USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 32
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the extreme eastern part of the township, and is a junction point on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad. It has a population of one hundred and four. Kalmia is still a point of great interest because of the continuing beauty of its natural scenery, though the village is not so prosperous as in the days of more active coal operations in its vicinity. There are eight retail business houses in Tremont township.
Tremont Borough .- The settlement of this place began in 1844, stimulated by the extensive coal developments in the vicinity. The postoffice was established in 1848, and John B. Zeibach was appointed the first postmaster. The village was incorporated as a borough in 1866, and has had a prosperous career. The population in 1900 was 1,947. In 1847 the Tremont Iron works was established by Umholtz & Lentz. This industry subsequently became the Tremont Engine and Boiler works, now operated by a stock company in the manufacture of mining machinery. The First National Bank of Tremont was organized in 1865, and continued in business until 1879, when it voluntarily closed, paying in full all its obligations. Within recent years another banking institution has been established.
Two newspapers are supported in the borough and vicinity-the Tremont News, and West Schuylkill Press. Both are weekly publica- tions devoted to local news and advertising. Many changes have been made in the proprietorship and management of these journals. U. G. Batdorff was the founder of the News, and was the editor and publisher for many years. The Press was started by Hon. S. C. Kirk, who published it until 1884, when John A. Bechtel became the editor. It is now owned by R. S. Bashore, and edited and managed by John Spitzer. The "motto" of this paper is somewhat expressive: "Un- fettered by Party, Unbiased by Creed, Unawed by Power, Unbribed by Greed!"
The Tremont Water and Gas company was organized in 1874, and Isaac .P Bechtel was chosen president, in which position he served for eighteen years, or until his death in 1892. The borough has an excellent system of water works, the outgrowth of the tireless energies of Mr. Bechtel. The fire department was organized in 1878 when a fine equipment was provided by the borough council, and a handsome engine-house erected, the total expenditure being $7,000. The company's room is handsomely furnished, and home-like conveniences are provided. A cornet band, and other musical features of enter- tainment, are sustained in the town.
There are six churches of the following denominations: Methodist Episcopal, German Lutheran, English Lutheran, Evangelical, Roman
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Catholic and German Reformed. There are eight Lodges of secret societies in the place, including the Masonic, I. O. O. F. and Encamp- ment, P. O. S. of A., G. A. R., K. of P. and others of social and beneficial character. The schools of Tremont are a source of pride and pleasure to the people. An excellent graded school has been maintained from the incorporation of the borough to the present. There are six depart- ments, embracing a high school and regular graduating course. A large and handsome brick school house occupies a prominent site in the borough.
UNION TOWNSHIP.
The organization of this township as a part of Schuylkill county, dates from 1818, when the territory comprising it was set off from Columbia and Luzerne counties. Three townships have been organ- ized from the original territory of Union township, these being North Union, and East Union, in addition to the township now under con- sideration. This subdivision occurred in 1867, previous to which date the territory was all embraced within Union township, except small portions contributed to East Union by Rush and Mahanoy townships.
The first settler in this township is understood to have been Freder- ick Labenberg, who built a log house, and cleared a piece of land during the first years of the last century. In 1810 he disposed of this early home to Benjamin Trexler. Daniel Lindermuth, John Eisenhauer, John Fruhr and a family named Gilbert, settled in the township about 1810. Labenberg raised the first crop of grain har- vested in Union township. At least one of the jurors for the first grand inquest in Schuylkill county was a resident of Union township, . the father of Henry Gilbert. Thomas Gottschall erected a house about 1810, and this was subsequently used as a meeting house where the first gospel sermon was delivered. Dr. Andrew Foster was the first physician in the township, and John Everett was the first mer- chant. The first magistrate was Daniel Butler, and the pioneer tavern was kept by Fred Labenberg. The first mails delivered in the township were presumed to come once a week, and a venerable pioneer named John Eisenhauer kept the "Catawissa Valley" post- office.
The Reformed church was organized about 1822, and united with the Evangelical Lutherans in building a union church. This building also served the purpose of a school house. In 1842 these congrega- tions erected St. Paul's Union church, which is still used by both the congregations. Other churches have grown from this "seed sown in the wilderness," and two new churches have been established,
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St. John's church, in East Union, and Emanuel's church in North Union. The latter occupies Zion's church building, in common with the Lutherans. The mother church of the Reformed denomination is located at Ringtown. The Evangelical denomination organized and built a church in 1870. The earliest burying ground was opened in connection with the union church, it being in use as early as 1815. Its tombstones record the names of five soldiers of the war of 1812, and one person who had attained the age of one hundred and eleven years. Other cemeteries were established with the increase and distribution of population.
The public school system of Union township is one of the best in the county, notwithstanding the organized opposition to its intro- duction, and the compulsory methods necessary to secure its adoption. There are seven substantial brick school houses and a central high school located within the township, exclusive of the high school build- ing at Ringtown. The duration of the school term is above the aver- age in rural districts throughout the county, and the once despised public school has enlisted the support and cooperation of all the people. Ringtown is the only village in this township. Its settle- ment as a village was commenced in 1838, though there were four houses there at that time. It never attained prominence other than as a substantial country village, supported by a good farming com- munity.
In 1871 the grounds of the Catawissa Valley Agricultural society were laid out here, and several fairs were held and considerable inter- est was manifested by the exhibitors; but the area of the farming lands was too limited to support the enterprise, and the society passed out of existence. The place supports the usual village industries, and some manufacturing is carried on there. The Catawissa Valley postoffice was removed to this place in 1845, and in 1854 the name was changed to Ringtown. There is a good hotel at this place which is often visited by pleasure seekers, and as an outing-place for lovers of mountain scenery. Ringtown has a population of 860, and Union township has 1,642. Business places licensed in the township, 27.
UPPER MAHANTONGO TOWNSHIP.
This township was erected from Berks county in 18II. Eldred township was formed from its territory in 1849, thus reducing the original area by more than one-half. A German named Alexander Klinger and his four sons were the first settlers. This family located in 1780 at the place since known as Klingerstown. Peter Klock is said to have been an earlier comer than the Klingers; and whether
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this be true or not, he was one of the earliest settlers of the township. Jacob Baum, Robert Clark, Seamon Shuman, Andrew Osman and Gideon Williams came to the township soon after the Klingers. John Reed built the first hotel in Klingerstown in 1803, and the first store was opened by George Maurer about 1811. The postoffice was estab- lished in 1850, and mails were delivered once a week by way of Reading and Sunbury. Nine men enlisted from Klingerstown in the war of 1812, serving about four months at York, Pa., and Baltimore, Md. Klingerstown is the only village in the township. It had but 370 inhabitants in 1900. There are several stores, two hotels, two churches, a two-department school, mechanical shops, etc. Schwalm union church was organized in 1820, and held services in an old log school house near the present site of the church, in the central part of the township. This is one of the agricultural townships of the county. Upper Mahantongo was the last township in Schuylkill county, and one of the last in the state, to accept the provisions of the public school law. But since 1865 the educational interests have received proper attention, and the school system has been developed in keeping with other material interests in the township. The population of this township, including the village, is 785, and there are twenty-two licensed business houses.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
The organization of this township was effected in 1856, when it was separated from Pine Grove and Wayne. A considerable number of German families inhabited this territory previous to 1790. Philip Zerbe is said to have been the first settler. A Mr. Tebbich, Nicholas Shuck, Adam Kalbach, George Kremer, William Kremer, Peter Weaver, Peter Paffenberger, Nicholas Paffenberger, Christina Betz, Peter Hetzel. Henry Oppel, Michael Bressler, Paul Lengel, Mr. Gebert, Ste- phen Diehl, Samuel Owen, Mr. Boyer, Casper Bretzius, John Adam Brown, Jonathan Kerschner, Platt Wagner, Mr. Bilger and Mr. Worner, were all settled in the township as at present organized, previous to the year above written. A family named Jacoby settled here at a very early date, and soon after were attacked by Indians, Jacoby being beheaded while chopping wood at the door of his cabin. Peter Hetzel located near Salem church about 1770, and taught the first school in the township; his son Peter was the first carpenter in the neighborhood. Casper Bretzius built the first grist-mill on the Little Swatara creek, and his son Michael built and operated the first card- ing machine and cloth dressing establishment, operating these, and his father's mill, for many years after the death of the latter. John
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Adam Brown built a grist-mill about 1790, and a man named Boyer established a tannery about the same time. John William Kremer was among the first to build a saw-mill in the township, though there were several established at a very early date. John Batdorff opened a blacksmith shop near Rock Station about 1800. These earliest settlers were all Germans, and for many years the only language known was that of the fatherland. The habits and customs of their native land were transferred, and firmly implanted in the new settlement, and have not been thoroughly eradicated by the progress of more than a century in the new world. They were mostly adherents to the Lutheran faith, though the Reformed and Evangelical churches have gained a footing in comparatively recent years. The Lutherans obtained a grant of land from the proprietary government, consisting of fifty-five acres, which was to be used for educational and religious purposes. Upon this they built a school house about 1781 which was also used for church purposes. The teacher, Mr. Hetzel, read sermons regularly, until a church organization was effected in 1783. In 1795 a church building was erected, and this was dedicated in 1797, as Salem's Lutheran church. Privileges of joint occupancy were granted to the German Reformed church, and in 1823 this society came into equal rights as to ownership in all the property. The old church building, which was large and convenient for the time, served the two congregations until 1881, when the union church known as Salem's Lutheran and Reformed church was erected. These organiza- tions have grown strong and prosperous, representing a membership of thrifty farmers' families. Zion's Evangelical church was organized in 1858, though services of this denomination had been held in the township at irregular intervals for nearly thirty years previously. A church building was erected in 1862, a Sunday school being organized the same year. This church is still maintained as a mission of the Pine Grove association. The villages of Washington township are Rock and DeTurkville, the former being a station on the Shamokin and Sunbury branch of the Phliadelphia & Reading railroad. A postoffice was established there in 1868, with Jerome Riland as the first postmaster. DeTurkville is an interior hamlet with a few busi- ness places and shops. Pine Grove is the shipping point, and nearest railroad station. Washington township has a population of 1,338, and 22 licensed business houses.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
Wayne township was formed in 1827 from Manheim and Pine Grove townships. The exact date of the first settlement of Wayne
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township is not known, but we have record of the first house on the site of Summit Station being built by Egidions Moyer, in 1775. Con- siderable land in this township was held in early days by non-resident owners. The first settlers in the Panther. valley were Messrs. Lair, Berger, Schol and Schwartz. In Schnickle Creek valley and Long Run valley, George Miller, Mr. Kearcher, John Apple and John Gombey were the first to locate. A Mr. Sumner was the original owner of a large tract of land embracing the site of Friedensburg upon which he was the first settler. In the central and southern portions of the township the first settlers were Henry Gebhart, Hostle Boyer, John Hummel, Henry Schneck, Henry Kemmerling, Jacob Miller, Michael Webber, Benhart Rhine and Leonard Schneck. The pioneers in the Long Run valley were George Shiffer, Henry Weaver and J. Wom- mer. These people were guarded at their labors by a detachment of provincial soldiers sent up from Fort Lebanon by Captain Morgan. Three residents of Wayne, as at present organized, served in the war for Independence, and nine saw service in the war of 1812. Jacob Minich was the first justice of the peace in Wayne. The first tavern opened in Wayne township was the "Blue Mountain House," kept by Dexter Snyder. It existed prior to 1800, for in that year a Jef- ferson liberty pole was raised in front of it, and the adherents to the cause of John Adams attempted to remove it, when a small riot ensued. The aggressors were compelled to march three times around the pole cheering for Jefferson!
Friedensburg is the principal village in this township, and is also one of the oldest in the county. It was a candidate for the county- seat of Schuylkill county, being defeated by Orwigsburg in this com- mendable aspiration. It is a substantial old village of 426 inhabi- tants, with numerous stores, lodges, a hotel and other public insti- tutions. It is on the line of the public road leading from Schuylkill Haven to Pine Grove. Summit Station, whose railroad name is Hammon, is a pleasant little village of 109 inhabitants. It is a station on the line of the Philadelphia & Reading railroad.
St. John's Lutheran and Reformed church has existed as a union organization since 1796, when arrangements were made for the con- struction of the church, which was dedicated in 1797. The second church building was erected in 1868, and since remodeled and enlarged. It is located about a mile west of Friedensburg. The Reedville Evangelical church was organized, and the first church built in 1845. A new church building was erected in 1875. St. Peter's Reformed church was established in 1847, and in 1853 a church edifice was erected on seventy-two acres of land which the society purchased a
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mile west of Cressona, in Wayne township. The United Brethren and Evangelical union church of Friedensburg was built in 1859 as the English Protestant union church.
The fraternal orders represented in the township are: The Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, Patriotic Order Sons of America, Junior Order United Americans, and insurance and religious societies. The population of Wayne township was 1,450 at the taking of the Federal census in 1900. The commercial business of the township was repre- sented by thirty-five licensed business places in 1906.
The educational history of the township dates from 1829, when the first private school was opened, Christian Meyer being the teacher. He continued to teach in the township for forty-one years. The public school system was voluntarily accepted in 1841, and twelve prosperous schools are now sustained in the township. Good school buildings are provided, and the educational interests are carefully guarded and willingly supported. Wayne township comprises excel- lent agricultural territory, and the farmers are generally prosperous and well-to-do. Several Indian murders were committed within the bounds of this township, as appears more fully in another chapter.
WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP.
West Brunswick township was organized from Brunswick, one of the original townships set off from Berks county in 1811. In 1834 it was divided into East and West Brunswick townships. Much of historic interest centers about this territory, which was the scene of more Indian depredations than any other in the county. But these harrowing details have been patiently recited in another chap- ter, and need not be repeated here. A considerable number of Ger- man families had reached Brunswick township as early as 1750, and George Gottfried Orwig, Paul Heim and Michael Miller had settled on Sculp Hill in 1747. In 1750 Peter Weyman purchased from the proprietary government a large tract of land extending from the confluence of the two branches of the Schuylkill river to a point within a mile of the present site of Orwigsburg, with the exception of a few small tracts bought by Peter Schmelgert and others. By the year 1755 these pioneers had been joined by others of their German coun- trymen, nearly all of whom were adherents to the Lutheran faith, and it was decided to erect a house of worship in the wilderness, thus taking one step in the direction of civilization. They were greatly encouraged in this by the Rev. Daniel Schumaker, a missionary laboring in the counties of Lehigh and Berks, and who occasionally visited them. A temporary structure was erected in 1755, and burned
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by the Indians the same year. In 1765 the erection of Zion's church was commenced, and this, the first house of worship north of the Blue mountain, was completed in 1770. The congregation was reg- ularly organized at the time of the building of the first church house in 1755, the name chosen being "Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brunswick Township, Pennsylvania." This, the "Old Red Church," is one of the historic landmarks of Schuylkill county. It was dedi- cated on the first Sunday in Advent, 1770, Rev. Schumaker preaching the dedicatory sermon. The Red church is located on the Center turnpike, about three miles south of Orwigsburg. The names of the men prominent in its construction and early support, will include, also, the prominent pioneers of the period. The list may not be a complete one, since there were one hundred organizing members. The following are the names of those most active in the work of organ- izing and building : Peter Schmelgert, Peter Weyman, Jacob Schaeffer, Michael Deibert, Gottfried Beyer, Paul Heim, Philip Pausman, Chris- tian Schaber, Casper Prag and George Huntzinger. People attended services at this church from a distance of many miles. The earliest ministers who served the congregation were Reverend Schumaker, previously mentioned, who continued with the church until 1782; Revs. Frederick D. Miller, Abraham Deschler, Daniel Lehman and John Frederick Obenhausen, the last named terminating his services in 1803. In 1799 a new and larger church building was erected on the site of the old, and in 1833 the congregation sold a half interest in the property to the German Reformed church, since which time the two congregations have occupied the church in common. The sesqui-centennial of the organization of this church was held in 1905. with befitting ceremonies and great interest. Orators of national repute were present, while local speakers of prominence rendered the occasion one long to be remembered. Among the vast throng of people who attended the services were many descendants of the pioneers of a hundred and fifty years ago.
Education early received recognition in the wilderness of Brunswick township, a school being established at Zion's church in 1765, this being the first school of any kind in Schuylkill county. For reasons assigned in the chapter on education, Brunswick township rejected the public school system until it was forced upon the people by opera- tion of the court. While the public school has made considerable progress in the township, it is not yet received with the willing support and cooperation accorded to it in some other rural districts. The prejudices inculcated around the domestic fireside during a hundred years, cannot be eradicated in a single generation.
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WEST BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP.
West Brunswick is one of the agricultural townships, devoted prin- cipally to farming and stock-raising. It is rich and prosperous, with many excellent farms, handsome homes and beautiful surround- ings. It is populous territory, having 1, 158 inhabitants, exclusive of the boroughs of Orwigsburg and Port Clinton. These are the only towns in the township. There are nine retail stores in the country districts.
Orwigsburg Borough was laid out by Peter Orwig, son of one of the earliest pioneers, and named in honor of the founder. Its existence dates from 1796, though its settlement practically commenced in 1811, when it became the county seat of the then newly organized county of Schuylkill. The greater part of the village was built be- tween 1809 and 1829. But its growth has been stimulated in recent years by the establishment of manufacturing industries, there being at present nine shoe factories, two knitting mills and a box factory in operation. These afford constant and remunerative employment to about four hundred mechanics and salesmen. The town was incorporated in 1813, being the oldest borough in the county. The population of the borough in 1900 was 1,518, the largest in its history.
The First National Bank of Orwigsburg was organized in 1890. It is recognized as one of the sound and prosperous financial in- stitutions of the county. In 1885 the borough installed a system of water works which affords ample provisions for that necessary com- modity, both for domestic uses and fire protection. The first Masonic lodge in Schuylkill county was instituted at Orwigsburg on the 17th of June, 1813. The organizing members of a number of new lodges in the county have taken the work in "No. 138."
The free school system was almost unanimously adopted in 1834, and the schools of the borough have been carefully graded and syste- matized since 1865. There are five departments in the schools, which include a high school course in which forty-six students are enrolled. The total enrollment for 1905-6 exceeds three hundred.
The history of the Orwigsburg academy, Arcadian institute, the removal of the county-seat, etc., appear in other chapters in this volume. A German newspaper, entitled the Stimme des Volks, was established in a very early day, and was discontinued in 1858. The Orwigsburg News was established in 1889, by Gus. Samuel, succeeding the Times which was started and conducted for some years following the suspension of the Stimme des Volks. The News is a prosperous weekly, owned and edited by the founder. It gives evidence of liberal home patronage.
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There are organizations of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Patriotic Order Sons of America, Fraternal Order of Eagles, and social and religious societies, in addition to the Masonic lodge pre- viously mentioned.
The church history of Orwigsburg commences in 1824 when the Methodist Episcopal church was organized. St. John's Reformed church was organized in 1831, being then separated from the con- gregation worshiping at the "Old Red Church" previously mentioned in the history of West Brunswick township. The first church erected was a union effort with the Evangelical Lutherans; but the latter withdrew in 1844, and organized St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church, erecting a church building in that year. The three societies are strong and prosperous, the church buildings of pioneer days having been supplanted by new and attractive edifices in keeping with the progressive spirit of the age. The first Sunday school in Orwigsburg was organized by the Methodist congregation in 1838.
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