USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > Reading > History of Reading, Pennsylvania, and the anniversary proceedings of the sesqui-centennial, June 5-12, 1898 > Part 4
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The first grading of the streets was made in 1832. A topo- graphical survey was made by Samuel M. Rea from 1864 to 1868. The plans, in eleven sections, are on file in the Quarter Sessions' office of Berks county. In 1863, the system of num- bering the houses along the streets was adopted by Councils, allowing 100 for each square from Front street eastward, and also for each square north and south of Penn street. This was effected by Jacob Knabb while postmaster, to facilitate and dis- patch the delivery of letters, having had numerous petitions. signed by the citizens recommending it.
After considering for a long while the subject of permanent street improvements, Councils eventually, in 1882, purchased a steam road-roller, weighing 15 tons, and began a gradual im- provement of the streets in the interior sections of Reading by macadamizing the surface, and they kept at it year after year until 1897, spending annually about $25,000. This not proving satisfactory, they then determined to lay sheet asphaltum, and during that year expended over $120,000 on Penn street and Perkiomen avenue from Front street to Thirteenth, and on south Fifth street from Penn to Pine
Location of City. - The lines, enclosing the plan of Reading, form an irregular figure, about 3 miles long and 212 miles wide; and the tract contains about 4000 acres. The eastern boundary line is along the base of Mt. Penn, and the western along the west bank of the Schuylkill, the latter being nearly 5 miles long. The greater part of the area has a gentle declination
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HISTORY OF READING.
westward from Mt. Penn to the river and affords superior drain- age. The river at the foot of Penn street is 190 feet above the level of the sea; the railroad at Seventh and Penn streets, 265 feet; Penn street reservoir, 345 feet; top of Mt. Penn, IIIO feet, and top of Mt. Neversink, 800 feet. The territory to the north- ward comprises the Schuylkill valley, and that to the westward the Lebanon valley. The view from Mt. Penn is very picturesque, and that from Mt. Neversink on the south is equally so. They overlook about 800 square miles of rolling farming country.
Sewers .- In 1893, the West system of house sewers was adopted by Councils. The city was divided into eight districts, and numbers I and 2 were constructed at the cost of the abut- ting property holders. The pumping station was erected at the foot of Sixth street at a cost of $105,000; and the disposal plant 1 1/2 miles below Reading along the west bank of the river at a cost of $130,000, which was paid by the city without increasing the tax rate. The sewage is purified to 99 per cent. Work is now being done on No. 3 district. The cost of the three dis- tricts will amount to $200,000.
The first storm water sewer was constructed gradually in small sections from the foot of Court street to Buttonwood, to Eighth, to Walnut, and to Eleventh, the beginning having been made forty years ago. The Bassett system was adopted by Councils in 1888. In 1897, the North Reading sewer was made out of concrete, in oval shape, starting at Eleventh and Douglass, and ending at the river near the Carpenter Steel Works, a distance of two miles. The dimension at the east end begins at 5 feet and ends at the west end at 14 feet. The depth below the surface varies from 10 to 25 feet. It is now the largest and longest concrete sewer in America. The total cost was over $200,000, paid mostly by a loan granted by a vote of the electors.
Ferries and Bridges .- The ford was used in crossing the Schuylkill for many years; then a ferry was introduced to facili- tate passage to and fro. In 1795, the first steps were taken to establish a bridge at this point; and repeated and persistent efforts were made by legislation, lottery schemes, and county appropriations for twenty years before this great improvement was accomplished. A roofed wooden structure became passable
4I
BRIDGES.
in 1815; and it was finally completed in 1818. The cost was $50,000. It took the name of "Harrisburg Bridge" from the public road to Harrisburg. There was also a ferry at the foot of Bingaman street. The first privilege was granted by the Penns to a man named Levan, and it was continued until a roofed wooden bridge was erected in 1831, at a cost of $10,000. It took the name of "Lancaster Bridge," being on the road to Lancaster.
Toll was charged at both bridges until 1883, when they were declared free. The subject of free bridges had been agitated as early as 1821, and in 1848 a special effort was made in this behalf, but without success, because the County Commissioners al- leged that the expenses ex- ceeded the income by nearly $30,000. In 1882, the City Councils took the matter in hand, and by ap- plication to Court, the pur- pose was at last accom- PENN STREET (HARRISBURG) BRIDGE. plished March 28, 1883, after the community had struggled with it for 60 years.
Both bridges were swept away by the great freshet of 1850, and immediately rebuilt. In 1876, the latter was destroyed by fire, and an iron structure was erected in its stead, which was the first large iron bridge in the county. And in 1884, a supe- rior iron bridge was erected in place of the former at a cost of $100,000.
The first bridge across the Schuylkill in this vicinity was "Kissinger's." It was on the road to Sunbury through Bern township. An Act was passed in 1810, authorizing Ulrich Kissinger to erect and maintain a toll bridge at that point where this road crossed the river, and he then put up a chain bridge in two spans. A covered wooden bridge was substituted in 1830. This was also swept away by the freshet of 1850, and rebuilt. It was known for many years as "Bushong's," and last as "Ahrens'." The Schuylkill avenue bridge near by was erected by the County Commissioners in 1893 to take its place.
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HISTORY OF READING.
The Lebanon Valley railroad bridge was erected in 1857, and it was then regarded as one of the finest structures in the State. It was destroyed by fire by the rioters in July, 1877, and rebuilt by the com- pany. The Wilmington and North- ern railroad bridge was erected in 1874; the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley in 1884; and the Reading and Southwestern in 1891. Alto- gether seven fine bridges span the river within a distance of three miles.
Schuylkill River .- The river Schuylkill is a prominent feature of Reading, and has always contributed many advantages to the place. In respect to carrying away the surface drainage from all the streets, its value has been incalculable. Its improvement for navigation was a subject for the inhabitants as early as 1807, when a society was formed for this purpose. It was forded un- til about the time when the borough was erected, then the ferries were in- troduced, and these were carried on until the two bridges were built.
Freshets .- The freshets of this water-course occupy a noteworthy place in local history for over 100 years. The most important of them occurred in 1757, 1786, 1822, 1839, 1841, 1850, 1862 and 1869. The one which caused the most damage was in 1850, when the water rose 25 feet above its ordinary level, nearly 6 feet higher than the great freshet of 1786.
Dsw Burned
BINGAMAN STREET (LANCASTER) BRIDGE:
ROV-ENG-TO
READING POST OFFICE BUILDING.
43
PUBLIC PARKS.
Fire Company Buildings .- For many years the fire compa- nies owned the buildings in which they kept their apparatus, but when the city began to appropriate liberal sums annually for maintaining them, it became the owner of all, excepting that of the Liberty Fire Company. The buildings number twelve. They are all substantial structures, finely furnished.
City Hall .- There was no separate building for town officials until 1870. A city hall (three-story brick building) was then erected at Fifth and Franklin streets to supply at one place a "lock-up," city offices and council chambers, costing $26,000. Previously the Councils met in the court house.
Public Parks .- Penn Common was reserved by the Penns for the dwellers of the town when the plan was laid out. But it was not improved for park purposes until 1878; then certain property holders near Eleventh and Penn streets raised over $6000 by voluntary contributions, and the small triangular por- tion adjoining Perkiomen avenue and Hill road was enclosed. In 1884, legal proceedings were instituted by Councils to re- cover possession of the entire tract (50 acres) from the County Commissioners. The Court refused to award a writ of man- damus to compel them to execute a deed to the city for the land, but the Supreme Court ordered it to be done, and the transfer was made in 1886. Then Councils established a park commis- sion, and annual appropriations have been made since that time for its improvement. Until 1898, about $120,000 was expended. Besides Penn Common, the city owns Mineral Spring park, a. tract of 47 acres, which has also been beautified by annual ap- propriations, exceeding $10,000.
Post Office .- The post office was established at Reading in I793. Since then there have been seventeen postmasters. The letters were called for until 1835, then they began to be de- livered by private enterprise at a cent, and subsequently two cents, a letter. This practice continued until the free delivery system was introduced in 1864. Mail boxes were put up in 1864 for dropping letters to be collected by carriers, and boxes and carriers were increased as demands required. The money order system was introduced in 1864; postal cards in 1873; two-cent postage in 1883; and the special delivery of letters in 1885. In 1897, there were 182 boxes and 35 carriers. In 1887, the U. S. government erected a fine, large building for a permanent post-
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HISTORY OF READING.
office. The department took possession Sept. 16, 1889. The total cost was $180,000. Present postmaster, J. S. Thompson.
Cemeteries .- From the beginning of Reading until 1846, in- terments were made in burying grounds which adjoined the several churches; then a cemetery was established by Charles Evans. He was authorized by law to organize a company for its perpetual management, and when this was done he trans- ferred to the "Charles Evans Cemetery Co." a tract of 25 acres in the northern section of the city, with, the buildings thereon erected, representing an expenditure of $84,000. The present area embraces 127 acres, lots laid out number 4982, and those sold 4500; and burials to 1898, 20,300. A fine bronze statue of the founder stands inside, facing the entrance. Many costly monuments have been erected, the most prominent being the "Soldiers' Monument"' in granite, and "Christ on the Cross" in Italian marble.
In 1849, two cemeteries were laid out and established on the northern slope of Mt. Neversink, the "Trinity Lutheran" by the congregation of that name, and the "Roman Catholic" by St. Peter's congregation. And in 1851, the "Aulenbach" was laid out along the southeast border of Reading. When these cemeteries were established, burials in them were encouraged, and the remains of numerous persons in the different burying grounds were transferred to them.
Turnpikes .- Turnpikes were projected along the prominent high-ways which extended to the north, to the southeast and to the west of Reading to enable business-men, farmers and travel- ers to carry on intercourse more quickly with near and distant places. In 1805, the Centre Turnpike Company was incorpo- rated to maintain a turnpike on the road to the north, leading to Sunbury, and before 1812 it was completed. Tolls were col- lected until 1884, when it was abandoned and the charter for- feited. In 1810, another was incorporated for a turnpike south- east to Perkiomen Mills and Philadelphia; which was completed in 1814, and has been conducted ever since. And in 1805, a third was incorporated for a turnpike west to Harrisburg; which was finished in 1817, and has been conducted until now. Their connection with and value to Reading are not fully appreciated at this time, but for fifty years, from 1810 to 1860, they contrib-
.... .
R-E-Fo
ENTRANCE OF CHARLES EVANS CEMETERY.
45
CANALS AND RAILROADS.
uted a great deal towards its prosperity. To the stage business they were indispensable.
Stage-Coaches .- The stage-coach was introduced as the first public conveyance at Reading in 1789 by Martin Hausman. It made weekly trips to and from Philadelphia, distance 51 miles; fare $2; letters 3d. The round trip was made in two days. William Coleman became the owner of the line in 1791, and from that time for 70 years the Coleman family was prominently identified with the stage enterprise at Reading and in Eastern
Pennsylvania. This business was active for a long time, especially from 1810 to 1858; but it was discontinued as the railroads were extended in different directions from Reading. Six stage lines still carry passengers, merchandise and mail as follows :- northwest to Krick's Mill, Bernville and Millersburg; south to Angelica and Terre Hill; east to Boyertown, to Pike- ville, and to Shanesville.
Canals .- The canal, as a means of transportation to and from Reading, was started in 1811. It was constructed along the Tulpehocken creek to its source, and thence along the Swatara creek to the Susquehanna river, being finished in 1828. It was known as the Union Canal. The first suggestion of a canal by this route was made by William Penn in 1690, and the first legislation in Pennsylvania in that behalf was enacted in 1791. It was very prosperous for a time, and many boats ran to and fro, carrying lumber, merchandise and passengers, but railroad competition caused it to be abandoned.
The Schuylkill Canal was constructed along the Schuylkill river from Pottsville to Philadelphia, especially for transporting coal. It was begun in 1817 and completed in 1822; and it was successfully carried on for over 50 years. It is now controlled by the P. & R. R. Company but little used.
Steam Railroads .- Railroads were extended in directions to correspond with the public roads; southeast to Philadelphia, 58 miles, in 1838; northwest to Pottsville, 35 miles, in 1842; west to Harrisburg, 54 miles, in 1858; northeast to Allentown, 35 miles, in 1859; southwest to Lancaster, 42 miles, and to Colum- bia, 46 miles, in 1864; south to Wilmington, 72 miles, in 1874; and north to Slatington, 44 miles, in 1874. The "West Read- ing" was constructed in 1863, from the "Lebanon Valley" via Third street to and along Canal street to accommodate the
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HISTORY OF READING.
numerous enterprises in the western section of the city. It was operated by the company for 10 years; then transferred to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company.
The P. & R. R. Co. operate all the lines concentrating at Reading, excepting the Wilmington and Northern railroad and the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley railroad. The passenger station was located at Seventh and Chestnut streets from 1838 to 1873, when it was removed to the "Junction" where the Leba- non Valley railroad and East Penn railroad connect with the P. & R. railroad, a commodious two-story brick structure having been erected by the company to accommodate the in- creasing traffic and facilitate the transfer of passengers and bag- gage. The volume of business is enormous. [See Chapter II .- P. and R. R. Co. Works.]
The Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley railroad was extended
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
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PENNSYLVANIA SCHUYLKILL VALLEY RAILROAD STATION.
along the Schuylkill river trom Philadelphia to Reading in 1884, and to Pottsville in 1885. It is under the control of the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company. A grand banquet was given to the officials of the company by the Reading Board of Trade at the Mansion House on January 17, 1885, to signalize the open-
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STREET RAILWAYS.
îng of the road and the connection of Reading, as a manufac- turing centre, with the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. system. During 1897, the company carried nearly 200,000 passengers from and to Reading. The daily passenger trains arriving and departing number 16; freight trains, 7, and coal trains, 14. The employees at Reading number 158. The total number of freight cars handled for the year was over 27,000; the inbound freight received was nearly 120,000 tons, and the outbound nearly 35,000.
Street Railways .- In 1873, a company was organized to maintain a street railway on Sixth street from Canal to Robeson and the cemetery, which was laid in 1874; and in the same year another to maintain a line on Penn street and Perkiomen avenue from Front to Nineteenth, which was also laid in 1874. The former was carried on successfully, but the latter was not, the management having changed several times. Extensions were made as follows; Cotton, Ninth and Tenth, South Third to North Eleventh via Chestnut, Fourth and Walnut, in 1886; Fifth and Bingaman and Eighth in 1888; and Mineral Spring avenue in 1889. The Reading Traction company was organ- ized in 1893, and leased the two lines with extensions; and in that year electricity was applied as a motive power for moving the street cars,
The "East Reading" from Ninth street to the Black Bear Inn and Stony Creek was constructed in 1890, the Reading Elec- tric Light and Power Company supplying electricity to propel the cars. This company was the first at Reading to use elec- tricity for this purpose. The "Reading and Womelsdorf " line was laid in 1894. The Reading and Temple company was or- ganized in 1894, and its track was laid on North Fourth street to Spring and through the northwestern part of the city.
The United Traction company was organized in 1895, and leased all the lines mentioned. It operates 48 miles of track and 85 cars, and employ's 225 persons. It carried during 1897, 6,000, 000 passengers. Total investment, $3,500,000.
The Reading and Southwestern Railroad company was organ- ized in 1890, to operate a railway from Third and Penn streets to Mohnsville, and this was constructed in 1891 with an electric power plant to move its cars. A branch was extended to Eleventh and Penn, and to Nineteenth street in 1894, to connect with the Mt.
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HISTORY OF READING.
Penn gravity railroad. In the same year, a steam railroad was constructed from the terminus at Mohnsville to Adamstown.
Mountain Railroads .- In 1889, the Mt. Penn Gravity Rail- road Company was organized, and in 1890 constructed a rail- road from the east end of the street car lines to the top of Mt. Penn and thence by a circuitous route to the point of beginning, altogether 8 miles long. The cars are drawn to the top 1 1/2 miles by a steam en- gine, but they descend by grav- ity 623 miles. In April, 1898, an electrical equip- MT. PENN TOWER. ment was supplied to propel some of the cars by trolley. A stone tower 50 feet high is at the top. Total elevation, 1200 feet above the sea, and 1000 feet above Reading. The view from this tower embraces an area of territory, 30 miles square. Prominent points can be seen in the six adjoining counties, Montgomery, Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Schuylkill and Lehigh. A large pavilion for dancing is connected with the tower; and to the north, near by, there is another for playing ten-pins, shuffle-boards, and billiards. Investment $150,000; number of cars 9; passengers carried for 1897, 76,000.
The Summit House, a three-story stone building, was erected in 1890, near the tower, by Henry and William Schwartz. The railroad in descending passes four other resorts: "Kuechler's," "Steigerwald's," "Spuhler's," and "Mineral Spring."
The Neversink Mountain Railroad Company was organized in 1889, and in 1890 the company laid a track 8 miles long from Ninth and Penn streets around and across the mountain to Klapperthal. It has an investment of $250,000, operates from three to seven cars, and carries from June to October about 75,000 passengers. Superior views from different points over- look Reading and the surrounding country for many miles.
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TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE.
The railroad affords easy access to five popular resorts: Never- sink Hotel, Centennial Springs Hotel, Highland House, Glen Hotel, and White House. A power-house was erected at the Big Dam at the same time to propel the company's cars with electricity, but it was leased to the Metropolitan Electric Com- pany which now provides the necessary power for the cars. A fine pavilion for dancing was erected by the company along the road, opposite the Highland House.
Telegraph .- In 1844, the telegraph was first introduced to transmit messages by electricity between Washington and Balti- more. In 1847, a company was organized to maintain telegraph lines between Philadelphia, Reading and Pottsville, and in May of that year, the first message was sent to Reading, (this relat- ing to the Mexican war. ) It has been maintained since that time along the railroad. As other railroads were constructed in different directions from Reading, it was extended. In 1879, the Western Union Telegraph Company effected an arrange- ment for co-operation and since that time this has been carried on successfully.
This company has at Reading 40 distinct wires on poles with 100 miles of wire, and transmits and receives about 1000 com- mercial messages daily, this of course not including the business of the P. & R. R. Co., and newspaper service. In 1847, the operators numbered 3; now they number 35. The office at No. 14 North Sixth street is open day and night. It is supplied with 8 operators, 2 clerks, and 10 messengers who are mounted on bicycles. To accommodate the increasing business, a "du- plex" of the largest kind was introduced in 1897 on the direct wire between Reading and New York, by which two messages can be sent over the same wire at the same time in opposite directions. Another is in daily use between Reading and Phila- delphia for the exclusive accommodation of the railroad business.
The company operates at this office 55 self-winding synchro- nizing clocks, distributed in different parts of Reading, and regulated hourly by observatory time from Washington, D. C. In 1897, a large switch-board was introduced to meet the grow- ing demands of the business. The general superintendent, L. Horton, Jr., is located at Reading. A. J. Darlington has been connected with the company since 1865. This telegraph com-
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HISTORY OF READING.
pany enjoys the distinction of being the oldest in continuous service in the United States.
In 1880, the Lehigh Telegraph Company was organized and formed connection with Reading. The line passed through several hands. Now it is known as the Postal Telegraph Cable Company. It has at Reading 20 miles of wire, 3 operators, 6 messengers, and transmits and receives 100,000 messages an- nually. A. P. H. Saul is the manager at Reading.
Telephone .- The first telephone company in Pennsylvania was organized at Philadelphia in 1878, and in 1879 Henry W. Spang introduced the instrument at Reading. Obtaining from Councils the right to maintain overhead wires, he established an exchange in the Eagle building, Sixth and Penn streets, in October, 1879. He began with 10 instruments and after carry- ing on the business until January, 1881, he sold it to the East Pennsylvania Telephone Company, a corporation duly authorized to operate and maintain overhead wires in Berks, Schuylkill and Lebanon counties. By that time he had intro- duced 124 instruments at Reading, 74 at Pottsville, and 23 at Lebanon.
In December, 1882, the Pennsylvania Telephone Company became the owner, and then removed the exchange to the rear of the Keystone Hotel, second floor, (now Hotel Penn.) Owing to increasing business, and requiring larger quarters, it was transferred to the Times building, and afterward to the Pennsyl- vania Trust Company building, fourth floor, when the service was improved at great expense. By 1895, the wires overhead had become so numerous that the company prepared to put them underground where most numerous in the central part of the city, and, anticipating this undertaking, purchased a property at Nos. 31-33 North Fifth street, altered it to meet the demands of the business and equipped it with the most improved electri- cal appliances.
During 1895, 1896 and 1897 the first conduits were laid along Fifth, Court, Penn and Cherry streets, together measuring 70,000 feet and containing 1000 miles of copper wire, (there being 8 cables, each comprising 202 wires.) Reading was the third city in Pennsylvania where wires were laid underground, Pittsburg being the first, and Philadelphia the second. The company took possession of its new quarters in February, 1896.
TELEPHONE BUILDING.
TELEPHON 31-33 BUILDING
Ox.
TELEPHONE
BUILDING PENNSYLVENT
TELEPNONE
.CO.
OFFICES
PAY STITIAK'S EQUIPFED
SOUND
PROOF
BOOTHS
FIRST FLODA - BERA
READING
ENG,CO
BUILDING OF PENNSYLVANIA TELEPHONE COMPANY.
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LIGHT AND POWER.
The exchange is recognized as one of the most complete in the country.
In 1879, the service was conducted on a single iron wire, and the longest distance over which a conversation could be carried on successfully was from 30 to 50 miles, but the introduction of electricity for propelling street cars and for public lighting ren- dered the telephone service on the single wire system practically useless, thereby threatening the future existence of the com- pany, and the company was therefore obliged, at great expense, to substitute the two-wire system, which necessitated a recon- struction of the whole plant and the use of hard drawn copper wire and of imported superior cedar poles.
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