History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 111

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

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The freight and passenger facilities af- forded to York and Hanover by the West- ern Maryland, forming direct lines to Balti- more, have added greatly to the material growth of these centres of trade and busi- ness. The freight interests of the Western Maryland at York, as well as at Hanover, increased three-fold between the years 1895 and 1907.

Wrightsville and

A company had been formed in 1835, and a board of directors elected to build a

Gettysburg. railroad from Wrightsville to Gettysburg, and from forming a direct line from the coal fields of thence through to Hagerstown, Maryland. West Virginia to New York City. The company which managed the construction of the road was chartered by the state of Pennsylvania in 1888. The names in this

An act of legislature was passed May, 1836, incorporating it as the Wrightsville and Gettysburg Railroad Company. Thaddeus Stevens, one of the chief incorporators, be- charter were William H. Lanius, A. B. came president of the company. The York Farquhar, W. Latimer Small, Grier Hersh, and Wrightsville and Wrightsville and Get- John C. Schmidt, D. K. Trimmer, and tysburg companies combined in one com- George S. Schmidt. The company was pany to extend the road from York west- organized by the election of Captain W. H. Lanius, president ; D. K. Trimmer, secre- tary, and Samuel Small, treasurer.

ward, through Abbottstown and New Ox- ford, to Gettysburg. A survey was made over a part of this route and a state ap- propriation granted to the amount of $200,000. The work came to an end after an expenditure of $800,000, mostly for that portion of the route west of Gettysburg, known as the "Tape Worm Road." A reso- lution passed by both houses of the legis- lature ordered further work to discontinue after March, 1839. It was never afterward revived. That portion of the road lying south of Gettysburg, and which was con- trolled by the state, was subsequently trans- ferred by the legislature to the Gettysburg Railroad Company. About 1882, all the rights and interests of this road were merged into the Hanover Junction, Han- over and Gettysburg Railroad. It was the Wrightsville and Gettysburg Railroad Com- pany that completed the road from Wrights- ville to York in 1843.

MARYLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA.

The middle and western sections of York County received the benefits of railroads many years before a line had been extended through the southeastern part of the county. The Tide Water Canal from Columbia to the Chesapeake Bay had improved the townships along the river. On March 24, 1868, an act was passed by the legislature incorporating the York and Peach Bottom Railway Company. This work was accom- plished by Stephen G. Boyd, who was then a representative from York County.

The railroad from Hanover to East Ber- lin extends over the Baltimore and Harris- burg Railroad from Hanover to the junction For the construction of the road bonds Samuel M. Felton and David E. Small were and from thence a distance of seven miles to amounting to $500,000 were issued, and East Berlin. It was built in 1877 by a com-

617

TURNPIKES, CANALS, RAILROADS

made trustees for the bondholders. The road from York to Delta, originally a nar- company organized by electing Stephen G. row gauge, was changed to the standard Boyd, president ; Samuel Dickey, of Oxford, gauge soon after its construction to York. vice-president ; William Wallace, secretary ; A. C. Manifold, treasurer; Stephen McKin- OTHER RAILROADS. ley, Benjamin Tyson, Henry Neff, Rufus Wiley, of York County; John Alexander, Slater B. Russel, Nathaniel Morgan, of Lan- caster County; Robert Patterson and John T. Wadell, of Chester County, directors. It was then determined to construct a narrow gauge road three feet wide. Work was soon begun by contractors, James Freeland, Samuel Smith, D. W. Grove and John T. Wallace. The cost was $12,000 per mile. On July 4, 1874, seven miles of the road was opened as far as Dallastown Station, by an excursion party from York. By December, 1874, it was completed to the forks of Mud- dy Creek and the next summer to Wood- bine. A public meeting was held at Wood- bine, July, 1875, to raise funds for the com- pletion of the road to Delta. It was ex- tended from Delta to Peach Bottom in 1883.

The Stewartstown Railroad, a line which runs from the borough of Stewartstown, a distance of 7.2 miles, to New Freedom, where it joins the Northern Central Rail- way, was constructed in 1885, and opened for use in September of that year. It had an important effect in developing the busi- ness and agricultural interests of that sec- tion of the county, noted for the cultiva- tion of potatoes, which are annually shipped in large quantities to Baltimore from Stew- artstown. The plan to construct this road originated with James Fulton, of Stewarts- town. The first board of directors were John S. Leib, M. W. Bahn, William Ham- mill, John B. Gemmill, Jacob Althouse, A. G. Bowman, James C. Jordan, Andrew Leib, John Wiley, Joseph W. Anderson, John Johnson and Andrew Anderson. John B. Gemmill was the first superintendent. The Stewartstown road now does a considerable business and has been of great advantage to the interesting borough after which it was named. J. W. Anderson, of Stewartstown, was president in 1907.

John M. Hood, afterward president of the Western Maryland, was first civil engineer in constructing the road. He was followed by J. E. Matthews and S. M. Manifold.

L. J. Dodson was a conductor on the road for a period of thirty years. W. C. Licking served as an employee for a longer period.

Stephen G. Boyd was president of the company from January, 1871, to January, 1877, when he was succeeded by Charles R. McConkey, of Peach Bottom.

The New Parke and Fawn Grove

Grove.

Fawn Railroad extends from Stewarts- town through New Parke to Fawn Grove Borough, a distance of a lit- tle more than nine miles. The plan for the construction of this road was originated with John H. Anderson, farmer, residing at

The secretaries in order of succession have been William Wallace, J. V. Geesey, E. New Parke, who became the first president C. Bender, F. G. Metzgar and John K. of the company. This road, which passes Shinn.

through a fertile and productive region in Hopewell and Fawn townships, was form-

On April 21, 1891, the interests of the York and Peach Bottom Railroad were in- ally opened, August 9, 1906. To com- corporated with the Maryland Central, a memorate this event, a public meeting was held on that day at Fawn Grove. About 4,000 persons were present on this interest- ing occasion. Addresses were delivered by Hon. John W. Bittenger, president judge of the York County Courts; Joseph R. Straw- bridge, Charles A. Hawkins, William B. Gemmill and others of York; Thomas Mc- Kenzie, of Baltimore, and Rev. Robert Reed line recently completed from Baltimore to Delta, and chartered by the states of Mary- land and Pennsylvania as the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad. The road passed into the hands of W. J. Taylor, as receiver, in May, 1893, and reorganized as the York Southern Railroad on November 1, 1894. On February 14, 1901, it was consolidated with the Baltimore and Lehigh under the Gehley, of Tien Tsin, China. The address name. of Maryland and Pennsylvania Rail- of welcome was delivered by Milton Smith, road, under which the entire line from York of Norrisville, Maryland, and the response to Baltimore has since been operated. The was made by John B. Gemmill.

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

This road was built at a cost of $80,000. company, and there are a great many offices The officers in 1907 were: President, John at the different railway stations in York H. Anderson; secretary, J. A. Gailey; treas- County. The first operator at York was urer, A. M. Strawbridge; superintendent, B. Ovid Buckley, and the office was in the book F. Morris ; general manager, J. C. Wiley; store owned by himself and William S. Ro- directors, J. C. Wiley, Simon G. Lowe, H. land, opposite the Court House. Peter C. McElvain, R. W. Anderson, W. R. Webb, Bentz, afterward prominently known as a A. M. Strawbridge, Maurice Davis, B. F. musician at York, had charge of the office Morris, R. S. McDonald, Milton E. Smith, for several years and during that time D. S. Merryman, N. A. Manifold, J. A. Gailey, A. W. Webb, J. Wiley Norris, M. W. Bahn, J. W. Anderson.

trained a number of young men to become good operators. George W. Shoch was one of the early operators, and for nearly The York Street Railway Company was originally intended for rapid transportation within the limits of the city and its immedi- ate suburbs. The financial interests con- trolling this road organized the York County Traction Company, which extended lines from York to Dover, through Man- chester to York Haven, through Hellam to War. twenty years was manager of the Western Union at York. His brother, William H. Shoch, of Rowlesburg, West Virginia, was an errand boy in the office at York, and soon afterward became an operator. He had a large experience as a telegrapher for the United States government during the Civil His recollection of the early use of Wrightsville, and through Dallastown and the telegraph at York is full of interest. Red Lion to Windsorville. In 1907, plans were laid for the extension of a line from York to Hanover and to other points within the limits of the county.

THE TELEGRAPH.

The electric magnetic telegraph was in- vented by Professor Samuel B. Morse, of New York. The first line ever built was stretched from Washington to Baltimore Wires at and the first news message transmitted was the announcement of James K. Polk's nomi- nation as president of the United States, in 1844, by the Democratic National Conven- tion, then in session at Baltimore. This message was sent from Baltimore to Wash- ington, and received in a temporary office in the capitol building at Washington. The line was extended to York in 1850, and from thence to Columbia and Philadelphia, and also a line from York to Harrisburg. The line to Columbia followed the turnpike. It was soon afterward removed, and now a line follows the railroad. The wires from Baltimore through York were first called the American line. A few years later, this line came into possession of the Independ- ent and Inland Telegraph Company, and subsequently was purchased by the United States Telegraph Company.

The Western Union Company purchased all interests about the time of the Civil war, and now owns them. There are also private wires on these lines owned by the railroad

Mrs. WV. F. Busser was operator for the Northern Central Railway Company at York, in 1865. Near the close of the war, she received General Grant's dispatch which was sent over all the wires of the United States, announcing the fall of Richmond and its evacuation by the Confederates under General Lee.

In 1858, a private telegraph company was organized at Han-

Hanover. over, with a capital stock of $800, to run a line from the Junction on the Northern Central Railway, to Hanover, and a line was completed in the spring of 1860. The first despatch, re- ceived April 10th, of that year, was a con- gratulatory one from Hanover Junction which was replied to by George Thomas, president of the Hanover Company. The interest of the local company was soon pur- chased by the Inland and Independent Line, and by them transferred to the United States Telegraph Company, and soon after- ward the last named company sold their in- terest to the Western Union.

The first operator was W. H. Shoch. He taught Daniel E. Trone, of Hanover, who soon took charge of the office. For a time Mary Harris was operator. During the battle of Gettysburg, many important dis- patches to President Lincoln and the war department at Washington, and to New York and Philadelphia journals, were sent from this office by Daniel E. Trone.

619

TURNPIKES, CANALS, RAILROADS

The Bankers and Merchants'

Line, of two wires, was run

Bankers and from Harrisburg to Balti- Transit.

Merchants'. more, in 1883, extending

National

The National Transit Telegraph

Company constructed a line

from Millway, Lancaster County, crossing the Susquehanna at across Fairview, Newberry, York Furnace, thence via Woodbine to Conewago and Manchester townships to Canton, near Baltimore. It is a private line York. It extends from York to Baltimore

in connection with the National Transit Oil via York and Maryland Line Turnpike. Company's pipe lines and was built during The line is owned by the Western Union the months of May and June, 1883. There Telegraph Company. In 1884 two more is a test office near Airville.

wires were added.

OIL PIPE LINES.

The line which crosses the Susquehanna at McCall's Ferry and passes diagonally There is an oil pipe line from Millway near Lititz, Lancaster County, crossing the Sus- through Lower Chanceford and Fawn townships, by way of Bridgeton and Gatch- quehanna River at York Furnace, extending elville, was originally constructed by the from thence through Airville and Woodbine Insulated Telegraph Company in 1871. It in a direct line to Canton, near the city of contained four wires on plug insulators, Baltimore. At Millway there are two im- which were soon after replaced by brackets mense tanks, each one hundred feet in diam- and glass insulators, and at this time the eter, and eleven feet high, together with en- gines and apparatus for forcing the oil to other stations which are located on the lines branching out from this central one. The line from Millway to Baltimore crossing this

line passed into the hands of the Franklin Telegraph Company, and was operated by it until November 1, 1874, when the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company leased it, rebuilt it in the summer of 1880, and added county was laid in 1883. The pipe used is made of wrought iron five inches in diame- two new wires. The line was then com- posed of six wires. The Atlantic and Pa- ter. The oil is pumped from Millway, by cific Company was consolidated with the means of the engines mentioned to Canton. Western Union in the spring of 1881, and The company paid land owners in York this line has been worked by that system ever since. There is one office along this line near the village of Centreville. known as the Airville office. County 25 cents per rod for right of way. Being laid in the early summer, all destruc- It is tion to the growing crops, caused by laying the pipe, was also paid for. This is called This company built a Postal across York County during the line the Baltimore line, being a branch of the Pennsylvania line from Millway. From the great oil region in northwestern Pennsylva- nia, there are a number of lines directing toward the large cities. There is one from Bradford to New York, one from near the same place via Millway to Philadelphia, un- der the management of the National Transit Company. The Standard Oil Company, which controls them all, has lines extending south and west. This company has a line extending over York County crossing the Susquehanna near York Haven.

Telegraph. winter of 1883-4. It crosses the Susquehanna River at Mc- Call's Ferry, and passes through Lower Chanceford and Fawn townships about half a mile south of the line above described. It was at first composed of two compound wires on four wire cross arms. Two more wires, one compound and one of solid cop- per, were run in the spring of 1884. This is known as the Mackey-Bennett system. It is a main line from the east to the west. It passes from McCall's Ferry through Nailer's fording on the Muddy Creek, into

wires operated for several years and were then discontinued. The office was re- opened in 1903 and now connects with all the leading cities of the United States.

An independent pipe line was laid across the southern part of York County during

Maryland at a place on Mason and Dixon's the year 1907, connecting the oil fields of line known as Constitution Postoffice. An the southwestern part of Pennsylvania with office was opened in York about 1887 and Philadelphia.

THE TELEPHONE.

There have been many inventions and discoveries during the past three-quarters

620

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

of a century, but none that startled the The use of the telephone as a mode of com- world more than the invention and success- munication soon became popular in York ful use of the telephone, which, like the in- under its new management. Territorial vention of the telegraph and steam boat, is lines were built to connect it with Harris- the product of American genius. They are burg, Lancaster, Reading and other ex- changes. In York County lines were ex- tended to Spring Grove, Glen Rock, Logan- ville, Seitzland, Wrightsville, Hanover,

all now intimately related one to the other, and have an important bearing in the econ- omy of mankind. It is impossible in a short article to show the relations of the tele- Railroad Borough, New Freedom, Hellam, graph to the telephone, and of the various Paradise, Emigsville, York Haven, Golds- forms of electrical or magnetic communica- boro, Dallastown, and along the line of tion which led to scientific research result- Peach Bottom Railroad to the river. ing in these inventions. The telephone is The Pennsylvania Telephone marvelous for its simplicity, and can be put Bell Company in 1907 embraced Telephone. thirty-eight counties in Penn- sylvania, and three in New to so much practical use that it is now a necessity.

The value of the telephone in York was Jersey, with A. R. Shellenberger, president ; clearly established, and soon the " exchange J. H. Crosman, Jr., secretary; W. C. Fink,

system " was adopted. This system con- sists of a number of circuits running to offi- ces, stores, factories and private residences of subscribers, and back to a central office, Pennsylvania Telephone Company is a part where they are joined to a switching ap- paratus by means of which the operator can answer calls and place any two subscribers in communication with each other.

John K. Gross, passenger and freight agent of the Northern Central Railway, at York, in 1882 put the telephone on the ex- change system into effective use at York. The exchange was opened with twenty- seven phones in different stores and offices in town, 218 poles and seventeen miles of wire. At the same time, Albert Galbreath started the exchange system at Columbia, connected with Wrightsville, and Frank A. Ziegler introduced the use of the telephone at Hanover. Shortly before the exchange system was adopted at York, W. Latimer Small extended a line from his residenec to Codorus Mills, two miles north of York. A private line was extended from Railroad Borough to Shrewsbury, a distance of one mile.

treasurer ; L. H. Kinnard, general manager ; R. S. Chamberlain, general superintendent. The central office is at Harrisburg. The of the American Bell Telephone Company, which operates in all the states of the Union and a part of the Dominion of Canada. George H. Fulmer is the local inanager at York and S. S. Eberts division superintend- ent. In 1907 there were 1600 telephones in use in the city and county of York, lines having been extended to all centres of popu- lation in the county.

The York Telephone Company

York was organized by local capi-

Telephone. talists in the year 1895 and soon extended its lines throughout the city and the various centres of population in York County. The orig- inal board of directors was composed of the following: Dr. C. A. Eisenhart, Edwin Myers, W. F. Myers, R. H. Shindel and C. C. Frick. Dr. Eisenhart was elected presi- dent, and C. C. Frick, secretary and treas- urer. In 1907, the York Telephone Com- pany had in operation about 2600 telephones in the city and county and about 300 miles of pole line stretched out in every direction. In addition to this, the company has toll lines extending to various cities and towns of the country. The members of the board of directors in 1907 were D. F. Lafean, H. S. Wiest, George B. Rudy, H. H. Weber, Dr. W. S. Eisenhart, John McCoy and C. C. Frick, with D. F. Lafean, president ; H. H.

The interests of Mr. Gross were pur- chased by the Southern Pensnylvania Tele- phone Company. In January, 1883, this company was consolidated with the Penn- sylvania Telephone Company, comprising in its territory, sixteen counties, with Hon. Francis Jordan, of Harrisburg, as president ; William Kerr as general manager. At that time, Isaac Rudisill was chosen general so- licitor, and in the interest of the same pub- Weber, secretary, and C. C. Frick, treas- lished the Telephone, a monthly journal. urer.

621

STORMS, FLOODS AND METEORS

CHAPTER XXXV

STORMS, FLOODS AND METEORS

Hail Storm of 1797-Flood of 1817- Drought of 1822-Meteoric Showers- Flood of 1884-Blizzard of 1888-Cyclone of 1896-Weather Observations.

Flood known to the history of southern of Pennsylvania occurred August 8,

There are no authentic records of the meteorological conditions in this country 1817. 1817. At 10 o'clock in the evening dense clouds overhung the borough and the surrounding country for many miles. Rain began to fall gently at first and increased gradually until I A. M., when it came down in torrents. The storm and rain continued during the succeeding twelve hours until the entire amount of precipita- tion was about eight inches. Danger was not anticipated, but the falling water had accumulated and the Codorus Creek became a raging stream, and overflowed its banks along its entire course. Bridges gave way before the Revolution. It is self-evident that floods and storms prevailed at the time of the first settlement of York County, and during the occupancy of this region by vari- ous tribes of roaming Indians. As early as 1772, there is an authentic account of a vio- lent snow storm which caused the death of a large number of deer, which were then very plentiful in York and adjoining coun- ties. On January 27, 1772, snow fell to the depth of three and a half feet. A heavy rain then came on, which after freezing, formed a thick crust. Nearly every man and boy to the dashing current. In York, the turned out to chase deer, for while the wooden bridge at the north end of George hunter could run rapidly on the crust, the Street was carried with the current. The unfortunate animals broke through it and Codorus continued to swell, and soon cov- were easily captured. This caused deer to be scarce several years thereafter.

Hail Storm

in 1797.

Colonel Thomas Hartley, of the Revolution, gave the fol- lowing description of a hail storm which occurred at York,

June, 1797: " This hail storm as far as it extended destroyed the gardens and broke down the winter grain in a most extraordi- nary manner; there was hardly a hope that any would be saved, but the farmers were able to harvest more than half of what they considered lost. The hail stones were very large, and some persons were severely in- jured by them. Many fowls and birds were killed. Hail stones fell as large as a hen's egg. In York and Bottstown, fully 10,000 panes of glass were broken."

River

Floods.

There have been a number of great floods along the Susque- hanna River, Codorus and Cone- wago Creeks and their tributaries.

The first on record occurred in 1744, second that spanned the Conewago Creek on the

in 1758, the third in 1772, the fourth in 1784, the fifth in 1786. The last mentioned was known along the river as the great "pump- kin flood," by which, on low places along that stream, immense quantities of pump- kins were lodged that had floated down with

the current. The sixth flood occurred in 1800, the seventh in 1814, the eighth in 1817, the ninth in 1822, the tenth in 1846, the eleventh in 1884 and the twelfth in 1889. Destructive ice floods along the Susque- hanna occurred in 1830, 1865, 1875 and 1904. One of the most disastrous floods

ered Market Street, from Water Street on the eastern side to Newberry Street on the western side. People living west of the creek were admonished of approaching danger but did not think the results would be so disastrous. Believing their houses would save them, they did not want to leave them and were soon surrounded by the raging waters. At one time there were eight persons in a small boat so that it was difficult to make it move over the rapid stream. The water finally got so high that it was impossible for persons on land to communicate with those in the submerged districts. They were compelled to remain and endure the danger that threatened their lives. In all, ten persons were drowned. The entire damage to the borough of York and the flooded districts along the Codorus within the limits of York County amounted to $200,000, including the bridge swept away at York. The large wooden bridge York and Harrisburg turnpike was swept away by the raging waters. William

Reeser, the founder of Manchester borough, then a prominent citizen of York County, had crossed over this bridge only five min- utes before it was removed by the flood.

622

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

The flood took place at a time when state had been considered perennial, were dried aid was not liberal. At the next session of the Pennsylvania legislature, an act was passed appropriating $5,000 to the commis- sioners of York County for the erection of bridges at places where they had been swept away, and $1,000 was given to the borough of York for the repairing of streets.

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 111

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372