Lewisburg Pa

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Ludwig Derr & The Birth Of Lewisburg

Col John Kelly who "shot the last buffalo in Lewisburg"

Market Street Lewisburg Through The Decades

When Lewisburg Had Standpipes (The Rings Of Stones by the bridge)
The 1885 "Housewife's Delight" - Cook Book By The Lewisburgh Saturday News

The Father Of Old Age Pensions - From Lewisburg PA

When The Union County Fair Was Held In Lewisburg

On Christmas Day 1886, a resident of Lewisburg PA wrote a letter to the widow of General Custer.

Lewisburg, view from the Baptist church, 1936

Ripped From The Headlines:

• Mrs Bucknell Sailed On The Titanic & Lived To Tell About It
• When 4 Inmates Crashed Through The Prison Gates & Held My Great Grandmother Hostage
• Charles Bell, The Escaped Slave Who Worked At Bucknell For 40 Years
• Elias Slifer Jrs Account Of The Building Of The Amazon Railroad
• The 1881 Earth Quake
• When A Mastodon Tusk was discovered near Lewisburg, 1851
• When Robbers Pretended To Be Confederate Officers, 1875
  
• When A Lewisburg Boy Received The Carnegie Medal

Celebrations

The 4th Of July In Lewisburg 
When The Women's Suffrage Bell Toured The Valley

Floods & Fires

1909 When A Woman Doing Some Ironing Caught the National Bank Building On Fire
The 1941 Dreisbach Hardware Store Fire

The 1908 Lewisburg Opera House Fire

Bull Run Inn & Campus Lanes  - The Fire Before The Flood
Hufnagle Park Was Named For A Man Attempting To Save Others in the 72 Flood

Fire at Old Main, Bucknell, 1932

The 1972 Flood - History & Photos

Famous Residents & Visitors

Christy Matthewson, NY Giants Baseball

When a Lewisburg Boy Played For The Yankees

When Walt Whitman Came To Lewisburg

When Roosevelt Came Through Lewisburg, 1914

Neal Mcoy Halfpenny- The Tenor From Lewisburg

Col Eli Slifer

Prohibitions First Presidential Candidate Was From Lewisburg

The Father Of Old Age Pensions, B.K. Focht, Lewisburg Newspaper Editor & Congressman

The Movie Theaters

The Roxy

The Campus Theater

When The Silvermoon Drive In Was Illegally Showing Movies On Sunday

Banks, Businesses, Stores & Restaurants

When the Lewisburg Farmers Market Was The Auction

Baker House Hotel

Betty's Coffee Pot

Buffalo Flour Milling

C.K. Sober Nurseries

Leiser Brothers     

Lewisburg Chair Factory (Before Pennsylvania House)

Lewisburg Condensed Milk Factory

Lewisburg Fire Proof Garage   

Lewisburg Granite & Marble Works

  Lewisburg Woolen Mill    

      Lewisburg National Bank 

Quaker Brothers

Silvermoon Restaurant and Antique Stores

Stone Haven Village

Travelers Inn

Sulouff Shoe Store

Union National Bank, Lewisburg

The Cannery Train Track Supports In Lewisburg

Transportation - Canal, Railroad, Toll Bridge...

The Lewisburg Cross Cut Canal

P. Billmeyer Canal Boat Builders

When The Lewisburg Bridge Was A Covered Bridge

The Toll Road Between Lewisburg & Mifflinburg

The Lewisburg & Buffalo Railroad

Evangelical Hospital

Slifer House & The First Community Hospital

Local Farmers Organize Hospital Benefit, 1952

The Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary

When 4 Inmates Crashed Through The Prison Gates & Held My Great Grandmother Hostage

Al Capone

The Lewisburg Penn being constructed

Schools

[Including Bucknell]

The One Room School House On Hostpital Drive

One Room School House On School Hill Road

The Early Days Of Bucknell University by Edward C. Wolfe, 1914

Mrs Bucknell Sailed On The Titanic & Lived To Tell About It

Charles Bell, The Escaped Slave Who Worked At Bucknell For 40 Years

Fire at Old Main, Bucknell, 1932

15 year old boy killed while sledding at Bucknell, 1898

Museums

From Tavern To Museum - Packwood House

The Dale Engle Walker House

Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

1890  1896  1913  1925  1944

1868 Union County Atlas

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Sights To See In Lewisburg:

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Piers Mural In Piers Park

Dale Engle Walker House [Also hiking trail]

Silvermoon  Antiques

The Gorgeous Art Deco Campus Movie Theater

In The Much More Recent Past"

The Statue Of Liberty In Lewisburg 2010

Susquehanna Growers Market

Turtle Creek Dog Park

Kayaking To The Lewisburg Fireworks

Find More Local History, from surrounding towns, here:

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Centennial History Of Lewisburg by I.H. Mauser

Lewisburg in Linn's Annals Of The Buffalo Valley:

" In March, 1785, Ludwig Derr laid out the town of Lewisburg. Samuel 

Weiser, of Mahanoy township, was the surveyor, and for his services 

received lot No. 5, on which is now erected the store of Walls, Smith 

& Co., 1870.  His first donation of lots was for religious purposes.  

26th March, he, with Catherine, his wife, conveyed lots Nos. 42, 44, 

and 46 to Walter Clark, William Gray, and William Wilson, in trust for 

the Presbyterian congregation at or near Lewisburg, for a meeting-

house and burying-ground.

     William Maclay made the survey of the tract the town stands on the 

28th of February, 1769.  Ludwig Derr lived upon it as early as 1770.  

It was patented on the 11th of August, 1772, to Reverend Richard 

Peters, who conveyed, on the 17th of September, 1773, to Ludwig Derr, 

by the following description, "containing three hundred and twenty 

acres, situated at the mouth of Spring run, below and adjoining the 

mouth of Buffalo creek."  Weiser's survey was as follows:

The southern boundary commenced at a post at the river, at the  

corner of the tract on which the mill is erected; thence along the 

land of the said Derr, S. 80 1/2º W. 121 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a stone; 

thence N. about 10 1/2º W. 164 perches, to a stone;  thence N. about 

80 1/2º E. about 139 perches 2 1/2 feet, to a post or stake, by the 

north-west side of Buffalo creek; thence down the creek to its mouth, 

and thence down the river to the place of beginning, and contained 

about one hundred and twenty-eight acres, which was divided into three 

hundred and fifty-five lots.

     By the act of the 31st of March, 1812, which incorporated "the 

president and directors of the streets, lanes, and alleys of the town 

of Lewisburg," the charter bounds commenced at the south sideof the mouth of Lyman's (formerly called Derr's) run, and ran thence 

up the south side of the run, including the said run in its meanders, 

to the line of George Derr's land; thence along the same to the 

fording of Buffalo creek; thence down the south side thereof to the 

river, and down the river to the place of beginning.  And by the act 

of the 21st of March, 1822, incorporating "the borough of Lewisburg," 

the bounds were still further increased southerly, as they commenced 

at the river, at a corner of Jacob Zentmeyer and Margaret Spidler's 

land, and ran along the same N. 52º W. 62 perches, to a pine; thence, 

the same course, by land then of William Shaw, James Bennet, James 

Geddes, George Berryman, and William Hayes, 236 perches, to a pine on 

land of George Derr. From this pine the line ran N. 2º W. 208 perches, 

to the creek; thence down the creek and river to the beginning.

     Ludwig Derr made a lottery the same year, and disposed of some of 

the lots in this way, among the rest, lot No. 21, corner Fourth and 

Market, on which (1877) Doctor Howard Wilson is now residing, was drawn 

by John Brown, and for which he paid three pounds, as appears by the 

deposition of John Hennig, taken before Colonel John Kelly, on the 2d 

of May, 1791.

     The very first lot sold was No. 351, corner of Water and St. Lewis, 

to William Wilson, 26th March.

     The first residents of Lewisburg were Bolinger, John; Conser, 

Henry, (Reverend S. L. M. Conser is a grandson;) Dering, Godfrey, 

(removed to Selinsgrove; one of his descendants was postmaster there;) 

Evans, Joseph, cabinet-maker, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Leonard, 

Peter, (descendants still in Lewisburg;) Long, Edward; Smith, 

Nicholas; Welker, Jacob, tailor, (moved to Mifflinburg, and died 

there.) [See 1788, for a description of Lewisburg at that time.]  In 

September, Ludwig Derr went to Philadelphia to sell lots.  The date of 

his death there is not known.  The last deed he signed is dated 

October 18.  December 9, George Derr, Walter Clark , and John Weitzel, 

administered upon his estate.  He left a widow, Catherine, who 

survived him a very short time, and only one heir, George Derr.  

September 13, Northumberland county divided into four election 

districts, Buffalo, White Deer, and Potter in the third, and held 

their elections at Fought's Mill, (near Mifflinburg.) August sessions, 

Washington township, now partly in Lycoming,

erected, the division line commencing a short distance above Widow 

Smith's mills, thence west, along the south side of White Deer creek, 

to where Spruce run commences.  It was a mere sub-division of White 

Deer township, calling the northern division Washington. The following 

is a list of the inhabitants of Washington, as thus erected:

     Bennett, Ephraim; Bennett, Justice; Bennett, Thaddeus; Bennett, 

Abraham; Bennett, William; Bently, Green; Brown, Charles; Brown, 

Judson; Brown, William; Caldwell, William; Creal, Michael; Coats, 

widow; Eason, Robert; Emmons, John; Emmons, Jacob; Emmons, Jacob, 

(single;) Gray, William, junior; Green, Ebenezer;  Harley, John; 

Hendrick, Nathan; Hickendoll, Herman; Hood, Moses; Huling, Marcus; 

Hunter, widow; Landon, Nathaniel; Layn, Abraham; Layn, Isaac; Low, 

Cornelius, senior and junior; McCormick, Seth; McCormick, Thomas; 

Mackey, William; Mitchell, John; Ramsey, John; Reynolds, Joseph; 

Shaffer, Nicholas; Stephen, Adam; Stricker, John; Sunderland, Daniel; 

Tenbrooke, John; Towsend, Gradius; Towsend, Gamaliel; Weeks, Jesse.  

Assessors: William Gray, Joseph Allen, and Thomas McCormick.

     The fall election for members of the House was contested.  Paul 

Baldy, John Macpherson, and Samuel Quinn, among others, went to Phila-

delphia as witnesses. The officer reported Richard Sherer, a witness, 

absent, and John Gray, another, gone to Fort Pitt.  It appears, by the 

report of the committee, that Frederick Antes had 414 votes, Daniel 

Montgomery 410, Samuel Dale 414, William Maclay 407, John Weitzel 396, 

Anthony Selin 297.  Daniel Montgomery was ousted, and William Maclay put 

in, upon a tie vote, the Speaker deciding.  Twenty-five members signed a 

protest against these proceedings, which seem to have been dictated by 

party rancor, for the protestants say the reason of the contest was, 

that in one district the names of the electors on the poll-list were ten 

short of the number of tickets received by the inspectors, and that the 

testimony accounted for this defect.  They contended that the whole 

election should have been set aside; that the vote of the House was 

destructive to the rights of the people, and an unwarrantable 

usurpation, of a very dangerous character."

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History of the Crossing

Where Buffalo Creek flows east into the west branch of the Susquehanna River, the land has been known since historic times as "Delta Place." Indians first used the land as a hunting ground. After European contact, white settlers moved farther into the interior. The first survey in the Buffalo Valley, as the region was called, was made for the Reverend John Ewing by William Maclay on February 22, 1769. Only a few days later, on February 28, the site of Lewisburg was surveyed for the Penns (Reed, n.d.).

A ferry established by Flaven Roan just north of the mouth of Buffalo Creek expedited travel to the north past Delta Place (FHWA 1984 Cultural Eesources Survey). Buffalo Valley farm produce was transported from the western interior to Lewisburg, where it was taken onto flat boats and floated south on the river to Baltimore (Keed, n.d.). Ludwig Derr set up a sawmill at the site of Lewisburg between 1770 and 1771. Afterward, he opened a grist mill and trading post. As more settlers arrived, they cleared the land and began farming. In 1785* Derr laid out the plan for the town of Lewisburg, then called Derr's Town (FHWA 1984 Cultural Resources Survey). The town was incorporated

in 1812 (Mauser 1886). 

It is known that a bridge spanning Buffalo Creek was built before 1794, when repairs were made to the "old bridge." One of the first covered bridges in Union County was built over Buffalo Creek as early as 1809. Erected by James Koore II, it was located at the foot of St. Anthony Street (FHWA 1984 Cultural Resources Survey).

First a highway, then a canal bypassed Lewisburg on the east side of the Susquehanna River. But the town refused to become a sleepy village cut off from primary transportation networks. When the Pennsylvania Canal went through in 1828, Lewisburg business owners petitioned the State legislature to build a cross-cut canal a few hundred yards south of the present Susquehanna River Bridge. The first canal boat crossed the river in December 1855* As a major commercial artery, it provided

an economic stimulus to Lewisburg. The Lewisburg to Mifflinburg turnpike, built circa 1850 when Lewisburg had a population of 924, offered another boost to settlement and trade (FHWA 1984 Cultural

Resources Survey).

It appears that Moore's covered bridge across Buffalo Creek stood until October 9, i847, when "the west half of the bridge was carried away by a flood and lodged against the River Bridge." A bridge existing at the mouth of the creek was removed in April 1951, and a new one was built (FHWA 1984  Cultural Resources Survey). However, the new structure burned in 1853 (Snyder 1976). Maps of 1856 and 1868 and an 1884 oblique view all show a bridge at the St. Anthony Street location (FHWA

1984 Cultural Resources Survey). The 1884 oblique view depicts it as a covered bridge with double entrances.

A boat yard had been associated with the bridge since the mid-I9th century. By that time, Lewisburg had become a stop for logs rafted down river from the huge boom at Wiliiamsport (Snyder 1976). Often

tied together into rafts for floating downstream, logs were used by the boat yard for lumber (Linn 1986). Colonel Eli Slifer and his partner, William Frick, had moved their boat yard to Lewisburg in 1850, completing it in 1852. Although their mill burned in 1853J the same year the bridge burned, it was rebuilt immediately. In 1868, the boat yard was shown operating on the south side of Buffalo Creek on both sides of St. Anthony Street. By 1886, it was known as P. Billmeyer and Company, employed 100 workers, and produced finished lumber and river bridges (FHWA 1984 Cultural Resources Survey; Mauser 1886) In 1869» the first railroad, the Center and Spruce Creek, had been built through Lewisburg. Ten years later, the name changed to the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad and was owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad (Mauser 1886). Before the railroad was constructed, the region had depended on Lewisburg as a market because it was the only town on the west side of the river to have canal transportation. During the winter, sleds brought grain into Lewisburg for shipment elsewhere, since little could be processed in town. Local business depended on selling finished goods and coal to the outlying areas. When the railroad came through, warehouses were built along it, and Lewisburg lost the grain business for several years. But when two steam-powered flour mills were built, the railroad began bringing grain to Lewisburg for processing. It was an innovation that revolutionized the grain trade (Mauser 1886).

The connection to the Reading Railroad, provided by the Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg Railroad in 1882, linked Lewisburg to New York City and the West. According to a contemporary historian, this advance awakened a spirit of enterprise that soon brought to the town a number of manufacturers and created such a revival as was never heard of or felt during any time in the town's previous history" (Mauser 1886).

Although population of the borough actually dropped from 3>l2l in 1870 to 3,080 in 1880, the decrease was reported to be largely due to a general business depression and the burning of a Lewisburg foundry that employed a large number of people (Mauser 1886).

By 1886, a year after the centennial celebration of the town's founding, many of the earlier sawmills had been replaced by flour mills. The production of grain from the fertile limestone soil was the

major occupation. At that time, Lewisburg was called by a contemporary writer "the key to the Buffalo Valley," the outlet for an area extending 50 miles into the interior (Mauser 1886). In that year,

Lewisburg's industries included three flour mills, two knitting factories, a mower and reaper manufacturer, a nail works, planing and furniture mills, and the P. Billmeyer boat yard (Mauser 1886)

.

Other amenities offered by the town in 1886 included the courthouse (built in 1855)» seven churches, an opera house, Bucknell University (opened in 1846), and three public schools. Total valuation of real

estate in the borough at that time was $1,465,00 (Mauser 1886).

By 1886, the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad had a passenger and freight depot in town (Mauser 1886). The Shamoken, Sunbury and Lewisburg Railroad, which passed through Lewisburg between 5th and 6th Streets and connected at West Kilton, had two brick depots in the borough (Mauser 1886).

The town also boasted a telegraph (Snyder 1976) and several newspapers: The Lewisburg Journal, The Lewisburg Chronicle, and The Lewisburgh Saturday News (Union County Historical Society 1968).

In the midst of rapid progress came disaster: the flood of June 1889. Although it caused a record inundation in Johnstown (Snyder 1976), destroying thousands of lives there and elsewhere, Lewisburg was one of the few fortunate towns where no lives were lost. Nevertheless, the flood swept away a number of bridges on the Susquehanna's west branch and on Buffalo Creek, including the St. Anthony Street Bridge (Chronicle, June 6, 1889; Saturday News, June 8, 1889; Road Book 1889:

242).

A new creek crossing was needed, and the existing St. Anthony Street Bridge appears in the records of the Champion Bridge Company on June 27, 1889, for a contract price of $4,408 (p. 94). Charles Hendricks was listed as commissioner, and it is known that he was a Union County commissioner from 1888 to 1891* Robert Brown and Kichael SIear were also commissioners, and James Lepley was county treasurer (Snyder 1976). The bridge was described as a 10-panel Pratt truss, 152* long, 16*

wide, and 24' in height. Capacity was "100" (presumable a live load  capacity of 100 pounds per square foot). October was cited as the projected date of completion. Terms were cash upon completion and

acceptance. A notation shows that the bridge was to be shipped to Lewisburg by way of the Pennsylvania and Erie Railroad (Champion Bridge Company 1889) •

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