USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a history, Volume I > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
Dr. Spangler resigned the presidency of the college in 1904 and was succeeded by the Rev. David W. Ebbert, D. D., also an alumnus of the college. Dr. Ebbert occupied the presidency for a period of less than two years, leaving the office January 1, 1906. For a brief period thereafter the executive duties were administered by a committee of the faculty con- sisting of Dean George L. Omwake and Professors Whorten A. Kline and William W. Chandler.
399
APPENDIX
In 1907 the board of directors chose as the fifth president of the col- lege the Rev. A. Edwin Keigwin, D. D., of New York City. Dr. Keig- win was a graduate of Princeton University and a minister in the Pres- byterian church. He held the office for a period of five years until 1912, at the same time filling the pastorate of the West End Presbyterian Church in New York. The duties of these two offices proved too onerous for President Keigwin; he therefore decided to resign the presidency of the college and to devote all his time to the duties of his large parish. During the presidency of Dr. Keigwin the administrative duties on the educational side were largely in charge of Professor George L. Omwake, who had been a member of the faculty since 1901, dean of the college since 1903, and who was elected vice-president in 1909.
Dr. George L. Omwake was elected to the presidency of the college in 1912, and thus became the sixth in line in that office. Dr. Omwake by education, training and experience came to his office with superior prep- aration. He had a thorough preparatory, collegiate and university train- ing, holding degrees from Ursinus College, where he was graduated in 1898, from Yale University and from Franklin and Marshall College. He had been a teacher in the public school and a lecturer and professor in college. His experience as a teacher and as dean and vice-president had acquainted him with every form of educational and administrative prob- lem in the conduct of the college.
One of President Omwake's deep convictions is that students in order to do good honest intellectual work, must be well housed and properly nourished. Their living conditions and environment must be such as will be conducive to mental effort. He accordingly set himself the task of remodeling the group of dormitories occupied by the men in the col- lege, and of providing a dining-room and kitchen equipment that would make it possible to administer the boarding department so that it should become an educational factor. Having provided comfortable lodgings for the students, the new president made provision to have them prop- erly supervised and kept, so that the life of the Ursinus student on the domestic side is lived under favorable conditions. A like careful atten- tion is given to the houses where the young women live. the purpose being to keep all the students in a fit and happy frame of mind so that they may give their best efforts to their physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual development.
The number of students in the college increased largely during Presi- dent Omwake's administration. In 1911-12 there were 200 students in the college; in 1922-23 the number had increased to 324. This neces- sitated the enlargement of the faculty, the extension of the equipment and the use of all available space. The basement of Bomberger Hall, which had never been finished and consequently not used, was put to use. Ample quarters were there provided for the increasing number of
400
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
day students, and a large chemical laboratory was constructed. Athletic fields were extended and improved, and the Field House and the Thomp- son Field Cage were erected. The Clark Memorial Organ, the gift of Mrs. Charles Heber Clark in memory of her husband, was installed in 1916. The college farm was placed in charge of a competent manager, so that it now provides vegetables, provisions and dairy products for the boarding department. Several new artesian wells were drilled and an entirely new water system was installed, thus providing an ample supply of water for all purposes.
During the World War the college directed its efforts toward serving the nation and the cause espoused by our country. A unit of the Student Army Training Corps was established, and under the commanding officer, Lieutenant Stanley S. Wohl, attained to a high degree of efficiency. Two hundred and seventy-one alumni, former and present students, entered the service of their country in the army and navy. A number of the young men rose to the rank of officers. Nine persons gave up their lives in the service, several having been killed in action and the others having died from wounds received or diseases contracted while in the service. In order to rear a fitting memorial to the Ursinus men who made the supreme sacrifice and in honor of those who served their country in the army and navy, and to provide for an urgent need of the college, the alumni and former non-graduate students undertook the erection of the Memorial Library Building. This building, erected at a cost of $90,000, is not only a fine memorial, but a most useful addition to the educational equipment of the college. It contains a large main reading room, seminar rooms, work rooms, the office of the librarian, a faculty room and a fire- proof stack room. The book capacity of the building is about 65,000. The cornerstone was laid in 1921, and the building was completed for use in 1923.
Ursinus College maintained a preparatory department from the beginning of its history. This was continued under the name of Ursinus Academy until 1910 when, because of the rapid development of the public high school, its need was no longer imperative and it was discontinued. The theological department was opened for instruction in September, 1871, and was conducted at Collegeville in connection with the college until 1898, when it was removed to Philadelphia. In 1907 a Compact of Union was ratified by the board of directors of the college, by which the instruction of the Ursinus School of Theology is conducted in the Central Theological Seminary, located in Dayton, Ohio. The School of Theology up to the time of its removal to Dayton had prepared more than two hundred men for the Gospel ministry.
Ursinus College was founded as a men's college and conducted on this principle until 1881, when its doors were opened to women on equal conditions with the men. At first the number of women in attendance was small, but it gradually increased until it reached forty per centum of
401
APPENDIX
the student body. It is a principle of the institution that the number of men admitted as students shall at all times considerably exceed the number of women admitted. It has always been the policy of the col- lege to fill the larger number of teaching positions with men. The col- lege has graduated fifty classes, the number of alumni being 819, of whom 615 are men and 204 women.
The courses of instruction offered by Ursinus College are those offered by the first-class small liberal arts colleges. The courses are arranged in the following parallel groups: Classical, Mathematical, Chemical-Biological, Historical-Political, English-Historical, Modern Language, and Economics and Business Administration. Students upon entrance register in one of these groups and are directly under the guidance of the adviser of the group of their choice. The requirements for graduation are that a student must complete satisfactorily one hun- dred and twenty semester hours of work, not counting the work in physical training which is also required. The student upon completion of his course receives the degree of Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science, depending upon the choice of studies. The college does not offer any graduate studies and does not confer any degrees above the Bachelor's, except that on academic occasions honorary degrees may be conferred upon persons whose distinguished ability may have been deemed worthy of such recognition by the Faculty.
The buildings occupied by the college are Bomberger Hall, the main administration building where are the offices, the chapel, recitation rooms, laboratories and society halls; the Alumni Memorial Library building, which houses the growing library ; Freeland, Derr and Stine halls, a group of dormitories occupied by the men students; Olevian, Shreiner, Trinity and The Maples, houses occupied by the women students, besides a rented house used for the same purpose ; Sprankle Hall, occu- pied by officers and employees of the college ; Superhouse, the residence of the president ; the Thompson Athletic Cage and the Field House, which provide facilities for the athletics.
The corporation of the college, consisting of the board of directors, is composed as follows : James M. Anders, M. D., LL. D., the Hon. Andrew R. Brodbeck, LL. D., the Hon. Thomas E. Brooks, Charles C. Burdan, J. Truman Ebert, A. D. Fetterolf, the Rev. I. Calvin Fisher, D. D., Her- vey C. Gresh, Abraham H. Hendricks, Esq., J. F. Hendricks, Esq., the Rev. George W. Hensen, D. D., Alvin Hunsicker, B. S., the Rev. James M. S. Isenberg, D. D., Whorten A. Kline, Litt. D., Edward A. Krusen, M. D., Mayne R. Longstreth, Esq., A. M., the Rev. James W. Meminger, D. D., the Rev. S. L. Messinger, D. D., George L. Omwake, Pd. D., Harry E. Paisley, Elwood S. Snyder, M. D., Henry T. Spangler, D. D., Joseph M. Steele, the Rev. Edward F. Wiest, D. D., the Rev. Calvin D. Yost, A. M.
Mont-26
402
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The Faculty of the college is constituted (1923) as follows: George L. Omwake, B. D., Pd. D., president, and professor of the history and philosophy of education ; Whorten A. Kline, A. M., Litt. D., dean, and professor of the Latin language and literature; Rev. James I. Good, D. D., LL. D., professor of the history of the Christian church; Homer Smith, Ph. D., professor of the English language and literature; Mat- thew Beardwood, M. D., Sc. D., professor of chemistry; John Went- worth Clawson, A. M., Sc. D., professor of mathematics; Carl Vernon Tower, Ph. D., professor of philosophy ; William W. Baden, Ph. D., pro- fessor of Greek and Spanish ; Raymond Burton Munson, A. M., profes- sor of history and political science; Ezra Allen, Ph. D., professor of biology; William Wells Jordan, D. D., professor of the English Bible; Calvin D. Yost, A. M., B. D., librarian, and assistant professor of Ger- man; Paul Allen Mertz, A. M., assistant to the president, and assistant professor of education ; Paul Kenneth Edwards, M. B. A., assistant pro- fessor of economics; Martin W. Witmer, A. B., instructor in English composition and rhetoric ; Veo Fuller Small, A. M., instructor in French ; William Ralph Gawthrop, A. B., instructor in chemistry and physics; Clara E. Waldron, instructor in piano, harmony and history of music; Dorothy Adele Mentzer, A. B., instructor in piano and theory ; Marion Gertrude Spangler, A. B., instructor in voice culture and choral singing ; Madeleine D. Roe, director of physical training and instructor in public speaking for women ; Allison G. Cornog, A. B., director of athletics and physical training for men ; Ammon G. Kershner, M. D., college physician.
Montgomery County Post Offices.
Forty years ago William J. Buck, of Norristown, wrote the follow- ing article on the post offices of Montgomery county, which will doubt- less be read by the reader of to-day as well as in future generations with no little interest, showing as it does the development of the postal sys- tem. It will be observed that he wrote a few years before we had estab- lished the present rural free delivery system, which now covers the county completely, and insures almost every nook and corner within the large county a daily mail service at their door, except Sundays.
Our modern requirements and necessities have certainly made the post office an important place to every hamlet, village and town. To lack in this is to be wanting in one of the elements of business prosperity to which, however humble, every place aspires. Besides, there is the amount of intelligence and information which it conveys, and which con- tributes not a little to the diffusion of knowledge. The post office of a country village to a close observer of human nature affords an interest- ing place of study ; we mean on the immediate arrival and opening of the mails, by watching the actions and countenances of the various individ- uals thus brought together. Generally silent, and looking inquiringly and anxiously. The result is, while a few depart pleased, others are dis- appointed or distressed. Ah! those little silent messages, that so won-
403
APPENDIX
derfully, through education, enable us, however distant, to still hold intercourse with each other! How often to their receivers the source of pleasure or pain! Then there are, too, the newspapers and magazines; with what haste are their wrappers torn off, and their contents devoured ! Yet this is but a common every-day occurrence at a post office.
William Penn, as Proprietary and Governor of Pennsylvania, issued an order in July, 1683, for the establishment of a post office, and granted Henry Waldy, of Tacony, authority to hold one, and supply passengers from Philadelphia to the Falls and New Castle. The rate of postage on letters from the Falls to the city was three-pence, to Chester five-pence, and to New Castle seven-pence. A trip was made once a week. Colonel Andrew Hamilton was postmaster-general of the province for several years, receiving for his services an annual salary from the Assembly. It was not till after the reorganization of our present government, in 1789, that Congress established post offices and made the requisite arrange- ments for the transportation of the mail. Like everything else in the beginning, it was at first a slow and crude affair, and, from the nature of circumstances, could not be expected to have that dispatch that now distinguishes it. Then a letter from Boston to Philadelphia was longer on its journey than now from either of those cities to Europe. The time for railroad travel, ocean steamboat navigation and magnetic tele- graphs had not come. In November, 1796, there were but five hundred and two post offices in the United States and thirty-three in Pennsylvania.
During the colonial period but three post offices were established in this State,-namely, at Philadelphia, Chester and Bristol,-and not one within the present limits of Montgomery or Chester counties. In 1791 the number had increased in Pennsylvania to ten. The first in this county was established at Pottstown in October, 1793, and Jacob Barr was appointed postmaster. The next was a few years afterwards at Norristown, of which John Davis was postmaster in 1799. Surprising to relate, so slow was their introduction that the whole number in the country in 1819 was only 3618. The postage charged in 1805 for single letters, for 40 miles or less, was 8 cents ; under 90 miles, 10 cents ; under 150 miles, 17 cents ; and under 500 miles, 20 cents ; while now the reduc- tion has become so great that for two cents a letter can be sent any- where over the United States, which in some cases may require a dis- tance of three thousand miles of travel, equivalent to the distance to Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. The extension of settlement, a denser population and such greatly improved means of travel and trans- portation have jointly aided to bring about the present greatly reduced rates, the tendency of which is to greatly increase correspondence over previous years as well as the circulation of newspapers, magazines and books, thus showing that we do, indeed, live in a reading age.
Among the manuscripts of Mrs. Ferguson, of Horsham, was found an article written in 1787, entitled "An Old Woman's Meditations on an old Family Clock," from which we take an extract relative to the postal facilities of the neighborhood at that date: "Since my clock and I have passed our days in retirement, how frequently, for the want of a post nigh, on the evening of a market day, when expecting a letter from the metropolis filled with wit, sentiment or affection, or all united in one, have I with impatience numbered your strokes, or still more ardently longed for the epistle that had crossed the Atlantic, whose value was appreciated as danger and distance had endeared it to the longing
404
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
receiver." We perceive by this that she was at that date dependent on her neighbors going to the city for her mail facilities, the post office there being a distance of eighteen miles.
Prior to 1800 the total number of post offices in Montgomery county was two; in 1819, eleven ; in 1827, twenty ; in 1832, twenty-nine ; in 1851, it was fifty-one; in 1858, sixty-one; in 1871, eighty-five; in 1876, ninety- two; and in 1883 it had reached one hundred and twelve.
As to the delivery of newspapers it is very likely that even as late as 1840 one-half of the entire number were conveyed thus or by stage lines. Since the introduction of railroads and the reduction of news- paper postage the mails have been more and more resorted to, until now we believe that within the county the "paper-carrier" or the "post- rider," as he was respectively called, has become a matter of the past, the deliveries for their patrons being chiefly made in packages to stores, inns, mills and mechanic shops, or the roadside box, placed there on purpose for this accommodation, where no house stood near. Now the daily paper is delivered at the front gate by the roadside throughout the county, by the thousands of miles of R. F. D. (Rural Free Delivery) routes provided early in the nineties. With the additional improvement in the way of the "Parcel Post" system, even our Christmas present arrives at your door on time by the faithful carrier, whose average route daily covers about twenty-five miles.
The following is a complete list of all post offices in operation in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 1923:
Abington
Franconia
Mapleglen
Royersford
Ambler
Frederick
Meadowbrook
Rudy
Arcola
Gilbertsville
Merion Station
Rydal
Ardmore
Gladwyne
Mont Clare
Salfordville
Bola
Glenside
Montgomeryville
Sanatoga
Bergey
Graterford
Morwood
Sassmansville
Bethayers
Green Lane
Miquon
Schwenkville
Blue Bell
Gwynedd
Narberth
Skippack
Bridgeport
Gwynedd Valley
Narcissa
Souderton
Broad Axe
Hallowell
New Hanover
South Hatfield
Bryn Mawr
Harleysville
Niantic
Spring House
Cedars
Hatboro
Norristown
Spring Mount
Center Square
Hatfield
North Wales
Stowe
Cheltenham
Haverford
Oaks
Sumneytown
Collegeville
Hendricks
Obelisk
Swedeland
Colmar
Hoppenville
Ogontz School
Telford
Conshohocken
Horsham
Ogontz
Threetuns
Creamery
Huntingdon Valley
Oreland
Trappe
Cynwyd Delphi
Jarrettown
Penllyn
Vernfield
Eagleville
Jeffersonville
Pennsburg
Weldon
Earlington
King of Prussia
Perkiomenville
West Conshohocken
East Greenville
Kulpsville
Plymouth Meeting
West Point
Edge Hill
Lafayette Hill
Port Kennedy
Whitemarsh
Elkins Park
La Motte
Port Providence
Wynnewood
Elroy
Lansdale
Pottstown
William Penn
Enfield
Lederach
Prospectville
Willow Grove
Eureka
Limerick
Providence Square
Wyncote
Fagleysville
Linfield
Red Hill
Woodmont
Fairview Village
Lower Providence
Remlu
Woxall
Flourtown
McKinley
Rosemont
Worcester
Fort Washington
Mainland
Roslyn
Zieglersville
Ironbridge
Palm
Tylersport
1
405
APPENDIX
Principal Towns and Cities-The following is a list of the larger and smaller towns and cities within the county in 1923; the list is given alphabetically ; and the number of business places-stores, offices and shops are indicated by numerals given at the end of the places named :
Ambler, 89; Ardmore, 63; Audubon, 7; Belfry, 5; Blue Bell, 3; Bryn Mawr, 135; Cedars, 13; Center Square, 21; Collegeville, 53; Colmar, 7; Conshohocken, 304; Creamery, 3 ; Delphi, 2; Dresher, 9; East Greenville, 59; Edge Hill, 15; Fairview Village, 4; Ft. Washington, 24; Franconia, 6; Frederick, 5; Gilbertsville, 6; Graterford, 17; Green Lane, 34; Gwy- nedd, 1; Harleysville, 21; Hatboro, 27; Hatfield, 33; Haverford, 25; Hoovertown, 6; Iron Bridge, 9; Jarrettown, 5; Jeffersonville, 5 ; Jenkins- town, 99; King of Prussia, 5; Kulpsville, 18; Lansdale, 223; Lederach, 14; Linfield, 14; Mainland, 10; Obelisk, 10; Mont Clare, 10; Morwood, 24; Niantic, 6; North Wales, 42; Oaks, 7; Ogontz, 18; Palm, 17; Penl- lyn, I ; Pennsburg, 65; Perkiomen, 12; Port Kennedy, 9; Palm, 17; Pros- pectville, 4; Providence Square, 7; Red Hill, 22 ; Royersford, 102; Sana- toga, 12; Schwenkville, 45; Shippack, 19; Souderton, 80; Spring Mount, II ; Sumneytown, 12; Telford, 63; Trappe, 15; Weldon, 18; West Point, 14; William Penn, 7; Willow Grove, 36; Worcester, II; Wynnewood, 2; Yerkes, 7; Zieglersville, 10. The larger municipalities include Norris- town, Pottstown, and Bridgeport, mentioned at length within this work.
Population of County-At various enumerating periods the popula- tion of Montgomery county has been as follows :
1800.
1880.
1900.
1920.
Abington Township
1,008
2,185
3,803
8,684
Ambler Borough
....
1,884
3,094
Bridgeport Borough (1850)
572
1,802
4,680
3,097
Bryn Athyn Borough
..
. .
302
Cheltenham Township
680
3,238
6,154
10,015
Conshohocken Borough (1850).
727
4,561
5,762
8,481
Douglas Township
1,297
1,650
1,599
East Norriton Township.
643
East Greenville Borough.
331
934
1,620
Franconia Township
629
2,536
1,639
Frederick Township
697
1,944
1,405
Green Lane Borough.
187
272
337
Hatboro Borough
586
523
1,IOI
Hatfield Township
520
1,694
1,427
1,789
Horsham Township
587
1,315
1,157
1,189
Jenkintown Borough
810
2,09I
2,370
Lansdale Borough
708
2,557
4,728
Limerick Township
...
. .
...
....
1,126
Lower Providence Township
880
1,586
1,625
2,221
Lower Pottsgrove Township
...
.
. .
779
Lower Salford Township
524
1,828
1,763
1,692
Lower Gwynedd Township
. .
1,995
1,363
Montgomery Township
546
676
724
787
Narberth Borough
1,760
3,704
New Hanover Township
1,505
1,905
1,61I
1,355
Norristown Borough
827
13,163
22,265
32,819
North Wales Borough.
673
1,287
2,04I
Pennsburg Borough
...
....
1,032
1,14I
Perkiomen Township
781
2,516
1,082
1,024
Plymouth Township
572
1,916
1,449
3,201
Pottstown Borough
500
5,305
13,806
17,431
...
...
. ..
...
6,287
13,27I
23,826
Lower Moreland Township
2,250
2,400
Lower Merion Township
1,422
....
...
...
. .
. .
406
HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
1800.
1880.
1900.
1920.
Rockledge Borough
744
1,855
1,369
3,045
Royersford Borough
...
558
2,008
3,278
Red Hill Borough.
...
....
324
787
Skippack Township Schwenkville Borough
. ..
...
...
371
Springfield Township
466
1,580
2,400
3,374
Souderton Borough
1,077
3,125
Salford Township
..
....
789
700
Trappe Borough
Towamencin Township
413
1,232
1,095
1,166
Upper Dublin Township
744
1,856
1,933
3,045
Upper Gwynedd Township
1,328
1,363
Upper Hanover Township
738
2,418
1,997
1,368
Upper Merion Township
993
3,775
3,480
4,005
Upper Pottsgrove Township
1,200
3,592
2,574
3,057
Upper Moreland Township
....
..
2,105
Upper Salford Township
...
876
729
West Conshohocken Borough
1,462
1,958
2,331
West Pottsgrove Township
...
....
891
1,709
West Telford Borough
...
....
535
921
Whitemarsh Township
1,085
3,239
3,350
3,436
Whitpain Township
771
1,429
1,442
1,826
Worcester Township
782
1,641
1,397
1,364
. .
. .
. .
. .
450
501
Upper Providence Township
..
...
The total population of the county in 1900 was 138,195; in 1920 it had reached 199,310. The 1920 census reports give the foreign popula- tion as being 24,669, of which these nationalities were represented as follows: German, 2,512; Irish, 5,488; English, 2,300; Italian, 6,480; Poles, 1,851 ; Russians, 933; Scotch, 639; Swedish, 243; Swiss, 175; Welsh; 89; all other nationalities, 549. Per cent. of foreign population was at that date about eleven.
Burgesses Since 1812-The following is a complete list of the various persons serving as chief executive, or burgess, of the incorporation of Norristown borough since its organization in 1812:
1812, Gen. Francis Swaine; 1813-16, Levi Pawling; 1817-18, Matthias Holstein ; 1818, William Henderson; 1820-21, Thomas Ross; 1822-23, Robert Hamill; 1824, Charles Jones ; 1825, Levi Pawling ; 1826, Frederick Conrad ; 1827-28, George Govett ; 1829, Alexander Moore, Jr .; 1830, John Freedley ; 1831, Samuel D. Patterson ; 1832, Philip Kendell; 1833-34, William Powell; 1835-36, James M. Pawling; 1837, John H. Hobart; 1838, William Powell and Enoch C. Frys, tie vote; 1839, William Powell ; 1840-41, Benjamin F. Hancock; 1842, Henry Freedley; 1843-44, James Boyd; 1845, John Potts; 1846, William Rossiter ; 1847, John R. Breiten- bach ; 1848, John H. Hobart; 1849, Israel Thomas; 1850, Benjamin E. Chain ; 1851, Thomas W. Potts; 1852, Joseph W. Hunsicker; 1853-55, Zadok T. Galt ; 1856, R. T. Stewart ; 1857, Charles T. Miller ; 1858, Enoch A. Banks; 1859, Charles H. Garber ; 1860-61, Edward Schall ; 1862, Frank- lin March ; 1863, William H. Griffith ; 1864-65, Edward Schall; 1866, Wil- liam Allabaugh; 1867, Daniel Jacoby; 1868-69, William Allabaugh; 1870-72, Henry S. Smith; 1873-74, Jonas A. Reiff; 1875-76, George Schall ; 1877, William J. Bolton; 1878, Irwin P. Wanger; 1879, Wallace J. Boyd ; 1880-82, George W. Grady ; 1883, F. J. Baker ; 1884-86, John W. White; 1887, Edward A. Kite; 1889, George W. Grady; 1890, Thomas
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.