USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Tyrone > Tyrone of to-day : the gateway of the Alleghanies > Part 2
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In this year of 1897 there is no building boom but, here and there over the borough and in the suburbs, new houses are going up, attesting the prosperity of the owners and their faith in the future progress of the town. A general spirit of improvement shows itself in the enlargement and beautifying of residences. If the promised and wished for era of pros- .perity shall soon visit the nation, it will find Tyrone ready to . take its place in the front rank in the march of revived industry.
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I . I
RESIDENCE OF JOS. K. CASS.
MAIN'S WRECK.
MAIN'S WRECK.
ELKHURST. RESIDENCE OF H. A. GRIPP.
II.
The Country and Surroundings.
THE SU HE SURROUNDINGS of a town have much to do with its desirability as a place of residence. The old saying is "God made the country, man made the town;" and certainly in the social system the refinements of the city are reared upon the coarser substructure of rural life. Under very exceptional conditions, as in the Rocky Mountain states, there are thriv- ing towns maintained in a region where agriculture is impos- sible. Such communities lack the one unfailing guarantee of permanency. The mineral has no reproductive power and some time, as Mr. Gladstone has pointed out with regard to the coal deposits of England, its supply must fail. But a field well tilled is like a perennial spring; constantly renewed, it never wears out.
It is one of the advantages of Tyrone that it has an abun- dant base of supplies in the farms which lie within a radius of ten miles. Interspersed with the limestone which abounds in this region are outcroppings of red shale and, along with the rich soils formed from these rocks, are the alluvial de- posits which the streams have carried down the mountain sides. Out among the hills which rise as protecting battle- ments on the west is many an improved farm, whose surplus produce finds a market here. To the northeast in Centre county, the Bald Eagle valley stretches out and, over the ridge which skirts the right bank of the creek, the Half Moon, whose crops naturally seek an outlet in the railroad center near them. Eastward, over the Huntingdon line, is Warriors- mark valley where may be seen many farms, well-kept and productive, reminding one of Lancaster, the pride of Pennsyl- vania.
South of the river, reached through a gap where the waters have worn a way through the stones, as we read in Job, is Sinking Valley, so called from Sinking Run, one of the
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curiosities of nature. It flows for a few miles on the surface, then sinks below and is lost to view for a considerable distance, but suddenly bursts forth from a wall of rock, which forms an arch about 30 feet wide. From Arch Spring the run resumes its flow but soon buries itself again, its course being traced by openings in the ground, some of which are said to be nearly 300 feet deep. Following along in the direction indicated by these pits, the water is seen to emerge, but only to disappear again into a large cave which may be traversed for about 400 yards, when suddenly the sportive stream drops into a whirl- pool and is seen no more until it comes out of Canoe mountain on the other side and makes its way into the Juniata at Water Street.
So remarkable a phenomenon cannot be overlooked in any account of this valley, but our purpose is to refer to its agri- cultural wealth in which it is said to be unexcelled by any equal area of land in the state. Grain, vegetables of all kinds and fruits of the finest quality are raised in this V-shaped basin which declines to the river from an average elevation of 200 feet above the town. A great city could be amply fed from its fields and gardens.
Climatic conditions as well as soil are favorable in the vicinity of Tyrone. The great wall which nature has provided is an effectual barrier to the cold winds from the northwest, while it also serves as a condenser to coax the waters from the clouds. So it comes to pass that the opening of spring is two weeks earlier than across the mountains, and the advancing season rarely lacks for frequent and timely rains.
In this connection it will be fitting to speak of the forests which clothe the mountains on all sides, adding a charm to the landscape and furnishing great quantities of timber, and nuts and berries in the season. These are gathered and brought to town, supplying a very important element of diet which the poor may enjoy equally with the rich.
These fertile valleys, when the increase of population shall create a demand, are capable of enlarging their yield by closer cultivation. The interests of the farmer and the citizen are
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identical, and the growth of the town will bring greater reward to the agriculturist.
Birmingham in this year might celebrate the centennial of its inception in the brain of John Cadwallader who, on December 13, 1797, laid out on an ambitious scale 300 acres of land "at the head of navigation of the Juniata river for a manufacturing town." The real beginning of Birmingham was in 1829. During the second quarter of the century this was the most active point for business in the valley, a port of entry from which to reach all the "ultramontane " region beyond the Alleghanies. Here was a village of several hun- dred people with stores and hotels. It was on the mail route from Water Street to Bellefonte, and goods and passengers went and came through it by rude boats on the river, and wagons crossing mountain or connecting with canal at Water Street, which was the entrepot of all this region from the east. In its vicinity several industries were carried on. Before 1800 a paper mill stood near Laurel Springs; later were added a linseed oil factory and plaster mill; still later, cotton and woolen mills. Floods in 1847 wrought destruction and seen to have put an end to the manufacturing career of Birmingham.
The glory of that first projected town was never realized; that of the second and permanent village has, with the advent of the railroad and the upbuilding of Tyrone, largely departed. But the latter half of the century witnessed the birth and growth of that which is the greater glory of Birmingham, a glory which abides and increases as the years pass on.
In 1853 a charter was obtained for a seminary for girls on the present site. The institution of to-day dates more properly, however, from 1857, when the senior Principal be- gan her work. At last Commencement the pupils who had received their education at Mountain Seminary gathered to do honor to Miss N. J. Davis on the completion of her fourth decade of service, and brought substantial evidence of their appreciation of her devoted labors. In that period what forces have been at work, what impulses have gone out from teacher to pupil, to be by them transmitted to others! Who can measure the results of these forty years ? The infant institu-
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tion with one small building on three acres of ground and two teachers has grown steadily, and enters upon its fifth decade with every assurance of continued growth and usefulness. There are now eight teachers. The main building, four stories high, has accommodations for fifty boarding pupils, with dormitories, class-rooms, dining-room, parlor, &c. Other buildings have been added: a Principal's cottage; a Music Hall, in which space is given for the botanical collection of which any institution might be justly proud; a large Gymna- sium which, besides every equipment for physical develop- ment, affords room on the second floor for the Art department and Botanical Laboratory. The grounds have been beautified as well as enlarged. Within their limits is to be found not only a profusion but a variety of vegetation such as few like institutions can claim.
The silent influences which do so much to form the char- acter are especially helpful in the case of Mountain Seminary. Far from the bustle of cities, yet having direct and speedy communication with the busy world, Nature in her grandeur and loveliness appeals to the young mind. By a short walk or drive you may reach an altitude of 1700 feet, and in the grounds are attractive walks and facilities for recreation and exercise. Physical training as well as mental is provided. The ideal of the institution is that of a large family, and the limited number of students makes it possible to study individ- ual traits and give personal attention to each one.
Much of the success of the school is due to the excellent management of Mr. A. R. Grier, whose father, Prof. L. G. Grier, was the founder along with Miss Davis. Dr. Grier who died in 1887 did more, probably, than any other man for the general interests of Birmingham.
Catalogues and any information desired may be had from A. R. Grier, Manager, Birmingham, Pa.
Birmingham has three active churches with commodious houses of worship. The Presbyterian church has been in ex- istence over sixty years and is now occupying its second sanc- tuary, close to the Seminary, erected in 1869. Rev. H. H. Henry has been the efficient pastor for eight years and S. C.
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Stewart an elder for more than twenty-five. The M. E. church, organized in 1830, is likewise in its second edifice, built in 1873. The pastor is Rev. D. F. Capp. The U. B. church was organized in 1870 and built in 1871. It is supplied as a part of Tyrone Circuit. The Baptist, the oldest church or- ganization, whose record began in 1822, has long ceased to exist. Its members are either scattered in other localities or repose in the old cemetery. One of these, Mrs. Margaret Arnold, was laid there in 1894 after a long life, and over sixty years of it in that church.
The postmaster at Birmingham, J. M. Stonerod, has been a resident for nearly sixty years. Among the surviving old inhabitants are John R. Thompson, formerly very active in business; Mrs. Perry Owens, mother of the brothers of that name in Tyrone, and Mrs. Sarah Green. These venerable ladies are both octogenarians and well on towards their ninetieth year.
No more suitable spot can be found for a mountain resort in which to spend a quiet and restful summer vacation than Birmingham. So have thought a number of city folk whose business shuts them up for most of the year in one of the great human hives that absorb so large a part of Pennsylvania's millions; and so from east and west they make their annual pilgrimage to meet under the friendly shades of Pine Heights- Inn. The tonic of the air and water in their native purity, the wholesome food and invigorating exercise, such as no sea- side hotel can offer to their guests, send them back freshened in mind and body.
In West Birmingham is the office of the Cambria Iron Company's quarry which furnishes the limestone for their mills in Johnstown, shipping 30 cars on an average daily. The plant is one of the most complete to be found for preparing furnace stone, and the output is very select, four per cent. of silica being the maximum allowed to pass from their works. They have, it is said, the largest air compressor that is known, and give constant employment to 125 to 150 men. There are twenty-five houses for employees but a large number live in their own homes in the old town across the river. The super-
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intendent of these works is P. L. Wolfe who has been at his post for eight years. This quarry was first opened about 25 years ago by A. G. Morris, who has done so much to develop the resources of this region.
Above Birmingham a mile or so is Ironsville which, in the days when iron was king, was a scene of bustling activity. John Gloninger and Co. made and shipped the useful metal in various forms. A slitting mill and a nail factory were among the industries of the long ago.' Near the site of these is an old mill operated by S. C. Stewart, Jr., whose wheels are kept whirling to supply the calls of the thrifty farmers of Sinking Valley. The quality of the flour made commends itself to the people of Tyrone and vicinity where most of it finds a market. Several hundred people make their homes here and at the
Forges farther up. Above the railroad track stands a neat chapel, erected last year by the M. E. congregation at a cost of $1500, and seating 250. A general store conducted by F. D. Keefer divides with Tyrone the trade of the neighborhood. On the other side of the river is
HUNDRED SPRINGS PARK.
The Tyroner who is in search of rest and enjoyment knows the way to Hundred Springs, and the ever-smiling face of its proprietor, R. S. Seeds, indicates that he knows a good thing when he has it. No one will have the hardihood to take issue with him on the merits of this unique resort of which he is the happy possessor, a place which lacks nothing that nature can offer but that which only man's enterprise can bring to it, and for which these valleys are waiting. Surely it will not be very long until the need shall be supplied, and the surrounding hills look down upon the noiseless electric car skirting the river and creek from Tyrone through Ironsville and "The Springs " to Birmingham, and from Grazierville to Greens- burg, Northwood and Vail. Then this Park, with its un- counted bursting springs of purest water and its acres of shade and verdure and foliage, will be the delight of thousands of people every week so long as the stress of summer heat con- tinues. To tell about Hundred Springs is to praise it, for
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there is none like it, and it is truth to say that to be loved it needs but to be seen. If there were no other attractions it could boast of, this would be enough to make Tyrone a desir- able place for summer residence. The P. R. R. stops its trains a short distance from the Park for excursion parties, and hacks and carriages and bicycles carry their quota during the season. There, amid the grand over-topping trees, picnic parties spread their lunches down and laugh at the climbing mercury while they drink nature's own beverage which needs no ice to cool it. Out from rock ledges, from under spreading roots of oak and chestnut, from caverns and from the naked level ground, the water gushes on every side and gathers into a brook, which rushes down a gentle slope, and dashes over a precipice, and tumbles in mad haste into the broadening river.
At the entrance to the Park is the mill owned by Mr. Seeds but operated by Mr. G. W. Mauk, an experienced miller, who makes and sells the Snowflake, a patent flour, the Magnolia, blended, and the Leader, "Straight goods." Everything about the place and the man indicate thorough work and fair dealing.
On or near this spot has stood a mill for three generations back. A hundred years ago these springs turned the wheels of a Paper Mill, at first a log structure, afterwards one of stone. Here there was also a store and a tavern, and linseed oil and plaster were made and sold. The manufacturing in- terests of old time included saw mills and factories for wool and cotton, clustering around Birmingham, before the screech of the locomotive disturbed the forest, and its swift-moving trains brought in the products of eastern rivals to undermine the trade of those enterprising pioneers of the Upper Juniata.
WARRIORSMARK AND VICINITY.
Following the Lewisburg branch of the P. R. R. for seven and a half miles a little north of westward we reach the vil- lage of Warriorsmark. The road thither leads through a beautiful country in which are the homes of thrifty farmers. To the dweller in the city who has an appreciation of nature, this is a delightful ride. The undulating surface, the change
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of woods and clearings, the varied crops which cover the fields, the flocks reveling "in clover," the houses with their con- veniences for quiet and comfortable living, and overhead the shifting panorama of sky and air; all these compose a restful picture to one who seeks to escape " from the madding crowd's ignoble strife." While the town, which was a live and active one before Tyrone was born, can hardly hope to see again the prosperity which it enjoyed when furnaces glowed at night, and loggers blazed away by day, and freighters thronged its streets and stores, it has before it an assured future as a place that will always be homelike. Its houses are suggestive of comfort. . Within it there is no place for poverty. The horn of plenty has emptied itself down upon the whole surround- ing valley where health and hospitality and sobriety prevail. The visitor, while he enjoys the winding roads and the charms of scenery, may also catch the contagion of these virtues of its people.
Two stocks of general merchandise are kept in the town. One of these is the store of Jacob H. Mattern who has carried on the business for many years. Born and raised within a few miles of where he lives, he bears the name of a clan which includes a large and important portion of the popula- tion of this part of Pennsylvania. Their biennial reunions gather a great host from near and far. At one of these, held on June 16th of this year, 1897, the guest of honor was Bishop Vincent. The founder of Chautauqua University recalled the days of yore when he served his apprenticeship as teacher in Spruce Creek Valley and practiced pedagogy upon the older members of the Mattern connection.
Mr. G. B. Lever is the gentlemanly proprietor of the store on the other corner. The postoffice is kept by Daniel Cham- berlain in the Warriorsmark Exchange, a hotel where no liquor is sold and which has been carried on since 1843 by the postmaster's father, James Chamberlain, now in his 87th year. Another aged resident is Mrs. Mary Krider, who in her 90th year is more active than many in middle life. The health of the community is in the care of Dr. A. Crawford, who has practiced medicine over a wide stretch of surrounding country
.
H. A. GRIPP. As student, officer in German army, and at present.
.
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS' MONUMENT, Hollidaysburg.
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for fifteen years, and Dr. T. Tobin who has only been here a short time but has had years of experience in his profession.
The industry which has made the name of Warriorsmark a household word far and wide is the manufacture of Malena. As Warriorsmark is no mark of a warlike disposition, for nowhere are more gentle-spirited folks, so Malena is in no wise akin to malice or malpractice or malcontent. Its mission is to soothe and heal and bless. It is a little thing but sorely missed if not at hand when misfortune befalls and sore or cut or bruise cries out for relief. Whether accident or inspiration led to its discovery, it has captured the confidence of the people in these parts. We all use it. The making and sending out of this simple remedy employs from five to eight hands, and it is used in almost every state, to the Ocean on the west and the Gulf on the south. Orders for it crowd the little post office, and boxes and barrels are shipped almost daily. Of the maker of the salve no one says "Alas, poor Yorick" but "Hail to the Chief." He bears the name of the house which carried the White Rose, emblem of peace, and where the red warriors once roamed and fought, under this sign he has won to himself friends and fortune.
Whoever comes to Warriorsmark goes to see and admire the Lowrie homestead. It is a paradise of many acres which contains more trees and shrubs in native grace and grandeur than many a boasted city park. J. R. Lowrie Esq., the father of Dr. W. L. Lowrie of Tyrone, was for 35 years attorney for the old Iron Company and, for ten years up to his death in 1885, trustee of its large property. The beautiful location which he chose for his home in 1854 was made more beautiful by the rare taste of its owner, who laid out the grounds and for thirty years spared neither labor nor money to carry out his plan. Every year saw improvements made, and Mrs. Lowrie honors her husband's memory by keeping up the place as he left it. We should fail, if we attempted it, to describe properly the wonders of nature and of art which here delight the eye. The thought came to our mind that here was an ideal spot for an Academy for boys as the counterpart of that at Birmingham for girls. The changes of time have brought
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to pass more unlikely things, and nothing would more fittingly perpetuate the name of one who showed such appreciation for "The true, the beautiful and the good.""
Warriorsmark has three well sustained churches, the largest being the M. E., whose fine two story edifice was built in 1873. Rev. W. H. Closson is pastor of the church and Jacob H. Mattern superintendent of the S. S. The Presby- terian church whose place of meeting is somewhat out from the village enjoys the ministrations of Rev. H. H. Henry. The Lutheran church more, eligibly located in a neat chapel erected in 1888, near the center of population, has a small but growing membership. Its pastor, Rev. C. F. Jacobs, ministers to a larger congregation in Sinking Valley, the St. John's church. This old organization, which dates back to 1790, has a very commodious building seating about 500 and which cost $12,000. The original log building in which they first worshiped in 1800, is still in good preservation. In the valley are also a Reformed church and a Presbyterian church. The latter, near Arch Spring, is a very fine edifice of stone with an elegant parsonage property. This society is more than a hundred years old, the bulk of the pioneer settlers being of Presbyterian stock.
On Logan's Run which drains the lower part of Warriors- mark Valley and just above the suburb of Nealmont, is a mill property which probably outranks in age all of its rivals. The dwelling in which the proprietor, M. Hamer, resides, is over 125 years old. It was old when an old man, now in his ninetieth year, recollects making weekly visits to it with his father from Bald Eagle, with three bushels of wheat, the weekly grist for a family of twenty. The original building has long since vanished, and the second on the same site was destroyed by fire soon after Mr. Hamer took possession of it. He at once rebuilt and in January, 1879, had it equipped with the best machinery from the great flouring metropolis, in token of which his flour is branded " Minneapolis." No mill is better located, commanding as it does the trade of this fine valley and of a large district of Centre county, and no man is worthier of the confidence of those who deal with him.
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Our review of the environments of Tyrone shows that they constitute an element of stability. Great changes have come to pass in the development of this country, but its varied resources have only been made more manifest.
IV.
Additions and Suburbs.
F THE ADDITIONS made to the original plot of Tyrone a detailed account need not be given. The superior advantages of the town from its topography and railroad privileges, gradually attracted to it the business. of contiguous points, and places which were formerly thriv- ing towns dwindled before its progress. Such were Tipton, four miles southwest, and Bald Eagle, five miles north. Science declares that not only is the earth attracted by the sun but also, though less powerfully, the sun is drawn towards the earth. So the growing Tyrone has stretched itself out towards these its neighbors, and has taken in territory in both directions.
East Tyrone, (so named, but properly North Tyrone) was laid out under instructions from the P. R. R. Co., by Super- intendent Wilkins, in 1871, and, while for years an indepen- dent borough, was in reality a railroad suburb of Tyrone. Between the two places lay a small portion of ground which needed to be improved by drainage, but in this respect was in no worse condition than the original town itself before its, main streets were raised four feet and sewers established. Old inhabitants remember when the City Hotel and other buildings, now level with the pavement, had to be reached by flights of steps from the street and when foundation walls were laid with the greatest difficulty in standing water. The Seventh Ward is now the equal of any part of the town for comfortable residence and excelled by none for cheerful scenery. Of the space once existing between the two towns, only a small portion remains vacant. It still has its own post office, which will no doubt soon be absorbed by its bigger neighbor. It has two churches, a flourishing M. E. church and a recent organization of the German Baptist Brethren, promising well for growth and permanency; also prospectively a second Presbyterian church, as the outgrowth of a Sunday
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school started this summer. The merchants of this end of the borough are J. C. Goheen and Brother, whose large store is a worthy rival of the down town establishments. Here is car- ried on the manufacture of bricks by George C. Davison, whose yards and machinery are ample to meet all the demands; of town and country.
In this ward and in the sixth, embracing what is known as "Stony Point," many lots well located and level, are held by F. D. Beyer, Rev. John D. Stewart and Dr. Lowrie, well- known citizens and " all honorable men."
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