History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 113

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

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Whiskey Hauled to Baltimore-Many Dis- tilleries-Excise Law-Business De- clined-Tobacco Culture.

Distilling of whiskey from rye and corn was a profitable business in the lower coun- ties of Pennsylvania from 1780 to 1792 and from 1800 to 1830, and during that period York excelled all other Pennsylvania coun- ties in this industry. The whiskey was made in small copper stills and in a few townships nearly every farmer owned one or more of them during the time when the business was most profitable.

Lancaster County ranked second in the himself above absolute drudgery, and thus make a shilling faster and easier than with the mattock and the plow alone."

distilling industry. The whiskey made in that county was hauled in wagons to Phil- adelphia and Wilmington.

The York County farmers took nearly all of their whiskey to

Taken to Baltimore. Baltimore. Large wagons drawn by four or six horses

It was for such reasons that Many Distilleries. the York and Lancaster farm- ers found it convenient, if not necessary, to turn their rye and corn into whiskey, while they fed their were used for this purpose. Some of the live stock with the refuse of this product. whiskey was hauled in hogsheads. Four large hogsheads, each containing about one hundred and fifty gallons, made one load. Sometimes smaller barrels were used, but the large ones were common in both Lan- caster and York Counties from 1800 to 1820, when the distilling business was carried on most extensively. After 1810 some of the farmers built larger distilleries with im- proved methods of making whiskey.

This industry was not limited to a few peo- ple, for the statistics that are to follow will show that most of the well-to-do farmers had one distillery, while others had from two to four. The owners of grist mills found it profitable to have distilleries in connection with their mills, for instead of selling that part which was their portion for grinding, they might again add to its value by manufacturing it into whiskey. The in- gredients that entered into this whiskey were numerous. One of the account books

The York County farmer turned his cereals into liquors because it was more profitable for him to do this than to haul his has the following interesting item: "Took grain to Baltimore or Philadelphia. prices varied, but the average amount re-

The fifty bushels of screenings to the distillery." There is a strong probability that this refuse ceived for a gallon of whiskey seems to have was used for the manufacture of spirits and been low in comparison to the amount in that the product was not Pure Rye. later years. Corn whiskey of fairly good In fact, as far as can be learned Corn Whiskey. from the old distillers now liv- ing, the product manufactured in early days was chiefly corn quality was hauled from York County to Baltimore and sold for twenty-four cents a gallon. For some of the best rye whiskey the amount of eighty cents a gallon was re- ceived.

whiskey. One of the account books con- tains the statement, giving the number of bushels of ingredients used within a certain number of months.

Nowhere was the importance of the in- dustry more strikingly illustrated than in the advertisements of hardware stores. This table illustrates the proportions that Some of the York and Lancaster firms used were adopted in at least one distillery, and

a copper still as a sign in front of their stores as early as 1796.

It was not alone the difficulty of trans- portation which made the manufacture of whiskey desirable, but it was one of the very few ways by which the owner of a small amount of capital could become a manufacturer. The following statement made in 1791 by a writer from western Pennsylvania illustrates this well:

" There is no man of easy and affluent circumstances who will trouble himself with a distillery. It is an effort made by those who are just rising from the pressing cir- cumstances, to become manufacturers so they can make something more than by cut- ting timber or tilling the soil. Any man, who after severe struggling, is able to pur- chase the utensils for a distillery, considers

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DISTILLING AND TOBACCO CULTURE

629

since this was one of the most important still and the improved apparatus of later ones, it is likely that these proportions are date. However, with the advent of the rail- fairly representative. roads and the solution of the problem of Corn . 5853 parts. transportation there is little doubt that the production of whiskey greatly declined, for Rye I94I 66 Yeast Rye. 438 in 1840, according to the reports in the as- Malt 273 66 sessment rolls, the number of distilleries is insignificant as compared with that of 1810. The prosperity of this industry was

The preceding discussion presents some of the conditions that made this industry desirable and profitable, and in this light the following statistics, showing the number of distilleries in York County, which then in- cluded Adams County, will be instructive :

Excise threatened with the enactment of

Law. the first National Excise law ( 1792- 1801), while the opposition mani- fested itself in open rebellion in the Whiskey Insurrection of Western Pennsylvania in

TOWNSHIPS

1782

1788

1791

1792-1800

1801

1810

1820

Huntington

Hellam

Tyronne

Dover.

Paradise.

Hopewell

Menallen

Warrington

Berwick

Codorus

Manchester

W. Manchester

Newberry

Windsor

Manapan

Manheim

Period of the National

178

Straban

Chanceford .

gle still mentioned in

Lower Chanceford

Germany

Reading

Heidelberg

Mt. Pleasant

Mt. Joy.

York borough

Franklin

· Hanover

Monaghan

Conewago

Washington

Fairview

Total

353

203

346

559

389

Cumberland

Excise Law; not a sin-

Shrewsbury

the tax returns for these years.

Hamilton Ban.

Fawn.

York township.

Distilling seemed to have reached its 1794. At the time of the enactment of this zenith in 1810, as far as its numerical law corn whiskey sold for no more than a shilling a gallon, and owing to the scarcity of money and credit a gallon of this bever- age constituted the medium of exchange in the western counties of Pennsylvania. The question naturally arose whether this in- dustry would be profitable after this tax was paid. The act provided : strength is concerned, but that does not mean that its productive power decreased with the decline in the number of distilleries after 1810. The decade from 1810 to 1820 was the time of many inventions in machin- ery used in its production and the returns make a distinction between the small copper

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

" That upon all spirits which after the last mously resisting the oppression of others in day of June next, 1791, shall be distilled order to enslave itself. within the United States from any article of the growth or produce of the United

" Resolved, that it appears inconsistent with the duties of the representatives of the States, in any city, town or village, there freemen of Pennsylvania to remain silent shall be paid for their use the duties follow- spectators of a measure, in which their con- stituents are so deeply interested; and that these sentiments be communicated to the Senators representing the state of Pennsyl- vania in the Senate of the United States." ing, that is to say : for every gallon of those spirits more than ten per cent below proof, according to the Dicas's hydrometer, nine cents ; for every gallon of those spirits above proof and not more than five per cent below When the vote upon these resolutions was taken in the Pennsylvania House, four of the six representatives from Lancaster County voted in the affirmative and the re- maining two were absent. Only two of the six representatives from York County voted proof, according to the same hydrometer, ten cents; for every gallon of those spirits above proof, but not exceeding twenty per cent, according to the same hydrometer, thirteen cents; for every gallon of those spirits more than twenty, and not more than for the resolutions, while four voted against forty per cent above proof, according to the them.

The members from York County same hydrometer, seventeen cents; for were: Joseph Reid, Philip Gardner, Henry every gallon of those spirits more than forty Tyson, John Stewart, William McPherson per cent above proof, according to the same and Thomas Lilly. hydrometer, twenty-five cents."

The minority of the House adopted extensive resolutions in

In 1790, when the proposed excise law Hartley's first came up in Congress, a Pennsylvania Vote. opposition to the action of the majority, maintaining that no state law then in force called for the pay- ment of a small tax on spirits. This tax, state had a right to prescribe for Congress however, was repealed in 1792. Before the what acts are expedient and what are not. repeal of the state law, the Pennsylvania Assembly made a stand against the pro- posed national law. The greatest portion of the first session of the first legislature under the constitution of 1790, at the same time and in the same building where Con- Very likely the action of the York County members was based upon this constitutional objection and should not be interpreted as meaning that they decided to stamp out the industry in the county. The excise was a measure of the administration and to sup-

gress was discussing the excise law, was port these resolutions would throw ques- spent in passing resolutions against the tion upon the Federal power over the

county. This interpretation is supported These resolutions failed to gain publicity by the action of Colonel Thomas Hartley in passage of the proposed law of Congress.

since the Senate refused to concur in them. There were about seventy-five members in the Assembly of Pennsylvania and out of these less than twenty voted against the following resolutions :

" Resolved, that any endeavor on the part of the United States to collect a revenue by ture did not apply to him.

means of excise established upon principles subversive of peace, liberty and rights of the citizens, ought to be remonstrated against.

Congress, who refrained from all discussion upon the proposed National Excise and voted against the measure when it was brought up for a vote. The constitutional objection that applied to the members from York County in the Pennsylvania legisla-

When it was ascertained that the tax re- turns gave such complete data relative to this industry as shown in the tables, it be- came the chief concern to ascertain the ef- fect of the National Excise Law upon the industry in these counties. In York County the expectations were fully realized. The above table, giving the distilling industry of York County, shows that there were three

" Resolved, that no public exigency can, in the opinion of this House, warrant the adoption of any species of taxation which shall violate those rights which were the reward of those exertions, and the basis of our government, and which would exhibit the singular spectacle of a nation magnani- hundred and fifty-three distilleries in 1782,

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631

DISTILLING AND TOBACCO CULTURE

two hundred and three in 1788, three hun- and it was not until comparatively recent dred and forty-six in 1801, five hundred and years that large crops of it have been grown. ninety-nine in 1810, and two hundred and The first settlers of York County may have eighty-six in 1820; but the most significant cultivated it to a limited extent, for home feature is that between 1792 and 1801, the period of the National Excise Law, not a single distillery is reported in the tax re- turns.

consumption, but as far as it can be authori- tatively stated, the first tobacco grown in this county was introduced soon after 1800. It was of an inferior quality, familiarly The number of distilleries had Business Declined. decreased from three hundred and fifty-three in 1782 to two hundred and three in 1788, which indicates that the industry was somewhat known to the populace as the " shoe-string tobacco," a hybrid of the Kentucky seed. It was raised principally along the low dis- tricts adjoining the Susquehanna river, on both the York and Lancaster County side on the decline. Between 1788 and 1792 the. and on the islands in the stream. It was a heavy, black, gummy product, and narrow given to it.

complete tax returns of only one township are available, but in that township the dis- in the leaf, hence the origin of the nickname tilleries increased from nine to twelve in this period. At all events, the absence of The climate here did not seem to the distilleries as found in the tax returns Tobies. be suited to the growth of the pure Kentucky tobacco. The inferior figures ranging from $1 to $3 per hundred from 1792 to 1800, and the appearance of three hundred and forty-six of these distil- tobacco after being cured, was sold at low leries in 1801, was due to no other reason than the enactment of the Excise Law. The pounds. The cigars manufactured from it by unskilled workmen, were of the crudest form, and were commonly called "tobies." They were sold at an average price of $1.25

period of inactivity did not seem to incapaci- tate these stills ; in fact, it seemed to multi- ply their number by about one hundred and fifty, and there is at least a basis for strong per thousand, and retailed at four for one cent. No revenue tax was paid on them. Persons who indulged in " the weed," were usually accommodated with one of the fra- grant "tobies " free of charge at many of

suspicion that "inactivity " may not be de- scriptive of actual conditions. It is impos- sible to ascertain to what extent the Na- tional Treasury suffered from the silence of the assessors, for the treasury receipts were the taverns after partaking of a meal and destroyed when the Capitol was burned by paying for the same. They contained a vast amount of nicotine, the stimulating ele- ment in tobacco, and were doubtless very in- jurious to the smoker.

the British in 1814.

After the use of the old time copper still was discontinued, larger distilleries were erected in several townships of York Previous to the year 1837, Penn- Cuban sylvania was not known as a to- County. At these places rye whiskey was made in considerable quantity for a period Tobacco. bacco growing state. The early census reports scarcely recog- nized tobacco as one of the agricultural products of the state. It was the year of half a century. Only two or three of these distilleries are now in operation. Among the establishments where rye whis- key has been distilled in this county, within above mentioned that Benjamin Thomas, recent years, are the following: Hake's father of the late John F. Thomas, of York, and Eichinger's, in Fairview Township; Free's, near Goldsboro, in Newberry Town- ship; Foust's, in Springfield Township; Hellam Distilling Company, in Hellam Township, and Coulter's in Railroad Bor- of this county, when properly fertilized, ough. who was then an enterprising farmer and tobacconist of Windsor Township, York County, conceived the idea that if a finer quality of cigar leaf were obtained, the soil would be specially adapted to the cultivation TOBACCO CULTURE. of tobacco. He accordingly secured some Havana seed, a specimen of Cuban tobacco. experimented with it himself on his farm,

Tobacco, now one of York County's most valuable products, was at one time consid- later owned by the Haines family, and then ered as unsuited to the soil in this section distributed the seed he raised the first year

632

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

among his friends in York and Lancaster ing associated with him a part of the time counties, along the river districts. This was really the beginning of the better seed leaf tobacco raising in Pennsylvania, and ante- dates its introduction into Lancaster County, which county has for many years past become famous for this valuable prod- uct.

The tobacco Benjamin Thomas intro- duced, after being raised a number of years, changed its peculiar characteristics from the small Cuban leaf to the larger Pennsylvania leaf, retaining the better qualities of the firm continued in the business until 1865. finer seed leaf than that of the old "shoe- . The cultivation of tobacco in York string." Mr. Thomas, the first year after County has been continuous since 1865. distributing his seed, bought up the entire Within the last thirty years it has been crop of York and Lancaster counties, in all about fifteen hogsheads. It was packed at that time, peculiar to the style of the south. The crop was subsequently sold to Heald, Buckner & Co., Philadelphia, tobacco deal- ers. The manufacturers of that day pro- nounced it to compare favorably with Con- necticut leaf. grown extensively in the shale soil in the southeastern section of the county. By means of fertilizers an excellent crop has been produced in Fawn, Lower Chanceford, Chanceford and Windsor townships, as well as in the lime stone region, east of York, and the sandy soil along the Susque- hanna. The crop of 1906 has been the most

In the following year it became a fair profitable grown in York County since the competitor of the Connecticut tobacco, and introduction of the tobacco plant.

The cultivation of tobacco resulted in the sary to pack it in cases as was the custom in cigar making business which now employs Connecticut. The territory of its cultiva- more people than any other industry in York County. The towns receiving the the river shore, on both sides. In 1840, the greatest benefit from the manufacture of cigars are Hanover, Red Lion, Dallastown, Yoe, Windsorville, Hellam, Seven Valley, East Prospect and the city of York, which itself has several very large factories. The tobacco consumed is largely raised in other sections of the country and in Cuba.

A deputy collector of internal revenue was appointed at York during the Civil War. The first collector was Horace Bon- ham. He was succeeded in order by David F. Williams, Colonel James A. Stahle, David Shultz, Charles W. Myers, John W. Minnich and Adam F. Strayer. Most of the revenue collected is from the manufacture and sale of cigars. According to the statistics gath- ered in that office there were in 1907 twelve During this time nearly all Connecticut Seed-leaf. raised in York and Lancaster Counties was purchased by Benjamin F. Thomas, the hundred cigar factories within the limits of York County. The annual product of all these factories is three hundred million cigars, so that the annual revenue collected pioneer in the industry, and packed in York, at the York office from the manufacture of Wrightsville and Columbia, until 1853, hav- cigars alone is nearly one million dollars.

the pioneer in this industry found it neces- tion was then limited to the few miles of quantity cultivated had increased to about one thousand cases for that year. The ter- ritory then extended from Goldsboro, this county, down the river to East Prospect, on this side, and from Bainbridge to Turkey Hill, on the Lancaster County side, and east and west about two miles from the river shore. This was then regarded as the full extent of the Pennsylvania tobacco growing districts. There was some ground beyond this limit, but considered at that time of an inferior quality. From 1840 to 1850 the cultivation of the " Pennsylvania seed-leaf " gradually increased, and at the latter date the product had reached 2,500 cases of 400 pounds each.

his son, John F. Thomas. About this time P. A. & S. Small, of York, becoming inter- ested in this product, obtained a consider- able quantity of Connecticut seed which they had their agents distribute among the growers of the two counties. From this dates the introduction of Connecticut seed- leaf into Pennsylvania. From 1853 to 1860, P. A. & S. Small were associated with Messrs. Thomas & Son in purchasing the crop of the two counties. The first named

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633

THE CITY OF YORK

CHAPTER XXXVII EARLY HISTORY

Cookson's Plan-Stevenson's Survey- Bottstown-Annexations-Division into Wards - Public Common - Municipal Government.

York, now prominent as a business and manufacturing centre, is fertile in historical associations. It was the first town in the Province of Pennsylvania laid out west of the Susquehanna. The earliest inhabitants lived on peaceable terms with the Indians until hostilities opened on the western bor- der of Pennsylvania, in 1755. The exciting incidents which affected the town of York during that period are found in a preceding chapter in this volume on the French and Indian war. About 200 pages are devoted to Continental Congress at York and the part .taken by York County in the Revolu- tion. During the second war with Great Britain, the town of York was a rendezvous for more than 6,000 Pennsylvania militia at the time Baltimore was threatened by the British. The details of this event, and the occupation of York in 1863 by 9,000 Con- federate soldiers are told in previous chap- ters.

During the first one hundred years of its history, York was known as a stable inland town, surrounded by a rich farming region. It was largely supported by the agricultural interests of the county, of which it has been the seat of justice since 1749. The town grew slowly in population until the intro- duction of large manufacturing establish- ments after 1865. Within recent years and since the incorporation into a city, in 1887, the growth and development in the manu- facturing and business interests have been encouraging in the highest degree. The modern city, accepting all the advance- ments in civilization, has taken high rank as one of the most prosperous centres of population in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With the energy thus dis-

played by an enterprising people, the future prosperity of the city is assured.

The growth of York is shown by the fol- lowing census statistics: Its population in 1783 was 1779; in 1787, when the town was incorporated into a borough, the number of inhabitants was 2,000; in 1800, 2,503; 1810, 2,848; 1820, 3,546; 1830, 4.216; 1840, 5,821; 1850, 6,963 ; 1860, 8,605 ; 1870, 11, 103; 1880, 13,979; 1890, 20,793; 1900, 33,708.

Since the census of 1900 was taken, the city of York has made rapid strides in its business and manufacturing interests, and several hundred houses have annually been built. The estimated population of the city in 1907 is 42,000. This estimate does not include West York Borough and North York Borough.

Most of the original plot of the town of York was land owned by the Penns. John, Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn, and then proprietaries, in October, 1741, directed Thomas Cookson, the deputy surveyor for Lancaster County, which then included the area now embraced in York County, "to survey and lay off in lots a tract of land on the Codorus where the Mon- ocacy Road crosses the stream." Monocacy road was laid out and opened in 1739, and extended from the site of Wrightsville through York and terminated on the banks of the Monocacy River near Frederick, Maryland.

The site for the town of York, Cookson's as selected by Thomas Cook- Plan. son, was on both sides of the Codorus. In 1741, he laid out that part of the original plot east of the stream into squares, by order of the Penns, after the manner of Philadelphia, as fol- lows :

The square to be 480 feet wide, 520 feet long; the lots 250x65 feet ; alleys 20 feet wide ; two streets 80 feet wide to cross each other, and 65 feet square to be cut off the corner of each lot to make a square for any public building or market of 110 feet each side ; the lots to be let at 7 shillings sterling ;

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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

the square to be laid out the length of two squares to the eastward of Codorus when twenty houses were built.

The margin of Cookson's draft contained the following:

The squares count in each 480 feet on every side which, in lots of 60 feet front and 240 deep, will make 16 lots, which multi- . plied by the number of squares, namely, 16, gives 256 lots in all, which, together with the streets 60 feet wide, will not take up above 102 acres of land.

First Lot

When the town was thus laid out, applicants for lots were re- quired to enter their names. The

Owners. first applications were made in November, 1741, when twenty- three lots were "taken up" as follows :

John Bishop, Lot No. 57; Jacob Welsh, 58; Baltzer Spangler, 70; Michael Swope, 75; Christopher Croll, 85; Michael Laub, 86; George Swope, 87, 104, 124 and 140; Zachariah Shugart, 92; Nicholas Stuck, IOI; Arnold Stuck, 102; Samuel Hoke, 105; Hermanus Bott, 106; George Hoke, 107 and II7; Jacob Grebill, 108; Matthias Onven- sant, 118; Martin Eichelberger, 120; An- drew Coaler, 121; Henry Hendricks, 122, and Joseph Hinsman, 123. Each applicant was required "to build upon his lot at his own private cost one substantial dwelling house of the dimensions of 16 feet square at least with a good chimney of brick and stone, to be laid in or built with lime and sand, within the space of one year from the time of his entry for the same."

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History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 113

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