Local History: Chapter XVII - Part I: SHAMOKIN. Bell's History of Northumberland Co PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tony Rebuck Tar2@psu.edu USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. Transcribed from Bell's History of Northumberland County Pennsylvania CHAPTER XVII - Part I SHAMOKIN. BRIEF OF TITLE THE TOWN FLAT - PIONEER SHAMOKIN IN 1839 - SUBSEQUENT GROWTH SUMMARIZED - THE FIRST STORES AND HOTEL EARLY PHYSICIANS AND LAWYERS MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT - THE RIOT OF 1877 - FACILITIES OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION - THE SHAMOKIN COAL TRADE - GENERAL INDUSTRIAL INTEREST. ALTHOUGH the old Reading road, opened in 1770 to connect the incipient settlements of the upper Susquehanna with the Schuylkill valley, passed through the present limits of Shamokin borough, this locality was for many years practically unmarked by the influences of civilization. There were numerous varieties of timber, but its value was trifling and a long period elapsed before the waters of Shamokin creek at this part END OF PAGE 591 of its course were made to subserve a useful purpose in furnishing the power for a single saw mill; and there was coal in practically inexhaustible quantities, but its existence was scarcely known and the time had not yet arrived for its profitable development. And when, at length, the miner's pick and shovel began the work of prospecting, the immediate results were not such as to encourage sanguine expectations. The railroad and mining industries of this country had not yet passed the experimental stage, and it was not until adequate transportation facilities had been provided, with the growth of a demand for the distinctive product of the region, that the way was opened for its unrestricted development. Then followed a rapid influx of population, diverse in language, nationality, and creed, but homogeneous in the purpose of lending their common energies to the work, and thus Shamokin, the largest town in Northumberland county, has reached its present proportions. It has sixteen churches, an efficient system of public and parochial schools, water, gas, and electric light companies, three lines of railway, two banks, and an ample quota of stores and hotels, while the collieries of the surrounding region and a variety of local industrial establishments furnish employment for the population. BRIEF OF TITLE. The following brief of title of the town plat of Shamokin is presented through the courtesy of John P. Helfenstein:- Survey to Samuel Clark, August 3, 1773; patent to Samuel Clark, April 11, 1776. Samuel Clark and wife to Thomas Lightfoot; deed dated November 6, 1776; consideration: twenty-seven pounds, nine shillings, two pence, for the undivided one third of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered, February 6,1832, in Deed Book Y, p.190. Thomas Lightfoot and wife to Jacob and Mary Tomlinson; deed dated November 3, 1803; consideration: thirteen pounds, fourteen shillings, seven pence, for the undivided one third of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered, February 6, 1832, in Deed Book Y, p.192. Samuel Clark to Francis Johnston; deed dated April 18,1792; consideration: five shillings, for the undivided two thirds of the Samuel Clark survey. -Entered, April 29, 1792, in Deed Book E, p.375. Francis Johnston to Abraham Cherry; agreement dated February 8, 1801; consideration: eight hundred forty-three dollars, to sell the undivided two thirds of the Samuel Clark survey. Entered in Deed Book X, p. 394. Abraham Cherry to John Cherry; assignment dated April 10, 1808; consideration: five hundred sixty-two dollars, for his interest in the foregoing agreement on the Samuel Clark Survey. Entered in Deed Book X, p. 394. Roger Wolverton, administrator of John Cherry, deceased; commission and return of proceedings in the common pleas court, January, 1831; recites that Francis Johnston died in 1801, seized of the undivided two thirds interest in the Samuel Clark survey, having, on the 3d of February, 1801, agreed to convey said interest to Abraham Cherry for eight hundred forty-three dollars, and that Abraham Cherry agreed to convey said interest to John Cherry by agreement dated the 10th of April, 1808, for five hundred sixty-two dollars. - Entered, January 20, 1831, in Deed Book X, p. 394. Alexander W. Johnston, executor of Alice Johnston, executrix of Francis Johnston, END OF PAGE 592 by his attorney in fact, Ebenezer Greenough, to Roger Wolverton, administrator of John Cherry, deceased; deed dated November 22, 1881; consideration, five hundred sixty-two dollars, for the undivided, (now the divided) two thirds interest in the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered, May 19,1882, in Deed Book Y, p.265. Jacob Tomlinson and Mary Tomlinson with John Cherry; agreement dated December 6, 1808; contract mutual (five hundred pounds forfeit) for a division of the Samuel Clark survey by a line "beginning at a stone corner near the road, thence north Seventy-three degrees west thirty perches, to a white-oak, thence south eighty-four degrees west thirty-four perches to a white-oak, thence south seventy-six degrees west sixteen perches to a stone, thence south one degree east to the back line." - Entered, July 12, 1830, in Deed Book X, p.271. Jacob Tomlinson, survivor, to John Housel; deed dated May 12, 1826; consideration: five dollars, for all his interest in the undivided portion of the Samuel Clark survey which was allotted to the Tomlinsons. - Entered, June 29, 1826, in Deed Book W, p.41. John M. Housel to John C. Boyd; deed dated June 15,1826; consideration: one hundred dollars, for the Tomlinson portion of the Samuel Clark survey -Entered, June 28,1826, in Deed Book W, p.40. James R. Shannon, sheriff of Northumberland county, to Jesse Major; deed dated August 20, 1854; consideration: twelve dollars, for all the interest in the Samuel Clark survey belonging to Walter Brady. - Entered, March 1, 1826, in Deed Book V, p.667. Jesse Major and wife to John C. Boyd and John Housel; deed dated May 1, 1826; consideration: two hundred thirty dollars, for the Brady interest previously mentioned. - Entered, June 25, 1826, in Deed Book W, p. 38. John M. Housel and wife to John C. Boyd; assignment dated June 15, 1826; consideration: one hundred dollars, for all his interest in the Brady interest. John C. Boyd to David McKnight; deed dated June 7, 1886; consideration: five hundred dollars, for the undivided one half of his interest in the Samuel Clark survey, called Boyd's stone coal quarry. - Entered, August 4, 1886, in Deed Book Z, p.670. David McKnight to Richard Richardson; deed dated January 28, 1840; consideration: six thousand dollars, for the undivided one half of eighty acres of the one hundred six acres jointly owned by Boyd and McKnight. - Entered, February 1, 1840, in Deed Book BB, p.88. Richard Richardson to John C. Boyd; deed dated April 10, 1841; consideration: twenty thousand dollars, for the undivided interest in the eighty acres. - Entered, June 25,1841, in Deed Book BB, p.542. John C. Boyd to the Shamokin Coal and Iron Company; deed dated October 18, 1841; consideration: fifty thousand dollars, for ninety-six acres sixty perches of the Samuel Clark survey, all lying south of Spurzheim and east of Grant street. - Entered, December 80, 1841, in Deed Book CC, p.140. Felix Maurer, sheriff of Northumberland county, to William Platt; deed dated January 8,1846; consideration: six thousand dollars, for the ninety-six acres sixty perches previously mentioned. - Entered, November 11, 1843, in Sheriff's Deed Book, BB, p.868. William Platt and wife to William L. Helfenstein; deed dated December 16, 1854; consideration: eight thousand dollars, for the ninety-six acres sixty perches previously mentioned. - Entered, April 17, 1855, in Deed Book LL, p.266. John Cherry with George Derk; agreement dated April 28,1813; consideration: eight hundred dollars, to sell inter alia all the western end of the Samuel Clark survey one hundred acres. - Entered, August 26,1814, in Deed Book S, p.872. Sheriff of Northumberland county to John Speece; one hundred acres, sold as the property of George Derk. - Bellas vs. McCarty, 10th of Watts, p.13, etc. END OF PAGE 593 John Speece to Philip Moore; one hundred acres - the western part of the Samuel Clark survey. Sheriff of Northumberland county to Samuel Sigfried; deed dated August 17, 1829; consideration: one hundred dollars, for one hundred acres - the western part of the Samuel Clark survey - sold as the property of Philip Moore. Administrator of Samuel Sigfried to William McCarty; sale dated April 19, 1832; consideration: five hundred sixty-five dollars, for the undivided half of one hundred acres - the western part of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered in Orphans' Court Docket, No. 7, p.800. Samuel Sigfried to Alexander Jordan; deed dated February 4, 1830; consideration fifty dollars, for the undivided half of one hundred acres - the western part of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered, June 15, 1830, in Deed Book X, p.243. Alexander Jordan and wife to William McCarty, Thomas Davis, and Joseph Warner; deed dated January 5,1831; consideration: forty-five hundred dollars, for the undivided one fourth of one hundred acres - the western part of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered, July 7, 1836, in Deed Book X, p.643. John Cherry to Benjamin Campbell; deed for one hundred acres - the middle portion of the Samuel Clark survey. - Entered in Deed Book S, p.372. Jacob McKinney, sheriff of Northumberland county, to William McCarty, Thomas Davis, and Joseph Warner; deed dated August 18,1830; consideration: two thousand dollars for one hundred acres, sold, April 24, 1830, as the property of Benjamin Campbell and in occupation of John Templin. - Entered in Deed Book X, p.353. William McCarty and wife, Thomas Davis and wife, and Joseph Warner and wife to Alexander Jordan; deed dated March 7, 1838; consideration: twelve hundred fifty dollars for the undivided one fourth of one hundred acres of the Samuel Clark survey, bounded on the north by J. Brady, on the east by John C. Boyd, on the south by William Green, and on the west by other lands of the grantors. - Entered, June 17, 1840, in Deed Book BB, p.280. Thomas Davis and wife, Joseph Warner, and William McCarty, by their attorney in fact, Joseph Warner, to William L. Helfenstein; deed dated February 6, 1850; consideration, nine thousand dollars, for three fourths of the western part of the Samuel Clark survey and two other smaller tracts, excepting certain specified lots. - Entered, June 17, 1858, in Deed Book OO, p.411 The researches of Dr. J. J. John have developed some very interesting particulars regarding the transfers immediately preceding Boyd's purchase in 1826. Walter Brady, sheriff of Northumberland county, 1815-18, subsequently became embarrassed financially, and the upper part of the Clark tract, of which he was then the owner, was attached upon an execution involving eighty-three dollars fifty cents, entered in favor of Michael Zuern. It was several times offered at sheriff's sale and at length found a purchaser, August 19, 1824, in Jesse Major, a gentleman of uncertain occupation, variously accredited as a burglar, counterfeiter, and horse thief. Tradition asserts that he had been but recently released from jail, and happened to be passing by at the time of the sale; no one seemed disposed to bid on the property, and, having made an offer of twelve dollars, he was forthwith declared to be the purchaser. To the surprise of every one present he produced the money in gold; but to a person unaccustomed to the acquisition of property by honorable means its possession was more of an in- END OF PAGE 594 Page 595 contains a portrait of J. J. John Page 596 is blank. cubus than a pleasure, and after making several visits to his purchase he next endeavored to sell it. About this time Mr. Major evinced a strong desire to own a horse, an aspiration not foreign to his nature, but which, probably for the first time in his life, he was prepared to gratify according to the ordinary methods of purchase. As Dr. J. J. John aptly expresses it, he offered his "kingdom for a horse." Having found several specimens of coal in the creek, between Clay and Webster streets, he induced a black- smith at Paxinos to give them a trial; they were accordingly placed on the charcoal fire, but had no sooner become hot than fragments exploded in every direction, and the new fuel was pronounced a failure. Undismayed by this, he continued to exhibit his mineral samples in the course of his peregrinations over the country, and, while his efforts as a real estate agent were doubtless persevering, and did more to attract public attention to this locality than anything else at that time, they were not rewarded with immediate success. At length, in the spring of 1826, Major found himself one evening at the hotel of Joseph Snyder, in Rush township. Mr. Snyder had an old gray horse, not a very desirable specimen to the ordinary observer, but sufficiently so in the eyes of Major to prompt him to suggest the transfer of his land to Mr. Snyder and take the horse in payment. The proposition was respectfully declined, but Snyder directed the impatient and impecunious real estate owner to John C. Boyd, who, he said, was disposed to speculate. Major promptly interviewed Boyd, and as the result of their conference his double purpose was accomplished - he sold his land, at the consideration of two hundred thirty dollars, and secured a horse, valued at fifty dollars. And, with the object of his ambition at last attained, Mr. Major had no further connection with the history of Shamokin. The growth of a town in its incipient stages was not calculated to interest a man of his tastes. THE TOWN PLAT. The speculative tendencies that had induced Mr. Boyd to purchase the Shamokin tract also caused him to dispose of parts of it, and thus an interest (but of what nature does not appear) passed about the year 1830 into the hands of Jacob Graeff, of Reading. It was with him that the idea of laying out a town originated. In 1830 he had a part of the land surveyed and one street was opened through the brush, but beyond this the attempt was not followed by any immediate or definite results. It was reserved for Mr. Boyd to found the town on a permanent basis. In 1834 the Danville and Pottsville railroad between Sunbury and the gap was placed under construction; it was the prospect of railroad facilities for the transportation of coal and of increase in population naturally incident to the establishment of railroad facilities that decided Mr. Boyd in making a second attempt to found a town. The plat was accordingly surveyed on the 1st of March, l835, END OF PAGE 597 by Kimber Cleaver, an engineer on the Danville and Pottsville railroad, assisted by Ziba Bird, who was then operating a saw mill at Locust Gap, and his son, Joseph Bird, afterward a prominent citizen of Shamokin and Northumberland, who carried the chain. The street cut out by Graeff was still distinguishable. The part laid out included the Major tract; it received the name of Marion, but a town in the West having that designation had recently proven a failure, and in his quest for a more propitious title Mr. Boyd wisely selected Shamokin. This was probably suggested by the creek. It is an Indian word, and signifies "Eel Creek" or "Eel Pond." At the earliest period in the history of this region to which authentic information relates, the name was applied to an Indian town at the site of Sunbury. From this circumstance, in all probability, it attained a wide popular significance as the unofficial designation of the purchase of 1768. In 1789 it was substituted for Ralpho as the name of an extensive township including the eastern part of the present territory of the county, and shortly after the opening of the Centre turnpike became a postoffice designation as applied to the hamlet of Snufftown, now Paxinos. Although the choice of Mr. Boyd doubtless commanded considerable respect, it was not at once accepted in popular usage, and not until 1840, when the name of Coal postoffice was changed to Shamokin, was it finally and permanently engrafted upon the place. The lower part of the Clark tract was platted as a town by McCarty, Davis, Warner, and Jordan about the time that Boyd laid out Marion. It received the name of Groveville, in honor of Mrs. William McCarty, nee Grove, but both places were more generally known as Newtown for some time. In order from the west, the principal streets of the borough extending north and south are First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Market, Seventh, Eighth, Grant, Marshall, Orange, Liberty, Washington, Rock, Shamokin, Franklin, Pearl, Vine, Cherry, and Lombard. In order from the north, the principal streets extending east and west are James, Kase, Packer, Cameron, Dewart, Sunbury, Commerce, Independence, Shakespeare, Spurzheim, Clay, Webster, Race, Chestnut, Spruce, Pine, Mulberry, Willow, Walnut, Arch, Church, Elm, Spruce, Pine, State, and Montgomery. Lincoln street extends from Market to Spurzheim parallel with Shamokin creek, which was turned into its present channel on the 20th of September, 1872. The principal additions to the original town plats within the borough limits are the Cameron addition, on the north, Baumgardner's and Graeber's, on the east, and Cruikshank's, on the southeast, while Springfield adjoins on the east, Uniontown on the northwest, West Shamokin on the west, and the Bellas addition on the south. PIONEERS. The Cherry family was early represented in this locality, and is said to END OF PAGE 598 have suffered in the Indian depredations of the Revolutionary period. The name of James Cherry appears as a taxable in Shamokin township in 1788; he was probably the first settler, and cleared land at Luke Fidler, Springfield, and elsewhere, residing at a house subsequently known as Irich's. By the division of the Clark tract in 1803 John Cherry was assigned the lower or western portion. Joseph Cherry settled on the plat near Eagle Bun brewery, where vestiges of his improvements were visible long after his residence there had terminated. Prior to the war of 1812 Abraham Cherry built a saw mill on Shamokin creek opposite the Cameron colliery, and near it stood an old dwelling house, for many years a landmark in this section. Another member of this family had a distillery on the hill east of Shamokin. The Tomlinsons, Solomon Dunkelberger, and William Ducher were also among the early settlers at the site of Shamokin. Of the Tomlinsons but little is definitely known, and that is not to their credit. Solomon Dunkelberger built the first house upon the present site of the borough; it was a log structure, and was situated where the brick residence of Benjamin F. Lake now stands. William Ducher is said to have been murdered; in 1824 the Brady tract was described as "bounded by lands of Benjamin Campbell, late Benjamin Tomlinson, on which there is a stone coal quarry; a small part of the land is cleared, on which is erected a small log dwelling, occupied by the widow of the late William Ducher, deceased." On the same day that Cleaver began to survey the town plat, Ziba Bird had the lumber for a house hauled from his saw mill at Locust Gap, and at once inaugurated building operations. Parts of the framework had already been put together and the remainder was sawed and mortised ready for use. Alexander Caldwell was one of the teamsters. The house was set on posts in the ground, and had no stone foundation. It was commenced on the 1st of March, and had so far approached completion as to be occupied as a dwelling on the 5th of April. It occupied part of the site of the National Hotel, corner of Shamokin and Commerce streets, and forms the front part of that structure. Mr. Bird then began the erection of another house on the opposite side of Commerce street; after its completion he moved into it, and finished the first by the addition of a cellar and foundation walls. The following letter, published in a Philadelphia paper and unearthed by Dr. J. J. John, conveys a fairly accurate idea of the appearance and extent of the place at that time:- Shamokin P.O., July 9, 1835. I have just returned from a short ride of six miles to the termination of the graded part of the western section of the - allow me to call it "Girard railroad" - being accompanied by the assistant engineer, Mr. Totten, to whose polite attentions I am much indebted for much of the pleasure of the trip through the mountains. The road from this point (which is on the Shamokin creek, thirteen miles east of Sunbury) passes up the creek, principally through an almost uninhabited country - the population, at least, is very sparse. Some three or four miles up we came into the Shamokin coal region, END OF PAGE 599 by the mines of which the country below, as far as Sunbury, is supplied, and from which, when the road is completed, large quantities will be sent to the Susquehanna river for exportation. On arriving at Mr. Boyd's mines, near the terminus of the graded part of the road and amidst the solitary mountains, we were gratified to see a large two-story dwelling house, a large store, barn, and other out-houses erected and nearly completed in a neat and handsome style. But if our surprise was great at observing such buildings in such a place, judge what it must have been when, on our return, we met five or six wagons loaded with furniture, women, children, cats, dogs, and chickens, and accompanied by cows, calves, sheep, and pigs, wending their way up the railroad to these very buildings, where, Daddy informed us, he was about to open a tavern. From whence his guests were to come I could not, for the life of me, conceive, at least until the road should be completed to his place and the mines should be worked. The next building erected, I suppose, will be a blacksmith shop, when the place will have all the attributes of a town in a new country, and will be entitled to a postoffice. In 1836 there were five families at Shamokin. Ziba Bird and Joseph Snyder resided at the Boyd town plat, and Dr. Robert Phillips, James Porter, and Jacob Mowry at the lower part of the town. John C. Boyd, the founder of Shamokin, was born in West Fallowfield township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, youngest son of John and Mary (Cowen) Boyd; the former was a soldier in the Continental Army during the Revolution, brigadier general in the State militia, and member of the legislature. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, but left the farm to enter the office of his brother, a broker in Philadelphia, for whom he subsequently traveled as agent and collector. In 1820 he married Hannah, daughter of General Daniel Montgomery, of Danville, and shortly afterward removed to that place, where he opened a store. In 1824 he relinquished merchandising and located at the "Boyd farm," two miles above Danville on the opposite side of the river. There he built a grist mill and mansion house, and purchased adjoining land until he owned nearly a thousand acres. In the midst of his extensive agricultural operations he was also connected with various enterprises designed to promote the development of the internal resources of the State, notably the Danville and Pottsville Railroad Company and the Susquehanna Canal Company, in both of which he was a corporate member. His early mining operations and the circumstances under which he laid out the original town plat of Shamokin have been detailed in the preceding portion of this chapter. He was also largely interested in the old Shamokin furnace, and experienced serious financial loss by the failure of that enterprise. The remaining years of his life were spent in an arduous struggle to retrieve his fortunes, and he had about reached a point where his embarrassments would have terminated, when his death occurred, August 18, 1856. Seven children survived him: Mary L., who married William Neal, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; D. Montgomery; H. Eliza; James; J. Alexander; Christiana J., who married Colonel William M. McClure, and Joseph C. Kimber Cleaver, the distinguished engineer by whom Shamokin was laid END OF PAGE 600 out, was a native of Roaring Creek township, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 17th of October, 1814. He began his career as an engineer during the construction of the Danville and Pottsville railroad, located at Shamokin shortly after the town was laid out, and was a member of the firm of Fagely, Cleaver & Company until 1844. During this period he was also connected with the Mount Carbon railroad, constructed a map of the Middle anthracite coal field from personal surveys, and located the route for a railroad from Shamokin to Pottsville. He was principally engaged in professional work in Schuylkill county from 1844 to 1850, and in the latter year laid out Trevorton. He was chief engineer in the survey and construction of what is now known as the Herndon branch of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad, and was subsequently connected in a similar capacity with the Philadelphia and Sunbury railroad; he also performed a large amount of very important engineering work at the various collieries of the Shamokin coal field. In politics he was closely identified with the Native American party, of which he was the candidate for Governor, surveyor general, and canal commissioner of Pennsylvania, member of Congress, etc. The suggestion of the Atlantic cable was originally due to him, and a variety of ingenious and useful inventions also emanated from his fertile brain. He died on the 19th of October, 1858. Ziba Bird was born in Warren county, New Jersey, a son of James Bird, who immigrated to Rush township. There he engaged in farming on Little Roaring creek and was so occupied when he formed the acquaintance of John C. Boyd, who induced him to take charge of his mining operations at Shamokin. He was thus one of the earliest residents of that town. He erected the first buildings that occupied the sites of the National and Vanderbilt Hotels, two double houses on the south side of Commerce street between Franklin and Pearl, and probably others. When the town began to decline after its first period of prosperity he returned to his farm, and afterward removed to Red Point, on the Susquehanna river below Danville, where he died. Mr. Bird was three times married, and was the father of nineteen children. Joseph Snyder, the pioneer hotel keeper of Shamokin, settled in Rush township, Northumberland county, in 1818, and engaged in farming, but subsequently became proprietor of a hotel at Paxinos, whence he removed to Shamokin in July, 1835, as described in the letter previously quoted in this chapter. The "large two-story dwelling house" referred to by the writer stood upon the present site of the Hotel Vanderbilt and has been partly incorporated in that structure; here John B. Snyder, the first white child born at Shamokin and oldest native resident of the town, was born on the 3d of April, 1836. Having met with but little encouragement Mr. Snyder resumed business at Paxinos, whence he again returned to Shamokin, but relinquished hotel keeping several years later to accept the office of resident land agent, END OF PAGE 601 which position he held for some years. He was born in New Jersey, October 10, 1796, and died at Shamokin, February 1, 1867. Benjamin McClow was born near Bear Gap, Northumberland county, June 25, 1812, son of Joseph and Mary (Campbell) McClow. He was brought up in the vicinity of Elysburg and learned the trade of carpenter. In 1835 he came to Shamokin and was employed at his trade until the following year, when he took charge of a saw mill on Coal run. In the spring of 1838 he erected his present residence at the corner of Pearl and Commerce streets, and brought his family thither in June of that year. Here he has resided almost continuously ever since. Jacob Mowry came to Shamokin in 1836 and took up his residence in a small log house of which the site is now covered by the refuse from the Cameron colliery. In the spring of 1838 he built the first house in the lower part of Shamokin, and engaged in business as a butcher. During the years 1836-37 he was principally employed in exploring the surrounding region and locating the outcrops of the coal veins of this basin. It was he who "drove" the first drifts in Buck ridge, now known as Big mountain, and also the first drifts in the ridge opposite the old furnace. Subsequently he engaged in hotel keeping, farming, etc. Mr. Mowry was twice married, and was the father of nineteen children. He died on the 9th of April, 1875, in the seventy-third year of his age. Jonas L. Gilger arrived at Shamokin on the 20th of March, 1838, and is one of the oldest residents of the borough. During the first three years after he came here he was employed as a journeyman carpenter by George Marta, under whom he worked on the construction of the furnace, railroad shops, the first blocks of miners' houses, etc. He then engaged in business individually, and was for some years a builder and contractor on an extensive scale. He built the first Methodist and Lutheran churches, and was associated with Stephen Bittenbender in the construction of the First Presbyterian church. He was elected burgess in 1866, serving one term, and served as school director fourteen years. William and Reuben Fagely were born in Shamokin township, Northumberland county, the former, January 5, 1806, the latter, July 25, 1814. Upon arriving at the age of manhood William engaged in merchandising at Snufftown, whence he removed to Paxinos, where Reuben was associated in the business. In April, 1838, they located at Shamokin, and in 1839 opened one of the first stores in that town. They entered the coal business in 1841; their early operations were confined to the Gap (now Cameron) mines, but they subsequently operated the collieries at Green Ridge, Locust Gap, Luke Fidler, and the Gap, while Reuben was also interested in the Big Mountain mines. From 1842 to 1852 they leased the Danville and Pottsville railroad between Shamokin and Sunbury and operated it by horse-power; during this period the laboring classes of Shamokin were employed almost entirely by END OF PAGE 602 them, and their enterprises alone prevented the depopulation of the town. They enjoyed in an exceptional degree the goodwill of their employees, among whom and in the community generally they were familiarly known as "Uncle William" and "Uncle Reuben" In addition to their mining operations they also established extensive coal yards at Baltimore, Maryland, and made large shipments to that city; they were well known railroad contractors, and constructed portions of the Philadelphia and Reading and Northern Central railways. William was the first postmaster of Shamokin, serving from 1838 to 1844, and Reuben was burgess two terms, 1868-69. Both died at Shamokin, William, February 17, 1874, and Reuben, February 21, 1880. Stephen Bittenbender came to Shamokin in 1838 through the influence of Patrick Reilly, master mechanic of the Danville and Pottsville railroad, who had formed his acquaintance at Tamaqua; there he was engaged in business on an extensive scale as a builder and contractor, and it was with the purpose of placing the construction of the turn- tables and other terminal facilities at Shamokin in competent hands that Mr. Reilly induced him to locate at Shamokin. He also found lucrative employment in manufacturing cars, and built many of the first houses at Shamokin, including the first Catholic and Presbyterian churches. In 1851 he purchased the Shamokin foundry and in 1855 the machine shop and car shop; he conducted this establishment sixteen years, employing a large number of men. He was one of the organizers of the Shamokin Bank in 1857; from 1864 to 1871 he operated the Burnside colliery; in 1865 he put down cast-iron water-pipes through a portion of the borough, and when the Shamokin Water Company was organized he was one of its charter members. He died at Shamokin on the 19th of February, 1885, in the seventieth year of his age. Samuel John was born in Ralpho township, Northumberland county, February 27, 1807. After reaching manhood he engaged in farming, surveying, and conveyancing, and also operated the old forge below Shamokin. In April, 1839, he located at that town and engaged in merchandising; in this pursuit he continued twenty-five years, and during a large part of this period operated large general stores at Shamokin, Mt. Carmel, and Mt. Comfort. He was appointed postmaster at Shamokin in 1844 and served two years. In the various railroad enterprises which were so largely instrumental in the early development of the Shamokin coal field he was actively concerned. Shortly after locating at Shamokin he entered the coal business by operating what was then known as Buck Ridge colliery. In 1863 he leased Green Ridge colliery (to which he gave the name of Green Mountain), and his operations at this point were quite successful. In 1860 he established the Shamokin Register, the second newspaper of the town, of which he was proprietor, editor, and publisher. He was also cashier of the Shamokin Bank and a director in the Shamokin Banking Company. His death occurred on the 23d of July, 1877. END OF PAGE 603 Solomon Martz was born in Upper Augusta township, Northumberland county, March 22, 1818. At the age of eighteen he entered the employ of the Messrs. Fagely, his uncles, as clerk in their store at Mauch Chunk. There he remained sixteen months, and then entered the store of William and Reuben Fagely at Shamokin in a similar capacity. He continued with them one year, and next found employment with Solomon Fagely, proprietor of a hotel at Mt. Carmel. About this time a stage line was established between Shamokin and Mt. Carmel, and he was appointed driver and mail carrier, subsequently serving in a similar capacity on the line between Pottsville and Northumberland. Of those who were connected with this method of transportation in central Pennsylvania at that period he is now the last living representative. After leaving the stage line he served as supervisor of Coal township two years and engaged in hauling coal from Shamokin to Sunbury under contract with William and Reuben Fagely seven years. He then located at his present residence in Shamokin township, and has now reached an advanced age. Peter Boughner, a native of Snydertown, Northumberland county, was born on the 23d of January, 1816. He learned the trade of carpenter under his father, after which he located at Shamokin in the employ of the railroad company. In 1850 he was placed in charge of the construction and grading of the streets of Trevorton. When the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville (now the Shamokin division of the Northern Central) railroad was extended from Shamokin to Mt. Carmel he, in connection with John Dunkelberger, laid the rails between those points under contract. Boughner & Gilger built the first breaker at Luke Fidler colliery and Cleaver & Boughner the first two at Locust Gap. Mr. Boughner now lives a retired life upon his farm in Ralpho township. Judge William L. Helfenstein, whose connection with the development of the Shamokin coal field was probably more intimate than that of any other individual, was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1801, and educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Having accompanied his parents to Dayton, Ohio, he entered the legal profession at that place, and served as judge of the court of common pleas from l835 to 1842. He was subsequently located at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois, in the practice of his profession, but came East in 1849 and was the principal promoter of the company that founded Trevorton in the following year. He subsequently organized a number of coal companies, among which were the Zerbe Run, Mahanoy Improvement, Carbon Run, Big Mountain, Green Ridge, Locust Gap, and Locust Summit; he was also the leading spirit in the construction of the railroad from Trevorton to the Susquehanna river, in the purchase of the Danville and Pottsville railroad, the organization of the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad Company, the rehabilitation of the line from Sunbury to Shamokin, and its extension to Mt. Carmel. He was a member of the com- END OF PAGE 604 pany that laid out Mt. Carmel, and proprietor of the towns of West Shamokin, Helfenstein, and Gowen City. He was largely interested in nearly all the most valuable coal lands between Mt. Carmel and Trevorton, and was one of the first to appreciate their immense value. He resided at Shamokin and Trevorton until 1860, when he removed to Pottsville and thence in 1872 to New York. His death occurred at Durango, Mexico, in March, 1884. John B. Douty came to Shamokin in 1852. He was born near Lambertville, New Jersey, May 30, 1812, and at the age of ten years removed to Rush township, Northumberland county, with his parents, who located at Pottsville in 1826. There his father at once became the owner of a line of five boats on the Schuylkill canal, and John B. was placed in charge of one of them. He continued at boating until 1842, when he entered the coal trade at the East Delaware mines. Several years later he went to the West Delaware mines, where he remained until the failure of the company in 1851, by which he lost the accumulations of years of toil. He came to Shamokin comparatively poor, and engaged in mining at the Gap (now Cameron) colliery on a small scale as a member of the firm of Kase, Douty & Reed. In 1856 he joined Dr. J. J. John and Joseph Bird, and the firm of Bird, Douty & John leased the Big Mountain colliery, which, after various vicissitudes, was finely made a successful enterprise. In 1859 Mr. Douty withdrew and took charge of the Henry Clay colliery, which became a highly remunerative property under his management. He subsequently opened the Brady colliery and operated it several years; in 1873 Douty & Baumgardner began working the Ben Franklin colliery, in which Mr. Douty was interested until his death, November 15, 1874. SHAMOKIN 1839. The town laid out by John C. Boyd in 1835 enjoyed but little more than a nominal existence until 1838, when the western section of the Danville and Pottsville railroad was completed, terminal facilities at Shamokin were provided, a machine shop and foundry were placed in operation, and the erection of dwelling houses received a quickened impulse, so that the town had reached the proportions of a small village in 1839. At the latter date Sunbury street, which coincided very nearly with the course of the old Reading road, was opened throughout its whole extent, Shamokin street was passable from Sunbury street to Casper Scholl's residence between Clay and Spurzheim, and Commerce, from Shamokin to its intersection with the Reading road; the remainder of the town plat was covered with a dense growth of timber, the creek pursued a winding course, and on the alluvial deposits adjacent to its banks the underbrush was almost impenetrable. The Catholic church, a small frame building at the present site of the knob factory, and a one-story frame school building on the south side of Dewart street constituted the conveniences for religious worship and educational effort. The END OF PAGE 605 following with reference to the inhabitants at that date (1839) and their respective residences and occupations is given as the reminiscences of Daniel C. Smink, one of the oldest citizens of the borough:- Sunbury Street.- North side: Joseph Snyder, land agent, small frame house at the corner east of Pearl street; George Shipe, machinist, the southern part of a long frame double-house at the corner west of Franklin street; Samuel Smink, blacksmith, the northern part of the house just mentioned; James Wallace, helper in the smith shop, small frame house, with shed roof, between Franklin and Shamokin streets; Jeremiah Zimmerman, small frame house at the corner east of Shamokin street; James Dyer, hotel keeper, large two-story frame house at the corner west of Rock street (Franklin A. Clark became proprietor later in the same year). South side: William and Reuben Fagely, merchants, two-story frame house between Shamokin and Rock streets; George Martz, contractor and builder, two-story frame house between Washington and Liberty streets; John Boughner, carpenter, small frame house between Liberty and Orange streets; Jacob Mowry, butcher, two-story frame house at the corner west of Carpenter street. Shamokin street.- East side: William and Reuben Fagely's store, between Sunbury and Commerce streets; Jacob Bear, merchant, two-story frame house at the corner north of Independence street; Joseph Zuern, blacksmith, two-story frame house between Independence street and Coal run; Joseph Zaner, carpenter, small frame house on the second lot north of Spurzheim street; Jacob Smink, blacksmith, two-story brick house, the first in Shamokin, half-way between Spurzheim and Clay streets. West side: Stephen Bittenbender, carpenter, small frame house one story and a half high, between Sunbury and Commerce streets; Ziba Bird, agent for John B. Boyd, two-story frame building which now forms the front part of the National Hotel; Jacob Kram, hotel keeper, two-story frame building partly incorporated in the Hotel Vanderbilt; Richard Wolverton, teamster, frame house with shed roof, one story and a half high, between Independence street and Coal run; Samuel John, merchant, frame house at the corner north of Spurzheim street; Casper Scholl, carpenter and subsequently associate judge of Northumberland county, two-story frame house between Spurzheim and Clay streets. Commerce Street.- North side: Benjamin McClow, carpenter, the two- story frame house at the corner west of Pearl street in which he now resides; Stillman Eaton, mason, two-story frame house between Pearl and Franklin streets; Joseph Bird, small frame house between Franklin and Shamokin streets; Ziba Bird, at the corner west of Shamokin street. South side: Sylvanus S. Bird, two-story frame house east of Pearl street, subsequently the location of the post-office; two frame double- houses between Pearl and Franklin streets, erected in 1839 by John C. Boyd; Matthew END OF PAGE 606 Brannigan, railroad employee, small frame house between Pearl and Franklin streets; Kimber Cleaver, two-story frame house at the corner east of Franklin street; Jacob Kram, hotel keeper, at the corner west of Shamokin street. Indefinite locations.- Joseph Morrissey, miner, small frame horse near the southeast corner of Spurzheim and Pearl streets; James Porter, saloon keeper, two-story frame house on Water street between the Reading and Northern Central railways; Dr. Robert Phillips, hotel keeper, two- story frame house at the gap on the west side of the creek and of the public road; Peter Wary, farmer, log house one story and a half high (the oldest of the buildings mentioned in this enumeration), west of First between Pine and Spruce streets. Single Men.- Peter Boughner, carpenter, who boarded with his father, John Boughner; William Cherington, blacksmith, who boarded with Joseph Zuern; Chauncey Eaton, mason, who boarded with Stillman Eaton, his brother; Jonas L. Gilger, carpenter, who boarded with George Martz; Washington B. Smink, blacksmith, who boarded with Samuel Smink, his brother; Daniel C. and Isaac Smink, employees in the smith shop, and John Smink, mail carrier between Shamokin and Paxinos, who boarded with Jacob Smink, their father; Samuel R. Wood, superintendent of the Danville and Pottsville railroad, who boarded at Kram's hotel; Daniel Zuern, blacksmith, who boarded with Joseph Zuern. Patrick Reilly, master mechanic at the railroad shops, also resided in the town, but his residence has not been ascertained. SUBSEQUENT GROWTH SUMMARIZED. In 1842 the locomotives were withdrawn from the Danville and Pottsville railroad, which was leased by William and Reuben Fagely and operated by horse-power until 1S52; during this period many of the inhabitants were obliged to seek work elsewhere, as the furnace had been banked in 1842 and the coal operations of the Messrs. Fagely, which constituted almost the only dependence of the town, were not sufficient to employ its laboring class. The reopening of the railroad in 1853 and the development of this region which resulted therefrom caused a rapid influx of population, and the growth of the town from that date has kept pace with the expansion of the mining industry. By the census of 1890 the population was fourteen thousand four hundred three. THE FIRST STORES AND HOTELS. The first store at Shamokin was opened in 1838 by Jehu John and Ilef Houseworth in the frame building at the northwest corner of Shamokin and Commerce streets which forms the front part of the National Hotel. The proprietors were brothers-in-law. Houseworth was from the vicinity of END OF PAGE 607 Snydertown, Northumberland county; after relinquishing the mercantile business he engaged in farming in the valley of Plum creek, near Sunbury, where he now resides at an advanced age. John subsequently taught school at Shamokin, but removed to the West and died there. The first store in the lower part of the town was established by Henry Yoxtheimer, a prominent merchant of Sunbury and pioneer coal operator at Shamokin. It was conducted in a frame building opposite the present site of the Eagle, Hotel. After Mr. Yoxtheimer failed the business was continued a year or two by Samuel John. William and Reuben Fagely opened a store on the east side of Shamokin street between Sunbury and Commerce in 1839. This was the location of the first postoffice of the borough. At this site a store has since been conducted by different members of the Fagely family, George K. Fagely being the present proprietor. Samuel John located at Shamokin in April, 1839, and established a store at the northwest corner of Shamokin and Spurzheim streets. He succeeded to Yoxtheimer's business when the latter failed. In 1844 he was appointed postmaster, and during his incumbency of two years the office was conducted at his store. Mr. John was connected with the mercantile interests of Shamokin for many years. John & Houseworth were succeeded by Jacob Bear, from Lancaster, who removed the establishment to the northeast corner of Shamokin and Independence streets. His immediate successors were Zuern & Ammerman; Benjamin Wolverton, who had a store in the extreme western part of the town, may also be classed with its first merchants, and there were no stores of any importance established in the place, except those mentioned until after the reopening of the railroad in 1853. The first hotel was opened in 1835 by Joseph Snyder in a frame building since incorporated in the Hotel Vanderbilt, but lack of patronage shortly afterward compelled him to relinquish the business at this point. He subsequently resumed, however, and continued in the hotel business several years. Jacob Kram was the successor of Mr. Snyder and second proprietor of the hotel that occupied part of the site of the Vanderbilt, which was variously known as the Shamokin Hotel and the United States Hotel before it received its present name. The first marriage in the town was that of Rebecca Kram, daughter of the proprietor, and Joseph Bird, subsequently a well known coal operator. Mr. Kram conducted this hostelry with fair success for several years, after which he removed to Minersville, Schuylkill county. Dr. Robert Phillips, who resided in a two-story frame house at the gap as early as 1836 and five or six years after that date, kept a hotel that received a fair patronage from persons traveling over the old Reading road and from the workmen employed on the construction of the railroad. This was beyond the borough limits, however. END OF PAGE 608 In 1839 John and Jacob Gearhart erected a large two-story frame hotel at the present site of the First National Bank, northwest corner of Sunbury and Rock streets. The first landlord was Jacob Dyer, who removed to Catawissa and was succeeded in the same year (1839) by Franklin A. Clark, who continued as proprietor many years. The property was subsequently purchased by John B. Douty, from whom it received the name of the Douty House. It was eventually destroyed by fire. Jacob Dyer and Joseph Snyder were the first to keep hotel at the present site of the National Hotel, which was established in 1851 by William M. Weaver and has since been one of the well known hostelries of the town. Sheriff Weaver conducted this hotel until his retirement in 1886, with the exception of the years 1863-66 and 1878-81, when he was sheriff of Northumberland county. EARLY PHYSICIANS AND LAWYERS. Dr. Joseph C. Robins, of Elysburg, was the first physician who practiced at Shamokin to any extent; Dr. Robert Phillips resided there and enjoyed a professional title, but it does not appear that he ever engaged in the practice of his profession at this place. It was impossible, however, to obtain prompt medical attendance from Elysburg in cases of emergency, and very inconvenient to send for Doctor Robins under any circumstances, and in 1842 the citizens of Shamokin entered into a joint subscription for the support of a resident physician. The services of Dr. John K. Robins, who had recently graduated from Jefferson Medical College, were secured, and in April, 1842, he located at Shamokin, where he was in active practice until January, 1846; he then removed to Catawissa, where he now resides, and is one of the oldest physicians of Columbia county. Doctor Robins was the only physician at Shamokin during the period of his residence here. After the departure of Doctor Robins the services of Dr. George Weiser were secured. He arranged to stay one year, but a more favorable opening having been presented at Georgetown, Northumberland county, he removed thither, and Dr. Charles Weiser filled the remainder of the unexpired term. The town was then without a resident physician until 1852, when Dr. Galen S. Robins, a son of Dr. Joseph C. Robins and a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Medicine, located here; he was in active practice until his death in 1856, associated during a part of this time with Dr. J. J. John and with his brother, Dr. E. S. Robins. The first resident lawyer of Shamokin was Spencer M. Kase, a native of Rush township, Northumberland county, a graduate of Bucknell University, Lewisburg, and of the Easton Law School, who read law with Joshua W. Comly at Danville and located at Shamokin in the practice of his profession in 1853. His office was a one-story frame building at the southeast corner END OF PAGE 609 of Sunbury and Shamokin streets. After a residence of three or four years at Shamokin he removed to East St. Louis, Illinois, where he became a well known criminal lawyer. He was elected to the legislature of that State, and was once the nominee of the Democratic party for judge of the district court, when, although the minority candidate he was defeated by only a small majority. His death occurred in 1890. William Lattimer Scott, the second resident attorney, was also a native of Rush township. He read law with John Cooper, of Danville, located at Shamokin shortly after his admission to the bar, and had his office at the northeast corner of Shamokin and Independence streets. He served as district attorney of Northumberland county, and resided at Shamokin until his death. MUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT. Shamokin borough was incorporated by decree of court at November term, 1864. The first borough election was held on the 2d of December in the same year; it resulted in the choice of R. B. Douty as burgess and John Esher, Daniel Weaver, Henry Van Gasken, John Dunkelberger, William H. Gilger, and John Shipp as councilmen. The following is a list of burgesses: 1864-65, R. B. Douty; 1866, Jonas L. Gilger; 1867, R. B. Douty; l868-69, Reuben Fagely; 1870-71, J. H. Zimmerman; 1872, William H. Marshall; 1873, William H. Douty; 1874-75, Charles P. Helfenstein; 1876, J. H. Zimmerman; 1877, R. B. Douty; 1878-80, Samuel E. Martin; 1881, J. A. Weaver; l882-83, Joseph Henninger; 1884-86, J. H. Zimmerman; 1887, Mahlon Koch; 1888, John J. W. Schwartz; 1889, J. A. Weaver; 1890, Galen F. Holshue; 1891, Henry Reese. The Borough Building on Lincoln street was erected in 1878-79 under the supervision of a building committee composed of Chief Burgess Samuel E. Martin and Councilmen Simon Hoffman, Isaac Raup, W. B. Bird, and George Robertson. It is a substantial stone building, two stories high, with lock-up in the basement, council chamber on the first floor, and apartments for the warden and his family on the second floor. The erection of this building was formally decided upon by the borough council, July 20, 1878, but it was not until the 4th of August, 1879, that the committee on public property was instructed to finish the second story. John Simmonds has filled the position of warden for some years. The Fire Department, under its present organization, was established by ordinance of the borough council, October 7, 1880. The individual companies retain their respective rights and privileges, but for the purpose of harmonious and united action they are governed by a board of representatives, composed of three members elected from each company. This board elects an executive officer and two assistants, with the approval of the borough council, the present officers being Joseph B. Womer, chief of the fire depart- END OF PAGE 610 ment; Samuel Snyder, first assistant, and Charles Schlegel, second assistant. The volunteer department was originally organized some years previously, with Wesley Van Gasken as chief engineer. At present it is composed of the following organizations: Lincoln Hose Company, corner of Lincoln and Liberty; Independence Fire Association, instituted and incorporated in 1873, corner of Lincoln and Grant; Rescue Fire Engine and Hose Company, instituted, March 10, 1873, incorporated, January 20, 1874, corner of Liberty and Lincoln; Friendship Fire Engine and Hose Company, instituted, July 1, 1873, incorporated, November 6, 1873, corner of Pearl and Spurzheim; and West End Fire Company, organized, November 1, 1888, incorporated, January 7, 1889. The Police System of the borough was, until a few years since, of the voluntary character. Policemen were appointed for each ward, furnished with weapons and the insignia of civil authority, and empowered to make arrests, but received no compensation except for special services. With the growth of the town this was found inadequate for the preservation of public order, and on the 2d of April, 1889, the paid police system was established by ordinance of council. The force consists of a chief and four officers; the chief of police in 1889 was J. A. Weaver, who was succeeded in 1890 by William Reppard, the present incumbent. THE RIOT OF 1877. Many men were unemployed at Shamokin during the great railroad strike of 1877, and meetings were frequently held at Union hall and Slope hill to discuss measures for the redress of grievances. The climax was reached on the evening of July 25th, when, after a meeting at Union hall, a crowd of men and boys moved down Shamokin street, not, it appears, with any riotous intentions at first, but as they passed F. Shuman & Company's store some one threw a stone through the window; this caused a momentary excitement, followed by a general movement toward the Reading station, which was completely looted. The mob then crossed over to the Northern Central depot; but at this juncture a company of citizens who had collected in response to the tolling of the Presbyterian church bell, a signal that had been agreed upon when acts of violence first became probable, marched down Liberty street with the burgess, Richard B. Douty, at their head. Upon arriving at the station he summoned the mob to disperse, but the order was utterly disregarded and the citizens then opened fire, with such execution that fourteen of the mob were wounded, one, Philip Wiest, a ringleader in the disturbance, quite seriously. This had the desired effect and the rioters retreated with great precipitation. Two vigilance companies were forthwith organized, with J. A. Weaver and W. C. Huntzinger as captains; they cleared the streets and performed guard duty during the next two weeks, but there was fortunately no recurrence of riotous demonstrations. END OF PAGE 611 FACILITIES OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. The old Reading road, the first public highway passing through the site of Shamokin, was opened in colonial days. The course through the borough can be indicated with a fair degree of accuracy by present landmarks. Crossing Coal run nearly opposite the Luke Fidler colliery, it continued in a westerly direction to the north side of Sunbury street in the rear of the Central school building and at the base of the mountain to the gap, whence it followed the course of the creek to Paxinos. It is described in 1803 as having been lined on either side with a dense growth of laurel. The Danville and Pottsville Railroad sustained an important relation to the early prosperity of Shamokin. It was opened to Paxinos in 1835 and completed to Shamokin three years later. The road was leased in 1842 by William and Reuben Fagely and operated by horse-power ten years; the track was relaid in 1853 and the road was formally reopened on the 25th of August in that year. In 1854 it was extended to Mt. Carmel; this extension is now operated by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, the entire line from Sunbury to Mt. Carmel being leased by the Northern Central Railway Company. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Williamsport division, is composed in this county of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven, Mahanoy and Shamokin, and Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg railroads. The Mahanoy and Shamokin, formed by the consolidation of the Enterprise, the Shamokin and Trevorton, the Zerbe Valley, and other roads in Schuylkill county, was merged into the Reading system in 1871. The Enterprise railroad extends from Locust Gap to Shamokin, and was opened in 1868; the Shamokin and Trevorton, now a part of the Herndon branch, was opened on the 2d of August, 1869; and the Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg railroad, extending from Shamokin through Sunbury and Lewisburg to West Milton, was opened in July, 1883. The Shamokin Street Railway Company was organized on the 23d of July, 1889, and incorporated on the following day with a capital of thirty thousand dollars. The present officers are as follows: president, E. C. Hamilton; secretary, Dr. J. J. John; treasurer, Martin Markle; directors: E. C. Hamilton, Dr. J. J. John, R. S. Aucker, Ferdinand Tretter, John H. Gable, E. G. Seiler, H. Rothschilds, John Clifford, H. Rehrheimer, J. H. Conley, and John Schabo. An electric street railway is in course of construction, the line extending from the power-house at the corner of Pearl and Pine streets to the intersection of Spruce and Second, by way of Pine, Shamokin, Independence, Market, and Spruce streets. THE SHAMOKIN COAL TRADE. In 1826 John C. Boyd opened a stone coal quarry on Shamokin creek opposite Yost's planing mill. Ziba Bird was the miner, John Runkle wheeled END OF PAGE 612 Page 613 contains a portrait of John Mullen. Page 614 is blank. the coal to the bank of the creek, and Casper Reed and Samuel Startzel hauled it to Boyd's place near Danville, whence it was transported in arks to various points on the Susquehanna river. The growth of this great industry is exhaustively treated by Dr. J. J. John in Chapters X and XI of this work The collieries of Coal township, upon which the prosperity of Shamokin so largely depends, are the Cameron, Luke Fidler, Neilson, Bear Valley, Sterling, Burnside, Henry Clay, Buck Ridge, Royal Oak (Alpha), Enterprise, Excelsior, Corbin, Hickory Ridge, Hickory Swamp, Garfield, Lancaster, Eureka, and Big Mountain. GENERAL INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS. At an early period in the present century Abraham Cherry built a saw mill on Shamokin creek at the gap, opposite the Cameron colliery. This was the first industrial establishment at Shamokin; about the year 1828 it passed to a Mr. Hoots, who furnished ties and rails for the Danville and Pottsville railroad. The next owners were J. H. Purdy and Lewis Dewart, who purchased the property with a view to its mineral development. Furnace run, an affluent of Shamokin creek from the west, derives its name from an iron furnace conducted there by Henry Myers. This land was purchased by Mr. Myers from Solomon Dunkelberger, and about the year 1825 he erected thereon a small charcoal furnace. Bog ore, obtained in the vicinity, constituted the raw material; the charcoal used was burned from timber on the furnace tract, and the product was hauled in wagons to Sunbury for shipment to forges in the surrounding country. Considerable difficulty was experienced in procuring limestone, and this ultimately led to the abandonment of the works. The development of the ore deposits continued, however, and until the next furnace was placed in operation an appreciable amount of ore was hauled to different furnaces in Columbia county. The location of Myers's furnace was at the west end of Walnut street at the crossing of the run. The Shamokin Coal and Iron Company was an important factor in the early industrial development of the town. It was formed by the amalgamation of the Shamokin Coal Company and the Shamokin Iron Company; the former was incorporated by act of the legislature, June 15, 1836, and the latter organized under a charter granted by the Governor under date of March 18, 1840. The corporators of the coal company were James Hepburn, John C. Boyd, Lewis Dewart, Joseph M. Sanderson, William Boyd, and Charles Mowry; the authorized capital was three hundred thousand dollars, of which subscriptions to the whole amount and the expenditure of fifteen per cent. were necessary to obtain the charter; the company was limited to three thousand acres of land, situated in Northumberland county. The necessary preliminaries having been successfully accomplished, the charter was accordingly granted, and the organization was affected, Novem- END OF PAGE 615 ber 19, 1839. The iron company was incorporated for the specific purpose of building a furnace for the manufacture of iron. The two were united in one, with the privileges of both, by a supplement to the act incorporating the coal company, March 23, 1841. The furnace was erected in 1841 by the amalgamated corporation, and "blown in" in the autumn of that year. The officers at that time were as follows: president, George W. Richards; secretary and treasurer, Benjamin H. Yarnall; superintendent, Samuel R. Wood; directors: George W. Richards, Algernon S. Roberts, Edward Yarnall, John W. Claghorn, Benjamin H. Yarnall, Samuel R. Wood, and John C. Boyd, all of whom resided at Philadelphia, except Mr. Boyd, of Danville. The following description appeared in a newspaper in 1842:- This furnace, erected on the property of the company at the village of Shamokin, is now in full blast, under the charge of William Frimstone, turning out pig metal of the very best quality. The machinery performs admirably. The forest has given place to the march of civilization, and the wilderness has been made to blossom as the rose. The village of Shamokin now contains more than six hundred inhabitants, nearly three hundred of whom are scholars in the Sunday school, and it is destined, at no distant period, to become a large and flourishing town. Few places possess greater advantages for prosecuting the coal and iron business. The furnace is thirty-eight feet square, bore built up eleven feet plumb, then battered two and one half inches to the foot to the top of the stack, which is forty-seven and one half feet high from the commencement of the base. Foundation under the whole, five feet deep and forty-two feet square. Engines, one hundred and eighty horse-power. Ten boilers, each thirty feet long and thirty inches diameter. Engine house, sixty by thirty feet. Boiler house, sixty by forty-five feet. Boiler stack, seventy feet high. Casting house, forty-five by forty- eight feet. The works continued in successful operation until the 24th of May, 1842, when the water-hoisting machinery, the casting house, and part of the boiler house were destroyed by fire. The company had been involved financially, and this loss precipitated the failure which occurred several months later. Benjamin H. Yarnall took charge of the property as assignee; in 1843 it was leased by the Messrs. Poastly, who were succeeded a year later by a Mr. Bryant, but neither the original projectors nor their lessees had so far met with any success, and in 1845, having been sold at sheriff's sale, the furnace was abandoned. In 1853 the property was purchased by Henry Longenecker, of Lancaster, who at once began making improvements and repairs, and established connection with the Big Mountain railroad. As thus rehabilitated it received the name of the Shamokin Iron Works, Henry Longenecker & Company, proprietors. The furnace was "blown in" on the 15th of August, 1854, but many difficulties were encountered, and in the following December it again suspended. The iron trade being dull, nothing was done until May, 1855; repairs were then begun, and on the 6th of July the corner-stone of a new draft stack was laid. At that time the proprietors were Henry Longenecker and Alfred R. Fiske, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania; clerk, Franklin B. Gowen, END OF PAGE 616 of Mt. Airy, Philadelphia; founder, Thomas M. Collins, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; store clerks, Cyrus E. Brobst, of Milton, Pennsylvania, and George B. Genther, of New York. Thirty-four persons were employed as masons, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and laborers. The ores used were as follows: No. 1, fossil, Union county, Pennsylvania; No. 2, hematite, Adams county, Pennsylvania; No. 3, magnetic, York county, Pennsylvania; No. 4, magnetic, Cornwall, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania; No. 6, bog and ball, Shamokin. The foregoing particulars have been obtained principally from a manuscript deposited, with samples of the ores mentioned and various other articles, in a tin box imbedded in the wall of the stack about twenty feet above the ground. It was placed there with ceremonies appropriate to the event. Mr. Gowen, W. P. Withington, and others made speeches, and the exercises closed with the singing of the doxology under the leadership of Captain Henry Van Gasken. Mr. Gowen's manuscript closed with the following address to posterity:- Those who may find these lines, whether in a spirit of improvement or act of vandalism, know, that on the 6th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1855, and the seventy-ninth of American independence, this was deposited in the draft stack of the works of the Shamokin furnace, just fourteen years and a day since the erection of the old draft stack and deposit of a somewhat similar memoranda by Kimber Cleaver, Esquire, civil engineer. The stack was constructed of brick, and stood at the upper end of Franklin street. In 1879 it was purchased by Lincoln Post, G.A.R., and demolished; the tin box with Mr. Gowen' s memoranda were thus brought to light, after nearly a quarter of a century of concealment, revealing much of curious interest regarding the furnace and the town. Mr. Gowen was connected with the establishment only two years; it experienced frequent changes in ownership and management, and was never continuously operated any great length of time. It was, however, throughout its checkered history, a source of prosperity at different times when the mining industry was temporarily straitened, particularly at its first inception, when the business of the place was derived almost entirely from the furnace. The Shamokin Iron Works, John Mullen & Son, proprietors, had their inception at an early period in the history of the borough. Upon the completion of the Danville and Pottsville railroad to Shamokin in 1838, the railroad company established shops for the repair of cars, tools, etc.; John C. Boyd and Ziba Bird added a foundry for the manufacture of hollow-ware, stoves, etc., the power for this department being furnished by the engine in the railroad shops. It was subsequently operated by Bear & Dering, Samuel John, and others. Stephen Bittenbender purchased the foundry in 1851 and the entire establishment in 1855. He inaugurated the manufacture of coal cars for use in the mines and in railroad transportation, and conducted the business on a larger scale than any of his predecessors. After END OF PAGE 617 continuing these operations successfully for a period of sixteen years, be leased the works in 1867 to Cruikshank & Brother, who were succeeded in 1870 by Mullen & Hufman, formerly of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. The new firm built a steam engine in 1871, the first ever manufactured at Shamokin; it was a twenty horse-power engine, and was used by Andrew Robertson for operating a fan at the old Henry Clay colliery. From that time engines have been an important part of the product of the works, and the trade in this respect extends to many of the States and Territories, with an increasing demand from the South and Southwest. Mining, rolling mill, furnace, saw mill, and powder mill machinery are also manufactured, and Allison's patent cataract steam pump receives some attention as a specialty. The works embrace two acres of ground, intersected by Pearl and Franklin streets, with direct connection with the Philadelphia and Reading, Lehigh Valley, and Northern Central railroads. The plant comprises the following buildings: foundry, fifty by eighty feet; machine shop, forty by one hundred feet; blacksmith shop, forty by sixty feet; pattern shop, thirty by sixty-five feet; store-house, forty by eighty feet; boiler shop, fifty by sixty feet, and office building, all of brick except the pattern shop and office. Ninety-five operatives are usually employed. Two other iron foundries have been absorbed by the Shamokin Iron Works. Of these, the Anthracite Foundry and Machine Works were established by John Shipp, at the corner of Rock and Clay streets. Mr. Shipp was succeeded by Fisher & Medlar, who were followed by William Y. Cruikshank. After experiencing several other changes of proprietorship, the plant was purchased in 1882 by Mr. Mullen. The Industrial Iron Works were located at the corner of Independence and Eighth streets; William Rennyson removed the plant from Sunbury to this place in 1864, and conducted the business until 1868. He was succeeded by several different individuals or firms, and in 1883 the works were purchased by Mr. Mullen. The style of the firm was changed in 1876 from Mullen & Hufman to John Mullen & Company, and in April, 1889, to John Mullen & Son. A Rolling Mill was erected and partially equipped with machinery in 1858; the funds were principally supplied by the Shamokin Town Lot Association, aided by private subscriptions of stock and capital from abroad. The machinery was brought from Camden, New Jersey, and the works were located near the old furnace. The plant was never placed in operation, owing to complications that arose between the local and foreign investors, and the machinery was returned to its former location. J. B. Zimmerman's Carriage Works on Independence street were originally established in 1869 by J. H. Zimmerman on Market street. The business was begun in a building twenty by thirty feet, but rapidly expanded, and now requires blacksmith and carriage shops and a large repository, employing twenty-five operatives. END OF PAGE 618 Eagle Run Brewery, two miles from Shamokin, near Weigh Scales station, on the Northern Central and Philadelphia and Reading railroads, was established by Gottlieb Fritz. He has been succeeded by John Geywitz, Swenck & Lehner, John B. Douty, Markle & Schweibenz, and Martin Markle, individually, the last named being the present proprietor, whose connection with the establishment began in 1871. A twenty-ton ice machine, fifty-six-barrel brewing kettle, and engines of sixty-five and twenty-five horse-power are the principal features of the plan. The annual capacity is six thousand barrels of beer, which finds a market at Shamokin, Mt. Carmel and Trevorton. The Shamokin Planing Mill was established in 1873 by George Marshall, from whom it passed in May, 1890, to W. A. Marshall, the present proprietor. It consists of a two-story frame building forty feet square and three stories high, erected in 1875 and located on Independence street. The machinery is propelled by engines of fifty horse-power, and every variety of planing mill work receives attention. Twenty-five men are employed. The West End Planing Mill, Aucker, Slayman & Company, proprietors, was established in February, 1882. R. S. Aucker had conducted a large business on an individual basis for some years previously. The mill, a two-story frame building forty by eighty-six feet, is situated at the corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets, and was erected by the present firm in 1883. The power is derived from an engine of forty horse-power. Seventy-five workmen are employed in their several lines of work, and all kinds of planing mill and contract work are done. The Rock Street Planing Mill was established by J. A. Yost & Company in a building formerly occupied as a foundry and machine shop. The present business dates from 1882. The building is a two-story frame structure, forty by seventy-five feet, and the engines have a capacity of twenty horsepower. Eight operatives are usually employed in the mill. Robertson & Osler's Flour Mill and Grain Elevator, Independence and Washington streets, have developed from a small mill on Liberty street, first operated in 1880 by Nathan Robertson. He was succeeded about a year later by the firm of Robertson & Parmley, by whom the present mill property was first occupied. This is a three-story brick structure, forty by seventy-five feet in dimensions, and was built by Andrew Robertson. The grain elevator in the rear is one hundred by thirty-six feet. The mill has a capacity of one hundred barrels of flour and four tons of chop per day. In 1887 the style of the firm was changed to Robertson, Parmley & Company, who were succeeded by Robertson & Osler, the present proprietors, about a year later. G. F. Holshue's Flour Mill, corner of Commerce and Market streets, was established by the present proprietor in 1888. It is a three-story frame building, forty by sixty feet; the machinery is operated by a twenty horsepower engine, and the product consists of standard grades of flour and feed. END OF PAGE 619 The Shamokin Powder Mills, William Beury & Company, proprietors, were erected in 1877, and are located in Coal township a mile and a quarter north of Shamokin borough. The daily capacity is one hundred fifty kegs, and the product is sold principally in the Shamokin coal region. Mr. Beury first engaged in the manufacture of powder in 1868 at Little Mahanoy, and has since been interested in Cameron township and at Trevorton. The Shamokin mills are therefore successors to some of the first operated in this locality. The Shamokin Powder Company was incorporated, March 10, 1887. The first and present officers are as follows: president, John Mullen; secretary, treasurer, and manager, Thomas J. Mullen; directors: Andrew Robertson, Thomas Gillespie, John Mullen, George Robertson, and Thomas J. Mullen. The works are located in Coal township near Trevorton, three and one half miles from Shamokin on the Herndon branch of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad. The original projectors were Gillespie, Crone & Company, by whom the works were erected in 1880 and operated until they passed to the present owners. The plant consists of an engine of forty horse-power, three boilers of seventy horse-power, one set of seven-ton chasers, one incorporator, two dry-houses, one glazing mill, packing house, magazine, two large storehouses for charcoal, and twenty acres of land. The daily capacity is one hundred seventy-five kegs. An addition for the manufacture of pressed powder for the western trade is now (1890) in course of erection. The Shamokin Manufacturing Company was organized and incorporated in 1888 with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and the following officers: president, A. A. Heim; secretary, Addison G. Marr, and treasurer, J. H. Conley. In 1888 a building was erected on Sunbury street at the former location of the Catholic cemetery for the manufacture of the Davis patent door knob. The works are now operated under lease by Heim & Deibert. The Shamokin Steam Bakery, H. C. Beury & Company, proprietors, was placed in operation on the 4th of August, 1890. It occupies a three- story frame building, thirty by seventy-five feet in dimensions, located on West Commerce street. Twelve operatives are employed. The product consists of cakes, crackers, and biscuits. The Shamokin Industrial Company was organized in 1890 for the purpose of promoting the general industrial interests of the town. The following officers were elected by the board of directors at its organization on the 7th of November, 1890: president, R. S. Aucker; vice-president, John Mullen, and secretary, Addison G. Marr. I. W. Forry & Son's factory for the manufacture of knit hosiery is a two-story frame building on Fifth street, erected by the Shamokin Industrial Company and leased to the Messrs. Forry for a term of years. The plant was placed in operation on the 27th of January, 1891. Miscellaneous Industries include the brick works of McWilliams & Mc- END OF PAGE 620 Connell, 8 mile West of the borough, which employ twenty-eight men and have a capacity of thirty thousand per day; an overall factory, cigar factories, etc., which add to the volume of local production to an appreciable extent.