USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume I > Part 39
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Richard Whitpain made his will and testament, dated April 27, 1689, and willed the payment of his debts and funeral expenses, and authorized his wife, Mary, his executrix, to sell so much of his lands in the province as she should find needly for the payment thereof, and shortly after the said testator died. Mary Whitpain, in accordance with the provision of the will, by her indenture, dated July 30, 1689, sold the entire tract to Mary Davice, John Eldridge, William Ingram, John Blackwell and John Vace, all of whom were creditors. Shortly afterward John Blackhall, the surviving trustee, sold the great tract above named to William Aubrey, of the town of London. William Aubrey, by his indenture dated April 24, 1713, sold the tract to Anthony Morris, maltster and brewer of Philadelphia, and Rees Thomas, of the township of Merion.
Zachariah Whitpain removed in the summer of 1685, if not earlier, to this property and made extensive improvements, and settled numer- ous tenants thereon. He died in March, 1693.
In 1734, of the twenty-four landowners in this township, eight were Welsh, six German, and the remainder English. The English were the first to locate here and were succeeded by the Welsh, but as early as 1711 the Germans commenced to come in and take up farming. In the presidential election of 1880, when Garfield was elected, nearly three- fourths of the votes cast in this township were of German extraction. In 1741 the number of taxables was fifty-six. In 1880 it was more than four hundred. Land was valued at $21 per acre (our money) in 1785, and horses at fifty dollars per head. Population in 1880, 771; 1810, 995; 1820, 1, 127; 1830, 1,137; 1850, 1,315; 1870, 1,358; 1880, 1,429; 1900, 1,442; in 1920, last Federal census, 1,826. In 1811 the assessor of this township returned for taxes ninety-nine dogs, under the legislative act of 1809; amount of taxes was $27.00. In 1880 the largest landowner was the Styer family, with 555 acres of land. The number of negro slaves here in 1763 was three, but it is known that during the Revolution many fam- ilies within the township kept slaves. This was all stopped by 1799, when John Morris set free his two slaves.
In traveling through this township to-day, one would never think it had been the scene of so many small yet very useful manufacturing plants. Forty years ago this township had been the home of industries as follows: The first of all, the weaving industry of Jacob Yost, in a small cabin-home, in 1727. The Yosts were inventive and progressive. Who has not heard of the Yost sickles, scythes, and edged tools, which
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they made from 1760 to 1816? These instruments were all hand-forged. In 1746 the first gristmill in the township was put in operation on Stony creek, near the Norriton line. In 1779-80 James Morris built the well- known gristmill long known as Wertner's mill. Another mill was erected in 1804 which was one of the township's best flouring mills. The Conrad augers were first made by John Conrad in 1806, continuing until 1857, then moved to Fort Washington. The one-horse powers for threshing machines were made at Blue Bell by Samuel F. Shaeff in 1847. Mowing and reaping machines were first introduced and worked by Robert Findlay, of Centre Square. This was of the Hussey pattern, and when operated it required eight men including the driver to operate it. So it will be observed that whatever the near-by farmer needed in way of tools and machinery, could be found of the real home-made quality.
Washington had numerous headquarters within this county, as well as the one generally talked of at Valley Forge. There is still standing to-day a fine old-style well constructed solid stone two-story farm house known as "Washington's Headquarters, October, 1777." It stands be- tween the Skippack and Morris roads, six miles from Norristown and about one mile out of present borough of Ambler station. It has been well preserved and now looks as though built but a decade or so ago. For many years it was the property of Saunders Lewis. The churches of this township include the Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist. (See Church chapter elsewhere.)
The villages that have at one time or another existed here include Centre Square, once known as "Waggon," where the township's first post office was established. The date appears to have been 1828, and James Bush was postmaster. Thomas Humphrey opened a store here in 1800. It was here that a lumber yard was conducted by Thomas H. Wentz, who later was a heavy dealer in lumber at Norristown. The Centre Square creamery was established in 1880. The Odd Fellows have a hall here and a good lodge. The Montgomery County Almshouse was ordered located here in October, 1806.
Blue Bell is situated at the intersection of the old North Wales and Plymouth road and the Skippack turnpike. In 1880 it had sixty inhab- itants, with post office, stores, shops, etc. But to get back earlier it may be interesting to know that in 1758 there was an old inn here known as the "White House." The old military maps all show it thus named. In 1774 a large stone house was built by James Bartleson, on the west side of the Skippack road, and in it an inn was established, known as the "Black Horse." Broad Axe, another old-time hamlet, in the lower part of the township, is at the intersection of the Skippack turnpike and the Upper Dublin and Plymouth roads. A post office was established here in 1855, with John Cadwallader as postmaster. Franklinville, near the eastern portion of the township, had a few business places and a
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number of residences fifty years ago. The fine country seat farm and summer residence of William M. Singerly, of the "Philadelphia Record," is located here. Washington Square is located at the intersection of the township line dividing the township from Norriton and Centre Square and Norristown turnpike. It never amounted to much as a trading centre. Other hamlets are Caster and Belfry, serving well the purpose for which first intended.
During the Revolutionary struggle, Brig .- Gen. Weeden's regiment of Virginia troops was encamped from October 19th to November 2, 1777, on the Morris and Gregar farms. During their stay here the weather was very wet, rain falling almost every day. The soldiers were compelled to seek shelter during the night in the barns of the neighbor- hood. Several of the soldiers died here from sickness, and are buried in the graveyard at Boehm's church.
General Washington, during the time of the encampment, had his headquarters in the house then owned by James Morris. The house was built in the year 1736, and remains substantially in its original propor- tions, with the addition of a south wing (twenty-four feet by twenty- three feet), built in the year 1821. It is situated in Whitpain township, Montgomery county, between the Skippack and Morris road.
In the assessment of 1763 three slaves are there mentioned. During the Revolution there were several families that held slaves. In the "Pennsylvania Packet," of September 26, 1777, "David Knox offers a reward of twenty dollars for the return and recovery of a mulatto wench, 26 years old, named Stiffany." The last that were held in the district were those of James Morris, two in number, but were freed prior to the year 1799.
Skippack-This subdivision of Montgomery county was originally a part of Perkiomen township, but in 1886 was by the county commis- sioners made into a separate township. The early settlement has been treated in the account given within the original township, hence need not here be repeated. However, it may be said that this was among the very first to be settled within the county. It really figured as a settle- ment before the Revolutionary war. It had a population in 1890 of 1,360; in 1900 it was only 1,240; and in 1910 was 1,277. It was among the latest to be set off as a township in this county. The only village of any considerable importance is the ancient village of Skippack or Skip- packville, as sometimes called. Forty years ago the place contained two good hotels, three stores of general merchandise, a post office, printing press, school, shirt factory, and over fifty houses. In 1860 a map showed twenty-nine houses. The road from here to Philadelphia was opened in 1714. In 1742 Garrett Indehaven kept the only hotel. Other pioneer inns were the ones of Dietrich Welker and Nicholas Nichum, 1779, and Gabriel Kline, 1785, the sign of the latter being a weeping willow, which
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name it bore up to 1800. The locality had a post office as early as 1827. In 1844 a weekly German newspaper was established here, A. E. Dambly, editor and proprietor. The large three-story shirt factory was erected in 1881 by the Enterprise Shirt Factory Company. With the growth of the surrounding community other interests have developed until to-day the borough is on the list of good business points in Montgomery county. Its present population is about 1,200. It is situated on the trolley line, and has most of the advantages found in the larger boroughs of the county. Its school and church life is all that could be desired in any community.
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CHAPTER XXVIII. BOROUGHS: AMBLER-BRIDGEPORT-COLLEGEVILLE- CONSHOHOCKEN-EAST GREENVILLE-HATBORO- HATFIELD-GREENLANE-SCHWENKS- VILLE-JENKINTOWN.
The enterprising borough of Ambler is situated in the western cor- ner of what was formerly Upper Dublin township, but since its incor- poration as a borough has its own government. Its present borough officers include these: Robert H. Anderson, burgess ; William M. John- son, secretary ; Samuel A. Faust, treasurer. It has a bonded indebted- ness of $56,000; owns its own fire fighting apparatus, but leases rooms for offices of the fire company. The census reports show Ambler to have had a population of 250 in 1880; and was soon made a borough. In 1883 the place had a hotel, hardware store, drug and two general stores, lumber and coal sheds, a gristmill, and seventy residences. Upper Dub- lin post office was removed from Gilkison's Corner in the seventies, but not to Ambler until early in the eighties. Of the newspapers and banks, special chapters will treat. The turnpike made through this place was built in 1855. A gristmill that still made excellent flour in 1884 was the one owned in 1776 by Joseph Detwiler, on the west side of the Wissa- hickon. Arthur Rhoades had a fulling mill at this point on Rose Valley run in 1876, and later it was in the Ambler family. The depot site in this borough is one hundred and ninety feet above tide water.
The present churches are a Roman Catholic, and a Catholic Mission ; Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Episcopal, United Breth- ren, Zion's Colored Baptist, African Protestant, and St. John's Lutheran. Considering the borough only has a population of 3500 it has been well supplied with churches. The borough lives largely from the pay-roll of the various manufacturing plants within its borders, which include three large asbestos plants, hard rubber works, the Marsden glass works, mak- ing imitation cut glass ware, the Vulcan Foundry Company, makers of fine gray castings of iron, the Crues-Kemper structural iron and tank factory, a tannery, and other lesser manufacturing interests. The busi- ness of Keasbey & Mattison, manufacturing chemists, was started in 1881 and soon grew to one of large proportions. Carbonite of magnesia and quinine were their main productions and they employed at first sixty persons in their works. This borough is a well built place and has hourly electric trolley cars to and from the cities and surrounding boroughs, and is also on the Pennsylvania railroad system, with frequent local and through train service.
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Bridgeport-This borough was incorporated by act of the General Assembly passed February 27, 1851, its original area having four hun- dred and sixty acres, and was wholly taken from Upper Merion town- ship. It is bounded on the northeast by the Schuylkill river, and on the south and west by Upper Merion township. It is directly opposite Norristown. DeKalb street was laid out in 1830 as the State road, and extends across the river from Norristown, and was well turnpiked before the days of street paving. According to census reports, Bridgeport has at various periods had a population as follows: 1850, 572; 1860, 1,110; 1870, 1,578; 1880 it had 1,802; 1890, 2,651 ; 1900, 4,697; 1910 it had 3,860, and according to the last United Census reports it contained a population of 3,097. A directory published in May, 1883, gives the number of stores, factories and other establishments located within the limits, all of which proves that at that date it was a borough of no small propor- tions. It then had seventeen stores, four hotels, two dealers in flour and feed, two restaurants, and one lumber and coal yard. What was then known far and wide as the Minerva Mill was looked upon as among the largest plants in Pennsylvania in its line. It was then conducted by James Lees & Sons. They made blankets, Kentucky jeans and worsted carpet yarn, giving steady employment to near a thousand men and women. This factory was originally built in 1854 by Bodry & Jacobs. Early in the eighties, Worrall & Radcliff's jeans cotton mills employed seventy hands. In 1883, Isaac Smith of Valley Forge built a large cot- ton and woolen mill here, and one hundred people found employment at good wages. Thirty-five hands were employed the year round, in the manilla paper mills of Hugh McInnes. There were at that date also two large flouring mills in the borough ; also a creamery of large capacity. In 1882 the real estate of the borough was placed at a valuation of $696,000, and a total property valuation a year later of $756,000. The borough then posessed five fair school buildings. All this made a fine showing as compared with 1830, when the vicinity contained but three dwellings, a tavern, and a three-story mill, built in 1826. The Norris- town bridge was erected in 1829. For the religious societies, the reader is referred to the special chapter on Churches.
The backbone of Bridgeport is its immense manufacturing plants, some of which go way back to early times in their history, while others are more recent in their origin. Iron, cotton, silk, paper, yarns, pipes and tubing, crushed stone, felt goods and meat packing plants, all help make up the industrial interests of Bridgeport. The chapter on Indus- trial Interests elsewhere in this volume will give more in detail the history and especially the magnitude of the manufacturing interests of the borough. A voluntary raise in compensation to its employees has just been announced by the great manufacturing plant of Bridgeport, the James Lees & Sons. It amounts to ten per cent. of former wages, and went into effect April 30, 1923. It applies to the entire working
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force of the establishment. Another increase was given the men and women of this concern, the home of Minerva yarns, only last October, and these two raises make the total almost as high as in midst of war times. The number of employees at this plant has also been greatly increased, or will be as soon as the new modern concrete-steel building is completed. Then this will be one of the largest industries in the East.
Not many months hence, who visits Bridgeport will behold a befit- ing memorial to the fallen heroes of the late World War in the shape of a huge native boulder surmounted by a bronze eagle and flanked with cannon and other war pieces. It will be a worthy testimonial to the borough's brave sons who gave themselves as a sacrifice in past years, and will especially be appropriate, since the boulder will be taken from the historic soil in the immediate vicinity of Bridgeport, over which General Washington and his army trod in their march from Valley Forge.
The borough now has a fine two-story red brick municipal hall, cen- trally located, which was constructed in 1922 and first occupied by the borough officers in the spring of 1923. It is a credit to the people of Bridgeport.
Collegeville-This borough, at one time known as Freeland and prior to that known as Perkiomen Bridge, is eight miles to the north and west of Norristown. It was taken from Upper Providence township. The railroad really gave the name "Collegeville" to this place, which had been afflicted by too many names for its own good, including a period in 1855 when it was known as Townsend, after a map publisher from Philadelphia. This has been known many years as a great educational center; the reader will see other chapters for its schools and col- lege. Its population is something less than one thousand. Its busi- ness places number sixty. Its industries include the Freed Heater Man- ufacturing Company's plant ; two flag factories; the Counties Heat and Electric Company; and lesser interests. The practicing physicians are Drs. W. Z. Anders and J. S. Miller ; S. D. Cornish is the dentist. The other business places include several general merchandise stores; a weekly newspaper, the "Independent," now in its forty-eighth year, and has been conducted all these years by its present owner and editor, Mr. E. S. Moser. (See the chapter devoted to Newspapers.) Then there are restaurants, shops of various kinds, a Masonic and an Odd Fel- lows' lodge, each of which owns a handsome two-story hall of its own. The Commercial Hotel is the present home for the traveler and com- mercial men. The banking interests are well cared for by the College- ville National Bank (see Banking chapter). The church life is here inclusive of the Reformed church and Roman Catholic church, each hav- ing good edifices and large congregations.
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Conshohocken-From records and from the recent Year Book issued by the Recorder Publishing Company, the facts herein stated have been largely compiled : By an act of the General Assembly, May 15, 1850, the village of Conshohocken, in the townships of Plymouth and White- marsh, was erected into a borough. The village lay on both sides of the Whitemarsh and Plymouth turnpike. The borough was laid out with an area of one mile square, and its boundaries have never been extended. The old turnpike (now Lafayette street) constituted the center of the borough, and low-water mark of the Schuylkill river was taken as the western line. The town extends along the river one mile and from low- water mark along the turnpike one mile.
The land on which the borough stands is one of the beautiful Con- shohocken hills, once the hunting grounds of the Indians, as the name indicates. The panoramic landscape from these hills is ever a feast to the eye, and once seen must remain a vision of beauty forever. Its geo- graphical location is ideal, it being only thirteen miles to the northwest of Philadelphia. It has many inducements to capital as a factory center, and numerous plants now nestle along the various lines of steam rail- roads and the canal and river. The residences stand on a commanding elevation, far above the smoke and confusion of the busy manufacturing mart below. These natural advantages, enjoyed now by the people of the sprightly borough, are by no means new to the history of the county and State, for be it remembered that some of the State's earliest develop- ments in various industries took root here. The first important commer- cial movement in these parts was the construction of the canal by the Schuylkill Navigation Company, completed and opened up to the public in 1826, before the days of railroading. This enterprise was followed by the building of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown rail- road, which commenced its actual operations in 1831 and was double- tracked in 1856. The Philadelphia & Reading railroad was opened from Philadelphia to Reading in 1839, and to Pottsville in 1842. The Schuyl- kill Valley division of the Pennsylvania railroad system was completed in 1885. The Plymouth railroad, connecting with the North Penn at Oreland, connects with the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown railroad at Conshohocken.
To be more historically definite, it may be stated that industrial progress really commenced here with the erection of the water mill for the rolling of sheet-iron by James Wood in 1832. From this small beginning has emerged the great iron and steel mills of the Alan Wood Iron and Steel Company of to-day. It was not long before other branches of industry located here for iron and textile manufacturing purposes. In 1884 the now world-famous Lee Tire and Rubber Company was or- ganized as the J. Elwood Lee Company. From this also sprang the local glass industries now so prodigious. The diversity of industries found here to-day is wonderful to behold, and include products of iron and
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steel, sheets and plates, range boilers, steel containers, glassware for scientific and commercial purposes generally, textiles, copper-coated steel rods, iron and steel, brass and alloy castings; motor vehicle tires and rubber goods ; surgical supplies ; refined oils ; boiler, steam and power appliances for fuel saving apparatus ; burial caskets ; hosiery ; cigars ; ore crushing ; toys, etc., all find their way to the markets of the world from Conshohocken. Among the larger industrial plants are these: The Merion worsted mills, occupying 100,000 square feet of floor space ; pays out $200,000 in wages annually, employs more than two hundred men and women. Here is the home of high grade yarns so well known to the trade the country over. Also here is located the great Wm. T. Bate & Son boiler and machine works with its products named legion, and going to all States and territories in the Union. J. N. Susskind & Co.,. cap and uniform makers, began in a small way here, but now have im- mense plants in Philadelphia besides their original factory here, which uses 90,000 square feet floor space, and makes five thousand garments daily by the employment of five hundred hands. During the World War, in their plants in Philadelphia, this concern made 100,000 uniforms weekly for the government. Another factory worth mentioning is that of the H. C. Jones Company, makers of cotton worsteds, cottonades, and cotton cassimeres. This was established in 1880. During the recent World War almost the entire product of these mills consisted of olive drab shirting flannels for the government. Now about 150 men and women are employed in these works. Horace C. Jones is present presi- dent, and Richard B. Walker superintendent of the company.
The public schools are fully abreast with our times. The high school building has seven class rooms and handles 300 pupils in its gymnasium ; the assembly hall holds near five hundred persons. The Harry street school building contains fourteen rooms; Third avenue building has six rooms, and the superintendent's office is situated in this building. The value of these buildings was in 1921 placed by the Board at: High School and contents, $57,000 ; Harry street school and contents, $38,500; Third Avenue building and contents, $23,900; Manual Training building and contents, $5,500; a total of $124,900.
The tax rate two years ago for this borough was ten mills, and for schools eleven and one-half mills. The real valuation of the property within the borough was estimated at $14,000,000. The assessed valua- tion was $3,456,310. The indebtedness of the school district amounted to only $68,800, while the bonded indebtedness of the borough was $193,000.
The churches of Conshohocken include Baptist, Episcopalian, Luth- eran, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, African Methodist Episcopal, and Roman Catholic, three of the latter denomination. The fraternal and charitable societies of the borough are as follows, with date of organiza- tion : Allied Fraternal Association, May, 1919, its aim to promote a
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good feeling between all fraternal organizations in the borough; For- esters Companions, 1907; Shepherds of Bethlehem, February, 1907; Loyal Order of Moose, 1910; Mooseheart Legion, September, 1918; Woman's Club of Conshohocken, November, 1897; Independent Order of Red Men, April 19, 1860; Order of Owls, April, 1913; Patriotic Order Sons of America, August 1, 1870; Daughters of Pocahontas, December 15, 1902; Grand Army of the Republic, August 26, 1876; Knights of Pythias, December, 1869; Independent Order of Odd Fellows, March 10, 1916; St. Peter and St. Paul, October 1, 1903; Vida Rebekah, March 7, 1896; Order of Eastern Star (Masonic), May 2, 1913; Foresters of America, in 1898; Free and Accepted Masons, August, 1868; Knights of Columbus, December 31, 1911; Knights of the Golden Eagle, in 1885; American Legion, August, 1919: Boy Scouts, 1914.
The Mary H. Wood Park, a handsome property, a perpetual memo- rial to its giver, has been described in the official Register in these words :
Mary H. Wood, widow of Hon. Alan Wood, Jr., late president of the Alan Wood Company, and son of Alan Wood, founder of the great iron industry here, died at her home, Fifth avenue and Harry street, Decem- ber 12, 1918, and when her will was probated, it was found that she had bequeathed to the borough for park purposes, her home and the tract of ground bounded by Fifth and Sixth avenues and Harry and Hallowell streets, together with all the buildings thereon and also a trust fund of $100,000, the income therefrom to be used for the operation and mainte- nance of the property as a public park.
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