USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men > Part 30
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At Falling Springs, in Spring Township, where Abraham Bower re- sided and operated it.
Between Pine Hill and Sherman's Creek, at Billow's old fording.
Sponsler's distillery, New Bloomfield, site of foundry, Carlisle Street.
Along Little Buffalo Creek, in Juniata Township, owned and operated by Abram Flurie.
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THE TANNING INDUSTRY.
The tanning of leather dates back to the time of the red men, whose product was so finely tanned that one of Perry County's greatest tamers tells us it has never been equaled by the whites. Accidentally discovered by letting a hide lie among some oak bark over winter the Indians experimented until they had perfected a system. Their most delicate work was produced by using the brains of the deer. A history of this little mountain-bound county without something of its tanning industry and mention of the tan- ner's apprentice who became Pennsylvania's most noted journalist and a national figure (Col. A. K. McClure), would not be a his- tory at all. At first the tanneries followed the bark to be used in tanning, locating in the very midst of the forests, but later the bark followed the tanneries, as they were located along the trans- portation lines, many of the inland tanneries going out of ex- istence.
The tanning industry in America is, in fact, one of the original industries, and was from the early days one of the vocations of the pioneers. Perry County at one time was among the leading counties of the state in the tanning business, and had tanneries in many localities, but to-day only three remain, the Beaver tannery, near Blain, the Bechtel tannery at Newport, and the Rippman tan- nery at Millerstown. Although some of these tanneries are out of existence for a half-century an attempt has been made to record their locations, in so far as possible :
Ahl's tannery, in Henry's Valley, Toboyne Township. Samuel Lupfer ran it for years.
Tannery one mile above Fairview Church, in Toboyne Township, now run as a chopping mill. Once owned by E. A. Mclaughlin, now by Samuel Slemmons.
Tannery in New Germantown, in Toboyne Township, near where M. E. Church stands. Once owned by William D. Humes.
Beaver tannery at Monterey, Toboyne Township. Israel Lupfer ran it for years. One of the three tanneries still in operation. Now owned by Silas W. Gutshall.
Cook's tannery, in Horse Valley, Toboyne Township, near church.
Tannery in Henry's Valley.
Mohler's tannery in Liberty Valley, Madison Township. Built by Mil- ligan & Beale.
The McNeil tannery at Blain, on the Harry N. Hall farm. Burned in 1878.
The George Hench tannery at Centre, on present Robert Hench farm. Once the largest tannery in the county.
The Titzell tannery, between Green Park and Elliottsburg, operated until about 1870.
The Shearer tannery, owned by the father of Ex-Sheriff H. C. Shearer between Green Park and Landisburg, in Tyrone Township.
The Hench & Black tannery in Landisburg.
The Diven tannery in Landisburg.
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Tannery in Kennedy's Valley, Tyrone Township, last operated by "Colonel" Wm. Graham, now the Newton Reisinger farm.
Tannery in Sheaffer Valley, Tyrone Township, where Harry Kiner re- sides.
Tannery at Oak Grove, Tyrone Township, recently owned by Henchs, now in the possession of Thomas Bernheisel.
The Abraham Wertz tannery in Tyrone Township, on Carlisle road, three miles from Landisburg, now the Al. Dunkelberger farm.
Tannery one mile above Elliottsburg, in Spring Township, last owned by a Mr. Wentzell.
Loysville tannery, on property now owned by Mrs. William Kell.
The tannery of Daniel A. Bear's heirs, in Spring Township.
The tannery at Dromgold's corner, in Carroll Township, operated by T. M. Dromgold.
The Ickesburg tannery, erected in 1821.
The tannery above Ickesburg, long known as the Swartz tannery.
The Eshcol tannery, erected by William Rosensteel.
The tannery at Roseburg, Saville Township.
The Millerstown tannery, one of the very first. One of the three still in operation. Now owned by J. G. H. and C. A. Rippman, Jr.
The North tannery, in Greenwood Township.
The Newport tannery, now owned by the Elk Tanning Company. One of the three still in operation.
The Jordan tannery, at Walnut and Front Streets, Newport.
The Peale tannery, opposite the old jail, in New Bloomfield.
Tannery one mile west of New Bloomfield, operated as early as 1843, by Israel Lupfer.
The tannery near Nekoda store, in Greenwood Township, known as Shellenberger's.
The tannery at Allen's Cove (later Cove Forge, and now Covallen), where A. G. White (father of James A. White, of Shermansdale) built the Good Hope tannery and carried on the tanning business.
The tannery which John Bowers built at Mannsville and which he operated as late as 1871, when he died.
The tannery on Hominy Ridge, Juniata Township, operated by Robert Stephens. Residents who can remember to 1856 say it had then already ceased to operate. One stone building still stands.
The William Fosselman tannery, in Tuscarora Township, later the prop- erty of James Davis, and now owned by Mcclellan Lineawever. Out of business prior to 1870.
Before the building of the narrow gauge road-the Newport & Sherman's Valley-through western Perry County, and after the tanneries in western Perry had largely become extinct, the transportation of bark from that section to the Newport tannery was extensive, and those old bark wagons drawn by four- and six- horse teams are well remembered by many yet living. During the bark season long lines of them passed down the main valley high- way daily.
'The first tannery in the county was built by Joshua North, on the James Patterson farm, in Greenwood Township, before 1800. The bark was chopped into bits with axes in those days, instead of being ground. This tannery was later known as Jordan's. Just when North built the tannery is unknown, but in 1776 Joshua
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North, tanner, and Caleb North, storekeeper, came from Chester County and bought a number of tracts of land, including the old tannery farm. It probably was built soon after that. The Norths also bought the island in the Juniata, long known as North's Is- land, and being located at the old Rope Ferry Dam. In 1800 Joshna North built the Millerstown tannery, selling to Isaac Mc- Cord in 1816. During the ownership of Mr. McCord he also bought the Jordan tannery and closed it down. He also erected the stone house, which is the present home of J. H. G. Rippman, in 1822, and began the erection of a new tannery in 1824. In 1849 Henry Hopple purchased the plant from the McCord heirs for $2.500, and modernized it by the introduction of steam in 1867. Two years later he sold it to Joseph Howell, of Philadelphia, for $6,000.00. He erected a new steam tannery in 1870. In the mean- time it had become Howell & Company, who were overcome with financial difficulties, and the property was purchased in 1882 by Charles A. Rippman, a skilled tanner and business man, at assignee's sale. He put in modern leeches and modernized it throughout with improved machinery. In 1901 Mr. Rippman sold it to two of his sons, J. G. H. and C. A. Rippman, Jr., who are the owners at this time. This tannery has two claims to distinc- tion. One is that it was awarded the highest award for its product -oak tanned sole leather, at the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893, and the other is that it is an independent concern, altogether within the control of its owners. Few tanneries to-day lay claim to that distinction. Charles H. Rippman has been identified with the tan- ning trade in Perry County longer than any other man, and his product had a state-wide reputation.
The Beaver tannery is located in Jackson Township, two miles south of Blain. It was established prior to 1835 by a man named Ebright, and has been in continuous operation ever since, being the only inland tannery in the county from among the large number to remain in operation. The present tannery building was erected in 1849 by Samuel Mateer. The output is rough leather. harness leather and lace leather. This tannery has been operated by three generations of Gutshalls. Capt. Samuel Gutshall owned and operated it for some time prior to 1860. His son, David Gutshall, then became owner and operated it until 1896, when the present owner, Silas W. Gutshall, assumed charge, since which time he has operated it.
The Newport tannery dates back to 1872, when John A. Bechtel & Son purchased a plot of three acres of land in Oliver Township, adjoining Newport Borough on the west, and extending from Third to Front Street. This part of the township has since been taken into the Newport Borough. The Bechtels erected on this site a two-story stone tannery, which is still in use and now owned
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by the Elk Tanning Company, Ridgway, Pa. John A. Bechtel died in 1875, and the business was then conducted by the remaining member of the firm, his son, H. H. Bechtel. After the sale of this tannery (and another which he owned at Reed's Gap) to the Elk Tanning Company in 1893, he became associated with the Ameri- can Oak Leather Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the time of his death, July 13, 1914, was vice-president of that company. Horace Beard, who was a grandson of John A. Bechtel, was the first superintendent appointed by the Elk Tanning Company, serv- ing from 1893 to 1900, when he became division superintendent of a group of tanneries, including the Newport tannery, which he held until his death, April 7, 1911. Edward G. Sheafer succeeded Mr. Beard as superintendent from 1900 to 1914, when he was transferred to a Southern tannery, and John G. Culver appointed superintendent, serving from 1914 10 1916. Mr. Culver was suc- ceeded by George P. Bistline, a native of Perry County, who is the present superintendent. This tannery increased its capacity and has been kept in first-class condition, employing a large num- ber of men steadily from the time of its erection. It has been idle only sixty days since its erection in 1872. Oak tanned sole leather has always been manufactured at this plant, and from 4,000 to 5,000 tons of rock oak bark are consumed annually, most of which is purchased in Perry and surrounding counties.
Quite a number of the employees have worked in the tannery for a long period of years, four men having an average of over forty years' service. While labor troubles throughout the country prevail this is a matter of interest. Two of these employees have been with it over forty-five years and two others over thirty-five, at this time (1920). These men and their length of service are George W. Taylor, 48 years; James Gardner, 46 years; George Shull, 37 years, and William Gardner, 37 years.
EARLY IRON INDUSTRY.
There is a Jewish legend that when the temple at Jerusalem was completed the king gave a feast to the workmen and artificers em- ployed in its construction. The story went abroad that the par- ticular craftsman who had done the most to complete the great structure should have the seat of honor next to the king. A black- smith claimed the place and the populace clamored. The great Solomon commanded that the man be allowed to speak, whereupon he asked how these builders could have erected the temple without the tools which he had wrought out of iron. Solomon decreed that "the seat is his of right; all honor to the iron worker." Dur- ing a residence, while a newspaper proprietor, of more than a dozen years in Duncannon, the one iron town in Perry County, I saw men toil amidst red-hot furnaces, while others slept, to pro-
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duce iron from the raw material. The scene is so vivid in my memory to this day that I join in saying "all honor to the iron worker," and especially those early pioneers, who wrought better than they knew, who established primitive plants within the con- fines of our forests and who were the heralds of the present great iron and steel industry of the nation.
The very first one of these primitive plants within the county's boundaries, of which we can find record, is the Boyd forge, in Carroll Township. In 1793 William Boyd warranted 105 acres in eastern Carroll, at Boyd's Fording, and settled there. He erected several blacksmith forges and began the manufacture of nails. The iron was brought from Carlisle and slit by him into rods, and by himself and his three sons manufactured into hand- made nails. This plant was still in operation when the county was formed.
As early as 1804 there is record of the Lewis forge, located on Cocolamus Creek, in Greenwood Township, near Millerstown, be- ing in operation. Its employees were mostly negroes who lived in a colony of huts surrounding the plant. In describing it in his history (1873) Wright says: "The old forge hammer, broken through the eye, still remains in the dried-up race, while the stone abutment breastwork of the dam, on the east side of the creek, may still be seen." It was known as Mt. Vernon forge and was built by General James Lewis in 1804.
General Lewis was one of the proprietors of Hope furnace, west of Lewistown, and operated the Mt. Vernon forge in con- nection with it. He was a Berks County ironmaster, and James Blaine, of the vicinity of Blain, Perry County, was married to his daughter. In fact, Mr. Blaine helped him build Hope furnace in 1797 and Mt. Vernon furnace in 1804. On the retirement of Mr. Lewis, Mr. Blaine operated the forge. He later sold to a man named M'Gara, who failed, the property coming into the posses- sion of Purcell & Woods. William P. Elliott and William Power purchased from them and rebuilt the forge, but failed in 1817, and the property reverted to Purcell & Woods. From then it was never operated. The forge had two fires and two large hammers, which were supplied with charcoal from Forge Hill and pig metal from Hope furnace and Juniata furnace in Centre Township.
Landisburg was the site of an early nail factory. It was located on Water Street, in the rear part of a building started in 1794 and not completed until 1809. The front part is of stone, and the rear was built of logs. It is now owned by Mrs. Robert Shuman, and in it was located the office of the register and recorder when Landisburg was the temporary county seat. Just when the factory moyed therefrom is not known, but in the Perry Forester of June 21, 1821, appears the advertisement of the manufacturer, Joseph
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
H. Kennedy, who offers "10-penny and 8-penny nails at 10 cents per pound." He add that "wheat will be received at 40 cents, and rye at 27 cents, in exchange."
The various chapters of this book covering the townships tell of many early industries, among them the construction of a scythe and edge-tool factory by Peter Fahnestock and a Mr. Ferguson, during the period between 1830-1840. It was located in Tyrone Township and had also a tilt-hammer attached. Between Landis- burg and Oak Grove, in Spring Township, Peter Moses built a large stone blacksmith shop and manufactured screw angers. At his death, in 1824, his son, also named Peter Moses, succeeded him.
During the first half of the Nineteenth Century various furnaces and forges were erected throughout the county, but near its end but two remained in business, the furnaces at Duncannon and Newport. At this time but one, the Newport furnace, remains, and it is in operation but a small part of the time. The first of these furnaces to be built was the Juniata furnace. The inland furnaces ceased operations owing to the expensive hauls of the finished product to railroad sidings, and the Duncannon furnace was dismantled owing to the necessity of obtaining the raw ma- terials from far distant points at heavy cost. The first geological survey of Perry County, made in 1839-40, was largely responsible for the extension of the early furnace industry in Perry and ad- joining counties, as the existence of deposits of iron ore was fully established at that time.
Juniata Furnace. The lands upon which Juniata furnace in Centre Township, was later erected, were warranted by James McConaughy in 1766, and later became the property of William Power, then a large landowner in what is now Perry County. About 1808 Power and David Watts, of Carlisle, erected, on a small stream which flows through the property, a small furnace, which later came to be known as Juniata furnace. They operated it for several years, and in 1824 the Watts heirs and Power leased the furnace to John Everhart, of Chester County, for a ten-year period. He erected a forge, and in 1825 put the furnace in blast, continuing operations for several years.
During May, 1833. Charles Postley & Son, of Philadelphia, pur- chased the furnace property and 3.500 acres of land, which in- cluded a gristmill at the mouth of the run, paying therefor $19,500. During January, 1834, Postley & Company advertised for "six- teen stone and four potter hollowware moulders to work at the Juniata Iron Works." From Postley title had passed entirely to his sons, who sold it to John McKeehan and Matthew S. Henry in 1837. In a year or two James McGowan acquired the interest of Henry. Another furnace had been added further up the stream, and under McGowan's supervision both furnaces were
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operated. This firm built the gristmill, which later came to be known as Shoaff's mill.
There was a large ore bank on the tract. A settlement had grown up around it, comprising eleven tenement houses, coal house, storehouse, warehouse, carpenter shop, blacksmith shop and the gristmill. About 1849 the furnace was abandoned and the mill passed to the ownership of William R. Shoaff. In 1855 the cast- ing house and the office were destroyed by a cyclone which hit the section. The property is now in possession of Ellis Shoaff, the mill having long since ceased operations.
Fio Forge. Fio forge, in Wheatfield Township, was built on a plot of ground which was warranted in 1766 by Benjamin Abram and which contained 207 acres. In 1827 Israel Downing and James B. Davis purchased twenty-three acres and began the erection of the forge, which they had almost completed in July, 1828, when they sold to Jacob Lindley and Frederick Speck. They owned and operated it until 1841, when it passed to Elias Jackson, Samuel Yocum, and Daniel Kough, who at the same time operated Mary Ann furnace in Cumberland County. It later passed to a man named Walker, who retained Kough as manager. On March 14. 1846, a great flood on Sherman's Creek carried away the dam and the plant was abandoned.
Oak Grove Furnace. Oak Grove furnace was located in Spring Township on a tract of land purchased from Christian Hecken- dorn, in February, 1827, by Adam and John Hays. In a paper dated October, 1825, Heckendorn advertised three hundred acres of land for sale, describing it as an excellent location for a fur- nace, having ore within a half-mile. The new owners contracted with John Miller February 20, 1827, for "the right for twenty- one years to dig and haul iron ore from any part of land on which Miller lives and has his tanyard, at twenty dollars per year for every year they dig ore." On March 16th of the same year they contracted with Thomas March and John Souder to pay each fif- teen dollars per year for a like privilege. During the same year they built Charlotte furnace, it being put in blast on December 4, 1827, under the management of Colonel George Patterson. It was operated until 1828, its capacity being twenty-five tons of metal per week.
It was refitted during 1828-29 and was again put in blast in 1829, its name being changed to Oak Grove furnace. It passed from the ownership of Adam and John Hays to that of Hays & McClure, John Hays remaining in the firm. In 1831 a post office was established there with John Hays as postmaster. In the mean- time McClure retired from the management and John Hays con- tinued until January 6, 1834, when he sold the furnace, his ore rights and 2,500 acres of land to Jacob F. Plies, for $22,000. It
18
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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
was later under the ownership of Plies, Hess & Company and of Jacob F. Plies & Company, the latter company being composed of Christian Thudium and Frederick Boger. It was abandoned about 1843 and the property passed to Christian Thudium. With its passing also passed the post office, but many years later another was established near by and was known as "Lebo." The James McCormick heirs obtained possession of the property and owned it for many years. During the ownership of both Hays and Plies plates were manufactured or cast here for the old-fashioned "ten- plate stoves."
Montebello Furnace. The old Montebello furnace, in Wheat- field Township, was located on a tract of land warranted by Wil- liam Baskins in 1766, which contained 238 acres. Its location was on Little Juniata Creek, several miles above King's mill, and near where Montebello Park, a popular amusement resort flourished during the early days of the Perry County Railroad. In 1834 Jacob Lindley, Elizabeth and Hannah Downing and William Logan Fisher purchased this and an adjoining tract, "for the pur- pose of building a furnace thereon." It was built in a year or two, and after a few years passed to Fisher, Morgan & Company, who operated it until 1846 or 1848, when it was abandoned. It had a capacity of from twenty-five to thirty tons of iron per week. When the latter firm secured possession it was run in connection with the Duncannon iron plant, then owned by the same firm. They built a stave mill near the forge, which was in use until 1875, when it was destroyed by fire. The company owned and leased large timber tracts, from which the wood was cut and used for the burning of charcoal. The limestone and ore was hauled in wagons from the canal wharf at Losh's Run Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the finished product transported in the same way to the firm's Duncannon plant. In April, 1837, when the entire Mahanoy Ridge burned over the industry lost three thousand cords of wood by fire. The Forester pronounced this conflagra- tion "a grand and imposing spectacle," instead of speaking of the great loss.
Perry Furnace. Perry furnace was located on a tract of land warranted by Anthony Shatto, which later came into the possession of William Power. In 1837 Jacob Loy, John Everhart, and John Kough, trading under the name of Loy, Everhart & Company, purchased several hundred acres of land and erected Perry fur- nace, where they began the manufacture of hollowware and ten- plate stoves. After running the plant for ten years they had finan- cial difficulties and the property was sold to Peter Cameron. The barn of Edward Comp is located on the site of the old furnace.
Perry furnace was abandoned about 1848. During its operation the timber was cut front a piece of woodland about three miles
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long and over a mile wide, and burned into charcoal. The iron ore mostly was procured at the Dum farm, in that section of Spring Township known as "Little Germany." After being re- duced to "pig iron" it was hauled overland by wagon to the Dun- cannon rolling mills, a distance of twelve miles. The limestone used in melting the ore was secured on the furnace farm. At one time a village of a dozen houses was located there, being occupied by the employees. On a single acre of ground there are nine springs, any one of which would be ample to supply a single farm with water. Half of them are phosphorous.
Caroline Furnace. Travelers over the lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad will note that there stands not many rods east of Bailey Station a stone stack almost overgrown with vines. It is a mute reminder of the early furnace industry of Pennsylvania. There stood Caroline furnace. Even the very lands on which it stood have a historical setting. Samuel Martin, who located this claim of two hundred acres, on a part of which later stood Caroline fur- nace, also warranted an extensive acreage on the northern side of the Juniata, on which he built a gristmill and a sawmill. The prop- erty is described as being "at the Upper Falls, below the great bend south of Newport." John Bowman had evidently some prior claim on the property at Bailey Station, in Miller Township, as it is re- ferred to in Samuel Martin's will as the property purchased of him. In a mortgage it is mentioned as "above the Falls, adjoining Dick's Hill." Caroline furnace was erected by John D. Creigh in 1836, and began operations the same year. It later came-into the pos- session of Joseph Bailey, later a congressman of the United States. His residence, with numerous additions, still stands. Very little seems to have been recorded of this old industry.
Cove Forge. About 1863 several hundred acres of land were purchased in the Cove, Penn Township, about one and one-half miles cast of Duncannon, by Wm. McIlvaine & Sons, of Reading, who in April, 1864, began the erection of a forge, long known as Cove forge. It was put in blast in September, 1865, with six fires, being run by water-power. A sexton hammer was operated by steam. On their lands they made charcoal for use in their own furnaces. It was operated for about twenty years. The large dam erected above the plant was put in by this firm, the lands now being owned by Robert C. Neal, whose father, Robert C. Neal, a Harrisburg capitalist, erected a fine mansion on the property, turning it into a gentleman's country estate. It was located upon the original Thomas Barnett tract, described in the chapter relat- ing to Penn Township. The local passenger station was long known as Cove Forge, but within the past decade it has been changed to Covallen, significant of Allen's Cove, long the name by which the Cove was known.
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