What began, for me, as a simple quest to determine the origin of a series of "defendants exhibit " photos, from Danville in 1904, lead me on so many rabbit trails that I could not condense it easily into one facebook post. After spending two days reading about street paving that year, I have such a tangled mess of notes - but also, a much better "view" of Danville at the time.
1904 was a busy year for Danville. As the Intelligencer reported, in July:
"The year 1904 is on the wane. Sewerage is completed, the street railway is under construction, street paving is about to be commenced, and the old graveyard, it is claimed, will be turned over to the city and will be used for a public park. 1905 will find us under vastly different surroundings and circumstances. We will be a justly proud people. Added to this, we can expect our city to own and control it's own light."
The majority of my notes below are concerned with the street paving project. But in those notes are information on the businesses, trolley lines, milk man deliveries, public fountain, removal of the canal bridge across mill street, the curb side market and street awnings...
If you had asked me last week what was happening in Danville in 1904, I would have replied with "Ice Flood". To me, that was the headline. In the Danville newspapers (there were at least 3 that year), the flood, and the long lasting icebergs were passing news - but the paving of Mill street stayed in the news, all year long. It was the paving, not the flood, that brought most of the changes that year.
In 1904 the street paving project was pushed through, because of the electric railway line coming to Danville.
I'll start with an overview of where to find the shorter posts, about each item - then below this you will find many more notes and photos from the 1904 paving of main street.
In 1904 Danville:
 |
|
 The Curbside Market
|
|
 |
.jpg) |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 Block By Block Through the Decades |
 |
In January of 1904, a petition was being presented to Borough Council for the paving of Mill Street. The Montour American, on January 14th, reported that " considerably more signers than are required" had signed the petition.
The Danville and Bloomsburg electric railway company had "let the contract for constructing the line. Realizing then that there was no time to lose if street paving was to take place coincident with the laying of the trolley track in the borough, the committee again took up the petition and made an effort to secure additional signers."
According to the January 14th article, "Yesterday it was announced that the project was secure." Mill street was to be paved with vitrified brick from the river bridge to Center street. "Mill street is about 39 feet wide with the exception of the spot in the vicinity of the weigh scales, where the street is much wider."
The trolley company was to pave 9 feet. The balance of the paving costs were to be split equally between the borough and the property owners. Although the math does not quite work out, the same article reported that the Owners, Borough, and Trolley Co would each take on 1/3rd of the cost.
A month later, in February of 1904, the project was still going forward, but numerous details were being dealt with. Things like access to sewer lines, the exact materials to be used, etc. The trolley company suggested that Warren Paving, rather than vitrified brick, would be more economical, and would utilize a concrete base.
In March, an issue arose with the telegraph poles. The borough wanted to reroute them, as part of the paving project. A representative from New York came to Danville, and a special meeting was called, in an attempt to come to some sort of agreement on the removal, and replacement, of the poles - work that had been stopped a week prior. It was found that the borough had entered into an agreement with the American Telegraph and Telephone Company back in 1891. The council in 1904 was unaware that this company even had poles erected in the borough - and discovered that the company, maintaining 58 poles in Danville, had never paid any tax - even though an 1897 ordinance required a tax, and repealed all former ordinances. The telegraph company maintained that they were unaware of any taxes, but were willing to pay, retroactively. They did not believe that the 1891 agreement was subject to appeal.
(Note that the ice flood occurred in March of 1904, washing away bridges and causing a variety of severe damages)
In May of 1904 a contract was awarded to T.L. Evans and sons, to replace the canal bridge with a stone culvert. (Note to self - see photos of Mill Street Block by block through the decades, I believe that answers my question of what was happening in that one photo..) At the end of May, the paving ordinance had been approved by the Chief Burgess, and was to be advertised as required by law. "The next step will be the drawing up of detailed plans and specifications which will be the work of the committee on streets and bridges in connection with the borough surveyor" Work was expected to begin about July 1st.
Other interesting notes about the market in 1904 - a complaint before council was made about stores on Mill street purchasing items from the farmers set up for market, and then reselling those items in their stores. This was a violation of the ordinances at the time. Second note - Ferry Street was being considered as the alternate location for the market, but was not idea due to the "lack of cover" - the farmers having become accustomed to the shelter from the awnings on Mill street. In October of 1904, newspaper articles were calling for the "antiquated" wooden coverings [awnings] to be removed. "Wake up Danville business men, and throw off the somber covering that seem likely to produce Rip Van Winkle sleep! Every wooden awning should disappear before the paving work is finished so that Mill street may become a sprightly, beautiful business thoroughfare." [The market returned to Mill street on Thursday December 1st, 1904]
By the end of June, with the advertisements for proposals for paving Mill street having been made, " agents interested int eh paving proposition turn up with the arrival of every train, bringing with them a varied collection of paving brick. Brick have been arriving by express for nearly a week past, and Council Chamber now presents more the appearance of a brick kiln than a hall..."
In July, council met and decided on the Reese Hammond block, made in Bolivar Pa. Those bricks were covered by only two of the bids on hand. The contract for paving was awarded to D.J. Rogers [of Danville], as the lowest bigger.
Work was expected to begin the first week of August, with a crew of 50-60 men being employed in the work. It was expected to take 3 months to complete the job, and the trolley company "will have to lay it's tracks before the work of paving is begun". The roadway needed to be dug out to a depth of 12 inches. It was expected that the work would be done in sections, with 600 feet of street blocked off at a time. "While this work will close the street in such a manner as to prevent driving through it, yet those places on either side of the blocked portion will be accessible; and though some inconvenience will result this plan will not close the highway all together."
A later article stated: "No one experiences more inconvenience in being kept off Mill street while paving is in progress than the milkmen. These are obliged to tie their horses at as convenient a spot as possible, mostly on East or on west Mahoning street, and to carry their milk for a square up and down Mill street."
On August 19th at 2pm, an injunction was served on the Danville and Bloomsburg Electric Railway Company, by the Sunbury Electric Railroad Company, "praying that the former company be restrained from laying tracks up on ground the latter claimed it alone had the legal corporate rights." The injunction was in force for a mere 15 minutes, before Judge Thompson, who had granted it, dissolved it.
On September 7th, the public fountain, located near the weigh scales, was removed from it's foundation and moved to the west side of the culvert on Mill street, where a brick foundation was being prepared for it. The water would not be turned on until the paving was completed along that section of Mill street. [This was the W.C.T.U. fountain]
The first paving block was laid on Monday September 12th. It was placed in position by Miss Helen Magill, daughter of R.D. Magill and " a representative of once of the oldest families in town." (according to the Montour American, Will G. Brown took a photo of the first brick being laid.) "Miss Magill was the great great granddaughter of General William Montgomery, the founder of Danville, and the great granddaughter of Daniel Montgomery for whom the town was named."
In October it was announced that the weigh scaled, with were "formerly located at the corner of Mill and Bloom streets and which it was found necessary to remove due to street paving" were to be reinstalled at the junction of Bloom and Walnut Streets.
By mid October, the Danville and Bloomsburg Trolley Company was in court over "the grade crossing injunction matter". It is very probable that the photos from this ebay listing, "defendants exhibit", were from this hearing.
Mill Street was completed and opened in November of 1904. The Market returned to Mill street on December 1st.
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'll read the comments and approve them to post as soon as I can! Thanks for stopping by!