History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 237

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 237

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 hymn was announced by Rev. Dr. Wackernagel, of Allentown. The reading of the Scripture lesson (St. John's Gospel, 14th chapter) was attended to by Rev. Dr. Sadtler, president of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. Rev. Jacob Maeschter, of the Schwenkfeldian Society, read the burial service. Rev. Moses Gottschall, of the Mennonite Church read the hymn, in addition to some remarks at the house. His remains were borne to the grave by six of his brethren,-Rev. A. L. Dechant, Rev. Wil- liam Rath, Rev. S. K. Gross, Rev. Dr. Wackernagel, Rev. C. Z. Weiser and Rev. William B. Fox.

There were also present Revs. D. II. Reiter and Professor Mathew Richards, of the Lutheran Church, and Rev. Jacob Kehm, of the Reformed Church.

1115

UPPER HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

In Pennsburg we find a neat brick church built in 1855. It belongs to a congregation of Reformed and a congregation of Lutherans, and is occupied by them on alternate Sundays. The Reformed congre- gation was organized some five years before this church was built, and the Lntheran in 1855. The present pastor of the Reformed congregation is the Rev. A. L. Dechant, and of the Lutheran, the Rev. William B. Fox.

(Mrs. Charles Famous), Anu and one who died in infancy.

Philip was born on the 21st of February, 1815, in Philadelphia, where he resided until his seventeenth year. After a rudimentary education, he, at the age of fourteen, entered a hardware-store and remained thus employed for three years, when advantages were offered which induced his removal to Lederachsville, Lower Salford township, as clerk in a country store.

BIOGRAPHIICAL SKETCH.

PHILIP SUPER.

Philip Super, the grandfather of Philip, the sub- ject of this biography, came from Germany to Amer- ica at an early date, and in 1788 purchased four hundred acres of land in Columbia County, Pa. His children were Hannah (Mrs. Ristine), Mary (Mrs. Ludwig Knoll), Sarah (Mrs. Block), Joseph, Philip and Jacob. The last of this number-born in 1774- was probably a native of Philadelphia, where his death occurred. He learned the trade of a cabinet- maker, which he conducted in Philadelphia until his death, when his wife succeeded to the business. He married Jane Brooks, of Delaware County, whose children were William, John, Sarah, Mary Ann ( Mrs. Lewis W. Hampton), Hannah, Philip, Jane

In 1835 he removed to Pennsburg, in Upper Han- over township, and acted in the same capacity for Jacob Hillegass. His attention was next directed to the vocation of a teacher, which absorbed the fol- lowing three years, when he was, in 1840, elected, as a Democrat, justice of the peace, in which office he was continued until 1875. His business was gradually merged into that of a conveyancer, while his familiar- ity with property in the township, together with his popularity and known integrity, caused him to be fre- quently selected as guardian and executor. To these responsible trusts his time and abilities have been mainly devoted for many years.

Squire Super was married, on the 3d of December, 1837, to Catherine, daughter of Henry Dotts, of Penns- burg, whose only child, William Henry, died in in- fancy. In 1884, Squire Super was elected county auditor. He is secretary of the Perkiomen Railroad

1116

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

and the Goshenhoppen Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, of Pennsburg, and secretary of the Green Lane and Goschenhoppen Turnpike Road Company, as also identified with all important movements of a business or social character in his township. His religious preferences are for the Lutheran Church, of which Mrs. Super is a member.

CHAPTER LXXVII.

UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP.I

THIS township is situated on the south side of the Schuylkill, and is bounded on the northwest, north and northeast by the same, on the northeast by Bridgeport, on the southeast by West Conshohocken and Lower Merion, on the south by the counties of Chester and Delaware, and on the southwest by Ches- ter. Its greatest length is eight and a quarter miles, greatest width three and a half miles, and the area ten thousand two hundred acres, having been reduced, in 1851, four hundred and fifty acres by the erection of Bridgeport into a borough, and again, in 1874, about two hundred and ninety acres, by the erection of West Conshohocken. As will be observed on the map, its form is very irregular. The surface is rolling and the soil generally loam and limestone.

The principal elevations in Upper Merion are called Mount Joy, Red Hill, Flint Hill, North Valley Hill, Rebel Hill, and Conshohocken or Gulf Hill. Mount Joy is of a conical form, and is wooded to its top, and forms a beautiful feature in the landscape. It gave name to a manor that belonged to Letitia, danghter of William Penn. Tradition states that he gave the hill this name while on a visit to the neigh- borhood. It is supposed to be the highest eminence in Upper Merion in the vicinity of Valley Forge .. In the time of the Revolution it was strongly fortified, and the remains of intrenchments are still visible on its top. Red Hill is an eminence somewhat over a mile southwest of Bridgeport. It is a well-known tra- dition, handed down by several families in the neigh- borhood, that two panthers were shot on it in the time of the early settlement. The Conshohocken or Gulf Hill is a long, narrow range that runs a great way into Chester County ; it is a continuation of Edge Hill, which crosses the Schuylkill at Spring Mill, and ex- tendseast and west. Nowhere in Montgomery County, on its south side, are iron-ore, limestone or marble found. Geologically speaking, it forms a narrow helt of the primary rocks, with gneiss and taleon slate. The name of Gulf Hill has only been applied in this vicinity from the deep, narrow passage of Gulf Creek through it in its course to the Schuylkill. This nat- ural curiosity will be subsequently described. The

North Valley Hill is a range following the Schuylkill, and commences a short distance above Bridgeport. It is only of moderate elevation, and is the highest be- tween Port Kennedy and Valley Forge. Rebel Hill is just outside of the borough line of West Consho- hocken, and between the Township Line road and Gulf Creek.

Probably one of the most fertile tracts of land in Montgomery County is that portion of the township lying along the Schuylkill, between Bridgeport and Gulf Creek, and extending west for about a mile and a half. Within this space limestone and iron-ore are obtained in abundance, and the stranger views with regret the disfigurations occasioned in obtaining these materials from such beautiful and productive fields. Indeed, in few neighborhoods has nature been so lav- ish of her choicest gifts. The soil is a loose loam, nearly level on its surface, and so free from stones that no country ean produce, probably, any land of easier cultivation. The Swedes, in taking up and settling this tract, showed considerable foresight as to its fu- ture importance. In proceeding along the Schuylkill Canal from Bridgeport to Port Kennedy the land is chiefly cultivated to the river, with an occasional mar- gin of trees, making it a shady and agreeable walk.

When we come to consider its size, this is not a well-watered township. The streams do not rise from many springs, and are, therefore, too weak to furnish much valuable water-power. Elliott's Run, by some called Crow Creek, rises from two branches near the Chester County line, is three and a half miles in length and propels only a saw-mill near its mouth. Frog Run, two and a half miles long, and Matsunk, a smaller stream, and both emptying into the Schuylkill be- low Swedesburg, propel no mills. Mashilmac Creek rises in Chester County, and, after a course of about two miles, empties into the Schuylkill at the Catfish Locks, below Port Kennedy. For its length it is a pretty strong stream, and, on account of rising from several large springs, is not liable to be affected by drought or cold weather. Near its mouth it turns a grist-mill. The largest and most important stream is Gulf Creek, in the southeast part, near the Lower Merion line. It is a rapid stream, which rises in Del- aware County, and, after a course of nearly four miles, empties into the Schuylkill at West Conshohocken, about half a mile above the Matson's Ford bridge, fur- nishing power to several cotton and woolen-mills. The East Valley Creek, for the distance of a mile, forms the western boundary of the township and pro- pels a paper-mill. The aforesaid furnish all the water- power and are much the largest streams. There is a fine spring at Port Kennedy and several near Bridge- port.

The wealth that the inhabitants of Upper Merion derive from its mines and quarries is probably not ex- ceeded by that of any other township in the county. It contains three large furnaces for the manufacture of iron,-one at Port Kennedy and the other two on

1 By Win. J. Bnek.

1117

UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP.

the Schuylkill, a mile below Bridgeport. The ore is obtained in considerable quantities in the vicinity of Valley Forge, Gulf Mills and King of Prussia. It can be safely estimated that one-fifth of the area of the township abounds more or less in this mineral, which has been pretty extensively worked in the past thirty- five years.

This township is noted for the manufacture and quality of its lime. The limestone belt crosses the Schuylkill at and below Swedesburg, and has an av- erage breadth of a mile, running in a western direction into Chester County. Its length in Upper Merion is nearly six miles. The marble prevails on its southern edge, and on its northern line the softer limestone. It has been satisfactorily ascertained that the lime made from its northern side is the best. The quarries of William B. Rambo, near Swedesburg, and those at Port Kennedy have this position : While approaching the opposite edge, it increases in hardness till it term- inates in white marble, which merges into the still harder blue marble. This limestone is placed in the primitive formation, and, as may be supposed from the aforesaid remarks, is by no means uniform in its quality, some of its beds yielding lime of much greater purity than others. But, taken collectively, no lime in the United States surpasses it, especially for me- chanical purposes. Mr. Trego says, in his "Geog- raphy,"-

" It is scarcely possible to form an estimate of the incalculable advan- tages derived by Pennsylvania from the limestones so extensively diffused throughout the State. They impart fertility to the soil wherever find ; they are used as a building-stone for houses, barns, bridges, canal-locks, etc., and they constitute an indispensable article of use in our furnaces for smelting iron-ores. When burned into lime they yield a necessary ingredient in the mortar for stone-masons, bricklayers, plasterers, for whitewashing, and for several purposes in the manufactures and the arts But it is from the benefits derived to our agriculture, from the use of lime as a manure for the soil, that our State is destined to be most enriched by this important article of her productions. At several points on our canals and railroads vast quantities of limestone are quarried and transported to places where it is required for use, and from the rapidly increasing demand, it is becoming a considerable item in the tolls upon our public works."

Oldmixon, in his "British Empire in America," published in 1708, speaks of limestone being procured qquite early in America, on Letitia Penn's manor of Mount Joy. This probably may have been near the present Swedesburg. The census of 1840 values the lime then manufactured in Upper Merion at $74,772, or about one-third of that produced in the entire county. This business, of course, has since greatly increased through the additional facilities af- forded for its transportation. It is said that Port Kennedy, for the year ending with June 1, 1857, ex- ported lime to the value of $140,000. The whole county is represented in 1840 to have produced lime to the amount of $236,162. This sum, we have no doubt, is now surpassed in value by Upper Merion alone.

Marble is composed of crystalized carbonate of lime, and the two are always found combined, more or less, together. The marble worked in this town-

ship runs in a long, narrow, perpendicular seam, ex- tending down, no doubt, to a considerable depth. It is said the deeper it is obtained the better is its quality. What was formerly and so long known as Henderson's quarry, is now owned and worked by Daniel O. Hitner. It is situated two miles southwest of Bridgeport and was worked before 1782. There is here an extensive steam mill for sawing marble. The greatest depth reached in obtaining it is considerably over one hundred feet. Thirty-five hands were em- ployed in the mill and quarry in 1858. Immense quantities have been taken out here within the last forty-six years. A portion of the material used in the construction of Girard College was from this place. The depth made could not have been reached without the aid of several pumps propelled by steam. The ingress of water is a serious obstacle to the successful working of marble (marries, entailing considerable expense. That there is an abundance of this beauti- ful material in this township there is no doubt, and it is believed, as the demand for it increases, this difficulty may be the easier prevented. About half a mile from the King of Prussia, and near the Chester Valley Railroad, is the quarry formerly worked by J. Brooke, in 1858 to 1876 or later by Derr & Adams, but now by Schweyer & Leiss. There is also here a steam saw-mill. These two are the only marble- quarries that have been worked in the township. The eensus of 1840 states that nine men were employed in the business, producing marble to the amount of six thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars.

According to the census of 1800, its population was 993; in 1840, 2804; and in 1880, 3275. The real es- tate and personal property for taxable purposes was valned in 1882 at $1,935,840 with 745 taxables, aver- aging 82598. In May, 1876, licenses were issued to three inns, eight stores, three coal-yards and three dealers in flour and feed. In 1858 it contained three inns, nine stores, four grist-mills, three saw-mills, three iron furnaces, two marble-mills and seven or eight cotton and woolen manufactories. The census of 1850 returned 624 houses and 108 farms; in 1785, three inns, four grist-mills, three saw-mills, one forge and a fulling-mill, three churches,-one Epis- copal, a Presbyterian and a Christian Baptist, -- besides a Union Chapel. The public schools for the year ending June 1, 1883, were twelve, open ten months, with four hundred and eighteen enrolled pupils. In 1857 it contained nine schools, with ten teachers, and attended by five hundred and sixty-six scholars. In the latter year seven of the teachers were males ; now they are all females. The post-offiees are four. lo- cated at Port Kennedy, King of Prussia, Gulf Mills and Abrams. From what is stated, it will be observed that, independent of the production of lime, marble, iron and brick, this township is also extensively en- gaged in other manufactures.

In the way of public improvements, Upper Merion has been pretty well provided, and they have tended

1118

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

still further to develop its resources. Besides the canal, the railroad runs its entire length on the Schuylkill, a distance of nine miles, with stations at Swedeland, Merion, Port Kennedy and Valley Forge. The Chester Valley Railroad, which was finished in 1853, extends through its entire width from east to west, about four miles, with stations at King of Prus- sia, Henderson and Shainline. It commences at Bridgeport, and connects with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Downingtown. There are, besides, six or seven short branches erected by private enterprise, leading from mines and quarries towards the Schuyl- kill, two of which are over a mile in length. A turn- pike extends from Bridgeport to the King of Prussia. three miles, finished in 1853.

Swedesburg is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Schuylkill, adjoining the eastern line of Bridge- port. It contains about sixty-five houses, chiefly two- story frame, a church, school-house, several stores and a blacksmith and wheelwright-shops. The census of 1850 gives it three hundred and eighty-eight inhabit- ants, and that of 1870 three hundred and eighty-six. This place has chiefly grown up since 1840, and owes much of its prosperity to the manufacturing business carried on in its neighborhood .. About half a mile below this village William B. Rambo carries on the lime business quite extensively, employing here in his operations eighty hands. He uses his own boats, some of which are calculated for sailing on the rivers and bays as well as along the coast and up the Schuylkill to the coal regions. To facilitate its shipment he has a railroad from his quarries and kilns to the river, half a mile in length. Considerable of his lime is sent to New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

Matsunk is the name of a village that has chiefly grown up since 1846, and is situated on a small stream of the same name, near the Schuylkill, about a mile below Swedesburg. It contains about forty houses, several of which are handsome residences, surrounded with fine, shady lawns and gardens and inclosed with iron railing. In 1858 the place had increased to nine- teen dwelling-houses. The extensive works of the Swede Iron Company are here, comprising two large furnaces, a railroad leading from the mines to the furnaces, a mile in length, numerous out-buildings and a traet of land, on which there is an abundance of iron-ore and limestone of the best quality. The total cost of the improvements here is stated to have been considerably over two hundred thousand dollars. A woolen-factory has also been in operation here for some time. Swedeland post-office was established here before 1876, but several years ago was merged with the one at Bridgeport. The station bears the aforesaid name. The land in this vicinity is of superior quality and ranks with the best in the county.

King of Prussia is situated near the centre of the township, at the intersection of the Gulf and State roads. This name was derived more than a century ago from an inn here, kept by John Elliott in 1786. It

contains a public-house, store, post-office, library, blacksmith and wheelwright-shops and seven houses. Five roads centre here, one of which was turnpiked in 1852 to Bridgeport. The stone bridge over Elliott's Run was built in 1835. The township elections have been held here for some time. In 1871 two districts were formed, the Upper since voting here. The post- office, established before 1827, and originally called Reesville, was changed previous to 1851 to its present name. The public library was founded in 1852, and contains three thousand volumes. Miss Ella Thomas is librarian. Charles J. Elliott, one of its founders and first librarian, quite a promising young man, died here February 24, 1861, aged thirty-six years.

Gulf Mills is located at the intersection of the Gulf road with Gulf Creek, where an inn was kept in 1786 by John Roberts. It had for its sign the "Bird-in- Hand," and that is still the popular name of the place Ineluding Mechanicsville, only half a mile distant, it may be estimated to contain about fifty houses. It is a business place, containing several woolen-mills, saw and planing-mill, besides other establishments, also an inn, store, post-office and a church. The Bird-in- Hand post-office was located here before 1827, and retained this name until 1830, when it was changed to its present one of Gulf Mills. The Christian Bap- tists, or Plummerites, erected in 1835 a one-story stone meeting-house, about one-quarter of a mile southeast trom Gulf Mills. Among the pastors who have served the church are the Revs. Godfrey Hawk, Charles Plummer, - Noble, Jacob Rodenbaugh and John Conard, the present pastor, who has been in charge since 1870. George MeFarland has for some time carried on here extensively the manufacture of woolen goods. The venerable stone bridge over Gulf Creek bears no date, but is supposed to have been erected before the Revolution. The elections for the Lower District of the township are held at the school- house at this place.

Merion Station is on the Reading Railroad, about two miles above Bridgeport, where Crow Creek empties into the Schuylkill. It contains a saw-mill, Union Chapel, school-house, five or six dwellings and a post- office, called Abrams. Port Kennedy and Valley Forge will be treated of in separate articles near the close of this chapter.

Gulf Hill rises immediately on the south side of the creek, opposite the village of Gulf Mills, is quite steep, and is wooded to the top. About three-quar- ters of a mile from this place a grist-mill is standing in a romantic situation, on the west side of the Gulf road, and to the antiquary is an object of interest. It was built in 1747, and is known as the "Old Gulf Mill." In 1858 it was owned by Rebecca Thomas, and now belongs to Henderson Supplee. This is probably the oldest mill now standing in Montgomery County, and, excepting some of its machinery, it is believed to have undergone no alteration since its erection. It is built of stone, and may yet with care

1119

UPPER MERION TOWNSHIP.

stand for centuries. It was, no doubt, in its day, considered a great affair. On William Scull's map of Pennsylvania published in 1770, the "Gulf Forge" is marked as being in this vicinity.

As we have now spoken of the name of Gulf being applied to a road, a creek, a hill, a mill, a forge, and a post-office, it is perhaps time that we inform the reader what this word implies, or rather how it origin- ated. What is understood to be the Gulf is where the Gulf Creek passes through the Gulf Hill, and to effect a passage has eleft it to its base. The stream and the road by its side wind through it some- what in the shape of an S, and at the narrowest part there is just room enough for both, the whole width not being more than forty feet. The hills on either side are pretty steep, and are covered with rocks, bushes and trees to their summits. The hill on the east side is about one hundred and fifty feet high, and on the west side of less elevation. Near the old Gulf Mill, on the south side of the entrance, a rock juts out at the road to an elevation of ahout fif- teen feet, which has sheltered people from the rain. As this hill runs a considerable distance west of the Schuylkill, and as the road through it is perfectly level, it will at once appear obvious that, from the earliest period of the settlement above, this passage was of great advantage in passing to and from the city. Hence its name is mentioned from an early date. To be in such a place in the dreary hour of midnight, with the roar of the troubled waters among the roeks, and the gloom of the wood-covered gorge, is enough to arouse in the solitary traveler feelings of an unusual kind.

From Bridgeport to Valley Forge is six miles, and few walks in Pennsylvania are more interesting than that along the tow-path by the river for this distance. The towns, villages, manufactories and scenery on each side, at every turn of the river, present some- thing new and beautiful, which, were we to describe it at length, would occupy too much of our space. A quarter of a mile below the Catfish Dam, and three miles above Bridgeport, is presented one of the most beautiful landscapes we remember seeing almost any- where. If it is worth, as Thomas Jefferson has said, a voyage across the Atlantic to see the scenery of the Potomac at Harper's. Ferry, then we say, it is, at least, worth traveling from Norristown, on any fine day, to this spot to view the scenery of the Schuylkill Valley. In standing at a certain point here and looking up the stream, the falls of the Catfish Dam are seen extending across the river, and about three- fourths of a mile beyond is seen nestled in the hills a portion of Port Kennedy, with its bridge; and still beyond, and for the background, in the centre, and as if springing from the river, the picturesque and fine wooded hill-tops of Valley Forge, four miles off' -- the whole forming sueh a combination of objects, so advantageously connected, as are seldom found in any one view. At the dam aforesaid are two locks,

placed side by side, which are called the Catfish Locks. These, as well as the dam, were built by the Navigation Company.

Upper and Lower Merion appear to have been or- iginally one township ealled Merion, or rather by the early Welsh settlers Merioneth, after a county in North Wales. At what exact time it was divided has not been ascertained, but it must have been before 1714 ; for in this year we find the earliest mention in records of Upper Merion as a township. From Thomas Holme's map of original surveys, commenced in 1682, we learn that the upper half of the township was in- cluded in Letitia Penn's manor of Mount Joy, the middle portion in William Penn, Jr.'s, and the lower part, adjoining Lower Merion, in John Pennington and company's. The remaining portion of the manor lay in the adjoining township of Tredyffrin, in Chester County, and included in all seven thousand eight hundred aeres. It was patented to his daughter by William Penn, 24th of Eighth Month, 1701, and he retained possession of it until 1736. The land be- longing to John Pennington and company, it is prob- able, formed a part of the Welsh tract, which we know extended through a portion of the township into Chester County, comprising in the whole forty thousand acres, and of which mention was made in the history of Lower Merion. It was chiefly through this last great purchase that the original settlers were Welsh, and named it after a shire from whence many of them had come.

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 Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 237

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534