USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 31
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Coal Dale was created a post village in 1871, and Charles F. Goslie was appointed the first postmaster. He was succeeded the next' year by Rev. D. E. Hughes, who held that and other township offices for many years. He was one of the first merchants in the place, and a very useful and influential citizen.
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The Toilers' Defense is the only newspaper in the borough. As the name implies, it is published in the interests of the laboring man. Coal Dale borough had a population in 1900 of 2,518. A good school system was inaugurated with the birth of the borough, and it has been carefully graded and rendered the equal in efficiency of any of the smaller borough schools. Several good church buildings have been erected within recent years, and the prospects are favorable for a substantial and prosperous growth. There are thirty-eight mercantile establishments in Rahn township, nearly of all of which are located in Coal Dale. This borough is on the line of the new Jersey Central railroad.
REILLY TOWNSHIP.
Reilly township was named in honor of Hon. Bernard Reilly, late one of the associate judges of the county. It was formed from Branch township in 1857. The territory embraces rich mining lands in which are found all of the coal veins known in the Mine Hill and Broad Moun- tain districts. But little effort at farming has ever been made in the township, and such as was has been long since abandoned. Jacob Fox and his family, consisting of wife and four children, came from Berks county in 1790, and located near the site of Branch Dale. These were undoubtedly the first settlers in Reilly township territory. Two daughters of Mr. Fox and wife were married in 1803 to Peter Starr and George Haeffer, and these constituted the first three families in the settlement, the young men having taken land and engaged in farming in the Fox valley. John Bretzius and family came in 1811, and kept the first tavern in the township. The settlement of the township progressed slowly until the coal developments were com- menced in 1836, after which some of the earliest settlers sold out to speculators and retired from the field. Branch Dale, otherwise known as Muddy Branch, or Weaverstown, had a beginning in 1836, when mining operations were commenced. The town was never regularly laid out, and most of the first houses were merely log shanties erected as temporary homes for the miners. The village now has a population of 1,007, with several stores, a Methodist Episcopal church, two schools, a hotel, and a number of mechanical shops.
Swatara Village is located about two miles west of Branch Dale on Swatara creek. The prominence of this village passed with the removal of the miners to other localities. Tuckerville is a small hamlet like Swatara, that being the postoffice name for the latter. Newton is a location of some historical significance, in that it is located upon land originally granted to Michael Kunkel, the patent bearing
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date of 1703. The village was regularly laid out, surveyed and platted on lands then belonging to George Patterson. For a time it gave promise of prosperous growth, but has deteriorated in recent years. Some mercantile business is transacted there, and there is a school, hotel and several shops. It is said that the first school in this town- ship was opened in a spring-house, on the farm of William Gebert, and taught in the German language by Peter Kaupt. The first public school was opened in 1842, and a thorough educational organization has developed therefrom. The first Sunday school was organized in 1852, and have been sustained at the churches and some of the country school houses with growing interest and usefulness. The Philadelphia & Reading railroad system affords the means of traffic in Reilly township. Twenty-five licensed retail establishments are located in the township.
RUSH TOWNSHIP.
This was one of the original nine townships of Schuylkill county, its existence dating from 1811, when the county was separated from Berks. The territory originally embraced within this township has been greatly reduced by subdivisions made in the formation of other townships. Mahanoy, Rahn, Ryan and Klein townships have been organized, in whole or in part, from Rush township. Some of the first settlers of this township came as employes or tenants sent by capitalists who took that means of developing the territory. Mills were erected with foreign capital and leased for a share of the profits, the first of which was erected in 1812, and leased to William Major. The firm of Gross & Wisimer built three mills, and as far as known they were all operated by Major, and known as "Major's Mills." Two of these were saw-mills, and one a grist-mill, the first of either kind in the township. The pioneer settlers of Rush township were all of German nationality, and for many years only the German language was spoken. Thomas Lindner came in 1800; John Faust settled in the township in 1806, and Abram L. Boughner became his neighbor near Barnesville, in 1815; Jacob Neifert and Andrew Gottschall were early settlers who made the first improvements near Tamanend. John Feller was also one of the early pioneers. Hometown is the oldest village in the township, it being founded in 1829, by the Dun- cans, of Philadelphia. A tavern was kept there by Jacob Faust in 1831. The village is surrounded by good farming land, and better things were expected of it than that it should always remain a small village. Barnesville owes its origin to the building of the Little Schuylkill railroad which was completed in 1854. It developed
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into a prosperous village in its early history, but its population has decreased during the last two decades, being now one hundred and twenty-nine. Tamanend is a railroad village of some commercial importance. It was laid out in 1853, and the town established prin- cipally as a dwelling place for the railroad employes. A very plausible tradition assumes to furnish an excuse for the "outlandish" name of this place. According to the legend an Indian chief named "Taman," an ally of the British and Tories, was merciless in his aggressions against the frontier settlers, and committed many outrages. When the avengers of the frontier butcheries attained the ascendency, Taman was captured at Hawk's curve, near the site of this village, and summarily hanged. This being "the end of Taman," the grue- some tragedy is perpetuated by naming the place "Tamanend!"
The village is located at the junction of the Little Schuylkill and the Catawissa railroads, as organized in days of old. In 1870, the Central railroad of New Jersey connected at this point, thus rendering the village quite an important railroad center. There are 361 inhabi- tants in the village, with the usual accompaniment of stores, hotels, etc., to accommodate the town. Quakake is another village needing a "tradition," but being a suburb of Tamanend, the origin of the name may be traced! This village comprises a union depot, hotel, and a few residences of railway employes. One public school building serves the purpose of the two villages.
During the Civil war the manufacture of gunpowder became quite an industry in this township, and some five mills were established. The mills of Dupont & Weldy, at Mintzer's Station, now constitute the only important manufacturing industry in the township. By reason of the dangerous character of this commodity, several lives were lost, and all the mills, except the one named, were blown up.
The educational interests of this township are equal to those of any township in the county, notwithstanding the coercive measures necessary during the first introduction of the common school system. Much credit is due to the tireless energies of the Faust family for their labors and liberality to enhance the interests of the public schools. Happily for all concerned, the German language, always useful as an educator, has given way to the prevalent language of the country, and the German opposition to the public school has been removed, and the objections conciliated .. Teachers are paid liberal salaries in Rush township, and the tendency, both as to salaries and length of term, has always been upward rather than downward.
The network of railroads which traverse this township is mostly controlled by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company
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and the Lehigh Valley Railroad company. In this township is the famous "High Bridge," which spans a chasm one hundred and fifty- seven feet in depth.
The oldest church, and for many years the only one in the township, is the Union church, which is situated in the valley about two miles from Tamanend. This ancient landmark was erected in 1831, by the Lutheran and German Reformed congregations, the means being contributed by the farmers in the valley, who have also sustained the church and perpetuated the organization. This is a quaint old building without any pretentions at architectural display, but a fair representation of the old-time churches of the "Fatherland." It has been preserved for its precious memories. Services in both English and German have been maintained for many years. The old cemetery, established with the church, contains the ashes of many of the earliest pioneers. The Evangelical association effected an organization, and built a neat church edifice in Barnsville in 1872. For a number of years previous to this organization, services were held at the homes of the people, or in any convenient place.
Delano Borough was incorporated in 1881. It was established as a village to accommodate the necessities of the Lehigh Valley Railroad company. In 1866 the repair shops of the Mahanoy division of that road were established there, and this was the starting point in building up the village. The land upon which the borough is located is owned or controlled by the railroad company, and that corporation has built, and owns, all the houses, both public and private. The rail- road interests are still a prominent feature in the existence of the town, and a moral tone exists in Delano not to be found elsewhere in the county. No saloon is allowed in the place, and the company fosters and encourages morality and intellectual development, by liberally sustaining a reading room, library, church and school, and prohibit- ing the usual corroding influences. Within recent years some of the railroad work formerly done at this place has been transferred to the larger shops at Easton, resulting in the removal of many employes, hence the population of five hundred in 1900 is not a truthful representation of the present inhabitants. Three hundred would be a closer estimate. An excellent public school of five depart- ments is conducted in the borough, embracing a complete high school course and graduating system. Delano borough has but three licensed business places, two of which are operated by one man. Rush township has twenty-two retail establishments. A very strong organization of the Patriotic Crder Sons of America exists in the
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borough, designated as Washington camp, No. 72. A union Sun- day school and union church services are regularly conducted.
RYAN TOWNSHIP.
Ryan is one of the later township organizations, being set off from Rush and Mahanoy townships in 1868. It was named in honor of Judge James Ryan. The early history of this township is scarcely separable from the territory from which it was organized. The ear- liest settlers within the limits of the township were two families named Dresh and Heasing. These came about 1784, during which year David Dresh built the first log house, and set out the first orchard in the township. This improvement subsequently came to be known as the Klingiman farm, on the road from Reading to Catawissa. A man named Stauffer succeeded Dresh on this farm in 1811. A Mr. Feller, John Faust, George Focht, and a man named Kregler were among the early settlers. The Reverend Schellhart, prominently identified with the early religious history of Tamaqua and vicinity, and Reverend Kroll, one of the founders of the old "White Church" in Rush township, were the pioneer ministers in this locality. The Lutheran and Reformed denominations erected a church in 1848 The first public school was opened in 1854. David Dresh kept the pioneer tavern. There are but six licensed business houses in the township. The residents of this locality are mostly engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, and some fine farms are the result of faithful and persistent effort.
SCHUYLKILL AND WALKER TOWNSHIPS.
Schuylkill and Walker townships existed under one organization until 1878 when the greater part of the territory then known as Schuyl- kill township was absorbed in the formation of Walker township. The formative period of organization, settlement, the establishment of churches and schools and the development of internal industries was passed during the domination of Schuylkill township, when, for the convenience of the people, the new township of Walker was organ- ized. Schuylkill was one of the original townships detached from Berks county in 1811. It then comprised a large area from which Blythe township was formed in 1846, and it contributed territory in the formation of Mahanoy, Butler, New Castle and East Norwegian townships. The first settlement was made in the Lewistown valley in 1802. The pioneers were thrifty and industrious Germans and New Englanders, and the well cultivated and fertile farms of that locality attest their industry and energy, as well as that of their pos-
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terity. A portion of this territory is productive coal land, now owned and partially operated by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company. The villages of the township came into existence, prin- cipally, in recognition of the needs of this industry, and have waned or grown, according ot the transitory character of the inhabitants. In 1846 Tuscarora was the terminus of the Schuylkill Valley railroad, and was a village of some importance. On the 20th of May, 1830, the postoffice was established there, with Mr. Donaldson as postmaster. J. and R. Carter were early coal operators who located there, and Patterson and Sillyman of Pottsville, were operating mines on lands of Bank of the Kentucky in 1852. These holdings, and others, passed into the hands of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company who have controlled the railroads in that locality for many years.
In the early days Tuscarora was quite a resort for non-resident pleasure seekers, and efforts were made to entertain them by the erec- tion of a large hotel and two churches, not then demanded by the limited population. The Primitive Methodist church was opened in 1853, and the Reformed church was erected in 1855. St. Gabriel's Catholic church was organized in 1877, and is supplied by priests from Tamaqua. Tuscarora is the only village of importance in the territory, and in 1900 it had a population of 298. Patterson is the rival of Tuscarora in the matter of age, both claiming the honors of antiquity. In 1852 a new school house was built in the village, and the old one became the meeting place for the German Catholic church which was then organized. Semi-monthly services were held by this congregation until 1878, when, a majority of the member- ship having removed, the church organization was abandoned. The Irish Catholics had a weak organization in the village in 1843, and were served by the Pottsville clergy for a number of years, but it also has been discontinued. The Patterson of the present consists largely of a collection of unoccupied houses rapidly yielding to decay.
Newkirk came into existence in 1852 as a coal village, a number of stone houses being erected in that year as homes for the miners. In 1854 a church and school house, combined in one building, was erected, and a Presbyterian service was inaugurated. The mines in the vicinity were opened in 1852, by Newkirk & Buch, and later operators were Fry & Shepp, who conducted the business from 1870 until 1875 when the breakers were burned, and the property passed under control of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron company, who erected new breakers and continued the business. Reevesdale and Lewistown complete the list of villages in the townships. The former was a thriving coal village as late as 1870, but since that time
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it has lost its prestige. Lewistown is a post village sustaining, by the aid of contiguous territory, one or two stores, an Evangelical church, and a union church of the Reformed and Lutheran denomina- tions. The latter is one of the old churches of the section of the county, having been established about 1834, when a substantial stone build- ing was erected which has stood the test of ages. The Evangelical society built their church in 1866.
Schuylkill township was one of the four districts in the county which voted favorably to the adoption of the public school system in 1834. But the people failed to erect directors favorable to the enforce- ment of the law until 1837. In the year last written six schools were established in lieu of the three "pay-schools" then in operation. These were conducted on the basis of a monthly tuition of fifty cents for each pupil. Nathan Barlow taught a subscription school at Lewis- town for twenty years previous to 1837. The territory embraced within Schuylkill township in 1837 was soon organized into school districts, and the public school system readily became popular with the people. The townships now have an excellent school organiza- tion in which the people take pride in electing the most public spirited and enterprising men as supervising officials. The commercial busi- ness of Schuylkill township is now transacted through twenty-four licensed business houses, and there are nineteen such in Walker township.
SOUTH MANHEIM TOWNSHIP.
Two townships were created in 1845 from the territory originally embraced in Manheim, one of the original townships transferred from Berks county at the organization of Schuylkill county. One is desig- nated as North Manheim and the other South Manheim. The early history of the territory thus becomes identical. The original town- ship of Manheim was the scene of serious Indian troubles in the pio- neer days, and the prowlings of the dusky savages, together with their many depredations against the few defenseless settlers of 1755, were sources of great annoyance and constant danger. An account of the early troubles with the Indians, and a record of their merciless murders and wanton destruction of property, appears in another chapter. Matthew Hein is credited with being the first permanent settler of South Manheim township. Adam Smith was an early settler near the Blue mountain, and the names of other early comers are mentioned in the history of North Manheim, and the boroughs erected therein. The first public improvements in this township consisted in the building of saw-mills and grist-mills, and the first
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of these was erected in 1777, on Riffee creek, by a man named Werner. Kershner's was the pioneer grist-mill, erected near the site of Auburn a century and a quarter ago. This was remodeled in later years, and was known as Fisher's mill. The primitive furnace erected by John Pott was long a prominent landmark in South Manheim, but in 1877, after frequent repairings and rebuildings, it was destroyed by fire. The only church organizations in the township are represented by the old union church of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed denominations. This church is a formidable rival to the "Old Red Church" in Brunswick township, in that its existence dates from about the same period. The third building now occupies the site, the last being a large stone structure capable of seating a thousand persons. It was remodeled and greatly improved in 1878. A pros- perous Sunday school is a prominent feature of the religious services which have been regularly conducted for considerably more than a hundred years.
South Manheim township contains some excellent farming land, and the good improvements and pleasant homes, together with the introduction of modern conveniences in the form of telephones and the rural free delivery system, renders country life a pleasure rather than a drudgery, as in former times. There are five stores in the township.
Auburn Borough .- This is the only town in South Manheim town- ship. It is a handsome little town of eight hundred and forty-five inhabitants. The first settler on the village site was Samuel K. Moyer, formerly a boatman on the Schuylkill canal. About 1840 he located at "Scotchman's Lock," and built a house, in which he afterward opened a store. In 1842 the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad com- pany established a station at the lock, and gave it the name of Auburn station. Boat building was the principal industry at the place until the demand for the product ceased. The postoffice was established in 1846, and Isaac Hoffmeister was the first postmaster. In 1854 the Susquehanna & Schuylkill railroad was completed to the town, and three years later the borough was incorporated. The Auburn Bolt and Nut works is an important manufacturing industry organized in 1887. The plant represents an investment of $60,000. It gives employment to a considerable number of wage workers, and is a successful business enterprise.
The first public school in Auburn was taught in 1845, the basement of the Bethel church being utilized for that purpose. The first school house was erected in 1857, and twelve years later a building capable
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of accommodating the present and prospective needs of the district was constructed, and the graded school system established.
Auburn lodge, No. 543, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted in 1858, and is a strong and prosperous organization. The Patriotic Order Sons of America have a camp known as No. 45. The Church of God was the first religious organization in the borough. The adherents to this faith built Bethel meetinghouse in 1845. The Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed denominations erected a church edifice in 1859, and have since occupied it as a union church. A Sunday school was organized the same year the church was built, and, like the union church, has been a continuing institution. Auburn has good railroad facilities, being located on the line of the Philadel- phia & Reading, and its S. & S. branch, and is on the line of the Penn- sylvania system. It is located in a rich farming community, which adds stability and permanence to its trade. There are twenty-four business houses in the borough.
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CHAPTER XIX.
TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH HISTORY CONCLUDED-TREMONT, UNION, UPPER MAHANTONGO, WASHINGTON, WAYNE, WEST BRUNSWICK, WEST MAHANOY AND WEST PENN TOWNSHIPS-BOROUGHS OF ORWIGSBURG, PORT CLINTON, GILBERTON AND FRACKVILLE.
TREMONT TOWNSHIP.
This is one of the most extensive and valuable coal fields in Schuyl- kill county. The product of the mines is of a superior quality, com- manding an advance above the average price of anthracite for domes- tic uses. Tremont, which, we are told, is a name derived from the French, meaning "three mountain," was organized from Pine Grove township in 1848. The surface of the township is broken and rugged, with mountain spurs and deep ravines projecting into the territory. To the lover of Nature it is a beautiful location unsurpassed in the country. There is but little arable land, and no effort is made at general farming. It is said that this wild region was a favorite hunt- ing ground with the Indians in the early days, and that many arrow- heads have been found in the territory now included in the township. The settlement began in 1817, Henry Zimmerman, the Hipples, Pinckertons, Clarks and Mellons being among the first settlers. Doc- tor Speck was the first physician and Rev. T. A. Fernsby was the first minister. A Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1847 as a result of the labors of Mr. Fernsby. The early justices of the peace were Esquires Wolff and Bechtel. The old road between Reading and Sunbury passed through Lorberry and Joliet, and was the first highway opened in the township.
The early educational history of this township is embraced in that of Pine Grove, from which it was erected in the year following the adoption of the public school system by Pine Grove township. The first school board elected in Tremont organized in February, 1848, by choosing Levi Pinckerton as president; Dr. Frederick Speck, sec- retary, and John Brandt, treasurer. The other members of the board were T. H. Godfrey, Thomas Bailey and Henry Eckle. The majority of the early settlers were Pennsylvania Dutch, with German, Welsh and Irish people predominating among the minority. Lorberry Junction and Kalmia are the only villages in Tremont township, the former being at present the more important. It is located in
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