USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 64
USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 2 > Part 64
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In 1861, Mr. Rauch, having enlisted a company of men, went into the army, and during his absence the paper, being neglected, went down rapidly in the scale of condition. Its material was used for a time by 1I. V. Morthimer in the publication of the Union Mag. In 1864, Capt. Rauch, having returned from the army, went to Reading, and the paper of which he had formerly been proprietor was revived by E. Mell Boyle & Brother as the Manch Chunk Coul Gazette, under which title it has ever since been pub- lished. Several firms and individuals were success- ively engaged in the publication of the paper during the late sixties and the following decade, among
1 The files of the Lehigh Pioneer and Mauch Chunk Courier, and of the other newspapers of the town, were owned by Judge I. E. Packer, through whose kindness many facts have been secured from them for This history.
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679
BOROUGH OF MAUCH CHUNK.
them Boyle & Laciar, Boyle, Reed & Guyon, E. M. Boyle, and C. W. Blew. In July, 1881, O. B. Sigley, the present proprietor, took possession, and he has since published a bright and newsy local paper, which has been the organ of the Republican party in the eounty. In form it is a nine-column folio, and it re- tains the name Mauch Chunk Coal Gazette, first applied twenty years ago.
The newest aspirant for public favor in the journal- istie line is the Mauch Chunk Daily Times, first issued April 2, 1883. It is published from the Gazette office.
The Carbon Democrat was started May 15, 1847, by Enos Tolen, as a local newspaper and supporter of the party of Janies K. Polk. Originally a six-column sheet, it was in 1853 enlarged to seven columns, and otherwise improved. Mr. Tolen was the editor and proprietor for nearly eleven years, during which period he carried on quite a prosperous business, al- though seriously crippled by the loss of his office in the great fire of July 15, 1849. The printing material was wholly consumed, and the disaster fell so heavily upon the owner that he was not able to resume the publication of the Democrat until Nov. 17th, when the new issue was made as No. 1, Vol. III. This paper, like the Courier (afterwards the Gazette), passed through numerous changes of ownership. On March 20, 1858, J. R. Struthers beeame proprietor, and on July 3d of the same year he disposed of the property to William O. Struthers, who in turn sold to George Bull, in June, 1860. In January, 1863, Enos Tolen again had possession of the newspaper, and associated with himself W. H. Hibbs, who, upon May 14th of the same year, became sole owner. He was succeeded by Joseph Lynn, in April, 1865. He enlarged the sheet to eight columns in 1867, and changed its name to the Mauch Chunk Democrat in 1870. For a short period the paper was owned by W. P. Furey, who re- christened it the Manch Chunk Times, but was repos- sessed by Mr. Lynn, who restored the title, and con- tinued its publication until a very recent date,. of which we shall presently speak more definitely.
On Sept. 7, 1871, a new Carbon Democrat was issued by Enos Tolen as a rival to the old one which he had established almost a quarter of a century before. On November 2d following he sold out to Charles T. Sig- man, and just three weeks later the paper appeared with the Carbon Democrat Association as its publish- ers. Under this management E. H. Siewers, Esq., and E. C. Dimmick were the editors, and they made the paper a lively chronicle of local news and active political agitation. They conducted the journal for only two years, and it was then sold to Mr. Lynn and merged with the Mauch Chunk Democrat.
Another rival for the patronage of the public, and especially of the local Democratic party, appeared in September, 1878, and like that of 1871, under the title of the original Carbon Democrat, with the additional word " county" inserted. The new paper was started by E. H. Rauch, of Lancaster, who had twenty-one
years before became, and for several years remained, the editor of the Gazette. The Carbon County Demo- crat was brought into existence through political eauses operating within the party, and naturally be- eame the opponent of the Mauch Chunk Democrat. In 1881, Joseph Lynn retired from the latter journal, which was subsequently conducted by R. M. Brod- head as publisher. The causes of difference between the two papers had been removed by Mr. Lynn's withdrawal, and the field which it was possible to fill being no larger than that which one newspaper could profitably oceupy, the Carbon County Demo- crat and the Manch Chunk Democrat were merged under the name of the latter in December, 1882, Mr. Rauch becoming editorially connected with the united and strengthened publication, and Mr. Brodhead re- maining in a position similar to that which he had held prior to the union. The Mauch Chunk Democrat, it will thus be seen, has absorbed two newspapers, and as they were both Democrats by name and nature, it would seem that the political predilection of the present journal must be very definite and decided. Mr. Rauch's editorial duties have included one very novel feature, which has attracted the attention of many other other newspaper men in Eastern Pennsyl- vania and delighted hundreds of readers. We refer to his sketches in Pennsylvania Dutch, over the nom de plume of " Pix Schweffelbrenner," which have long been continued, and we may add in this connection that he has published in book form some interesting contributions to Pennsylvania Dutch literature, the most extensive and laborious being his " Hand- Book of Words," issued from the Democrat press in 1879, a little volume now quite rare, and which will at some time in the remote future be regarded as a valuable relie of a lost language. His Pennsylvania Dutch " Rip Van Winkle" is a very happy translation and dram- atization of Irving's story, the scene being changed from the Catskills to the Blue Mountains to give it a locale in keeping with the language in which it is rendered.
Besides the two older journals now in existence and the two which have passed out of individual existence (as heretofore related) to add their strength to the Mauch Chunk Democrat, the town has had only a couple of newspapers which are worthy of mention. These were both published in the German language. The Carbon Adler ( Eagle) was started by E. H. Rauch in January, 1858, to meet a political emergency. Sev-
eral years prior to this date Edward Spierschneider had established at Weissport the Carbon Telegraph, which, after the Adler had been published a few months, he moved to Mauch Chunk. In 1859, Mr. Rauch purchased the Democratic Telegraph and merged it with his Republican Aldler, and in the following year the publication was suspended.
About the same time that the German newspapers were first issued by Mr. Rauch and Mr. Spierschneider a small and grossly scandalous sheet called the Mauch
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Chunk Tattler made its first appearance. It bore no name of editor, was printed and circulated surrepti- tiously, appeared irregularly, led a feeble, diseased, debased life, and died, after a short career of filthy and cowardly dirt-throwing, in the dark.
Hotels .- Of the hotels in Mauch Chunk the prin- cipal ones are the Mansion House, the American, and. the Broadway, and the first named of these three, orig- inally called the Mauch Chunk Inn, is the oldest. It was built in 1825 by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and originally was limited in size to the stone structure which forms the central portion of the present house. The first of the many additions was a wooden wing, built in 1828, and burned down many years ago. A man named Atherton appears to have kept the Mansion House a short time, but Edward W. Kimball is regarded as the first regularly-installed landlord. That this house was well patronized as early as 1829 is shown by the fact-preserved in an old paper-that in one day in the latter part of June the arrivals numbered fifty. Most of them were gen- tlemen and ladies from Philadelphia and New York. John Leisenring, Sr., was the next landlord after Mr. Kimball, and was a very popular one. He was suc- ceeded by A. W. Stedman, and he by George Esser. George Hoffer followed Esser, and was succeeded by E. T. Booth, who gave place to the present landlord, J. S. Wibirt. The property was owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company until 1873, when it was transferred to the Mansion House Hotel Com- pany, of which the former company is the principal stockholder.
The original American House was built by Corne- lius Connor in 1833, and was a medium-sized frame building. It was called the White Swan. This house was destroyed by the great fire of 1849, and Mr. Con- nor then erected a brick hotel, which is a part of the present structure. It extended from the alley to the Second National Bank lot, which was then vacant. Mr. Connor was a popular landlord in the new house and continued to carry it on until his death, when it passed into the hands of Isaac Ripple, who, when he was elected sheriff, handed it over to J. K. Lovett. After he retired it was taken charge of by G. W. Wilhelm, who was succeeded by Jesse Miller. The building soon passed into the possession of the Easton Bank, was afterwards owned by Mr. Chidsey, of Easton, and finally sold to Lafayette Lentz of this place, its present proprietor. It was then leased to Robert Klotz and John W. Reed.
The first structure bearing the title of the Broad- way House was built in 1833 by Daniel Bertsch, and was two stories in height and about forty feet square, the material being stone, " pebble dashed," after the manner connon to most of the houses in Mauch Chunk of a half-century ago. It was surrounded by towering pine-trees, which made a sort of grove around it, and the great rocks protruding from the ground around its base gave it a wild and romantic
appearance. Charles Cox, of Luzerne County, was the first landlord. In April, 1841, Col. John Lentz, who had been "washed out" of his hotel at Weissport by the great flood of the preceding January, took charge of the Broadway House, and kept it for the succeeding ten years. Ile placed two stories of brick upon the original stone structure, and built the frame additions on each side. In 1850, Maj. Robert Klotz took possession, and was its landlord for three years, being succeeded by Alfred Lentz in 1854. Lafayette Lentz, C. A. Williams, Peter J. Keiser, J. G. Oden- heimer, Peter Benner, and J. S. Keiser followed in the order named. Peter J. Keiser purchased the property after Lafayette Lentz resigned his place as landlord, and from him his brother purchased the house a few years later, since which he bas most of the time kept it, although it was for brief periods leased to O. T. Ziegenfuss and Nathan Klotz.
Post-Office and Postmasters .- The Manch Chunk post-office was established in 1819, the year after op- erations were begnu here. In 1818 the nearest post- office was eight miles distant, on the Easton line below. In 1824 the people settled here had the opportunity twice each week of communicating with their friends in the outside world and of hearing from them, the mail then being carried by John Jones. In 1829 the postal facilities had so far increased that the number of mails arriving at and dispatched from Manch Chunk numbered thirty-eight per week. During this year the company controlling the Union line of mail- coaches of Philadelphia made arrangements to have their stages reach this place, and in 1831 a new line was established on the route between Mauch Chunk and Pottsville, under the proprietorship of Messrs. Lippincott & Co., of this place, and Messrs. Christ- man and Duesenbury, of Port Carbon. The first postmaster was Josiah White, who held the office until 1831, most of the time keeping it either in the company's store or office. John Leisenring, Sr., suc- ceeded Mr. White in 1831, and held the office until 1847, a period of sixteen years, and the longest, with one exception, that the position was occupied by any incumbent. Alexander Stedman was appointed in 18.47, and soon gave place to Capt. James Miller. Their united terms occupied a period of only three years, A. W. Leisenring being appointed in January, 1850; he was succeeded in 1853 by Mrs. Eliza Cooper, who was followed in 1860 by Mrs. Jane F. Righter, who was postmistress for the subsequent twenty years, being succeeded by the present postmaster, N. D. Cortright, in September, 1880.
Water-Works .- Asa Packer secured the charter for the Mauch Chunk Water Company in 1849,-the exact date of its issue being March 6th,-and solicited the subseriptions of stock. The incorporators were, beside Mr. Packer, E. A. Douglass, John Lentz, Jacob HI. Salkeld, Cornelius Connor, Conrad Miller, L. D. Knowles, Edward Lippincott, John Mears, and George Weiss. The first president of the company was E. A.
681
BOROUGH OF MAUCH CHUNK.
Douglass. A good water-supply was found in the springs in the valley of Manch Chunk Creek, and operations were immediately begun looking towards its introduction to the town. Pipes were laid, and the other necessary work carried on with such expedition that the water was let on from the reservoir in De- cember. The cost of the works was about nine thon- sand dollars. Pipes were laid to East Mauch Chunk in 1858-59, and the company also sought and seeured an additional supply near the head-waters of Ruddle's Creek, about a mile and a half from the town. The pipes crossing the river were torn away by the flood of 1862, and from that time on the water systems of the two boroughs have been entirely separate and dis- tinet, though controlled by the same company. The quality of the water, secured in both instances from the mountain springs, is excellent, and the high ele- vation of the reservoir gives a force which, in cases of fire, insures the throwing of water upon the highest business block in the town. The present officers of the company are : President, Robert Klotz ; Secretary, S. S. Smith ; Treasurer, Charles O. Skeer; Directors, James I. Blakslee, William B. Mack, Charles O. Skeer, and S. S. Smith.
Mauch Chunk Gas Company .- The charter for this company was procured through the efforts of James I. Blakslee in 1852, but no active measures for organization were resorted to until nearly four years later. In 1856, Mr. Blakslee seeured subseriptions of stock, the organization of the company was perfected, E. A. Douglass being chosen president, and gas-works were erected where the present buildings are situ- ated. Gas was made in October, 1856, and at once went into nse in a large number of houses. The works, with the street pipe, cost about fifteen thousand dol- lars. In 1862 they were destroyed, and some of the pipes in the streets were toru up, by the great flood. Almost immediately after the waters subsided the work of rebuilding was commenced, and gas was again furnished by the company in the fall of the year. Since that time the supply of the illuminating medim has been uninterrupted, except for an inter- val of three nights in November, 1583, caused by the partial burning of the works. Until ISSt the com- pany produced gas from bituminous coal, but in that year the Lowe process of manufacturing it from crude petroleum was adopted. The present officers of the company are: President, A. G. Brodhead, Jr .; Secre- tary and Treasurer, S. S. Smith ; Directors, James I. Blakslee, Charles O. Skeer, Allen Craig, A. A. Doug- lass, J. W. Heberling, and J. C. Dolan.
Losses by Fire and Flood .- Like Allentown, Mauch Chunk suffered severely from the opposite elements of fire and flood in the fourth decade of the present century, and again from the latter clement in 1862. Still earlier, in 1831, the creek through the narrow gorge along which Broadway is built became a mountain torrent in all that the name implies, and created as great havoc as was possible in that
primitive period of the life of the village. We find in the Pioneer of July 4th the following reference to this occurrence :
"The rains of Thursday and Friday produced on Friday night last a tremendous freshet in the Manch Chunk Creek. It overflowed the banks, and the water made its way in every direction through the roads and streets into houses and cellars. Broadway was a com- plete cataract, filled the whole width with the flood. The scene was quite unique,-the roaring of the water, hallooing of the people, dodging about in the dark with lamps and lanterns, gave a good specimen of the ludicrous and alarming. . . . We have not heard of any serions damage as yet. The Lehigh is not at a great height, the showers which gave such a sudden impulse to the waters of the creek having been local. Broadway is impassable for carriages, the water having literally rendered it a gully."
The Flood of 1841 .- Greater damage was caused by the Lehigh flood of June 9, 1841, which was a dis- astrous one throughout the valley. The water at that time rose to a height then unequaled (though sinee exceeded), and caused here as elsewhere along the river great loss and general consternation. The saw-mills of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com- pany were swept away, as well as the river bridge in front of the Mansion House, the stone stable building at the hotel, five houses in the Northern Liberties, and three below the Narrows. Several persons lost their lives, among them Adam Beers, his wife and children, at the " Turnhole," above Mauch Chunk.
The Fire of 1849 .- Living in almost constant expectation of a flood, the people of this little town were never so terrified by one, not even by that of 1862 (which we shall presently deseribe), as they were by the great fire of Sunday, July 15, 1849. This was a most serious calamity, and brought loss to almost every prominent property-holder in the commn- nity. The two newspapers then published in Mauch Chunk were wiped out of existence by the fire, and although Mr. Thomas L. Foster, the editor of one of them, exhibited much enterprise in driving immedi- Intely to Tamagna and there writing an account of the disaster and printing it as an "extra," no copies of the paper are now in existence, and we therefore rely upon the Allentown journals for information con- eerning the disaster. The Republikaner of July 19th contained the following :
"On last Sunday morning, at about nine o'clock, our blooming sister town, Mauch Chunk, was visited by a very destruetive fire, which laid in ashes the business portion and property of the town. The fire took rise in the store-room of Messrs. Dodson & Wil- liams, on Race Street, and, as a violent northwest wind was blowing at the time, it spread with such rapidity that in a short time the court-house and jail, Packer's store-house and three three-story brick dwelling-houses, Leisenring's store and dwelling- house, Conner's hotel, Ebert & Polk's drug-store, the
682
HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
printing-house of the Carbon Democrat, the post-office, and a shoe-store, besides a number of other build- ings wherein public works were carried on, were in flames and burned to the ground. The fire laid : everything in ruins and ashes, on the west side of Broad Street, from Fatzinger's residence to the place where Packer's store stood and back to Race Street. On the east side of Race Street everything was burned down, from the court-house and jail, ex- eept two or three buildings above Conner's hotel. Twenty-three buildings became the prey of the de- stroying element. The loss is, without doubt, very great, since in this part of the town the principal business and industries were carried on. We have, however, since learned that the greatest part is cov- ered with insurance. We have not learned whether any human life was lost. A man by the name of Ebert fell from a three-story briek building, above Conner's hotel. Whether he was seriously injured or escaped with his life we have not heard. As is the case at every fire, thieves broke in at this fire, who availed themselves of the opportunity to rob and plunder. Three of these long-fingered rascals were captured and brought in chains last Monday to the Allentown jail, where they now lie awaiting a hear- ing at the next session of the Carbon County Court."
The Friedens Bote of the same date had the follow- ing account of the fire: " It is with a feeling of the greatest sympathy that we are compelled to announce that our neighbor, Manch Chunk, was last Sunday visited by a fearful fire, whereby a loss of not less than one hundred thousand dollars is suffered. At least thirty buildings in the heart of the town lie in ruins. Among them the following : store of Dodson & Behm with four dwellings, store of Drisco & Wil- liams, Polk's drug-store, Legget's wheelwright-shop, Eberly's new buildings, J. Meier's two dwelling- houses, John Leisenring's residence, store-house and Foster's saddlery, Packer & Olewein's shoe-store, Packer's store-house, the court-house and jail, the printing-house of the Carbon County Gazette, Con- ner's hotel, and many other buildings, and a great number of dwelling houses. The fire is said to have broken out in Dodson & Behut's warehouse, under which, it is said, ashes containing hot coals were carelessly thrown.
"The fire was discovered at uine o'clock A.M., and as a high wind was stirring at the time, it was not possible to check it, and the whole destroyed district was in a few moments enveloped in flames.
" When the flames attacked the prison the prisoners were set free. Two thieves who appropriated during the progress of the fire the property of others and eoneealed it (about two hundred and fifty dollars' worth of jewelry) were brought Monday morning to the Allentown jail."
The Carbon Democrat on resuming publication after the fire, November 17th, noticed the improvements in progress. John M. Joseph had creeted two large
three-story brick buildings which compared favora- bly with those formerly upon his lots. Dodson & Beam had under roof a block of three-story brick stores and a dwelling, and Cornelius Leggett had erected on the adjoining lot a very good and substan- tial two-story frame. Henry Mears had put up a small frame building to answer until he could make arrangements for a permanent building. John Lei- senring had completed the foundations for two large stores and dwellings; Asa Paeker had foundations in process of building for two stores; and Thomas Brels- ford had erected a two-story frame building and fin- ished the substructure for a briek dwelling and store.
The Flood of 1862 .- Concerning this deplorable event we have already had something to say in the second chapter of the History of Carbon County, and shall content ourselves here with an extended quotation from an authority generally conceded to be correet,-the little work bearing the title " Incidents of the Freshet on the Lehigh River, Sixth Month 4th and 5th, 1862."
"Mauch Chunk and its neighborhood suffered . . in individual losses to a great extent. The heavy rain eaused the creek which runs through and partly under the town to break its bounds. This occurred soon after night-fall on the 4th; it broke out near the Presbyterian Church, and rushed down Broadway, carrying everything before it. In a few moments the entire street was a rushing torrent, filling every cellar in its course with water. This, meeting the rise of the water from the river, backed it a considerable dis- tance up the street. Before ten o'clock it was over the first floors of nearly all the dwellings below the Broadway House. The stores near the court-house were flooded, and quantities of goods ruined. The water rose five feet one inch in the banking-room of the bank. Its watchman spent the most of the night upon the top of one of the desks, holding on to the gas-fixtures ; his dog got on with him, but, forsaking his position, was drowned. Over fifty buildings, such as stores, store-houses, stables, wagon-houses, black- smith-shops, ice-houses, school-house, various tempo- rary erections used for business purposes, including sixteen dwellings, were carried away from the borough limits of it and East Manch Chunk. Four persons in the town lost their lives.
" From a statement received foon the landlord of the Mansion Honse, it would appear that the water reached its extreme height there somewhere about half-past eleven o'clock on the evening of the 4th. It was seventeen inches on his parlor floor, and twenty- seven feet above the ordinary height of the pool above the dam and opposite the company's chutes. By a level taken by Walter E. Cox, assistant engineer of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, it is ascer- tained that it rose thirty feet' above the usual low-
1 The rise was about ten feet above that in 1811, the volume of water thus passing in a short space of lime must live far exceeded anything of the kind ever known before.
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BOROUGH OF MAUCH CHUNK.
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water mark opposite the house. It maintained its extreme height for about fifteen minutes. At twelve o'clock it had reeeded from the parlor ; at three o'clock it was still four feet in the basement ; at half- past five it was gone, and men were set to work to elean out the kitchen. When aware of the probability of an unusual rise of the river, the host commenced removing his stores and goods from the first floor to the one above, in the full expectation that they were depositing them in a place of safety. But still higher and higher rose the water, until it reached the height as above stated ; the compressed air under the dining- room caused its flooring to rise in the middle for near its whole length. Sugar, salt, flour, cte., placed there, soon mingled with the water, and nearly everything was either lost or ruined. When the flood had risen to this point, some floating mass, supposed to be either the company's store-house or the hotel stable, floating down the stream, struek the north end of the building above the lintel of the second-story window, knocking a considerable hole therein, and the waves at the same time dashing over its sill. The inmates of the room, alarmed for their own safety, soon left ; and they, with those who occupied other portions of the house, con- sidered it best to resort to the ten-pin alley attached to the building on the side of the mountain, one story higher np. A panic had seized many of them, and the fearful aspect of the scene around was calculated to make the stoutest quail. Those whose strength of nerve enabled them to suppress their own fearful fore- boding, had full occupation in endeavoring to ealm the more excited. It was a season of gloom, of doubt, and of fear, which is stamped with indelible impress upon their memories.
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