USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume II > Part 2
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In the time of the Revolution, Bethlehem constituted a prominent center. At the beginning of the struggle the authorities issued the following state- ment: "It is our desire to live at peace with all men. We wish well to the country in which we dwell. Our declining to exercise in the use of arms is no new thing, nor does it proceed from certain reasons, being rather a fundamental principle of the Brethren's Church, a point of conscience which our first settlers brought with them into this province. We never have nor will we ever act inimically to this country. We will do nothing against its peace and interest, nor oppose any civil code or regulation in the province or country wherein we dwell. On the other hand, we will submit ourselves to all things in which we can keep a good conscience, and not withdraw our shoulders from the common burden." This declaration made Bethlehem
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a neutral point. Its inhabitants still advocated the principles of non-com- batants, and undoubtedly regretted the war, but they were not Tories. On the contrary, they merely claimed their right to remain neutral, and prepared at once to submit in case the Colonies gained their independence. The younger portion of the community, however, being mostly native Americans, resented this neutrality, and were decided in their sympathy with the cause of freedom. This might have led to an open rupture if Right Rev. Frederick Betchel, a member of the executive council in Europe, on an official visit to Bethlehem, had not succeeded in restoring harmony. Exorbitant fines, how- ever, were paid in default of military service.
In the first year of the war, bodies of Maryland and Virginia militia passed through Bethlehem to take part in the siege of Boston. These were followed in the winter of 1776 by large numbers of prisoners taken in Canada, and in the summer of that year militia from various parts of Penn- sylvania passed through the town on their way to the flying camp at Amboy, New Jersey. Then occurred the capture of the Americans, and General Washington's retreat to the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware river. These movements affected Bethlehem; the Continental Hospital on December 4, 1776, was brought from Morristown, New Jersey. The middle building of the Moravian Seminary for Ladies was used for a hospital base, and con- tinued until March 29, 1777. In that period one hundred and ten of its inmates died. Soon after the hospital had been removed to Bethlehem, Generals Gates and Sullivan arrived with detachments of their commands.
The year of 1777 was marked with stirring events, hardly a week passing that troops did not pass through Bethlehem. Generals Armstrong, Gates, Schuyler, Mifflin, Greene, Knox and other prominent officers visited the town. In September, 1777, two hundred and sixty British prisoners arrived under a strong guard, and Baron de Kalb, with a corps of French engineers, to select a position for the entire army nearby, if it became necessary to make any other stand against the British. Military stores were brought to the town, and towards the end of the year nine hundred army wagons were encamped in its immediate vicinity. General Washington's baggage was kept at a brick kiln on the Monocacy creek for several months, under a guard of forty soldiers. On September 12, 1777, the Continental Hospital was again brought to Bethlehem. Among the sick and wounded was General Lafayette. The center building of the Young Ladies' Seminary was again utilized. Of the seven hundred soldiers that arrived by the end of the year, three hundred of them died in the course of the winter. Simultaneously with the arrival of the hospital came a number of members of Congress, who had fled from Philadelphia at the approach of Howe's army.
In the spring of 1778 the hospital was removed from Bethlehem, but troops continued to pass through the town, and it was visited by many notable men, among whom were Ethan Allen, Gouverneur Morris, Baron Steuben, Count Pulaski; and in the autumn of the year, Monsieur Gerard, the French ambassador, visited Bethlehem. Among the most interesting of the visitors to Bethlehem was Lady Washington, who arrived June 15, 1778, accompanied by Generals Sullivan and Maxwell and an escort. She was shown the objects of interest, visited the clergy, attended divine service.
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and left the following morning for Virginia. Four years later, on July 25. 1782, General Washington came to Bethlehem on his way to headquarters at Newburgh, New York. He was accompanied by only two aides-de-camp, and spent the night at the Sun Tavern.
The town slowly increased ; at the opening of the nineteenth century the population was five hundred and seventy-eight. After the construction of the Lehigh Canal in 1829 its progress was more rapid, and the exe' ic e service became a burden. Accordingly, after numerous preliminary con: in .- tions, this system was abrogated on January 11, 1844, by the voting members of the church in council assembled. As proprietor and administrator, Rev. Philip H. Goepp continued in charge until 1856, when he deeded the Mora- vian estate to Rev. Eugene A. Fraucaff, with W. T. Roepper in charge as cashier. In 1869 the remainder of the church's property was disposed of, the business elosed out, and the duties of administrator ended. The entire membership of the Moravian congregation in 1851 numbered 1,007, an inerease of one hundred and nineteen since the organization of Bethlehem as a borough.
Bethlehem was incorporated as a borough under act of the Legis- lature, which was approved by Governor Francis H. Shunk, March 6, 1845. The act defines the limits and bounds as follows: "Beginning at the river Lehigh, at the fording place immediately above Jones' Island; thenee up the said river to the mouth of Monocaey creek; thenee along said creek to the stone bridge at the Hanover township line in Northampton county ; thenee along the center of the upper road, leading from Allentown to Easton, to the intersection of the road leading from Nazareth to Phila- delphia ; thence along the center of the road last named to the river Lehigh to the place of beginning." These boundaries were extended by an act of the Legislature, approved by Governor James Pollock, March 24, 1856, as follows: "Beginning at a stone the southeast corner of said borough in the north side of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's Canal, it being a joint corner of lands of the said Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company and the lands of the United Brethren in the borough of Bethlehem and its vicinity ; thence through the lands of P. H. Goepp, the congregation of the United Brethren, William Luckenbach, now or late of Aaron W. Radley, F. Fenner, north five and one-half degrees, east two hundred and seventy- eight perches ; thence through the lands of F. Fenner, John Fritag, John J. Levers and Daniel Desh to the forks of the Easton and Nazareth road, where it reaches the present east line of the borough, north eighty-four and one-half degrees west, a distance of one hundred and four and one-fourth perches."
At the first election, Charles Augustus Luckenbach was chosen chief burgess; Charles L. Knauss, treasurer; and Samuel Brunner, clerk. The growth of the borough was rapid, and in accordance with the census of 1850 there was a population of 1516 souls. The valuation of the assessed property in 1853 was $1,004,369, the number of taxables being 405, the houses 207. There were in the borough thirty-two stores of various kinds, two grist mills, a distillery and brewery. The population of the borough steadily increased, and in 1870 there were 4,512 souls. The advent of railroads also enhaneed
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the commercial interests of Bethlehem; the Lehigh & Susquehanna and North Pennsylvania railroads infused new life into the capitalists of the borough, which resulted in the foundation of industries which contributed largely to the prosperity of the town. The means of communication across the Lehigh river dated back to the first settlement of Bethlehem. A ferry was opened March II, 1743, operated by poling a flatboat. Seven years 1 tl wharves were constructed, and in 1758 a rope was introduced, stretched tre As the river between two points, which greatly facilitated the passage across the river. The first bridge was erected in 1794; it was an uncovered bridge built of hemlock, and opened for travel September 19, 1794. It was removed in 1816 and a more durable one resting on four piers was con- structed, the first carriage passing across October 19th of that year. The Bethlehem Bridge Company was organized and incorporated in April, 1827. and in 1841 the second bridge was carried away by a freshet, whereupon a covered bridge was built, which was partially rebuilt after the freshet of 1862, and narrowly escaped destruction again in 1902. It was made a free hridge November 8, 1892.
The New Street Bridge Company was incorporated May 3, 1864, and built a bridge in 1866-67 over the Lehigh river, connecting the boroughs of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem at New street, at the cost of $60,000. The bridge is 1,046 fect in length, its two ends rest in Northampton county, while the central piers stand in the county of Lehigh; the entire width of the latter county is spanned by the bridge. The structure is thirty-six feet above low water mark, rests upon eight piers, spans the tracks of the Lehigh & Susquehanna and the Lehigh railroads, the Lehigh canal, Lehigh river, Monocacy creek, and Sand Island. It was opened for travel September 2, 1867. The company to construct the Broad Street Bridge was incorporated May 1, 1869. The structure was of iron, connecting the west side of Main street with West Bethlehem, crossing above Monocacy creek sixty-seven feet, carrying the travel high above the tracks of the Lehigh and Lackawanna railroads. The length of the bridge is 460 feet, divided into three spans of one hundred feet and two of eighty feet each. The bridge was open for travel May 17, 1871. It was purchased by Lehigh and Northampton counties in 1887, and the collection of tolls ceased May 14th that year. December I, 1909, a new modern reinforced concrete bridge was officially opened to vehicles.
Bethlehem is celebrated for its schools. For the first forty years of its existence, only children of the church were admitted as pupils. There existed then a boys' boarding school, which was transferred to Nazareth in 1759. There was also a girls' boarding school, which afterwards became the Moravian Seminary for Young Ladies. This school was at the same time the day school for the daughters of the Moravian families at Bethlehem, and after the removal of the Boys' Institute to Nazareth there was also a boys' day school established. These two schools were discontinued in 1857, when they were combined into one parochial school. On the passage of the Com- mon School Law of 1835, the Moravian schools were made in part common schools. The first school building erected by the borough in 1862 was located on Wall street: though it was subsequently enlarged and improved.
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it was too small to accommodate the pupils, and another school building was built on Garrison street. The Franklin School was erected in 1870 at the cost of $75,000, at the corner of North and Centre streets, and the school on Garrison street was discontinued. The schools were graded, and the attendance in 1877 was 600 children, instructed by thirteen teachers in twelve rooms.
The original supply of water at Bethlehem was by carriers from copious and unfailing springs. The first water works, the oldest in Pennsylvania and probably in the United States, were erected in 1754 by Hans Christopher Christiansen, a Dane from Holstein. The water was forced by a pump made of lignum vitae, and was conveyed by bored hemlock logs to a reservoir located on the site of the Moravian church. A stone structure was erected in 1761 for new machinery, consisting of three iron force pumps geared to the shaft of an undershot water-wheel, and was put in operation July 6, 1762. The distributing reservoir was a wooden tower on the old site of the reservoir. In the course of years numerous improvements were made; in 1803 the water tower was removed to Market street, and a new reservoir was built in 1813 on that street. Here the works remained until 1832, in which year a new and more powerful pump was procured and a more capa- cious reservoir was made on Broad street. The Bethlehem Water Company, organized in 1845, introduced steam as a pumping agent in 1868, and three years later sold the works to the borough.
The Moravians early took precautionary measures for fire protection. The first regular fire department was organized in May, 1762, and was under the supervision of the warden and overseers of the community. The depart- ment was supplied only with buckets and ladders. Probably the first fire engine used in America was the "Perseverance," purchased in London by the Moravian church for £77 125. 2d. This engine was built in 1698, and purchased by Capt. Christian Jacobson, brought over by him in the ship Hope at an expense of £6 18s. 3d., and delivered at Bethlehem, December 10, 1763. The second engine, the "Diligence," was imported in 1792 from Newied on the Rhine. Five fire companies were organized about 1808; the unmarried men constituted one company and took the "Perseverance," the married men taking the "Diligence." Soon after the organization of Bethlehem as a borough, the company in charge of the "Perseverance" engine was reorgan- ized, and the old apparatus was replaced by a more modern hand engine. which in turn was superseded by a Silsby steamer. In 1873 the company was again reorganized, a beautiful hose carriage purchased, and about 800 feet of leather hose. Trouble then commenced between the old company and the town council, the former was suspended, and the latter took posses- sion of the property. Thereupon the company, being an incorporated body, brought suit in equity, which resulted in a verdict in the lower court for the company for the amount claimed. This judgment was reversed in a higher court on the ground of the suit being improperly brought, with additional opinion that property purchased out of donations from people was trust property and neither the company nor the borough could dispose of it, nor divert it from its original purposes. Diligence Hose Company No. 2 was equipped with a fine hose carriage and adequate hose. The first hose used
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in Bethlehem was made of hemp and brought from Germany in 1818; the first leather hose was purchased in 1836 for the Reliance Steam Fire Engine Company No. 3, which at that time was equipped with a Silsby steamer. Nisky Hook and Ladder Company No. I had a handsome truck with several hundred feet of ladders owned by the company. This was the status of the fire department in 1877, the service being voluntary, excepting in the care of the engine and repairs. The borough owned all the fire houses and all the apparatus except one, on which it had a mortgage. The Perseverance Company had its own horses, while the Reliance Company was furnished them from an adjoining livery stable.
The streets of Bethlehem were lighted in the latter part of the eighteenth century by oil lamps, which were paid for by private subscriptions. The Bethlehem Gas Company was chartered February 7, 1853, with authorized capital of $20,000. The company commenced to furnish gas January 26, 1854, and on July 13th of that year gas was substituted for oil in street lighting.
The first postal arrangements, made in July, 1742, were strictly private. George Neisser was the postmaster ; Henry Antes had charge of post horses; and Abraham Buringer, Andrew the negro, Christian Werner and George Schneider, were postilions. The mail left Bethlehem every Monday morning and arrived at Philadelphia on Wednesday morning, returning the same day, reaching Bethlehem on Friday. The town depended upon this private enter- prise ail through the colonial period, as there was no government post. George Klein, in 1763, introduced a weekly stage wagon to Philadelphia, but this was discontinued the following year. It was, however, the fore- runner of numerous stage lines which subsequently came to Bethlehem until the opening of railroads. The postal system developed slowly, and it was not until 1792 that the first United States post-office was opened in Beth- lehem. Joseph Horsfield was the first postmaster, and his successors have been prominent and influential citizens.
The construction of the Lehigh Canal, which began at Bethlehem in August, 1827, necessitated many changes in the topography of the land in the lower section of the town. The advent of the canal, followed by activities of industrial enterprises, had a tendency to promote growth in that portion of West Bethlehem which lies between the river and Monocacy creek. This locality became known about 1830 as South Bethlehem. The Moravians in early days purchased land contiguous to their settlement and became pos- sessed of four large and valuable farms in Lower Saucon and Salisbury townships, known as the Luckenbach, Jacobi, Fucher and Hoffert farms. Without following the history of these purchases through the earlier years, it is sufficient in regard to the annals of South Bethlehem that in 1847 these census of 1870 shows the number of inhabitants to be 3,556.
four farms were sold by the Moravian Society to Charles A. Luckenbach, excepting three small parcels aggregating less than six acres which had been previously sold. Mr. Luckenbach disposed of portions of the tract, and in 1852 laid out a town plot, naming it Augusta, which was in reality the first commencement of South Bethlehem. The location of Augusta is de- scribed as extending north and south from tracks of the North Pennsylvania mailroad to Lehigh river, and east and west from Northampton to Poplar
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streets. The first building lot was purchased for $200 by Levin C. Pcysert. The building era was inaugurated by the commencement of three large frame houses, October 31, 1853, by Borhek and Knauss. Many other town lots were sold, two parcels of four acres, respectively, to Samuel Wetherill and the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company. Thirty-five acres were dis- posed of to Asa Packer for the use of the Lehigh Valley railroad. The vil- lage site was rechristened Wetherill in 1854, which was not, however, of long continuance, as it was succeeded by the designation of Bethlehem South, and on the organization of the borough this was abandoned for South Bethlehem. The growth and progress of the town was rapid, largely due to the opening of railroads, which resulted in the establishments of manu- facturing industries on a large scale.
The incorporation of the borough of South Bethlehem was effected by a decree of the court of Quarter Sessions of Northampton county at the August term in 1865. The corporate limits of the borough were defined as follows: "Beginning at a point on the bank of the river Lehigh, opposite a small island in the line of Northampton and Lehigh counties; thence fol- lowing down the several courses of said river 427.45 perches to an oak oppo- site the head of Ysselstein's Island : thence southeasterly thirty perches to a stone in the Hellertown road ; thence along the lands of Asa Packer, westerly and southwesterly 333 perches to the northeast corner of said Asa Packer's land ; thence westerly 127.4 perches to the line of Lehigh county ; and thence northeasterly 130 perches along said line to the place of beginning."
At the first election for borough officials, James McMahon was chosen burgess. A meeting of the council was held September 19, 1865, at the Lehigh Valley House. A line of substantial improvements, among which were paving and curbing the streets, was determined upon. The population of the borough at the time of incorporation is not precisely known, but the
The South Bethlehem Gas and Water Company was organized in June, 1867, with a paid-up capital of $25,000, under a charter granted in 1864 by the Legislature of Pennsylvania. The crection of the gas works was com- menced in August, 1867, and during the fall of that year three miles of main pipes were laid through the principal streets of the borough and up to Fountain Hill. The works were completed in December of that year, and the first gas was made December 24, 1867. The water works were not built until 1875. when a steam pump was put up at the Bethlehem Iron Company's Works, from which the pipes were laid through all the principal streets of the borough, supplying thirty-three fire plugs, two railroad water stations, and a large number of private consumers. The Protection Fire Company was organized for the protection of property and life. The fire department was increased July 31, 1875. by the organization of Centennial Hose Com- pany No. 1. Liberty Fire Company, May 3, 1876, and the Lehigh Hook and Ladder Company, November 25, 1884. The South Bethlehem post-office dates from June, 1866, the first postmaster being John Seem.
The first public school in South Bethlehem was erected in 1858, its size being about 20 by 25 feet. The school director at that time prophesicd that it would accommodate the pupils for at least twenty years; but instead of twenty, it was only two years when a larger house was required. This was
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built in 1860, but this in turn soon became inadequate and the Penrose School on Vine street was built in 1867, and three years later the Melrose School on Poplar street. The Penrose schoolhouse in 1892 was replaced by the Central High School building. The Webster and Packer schools were built at a later date.
Fountain Hill is a name given to that part of South Bethlehem lying on the eastern and southeastern slope of Lehigh Mountain. The name had its origin from the numerous springs flowing out of the upper part of the hill, and was first applied in 1866. The tract was largely situated on the Hoffert farm, purchased by Charles A. Luckenbach from the Mora- vians. In 1854 a portion of the hill was purchased by Philadelphia parties and a town plot was laid out. Soon after this, Robert H. Sayre, then super- intendent of the Lehigh Valley railroad, purchased an extensive lot and built the first residence after the town was plotted. Among the other buildings on Fountain Hill at this time were the farmhouse and buildings of Augustus Fiot. a retired music dealer of Philadelphia, a native of France, who in his youth had resided near Fontainebleau, which name he gave to his villa. With its stately old trees, beautiful flowers and fountains, Fontainebleau was the most beautiful spot in the vicinity of Bethlehem. This property, after the death of the owner, passed to his brother, Julius Fiot, who sold it to Tinsley Jeter, who in 1867 conceived the idea of opening a girls' school and tendered the property on favorable terms for this purpose. At a meeting held by interested parties December 11, 1867, Mr. Jeter's offer was accepted and the necessary steps at once taken. The school was established under the auspices of the Episcopal church, and was opened September 5, 1868. The name Bishopthorpe was suggested by Rev. William Bacon Stevens, Bishop of Pennsylvania, who had lately been in England, where he was the guest of the Archbishop of York at his country seat, Bishopthorpe. For a period of several years prior to 1908 the school was discontinued, and on October Ist of that year it was reopened with Prof. Claude N. Wyant as principal. There was also on Fountain Hill the water-cure hospital presided over by Dr. Francis H. Oppeldt, a native of Germany, who came to America in 1843 and located at Bethlehem. Attracted by the remarkable spring of pure water, he applied to the Moravians for permission to erect a building, which was completed in 1848. It was a hotel-like structure, with accommo- dations for forty people, and the treatment consisted of hot and cold water applications in various forms, internal as well as external. The place at once acquired an extensive patronage which continued until 1871, when financial reverses compelled the proprietor to dispose of the property. St. Luke's Hospital was chartered by the Legislature in 1872, at the instance of the Episcopal church authorities, and the board of trustees was made to consist of the Episcopal bishop of the diocese and rectors, with two or more lay members of the Episcopal churches in the Lehigh Valley. The first members of the board from South Bethlehem were: Rev. Cortlandt Whitehead, Robert H. Sayre, Tinsley Jeter and John Smylie. A change was made in the charter in 1872 that the selection of trustees be permitted from other denominations. The hospital was opened in October, 1873, a building being purchased and fitted up on Broad street, now Broad-
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way, South Bethlehem. Through the kindly aid of Asa Packer and others, the water-cure property with an adjacent tract was purchased in 1875, and on May 24 the hospital was opened at its present location. In nearly half a century of its existence this beneficent institution had done a remarkable and useful work. Beautiful and extensive residences on Fountain Hill at this period were the Freytage house, owned by O. H. Wheeler; the resi- dences of W. H. Sayre, E. P. Wilbur, John Smylie and Dr. Frederick Martin. The handsome residence of Dr. G. B. Linderman, with its graperies and green- houses, was built in 1870, and afterwards became the property of Charles M. Schwab, who made extensive alterations and improvements. These residences were in that portion of Fountain Hill within the limits of Northampton county.
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