USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume I > Part 16
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Saint Margaret's Roman Catholic Church, located at Narberth, was organized in December, 1900, by Rev. R. F. Cowley, the present pastor, under appointment of the late Archbishop Ryan. The congregation being small, services were held in temporary quarters until 1902, when a substantial stone building was erected on the present church property on North Narberth avenue, the corner stone of which was laid and blessed by Archbishop Ryan, November 2, of that year. This building (which forms the basement of the present edifice) served as a temporary chapel for a number of years, and is now used as an auditorium for enter- tainments, etc. The church as it now stands was completed in 1914 at a total cost of $50,000, and was dedicated by the late Archbishop Pender- gast on March 22 of that year. The edifice was constructed from stone from the Avondale quarries, Pennsylvania, while the interior is wain- scoated throughout with Vermont marble, the sanctuary floor being of the same material. Saint Margaret's Church, with its three exquisite white marble altars and Italian statuary, its twelve highly artistic stained glass windows, imported from Austria just before the great World War, and other works of religious art, is highly admired for the chaste beauty of its interior. It represents a present estimated value of $100,000. A permanent parochial school has not yet been erected, a small building being used for that purpose temporarily. Originally, this parish included Bala, Wynnewood, and part of Ardmore, but such has been its growth since then, two new parishes have been formed from it. The present membership of the parish is nine hundred and twenty-five.
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The parish of St. Philip Neri, of Greenville, covers, besides small portions of Berks, Lehigh and Bucks counties, the township of Upper Hanover and Marlboro, and parts of Upper Salford, Frederick and New Hanover townships in Montgomery county. For many years during the last century the scattered Catholics in this territory were visited by the Jesuit Fathers and their successors of Bally, Berks county. In 1887 an attempt was made to establish a mission near Pennsburg, and monthly services were held at the home of Mr. Connelly. Father Alois Misteli, who succeeded the Jesuits, also had services in the same locality, using the home of Francis Walters, near Kleinsville. At that date there were about forty-five Catholics in the neighborhood. Father Misteli opened negotiations for the purchase of a plot of ground on Main street, Penns- burg, near the railroad bridge. Stones were hauled to the ground, but the plan was abandoned as it was impossible to secure a clear title, and because of the seeming decrease in Catholics. From 1890 to 1912 the Catholics of this territory attended services at Bally or Pottstown. On the Feast of All-Saints Day, November 1, 1911, the Rev. William A. Wachter, of Pottstown, conducted services for the people of the district at the home of Max Van Lang. Weekly services were held until Janu- ary, 1912, when the Rev. Thomas J. Sullivan, who had been appointed pastor of the new parish of Collegeville, began holding services in the hall of Jacob M. Kuhn, in Green Lane. This hall was used by various priests to June, 1917. In 1918 the services were held in Red Men's Hall. In 1919 the present chapel was built by Father Buesser. The church is named The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. October 8, 1919, East Greenville was made an independent parish with Green Lane as a mis- sion. Rev. John Wachter was appointed pastor, and continued his labors there until December 3, 1922, when the new basement-church at the corner of Sixth and Main streets, East Greenville, was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. Peter Mason, V. F., of Allentown. This church was built of granite, and is valued at $20,000. The present number of souls in this congregation is one hundred and sixty.
St. Eleanor, the Roman Catholic church at Collegeville, was organ- ized in January, 1912, by Rev. Thomas J. Sullivan. He was succeeded by pastors as follows: The Revs. Henry A. Kuss, 1914-16; Charles J. Barnemann, 1916-17; William A. Buesser, 1917, and still pastor of the parish. The building is known as a basement church of stone, forty by one hundred and ten feet ; seats easily two hundred and fifty persons. It was built in 1921, at a cost of $28,500. The present number of souls in this congregation is two hundred and five. St. Mary's Church, at Delphi, is attended by the pastor from Collegeville. There the church was built in 1922, costing $20,000.
St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Russian Church, of Pottstown, was established in 1903, by Rev. Andrew Hrabar, of Philadelphia. The congregation now numbers about one hundred families. The Sunday
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school has ninety scholars, taught by Michael Chuhrach. The various pastors who have served this parish are as follows: Revs. Andrew Hra- bar, John Shosteck, A. Thegza, M. Kuziw, P. Popovich, G. Hricz, Andrew Smymko, W. Obuzkiewicz, and present pastor, Rev. Zeno K. Chanath.
The present pastor gives the subjoined notes on the history of this church: The beginning of the congregation, he says, dates from 1900. At that time there were twenty-five families, from out the working class almost entirely. These families planned for an organization to feed their spiritual natures. They had descended from the Carpatho-Rus- sian race, and their native language was the "Little Russian" and their belief that of the Greek Catholic church. Their wants were looked after by Rev. Andrew Hrabar, of Philadelphia, who rendered them great aid. Having no church building of their own, they were kindly permitted to use that of the Roman Catholic Church of St. Aloysius, at Pottstown. The services were not regular. After two years of struggle, the con- gregation had grown somewhat and decided to try and erect a house of their own. In 1903 a lot was bought, or rather a plot of ground, in the northeast corner of Cherry and Charlotte streets. A corner stone was laid, and in November the same year the house was ready to occupy. It was consecrated November 21, 1903, by the Rt. Rev. Andrew Hodobay, of Philadelphia. There was no regular pastor from 1903 to 1912, but was administered to by outside pastors. This Greek church at Pottstown belongs to the Greek Catholic Russian Diocese of the United States of America. In its service they use the oriental or Greek rite, and the lan- guage is old-Slavish.
St. Aloysius Church and School of Pottstown was founded after the following manner, as near as can be shown by records and written state- ments of the present pastor, Rev. William A. Wachter :
In 1808, when the diocese of Philadelphia was organized, the Cath- olic church nearest to Pottstown, named Pottsgrove at that time, was at Gosshenhoppen, now Bally. The church was thirteen miles distant. It was then a Jesuit mission, established in 1743. The construction of the canal by the Schuylkill Navigation Company brought many Irish Cath- olics to Port Union and Douglasville in 1810. Every three months mass was said at Port Union, in the Black Bear Hotel, conducted by Matthew Ryan. Henry Flannery, who owned a farm near Douglasville, donated land on the south side of the Schuylkill road, and upon this site the Chapel of St. Paul was built by subscriptions of the boatmen, and dedi- cated in 1846. After the parish of Phoenixville was organized, Potts- town was made a mission of that place. After the chapel at Douglas- ville was built, the Pottstown Catholics profited by the visits of priests to that place. Some of the railroaders took their families on trucks, or "manual levers ;" others walked or went by carriage.
On September 14, 1846, George VanBuskirk conveyed to Rt. Rev. Francis P. Kendrick, head of the Philadelphia diocese, the tract of land
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on the north side of Beech street, at the junction of Hanover street. July 20, 1854, the corner stone of a new church was laid by the Very Rev. E. J. Sourin. On June 22, 1856, the Rev. Philip O'Farrell dedi- cated the church of St. Aloysius which he had built. When the church was built, the section of Hanover street, north from Beech, was un- opened. The building was a short distance from the street, in the middle of the churchyard.
At first this church was a mission of Phoenixville. In the summer of 1857 Rev. J. D. Davis was appointed pastor by Bishop Newman. The Douglasville chapel was now attended by the pastors of St. Aloysius, Pottstown. During the pastorate of Father Kyle, a permanent home was provided for the priests. The walls of the church were extended on the north side, and thus the house was made a part of the church building. March 2, 1882, a tract of land east of the borough was secured for a new cemetery. The property was conveyed by A. G. Saylor and William H. Smith to Archbishop Ryan for $785.62. On St. Joseph's Day, 1882, the new cemetery was dedicated by Rev. Gerald P. Coghlan. In the spring of 1889 it was decided to erect a new church building on the space between the old building and Beech street. The building was to be fifty-five feet on Hanover street by 105 on Beech, to seat 700 people. The outside walls were to be of Howellville rock-faced stone. August 28, 1889, the contract was signed for the completion of the struc- ture by July 1, 1890; the sum to be paid was $28,323. Isaac Sassaman, of Pottstown, was awarded the job under his bid. The corner stone was laid November 17, 1889, by Rev. Gerald P. Coghlan, assisted by Rev. I. D. McDermott, and the building was dedicated December 20, 1891, by Archbishop Ryan. The work of building consumed more than two years. The first contract did not cover many details needed later on, and when all was completed the structure had cost the parish nearly $50,000.
The priests who have had charge of this church from the first to now are: The Revs. John D. Davis, appointed in 1857; William F. Cook, 1858; Thomas McGovern, 1862; I. I. Miller, 1863; Thomas A. Kyle, O. S. A., 1863; James A. Miller, 1865; C. Sorrenteni, 1867; John W. Shan- ahan, 1871 ; Michael A. Mullen, 1873; William A. McLoughlin, 1874; Gerald P. Coughlan, 1878; J. A. Wagner, 1882; H. H. Gormley, 1895; the present pastor, Rev. William A. Wachter, appointed May 24, 1909.
St. Aloysius Parochial School was brought into existence through the following facts, as shown by records of the church: Sunday, November 14, 1911, Father Wachter announced having bought the house adjoining the church property (at the east side), for use as a convent; the price was $3,350. It was designed to build a school in 1913, and the ground was in fact broken September 22, 1912, by Father Wachter, and that autumn the foundation was placed. January 1, 1913, bright and warm for the season, the corner stone was laid by Rt. Rev. John J. McCort, Cardinal Dougherty, then bishop of the Philippines, being present. The
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sermon was preached by Rt. Rev. Mgr. Philip R. McDevitt, superintend- ent of parochial schools, now Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Au- gust 28 came six Sisters of St. Francis and took charge of the school. After Mass of the Holy Ghost, by Father Wachter, Tuesday morning, September 2, 1913, the school was opened. There were eight grades, and the first enrollment was 189 pupils. On October 5, 1913, the school was blessed by Most Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, Archbishop. The school building was erected by contractor George Koch, of Reading, and the architect was A. A. Ritcher, of the same city. The price was $30,400, outside of the finishing of the upper floor. There are ten class rooms and a large auditorium. In 1913 the contributions to the school amounted to $9,200. At present there are eight grades, and a two-year high school. The same Sisters named above are still in charge.
St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church, at Conshohocken, was organ- ized in 1850, by Rev. Patrick Nugent, of Norristown. A lot was bought at the corner of Hector and Harry streets, where a church was erected, and served until 1865, when it was enlarged, and in 1881 a new building was erected. The parochial school was built in 1870, and soon had five hundred in attendance. In 1884 this parish had 2,500 souls in its bounds. The work is now in a flourishing condition, with excellent buildings throughout.
In the borough of Jenkintown, in 1866, was erected the Roman Cath- olic Church of the Immaculate Conception, under the labors of Rev. J. J. Mellon. The same was a two-story stone building after the Italian style and was built at the corner of West avenue and Pleasant street. Later a two-story parochial school building was provided. As the years have gone by, many building improvements have gone forward and the con- gregation has grown in numbers materially. There was an organiza- tion effected here as early as 1860, but no building operations then.
Miscellaneous-In the eighties, Montgomery county had four colored Methodist Episcopal churches; two were in Norristown, one in Potts- town, and one at Conshohocken. At the last named place a neat church was erected in 1881. The Colored Ebenezer Protestant Methodist Church of Norristown was organized in 1849, and a stone building erected in 1853, costing $875. In 1872 this was much enlarged, and fin- ally rebuilt.
The census reports in 1915 gave the following as the membership in the various religious denominations in Montgomery county: All de- nominations, 90,621 ; Baptist, 6,746; German Baptist (Brethren), 1,087; Church of God, 56; Evangelical Association, 810; Jewish congregations a membership of 270; Lutheran, 13,404; Mennonites, 1,933; Methodist Episcopal, 7,023 ; African Methodist Episcopal, 961 ; Presbyterians, 7,131 ; Protestant Episcopal, 6,415; Reformed Church, 10,241 ; Roman Catholic, 30,108; United Brethren, 365; United Evangelical, 726; the Christian
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Scientists declined to give their membership to the enumerator, hence they do not appear in the United States census for this county. Besides the foregoing, there were found to be 3,196 church members of various other church faiths.
Young Men's Christian Association-At Norristown borough, in the year 1885, there was organized a Young Men's Christian Association, and it has had its existence ever since that time. It has had its ups and downs, its removals from the original location on the second floor at the corner of Main and Green streets to a place on DeKalb street, then to a purchased large brick hotel on the lot directly west of the city or bor- ough building, which is their present home, but not in keeping with the present-day requirements and the subscriptions are already pledged and the work of razing the old four-story hotel and erecting a fine modern structure such as is demanded by the present society, will ere long be commenced. When finished, the new "Y" will cost not far from a quar- ter of a million dollars. The 1923 officers and directors of the society are as follows : Board of Directors-H. Severn Regar, president ; George E. Wierman, vice-president; Ernest J. Youngjohns, secretary ; W. R. Moyer, treasurer ; other members of the board are: G. L. Gabel, Elias D. Gotwals, Ursinus Grater, Walter L. High, John H. Halford, A. Mark- ley Harry, Thomas Kingston, E. C. A. Moyer, Joseph A. Ranck, Charles C. Snyder, Norris D. Wright, Charles W. Wainright. The trustees are : N. H. Larzelere, H. K. Regar, Joseph A. Ranck, H. B. Tyson. The gen- eral secretary is B. H. Geise.
HIGH SCHOOL, POTTSTOWN-NOBLE STREET SCHOOL, NORRIS- TOWN-WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, NEAR CENTER POINT
CHAPTER XII. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
The citizens of Montgomery county may well have a pride in their public schools and higher institutions of learning. Very early in the history of the State of Pennsylvania, the matter of education was looked after as best they then knew how. The early school houses, it is truc, were rude round log structures, daubed with clay mortar, where one or more logs were left out for a window and, over the open space, oiled paper was placed instead of window glass. After the War of 1812 there was a decided increase in the number of elementary or subscription schools, and steady advancement was made in school buildings until the passage of the free school law in 1834. However, this county was slow in universally adopting the free school system, for we find it was nineteen years before the last district in the county accepted the provisions of the law. But since then the growth of the schools of the county has been steady, alike in the mixed schools of the rural districts and the various graded schools in larger towns and boroughs.
The first official step toward establishing of the public school in the commonwealth was in 1683, when the following provincial act was passed. The spelling then in use sounds almost silly to the ear of people now-a-days:
The Governor of the Provincial council having taken into their seri- ous consideration the great necessity there is of Scool-Masters for the instruction and sober education of Youth in the towne of Philadelphia, sent for Enoch Flower, an inhabitant of the said towns, who for twenty years past hath been exercised in that care and imployment in England, to whom having been communicated their minds, he embraced upon these following terms: to learne to read English, 4s. by the quarter; to learne to read and write, 6s. by the quarter; to learn to read, write and cast account, 8s. by the quarter; for boarding a schollar, that is to say, dyet, washing, lodging and schooling, ten pounds for the whole year.
Six years later the fruit of the labors of this first teacher, Enoch Flower, bore fruit in the organization of the first grammar school, in 1689, under direction of Penn to Thomas Lloyd. This school was placed in charge of George Keith, a Quaker preacher of Scotch descent, who had accompanied William Penn and Fox in their travels through Ger- many in 1677. This school was chartered February 12, 1698, with the motto "Good Instruction is Better than Riches." This school stood on the corner of Fourth, near Chestnut street, Philadelphia, and was School No. I, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But it should not be thought by the reader that educational affairs were at a very high tide for many long years after these schools just mentioned had been opened,
Mont-10
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for, as a matter of fact, Pennsylvania, according to Historian Sherman Day, between the thirties and forties remarked in his "State History," that "the number of people who could neither read nor write had increased to an alarming extent, and Pennsylvania became an object of ridicule to the people of other States, who had been more careful to pro- vide a proper system of education." It was early in the thirties that the better element of men at the head of affairs commenced to work for a higher standard of public schools.
Montgomery County Schools-Ex-County School Superintendent Professor Abel Rambo made a specialty of looking up the early school history of the various townships within this county. His article was published in 1884, and from its contents we are permitted to extract freely. He sought to show how each section of this county received the new system-the act passed giving us free schools in 1834-35-
In Whitpain township the school law was put in operation after a meeting of the citizens held May 26, 1836; length of term six months ; salary twenty dollars per month. In May, 1837, a vote was taken whether the system should be continued or not; this stood seventy for and fifty against. In May, 1838, a vote was had to raise four hundred dollars to maintain the schools ; the vote stood fourteen for and fifty-nine against. Matters grew better, for at the last contest over free schools in this town- ship, in 1841, the vote in favor of the system was eighty-nine for and fifty-five against. Central School was erected here as early as 1785; the Ellis school was first built in 1787, by residents of the community. Sandy Hill schoolhouse was erected in 1796. In nearly all the schools of this county the old-time wood stoves were used to heat with, and the boys had to cut the stove-wood at noon time. This state of affairs con- tinued down to about 1885, when all schools were provided with the "Morning Glory" or some other base-burners for coal.
In Frederick the first board of school directors was formed in 1853; length of term three months; salary $18.89. There were then four schools in the township; now a dozen or more. In Moreland the free school system was first in operation in 1845, two directors bitterly opposing. Marlborough township cheerfully accepted the free school in 1838, built schoolhouses, and put schools into operation in 1842. Then came a bitter opposition, and schools were abandoned in 1842-43, and subscription schools obtained again. Upper Providence accepted the free school system in 1844; salary was seventy dollars for the term of thirteen weeks. In Limerick the free school came into use about 1847. Only primary branches were taught; term and wages about the same as in township last named. About 1820 pupils in this school were taught geography, grammar, and surveying. In New Hanover common schools went into effect in 1852. In 1855 an English school was founded at Swamp, and many scholars came in from far and near. The best schools here were in Pottstown, Grosstown and at Crooked Hill.
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In Worcester the first public school was opened, in 1851, and that under protest, by a board of directors appointed by the court, the elected directors refusing to serve. Matters grew worse; taxpayers opposed free schools, and bitter was the fight. Money was raised for sending a lobby agent to Harrisburg to get this township an exemption from accepting the system. The money failed to reach the legislature, and hence matters grew worse. Business men who voted for free schools were boycotted. But with the flight of a few years, matters changed. and since then there has been no opposition to our splendid free schools.
Montgomery township accepted the "system" in 1840, but with small opposition. Cheltenham, on March 16, 1838, voted fifty-six to forty to accept the free schools. Up to 1842 the township had but one school house. Then money was voted to supply the township with two more. Part of the funds here had to be raised by popular subscription. Many sent their children to the Friends' School at Abington. Franconia town- ship did not use the new system until 1851. Before that date private schools obtained, and lasted seventy-two days each year. In Lower Merion the free school was always desired, and in August, 1835, it was accepted by the authorities, and $2,650 was raised by tax to support the same. November 16, 1835, the first free school opened its doors. The schools prior to these free schools were excellent for those times, but not nearly so good as the new free system.
In Upper Hanover, as probably in nearly all the townships in the county, the parochial system was the prevailing order. Lutherans, Ger- man Reformed, Mennonites and other sects had their schools, and the Catholics had a school just over the line in Berks county, and, like Protestants, sent their children to their own church school. The first English school here was opened in 1835 in an old carpenter's shop.
It is not necessary to prolong an array of objections and acceptances of what every person now considers a wise institution, and all intelli- gent persons are justly proud of our system. More money goes in way of taxes for public schools than for any other one thing, yet the people agree it is money well expended.
In 1855, two years after every district in the county had accepted the free school system under the law of 1836, the average number of months of school taught was seven; average salary of male teachers was $28.75 per month; of female teachers, $21.50 per month. The number of schools had increased to 223, taught by 180 male and 49 female teachers. The number of scholars in attendance was 16,257, averaging 79 for each school in the county. The cost of tuition per month for each pupil was fifty-eight cents. Is it not a wonder that there could ever have been any opposition to a system that had such wonderful results for so few cents a scholar?
The State School Superintendent's report on Montgomery county in 1883 gave facts as follows: Whole number of schools, 370, of which
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thirty buildings were reported unfit for use; there were then fifty-four log school houses in the State, but none reported from Montgomery county. Average months school taught, eight ; male teachers, 171 ; female teachers, 200; male scholars 9,711 ; female scholars, 8,899; total amount of tax raised for schools in county, $175,895.
A Teachers' County Association was formed in this county in 1845, and local institutes were frequently held up to the act of the General Assembly creating county institutes, which was in 1867. These teach- ers' institutes, in one form or another, have been kept up since first established by authority of the commonwealth. Better teachers have been demanded with the flight of years, and the need of normal schools and county institutes has been well taken care of.
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