPANY.

After the coming of Major Perkins to the West Branch Valley it soon became apparent to him and a few others that Williamsport could be made a great lumber mart. Its location on the river and contiguity to the vast forests of pine and hem- lock that lined the eastern slopes of the Allegheny mountains warranted this conclu. sion. The river could be made the contributing artery to supply the mills with logs, if some means could be devised to hold them safely until manufactured. It was this idea that gave birth to the boom project. Major Perkins came here in Decem-

Jas Allowking

Atlantic Publishing & Engraving G-NY

359

WILLIAMSPORT.

ber, 1845, and now at the mature and mellow age of eighty-nine he can look back upon the pioneer days of lumbering and contemplate with pride the part he bore in the early enterprise, and the improvements he was instrumental in having introduced.

John Leighton, of Maine, accompanied Major Perkins to Williamsport from Philadelphia. The object of their visit was to engage in the lumber business, and, should circumstances favor it, establish a boom in the river. Soon after their ar- rival they directed their attention to the question of location, and settled upon what is familiarly known as the "Long Reach." At this point nearly all the essential requisites for such an improvement were found to exist. The high range of mount- ains on the south side of the river affords an insurmountable barrier to the over- flowing of the logs, when once they are brought within the enclosure of the boom. The bend in the river at this point and for miles above naturally draws the logs to this south side of the stream; and the fact of the river being almost level for miles beyond prevents the possibility of swift currents during low-water stages.

Without some arrangement of this kind to secure the logs until they could be manufactured, it would be useless to build mills. What few were floated down the river had to be watched all the time, and even then many escaped. In those early days the method of securing logs was by means of small boats, from which the men fastened them together in the form of rafts. To prevent these floating logs from escaping in the night time, these pioneer lumbermen had recourse to a simple expe- dient. Large fires were built along the bank of the river, and other fires on the flat boats anchored in the middle of the stream, and men were statioued at several points to catch logs as they came down. The work was hard and dangerous. This was the method employed until the advent of Major Perkins. In March, 1849, he completed two temporary booms with sunken cribs, one at Goose island and another nearly oppo- site the point where the lower end of the present boom is located. After this the logs were left to float freely until they reached one of these booms, when they were caught and towed into one of these temporary booms. The flood of 1849 subjected these structures to a very severe test, but they stood it well enough to convince all skeptical lumbermen that a boom could be built.

The Susquehanna Boom Company was incorporated by act of March 26, 1846. The original stock consisted of 100 shares of $100 each, and was subscribed for and issued to the following stockholders, to wit: John Leighton, 1 share; John Du Bois, 25 shares; Matthias Du Bois, 25 shares; James H. Perkins, 24 shares; Isaac Smith, 20 shares; Elias S. Lowe, 5 shares. There was no organization under the act of incorporation until the 5th of November, 1849, at which time a meeting of the stockholders was called for that purpose. John Leighton was called to the chair, and Elias S. Lowe was appointed secretary. .

On the day after the organization of the boom company, arrangements were made to accept proposals for building twelve piers, five to be completed in the spring and the others in the fall. More piers, under a contract of December 8th, were put in, . and the structure was complete enough to hold all the logs that came down the following spring.

The Loyalsock Boom Company was organized a few months after the Susque- hanna Boom Company. for the accommodation of mills below the dam. Trouble soon arose between these companies, the most important cause of which was the

360

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

charge imposed by the upper boom company upon the logs of the lower, which passed into their boom. Trouble, too, arose about the rope. No piers were put up by this company until 1855-56. Difficulties continued until the winter of 1857-58, when the two companies petitioned the legislature to allow them to consolidate, which was done. The officers of both companies resigned and a new set were elected. The officers of the old companies met and arranged for an appraisement of the property of the lower boom company. An amicable agreement was made and the stock was apportioned.

The original dams in the river, already described, having become worthless, authority was obtained from the legislature by act of December 11, 1866, to con- struct a new and larger one. It was built in 1867 aud is still in good condition.

The Jersey Shore boom was built during 1868-69, but scarcely a trace of its piers now exists. The pocket boom-or what was originally the Loyalsock boom below the dam-was reconstructed in 1871. It has almost entirely passed away. The Muncy boom, built in 1872, has also disappeared.

The first mishap, after the consolidation, was the spring flood of 1860. The boom was broken and at least 50,000,000 feet of lumber were carried down the river. During the summer fifty-four new cribs were erected and the boom greatly strength- ened. In the month of September, 1861, another flood, almost as damaging as the one of the previous year, occurred. When it was at its height the Lock Haven boom broke, and a mass of logs were precipitated against the Williamsport boom with irre- sistible force. The loss was heavy, but the damage was repaired in time to secure the logs of the next season. The experience gained by the company during these floods showed them where the boom could be strengthened and they straightway had it done.

During the season of 1866 the company erected their boom at Liuden, by con- necting the two islands at that place. . Other repairs and extensions were made from time to time, one of the most important of which was the rebuilding of the Linden boom in 1873, by putting in forty-one new cribs.

The boom is nearly six miles in length and will hold 300,000,000 feet. The average annual expense of keeping it in repair is $40,000. Since its erection the cost of rebuilding and repairs has exceeded $1,500,000. At present the company receives $1 per 1,000 feet on all logs rafted out and turned over to the owners. Logs are designated by certain marks adopted by the owners and stamped in the end by a marking iron. This mark is put on the log when cut in the woods, and a fac-simile is registered in the offices of the company and the prothonotary. These marks make it easy to select the logs belonging to each manufacturer when the work of "rafting out " and assorting is in progress. When the great flood of June 1, 1889, occurred, the boom contained nearly 300,000,000 feet. It was broken and every log carried away, thousands passing to Chesapeake bay and out into the · ocean. Logs were strewn along the shores of the river and on the islands to the mouth. More than one-half were recovered, and at points where the quantities were great mills were erected to manufacture them. The flood entailed a heavy loss on the boom company and the manufacturers, but the boom was speedily repaired and the manufacturers saved what they could by gathering up their stray logs. Dur- ing the season of eight months the number of men and boys employed on the boom

361

WILLIAMSPORT.

averaged 150, and their pay equals $1.50 per day, making the outlay for wages nearly $50,000.

The following table shows the number of logs annually passing through the boom since 1862, and the feet they represent in board measure:

YEAR.

No. of Logs.

Feet, Board Measure.

1862.

196,953

37,853,621

1863

405,175

76,475,826

1864

511,549

96,595,681

1865

379,392

72,421,468

1866

615,373

118,831,494

1867

833,388

163,196,511

1868

853,663

165,338,389

1869

1,080,511

223,060,805

1870

1,099,777

225,180,973

1871

842,129

166,661,181

1872

1,484,103

297,185,652

1873.

1,582,460

318,342,712

1874

989,586

180,734,382

1875

1,096,897

210,746,956

1876.

715,087

134,396,293

1877

598,827

106,944,257

1878

617,552

112,069,602

1879

1,040,278

190,549,111

1880

788,104

133,078,017

1881

1,629,904

289,826,780

1882

1,368,507

220,136,306

1883

1,874,655

303,769,838

1884

1,449,768

240,382,208

1885

1,350,951

225,347,555

1886.

926,988

154,141,258

1887

1,400,613

218,079,813

1888

1,856,112

285,611,289

1889

727,939

104,100,705

1890.

1,478,754

212,168,829

1891.

1,816,562

262,071,394

Total

31,606,557

5,545,298,406

The total quantity of lumber-over 5,500,000,000 feet-represents the volume of the lumber business of Williamsport for this period. All this lumber was manu- factured on the mills in the city.

The following is a list of presidents of the Susquehanna Boom Company since its organization, with the respective dates of election: John Du Bois, Jr., November, 1849; Mahlon Fisher, May, 1857; E. S. Lowe, November, 1859; Mahlon Fisher, November, 1860; Peter Herdic, May, 1875; John G. Reading, March, 1878; Benjamin C. Bowman, February, 1883, present incumbent.

George S. Banger, the present efficient secretary of the company, has filled that position since May, 1862.

The officers for 1892 are as follows: President, B. C. Bowman; secretary, George S. Banger; treasurer, E. R. Payne; manager, J. Henry Cochran; solicitor, H. C. McCormick; managers: B. C. Bowman, R. J. C. Walker, J. Henry Cochran, Jacob Tome, E. R. Payne.

362

HISTORY OF LYCOMING COUNTY.

RIVER DAMS.

The first dam in the river at Williamsport was built on Culbertson's ripples. It was constructed of brush and stones and was probably built at the same date as the " Big Water Mill" (1838), as it furnished the head of water to run it. An old ford extended across the ripple, and it was here that the Indians often crossed after de- scending the mountain from White Deer valley by the trail afterwards called "Culbertson's path." The dam extended diagonally across the river, starting on the south side a short distance below where the saw mill erected by Solomon Moyer now stands, and ending at the head of Hepburn island, nearly opposite the saw- mill of Payne, Cochran & Company.

In 1854 Peter Herdic built another dam almost on the same site. It consisted of three rows of oak piles driven quite close together; the center row was of consid- erable height, whilst the other two were lower. They were all capped with timber, draw-bolted together, and then sheeted with plank. The piles had fitted to their lower ends an iron socket with a steel point, so as to enable them to penetrate the shell rock in the bed of the river. A section was also built on the south side of the river, and at a low stage of water it can be plainly seen to day.

LUMBER RIOTS.

The summer of 1872 witnessed the famous "Sawdust War," a strike among the workmen of the lumber mills, which subsequently culminated in a riot. The total amount of shipments during the preceding year was 269,963,392 feet, valued at $5,397,267. Nearly 3,000 men were employed to get this into market. Up to June, 1872, there was no difficulty between employers and employed, the latter being in general perfectly satisfied with the wages which they received. However, in this year, several demagogues managed to create a feeling against the long number of hours-twelve and sometimes more. A strike was inaugurated upou the 29th of June, which continued until the 20th of July. The employers having in the mean- time made some concessions, the leaders became fearful lest the workmen would, on the following Monday, resume their places. They therefore held a meeting on this date, and by incendiary speeches soon established a lawless condition of affairs. The military was called out and gave protection to all who needed it, and work was accordingly resumed. There has been no trouble since. Twenty-one were convicted at the next term of court, and light sentences were pronounced upon all except four, who, as leaders, were more severely dealt with. They had barely reached the prison when a messenger from Governor Geary appeared and handed the Sheriff a full pardon for each man convicted and they were released. The pardons were obtained through the intercession of Peter Herdic, who had great influence with the Governor.

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

History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, Part 43

Author: edited by John F. Meginness Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1650

Author: edited by John F. Meginness
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1650