HISTORY: Warner Beers, 1886, Part 2, Chapter 4, Cumberland County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Bookwalter Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cumberland/ ______________________________________________________________________ History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania. Containing History of the Counties, Their Townships, Towns, Villages, Schools, Churches, Industries, Etc.; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; Biographies; History of Pennsylvania; Statistical and Miscellaneous Matter, Etc., Etc. Illustrated. Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886. http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cumberland/beers/beers.htm ______________________________________________________________________ PART II. HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA. CHAPTER IV. COUNTY ORGANIZATION - LOCATION OF COUNTY SEAT - DIVISION OF COUNTY INTO TOWNSHIPS - COUNTY BUILDINGS - POPULATION - POSTOFFICES IN 1885 - INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS - PUBLIC ROADS - RAILROADS. CUMBERLAND COUNTY was named after a maritime county in England, bordering on Scotland. I. Daniel Rupp, in a sketch of this county in Egle's History of Pennsylvania, published in 1876, says: "The name is derived from the Keltic, Kimbriland. The Kimbrie, or Keltic races, once inhabited the county of Cumberland, in England," but we are inclined to think that the word Cumberland signifies "land of hollows," from the Anglo Saxon word "comb," a valley or low place. In the matter of pedigree Cumberland is the sixth county formed in Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester were established in 1682, Lancaster in 1729 and York in 1749. Petitions having been presented to the Assembly by numerous inhabitants of the North or Cumberland Valley, among whom were James Silvers and William Magaw, in behalf of the inhabitants of the North Valley, on the ground of their remoteness from the county seat, Lancaster, and the difficulty which the sober and the quiet part of the valley experienced in securing itself against the thefts of certain idle and dissolute persons (who easily avoided the courts, the officers and the jail of so distant a county town), praying for the establishment of a new county, an act was passed to that effect on the 27th of January, 1750. Robert McCoy, of Peters Township, Benjamin Chambers, of Antrim, David Magaw, of Hopewell, James McIntire and John McCormick, both of East Pennsborough, were appointed commissioners to carry out the provisions of the act. The territory embraced in Cumberland County was set off from Lancaster, and its ample limits were thus described: "That all and singular the lands lying within the province of Pennsylvania, to the westward of the Susquehanna, and northward and westward of the county of York, be erected into a county, to be called Cumberland; bounded northward and westward with the line of the provinces; eastward partly by the Susquehanna and partly by said county of York; and southward in part by the line dividing said province from that of Maryland." 67 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. It was also further enacted, in order to better ascertain the boundary between Cumberland and York Counties, that commissioners should be appointed on the part of the latter to act in conjunction with those of the former for that purpose. The York County commissioners were Thomas Cox, Michael Tanner, George Swope, Nathan Hussey and John Wright, Jr. The commissioners of the two counties disagreed when they met to fix the boundary line. Those from Cumberland wished the line to commence opposite the mouth of Swatara Creek and run thence along the ridge of the South Mountain (or Trent Hills, or Priest Hills); but to this the York County commissioners would not listen; they wished the Yellow Breeches, or Callapasscinker Creek, to form a portion of the boundary. The difficulty was finally settled by the Assembly in an act passed February 9, 1751, which says: "But for as much as the ridge of mountains called the South Mountain, - along which the lines, dividing the said counties of York and Cumberland, were directed to be run by the several hereinbefore mentioned acts, before the river Susquehannah, to the mouth of a run of water called Dogwood Run, - is discontinued, much broken, and not easily to be distinguished, whereby great differences have arisen between the trustees of the said counties concerning the matter of running said lines; by which means the boundaries of said counties between the river Susquehanna and the mouth of aforesaid run of water called Dogwood Run, are altogether unsettled and so likely to continue to the great injury of the said counties, and to the frustrating the good purposes by the hereinbefore mentioned acts of Assembly intended for the preventing hereof, it is hereby enacted, that the creek called Yellow Breeches Creek, from the mouth thereof where it empties into the Susquehanna aforesaid, up the several courses thereof, to the mouth of a run of water called Dogwood Run, and from thence on one continued straight line, to be run to the ridge of mountains called the South Mountain, until it intersects the Maryland line, shall be and is hereby declared to be the boundary line between said counties of York and Cumberland." Previous to this legislation a petition from the commissioners appointed on the part of Cumberland County to run the line had been presented to the Assembly setting forth facts as follows: "That the York commissioners, refusing to run the line agreeable to the act of Assembly, the petitioners conceived it their duty to do it themselves, and accordingly began opposite to the mouth of the Swahatara [now Swatara - Ed.], on Susquehanna River, and then took the courses and distances along the highest ridge of the mountain, without crossing any running water, till they struck the middle of the main body of the South Mountain, at James Caruther's plantation; a true draught whereof is annexed to the petition. That the draught of the line and places adjacent, laid before the house by the York commissioners, as far as relates to the waters and courses, is altogether imaginary, and grounded on no actual survey; those commissioners having no surveyor with them, nor so much as attempting to chain any part of it. That the petitioners would willingly agree to the proposal of making Yellow Breeches Creek the boundary, if that draught had any truth in it; but as it is altogether false, and the making that creek the line would actually cut off a great part of the north valley, reduce it to a point on the Susquehanna, and make the county quite irregular, the petitioners pray that the line in the draught to their petition annexed may be confirmed, or a straight line granted from the mouth of Swahatara to the middle of the South Mountain." This petition was read and ordered to lie on the table. - [Votes Assem., IV, 154, 8th mo., 18th, 1750, as quoted by Rupp.] Had the line been established as prayed by this petition, the eastern end of the county, as now existing, would have been about the same in extent as the 68 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. western; whereas now it is much less - or narrower. Mr. Chambers, one of the Cumberland County commissioners, on the establishment of the line had written as follows to Richard Peters, secretary, but all to no avail: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, October 8th, 1750. Sir: I received your letter in which you enclosed the draughts of the line run by the commissioners of York County and ours; and if the branches of the Yellow Britches and Great Conewago interlocked in the South Mountain, as laid down in the aforesaid draught, I would be of opinion with the Assembly that a line consisting of such a variety of courses could not be a good boundary between two counties. I can assure you that the courses that we, the commissioners of Cumberland, run, we chained, and have returned by course and distance the ridge of the mountain, and can send our deposition that we crossed no running water above ground, and that we have run it past Capt. Dills, till we are in the middle of the mountains, as laid down in the red line in their draughts; so that our draughts will show you that theirs is but an imaginary of the waters, done by some friends of York County who had no regard for our country's welfare; for we sent our return to be laid before the Assembly at the same time that York County laid this one before them that your Honor was pleased to send me. But our messenger did not deliver our return to the House, or if he had, I suppose they would not have troubled his Honor, the Governor, to send any further instructions to us, for I humbly suppose that there cannot be any better boundary than the ridge of the mountain; for, were there a line run to cross the bends of the waters of both sides and the marks grown old, it would be hard for a hunter to tell which county the wolf was killed in, but he may easily tell whether it was killed on the descent of the North or South Valley waters. Likewise, a sheriff, when he goes to say house where he is not acquainted and enquires at the house whether that water falls into the North or South Valley, can tell whether they live in his county or not, which he could not tell by a line crossing the heads of the waters of both sides till he made himself acquainted with said line; so that if you will give yourself the trouble to enquire at any of the authors of that draft that was laid before the Assembly, you will find that they never chained any part of their line to know the distance, and therefore cannot be capable to lay down the heads of the waters. Sir, I hope you will send me a few lines to let me know if our return be confirmed, or we must run it over again. But you may believe that the ridge of the mountain and heads of the waters are as laid down in our return; and we run it at the time we went with you to Mr. Croghan's, and did not expect to have any further trouble; and I yet think that his Honor, the Governor,* will confirm our return, or order them to disapprove of it by course and distance. Sir, I am your Honor's most humble servant, BENJAMIN CHAMBERS. Location of County Seat. - In the act organizing the county of Cumberland the same persons appointed to run the boundary line, or any three of them, wee authorized to purchase a site for the county court house and prison, subject to approval by the governor. It was at the same time the desire of the proprietaries to lay out a town at the same place. The matter of selecting a suitable site was very difficult, as no less than four locations were offered. At length Thomas Cookson, Esq., the deputy surveyor at Lancaster, was sent to examine the different places and report to the governor, after hearing the arguments in favor of each. He reported mainly as follows: LANCASTER, March 1, 1749. Honored Sir: - In pursuance of your directions I have viewed the several places spoken of as commodious situations for the town in the county of Cumberland, and also the several passes through the Kittochtinny and Tuscarora Mountains, for the convenience of the traders to Allegheny. I shall take the liberty of making some observations on the several places recommended, as the inhabitants of the different parts of the county are generally partial to the advantages that would arise from a county town in their own neighborhood. And first, the inhabitants about the river recommended the Manor, that being a considerable body of the proprietaries' land, well timbered, and likely to be rendered valuable should the town be fixed there; but the body of the county cry loudly against that location as lying in a distant corner of the county, and would be perpetual inconvenience to the inhabitants attending public business, and a great charge of mileage to the respective officers employed in it. The next situation is on Le Tort's Spring. This place is convenient to the new path to Allegheny now mostly used, being at the distance of four miles from the gap in the Kittochtinny Mountain. There is a fine stream of water *Gov. James Hamilton. 69 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. and a body of good land on each side, from the head down to Conodogwainet Creek, and the lands on both sides of the Conodogwainet are thickly settled. As these lands are settled, if it should be thought a proper situation for the town, the people possessed of them are willing to sell their improvements on reasonable terms, or exchange them for other lands of the honorable proprietors'. There is a tract of abut 2,000 acres of tolerably well timbered land, without water, adjoining the settlements on Le Tort's Spring, which may be serviceable to accommodate the town, and lies as marked in the plan. If this place should not be central enough, the next situation is the Big Spring. It rises a mile and a half to the northwest of the great road, five miles from Dunnings, and seven from Shippensburg; runs into the Conodogwainet in about three miles, and has good land on each side and on the Conodogwainet, and a great quantity of land to the southward, which is tolerably well timbered, but has no water. The honorable proprietaries have a tract of 4,000 acres on the north side of the Conodogwainet, opposite to the spring, and there is a gap in the mountain called McClure's Gap, convenient for bringing the road from Allegheny to this place; and, with the purchase of two or three small improvements, the proprietaries might be accommodated with a sufficient quantity of land for that purpose. As to Shippensburg, I have no occasion to say anything, the lands being granted; and, indeed, if that were not the case, the lands about it are unsettled, for the want of water, which must be a sufficient objection. The next place proposed was on the Conococheague Creek, where the road crosses it. The lands to the eastward of it are vacant, the settlements being chiefly on the sides of the creek. The situation is very good, and there is enough vacant land, as only the plantations on the creek would need to be purchased. This place was proposed as more convenient for the Indian trade, and opened a shorter and better passage through the mountains. It is true a tolerable passage may be had, but it must be by various turnings. Upon the whole, the choice appears to me to lie between the two situations of Le Tort's Spring and the Big Spring. Upon fixing the spot, directions will be necessary for a plan of the town, the breadth of the streets, the lots to be reserved and those to be allotted for the public buildings. In the execution of which or any other service for the honorable proprietaries committed to me I shall take great pleasure. I am, honored sir, your most obedient, humble servant, THOMAS COOKSON. The site upon Le Tort's Spring was finally determined upon, and Carlisle sprang into existence; though, even after the courts were removed from Shippensburg, there was considerable effort made to have the county seat located elsewhere than on the Le Tort, various reasons being urged why other locations were better adapted for the purpose. The place was laid out in 1751, and as late as May 27, 1753, it contained but five dwellings. Division of County into Townships. - The records of the court of quarter sessions of Lancaster County for November, 1735, contain the following: "On the petition of many of the inhabitants of the North Valley on the west side of the Susquehanna River, opposite to Paxton, praying that the parts settled between the said River and Potomac River, on Conodogwainet, Yellow Britches and Conegochegue Creeks may be divided into townships and constables appointed in them, it was ordered by court that a line running northerly from the Hills to the southward of Yellow Britches (crossing a direct line by the Great Spring) to Kightotining Mountain, be the division line, and the easternmost township be called Pennsborough and the western Hopewell." In 1741 Hopewell was divided "by a line beginning at the North Hill at Benjamin Moor's' thence to Widow Hewres' and Samuel Jamison's and in a straight line to the South Hill," the western division to be called Antrim (in what is now Franklin County) and the eastern retaining the name of Hopewell. In 1745 Pennsborough seems to have been divided, as the returns are then first made from East Pennsborough and West Pennsborough. Dickinson was formed from a portion of West Pennsborough in 1785; Silvers' Spring (now Silver Spring) from part of East Pennsborough in 1787, and Middleton was divided into North and South Middleton in 1810, the original township of Middleton having been formed as early as 1750, when the county was organized. [See Chapter III.] 70 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. The first courts at Carlisle were held in a temporary log building on the northeast corner of the Public Square, where St. John's Church now stands. About 1766 a small brick court house was erected in the southwest quarter of the Square. March 3, 1801, the county commissioners advertised for proposals to build "a house for the safe keeping of the public records of the county," which are known to have been nearly completed December 22, 1802. It was a building also of brick, adjoining the court house. In 1809 a cupola and bell were placed upon the court house. An incendiary fire on the morning of Monday, March 24, 1845, destroyed these buildings, with the fire company's apparatus in a building close by. The county records were mostly saved through the efforts of the citizens. The court house bell, which fell and was melted in the fire, was a gift from some of the members of the old Penn family and had been greatly prized. Steps were at once taken to erect a new court house, and the present substantial fire-proof brick building was completed in 1846, having cost $48,419. It is 70x90 feet with a row of fine Corinthian columns in front, and is surmounted by a belfry in which are a clock and bell. A stone jail was built about 1754, on the northwest corner of High and Bedford Streets and was enlarged in 1790. A petition to the Assembly for aid to complete it in 1755 met with no response. Stocks and a pillory were also erected on the Public Square in 1754, and it was many years before their use and the custom of cropping the cars of culprits were abolished. The present massive jail, with a brown stone front and an appearance like that of an ancient feudal castle, with battlemented towers, was built in 1853-54 at a cost of $42,960. It stands on the site of the old one and has a yard in the rear surrounded by a high and solid stone wall. The sheriff resides in the front part of the building. The poor of the county were for many years either "collected near the dwelling of some one appointed to have charge of them, or farmed out to those who for a compensation were willing to board them." It was not until about 1830 that an alms-house was erected and then after much "consultation and negotiation" the fine farm and residence of Edward J. Stiles, about two miles east of Carlisle, in Middlesex Township, were purchased for the purpose, ad additional buildings have since been erected. Mr. Stiles was paid $13,250 for his property. In 1873, at a cost of $33,284, a building was erected especially for the accommodation of the insane and idiotic. Many improvements have been made on the farm and it is a credit to the county. From the territory originally embraced in Cumberland County Bedford was formed in 1771; Northumberland in 1772; Franklin in 1784; Mifflin in 1789 and Perry in 1820. These have been in turn subdivided until now, 1886, the same territory embraces about forty counties, with wondrous resources, great wealth and extensive agricultural, mining, stock and manufacturing interests. Cumberland County as now existing includes a tract thirty-four miles long and from eight to sixteen miles in width. Of its total area, 289,784 acres are improved. Population. - By the United States census for each year it has been taken, the population of Cumberland County is shown to have been as follows: In 1790, 18,243; in 1800, 25,386; in 1810, 26,757; in 1820, 28,606; in 1830, 29,226; in 1840, 30,953; in 1850, 34,327; in 1860, 40,098; in 1870, 43,912; in 1880, 45,997. The following table gives the population by townships and boroughs from 1830 to 1870, except for the year 1840: 71 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. TOWNSHIP OR BOROUGH 1830 1850 1860 1870 Dickinson Township 2,505 3,094 3,446 1,617 East Pennsborough Township 2,186 1,605 1,845 2,719 Frankford Township 1,282 1,241 1,401 1,369 Hampden Township - 1,273 1,229 1,199 Hopewell Township 901 1,053 1,326 977 Newburg Borough - - - 392 Lower Allen Township 2,336 1,134 1,383 1,336 Middlesex Township - - 1,520 1,417 Mifflin Township 1,431 1,574 1,460 1,455 Monroe Township 1,562 1,772 1,849 1,832 Newton Township 1,349 1,666 1,978 2,345 Newville Borough 530 885 715 907 North Middleton Township 1,933 2,235 1,046 1,223 Carlisle Borough 3,708 4,581 5,664 6,650 Carlisle, East Ward - - 2,913 3,379 Carlisle, West Ward - - 2,751 2,271 Penn Township - - - 1,888 Shippensburg Township 180 198 277 381 Shippensburg Borough 1,608 1,568 1,843 2,065 Silver Spring Township 1,792 2,308 2,301 2,259 Mechanicsburg Borough 554 882 1,939 2,569 Southampton Township 1,484 1,651 1,985 2,050 South Middleton Township 2,072 2,262 2,873 8,226 Upper Allen Township - 1,220 1,275 1,341 New Cumberland Borough - 315 394 515 West Pennsborough Township 1,732 2,040 2,175 2,180 By the census of 1840 the county made the following showing: Number furnaces in the county, 6, producing 2,830 tons cast iron; hands employed in furnaces and forges, 400; capital invested, $110,000. Number horses and mules in the county, 9,247; neat cattle, 24,204; sheep, 23,930; swine, 47,235; value of poultry (estimated), $12,671. Bushels of wheat raised, 567,654; barley, 11,104; oats, 654,477; rye, 247,239; buckwheat, 13,772; Indian corn, 645,056. Other productions: Pounds wool, 47,133; hops, 4,812, beeswax, 680; bushels potatoes, 121,641; tons hay, 24,423; tons hemp, 114; cords wood sold, 14,849; value of dairy products, $100,753; orchard products, $18,860; value of home-made or fancy goods, $24,660. Number tanneries, 31, which tanned 12,970 sides of sole leather, 10,777 of upper, and employed 64 men on a capital of $89,175. Soap manufactured, 230,218 pounds; candles, 45,060 pounds. Number of distilleries, 28, producing 252,305 gallons "alcoholic beverages:' breweries, 3, producing 12,000 gallons beer. Fulling-mills, 12; woolen factories, 9, making $26,800 worth of goods and employ 61 persons; 1 cotton factory; 1 paper-mill; 54 flouring- mills, making 71,652 barrels flour; 8 grist-mills; 63 saw-mills; 1 oil- mill. Total capital invested in manufactories, $390,601. The census for 1880 shows the following exhibit for Cumberland County: White population, 43,807; colored, 2,167; Japanese, 3. Of the colored population Carlisle had 1,117, and of the total inhabitants in the county 45,322 were natives and 655 foreign born. Number farms in county, 2,983; acres improved land, 232,093; value of farms, including land, fences and buildings, $19,776, - 980; value farming implements and machinery, $727,411; value live-stock on farms, $1,358,224; cost of building and repairing fences in 1879, $86,166; costs of fertilizers purchased in 1879, $52,042; estimated value of farm products sold and on hand for 1879, $2,509,572; bushels barley raised in 1880, 2,553; buck wheat, 1,242; Indian corn, 1,219,107; oats, 937,166; rye, 33,055; wheat, $34,517; value of orchard products, $46,554; tons hay raised, 52,284; bushels Irish potatoes, 144,418; bushels sweet potatoes 9,510; pounds tobacco, 448,118; 72 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. number horses, 10,737; mules and asses, 652; working oxen, 4; milch cows, 12,614; other cattle, 13,442; sheep, 8,772; swine, 32,773; pounds wool, 53,816; gallons milk, 121,619; pounds butter, 960,516; pounds cheese, 2,352; number manufacturing establishments, 308; capital invested $2,266,409; total hands employed, 1892; wages paid, $535,068; materials used, $1,727,681; value of products, $2,850,640; assessed value of real estate, $12,223,355; value of personal property, $2,054,110; total taxation for 1880, with the exception of one or more townships from which no reports were received, $185,480; indebtedness of county, bonded and floating, $142,106. In 1778, when the townships in the county were Allen, East and West Pennsborough, Hopewell, Middleton and Newton, besides the borough of Carlisle, there were 111,055 acres of patented and warranted lands, 512 acres of proprietary manor lands, and 206 lots in Carlisle, upon all of which the total taxation was 120L. 3s. 4d. The population of Cumberland County, by townships and boroughs in 1880, was as follows, according to the United States census report: Carlisle Borough, 6,209 (comprising Ward No. 1, 1,714; Ward No. 2, 1,202; Ward No. 3, 1,613; Ward No. 4, 1,680); Cook Township, 417; Dickinson Township, 1,741; East Pennsborough Township, 3,084; Frankford Township, 1,514; Hampden Township, 1,000; Hopewell Township, 1,069; Lower Allen Township, 972; Mechanicsburg Borough, 3,018 (comprising Ward No. 1, 1,153; Ward No. 2, 763; Ward No. 3, 543; Ward No. 4, 559); Middlesex Township, 1,466; Mifflin Township, 1,507; Monroe Township, 1,905; Mount Holly Springs Borough 1,256; Newbury Borough, 433; New Cumberland Borough, 509; Newton Township, 1,843; Newville Borough, 1,547; North Middleton Township, 1,115; Penn Township, 1,521; Shippensburg Borough, 2,213; Shippensburg Township, 494; Shiremanstown Borough, 404; Silver Spring Township, 2,263; Southampton Township, 1,992; South Middleton Township, 2,864; Upper Allen Township, 1,400; West Pennsborough Township, 2,161. In November, 1885, the county contained the following postoffices: Allen, Barnitz, Big Spring, Bloserville, Boiling Springs, Bowmansdale, Brandtsville, Camp Hill, Carlisle*, Carlisle Springs, Cleversburgh, Dickinson, Eberly's Mill, Good Hope, Greason, Green Spring, Grissinger, Hatton, Heberlig, Hoguestown, Hunter's Run, Huntsdale, Kerrsville, Lee's Cross Roads, Lisburn, Mooredale, Mechanicsburgh*, Middlesex, Middle Spring, Mount Holly Springs, Mount Rock, Newburgh, New Cumberland, New Kingstown, Newlin, Newville*, Oakville, Pine Grove Furnace, Plainfield, Shepherdstown, Shippensburgh*, Shiremanstown, Stoughstown, Walnut Bottom, West Fairview, Williams Mill, Wormleysburgh - total 47. INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. Public Road, 1735. - The first public road in the "Kittochtenny" (or Cumberland) Valley west of the Susquehanna River, was laid out in 1735, by order of the court of Lancaster, from Harris' ferry on the Susquehanna to Williams' ferry on the Potomac. (See pioneer chapter for further items concerning the road.) The commissioners to lay out this road, appointed November 4, 1735, were Randle Chambers, Jacob Peat, James Silvers, Thomas Eastland, John Lawrence and Abraham Endless. It was not finished beyond Shippensburg for a number of years, and even at the time of Braddock's expedition (1755) "a tolerable road" was said to exist "as far as Shippensburg." Indian trails were the first highways, and some of them were nearly on the routes of subsequent public roads. *Money order offices. 73 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. Portrait of George Hemminger M. D. 74 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. Blank Page 75 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. Military road, 1755. - This was in no part in the present county of Cumberland, though at the time it was Cumberland. It extended from McDowell's mill, near Chambersburg, "over the mountains to Raystown (Bedford) by the forks of the Youghiogheny, to intersect the Virginia road somewhere on the Monongahela," being supposed indispensable for the supply of Braddock's troops on the route to Fort DuQuesne, and after their arrival. The commissioners appointed to lay it out were principally from Cumberland County; among them were George Croghan, the Indian trader; John Armstrong, who had come from Ireland about 1748, and was then (when appointed commissioner) a justice of the peace; Capt. James Burd; William Buchanan, of Carlisle, and Adam Hoops, of Antrim. A route was surveyed from a gap in the mountain near Shippensburg over an old Indian trail to Raystown. Armstrong and Buchanan were called from the work by other duties, and William Smith, Francis West and John Byers were appointed in their places. The road was from 10 to 30 feet wide, according to work necessary to construct it. 200 men from Cumberland County worked on the road, the whole cost being nearly 2,000L. The road was completed to Raystown in the latter part of June. Braddock's defeat rendered further work unnecessary and Indian troubles caused a cessation of labor upon the roads. The Harrisburg & Chambersburg Turnpike, passing through Hogestown, Kingston, Middlesex, Carlisle and Shippensburg was begun by an incorporated company in 1816, and was extensively traveled before the completion of the Cumberland Valley Railroad. The Hanover & Carlisle Turnpike,* running southeast from Carlisle by way of Petersburg in Adams County, to Hanover and thence to Baltimore, was begun in 1812, and the Harrisburg & York Turnpike was built along the west side of the Susquehanna. The State road leading from Harrisburg to Gettysburg and crossing the southeast portion of Cumberland County, was laid out in 1810. It is said that "it met with much opposition at first, even from those who were appointed to locate it. They directed it over hills that were almost impassable, hoping thus to effect its abandonment, but its usefulness has since been so thoroughly demonstrated that those hills have been either graded or avoided." Among other very early roads were one from Hoge's Spring to the Susquehanna River opposite Cox's town, laid out in October, 1759, and another from Trindle's spring to Kelso's ferry in January, 1792. Cumberland Valley Railroad. Looking back over the past fifty years, the half century's horizon includes the sum total of that almost fairy story of magic that we find in the development of our entire system of railroads to their present marvelous perfection. The crude and simple beginnings; the old strap rails that would so playfully curl up through the car and sometimes through a passenger; the quaint, little, old engines that the passengers had to shoulder the wheels on an up-grade, where they would "stall" so often with five of the little cars attached to them; the still more curious coaches, built and finished inside after the style of the olden-time stage coaches, where passengers sat face to face, creeping along over the country - what a wonder and marvel they were then to the world, and now in the swift half century what a curiosity they are as relics of the past. The railroad forced the coming of the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, - the most wonderful onward sweep of civilization that has yet shed its sunshine and sweetness upon the world in this brief-told story of fifty years. *The company to build this road was incorporated March 25, 1809, but work was not begun until 1812. The portion between Carlisle and the York County line was build upon a public road laid out in 1793 and known as "the public road from Carlisle through Trent's Gap to the York County line." 76 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. The history of the Cumberland Valley Railroad spans the entire period of railroad existence in this country. The first charter is dated in April, 1831. The active promoters were, among others, Judge Frederick Watts, Samuel Alexander, Charles B. Penrose, William Biddle, Thomas G. McCullough, Thomas Chambers, Philip Berlin and Lewis Harlan. The designated termini were Carlisle and the bank of the river opposite Harrisburg. In 1836 a supplemented charter authorized the construction of a bridge at Harrisburg. Surveyors completed the location of the line in 1835; the road was at once contracted for and the work actively commenced in the spring of 1836. In August, 1837, it was "partially and generally" opened for business. At first, passengers and freight were transported across the river by horse-power, and but a small force of this kind could do all the business easily. In 1835 an act was passed extending the line of the road to Chambersburg, In 1856 the Cumberland Valley Road was authorized, by the authority of the States of Pennsylvania and Maryland, to purchase the Franklin Railroad, which also was one of the early-built roads of the country. It was then a completed road from Chambersburg to Hagerstown. The consolidation of the two lines was effected fully in 1864, and at once the line was completed to the Potomac - Martinsburg - the present Cumberland Valley Railroad; a distance of 94 miles from Harrisburg to Martinsburg. An extension is now contemplated of twenty-two miles from Martinsburg to Winchester, which opens the way for this road to the tempting marts and traffic of the South and West. The first president was Hon. Thomas G. McCullough, elected June 27, 1835. His executive abilities and ripe judgment - for he had no precedents then to follow, so he had to evolve a system for the young and awkward giant from his own brain - show that he was the right man in the right place. In 1840, Hon. Charles B. Penrose became the president. He resigned in 1841, having been appointed solicitor of the treasury, when Judge Frederick Watts, now of Carlisle, became the president, and filled the position ably and acceptably until 1873, when he resigned to become the commissioner of agriculture, by the appointment of President Grant, where he remained six years and retired to private life, though still an efficient and active member of the board of directors of the railroad. Thomas B. Kenedy, the present incumbent, was elected incumbent, was elected to the position on the retirement of Judge Watts. He resided in Chambersburg, which has been his home since early boyhood. The history of the other general officers of the road is told wholly in the long life's labor of General E. M. Biddle, who is now the secretary and treasurer, and who has filled the place so ably and well since 1839. What a wonderful panorama in the world's swift changes since 1839, has unfolded itself and has been a part of the official life of General Biddle! He owes now one great duty to this generation and to future mankind, and that is to tell the story of what he saw and was a part of - the particulars of the little crude commencement of railroads and the steps loading to their present greatness and boundless capabilities. A sleeping car was put on this road in 1839 - a historical fact of great interest because it was the first of the kind in the world. They were upholstered boards, three-deckers, held by leather straps, and in the day were folded back against the wall, very simple and plain in construction but comfortable. The Dillsburg & Mechanicsburg Railroad is a branch of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, extending from the towns indicated in its name. The length is eight miles. It was organized September 2, 1871, and completed the following year. It has been a paying property from the first, and adds much to the comfort and well-being of the people of the county it taps. 77 HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. The financial affairs of the road are fully explained in the following: First preferred stock $241,900 00 Second preferred stock 243,000 00 Common preferred stock 1,292,950 00 First Mortgage Bonds, due 1904 161,000 00 Second Mortgage Bonds, due 1908 109,500 00 Dividends and interest due 41,313 70 Profit and loss 704,871 91 Total $2,794,535 61 Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad. The original, active promoters, the organizers and builders of this road were the Ahl brothers, Daniel V. and Peter A. Ahl, of Newville. They procured the charter, furnished the money for the preliminary work, cashed the bonds to a large extent, and contracted and built the original road. The road was chartered June 27, 1870, as the Meramar Iron & Railroad Company, its name explaining the original purposes of the enterprise. The officers elected June 20, 1870, were Daniel V. Ahl, president; Asbury Derland, secretary; William Gracey, treasurer; William H. Miller, solicitor. The road was built from Chambersburg to Richmond. The project was then expanded, and the road built from Chambersburg to Waynesboro, via Mount Alto. The charter members: Daniel V. Ahl, John Evans, Asbury Dorland, John Moore, W. H. Langsdorf, George Clever, Samuel N. Bailey, Alexander Underwood and James Bosler. A branch road was surveyed and built from the main line to Dillsburg. When the construction of the line was about completed the concern fell into great financial difficulties, when the almost omnipotent Pennsylvania Road gathered it quietly to its fold and shaped its destinies into the present line of road, and it took its present name, The Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad. The Northern Central Railroad passes along the shore of the Susquehanna, crossing the eastern end of Cumberland County in which it has about nine miles of road. The South Mountain Railroad, built or completed in 1869, by the South Mountain Iron Company extending from Carlisle to Pine Grove Furnace, is seventeen and one-half miles long.