HISTORY: Annals of Harrisburg, 1858, pages 175-197, 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. 175 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. STEAMBOATS ON THE SUSQUEHANNA. This action of the Legislature, together with the favorable report of the commissioners, induced a number of enterprising citizens of Baltimore to form a company for the purpose of testing the practicability of running steamboats on the Susquehanna, between the towns of York Haven and Northumberland. The project was favorably received, and the stock of the com- 176 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. pany immediately subscribed. Three light-draught steamboats, named, respective, the "Codorus," "Susquehanna," and "Pioneer," were constructed, all of which arrived for the first time at Harrisburg in the fall of 1825. The following extracts have reference to these boats: "The sheet-iron steamboat 'Codorus' paid another visit to Harrisburg on Sunday last, with the members from York county as passengers. The members of the Legislature in general are much pleased with the performance of this boat, and express great satisfaction with the success of the experiment. From what we have heard, we infer that there will be a legislative enactment in favor of the enterprising proprietors." - Chronicle, December 5, 1825. "STEAMBOATS. - The steamboat 'Susquehanna' left this place on Monday last, for York Haven. The 'Pioneer' returned to Harrisburg on Wednesday last. The machinery of the vessel is not of sufficient power to stem the current of Hunter's Falls. The 'Codorus' is lying at Montgomery's Ferry, about twenty miles above Harrisburg." - Ibid, April 3, 1826. In a letter dated July 14, 1834, addressed to the Secretary of War, Hon. Lewis Cass, by Henry K. Strong, Esq, on behalf of the citizens of Harrisburg, relative to opening a steamboat communication between the Chesapeake Bay, by way of the Susquehanna and the lakes, allusion is made to one of the above named steamboats, perhaps the "Codorus," as follows: "Eight years ago, a sheet-iron steamboat, built at York, in this State, was put upon the river, about twelve miles below Harrisburg, and forty from tide-water, and was propelled by steam to the line separating the States of Pennsylvania and New York, nearly two-thirds of the whole distance from the Chesapeake bay to the lakes. If this was not the first steamboat ever constructed, it was the first that ever sailed upon American waters." 177 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. The editor of the "Harrisburg Chronicle," Hugh Hamilton, Esq., appears to have been somewhat skeptical as to the practical use of these boats, as will be seen by the following extract from that paper: "The people of Baltimore are in high spirits in consequences of the successful trip of the 'Susquehanna' up the North and West branches, to Danville and Milton. While we think great credit is due to the enterprise of the Baltimore Steamboat Company, and congratulate them upon the result of the experiment, which has demonstrated that a steamboat can move against the rapids of the river Susquehanna, we remain skeptical as to the practical use of the boats that have visited us. The weight of an engine of sufficient power to propel the boats up the rapids produces such a draught as must prevent their running, unless the water should be at a high stage, and such a stage we have not more than three months of the year, March, April, and May." The steamboats continued to visit the borough at short intervals during the continuance of a medium stage of water in the river until after April, 1826, when one of them - the "Susquehanna" - exploded its boiler while making its way through a narrow passage of shoal water in the river, at or near Berwick, Columbia county, which almost totally destroyed it, besides killing two, and severely injuring several of its passengers, among whom was Christian Brobst, Esq., member of the Legislature from Columbia county. This accident appears to have damped the ardor of the proprietors, and shortly afterwards the boats were removed from the river to a more favorable latitude. The steamboat enterprise was not again renewed on the Susquehanna, in this vicinity, until the spring of 1857, when a company of citizens purchased and brought here a small side-wheel steamboat, that had formerly been used as a pleasure boat on the river Delaware, at Philadelphia. The boat made fre- 178 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. quent excursions on the river during the summer following, but the speculation proving a failure, the stockholders resold it to its original owners, and in the fall of the year it was returned to Philadelphia. Correspondence between the citizens of Harrisburg and the War Department, on the subject of Sloop and Steamboat Navigation. On the 20th of September, 1833, a large and respectable meeting of the citizens of Harrisburg was held at the Court House, in Harrisburg, to take into consideration the propriety of opening a steamboat and sloop communication between the Chesapeake bay and the lakes, by way of the Susquehanna river. The following were the officers of the meeting: Valentine Hummel, Sr., President: Joel Bailey and Henry Buehler, Vice Presidents; Charles C. Rawn and Mordecai M'Kinney, Secretaries. At this meeting resolutions were passed declaring the project national in its character and advantages, and necessary for national defence. A general committee was appointed, from which select committees were chosen to draft an address to the people of the United States; to draft a memorial to Congress, and to address the Secretary of War. On the 17th of October following, Henry Buehler, Esquire, from the select committee, published an address to the people of the United States. At the same time, G. W. Harris, Esq., from the select committee, reported a memorial to Congress, which was published, circulated, and signed by a large number of citizens in various parts of the country, and sent to that body at its next session. A bill favorable to the project, and making a specific appropriation for a survey, was reported by the Internal Improvement Committee in the House of Representatives, but at so late a period in the session that it was not acted upon. 179 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. On the 25th of July, 1834, Henry K. Strong, Esq., from the select committee, transmitted an able and convincing address to Hon. Lewis Cass, then Secretary of War, in which, after showing the advantages of a sloop and steamboat communication between the Chesapeake bay and the lakes, by way of the Susquehanna, he inquired "whether a survey of the route could not be made by an engineer in the service of the government during the present summer?" In reply, John J. Abert, Lieutenant colonel Topographical Engineers, stated that "the Department was fully impressed with the importance of the route described, but the conditions and engagements of the office were such that it was not in its power to attend to the project during the present season." A few days after the receipt of this intelligence, Mr. Strong again addressed the Secretary of War, repeating a request for the services of an engineer to survey the river; to which Col. Abert, on behalf of the Secretary of War, again replied, stating that "Dr. William Howard, with two assistants, are the engineers whose services would be placed at the disposal of the parties interested in the matter." At a meeting of the general committee of the citizens of Harrisburg, held August 16, 1834, the following officers were chosen: Valentine Hummel, President; Mordecai M'Kinney, Secretary; Henry Walters, Treasurer. A communication was received from Dr. William Howard, United States engineer, estimating the expense, and making several suggestions relative to the proposed improvement; and stating that, 'by his orders, he was entirely under the direction of the committee, and ready to execute any plan of operations which they might determine." The following gentlemen were then chosen an executive committee: Henry K. Strong, George Mish, Valentine Hummel, Sr., Jacob M. Haldeman, John C. Bucher. The report of Dr. Howard was referred to the executive com- 170 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. mittee, with instructions to devise a plan of operation for the survey. The project was ultimately abandoned, in consequence, we believe, of the death of Dr. Howard, and the refusal of Congress to extend pecuniary co-operation. RIOT IN 1825. On Thursday, April 21, 1825, the borough was disturbed by a serious riot. A man from Maryland had followed a runaway slave of whom he had obtained information, after an absence of more than a year, found him in Harrisburg, and lodged him in jail. He was brought up on a writ of habeas corpus, and after a hearing surrendered to his master. A great number of colored people attended the investigation, armed with clubs and cudgels, and exhibited a menacing appearance. As a matter of precaution, the master tied the slave's hands behind his back; but as he left the Court House steps, the colored men rushed furiously upon him and attempted a rescue. A serious combat ensued, in which a number of the citizens were involved and received injury. In the melee one of the Marylanders fired a pistol, after having received several blows from the colored men, one of whom he wounded in the arm. Resistance then subsided, and the slave was taken to a public house and secured. The colored people gathered about the door, and after some time another fracas took place. The consequence was, that the civil authorities interfered, and about nineteen of the colored men were committed to prison. The court commenced its sessions on the following Monday, and the grand jury found a true bill against sixteen of them. The trial lasted until Wednesday evening, and on Thursday morning the jury rendered a verdict of guilty against twelve of them, and acquitted four. One of the twelve convicted subsequently escaped, but the remaining eleven were sentenced to the tread-mill - the 181 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. grand jury having appropriated #200 for the construction of the same. MISCELLANEOUS. The borough was divided into the South and North ward election districts by an act of Assembly passed in 1822. In digging a cellar, about thirty-five years ago, on Forster's Island, opposite Harrisburg, at the depth of five feet several Indian darts were found. Trees of enormous growth stood a few years before on the spot where they were exhumed. A strenuous effort was made in the Legislature, in 1827, to remove the seat of government from Harrisburg. In 1825-6-7 there were FIVE military companies in the borough, as follows: Dauphin Cavalry - R. T. Jacobs, O. S. Harrisburg Guards - P. Frazer, O. S. Pennsylvania Guards - H. Critzman, Adjutant. Harrisburg Junior Guards - S. Pool, O. S. Harrisburg Union Infantry - J. Black, O. S. THE PENN LOCK OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CANAL. On Tuesday, March 14, 1827, the first corner-stone that was laid in the locks of the Pennsylvania canal, was laid in lock No. 6, at the foot of Walnut street, Harrisburg. There was a Masonic procession, followed by the Governor and Heads of Department, the members of the Legislature, the Burgesses and members of the Town Council, and a great concourse of citizens. In the stone were deposited the names of the members of the Legislature at the time of the passage of the act for commencing the Pennsylvania canal, (1825,) and the Governor who approved it, with the following scroll: 182 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. "This corner-stone Of lock No. 6, from the Swatara river, was laid in Masonic Form, on the 13th day of March, Anno Domini 1827, Anno Lucius 5827, By the Worshipful Master and brethren of Perseverance Lodge, No. 21, In presence of the Governor, Heads of Departments of State, members of the Legislature, and the citizens of the borough of Harrisburg; When it was unanimously styled by the Engineer and Acting Commissioner, THE PENN LOCK, In commemoration of the great founder of the State, and of the enterprise of the citizens of the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania in the promotion of internal improvements. William and Michael Byrne, and Alexander and Paul Provost, builders. Charles Mowry, Acting Commissioner. Dr. Wm. Darlington, President. John Sergeant, David Scott, Abner Lacock, Daniel Mont- gomery, John Philips, Thos. Enochs, Geo. M. Dallas, Esqrs., Commissioners. Joseph M'Ilvaine, Esq, Secretary of the Board. William Strickland, Engineer. Francis W. Rawle, Assistant Engineer. Samuel H. Kneass, Geo. Merrick, Wm. B. Norris, Emerson M'Ilvaine, Robert Faries, William Rodrigue, Chas. L. Schlatter, Assistants. William Grove, Suprintendent of Masons. Frederick William Leopold, clerk of the Works." After the Masonic ceremonies, Mr. Ritner, Speaker of the House of Representatives, delivered an address suitable to the 183 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. Occasion. The procession returned to town; and the Masonic fraternity, who had for their guest Gov. Carrol, of Tennessee, and a number of citizens, partook of an excellent dinner at Mr. Henzy's Jackson Hotel. In altering the course of the canal, last summer, a short distance to the east of the original line, this lock was torn down, but we could not learn what disposition was made of the cornerstone. It should have occupied a conspicuous place in the new lock; and if this was not the case, its contents ought to have been preserved in the museum of the State Department. THE HARRISBURG LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL. From the adoption of the Constitution of 1790 until 1809, no legislative provision of a general nature was made in reference to public schools. An act was then passed "for the gratuitous education of the poor." It required a report to be made by the assessors of the townships, wards and boroughs, to the commissioners of the respective counties, of all children between the ages of five and twelve years whose parents were unable to provide for their education; and that when the lists had been approved by the commissioners, that such parents should be notified thereof, and be permitted to send their children to the most convenient schools, at the expense of the county. Notwithstanding the many defects of this law, it continued in force until it was repealed by that of 29th March, 1824, which provided that every township should elect three "schoolmen," who should superintend the education of poor children within their respective townships, and "cause them to be instructed as other children are treated, the expense of tuition to be paid by the county." But each county might authorize the "schoolmen" to divide the township into school districts, and to establish schools at the expense of the townships, to which all children belonging to the districts might be sent for three years at any 184 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. time between the ages of six and fourteen years. This law was applicable to the whole State, with the exception of certain school districts in the city and county of Philadelphia and city and county of Lancaster. It was repealed in 1826, and the act of 1809 revived. By the act of 2d April, 1831, however, the basis of a more efficient school system was laid. The Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Auditor General, and the Secretary of the Land Office, were appointed commissioners to receive and manage the school fund, with power to receive and hold for the use thereof, all gifts, grants and donations that might be made thereto, and all the monies due the Commonwealth by the holders of unpatented lands; also, all monies secured to the Commonwealth by mortgages or liens for the purchase money of the same, (this land debt was estimated at two millions of dollars,) as also all fees received in the Land Office, with the addition of the sum of one mill on the dollar added to the county rates by the act of the 25th March, 1831, were assigned to the common school fund, and held by the Commonwealth for the use thereof, at the interest of five per cent. per annum. The interest was directed to be added to the principal as it became due, and the whole amount to be holden by the Commonwealth, subject to the payment of interest on loans made to the State for internal improvements, until the interest should amount to one hundred thousand dollars annually, after which the interest was to be distributed annually to the support of common schools throughout the Commonwealth, in such manner as would thereafter be provided by law. Besides the general provisions for education above noticed, special ones were enacted for certain portions of the State. Thus in 1818 the city and county of Philadelphia were erected into a district, called the "first school district" of Pennsylvania. By the act of April 1, 1822, the city and county of Lancaster were erected into the "second school district," with privileges 185 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. and duties similar to the first. By the act of 11th April, 1827, the same system was established at Harrisburg, and by act of 19th February, 1828, at Pittsburg. The following is a copy of the act of 11th of April, 1827, establishing the Lancasterian school system at Harrisburg: An Act to authorize the Commissioners of Dauphin county to establish a public school in the borough of Harrisburg. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the commissioners of Dauphin county be authorized to make use of any part of the courthouse of the said county which may be unoccupied, build, or procure a suitable building for the purpose of educating the children directed to be taught at the public expense, and also to furnish the same for the accommodation of children. SECT. 2. That said commissioners be authorized and required to engage a suitable teacher or teachers, at a fixed salary or otherwise, as they may deem proper: Provided, such teacher be approved of by the school committee to be hereafter appointed. SECT. 3. That the commissioners shall be required to direct all the children educated at the public expense, who shall reside in the borough of Harrisburg and within one mile thereof, to attend a school established by their direction, which shall be taught and conducted on the principles of Lancaster's system of education, in its most approved state. SECT. 4. That the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin county, at their regular spring term, and during the spring term of each and every subsequent year, shall appoint nine respectable citizens residing within the borough of Harrisburg, to be denominated a school committee, whose business it shall be, at the request of the county commissioners, to examine the qualifications and ability of said teacher, and if found worthy, shall give him a certificate of approval, which shall be a sufficient voucher to said commissioners; and it shall be further the duty of said committee to visit and examine said school twice in every quar- 186 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. ter, or oftener if necessary, and recommend such rules and regulations as will best contribute to the advancement of the youth of said school. SECT. 5 - [Provides for the supplying of vacancies in the school committee.] SECT. 6. That said commissioners may admit children whose parents or guardians are in circumstances to pay for their tuition, and shall be at liberty to charge in each individual case any sum which may be agreed on between the parties, which shall be applied in all cases to the support of said school. SECT. 7. That the said commissioners shall have power to draw orders on the county treasurer for any sum or sums of money to pay the expense of erecting or procuring a suitable building for the purpose aforesaid, and also for such sums of money necessary in furnishing books, stationery, and all things necessary in establishing, maintaining and conducting said school; and all such orders drawn upon the county treasurer shall be paid by him, and the orders thus paid shall be his authority for paying such sums, and to the persons mentioned in said orders. SECT. 8. That it shall be the duty of said commissioners to keep an accurate account of the proceedings of said school, which account shall be examined and settled annually by the auditors of the county, and shall publish a statement of the same in the month of January in each and every year, the number of children educated in said school, as well as the amount of expenditure, and of the sums received for the tuition of children whose parents, guardians or friends have defrayed any part or the whole of the expenses of their education. SECT. 9. That as soon as the said school shall be established and fit for the reception of scholars, the said commissioners shall give public notice thereof in at least three public newspapers printed in said borough of Harrisburg; and that no tuition for children taught at the expense of the county, who shall reside 187 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. within the bounds aforesaid, will be paid by the county, contracted after thirty days' notice given as aforesaid. SECT. 10. That so much of every act of Assembly relating to the education of the poor, as far as the same may affect the borough of Harrisburg, and within one mile thereof, as is altered or supplied by this act, shall be repealed, and cease to operate from and after the time mentioned in the ninth section of this act." The "Lancasterian system" provided for in the third section of the above act, was so called in honor of its founder, Mr. Lancaster, a native of England. It was based upon monitorial or mutual instruction. Thus, a school would be divided into several sections, according to the acquirements of the scholars, over each one of which was appointed by the master a "monitor" - generally the most intelligent and advanced scholar - whose duty - it was to superintend the instruction of his companions in the section to which he belonged. Of course, all the sections were under the general superintendence of the master. We give several extracts from the minutes of the proceedings of the commissioners of Dauphin county in relation to the above quoted act of Assembly, which illustrates the rise, progress and final abolition of the Lancasterian school in Harrisburg: "JULY 4, 1827. Commissioners met. Present - Messrs. Brua, Rathfon, and Moody. The following preamble and resolution were read and adopted: WHEREAS, The commissioners of Dauphin county have caused a room in the Court House to be prepared for a school on the Lancasterian plan, and have engaged a teacher to conduct such a school agreeably to the act of Assembly of April 11, 1827; therefore, Resolved, That the teacher employed by the commissioners of the county be directed to receive into the said school, to be 188 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. instructed according to the aforesaid plan, all the children whose tuition is required by law to be paid by the county, and whose names are or shall hereafter be entered on the list of poor children in the commissioners' office, residing in the borough of Harrisburg, or within one mile thereof. Other children to be admitted into the school at the rate of one dollar per quarter of a year, to be paid for the use of the county. A reduction from this rate to be allowed according to the circumstances of the parents of the children, at the discretion of the commissioners." By another resolution adopted at this meeting of the board, the school was directed to be opened on the 9th of July, 1827; but at a meeting held on the 11th of May previous, the board elected William C. Jenks teacher, at a salary of $550 per annum, and directed the school to commence on the 7th of May. It is probable, however, that one of these dates is a clerical error; or perhaps it was the original design of the board to open the school on the 7th of May, but not having concluded the arrangements in time, deferred it until the 9th of July. At a meeting of the commissioners held in the month of April, 1828, William C. Jenks was reappointed teacher of the school at a salary of $800 per annum. At this period the whole number of children taught in the school was three hundred and fifty. The number of children taught in the school whose parents, guardians or friends defrayed or agreed to defray any part of the whole of the expense of their tuition, was one hundred and fifty-four. The amount received for the tuition of children whose parents, guardians or friends defrayed the whole or any part of their education, was fifty-five dollars and eight cents. The amount due for the tuition of children whose parents, guardians or friends agreed to pay the whole or any part of their education, was two hundred and fifty-one dollars and twenty cents. 189 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. The limited accommodations which the room in the Court House afforded for such a large and increasing school, induced the county commissioners to avail themselves of the privileges extended in the first section of the act authorizing the establishment of the school; and accordingly they purchased of the late Thomas Elder, Esq., the two lots of ground situated in Walnut street, numbered in the general plan of the borough 262 and 263, for the purpose of erecting thereon a suitable building for the accommodation of the school. The deed conveying these lots is recorded in book B, vol. 2, page 427, in the Recorder's office. We continue our extracts from the commissioners' minutes: "JUNE 20, 1828. Commissioners met. - Present, Messrs. Moody, Brua, and Cochran. Proposals were received for building a school house for the 'Lancasterian School.' "JULY 4, 1828. Commissioners met. - Present, Messrs. Moody and Peter Brua. The commissioners entered into a contract with Samuel Bryan for building a house for the Lancasterian school, in Harrisburg, at a cost of $4,250, according to article of agreement." It is probable that Mr. Bryan completed his contract in the fall of 1829, for we find in the "Order Book" that he was paid by Order No. 25, dated January 9, 1830, the sum of $585 54, "being the balance due him on settlement of his account for building Lancasterian school house." "NOVEMBER 7, 1832. Commissioners met. - Present, Messrs. Archibald Orme, John Imshoffstall, and Abraham Bombaugh. The following resolution was read and adopted: Resolved, That the clerk inform Jacob Richardson, teacher of colored children in Harrisburg, that in future the colored 190 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. children under his tuition shall be taught in the Lancasterian school, as the law directs; and that the commissioners will hereafter allow him no compensation for teaching said children." "DECEMBER 3, 1833. Commissioners met. - Present, Messrs. Imshoffstall, Bombaugh, and Kendig. Mr. Bombaugh offered the following resolutions, which were adopted: Resolved, That in consequence of an act of the General Assembly, approved the 9th of April, 1833, the public school in the borough of Harrisburg on the Lancasterian system, and the services of J. A. Prest as teacher thereof, be discontinued from and after the 20th day of March, 1834. Resolved, That J. A. Prest, teacher of the public school in the borough of Harrisburg on the Lancasterian system, be and he is hereby notified and requested to deliver up to the commissioners of the county of Dauphin, on Friday, the 21st day of March, 1834, all the accounts, vouchers, books, papers, furniture, &c., belonging to said public school house, and vacate the premises himself on the first day of April following." By a resolution of the Board, passed January 20, 1834, the time for discontinuing the school and the delivery of the accounts, vouchers, books, &c., was extended to Tuesday, the 20th of May, 1834, at which time it appears to have been finally abolished. In 1849 the school building, with the adjoining premises, were sold by the county commissioners to the school directors of the North Ward of the borough of Harrisburg, who made considerable alterations in its interior, better adapted to the use of schools under the present beneficial common school system. When occupied by the Lancasterian school, the teacher, with his family, resided in the building. It is occupied now, we be- 191 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. believe, by four of the North Ward public male schools, all in separate apartments. The building is constructed of brick, two stories high, surmounted with a neat wooden steeple. It fronts on Walnut street, nearly the breadth of the two lots upon which it is built, and has a depth of about fifty feet. That portion of the lots not occupied by the building is enclosed with a substantial board fence, affording an excellent play-ground for the scholars during recess. FIRE IN 1828. "FIRE. - At daybreak on Wednesday last an alarm of fire was given in this borough. A small frame building, occupied by Mr. Geety as a tailor shop, situated on the east side of Market square, about midway between Buehler's Hotel and Wyeth's book store, was discovered to be on fire, and before relief could be procured, though the utmost diligence was exerted, the contiguous houses on both sides (being also frame buildings) had caught fire. All those towards market street, including Wyeth's corner, (and down Market street to the building adjoining Wyeth's Hall) were burned to the ground; but those towards Buehler's Hotel were saved by extraordinary efforts, aided by the circumstance of a narrow vacancy between the building where the fire originated and the one occupied by Mr. Slaugh. Most of the furniture, it is believed, of the sufferers, Messrs. Geety, Wormley, Wolf, and Wyeth, was saved. A small loss, however, is a serious deprivation as it regards most of them, and gives them a strong claim to the sympathy of the public." - Intelligencer, July 1, 1828. FIRST WATER IN THE PENNSYLVANIA CANAL AT HARRISBURG. "PENNSYLVANIA CANAL. - The water was on Tuesday last let into this canal, at M'Allister's mill, and a gentleman has 192 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. just stepped into our office with the information that it has reached and is filling the basin near this place. - Harrisburg paper, March 20, 1828. GREAT SNOW STORM. The year 1831 was distinguished for a great snow storm, which occurred in January. "We do not recollect ever having witnessed so great a fall of snow as that which took place during the late storm. It commenced on Friday evening last, with an easterly wind, and continued without intermission until Sunday morning. If the snow had fallen without being disturbed by the wind, we presume it would have been at least two feet deep. But, as it was light and the wind fresh, it was blown and drifted in many places so as to be completely impassable. Many of our roads are filled up to the fence tops on each side, and are altogether impassable. Those compelled to travel have, in many places, to pass through fields and woods entirely off the track to find a passage. Our court commenced on Monday, and owing to the impossibility of getting to town through the snow, but four grand jurors out of twenty-four answered to their names, and it was not until Tuesday that a sufficient number appeared to do business, and then the whole number was but thirteen. We were for several days cut off from all communication eastward by mail. The Philadelphia stage, which should have arrived on Saturday night, did not reach us until Tuesday; and several of the stages that left here on Saturday morning were obliged to return. We have this consolation, however, if there is any consolation to be derived from company in difficulty, that there is not a paper received that has been published since the storm, particularly from towards the south, north, and east, that does not detail similar consequences from the same cause." - Harrisburg Reporter, January 21, 1831. 193 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. WATER POWER. "A few days since, John Davies, Esq., at the instance of a number of gentlemen of Harrisburg, leveled the route of a canal or race for supplying the borough of Harrisburg with water, and creating a water power. The route pursued commenced at Brushy Rock, immediately below M'Allister's; thence along the shore to the lock above Updegraff's; thence along the low ground near the State canal, as far as the farm of John Fox; thence towards the river to the low ground on the south side of the ridge, extending through the lands of Messrs. Cox, Elder, M'Kee and Hummel, to the farm of Messrs. Orth and Reily; thence either crossing the turnpike and continuing along the bank to the upper end of Pottstown, and there again crossing the turnpike till after passing the works of the Messrs. Wiestling, there recrossing the road and continuing along the river to Maclaysburg or Maclay's rock, or else proceeding through the land of Messrs. Orth and Reily direct to North or State street, Maclaysburg, and thence to the river. The estimate of the cost of the race was $22,450 29, exclusive of sixteen hundred perches of post and rail fence. It was to be 17 feet wide at bottom, and the fall from M'Allister's to Harrisburg was 16 feet. Judge Geddes, the distinguished engineer, formerly of this neighborhood, now residing in the State of New York, has kindly examined the principal points of the projected canal, and has expressed a very favorable opinion of it. He recommends a race of larger dimensions than the one above stated, viz: one of 25 feet wide at bottom, 40 at the surface, and 5 feet in depth, on account of its liability to freeze and a fall of 4 inches in the mile. A race of these dimensions, Mr. Geddes calculates, would furnish 14,064 cubic feet of water per minute, or 234 cubic feet per second; also, that agreeably to the table stated in Evans' Mill-wright Guide, 8 cubic feet and six-tenths per second, acting 194 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. upon a pair of stones of 5 feet in diameter, making 97 revolutions per minute, with a fall of 14 feet and two-tenths, will grind five bushels of wheat per hour. 234,406 divided by 8.6, gives 27.48. Thus a race of the latter capacity, with a head of 14 feet and two-tenths, will produce a power sufficient to turn about twenty-seven pair of stones, capable of grinding five bushels of wheat per hour. But if, with the aid of a low dam on the falls at M'Allister's, the head be increased to 15.47 feet, it will require scarce 8 cubic feet of water per second to turn the same stones, and 234 cubic feet of water per second will then turn more than thirty pair of stones. As the channel outside of Brushy Rock is used only when the water is too low to suffer craft to pass the channel next the shore, it is evident that a dam of two, three or four feet high will improve the inner channel, and thus benefit rather than injure the descending navigation. For the ascending navigation the canal has almost wholly superseded the river, but a windlass placed at the head of the channel would enable boats to pass it. If our citizens should be generally favorable to this project, (and there should be but one opinion on the subject,) the passage of the necessary law can in all probability be procured; and if so, the rapid advancement of our borough in wealth and population can be confidently anticipated." - Harrisburg Chronicle, August, 1831. THE "FALLING STARS." The 13th of November, 1833, is signalized as the period of the great meteoric shower - an exhibition of natural "fire-works" that will long be remembered by those who witnessed it. In Harrisburg, the scene is described as being "grand, awful and sublime." It occurred on a market morning, and to the ignorant and superstitious citizens and countrymen the phenomena was overwhelming and terrific. In the language of an observer, it "rained stars." Never before or since did such a countless 195 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. number of meteors fall from the empyrean in so short a space of time. Most of them were globular in shape, but many in their rapid motion left behind a luminous tail, and these the imagination of the credulous very readily transformed into so many "fiery serpents." It is almost impossible to conceive the horror of mind which seized upon some people, even when the phenomena was explained by the better informed. Many of the bold as well as timid citizens, yielding alike to apprehension, gave over all as lost, and passed the exciting period in lamentations and prayer. It was astonishing to behold how many became suddenly devout who were never devout before, yet, generally speaking, the fit of devotion was of no longer duration than the phenomena. "When the devil was sick, the devil a monk would be; When the devil was well, the devil a monk was he" - might apply very well to the history of these conversions. The following descriptions by eye-witnesses of this phenomena, were published in the Harrisburg Chronicle, printed at the time by Hugh Hamilton & Son: "This morning (Wednesday, November 13, 1833) at a quarter past five, I was told that a very unusual number of shooting stars were to be seen; and going out, I saw them radiating from a point overhead in every direction. It was not possible to count them, but I thought as many as from five to twenty in a second were darted off. The radiating space was not exactly in the zenith, but a little S.S.E. of it. Some of the meteors were so bright as to throw a strong light on the whole sky, and attract my attention even when they were behind me. Sometimes a long track of light was left in the sky, and remained for more than a minute. The very great number and rapidity of motion of these meteors could be compared to a large shower of hail. One of them appeared to be as large as a man's fist, and was of great bril- 196 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. liancy. The stream of light that remained in some cases ceased to be a straight line, and assumed first a snake-like form, and then doubled together. The east was ruddy, and the morning star very bright when I first saw the meteors. They were not always regular in their emission, but there was not, I think, an instant of time in which several were not visible. It seemed as if there were several great discharges every minute. I watched them till a quarter past six, when the sun was nearly up, at which time their light was very faint; but it seemed to me the number was only apparently diminished by being lost in the light of the morning. A very bright one was seen just at that time. E.L." "About eleven o'clock on Tuesday night, an immense number of shooting stars, as they are erroneously termed, were observed in the atmosphere. They continued to increase until five o'clock in the morning, (Wednesday,) when the view which the heavens presented was grand beyond description. Ten thousand little meteors might be observed at a time, igniting, falling perpendicularly for a short distance, and then disappearing to be supplied by others. Not a cloud was visible, not a breath of air was perceptible. The luminous trail which each meteor left behind it as it moved, gave the heavens almost the appearance of a solid mass of flame. The scene continued until their light was eclipsed by the morning dawn." FIRST ARRIVAL OF RAILROAD CARS AT HARRISBURG. The first locomotive, drawing a train of cars, that arrived at Harrisburg, came from Portsmouth, (now included in Middletown,) over the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad, in the month of September, 1836. It was called the "John Bull," and was an object of great curiosity to the citizens of the borough and vicinity, who congregated by hundreds on the railroad below 197 ANNALS OF HARRISBURG. Paxton street, to witness its approach. The railroad, at this time, was only completed between Portsmouth and Harrisburg, and the locomotive used on the occasion had been brought to the former place on a canal boat, from the State road at Columbia. In the month of December following, fifteen miles of the road, extending westward from Lancaster, were completed and opened. Passengers were then taken twice a day in each direction over the finished portion of the road, and over the intervening distance by stages. In the month of October, 1837, the whole line of the road was completed, with the exception of a track through the tunnel at Elizabethtown, which was crossed over by a good board-walk. The Cumberland Valley railroad was first opened for public travel from a terminus in Cumberland county, opposite Harrisburg, to Carlisle, in July or August, 1837.