RRPC Sketch "Northumberland From A Hill"
The borough of Northumberland, in Northumberland County, was founded in 1772.
The Covered Bridge, The Trolley, The Train Station, & Island Park
First Commercial Venture On The West Branch, was at Northumberland
On a 1720 map of the Susquehanna River by Isacc Taylor, Letort's store is shown at the area of what is today Northumberland. According to Bell's history of Northumberland County: "He was a French trader, and probably carried on a thriving business with the Indians in the exchange of such commodities as a savage population could assimilate for peltries, etc. This was doubtless the initial commercial venture of the West Branch valley."
A Sketch of Northumberland, Pa
View Of Northumberland
Joseph Priestly
The original train station, built in 1860, was destroyed by fire. In 1908, construction began on this new brick depot building. Today, this building is a restaurant, Front Street Station.
J.H. Jarrets Store, Northumberland
The Charles Steele School
Lumberman, banker, born on April 29, 1865, Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania, the son of Amos Kimble and Sarah A. (Keiser) Steele, originally of Chester and Berks Counties. The family moved to Sunbury, Northumberland County, when Charles was young. He was educated in Sunbury, Pa. public schools, Sunbury High School, and pursued the lumber manufacturing and wholesale business under William Whitmer; serving as a bookkeeper and a “traveling representative” for the company, eventually becoming a member of the firm in 1890. From 1896 to 1922, Steele served as treasurer and vice president of William Whitmer and Sons, eventually merging with the Whitmer-Steele Co. In 1926, Steele and brother Harry absorbed the former Whitmer interests, Charles becoming President of the company, with several milling operations in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Steele served as president of the Northumberland National Bank; 1922-1951; vice president of the Lewisburg Trust and Safe Deposit Company, 1907-1923; president, 1923; chairman of the board of the former, 1925; and the director of the Sunbury Trust and Safe Deposit Co. Steele’s philanthropic ventures included sizable donations to Susquehanna University, serving as a board member, 1902-1951 (legacies are the Charles Steele and daughter Mary Steele scholarships); and the Charles Steele School in Northumberland. He served as a member and president of the Northumberland town council, 1893-1895; chief burgess of Northumberland, 1909-1914; chairman of the Northumberland branch of the Red Cross; and a member of numerous fraternal and civic organizations. Charles was an alternate delegate to the 1920 Republican National Convention. He married Mary L. Seid of Northumberland in 1892. Former Senator Steele died in 1951.
Donehoo, vol 1
Bands
Furman's Cannery
In 1921, John Wesley Furman and his wife, Emma, moved to a farm in Northumberland, Pa., and began growing vegetables for their local curb market. That first year, production resulted in 360 glass jars of tomatoes.
Moose Hall, 85 King St, Northumberland Pa
"Because of the canal business, Northumberland became the financial center for a large area of Central Pennsylvania. This building was erected in 1834 as the Bank of Northumberland, and Joseph Rayner Priestley, grandson of the chemist, became its first cashier. The bank prospered and survived the panics of the 1840s under President Andrew Jackson’s administration. In 1864, the bank was moved to Sunbury and became the First National Bank. When the bank closed, Joseph Bird, a prosperous businessman, who dealt in coal and iron, purchased the building and remodeled it as his dwelling. At that time, it was considered the finest and most costly home in the county. The Birds furnished it in luxurious style and adorned the parlor walls with fine paintings. Originally, the bank was a large, impressive two and one-half story, four-over-four room Georgian. The portico, with Ionic columns and
pediment, is an example of Neo-Classical architecture. The Birds converted the roof to a flat, Mansard style, added a tower at the front, and enlarged the structure at the rear. In 1917, the Loyal
Order of the Moose purchased the building. Most of the rear half of the house was removed; the tower was also removed and the Mansard roof modified. In 2002, the building’s ninety years of
history as the Moose Lodge came to an end. The furnishings and fixtures were sold at auction, and the building and property were purchased by a private individual"
"Uncle Joe Van kirk sold the Van kirk House and the private residence adjoining the hotel property, facing the north-west side of Front street, from Queen to Duke street, to Mr. John Fausnaught, proprietor of Huff House, at Milton, before the fire. Price paid, $12,000."
Ephraim P Shannon, son of Samuel Shannon, who settled at Northumberland prior to 1800, was a native of this place and for some years one of its prominent business men. His store was at the corner of Queen and Front streets, where he erected the brick building afterward incorporated in the Van Kirk house. He was born, February 4, 1797, and died, August 27, 1851.
Queen Street showing the Van Kirk House & Kreider and Whiting Store, Northumberland PA
The Van Kirk House received its name from Joseph Van Kirk, the first proprietor, and the Whitmer House was established by George Eckert.
MAPS
Sanborn Fire Maps
King Street, Northumberland PA
New Movie Theater, April 3 1924
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From The History Of Northumberland County, By Herbert Bell
NORTHUMBERLAND.
CHAPTER XV.
Pages 515 -545.
THE TOWN PLAT - EARLY HISTORY - PROMINENT EARLY RESIDENTS - EARLY
MERCHANTS AND HOTELS - THE POSTOFFICE - BRIDGES, CANALS, AND RAILWAYS -
BOROUGH ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT - INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY - SCHOOLS -
LOCAL JOURNALISM - SECRET AND OTHER SOCIETIES - CHURCHES - CEMETERIES.
THE borough of Northumberland occupies an elevated terrace
immediately within the forks of the Susquehanna river. During the first
settlement of the surrounding region, this locality was widely known as
"the Point;" its advantages as a town site were early apparent, and
before the close of the colonial period it had become a place of
considerable local importance. From the termination of the Revolutionary
war until the close of the century its growth was more rapid than that
of any other town in the upper Susquehanna valley, and for many years
thereafter it occupied a leading position, financially and socially,
among the towns of Northumberland county. Although its former prestige
in these respects is now only a matter of history, the borough continues
to possess many of the elements of prosperity and progress; several
important industrial establishments are in operation, and a fair amount
of business is transacted through local channels, while the religious
and educational interests of the community are well sustained. By the
census of 1890 the population was two thousand seven hundred forty-four.
THE TOWN PLAT.
The town plat comprises four tracts of land, of which the
respective original titles were completed in the following order:
"Sarah's Delight" (two hundred acres), was patented to Sarah Lowdon,
July 7, 1770; "Nottingham" (five hundred acres), to Richard Peters,
September 14, 1772; "Townside"(five hundred acres), to Richard Peters,
September 16, 1772; and "Essex" (two hundred acres), to Esther
Patterson, January 7, 1775. The town was originally laid out in 1772 by
John Lowdon and William Patterson. Within the next three years, however,
the title to the four tracts in question became vested in Reuben Haines,
a wealthy brewer of Philadelphia and the owner of large landed interests
in this part of the State. He enlarged the plot and recorded a general
plan of Lowdon and Patterson's town, with his own addition, in Deed Book
B, p. 273, April 24, 1781. It was again recorded, May 10, 1808, by John
Boyd in Book C, p. 368.
END OF PAGE 515
Regularity is a distinguishing feature of the plat. The streets
running east and west are North Way, Water, Front, Second, Third,
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth, intersected at right angles by
West Way, Duke, Queen, King, Orange, and Hanover, with alleys at regular
intervals. The streets are of uniform width, except that King is
somewhat broader than the others; in it there is a wide open space
between Front and Second, intended for a market place. The plan is
accompanied by a declaration, acknowledged before Chief Justice McKean,
in which Haines states that he had come into possession of certain
tracts of land "in the forks of Susquehanna," part of which had been
"laid out in small lots for a town by William Patterson, John Lowdon,
and myself," following which is an enumeration of the streets and
alleys, with the statement that they should thereafter be "open public
roads or highways," "for the benefit and advantage of the inhabitants of
the said town and all other persons making use of the same."
Upon the death of Reuben Haines his estate was inherited by his
four children: Casper Wistar; Josiah; Reuben, and Catherine. Reuben, Jr.
died a few years later, bequeathing his interest in the town to his
brothers and sister, who executed deeds of partition among themselves.
Notwithstanding the unequivocal character of Haines's declaration,
it appears that some of the streets were not opened for public use at
that time nor for some years afterward. At August sessions, 1807, of the
county court of quarter sessions, upon the report of Joseph Priestley,
John Cowden, John Bull, John Frick, and Thomas Grant, who had been
appointed in the previous year to take the question into consideration,
North Way, Water, Front, Second, Third, Duke, Queen, Orange, and Hanover
streets were declared public highways and ordered opened for public use.
EARLY HISTORY.
Robert Martin was the first permanent settler at the site of
Northumberland. He was originally from New Jersey, and had attempted to
make a settlement at Wyoming under Pennsylvania title, but this design
was frustrated by the opposition of the Connecticut colonists of that
locality. Thence he came to "the Point;" after the purchase of 1768 was
consummated his house forthwith became the rendezvous of surveyors,
speculators, and adventurers to the newly opened region of the West
Branch, and by virtue of previous acquaintance with the country he at
once became a prominent character. He was a member of the Provincial
Conference of 1776, of the Constitutional Convention of that year, and
of the Assembly several years subsequently. The exact location of his
first residence is not known, but it was the first evidence of
civilization within the forks of the Susquehanna in Northumberland
county, and for several years the only house at the site of
Northumberland.
William Hoffman and Philip Frick arrived at Northumberland on the
END OF PAGE 516
1st of June, 1772. They were from Lancaster, and came up the Susquehanna
in a canoe. Frick had formed the design of building a brewery, and
Hoffman, who was a carpenter by occupation, accompanied him to perform
or superintend the work of its erection. A log house was accordingly
constructed, on Market street opposite the Burr House, now the site of a
brick building erected in 1835-36 by John Leisenring, and there Frick
made his residence. What progress he made in the brewing business can
not be ascertained. On the opposite side of the street Hoffman erected a
log house at the site of the Burr House, to which he brought his wife
immediately after its completion. There he dug the first well in the
borough, and planted the first fruit trees; of the latter there were
two, an apple and a pear tree, both of which were brought from
Lancaster. Under careful husbandry they flourished; the pear tree still
bears fruit, after the lapse of more than a century, which is sufficient
evidence of the good judgment of Hoffman in its selection. The apple
tree was of an early bearing variety; its fruit was a large size and
yellow color and matured in August. The first birth of a white child at
"the Point" is said to have been that of Elizabeth, daughter of William
Hoffman, and occurred at this log house. During the year immediately
following his settlement here he was busily engaged in the construction
of houses for those who arrived later. It is not known that he was
actively engaged in the Revolutionary struggle, but a brother, from
Frederick, Maryland, was a batteau-man in Sullivan's expedition. He
continued to reside at Northumberland until his death, in 1821, and was
interred in the graveyard in the rear of the Lutheran church. Three sons
survived him: William, who moved to Elmira, New York, and died there at
an advanced age; Joseph, and Jacob, carpenters and pump-makers by trade;
and three daughters: Elizabeth, the eldest of the family, who married a
Mr. Brown and moved to Elmira; Mary, who married Thomas Everard, and
Deborah, who married Richardson Huzzey.
Some very interesting particulars regarding the town in 1775 may be
gleaned from the journal of Rev. Philip V. Fithian, a Presbyterian
clergyman who made a missionary journey through the West Branch valley
in that year. He arrived at Northumberland on Saturday, July 1, 1775,
and notes in his journal under that date the numbers of canoes, boats,
etc., plying about; as the result of his first impressions of the place
he says: "In short, this town in a few years, without doubt, will be
grand and busy." He held his first services on Sunday, July 2d, and
mentions among those by whom they were attended William Cooke, sheriff
of the county; "Mr. Martin, a gentleman who came lately from Jersey;"
John Barker, a lawyer; John Scull, deputy surveyor; and the wife,
daughters, and niece of Colonel Samuel Hunter, the commanding officer at
Fort Augusta. Reuben Haines, proprietor of the town, then resided here,
and showed Mr. Fithian the lot he intended to give the Presbyterian
congregation. He left on the following
END OF PAGE 517
Thursday, but returned again on Monday, July 17th. On this occasion he
mentions having called at Martin's to see the papers, and hearing Dr.
William Plunket and several other gentlemen discuss the aspect of
political affairs. He was also a member of a huckleberry party, of whom
the ladies were "Mrs. Boyd, a matron, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. McCartney, Miss
Carothers, Miss Martin, Miss Lusk, and a strange young woman, Miss
Manning." They ascended the Blue Hill, and he speaks of the prospect
from that elevation in glowing terms. A plot of the town accompanies the
journal, showing a row of houses along the North Branch and another
along the West Branch, with none in the center.
During the Revolution the town was practically abandoned. The
"Great Runaway" virtually depopulated the region to the north, and, with
no defensive barrier between them and the enemy, the people sought
refuge at Sunbury and points farther down the river. The place was again
occupied in 1784 and 1785, and the return of the former inhabitants of
the West Branch valley with large additions to the population was
followed by an era of growth and prosperity. In 1796 there were nearly a
hundred houses in the town.
Northumberland was seriously considered as the location of the
county seat in 1772, and disputed land title appears to have been the
principal reason why it was not selected. When a change of the State
capital from Lancaster was first agitated, the claims of the northern
and central portions of the State were urged in behalf of
Northumberland, which would have been chosen but for the opposition of
the member from Northumberland county at a decisive moment. Thus, on two
different occasions, has the place narrowly escaped having greatness
thrust upon it.
No conflagration of general and widespread destructiveness has ever
visited Northumberland; many of the houses are therefore of the
substantial type of architecture that prevailed several generations ago,
and among those whose appearance indicates age it would be difficult to
determine which is to be given recognized precedence. An old house on
North Way, now leased by the borough authorities for the purposes of a
poor house, is generally regarded as the oldest, but there is not
sufficient evidence of the fact to form a positive conclusion. In the
early part of the century it was used as a hotel. The stone house on
North Way at the corner of Wheatley alley is also a landmark of
undoubted antiquity. It was occupied at the beginning of the century by
James Hiatt, who died on the 2d of March, 1815, at the age of sixty, and
is buried in the old Presbyterian burial ground.
The house erected by Rev. Joseph Priestley on North Way is perhaps
the most interesting of the surviving specimens of eighteenth century
architecture. It was begun in 1795 and finished in 1797, under the
immediate supervision of the Doctor's wife. The main building is two
stories high, with one-story extensions at either end, that on the east
was occupied by
END OF PAGE 518
the Doctor as a library and laboratory, while the other was used for
domestic purposes. The house throughout is exceptionally convenient in
all its arrangements, large apartments, wide halls, and dressing rooms
in connection with the different apartments on the second floor being
among the distinguishing features. On the roof there was an observatory,
which long since disappeared. The original color was white. The
Priestley family were succeeded in the occupancy and ownership by Judge
Chapman, who resided here during his judicial incumbency and until the
close of his life. It was subsequently the residence of Charles Kay, son
of the Rev. James Kay, who amassed a fortune in Philadelphia as one of
the founders of the well known publishing house of Kay & Brothers.
At an early period in the present century there stood a market
house on the square in Market or King street. It was built in the style
common at that day. The local artillery company met for review on the
square in the rear.
PROMINENT EARLY RESIDENTS.
In a list of the taxables of Turbut township prior to 1775 each of
the following persons is accredited with a house and lot: Hawkins Boone,
John Boyd, John Carothers (tanner), John Chattam (blacksmith), John De
France, Thomas Dean, John Freeman, William Forster, Philip Frig, William
Hoffman, Robert King, William Kennersley, Cornelius Lamerson, Aaron
Levy, William McKinn, Robert Martin, Peter Martin, and John McAdams. As
Northumberland was then the only town in Turbut township, it is fair to
presume that this list includes the names of its principal inhabitants
at that time.
Captain John Boyd was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania,
February 22, 1750, and became a resident of Northumberland in 1778. On
the 16th of October, 1776, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in
the Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, and subsequently promoted first
lieutenant; in July, 1778, he was transferred to the Third regiment, in
which he became captain lieutenant. He was a member of the "forlorn
hope" that inaugurated the assault upon Stony Point in 1779. Retiring
from his regiment, January 1, 1781, he took command of a company of
rangers in Bedford county, and was taken prisoner at the Raystown branch
of Juniata while crossing the Allegheny mountains. After spending a year
in Canada under duress he was exchanged and returned to Northumberland,
where he spent the remainder of his life. Among the civil positions with
which he was honored were those of member of the Supreme Executive
Council, register and recorder of Northumberland county, and inspector
of internal revenue under President Washington. He died on the 13th of
February, 1831. His brother, Lieutenant William Boyd, of the Twelfth
regiment, was killed at the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777.
Another brother, Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, was killed by the Indians,
September 12, 1779, in Sullivan's campaign.
END OF PAGE 519
Lieutenant John Carothers was commissioned as an officer in the
Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, October 16, 1776, and killed at
Germantown, October 4, 1777. He left a widow, who died in 1785, and one
son.
Lieutenant Robert King was commissioned as an officer in the
Twelfth regiment, October 4, 1776, and transferred to the Third, July 1,
1778. In the autumn of the latter year he returned to the county, and
was a member of Hartley's expedition to Tioga. In 1840 he resided in
Mifflin township, Lycoming county, at the advanced age of eighty-eight.
Colonel John Bull, a native of Providence township, Montgomery
county, first appears in the military history of the State as captain in
command of Fort Allen (now Weissport, Carbon county) in June, 1758, and
accompanied Forbes's expedition to Fort Duquesne later in the same year.
In 1775 he was appointed colonel of the First Pennsylvania battalion,
but resigned, January 20,1776. At the organization of the Board of War,
March 14, 1777, he was one of its constituent members, and on the 16th
of July, 1777, he was appointed adjutant general of the State. He
superintended the construction of the batteries at Billingsport in 1778,
put down the chevaux de frize in the Delaware in 1779, and was
commissary of purchases at Philadelphia in 1780. He resided at the
present site of Norristown, the county seat of Montgomery county, and
was in affluent circumstances until the destruction of his property by
the British. At the close of the Revolution he located at
Northumberland, where he died on the 9th of August, 1824, at the age of
ninety-three. He was a candidate for the legislature in 1802, but was
defeated by Simon Snyder; in 1808 he was the Federalist candidate for
Congress in the district of which Northumberland county formed part, but
was again defeated. In 1803, 1804, and 1805 he was elected to the
Assembly.
Colonel Bernard Hubley was commissioned as first lieutenant in the
German regiment, August 15, 1776, and promoted captain, February 24,
1778. While his regiment was stationed in Northumberland county he was
in command of Fort Rice and Fort Jenkins for a time; at the close of the
war he located at Northumberland and engaged in the brewing business. He
was commissioned as county lieutenant, December 21, 1789, and was also
connected with the local militia in various other official capacities.
The first volume of his History of the Revolution was published at
Northumberland in 1807. He died in 1808.
Lawrence Campbell, the first burgess of Northumberland, was a
native of Ireland. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1784, located at
Northumberland in 1792, and died at that place, November 8, 1834, at the
age of sixty-eight years, several months after the conclusion of his
sixth term as burgess.
Rev. Joseph Priestley,* whose residence at Northumberland has
probably
________________________________________________________________________
*This sketch is derived from the "Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Priestley
to the year 1795, written by himself; with a continuation, to the time
of his decease, by his son, Joseph Priestley;" printed by John Binns at
Northumberland in 1805.
END OF PAGE 520
given to the place a wider celebrity than any other circumstance in
connection with its history, was born at Fieldhead, near Leeds,
Yorkshire, England, March 13, 1733. His early education was obtained
under the tuition of Reverends Hague and Kirby, and at the age of
sixteen he had acquired a fair knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In
September, 1752, he went to the academy of Daventry, where he spent
three years, entering the ministry as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Meadows,
of Needham Market, Suffolk, at the conclusion of his academic course.
There he remained three years; during this period his first published
work, "The Doctrine of the Atonement," was issued. The following three
years, 1758-61, were spent at Nantwick, where he wrote an English
grammar and "Observations on the Character and Reasoning of the Apostle
Paul" From 1761 to 1767 he taught elocution, logic, Hebrew, and the
civil law in an academy at Warrington. During this connection he met
Benjamin Franklin at London, and, as the result of this association,
began a series of experiments in electricity.
In September, 1767, he removed to Leeds, having accepted an
invitation to take charge of Millhall chapel. Here the first of his
controversial treatises was written; he also published an "Essay on
Government," "A familiar Introduction to the Study of Electricity," a
"Chart of History," etc., etc. His house adjoined a brewery, and
observations of fixed air produced in the process of fermentation led to
a series of experiments upon the nature of the atmosphere, ultimately
resulting in that discovery with which his name will always be
associated. He began these experiments with but limited knowledge of
chemistry, but this apparent disadvantage undoubtedly contributed
largely to his success, as he was thus thrown entirely upon his own
resources and led to devise new apparatus and modes of operation. His
first publication on the subject of air appeared in 1772; it was a small
pamphlet on the method of impregnating water with fixed air. In the
previous year he had already procured good air from saltpetre; he had
ascertained the use of agitation and of vegetation, as the means
employed by nature in purifying the atmosphere for the support of animal
life, and that air vitiated by animal respiration was a pabulum to
vegetable life; he had procured factitious air in a much greater variety
of ways than had been known before, and he had been in the habit of
substituting quicksilver in lieu of water in many of his experiments. Of
these discoveries he gave an account in his paper before the Royal
Society in 1772, which deservedly obtained the honor of the Copley
medal. In this paper he announced the discovery of nitrous air; he
showed the use of a burning lens in pneumatic experiments; he related
the discovery and properties of marine acid air; he added much to the
little theretofore known of air generated by animal putrefaction and
vegetable fermentation, and determined many facts relating to the
diminution and deterioration of air by the combustion of charcoal and
the calcination of metals. It was not until June or July, 1774, that he
made the full discovery of deph-
END OF PAGE 521
logisticated* air, which he procured from precipitate per se, and from
red lead. He announced this discovery publicly at the table of M.
Lavosier at Paris in October, 1774, and about the same time repeated his
experiments before the scientific chemists of Paris.
In a sketch of this nature it is impossible to pursue his
subsequent investigations; enough has been said to show that in the
brief space of two years he announced to the world more facts of real
importance and wide application in pneumatic chemistry than all his
predecessors had previously made known. His attention was called to the
subject purely by the accident of his proximity to a brew-house at
Leeds, where he had ample opportunity to observe and determine the
properties of fixed air; one experiment led to another, ultimately
resulting in the discoveries upon which his philosophical reputation is
principally founded.
After a residence of six years at Leeds, he entered the service of
the Earl of Shelburne, with whom he traveled in Europe. In 1780 he
became pastor of a dissenting congregation at Birmingham, where, in
1789, he became involved in a controversy regarding the "test act;" his
expressed approval of the French Revolution provoked a violent attack
from Burke in Parliament, and, to such an extent had his political views
aroused the hostility of the Birmingham populace, that, on the 14th of
July, 1791, his residence was burned by a mob. This called forth a
number of addresses, among which were several invitations to become a
member of the French Convention. During the next three years he resided
at London and Hackney, but, finding the hostility of his enemies
unabated, he decided to leave England, and embarked for America on the
7th of April, 1794. The considerations that induced his location at
Northumberland are thus stated in his "Memoirs:"-
At the time of my leaving England, my son, in conjunction with Mr.
Cooper and other English emigrants, had a scheme for a large settlement
for the friends of liberty in general near the head of the Susquehanna
in Pennsylvania. And taking it for granted that it would be carried into
effect, after landing at New York I went to Philadelphia, and thence to
Northumberland, a town the nearest to the proposed settlement, thinking
to reside there until some progress had been made in it. The settlement
was given up; but being here, and my wife and myself liking the place, I
have determined to take up my residence here, though subject to many
disadvantages. Philadelphia was excessively expensive, and this
comparatively a cheap place; and my sons, settling in the neighborhood,
will be less exposed to temptation and more likely to form habits of
sobriety and industry. They will also be settled at much less expense
than in or near a large town. We hope, after some time, to be joined by
a few of our friends from England, that a readier communication may be
opened with Philadelphia, and that the place will improve and become
more eligible in other respects.
In the spring of 1795 he began the construction of a house suitable
to his requirements and pursuits; it was completed in 1797, and still
stands in a
__________________________________________________________________
*This term was introduced to scientific nomenclature by Priestly;
"dephlogisticated air" is oxygen gas.
END OF PAGE 522
Page 523 contains a portrait of William Elliot
Page 524 is blank.
good state of preservation on North Way, with a lawn sloping to the
canal. Here he resumed his experiments and studies. He was offered the
professorship of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania, but
declined, although he delivered two courses of lectures in Philadelphia.
He corresponded with Presidents Jefferson and Adams, and, although a
voluminous writer on political economy, never participated actively in
civil affairs in this country, of which he never became a naturalized
citizen. In religious belief he was a Unitarian, and established at
Northumberland the oldest church of that denomination in central
Pennsylvania; he was also active in promoting the educational interests
of the community and was one of the founders of the old Northumberland
Academy, the first school of advanced grade in this part of the State.
The last years of his life were free from the controversy and care that
entered so largely into his experience, and thus he died, in peace and
quietness, on the 6th of February, 1804. His remains are interred in the
Northumberland cemetery.
The centennial anniversary of the discovery of oxygen was
celebrated at Northumberland in June, 1874, by a meeting of about fifty
of the most prominent scientists of the United States and Canada. David
Taggart delivered the address of welcome, and Professor Chandler, of
Columbia College, New York, presided. Appropriate memorial exercises and
scientific addresses were the features of the program. Cablegrams were
interchanged with the Priestley Memorial Committee of Birmingham. This
convention and the demonstrations of a similar nature in England
attracted wide attention.
Of Frederick Antes, William Cooke, William Wilson, Thomas Cooper,
and Seth Chapman, all of whom were judges in the county courts and
resided at Northumberland, extended mention is made in this work in the
chapter on the Bench and Bar, where sketches of early resident lawyers
also appear. The early physicians - Doctors Allison, Young, Lathey,
Jackson, and Rodrigue - receive corresponding mention in the chapter on
the Medical Profession.
EARLY MERCHANTS AND HOTELS.
A map of the Susquehanna river, drawn in 1701 by Isaac Taylor,
surveyor of Chester county, locates J. Letort's store at the site of
Northumberland. He was a French trader, and probably carried on a
thriving business with the Indians in the exchange of such commodities
as a savage population could assimilate for peltries, etc. This was
doubtless the initial commercial venture of the West Branch valley.
No definite particulars have been learned regarding merchandising
at Northumberland before the Revolutionary war. When the population
returned after the close of that struggle the first merchants were
probably William Wilson and John Boyd. Josiah Haines, Dr. Benjamin F.
Young, Peter Faulkner, Hepburn & Cowden, James Towar & Company, William
McClelland, and Robert Irwin were prominent merchants prior to 1800.
Wil-
END OF PAGE 525
son and Boyd continued in partnership until April 10, 1802. In the
Gazette of January 1, 1794, Peter Faulkner informs the public that he
has just received a consignment of goods from Philadelphia, for which
grain would be taken at market prices; he offers seven pence per bushel
for ashes, and twenty shillings per hundred-weight for "black salts." In
the issue of the same paper for April 16, 1794, Hepburn & Cowden offer a
reward of fifty dollars for the apprehension of certain "malicious, evil
disposed persons," who, on the 30th of March previously, had rolled
upwards of one hundred bushels of salt, one wagon, and one cart from
their landing into the river, and cut loose a boat. This firm dissolved
partnership, June 4, 1794, both continuing business individually. Some
idea of the mercantile business at that date may be obtained from the
following enumeration of articles advertised in the Gazette in 1801:-
Superfine, second, and coarse cloth, mixed, plain, striped, and
white cassimeres, striped, plain, blue, and brown nankeens, chintzes,
calicoes, ging-mufflins, and dimities of all kinds, large and small
umbrellas, velvets, thickset and fancy cords, satin, lustrings,
Persians, and Sarsonets, calimancoes, moureens, taboeens, and durants,
Irish linens, checks, and bed ticks, iron and copper tea kettles, German
and cradling scythes, sugars, coffee, and tea of almost all kinds,
sherry, madiera, and port wines, Jamaica spirits, French brandy, with a
few barrels of old whiskey, best Spanish and American cigars, with a
number of other articles.
James Hepburn, by whom this advertisement was inserted, conducted
business at a log building on the corner of North Way and Duke street.
He died on the 4th of January, 1817, in the seventieth year of his age.
John Cowden, who served as postmaster of Northumberland from 1795
until his death, January 12, 1837, was engaged in merchandising nearly
the whole of that time. His business establishment passed to William
Forsyth in 1835; the latter was succeeded in 1844 by his son, William T.
Forsyth, who continued in business until 1884.
Samuel McClintock and John Guier were also among the merchants of
Cowden's day. The former resided on Water street just above Queen, and
one of his sons is a prominent lawyer at Wilkesbarre; the store of the
latter was at the intersection of Water and Queen streets.
Ephraim P Shannon, son of Samuel Shannon, who settled at
Northumberland prior to 1800, was a native of this place and for some
years one of its prominent business men. His store was at the corner of
Queen and Front streets, where he erected the brick building afterward
incorporated in the Van Kirk house. He was born, February 4, 1797, and
died, August 27, 1851.
Daniel Brautigam, a native of Philadelphia, where he was born,
March 30, 1788, was in business for some years, individually or in
Partnership with others, at a stone building on the northeast side of
Queen street between Water and Front, now occupied by Straub's feed
store. He was appointed prothonotary of Northumberland county, January
29, 1836, and filled that position until February 5, 1839. He died,
March 10, 1863.
END OF PAGE 526
Clyde & Porter was the caption of a well known business firm about
the period from 1825 to 1840. William Clyde, senior member, was a
native of Ireland, and a chair-maker by trade, pursuing that avocation
in partnership with his brother Thomas at a log house still standing on
Queen street between Front and Second. Thomas died, July 21, 1822, at
the age of fifty-one years. Porter was the nephew of William Clyde.
Their business was transacted in the brick building at the corner of
Front and Market streets where Miss Lyon now resides. William Clyde
died, April 7,1841, at the age of sixty-five years.
John Hannah, an Irishman, a bachelor, and a man of comparative
wealth, had a store on Front street near the corner of Market, and owned
a series of buildings extending from the site of the Methodist Episcopal
church to Wheatley's alley. He died on the 20th of August, 1832, at the
age of eighty-three.
The First Hotel was that of Robert Martin, previously mentioned,
which was probably conducted until or during the Revolution. At the
beginning of this century the leading hotel was that of Peter Jones, a
building at the corner of Wheatley's alley on North Way now used as the
borough poor house. Jones was born, May 30, 1747, and died, March 5,
1826; prior to the latter event, however, he was succeeded by William
Forsyth, who was proprietor in 1822. David Taggart conducted a hotel in
a two-story brick building at the site of Morgan's shoe store on Queen
street, where he died, May 17, 1812, after which it was continued by his
widow many years. The Washington House, on the corner of Market and
Water streets, has borne its present designation longer than any other
of the present hotels. John Shreiner built the brick part of the
building in 1812, and James Lee, a well known character, was proprietor
many years. Henry Wolfinger, John Cake, and Mrs. Burr are remembered as
proprietors of the Cross Keys, at the corner of Market and Front, and
John Cake and John G. Wells at the Black Horse, which occupied the site
of the Methodist church. The Van Kirk House received its name from
Joseph Van Kirk, the first proprietor, and the Whitmer House was
established by George Eckert.
THE POSTOFFICE.
The first postoffice in Northumberland county was established at
Northumberland in 1795; postmasters have been commissioned in the
following order: John Cowden, November 13, 1795; William Forsyth,
January 26, 1837; Daniel Weimer, August 16, 1841; John W. Miles,
November 24, 1844; Catharine G. Boyd, May 8, 1849; Margaret Weimer,
November 11, l850, Charles F. Little, May 5, 1853; Jacob Ulp, July 26,
1853; Jacob Leisenring, January 14, 1858; Jacob Paul, February 5, 1858;
William Weimer, April 4, 1861; Josephine R. Weimer, January 30, 1877;
John C. Forsyth, September 8, 1885; Luther L. Haas, January 27, 1890.
END OF PAGE 527
BRIDGES, CANALS, AND RAILWAYS.
The Northumberland Bridge Company was the first incorporated in
Pennsylvania for the erection of a bridge across the Susquehanna. The
necessary preliminary legislation was secured, March 25, 1809,
authorizing the Governor "to incorporate a company for the purpose of
making and erecting a bridge and road over the Northeast Branch of the
river Susquehanna in the county of Northumberland, from the public
highway opposite the plantation of Thomas Grant to Shamokin island,
through the public highway of Shamokin island to the shore opposite
Northumberland, and from thence to the town of Northumberland." The
responsibilities of the enterprise were intrusted to a number of
commissioners, of whom Jacob Dentler, Joseph Priestley, John Boyd, James
Hepburn, John P. De Gruchy, and George Kremer assumed the active work of
soliciting financial support, and subscription books were opened at
Philadelphia and Northumberland. On the 30th of March, 1811, a
supplement to the act of 1809 was so amended as to empower the Governor
to incorporate the company as soon as public subscriptions to the amount
of sixteen hundred shares had been subscribed, and Messrs. Dentler,
Priestley, Boyd, Hepburn, De Gruchy, and Kremer, with Simon Gratz, John
Vaughan, and Henry Toland, their colleagues, having certified this
result to the Governor, the company was formally incorporated, October
19, 1811, and a subscription of fifty thousand dollars was forthwith
received from the State. The first election for officers occurred at
the house of David Taggart in Northumberland on the 23d of November,
1811, between the hours of eleven A. M. and five P. M., at which the
following officers were elected: president, John P. De Gruchy, six
hundred twenty-three votes; managers: Charles Hall, six hundred twenty-
three votes; David Taggart, six hundred eighteen votes: John Cowden, six
hundred eleven votes; Jacob Dentler, six hundred ten votes; James
Hepburn, five hundred twenty eight votes; George Kremer, four hundred
thirty-eight votes; treasurer, John Boyd, six hundred twenty votes;
clerk, John Cooper, five hundred sixty-six votes.
President De Gruchy had already had some correspondence with the
officers of the Mohawk, Schenectady, and Schoharie bridge companies, in
New York State, and the Trenton Bridge Company, of New Jersey, regarding
bridge construction; this correspondence was submitted to the managers
at a meeting held in Sunbury, November 27, 1811, at which the contract
was awarded Theodore Burr for the sum of eighty thousand dollars. His
only competitor was Robert Mills, of Philadelphia, who submitted a plan
and proposals, while Mr. Burr was present in person to explain the
method of construction of which he was the originator. The agreement
was concluded, November 29, 1811. The articles specify three piers
between Northumberland and Shamokin island and four between that island
and the Sunbury side, each to be twenty feet above low water mark to the
foot of the arches,
END OF PAGE 528
twenty feet wide at the bottom and eighteen at the foot of the arches,
and carried up eight feet between the arches; four abutments, thirty-two
feet wide and ten feet thick, supported by wing walls five feet thick at
the bottom and half that thick at the top; a superstructure, consisting
of arches, chords, truss-braces, braces, king-posts, etc., thirty feet
wide from "out to out" of the arches and thirty-one feet ten inches by
similar measurement from the king-posts, with two carriage-ways eleven
feet six inches wide and a footway four feet ten inches wide between
them; and two toll houses eighteen by twenty-four feet. The work was to
be commenced in March, 1812, and completed on the 31st of December,
1813; but if the company should not succeed in securing the State
appropriation agreeably to its wishes, the contractor was to have an
extension of one year. The act of April 2, 1811 authorized the Governor
to subscribe fifty thousand dollars, one half payable when the piers and
abutments were completed, the other half when the super-structure was
raised; but the management desired to complete that part of the bridge
between Northumberland and the island before undertaking the remainder,
and memorialized the legislature to make a corresponding change in the
manner of bestowing the appropriation. A further supplement, granting
the change proposed, was accordingly passed, February 3, 1812. This
provided that twelve thousand five hundred dollars should be payable
when the piers and abutments between Northumberland and the island has
been constructed, a like sum when the superstructure between these
points was raised, and the same amounts as the remainder of the work
progressed. The effect of this was to confirm that part of the agreement
with Mr. Burr which stipulated that the bridge should be completed on
the 31st of December, 1813.
The work of construction was begun on the 4th of June, 1812, when
the foundation of the abutment at Northumberland was laid; that of the
abutment at the island on the Northumberland side was laid the same
month; of the central pier, July 8th; of the pier next the island,
August 18th; and of the pier next the Northumberland side, September
14th. On the 7th of October, 1812, Mr. De Gruchy informed the Governor
that these two abutments and three piers were nearly completed, and
requested the appointment of a commission, agreeably to the law, to
examine them and report whether they were so constructed as to entitle
the company to call upon the State for a proportional amount of its
subscription. Bethuel Vincent, Thomas Pollock, and Jacob Lechner were
accordingly appointed; they made an examination on the 3d of November
following, and submitted a report highly complimentary to the company
and the contractor. All the arches on the Northumberland side were up,
on Tuesday afternoon, August 31, 1813, and on the 8th of December Mr. De
Gruchy requested the appointment of viewers for this part of the
superstructure. Bethuel Vincent, Thomas Pollock, and James Geddis were
appointed, and on Saturday, December 25, 1813, they met with the
officers of
END OF PAGE 529
the company, Messrs. De Gruchy, Kremer, Albright, Dentler, Cowden,
Hepburn, and Boyd, and crossed the bridge from Northumberland to the
island, preceded by the five-horse team of Jacob Dentler, one of the
managers, driven by Solomon Dentler, his son, and containing as many
persons as could find room in it. After crossing the bridge it returned
to the Northumberland side, amid the acclamations of a number of
spectators. The commissioners reported to the Governor that the work had
been done "in a masterly and workmanlike manner." The foundation of the
abutment on the Sunbury side was laid, October 29,1812, and the pier
nearest that side was partially constructed in the same year. The
foundation of the central pier was laid on the 10th of August, 1813, and
with its completion on the 29th of September the stone work of the
bridge was finished. Mr. De Gruchy had filed an application for viewers
on the 4th of September; Messrs. Vincent, Pollock, and Lechner were
appointed, and returned a favorable report. Under date of September 9,
1814, the Governor was informed that this part of the superstructure had
been raised, and on the 2d of December it was examined by Messrs.
Vincent, Pollock, and Geddis, who reported favorably. As thus completed
the western part of the bridge was eight hundred forty-eight feet, six
inches in length; the eastern part, nine hundred seventy-six feet, six
inches; the abutments, five hundred feet; the roadway across Shamokin
island, seventeen hundred forty-nine feet - a total length, including
frame-work, roadway, and approaches, of forty-three hundred seventy-four
feet. The plan originally decided upon had been variously modified; the
principal change was that made on the 7th of October, 1812, when it was
decided to erect three piers instead of four on the eastern side. The
floor, or "deck," was elevated forty-one feet above low water mark, and
the footway was raised four feet above the carriage way. The exterior
was painted.
The following schedule of tolls was adopted at a meeting of the
managers, September 10, 1814: for every carriage of whatever
description, used for the purposes of trade and agriculture, with four
wheels and drawn by six horses, one dollar twenty-five cents, with a
scale varying with the number of horses to the minimum of thirty-one and
one fourth cents for one horse; four-wheeled vehicles of pleasure, drawn
by four horses, one dollar twenty-five cents, with a reduction of
twenty-five cents for each horse; two-wheeled wagons, drawn by two
horses, fifty cents - by one horse, twenty-five cents; a chair or other
two-wheeled vehicle of pleasure, twenty-five cents for each horse; a
four-horse sleigh, fifty cents; a one-horse sleigh, or horse and rider,
eighteen and three fourths cents; a horse without a rider, twelve and
one half cents; foot passengers and horned cattle were charged six and
one fourth cents for each individual; sheep or swine, two cents; two
oxen, to be estimated equal to one horse; with a proportionately greater
charge for carriages of burthen laden with more than two tons weight.
The first toll collector was John Shreiner, appointed by the president
in pursuance of a resolution passed
END OF PAGE 530
by the directors, November 17, 1814; toll was first collected on the
21st of November, 1814, but only at the Northumberland side for some
time. Owing to inconvenience caused by a scarcity of small change, it
was resolved, at a meeting of the board on the 2d of December, to issue
printed notes of the denominations of fifty, twenty-five, twelve and one
half, and six and one fourth cents, and of one dollar, in the name of
the company signed by the president and countersigned by the treasurer.
Shreiner was only appointed temporarily; the first persons regularly
appointed as toll collectors were John Kendig, for the Sunbury side, and
John Gordon, for the Northumberland side, selected on the 16th of
December, 1814.
Although thus opened for travel in 1814, the bridge was not
actually completed until 1818. After making the contract with the
managers, Burr entered into similar agreements with bridge companies at
Harrisburg and McCall's Ferry, "and, as if these had not been more than
sufficient to give employment to an active and ambitions mind," in the
language of a report of the president and managers to the legislature in
1822, "he made a fourth contract, for building the bridge thirty miles
above us at Berwick." The report then states how Burr became involved,
and being unable to pay for materials or labor, the company assumed his
obligations, receiving as collateral security ten thousand dollars'
worth of stock which had been issued to him in part payment on his
contract. Gurdon Hewitt, Jr., was clerk, and Thomas Brown, foreman, in
charge of the work, during Burr's frequent and protracted absences at
other points, and it was through the former that the disbursements of
the board were principally made. The amounts advanced Mr. Burr over and
above the eighty thousand dollars specified in his contract ultimately
aggregated six thousand dollars. Ineffectual efforts were made to settle
this account at various times; this was finally consummated in 1824,
with Silas Marsh, administrator of Burr's estate, who transferred the
four hundred shares of stock held by Burr to the company, and was
released from all obligations incurred by him. The net receipts from
tolls had been devoted for some time to the extinguishment of this debt,
and when the stock had been transferred to the company it was
immediately cancelled, thus reducing the capitalization from ninety to
eighty thousand dollars.
The receipts during the first year amounted to three thousand one
hundred eighty dollars, thirty-two cents; a dividend of three per cent
was accordingly declared. For some years the company was not prosperous
financially, owing to a variety of disadvantages attending the
collection of tolls and damage sustained by its property. In 1839-40
that part of the superstructure between Northumberland and the island
was rebuilt, having been destroyed by a flood. In 1846 several spans
east of the island were blown down by a hurricane, two of which landed
in the river without sustaining serious injury and were rebuilt with the
original materials. On the 17th of March, 1875, the entire eastern end
and one span of the western end were carried
END OF PAGE 531
away by an ice flood. The span at the western end was immediately
rebuilt, and a ferry temporarily established on the other side of the
island, where the present bridge was erected in 1876.
The following is a list of presidents of the company since its
organization: John P. De Gruchy, 1811-29; James Hepburn, 1830-38; John
B. Boyd, 1839-44; Daniel Brautigam, 1845-58; John Taggart, 1858-77;
David Taggart, 1877-87; James Taggart, elected December 4, 1888, present
incumbent.
The West Branch Bridge was erected in pursuance of a joint
resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, approved by the
Governor on the 31st of March, 1828, authorizing the board of canal
commissioners, if it should be deemed expedient, to construct a turnpike
bridge and towing path at the mouth of the West Branch near
Northumberland. The principal contractors for its construction were
Reuben Fields, Randall Wilcox, and Lemuel B. Stoughton, and the work was
completed about the year 1831. This structure has also suffered from
floods at various times. In June, 1890, four spans were carried away,
leaving but one at each end, so that the present bridge is practically
new. It has two carriage ways, and a "towing path" used in transporting
canal boats across the river.
The North and West Branch Canals conferred a degree of importance
upon Northumberland of which their present condition scarcely affords a
suggestion. These formed part of the great system of internal
improvements projected and executed by the State; during the progress of
their construction they gave employment to large numbers of men and
placed considerable money in circulation, and after their completion
local business received a quickened impetus. The packet boat appeared as
the competitor of the stage coach, and the canal boat superseded the
river craft of former days; and, as the terminus of three divisions of
the canal, Northumberland was in a position to derive a large share of
the advantages it gave to commercial intercourse in this part of the
State. To what extent this was the case is shown by the fact that for
many years the only bank in the county was conducted here. But with the
advent of railroads the canals gradually lost their former importance,
and have ceased to be a factor of any consequence in sustaining local
interests.
Railways.- The Philadelphia and Erie railroad was opened to
Northumberland on Monday, September 24, 1855, when passenger travel was
established between this place and Williamsport. The Susquehanna river
bridge was erected in the following autumn, and the first train to
Sunbury passed over it, January 7, 1856.
The Lackawanna and Bloomsburg railroad was opened to passenger
travel, May 31, 1860, and the first train arrived at Northumberland at
forty minutes past nine o'clock on the morning of that day.
The Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg railroad (Philadelphia and
Reading) was opened in 1883.
END OF PAGE 532
The Sunbury and Northumberland street railway was opened to travel in
1890.
BOROUGH ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT.
The borough of Northumberland was incorporated on the 16th of
January, 1828, by act of the legislature, from territory formerly
comprised in Point township.
By the terms of this act, Ephraim P. Shannon, John Taggart, and
William Forsyth were appointed to superintend the first election of
borough officers, which was held at the house of John Leisenring on
Monday, April 6, 1829, resulting in the choice of the following persons:
burgess, Lawrence Campbell; council: John Porter, William Forsyth, John
G. Wells, John Taggart, James Gaston, Joseph R. Priestley, James
Hepburn; high constable, Thomas Waples; constable, William H. Ross;
overseers of the poor: John B. Boyd, John Leisenring; supervisors:
Samuel Cox, John Shreiner, Jr.
The following is a list of burgesses since the incorporation of the
borough: 1829-34, Lawrence Campbell; 1835-37, Henry Gossler; 1838,
William B. Mendenhall; 1839-41, A. L. Dieffenbacher; 1842, William B.
Mendenhall; 1843, Conrad Wenck; 1844, William B. Mendenhall; 1845-49,
George Everard; 1850, Barney Christy; 1851-56, George Everard; 1857,
William H. Waples; 1858-61, Cornelius B. Smith; 1862-65, Francis Renner;
1866-67, John Wheatley; 1868, William H. Morgan; 1869-70, Cornelius B.
Smith; 1871-72, A. H. Voris; 1873, Thaddeus G. Morgan; 1874-76, John C.
Forsyth; 1877, David M. Evans; 1878, William B. Stoner; 1879-80, Joseph
H. Everard; 1881, Alfred Hawley; 1882, Harris W. Burg; 1883, John E.
Colt; 1884, William A. Starick; 1885, John P. Dauberman 1886 Cyrus
Brouse; 1887, John P. Dauberman; 1888-89, Cyrus Brouse; 1890-91, W.
Oscar Landback.
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY.
John P. De Gruchy established a distillery at Northumberland about
the close of the last century, which, during the period of its
operation, was one of the most important and extensive industries of the
place. It was a brick and frame building, situated about half a square
above the river bridge on the south side of North Way. There were also
large frame sheds for the hogs and cattle that were fed on the refuse,
damaged stocks, etc., a cooper shop, and a boat yard. At the latter arks
and other varieties of river craft were made, in which the product was
shipped to Columbia, Baltimore, and other points. The proprietor resided
in a large brick and frame house on North Way opposite the distillery.
He was also actively associated with various other business enterprises.
Mr. De Gruchy was from England, where he had been engaged in business
and failed; he was more successful in this country, however, and after a
time was enabled to liquidate all the claims of
END OF PAGE 533
his former creditors. He died at Northumberland, February 1, 1830, in
the sixty-sixth year of his age.
A brewery, doubtless the first of any importance at Northumberland,
was operated as early as 1800 by Bernard Hubley. It was situated on
Market street, and comprised malt, brew, still, and mill houses, a malt
kiln with a capacity of forty bushels, and brew "coppers" large enough
to hold twenty barrels. The establishments of this nature also included
that of John Taggart, a red frame building at the Queen street crossing
of the canal, which originally occupied ground through which the canal
passes; William T. Boyd's, a brick building ninety by twenty-two feet,
at the corner of Queen street and North Way; Levi Hibbert's, on West Way
between Water and Front streets, and Edward Lyon's, at the corner of
Market and Front.
At a later date William McCay erected a stone distillery on Queen
street, an exceptional feature of which was a wind-mill of the style
then in vogue, by which water was pumped from a deep well on the
premises.
Four tanneries constituted the manufacturing facilities in that
respect. That of Thomas Bonham was on Queen street at the corner of
Fourth; the other three, owned, respectively, by John Hepburn, Jacob
Urban, and John Shreiner, were removed and the North Branch canal was
opened through the ground they formerly occupied.
If the opening of the canal caused the suspension of the tanning
industry, it gave rise to another of equal or greater importance - that
of boat-building. The first boatyard was established by Charles Storer,
on ground formerly occupied by De Gruchy's distillery. He was succeeded
by John Dunham and William T. Boyd. Robert Lesher and John Hummel were
engaged in boat-building on the West Branch canal between Front and
Second streets, John Lloyd on the North Branch at the Pennsylvania
railroad bridge, and Joseph Johnson and Samuel Elliott above the canal
terminus of Orange street.
Miscellaneous industries included the pottery of John Leisenring,
on Queen street opposite the Lutheran church; Robert McCay's, William
Leisenring's, and Joseph Hair's hat factories, among the most important
in this section of the State at the time; John S. Carter's, William and
Thomas Clyde's, and John Frick's chair-making shops; Frederick
Burkenbine's brick yard,, on Duke street between Fourth and Fifth; and
the shops of Alexander Colt, blacksmith, William R. Clelland, cabinet
maker, Hunter Pardoe and James Gaston, wagon makers.
In 1828 David Rogers, inventor of a patent scale beam, came to
Northumberland from the State of New York. Ephraim P. Shannon became
interested in the invention, and advanced capital for the erection and
equipment of a small foundry. The business was inaugurated with fair
prospects of success, but personal misfortune overtook Mr. Rogers and
obliged him to relinquish the enterprise, which was soon afterward
discontinued by Mr. Shannon.
END OF PAGE 534
The Northumberland Agricultural Works were established in 1853 by
A. H. Stone, the present proprietor, and comprise a one-story brick
building at the corner of Water and Duke streets. Tread-power threshing
machines are manufactured.
The Lumber Mill between West Way and the canal in the northern part
of the borough, although no longer operated, was at one time an
important local manufacturing establishment. It was erected in 1867 by
Chamberlain, Frick & Company; this firm became insolvent in 1884, and
the mill was operated by Edgar Holt as assignee until the following
year, when he became proprietor. A larger amount of work was done in the
season of 1889 than at any time in the previous history of the mill,
owing to the fact that the lumber industry on the upper waters of the
Susquehanna was temporarily suspended on account of damage sustained by
the flood of that year. Forty operatives were employed, and bill lumber
for railroad, ship building, and other special purposes was manufactured
to the amount of forty thousand feet per day.
The Iron Industry.- The Northumberland Iron and Nail Works, Van
Alen & Company, proprietors, were established in 1866 by T. O. Van Alen,
A. H. Voris, and George M. Leslie. In 1872 Mr. Van Alen purchased the
interest of A. H. Voris, and in 1886 that of George M. Leslie. The mill
at first contained but five puddling furnaces, one coal heating furnace,
and fifteen nail machines; it now comprises ten puddling furnaces, one
thirty-ton Smith's gas heating furnace, and fifty-three nail machines,
and has a capacity to make one hundred fifty thousand kegs of cut iron
and steel nails per year. The buildings consist of a mill about sixty-
five by three hundred fifty feet, and a foundry, machine, and cooper
shop thirty by seventy feet. One hundred sixty operatives are employed.
Taggarts & Howell, manufacturers of muck-bar and skelp iron, steel
and iron nails, are the successors of C. A. Godcharles & Company, by
whom the works were established in 1884. Upon the dissolution of that
firm in 1888 the plant was purchased by M. H. Taggart, from whom it
passed to the present proprietors on the 1st of October, 1889. The
building is two hundred fifty feet in length, with two wings, one
hundred eighty by eighty and two hundred by eighty feet, respectively;
the plant comprises ten double puddling furnaces, two heating furnaces,
and ninety-five nail machines, which afford a daily capacity of eight
hundred kegs of nails. Two hundred operatives are employed.
The blast furnace on the line of the Lackawanna railroad at the
eastern limits of the borough was built by a Mr. Marsh, of Lewisburg,
but has never been operated with the exception of a brief period.
The Northumberland Car Works were erected in 1872 by a company of
which A. C. Simpson was the first president and William T. Forsyth the
first treasurer, and occupied a location near the North Branch at the
outskirts of the borough. In 1874 the plant was purchased at sheriff's
sale by
END OF PAGE 535
C. A. Godcharles & Company; after protracted litigation the buildings
were removed, and now constitute part of the nail mill of Taggarts &
Howell.
Flour Mills.- Charles Houghton's flour mill at the corner of Fifth
street and West Way was erected some years since, but is not operated at
this time (1890). A. O. Van Alen's flour mill, built in 1890, is
situated at the corner of West Way and Fourth street.
SCHOOLS.
The following particulars regarding the early schools of
Northumberland were contributed to the "Report of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction for 1877" by John F. Wolfinger, of Milton:-
In 1798, or thereabouts, the first school house at this point, a
log structure, thirty by thirty feet in size and one story high, was
built on the corner of Wheatley and Park alleys, in the northern part of
the town, and so was called the "Wheatley school house" or "Alley school
house," in after years. Among the families who sent their children to
this school, we have the names of Cowden, Forsyth, Frick, Hepburn,
Priestley, Shannon, and Wheatley. The name of the first teacher and his
successors are unknown. But in 1814, George Bowdery taught there, and he
was succeeded by William Leathern and James Aiken. In 1802, or
thereabout, the second school house, also a log structure, twenty-four
by thirty feet in size, was built in the southeastern part of the town.
Its first teacher was a Mr. Wiley, and his successors were the Rev.
William Christie, George Bowdery, Mr. Train, James Forest, Edward
Chapman, Rev. William H. Smith, and John Bear. The writer of this sketch
was one of Forest's scholars, and the families that then sent children
to this school bore the names of Albright, Boyd, Campbell, Chapman,
(Chappell, Crutchley, De Gruchy, Gaskins, Jackson, Lee, Leighon, Lloyd,
McClintock, Morris, Newberry, Norbury, Waples, Waters, Weitner, Wilson,
and Zeitler. In 1819 Samuel Kirkham, the author of " Kirkham's English
Grammar," taught school for one or two quarters in the Northumberland
"town hall," being the second story of the town's "market house," that
stood in the center of the square, immediately in front of the present
residence of Dr. Joseph Priestley. In this "hall," now gone, the writer
went to Kirkham's school, who (Kirkham) boarded with the writer's
father, Henry Wolfinger, who then kept tavern in the brick house now
occupied by Doctor Priestley.
In 1803, "The Northumberland Academy," an ornamental two-story
brick building, was built on the corner of West Way mid Second streets,
on the west side of the town, mainly through the efforts of the
celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, the English chemist and philosopher,
who had some years before emigrated from England, and made this town of
Northumberland his last earthly home. The Rev. William Christie, a
Unitarian clergyman, was the first principal of this academy, and his
successors were the Rev. Isaac Grier, his son, Robert C. Grier
(afterward a lawyer and one of the judges of the Supreme court of the
United States), the Rev. Robert F. N. Smith, and Rev. Elijah D. Plumb.
Among the scholars of this old academy, now gone, we find the names of
William B. Sprague, James Thompson, William Montgomery, Charles G.
Donnel, Abraham S. Wilson, George A. Frick, and George A. Snyder (a son
of Governor Simon Snyder), all of whom became men of note in different
departments of life.
Thomas Cooper was prominently connected with the educational
interests of the town at the beginning of this century. Rev. William
Christie, formerly of Winchester, Virginia, was induced to locate at
Northumberland
END OF PAGE 506
largely through his efforts and those of Doctor Priestley, and opened
his first school at this place on the 6th of July, 1801, at the
residence of Mr. Cooper. The latter gentleman also formulated the
petition to the legislature for an appropriation in aid of the academy.
This document recites that four thousand dollars had been expended upon
the building; that the sum of one thousand eighty- three dollars was due
the treasurer, four hundred dollars had been advanced by James Hepburn,
and an equal sum was due the workmen employed upon the building; and
that Rev. Joseph Priestley had offered to donate his library of four
thousand volumes to the institution upon certain conditions with which
the legislature was asked to comply. Jesse Moore was then a
Representative from Northumberland county, and through his support an
appropriation of two thousand dollars was secured.
On the 25th of February, 1792, Reuben Haines executed a conveyance
to James Hepburn, James Davidson, and William Cooke, "trustees of Union
school," for lot No. 59, on the east side of Market street near Third,
at the nominal consideration of five shillings. In 1801-02, Thomas
Whittaker taught the "Union school." This may have been one of the
school buildings referred to by Mr. Wolfinger.
The public school system was adopted in 1834, and for some years
thereafter the schools were conducted at small buildings in different
parts of the borough. The present substantial and commodious building on
Second street between Market and Orange is a brick structure one hundred
by sixty-four feet in dimensions, with six apartments on the first floor
and three main rooms with two recitation rooms on the second floor. The
work of construction was begun in 1870, and the board at that time was
composed of Charles B. Renninger, W. H. Leighon, D. M. Brautigam, John
H. Vincent, J. C. Chestney, and J. O. Tracy; the completed building was
opened in January, 1872, with the following corps of teachers:
principal, B. F. Hughes; assistant principal, C. M. Lesher; secondary
grades: Miss D. L. Huzzey and Miss S. J. Gossler; primary grades: Miss
Fannie Housel and Miss Leisenring.
LOCAL JOURNALISM.
The Sunbury and Northumberland Gazette was established in 1792 by
Andrew Kennedy and continued as late as 1817. It was the first newspaper
in Northumberland county. In 1802 John Binns started the Republican
Argus, in the publication of which he was succeeded by Matthew and
Andrew C. Huston. George Sweney published the Columbia Gazette in 1813,
and in 1818 Rev. Robert F. N. Smith edited the Religious Museum.
Alexander Hughes and others published the Northumberland Union in 183-,
and after its suspension there was no local paper until 1872, when the
Public Press was established by C. W. Gutelius, the present proprietor.
SECRET AND OTHER SOCIETIES.
The following secret and other societies were organized or
instituted at the respective dates: Northumberland Lodge, No. 196,
I.O.O.F., August 17, 1846; Eureka Lodge, No. 404, F. & A.M. February 3,
1868; Chillisquaque Tribe, No. 152, I.O.R.M., 1872; Onward Lodge, No.
179, K. of P., August 26, 1879; Captain James Taggart Post, No. 350,
G.A.R., June 20, 1883; John Brautigam Camp, No. 51, S. of V., September
13, 1883; Washington Camp, No. 374, P.O.S. of A., November 21 1888;
Pilgrims' Conclave, No. 30, S.P.K., December 19, 1887.
CHURCHES.
First Presbyterian Church.- The earliest record of Presbyterian
services at Northumberland is that contained in the journal of Philip V.
Fithian, a licentiate, who made a missionary tour through the frontier
counties of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1775. On Sunday, the 2d of
July, he held services at the house of Laughlin McCartney, and on
Thursday, July 20th, at the house of Mr. Chattam on North Way.
Whether an organization had been formed at that early date can not
be satisfactorily determined; but there was a large and influential
Presbyterian element in the community, and it is not improbable that the
formal election of elders may have occurred. On the 31st of May, 1787,
seventeen members of the Northumberland church, eight from Sunbury, and
forty-eight from Buffalo, on behalf of their respective congregations,
united in a call to the Rev. Hugh Morrison, who was accordingly
installed; a clause in this call - "having never in these parts had the
stated administration of the Gospel ordinances" - establishes
conclusively the fact that Mr. Morrison was their first regular pastor.
Under his administration it is supposed that the first church edifice
was erected; this was a log structure located near the site of the
present town hall on Market street. Rev. Isaac Grier, S. T. D., who died
at Northumberland on the 22d of August, 1814, was Mr. Morrison's
successor; he was followed by Reverends Robert F. N. Smith, William R.
Ashmead, William R. Smith, Wheelock S. Stone, and William R. Smith, all
of whom included Sunbury and Northumberland and possibly the churches of
Shamokin and Hollowing Run in the field of their labor.
In 1838 a division in the church occurred, the new organization
taking the present name with Rev. John Patton as first pastor. It was
popularly known as the "new school," while the other received the
corresponding designation of "old school." The former erected the
present brick edifice on Queen street in 1840-44; the brick structure on
Market street now occupied as a town hall was built by the "old school"
and used as a place of worship until 1870, after which it was diverted
to its present purposes. In September, 1870, the two branches united;
Rev. A. D. Moore, pastor of the "new school"
END OF PAGE 538
congregation, continued in charge of the resulting organization, for
which a new session was elected. The present pastor is Rev. J. D.
Fitzgerald.
The Sunday school was organized on the first Sunday of April, 1816,
by Misses Mary Jenkins and Sarah Boyd. For some years it was conducted
in a log school house on Wheatley alley between Front and Second
streets.
Methodist Episcopal Church.- The Northumberland circuit, embracing
the entire West Branch valley and extensive contiguous territory, was
formed on the 6th of May, 1791, at a meeting of the Methodist Episcopal
conference at Baltimore, Maryland. Reverends Richard Parrott and Lewis
Browning were appointed to this field in 1791, but if there was an
organized society at Northumberland at that date, no records relating to
it are known to be extant. The places of worship were probably private
houses, school houses, and possibly the old market house. By a
conveyance executed on the 10th of June, 1819, Samuel Shannon and
Margaret his wife deeded to Abraham Dawson, Christian Heck, Eli Diemer,
and Jacob R. Shepherd, of Northumberland, and John Macpherson, of East
Buffalo township, Union county, Pennsylvania, as trustees, a lot of
ground on the east side of Third street between Market and Orange, at
the nominal consideration of one dollar and upon condition that they
should "erect and build or cause to be erected and built thereon a house
or place of worship for the use of the Methodist Episcopal church." A
frame structure was accordingly constructed, and served as a church
building until 1856, when the present brick edifice at the corner of
Market and Front streets was erected during the pastorate of Rev. Joseph
A. Ross and under the supervision of a building committee composed of
Conrad Wenck, Joseph Johnson, and James Scott. The dedication occurred
on the 23d of November in that year. It was extensively repaired in 1867
and reopened on the 17th of November in that year. The commodious
parsonage, which occupied an adjoining lot, was built in 1889.
Northumberland became a station in 1865, and has had the following
pastors since that date: 1865-66, Henry G. Dill; 1867, W. H. Dill; 1868-
69, J. F. Ockerman; 1870-72, B. F. Stevens; 1873-75, James Hunter; 1876-
77, G. Warren; 1878-80, Martin L. Drum; 1881-82, E. T. Swartz; 1883,
William C. Hesser; 1883-85, James Hunter; l886-87, Bartholomew P. King;
1888-90, Joseph D. W. Deavor, present incumbent.
Unitarian Church.- The doctrines of this church were first
disseminated in central Pennsylvania by Rev. Joseph Priestley, who
preached at Northumberland in a log school house near his residence on
North Way. Rev. William Christie was the next resident Unitarian
clergyman, but the first regular pastor was probably the Rev. James Kay,
who preached at Northumberland from 1822 until his death in the autumn
of 1847. A union church building that occupied the site of the present
Lutheran edifice was the place of worship for some years. In 1834, at a
nominal consideration, John Taggart and Hannah his wife executed a deed
to Daniel M. Brautigam, Joseph R. Priestley,
END OF PAGE 539
Charles Gale, John Leighon, Hugh Bellas, Christopher Woods, James
Gaston, and John Taggart for the ground on the east side of Second
street between Market and Orange upon which the present brick Unitarian
church is situated. Reverends Weston, McDaniel, Lathrop, Porter,
Billings, Lane, Boarse, Catlin, and others succeeded Mr. Kay as pastor;
since 1878 services have been regularly continued by the ladies of the
congregation, who have also sustained a Sunday school.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church.- The lot upon which the
church edifice is situated was donated by John Lowdon and William
Patterson on the 27th of August, 1772, but no building for religious
worship was erected thereon until 1817. The brick for this structure
were made by Frederick Burkenbine, and laid by Levi Myers and Charles
Maus; John Richtstine was architect and foreman of the carpenter work;
the building committee consisted of Jacob Dentler and John Leighou for
the Lutheran congregation, J. S. Haines and John P. De Gruchy,
Episcopalians, and Jacob Urban, Reformed. The corner-stone was laid,
July 6, 1817, and the dedication occurred, August 30, 1818, in which
services the Reverend Hendel, a Reformed minister of Lebanon, Rev. J. P.
Shindel, a Lutheran minister of Sunbury, Rev. Robert F. N. Smith, the
Presbyterian minister of Northumberland, and Reverend Schnee, a Lutheran
minister of Pittsburgh, participated Rev. J. P. Shindel was the first
Lutheran and Rev. Martin Bruner the first Reformed pastor after the
erection of the church edifice.
About 1820 Rev. Elijah D. Plumb, an Episcopal minister, began to
hold regular services, and continued until his death a few years later.
Rev. J. P. Shindel continued as Lutheran pastor until 1823, at which
time the church became financially embarrassed. Appeals were made
through Henry Renninger for immediate relief, but a sufficient amount to
liquidate the debt of three hundred eighty-five dollars six cents, still
due Mr. Richtstine for work on the church building, was not furnished.
Suit was brought by Mr. Richtstine, as the result of which a levy was
made on the church property, February 1, 1823. The sale took place on
the 16th of June following, when the property was purchased by Hugh
Bellas, attorney for the church and a Unitarian in faith, who paid the
debt and deeded the building to the different denominations to be used
by them for religious worship three fourths of the time, retaining a one
fourth interest for the Unitarian congregation. In 1834 money was
collected by the trustees of the Lutheran and Reformed congregations,
and half of the lot, then owned by William A. Lloyd, was purchased, thus
securing the church property for these congregations. They jointly
called the Rev. E. Meyer, a Reformed minister of Danville, who served
both congregations in 1839. Upon his resignation both appear to have
disbanded.
During the year 1847. Rev. R. Weiser reorganized the Lutheran
element with the following officers: John Leisenring and Henry Wenck,
trusrees;
END OF PAGE 540
Page 541 contains a portrait of D. Heim
Page 542 is blank.
John Diehl and Henry Wenck, elders, and Samuel Williard and Michael
Barnhart, deacons. The reorganization took place in the market house on
account of the dilapidated condition of the church building. Mr. Weiser
preached occasionally, but the congregation was destitute of regular
pastoral ministration until 1848, when Rev. M. J. Alleman took charge
and remained until 1850; he continued as a supply, however, until July,
1852. Under his administration the house of worship was repaired, the
Reformed congregation disposing of their lot, on the northeast corner of
Queen and Fourth streets, in order to secure means for their portion of
the necessary expense. Rev. P. Born, D. D., was called as the next
Lutheran pastor and entered upon his duties, August 1, 1858, at which
time the remnant of the Reformed congregation united with the Lutherans.
From that date until 1871 this church formed part of the Sunbury charge,
and was served by the following ministers: Reverends P. Born, D. D., P.
Rizer, M. Rhodes, D. D., and G. W. Hemperley; since 1871 it has
constituted a separate charge, and the pastoral succession has been as
follows: Rev. E. E. Berry, 1871 to April 1, 1876; E. B. Killinger,
September, 1876, to August, 1884; J. A. Koser, January 1, 1885, to July
31, 1888, and A. N. Warner, the present incumbent, who assumed charge on
the 1st of December, 1888.
The present church edifice, a substantial brick structure, was
erected at a cost of eleven thousand dollars in pursuance of
congregational action taken at a meeting on the 18th of November, 1877.
The church numbers two hundred eighty communicant members; the Sunday
school has a numerical strength of three hundred, and is superintended
by Dr. J. W. Sheets.
St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church.- Regarding the early
families of Episcopal faith at Northumberland definite information is
exceedingly meager. It seems probable that they were connected with
Christ church at Milton, which was represented in the diocesan
convention of 1794 by Bernard Hubley, an ex-Revolutionary officer and a
man of prominence in military and business affairs at Northumberland.
John P. De Gruchy and J. S. Haines, as Episcopalians, were members of
the committee under which the union church was built in 1817-18, and
after its completion a parish appears to have been organized under the
name of St. John's with Rev. Elijah D. Plumb as rector. It seems more
probable, however, that no organization was effected until 1847, when
the present frame church building at the corner of Market and Second
streets was erected. The parish was incorporated, August 17, 1860, upon
petition of Henry Haas, Joseph Priestley, John Hilbert, John F. Kapp,
George Merrick, Amos E. Kapp, M. J. D. Withington, and C. F. Little.
From 1847 to 1870 it was connected with the Sunbury parish, and the
succession of rectors was as follows: Rev. B. Wistar Morris, 1847-50;
William B. Musgrave, 1850-51; William W. Montgomery, 1852-55; J. W.
Gougler, 1856-59; Theophilus Riley, 1859; Lewis Gibson, 1860-66, and
Charles H. Vandyne, 1867-69. Reverend Moore became the resident rector
in
END OF PAGE 543
1870; he was succeeded in 1872 by Rev. Charles G. Adams, who resigned in
1875. Since that date the parish has been vacant, although services
have been occasionally rendered by the rector in charge of St. Matthew's
at Sunbury. The church edifice was remodeled during Mr. Adams's
administration.
The Baptist Church was organized, July 7, 1842, as the result of a
revival conducted by Reverends C. H. Hewit and Jesse Saxton; the
constituent members were John Budd, Mary M. Budd, Sarah Garrison,
William Reed, Rachel Reed, Catharine Miles, Ann Burke, Charity Burke,
William Leighon, Augustus Leighon, Charles Morgan, Jesse Smith, Jacob
Deatz, Brooks Epley, Washington Newbury, John Erlston, Mrs. Susan Deatz,
Mary Smith, Elizabeth Smith, Margaret Smith, Susanna Smith, Susan Deatz,
Elizabeth Erlston, Jane Hullihen, Ann Lesher, Mary Morgan, Deborah
Wallace, Sophia Huff, Susanna Stamm, Elizabeth Dill, Harriet Waters,
Sarah Watts, Susanna Newberry, Samuel Deatz, and Mary Ann Hullihen. The
succession of pastors and supplies has been as follows: Reverends C. H.
Hewit, A. J. Hay, F. Bower, A. B. Still, J. Green Miles, George J.
Brensinger, Caleb Davidson, Howard Malcom, Mr. Frear, George W. Folwell,
Mr. Mitson, J. E. Lagebeer, A. L. More, A. C. Wheat, D. Williams, B. B.
Henshey, W. J. Hunter, R. B. McDaniel, J. L. Miller, D. Trites, G. A.
Peltz, L. W. Zeigler, George F. McNair, J. P. Tustin, and J. H. Haslam.
Prior to the organization regular services were first held in 1822 by
Rev. Henry Clark.
Two lots at the corner of Queen and Second streets were deeded by
Reuben Haines on the 29th of October, 1792, to Samuel Miles and Theodore
Shields, trustees appointed by the Baptist church of Second street,
Philadelphia, on the 5th of July, 1784. The first church building
erected thereon was a one-story brick structure; it was superseded in
1870, during the pastorate of Rev. J. Green Miles, by the present
substantial brick edifice.
CEMETERIES
The cemeteries of Northumberland possess great historic interest.
Lots were reserved at the founding of the town for the various religious
denominations, and these were early used for burial purposes. That of
the Presbyterians is the largest in extent; among those interred here is
Robert Crownover (born, December 7, 1755; died, October 29, 1846), the
well known Revolutionary guide and scout; Joseph Haines (born, August
15,, died, May 14, 1795), evidently a connection of the family by which
the town plot was once owned, is buried in the rear of the Lutheran
church; and many old families are here represented, while the number of
mounds at which there is no legible tombstone attests the fact that
interments were made in these burial grounds at an early period in the
history of the West Branch valley. At the present time, the Catholic
cemetery alone is inclosed and cared for it is to be regretted that
public indifference has permitted the desecration of these hallowed
spots.
END OF PAGE 544
The Northumberland Cemetery Company was incorporated on the 26th of
March, 1853; the corporators were Joseph R. Priestley, Daniel M.
Brautigam, William H. Waples, Amos E. Kapp, William Forsyth, John
Taggart, James Taggart, and Jesse C. Horton. The grounds, comprising
twenty acres in the northeastern part of the borough, were laid out by
Dr. R. B. McKay. The first president of the company was Joseph R.
Priestley, the first vice-president, Jacob Leisenring, and first
secretary and treasurer, Daniel M. Brautigam. The first board of
managers, elected on the 6th of January, was composed of Joseph R.
Priestley, Daniel M. Brautigam, Amos E. Kapp, Jesse C. Horton, William
H. Waples, William T. Forsyth. and Jacob Leisenring.
END OF Chapter XV.
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