History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 41

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell
Number of Pages: 604

USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 41

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In 1880 a small monthly paper, called The Ivy Leaf, was established by the Rev. H. N. Minnigh, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church. The editorial and mechan- ical work is all done by him, and any profit derived from it is devoted to the benefit of his church.

CHURCHES IN GORDON.

Gordon Methodist Episcopal Church .- The first Method- ist preaching at Gordon was in the year 1857, by Rev. J. A. DeMoyer, who was stationed on what was then Cat- awissa circuit of the Baltimore Conference. In the year 1859 a society was organized, worshiping in a school- house in the outskirts of the village. The various preachers of Ashland, Girardville, etc., supplied the con- gregation from time to time, among whom were Revs. Kester, Stevens, Cathers, Bickerton, McKee, Mullen, McWilliams, Shields, Trigellis and Drake.

In 1860 a union church was erected and deeded to the Presbyterians, but was finally purchased for the Meth- odist church December 2nd, 1872. Rev. J. T. Satchell was sent to the charge. He was succeeded by Rev. Jo- siah Bawden in 1874, and he by the Rev. James Sampson in 1876. In that year the church, being involved in debt, was sold and purchased by the Lutheran denomi- nation; the society thus being compelled to seek a shelter

elsewhere. The hall of the new school building was se. cured and comfortably furnished for the purpose.

In 1878 the society was made a part of the Helfenstein and Gordon circuit, with Rev. N. B. Smith in charge. The present preacher is Rev. H. N. Minnigh, and the church is prosperous. C. C. Reick is superintendent of the Sunday-school.

English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Gordon .- This church was organized by Rev. O. D. S. Marclay, Septem- ber 3d, 1876, with 33 members. The following were the officers elected at the time of its organization: Elders, Thomas Rasbridge and W. H. Anthony; deacons, George F. Rick, Charles F. Hoffman, Joseph L. Harper, Edward G. Ebling and Frederick Rice. Rev. O. D. S. Marclay was elected its first pastor.

A union Sabbath-school had been organized April 2nd, 1876, with 68 scholars and 7 teachers. W. H. Anthony was elected its first superintendent, which position he still holds.

May 29th, 1877, the congregation purchased of R. C. Wilson for $600 a church that had been erected by the Presbyterians. This was refitted and furnished at an ex- pense of over $1,000, and it was rededicated in July, 1878, free from debt. A bell was purchased in 1878 at a cost of $160, and an organ in 1880 for $250.

Mr. Marclay was succeeded as pastor May 16th, 1878, by Rev. D. E. Rupley, and he, November Ist, 1879, by Rev. J. H. Weber, the present pastor.

The present membership is 64; and although not four years old the church holds property in value not less than $2,500, free from all incumbrances. Its Sabbath- school has 21 teachers and officers and 163 scholars.

LOCUST DALE.

This village has a population of about one thousand. George C. Potts & Co. erected the first buildings and in 1857 opened the colliery still called by the name of its projector, commencing the shipment of coal in 1858. J. L. Beadle became the manager of the colliery, and was active in forwarding the growth of the new settlement. The first store was opened by A. S. Moorhead & Co., of Pottsville, in 1859, and it is still in operation under another name. The next merchant was Mrs. Mary Young. The first hotel was built by Jacob Brisel in 1850, and it is now kept by Christian Schneider. In the following year Joseph Hepler erected a hotel, which is now owned by William Dunkelberger; and since that date two other places of "entertainment for man and beast " have been built, which are in operation.

The first school-house was built in 1859, on the site of the present building, and John Wagner was the first teacher. The growth of the population demanding in- creased facilities and a larger school building, the pres- ent handsome structure was built in 1877. W. W. Heff- ner, of Ashland, a justice of the peace and a teacher of extensive experience, is in charge of the school, with Bernard Kelly as assistant.

In 1862 John Dennison & Co. opened a new colliery, the Keystone, which is still in operation.

BIG MINE RUN COLLIERY, JEREMIAH TAYLOR & CO., PROPRIETORS,

179

VILLAGES AND MINES IN BUTLER.

The merchants of the place in 1880 were William Her- bert, Mrs. Mary Young and E. B. Moorhead.

J. L. Beadle and William Rearsbeck of this place were the inventors of the ventilating fan for coal mines, first adopted by the Potts collieries in 1860, and now in general use; and Frederick Granzow, the intelligent fore- man of the Keystone mines, is the originator of a new dumping process, in operation at his colliery.

FOUNTAIN SPRINGS.

This place, where was located the earliest post-office in the township, was settled as early as 1801 by the Seitzinger family, representatives of which still reside there. In 1854 the post-office was removed to Ashland. The principal institution of the present is the new State Miners' Hospital, spoken of on page 96.

Fountain Springs contained in 1880 two neat looking hotels, and about one hundred inhabitants, and main- tained a union Sunday-school, with a membership of fifty, and a library of 200 volumes.

Here, too, is Seitzinger's cemetery, where many of the Protestant population of Ashland and vicinity bury their dead.

BIG MINE RUN

is the site of the Bast and Taylor collieries, and its existence as a village dates from the erection of tenant houses for the workmen at those collieries, in 1854.

The Mahanoy City branch of the Lehigh Valley Rail- road and the Mahanoy and Shamokin branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad have flag stations here.

HOLMESVILLE

is also a flag station on the Lehigh Valley for the accom- modation of miners and laborers at the Preston collieries, and Connors and Rappahannock are similar stations on the Philadelphia and Reading road, near it.

ROCKTOWN,

near the site of deserted collieries, is inhabited by some of the employes at Potts colliery, and has a hotel and store.

COLLIERIES.

Big Mine Run Colliery was opened in 1854 by Bast & Pierson, and operated by them until 1868, when it was purchased by Taylor & Lindsay, who operated it until 1872, when they sold to Jeremiah Taylor & Co., who have owned and operated it to the present time. The colliery has been, and still continues to be, one of the most successful in the anthracite region. The breaker has a capacity of 1,000 tons, and an average production of 750 tons daily. The vein worked is the Buck Moun- tain. Three hundred and fifty-six men and boys are employed, and four steam engines of 135 horse power. The firm own twenty-six tenement houses. The coal shipped from this mine is valued highly by manufac- turers and other competent judges. The workings consist of four drift levels, with four main and two

slant gangways, and forty-four breasts, working in fifteen feet of coal.

The Bast Colliery was opened by Bast & Pierson, in 1835, and the first shipment was made in that year. About the year 1860 Emanuel Bast purchased the in- terest of his father, and some ten years later sold to the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, the present owners. There are two slopes sunk; one, two hundred and seventy yards, the other, two hundred and ninety-three, on the south dip of Mammoth vein. A tunnel is driven south from the bottom of one of them two hundred and seventy yards. Drainage is effected by an eight hundred horse power engine, running a twenty-four inch Cornish pump. The total horse power of engines employed at the colliery is over eleven hun- dred. One hundred and seventy-two men and boys are employed inside, and one hundred and thirty-two out- side. The total annual production is about 90,000 tons. Two steam fans are used for ventilating, but despite the utmost care a large quantity of fire-damp is generated in the mine.

Preston Colliery No. I was opened by the Preston Im- provement Company, on their lands in the northeastern part of Butler township, in the year 1862, and was worked by them and others until 1878, when the ma- chinery was removed from the breaker at Colliery No. 2. In 1872 it became the property of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company.

Preston Colliery No. 2, located near Number 1, was opened in 1864 by the same company, who commenced shipping coal in 1865, and after operating it for several years sold to W. J. Moody & Co., who continued in pos- session until 1872, when the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company became its owners. The breaker has a capacity of five hundred tons daily. The average shipment is three hundred and fifty tons. One hundred and two men and boys are employed inside, and one hundred and fifty-three outside. The workings consist of a slope two hundred and six yards deep, at an angle of 55° on the south dip of the Mammoth vein, with east and west gangways. The east gangway is driven about one hundred and fifty yards, with five breasts; the west, fifteen hundred yards, working seven breasts, in twenty five feet of coal. One hundred and forty-three yards west of the slope, a tunnel is driven north ninety-seven yards, cutting the Skidmore vein, with east and west gangways. The east gangway extends two hundred and sixty-four yards with fourteen breasts; the west is driven a greater dis- tance, with forty-four breasts open. At a point three hundred and twenty-three yards west of the slope another tunnel, driven south a distance of forty-one yards, inter- cepts the Primrose in eleven feet of coal, and has gang- ways driven one hundred and forty yards each, with nine breasts open. The steam engines in use are one pair of hoisting engines of 120 horse power, one breaker of 40, one 25, driving a fifteen foot fan, and two pump engines of 100 and 50 horse power respectively. There are twenty-five tenement houses on the premises.

Preston No. 3, located south of the borough of Girard-

180

HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.

ville, was also the property of the Preston Improvement Company, and, with the other collieries, fell into the hands of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. It has two slopes, one a hundred and forty yards, the other one hundred and seventeen yards deep; one used exclusively for drainage, men and material; the other for hoisting coal. They have east and west gang- ways, extending in all over one thousand yards. At a point some five hundred and thirteen yards west of the slope a tunnel is driven south a distance of seventy-nine yards to the south dip of the vein, and it has a gangway east on the vein, seven hundred and ninety-two yards. This tunnel is continued south from the last named gang- ways, a distance of two hundred and twenty-seven yards, cutting the Hunter vein, and having gangways in that vein eight hundred yards.

One hundred and twelve men and boys inside, and one hundred and thirteen outside, constitute the working force. Two powerful steam fans furnish ventilation, and drainage is effected by means of an eight hundred horse power engine, driving a twenty-four inch Cornish pump with a stroke of ten feet. The capacity of the breaker is 500 tons, and the average shipment 350 tons daily. Thomas D. Pedlow is the outside foreman.

Girard Colliery .- This, one of the collieries of the Girard estate, was opened in the year 1864. It has since been leased and operated by the Philadelphia Coal and Iron Company. This colliery is situated half a mile east of the borough of Girardville. The lift, which is now being worked, and the first below water level, was opened in 1872; and has four gangways in the Mammoth vein, two on the north and two on the south side of the basin. The coal from this colliery reaches market over the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. About 300 men and boys are annually employed in the colliery. William P. Daniels is the outside foreman, and William Waters inside foreman.

Connor and Hammond Collieries .- These collieries are situated one and one-half-miles northeast of the borough of Girardville, and are leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. They were opened in June, 1862, by Messrs. Connor and Patterson, Colonel Connor being the pioneer coal operator of the Mahanoy region. In 1863 they came under the control of the above named company, which is still operating them. The lease covers all the coal on the John Alexander, James Chapman and Samuel Scott tracts. The mine openings, slopes, drifts, breakers and surface improve- ments are on the Chapman tract. This lease, although the first opened on the Girard estate, and the one from which the first car of coal was shipped over the Mahanoy and Broad Mountain extension of the P. & R. Railroad, in May, 1863, is still, on account of the great depth of the basin and excellence of coal belonging to it, one of the most productive and valuable collieries of the Girard estate, and the coal product from these collieries for the year 1878 was exceeded by only one other colliery in the

estate. The veins now being worked by these collieries are the Mammoth and Buck Mountain. The coal reaches market by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. These two collieries give employment in the mines and on the surface to about 550 men and boys. The follow- ing gentlemen are superintendents of these collieries: Elijah Gregory, district superintendent of the seven col- lieries of the Girard estate; John J. Phillips, outside foreman, William Stein, inside foreman, and John Hauser, fire boss of Hammond colliery; and John G. Scott, out- side foreman, and Charles Jasper, inside foreman of Con- nor colliery.

The Potts Colliery, located at Locust Dale, is just over the line in Columbia county, but is closely identified with the interests of the Schuylkill coal field. It was opened by George C. Potts & Co., in 1857, and it is now the property of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. Two slopes are here sunk in the south dip of the Mammoth vein, to a depth of three hundred and two yards; one used for hoisting, the other for pumping. Another slope-the Wadleigh, mentioned elsewhere-is being extended to form an additional outlet in case of emergency. The two deep slopes have east and west gangways driven to a total distance of four thousand two hundred and seventy yards. Three hundred and three men and boys are employed, and 80,000 tons of coal were shipped in 1879. This colliery evolves large quantities of fire damp, but the mine superintendent of the district, in his official report, compliments mine fore- man Morgan Davis on the intelligent manner with which it is controlled. A sixteen-foot fan furnishes ventilation, a five hundred horse power pump drains the Locust Dale portion, and a sixty horse power pump the Wadleigh slope. The total horse power of the six engines used in the colliery is 845. There are 7,758 yards of mine track. William Raudenbush, the outside foreman, is one of the oldest and best known in the coal regions.

The Keystone Colliery at Locust Dale was opened in the year 1862, by John Dennison & Co., and has since become the property of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, by whom it is operated. The workings consist of two slopes; one 173 yards deep, the other 153 yards, at an angle of 52° on the north dip of the Mammoth vein, in coal about twenty-five feet thick, with east gangway driven 1,497 yards, and west gangway 1,483 yards. The mine is ventilated by a sixty horse power engine driving an eighteen-foot fan. Fire damp is generated in large quantities, but is neutralized by the careful and intelligent management of Mr. Edward Sam- uels, the inside foreman. The number of men and boys employed is 214. Seven steam engines of 970 horse power furnish drainage and do the hoisting and break- ing. This colliery seems to be fortunate in its selection of foremen, as the dumping apparatus in use is the in- vention of Fred. Granzow, the outside foreman, whose experience and quick perception of the wants of the col- liery make him a valuable manager.

CITY HALL.

CITY HALL, MAHANOY CITY, PENN. C. METZ, Propr. Built in 1872 by Ferdinand Metz, the father of the present owner.

MANSION HOUSE, RINGTOWN, PENN. JOHN FENSTERMACHER, Propr.

This favorite Summer Resort has a great variety of attractions for those seeking retirement,-beautiful and diversified scenery, healthful climate, pure water, reasonable terms, etc., etc.

HOTEL STABLES,

---

LOCUST MOUNTAIN HOUSE,

Corner of 12th and Center Streets, ASHLAND, PENN. H. TROUTMAN, Propr.

The Locust Mountain Hotel, or " Troutman's," as it has long and familiarly been called, is very pleasantly and conveniently located on the corner of Twelfth and Center Streets, in the borough of Ashland, Pa. The hotel is very spacious, and contains twenty-five rooms, all of which are fitted up with the latest modern conveniences. The bill of fare consists of all the finest delicacies of the season, served in a manner to please the most fastidious in taste. The dining-room is large and well ventilated, and will comfortably seat fifty guests. The hotel is the oldest in the borough, and its present proprietor, Henry Troutman, Esq., has enjoyed the confidence and patronage of the traveling public for over thirteen years, and is looked upon as one of the leading citizens of the borough.

In addition to the many other attractive features of this excellent hotel, there are three large yards, which are used for keeping cattle in by the many drovers, the admirable accommodations which they afford making them very desirable for that class of dealers. In connection with these yards are very large and well appointed stables, having a capacity of stabling ninety horses. There is also a large weigh scale belonging to the plaee.

181

BEGINNINGS AT ASHLAND.

ASHLAND BOROUGH.

HE almost unbroken wilderness that, in 1820, was the site of Jacob Rodenberger's old log hotel, remained a tangled wildwood long after the southern part of the county had become the scene of busy industry; and the trav- eler on the Catawissa stage who, in crossing Locust Mountain in 1848, expressed the opinion that a man who could be induced to purchase such land must be a fool, but echoed the prevalent sentiment of the friends of Burd S. Patterson, a prominent citizen of the county, who, with a faith untouched by the raillery of others, had for years predicted that some day an im- portant mining town would cover the slope of that mountain, and had taken steps that, in 1845, induced John P. Brock, of Philadelphia, and James Hart to join him in the purchase of two large tracts of land in the vicinity; one of four hundred acres, from the Bank of Pennsylvania, at a uniform price of $30 per acre, and the same area from Judge Gordon of Reading, at $11 an acre. To these united tracts they gave the name of the Ashland Estate, and took an opportunity to test the character of their purchase by sending in the fall of 1846 an experienced miner, named Patrick Devine, with a force of men, to develop the coal veins crossing the tract. During the following year the village site was sur- veyed by Samuel Lewis, and named Ashland, after Henry Clay's famous Kentucky home; and the proprietors ex- pended large amounts in clearing lands, laying out streets, building substantial tenement houses for their workmen, and inducing immigration. One of their acts was to donate to Jacob Larish two lots of land in considera- tion of his erecting and occupying a convenient and commodious hotel; and by this act of liberality the Ash- land House, which Mr. Larish kept until his death, was erected in 1846.

For the next three years the progress of the new vil- lage was slow, owing to the delay in the operations of the Mine Hill Railway Company, that had surveyed an extension to this place, on which work was resumed in 1851, at which time a renewed impetus was given to im- migration; and in 1852, when Colonel J. J. Connors, of Pottsville, leased a portion of the tract for mining pur- poses, he found that an enterprising dealer, Jonathan Faust, had opened a small store. In the following year Mr. Connors opened a gangway at Locust Run, and built the brick store on the corner of Centre and Third streets, which was the first brick structure erected in the village, and was built from bricks made on the site of the foundry of Jacob Fisher. The establishment of another store was even then considered a hazardous venture, and its pro- prietor had often to answer the question-"Where do you expect to find your customers?"

In 1853 Bancroft, Lewis & Co. opened a colliery near the iron works and built breakers, and the work con- nected with the two new collieries drew large numbers | Catawissa.

to the place; and when, in 1857, the citizens, deeming that they had outgrown the guardianship of Butler town- ship, applied for a borough charter, the village contained about five hundred buildings, and three thousand five hundred people. To the personal exertions of John P. Brock, Burd Patterson and James Hart, and to Dr. Pan- coast, and Samuel Grant, who afterward purchased Mr. Patterson's interest in the estate, as well as to the inde- fatigable energy and public spirit of Colonel Connor, much of the credit for this great advance was due.

In 1834 Colonel Connor, who had associated with him Thomas Patterson, a brother of the proprietor, anticipa- ted the completion of the Gordon planes by drawing a quantity of coal with wagons to the foot of the first plane, loading a car, and drawing it over the planes by mules, and from there forwarding it to John Tucker, president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, as a present. This was the first coal sent to market from Ashland, and the first shipped over that railroad. The date of the shipment was September, 1854. The first coal forwarded direct from a colliery by rail was sent by Bancroft, Lewis & Co., who for that reason named their breaker " The Pioneer." Of the early business men of Ashland, William and James Cleaver, William H. Bright, Emanuel Bast, Joshua Weimer, and Nicholas Graeber are still residents, and actively engaged in business pur- suits. The only one of them that can claim both a con- tinuous residence and an uninterrupted business career in one line of trade is Nicholas Graeber, who operated a clothing store opposite the Mahancy House in 1855, and who is still engaged in the business.

Until 1853 the nearest post-office was at Fountain Springs, but in that year the Ashland office was estab- lished, and Dr. D. J. Mckibben became its postmaster. Mails were received daily from Pottsville and Sunbury by stage and over the Mine Hill Railway.

The first church erected was a small framed building, built by the Methodist society in 1855; and the next was the brick church known as St. Joseph's, built by the English-speaking Catholics.

The first school building, erected in 1854, is still stand- ing on Centre street, and used as a store house; and here, for several years, the religious services of some of the church organizations were held.

The oldest framed buildings in the village are the old store of Faust, now A. Bancroft's, and the Ashland House, on the corner of Centre and Third streets. Op- posite the last named house is the first brick building built in the village, the old Connor & Patterson store; and on the southwest corner of Centre and Seventh streets is the Repplier House, which was the second brick structure erected. It was built in 1855 by Judge Rahn, and was known for years as the Mahanoy House. In the rear of this building stood the old Rodenberger tavern, and near it ran the stage road between Pottsville and

182

HISTORY OF SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.

The population of the village in 1860 was 3,880; 1870, 5,714; 1880, 6,045.

CIVIL HISTORY.

The petition for a borough charter was filed and grant- ed February 13th, 1857. The first charter election, held that month, resulted in the choice of James J. Connor as chief burgess; and a council composed of E. V. Thomp- son, John Orth, Charles Connor, Lawrence Hannon, and William Thomas.

The following have filled the office of chief burgess: James J. Connor, elected in 1857; Jacob Reed, 1858; George Rahn, 1859, 1860; James B. Wilson, 1861; Charles Lins, 1862; William H. Gallagher, 1863; Levi C. Leib, 1864, 1865, 1866; Nicholas Graeber, 1867; Daniel Oben- house, 1868; John Muenker, 1869; Samuel McGee, 1870, 1871; James R. Cleaver, 1872; James G. Gensel, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876; Chris Herold, 1877; W. S. Russel, 1878, 1879; Thomas Glenwright, 1880.

The borough officers for 1880 were: Thomas Glen- wright, chief burgess; B. F. Kaster, John Lazarus, Michael Garner, F. Blaseus, Joseph G. Smith, Englebert Schmicker, councilmen; Frank Rentz, town clerk; Nich- olas Blotch, Conrad Kessler, and Fred. Krapp, police de- partment; Charles Beckley, chief of police, with two lieutenants and forty men, having their headquarters at the station-house.

PUBLIC WORKS.

The borough council in June, 1876, ordered a special election, on the question of increasing the indebtedness of the borough, to an amount not exceeding seven per cent., for the purpose of erecting water works. This election was held July 25th, and resulted in favor of the measure. July 27th, the council appointed as commis- sioners, D. Schneider, William Christian, Thomas Glen- wright and Michael Garner on behalf, of the council, and J. B. Price, H. Trautman and M. Fannon, on behalf of the people, to construct works, subject to the approval of the council. Afterward Watkin Powell was added on behalf of the council and Emanuel Bast for the citizens. Frank Rentz was elected secretary of the commission, and he has been identified with the department from that time to the present. The source of supply selected was the Little Mahanoy creek, at a point some four miles distant from the borough, and ten acres of land were purchased at a cost of $3,500. The work was commenced Septem- ber Ist, 1876, under Mr. Kassona's surveys.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Schuylkill County, Pa. with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 41

Author: Publication date: 1881 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell Number of Pages: 604

Author:
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell
Number of Pages: 604