USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 30
USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 30
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Schnecksville was laid out about 1840, by Daniel Schneek, who owned all the land upon which the vil- lage stands, and after whom it is named. He and his
528
HISTORY OF LEIHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
son, Moses Schneck, erected the first hotel and nearly all the buildings, George Rau opened the first store, selling it to. Daniel Schneck, who leased it afterwards to Michael Deibert. In 1843, Joel and Peter Gross leased the store from Schneck, and after a few years purchased it from him, continuing in the business till 1874.
A post-office was opened here about the 4th of March, 1846, with Peter Gross as postmaster. He served for sixteen years, when he was succeeded by Joel Gross, who retired in 1874, after twelve years' service. He was succeeded in that year by Daniel Bertolet, the present postmaster.
The population of Schneeksville, according to the eensus of 1880, is one hundred and sixty. There are in the village two hotels and a store, and about twenty- two dwelling-houses. There is also a school-house and a frame church building, in which the United Brethren hold services, and occasionally also those of other congregations, under the guidance of Rev. J. S. Reninger.
The village is neatly laid out, and presents an at- tractive appearance. Owing to the travel on the main road, which runs through the middle, considerable trade is done.
Laury's lies along the eastern line of the township, at the junction of Fell's Creek with the Lehigh River. It was first known by the name of the Slate Dam, the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company having erected a dam, about 1830, in the Lehigh, which at this point flows over a smooth bed of slate formation. In 1832 the late Judge David Laury erected a hotel here, which he kept till 1871, when it passed into the hands of A. C. P. and George F. Kimball, who kept it till 1875, when Mr. Kimball obtained sole control. It is a favorite summer resort. In 1832, Judge Laury also opened a store in partnership with Messrs. Rupp and Shifferstein. The store building was after some years torn away, and the business discontinued till 1873, when Judge Laury erected the present store building, in which Charles Ritter carried on the mercantile business for some time, until it was taken by Herman Carlinsky, the present storekeeper. In 1889, Mr. Laury erected on the banks of the Lehigh a grist- mill, the original of the present roller flouring- mill, receiving the power from the river, under a lease from the Coal and Navigation Company. This mill, after being operated by Mr. Laury for some years, was purchased by Jonathan Kline, and after several other transfers, eame, in 1861, into the pos- session of John R. Schall, the present owner. In 1877 the entire mill was remodeled and changed into a " New Process" mill. About 1880 roller-mills were introduced into this country, and Mr. Schall at once determined to obtain the machinery necessary to transform the mill into one of the new kind .. Upon plans devised by Mr. N. W. Holt, the improvements were made. The building was enlarged to almost three times its original size. The new mill was com-
pleted and started in February, 1882, and was one of the first three in Pennsylvania. Additional rolls and improved machinery have been obtained during the present year. The mill now contains a full line of Stevens' rolls, four run of burrs, purifiers, bran-dusters, a weed- and oat-extractor, centrifugal reels, an aspira- tor, flour-packers, etc., all of the latest improved pat- terns. Its capacity is almost two thousand bushels a day, and the mill is run night and day. The flour produced is without a rival anywhere, and is pro- nounced by competent judges absolutely perfect.
In 1853 a post-office was opened, to which Judge Laury was appointed postmaster, a position which he held continuously to the time of his death, in 1883, with the exception of one year, 1864, when he was re- moved for political reasons, and Jonas Kline was ap- pointed in his place. Mr. Laury was reappointed the following year, without solicitation on his part, and accepted the office against his wishes, and in compliance with the urgent requests of his friends and neighbors. His son, A. C. P. Laury, who was his deputy for twenty years, received the appointment on his father's death, and is now the postmaster.
In 1855 the construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad quickened the life of Laury's. A station was opened, and Judge Laury was appointed to take charge of the company's interests. He served in this capacity until his death, in 1883, at which time he was the oldest agent in their employ. Mr. A. C. P. Laury, who was his assistant for seventeen years, now holds the position. The railroad company has a sup- ply-house and repair-shop here, and is now erecting a new and handsome depot.
There is here also the large ice depot, formerly owned by the Knickerbocker Ice Company, of New York, and now the property of G. F. Swift, of Chi- cago. Ilere all the West-bound cars, on which Chi- cago meat is brought to the Eastern markets, are replenished with ice.
There are about thirty-five dwelling-houses at Laury's, and the population is probably two hundred at the present time.
Laury's lies in the midst of beautiful natural scenery, and is a favorite resort of summer boarders. Immediately opposite, in the Lehigh River, lies Kim- ball's Island, a favorite picnicking spot.
Rockdale is situated at the junction of Kepp's Creek with the Lehigh River, at an old Indian ford- ing-place. It owes its origin to the impulse given to trade along the Lehigh River by the construction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and was at first called The Sandbank, owing to the large quantities of ex- cellent moulding and building sand in the neighbor- hood. This name was changed in 1856, at the sug- gestion of Robert HI. Sayre, E-q., general superin- tendent of the railroad, to its present one of Rockdale. It was originally only a freight station, used by Chris- tian Pretz and Stephen Balliet, who owned all of the twenty-four acres of land now occupied by the village.
529
NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.
This station building was ereeted for Pretz and Balliet by Mr. Eli Lentz, now of Allentown, Pa., and is not yet owned by the railroad company. Mr. Lentz also built the first hotel at Rockdale in 1856, of which he was the landlord for five years. Nearly every other building in the village is also the work of his hands. including the saw-mill above, which was formerly owned by Stephen Balliet, but afterwards became the property of Mr. Lentz.
In the spring of 1871 a post-office was established here, with Alfred Long as postmaster, in which office he has continued since.
this wise. Mr. Thomas Rueh was taking away coal with a four-horse team from the bank already referred to. After loading, and while driving away, the wagon- wheels sank deep into the made ground of the bank, which was, besides, soft from reeent rains. One of the hind wheels turned up a stone of peculiar shape, about ten and a half inches long and two and a half inehes in thickness, the ends of which were perfectly round and smooth. At one of the ends, what had been an opening was sealed up with a solid eompo- sition made of some matter resembling crushed oyster- shells, which resisted all efforts made with a puneh to pry it open. The stone was then broken into frag- ments on an iron rail, and at the other end, at the bottom of this composition, was found a substance, which, under the microscope, proved to be a eoil of coarse, black human hair. That the hair was design- edly sealed up in this stone was elear, but for what purpose, and by whom, and whether by the same par- ties who deposited the coins in the vicinity, are all questions which will perhaps forever remain unsolved.
In this connection it may not be out of place to speak of two discoveries made by Mr. Lentz during his residenee at Rockdale, which, at the time, exeited wide-spread eomment, and awakened the liveliest euri- osity. The first was as follows: In 1856, the year in which he moved to Rockdale, he and a laborer by the name of John Frederick were engaged in ele- vating a eoal-bank, which lay so low as to be fre- quently flooded by the river. While digging into the side of the sloping bank of the creek, about sixty Kernsville is the smallest village in the township, and lies on the Jordan Creek elose to the South Whitehall line. It was named after Peter Kern, who built a grist-mill of stone here in 1806. It contains the mill, a school-house, and seven dwelling-houses, and the population is about forty. Formerly there was a post-office, but there is none now. The store was originally opened by Owen Kern, and was diseon- tinued for some time after he retired from business, ; but is now again kept by Peter Lereh. yards from the river shore, Mr. Lentz's companion struck and turned up a coin with his pickaxe. This proved to be the top one of a pile of nineteen eoins buried about two feet beneath the surface. They were round and as large as a Bland dollar, and about as thick as a silver half-dollar. The substance ap- peared neither like gold nor silver, and gave out a clearer, more ringing sound than either of those metals. The spot where they were found was thickly overgrown with old beds of bushes, with tangled roots, Religious History-Union Church .- Most of the early settlers were compelled to leave their European homes because of their religious convictions, and to indulge these, became one of their first cares on es- tablishing themselves in the land of their adoption. The earliest inhabitants of what is now North White- hall, including those of contiguous territory, seem to , have been mostly of the Reformed faith, although it is true there were some holding to the faith of Luther. The early history of Union Church, or Schlosser's, as it was early called, is involved in considerable ob- seurity ; and there are no written records to throw light upon it. In the very early times the settlers attended services, which were held at private dwell- Lings or in the school-houses, and often consisted only and about eight feet south of it stood a large licorice- tree. No remains of any box or covering could be found about the coin, and they seemed to have been placed in the ground by design, just as found. Upon the coins, all of which were exactly similar in ap- pearance, appeared inscriptions in what seemed to be Chaldaie characters. Much speculation was indulged in as to what they were, and how they came to be de- posited there, but no one was found who could read the inscriptions. There was a great demand for them, and Mr. Lentz presented all of them except one to friends, among them Governor Asa Packer, Mr. Christian Pretz, and Hon. Henry King. The ! latter sent his to a distinguished Jewish rabbi, and it was returned with the information that they were a ' of prayer, singing, and reading of Scripture. After eoin used by some nation contemporaneous with the second Hebrew king, about two thousand four hun- dred years before the birth of Christ. The last one of the coins Mr. Lentz had in his possession for eighteen years. He then intrusted it to a gentleman for the purpose of sending it to a Philadelphia nu- mismatist, and it was lost. Lately Mr. Lentz has obtained another of the coins from the late Christian Pretz, who, it seems, had received two of them.
their number increased somewhat, those of the Lu- theran faith began attending serviees at the churches that were nearest, such as Jordan and Heidelberg, where such pastors as Revs. Justus Jacob Bergen- stock, Schumacher, Dheil, Geisenhainer, and others, ministered to their spiritual wants. Those of the Re- formed belief, on the contrary, being greater in num- bers than their Lutheran brethren, carly united in forming a congregation and building a house of wor- ship. The exact date when this was done cannot now be ascertained, but it probably happened in the
About three months after the above discovery Mr. Lentz made a second one, about sixteen fect from the spot where the money was found. It happened in ! decade beginning with 1750; for there is a record, of 34
530
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
date 1748, in which the Heidelberg, Jordan, and Egypt Churches are mentioned, and there is another made in the year 17644, in which mention first occurs of Schlosser's (now Union) Church. This building, erected by the Reformed communicants, and the ' original of the present Unionville congregation. stood just outside the southeastein wall of the old bury - ing-ground, was constructed of logs, and was about fifty feet in length. It was plastered within, and contained galleries along the sides, with benches of equal height placed on the level floor, so that it was impossible for those who occupied the rear seats to see the minister at the altar or the worshipers on the floor below. The chancel was laid with flag-stones, and altogether the structure was an improvement upon those of that day. This first building was com- monly known as Schlosser's Church, being located on land which was donated by the first of the Schlosser family.
In 1767 the congregation united with the Reformed congregations of Egypt, Jordan, and Northampton borough in purchasing six acres of land and erecting a common parsonage, at a total expense of £52, or $345.02. This, it is supposed, stood on what is Moyer's land, on the road from Mechanicsville to Mickley's Tavern, in South Whitehall.
gregation is denominated Presbyterian, under which name they held the land until April, 1879, when action was taken looking towards the changing of the name from Presbyterian to Reformed, as it should be ; and in December, 1881, Alexander, Peter, and Moses Hollenbach were appointed a committee to have the change legally made. A deed for their lands was con- firmed to the congregation on the 27th of May, 1827, in pursuance of the 7th section of an act of Assembly approved the 17th day of April, 1827, which enacts " that the officers of the land-office are hereby author- ized and required to issue a patent, free of the pur- chase-money and fees, to Peter Romich and Christian Houseman, Sr., and their successors, in trust and for the sole use and benefit of the congregations of North Whitehall township, Lehigh Co., known by the name of Union, alias Schlosser's, Church, composed of Lu- therans and Presbyterians, for a certain tract of land situate in North Whitehall township aforesaid, sur- veyed to them by virtue of an application dated June second, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, numbered three thousand three hundred and seventy- four." Three drafts of church lands are contained among the church records,-the first of three acres, surveyed in 1795, at the request of Michael Hoffman ; the second made in 1796, at the request of Peter Romich, in which the church traet is shown to con- sist of eighty-seven acres and allowances; and a
third was made on the 11th of April, 1839, by Daniel Saeger, Esq., by request of the consistory. The latter appears to be the only legal one, and on it the church land is shown to consist of ninety-four acres, eighteen perches.
On the 7th of November, 1795, the congregation then consisting wholly of Reformed members, held a meeting and decided to erect a stone church in place of the old log building. It was also resolved to invite their Lutheran neighbors to form a congrega- tion, and unite with them in erecting the new build- ing, which should then be held in common by both faiths. As an inducement, the Reformed members offered the Lutherans a half interest in forty acres of their lands, which tract should after that time be held in commonalty by both, and also agreed to sell all of their lands above these forty acres, and devote the proceeds towards the expense of construction. On the 27th of May, 1796, being the occasion of the lay- ing of the corner-stone, the Lutherans accepted these propositions, formed a separate congregation, and united with their Reformed brethren in constructing the new church. None of the church lands were sold, however, the cost of constructing being liquidated with free-will contributions.
This second church building, at Unionville, stood in a line with the old stone school-house, still standing, and the yard of the present brick church, on ground lying between the two. It was solidly built of rough-
In 1768 an application was filed in the land-office of Pennsylvania for a tract of land by Daniel Gross and Paul Balliet for the use of the Reformed congre- gation, although both in this application and in the | hewn stone, with galleries running around three sides patent-deed afterwards granted for the land, the con- , of the interior. The carpenters were Jonas Hicker, Chr. Harn, Andrew Kuerr, Thomas Dodson, Jacob Herman, Jacob Harn, Jacob Mickley, Jacob Miller, John Keck, Adam Sterner, Jacob Wehr. The build- ing was completed in the following year (1797), and since that time has, together with the church lands and other temporalities of the former Reformed con- gregation, been held and owned in common by the members of the Reformed and Lutheran congrega- tions of this vicinity, each, however, being perfectly free to worship after its own fashion, and holding divine services on alternate Sundays. From this date the church and congregation have been known as the Union Church, although among the people it was also called the Grund-Eichel Kirche, or Serub-Oak Church, owing to the large quantity of scrub-oak and low timber growing around the building.
The stone building served all the purposes of the united congregations until the 11th of February, 1871, when they resolved to creet a new and substantial brick building, fifty feet in front and eighty feet in depth. It was found, however, a task of no small importance to tear down the old stone church. So solid was the masonry, and so thick were the walls, that it required the use of blasting-powder and the united efforts of a large crowd of people, who had collected by invitation from the neighborhood and even from distant parts of the township, to overthrow the walls. The timbers were found in part still sound
531
NORTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP.
and dry as when first laid. When the corner-stone was reached, it was found entirely empty, although many articles, besides pieces of money, had been de- posited in the walnut box, with sliding lid, which was placed in the cavity of the stone, nearly a century previous. It was ascertained that it had remained uncovered and unprotected over night, when laid, and the supposition is that it was then rifled of its contents by sacrilegious thieves.
On the 28th of May, 1871, the corner-stone of the present building was laid with imposing ceremonies and in the presence of a large throng. In the corner- stone was placed a zine box, resting on a plate of heavy glass, and packed on all sides with powdered charcoal and plaster of Paris, In it were placed church records, books of worship, silver and copper coins, and other mementoes of members of the con- gregations, and the whole covered with a second plate of heavy glass.
The new building is of brick, and is handsomely finished within and without. It has a spire one hun- dred and sixty-five feet in height, in which hangs a bell of about two thousand pounds weight. Around the three sides extend galleries, and a basement room lies under the whole, used for Sunday- and singing- school purposes. In appearance it resembles a city church, and its equal will hardly be found anywhere in any country parish in Eastern Pennsylvania. Spa- cious grounds inclose it on all sides, and a forest of noble pines protects it from northern blasts.
The new building was dedicated to the service of God on Whitsuntide, 1872, with impressive cere- monies, conducted by Rev. Dr. Notz, Rev. E. Boner, and Rev. A. R. Horne, Lutheran ministers ; and Rev. Drs. Bomberger and Gerhard, Reformed ministers.
It is enjoyed by both congregations under certain additions to the church constitution, proposed at a meeting of the church councils on the 11th of Feb- ruary, 1871, and formally adopted by the congrega- tions on the 25th of February following. They were as follows : "The present church shall be for the ex- elusive use of the Reformed and Lutheran congrega- tions. As long as one single member of either of these denominations remains faithful to its doctrines and practices, the church property cannot pass out of his hands." These additional rules were signed by the church councils, consisting of William Gernert, Moses Hollenbach, Hilarius Kennel, and Peter Gross, elders ; and Tilghman Samuel, Thomas Casey, Tilgh- man F. Schneek, Stephen Deibert, David Hensinger, Lewis Clauser, Alexander Peter, deacons.
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The building committee consisted of Benjamin Lemuel and Emanuel Krause from the Lutherans, and Elias Hoffman and Aaron Balliet from the Re- formed. The cost of erecting the present building was about thirty-four thousand dollars, and was paid, in part, with labor, collections, and free-will offerings. The remainder of the debt was paid by the levying of a tax upon the basis of the county and State rates and
levies, no adult male member paying less than five dollars.
The Lutheran Church record begins with 1797, and is headed as follows: "Church Record of the Evan- gelical Lutheran Brethren in the Faith of the Union Church in Whitehall, Northampton." The first entry is that of the baptism of a child of Christian and Magdalene Hansman, under date of March 5, 1797. Immediately following are the records of the baptisms in families by the names of Adams, Helfrich, Seiss, Deibert, Mosser, Fenstermacher, Walb, Semmel, Rum- bel, etc. In 1806 there were ninety-three communi- cants on the Lutheran side, and in 1821 twenty-one catechumens, by the names of Mosser, Miller, Laury, Semmel, Seiss, Scheirer, Jacobs, Deibert, Housman, Zellner, and Herbster, were confirmed.
The very early records of the Reformed congrega- tion were placed in the corner-stone of the second church, and when that was opened, had disappeared, together with the rest of its contents. Nearly every- thing, therefore, that can be told of its early history has been transmitted by oral tradition, and not much can be stated with certainty, except that in point of numbers the Reformed congregation has always been stronger than the Lutheran, and it maintains its lead at the present day. In 1808 the Lutherans had 68 communicants, the Reformed more than twice that number. In 1858 the latter had 309 communicants, while the Lutherans numbered a little more than half as many. In 1872 there were 264 heads of families of the Reformed faith and 155 of the Lutheran, or, altogether, 419. In 1874 the Reformed had commun- ing members to the number of 615, while the Luther- ans had 419; the former had 330 contributing mem- bers and the latter 225. In 1881 the number of Reformed communicants was 650, of Lutheran, 450, and of Reformed contributing members was 335, of Lutheran, 250. The present strength of the con- gregation is 1076, composed of 622 Reformed com- mnoicants and of 454 Lutheran.
The Reformed Pastors .- The first record of these begins on the 20th of December, 1764, with Rev. Jo- hann Daniel Gross, who served until Feb, 17, 1771, when Rev. Abraham Bimmer took his place, and min- istered till the 10th of May, 1801. On the 18th of October following Rev. Johann Gobrecht began his ministry here, and continued in it till the 13th of February, 1831. He was succeeded by the Rev. Jo- seph S. Dubbs, D.D., who served from the 21st of July, 1831, till 1866. In the latter year Rev. E. J. Fogel was elected the pastor. He began the duties of his office on the 1st of January, 1867, and con- tinnes faithfully in them to this date.
The Lutheran Pastors .- The Lutherans of the car- liest time not having a separate organization at Union- ville were included in the Moselm charge, which in 1762 was under the care of the Rev. John H. Schaum. Between 1769 and 1772, the Rev. John George Jung became the pastor of this charge, and between 1779
532
HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
and 1782 the licentiate Franz was the minister. Hle was succeeded in 1785 by the Rev. Henry Schellhard, and the latter in 1791 by Rev. Caspar Diehl, who with Revs. Geisenhainer and Schumacher served till 1808. During their ministry the Lutheran congregation attained a separate organization at Unionville at the time of the construction of the second church. Revs. Doering and Wartman served the congregation up to June, 1837, when Rev. Jeremiah Schindel began his ministry, continuing to serve for a period of twenty- one years. In the spring of 1859, Rev. Thomas Steck became the pastor and preached till the close of 1866. At the beginning of his pastorate the Lutheran con- gregations of Union, Heidelberg, Friedens, and Egypt Churches united in purchasing a parsonage at Schnecksville, and in the spring of 1867 Rev. J. S. Reninger, the present pastor, began his service for the congregation.
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