History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals, Part 65

Author: Sexton, John L., jr; Munsell, W.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: New York, Munsell
Number of Pages: 486

USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals > Part 65

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Since the incorporation many things have been done by authority of the burgess and council to improve the streets and side walks, and establish water works and a system of lamps for lighting the streets at night; and ordinances for cleanliness, protection against fire and the better preservation of order have been adopted.

The burgesses have been as follows: John W. Guern- sey, 1860-64; C. H. Seymour, 1864-67; T. L. Baldwin, 1867, 1868; Joseph Fish, 1870, 1871; W. O. Farr, 1871, 1872; Joseph Fish, 1872, 1873; C. H. Seymour, 1873, 1874; O. B. Lowell, 1874-77; R. B. Smith, 1877-79; O. P. Borden, 1879-82; E. A. Smead, 1882.

The present councilmen are C. B. Farr, James Dewey, F. H. Adams, Robert Bishop, E. M. Smith and T. A. Wickham; school directors, F. E. Smith, R. B. Smith. Justice of the peace, John W. Guernsey. Constable, S. M. Geer. High constable, John M. Jack. Assessor, E. M. Smith. Assistant assessors, James Dewey, T. A. Wickham. Judge of election, H. L. Baldwin. Inspec- tors of election, C. J. Dewey, E. C. Fish. Auditor, H. L. Baldwin.

Justices of the peace for Tioga borough have been commissioned as follows:

William Garretson, 1863; Henry H. Borden, 1865, 1876; Joseph Fish, 1866, 1871, 1881; Philo Tuller, 1867; |one store is occupied by Robert and Frank Bishop, and J. Van Osten, 1869; John W. Guernsey, 1872, 1882; L. H. Tuttle, 1877, 1882.

Postmasters have been appointed for the Tioga office as follows:

Bush, 1838; Edwin C. Goodrich, 1845; William Lowell, 1846; Albinus Hunt. 1848; Lewis Daggett, 1850, 1861; H. H. Goodrich, 1853; C. G. Dennison, 1855; William T. Urell. 1857; Mrs. Sarah M. Etz, 1865; Philo Tuller, 1869.

The population of the borough in 1880 was 522. The number of taxable inhabitants in 1882 was 205, and the assessed valuation $105, 174.

THE FIRE OF 1871 AND RESULTING IMPROVEMENTS.

The destructive fire of the 9th of February 1871 has done more for the renovation and improvement of Tioga than any ordinances of councilmanic authority could possibly have done. The fire originated in the restaur- ant in the basement of A. C. Bush's store at a late hour in the evening of the 9th, and soon spread in every di- rection to the nearest buildings, destroying two churches, two dwellings, two hotels, thirteen stores, one marble shop, one law office, one bank building, one wagon shop, one blacksmith shop, one barber shop, and many out buildings, with a large amount of personal property. Though at the time it seemed to be an irretrievable calamity, there was a latent power of wealth and energy among the citizens that was little dreamed of. They im- mediately set themselves to work to restore their neces- sary places of business, erecting in the meantime tem- porary sheds for occupation while putting up on their re- spective sites substantial and even elegant brick struct- ures, a prompt and judicious ordinance of council forbid- ding the construction of wooden buildings within the burnt district. In less than two years many of the build- ings were finished and occupied, and by the year 1874 all the present structures excepting the stores of Moses S. Fields and E. C. Fish were completed. Within the area burnt over there are now the following business places, etc .: The banking house of B. C. Wickham & Co., T. Alfred Wickham's clothing, grocery, boot and shoe store, Borden & Warren's drug store, William T. Urell's gro- cery store, Cassel's cigar and shoe store, C. F. Hurlburt's general store, the store of T. L. Baldwin, by Frank H. Adam's general merchandise , H. E. Smith & Son's boot and shoe store, Jacob Schieffelin's hardware store, Philo Tuller's drug store, the post-office, Frederick E. Smith's law office, F. C. Fish's grocery store, Elias M. Smith & Peck's grocery and meat market, J. S. Fields's dry goods store, and the Building Association Company's Park Hotel and two stores in the rear, the whole of fine finish, with mansard roof and dormer windows. The hotel, large and commodious, is now kept by Mr. Alleman; the other by Voorhess, Aiken & Co.'s cigar manufactory, now employing about seventy hands and paying them weekly about $475. In addition to the buildings men- tioned there are the fine stone gothic Episcopal church, elsewhere described, and the Methodist brick church, the C. H. Seymour law office and dwelling, and P. S. Tuttle's store, now occupied as a restaurant and bakery by Max Leutnor, and George Reynolds's barber shop.

Uriah Spencer, January ist 1805 when the office was established) and July Ist 1835; Dr. William Willard, July ist 1809; William Willard jr. April Ist 1815; John Berry, April 1st 1819; James Goodrich, May 31st 1821 (subsequent appointments were all made July ist); A. C. Of the other business places may be mentioned in this

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

connection E. A. Smead's hardware store, Paul Kraiss' furniture and cabinet shop, Joseph Kreger's harness shop, Hiram Pickering's sash and door shop, H. C. Wheeler's wagon shop, Stewart M. Geer's, Lewis Bou- ton's and George W. and Henry Hathaway's blacksmith shops, Frank Adams's marble shop (formerly conducted by A. D. Cole, Etz, Fuller and Wilcox), W. W. Hathaway's planing-mill and shingle factory, William Bishop's cooper shop and Robert Bishop's stave factory, established by Van Name Brothers in 1860, run by John Van Name and Bishop in 1864, and at a later period by Bishop alone, turning out about 4,000 bundles of hogshead shooks per annum so long as white oak timber could be obtained, and now cutting firkin staves and pine box material. The planing-mill erected by Messrs, Wick- ham, Aiken & Chris. Prutsman, on the Corning, Cowan- esque and Antrim Railroad and the highway to Bear Creek, was removed in 1881 by T. A. Wickham & Co. and put up in their large saw-mill, reconstructed from their former hay press building, the whole making at present a very fine and useful manufactory, located on the river, west side, south of New street.

The water works are another important and valuable result of the fire, which showed the necessity of having more convenient arrangements for the supply of water in such an extremity, and also for constant convenience in every household. Messrs. T. A. and Charles Wickham, the latter a practical civil engineer, conceived the idea of bringing to every house in the village an abundance of good fresh water from the Bentley, or Adams run, as it is called by the old settlers.

It was brought very nearly over the same course by which Captain Hobart B. Graves brought water in 1828 to his distillery on Wellsboro street, in large pine pump- logs, of about two inches internal diameter, bored by hand. Several penstocks from the original pipe were put up at different houses at the center of the village, one at Dr. Willard's house, one at James Goodrich's, one at the Graves residence, and possibly others. The great pressure of the water at the foot of the hill, brought from so elevated a point as 300 feet, made it difficult for Mr. Graves to keep his pumplogs in order, and he at length abandoned their use. The writer remembers the dry old penstocks, standing for several years disused.

The present water works were commenced the 22nd of August 1874, and water was let into the pipe Decem- ber 16th of the same year. The storage reservoir is a basin on the stream itself, with a 31-feet earth embank- ment, and a " puddle wall center," 300 feet long, having a capacity of 1,200,000 gallons, at an elevation of 330 feet above the village, and one mile distant from it. The distributing reservoir, built of stone and cement, lined with brick, stands on the brow of East Hill, over- looking the village, at the height of 220 feet, and has a capacity of 750,000 gallons. There are four miles of distributing pipe laid, of the Wyckoff manufacture, of three and six inch sizes, and 15 fire hydrants, with 21 openings for the use of hose. The daily use of this water at present is from 300,000 to 500,000 gallons. To

prevent a shortness of supply from the stream in case of drought, a 35 horse-power engine, with a pump of capac- ity of 1,000 gallons per minute, has been placed in the new saw-mill, with an underground communication with the river.

STREETS AND DWELLINGS.

Since the fire of 1871 three new streets within the bor- ough limits have been opened-Berry street, with four dwellings built by E. M. Smith, and one by Dr. Robert B. Smith; Willard street, on which three houses were built by Dr. R. B. Smith; and Summit street, containing eight buildings by various parties. Coleman street, bear- ing Mr. Wickham's middle name, has recently been opened on the west side of the Cove, running north and south, and connecting an extension of Summit street over the Cove, with Wellsboro street. The bridge was completed the third week in June 1882, and the road graded and opened for travel the first week in August following.

Of the fine dwellings that have been erected on Main street since 1871 may be mentioned those of O. B. Lowell, Thomas Middaugh, Philo Tuller and P. V. Hixon, on the east side, south of Church street; T. A. Wickham's, on the west side, south of Jabin Bush's; and Robert Bishop's, west side, south of Berry street, on the site of the old Lyman Adams house. John Dillistin has erected a very fine brick building on Broad street since the fire. Of the old structures remaining, of the better class, may be mentioned, in the order of time: The Chris. Charles house, now Anna Baldwin's; the A. C. Bush cottage house, with stone basement, and large garden area, built by Hobart B. Graves, and long called the " Derringer house," from its acquisition by Mr. Der- ringer, of Philadelphia, of pistol fame; and the old Berry farm mansion, all three built about 1828, and probably also the Carter Smith or Prutsman house; the fine mansion of Thomas J. Berry sen., built in 1840; the A. C. Bush mansion, about 1842; the H. E. Smith house, in 1845; the Dr. A. B. Smith house, by Frank Carey, about 1850; the Jabin S. Bush house, about 1852 or 1853; the Dr. H. H. Borden and Mrs. C. B. Farr houses, built by Silas B. Hathaway, about the same time; the John W. Guernsey house, by Mrs. William Lowell, in 1848; the Joseph Fish house, by Mr. Steele, in 1852; the P. S. Tuttle house, about 1860; the I. G. Putnam house in about 1870. Of the older dwellings may be men- tioned the Colonel Millard house, occupied by Edwin C. Goodrich, which, with E. A. Smead's dwelling, built by H. B. Graves (originally near his distillery, standing north of the big elm tree), and the William Garretson house, are the only ones that preserve their original shape.

The "Chris. Charles elm," on Main street, Tioga, dates from 1800, and is 15 feet 10 inches in circum- ference five feet from the ground. The "Graves elin," on Wellsboro street, dates from 1820, and has an iron bolt through it, grown over, as has also the Smead elm, on the same street.

Other old buildings have been so remodeled and

277

BUSH'S PARK-TIOGA BUSINESS HOUSES.

added to as to have lost their identity-such as the Banner and Gasette newspaper offices, and some others.

BUSH'S PARK,

though located on the East Hill, and outside of the bor- ough limits, has been so closely identified with the im- provement of the village and its general prosperity, that it must be mentioned here. The enterprise was con- ceived by A. C. Bush in 1873, as a source of employment and recreation for his mind, after his final withdrawal from active business in New York city. On the slope of the hill, south of the railroad depot, he simply had the thick undergrowth of timber thinned out, roads and paths graded, and buildings erected of great convenience for picnics and parties from a distance. These build- ings consist of a large dining hall, set with two rows of tables, and furnished with easy arm chairs, crockery and glassware, with an ample kitchen adjoining to cook for any party however numerous; a theatre hall, provided with stage for declamation, plays and concerts, and with floor for dancing; a ladies' reception room, a smoking room, a band pavillion, a spring house, a flower conser- vatory, a photograph gallery, a store house, a bower house, and an outdoor rostrum and amphitheatre of seats for large public meetings. A band of music of the youths of the town was provided with a full set of in- struments and uniformed at Mr. Bush's expense, to en- tertain guests on important occasions; a six-pounder gun was provided for proper salutes ; and a park bell to ring at sunrise and sunset. The park up to the time of Mr. Bush's death was largely attended and popular, excursion parties coming from all parts of the county, and southern and central New York villages, and the hospitality of the proprietor was a subject of general praise. It was open in 1881, but is closed this year in consequence of the impaired health of Jabin S. Bush, the present owner. The prominence of the park build- ings, together with four dwelling houses erected on the hillside by Dr. R. B. Smith, near to the entrance of the park, gives to the location an agreeable and picturesque effect as viewed from the village.

LOWELL & Co.'s TANNERY,

either rich or poor; but it is thoughit now that the changes are about over, the dark days gone, and light gleams on the future. The tannery has twice passed through fire, once in 1865, necessitating a complete re- building of it, and once since, causing less damage, which was promptly repaired, and improvements and additions made from time to time. Its annual consump- tion of bark is nearly 4,500 cords; it has a capacity for tanning 60,000 sides, and employs immediately about it 3º hands, not to speak of the number necessary to sup- ply the bark.

THE TIOGA COUNTY BANK

was incorporated by the Legislature May 11th 1857; the incorporators named by the act were 22 in all, in- cluding eight persons in the township of Tioga. The organization was made the same year; T. L. Baldwin was elected president, and John W. Guernsey cashier. The act authorized a capital of Stoo,ooo, with an in- crease to $200,000. The bank began business with a paid in capital of $56,610. Its control in a short time fell into the hands of a Mr. Walbridge and others of the city of Buffalo, who improperly used its funds and cur- reney to promote their private ends; and in the fall of 1859, to save the institution from wreck, B. C. Wickham and A. S Turner were appealed to to take charge of it and restore it to credit, the old officers having resigned, and the bank being then in the hands of Edwin Steers as cashier and bookkeeper. These gentlemen finally ac- cepted the situation, investigated the affairs of the insti- tution, advanced their private funds and placed it once more in credit. Henry H. Goodrich, coming home on a visit from Philadelphia, where he had been for a year previous, was engaged as the teller and bookkeeper, and the following winter new currency was prepared, signed, dated and numbered by the officers, and gradually issued by them, as the wants of business required and the charter of the bank permitted, to the amount of $163,- 000. When the civil war was fully inaugurated and im- mense quantities of federal currency and three-years certificates were put afloat, the managers of the bank, as cautious and prudent men, gradually withdrew their cur- reney from circulation rather than extend or keep it at its full volume; yet the wants of the business men who applied for accommodations were generally supplied, and but little reason could be given for complaint.

on Wellsboro street, near the Cove, was originally built in the fall and winter of 1853-4, by Joseph Fish and Charles Somers, who soon associated with them Ira Wells, assuming the firm name of Somers, Fish & Wells. On the night of the 24th of May 1864 the bank, then located in a private dwelling, occupied by a family who were about removing from it, was entered from the hall- way by springing the door from its lock; the windows were covered with carpets to prevent light being seen through the blinds; and the door of the safe was drilled into, and blown open with powder, exposing the entire contents to the robbers, except a small recess in one corner of the safe, closed by a small iron door, contain- ing $25,000 in greenbacks and SSoo in national bank U. S. bonds 86,500 worth of the latter); and the great mystery of the affair was that, with all this money before In about two years Mr. Fish sold to his partners, and his name was dropped from the firm. Mr. Somers soon sold to Henry F. Wells, and the firm became H. F. & Ira Wells. In 1864 Colonel H. S. Johnston bought out Ira Wells, and for a time the firm name was Johnston & Wells. O. B. Lowell bought out Wells, and associated with him Cyrus King, who soon sold his interest, and the firm became Johnston & Lowell. Johnston sold his in. terest in 1875 to C. B. Farr; a short time afterward Ryon & Schieffelin had an interest, but soon withdrew, and the currency. There was in the safe $roz,oco in money and firm name became Lowell & Co., as now. Changes enough, one would cerainly think, to make somebody

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HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.

them, the robbers only carried away a little over $21,- ooo in cash and bonds, actually having in their hands $30,000 worth of 5 per cent. coupon notes, and $30,000 more of currency. The iron door of the little corner box could readily have been broken by the blow of a hammer, but it appears not to have been attempted. Nothing but extreme fright seems to have prevented the capture of all this valuable property. The cashier im- mediately telegraphed to the bank's correspondent at New York city-the Market Bank-informing it of the robbery, and thus gave the affair, of course, prematurely to the newspapers. It is unnecessary to say what views the officers of the bank may have entertained as to the participators in the affair, and whether any proof was ever found. It was eighteen years ago, and possibly the whole event would soon pass out of recollection were it not for the record here given.

The bank designed applying for a charter under the national bank system, but, postponing application for it, it was unexpectedly prevented by a charter being granted to a company of individuals at Wellsboro, which, under the $300,000,000 limit of national bank circulation at that time fixed by the act, and as the comptroller of the currency claimed, gave Tioga county its quota. On ac- count of the ro per cent. tax laid by the national bank act on all State bank currency paid out after the Ist of July 1866, the Tioga County Bank management found it expedient to change to a private bank, which is now known as B. C. Wickham & Co.'s Banking House, of which Mr. Wickham is president and David L. Aiken cashier.

JOUNALISM IN TIOGA.

The Tioga Pioneer, the first newspaper established in the county, was issued at Wellsboro November 12th 1825, by Rankin Lewis & Co., the "Co." being understood to be Rankin's uncle, Ellis Lewis. It was a four-page sheet of four columns each, eighteen inches long, by eleven broad, and seems to have been very well edited and well printed for the time. In the first week of January 1827 it was moved to Tioga, its first number appearing here on Saturday the 6th of that month. In 1828 it passed into the hands of Rev. Elisha Booth, who changed its name to the Northern Banner, and associated with him Wil- liam Garretson as editor. About 1831 or 1832 it passed into the hands of J. B. Shurtleff, who came from central New York, it is thought Syracuse, and who changed its name to the Gasette. Mr. Shurtleff built an office for it, which is now the main two-story part of the Getter house; and also a fine dwelling at or near the northeast corner of Main and Broad streets, which subsequently burned down. He conducted the paper about four years, and then sold it to Dr. Cyrus Pratt, who in turn transferred it in the spring of 1838 to E. W. Adams, he editing and printing it with the assistance of Henry Fellows and Joseph Hoyt. In August 1840 he sold a half interest in it to John C. Knox, Hiram Beebe, Hon. James Ford and Curtis Parkhurst, and the paper was re- moved to Lawrenceville, and named the Lawrence Sen- tinel, John C. Knox assisting Mr. Adams in its editorship. Mr. Adams subsequently sold his interest to Knox, who continued the paper about two years, and then it was sold to Asa Carey, who moved it, it is believed, to Troy, Pa.

During this later period, the Herald of Wellsboro

being Whig, and the Tioga Democrat under management inimical to the interests of certain other parties in the county, several gentlemen contributed for the establish- ment of a Democratic paper at Wellsboro, and a young printer, James P. Magill, connected with the old Pennsyl- vanian, conducted by John Rice, was engaged to edit and conduct it. He named it the Tioga Eagle. The follow- ing persons contributed to its establishment: Samuel W. Morris, $150; Joseph W. Guernsey, $40; James Kimball, $45; James Lowrey, $25; R. G. White, $150; James Goodrich, $90; Thomas Dyer, $85; John Brewster, $58.

In 1863 several gentlemen in Tioga bought the press and material of the Wellsboro Banner, which had then | ceased to exist, and it was moved to Tioga; but, before they could well settle in their minds how to establish and have it edited and managed, an offer came from the Democratic county committee, in the interest of Theo- dore Wright, then Democratic candidate for Congress, for its repurchase and transfer to Wellsboro.

In 1882 Samuel J. Mccullough jr. established a small four-column sheet. of four pages, 11 by 15 inches, the first number of which was issued March 21st. It was conducted by him until it was superseded by the large eight-column Tioga County Express, the first number of which was issued April 10th 1873. This continued under the management of Mr. Webster and Azro Lumbard up to September 3d 1875, when it passed into the hands of A. H. Bunnell, who changed the name in March 1879 to Tioga Express. He ceased its publication in the second week of September 1880, removing to Canisteo, N. Y.

The Tioga Express resumed publication February 2nd 1882, under the proprietorship and editorship of E. M. Bixby. He designs to enlarge the paper to eight pages of six columns each, to accommodate his growing patronage.

RAILROAD FACILITIES-BRIDGES.

As the construction of the system of railroads in this county has been specially detailed in the general county history, it has not been necessary for the writer of this to say anything specially on that subject. He will say how- ever that the station for Tioga was for twelve years at "Allen's," now David L. Aiken's; and on relaying the track with T bars, in 1852, a new and commodious pas- senger depot was built at " Berry's bridge " (and a freight house subsequently) and John Dillistin was assigned to the charge of it, an office which he has now filled thirty years, apparently to the entire satisfaction of the com- pany, whose rights no one seemingly could be more zealous in promoting or jealous in preserving. He was born in the town of Dundee, Ontario county (now Yates), N. Y .; married a Miss Sheardown, daughter of Rev. T. S. Sheardown, about 1850, and followed the daguerreotyping business at Tioga the same year and until his appoint- ment to his present position.

The same year of the fire, 1871, a new depot was built on the east side of the river, opposite New street, and a bridge built by subscription of the citizens to reach it; a necessity of the Tioga railroad company arising from the construction of the depot of the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim road on the other side of the village and its greater convenience. The Berry bridge depot, which when vacated as such was occupied by Peter Burns, a

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CEMETERIES OF TIOGA.

section foreman on the road for 30 years, was consumed by fire in June 1882.

Of the bridges of Tioga township there are five over the river, five over Crooked Creek, one over Mill Creek, three over the Cove, two over the Elkhorn, two over Bear Creek, and one over Mitchell's Creek. Of these there The Bentley Ground .- The next graveyard of ancient date is the Bentley burying ground, lying a little north and to the rear of Deacon C. Reynolds's farm house, and once included in the Bentley farm. Here lie John Gor- don and his daughter Marcia, who died November 8th 1810, aged 20 years; Colonel Ambrose Millard's mother; Obadiah Inscho, the grandfather of the present Inschos, and several members of the Bentley family. In all there are eleven tombstones, and eight graves not so marked are plainly distinguishable, while the remains of some are five covered " Burr " bridges-the Berry bridge, built in 1833 or 1834; the Mill Creek bridge, about 1845; the lower river bridge, in 1850; the Crooked Creek lower bridge, in 1851; and the upper one, by the plank road company of which B. C. Wickham was president, in the fall of 1851, or the spring of 1852. The fine arch and chord bridge over the river close by, or on the north line of Richmond township, was built in 1881, by W. W. Bentley, son of Bethuel Bentley. He is now laying the center stone pier for a similar bridge to replace the buried here have been transferred to Evergreen cemetery. string bridge over the river at the foot of New street, on contract, for $1,450.

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History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals, Part 65

Author: Sexton, John L., jr; Munsell, W.W., & co., New York, pub Publication date: 1883 Publisher: New York, Munsell Number of Pages: 486

Author: Sexton, John L., jr; Munsell, W.W., & co., New York, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: New York, Munsell
Number of Pages: 486