USA > Pennsylvania > Reminiscences of the early history of "Dark Hollow", "Slocum Hollow", "Harrison", "Lackawanna Iron Works", "Scrantonia", and "Scranton, Pa." > Part 3
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Reminiscences of Early History.
Stroudsburg, December 26, 1850, when the following officers were elected : :
Officers-George W. Scranton, president ; John I. Blair, treas- urer; Charles F. Mattes, secretary.
Directors-John J. Phelps, William E. Dodge, T. W. Gale, L. L. Sturges, John I. Blair, S. T. Scranton, J. H. Scranton, J. C. Platt, H. W. Nicholson, James M. Porter, James H. Stroud, and Franklin Starbourne.
Mr, John S. Sherrerd wrote in diary : "On April 8, 1851, Mr. E. McNeil commenced an exploration survey for Cobb Gap and Delaware railroad."
March 11, 1853, the Delaware and Cobb's Gap was merged with I853 the Lackawanna and Western, under the name of Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western Railroad Company. May 27, 1854, the first IS54 anthracite coal burning locomotive was put on the road.
The passenger depot for the Lackawanna and Western railroad was located in the rear of the west corner of Lackawanna and Wyoming Avenues, fronting on Wyoming Avenue, and the freight depot fronted on Washington in rear of west corner of Lackawanna and Washington Avenues. In order to get a desirable grade and location for the road to be continued southerly towards New York, both depots had to be moved to and near the present location of the passenger depot, opposite Franklin Avenue. This removal was commenced February 17, 1854, by D. H. Dotterer, superin- tendent. They were wooden buildings, and afterwards were an- nexed for an enlarged freight depot, when Superintendent Watts Cook erected the brick depot which later has been enlarged and very much improved.
January 8, 1855, the track-layers on the Southern Division IS55 crossed the upper end of Lackawanna Avenue, and on May 10, following, the first locomotive ran through the tunnel near the falls of Roaring Brook.
There having been some disagreement between the railroad com- pany officials and Malone & Co., contractors, as to the amount due, the latter (Malone & Co.), on June 5, 1855, armed some of their men and placed them on guard to prevent the company's men laying rails on their section, near No. 6 dam of the Pennsyl- vania Coal Company. The railroad officials tried mild methods until August 21, when a train of platform cars, loaded with men, well armed, having on the forward car the old cannon "Sam" mounted on a swivel, and charged with missiles, such as old spikes, was sent up the road. On arriving at the disputed territory, Presi- dent George D. Phelps told the Malones that he should take pos- session of the road-bed, and preferred to do it peacefully. After considerable talk, including some high words, the contractors gave possession. The obst. uctions were removed, possession main- tained, and in the afternoon track-laying commenced. From this time there was nothing to prevent the prosecution of work on the
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Scranton, Pa.
1856 road, so that on May 15, 1856, a single passenger car commenced regular trips to Delaware station, from which place stages ran to Belvidere, some three miles, from whence there were then rail- road connections, as now, to New York via New Jersey Central from Phillipsburg, and Philadelphia via Trenton. On the 27thi of the same month the Southern Division was formerly opened by an excursion of the officers and proprietors and their friends, from New York by the Central Railroad of New Jersey to the junction near New Hampton, and thence to Scranton.
This was a proud day for Scranton. Direct communication by rail of only 146 miles from the metropolis of the nation, through to the northwest as far as any of the larger towns of the country possessed such advantages. Time has shown that the enterprise as a whole was not only a wise one, but was undertaken none too soon for the benefit of the entire northern coal basin.
On the day following, May 28, a number of Scrantonians ac- companied the excursionists on their return as far as Greenville, now Nay-Aug, where our party from Scranton were invited by the late Hon. William Jessup, president, to open his railroad (the "Lackawanna ") to Jessup, which he did, and returned the same way.
June 9, 1856, a regular passenger train commenced running to Clarksville until a passenger station could be built at the Junction. A change was here made to the Central of New Jersey, which at that time ran to Elizabethport, where connection with New York was made by steamboat, via Kill von Kull, to Pier No. 2, North River. At a later period passengers were taken for awhile via Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City to the foot of Cortlandt Street. Still later via the extension of the New Jersey Central across the mouth ot Newark Bay to Communipaw and Liberty Street, and finally, as at present, via the Morris and Essex railroad to Ho- boken and Barclay or Christopher Streets in New York.
TOWN PLOT.
When Mr. Henry named the place Harrison about the time of the Harrison campaign in 1841, he made a "Plan of Harrison, Providence township, Luzerne county, by William Henry," which I now hold. The following are the names of the streets on it : " Lackawanna," "George," "Selden," "Sanford," "Philip." "William, " " Mary," and "Mott," the second and third being evidentiy intended for the Messrs. Scranton, the next for Mr. Grant, followed by "Philip" H. Mattes, " William " and " Mary" Henry, and lastly Barton " Mott." None of these streets were regularly opened for travel except " William," which was the old emigrant road from Dunmore to Pittston via the bridge over Roar- ing Brook at the brick grain mill. This road was vacated some years since by the court of Luzerne county, from the top of the hill (northerly from the bridge), where the first school house for-
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Reminiscences of Early History.
merly stood, to the intersection of Quincy Avenue and Gibson Street. None of these names, except Lackawanna, have been per- petuated on the plot of Scranton ; and it will be noticed that not a name of any officer or stockholder of the property has been used in naming the avenues or streets. The city officials have lately used the names of some of our citizens in connection with the alleys -- a questionable compliment.
In IS50, when the first steps were taken to lay out the village plot, I felt it a matter of importance to start right, and held many consultations with Mr. Joel Amsden, the engineer. Mr. Amsden, appreciating the interest evinced, probably consulted me more than the other partners of the firm ; consequently, being better in- formed in the details, the lot business naturally devolved upon me, and I had charge of it for Scrantons & Platt until the dissolution of the firm. To Mr. Amsden is due the credit of the plan of door yards which is so universally popular, and which a number are disposed to abuse by putting small shops thereon, which they have no right to do. Mr. Amsden made three sketches or plots for selection, and was instructed to adopt the one best suited to ex- tend the plot up and down the valley, regardless of the side lines of the tracts belonging to the firm.
As soon as the plot was decided upon, steps were taken to build a hotel, as an absolute necessity, if it was expected to have travelers entertained ; Mr. Kressler's hotel, which he named the " Scranton House," being always full without them. Notwith- standing some wag, envious of Scranton's enterprise, nicknamed the Wyoming House the "Scranton Folly," time has shown it to have been good policy. It was not built for making money, or as a speculation, but to have a hotel that would be a credit to the place and help build it up. The building and furnishing, ex- clusive of the lots, cost about $40,000. It was sold to Mr. J. C. Burgess after he had run it a few years for $37,500. His first guests (three ladies and two gentlemen) were entertained July 12, 1852, but the regular opening of the hotel was a few days later.
On the organization of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, June 10, IS53, I was made officially Real Estate Agent and Store-keeper. On the death of Mr. J. H. Scranton, being made Vice-President of the Company, I continued attending to the real estate business until my resignation, December 31, 1874. Thus having charge of the village plot and extensions made from time to time, it devolved upon me to name a large proportion of the streets. Therefore, upon the suggestion of one of our citizens, the history of the selection of names for some of the avenues and streets is here given : Lackawanna and Wyoming Avenues are the widest streets we have -. each being 100 ft. between the build- ing lines and 60 ft. between the curb stones, the others being gen- erally Soft. and 40 ft. The former was intended-as it has proved to be-the main business thoroughfare. Both were named in com-
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Scranton, Pa.
pliment to the two valleys by general consultation. What is now Washington Avenue it was first proposed to call Church Street. Mr. Selden T. Scranton proposed that it should be called Wash- ington Avenue, which was at once adopted, and the plan to call all streets running parallel with it on the northerly side of Roaring Brook, avenues. Penn and Franklin having been named after the noted Pennsylvanians, the name of the first Governor of the State, Mifflin, was given to the remaining avenue on that side of the plot ; and then of the Presidents in succession, including the younger Adams in the name of Quincy. Afterwards the name of Jackson Avenue was given to a street in Petersburg in line with one of ours, and by request the name was continued on the plot of Scrantons & Platt. Pittston Avenue was so named, thinking that probably a bridge would be built across Roaring Brook near the furnaces, and thus connect it with Lackawanna Avenue and make it the main thoroughfare to Pittston, and avoid the hills by the old route via the brick grain mill and the bridge, lower down Roaring Brook to Cedar Street. Capouse avenue was named for the chief of a tribe of Indians, and Monsey Avenue for the tribe itself, to per- petuate the aboriginal names of this locality .* Webster, Clay, Irving, Prescott, Lincoln and Bancroft Avenues were named for those noted Americans.
To Mr. Joel Amsden, the engineer of the plot, we are indebted for the suggestion to use names of our trees for the streets. The particular names were mostly selected and placed by me. I well remember taking a sign marked "Beech Street," and finding the only tree in line of it was a birch, I had another painted to cor- respond with the tree. On returning to put up the sign the tree was gone, but the street retains the name of Birch. Alder Street ran through a swamp of alders, now filled with ashes from the rolling mill and upon which quite a number of buildings are erected. Hickory Street received its name from a hickory tree on the flats in line with it. River Street from its running parallel with the Lackawanna river until that part was taken possession of by the Union railroad, now belonging to and operated by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Orchard Street started in the old orchard, three trees of which were standing when the street was laid out. Hemlock Street, from there being many of them in the neighborhood and hemlock shanties built of it. Moosic Street, on account of its being the most direct to that mountain. Cliff Street, for the reason that it crossed one. An- thony Street, from the fact that the writer had sold three of the four or five lots on the street to men of that name before naming it. Brook Street, because it crossed Pine brook. Bank Street was
* " The Monsey or Munsey Indians, the wolf tribe of the Delawares."- Pierce's History, page 217. " They had a famous chief, whose name was Capousc."-Page 221.
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Reminiscences of Early History.
cut into a side hill or bank to make it. Ridge Row was so named by S. T. Scranton before the town plot was laid out, when Mr. J. H. Scranton built the frame dwelling on the ridge where he lived so long, and near where the stone mansion now stands, but the street was not opened until after the Southern Division of the D., L. & W. R. R. was built. It was mostly blasted out of solid rock from near the present front gate of Mrs. Scranton's residence to the westerly end of the wall in front of my own residence, and the material used to ballast the railroad track. Prospect Street, from its view of the village north of Roaring Brook. Stone Avenue will be found very appropriate, having been so named because it lies on a ridge of rocks. Vale Street, from having commenced in a vale (valley). Crown Street started on the crown of the hill where it is located.
FIRST BOROUGH ELECTION AND ORGANIZATION AND CHARTER OF THE CITY.
At the first election of Scranton borough there were 371 votes 1856 polled. Joseph Slocum received 367 for Burgess.
Town Council-James Harrington, 245 ; J. C. Platt, 366; John Nincehalser, 366; David K. Kressler, 216; William Ward, 213.
Asessor-William P. Carling, 367.
Asuditors -- Joseph Chase, 243 , Richard Drinker, 220; Henry L. Marion, 363.
Constable-James McKinney, 359.
School Directors-William P. Jenks, 218 ; John Grier, 219; G. W. Brock, 245 ; A. L. Horn, 219 ; C. E. Lathrop, 218.
Poor Directors -- Charles Fuller, 348 ; David Kemmon, 233.
The borough was organized after the election by the above town council under a general law.
The city of Scranton, composed of three boroughs of Scran- ton, Providence and Hyde Park, was chartered in 1866.
NEWSPAPERS.
The first paper published between Carbondale and Wilkes- Barre was called The Country Mirror and Lackawannian, a weekly. It had been published as the Carbondale Gazette : Mr. Frank B. Woodward brought it to Providence in 1845 or very early in 1846. The writer has a copy of its last issue of March 10, 1847, containing Mr. Woodward's valedictory, in which he states his in- tention to regain his health and spirits in tilling the soil with his venerable father. The editorial has a heading " Henry Clay Our First Choice and the Repeal of the British Tariff of 1846."
The first paper published in Scranton was the Lackawanna Herald, a weekly, by Mr. Charles E. Lathrop, now residing in Car- bondale. The first number was issued March 1, 1853. He sold
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Scranton, Pa.
out in 1856 to E. B. Chase. Mr. Lathrope has a full file of the Herald for the time he published it.
A second importation from Carbondale was the Spirit of the Valley, a weekly, the first number of which was issued January 25, 1855, by Messrs. J. B. Adams and T. J. Alleger, who con- tinued its publication for a year or so. February 1, 1855, the first number of the Tri- Weekly Experiment was issued by F. Dilley.
In 1856 Mr. E. B. Chase purchased the Lackawanna Herald and the Spirit of the Valley. He published them as the Herald of the Union until 1859, when he sold to Doctor Davis and J. B. Adams. The latter sold out to Doctor Wheeler.
In 1856 Mr. Theodore Smith came here from Montrose and commenced the publication of the Scranton Republican. In 1858 it was purchased by Mr. F. A. Macartney, who in 1863 sold it to Mr. Thomas J. Alleger. In March, 1866, Mr. F. A. Crandall purchased a half interest, and finally became its sole proprietor. During the year Mr. Crandall sold a half interest to Mr. R. N. Eddy, of Cazenovia, N. Y. In September, 1867, Mr. J. A. Scran- ton purchased Mr. Eddy's interest, and on the first of No- vember following The Morning Republican, a daily, was pub- lished. In March, 1869, Mr. Scranton purchased the interest of Mr. Crandall and has continued the publication of both daily and weekly to this time.
CENSUSES.
The first census of this country was provided for by the Con- stitution, and was taken in 1790. It gives enumerations of no ter- ritory less than counties. Luzerne county then included the greater part of Bradford, all of Susquehanna, Wyoming, and Lackawanna counties, the population being 4,904. The next was in 1800, when Providence, one of the seventeen townships of Lu- zerne, had a population of 579 ; in 1810, 589 ; 1820 (including one colored man), 861 : 1830 (including one colored man, no aliens), 979 ; 1840 (including one colored man, no aliens), 1, 169.
The era of the prosperity of Scranton and vicinity dates from this time, and undoubtedly was owing to the impetus given to business by the commencement of the iron business by Messrs. Scrantons, Grant & Co., the details of which are given in the ac- count of the Lackawanna Iron Works.
During the winter of 1847 S, a census was taken of the terri- tory which afterwards became the borough of Scranton, giving the names of the heads of families and number of each sex, the object being to get a post office. Mr.O. P. Clark, post master of Hyde Park, certified that seven-tenths of the mail received at his office came to Harrison, as the place was then called, or the Lackawanna Iron Works. This census shows that there were then 205 families, 873
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Reminiscences of Early History.
males, and 523 females, or 1, 396, being 227 more than the whole township contained in 1840. The United States census for 1850 is :
Scranton, the same territory. 2,230
Providence borough .
446
Providence township, including 4 colored 4,467
Total for the township . 7,143
In 1854 a census was taken by Mr. E. G. Coursen, assisted 1854 by Mr. Charles Fuller, both being in the employ of the Lacka- wanna Iron and Coal Co. This shows the names of heads of fam- ilies, occupation and nationality, and is summed up by Mr. Fuller as follows :
Males, 2,478 ; Females. 1,76S .4,241
353 Irish families 1,795
154 German 795
81 Welsh 66 415 16 English 85
175 American
1,151
779 4,24I Single men included 585-and he adds " should be Soo." Irish servant girls 49
German 66 IO
American
2
Total . 61
Of these the hotels employ 23. At the iron ore mines on the mountains there were :
2 Welsh families, 4 males, 4 females 2 Irish 7
9
14 American 47 32
58 .
45-103
The United States census for 1860 was :
1860
Providence borough. 1,410 *
township 4,097
Hyde Park
3,360-8,867
Scranton Borough. .
. 9,223
Total for the entire township 18,090 In 1870, Scranton city (including Providence and . 35,092
IS70
Hyde Park boroughs)
Dunmore borough .
4,311
Total for township . 39,403
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Scranton, Pa.
1880
In 1880, Scranton city 45,850
Dunmore borough .
5,150
Total for township 51,001
An increase in 40 years of 49,832.
1886
The Directory of 1886 states : "The Census and Directory for 1880 gave 473 individuals to the Directory names." The number of names in this Directory approximates 20,000, which, computing on the basis of 473 persons to a name, would place the population of Scranton at 86,666.
'ODD FELLOWS' HALL.
The Odd Fellows' Hall played quite a conspicuous part in the early days of Scranton. It occupied a part of the triangle in front of the L. I. & C. Co.'s offices, formed by the junction of Lacka- wanna and Jefferson Avenues and Ridge Row. It stood on a ridge of rocks some fifteen feet above the present grade of the streets. The second story was used exclusively by societies of various kinds; the first for religious and other public exercises, schools, &c., be- ing the only public hall in the place. It was built in 1847-8, and was taken down in 1868 to make room for the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co's stores and offices, and re-erected where it now stands-on the hill northerly from the old iron rolling mill, and converted into four dwelling houses. The building was first used March 1, 1848, by the Union Sunday school. It was used by five societies of Odd Fellows, four Temperance societies, and three Ma- sonic. The First Presbyterian, Penn Avenue Baptist, St. Luke's Episcopal, German, Presbyterian and German Lutheran churches, all used it for worship, and nearly, if not all, were organized in it. The Universalists held four services in it. It was also used by the Union, Welsh, and Presbyterian Sunday schools, a number of beneficial societies, clubs, a brass band, lyceum, nine private schools, a union league, and lastly, but not the least, for a United States military hospital, in charge of Capt. Mattison, October 26 to December 31, 1863. At the same time the building now be- longing to Messrs. Clark & Snover was used as United States barracks.
CHURCHES.
Rev. N. G. Parke, of Pittston, in his historical discourse of October 25, IS79, says : "The Moravians must be regarded as the pioneer missionaries in this Susquehanna region. Count Zinzin- dorf, as early as 1742, while connected with the Moravian Mission in Bethlehem, visited the valley and preached along the Susque- hanna and up the Lackawanna as far as the Capouse meadows, north of Scranton." He also states that _"after the resignation of the Rev. Ard Hoyt, in Wilkes-Barre, in 1817, the church was
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Reminiscences of Early History.
without a pastor until the settlement of the Rev. Cyrus Gilder- sleeve, in 1821. Up to this time preaching in the Lackawanna val - ley had been only occasional. From the settlement of Mr. Gilder- sleeve over the church of Wilkes-Barre, preaching in the Lacka- wanna valley became stated and regular. He regarded it as part of his parish." Mr. E. A. Atherton, our present Register of the county, states that in 1826-7, Mr. William Wood " was the junior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Wilkes-Barre, while the Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve was the senior. That the field oc- cupied by the Wilkes-Barre church extended from Hanover on the south, to Kingston and Northmoreland on the west, and Providence on the north. The congregations met in winter in private houses and in summer in barns. Many of the people came several miles in rude lumber wagons, sometimes drawn by oxen."
A description of one of the congregations as they were seated in a barn might not be amiss in these days of costly churches and splendid equipage. The preacher had a stand before him on which lay a Bible and hymn book, and a chair was behind him. Board seats arranged on the treshing floor were occupied by the older men and women, including the children, while the younger men and boys mounted the first tier of girths with their feet dang- ling in mid-air, mostly without shoes. How would this suit the youngsters of the present day ? Mr. Wood was aided in his labors by Mr. Zebulon Butler, a brother of the Hon. Chester Butler. Quoting again from Mr. Parke's discourse : "The people were poor and scattered and the religious societies only partially or- ganized ; still, the tardiness of the early settlers, in both valleys, in moving to erect houses of worship, is a noticeable fact. This is especially true in Lackawanna valley. Assuming that the Bap- tists organized a church here in 1776, they were for more than fifty years without a sanctuary or a settled ministry ; and any preaching that was done by Congregationalists, up to 1820, was in school houses, barns and private houses, and without charge to the people. The old settlers were not "Gospel hardened " for they did not have much of it ; but so far as appears they did not care to build churches or sustain the ministry. This indifference had not all subsided in 1840, when the foundations of Scranton were laid, as those living can testify, nor in 1844, when I was commissioned to labor here as a missionary."
" Rev. John Dorrance, D. D., who in 1833 succeeded Doctor Nicholas Murray in the pastorate of the Wilkes-Barre church, had labored in the Lackawanna valley while a theological student, in connection with Zebulon Butler, Thomas Janeway, William Wood and others. He gave special attention to the Lackawanna field. Unable himself to keep up the meetings, he procured missionaries to do the work. Among those who labored in the valley under his direction, previously to I841, were the Rev. Thomas Owen, Rev. John Turbot, Rev. Owen Brown, and Rev. William Tod.
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Scranton, Pa.
The Rev. T. P. Hunt did good service for the cause of Christ in this field, and largely at his own charges. The labors of Mr. Hunt in the neighborhood of Providence and Scranton, before there were any sanctuaries for God in that region, are still bearing fruit. The Rev. Charles Evans was the last missionary (Presbyterian) in the field previously to my coming here. He left in the spring of 1844 to accept a call from the church of Northmoreland."
As above stated, Mr. Parke was in 1844 commissioned as a missionary for the territory included in the townships of Provi- dence, Lackawanna and Pittston, and did good service therein, preaching his farewell sermon here June 17, 1849, and has since devoted himself to his church and congregation at Pittston. Mr. Parke quotes the testimony of an old settler, now over four score years old, as to the character of the population of Lackawanna valley during the first twenty years of its settlement. He says : " Notwithstanding the lieterogeneous material of which this com- munity was composed, there was a strong religious element per- vading the minds and the hearts of the whole community, making a law-abiding people, and presenting to the devoted missionary of the Cross an ample field ready for harvesting." Hence the early success of the Methodists, under William Butler and his successors. Elder John Miller, a Baptist minister of Abington, as early as 1806, had made a lodgment in the valley, and had captured a goodly number of the old Congregationalists, and even some of the " new-fledged Methodists." So far as can be learned, the first church organization in the township of Providence-certainly in Scranton proper-was Presbyterian. Rev. N. G. Parke gives the records on Susquehanna Presbytery as authority, that on February 25, 1842, a Presbyterian church was organized " in a small school house that stood on the north side of the Roaring Brook." This school house stood at the top of the hill near the present blast furnaces, and in the forks of the Providence and Dun- more roads as then used, and was first used in September, 1840, opening with seven scholars. Mr. J. W. Sands, one of the twenty-eight persons who joined in the organiza- tion, made the following entry in a journal he was keeping at that time : " Friday, 25th February, 1842, at 11:30 o'clock, a meeting commenced in the school house conducted by the Rev. Messrs. Dorrance, Hunt and Brown. At 2 o'clock a church was organized, to be under the direction or a branch of the Presbyterian Church of the United States. Messrs. Couch and Atherton elected elders ; Mr. H. B. Daily, deacon." This was known as the " Lackawanna Presbyterian Church," and intended to cover the territory before stated. Mr. Parke's church at Pittston is a continuance of the same organization.
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