HISTORY: Annals of Harrisburg, 1858, pages 250-270, Dauphin County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judith Bookwalter Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/dauphin/ _________________________________________ ANNALS OF HARRISBURG Annals, Comprising Memoirs, Incidents and Statistics of Harrisburg, From the Period of Its First Settlement, For the Past, the Present, and the Future. Compiled by George H. Morgan. Harrisburg: Published by Geo. A. Brooks, 1858. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1858, By George A. Brooks, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 250 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. THE GAS WORKS. - The Harrisburg gas company was incorportated in 1850, with a capital of $75,000. The building of the company are situated on a lot two hundred feet wide and three hundred feet deep, at the east side of the Pennsylvania railroad, a short distance east of the foot of Mulberry street. They consisted of two handsome brick structures each one story high. The north building is eighty-three feet long and thirty feet wide, and is occupied by the "retorts" and "benches," of which there are fifteen of the former, and five of the latter. There is also, an apartment used for the storage of bituminous coal, of which about eleven hundred tons are used annually, and one for coke, which is used as fuel for the bench fires. The south building is sixty-eight feet long and thirty feet wide. Two of its rooms are occupied as offices, and one for the meter, which contains four large purifying boxes capable of passing 80,000 cubic feet of gas per twenty- four hours. Another room contains four additional purifying boxes and about one hundred and sixty feet of condensing pipe. There is also an apartment stored with lime, used in the purification of the gas. The gasometer is situated a short distance below this build- 251 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. ing. It is fifty feet in diameter and sixteen feet high, and capable of containing 30,000 cubic feet of gas. The amount of gas consumed in the borough varies with the season of the year. During the session of the Legislature, and when the street lamps are illuminated, the daily consumption of gas amounts to about 25,000 cubic feet. In the fall of the year this amount is reduced to about 15,000 feet, and in the summer, on moonlight nights, it is still further reduced to about 10,000 feet. There are about 28,000 feet of pipe laid through the streets of the borough, exclusive of one and a half miles to the Lunatic Hospital. Of this about 10,000 feet were laid by the contractors, and the remainder by the company. The works were erected by Messrs. Stewart & Carver, and cost about $60,000, of which about $16,000 were paid to the builders. The first officers were Gen. Wm. Ayres, President; John C. Bucher, Treasurer; and David Fleming, Secretary. Officers in October, 1858: - George S. Kemble, President; George Bergner, Secretary; William T. Bishop, Treasurer; Dr. W. W. Rutherford, A. Patterson, William Dock, Sr., Valentine Hummel, Sr., Directors; Levi Gray, Superintendent. _____ THE HARRISBURG COTTON FACTORY. - This establishment is situated on North street, between Front and Second. It is built of brick, four stories high, two hundred feet long and sixty feet wide, with two end wings one story high, sixty-four feet long, and twenty-four feet wide. The main building is surmounted with a beautiful cupola containing a large and fine toned bell used to summon and dismiss the workmen in the day time, and to strike the hours at night by the watchman of the establishment. The building stands a considerable distance off the street, 252 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. thus affording room for a spacious and well arranged garden plot in front, which is enclosed with a handsome wooden palisade. At the extreme eastern corner of the lot is a detached one story brick building devoted to offices and the packing rooms, in which latter the bales of manufactured goods are marked with the company's stamp, and packed with a hydraulic press possessing a power of twenty tons. Immediately in the rear of this building is an immense brick stack one hundred and four feet high. Entering the north-eastern wing of the main building the visitor will first observe five immense horizontal boilers, which consume in generating steam, about seven tons of coal daily. From this apartment a passage leads into the engine room, which is in the main building. The engine is two hundred horse power, with a five feet stroke, driving a fly-wheel twenty feet in diameter. Adjoining are two rooms occupied by mechanics of various trades, who make the necessary repairs to the machinery, &c. Communicating with these is the carding room, which is one hundred and thirty feet long, and the entire width of the building, where the cotton is prepared for spinning. The picking room is in the wing at the western extremity of this chamber, and was the scene of a disastrous conflagration in the winter of 1854-5, caused, it was thought, by a spark of fire emitted from some flinty or metallic particle concealed in the cotton when passing through the machinery. Fortunately, the apartment was separated from the carding room in the main building by a massive brick wall and a ponderous iron door, which confined the flames to the wing, and thus, perhaps, saved the entire establishment from destruction. The wing itself sustained but little injury by the fire, owing to the activity of the firemen, but the machinery and stock of cotton it contained were almost totally destroyed. In the basement of the picking room is what is termed the "willey room," where the cotton in bales is received. Here 253 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. are machines which operate on the raw cotton, opening its delicate fibres, and carrying it by air through a trough to the chamber above. The draught of air is obtained by a fan making about eight hundred revolutions per minute. In the picking room the cotton is made into laps, and prepared for the cards. A flue is connected with each picking machine for removing the dust, the draught for which is produced by a fan making fifteen hundred revolutions per minute. The second story of the building is devoted exclusively to the weaving room, and contains three hundred looms of the most approved construction. The spinning room occupies the third story, and contains eight thousand and sixty-four spindles. One side is devoted to warp spinning and the other to filling. There are here twelve machines on which are wound a certain number of threads pieced together to the length of about four hundred yards. The dressing room is on the fourth story, where the sizing is performed. The beams of the warping machines, filled with the thread cotton, are made to pass between rollers which revolve in copper troughs containing sizing. After which they are made to pass over copper cylinders, which, revolving slowly, and filled with steam, dry the sizing, and render the yarn fit for weaving. In the fiscal year 1854, the company manufactured and sent to market two and half millions of yards of cloth, using in the manufacture thereof about three thousand bales of cotton. In the same year, three hundred and fifty persons were employed in the mill, two hundred and thirteen of whom were females. Owing to the depressed condition of trade and business generally throughout the country, caused by the financial crisis of 1857, the mill suspended operations in the fall of the year, and did not resume the same until the 28th of December, 1858. 254 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. BRANT'S CITY HALL. - This building was erected in 1856 by John H. Brant, Esq., a wealthy citizen of the borough. It is intended for a hotel and restaurant on the European plan, with commodious rooms for a theatre, concerts, public lectures, &c. At the term of Court in April, 1858, the building was regularly licensed as a hotel, and will be occupied as such in 1859. The hall adjoins the Court House, with a front of fifty-two feet on Market street, and a depth of one hundred and eighty feet. It is built of brick, four stories high; the first story of which is eighteen feet, the second twenty-two feet, the third fourteen feet, and the fourth twelve feet. An observatory surmounts the room of the building, the top of which is one hundred feet from the pavement, and affords a fine view of the town and surrounding country. The front of the building is of novel design and construction, being composed of open vestibules, with colonnades of brick pillars painted in imitation of marble, on each story. These vestibules are twenty- five feet deep, and run the entire width of the building. The first is attained by a flight of marble steps from the pavement, and the others by stair-cases rising at each and leading to the centre of the next. The floor of the first is tesselated with small octagonal shaped yellow and black tiles. The main building is entered on each of the stories from the vestibules by large double doors in the centre, and smaller doors at each end. The walls of the first story are twenty-two inches thick, and those of the upper stories eighteen inches. The building contains two rooms, which, including the vestibules, are one hundred and twenty feet long, and fifty-two feet wide; two rooms fifty feet square, and two twenty-two by fifty feet, besides a number of smaller size in the rear part of the building, intended for family use. The room devoted to theatrical purposes contains a commo- 255 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. dious stage, with a great variety of handsome scenery, and in fact all the other appointments of a first class theatre. It will seat comfortably an audience of about eight hundred persons. It was inaugurated in the winter of 1856-7, by a theatrical company from Philadelphia, under the management of Mr. Thos. J. Worrel. The basement of the building is partitioned off into apartments, and intended for a restaurant. _____ THE MASONIC HALL, (EXCHANGE.) - The Masonic Hall, more commonly called the Exchange, situated in Walnut street, between Third street and Rasberry alley, was erected in 1827 by Samuel Holman, Esq., architect, for Perseverance Lodge, No. 21, A. Y. M., of Harrisburg, which body occupied it for several years, when, owing to financial troubles, it was seized and sold by the Sheriff, to satisfy the claims of creditors. It is a brick edifice, partially in the Romanesque style, two stories high, with an attic, basement, and capacious cellar; the whole occupying a space of about seventy-five feet front, and a depth of about forty-four feet. The eve of the roof in front is surmounted with wooden railing and a central entablature, from which rise pointed turrets, all constructed of the same material. Open vestibules, fifteen feet long by nine feet wide, occur in front on the first and second stories. The main entrance to the building is attained through the one on the first story by means of a flight of granite steps, with iron railing, rising from the pavement. It is paved with brick, and surmounted with an irregular arch of fancy wood work. That on the second story has a railing and colonnade surmounted with small arches, likewise of wood. The interior of the building contains a number of capacious rooms, one of which, on the second story, is used at present as an Odd Fellows' Lodge. When owned by the Ma- 256 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. sons, the entire building, excepting the basement, was devoted to the purposes of that society. The structure has a very pleasing appearance, and is much admired by strangers visiting the borough. It is owned at present by Michael Burke, Esq. _____ THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD DEPOT. - This extensive building stands on the west bank of the Pennsylvania canal, between Market and Chestnut streets, and is owned by the Harrisburg and Lancaster railroad company, but is leased and occupied by the Pennsylvania railroad company. A premium of $200 was awarded for the plan of the structure to Joseph C. Hoxie, Esq., architect, of Philadelphia, who, with Stephen D. M'Calla, of Harrisburg, subsequently contracted to build it for the sum of $46,713. The architectural style of the building is Italian. It is four hundred feet in length by one hundred and three feet in width, exclusive of projections, the latter making the front one hundred and twenty-two feet. The side walls are twenty-two feet, and the end walls thirty-four feet high, except the two-story projections, which are forty-six feet high from the railroad track. The building is surmounted with two towers; that on the front is seventy-two feet, and that on the side sixty-four feet high. The ends of the structure have a very picturesque appearance. The walls are of stone and brick. The roof is constructed with the patent truss, and covered with galvanized iron. The building contains a dining saloon calculated to seat from two hundred and fifty to three hundred persons; ladies' and gentlemens' receptions rooms; water closets; and a number of offices, including one for the magnetic telegraph owned by the company. The structure was completed in 1857, at a cost of $58,266 20, being $11,543 20 over the contract price. The first train of cars passed through it on the 1st of August, 1857. 257 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. LEBANON VALLEY RAILROAD DEPOT. - A depot for the Lebanon Valley railroad is now in course of erection on the western side of Market street, between the canal and Canal street. It will be of frame, nineteen feet high in the clear, ninety feet wide, and three hundred feet long, fronting on Canal street. The roof will be arched, and constructed after Howe's patent, which combines strength and beauty. It will contain three railroad tracks, and be lighted by upwards of forty windows. The main passenger entrance will be upon Canal street, and fronting on that thoroughfare will be a ticket office, ladies' room, gentlemens' room, baggage apartment, and all the essentials of a first class depot. _____ HARRISBURG CEMETERY. - For the following facts relative to the first organization of the Harrisburg Cemetery company, the compiler is indebted to a report published by the Managers in September, 1845: "In the autumn of 1843 the following paper was drafted by Henry Buehler, Esq., and presented to the gentlemen who have subscribed the same in the order of their signatures. After a number of meetings on the subject, James M'Cormick, Esq., consented to be considered as one of the original subscribers, and is named in the law incorporating the association, although his signature is not affixed to the subjoined: We, the undersigned, hereby agree (provided ten responsible persons join in the proposition,) to purchase and enclose from ten to fifteen acres of land, in the vicinity of the borough of Harrisburg, for the purpose of establishing a public cemetery; the location, price, &c., to be approved of by a majority of the ten. After the incorporation of a company for the purpose, we will agree to convey to the constituted authorities thereof, the said land, with the provision that it be laid off into suitable 258 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. burial lots, both for congregations and for individual families; and that a title be made to each of the ten persons hereby associated, for one family burial lot, free of any expense,* the choice thereof to be made prior to any sales, and to be made in the order of the signatures hereto; and also, that the remainder of the lots be sold, from time to time, to such persons as may desire to purchase. The original cost, with interest, to be paid to the ten purchasers out of the proceeds of the first sales, and that the proceeds of all sales thereafter, in all time to come, be applied exclusively to the improvements of the cemetery grounds, or roads leading thereto. Witness our hands and seals at Harrisburg, the 16th day of October, 1843. HENRY WALTERS, HAMILTON ALRICKS, JOHN ROBERTS, JAMES PEACOCK, HENRY BUEHLER, VALENTINE HUMMEL, HERMAN ALRICKS, JOHN C. BUCHER, LUTHER REILY, WILLIAM DOCK." At a meeting of the above named gentlemen, held October 30, 1843, a committee, consisting of John Roberts, Dr. Luther Reily, Valentine Hummel and Hamilton Alricks, was appointed for the purpose of ascertaining locations suitable for the purposes of a cemetery, and the prices at which the land could be obtained. The committee viewed and reported favorable to two pieces of ground, one on the hill of Mr. Allison, and the other being parts of the lands of Henry Herr, John Seales and John P. Shoop; whereupon, it was directed to make drafts or plots of the grounds necessary for the contemplated cemetery, including the dell on the line of Herr and Seales property show- *This provision was subsequently abandoned by the members of the corporation, who are the persons above named, and each member consented to pay for the lot selected for himself, in the same manner, and on the same terms, that strangers were required to pay, reserving only to themselves the right of selection before sale, in the order in which their names appear above. 259 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. ing the quantity of lands desired from each, and also a plot of the Allison property. These plots were accordingly made and exhibited to the association, which selected the plot of ground including the lands of Messrs. Herr, Seales and Shoop; and a committee consisting of Dr. Riley, Judge Bucher and Hamilton Alricks was appointed to contract, on the best terms possible, with those gentlemen, for the ground contained in the aforesaid plot. While this committee, however, were negotiating for the purchase of the ground, a road was laid out through a part of it by an order of the Court of Quarter Sessions, which induced an alteration in the views of the Association, and the committee was directed to purchase the ground for the cemetery of Henry Herr alone, which was done accordingly on the 27th of February, 1844. This ground was subsequently enlarged by another purchase from Mr. Herr, and the grant of about half an acre from Mr. Sales. The company were incorporated under the name, style and title of the "Harrisburg Cemetery Association," by an act of Assembly passed the 14th of February, 1845, and organized by appointing Henry Walters, President, and John Roberts, Secretary and Treasurer. The Association proceeded at once to improve the grounds by laying it off into lots and avenues, and surrounding the whole with a substantial picket fence, with the necessary gateways, and on the 30th day of September, 1845, in the presence of a large concourse of people, the cemetery was duly dedicated to its purposes. Rev. John F. Mesick made the opening prayer, and the Rev. George M'Cartney the closing prayer. The dedicating address was delivered by Rev. William R. De Witt. On the first day of October, 1845, Gen. James Steel was buried in lot No. 35, section F, aged eighty-two years - his being the first interment in the cemetery; and on the 23rd of same month, an infant of William H. Kepner was buried in lot 260 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. No. 44, of same section, being the second interment. Thus in these first two burials the two extremes of life were embraced. Since the period of these interments many additional ones have been made, and the grounds tastefully ornamented with a profusion of shrubbery and "monumental marble." The residence of the Keeper's family is at the east end of the Cemetery. Its style is Gothic, two stories high, built of brick, painted and cost $2,200. We append a list of the officers of the Association for the year 1858. A. K. Fahnestock, President and Treasurer; John Roberts, Secretary and Superintendent; D. W. Gross, Dr. John Fager, Hamilton Alricks and William Colder, Jr., Managers; Wm. Putt, Keeper. _____ THE STATE LUNATIC HOSPITAL. - The following description of this extensive establishment is derived principally from the several reports made by the trustees and superintendent to the Legislature: The establishment of an hospital for the relief of the insane poor of the State claimed the attention of the philanthropic and benevolent at an early day. The first movement on the subject was made by the philanthropic citizens of Philadelphia, who held several public meetings, and adopted a memorial, which was numerously signed and presented to the Legislature at the sessions of 1838-9. This memorial, with others from different counties, was referred to a committee of five members of the House of Representatives, of which Hon. Joseph Konigmacher was chairman. This committee presented a report embodying a large amount of information relative to the condition of the insane throughout the State; and a bill authorizing the erection of a State Lunatic Asylum, was prepared and passed both Houses, but did not receive the sanction of the Governor. 261 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. Subsequently an act was passed March 4th, 1841, authorizing the Governor to appoint three commissioners, upon whom was devolved the duty of selecting a site, and superintending the erection of a suitable building. The spot selected was on the river Schuylkill, about two miles from Gray's Ferry, below Philadelphia, and preparations had been made for commencing the erection when their operations were suspended. But the subject was not permitted to rest, and was still kept before the public attention until, in the year 1844, Miss D. L. Dix, in the prosecution of the benevolent work in which she had been so long, zealously, and untiringly engaged, having visited and examined the alms-houses and jails throughout the State, presented to the Legislature a memorial, setting forth the condition of the insane throughout the State, and earnestly urging upon them the necessity and the duty of providing some means for their treatment and proper maintenance. Acting in accordance with the suggestions thus made, the Legislature, in the spring of 1845, appointed Jacob M. Haldeman, Luther Reily, Hugh Campbell, Charles B. Trego, Joseph Konigmacher, commissioners, for the erection of an hospital, to be located within two miles of the borough of Harrisburg. The commissioners thus appointed not feeling themselves authorized to enter on the duties of their appointment until further action of the Legislature, a supplementary act was passed in the spring of 1848, appointing three additional commissioners, Aaron Bombaugh, John A. Weir, and James Fox, and so modifying the original act that they were willing to enter on the duties assigned them. A farm of one hundred and thirty acres was purchased about a mile and a half north of Harrisburg, and the work was commenced in the summer of 1848, according to a plan furnished by John Haviland, architect, of Philadelphia, to whom also the contract for the erection of the building was given. 262 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. The corner-stone of the Hospital was laid by Gov. Johnston on the 7th of April, 1849, and the building was delivered by the architect and contractor to the commissioners on the 19th of June, 1851. No suitable accommodations having been provided, in the building thus erected, for the most violent and noisy class of patients, it was deemed advisable to erect such as early as practicable, and a contract was made with Messrs. Holman & Simon, of Harrisburg, for the erection of these additional buildings. The work on these was commenced early in the summer, and completed at an early day. The Hospital building consists of a centre building and wings extending in a linear direction on each side; each wing is so arranged that the second projection recedes twenty feet behind the first, and the third at the same distance behind the second, so that the second and third projections of the wings on each side of the centre building are open at both ends, which renders them light and cheerful, and insures, at all times, a free natural ventilation. The centre building is of three stories above the basement or ground floor, has a large Tuscan portico with a flight of twenty steps to the main entrance, and is surmounted by a large dome, from which a very extensive view of the surrounding county is obtained. Along the northern line of the landscape, in its whole length, extend the Blue Mountains at a distance of five miles, and almost directly north from the Hospital is the opening through which the Susquehanna river forces its way; and spanning the river at this point is the large bridge of the Pennsylvania railroad company, forming a very prominent and beautiful feature in the view, while beyond it, and reposing as it were at the foot of the mountain, is the village of Dauphin. The Susquehanna river is in full view, from the point where 263 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. it appears to break its way through the mountains, until it is hidden by the hills below Harrisburg. To the south-west is Harrisburg, the whole of which, with the State Capitol, the cotton factory, the reservoir of the waterworks, and the bridges across the Susquehanna, is distinctly seen. The prospect is bounded on all sides by hills and mountains, and embraces parts of the counties of Dauphin, Perry, Cumberland, York, Adams, Lancaster and Lebanon. The Pennsylvania railroad and the Pennsylvania canal pass along the front line of the Hospital, at the distance of a quarter of a mile, and the passage of the cars on the former, and of the boats on the latter, forms an agreeable and diversifying feature. In the basement of the centre building, which is raised three steps above the ground, are, on one side of the entrance hall, the apartments for the steward; and on the other, those for the matron; and in the rear, and separated by a hall at right angles to the hall of entrance, are the kitchens, one for each side of the house. On the main floors are the parlors for visitors, one on each side of the hall of entrance; and in the rear, and separated from them by a cross hall, are the steward's office, and the assistant physician's room, with the shop or medical office between them. In the second story are the apartments of the superintendent, and in the third is the chapel, occupying the front half of the building, and in the rear of it a number of rooms designed for chambers. In the attic are the tanks for the supply of water to the Hospital, three in number, and each holding about three thousand gallons of water. The water is thrown into these tanks by steam power, and is distributed from them to all parts of the Hospital. The wings immediately adjoining the centre on either side are 264 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. of three stories, including the basement. In the basement are the accommodations for those employed in the kitchens and the other domestic arrangements of the house, and also for those engaged in out- door duties. The two other stories have wards for the patients, and in each ward are, on one side of the hall, which is ten feet wide, a dormitory for six or eight beds, six single dormitories, an attendant's room immediately adjoining the dormitory, and a parlor; on the other side are the dining room, with a large closet attached, a clothing room, a bath room and water closet, and four rooms of larger size than the single rooms on the other side of the hall. On each side of the hall are stairways, one at each end of the ward, which are of iron, and lead to the ground floor, so as to admit of free communication with either ward without disturbance of the other. The food is sent up to these wards directly from the kitchen by means of a dumb-waiter; and a speaking tube, and a bell communicating from the dining room to the kitchen obviates the necessity of the attendants leaving the ward for any purpose. The second projections of each wing are of three stories, with wards on each story. On one side of the hall are ten single dormitories and a large parlor, and on the other side are the associated dormitory, with an attendants' room immediately adjoining, a bath room and water closet, a clothing room, one large room, and the dining room. At the point of junction of these two projections, the first and second, and raised a story above them, is the infirmary on each side, consisting of one large airy room, calculated for ten or twelve beds, with an attendants' room immediately adjoining, and five other rooms, exclusive of a bath-room and water closet. The third projection of each wing, intended for the most violent and noisy of each sex, is of two stories. These wards are arranged on the same general plan with the other wards, 265 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. except that at the extreme end of each building, and in both stories are short halls, on either side of the main hall, with two rooms in each, designed for the most noisy of each sex. Each of these wards has accommodations for fourteen patients and their attendants, and in each ward a bath-room and water closet. In all the windows in the wings, the upper sash is of cast iron, glazed and stationary, and the lower sash is wooden, and made to raise, with a wrought iron guard opposite to it. In the rear of the centre building, at the distance of eighty feet, is the building for the bake-house, the wash-house and ironing-room, &c. In the cellar, which is excavated thirteen feet, are placed the boilers for generating the steam for warming the Hospital, a boiler for generating steam for a steam engine, for heating the water for bathing and for cooking, with sufficient room for the storage of one hundred and fifty tons of coal. On the ground floor, nearest the centre building, is the bake-house, with a large perpetual oven; and the other part of same floor, and separated from the bake-house by a brick partition, is the wash-house. In the wash-house is a small steam engine of eight horse power, which is designed to drive a steam pump and also all the machinery of the wash-house. The washing apparatus consists of a large set of fulling stocks, a large steaming tub, a large rinsing wheel, a large wringing machine and frames on which to hang the clothes to be dried. On the floor of the drying room are laid a number of steam pipes, through which the exhaust steam from the engine passes and imparts to the room the necessary degree of heat. The clothes, after being washed and dried, are raised by means of a dumb waiter into the ironing-room in the second story. The heavier articles are ironed by being passed between two highly polished cast iron cylinders, heated by steam and made to revolve by means of a belt connected with the machinery below. In the attic of this building are four iron tanks, holding collectively twenty-two thousand gallons of water, raised into them 266 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. by the steam pump, which derives its supply from a large eight inch cast iron pipe by means of which the water is conducted from the creek to the reservoir of the large hydraulic ram supplying the tanks in the main building. The Hospital is heated throughout by steam generated in two cylinder boilers, each forty feet long and forty inches in diameter. The steam generated in these is conveyed by an eight inch cast iron pipe through an archway connecting the two buildings, into the hot air chambers, situated under the whole length of the Hospital building. At the distance of one hundred and twenty feet from the boilers, the main steam pipe branches, one branch leading to the north, and the other to the south wing of the building. From these branches, at distances of sixteen and twenty-four feet, the steam is conveyed into a series of three-quarter inch wrought iron pipe, called a radiator, and after passing through all the length of the pipe composing a radiator, varying from five hundred to seven hundred feet, according to the size of the radiator, it is conveyed into a four inch cast iron pipe laid along the floor of the hot air chamber, and by this pipe returned to the boilers. By this arrangement the steam is diffused through sixteen thousand feet of pipe, and the temperature of the hot air chambers is maintained at varying elevations and inversely to the temperature of the external atmosphere. The temperature of the wards can thus be maintained between 60 degrees to 70 degrees F. even in the coldest weather, and during the prevalence of very high north-west winds, to which, from its elevated position, the Hospital is particularly exposed, and which sweep with great force along the whole front of the building. The heating apparatus and the laundry arrangements were arranged with great care and attention by Messrs. Birkinbine & Trotter, of Philadelphia, who have executed their work in a highly creditable manner. 267 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. The Hospital is lighted with gas brought from the works of the Harrisburg gas company. The above description comprehended the arrangements of the establishment in the first year of its existence. Since that time, however, various additions and improvements, suggested by time and experience, have been made. Buildings for museums and reading rooms were erected in 1854. They are built of brick, cemented on the outside, and are forty-two feet long by twenty-five feet wide, and fifteen feet six inches to the square. A portico runs nearly the whole length of the front, from which a very pleasant view is obtained of the landscape in front. The roof is of tin, and the centre is raised into an ornamental structure, so as to afford the means of giving abundant light to the interior. The buildings are heated by a hot-air furnace placed in the cellar. Being designed as ornaments to the grounds, as well as for objects of interest and amusement to the patients by the curiosities, &c., to be placed in them, they have been made as handsome and ornamental as compatible with their design and the amount of funds at command. They are placed one on either side of the front of the building, easily accessible from the wards of the sex for which they are intended. One of these buildings contain the State geological cabinet. A prominent imperfection of the first arrangements was the very inefficient supply of water for cooking, baths, water closets and other domestic purposes, but especially as a means of extinguishing fire, should such a terrible calamity at any time befal the institution. The first mode employed was a very large hydraulic ram, but which, with its connections, was soon shown to be entirely inadequate, although it had answered a good purpose during the progress of the building. To remedy this defect, a pump was placed near the creek, and by means of a very long piston rod, worked by the steam engine in the wash-house, was made to raise one thousand gallons per hour, and which, by being 268 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. kept constantly in operation, furnished enough for the ordinary purposes of the institution, but none for any extraordinary emergency, nor the slightest protection in case of fire. Under these circumstances, plans were prepared for permanent works of such a character that an abundant supply might be relied on at all times. These works are placed in the ravine to the south-east of the Hospital buildings, and so situated as to receive the water from two constant streams. The dam or basin is of a pyriform shape, and capable of containing about four hundred thousand gallons of water. From the imperfect practical acquaintance with the very important subject of heating and ventilation possessed by the architect, many serious errors were committed in the original arrangements of the building, which have since been properly remedied. The police of the establishment is mild and parental. The patients are well fed and clothed, and allowed ample opportunities for healthful exercise. Religious services are regularly maintained on the Sabbath during the entire year. Evening prayers are also regularly kept up during the year, to which all who feel inclined are invited to come. Attendance on these religious exercises is at all times voluntary, and many patients attend regularly, and are gratified and benefited by them. The Hospital contains various implements for the amusement of the patients, such as musical instruments, violins and flutes, two polyoramas, a large dioptric magic lantern with a number of slides, a small magic lantern to be used in the wards, kaleidoscopes, backgammon boards, and a number of other games, a large number of books, engravings, and two large walnut bookcases, each capable of containing two hundred and fifty volumes, and two globes. The garden of the establishment is extensive, and provides the vegetables for the table, and a large surplus which is sold 269 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. annually. The grounds fronting the building have been beautifully laid out, and are in an advanced state of embellishment. The capacity of the present Hospital is for three hundred patients, one hundred and fifty of each sex; and this number is now regarded by the best authorities as quite as large as should ever be collected in one building. The number of patients admitted during the year 1857 was 143 - males, 76; females, 67. The number discharged during the year was 126 - males, 76; females, 50 - leaving in the Hospital, on December 31, 1857, 250 patients; of whom 130 were males, and 120 were females. Of those discharged, the number of restored was 25; improved, 32; stationary, 44; died, 25. Adding these results to the tables of previous years, we have the following table: Males. Females. Total. Restored, 79 59 138 Improved, 92 62 154 Stationary, 137 86 223 Died, 85 48 133 --- --- --- 393 255 648 === === === The receipts of the Hospital for the year 1857 was $66,073 65, and the expenditures $64,321 98, leaving a balance of $1,751 67 in its treasury. We subjoin a list of the officers of the Hospital in 1858: Board of Trustees - Thomas S. Kirkbride, M. D., Frederick Watts, A. G. Waterman, A. J. Jones, A. O. Hiester, Hamilton Alricks, George Dock, M. D., George W. Porter, M. D., John L. Atlee, M. D. John Curwen, M. D., Superintendent and Physician; William R. DeWitt, M. D., and S. S. Schultz, M. D., Assistant Physicians; Joel Hinckley, Steward; Mary Ann Wilt, Matron; John A. Weir, Treasurer, Harrisburg. 270 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. SOUTH WARD PUBLIC SCHOOL HOUSE. - This elegant structure was erected in 1858, on the site previously occupied by the old Bethel Church, in Mulberry street, between Front and Second streets. It is two stories high, sixty-four feet long and fifty-four feet wide, and contains on each story a vestibule eight feet wide, two school rooms, each twenty- five feet wide by fifty feet long, and two recitation rooms, each ten by twelve feet, besides a small room, also ten by twelve feet, in the middle of the second story vestibule for the accommodation of the school directors. There are also two closets in each of the school rooms, designed as receptacles for the hats of the pupils during school hours. The base of the walls in every room are covered to the height of three feet with pine wainscoting, to protect the plastering from the mischievous hands and feet of the scholars. A capacious and well ventilated cellar occupies the entire base of the building. From the eaves of the roof of the main building to the pavement is thirty-seven feet, and from the apex of the central pediment in front, about forty- four feet. A handsome square cupola of wood, twenty-two feet high, surmounts the forward part of the structure. The front stands back from the line of the street a distance of about twenty feet and the space thus made vacant, is paved and enclosed with a neat and substantial iron railing. There are three entrances to the building - the principal one in front, and one at each of the sides, at the front end. The former is attained by a flight of granite steps. There are inserted in the bricks of the front and two small marble slabs - one at the eastern corner, on which are engraved the figures "1858," and one above the arch of the centre door, containing the names of the then Board of School Directors, and the architect and builder. The architect of the building was Mr. Luther Simons, and its builder Mr. Peter Bernheisel. The brick work was laid by Messrs. Curzen & Cleckner, all of whom deserve much credit for the manner in which they performed their respective duties.