History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 17

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424

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Although reannexed to Northumberland county in 1815, the boundaries of Chillisquaque and Turbut were again disturbed in 1816 by the excision of a part of their area in favor of Columbia. This reduced Chillisquaque to its present limits; and in 1843 Delaware and Lewis were formed from Turbut, thus bringing the northern part of the county to its present geographical status.

The boroughs of the county have been incorporated in the following or- der: Sunbury, March 24, 1797; Milton, February 26, 1817; Northumber- land, January 16, 1828; McEwensville, November 7, 1857; Turbutville,

154

HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

January 3, 1859; Mt. Carmel, November 3, 1862; Shamokin, November, 1864; Watsontown, November 4, 1867; Riverside, May 4, 1871; Snydertown, May 26, 1871; East Sunbury, December 5, 1890.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION.

In 1800 the population of Northumberland county by townships and boroughs was as follows :-

SUBDIVISIONS.

Free Persons.

Slaves.

SUBDIVISIONS.

Free Persons.

Slaves.

Augusta.

1,037

Mahantango

1,070

Beaver.

1,257

Mahoning

1,102

Beaver Creek

543

Mifflin.

450

Bloom.

806

Miles

588

Catawissa.

1,315

Penn's

2,309

Chillisquaque

1,098

Point

874

Derry.

1,570

Shamokin

1,466

East Buffalo

1,982

Sunbury

611

Fishing Creek.

419

Turbut.

2,364

Greenwood

663

Washington.

380

Haines.

1,387

West Buffalo

1,691

Mahanoy

1,810

White Deer

977

The census of 1820 was the first after the county was reduced to its pres- ent limits. The following table exhibits the population by townships and boroughs at each decennial census since that date :-

SUBDIVISIONS.

1820.

1830.

1840.

1850.

1860.

1870.

1880.

1890.

Augusta

2,075

2,131

2,409

402

603

976

1,034

Chillisquaque

1,035

1,199

1,399

1,344

1,341

1,597

1,737

1,607

Coal.

918

1,461

1,769

2,920

4,320

8,616

Delaware

1,908

1,903

1,879

2,037

1,864

Jackson

1,584

1,935

717

886

959

1,046

Lewis

1,475

919

1,228

1,173

1,151

Little Mahanoy

447

563

213

326

323

269

326

327

Lower Augusta

2,019

2,095

1,802

1,194

839

Lower Mahanoy

1,214

1,738

1,199

1,474

1,664

1,790

1,866

1,750

MeEwensville

391

342

283

262

Milton .

1,016

1,281

1,508

1,649

1,702

1,909

2,102

5,317

Mt. Carmel*

1,289

2,378

8,254

Mt. Carmel

1,088

2,451

3,126

3,192

Northumberland.

1,095

928

1,041

1,108

1,788

2,293

2,744

Point.

1,373

987

746

876

1,015

938

926

778

Riverside

336

394

Rockefeller

836

1,071

Rush .

1,192

1,078

1,028

1,178

1,219

1,324

1,263

1,346

Shamokin

1,820

1,909

1,983

2,191

2,159

2,282

2,218

1,443

Sunbury

861

1,057

1,108

1,218

1,803

3,131

4,077

5,930

Turbut.

2,752

3,388

3,872

1,047

1,760

1,803

2,821

792

Turbutville

Upper Augusta.

862

912

1,246

1,735

2,749

Upper Mahauoy

1,639

1,742

1,131

1,268

990

878

922

891

Washington

870

801

811

788

Watsontown

1,181

1,481

2,157

Zerbe

1,432

1,446

1,147

1,355

Jordan

960

924

973

914

Ralpho

1,001

Shamokin*

4,320

8,184

14,403

Snydertown

209

242

380

417

414

441

Cameron

*Borough.

155

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

The aggregate population of the county at each decennial census has been as follows :-

1790.

1800.

1810.

1820.

1830.

1840.

1850.

1860.

1870.

1880.

1890.

White.

16,963 109 89

27,633 135

36,130 194 3

15,310 113

18,033 100

19,922 105

23,180 92

28,807 115

41,311 133

Total

17,161

27,797

36,327

15,424

18,133

20,027

23,272

28,922

41,444

53,123

74,698

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

Section VIth of the act erecting Northumberland county appointed Will- iam Maclay, Samuel Hunter, John Lowdon, Joseph Wallis, and Robert Moodie, or any three of them-

To purchase and take assurance to them and their heirs of a piece of land, situate in some convenient place in the said county, to be approved by the Governor, in trust, and for the use of the inhabitants of the said county, and thereupon to erect and build a court house and prison sufficient to accommodate the public service of the said county, and for the ease and convenience of the inhabitants.

It is to be observed that the selection of the site was left almost entirely to the discretion of the commissioners; nor had the location of the county seat been definitely determined at the date of the act above quoted. While the interest of the Proprietaries, governed by the location of the manor of Pomfret, favored the selection of the site of Sunbury, there were other cir- cumstances that also claimed consideration and affected in a measure the ultimate result. The larger part of the area of the county was west of the Susquehanna and north of the North Branch. In the latter direction, par- ticularly, there was an aggressive and increasing population. That the site of Northumberland was seriously considered with reference to the location of the county town is evident from the following instructions of James Tilgh- man to William Maclay :-

You are to treat with Mr. Lowdon, and if his title be good, and he will take a sum named in the instructions (two hundred pounds), the town is to be laid out in the forks; otherwise on the fort side. Wallis and Haines have said they had a right, and they must relinquish it. As Lowdon's application was in his wife's name, she must convey. As putting the town in the Forks is a concession against the interest of the Proprieta- ries to accommodate the people, if the place can not be clear of claims, the town must be on the other side.

Subsequent developments can not be satisfactorily traced; but at a meet- ing of the Executive Council on the 16th of June, 1772, the surveyor general was directed to "lay out a town for the county of Northumberland, to be called by the name of Sunbury, at the most commodious place between the fort [Augusta] and the mouth of Shamokin creek," with a "commodious square in the most convenient place for public buildings." It is unneces- sary to add that the proceedings under this order disposed of the question at

Free Colored Slaves

156

HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

issue most effectually, and permanently fixed the seat of justice for the county at its present location.

The act erecting the county directed that until a court house should be built the courts should be held at Fort Augusta; and there the first county court, a private sessions of the peace, was held on the 9th of April, 1772. How long the courts were held at the fort can not be definitely ascertained; it is evident from the minutes that the sessions were uniformly held there more than a year, and after that at occasional intervals. It is probable the residence of William Maclay did temporary duty as a court house, but this is largely matter of conjecture. It is entered of record at August sessions, 1775, that "the common pleas adjourned to Tuesday, the 26th day of Sep- tember, to the house of Samuel Harris in Sunbury." After the jail was completed it became also the place of holding the courts, but this arrange- ment does not appear to have given entire satisfaction, and the public house of Christian Gettig was secured for this purpose. The offices of the recorder and prothonotary were kept at various places. Among the expendi- tures of the commissioners in providing facilities for the transaction of public business at this period were the following :-

1792, January 28 .- To Christian Gettig, for the use of his house for the £ s. d.

January court, and for the room for the commissioners three weeks .. 1793, February 1 .-- To Christian Gettig, for the use of his house for No- vember and January courts last, and the room for the commissioners 6 0 0

6 0 0

1794, March 14 .- To Christian Gettig, for the last year's use of his house, fire and candles for the court, aud for the room for the commis- sioners

1795, May 1 .- To Christian Gettig, for one year's use for his house, fire- wood and candles for the court and commissioners, ending the 14th day of March last.

7 10 0

1795, September 3 .- To John Simpson, for rent for his office to this date in full

7 10 0

1796, January 8 .- To John Simpson, for one year's rent for the recording office, commencing the 1st of January, 1795, and ending the 1st of January, 1796 7 10 0

30 0 0

1796, February 27 .- To Jacob Prisinger, for rent for the office of the prothonotary in full to the 15th day of May, 1795.

$20 00

A considerable period thus elapsed before the "commodious square" in the town of Sunbury appropriated for the public buildings of the county was improved in the manner designed. For this two principal reasons may be assigned: first, the Revolutionary war had left the people in an impoverished condition, and precedence was naturally given to personal rather than pub- lic necessity; second, the county embraced a wide extent of territory, from which the formation of new counties was only a question of time, and in anticipation of this the inhabitants of the more remote districts were reluct- ant to contribute toward improvements in which they could not expect to have a permanent interest. But the necessity of providing better facilities

157

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

for the courts and greater security for the public records at length became imperative, as evidenced by the following proclamation from the county treasurer which appeared in the Sunbury and Northumberland Gazette of January 1, 1794 :- -

WHEREAS, The county may shortly expect to be called upon to refund to the State the principal and interest of the eight hundred pounds borrowed from the State before the Revolution for the purpose of building a court house in Sunbury; and whereas the president and associate judges of this county have called upon the commissioners and threatened them with immediate prosecution in case they do not next summer proceed to build a new court house, gaol, and an office to keep the county records in, as the gaol and court house is now become ruinous: I therefore call upon all deliu- quent collectors iu this county to come in and settle off their respective duplicates. December 18, 1793. FREDERICK ANTES.

Whether the county commissioners evinced a disposition to disregard the mandate of the judges is not known, but legislative authority was next invoked, and by an act approved on the 18th of April, 1794, they were directed to levy a tax not exceeding five thousand three hundred thirty-three dollars, thirty-three cents, for the erection of a court house. For the expend- iture of this fund and the general supervision of the work of construction the act appointed three trustees, viz .: John Weitzel, Alexander Hunter, and William Gray, all of whom resided at Sunbury and were doubtless selected because of the local interest they would naturally feel in having the work done in the best manner possible.

From "a list of vouchers of the trustees for building the court house in Sunbury," now in the possession of Captain John Buyers, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, it is ascertained that the lime was furnished by Joseph Mc- Cleery, Isaac Stewart, Christian Miller, and William P. Brady; hewed stone, by Jacob Snyder; stone, by Robert Walker and Zachariah Robins; bricks, by John Lyon and John Young; scantling, by Hezekiah Boone, Jacob Gear- hart, Jacob Snyder, Robert Gray, William Dewart, and John Haas; shingles, by Henry Antes, Seth Stone, and W. Spring; boards, by Christian Ertle, Robert Gray, and Hughes & Higgins; nails, by Andrew Grove and Will- iam Wilson; glass, locks, etc., by Joseph Sinton, and flaxseed oil, by David Smith. The foundation was dug by Robert Walker; the mason work was done by George Seitz, the carpenter work by Conrad Beck, the plastering by George Seitz and Jacob Waters, and the hauling by Leonard Epley, Val- entine Billman, William Gray, Frederick Myers, James Smith, Elijah Bar- rett, Henry Bucher, Allen & Cox, Thomas Giberson, Paul Weitzel, and Alex- ander Hunter. The well was dug by Zachariah Robins, and W. Hoffman furnished the pump. The vouchers aggregate seventeen hundred sixty-one pounds, two shillings, seven pence; the orders of the trustees, drawn upon Frederick Antes, county treasurer, amount to eighteen hundred three pounds, fifteen shillings, three pence half penny, beginning with October 1, 1795, and ending, November 28, 1798. It may fairly be presumed that the interval

158

HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

between these dates was the entire period of construction; there is also evi- dence that the internal arrangements of the building were completed in 1797.

This building, the first erected in Northumberland county for the special purposes of a court house, was situated at the western end of the public square in the borough of Sunbury. It was a square brick structure, two stories high, with gables on the east and west. The entire lower floor was used as a court room; it was entered from the east, west, and south, the judges' bench being at the end opposite the southern entrance. In the southeast corner a stairway ascended to the second story, where there was a large jury room, while a smaller apartment in the northeast corner was occu- pied by the Masonic fraternity. At the center of the building a belfry surmounted the roof; on top of the belfry as originally built were a plow and cornstalk, probably emblematic of the agricultural character of the com- munity. On the 14th of July, 1838, James Dieffenbacher was awarded the contract for the erection of a steeple, (so called in the commissioners' minutes; perhaps better described as a belfry); on this the rustic ornaments of its pre- decessor were replaced by a conventional weather-vane. The court house bell is now the property of the Presbyterian church of Sunbury; it bears the legend, "George Hedderley, Philadelphia, 1794." An important accessory to the building was the public well, in front of the east entrance; of the im- provements once situated on the park this alone remains.

The court room appears to have been practically unfurnished for a num- ber of years. At November sessions, 1820, the grand jury presented the necessity of procuring seats, urging that they knew "no good reason why suitors, witnesses, spectators, and jurymen should be treated as rabble," and stating that "persons compelled to attend the trial of a cause are now obliged to stand the whole day, or sit amidst the dirt of the steps in the back of the court house;" whereupon the court directed the commissioners to appropriate a sum not exceeding a hundred dollars to provide suitable accommodations. In 1845 the bar inclosure, formerly semi-circular, was made rectangular; benches were placed on either side for jurymen and various conveniences were provided for the lawyers, including tables, chairs, etc. Two wooden pillars, situated just within the railing of the bar inclosure, supported the floor above. The first stoves were placed in the court room in the winter of 1801-02. There were two of them; they were brought from Reading by Matthias Persing and John Snyder, respectively, and placed in position by William Myers. They were purchased from Matthias Bobb, the considera- tion being one hundred three dollars, thirty-three cents. As early as 1815 the use of "stone coal" was recommended by the grand jury, but it does not appear that this fuel was introduced until 1837, when the expenses of Fred- erick Lazarus in making a journey to Centre and Lewistown furnaces to pro- cure three coal stoves were paid by the board of commissioners, of which he was a member.

159

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

Up to this time there was no regularly established place for the transac- tion of business though the offices of the prothonotary, register and recorder, and commissioners, and provision for the requirements of public convenience in this respect next received consideration. The first formal action of the com- missioners regarding this matter is the following resolution, which occurs in the minutes under date of February 14, 1798 :-

Resolved, That John Lyon forthwith erect and complete the public offices, as stipu- lated in the condition of his obligation of this day's date and filed in this office.

The work of construction had already begun, however, as evidenced by an order for three hundred dollars in favor of Mr. Lyon for fifty thousand bricks, issued by the commissioners, January 3, 1798. The brickyard was situated at the southeast corner of Walnut and Awl streets, upon a lot of ground recently sold by Dr. R. H. Awl to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. No great degree of energy characterized the building trades at that period, and it was not until the autumn of the year 1800 that the "public offices " were completed. The following minute occurs in the records of the board under date of October 28, 1800 :---

The board proceeded to the settlement of John Lyon's account respecting the county offices on the report of William Montgomery, Samuel Maclay, Simon Snyder, and Samuel Dale, and finally settled the same, which amounts to £1915 15s. 6d.

Mr. Lyon received a final payment of one hundred ninety-four dollars, fifty-two cents, November 12, 1800. His contract probably included only the main parts of the building; the shelves in the prothonotary's office were constructed by Theodorus Kiehl, and those in the recorder's office by Abra- ham Kiehl; the smithwork was done by John Hill; and John Alter furnished certain "necessary appurtenances " not enumerated in his account.

This building was popularly known as the " state house," but the origin of the name or the period when it first acquired general currency can not be satisfactorily determined. It was a two-story brick structure, aligned with Market and Second streets, with its greatest length (sixty feet) from east to west. About two thirds the distance from the west end a hall extended through the building from north to south, opening upon Market street and into the yard at its opposite extremity. From this hall the stairway ascended to the second story on the west side. There were three rooms on the second floor-a large jury room and two smaller apartments. The build- ing was divided on the first story into three sections and the hall by heavy brick walls extending from the front on Market street to the rear or south wall; and each section was divided into a room, and a fire proof vault for the preservation of records and papers. The walls of the vault were of brick, with the floors and the ceilings brick arches; the doors of the vaults were made of heavy wrought iron, and there was a window to each, with an inside iron shutter. The office of the prothonotary had the same relative position as in the present court house, occupying the eastern end of the building;

160

HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY.

those of the recorder and commissioners were west of the hall, the former communicating with it, the latter entered only from the street. In the year 1819 the words "Prothonotary's Office," "Register's and Recorder's Office," and "Commissioners' Office " were printed in large black letters over their respective doors. In the yard at the rear was a frame building in which the apparatus of the Washington and Good Will fire engine companies was kept.

The gradual development of the county and the large increase in popu- lation and wealth incident to the discovery of its mineral resources aug- mented the volume of legal business to a corresponding degree, and the time at length arrived when the buildings erected at the close of the last century were found to be utterly inadequate. At January sessions, 1860, the grand jury recommended the sale of the "state house" and the application of the pro- ceeds to repairs for the court house. This could have proven but a tem- porary solution of the difficulty, however. The first measures officially suggested for the erection of a new court house emanated from the grand jury at January sessions, 1864, when the citizens of Sunbury were recom- mended to contribute five thousand dollars and the limit of the total amount to be expended was placed at forty-five thousand dollars. This action re- ceived the indorsement of the grand inquest at the following term of court; the borough council of Sunbury assumed the amount mentioned, and the preliminaries having been thus arranged, the board of commissioners, on the 30th of November, 1864, unanimously resolved to take immediate meas- ures for carrying into execution the recommendation of the grand jury. To this end arrangements were made to visit the court houses recently erected in adjoining counties, in order that plans and specifications might be pre- pared before the close of the year. This was accomplished, the court house of Lycoming county being taken as the model. On the 5th of Jan- uary, 1865, proposals ranging from ninety-seven to one hundred five thou- sand dollars were received, and the contract was awarded D. S. Risel at the amount first named. On the 21st of March apartments in the residence of Mrs. Donnel were rented for one year for the offices of the prothonotary and register and recorder, and George Hill's office for the county commis- sioners. On the 24th of the same month the old court house was sold to Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M., for the sum of eight hundred dollars. The work of construction began in the early spring, and was pushed with energy. Within a year the new building was ready for occupancy; and on the 27th of March, 1866, the commissioners, prothonotary, treasurer, and register and recorder took possession of their respective offices. The aggregate cost con- siderably exceeded one hundred thousand dollars.

The present court house of the county is a brick building with an ex- treme length of one hundred twenty-two feet eleven inches, and an extreme width of sixty-six feet two inches. At the northwest corner a tower ascends to the height of one hundred twenty-five feet ; it contains a clock with four dials,

161

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

and a bell bearing the inscription: "Presented by the Hon. Simon Cameron to the citizens of Sunbury, Pa., June, 1866." The projecting corners of the building give to its exterior a symmetrical appearance. The main entrance is from Market street, from which a corridor extends the entire length of the first floor, communicating with the offices of the register and recorder, commissioners, and sheriff on the west, and those of the prothonotary and treasurer and the arbitration room on the east. A transverse hall crosses the center of the building. Two stairways in front and one on the east side in the rear ascend to the second floor. This is mainly occupied by the court room, a well furnished apartment of ample dimensions and good acoustics. Above the seat of justice is the figure of an eagle in bronze, and a portrait of Alexander Jordan, the first judge elected in Northumberland county. A large apartment in the rear of the court room and in the southwest corner of the second floor is devoted to the purposes of a law library; argument courts are usually held here in the interim between the regular terms. The corresponding space on the southeast is occupied by a jury room. Above the law library on the third floor is the grand jury room; there is also a jury room on this floor, and a waiting room for witnesses. The stairways in the front of the building are continued to the third landing, from which the ascent is made to the clock room. As a whole the court house is well adapted to its purposes, and will doubtless be sufficient for the requirements of the county for some years to come .*

County Prisons .- The jail is the inevitable accessory of the court in the administration of justice, and the enforcement of law in a community com- posed largely of a class who had sought to escape the restraints of civilized society by retiring to the frontier early demanded a place of confinement for offenders against "the peace and dignity" of the State. It was a duty enjoined upon the trustees of the county to take measures for the erection of a prison, but a divergence of views seems to have prevented concert of action in this matter. The extent to which this was the case is shown by the fol- lowing extract from a letter of William Maclay, addressed to James Tilgh- man and dated April 2, 1773 :-

I inclose you a letter from three of the trustees for the public buildings of this county respecting some measures which we have lately fallen on to rescue us from the scandal of living entirely without any place of confinement or punishment for villains. Captain Hunter has address enough to render abortive every attempt that was made

*The location of the present conrt house was decided upon by the commissioners, December 20, 1864, when "the ' state house ' lot and lot No. 8, known as the Snyder lot " were selected. The former, No. 5, had been reserved for the Proprietaries; it was conveyed by John Penn, Jr., and John Penn, Sr., through Anthony Butler, their attorney, to Daniel Levy by deed of July 18, 1794; consideration, forty- five pounds, with a quit rent of one pepper corn on the 1st of March, annually, if demanded, forever .- Recorded in Deed Book K, p. 243. The conveyance from Daniel Levy to the commissioners was executed, April 5, 1798; consideration, four hundred dollars. The commissioners to whom the deed was made were Nathan Stockman, Charles Irwin, and John Lyon .- Recorded in Deed Book K, p. 244. Lot No. 8 was conveyed to Northumberland county by John A. Snyder and wife, December 20, 1865; consideration, seven thousand dollars. Recorded in Deed Book XX, p. 137.

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History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Part 17

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829- Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Bell, Herbert C. (Herbert Charles), 1868- ed; John, J. J., 1829-
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago, Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1424