Caketown, Northumberland County Pa.
Today, the area known as Caketown is part of Sunbury - but originally, it was it's own area, with a boardwalk connecting it to Sunbury. Caketown had it's own hotel, bank, school, and chapel.
Joseph W. Cake "made wealthy in real estate speculation and through interest in the railroads", purchased most of the land in the general area of the Hunter farm in Sunbury Pa, in June of 1863. He laid out the streets and sold lots, naming the area "Caketown". Cake had also acquired the adjoining Scott farm in 1859, making him the owner of the original Hunter and Scott farms that comprised Fort Augusta.
Caketown was incorporated into the city of Sunbury in 1867.
In 1871, as editorials urged the borough to complete a boardwalk from Caketown to Sunbury, it was reported: "We find about one half of the workingmen at the railroad shops, are living with their families, and boarding in town, and are compelled to walk over a muddy road, or on the railroad track, to reach their place of business. Walking on the railroad is dangerous, and accident may occur at any time. In erecting a board walk, the business men of the town would be vastly benefitted, as it would no doubt draw trade which now goes to Northumberland."
On May 22nd 1894, The Barnum & Bailey Circus came to Caketown.
Cake named some of the streets in his development, for his friends: Masser, Greenough, & Packer. Other streets, Julia, Amy, Alice, Joseph, and John, were named for his wife and four children. In a 1972 interview, Cake's granddaughter recalled: "Grandfather named the streets in his real estate holding after the children and my grandmother. When I used to ride the streetcar through the area, the conductor would call out 'Julia Street, Amy Street, Alice street', and I would think 'Oh, isn't that awful!?' It was a little bit personal, having the names of one's grandmother, aunts, uncles and father being called out in that manner.
The Food In Caketown - Year unknown, maybe 1899?
On July 28th 1919, Caketown experienced a heavy storm, while the rest of the city barely experienced a drizzle. The same day, there was a fire at the corner of Regan and Railroad Avenue.
The site of Caketown was included in the boundaries of the Borough of Sunbury in 1858. The site was reannexed to Upper Augusta Township in 1860, but again became part of the borough in 1867. The area always paid taxes to Sunbury.
Editor Sunbury News - We noticed an article in THE NEWS, under date of March l7th 1882, entitled "Eminent Domain," in regard to the opening of Second street to what is called Cake-town. as much as to say "the Cakes" stand in the way of opening Second street. Their are three streets opened between the railroad and Front street in Caketown; south of Packer street, to the old Borough line, which are, viz Railroad avenue, Susquehanna avenue and Fort Augusta avenue, all within a distance of 630 feet of the railroad, showing as a fact, without any cost to the Borough, said were opened by "the Cakes." The road taxes collected in Caketown for the past ten years have been expended elsewhere, for improving the streets in the old Borough. Why don't the Borough Council spend the road taxes collected (at least once in ten years) in Caketown, on the streets in that part of the Borough For the information of the editor of The News, we will state that the way to get Second street opened to Caketown is to petition the Court under the general road laws, to appoint viewers for that purpose, and if their report is favorable and confirmed by the Court, the street can then be opened by order of the court. The citizens of Caketown live within the Borough limits of Sunbury, and pay taxes for that privilege, and should have equal accommodations with the rest of the Borough. J. A. C..
Prior to 1866, Cake sold 42 acres of land, located just east of Edison Avenue, to the residents of Sunbury, who had raied $9.800 for the purchase, by popular subscription. The land was given to the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad. a Rail yard and 36 bay roundhouse were constructed on the land. The Pennsylvania Railroad later expanded the yard and constructed railroad shops.
Cakes dream of a passenger station on Packer Street never came to fruition, and by 1873, Caketown had experienced only sparse development. In 1889, many of the lots still remained vacant. Of the 50 homes constructed by 1889, most were erected by or for those who worked for the Philadelphia and Erie, later the Pennsylvania, Railroad.
1936 Front and Packer Street - sign for the cake Hotel on the left
July 1886 - Northumberland County Democrat:
While Purdytown has been advancing Cake town has not been slumbering. If there were half a dozen houses there to 1866 the writer cannot locate them. He has a distinct recollection of just two the Cake and Hunter houses, the former destroyed by fire a few' years ago. It was about that time that the P. E.
shops were built. The Cake and Hunter farms west of the railroad were soon cut up in streets, alleys and lots and improvement followed improvement. When' our present Fifth ward was in the midst of a prosperous streak the Fountain House was built to accommodate the railroad men. But it didn't prove a very profitable investment. It is a big building, but it is too big even to-day for its location.
Caketown is improving and before many years the railroad eompauy will have a dopot up there, then the surroundings will grow to fit the size of the hotel. Some of the fields on which Caketown now stands were rich in Indian relics twenty years ago. The point of the plow gouged more than one defunct red skin in the ribs, or rather th'em, eudiIuijahK caused his spirit in the J-farppy hunting ground to, groan oyer the rude shaking up its earthly tenement got. Those days have passed the only remainder we have of them is an occasional arrow head picked in some out of the way place. M.
L. Hendricks used to have, and very likely yet has, the most; complete collection of Indian articles useful, ornamental and barbarous hereabouts, nearly all of which came from the farms on which Caketown now stands.
Front Street Sunbury, Showing the Cake Bank on the right.
Col. Cake constructed the Augusta Bank on North Front and Packer streets. In the photo above, the house is much further from the road. The road has been moved and widened over the years, encroaching well into what was once the front yard.
Chartered in 1873, the bank operated for 4 years. The building still stands today - and has bank signs displayed on it.
Still stands today as the God's Missionary Church
In 1946, there was a lawsuit over the chapel, with the 5th War dResidents called to testify in the suit of Union Sunday School against the Heirs of the Late J.A. Cake, to determine who owned the title to the property. Some of those who testified had assisted in building the chapel.
According to various testimony, the lands where the chapel stands were dedicated and appropriated to the public by J.A. Cake. The building was erected by Caketown residents, and was always available to the community for public worship, but was not permitted to be appropriated or confiscated by a single sectarian group. The Church Board was elected by Community Citizens. By the 1920s, other churches had been constructed in the ward, and attendance at the community church had drastically declined.
The Rev Charles Miller, affiliated with the Evangelical Church, moved into the "infants room" of the chapel in 1936. In exchange for the rent free lodgings, he made sure the chapel had coal and that the water pipes did not freeze. Miller had a church in Lewistown, and came to Sunbury from Sugar Valley. He testified that services had been held in the chapel regularly over the past 10 years. "Not weekly, not monthly, but regularly."
Mr Straub testified that a group had attempted to lock his group out of the chapel back in 1938, but he had broken the lock. He said it was the same group trying to buy the chapel from the Cake heirs in 1946.
In 1946, the Cake heirs asserted that the organization that once held services in the church no longer existed, and the property should revert to the Cake heirs, according to their fathers will.
It's interesting to note that no morning session was held for the court hearing, because "the lawyers attended the ground breaking ceremonies of the flood control project"
In November the court ruled in favor of the "Union S.S.", the group responsible for the building services into the 1920s, led by Mr Straub, who continued to make sure the building was maintained.
The Caketown Hotel
Formerly known at the "Fountain House"
"Krause A Co, of Milton, put a new tin roof on the Fountain House in Caketown several years ago for J. Adam Cake, for which be paid them on contract $360, Kiruse Co. now demand the payment of the balance, something over one hundred dollars. is claimed by defendant that the wind blew the roof off, which it oould net have done had it been properly put on. According to this Dakota would be a mighty uncertain place for tinners.
I don't think a tin roof wis ever tacked down that would stand even the feather edge of a cyclone. Of course if the wind was strong enough Krause's tin roof was bound to fly, and it did. Verdict for plaintiffs in the sum of $40."
The building still stands today, at the corner of Packer and Edison Streets.
In January of 1884, a notice ran in the Northumberland Democrat: "took the large comb off the window in the Hotel during the dance last evening, which was brought there for the accommodation of the ladies, would kindly return it the owner would be very much obliged. The party that took it was watched."
The Cake Hotel was purchased by the First National Bank of Sunbury on May 18th 1939.
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Caketown News
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In September of 1883, Mrs Page (widow) was putting up a dwelling opposite Eben Bostian's in Caketown. Samuel R. Donahue was appointed foreman of the repair carpenters, and Farmer Eben Bostion had a fair crop of corn and his truck patch yielded bountifully. The town had the "curiosity in the shape of a cross eyed dog." The animal belonged to Despatcher Jacoby. And the schools were said to be "getting along finely. Mr Shipman and Miss Grant are well liked as teachers."
Also in September of 1883, The Sunbury Weekly News reported that "the neighbors of Mrs. George Koenig, of Caketown, made her a little donation on Tuesday evening. Several large basketfuls were given her and her little children. George has flet on account of his late riotous conduct"
In January of 1884, James Beard's new house in Caketown was almost completed. The Northumberland Democrat also reported that "Mr Charles Hinton, the young man who was so seriously injured by being caught between the bumpers of a train a couple of weeks ago, is improving." Also, "the little girl, Glaw who fell on the ice and inuured her limb is in critical condition. Blood poisonining has set in and the lim bill have to be amputated."
John Refferor purchased the property occupied by Eben Bostian in Caketown, from a Philadelphia fire insurance company, for $800 in April of 1884. That same month, Oliver Drumheller owned a double brick house in caketown, rented to Herman Walters and Moses Culp.
Water lines were first run in Caketown in February of 1884. Dr Moody was also erecting a frame tenant house at the upper end of Caketown, that same month.
In 1886, E.F. Weist & Susie Karchner were the teachers in caketown.
In 1896, the late property of Judge Green, including 8 of the finest lots in West Caketown, were for sale. Included were 6 good houses, and one house for rent.
January 1884
Charles Hinton, James Beard, Glaw
READ MORE
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The 100 acre Caketown was surveyed in September of 1863. It was bordered by Line street on the south, North Front street on the west, Edison Avenue on the East, and "the Sunbury City Line" on the north. Today, the area is known as the 5th Ward.
Cake owned an additional, adjoining, 243 acres, extending to Catawissa Avenue on the east. He had purchased the two tracts of land in 1859, and 1863. The Northern Central Railroad tracks had been extended from Trevorton to Sunbury in 1858, and Cake believed that the railroad line would spur such rapid development that Sunbury would become merely a suburb of caketown.
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Prescott Hall, who had heled build the chapel, testified that he had attended Sunday School there until he joined the Evangelical Church. He recalled that he was "only a boy, but I did my mite", in handling the brick for the construction. He also recalled attending a revivla at the Chapel around 1931. He added that he did not know how often a year services were held, but that "one night when he was coming by the chapel from his own church, he heard mustic coming from the chapel, opened the door and found there was a real old time prayer meeting going on."
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JOHN ADAM CAKE, attorney, of Sunbury, has been engaged in the practice of law in that borough for a period of forty years and has extensive real estate holdings in that part of the borough formerly
known as Caketown, the management of which occupies considerable of his time.
For a number of years he was actively interested in politics, from whichhe withdrew, however, some years ago.
Joseph W. Cake, his father, laid out an extensive addition to the original town plat of Sunbury which was named Caketown in his honor, and which he had surveyed in September, 1863. He died Jan. 1, 1879, and his wife died Aug. 25, 1879. She is buried at Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., while Mr. Cake is buried in Pomfret Manor cemetery at Sunbury. They had children as follows: Alice, who married J. G. Lowery; Joseph; John Adam; Edith, who died young; and Amy, who married Joseph S. Adam.
John Adam Cake was born Aug. 25, 1846, in Harrisburg, Dauphin Co., Pa., and received his preparatory education at Russell's Military School, taking his collegiate course at Yale and Princeton.
He studied law under Benjamin H. Brewster, at Philadelphia, and was admitted to the Northumberland county bar at Sunbury in March, 1870, for a year previous to which event he had continued his law studies under Messrs.
Rockefeller and Rohrbach, in that borough. He has ever since maintained a law office in Sunbury, in that part of the borough once known as Caketown, but which has for many years formed a part of the
municipality.
Mr. Cake was quite active in political affairs for a number of years. In 1867 and 1868, during his father's incumbency of the position of United States collector at the port of Philadelphia, he was assistant cashier at the custom house in that city. He was one of the early advocates of the Greenback movement, and was a delegate to the convention held at Toledo, Ohio, in 1878, for the organization of the National Greenback and labor party, taking an active part in the work of that convention. He represented his district in the national conventions of that party held in 1880 and 1884, working hard during the Weaver and Butler campaigns, and in 1880 was himself the nominee of his party for Congress, in 1882 for judge of the Supreme court. Since the disintegration of the Greenback party he has been a Republican, but he has not taken any direct part in public affairs or in promoting the
success of the party beyond the regular casting of his vote.
He is an intelligent and public-spirited citizen, and uses his influence in a quiet way for the promotion of all worthy objects which have in view the advancement of the general welfare.
On Feb. 27, 1868, Mr. Cake married, at Pottsville, Pa., Minnie E. McCullough, daughter of Capt. Hugh McCullough, who lost his life while serving in the Union army at the battle of Murfreesboro. Mrs. Cake died the mother of four children: (1) John Adam, born at Sunbury Jan. 19, 1869, died there. He graduated from the Sunbury high school in 1887, after which he was a student for three years at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., and then returning to Sunbury read medicine with the late
Dr. F. B. Masser, completing his preparation for the medical profession at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1893.
He practiced at Sunbury from that time until his death, meeting with a degree of success which comes to few. He was a working member of the Northumberland County Medical Society. Dr. Cake spent much time at college in the gymnasium and athletic sports, for which he always retained a fondness. In February, 1894, he married Clara Jones, of Shamokin, and they had one daughter, Helen Marie. (2) Minnie C. is the wife of Mason Noble. (3) Joseph W. is engaged as a conductor on the
Pennsylvania railroad. (4) Edith. Mr. Cake was married (second) to Mrs. Dunkelberger. He is a Mason,
holding membership in lodge No. 22, F. & A.M., of Sunbury.
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Eban Bostian my ancestor. Thank you for these articles.
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