USA > Pennsylvania > Schuylkill County > History of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 7
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Boston and other small areas in that vicinity, they produce coals. of the lowest group, including the Mammoth, Skidmore and Buck Mountain beds. The southern wall of the coal field in this county is. broken by four gaps through which flow the Little Schuylkill, the main river Schuylkill and the west branch of that river and the Swatara. The railroads run through these narrow passes and follow the streams to the mine entrances. The main points of structure of this great wealth-producing area may be briefly mentioned in this connection. Sharp mountain forms the southern boundary of the field, and extends from the west end of the county in an almost straight line to Middleport, its rocks having in this distance a vertical or overturned north dip. Beyond Middleport the mountain swings to the north in three distinct flexures, and continues to Tamaqua and beyond, as a steep vertical monoclinal ridge. The coal measures flank the mountain, conforming to the dip of the conglomerate, and, making a deep and sharp basin, roll away to the north in distinct flexures, lessening in depth, where they crop out on the south side of Mine hill, and next appear in the narrow north Mine hill basin. Between the division of the basin at Tremont and Mine hill, the state survey recognizes at least seven distinct anticlinal axes, running in a generally parallel direction, most of them marked by a line of narrow hills. These axes consist of a series of broken lines having the same general direction. Mine hill is an arm of Broad mountain which separates from the main ridge west of Forestville, and extends. as far east as Patterson, a distance of sixteen miles, where it dies. away. The basin of North Mine hill is practically separate from the main southern field, only merging into it at its eastern extremity. The main basins, as well as the subordinate ones, are not of uniform depth, but exhibit a canoe-shaped structure, the bottoms rising grad- ually towards the eastern and western extremities. The Pottsville deposit of the coal measures is very thick, showing that this portion of the field is at or near the center of the basin. The deep shafts of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron company near Potts- ville reach the Mammoth vein at a depth of nearly two thousand feet below the surface, while at Tremont this bed is reached at a. depth of one thousand feet, and eastward, at Mauch Chunk, the depth is much less. The Second, or middle, coal field lies between Broad and Mahanoy mountains and is practically surrounded by them, the only gap being at Ashland through which passes the waters. of Mahanoy creek in its passage to the Susquehanna. This stream rises in the extreme eastern end of the basin, flows westward through the Mahanoy valley, and is joined by Shenandoah creek, its main
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tributary, at the town of Girardville. These streams furnish the outlets for the network of railroads penetrating the coal fields in every direction. Bear ridge runs parallel to the trend of the basin, sep- arating Mahanoy and Shenandoah valleys, and forming a prominent topographical feature. This portion of the field, in general, consists of three separate parallel basins: the Mahanoy basin, a deep sharp synclinal, bounded by Bear ridge and Broad mountain; a broad middle trough, and the Shenandoah basin. The Mahanoy basin is remark- ably uniform in its structure, its north and south dips being very nearly equal, and runs without a break or turn to a point beyond Girardville where the Bear ridge axis dies away, and it merges into the Ashland basin. The Middle or Ellangowen basin narrows at Turkey run and to the west of there it becomes the William Penn basin. The Shenandoah basin is comparatively shallow, with a gentle south dip and a steep north one, the latter at times being overturned so that it appears as a south dip. Some miles west of Shenandoah the rise of this basin brings its bottom to the surface and it ends there, but again appears further to the west. This field is especially well-developed. The great Mammoth bed is often a solid stratum forty feet or more in thickness, and at times appears in several splits separated by fifty feet or more of rock. The Buck Mountain,Skidmore, Seven-Foot, Holmes and Primrose are all worked, and the more extensively as the Mammoth becomes exhausted. The development of this field in the early days was much handicapped by what seemed an impassable mountain barrier. As early as 1830 Stephen Girard commenced a railroad of planes and levels into this basin, but abandoned it six years later, after having shipped but a small quantity of coal. In 1854 the Mine hill railroad was extended across Broad mountain to Ashland, and in 1856 the first coal was shipped from that region. The building of this road was due to the energy and business sagacity of one of Pottsville distinguished citizens, the late Burd Patterson, whose efforts also urged to completion the East Mahanoy railroad and tunnel and the Broad Mountain railroad. But now the many branches of the Philadelphia & Reading, the Lehigh Valley and the Pennsylvania systems, radiate to the busy centers in all directions, while prosperous towns and villages dot the mountain sides and valleys wherever "King Coal" seeks an outlet to localities less fortunate. Besides the authorities mentioned, in the preparation of this article liberal use has been made of a paper prepared with great care by the late P. W. Sheafer, of Pottsville.
CHAPTER V.
REMOVAL OF SEAT OF JUSTICE AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS-COUNTY INFIRMARY AND COUNTY LAW LIBRARY ESTABLISHED-EARLY WAGON ROADS AND BUILDING OF THE KING'S HIGHWAY-CENTER TURNPIKE AND STAGE LINES.
The location of the seat of justice at Orwigsburg, the building of the court house, first courts held in the county and other matters pertaining to county organization, have been presented in Chapter II of this volume. The project of removing the seat of justice to Pottsville was agitated as early as 1831. A meeting was held at the Exchange Hotel, in the borough of Pottsville, on the 19th of Novem- ber of that year, at which it was set forth that the location of the county seat at Orwigsburg subjected the people in some parts of the county to inconveniences, and that a majority of the inhabitants would be accommodated by its removal to Pottsville. A committee was appointed, consisting of Benjamin Pott, Burd Patterson, Thomas Sillyman, Jacob Seitzinger and John C. Offerman, to solicit subscrip- tions to defray the expense of erecting public buildings. On the 3d of December, this committee reported that a sufficient sum had been secured. But the citizens of Orwigsburg were equally vigilant. A mass meeting was held at the court house Jan. 21, 1832, and reso- lutions were adopted opposing and denouncing the project, and arranging to stay the progress of the movement. The question of removal slumbered for ten years, to be revived again on the estab- lishment of railroad communication between Pottsville and Philadel- phia, but the subject ended then without definite action. In com- pliance with the prayer of many petitioners, the legislature passed an act "concerning the removal of the seat of justice of the county of Schuylkill from Orwigsburg to the borough of Pottsville," and the act was approved by the governor on the 13th of March, 1847. It provided for submitting the question of removal to the qualified voters of the county who had resided therein during the six months next preceding the election in 1847. The act also provided that unless the citizens of Pottsville should erect, or cause to be erected, within three years, suitable buildings of brick or stone, for a court house and public offices, no removal should take place. It further
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directed that a new jail should be erected at public expense, in recog- nition of the increasing needs of the county. It also provided for the disposition of the public buildings at Orwigsburg when those at Pottsville should be accepted and occupied. William F. Sanders, Augustus Holmes, Joseph F. Taylor, James B. Levan and Joseph Fertig were named in the act as the commissioners to "select and procure a suitable lot or lots in the borough of Pottsville" on which to erect the court house and public offices. Pending the election of 1847, an aggressive and somewhat turbulent speaking campaign was inaugurated and prosecuted up to the day of election. Each side resorted to every available means of arousing local pride, prej- udice and personal interests, thus engendering a rivalry between the two towns which it required years to eradicate. But it was a self-evident fact that the center of population was nearer to Potts- ville, and that the interests of the people would be best subserved by the removal of the county seat to that place. Pottsville had not only become the business center of the county, but it had also become the railroad center, while its rival had, at that time, no railroad facil- ities whatever. The result of the election showed 3,551 votes for removal, and 3,092 against the proposition. In accordance with the expressed will of the majority of the voters, the work incumbent upon the citizens of Pottsville was pushed rapidly forward. On the Ist of February, 1848, a meeting of the citizens was held, and Solomon Foster, Samuel Sillyman, Samuel Thompson, William Major and Abraham Miesse were constituted a cominittee to superintend the construction of the court house. The commissioners named in the act selected a site, practically the same as now occupied by the new court house, it being on the estate of the late George W. Farquhar, Esq., at the corner of Second and Sanderson streets and in October, 1849, the work of excavating began. The committee solicited contributions of labor and material as well as cash, and, under the superintendence of Isaac Severn, the work was completed and approved by the judges of the court in May, 1851, and was report- ed "in every way satisfactory" by the grand inquest, in December following. The building was 123 by 37 feet in ground dimensions, built of brick, and was two stories in height. The total cost of the structure, including bell and tower clock, was less than $30,000. The removal of the public records from Orwigsburg was completed on the ist of December, 1851, on which date the first court in the building was convened by Hon. Charles W. Hegins, who was the first president judge elected under the constitutional amendment
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of 1850, which made the office of judge an elective one. His associates were Judges Solomon Foster and Francis S. Hubley.
In accordance with the provisions of the act authorizing the removal of the seat of justice to Pottsville, the building of a jail was commenced in 1850. Former conditions at Orwigsburg had not been such as to invite any "self-respecting" criminal to seek the hospitality of
the jailer! The first domicile devoted to the entertainment of the violators of "the peace and dignity of the State" was located in the cellar of Reiffschneider's tavern. This cellar being located in the hill-side, a stump was left at one end, and a ring was attached to this relic of fallen greatness, to which the prospective run-a-ways were securely fastened. The stump, with the ring attached, remained until 1850. When the accommodations at Reiffschneider's became insufficient, rooms were secured in Judge Rausch's residence, where it was found that the tying-up process was most certain to produce satisfactory results on trial-day. The first jail was built in 1814, of field stone, about thirty-two feet square, and two stories high. By subsequent additions it was enlarged to the length of about eighty feet. It was converted into a school house, on the removal of the county seat. In January, 1851, the present site of the county prison was selected, though a different site had been selected in 1850, and work commenced thereon. The location is on Sanderson and Second streets, opposite the courthouse. Isaac Severn was the superintend- ent, acting under the plans of N. LeBrun, the architect. The building as originally constructed contained thirty-eight cells, and cost about $70,000. In 1852 it was accepted by the county, and the sheriff was ordered to transfer the prisoners from Orwigsburg. This prison was greatly enlarged and improved in 1876, the capacity being trebled, and the interior arrangements modernized and strengthened. With the new addition, it contains eighty-six cells, besides six dungeons in the basement, making the present cell capacity 124. It is modeled after the style of the Eastern penitentiary, and conducted on the same system. It is constructed of solid rock, with concrete floors, and as nearly fire proof as the necessary furnishings will permit. The total length of the structure is nearly 500 feet, with a jail yard enclosure of over two and a half acres. The cells are nine by fourteen feet, ten feet high. They are heated with steam. The cost of the addition, including steam heating appliances for the entire building was $116,582. The building includes comfortable and cozy living rooms for the jail warden and his deputy and their families. A quarantine hospital is established in the jail yard. It is a two-story brick building, divided into fourteen rooms, and well arranged for
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the comfort and convenience of those who are so unfortunate as to need its protection.
With the development of mineral resources, and consequent rapid increase in population and wealth, the old court house, a model building in its day, became too small to accommodate the people, and it was decided to "pull down and build greater." With many regrets expressed by the older members of the bar, because of the sacrifice of pleasant memories, it was decided to remove the old build- ing and substitute one more in keeping with the public necessities. It was determined to utilize the old court house grounds on "Pine Hill," though not with the approval of all parties concerned, many preferring a more central and accessible location. The corner stone was laid in 1889, with impressive public ceremonies, and these were repeated in 1892, on the dedication of the structure, the court, the bar, county officials and the interested public taking part in the exercises. The Schuylkill county court house is assuredly a work of art. It is built according to the Romanesque style of architecture, entirely of Cleveland sandstone, and occupies ground dimensions of 195 by 100 feet. The maximum height is 171 fect from the grade line to the finial. A magnificent tower adorns the structure, and an immense clock warns the people in every quarter of the city that "time is passing." This building is used exclusively for the holding of courts and the transaction of public business, to which purposes it is admirably adapted. The two main court rooms challenge the admiration of everybody. while the others are far above the average for the purposes designed. The public office rooms are specially arranged for the accommodation of the occupants, having fire-proof vaults and modern conveniences. The entire building and its superb arrangements for practical utility, convenience, safety and beauty, will compare favorably with any court house in the state. The total cost of the structure was about $400,000.
COUNTY LAW LIBRARY.
The Schuylkill county law library had its. inception in 1855-56, when a conditional contribution was made by the county, supple- menting the voluntary contributions made by members of the bar. The nucleus to the present collection was formed in the spring of 1856, when a committee of lawyers purchased some four hundred dollars' worth of books. Acts of assembly in 1861, and again in 1867, directed that certain portions of fines and forfeitures be appro- priated for the purchase of law books for this library, under the direc- tion of the judges. In 1871 an act was passed appointing the law
THE OLD COURT HOUSE, POTTSVILLE
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judges of the courts and three members of the bar appointed by them, as a board of trustees, with authority to purchase books each year to the amount of $3,000. At the next session, however, a supple- mentary law was enacted, on the recommendation of the bench and bar, limiting the annual expenditure to $1,000. The library contains at present nearly 4,000 volumes, and is under the library committee consisting of Guy E. Farquhar, E. D. Smith and A. W. Schalck, Esqs.
As tending to show the interest manifested in the preparation of the student of law for the high calling to which he aspires, it is proper to mention in this connection the training school which has been in existence in this county for more than half a century. The board of law examiners prescribes a curriculum of study, both for prelimi- nary study and final examination. The student is required to take up and pursue the prescribed work for three years, and he is examined as to his proficiency in the work thus assigned. Some distinguished members of the Schuylkill county bar have served on this board for many years, their only recompense being in the knowledge that their services will strengthen and build up the profes- sion to the plane of intellectual superiority. The school is a recog- nized institution, not only by the bar, but throughout the county. One unswerving rule of the committee is that it will not proceed in a final examination without the presence of the court. The exami- nations are oral, and the president annually assigns the various subjects to the several members of the committee, and no examiner is guided by reference books or memoranda. Hon. D. C.Henning has been the president of this unique educational institution for a number of. years. The work of this committee has been somewhat abridged by recent rules of the supreme court, whereby the examination for admission is conducted by a committee of that body, upon presenta- tion by the applicants of a certificate of good character and com- pliance with the rules of the local committee.
THE COUNTY'S WARDS.
"The poor ye have always with you" was no more true in the days when that sentiment was first uttered than it is today. Previous to the incorporation of Schuylkill county as a poor district, in 1831, each township provided for its poor by letting the subjects of public charity out to the lowest bidder for care and protection. By the provisions of an act approved on the 4th of April, 1831, Schuylkill county was constituted a poor district, and John C. Offerman, Michæl Græff, Samuel R. Kepner, John Barr, John Hughes, Simon Marborger . and William Grief were named as commissioners to select and purchase
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a site for a house of employment for the poor of the district. Five days after their appointment they purchased a form of 226 acres, on Center turnpike, in North Manheim township, paying therefore, to Charles Christ, the sum of $6,000. By subsequent purchases and transfers, the farm now includes about 283 acres. A building located on the premises, and formerly used as a tavern, became the county alms house until the main building was erected in 1833. The new building was of brick, 90 by 48 feet, three stories high. In 1850 a wing was added, also of brick, and three stories in height, this being 42 by 32. In 1873 another story was added to this part. A stone building, two stories high, 28 by 65 feet, was erected in 1842, and is used as a place of detention or quarantine. The infirmary, 40 by 80, a three-story brick building, was erected in 1859. Its apart- ments are occupied as the medical and surgical wards. The building for the insane was erected in 1869. It is built of brick, three stories, and covers an area of 82 by 42 feet, with a wing 25 by 20. It contains 38 rooms designed especially for the care of the insane. The base- ment of this building has rooms designed for the lodging of vagrants and tramps. The bakery and laundry, a two-story structure, was built in 1872. The barn, erected in 1874, at a cost of over $23,000, completes the buildings of importance, and totals an expenditure of $144,170. Minor improvements in the way of heating apparatus and some modern appliances in the hospital and other departments, will swell these figures to $150,000, or above that amount. The farm is valued at about $40,000, making a grand total of nearly $200,000" of a permanent investment for the benefit of the county's poor. A school is conducted on the premises for the benefit of the pauper children, this being under the jurisdiction of the public school officials. The inmates of the alms house are required to work on the farm or in the various mechanical shops sustained on the premises. Good wholesome food is supplied in abundance, the farm supplying a large percentage of the meats, vegetables, dairy products, poultry, etc. The water supply is procured from a reservoir some two miles distant.
EARLY WAGON ROADS AND CENTER TURNPIKE.
The first thoroughfare through Schuylkill county was established by the proprietary government in 1770. This was known as the King's Highway, and was no doubt a greater means of internal develop- ment than any road of like character established in the state. It afforded direct communication between Philadelphia and "Shamokin," the latter being then an important military post, as well as the head- quarters for nearly all of the traffic with friendly Indians in the interior
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of the state. But its principal importance lay in establishing direct connection between the military forces during the troublous times preceding and during the Revolution. Incidentally it established a main thoroughfare through the undeveloped regions of Schuylkill county, and opened the way to settlement which otherwise should have been long-delayed. The building of the King's highway was under discussion for some years before the arduous task was under- taken. The territory to be traversed had not all been acquired from the Indians, and the Six Nations strenuously objected to this encroach- ment upon their hunting grounds. Finally these objections were removed, and, in response to a numerously signed petition, a commis- sion was appointed by the provincial council on the 30th of January, 1768, with instructions to report upon the feasibility of the route within six months. On the 5th of November following this action, the Indian title to the lands to be traversed was extinguished by purchase, and that barrier was removed. The formal petition, presented to the governor and council of the province of Pennsylvania on the 16th of January, 1770, recites the advantages to accrue from the opening of the King's highway, and cites the fact of a favorable report having been rendered by the viewers. The provincial council convened at Philadelphia on the 9th of February, 1770, formally considered the petition, and named the following persons to act as commissioners, with instructions to proceed with the work: Job Hughes, Henry Shoemaker, John Webb, Isaiah Willits, George Webb, Jonathan Lodge, and Henry Miller. The first five named responded to the appointment, and proceeded to survey and establish the route. The danger and trials of this undertaking will be better understood if the reader will bear in mind that the course of this thoroughfare lay, for the most part, through an unbroken wilderness in a moun- tainous country infested by lurking Indians, and not one house or settler to be found on the entire route of nearly forty miles. The starting point was to be at Ellis Hughes' saw-mill, at a junction with the Windsor road then opened from Reading to the vicinity of Schuylkill Haven. Francis Yarnall was the surveyor selected by the commissioners. The surveying force comprised some fourteen men, of whom one was a cook and leader of the pack-horses which conveyed the supplies, tent and other camp equipage. Two or three were axmen, two were chainmen, one rodman, etc. The survey was completed in about ten days, and on the 14th of April, 1770, the commissioners submitted the following report to the council: "We have viewed the ground on places through which said road is requested, and being satisfied that there is occasion for the same,
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have laid out said road, from point of beginning to the bank of the river Susquehanna by the northwest corner of Fort Augusta, of the length of thirty-nine miles and one quarter, and nineteen perches. -Signed: George Webb, Henry Shoemaker, John Webb, Isaiah Willits, Job Hughes."
On the day this report was submitted, the council confirmed the road, and declared it a King's highway, and ordered that it be forth- with opened and rendered a commodious road for public service. The Great road was completed during the early part of 1771, the laborers being employed, for the most part, in the townships of Berne, Windsor, Maiden Creek and Exeter, in Berks county. It was necessary to carry all supplies, the men working in a compact body for their own protection, and the road was completed as they progressed. Beginning at "the saw-mill of Ellis Hughes," where it intersected the Windsor road, it passed through the later sites of nearly all the prominent towns and villages of Schuylkill county, and was no doubt the stimulating influence which conduced to their establishment. The route chosen was from Ellis Hughes' saw-mill to the south end of the gap in Tuscarora mountain; thence to the Schuylkill on the north side of Tuscarora mountain; thence to the foot of Broad mountain, ascending to the top of the same; thence to Mahoning creek, and along the side of the mountain of that name gradually ascending to the mountain top; thence to Shamokin creek, following that stream to the fording place; thence to Bear hill and Shamokin at the old fort; thence to the bank of the Susquehanna river at the northwest corner of Fort Augusta, the objective point, now the borough of Sunbury. The Great road traversed the territory known in olden times as Saint Anthony's Wilderness-a name given the territory by the Moravian missionaries-which extended between the Blue and Second mountains from the Lehigh to the Susquehanna; the region between the Sharp and the Broad mountains, comprising the southern coal field, was known as the Great Pine Swamp; and the remaining part, from the Broad mountain to the Susquehanna, embracing the middle coal field, and the arable lands to the north and west of it, was termed the "Shamokin Country." Some of the towns which have been built on the line of this thoroughfare are Pottsville, Minersville, Mt. Pleasant, Taylorsville, Ashland, Mt. Carmel, Centralia, Shamokin and Sunbury. As soon as this road was opened to the public the travel over it became very great, and many distinguished personages passed through the desolate wilder- ness between Philadelphia and Fort Augusta. The products of the farms along the river and from the valleys were hauled to Reading,
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