ii«%i' W BENJASSIN H. THRQOP. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Cornell University Library F 159S4 T53 olin 3 7924 'oas'' 864 035 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924028864035 v^y^ ATluvnc f-u!;ht~hi/.,/,'.£i.,j/'.in,-i.i uuVr ' ' Should aicld acquaititance be forp-ot F ' H IDalf Century in Scranton BENJAMIN H. THROOP, M. D. SCRANTON, Pa., 1895. /^7(>^33 ^ ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1895. BENJAMIN H. THROOP, M. D., IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D. C, PRESS OF THE SCRANTON REPUBLICAN. TO MANY FRIENDS, WHO HA\'I-; TAKEN A DEEP INTEREST IN MV RECOLLECTIONS OF " A HALF CENTURY IN SCRANTON," THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. In puliing into permanent jorni some of the ree- ollections of half a centiny of Scranton^s liistory^ I have but acceded to the jcqnests of numerous friends, zvho have frequently asked me to expand the notes read before the Lackaioanna Institute of History and Science^ nearly a decade ago. As a volume it is unpretentiozLS. It does not claim to be a history, or a compendium oj specific information concerning tlic valley ; it presents, rather, some characteristic incidents and experiences in a pei- spective of fifty years, although every date and ma- terial fact has been carefully verified. Even the ac- complishment of this scarcely ambitious task would have been impracticable at tJiis period, had I not been able to secure the assistance of Mr. Marion Stuart Cann, whose skill and experience have re- lieved me of much of the tedious detailed ivorkivhich age and business prevented my attempting. A num- ber of others have been equally courteous in giving such aid as lay in their pozver, for which all have my sincere thanks. Much is necessarily omitted that might have proved of interest, had not the size of the volume already far exceeded the original in- tention; nevertheless, if these notes repay the per- usal of the kind friends zvho have urged their publi- cation, I shall be zvell repaid the time and labor which has been required. B. H. T. Scranlon, Pa., Jan. i, lH(^5. ERRA TA. Page 1 02. — Read Son-in-Law^ Selden T. Scr^ ton, for brother-in-law. Page 113. — Read Mr. for Mrs. Scranton. Page 122. — Read Boyle's for O'Boj'le's store. Page 161. — Read Isaac C. for Eli K. Price. Page 200. — Read Brewster Hackerly for Luther Ackerly. Page 338 — Read 18^8 for 1558. CONTENTS. CHAPTER FIRST. NATURAL ADVANTAGES. A Nineteenth Century Phenomenon — The Evohition of a City— A Decade of Prejudice — A Struggling Industry — A Fortuitous Sneer — The I^aws of Docation Discussed — Scranton's Geographical Posi- tion—The Natural Outlet and Site— Sanitation, Water Supply and Climate — Science Put Poetically — The Value of the Coal Measure— Coal and Visible Supply— Culm Consumption — The Iron and Steel Industry — Scranton's Stability — An Explanatory Word. CHAPTER SECOND. INDIAN HISTORY. Obscurity of Data — The First Occupants — The Van ofthe Colony — Chief Capouse at Tripp's Flats — Vandal Desecration — Count Zin- zindorf and the Moravian Encroachments — Massacre at Mill Creek — The Vengeance at Wj-oming. CHAPTER THIRD. THE TOWNSHIP OF PROVIDENCE. Original Survey of Record — The First Clearing — ^Matters at Ca- pouse — Pioneer Life — Nineteenth Century Progress — Religion and Temperance — First Store and Tavern — Post Office and Civil History. viii Contents. CHAPTER FOURTH. SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Razorville, Hyde Park and Bucktown, in 1S40— Habits of the Settlers — Location of the Old Roads — A Hard Worked Physician— Stores, Hotels and Industries— The Mail and the Legal Profession. CHAPTER FIFTH. CULTURE AND INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS. Limited Educational Facilities of the Early Da3'S — The New England Spirit — Formation of the Blakely Literary Society — The First Lecture Delivered. CHAPTER SLXTH. A MEMORABLE TRAINING DAY. 'The Still House Rangers" — Military Maneuvers in Time of Peace — Fantastic Fun at the E.^pensc of a Newly-Made Colonel — A Laughable Episode. CHAPTER SEVENTH. THE LACKAWANNA SLACK WATER PROJECT. State Aid to Internal Improvements— Canal Transportation — The Tunkhannock Meeting — Preparation for the Report — Mr. Henry's Prompt Response — Industries of 1841 — Exploration of the Coal and Iron Supply — Cogent Reasons for the Feeder Dam — An In- teresting Bit of Correspondence CHAPTER EIGHTH. SOME MEDICAL MEMORIES. The Earliest Physician in the Valley — "Granny Sprague, " the Proprietary Medicine Manufacturer— Dr. William Hooker Smith, and His Early Iron Making — Drs. Davis, Robinson and Scaver — My Early Experiences— Difficulty in Getting Drugs and Medi- cines—Queer Surgical Emergencies— Scranton's General Health. Contents. jx CHAPTER NINTH. I.ACK.'VWAXXA IROX AXI) STEEL COMPAXY. Scranton's (iood Fairy -Status in 1838— The Drinker Road and Its Fruits— William Henry's Enterprise— The Purchase Consum- mated—A General Disappointment— Col. George \V. Scranton- The Furnace Begun- Advice to Young Doctors— W W, Man- ness' First Work — Credit Impaired- The First Fruitless At- tempts—Others, and Then Success— Fresh Discouragement and Then New Enterprise — An Interesting Incident. CH.4PTER TENTH. BOROUGH OF DFXMORE, AXD THE PEXNSYLVAXIA COAL C( )MPAXY. The First Settlers There— The Effect of the Drinker Turnpike— Its Isolation from the "Hollow"— Asa Conrsen's Tavern — Burgess and Justice of the Peace — Early Antagonism to the Corporate In- dustrial Projects— A Railroad E.xcitement of 1844 — Meetings for Opposition — Nathan Smith's Quiet Purchases — The Washington Coal Company Appears — A Disappointment at " X^umber Six " — A Chat With the " Experts "—The Griffith Lands-John B. Smith. CH.-IPTER ELEVENTH. LACKAWAXXA COUNTY'S INCEPTION. The First Agitation — Condition of the Upper Townships — Selfish An- tagonism — Project of '43 — ilcrrifield Starts the Ball - Mr. Dun- ning's Experiences — Some Premature Rejoicing — The Constitu- tional Convention -A Son Takes Up His Father's Work — " The Sinews of War" — A Spirited Canvass and Victory — A Speech of Rejoicing — Location of the Court House — The Laying of the Corner Stone — The Story of a :Memorable Banquet. CHAPTER TWELFTH. SOME MILITARY MEMORIES. The Bombardment of Sumpter— President Lincoln's Call— Scrantou's Prompt Response— The War Inevitable, and an Ancient Her- Contents. itage — Early Leaven of Abolition Sentiment in This Soil^Gen- eral Feeling on the Slavery Question— Political Complexion of the County — Feeling During Buchanan's Administration — Vol- unteers Start for Harrisburg— Field and Staff of the Eighth Regi- ment — An Unexpected Commission Colonel Tripp's Appoint- ment — Camp Slifer and Its F'acilities — Scarcity of Supplies — After Antietam — The Smoketown Hospital — Pitiable Condition of the Men. CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. FINANCIAL MATTERS. First Banking Facilities — Mason, Meylert and Company — Winton's Venture — The First National Bank — The Second National Bank — Scranton's Trust Company and Savings Bank — Mechanics' and Miners' Co-operative and Loan Association — Scranton Trust Company and Savings Bank — Scranton City Bank — Traders' National Bank — Dime Deposit and Saving:* Bank. CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. MATTERS TRANSPORTATIONAL. The First Railroad Project — An Available Outlet - Beginning of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western — Opening of the Road Cele- brated — A Red-Lettered Da3' and Night in Scranton — Other Rail- road Enterprises in the Valley— Local Rapid Transit — The First Street Railway — Extension of the System, and Adoption of Electricity — Scranton's Present Advantage. CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. REAL ESTATE MATTERS. Earliest Transactions of Record — The Increase of Values in a Cen- tury — Tracts Which Composed Scranton Proper — A Big Transac- tion of the Fifties — The Advent of a Railroad — Some Suggestive Figures -The Outlook for the Future. Contents. xi CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS, AND PHILANTHROPY. Church Services of the Early Settlers— The Connecticut Church and School Grants— First Church Edifice— " The Village Chapel"— Denominational Rivalry— The Odd Fellows' Hall— The Building of St. Luke's — Early Care of the Poor — "Aunt Lydia Brown" — Evolution of the Hillside Home — Beginnings of the Hospital — First Failures at Co-operation — An Individual Enterprise — The Institution Opened — Some Early Contributors — The First State Appropriation, and What Came of It — Similar Institutions. CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. GENERAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. The First Forge in the Valley — Ventures of the Slocums — Abbott's Mill,Jerison White's Beginning and Other Early Enterprises — The Dickson Manufacturing Conipan3r, and Its Gradual Exten- sion — The First Stove Works and Similar Ventures — Large Enter- prises of Recent Years — The Scranton Gas and Water Com- pany — One of the First Wells— Original Water Service Contract — Other Details. CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. LABOR TROUBLES. Early Relations Between Labor and Capital — Effect of Prosperity — A Reaction and the First General Strike — The Fruit of Concessions —The Long Strike and Its Tragedy— The Strike of 1877— The Brewing of the Trouble — Patriotic Young Men Prepare for Emer- gency—The Riot and the Citizens' Meeting— Effort to Organize a Company — The Battalion Idea -The Thirteenth Regiment. CHAPTER NINETEENTH. SOME TOWNS ADJACENT. The Transition Along the Valley— Mount Vernon and Its Founder— Jermyn, and Its Enterprise— Archbald, Winton, Peckvillc, Oly- phant— The Laying Out of Priceburg— Incorporation ofThroop. CHAPTER TWENTIETH. A WORD AT CLOSING. The Scranton Postoffice- The First Milk Route— Express Facilities Established -The Press and Its Work— HoUister's History— Some Facts About Early Hyde Park— Vale. CHAPTER FIRST. NATURAL ADVANTAGES. A Nineteenth Century Phenomenon, the Evolution of a Citj- — A De- cade of Prejudice — A vStruggling Industry — A Fortuitous Sneer — The Laws of Location Discussed — Scranton's Geographical Posi- tion — The Natural Outlets and the Site — vSanitation, Water Supply and Climate — Science Put Poetically— The Value of the Coal Measures — Coal and the Visible Supply — Culm Consumption- The Iron and Steel Industry — Scranton's Stability — An Explana- tory Word. ~;j||pr^HE evolution of a metropolitan city out of Y'ly what was almost a primitive wilderness, ~*^ within the brief span allotted to one man's mature life is a phenomenon that has never been recorded upon the pages of history until this close of the Nineteenth Century. Within my rec- ollection, Scranton has been developed from a handful of hard}' pioneers, sparsely scattered over a wide area, or collected in three scanty hamlets, thoroughly rural in every particular, to a teeming cit}' of over eighty thousand inhabitants, the com- mercial center of half a million of people, and one of the proudest and most progressive daughters of the Keystone State. Within less than five de- 2 A Half Ce?itury in Scrantou. cades, the few quiet, unpretentious homes of com- parative poverty that nestled in the fertile valley, or perched upon the rugged hillside have given place to palatial residences and the comfortable quarters of the well to do. The broad stump-stip- pled clearings that, within my memory, returned but a scanty living to the tilling of a single fanner and his hard working family, now give remunera- tive employment to thousands engaged in a hund- red diversified industries. The still covers that hid the brooding quail, the frond-secreted pool where the doe taught her fawn to drink, the pond where the lily-pads danced to a frog chorus that rivaled Aristophenes, all have disappeared, and in their stead, is vista after vista of magnificent build- ings, flanking gleaming streets flecked by the forms of a busy city. The half-opened roads of my early memory are laid in steel, breakers lift their solemn heads where stately pines once stood, the shriek of the locomotive and the clanging gong of the elec- tric car break a stillness erstwhile disturbed only, by the song of the birds or the whir of a partridge ■ wing. The transformation has been AUadin-like ; yet the factors are simple. The chief ones have been boundless courage, indomitable persever- ance, alertness to see an advantage and profit bv- an idea, an earnest purpose, active cooperation, and a due appreciation of the natural advantages of its location and environment. A Half Century in Scranion. 3 The first decade within the scope of mv memory reveals this section as almost entirely an agri- cultt^ral community, with little industrial spirit awakened by the progress that had been made up the valley, and some lingering of the prejudice against corporations which beset the Delaware and Hudson Canal Compau)-, in its early history. The onh- manufacture at Slocura's Hollow — that of whiskey — had been abandoned, and the handicrafts, pursued were those of any other rural settlement. A decade later, although the industrial spirit had begun to manifest itself, the nucleus of the town was an insignificant village, with a single strug- gling concern, which was a butt of ridicule and a target for the boorish wit and sarcasm of the sur- rounding territory. In the next decade this had given wav' to a respectable recognition that there were potent forces at work, and a partial recognition of the commercial achievements possible; and there had been a general awakening. The leaven of in- domitable enterprise had accelerated the fulfillment of natural laws, enthusiasm had been aroused, and each year was marking a decided and decisive ad- vancement. It has been said of some of the great American cities that have grown up within a comparatively short period that they were born to good luck, and that whenever circumstances have conspired 4 A Half Century in Sa anion. to retard progress, whenever hard times and deep •depressions over extended areas have compelled curtailment of aggressive enterprise, something new has unexpectedly happened to give fresh im- petus to vigorous growth. Within the last few months, a magazine article of felicitous phrase cited Scranton, among other cities, as an example of fortuitous growth from untoward circumstances, and seemed to imply that its development was a matter of chance rather than the direct outcome of laws and conditions inexorable so far as local envi- ronment went. In support of this specious fallacy and rank injustice, the writer cited the fact that the citj^ owed its inception, and that of the princi- pal industry which is inseparably interwoven with its earlier history, to the purely false assumption that it had valuable workable deposits of iron ore in the immediate vicinity, and adds sententiousl}^ that "because it unexpectedly happened that good coal mines were discovered it became a great city." The words are italicised not so much to emphasize this covert sneer of ignorance and prejudice as to draw attention to the true conditions and the bear- ing they have on the future as well as the past. The old saw about the unexpected always happen- ing, like many another of the trite and common- place proverbs of the class to which it belongs, ex- presses exactly what is not true. The location of cities, and their prosperity and progress are neither .4 Half Century in Scr anion. 5 accidental, nor are they determined by man's de- sign. The mighty forces which have been shap- ing the destiny of the human race since it iirst awoke in its Asiatic cradle, and have impelled, through thousands of years, such shifting and re- adjustment of nations, centers of populations, and local centers of accretion and distribution as were necessary for the advancement of civilization and the elevation of the race, have kept perfect step, in true scientific unison with progress, and deter- mine inexorably where cities shall be built for the greatest good of the greatest number, which is the true symmetry of Nature's God; and the more thor- ough our understanding of these forces, and the modes by which they act, and the more conforma- ble our plans to them, the more enduring the local triumphs of progress and prosperity. In the ad- vance from the primitive simplicity of a semi-bar- baric state to all the intricate complexities and highly vitalized, sympathetic interdependence of modern commercial life — from the barter of actual necessaries of life to the elaborate business and fiscal systems of to-day, the trend has been in the direction of economic methods of production, and the constant curtailment of waste, either of labor or its fruits. Certain facilities, both natural and acquired, for certain lines of development mean definite progress in that direction. This may b accelerated by the judicious propulsion of well di- 6 A Half Century in Scranion. rected industry, energy and enterprise applied parallel to the natural lines. That Scranton has done this with magnificent success in the past, none will deny. That with the present impetus of her supremacy the close of the century will show a phenomenal advancement far beyond the most sanguine dreams of her most enthusiastic prophets is as little open to doubt ; but it will not be the happening of the unexpected. Scranton owes much to its geographical position. Situated one hundred and fortj^-six miles from New York, one hundred and sixty-seven from Philadel- phia, and three hundred and seventeen froin Pitts- burg, it is not in danger of being checked in its development by these older and larger business centers; yet thej' are sufficiently accessible to meet all the requirements of trade. The picturesque and fertile valley in which it lies has a large area of almost identical interests, since the mountains that wall it in outline the Lackawanna coal basin, which is but a continuation of the Wyoming. Be- yond them lie some of the best agricultural and timber lands in this portion of the state. Flowing with many a graceful curve through the center of the vallej^ is the stream from which it takes its name, formerly a body of spring water of about twice its present volume, abounding in fish of every variety, and particularly noted for its brook A Half Century in Scranton. 7 trout. It takes its name from the Indian tongue, and signifies the meeting of two streams, and the records give it several appellations, none of which, however, are as musical and liquid as the one it has retained, and which seems to suggest the pristine loveliness that I recall, when it hid among the laurels and rhododendrons, glided silentlj^ by the mast-like pines, laughed and trebled over the grav- ell)' bars, and danced along in the sunshine unpol- luted by the mine water and sewerage which have killed every living thing in it for some years. The mountain wall which shuts the valley out from the rest of the world is pierced by several tributaries, and. these, which form with the river, the only outlets for traf&c, so occur that the princi- pal lines, both of rail and wagon ways, intersect each other at the most eligible site for a cit}-. Leggett's Creek, named in honor of one of the old settlers, whose birch bark hut was upon its banks, is a picturesque stream that has cut for itself a deep channel in the rocks, and affords not only the easiest grade and passage by vehicle to the fertile farms of Abington, among which it rises, but the gap through which the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad passes north. The Roaring Brook, which comes thundering down from the INIoosic Mountains on the southeast, has made a similar natural cut in the deep ravine that it has channeled there. As the other outlets are at the 8 A Half Century in Scranton. ends of the crescent-shaped valley, all lines con- verge at Scranton. The topography of the nine- teen and odd square miles within the city limits presents a great variety of contour. In the north- ern portion, the river flows through the broad meadows that were once the site of the Indian village of Capouse, and which now form most available sites for manufacturing industries. On either hand, the hills rise up, terraced at some points, quite abruptly at others, and thus there is high- land, lowland and hillside, all of which have their offices in making an attractive city. As the river approaches the central portion of the city, its banks rise up some forty or fifty feet, forming on both sides terrace-like plateaux upon which th« principal business houses are located. Then come gentle undulations for residence streets, im- posing heights for palatial homes and public insti- tutions, and, still beyond, the free blue hills, threaded with romantic glens, and reached by picturesque drives. Nature has been generous in every particular. In every portion of the city, there are like diversity of conditions, and all tend to the production of a healthful, happy city. With- in the past year or two, much attention has been paid to the improvement of the natural capacities. The bridges and viaducts in contemplation, the preserving of proper parks, the improving and construction of attractive drives, all are import- .-1 Half Cenhiry in Scranton. 9 ant matters, and should receive both public and private attention. The drainage is excellent, and sewer sanitation is accomplished at a minimum expense. While there are many commanding elevations, so judi- ciously has the city been platted, that all are acces- sible through easy grades, so slight that the elec- tric cars surmount the steepest ascents without the aid of any inclines or other expensive contrivances. The river bed is over eight hundred feet above tide water, and the valley is fanned in the hottest days by cool, fresh breezes of pure mountain air; yet so thoughtfully has Nature arranged the sur- rounding hills, that an abundant supply of the purest spring water flows naturally from the well nigh inexhaustible reservoirs above, to the highest points within the city limits, and an effective fire pressure can always be obtained without pumping, except under special conditions. Malaria is almost unknown, except when imported, or due to very limited local conditions, and the general health of the city is remarkable. Beyond the walls of hills, and at the entrances of the valley, there are fine agricultural regions contiguous, and the freshest products of farm and garden can be put in the market within a few hours after gathering, and all of these conditions 10 A Half Century in Scranton. are supplemented by the many trains that connect it daily with the seaboard, and place the delicacies of other latitudes within reach of all at moderate prices within five hours after they arrive at New York. Scranton is situated a little west of the geo- graphical center of the county, though the Court House stands nearly in the center of what was form- erly the Borough of Scranton, and, as ascertained by the United States Geodetic and Coast Survey, in 18S5, is in latitude forty-one degrees, twenty-four minutes and twenty-nine seconds north ; and lon- gitude seventy-five degrees, thirty-nine minutes and forty-seven seconds west of Greenwich ; and is se\en hundred and forty-five feet above sea level. It is within a zone of frequent rain-falls, though it has not an extreme humidity; and as the prevail- ing winds are from the northwest, it escapes ex- tremes of temperature. The -climate is mild and salubrious, though there is sufficient bracing weather to give that tonic effect so necessary to general health and vigor. In this combination of general advantages it is unique. One of the principal factors in Scranton's growth was poetically, yet, withal, scientifically, put a few 3?ears ago in the musings of a college president, who, after an absence of thirty-five years, spent a .-/ Half Ccjiiiuy in Scranton. 11 bus}^ day in being shown about the cit}- and its environs. He had been surprised be3'ond meas- ure with its stupendous industries, the great vol- ume of capital invested, its imposing commercial houses, strong banks, magnificent churches and schools, palatial residences, complete sj^stem of rapid transit, its beautiful count)- and municipal buildings, its eleemosynary institutions and all those things of which its citizens naturally feel proud. As he inhaled his evening cigar, he turned and exclaimed: "To think that all of the magnifi- cence, beaut}-, brightness, happiness, comfort and activit}' iu peace I have seen to-daj' was born of God's loving sunshine of millions of j-ears ago!" He but stated in pleasant imagery the generally accepted theory of the formation of those black diamonds that have been the chief source of all the industrial, commercial and intellectual supremacy which has wrought the changes I have witnessed. The wealth, the luxur}-, the triumphs of arts and manufactures — in fact the material progress of the century is in a great measure due to the coal, which is the embodiment of a power more potent than that attributed to the fabulous genii of Oriental tales. It is not fitting here to enter into a discussion of the processes of its formation, and the methods b}^ which it composed and concen- trated into itself the dvuamic energies that fell 12 A Half Century in Scranton. upon the tissues of "those strange trees that lifted their scaly trunks and waved their feathery foliage over the marshy shores of the carboniferous con- tinent, where not only man was not, but where gigantic salamanders and mail-clad fishes were the monarchs of the animated world." Such matters are fully and clearly discussed in works of the ablest scientists of the day. It is sufficient to recall the fact that the Lackawanna coal basin proper con- tains about three hundred and twenty-seven feet of the coal measures, with a total of twenty feet at the northern end, and a thickness of thirteen feet of coal at Carbondale; six hundred and thirty- three feet of measures with a thickness of sixty- seven feet of coal at Scranton; and eight hundred and sixteen feet of measures, with eighty-five feet of coal west of this point. The existence of this vast body of mineral wealth, together with the other natural advantages, and the geographical conditions of its location, make Scranton a city of certain destiny. This was foreseen by a few minds when I made my first visit to the valley, and was one of the reasons of my location here. That the city's pro- gress will be as great to the end of the century and beyond it as it has been in the past three decades is but a mild prophecy indeed. The im- petus it has attained is well nigh irresistible. A Half Century in Scranto7i. 13 Twenty-five 3fears ago there were local Thersites who shook their heads at the constant increase of the mining industry, and the increasing market for anthracite coal; who calculated carefullj^ the visible supply and the date of its exhaustion, and shook their heads dismally over the prospect. At that time many of the culm piles were on fire, and little or no effort was made to extinguish them, except as the heat their smouldering fires pro- duced endangered the breakers. They were regarded as waste only. To-day these same despised culm piles compose part of our most valuable fuel supply, and offer cheaper horse- power to manufacturers than can be obtained an^'- where else in the United States. Each year more finely divided fuel is being used, and better methods of more perfect combirstion, and higher utilization of every heat unit are being discov- ered, as we\\ as more economical methods of rain- ing and preparing coal. The rolling bottom of the great trough which divides the Lackawanna basin into a number of sub-basins is still bringing forth surprises, and occasionally a stray -vein is dis- covered where it was least expected one would be found. The prophecies of speed}' exhaustion are apparently as far from fulfillment as were the}' when first they were made, and the ever-increasing out-put finds new sources of supply that pav a tithe of profit to Scranton. 14 A Half Century in Scranton. The iron industry, which was the source of ridicule at its inception, has more than surpassed the wildest and most enthusiastic dreams of its indomitable projectors. Its cavilers. long since were silenced, and now join with all. in honoring the memory of the resolute, en- ergetic and far-seeing men who brooked no obstacle, and knew no word but success. It is a significant fact that, although the ores which they at first hoped to smelt with the abundant coal proved unprofitable, to-day the steel mills of Scranton stand foremost in the United States. During the year 1893, in spite of the depression that extended to every department of business, they were fairly busy, and made more rails than any other concern in America. They kept most of their hands busy at fairly remunerative wages, when other concerns were obliged to close down, and send their men adrift. So, too, with all of the other industries, and the business of the city gen- erally. During the period when other cities had banks and business concerns tumbling with each succeeding week, Scranton recorded no suspen- sions, no foreclosures in any of her large concerns, and but few minor failures. Standing as she does, peerless in her progress, and conceded by all the metropolis of Northeast- ern Pennsylvania, I look back with honest, loving .-i Half Century hi Scranton. 15 pride upon her achievements, and tlie part that I took in her grand development. As the only liv- ing physician who was present at what may be called her actual birth, and one who has been with her in all the stages np to a magnificent woman- hood, fair among her sister cities, it will be con- ceded that I have had abundant opportunities to observe some of the idiosjmcracies that have attended her development. Many of the details of her history are closely interwoven with my own personal recollections, and for this reason the first person has been adopted for simplicity's sake in these brief notes by the waj^ I feel they record some data which show the potentialities which have been and are at work; that each one maj/, as has been recently said, "measure for himself the length of pace, the rapidity of stride and the zeal and confidence with which she marches forward to the most magnificent destiny awaiting any city in this portion of the state." CHAPTER SECOND. INDIx\N HISTORY. Obscurity of Data — The First Occupants — The Van of the Colony — Chief Capouse at Tripp's Flats — Vandal Desecration — Count Zin- zindorf and the Moravian Encroachments — Massacre at Mill Creek — The Vengeance at Wyoming. ^^HE early history of the Lackawanna Val- ley is involved in the obscurity of time, and is hard to exhume from a hundred or more years of oblivious record ; yet enough is known to convince us that the Indians held sway long after Penn became the owner of its soil hy purchase. There has been much written, by those who had the time and inclination to investigate concerning the exact conditions of the aboriginal title to the lands of this section, and in which tribes it properh' vested. As to whether the actual occupants were vassals, or independent; whether they were originally of one stock or an- other, can never be definitely settled. The inter- tribal snarls and squabbles of the red man will probably never be untangled, though from the 18 .^ Half Cefitury in Scranton. antagonisms they occasionally generate among the archaeologists, they may perpetuate them- selves for generations. Several recent writers have advanced statements qtiite at variance in detail with those of the earlier historians, and cited vokiminous copies of old records to prove the correctness of these later views. To avoid all controversy, I use only the main and important facts, which are admitted by both sides. Nothing beyond remote conjecture reaches back to the first occupants of the country. From the few remains they have left, it would seem that they were of a character entirely different from the Indian tribes with which the first white men came in contact. They were possibly of a race that had either been driven oiit, or entirely exter- minated, years before Columbus was born. The savages who had succeeded them had known noth- ing of their fate for generations, and had been occupied solely with their own jealous wars. These various tribes, that had once been separate and distinct, graduall}^ yielded to the greater numbers and superior cunning of their most war-like neigh- bors, and became their vassals and slaves. This gradual conquest and consolidation finally led to a sort of rude confederation, which was at first known as the Five Nations ; but later, through the conquest of the Delawares, as the Six Nations, ."/ Half Century in Scranton. 19 over which the haughty Iroquois dominated, and were ruling with an iron hand in the Wvoming and Lackawanna Valleys before the first white men visited the region. The first explorers were from New England, and to Rhode Island we must credit the first enter- prise that, after years, became the van of a colonv that crossed the valley, seeking the beech and maple lands still further north and west in the towns of Benton, Abington and Factoryville,, where their descendants now enjoy the fruits of their enterprise and industry. These lands, or this section of Pennsylvania, v/as purchased from the representatives of the Six Nations, who con- tinued their domain up the waters of the Susque- hanna into New York State, in 1754. As late as 1820, tribes, or large parties from the Oneidas made yearly excursions down the Chenango to its junction with the Susquehanna, and usually spent three or four months with their traps and bows in quest of peltry, returning to their northern homes for the winter. We have no means of knowing how long the Indians had occupied the Valley of the Lacka- wanna. It is moderately certain, however, that with the absorption of the IMohegans, or Dela- wares, into the Six Nations, the supreme authority 20 A Half Century in Scranton. of the Iroquois was exercised for the benefit of the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania when- ever it became necessary to invoke it to control the surrounding Algonquin tribes. A large tract of land on the " forks of the Delaware " had been sold to the Proprietary Government as earlj' as 1792; and fifty years later, at a council held in Philadelphia, this was one of the subjects dis- cussed, whereupon, in a most taunting speech, in which he reminded the conquered Lenapes, that they had been deprived of their manhood, and subjugated in open battle, Canassatigo, the Onon- daga chieftain, who represented the supreme coun- cil of the Six Nations, commanded them to remove either to "Wouming or Shamokin." Thisthe Minis (corrupted into Monseys) did, and built at the mouth of the Lackawanna the town of Asserugh- ney, which was probably near Campbell's Ledge. It is known that a part of the tribe, under the direct rule of Chief Capouse, inhabited this par- ticular locality and the wide meadows of the Tripp farms, and up and down the stream for miles was the field for their hunting and fishing, and even at this late day there still exist evident marks of their ancient homes. The desecration of their graves for trophies was a favorite pastime of one of our historians, and the fruits of his labors were exhibited as an unique collection on what were once their hunting grounds, while, until within a A Half Century in Sc rati ton. 21 short time, the vandal hand of enterprise had not disturbed the still fruitful apple tree, which had been a land mark since the first white settler came into the valley. Chief Capouse was not a man of war, so far as tradition goes. He defended his own, fought all other tribes of his nation who attempted to tres- pass on his rights, and successfully resisted all efforts to dispossess him of any of the territory to which he had been assigned by the Six Nations, but never encroached upon others, and lived and died with his tribe, and was buried in a mound near Park Place, where bones, copper kettles, arrowheads and beads were found in 1795. The pacific character of the old Chief Capouse was not transmitted to the younger portion of his tribe. After his death, they were impatient to avenge the wrongs, as they considered them, that he had so patiently endured. Among these were the encroachments of the Moravians, who, under the leadership of Count Zinzindorf, were located at Nazareth, Bethlehem and Easton, and who had permeated the Indian settlements along the Sus- quehanna above, in the interests of their religious creed, and, perhaps, with a selfish desire to possess the broad fields of Wyoming. It has been stated that even during Capouse's life time, so restless had the Monseys become at these 22 A Half CentiLiy in Scraiiion. encroachments that they were almost ready to take the war path in spite of their chief, and that such a calamity was only averted by the timely visit of Count Zinzindorf to the village, where his kindly manner and dignified bearing, pacified the more dis- contented element of the tribe. Although this fact has been denied by some of the later historians, it is not by any means improbable. The Coxxnt's own diarj? recounts the fact that in 1742 he went up the Delaware to Strondsburg and to the settle- ment ''at Wyomick," which probably included the villages of Capouse and Asserughney, since in all the earlier records the term " Wyoming " is used to indicate the Valley of the Lackawanna as well as those settlements on the banks of the Susquehanna. Whether it was the personal visit of the Mora- vian missionary, or merely the friendly disposi- tion of Chief Capouse, certain it is that during the latter's life no violence was done to the white men, except in a few isolated cases. He died sometime prior to 1755, for it was in that year that the Monseys joined with bands from adjacent territory and were guilty of a murderous breach of faith toward the United Brethren, destroying Gnaddenhutten, some twenty or thirty miles from Bethlehem, and committing the usual bloody atrocities. A Half Century in Scranton. 23 Even after the treaty of peace, held in Easton in 1756, between the English and confederated Iiadian nations, the Monseys on the Lackawanna, under the leadership of their new chief, Backsinosa, were troublesome and hostile to the English. In the first Indian massacre of the settlers at Mill Creek, in the summer of 1763, the warriors of this tribe were charged with participating in the bloody and cruel fight. The last wigwams of this tribe disappeared from the region Icnown as Capouse in 1771, the Indians returning to their northern haunts with the Onei- das, along the Chenango, and the Ocquaguas, who resided along the Susquehanna, where the flourish- ing village of Winsor now stands. Afterward, with the pale-faced allies enlisted in their cause, thej^ came down and visited their wrath upon the inhabitants of Wyoming, in 1778, in a war that caused the world to shudder at their atrocities ; and, in their retreat, swarmed up the Lackawanna for the last time, brandishing their blood-stained weapons of cruelty, leaving their victims dead and dying, homes desolated by flame and faggot, and coveted lands reduced to a barren and desolate waste. CHAPTER THIRD. THE TOWNSHIP OF PROVIDENCE. Original Survey of Record — The First Clearing — Matters at Capouse — Pioneer Life — Nineteenth Century Progress — Religion and Tem- perance — First Store and Tavern — Post Office and Civil History. /^^^il^^HE Township of Providence included all Y I y of the early settlements in the Lacka- -^ wanna Valley, and was originally laid out by the Connecticut company, and appears in the Westmoreland records as included in part of the original survey, which embraced an area of six thousand acres, divided between it and the Town- ship of Pittston. This was in 1770. Providence, as afterwards surveyed, was five miles square ; and is often specified in the transaction of the company as "Ye 6th Town of Capouse." Timothy Keys and Solomon Locksley, two young men from Connecticut, made the first clearing, and located near the present site of Taylorville, on the mouth of the creek which bears the former's name, in 1 77 1. The bitterness of the Pennamite war, and all the animosities it engendered, soon drove them 26 A Half Century in Scranlon. off, together with several others who joined them in a few months. Of this controversey, I have nothing to say. Its issues, which grew out of conflicting English grants, were, perhaps, suf- ficiently vital at the time to have warranted some of the vindictiveness shown; but they have been settled over a century, and are interesting only as a part of political history, and those who wish to weigh for themselves the merits of the dispute can find half a dozen volumes which recite the details /// cxtcnso. When the notes of earl}' Scranton and Provi- dence that form the basis of these memoirs were or- iginally prepared at the request of the Historical Society, the honor of a historian had never been thrust upon me; and a reluctance to disappoint those who gave me the distinguished position, in- duced me to assume the new role. So far as I can interest the reader in giving its historj^ (and my acquaintance extends back some Mx.y years), I will endeavor to recall the salient points. The historj? of Wyoming, also, with which it is closely inter- woven, and all of the tragic scenes there enacted, are so elegantly depicted by Miner and more recently by Pierce, in his "Annals of Luzerne County," Rev. Dr. Peck and Dr. Hollister that it would be superfluous to repeat, i Each of them had means of accumulating history, by interviews with old set- A Half Century in Scranton. 27 tiers, long gone to their rest, which do not now exist, and through documents which I have neither time nor inclination to seek. Should any- one desire more details of the previous history than I am able here to give, I refer him to each of them for minute particulars. The Indians having wreaked their vengeance on the successful inhabitants of Wyoming and Lack- awanna, and retired to their allies of the north, the union of the six powerful tribes known as the Six Nations, who then mostl}^ inhabited the north- west and central portions of New York State, we find the first settlers of Capouse, or what is now Providence, to be Isaac Tripp, Andrew Hickman, John DeWitt, Gideon Baldwin and Christopher Aver}'. Others may have been with them at the time the}" came, but no one has ever been able to find au}'- positive evidence of them, as neither the ashes of their homes, nor an}^ marks of civilization existed prior to the date given, when they risked their lives in this howling wilderness. The un- kind treatment the New England settlers at Capouse had received from the Pennamites at Wyoming, from the date of their arrival in 1771 to 1782, furnished cogent arguments against the colonization of what is now Providence. Other causes might have checked immigration. Like all new countries, it was not perfect. 28 A Half Century in Scranton. The settlers above named returned to their homes for a season. Fever had stricken them, and not until the Trenton Decree had extinguished the title of the Connecticut settlers, and peace began to reign, did they dare return to their lodges in the wilderness. Even when the County of Luzerne was erected, in 1786, and the laws of Pennsylvania promised protection to the settlers, they scarce dared begin a home in the woods. As things became more tranquil, the Tripps returned, and with them came the Abbotts, Athertons, Bag- leys, Dolphs, Lutzs, Fullers and many other old families that have left posterity to inherit their farms. The march of improvement and the spirit of speculation induced many to leave, and but comparatively few remained to profit from the vast fields of black rock which they then owned with- out knowledge, and which have since made hun- dreds rich, and have built a busy, populous, indus- trial community from a country of prayerful, quiet, secluded homes. In the laborious life of these hardy pioneers there was little room for material advancement during the remaining part of the century. Iso- lated by the absence of roads, dependent solely upon the returns of their small clearings and the product of rod and gun they sturdily wielded the axe, set the brand and sought to wrest their farms A Half Century in Sciantoji. 29 from the grasp of the forest. The first house in the Borough of Providence, of which this chapter treats, was that erected at the junction of Leggett's Creek with the Lackawanna, where James Leggett built a rude hut in 1775. Enoch Holmes erected a cabin at the northwest corner of what is now- Main and Oak street, a year or two later. Pounded maise, venison and bear meat, and the few vege- tables that could be easily raised on the clearing, were depended upon for food. The summer was one of unremitting toil on the plantation; the win- ter devoted to the manufacture of such articles of rude handicraft as could be exchanged for a sup- ply of powder and lead. In 1790 the courts of Luzerne obliterated the old township lines, and it became necessary to transact all business at Pitts- ton. This hardship led to a petition, and two years later it was granted by the authorities, and thereafter the town business was transacted at Providence, and the Indian Apple Tree once more became the legal warning place. The beginning of the Nineteenth Century marked an era of some improvement. Roads were built, the Duwains had sold out to the Slocums, and there were better facilities at " the Hollow,'' and the hamlets began to thrive. The pioneers had to depend entireh" upon wool for their rai- ment, and for this reason large numbers of sheep 30 ^-i Half Century in Scranton. were early products of the township. Every housewife had to card, spin and weave. One of the first industries in this line was located just a little above Providence, in 1808, by John Watres, who erected a carding and fulling mill. The other products of the village were grain, lumber and whiskey, the latter being made at Tripp's still. The majority of the land ov/ners were men of generous impulses, liberal and hospitable; and many of the characteristics which have since marked the citj^ were manifest. The inhabitants generally respected the Sabbath day, except in haying and harvesting times, when I think they did the most work — or, rather, the best farming in the town. They disturbed no worshiping congre- gation, for there was none to worship. At inter- vals of a month or more, some devoted Methodist would venture a sermon in some old school house in the neighborhood; but seldom would attempt to disturb the monotony of the country by advanc- ing the idea that God ruled over all, for it was looked upon as an innovation of vested rights. However, a few were devoted Christians, and did what they could to inculcate a spirit of benevo- lence and charity in all; and such were looked upon as suspicious persons. Father Hunt, I recollect, in the winter of 1840, gave notice that he would deliver a lecture on "Temperance" at the school house opposite Providence, then better A Half Century in Scrnnion. 31 known as " Razorville." The night came, and the old gentleman was on the ground, and had an audience of about twentj', each of whom had forti- fied himself with a bottle of "Old Hang's Whis- key," and whenever, in the lecture, a good point was made — and there were many such — each took his bottle out and drank, and when the lecture closed they were all lecturing on the same subject. While the town laid no particular claim to piety, it began the erection of one of the first churches in the valley, when a tremendous hurri- cane, that devastated the country all about, demol- ished it entirely and carried the rafters halfway to Slocum's Hollow. The good were dismayed ; the wicked said it was a Divine Providence. This may have been one of the reasons that the Sabbatarian observance was somewhat lax in harvest time. The construction of the Drinker Turnpike, and the erection of a bridge over the Lackawanna at Providence, had a very beneficial effect upon the trade of the place, and it soon built up quite a considerable country traffic. The first store was opened in 1S28, by Elisha Potter and Michael McKeal, on what has since become the southwest corner of Main and Market Streets. This soon passed into the hands of Nathaniel Cottrill, who afterwards erected his tavern, where the Bristol House now stands. The post office was removed 32 A Half Century in Scranton. to Providence from Slocum's Hollow, in 1829, with John Vaughn, Jr., as postmaster. Since his term there have served the following gentlemen, up to the time when the o£B.ce was abolished by the establishment of the carrier service in the City of Scranton: Voltaire Searls, J. R. Bloom, H. Rich- ardt, D. S. Koon, S. Esterbrook, H. Hollister, B. P. Couch, J. R. Bloom, H. Roberts. The Borough of Providence was incorporated by an Act of Assembly, March 14th, 1849. 'J^he first officers were as follows : J. R. Wint, Burgess ; W. W. Winton, S. Gardner, Asa Corson and Ira Tripp, Councilmen ; Francis Fuller, Constable ; David S. Koons, Justice of the Peace; Theodore Von Storch, Assessor; Jacob R. Bloom and Wil- liam H. Crandall, Inspectors of Election ; Nathan- iel Cottrill, Judge of Election ; C. T. Atwater, S. Esterbrooks and D. R. Randall, School Directors. The succeeding Burgesses were; N. D. Greene, 1850; A. B. Dunning, 1851-52; Sandford Grant, 1853; E. Leach, 1854; Theodore Von Storch, 1855-57; E. S. M. Hill, 1858; E. Leach, 1859; Daniel Silkman. i860; Theodore Von Storch, 1861, until the borough was absorbed into the City of Scranton. The Justices of the Peace commissioned in Providence Borough were: D. S. Koons, 1850; E. Leach, 1850, 1855, i860, 1865; Theodore Von Storch, 1854, 1859 ; G. W. Miller, 1865. CHAPTER FOURTH. SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Razorville, Hyde Park and Bucktown in 1S40 Habits of the Settlers — Location of the Old Roads — A Hard-WorUed Physician — Stores, Hotels and Industries — The Mail and the Legal Profession. S is elsewhere narrated in these reminis- |[^ cences, n:y first visit to what is now Scranton was in September, 1840, when I had first heard of ]\Ir. Henry's purchase and an opportunity to make a day's exam- ination of the locality was afforded by a purely fortuitous circumstance connected with my profes- sion. The impressions that I then gained were, as results show, most favorable ; and after care- fully thinking over the question of a change of location, which was the last thing that I had in my mind that day that I called on my friend Silk- man, I made a decision that I have at no time since regretted. The incidents and discoveries made on ni}' first trip of exploration, though now over fifty years ago, were so indelibl}^ photo- graphed on VL\y memory that all the changes I 34 A Half Century hi Scranton. have witnessed Have not served to dim them in any material particular, and it is interesting in connection with these notes to recall, as far as practicable, the local conditions I found on that bright autumnal morning that I drove my gig through almost primitive wilderness in the heart of what is now the metropolis of the anthracite region. There were at this time four centers of settle- ment that coincided fairly well with the intersec- tions of the principal roads, and much of the clearing that had been done was along the lines of greatest travel, though there were noted exceptions to this rule. These points of settlement were Razorville, now Providence; Hyde Park, Slocum's Hollow and Bucktown, now Dunmore. The three former, together with settlements subsequently made, constitute most of what is now within the territorial limits of the City of Scranton, and con- tained the major part of my first day's explora- tions. The territory of which I am writing is located on a small share only of what is now a great county, and originally contained only six square miles, and even in writing of that I must encroach on the domain of other local historians, who, perhaps, may make the same complaint of me ; yet in order to give a comprehensive view of any locality that has been subjected to as many A Half Century in Scr anion. 35 changes and so great development in so compara- tively short a time, such overlapping of individual accounts and recollections is well nigh unavoid- able, since each picture of the past reveals a grad- ual unfolding from a different point of view. The land alongthe creek was originally loose, and as the latter receded, became rolling, and presented a variety of sub-lands and meadows desirable for agricultural purposes, until it approached the mountains that skirt it on the east and west. The Aloosic Range is on the east, while that on the west is the Lackawanna, which has never been inviting for tillage, and which comprises at least one-third of the territory of which I am writing. There is little specific history of the township until after the settlement of the Pennamite trou- bles, and such as there is has been touched on in the general notes of the region. From 1772-73 there had been a very slow growth of pioneers who lived in most primitive fashion. The majority of the land owners were men of generous impulses, liberal and hospitable, and each owned his own farm, and by the sweat of his brow maintained himself and his family by agriculture. A few varied their pursuits in winter \>y devotion to the charms of lumbering, and some, more romantic, in hunting, for deer were plenty on both the moun- tain sides. Still others of a more practical turn 36 A Half Century in Scranton. used up their time iu "shingle weaving," as they called their work, or enjoyed the congregation that could always be found at the hotels, and sought the solace of old age by dealing with the politics of the country, in which they thought at least they had great influence. Such had been the tranquil and monotonous life, varied only once or twice with any marked venture at conspicuous enterprise, up to the time that the attempt to make iron was first undertaken, and the sort of community that would naturally be developed by such slow growth was that in which I found myself ushered the day I erected n\y household gods in Razorville. There were four roads running up and down the valley, all interlacing at the points of settlement noted. From the northwest, the old Drinker Turn- pike came in from Abington and Montrose, follow- ing much the same route as now, save that, through Leggett's Gap, or the Notch, as it is now better known, it occupied the other side of the creek, and went over the hill, instead of following the stream bed. It was changed to its present course when the Leggett's Gap Railroad was built, the engineers finding that in order to get a suitable grade out of the valley, it was necessary to occupy nearly the line of the pike. Under an order of court, the old route was then vacated, and a new road was cut out on the opposite side of the creek. A Half Century in Scranton. 37 making a much less hilly means of egress and ingress. It intersected, at the corners, a north and south road running up and down the valley, from Carbondale to Pittston, a part of which still remains intact, and is known as " The Back Road," between Hyde Park and Providence. Above the latter place it did not follow exactly the same course that it now pursues. In 1846 or 1847, it was decided to construct a colliery where it crosses the hill, where Archbald now is, and permission was 'obtained to vacate the old road and construct one about the base of the hill, which was about the same distance, and a much better grade. This is the only material change that there has been since on that line of travel. Another road which led out from it, about the present location of Throop, came down the valley on the easterly side, intersected the Drinker Turnpike, passed down what is now Sanderson Avenue, thence into Penn, and pursued the same general coiirse now held until it reached the Dickson Works. From there it went diagonally across toward the Slocum grist mill, crossing Wyoming Avenue obliquely about where my present office building now stands, and, intersecting a pass road through the woods from Hyde Park, which followed approximately the line of Lackawanna Avenue, near the present corner of that and Washington Avenues, led down to the bridge over Roaring Brook. It was nearly in 38 A Half Century iri Scranton. the intersection of these two roads that I subse- quently erected my residence, which was the first on this side of the creek, save one or two that had been erected by the company for occupancy by the families of its various members. The old Dun- more road ran from the corners, and on the upper portion follows much the same direction now as then, until one reaches the neighborhood of the Moses Taylor Hospital, from which point it came diagonally down past the blast furnaces to the Slocum tavern, united with the other converging roads, and with them crossed the creek about where the Cedar Avenue bridge now is, and followed sub- stantially the line of that street outside the pres- ent city limits. Of the streets which ran easternly and west- ernly, the first was Luzerne, which ran much as it does now, from the Back road to the point at which it crosses the Lackawanna; from thence it ran across the flats, wound under the hill, until it intersected the north and south road near the Slocums. The next was Jackson Street, much as it is now, on the west side of the river, and wind- ing up under the hill towards Lackawanna Ave- nue on the east side. There was also a road across to the Dunmore road, traversing a portion of what is now Green Ridge, much the same as now. A Half Centui-y in Scranto7i. 39 These constituted the most traversed thorough- fares, and there were no additions to them of any consequence until the construction of the old Plank Road, which came in from the old Bull's Head about 1S52 or 1853, and made nearly its present intersection near the Dickson Works. The community, markedly an agricultural one, consisted of about one hundred and twenty-five families, or a population of under one thousand people, as similar communities are reckoned. There were the usual number of industries, all fairly patronized, and making a good living for their owners. The idea of a trade to extend out- side the valley had not yet occured to anj' of them, and they were content with such local pat- ronage as each day brought. There was but one physician in the town of Provi- dence in 1840. He was a clever, kind-hearted old gentleman of about sixty, who had the free run of the township, and was looked upon as a member of every family, although he had one of his own. He rarely gave an}^ medicine except rhubarb and soda; and when called in haste, his patrons made the request that he would go on foot. He rarely rode a horse, and never drove, and seldom went faster than a slow walk, yet he performed all the duties of doctor and nurse for the whole countrj^ around. 40 A Half Century in Scranton. Hotels did better. There were four — two at Hyde Park and two at Razorville. The proprie- tors had good busines-s, lived well and charged sixpence a drink, six for lodging, twelve and one-half for a dinner, and everything else in pro- portion. The Cottrell stand, occupying, as it did, a most convenient location on the line of the old Drinker Pike, at its intersection with the Wilkes- Barre and Carbondale road, about where the Bris- tol House now stands, was a favorite resort, and somewhat of a political headquarters, where often gathered leaders who stood high in the esteem of the community. It was here that some of the first industrial projects of the region, outside those undertaken by the company, were discussed; and the proprietor was one of the active men of the com- munity, who took part in every public movement, and who was one of the representatives of this valley at the Tunkhannock meeting, where the plan of the feeder dam and slack water navigation on the Lackawanna was first practically acted upon. The manufacturing interests were represented by those referred to in my report, as well as the usual number of small repair shops generally found in similar communities, elsewhere, in olden time; and several small stores supplied the needs of the people in such articles as were not A Half Century in Scranton. 41 locally produced. There was one store in Provi- dence kept by an old Scotchman, who had it open during the winter; but in the spring he packed his whole stock, strapped it on his back, and peddled until winter came again. There were other stores in Hyde Park of more complete assortment ; and in one, in connection with the post office, one could find a general assortment of dry goods, crockery, hardware, drugs, medicines and liquors. In the evening this, too, was a hail- ing place for the neighborhood, and the habitues were often delighted with the music of the sweet violin to a late season. The mail facilities at this time consisted of a line of two-horse stages that ran from Honesdale to Wilkes-Barre, via Carbondale, going up one day and down the next, thus giving the inhabitants a tri-weekly mail from each direction, though it took about three days to get a letter either to or from New York or Philadelphia. The Honesdale and Wilkes-Barre stage, was a two-horse, three- seated vehicle, and carried five passengers and the driver, who was for many years, John Kennedy, who lived on the farm subsequently purchased by the late Moses Taylor, in the place where Taylor- ville now stands. Later on, this line was suc- ceeded by one made up of covered four-horse 42 A Half Ce7itury in Scra^iton. coaches, which about 1844 began to run daily, and was well patronized. It was seldom that a New York paper was met with, and the papers at Wilkes-Barre gave the news to the world once a week. There were but few men of liberal education in the country, and those were emigrants from the east; and, as a general thing, were estray schoolmasters seeking a market for knowledge that was not merchant- able from whence they came; but they were well received, and, captivated by the wiles of Venus, became fixtures, and gave tone to the intelligence of the vallej-. The legal profession did not suffer, for there was one attorney upon whom all relied. In mod- ern parlance, he was a "carpet bagger" from New York state, who early captured one of the fair daughters who had inherited what would now be called a large possession. He was a man of much brillianc}^ of talent, tolerabl}' well read, full of wit, sarcastic when excited, a great mimic, and always on the lucky sides of his cases. His oppo- nents were from Carbondale and Wilkes-Barre. The rough and tumble of the Justices' courts in this region was his delight, and on such occasions the entire neighborhood was generallj^ present. In those daj's, when there was seldom any exciting A Half Century iti Scranton. 43 theme, a law suit relieved the monotony of dull routine, and was enjoyed hugely. B}^ a kind of tradition, they usuallj- came on Saturday, and often lasted until next morning, and nothing was con- sidered wrong about a little lapping over, so that the case closed before daylight. Of this brilliant man and his history much might be said. After many years' absence, he returned to this city and died in povert3^ ^'' Sic transit gloria iniindi.^'' ^^ Requiem in mortis.''^ Such were the surroundings amid which I had come; such were the facilities, the limitations and the simplicities of the happy, quiet, contented people of the tranquil valley as I found them that day over half a century ago. The wonderful dynamic forces, the Titanic potentialities, hidden beneath the verdure-clad hills ages before, were but hinted at by few, and far beyond the comprehen- sion of all, as subsequent development has shown; but there was plenty to represent the luxury of to- day; there was simplicity and niatual confidence, where now we have the complexity and question- ing which the problem of modern social and com- mercial life, with all of its ceaseless activities, brings. Who can say that enjoyment of life did not reach the full measure of capacity as well then as now? CHAPTER FIFTH. CULTURE AND INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS. Limited Educational Facilities of the Early Days — The New England Spirit — Formation of the Blakely Literary Society — The First Lecture Delivered. IN the earh' days of Scranton, while the num- ber of men of liberal education in the vallej' was very limited, and was confined almost en- tirely to the professions; and, while such schools as there were, affording through the irregularities of their sessions, an opportunity of desultory attend- ance only to those of the younger generation, it must not be supposed that there were not much the same strivings after intellectual culture as were there after substantial commercial development and industrial prosperity. The same men who were most active in one were as zealous in the other; for the leaders in all the public enterprises had come from communities more fully provided with those most important things that tend to modern progress, and fully realized that one of the 46 A Half Century in Scr anion. most potent adjuncts to the success of their en- deavors was intelligent comprehension and co-ope- ration on the part of all members of the growing community. The first pioneers of the valley had brought with them the educational spirit of New England,* and among the earliest records is to be found ample provisions for the schools. Without stopping to discuss the circumstances which had, in a measure, thwarted these original intentions, and left the settlers dependent upon their own resources for such schooling as was afforded, it is interesting to note that, at this time, the spirit of a generous recognition of the right of every citizen to secure for his children such intellectual train- ing as should enable them to adequately compre- hend the glorious institutions of a free country, and their relations and duties thereto, was just as strong in their descendants as had it been in the projectors of the township, two generations before.f * " The land originally reserved in Providence exclusively for school purposes, owing to the prolonged Wyoming dispute, and change of jur- isdiction, lay idle. The first school house, diminutive in propor- tion, yet sufficient for the demand made upon it, was built a few rods below the Holmes house, in \'&\%."—Hollister. t " • The thrift and sprightliness of the New England character can be traced in the elementary education imparted to them in the cabin school house . . after their families had been sheltered . they made provisions for the school house . As far as any judg- ment can be formed, . it leads to the conclusion that there has been no relaxation of effort in the cause of education, since the earlier settlers passed away." — Hollister. -■4 Half Century in Scranton. 47 It was to this that the new blood which came into the valley appealed with quick response on all propositions looking to the moral and intellectual welfare of the place. Looking, to-day, over this queenly city, with her happy children nestled about her, it is with pardonable pride that those of us who came to her whilst still in travail amid the primeval forest, can point to her churches and schools as evidence that, in her childhood, was impressed upon her the necessity of moral and intellectual culture as the only lasting foundation for the grand superstructure of civil, commercial, industrial and political supremacy then conceiving. Beside her breakers, among her manufactories,, along every stream and rivulet which leads tribu- tary from the mainspring of her wealth, there is to be found the sky-reaching spire, pointing up- ward and onward to higher things in every depart- ' ment of life, the pupils of the well-equipped schools close at hand. Those who had leisure in 1840 were few, indeed, and there was little time which adults could spare from daily callings to participate in intellectual culture; but when the sun was set, the necessity for mental relaxation was felt all the more because of the exertions of the day, and lyceums and debating societies were popular, well attended and were forums of a democratic character where all 48 A Half Century m Scranton. met and enjoyed the discussion of the topics of the day; and such contributions as came from thiose of larger opportunities, without any of the social distinctions and clique proscriptions that have since grown up. In proportion to the popu- lation, the attendance was much larger than at similar gatherings to-day. One of the earliest of these was the Blakely Literarj^ Society, whicti embraced in its list of members some of the most prominent people of the vicinit}', and in the pre- cincts of whose lyceum some lively debates were heard on all of the important topics of the day. Its extraordinary sessions were held in the old Blakely Church, which was one of the first built in the valley, having been raised and enclosed in 1832, and remaining unfinished, until, to quote Dr. HoUister, " its completion was hastened by the ironical criticism of a stranger, who, upon passing it, remarked that he 'had heard of tbe house of the Lord before, but had never seen his barn.'' " The late Lewis Watres was emploj/ed to put it in order, and it was one of the best appointed auditoriums in the valley at the time. During the year '41, when the weekly papers brought the intelligence that public lectures were beiug delivered in some of the large cities, the members of this association were inspired to achieve something metropolitan A Half Century in Sa-anton. 49 from a literary standpoint in the Lackawanna Valley. Shortly before this, a young doctor had made his appearance in Razorville. His modesty com- mended him to the pity of a few, as it now admon- ishes him to retreat to the third person; and, be- ing rather an obstinate kind of a genius, he had decided to tarry a while. He was well prepared to do business, for he brought two old horses with him, which proved to be decided adjuncts to his subsequent career in more senses than one; but the strenuous opposition of the established prac- titioner and his friends almost discouraged the young chap, though through some accident he had a call; pity and sj'mpathy came to his aid, and he had others, until, after a long time, he made a living, and has hung around ever since. Whether he has achieved any reputation as a physician, or whether he has cured more than he has killed, is a problem never to be answered — dead men tell no tales. A live doctor was considerable of a fellow in those da3S, and he was importuned by the society to deliver a lecture in the old church some time during the winter. He con- sented, prepared his theme, delivered it with great eclat; and it was pronounced so brilliant an effort, and was received with so great satisfaction, that it bad subsequently to be repeated in Hyde Park and 50 A Half Century hi Scrantoji. ill Slocum's Hollow. It increased his practice, and no doubt immortalized his name; but its chief interest lies in the fact that it was the first lecture delivered in the valley, and a secondary one in that, much that was postulated then, as abstract truth he has lived to see in the concrete, during the past fifty years; and he still likes to be- lieve that it had its effect in moulding, to some extent, the current opinion of the times on the matters of which it treated, which is the justifica- tion of its introduction in these personal reminis- cences. The lecture was as follows: EDUCATION. As with nations, so it is with individuals ; their relative local situations varigate and determine their characters — physical, political and moral. Peculiarity of thought, diversity of action, difference of inclination and, in a word, the components of our very nature, are oft times created and arranged by adventitious causes operating upon the mind with an effect varjnng with the innate disposition of the individual. In the direction and application of intel- lect, a continual reaction obtains from inanimate to ani- mate, from the matter moulded to the power moulding, confirming and fixing the mind in its impressions by a process the frequent or rare repetition of which determines the degree of practical attainment. Hence, in a measure, the secret of that dissimilarity in the pursuits and occupa- tions of men, at various periods of time, the differing policy of states at different ages of their existence, and the reason of the accepted doctrine that society and mind bear a mut- .-:/ Half Century in Scrantoii. 51 nal and sympathetic relation. As the standard of improve- ment advances, the effort of the mind will be proportion- ally raised, thus measuring the character and force of the projected innovation by the thermometer of public opinion or sentiment. The gloomy reign of that false philosophy which so long held the world in pupilage is destroyed, and an age of mental imbecility is succeeded by one of intellectual strength. The generous efforts of those who immolate themselves on the altar of scientific research have received their proud recompense. We live in an age of improve- ment. The results of many plans for ameliorating the condition of mankind are such as cheer those who have embarked in similar projects, and will produce other aspir- ants for future usefulness. The keystone of our argument, then, is fixed. The complexion of societj' warrants, naj', demands, the present effort for its eventual improvement. In the selection of means for the accomplishment of our purpose the necessary caution should not be neglected. If it be vain to render men favorable to improvements which they are prepared to appreciate, then it must be equally so, if not dangerous, even after the conviction of their benefit, to attempt their introduction through unpopular channels. Fortunately for those engaged in this enterprise, public opinion also speaks on this point in a tone too direct to be mis- taken. If the spirit of the present age tends to the improvement of mankind, its inspirations are explicit, that the means of its accomplishment are to be found in the dif- fusion of useful knowledge. Our object thus definileh' expressed, our instrument of operation thus direct!)- presented, inclination points the 52 A Half Century in Scranton. path of duty, and the labor of reform assumes the pleasing aspect of benevolence. Only one doubt remains to obstruct the vision and mar the beauty of the prospect. We are directed to the remains of ancient science, the monuments of ancient learn- ing; and, in their wreck, are taught to view the fatality of all human institutions, general obscurity, and eventual oblivion. We are asked to discard the principles of our nature and live the ephemeric of to-day; to compress within a few fleeting hours the elasticit}^ of an incompressible mind, and, as insulated beings, are bade to consider the history of the past equally obscure and useless with the knowledge of the future. Without pausing at this point of our discourse to distinguish the palpable distinctions of an ancient and modern society', to confine our attention to one or the other will amply prove the falsitj' of the comparison. In the usual estimate of Grecian or Roman grandeur, there is an obvious but ceaseless illusion, which, ever playing with a dazzling lustre upon their remains, attaches to itself the fancy of the scholar and the reason of the sage. The wisdom, the science, the attainments of the few, are but too commonly estimated to all, and the blaze of glory in which we have enveloped the supremacy of their genius, is too intense to reveal the deficiency which lurks beneath. Our minds, captivated with the wisdom of their sages, can hardly suspect the ignorance of the people; and, impressed with the justice of their theories, to confound them with their government is nothing strange or unusual. But time, if magnifying in its passage, also affords the only test of virtue and strength. Thus, while we look to Greece and Rome for models in the elegant arts, and to their sons for instructions in the pursuit of learning, the policy of A Half Century in Scr anion. 53 their governments is recalled only as the secret of their dissolution; or, as mentioned in comparison, to amend the evils of our own. The diffusion of knowledge was narrow and contracted. Its announcement was to be applauded rather than par- taken of, and in all their public monuments the modesty of utility never presumed to reveal the pretensions to glory. States thus organized cannot otherwise than fall, in\'olving in their ruin every superstructure, however magnificent. "The seminaries of premature decay — they foster the principles of their own destruction ! " Nor is the idea less delusive or false that supposed the revolution of years only can ameliorate the social and political condition of man. Borne forward by the progress of Europe, and daily witnessing the rapid march of intel- lectual improvement, we are apt to transfer the same advance to mankind in general, and imagine that time alone can accomplish the perfection of human affairs. But withdrawing our attention from the present scene, let us extend our view to the seats of the ancient empires, or the records of ancient learning, and the monuments of greatness, perishing as they stand, with the mementos of genius that no longer walk the earth, would lead us to suspect that the objects of our admiration are but the relics of what once existed, that the dominion of science has disappeared in the gloom of approaching night; and, that with the decay of the ancient splendor, the glories of the earth disappear in the chaos of oblivion. In this over- estimate of foregone time, the illusion, though perfect, is obvious. The brief present is compared with the long past, and the advantages and acquisitions of ages that have gone are 54 A Half Century in Scra?iion. weighed against the circumstances and survivals of the times in which we live. Thus meeting the doctrines of those holding to the perishing nature of societ}' and its institutions, we are led to revert to its true organization and to the agency associations for the diffusion of knowledge possess, in promoting its progress. The investigation daily evidenced in the pursuits of science and the arts is founded in reason and nature. Its researches embrace everv department of social life, and its results testify to the simplicity of the means employed. The philosopher of the Baconian school is to sit down with the humility of a child till time and the continuous movement of nature shall dictate to him a law of the uni- verse. To discoveries thus made, there can be no limit but the limit of creation and of the human faculties. The efforts of former philosophers were both feeble and inade- quate, involving inextricable truth with error; but the method of Bacon, leading to conclusions, the fruit of patient induction, has thrown society continually forward with accelerated impetus, has removed every obstacle to its progress and, more than anything else, has advanced the human race in the dignity of thinking, social, and moral beings. The only adequate power thus to elevate, enlighten and advance the world, is that of moral education. It will be readily perceived that such being the vivifying principle of social intercourse, the spread of information, while expand- ing the mind, must necessarily arouse its faculties to a true estimation of the instrument to be employed in combating error and prejudice. Their extension of knowledge being the grand desideratum to us, its attainment is both easy and obvious. Adversed to a participation in the biased A Half Cent2iry in Scranton. 55 opinions and exploded tenants of European polic\', the waters that separate ns are not more wide nor profound than is the division that marks our moral, social and political relations. Excessive caution can but afford a feeble protection to antiquated social distinctions, and the jealousy of absolute power is seldom enabled to preserve entire the mantle of ignorance ; but their united energies have rarely failed to present a barrier to the improvement ■of mankind, which, though temporary, has nevertheless retarded the progress of human learning. Accordingly- , the texture of Trans- Atlantic economj- is easily distinguished by the convenient politics of parasiti- cal statesmen and the mutilated abortions of a muzzled press, while the edict of crowned heads is, by divine right, announced to the advancing current of modern improve- ment: "Thus far shalt thou go and no further." If American institutions be based on principles essentially' different, the means of their support can be no less so. Taught to believe that the happiness of our existence, as well political as moral, depends upon the information of the people, our anxiety is not so much to limit its extent, as to select those agents most capable of enlarging its dominion. Nor is it any part of our discipline to invoke the end of compulsory influence. Justly deeming it the remnant of an obsolete school, it is relinquished to those governments of whose nature it partakes, while the rule that the promulgation of knowledge will create its own disposition is adopted in its stead as the more republican and useful. Implanting by our common schools the rudiments of education, modern institutions are but their successive steps. The desire of improvement thus early instilled, the 56 --/ Half Century in Scr anion. means of its gratification are made ample and convenient. It is more easy to excite a thirst for knowledge than to quench its appetite or satiate its cravings. Either an obscure conviction, or an insufficient regard for this simple truth, has engrafted a delusive error on the superstructure of more than our system of education. The early efforts of the mind, if ever encouraged, have hitherto been as often injuriously suppressed as forcibly destroyed by the operation of a false intellectual culture which it is the object of modern literary associations to remedy and correct. Formerly the student who confined in his researches to but a small portion of the extensive empire of knowledge, was doomed to fix his gaze upon an inheri- tance as captivating, as alluring, and as rich as that which was spread before the enraptured view of the Roman con- queror ; but the Rubicon to his progress was more forbid- ing and impassible. Poor in the acquirement of worldly goods, but abounding in the richness of an exuberant genius, the poverty of one was too apt to canker the pros- perity of the other, while the provisions of an erroneous policy equally suffered the shameful sacrifice. But the recent institutions, if detecting the lurking evil, have also effected its cure. The walls of the lecture-room are no longer the prisons of literature, nor their purlieu the exclusive retreats of science. Their etherial essence has long since passed the artificial barrier interposed by the learned prejudices of dogmatic schoolmen, and all, from the peasant in his cot to the more favored in fortune, are indiscriminately invited to revel in their luxuries and banquet on their treasuries. The abodes of knowledge have been extended to the immediate vicinity of every indi- vidual. Her stately trappings and rigidity of aspect are discarded, and she is clothed in the garb of familiar com- A Half Century in So anion. bl panionship. Her theatre is the world, and mankind are her associates. An important, if not the greatest, agency in producing this change on the face of society, must be attributed to the lyceums or young men's literary associations of the day. They are peculiarly the offspring of the Nineteenth Century. Other generations, it is true, have projected the improve- ment, and canvassed its advantages; but the task of mould- ing its theory, and conforming its outlines to the utility of practice has been reserved exclusively for this. Their his- tory is the best exposition of their principles, and their influence the only memento of their usefulness. Com- mencing with the elementary truths of literature, it has been their care to lead the instructor, with his pupil, to strip science of its jargon, and to convey its teachings through the language of nature. The consequences are visible. The laborious and, in a measure, mysterious doctrines of a less modern school have been simplified, and their useful features applied to the ordinary occurrences of life. Philosophy, instead of residing among the clouds, is familiar at all our firesides ; and its precepts, no longer viewed as the splendid theories of sublimated human nature, are now deemed pleasant and profitable guides as well of our recreations as of our duties. Does the alchem- ist display his mystical sights to our gaze ? The genius of modern institutions, CEdipus-like, furnishes the solution, and the retort and crucible become the amusement of our leisure, while the laboratory contributes its treasures to our use. Does the apparent presence of the astrologer surprise or intimidate us ? The public lecturer dispels the errors of prejudice, and harmonizes the conflicts of the mind, while the orrery revolves its mimic world in explanation of that mysterious arrangement that points to a superior and 58 A Half Century in Scranto7i. Omnipotent Being. Observations are multiplied in ever5' portion of our land, and the heavens that roll over us at present are as pure and unclouded a horizon as that which instructed the children on the plains of Sinaar. All the hoarded learning of ages passed, every branch of every science, art and nature themselves, become the willing con- tributors to this common repository of mankind. With its coffers thus replenished and its treasures thus pure and un- adulterated, its issues are of no stinted nature. A general good can be secured only b}' a gerjeral participation. Among the first objects, therefore, of these popular institutions is the common diffusion of useful information. While the benefits are presented to all, none can pretend to a preference in their enjoyment, and the artificial dis- tinctions of general society are forgotten, or merged into a community of interesting pursuits. A republic of letters must be productive of as interesting and important results as that of legislative government, and if the one languish and decay in the absence of the other, their contemporary existence no less exposes the fact of their mutual support. In the extension and acknowledge- ment of this general principle are we to look for the safety of our institutions, to the progress of learning and the con- sequent duration and stability of our political fabric. It has been wisely remarked that in all the pursuits of active or speculative life, the emulation of states and indi- viduals has been the most powerful spring of the efforts and improvements of mankind. If the presence of this spirit be adopted as the test of innovation, we occupy a more favorable ground; that far from a bare compliance with the requirements of the rule, the event of our opera- A Half Centuf-y hi Scranton. 59 tions has imparted additional strength to its application, and places its propriety beyond the possibility of dispute. Nothing can be more manifest than the difference in our moral and mental conditions before and after the intro- duction of literary societies. The one, composed of pre- judice, error, and unenlightened stupidity , was the incubus of ignorance; but active speculation, correct thought and general literature illustrate the other. If intellectual gloom prevailed during one period, the other has beamed on mankind the dawn of an age of practical wisdom and scientific utility. Formerly external and numeral force constituted the Procrustean guage of titles, honors, and distinctions; but the disorders of physical life are often corrected by the changes of the moral world, and the explosion of the ancient regime, and the acknowledgement of an aristocracy of learning, having equally testified that "Knowledge is Power." A moral lever thus placed within their grasp, a wonderful reformation has been commenced by lyceums throughout our country, operating indiscriminately, and extending promiscuously to all classes of individuals. The seat of their exertion is the mind, and the general diffusion of knowledge their instrument of action. But exclusive of the paramount advantages resulting to the great body of mankind, their efforts are attended with others useful and interesting to its particular class. The pursuits of knowledge do not, in this particular instance, justify the erronious impression of the absence of in- struction and amusement to those engaged in its com- munication. On the contrary, its employments present a pleasing occupation equally to the scholar and the philan- thropist — as well to those of the professions as to the man 60 A Half Century in Scranton. of business. Each is empowered to contribute to the fund of common information, and his assistance frequently con- sumes a vacant hour with pleasure to himself and advan- tage to others. Should the fluctuations, the business, or the bustling- activity of a commercial mart demand his daily attention, the meeting of a literary club affords the neces- sary relaxation. The cares of the counting room are agree- ably exchanged for the refreshing duties of the portico, and its classic retreat with its simple pursuits offer him more of real luxury than did the gorgeous embelishments of a Roman villa to the pampered appetites of a Roman epi- cure. Nor is the contrast faint which renders its charms acceptable to the professional man. He has mixed with the gay and giddy throng, and has endured the rude buffet- ing of the world. He, perhaps, has trod " * '' * * '*■ * mountains. And the craggy ridge that tempts ambition," and has experienced its insecurity and danger. His com- panions have been the great and the learned, and, though it may have been his to hear " * '• * * the grand debate, The popular harangue, the tart reply. The logic, and the wisdom, and the wit," of assembled talent, he must feel, with the poet, that " It is pleasant through the loop-holes of retreat To peep at such a world — to see the stir Of the great Babel, and not feel the crowd. To hear the roar she pours through all her gates At safe distance, where the dying sound Falls a soft murmur on the uninjured ear." A Half Cenliiiy in Scranton. 61 Though to others its exercises maj' be grateful and re- freshing, to the scholar they must always be so. They compose the aliment of his nature — they are the very essence of his existence. The inordinate desire that fills and expands his mind nia>- here indulge itself even to satiety, while the excess, instead of clogging, imparts ad- ditional stimulus to the appetite. Institutions of this description are his natural resort. The lumbering rubbish of the schools is produced and bur- nished into usefulness. He is no longer to pore over the folios of classic lore, or penetrate the depths of science only to recommit their arcana to a depository as silent and inviolable as their original obscurity. Their knowledge has assumed its value, and their possessor has just estima- tion. He is no longer viewed as being of negative worth, but as the active benefactor of his species. The goddess he formerly wooed and enjoyed amidst the groves of the academy, he may now pursue with equal ardor and de- votion among the shades of private retirement. The fictitious and artificial character with which the schoolmen of less modern times were invested has been rent asunder by the influence of a rapid intellectual im- provement, and the learned of the present age, instead of being its censors, mix in its gayeties and partake of its amusements, at once its ornaments and instructors. So many and important, then, being the changes already produced by literary associations, "Is there no incentive to perseverance in an effort so noblv and successfully com- menced ':* " The tide of literature once in full flow, what earthl}^ power can assign bounds to its increase, or limits to its extent ? As well could Niagara in its cataract be rolled back with the hand, or the ocean in his might be bound with a whisp. 62 ^-J Half Century in Scrantori. That spirit of research which once tarried on the banks of the Issus is now in active operation amid the wilds of America, and the genius of the Stagirite, though in a foreign land, has again fixed its abode within the precincts ofthelyceura. A simple but effective agent is at work. " The school master with his primer is abroad in the land," and, " if we desire to perpetuate our glorious political in- stitutions, we must give all our people moral and intel- lectual cultivation — that man who improves his intellect for six da3's in the week, and, on the seventh, endeavors to give it the proper direction from the precepts of our holy religion, who learns to do unto others as he would they should do unto him — that man will never become a iyra7it, and he will never be made a slave, ^' The whole face of the civilized world is undergoing a wonderful moral and intellectual change, and the histories of nations which formerly were paths of blood, have deviated to those of peace. Foremost in the ranks of those advancing this mighty work we notice the standard of our own favored land. The palm of action and useful exertion has been stricken from the diadercs of Europe, and " Westward the course of empire takes its way. The first foiir scenes alreadjr past;- A fifth shall close the drama with the day, Time's noblest offspring is the last." Providence, P-v., Feb. 3, A. D. 1S41. CHAPTER SIXTH. A MEMORABLE TRAINING DAY. The " Still House Rangers ' — Military Manceuvers in Time of Peace — Fantastic Fun at the Expense of aXewly IMade Colonel — A Laugh- able Episode. NOTE from a prominent gentleman, ask- f^ ing me to meet with a few others to- night, and discuss the feasibility of erecting a new and more commodious armory for the use of the gallant Thirteenth Regiment, brings to mind with many a smile the first essay that was made in matters military after I first located in the valley, when all was on a peace foot- ing; and both the struggles with the aborigines, attended, as they were, by the bloodiest of atroci- ties, and the less sanguinary, but not less bitter animosities of the Pennamite War had faded out of the recollection of any but the then oldest inhabitants. Those who constituted the militia of the stormy days were, indeed, stern and grim- visaged warriors who had rallied for a noble pur- pose, even though uncouth and fantastic in their 64 A Half Century in Scrantofi. equipment. Thej^ were summoned to arms b^^ the calls of necessitj^ so grave that all that was motley and unique in the appearance they must have presented was lost sight of in the heroism of their self-sacrifice. But at the time of which I write, swords had been turned into pruning hooks for many a day, and the spirit of belligerency which had been reinflamed by the enthusiasm of the last war — that of '12 — two decades and a half before, had quite died awaj', leaving a tranquil, happy peo- ple, who found in their conception of governmental principles no necessity for standing armies, even if the}- could conceive any menace to a govern- ment based upon the consent of the governed, firnilj? established, sorely tried and ever victorious, and commanding the respect and admiration of all portions of the civilized world. Thej' were busy, self- contained, self-satisfied and self reliant, and to them there was neither time nor necessity for rehears- ing the arts of war. It is true that the old laws concerning muster and "Gineral Trainin' Days " remained upon the statute books, in form and sub- stance as they had been imported from the New England States, which had given the Common- wealth many of its most determined pioneers of the upper counties, but they had been for years practically a dead letter. Year by year, popular sentiment had been growing more and more adverse to prescribed military duty of any character what- A Half Century in Scratiton. 65 €ver, and obedience to the annual summons to meet at Clark's Green and other points had been of the most negligent and perfunctory in the line of civil duties ; therefore, there was a most vigor- ous and determined spirit of opposition awakened when, by the election of Benjamin Griffin captain of the militia, a thorough revival of the old spirit of the law was instituted. Exactly what prompted it, I cannot now recall. It may have been the spirit of fun, for that certainly predominated the observance of which I write. It was along in the summer of 1842 that a sprig of the law, clothed with full authorit}', came tip from Wilkes-Barre, and served due notice on all of the settlers of military age to report, armed and equipped for dut}^, to the coni- panj' captain at Hyde Park on the day fixed by law, or, in neglect thereof, to incur the penalty in such cases made and provided. It came at a most inconvenient season, when all were busy with their farms, their mills, their mines, their stores and their other avocations, and the summons was any- thing but a welcome one. Nevertheless the law was mandatory, and when this fact had been dulj' ascertained by Charles H. Silkman, it was resolved to make the best of it, and extract as much amuse- ment out of the occasion as might be. The sus- picion that a tincture of mischief among some of the wags of Wilkes-Barre, who were always in- clined to have fun at the expense of their rustic 66 A Half Century in Scran ton. neighbors up the valley, had much to do with awakening a very decided opposition. There was also a good deal of feeling that the day of general training was insisted upon more because it afforded an opportunity for the erstwhile officers of " a little brief authority " to make local capital out of their prominence, than from any efficacy or any general public good that was promoted by it. The blades of the day conceived a conspiracy to make the day a pure burlesque, and thus turn the laugh on such laughers as might be inclined to smile in their sleeves at the glory which would surround them, when all their friends and acquaintances were obliged to obey their slightest behests ; and this was the more readily entered into because there was a good popular majority antagonistic to the military idea; and because, too, the legal pro- vision requiring either the pajnnent of taxes or the performance of military duty, just as it had been written in times of more pervading martial spirit, still stood on the statute books, and j^et was no answer to the importunities of the tax collector. To meet the requirements of the programme decided upon, a mock company, known as the "Still House Rangers," was organized, and word Avas sent to each member of the band to make his preparations as picturesque as possible. The response was general, and the effect surpassed the A Half Century in Scianion. 67 most sanguine expectations. No such fantastic assemblage of soldiery was ever seen in this vallc_v before or since. It simply beggared description, and might have appropriateh' been christened ''A Nightmare of Mars." From out of the homely- store of the settler's cottage each one selected what best suited his ingenuity and ideas of the ridicvilous; and as this Razorville contingent ren- dezvoused at the store, each fresh appearance elicited howls of merriment from the elder sympa- thizers who flocked from every quarter to see the fun, and added to their hilarity by frequent draughts of cider and whiskey. One of the most striking incongruities of the occasion was perpe- trated by Bill Ra}', a tinner, who was selected as the commandant of the contingent, and who equipped himself from his shop supplies, and sallied forth clad in armor that would have put Don Quixote to blush. He Avas helmeted with a glistening head-piece, and wore tin spurs with rowels the size of dinner plates. A bundle of rye straw did duty as a knapsack, and like all of the others he carried a gallon jug. Every conceivable weapon, from a flint-lock to a foot-adz, formed a part of the armament; and the colors of the uni- form were like unto Joseph's celebrated coat. There were about twenty-five of these tatterde- malions, and to the music, not only of drum and fife, but of dinner horns, tin pots and pails, and 68 ^'l HalJ Century in Scranton. anything else that would make a din, under the command of Olney Bailey, of Abington, they marched down the old back road to H3'de Park, followed by all the inhabitants of the village. Of course the organization of the Rangers had been kept a profound secret from the obnoxious military officials, though it was known in a quiet way to almost all other discreet persons, and the advent of the compan}^ was the most eagerlj^ an- ticipated event of the day. When Captain GrifEn had found out how unpopular his order was, in- stead of dampening his military enthusiasm, it simply stirred up his pertinacity, and he had de- termined to make the occasion as dignified and memorable as possible. He secured the use of the part!}' cleared field of William Ricketson, who kept the upper, or Red Tavern, and early in the morning repaired there, resplendent in his uni- form and trappings, and posted his sentries to keep the gathering spectators off the improvised parade ground, while his lieutenants put such re- cruits as appeared from other sections through a primitive sort of "school of the soldier." If a certain air of suppressed merriment and mystery, half be- trayed in the smiles and side-glances of the crowd, excited any misgivings on his part, they were not disclosed, and he was commanding his small retinue with considerable dignity, when the dis- A Half Century in Scranion. 69 cordant blare of the Rangers' musicians was heard up the road. As the ensign they carried came in sight it was greeted with cheers and laughter, but there was no sign of merriment on the faces of the fantastics. Had they been on their way to a funeral or an execution, they could not have been more dignified. Each carried his jug with miliiary precision, and they preserved a creditable cadence to the monotony of '' Hay Foot, Straw Foot," as they repeated it in unison. They mai'ched at once to the front of the hotel, and at the proper command, halted and faced right. Above the laughter of the crowd, the captain's voice rang out, " Foot to knee," and all knelt. " Knee to seat," and all sat on the ground. "Jug to lips." Twenty-five went up with alacrit3^ " Drink;" and they did. This manceuver was the signal for another burst of applause, which brought all spectators from the parade ground. A com- mittee was then appointed to report the presence of the contingent to the commanding officer and signify that it was in obedience to his orders ; but, meanwhile the gate had been shut, and the sentry refused to open it. They then reported to Air. Ricketson, explaining that they had assembled in obedience to the superior officer's orders, and de- manded that they be admitted to the grounds, since they had been named in the order, and duty re- quired that recruits should there report. Mr. 70 A Half Centuiy in So anion. Ricketson, who himself loved a joke as well as any man in the vallej^, replied that he had rented his propert}^ to Captain Benjamin Griffin for the da}', and therefore had no longer control of the property, but he added, with a merr_v twinkle of his eye, "If you break the gate down, I cannot help it." This was all the rally the contingent needed, and in a few minutes the Rangers were filing around the edge of the grounds, and adding to the noisy demonstrations of the admiring crowd. Their per- formance of course put a speedy end to the more dignified militar}- operations, and, in twos and threes, the small company dropped out of ranks, to join in the general fun, leaving the captain very mad and helpless, and the Rangers thoroughly' masters of the situation, with the sympathj^ of the crowd entirely' on their side. After all attempt at drill had been given up, mj' old friend, Charlie Silkman, who was one of the band and was a good deal of a politician in those days, mounted a stump and delivered a rousing loco-foco talk, which created tremendous enthusiasm, as most of those present were so politically inclined. I have seen many military pageants since that time, but never one that was as unique, or gave greater de- light to the spectators. The work of the Rangers did not end with the day, however. They had organized for the pur- A Half Century in Scranton. 71 pose of putting an end to a military law that was obnoxious, and having commenced with ridicule they found it their most effective weapon. The episode was written up at length for the IVilkcs- Barre Fanner^ one of the most influential papers of the daj', and was the subject of much sarcastic comment that provoked similar opposition in other localities. When election rolled around, in the following autumn, the Rangers, and the anti- military sentiment they had fostered resulted in the selection as colonel of a notoriousl}' half-witted egotist, -who could not appreciate the fact that he had been made the butt of general ridicule, and b}- his insistance on preserving the ostensible dignity of his office made the whole sj'stem so generally un- popular that the attention of the Legislature was called to the existing law, and it was either re- pealed or became a dead letter. Since that time •other and much more stirring events have brought about newer and better laws, obedience to which with cheerful alacrity, have ever constituted the safeguard of both national and local institutions, and of peace, prosperity and general advancement in all tr}ang times; and the superb discipline and efiicacy of one of the best volunteer regiments in the world marks, by contrast with the "General Training" of half a century ago, the advancement that we are making in all that tends to stability. CHAPTER SEVENTH. THE LACKAWANNA SLACK-WATER PROJECT. State Aid to Internal Improvements — Canal Transportation — The Tunkhannock Meeting — Preparation for the Report — Mr. Henry's Prompt Response — Industries of 1841 — Exploration of the Coal and Iron Supply — Cogent Reasons for the Feeder Dam — An Inter- esting Bit of Correspondence. ''?~^||>r^HE completion of the North Branch Canal -p I y as far as Pittstou marked the com- -"*^ mencement of the decline of State aid to internal improvements. Prior to that time, it had been the policy of most of those prominent in both parties to advocate zealously all such paternal enterprizes. Unquestionably they had much to do with the early development of many parts of the State, and there was undoubted wisdom in the policy which fostered them. But what they accomplished for other sections was not accomplished for the Lackawanna Valley. The first projects all looked to the establishment of channels through which general commerce might be promoted great dis- '74 A Half Century in Scranton. tances, and sought rather to establish through lines of traffic than to develop the resources of immediate districts. It was a broad and good policy as far as it went; but viewed in the light of subsequent improvements, it was as far from trend- ing on what are now recognized as the most lucra- tive lines of State development as were the old Indian trails from coinciding with the present railroad routes. Nevertheless, in the earl}' forties, canals were, in the popular mind, the all-important factors for transportation, and to them the atten- tion of producers of every kind was directed as the most practical hope of unrestricted markets. It is true that there were railroads built and building; but they were not the demonstrated successes that canaling claimed. In this section, particular!}-, it is not strange that the idea of water-ways should predominate over the railroad idea, since the onlj' iron way known in all the territory adjacent was the Delaware & Hudson Canal Companj^'s Rail- road; and this, as its name implies, was then an adjunct, rather than a principal in the corpora- tion's business. With active men so constrained in their views as to the best and most practicable means of afford- ing easy market ways, it is not surprising that the energetic spirits of the portions of the upper Sus- ■ quehanna, which had not yet received the benefits A Half Century in Scranton. 75 of the North Branch Canal should commence some agitation to secure for themselves some of the benefits which enured to those located further down the river; and, to this end, earl}' in the year '42, the popular feeling, which had been growing in half a dozen places, crystalized in the minds of a number of leading men, and resulted in a call for a meeting to bring the interests of the various neglected sections squareh^ before the next Legis- lature, and ask for such appropriations as would carry on the canal sj-sterrr, and irrake the respec- tive sections they represented beneficiaries of open water waj^s. The rrreeting was held at Tunkhannock, aird was attended by represeirtative irren frorrr Wilkes-Barre, Towanda, Owego and other points. I was invited to represerrt the Lack- awanna Valley, and, accompanied b}' Mr. Nathaniel Cottrell, who then was proprietor of the leading hostelry in Razorville, arrd an enterprising man, obeyed the summons. We went prepared to show, as time and developirrerrt have sirrce saved us the troirble of showing, that the Lackawanna sectioir was the most important among those represented. We were filled with facts and enthusiasm ; and, in- deed, it required them both before we got through, for the meeting lasted well into the afternoon, and we were obliged to remain all night iir a hotel that could so poorl}^ accommodate us that all were obliged to sleep in the parlor on the floor, so that the 76 A Half Century in Scrantoti. deliberations were carried on well into the night, and disputants fell asleep in the midst of their argument. It was one of the few important pub- lic meetings that I ever attended which had no formal public adjournment, and at which no leaves of absence were granted, save those that the grave has since dispensed to most of the participants. Rev. George A. Mix, of Towanda, was chairman of the meeting, and committees were appointed to report on the resources of each of the localities represented, so there might be compiled, to accom- pany the memorial to the Legislature decided upon, suitable tables of statistics and funds of information to load up to the muzzle the Represen- tatives who should espouse our cause. Sometimes I think that it is canny work like this that makes all our statesmen so wise nowadays also. I was appointed to report on Lackawanna, and of course accepted the task. I may be pardoned for assuming that the work of compiling and preparing a report was not a dif- ficult one for me to undertake, for a large practice made me thoroughly acquainted with all the set- tlers and their various enterprises. A lively in- terest in the fortunes of the valley in which I had cast my lot made me solicitous for the success of all my neighbors, and I watched keenly the pro- A Half Ce7itury ui Scraniofi. 77 gress each was making in his peculiar line, as my frequent visits gave me ample facilities for doing. Pride in mutual successes was general, for all in- terests were interwoven in the common cause of rapid development; and the starting of a mill, the raising of a new building, the opening of a store or mine, were common concerns of importance to the individuals of the entire communit}^; and such concentration and union of strength, under strong and sagacious leadership, was having its noticeable effect, and adding each day to spirits and enthusiasm.. There were few drones in the hive; and even the most indolent were carried with the tide of activity, almost insensibl}'. Until, at the earnest solicitation of Messrs. Scrantons, Grant & Co., I accepted the generous inducements they held out, and removed from Razorville to the vicinity of the Lackawanna Furnace, in 1846, by far the best part of my paying practice was at the works, and I visited them every day ; many times, in fact, to deal out my fees in goods at the com- pan3r's store — for the practice of medicine was not a lucrative one in those days, and I am constrained to add that a certain knack and decided love for trading horses, and getting the best of the bar- gain, more than once supplemented m^' slender cash income when it was most decidedly needed. 78 A Half Ce)itury in Scranton. With a taste for science, and some knowledge of geology, I of conrse made myself familiar with the mineral resources, and in my many rides had abundant opportunity to examine the local for- mations attentively, and learn much about the folds and flexures that wrinkle the whole coal de- posit of the valley. Those who owned these pro- perties were dail}^ companions ; and, as a suitable outlet to the markets was the only obstacle to im- micdiate development, there was the heartiest co- operation and warmest sympathy in anything that could further the canal project; for the hopes of a railroad had been warmed up in 1826 by the charter of the Susquehanna and Delaware Canal and Railroad Company, only to be again cooled by the inability to interest capital, and the consum- mation devoutly to be wished for was far removed indeed. Among those to whom I wrote for specific infor- mation, was Mr. Henry, who then had charge of the recently completed furnace, and the prompt- ness of his reply, given as it was, amidst the stress of most harrassing and perplexing duties, well illustrates how thoroughly the canal and slack- water idea had permeated us all. Special interest attaches to it also because it was written during the most critical period in the history of iron mak- ing in Slocum Hollow — a time when those who A Half Century in Scranton. 79 had linked their lives and invested their fortunes in an enterprise almost in the wilderness were, after three most cruel disappointments, still hope- ful and courageous and hovering about the furnace taking its temperature, watching its inspiration, noting its moods and changes as though it were a living thing. In fact, as dates show, the day that Air. Henry wrote the subjoined letter the furnace was quite as sick as were the proprietors ; and a digression here is admissible as illustrative of the fact. The original thirty-five foot stack, with its primitive blowing apparatus, driven by water power, was commenced in the early part of October, 1S40. On the 23d of the previous month, the late W. W Manness had laid off the foundations, and as soon as the necessary men could be secured the stack was pushed to completion. The first attempt to put it in blast was made in September, 1841, and, as this was unsuccessful, another followed about a year later with like re- sults. Mr. Piatt has copied into his "Reminis- cences" the following extract from a journal kept at the time that the third attempt was made : ^^Janiiary j, 1842 — Last night at about eleven o'clock, the blast was put on the furnace under the superintendence of Air. Henry, assisted by a Air. Clarke, of Stanhope, N.J. At about three o'clock, the furnace was bridged over the hearth. January 4 80 A Half Cenhtry in Scranton. — Hiram and Henry Johnson and Raddle trying to work furnace; but, finding it too hard, the boshes above the temp were removed, and the coal and ore let slide through. January 6 — H. and H. Johnson and Williams digging salamander out of furnace." After repairs had been made, Mr. Sel- don T. Scranton, who had come up to see the pre- vious effort, secured the services of the late John R. Davis ; and under their joint supervision, the blast was put on January i8, "blowing," to quote tlie journal again, " about two weeks without making any iron of consequence." It was on Janu- ary 26, 1842, during the two weeks of harrowing uncertainty, that the reply, quoted further on, was written; and it is characteristic of Mr. Henry that, even among all these trials and vexations, his enthusiasm, public spirit and unvarying courtesy were unruffled. While subsequent events proved he Avas not over sanguine, continued disappointment drove him from the enterprise ; but it also served as another spur to awaken anew the indomitable will, energies and perseverance of Mr. G. W. Scranton,* which booked no obstacle until he had * Col. George W. Scranton was a lineal descendant of John Scran- ton, who came to this country- from England in 1638, and settled at Madison, Conn., where the subject of this sketch was born. May 10, 1811. He came of a hard}-, self-reliant race, public-spirited and intel- ligent, and there are numerous mentions of his ancestry in the Colonial records, where they were conspicuous in both the French and Revolu- tionary wars. He owed many of the characteristics which distin- ^^/'•iSQW'!hii,:,\B^,iK ^^m^i/oi. A Half Century in Scra7iton. 81 achieved the complete and magnificent develop- ment of this favored valley; and added to the material prosperitj-, and social and moral progress of all within her borders. Now to return to the work of the conference. All of the committees appointed collected the indus- trial facts and statistics of their various localities, collated them, made reports and forwarded them to the general chairman; and he, in turn, prepared a memorial to the Legislature. A bill was intro- duced making the desired appropriation, and it was most zealously advocated bj^ the Representatives there, Hon. George AI. Hollenback, of Wilkes- Barre, doing noble service for this section. But guished him in so marked a degree to the careful nurture and training of a cultivated mother, who earlj- developed in him that purity of pur- pose, conscientiousness in the discharge of evcrv dutv, and the promptitude and accuracy that were synonymous of his name to all who knew him. His early education was such as was given to bovs who, in those daj-s, were expected to carve their own destinies; but, in addition to the usual winter schooling, he studied two j-ears at Lee's Academy, then a noted institution, under the superintendence of Major Robinson. Before he had completed his course, his uncle, Chapman Warner, offered him a situation in New Jersey-, which was accepted, arriving in Belvidere in 182^. Here he entered into arduous duties that tried his mettle, and developed in him that self- reliance and persistent energy that were so potent factors in his sub- sequent career. After a few 3'ears he was invited to enter the partner- ship of Judge Kinney in a store. It was during this time that he married a most estimable and exemplary woman — Miss Jane Hiles, of Belvidere, and afterwards relinquished his mercantile life for one of agriculture. A few vears later, in partnership with his brother, S. T. Scranton, he embarked in the iron business, buying out the firm of Henry Jordan & Co., at Oxford, N. J. 82 A Half Century in Scranton. the lawmakers were obdurate and stupid, as they frequently are, and either the bill was killed, or some committee pigeon-holed it, loaded down with amendments — it matters little which. The famous feeder dam was never built; and, as a resvilt, eight years later, the Legget's Gap charter was again brought forward, suitably amended, and the road constructed to form part of the splendidly equipped Delaware, Lackawanna & Western system, of which we feel so justly proud. It is a world of compensations, and this is one of them. There is another in the satisfaction in knowing that that night's sleep on the hard floor at Tunkhannock did not go for naught. It was the means of hav- In the meanwhile, Mr. Henry was maturing his plans to develope the ores of the Lackawanna Valley, and having been disappointed by the death of his associate, Mr. Armstrong, he appealed to the new firm, and after examining the ground, the new furnace was decided upon. The almost herculean energy with which he overcame all obstacles and the details of his struggles are replete with interest. Colonel Scranton was always a Whig, and worked hard to secure the election of Clay in 1S44; but, disappointed by the defeat of that statesman, took little active part in politics thereafter. Against his personal wishes, he was nominated as the champion of the Protectionists, in 1S58, and after a brief but animated canvass, was elected by a majoritj- of three thousand. He took a deep interest in the tariff measure, and it was said that no man in Congress contributed more to the perfection of the details than did he. He was disappointed by its failure to pass the Senate, but, not disheartened, was elected a second time, and went back prepared to promote this policy as zealously as ever. His health, which had been none too strong, now began to give wav, and though it was thought at first that he would recover, the machinery cif life was worn out, and he gradually sank only to pass peacefully away on March 24, 1S61. A Half CentiD-y in Scranton. 83 ing gathered and preserved local statistics which probably would never have been recorded then but for the agitation of the feeder dam question; and most of them gave a comprehensive and correct idea of the industrial status of the counties at that time. The following is a copy of the report I sent to Mr. Mix on THE RESOURCES OF THE LACKAWANNA VALI.EY. George A. AIix, Esq. Dear Sir — In compliance with 3'our request, as chairman to the committee appointed for the purpose of giving you statistical information, having myself the honor of belong- ing to such committee, I shall in discharge of such trust, briefly give you such information as relates only to that section of the Lackawanna Valley lying between its termina- tion in the Wyoming Valley, of which ours is but a continu- ation, and a point seven miles south of Carbondale ; pre- suming that from this point, the portion above (being in the immediate vicinity of the Delaware & Hudson Com- pany) would not add any revenue of consequence to the North Branch extension, thus leaving about sixteen miles of the valley for my consideration. This valley attains a width of some four miles, and the land embraced between the ranges of mountains on either side presents a variety of bottom rolling lands, which, for agricultural purposes, can not be surpassed in beaut}' or richness of soil, or to better repay the husbandman for his labor. Within this territory are now, in successful operation, thirty saw mills that will manufacture, on an average, fi\'e 84: A Half Century in Scra7tto?i. million feet of timber annually, of which the greater por- tion would be sent to Philadelphia by canal. There are four flouring mills, three foundries, one axe factory, one scythe ditto, one powder ditto, all of which will add some revenue to the canal; but, as ultimately nothing can be expected from this valley that can benefit the State, aside from her mineral wealth, I will give you some idea of its coal and iron resources. Within the extent of territory mentioned, there are upwards of one hundred coal mines opened : and many of them are made at present a source of some profit, both from domestic and foreign markets. There are sent some five or six thousand tons annually, by sledges and wagons, to the States of New York and New Jersey, in exchange for salt, plaster, etc. The extent of the coal in this valley is bounded by the mountains on its sides, where it can frequently be seen cropping out. Some few mines have been worked there with facility, and six strata can be satisfactorily traced that will not require draining. Undoubtedl}' many more exist yet to be discovered. However, for our purpose, this will be sufficient, comprising in depth of coal strata thirty-nine and one-half feet, ascending from the ravine at an angle of some twenty-five degrees, four hundred feet from the outcroppings. Throughout the whole valley, roofing is sufficient, so that propping will never be re- quired; and abundant facilities are offered for openings. The ravines in all parts of the valley have made natural sections in the coal strata, frequently open to view, and at all times easily exposed by stripping oif the covering formed by the action of the weather in crumbling the superincumbent slate and sandstone. The beds of the creeks and river are often solid coal. This whole field is accessible in the banks which limit the bottoms along the A Half Cetitury iji Scranton. 85 river, and intersected by ravines, diverging on each side with the confluents of the stream, and offers singular facil- ities for mining and exportation, whenever a channel of communication shall be found through (he heart of the valley to connect with an outlet of trade. To form some idea of the quantity of coal in the region surveyed, "It may be premised," says Mr. Foster, "it embraces more than forty thousand acres. We will assume fifteen feet for this whole field, which all will admit is far short of that exists, which gives in round numbers, seven- teen hundred tons per acre of coal for each foot of thick- ness." From these data we have over four hundred mil- lions of tons — a quantity within a safe estimate, yet suf- ficient for an export of a quarter of a million tons per year for forty generations. In illustration of the proceeding estimate we are only to refer to the operations of the Del- aware & Hudson Canal Company for a few years past. As for the quality of Lackawanna coal, no comment is necessary where it is known. Suffice it to say that no anthracite coal stands before it in the country. As for the quality of ores for smelting, their extent, etc., I will first quote from Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. i8, No. 2, 1830. After this distinguished pro- fessor had made an examination of this valley, he remarks: "The large quantities of argillaceous, or clay iron ore, which are connected with the coal strata, and the bog ores which appear also to abound here, are well worthy the at- tention of the inhabitants, and it can be scarcely doubted that the difficulties hitherto experienced in the use of anthracite in the smelting of iron will be overcome, and then all the means of manufacturing iron will be at hand. ("Lime is entirely wanting in the valley.") It is worthy to remark that the professor's prophesy is now attained 86 A Half Century hi Scrantoii. most fully in the successful operations of various anthra- cite furnaces at Pottsville, Danville, and other places, not excepting our own favored valley. I will here say that had Professor S. been more thorough in his examinations, he would not have said "Lime is entirely wanting in the valley," for from the perusal of the following correspondence from William Henry, Esq. , to whom I am indebted for this portion of my report, it will be seen that the furnace of Messrs. Scranton, Grant & Co., built under his superintendence, at present uses in part limestone obtained in large quantities near at hand; so that we have in abundance every material for making iron, and by competent judges pronounced not inferior to any made in the United States, if not in the world. The tonnage from the Lackawanna furnace, as estimated by Mr. Henry, will be: 1, 800 tons of pig iron, per canal to Philadelphia, 1,500 tons of limestone, merchandise, etc., Making 3,300 tons. Aside from the above, we have ten stores, on which we will allow for each twenty-five tons transportation from Phila- delphia, making . 250 tons And allow for each to that point, five tons, making . 50 tons Making . . 300 tons Which, no doubt, is a low estimate, so far as I am informed. In presenting the above, it no doubt will appear proper to state that as far as State revenue is to be expected from this valley, some channel of communication should be opened to her State works. It is now conceded by all who have taken pains to inform themselves, that, as far as the North Branch is to prove a benefit to this valley, it must be supplied with water sufficient to enable boats to A Half Centuiy in Scranton. 87 approach the mouth of the Lackawanna River, which at present is so sparing and uncertain, from the existing feeder dam, that no dependence can be placed upon it; and, thus far, merchandise destined for this valley has, with seldom an exception, been taken from the boats at various points fifty miles below and less, and transported by wagons to the ultimate destination, which adds to the transportation enough to turn the channel of the natural trade from Phil- adelphia to New York, and from thence is brought to a point that dependence can be placed upon through the canal and railroad of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com- pany, yielding to them a profitable sum of revenue that might with ease be diverted. The present feeder dam that supplies the finished por- tion of this great State work, being built on the founda- tion of an old mill dam, composed of timbers, brush, gravel, straw and other light materials, that frequently give way, to the floods that arise during the season, making a great State work justly a subject of ridicule and reproach ; when, at a short distance above, the God of Nature has located a site as permanent as her everlasting hills, and only requires the hand of art to repair to perfection a feeder for this grand project of internal improvement, as lasting as time. By such expenditure, which is estimated at less than one hundred thousand dollars — a small sum in comparison to the advantages that will be derived by the State, as well as give an impulse to individual enterprise to bring into notice a valley where resources are incalculable — I will venture the assertion that, upon the completion of a feeder dam, five years will not elapse ere the State is reimbursed this outlay, and has secured a revenue in futurity that will pay her share toward paying the principal and interest of construction, both of canal and feeder. 88 A Half Cenhcry in Scr anion. This feeder dam is asked for on other grounds than being" actually and imperative!}' required for the perfection of navigation as far as the North Branch Canal is completed; and I base it upon this principle, that the State receives small revenue from her public works. They have opened up the main channels entireh' to the neglect of profitable side cuts that would have brought immense benefit at tri- fling expense ; but had the expenditure required been made for the completion of a permanent feeder dam, when this project was completed to this point, her canal would not have been a stagnant frog pond, green with age, and putrid for want of motion for some twenty miles below. Again, I have remarked incidentally that individual enterprises would be awakened b}' the completion of the feeder dam as asked. You may ask the reason of this remark. I answer that the back water on this dam will be sufficient to make slack water navigation for eight miles up the L,ackawanna River, which individual owners of prop- erty willingly perfect, that their immense mineral wealth may become something more than imaginary. But grant this request, and I care not whether the State spends more upon the continuation of the North Branch Canal. Her profit that was once in anticipation will be realized from this section, and she will have one more demonstration of the wise policy of stopping by the way to grasp what can easily be made a prize. I remain very truly yours, etc., B. H. Throop, M. D. P. S. — As yet, water powers remain to be improved to a great extent, as more than one-third existing have been brought into use by the hand of art. A Half Century in Scranton. 89 The following is the correspondence above re- ferred to: Providence, January 14, 1S42. William Henry, Esq. Dear Sir — Will you favor me with what information you are possessed of in regard to the facilities offered in this and adjacent townships, Luzerne County, for the manufac- ture of iron, and oblige, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, Ben7. H. Throop. To this letter came the following replj' : I/ACKAWANNA FuRNACE, January 26, 1842. Dr. Throop. Dear Sir — In answer to your enquiries respecting the materials required in the manufacture of iron " in this and the adjacent townships, Luzerne County," I would remark that there is anthracite coal well adapted — in quantity to an immense extent, easily* mined — the ores of the valley, in veins, overlying or underlying the coal, everywhere abound. They are spheroidal and lamellar clay ores of good quality, probably yielding an average of thirty-eight per cent, of iron in the large way. Outside of the coal meas- ures there are regular veins of iron of an excellent quality, varying from two to four and a half feet of pure ore — the kind mostly used at this furnace — mined at a cost of less than a dollar a ton. So far as my examinations have extended, it is found continuous for say seven to eight miles in length, and very probably is to be found along the whole length of the Valley of the Lackawanna. 90 A Half Century in Scranton. The quality is tested. The iron made of it has, b}' com- petent judges, after manufacturing it, been pronounced equal to the best made in this or any other country for foundry purposes, and I think will prove good iron manu- factured into bars. Silicious ores, outcroppings of which are seen on both sides of the coal valley in regular strata of very great extent, and various calcareous stones are found, which may become useful as fluxes. Several regu- lar veins of limestone are seen, one of three feet in thick- ness we are working now, and the stone is in part used as flux in the furnace, possessing silicious properties which are well adapted to work with argillaceous ores. A part of the calcareous materials now used have been brought from the limestone hills of Columbia County. Comparing this district of country with others occupied by iron works known to me in Pennsylvania, I have formed the deliberate opinion that none offers greater inducements for the capi- talist and manufacturer ; at the same time, the agricul- turalist has a fine, open and fertile valley for his uses. Very truly yours in haste, William Henry. Canal transportation from here probably will be near the following amounts, say: 1, 800 tons of pig iron, Ivimestone, merchandise, etc., 1,500 tons. 3,300 tons, exclusive ore or coal. Permit me to say that Messrs. Champion & Chase ex- pect to transport nearly half a million feet of lumber for this year. Other mills exist, all of which you know. CHAPTER EIGHTH. vSOME ^lEDICAL MEMORIES. The Earliest Physician in the Valley — "Granny Sprague," the Pro- prietary Medicine Manufacturer — Dr. William Hooker Smith and His Early Iron Making — Drs. Davis, Robinson and Seaver — M^- Early Experiences — Difficulty in Getting Drugs and Medi- cines — Queer Surgical Emergencies — Scranton's General Health. 'MONG the annals of a long and busy life, |[^ there are but few chapters to which I attach more of personal interest, or re- call more vivid and varying experiences, than those that deal with the professional recollections of over five decades. They comprehend a series of mental photographs wherein Momus and Mel- pomene are grouped side by side, and embrace almost every possible shade of skill and contrast of method which can come from wider knowledge and better facility. The practicing physician of the pioneer settlement was not freer from harrassing dif&culties than was he of any other calling. With him, as with others, mother wit and natural resources had to be constantly drawn upon in 92 A Half Century in Scranton. many an emergency, and he labored under the additional burden of having to conceal the make- shifts demanded by a not lucrative, but most exacting round of duties. From the earliest record's available, it would seem that Dr. Joseph Sprague, who was one of the proprietors of "Ye Town of Lackaworna," came into the valley from Hartford, Conn., in 1771, and settled just below Spring Brook. Like some of his successors in the profession that might be mentioned, he made more money out of his real estate transactions than he did out of his practice; and within a j^ear after he had located, his first sales are noted in the Westmoreland records. He farmed vicariously, and practiced when opportunity presented itself, for about twelve years; when, with others of the Yankees, he was driven out by the Pennamites, and died in his native State the next year. His widow returned, and located in Wilkes- Barre; and was for many years the only accoucheur in this section. "Granny Sprague," as she was familiarly known, was present at the birth of hun- dreds of the children of the pioneers, and was in practice as late as 1810. She was also the com- pounder of a number of special root and herb remedies, which she kept on sale at her log hut on the corner of Main and Union Streets, in Wilkes- Barre; and from these must have derived her prin- A Half Century ui Scranton. 93 cipal support, since she charged but one dollar for her professional services at a confinement. She has, therefore, the additional distinction of being the first owner of proprietary medicines. To Dr. William Hooker Smith, who was the sec- ond physician to locate in the vicinity, the early settlers owe much, both of health and prosperity. He located in Wilkes-Barre clearing in 1772, hav- ing come from New York, where his father was the only Presbyterian clergyman, and had a charge at White Plains. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and was also the surgeon of Sullivan's army, for which Congress voted his heirs $2,400.00 in 1838 He was one of the first to recognize the value of stone coal and the iron ores; and on his return from Sullivan's expedition, located on the rocky ledge at Old Forge and, with William Sut- ton, erected the trip hammer which gave the place its name. He died at the ripe age of ninety-one, in 1815, near Tunkhaunock, whither he had removed when the infirmities of age, and the keen competi- tion that had grown up at Slocum's Hollow, made it advisable to abandon the forge. The first physician to locate in Providence Town- ship was Dr. Joseph Davis, a graduate at Yale Col- lege, and a bold and skillful practitioner, who set- tled at Slocum's Hollow in 1800. He also lived to 94 .-i Half Century in Scranton. a ripe age, coming within two years of completing a century. Dr. Silas B. Robinson settled in the township in 1823. Born in Otsego, New York, he had but an ordinary education; but after reading under the direction of several prominent physicians of that State, received his diploma from the Otsego Medical Society in 1821. There were only two other physicians in the valley at this time, and he had a large practice, which extended into adjoin- ing counties. His sudden death, which occurred from congestion, in 1S60, was widely deplored, as he was a man of sterling worth, vigorous habit, blunt manners and blameless life. Dr. David Seaver, of Wayne County, settled in Providence in 1834, but remained only three years. These were my predecessors in the valley; and it is interest- ing to note, in this connection, that it was among the medical profession that both fuel and mineral interests, the foundation stones of Scranton's pros- perity, were first noted; as was, also, that other natural concomitant of industrial progress — for- tunes to be made on the increase in real estate values. I came here in 1840, as is elsewhere noted. In the early days, the circuit that I rode was about fifty miles, and calls came from all parts of it, usually only when the patient had progressed so far with his malady that home treatment would A Half Century in Scranton. 95 no longer suffice. The frugal people of that day and generation did not rush off for a doctor at every trivial ill. They waited until they were very sick, till every domestic remedy had been exhausted, and usually waited until it was a race between death and the doctor to see who could get there first. Equipped with all of the medicines he expected to use, the man of pills and potions came on the scene. His capacious saddle-pockets were the limit of the materials of Alateria Mcdica at his disposal. Many of these he had to gather and prepare himself, and a good knowledge of bot- any was not one of the least of his requisites. Such tinctures and extracts as could be prepared from the flora of the vicinity were made at his own home; others were purchased of Dr. Sweet, of Car- bondale, who supplied most of the vallc}' trade. Since the doctor made his calls on credit, and fur- nished the medicine, it also followed that he had to purchase his supplies in the same way, and this often led to an uncomfortable state of things. I recollect that I was frequently sued by Dr. Sweet for my drug bill. Not that I did not want to pay it, but because I had no money to pay it with. Just after the panic of 1837, there was very little money in this part of the country, except the script that was issued by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, and barter had to be resorted to, except where these "shin plasters" could be made to go. 96 A Half Century in Scratiton. and that was not always for the kind of plasters that my patients needed. Still, in some way, we managed to worry through; and some of the cures that were accomplished were quite as remarkable as those of to-day, which are heralded through the press as phenomenal. In surgery, we had some remarkable cases; and they often taxed the ingenuity of the practitioner to the utmost. I remember that on one occasion I was called to Tob3/hanna to see a man who had been crushed b}- the cars three days before. When I got there, I found his abdominal region filled up by a dropsical effusion; and an immediate operation was all that could save him from speedy death. I had come unprepared, not having had lime to go home after my instruments when the call reached me. But I couldn't back out if I had so desired. I prepared a large goose quill for ser- vice as a trocar, made the incision with a thumb lancet, drew about two pails of blueish secretion therefrom, left some medicine, and went away never expecting to see him again in this world. A few weeks afterward, a man stopped me near the furn- ace with a hearty greeting; and, as I looked, and saw that it was my late patient, I could not help "Hark, from the tomb, a doleful sound. Mine ear attend its cry." A Half Century ni Scranton. 97 Another time I was called to attend a case down on Bear Creek. When we got within about two miles of the house the road ended abruptly, and I was obliged to abandon my cutter, mount one of my horses, lead the other, and ride through the woods to the top of the mountain, where I found a man who had both of his feet frozen nearly up to the ankles. Gangrene had set in, and an immedi- ate amputation was necessary. Here, again, I was unprepared, but had to be equal to the emergency. The only instruments available were a dull razor and a common hand-saw. With these, and some common thread for ligatures, I managed to make an amputation of both leet. They were not as handsome operations as I have seen, but the man had plenty of nerve, and not only withstood the shock in a most surprising manner, but got well much more speedily than is usual in such cases. Such were the constitutions men had in those days. Inured as thej^ were to all sorts of hard- ship, they could survive what would probably be fatal nowadaj's. The general health of the valley was good. Habits were simple and natural. There was plenty of hard work, and good wholesome food, with happiness and contentment to promote di- eestion. Occasionally there was an epidemic, generally due to some local causes, but we were 98 A Half Century in Scranton. fairly free, even from these. One of the most se- vere was of what was then called malignant scarlatina, but would now be called diphtheria, and occurred in 1842-43. It was extended, though the mortality was not nearly so great as one which occurred nearly ten years subsequently. In 1852 it returned as a peculiarly fatal epidemic of a most malignant type, which seemed to baffle all medical skill, and many homes in Scranton and vicinity were invaded — my own not being exempt — but, all things being considered, Scranton has had a singularly good mortality record ever since I have known anything of its medical history. Dr. Horace H. Hollister came from his Wayne county home to study medicine with me, and was in my office three years, and took my practice when I removed to Carbondale. There I remained until 1845, when I completed the first house in Scranton and removed herewith my family. From that time I was pretty constantly occupied with both business and practice, and yet found leisure to take part in most matters of a public nature where I could be of any service. The medical experi- ences of those later days, to which any special interest attaches, are recorded in other portions of these recollections. CHAPTER XIXTH. THE LACKAWANNA IRON cSl STEEL CO^IPANY. V Scranton's Good Fairy — Status in 183S — The Drinker Road and Its Fruits — William Henry's Enterprise — The Purchase Consum- mated — A General Disappointment — Colonel George W. Scranton — The Furnace Begun — Advice to Young Doctors — W. W. Mau- ness' First Work — Credit Impaired — The First Fruitless Attempts — Others, and Then Success — Fresh Discouragement and New Enterpiise — An Interesting Incident. '^, N thus far briefly tracing the history of what was original!}' all in Providence Township, and in incidentally attempting to reproduce pen sketches of some of the mental photographs made on a mind doubly receptive at the time, be- cause a personal future was involved in the suc- cess of the venture being made in the valley in which I had cast my lot, I have referred but in- directly to the very early history of the Lacka- wanna Iron & Steel Company, which has done more to develop the prosperity of the entire valley than all of the other events in its early history. i-^: 100 A Half Century hi Scranton. I have premised in the introduction to these papers that certain conditions locate and develop great cities in fortuitously, and in obedience to fixed laws; yet it is also true, that to grasp and apply these principles to practical results requires men so rare that they seem to have just chanced to have found the right spot in which to utilize all of their powers to the utmost. It has been held ou fairl)' reasonable grounds that had Sir Isaac Newton never been born, or had the par- ticular apple which set his gigantic mind to work- ing, been eaten unripe by some urchin with Eve- inherited proclivities for forbidden fruit, the dis- covery of the Law of Gravitation would hardly have been retarded many j^ears. Perhaps this is true, but it certainly is true that the rise, progress and success of Scranton is due, in a great meas- ure, to the indomitable energj? and combined efforts of a few men who bent their wills inflexibly to one purpose, and out of their achievement grew the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company. The annals of the company's progress are so inti- mately interwoven with the earlier portion of the city's history that it is well-nigh impossible to separate them. In 1838, the fires of the old Slocum forge had long been cold, and the once bright hope of utilizing the local iron deposit was a thing of the past. A Half Century in Scrajiton. 101 The agricultural community trusted that some day there would be better facilities for getting their products to market, and the possibility of extend- ing the North Branch Canal up the Lackawanna was one of the possible gifts of the future. Be- yond this there was nothing. One of the projects that had been evolved from the fertile and busy brain of Henry Drinker, Esq., was what was known as "The Drinker Railroad," which was to give a rail outlet from this section. The charter had been granted in 1836, and the next three years saw a number of those interested exploring the mountains and valleys in search of a suitable route. Among these was William Henry, one of the original commissioners named in the charter; and he thiis became familiar with the early attempts to make iron here, as well as with the ore and stone, which he took to be all that were necessary for the successful manufacUire of a good quality of iron with anthracite coal. He advo- cated the building of a furnace here, and the maintenance of it for a number of years; since the town that would naturally grow up about such an industry, would prove a profitable investment, as well as make business for the road. His enthusiasm communicated itself to William Arm- strong, of Newburg, N. Y., a man of means; and the latter commissioned Mr. Henry to negotiate the purchase. 102 A Half Century i?i Scranton. The abandoned forge and mill property had passed through several hands for a very small consideration since the death of Mr Slocum, and was owned at the time b)' William Merrifield, Zeno Albro and William Rickettson. Mr. Henry arranged with them to take the tract for himself and partner for sixteen dollars an acre, there be- ing five hundred and three acres in all ; and the bargain would have been consummated but for the untimely death of Mr. Armstrong. Nothing daunted, Mr. Henr}' repaired to Oxford, where his brother-in-law, Selden T. Scranton was living, and related to him the circumstances. He became interested; and persuading Mr. Sanford Grant, of Belvidere, to accompany them, they visited "the Hollow." The death of Mr. Armstrong had secured for Mr. Henrj^ an extension of days on his option — still time was short. It was deemed advisable to strengthen the firm; Mr. Phillip Mat- tes, of Easton, the trusted agent of the old United States Branch Bank at that place, was added, so that the firm was composed of Selden T. and George W. Scranton, Sanford Grant and Phillip Mattes, under the style of Scrantons, Grant & Corapau}'. These raised the amount necessary to make the agreed payment of two thousand five hundred dollars, and a bond and mortgage was given for the balance of the purchase money. To a man of prudence, it would have been a visionary ^4 Half Cenl2cry m Scranton. 103 scheme, and would have proved so; but the in- domitable will of Colonel George W. Scranton, who assumed charge after a time, and prevented it from being a stupendous failure. He had faith, and, backed by a commanding presence, his earn- estness and honor were never doubted ; and to this we are indebted to-day for what we have. Had he have been of a sickly sentimental turn, no confi- dence could have controlled the capital. The iron ore proved a failure ; the lime which Mr. Henry thought existed on the banks of the Roaring Brook also was worthless ; and it cost thousands of dollars to demonstrate that we had nothing that was required to make iron except anthracite coal. *' We brought the mountain to Mahomet to wor- ship." We had coal ; though a long, tedious series of disasters were gone through with before any success attended the efforts of these indomitable men. My arrival in Razorville, alias Providence, was October 8, 1840; but I had made a day's visit a month earlier, when I heard of the purchase of this property, which was then said to contain in abundance the three necessary articles for its un- doubted success, to wit: iron ore, lime and coal. It certainly was a splendid venture — and the large experience, and undoubted knowledge, and good judgment of Mr. Henry would have made all 104 A Half Century in Scranton. happy had it panned out precisely as he had pre- dicted — but the proof of the fact was a great dis- appointment to all. The lime was the large body of rocks the railroad tunnel perforates a half mile from the furnace, where yet may be seen the track of the road he built on the south side of Roaring Brook, this side of the tunnel, that proved to be anything but lime. The iron ore was better. It lay in boulders in the five feet of fire clay that overlies the coal seam along the bank of the brook on the north side. That finally proved the only element they had which was of any value. The purchasers entered into possession as soon as practicable, and at once began to make ready for operations. Mr. Henry remained in charge; and on the eleventh of September, Mr. Simon Ward did the first day's work on the projected furnace. It was only a day or two after this that I came to Providence on my first visit. After my arrival in town, I started out on an exploring expedition. I first ventured, as I had been advised, to Slocum Hollow, by way of Hyde Park; and crossed the Lackawanna at the onlj^ bridge below, now known as Dodgetown. The Providence bridge was near at hand; but the road was little traveled, and much of it in the woods, where no path existed, except such as was used in drawing logs to the old mill, where the furnace now stands. A Half Century in Scrajiioji. 105 I reached the place all right in my sulky and with the bob-tailed pacer, that did much to hasten my acquaintance through the country, from the rapid- ity of his motion, which set everybody to wonder- ing how a horse could go so fast and not run. It lead everybody to inquire about the owner; and here I will advise all young doctors that go among strangers to eke out a living, by practicing medi- cine especiall}', to get a fast nag, and pass every- body on the road. They are sure to find out who and what the owner is, for everybody has a fancy for the horse, if not the owner. This horse is a digression; to return to my subject: The first man I met at Slocum's Hollow was W. W. Manness, who was then building a house on the ground now occupied by the large engine house, north of the five furnaces. The first fur- nace, occupying the site of the present northern furnace, was to be run by the water power already there, and which had been utilized for an old saw- mill for many years. The building Mr. Manness was constructing was used, after its completion, as a dwelling house, an office for the compau}-, and afterwards, for a time, as a store. After the store was supplanted by one of brick, it answered for many years for a hotel, and was first kept by Mr. Snyder, and afterward by Mr. Kressler for many 106 A Half Century in Scranton. years, or until the Wj'oming House was built, in 1852. The iirst furnace was commenced by Mr. Simon Ward, who did the first day's work under the new firm in September, 1840; and be it said to the credit of both of these faithful artisans, that they both were the recipients of the fruits of their industry-, and passed from among us honored and respected by all. At this time little was said about this iron com- pany or its operations. j\Ir. Henry made occa- sional visits; and, the following spring, moved his family here, and occupied a house at Fellows' Cor- ners. The main business was done under the sup- erintendence of Messrs. Ward and Manness. Occasionally Colonel Scranton would drive up over the Drinker Turnpike from his home at Bel- videre, and bring with him the "sinews of war," and was alwaj'S a welcome visitor. The company had built a few boarding houses for their men, and a few tenant houses for those having families. There was but little said through the country about the new venture, and its success was gener- all}^ doubted; so much, in fact, that the company's credit was badly impaired, especially with the capi- talists. This was peculiarly true of those at Wilkes-Barre, who were always deprecating the success of this enterprise, as they had some experience in that line among themselves. But A Half Ce7itury in Scraiiton. 107 they did not know the men. However, as the thing progressed, every one connected with it became more anxious. They had exhausted more capital than was expected, and some were dis- heartened; but they braced up, and kept moving along, until the}' finally commenced the manufac- ture of iron. The furnace was filled in 1841 and fired up. It was charged with the material thej^ had col- lected on their own premises, and the heat was kept up for some time, and finally tapped for the hoped-for result. After days and nights of intense anxiety, the thing turned out a dead failure; they saw the danger of a chill, knew the results, should it ensue; and, as an experiment to avoid it, pur- chased all the sulphur and brimstone in the coun- try, and put in the furnace with plenty of coal. But all to no effect. The tapping for iron was fruitless, the furnace chilled, filled with stove coal and iron enough to cement the whole thing in a solid mass, that it took weeks to remove. Not dismayed, they worked day and night clearing the furnace for another trial, not yet doubting they had the true material; and, at great cost and labor, obtained a new furnaceman. The making of iron with anthracite coal was yet an experiment, and they secured the services of Mr. John Davis, of Dan- ville, who was finally successful. 108 A Half Century in Scranton. And now another season of hard work for weeks was before them to again dig ont the conglom- erated mass of welded stone, coal and iron, with large sledges and hardened steel. Upon this occa- sion Colonel George W. Scranton came to the front, who, in those days, was a man for the occasion. He would swing the heaviest hammers with more blows than any of his athletic com- panions; and here it was that he injured his heart in a way that led, no doubt, to his early demise. Colonel Scranton was " every inch a man;" over six feet, broad shouldered, stout as' a giant, as amiable and modest as a child, and on all occasions a gentleman. At this failure, it was demonstrated that the trouble was in the lime. Though it would indicate lime chemically, and there was some reaction with acids, yet for the purpose of iron making, it was worthless. What was to be the next move? They went to Lime Ridge, in Columbia County, and purchased a section of Lime Ridge, and arranged to have the limestone brought up in boats to Pitts- ton, and from there conveyed in wagons to the fur- nace — a work which kept all the spare teams in the country, as well as all of the company teams, busy for all time after, until the Bloomsburg Rail- road was built. A Half Century in Scranion. 109 The iron ore, thus far, had been obtained in boulders, buried in the fire clay, as before men- tioned, and was drilled and blasted, or broken in some way, before use. At the same time, bog ore was found in small quantities at Green Ridge, on the Albro farm. This had some good quality for mixing with other ores. About this time, iron ore was also discovered about four miles south, on the mountain, and a railroad of very easy con- struction was improvised, that answered for trans- porting logs and ore for some time. This last ore was of a richer kind, but made iron that was of an inferior quality for almost anj- use. The ore averaged only about thirty per cent, metallic iron. IMany families lived at the mines for two or three years; but I have now got before my story, and must return to the third trial of making iron. Two loaded fiirnaces having collapsed, the whole concern was brought into a condition of extremes. It was financial death to the whole party, shoxild the}' make the third failure; and the way to avoid such a result was a matter of constant study. The third trial was commenced with a view of conquering. First, to demonstrate that iron could he made with anthracite coal; second, that it could be done with the ores thev had at hand. At the 110 A Half Century in Scranton. new beds, found some three miles on the moun- tain, ore was more plentiful and could be produced at less cost, even after hauling it to the furnace. The lime was brought from Columbia County; the coal was at hand, and mined on the grounds contiguous to them, on both sides of Roaring Brook. After all was ready, and the furnace was loaded, an old tradition of the iron districts in Wales, from which he had come, occurred to Mr. Davis. It was that, in order to have good luck with a new furnace, a lady must apply the match. It was resolved to give this gallant legend a test. Mr. Sanford Grant had recently arrived with his wife; and, accordingly, she was asked to do the honors. She was waited upon from her house by all the gentlemen of the place, who formed a pro- cession, escorted her to the furnace, where she kindled the flame of Scranton' s prosperity, that finall}? proved a success. After a proper time, the molten metal poured forth in goodly quantity, and made all happy. The problem was solved, all their wishes gratified, and Slocum's Hollow from that day has been progressing upward. The great question of iron making being solved, another problem claimed the company's attention. What should they do with their product. In this country, there was no demand or market for it. The long haul to Carbondale, and then the high A Half Century in Scranton. Ill freight would not pay a profit in any eastern mar- ket, and the southern market had enough of their own, and it would be sending coals to New Castle. The finances of the company were exhausted, their credit was impaired; and under this press, a change was made in affairs. Air. Henry, who had been the head of the concern from the start, resigned to Colonel George W Scranton. The first thing the latter had to do was to provide funds; he had exhausted his own and the rest of the partners'. He took the animal by the horns; and through his efforts with men of capital, the means were procured; first ten thousand dollars from his cousin, Joseph H. Scranton,* then of * Joseph H. Scranton was born in ;\Iadison, New Haven Count}-, Connecticut, June 28, 1S13, of old Puritan stock that had settled there in 1638. The earlier generations were men of enterprise, and engaged in the erection of public works of various character; and the marked executive ability and indefatigable energy that were with him such conspicuous traits, were an ancestral inheritance. His early training was that which was usually accorded to a New England boy; and in addition to the usual tuition in the schools of the time, he was the recipient of much practical experience in vacation times, when he as- sisted his relatives in the construction of wharves, break-waters, light- houses, and other works of similar nature. L,ater he engaged in mer- cantile pursuits in New Haven, after which, when scarcely more than a youth, his fortunes led him southward, and he soon took his place at the head of a commercial house in Augusta, Ga., where, within a few years, he amassed what was considered an ample fortune. He had been south for little more than a decade, when he was first in- duced to invest some of his idle capital in the venture that his cousins were making in the Lackawanna Valley, and in this way became ac- quainted with the mineral wealth and grand possibilities that Slocum's Hollow offered as a field for his activities. He kept gradually in- creasing his investments, and at last took up his residence here, in 112 A Half Century in Sa anion. Augusta, Georgia; and after from another cousin, Erastus Scranton, of New Haven, who put in the same amount, ilfter these: Messrs. RIoore, Hart- man, Phelps, Dodge, Buckle}' ; and later John I. Blair and Moses Taylor; and together, these res- urrected the whole from poverty to independence, and placed the venture on a stable and firni foun- dation. 1847. He was a member successively of the firms of Scrantons S: Grant, and Scrantons & Piatt, and in 1853, on the organization of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, became its general manager, which position he retained until his death. To this work he brought an executive abilitj' and practical financial manage- ment that built up priucelj- fortunes for all who were interested in it, and it has been truly said of him that in these qualities he Avas not surpassed by any man of his generation. Keen, shrewd, far-seeing, yet just, his mind comprehended a wide-sweeping knowledge of all the conditions necessary for the success of everv undertaking that he had in hand. Coupled with this masterly grasp of the situation, he had the rare faculty of transmitting his own energy and enthusiasm to all with whom he was associated, and of S5'Stematizing every detail of the great concerns over which he was called to preside. At his death, he left the company in the con- dition of one of the most extensive and prosperous iron producing in- dustries in the country. He was interested in most of the prominent enterprises of the valley, and in 1S61, was appointed, by Congress, one of the first commissioners of the Union Pacific Railroad. In his private life, !Mr. Scranton was a lovely character. He was an earnest Christian, and left a legacy of virtues to his family. His energetic life of nearh- three score years had impaired a once vigorous constitution, and, in 1S72, accompanied b^- one of his daughters, he sought much needed rest and recuperation in Europe. But the activity had been too prolonged, and the wheels of life were run down. He died at Baden Baden, June 6th, 1872. A Half Century hi Scran ton. 113 At that early da)-, with a large stock of pig iron that they could not sell, they concluded to manu- facture it into nails. The company had become stronger in capital; and in 1843-1844, constructed a rolling mill and nail factory, above the furnaces, at a heavy expense. Mr. Grant, one of the origi- nal partners, weakened and sold out to Mr. Joseph H. Scranton for the amount he had invested, los- ing four years of hard work in conducting the store that was started with the undertaking, and thought himself happy once more. After a year or more, Mr. J. C. Piatt, who was connected by mar- riage with Mrs. Scranton, closed his store at Fair Haven, Connecticut, and came here about 1846. He was the merchant of the concern for many years; and filled other responsible positions under the company until his death in 1887. The manufacture of nails and merchant iron, after a time, seemed a success. Thousands of tons were made; and nails in abundance were trans- ported on wagons to Carbondale and Pittston, des- tined for New York and other markets. In fact, they glutted both market extremes, until the tide turned; and the nails, in many cases, were re- turned in large quantities, and had no sale at home. The quality of the iron was not suitable. It was "red short," 'twas said — so hard and brittle that at least every third nail would break in driv- 114 A Half Century 171 Scranton. ing, unless a thorough!}^ instructed expert had a hand at the hammer. Thus, after a long time, everything seemed to turn against the company; but they had a general at the head who was never beaten, and could not be discouraged, and one who had the " sinews of war " at his command, as well. But 'twas hard times; the country had not recovered from the great financial troubles of 1837- 38, when all the banks suspended. Specie was at a premium. The Safety Fund Bubble, of New York, had burst ; and shin plasters were the order of the day for small change. What was next to be done to save the ship? A happy thought came to the mind of William E. Dodge, who was a large stockholder in the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, which had been chartered then, as well as in the Erie Railroad, whickhad reached the Del- aware River. Through him the Erie Railroad Company advanced $100,000 to the Iron Company to change the nail mill to a rolling mill, and fur- nish rails for the extension of that road from Port Jervis to Binghamton. This was a vast undertaking. The remodeling of a mill, and the introduction of ponderous machinery, is no small matter, even in these days of easy transportation; and when it is taken into consideration that all of the new, heavy iron machinery had to be carted by mules for sixty or A Half Century in Scranton. 115 seventy miles, over mountains, through glade and in forests, where a rude pass-waj- was onl}- chopped out, it becomes a stupendous work. The first fif- teen thousand tons of railroad iron, made on a contract originally providing for only twelve thou- sand, was made promptl}^, and delivered at the mouth of the Lackawaxen, from whence it was taken by canal to Port Jervis, and completed the road from there to Otisville. A number of injunc- tions, and other inconveniences, that grew out of the opposition to the road, had delayed the Erie people seriously by the time that this portion of the road was completed. It was absolutely neces- sarj^, to get through within the specified time, that the track-laying should proceed simultaneously at a number of different points, as fast as the grading was finished. When this fact became evident^ Mr. Scranton undertook another herculean task. He offered to deliver seven thousand tons of iron, in suitable proportion, at six different points: Big Eddy, Cochecton, Equinunc, Stockport, Summit and Lanesboro. It played sad havoc with the agricultural interests for a season, for every avail- able mule and draught horse in the country round was pressed into service; but the company was able to lay track along one hundred and thirty miles of bed at once, and by completion of its line four days ahead of time, save the three hundred thousand dollars donated by the State of New 116 A Half Century in Scranton. York on condition that the road should be com- pleted to Binghamton b}^ a date specified in the act granting the appropriation. At the opening of the Northern Division of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, Mr. Loder, who was president of the Erie at the time of it construction, paid a high tribute to the energy and promptness with which Mr. Scranton fulfilled his contract. Had he and his mills not met the emergency, the railroad must have either failed or suspended; so that his indomitable enter- prise not only saved the Scranton company them- selves, but was also a most potent factor in the success of the magnificent Erie railroad system. I have meant in my reveries of Slocum's Hol- low, Harrison, Scrantonia, and finally Scranton, to fill a place in the history which had not been written — to bring up the story from the time of its birth until the child had developed in all of her queenly beautj^ The first few years were a severe ordeal, and bvit few can have any idea of the trials and tribulations the first purchasers had to endure. Their all was invested in the land and developments necessary to bring about their anticipations ; and the failure of ores and lime threw them into the most straightened circumstances that but few could survive, disheailening as everything turned A Half Century i7i Scranlon. 117 out. To surmount all these difficulties was the work of master minds; and the Scrantons, both Selden T. and George W., were the men for the occasion — Colonel George W. for procuring the " sinews of war, " and Selden T. for disposing of them to the greatest advantage. An incident, perhaps, that might be omitted with propriety — yet one having an important share in the venture — I will relate, only to show the exigency of the times and of the occasion. It was in March, 1843, just before the celebration of St. Patrick, that Colonel Scranton came to my house in Providence early one morning, and in- formed me that they had no money for their men. They had made all preparations for a grand parade, the first ever celebrated in this valley. He asked me if I had any friends that had money. I said, "Yes." " Can you influence them to make us a loan." "Well, that's the question." "I must have some; I have just returned from Belvidere, and could not get a dollar ; and never felt more disheartened in my life." " Well, Colonel," I said, " if you will go with me to Carbondale, I will do all I can for you." I harnessed up, and off we started for Carbon- dale. Arriving there in due time, I found my friend Knapp, and gave him an introduction; and. 118 A Half Century in Scranton. after a pleasant evening — and no man was ever given better powers of persuasion than Colonel Scranton had — we obtained a thousand dollars. That was good luck, so far as it went ; but was not enough. He wanted another thousand. Then I proposed to continue our journey the next day to Honesdale, where we renewed the attack; and suc- ceeded in obtaining seven hundred more. Then started for home a couple of as happy men as ever crossed the Moosic ; and St. Patrick was never more adored than upon that occasion. And I felt proud, also, that I had friends who would lend money to a stranger on my introduction, when I could not have borrowed a dollar of either without good securitJ^ But Colonel vScranton had a way that gave everybodj' confidence in all he said; and what was more, he always filled his contracts sooner or later. Some think the honor of locating Scranton be- longed to Mr. Henrj^ So far as that goes, there is no question about his making the purchase, and inducing the capital that Avas invested. At the same time, he was most egregiously imposed upon, or was himself mistaken in the geological forma- tion of this country. He had, as he supposed, all the elements on the property for making iron; when the thing, as demonstrated by a series of experimental trials, turned out a dead failure. A Half Century in Scranton. 119 The ore was lean, and the lime was not here; there was nothing, in fact, but coal to rel-v upon. When all failed, he was in bad odor with his friends, whom he had induced to embark in the biisiness; and, of course, they lost confidence, and he was superseded hy Colonel Scranton. As for Mr. Henry, the world never produced a more high-minded, honest gentleman ; but he was de- ceived, in this valley, as I have been, along with hundreds of others. CHAPTER TENTH. BOROUGH OF DUNMORE AND THE PENNSYLVANIA COAL COMPANY. The First Settlers There — Effect of the Drinker Turnpike — Its Isola- tion from the " Hollow" — Asa Corson's Tavern — Burgess and Jus- tice of the Peace — Early Antagonism to Corporate Industrial Pro- jects — A Railroad Excitement of 1S44 — Jleetings for Opposition — Nathan Smith's Quiet Purchases — The Washington Coal Com- pany Appears — A Disappointment at " No. 6 " — A Chat with the " Experts "—The Griffith Lands— John B. Smith. "3]|pr^HE historians of the valley generally unite v^ I Y ill- giving credit to William Allsworth as -^ the first settler in what is now the flourishing borough of Dunmore, which must soon become a portion of the city of Scranton, in name and government, as it is already in actual- ity. Allsworth was joined in 1816, by his brother John, and by Philip Swartz, and soon after a few others settled in the vicinity. The construction of the Drinker Turnpike gave the place a little impetus, and a store was opened at the "Corners" about 1820. There was little change in the settle- 122 A Half Century in Scranton. meiit from that date until I arrived in this vicinity. On the da}^ after I had taken up my residence in Razorville, I started on a tour of exploration, and, after visiting the Hollow, I started for Bucktown, as Dunmore was called forty j^ears ago. I found so many roads leading from the woods on the left, that I missed the right one and came to the pond that covered the ground now partly occu- pied by the Court House and square, where I turned around, retraced my way, and followed a path that was through woods all the way to Buck- town, excepting at Esquire Hitchcock's farm, and through a small clearing belonging to an old gentleman who lived near the store of Johnson & Co. The classic Bucktown I found to be made up of four corners, on one of which was a tavern, on an- other a store, on the third the tavern barn, while the fourth was an open field. The tavern was located on the site of the first settler's brush- roofed hut, and where O'Boyle's store now stands. This, of course, I visited. It was kept by Mr. Asa Corson, late of Providence. The bar-room contained the old-fashioned bunk, that with him answered also for a tailor's bench, on which he sat making a pair of homespun cloth pants — for he was the only tailor in this part of the country. The bar, the usual four feet square, was in the A Half Century in Scrajiton. 123 corner, and surrounded with a fence of slats to the ceiling. It contained the usual beverage of the countrj^, which was thrust through a hole in the fence on a small board just large enough to hold a bottle and a glass, to which the customer was invited to help himself. I asked him if he kept a tavern, and he an- swered me in the af&rmative, moving toward the slatted cage, as I did also. There was a tin dipper in the pail, with which customers could as- suage their thirst. I "assuaged," paid my sixpence, and went on -axy way rejoicing. Bucktown in those days was a rallying point for the neighbor- ing farmers, hunters, and lumbermen of the region about, and had always, in the earlj' days, a hard name. When the operations of the Penn- sylvania Coal Company commenced, a change came over the place, and an influx of a better class of inhabitants worked a vast change in the morality and business of the place in the es- tablishment of churches and schools. There had been a school house built within the confines of what is now the borough, in i * -X- .< * X ■» ^ -:■:- X- Resolvcd, That we deeply sympathize with the family of the de- ceased, and that a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to them. Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be published in the papers of the several counties where the companies of the regiment were recruited. LiEUTKNANT-Coi,ONEi. V. M. Wilcox, F. L. Hitchcock, Chairman. Secretary. " Leaving aside his deserts as a citi/.cn, and eminence as a member of the bar, we think that he has well earned himself a name worthy to be placed first among the lists of our country's heroes. He was one of the first to respond to the call of his country in the time of need, and, when it became necessary to muster the men of Luzerne, a second time in defense, he was again at their head to give evidence of his unflinching loyalty to-the flag of his country. He sealed his patriotism with his blood, and as an acknowledgment of his worthy services, the citizens of Scranton and vicinity desire to give him a burial which is due him alone."— 77;f Scranton Republican. '218 A Half Century in Scranlon. public meeting was held, and it was decided to send aid at once to the scene of the disaster. Messrs. Thomas Dickson and Charles Mattes Avere appointed a committee to wait on me, and they came directly to my home (I then lived in what was the old Battin place, on Washington Avenue) to tell me I was needed. When we got to the church, the desperate condition of our boys was recounted, and I, of course, volunteered to go on immediately. I gathered such supplies as were available, and started the following morning, ar- riving there on Tuesday, September 19, 1861. McCleilan's army had withdrawn to Harper's Ferry, and I had some difl&culty in finding the boys. They were in a terrible plight. Housed in a rude barracks made of rails and filled with straw, I found forty -five men almost devoid of medical attendance, too badly wounded to move and almost without care. The Assistant Surgeon who had been left behind to take care of them, was sick in his tent with a raging fever, and the hospital supplies had been carried forward with the army. In the midst of a dense forest, far away fi-om supplies of every kind, with nothing to feed my patients on except hard tack, and that very scarce, and with only such assistance as could be gotten from the least injured, I established the Smoketown Field Hospital. They were pitiable ■conditions, indeed. I had to send the Assistant A Half Century in Scranton. 219 Surgeon home at once, and then began to re- arrange matters as best I might. I had gone by the way of Philadelphia, and secured such instruments as were required, and some drugs. Boxes contrib- uted by the patriotic and loving hands at home made up the rest of all my available paraphernalia. The requirements were so great and the supplies were so slender that I was obliged to supplement my medicaments from the field, and cull such drugs as could be iised to advantage. As soon as com- munication could be established with a wagon train, we were able to get some food supplies, and, considering the severitj^ of the ordeal, the recov- eries were phenomenal.* I had for my steward * The following extract from a letter of Rev. A. H. Schoonmaker, Chaplain of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment, to the Scranton Republican, describes the situation: "I found Dr. B. H. Throop moving around among the sufferers like a healing angel ; and never were angels' visits more welcome than the sight of the Doctor appeared to be to the sufferers in the various wards through which we passed. From the smiling look and anxious inquiry, one could easily discover that the Doctor here, as well as at home, has the utmost confidence of the entire communitj- in which he mingles. "The prompt action taken by your community, in sending the Doctor to the assistance of the surgeons near the battlefield, at your expense, you have saved many lives, as well as many limbs, that would have been amputated by less experienced surgeons than Doctor Throop. I seriously doubt whether we have in the entire army a sur- geon better adapted to army and hospital practice than Dr. B. H. Throop. We should think ourselves fortunate if we could secure him for surgeon of the One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment. " At present our medical provisions are exceedingly deficient. The surgeon appointed never reported for duty, and one of the assistants 220 A Half Century in Scran ton. H. B. Benson, of Company C. The nurses were: Burton Fortrey, Company H; Aaron Rix, Com- pany F; William Noble, Company G; Christian Kreigle, Jr., Company G; W. H. Coryall, Com- pany A; Samuel Keen, Company F; George Hunt, Company A; Christian Harden and C. Blanchard. William Hess acted as cook. Turning over my papers, I have come across a fragment which contains a list of some of the more important cases, which is as follows : George H. Hankins, Company H, gunshot through lum- bar region; Hiram Cod, Company H., gunshot wound through eye and occiput; Obadiah Sher- wood, Company K, resected the head of the hum- erus; William Frantz, Company F., resected shoulder; William B. Miner, Company B, ball in the lungs ; George H. Kater, Company I, ball through femur with fracture ; Roderick Jones, Company I, arm amputation; Clinton Gerald, Com- worked himself sick after the battle of Autietani, and is now home sick with a fever ; the other is doing all he can with the facilities afforded him. He has scarcely had medicine enough to deal out a common cathartic, much less battle with the numerous diseases pre- valent in the army. Requisitions for medicine were made twelve days ago, but the " red tape gentrj' " have not yet condescended to notice it, at least so far as to furnish what our suffering men need, and many of them are dying daily from their sheer neglect. What a misfortune it is that shoulder straps make so many consummate portable gas fac- tories in the army. The official anA pompous dignity of these men must be preserved if the whole army corps and Union be dissolved." A Half Century in Scranton. 221 pany B, patella fractured by ball; Homer Elmen- dorf, Company I, billions remittant fever; Wm. B. Neese, Company A, resection of head of hum- erns; Miners Moyer, Company G, shot tliron.s;li the shoulder ; Thomas Sprowl, Company G, re- section of head of humerus ; Willoughby Coons, Company G, one ball made six holes in arm and shoulder; John Krans, Company H, ball in frontis; Martin Hower, Company K, shot through the lungs. It was nearly six weeks before the patients were in such condition as warranted either their re- moval to their homes, or my withdrawal from ac- tive service in the field, and give charge of the hospital to my assistants. Meanwhile Col. Wil- cox had been taken very ill at Harper's Ferry, and I was sent for to go and see him. I remained there several daj-s, and when his condition permitted, returned to the hospital and arranged for its vaca- tion, arriving home after eight weeks of most ex- haustive service. I should have remained longer, perhaps, had not a naturally vigorous constitution succumbed to the continued strain and completely prostrated me, so that it was necessary to repair at once to the seaside for recuperation. By the time that I was again fit for service, all the engage- ments accessible from this point, in which our volunteers were especially dangerously participants 222 A Half Ceniury in Scr anion. were over, and it was not long until the news of the surrender proclaimed the war at an end. My next hospital service was of a local and more pacific character, and is referred to in another por- tion of these memoirs. CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. FINANCIAL MATTERS. First Banking Facilities — Mason, Meylert & Co. — Winton's Ven- ture — The First National Bank — The Second National Bank— Scranton Trust Company and Savings Bank — Mechanics' and Miners' Co-operative I,oau Association — Scranton Trust Com- pany and Savings Bank— Scranton City Bank— Traders' National Bank — Dime Deposit and Savings Bank — Building and Loan and Fire Insurance Associations. WHILE the founding of Scranton, as well as its unbroken record of pros- perity, is directly traceable to its lead- ing industries, no co-ordinate branch of business can claim a more important place in its develop- ment than that occupied by its financial and fidu- cial institutions. That it has passed successfully through several monetary crisis, and has always kept its credit unimpaired, is due, in a great meas- ure, to the character of the men who have been behind its banks, and the scrupulous honesty com- bined with liberal, though conservative manage- ment, that has characterized their conduct. Its "224 A Half Cejitiiry in Scranton. solvency as a city is to-day a matter of honest local pride, and its institutions have the confidence of business men the country over. This is due the fact that it has never been subjected to the widespread financial disaster that always follows in the wake of reckless or incompetent bank man- agement. It has a proper soubriquet, and cer- tainly reflects one of the most definitely marked characteristics of its founders, when it is known as "Solid Scranton." When I first knew it, the nearest banking facil- ities were at Wilkes-Barre, which was then the commercial centre of this entire region. The s}^s- tem of long credits was prevalent, and such ac- commodation in the wa}? of ready cash as was necessary for the transaction of business was sup- plied by store-keepers and others who were best off in this world's goods. There was, indeed, little ready mone}^ required. Barter and inter- change of commodities was everywhere prevalent, and little circulating medium was required. Dr. Hollister narrates the fact that in the very earl}^ daj'S whiskey was a common medium of ex- change, as it was in all new communities in the pioneer days. Of coi;rse as the new industries brought an increase of population, this gradually disappeared, and company orders paid to the many A Half Century hi Scranton. 225 men employed by the Delaware & Hudson, and the other companies began to come in circulation. These were for many years used much as bank bills are now-a-days, and some of the first fees which I received were in this form, and were con- vertible into supplies from the commissaries on which they were drawn. After the establishment of the iron works such paper became even more common, and my early accounts with the com- pany were nearl}- all collected in this way. It was early in the fifties that we had one of the first private banking houses, and this was estab- lished on Penn Avenue, near the St. Charles Hotel, by Mr. W. W. Winton, and was carried on successfully by him until it was merged into the Second National Bank at a much later period. This, too, was the outcome of his wisdom and business sagacity, and was founded at a time when it required the utmost confidence in a new prin- ciple, and in the perpetuity of a government against which the bristling bayonets and frowning cannon of the Confederacy were directed, and were causing consternation and terror throughout the whole North. Winton, who was born in New York State, and who came to Providence with his father at an early day, had commenced life as 'a village school teacher, boarding around, and re- ceiving twelve dollars a month. Later he went 226 A Half Century in Scranton. into the lumber business for a while, then re- turned to teaching, and lastly read law in Dan- ville. He had various vicissitudes in business, both in this section and New York, until 1850, when he returned to Scranton and embarked in coal and banking. He organized, in 1865, the First National Bank of Providence, which was merged into the Second National Bank of Scran- ton, at a later period, and subsequently a private bank to take its place, under the firm name of Winton, Clark & Co., which in time became the Citizens' & Miners' Savings Bank. Mr. Winton was untiring in his industry as a banker, and had the prosperity of the valley thoroughly at heart. He was for many years a leader in many enterprises, and, on one occasion, when a disastrous run was threatened all the banks of the city, was selected by his colleagues to go to New York to make such arrangements for currency as would meet the emer- gency. So successfully did he accomplish his mission that all trouble was averted, and the promptness of the banks to meet all demands soon pacified all frightened depositors. The first banking house in the city was that of Meylert, Mason & Company, which opened a business on the corner of Wyoming Avenue and Center Street, May 10, 1855. Its projectors were men of means, enterprise and ability, and took A Half Century in Scranton. 227 an interest in all matters that could advance the interests of the then rapidly developing cit}'. They were successful from the outset, and five years after they had made a beginning, erected the building now occupied by the Scranton Savings Bank, which was then one of the most imposing commercial structures in the city. There were two or three changes in the style of the firm, which continued business until about 1864, the partners being Gordon F. Mason, Michale and A. F. Meylert, The " Meylert Banking House," as it was known throughout all the valley, was pur- chased by the Savings Bank in 1867. It was during the service of Hon. George Sand- erson as State Senator that he made the acquaint- ance of Col. George W. Scranton, and was in- duced by him to remove to Scranton and make this the future field of his activities. Mr. Sand- erson came with his family in the spring of 1855, and, in the November following, opened a bank- ing business in a small wooden building just above the Wyoming House, afterward occupied by the late Thomas Parrott as a tailoring establish- ment. The style of the firm was George Sander- son & Company, the other partner being Mr. Bur- ton Kingsbury, whose interests were represented by his son, Mr. George S. Kingsbury. In a few years the biisiness of the firm had so increased 228 A Half Century in Scran ton. that larger and better quarters were necessary, and the bank was removed to a building occupy- ing the site of the present Safe Deposit Compan}'. This was destroyed by fire in 1863, and a much handsomer structure arose on its ruins without interruption to business, On the death of Mr. Kingsbury, Sr., it was decided to enlarge the cap- ital and increase the business, which was organ- ized as the lyackawanna Valley Bank, with the following officers and directors : George Sander- son, president ; J. Gardner Sanderson, vice presi- dent ; George S. Kingsbury, cashier; A. Minor Renshaw, teller ; George Sanderson, George S. Kingsbury, J. Gardner Sanderson, Charles Du- Pont Breck and Dr. R. A. Squires, directors. In addition to carrying on a general banking busi- ness, it also maintained a general savings depart- ment, and was a model institution of the decade before its reorganization, which occurred in 1881, when a number of new directors and of&cers came into power. This institution continued to do a thriving business until 1887, when it was merged into the Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Company, to accommodate which, the old banking- house was remodeled, being fitted up with private vaults of the most modern construction. The in- stitution receives trust funds, and is authorized to act as administrator, executor, guardian, trustee, agent, receiver and assignee, by appointment of A Half Century in Scranton. 229 Court and power of attorney. It has at present about $50,000 undivided surplus. On IMay 30, 1863, The First National Bank was organized with a paid up capital of $200,000. Joseph H. Scranton was president, J. J. Albright, vice president ; William Cushing, cashier, and Joseph H. Scranton, Thomas Dickson, John Brisbin, Joseph J. Albright and J. C. Piatt, direc- tors. In 1863, Air. Brisbin removed to New York Citv, and George ly. Dickson was selected as a di- rector in his stead. Two years later, Mr. Cush- ing resigned as cashier, and James A. Linen was elected in his stead. From time to time, death and removals have made some changes in the of- ficers and directory, and George L. Dickson is the only one of those now living who were with the bank in its early history and still remains interested in it. It has been one of the best paying financial investments in the citj', having paid ten per cent, dividends from the time of its organization up to 1869 ; twelve per cetit. from that year up to 1872 ; the two following years fourteen per cent., and since that time, about twenty per cent. The fol- lowing are the present officers : James A. Linen, president ; George L. Dickson, vice president ; Isaac Post, cashier ; George L. Dickson, W. R. Storrs, W. W. Scranton, T. F. Torrey, James Blair, W. F. Hallstead, John Jermyn and James 230 A Half Century i7t Scranton. A. Linen, directors. The bank is one of the strongest in the country, as well as one of the most profitable to its stockholders. The dividends paid since it was organized have been as follows : From 1863 to 1869 . " 1868 to 1873 , " 1873 to 1874 '■ 1894 to 1889 . " 1889 to 1892 , " 1892 to 1894 . 10 per cent, per annum. 12 16 20 24 31 The following is the statement of the U. S. Comptroller's Call, Monday, March 6, 1893. RESOURCES : L,oans and Discounts $1,732,683.56 U. S. Bonds 50,000.00 Bonds and other Securities .... 3,056,023.85 Bank Building Overdrafts Expenses and Taxes Paid. Due from Treasurer U. S. Due from Banks Cash in Bank and with Agents Reserve 30,000.00 1,277.22 4.495-20 4,250.00 76,482.04 864,125.10 ,819,336.97 200,000.00 630,000.00 112,689.88 45,000.00 392.00 84,648,08 Individual Deposits 4,746,607,01 I,IABIIr^HE first religious services that were held Y in the Lackawanna Valley were probably those of Count Zinzindorf, the Moravian missionary who seems to have visited Chief Capouse, even before the white men had obtained a foot-hold in this section. The earlier settlers brought with them some religious notions, and it is quite certain that the proprietors of the Connec- ticut colony laid the foundations of a thorough- going religious side for the community, just as did they for proper educational advantages. The}' 278 A Half Century in Scranto7t. set aside tracts of land to be devoted to both of these necessary adjuncts of a complete civilization, and, had these properties remained sacred to the purposes to which they were devoted until to-day, all the requirements, both denominational and educational, of even a teeming city like Scranton, could have easily been met from the income that would have been produced by the mineral which these church and school lands contained. In some way or other, and through transactions, the details of which are quite obscure, history repeated itself, and private individuals became the greedy bene- ficiaries of " usufruct for public destined. " What was known as "The Parsonage Lot," con- sisting of about three hundred acres, and located where much of the heart of the city now stands, and included in the original purchases of the Scrantons, was given to Elder William Bishop, an English Baptist, who settled here in 1794. He built a log hut on a bluff overlooking the Lacka- wanna, and there held services in the most primi- tive fashion. After the Trenton Decree, and when the lands of the Connecticut settlers passed into the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, the parson surrendered his title — which was one in trust — to the proper authorities, and received in lieu there- for, a certificate for the same land in his own name. Under color of this, he disposed of the A Half Century in Scrantoji. 279 tract, and sought other fields for his labors, and thus ended the first attempt to plant a church or- ganization on a solid financial foundation in the new communit3^ Details are not at hand to trace the vicissitudes of the various denominations through the earl\ days. Congregations were formed in numerous ad- jacent places, and one of the first of these was the church at Blakel}?, which has heretofore been re- ferred to. When I first came to the city, there were two congregations in Hyde Park. Hon. Wil- liam Merrifield had established a Christian Church and the Baptists had an organization also. Both worshipped in buildings that were used jointly for school and church purposes. The first church edifice that was erected solely for such use, was the church, which stood on Main Street, well down toward the old Fellows' Corners. The next was the "Village Chapel, " as it was first called, which was erected in the fall of 1841, and was completed the following year. It stood on a bluff near the intersection of Lackawanna and Adams Avenues, though not on the present street lines, and was, the first time that I saw it, a modest building, one story high, with one door and six windows. It was about fourteen by sixteen feet square, and was used on all occasions for church purposes, public meetings and for a school. Here Hon. W. 280 A Half Century in Scranton. W. Ketcham, afterwards a judge in Luzerne County, taught school in the winter of 1844. While he so occupied it, to while away the long winter evenings, a debating society was organized by Charles Scranton, Martin L. Newman, Ketch- am, and a few other luminaries of the time. Here great questions of the state and nation were settled, and here I was requested to repeat the lecture I had delivered at the Presbyterian Church in Blakely, at Hyde Park and elsewhere — I did so, and they had me placed verj^ high — "A No. i," in fact — among the lecturers in this particular part of the United States, at that particular time. But, as years moved on, others came who were religiously inclined, and there was need for a bet- ter building. The Methodists were always pio- neers, and they were on hand; and so we all chipped in and put up a better place, that an- swered when built, as had been before agreed, for all denominations. Methodist services were ar- ranged by the presiding elder for every two weeks, and the other denominations filled in the rest of the time. This did very well for a year or two, but then the Presbyterians began to gain the as- cendency, and soon came along a missionary or two, and sought a share of the spoils. The old church had a revival, and added to its members so far that a little jealousy was engendered. About A Half Century in Scranton. 281 1S45 °^ 1846, tlie Odd Fellows' Hall, which cost $700, was projected and built by a stock company. It was erected on a hill which has since disap- peared, on the triangle and site now occupied by the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company's store, and was about sixty by twenty feet, and two stories high, the upper iloor being occupied by the lodge of Odd Fellows that had been organized, while the lower stor\' was appropriated to the use of the Presbyterians. It was here that Rev. Mr. Park first officiated, and after him. Rev. Mr. Mitchell. The edifice which the congregation now occupies was built in 1852. The Odd Fellows' Hall was used as a school, and was rented on all occasions to anything that came to the place — for phrenologi- cal, homeopathic lectures, and other entertain- ments. All had to pay to attend them, in fact, the stock gave fair dividends. None of it was ever sold in Wall Street, but, at the same time, much of it was owned there. The adherents of the Romish Church were first supplied with missionaries from Susquehanna County, and, when they were numerous enough to warrant the erection of a place of worship, they cast about for an eligible location, and finally selected a site on the banks of the Roaring Brook, back of the company's steam saw mill, with ground for a cemetery contiguous. Here 282 A Half Century in Scrantoji. they worshiped and buried their dead, until about ten years after the borough of Scranton was surveyed and plotted into lots, and blocks, when the church Avas changed to the southeast corner of Franklin Avenue and Spruce Street, and the burial place was secured on the west side of the river, back of Hyde Park, in the addition that I was then making to the town plot. The church edifice was constructed under the supervision of the late, lamented Father Whitty, and the old church was taken away, as were the dead whose remains reposed near it. At the time the first church was erected, Scranton was a wild and uncultivated place, covered chiefly with a thick growth of weeds, some large and some small, and on the whole, with a little exception, north of Lackawanna Avenue, was swamp, pond and wood- The second church was occupied until the new and elegant Cathedral was erected, in 1865. It now stands as a monument to Father Whitty. The Cathedral, the Episcopal residence, the convent and college, and the rest of the parochial buildings constitute some of the most valuable property of the city, and Rt. Rev. Bishop O'Hara has, in the important diocese over which he so wisely pre- sides, congregations in this city and adjoining townships that number many thousands. A Half Century in Scranton. 283 The first Episcopal services ever held in the city were conducted by Rev. Mr. Claxton, of Wilkes- Barre, at the residence of Ebenezer Hitch- cock, early in 1841. From time to time there were occasional services held in private houses, but the church was not organized until August 5, 185 1, at which time EHsha Hitchcock and J. C. Burgess were chosen wardens, and Charles Swift, Jacob Kerlin, B. H. Throop, M. D., L. M. Clarke, and E. S. M. Hill, vestrymen. It was on this occasion that the first public services vs^ere held in the Methodist Chapel, and were conducted by Rev. John Long, an itinerant missionary in the Wyo- ming and Lackawanna District. Services were held in various places for a year or two, and at Easter Time, 1852, Mr. Long assumed charge as missionary under the direction of the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in the State of Pennsylvania. The frame church edifice was erected in 1853. It stood on Penn Avenue, be- tween Lackawanna Avenue and Spruce Street. Its corner stone was laid x\pril 19, and after serving the congregation for a number of years, became the first hospital of the valley, as is elsewhere nar- rated. In May, 1875, the building was de- molished, and two of the officers who were present at the laying of the corner stone — the late J. C. Burgess and myself — were also there when it was exhumed. The box containing the archives was 284 A Half Century in Scranton. found in good condition, and they are still pre- served. The ground for the present edifice was broken, July 5, 1866. The corner stone was laid the following year, and the church was opened for worship, July 2, 1871. The detailed history of all of the churches in Scranton has been frequently written by those Avho have access to the records of the various de- nominations, and hence could compile accurately the many facts of interest with which the stories of each one teems. It is not within the scope of these recollections to enter minutely into such matters ; but rather to point out the fact that within the last half a century, the religious growth of the community has kept pace with the development in ever}^ other direction. There are to-day within the limits of the city seventy-nine different congregations, representing seventeen different denominations and faiths, and nearly all of them have separate and creditable church edi- fices. The same may be said of the humble be- ginnings that were made in educational matters. Out of the little private school that has just been mentioned as having been taught in the old Vil- lage Chapel, there has been evolved the magnifi- cent public school system of which the city is so justly proud, while a number of private institu- A Half Century in Scranton. 285 tions give special training of a high character to select clientele. Organized philanthropy developed more slowly than did churches and schools, though the pro- gress has been none the less substantial. The first effort in any direction was, of course, to care for the poor of the district. In the early days, when we were all under the township system. Providence, as was customary in most localities at that time, let the keeping of the poor out on the contract system. Each j^ear the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, and for a long time, "Aunt Lydia Browu, " as she was generally known, was the successful competitor. The indi- gent committed to her care were provided with a room or two, in her house, and the provision made for them was of the most meager character. Re- forms came slowlj', but were gradually made, as the spirit of philanthropy grew, until, at last, in 1862, a law was passed incorporating a Poor Dis- trict to consist of the Boroughs of Dunmore and Scranton, and the Township of Providence. The agitation which brought about this much-needed change was kept alive more through the medical profession than by any other means. Some of the first charges to come on the township had been those who were insane or feeble-minded. Such, aS is often the case in sparse communities, re- 286 A Half Century in Scranton. ceived but most perfunctory care, and little or no attention designed to cure their maladies. But the incorporation brought about an entirely different state of affairs. The present Hillside Home was purchased, and proper buildings were erected, and since that time there has been con- stant improvement, so that to-day, there is every reason to feel proud of the institution. As the first surgeon appointed by the district, I have witnessed, all along the lines of growth and de- velopment, the fulfillment of most of the plans which were outlined at the formative period of the institution, and have been gratified to see that its conduct has, in the main, been liberal, judicious and humane, meeting the requirements of the unfortu- nates in a most admirable manner. The addi- tional buildings which have been recently com- pleted are models, and the sanitary as well as the personal comfort of the inmates has received the fullest consideration. The wisdom of the plan which we first devised — that of having a suitable farm where the labor of the indigents could be utilized toward their support, has been manifest at every stage of development. The institution each year approaches more nearly self-support, and the inmates are the happier for their employment. The present buildings and the additional land that has been purchased, together with the im- provements which are still to be made, make the A Half Century in Scranton. 287 Hillside Home one of the most complete and well arranged public institutions in the State. The last annual report showed that during the last fiscal year the total property of the district amounted to $260,751.84. As Scranton developed, and there grew up about it, the great industrial community upon which its prosperity rests, one of the next needs to be felt was the establishment of a hospital, where the un- fortunates, whose injuries always result from the casualities inseparable from the occupations which here abound, could be suitably cared for. The necessity for skilled nurses and suitable facilities for the proper treatment of the sick and injured of the middle classes was early manifest to me, as I was the surgeon for the Scrantons & Piatt and the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western and the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Companies. For a number of years prior to the breaking out of the war, I had endeavored to formulate some plan by which such a humane necessity should be met ; but so great were the requirements of the rapidly grow- ing community^ and so many were the channels which it opened up for enterprise, both of a public and private character, that it was almost impos- sible to get proper assistance in the matter. With 288 A Half Century in Scr anion. the experiences of the war, and the general awakening in the public mind that had resulted from the patriotic philanthropies that had been or- ganized by the Nation,! again took up the project on my return. Again and again were there spas- modic attempts to meet these pressing require- ments, but all brought disappointment. The great necessity of a hospital had long been felt, and the many poor who were sick or wounded were daily driven to seek a home, often in the midst of the haunts of poverty, where care or nourishment was hard to obtain, and, at times, it seemed next to impossible to make merciful pro- vision for them. Subscriptions were started ; but the sums subscribed were so insignificant that it seemed nonsense to spend more time in that direc- tion. Then a bill was sent to the Legislature praying for State aid, and it failed. Another was sent, and had a reading in the proper course of business, but this also was consigned to the waste- basket, when many other bills which did pass, benefiting individuals in this section, might better have been so disposed of The session closed, and no help had been received. It was about this time, when every prospect of a public character had failed, that I resolved, with the assistance of a number of the leading physicians of the citj;-, who promised to share in its labors and care, to open the hospital myself The old Episcopal Church A Half Century in Scrantoyi. 289 edifice, which stood on Penn Avenue, between Lackawanna Avenue and Spruce Street, had passed into my possession, and this was fitted up for the purpose, a large number of generous ladies donating portions of its most necessary equipment. I also received a number of cash contributions from rep- resentatives of the various corporations, and a few monied men ; the expense of maintaining it, how- ever, soon fell entirely on me, aided by such con- tributions as flowed from the generous hearts of some of our noble women. Its value as a philan- thropy soon came to be appreciated, and in ful- filling its errand of mercy to the suffering, it also excited the interest of those who had before been lethargic, and the prospect began to brighten. From the columns of Tlic Republican comes the following clipping, an excerpt from a report or acknowledgment that I made a year or two after it had been in operation : * * * On the first of May, the doors of the old Episcopal Church were thrown open to receive all who required medical or surgical treatment, under the usual regulations for admission, and has continued from that time until now. During this time there has been a con- stant succession of patients, and the institution is now full of those requiring medical or surgical treatment. Some of the operations have been important, and very many of small consequence. There have been two amputations, the femoral artery tied, resection of the humerous, and 290 A Half Century in Scranion. several dislocations received, and fractures of the large bones have been constant and numerous. One operation for stone — (Lithotomy) — one side of an upper jaw re- moved, and several similarly important being among the other operations. The opthalmic department has been more immediately under the charge of Dr. Fisher, who has evinced much skill in that line, and deserves honor- able mention, while Drs. Squire, Boyd, Everhart, Hag- gerty, Fisher, O'Brien and Reed have each served one month, and during the time have devoted that care and attention to the inmates that has secured their grateful acknowledgment. The hospital has received kind remembrances from many, which have been acknowledged monthly, and the increase of contributions at this season strengthens the faith that as a public institution of the kind is needed, that, of the hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax on coal paid yearly to the State, a small portion should, in justice to the large population, be sent back to aid those who are injured in procuring it. The contributions for December have been : Mrs. W. F. Hallstead, shirts and bed quilts ; Mrs. T. F. Hunt, a great variety of very useful articles of clothing, bedding, crockery, etc. ; Mr. B. Jay, one overcoat ; Mrs. A. Duer, reading matter ; Mrs. J. Phelps, one dressing-gown ; Mrs. H. Doud, two dressing-gowns ; Mrs. J. C. Piatt and Mrs. Adams, each a turkey; Mrs. B. Milhouser, money, $i.oo; Mrs. J. H. Scranton, |ioo ; Mr. Thomas Dickson, $ioo ; the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, through their president, Mr. Dickson, $500 ; Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, through Sam Slone, president, $500. These marks of apprecia- tion from the public are of great value to the enterprise, and it is to be hoped that from this small and humble be- ginning an institution may yet spring up that will be a A Half Century in Scranton. 291 credit to our community, and of which not only the city, but even the State itself will feel proud. B. H. Throop, M. D. The hopes expressed in this report have been in a measure fulfilled, and this fact has well re- paid me for the time and money expended, and is doubtless quite as gratifying to those who were among the earlj^ contributors. The charter for the hospital was secured in 1871, and bears the date May 18, of that year. The corporators were William N. Monies, William F. Hallstead, B. H. Throop, R. A. Squire, A. Davis, E. C. Fuller, William Merrifield, Henry Griffin, Charles H. Doud, W. W. Winton, "and other contributors to the foundation and endowment of a public hos- pital and dispensary in the City of Scranton, together with their associates and successors. " The first meeting was held July 11, 1871, at which time the officers were selected as follows : B. H. Throop, president ; E. C. Fuller, secretary ; William Merrifield, treasurer. It was determined to at once open a free dispensary, and I offered the front room of the old Episcopal Parsonage, rent free, for this purpose. It was accepted, and Dr. C. H. Fisher was selected to take charge. In 1872, I spent a nvimber of months in Harrisburg, work- ing in behalf of the division of Luzerne County and the erection of Lackawanna, and, during that time, was successful in securing an appropriation 292 A Half Century in Scranton. of $10,000 a year for the maintenance of the in- stitution, and since that time, the Old Tavern Building, on the corner of Franklin Avenue and Mulberry Street, which was secured through this fund, has been improved, new wards have been erected, and a model hospital has been conducted. My active connection with the hospital ceased May 22, 1873, there having been a change in the board. The best explanation of this can be found in my letter of resignation, which was at that time presented. It was as follows: To Alfred Hand, Esq., President of the Lackawanna Hos- pital and Board of Diredoi's : Sir: — You having been elected to the Presidency of the Lackawanna Hospital in my place, I deem it proper to state that, had I known you would have given fifty dollars for the position, it would have been yours without the trouble of an election, so far as I was concerned ; yet, I must say, I feel humiliated somewhat, under the circum- stances. After several years of fruitless toil, endeavoring to enlist the public in its behalf, I started the hospital on my own responsibility, and, with the assistance of many friends and well wishers to the enterprise, carried it on for a year and a half, and with what success I leave the public to judge. It was then I conceived the idea of purchasing the present property on more accounts than one. The price was conceded to be reasonable and the capacit}' ample for the emergency. After ventilation, renovation and repairs, I again appealed to the Legislature, and, unaided, obtained a loan from the State of $10,000 of which every dollar was paid on the purchase. Since then we have put in repairs as far as was positively neces- A Half Century in Scranton. 293 sary, and occupied it. A mortgage of nearly $4,000, yet remaining on the property, and soon becoming due, with- out any visible means of meeting it, without any reliable source toward which to look for permanent support, I again went before the Legislature, and stated our condition and wants, and have succeeded in obtaining $10,000 more, intended to cancel the mortgage, extend the repairs to the house and devote whatever balance may remain to its support. The Hospital, from its inception, has been a bantling of mine atid its ultimate success my determination. To say that it has not been an expensive luxury would not be the truth, nor that it had not been a source of great anxiety, perplexity and toil ; yet, at this juncture, I am satisfied to yield it to my successors, in the hope that it may prove in the future what I believe it has been in the past — one of the greatest charities our city can boast. I am yet allowed a position on the surgical staff, as well as to remain a direc- tor of the institution, both of which ofl&ces I desire to re- sign, fearing that my presence in either board might prove discordant. I leave the ship, not sinking, but under full sail, its wards well filled, out of debt, and a safe guarantee for a brilliant future, which is the fervent wish of Very respectfully, B. H. Throop In looking over the records that are still in my possession, I find that during the time that I maintained the hospital at my own expense, aided by such contributions as came in, there were over fifty surgical operations, some of them very im- portant. The list included several that were de- cidedly unusual. Besides these there was the treatment of the usual catagory of diseases to be 294 A Half Century in Scranton. found in any new community, and during the en- tire time there was seldom a week in which all of the beds were not occupied. Since I started the Lackawanna Hospital, the munificence of Moses Taylor, Mrs. Percy H. Pyne and the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company has given the city another commodious hospital, and a number of equally important and somewhat sim- ilar charities up and down the valley have relieved the pioneer institution from some of the pressure that it felt in the early days ; but it still retains a place that entitles it to State aid, and to the front rank among the State charities. CjjfB CHAPTER SE J EN TEE NTH. GENERAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. The First Forge in the \'allc3- — Ventures of the Slocums — Abljott's Mill, Jerison White's Beginning and Other Earlv Enterprises — The Dickson Manufacturing Compan}^, and Its Gradual Exten- sion — The First Stove Works and Similar Ventures — Large Enter- prises of Recent Years — The Scranton Gas and Water Com- pany — One of the First Wells— Original Water Service Contract — Other Details. /P^jI^HROUGHOUT the preceding chapters, I yl Y have incidentally referred to a number of "^^ the first industrial enterprises which awoke with the advent of the pioneers. They were in the main, the small beginnings of a thor- oughly rural community, which was so nearly self-dependent that it was obliged to establish some meager facilities for supplying the necessities of a new civilization almost in the wilderness. These were principally saw and grist mills, blacksmith and wagon-makers' shops, and similar necessar\- adjuncts to a new communit}-. It has not been deemed germane to these notes, which are de- 296 A Half Century in Scranton. signed rather to put into permanent form the recollections of one individual, than to make a compendium of detailed historic information, to give these in chronological order, nor to make the list complete. A number of reliable historians have heretofore done this with a very considerable degree of accuracy. Yet for the sake of simplicity, it will be well to note some of them briefly, and in order that the enormous strides which the com- munity has made within the recollections of the writer may be duly appreciated by the later comers— those for whose information and con- venience they were designed. The first link in the chain of events which has drawn all the interests of the valley toward the development of a manufacturing center was forged by Dr. William Hooker Smith and James Sutton, when they erected the first trip hammer below the falls of the Lackawanna River, at the point which has since been known as Old Forge, in the spring of 1789. These were the second iron works in the valley, the first having been erected at Newport, a year or two previous. This trip hammer marks the real date of the commencement of Scranton as a manufacturing city, since it subsequently fell into the hands of the Slocums, and was used by them until 1819, when it had become so battered, through years of useful service, that it had to be A Half Century in Scranton. 297 replaced. It was the venture that they had made which attracted the attention of the founders of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company to this valley, and the strokes of this hammer, so light and puny in comparison with the magnificent modern machinery on every hand, are still echoed by the hum of industry to-day. The story of the great corporation resultant from it has been told. The small corn or grist mill which Philip Abbott erected in 1778 has also been noted, and these, and the distilleries also referred to, were about all that there was until the main industry gave the city its real impetus. In 1840, Jerison White, who came from Connecticut, erected a small edged-tool fac- tory on the flats opposite Razorville. His chief products were axes and scythes. He did a good business from the outset, but from some cause or ■other, soon sold out to Pulaski Carter, a young man from Windham County, Connecticut, who soon had three trip hammers and as many forges at work. From the employment of three hands, in 1 84 1, the establishment has grown to large proportions, and has been an industry that has contributed much to the prosperity of the city. Soon after Mr. White sold out, he established another tool factory in Razorville, which, together with his dwelling house, was swept away by a big freshet, which occurred along early in the forties, and did considerable damage. Not discouraged at 298 A Half Century in Scrantoii. this adversity, Mr. White soon built another small shop, and, with the assistance of a single hand, once more embarked in business on an exceedingly small scale. In a few years, his tools, which were good, had gained such a reputation that he was obliged to build a more extensive establish- ment, and this he occupied until 1861, when he took his nephew, Crandall White, into partner- ship. The plant was removed to Green Ridge in 1874, after there had been a number of changes in the firm. It still enjoys a high reputation for the quality- of the goods it produces. In February, 1856, one of the industrial enter- prises which has since grown to enormous propor- tions and national reputation, was organized as the firm of Dickson & Company, the partners being Thomas Dickson,* John A. Dickson, * Thomas Dickson was born in the town of Landen, Berwickshire, Scotland, in 1824, and, in company with his father's family emigrated to Canada, in 1832, and after two years, went to Carbondale, locating there in 1836. James Dickson, his father, entered the employ of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company as a machinist, and subse- quently became its master mechanic. Thomas had received his early schooling in Scotland, and in Canada. He also went to school in Carbondale, but, having quarreled with his teacher, in 1837, forsook the paths of public education, and offered himself as a teamster to George A. Whittington, who had charge of the company's horses and mules. After a year or two at this occupation, he entered mercantile life as a clerk for Charles T. Pierson, at Carbondale, and later, with several other firms. In 1856, he came to Scranton, and, with several others, established the Dickson Manufacturing Company, of which he was the first president, holding that office until 1870, when his A Half Cetiliiry in Scranton. 299 George L. Dickson, Maurice Wurts, Charles P. Wurts, Joseph Benjamine and C. T. Pierson. During the decade previous, the anthracite busi- ness had been steadily developing, and the mechanical requirements of the district had as- sumed such proportions that there was abundant room for a general machine and repair shop, which could supply the demand of private operators out- side the general shops that the leading corpora- tions had previously established for their own convenience. A foundry and machine shop was at once built, and the first work was done in May brother, George L. Dickson succeeded him. At this time, Thomas Dickson went into the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company as superintendent of the coal department, and, in 1864, was made gen" eral superintendent. In 1S67 he was elected vice president, and, two years later, president, a position which he held up to the time of his death, July 31, 1884. Few men in the valley had greater contrasts in experience, greater tasks to meet, or greater responsibilities to carry. None met them with greater precision of action, decision of character, and clear deliberation and balance. His opinion was at once beloved and respected, his word was final, and, in the many atti- tudes and relations he occupied with the community, his integrity was never questioned. Although essentially a man of business, Mr. Dickson was a lover of nature, whether it was portrayed in Art or in literature. He had in- herited a fine mind and true instincts from his mother, who was the daughter of a minister, and came from a long line of distinguished people. When the fruit of his industry brought him leisure, he de- voted much of his time to books and pictures, and his collections of both were the best in all this section. He was exemplary in his life, and his deportment toward his fellow men was modest and unassum- ing. He was the soul of generosity, and left behind him a fragrant memory. 300 A Half Century in Scranton. of the same year, when about two tons of iron Avere melted at the foundry. There were some thirty hands employed, and much of the first work which engaged the establishment was the pre- paration of the engines and boilers which were used by the Delaware and Hudson Company in com- pleting their road from Carbondale to Honesdale. Although the character of the out-put from the works was one that achieved almost immediate reputation, the concern did not make very much money on its first contracts, and, like all of the enterprises that have achieved success here, had a few years of constant struggle to keep out of bank- ruptcy. It was only the ability and indomitable perseverance of the projectors that enabled the works to run during the depression of 1857 ; but after that time, expansion was more repaid. In 1862, a charter wasobtained under the styleof The Dickson Manufacturing Company, with an au- thorized capital of $300,000 and an actual paid capital of $150,000, and the first officers of the company were : Thomas Dickson, president ; George L. Dickson, secretary and treasurer, and John L. Dickson, master mechanic. The number of hands had now increased to about one hundred and fifty, and the productiveness of the works had correspondingly increased. During the same year, the company purchased the locomotive works known as the " Cliff Works, " and two ^^^/i^^i. i^^y A Half Century in Scranton. 301 years afterward, the planing mill adjoining these works was secured, and the manufacture of cars was begun. In 1866, a branch was established at Wilkes-Barre, by the purchase of the foundry and machine shops of Lanning & Marshall, and the capital, to meet the requirements of a steadily in- creasing business, was expanded to $600,000, though the stock was not all issued until four years later. Mr. George I^. Dicksou * succeeded to the presi- dency of the company, in 1867, and two years later the large brick foundry on Penn Avenue was erected. Since that time various additions have been made to the works. The Cliff Works were destroyed by fire on February 27, 1875, and were '""George Linen Dickson was born in I/anden, Berwickshire, Scot- land, August 3, 1830. He came of a long line of patriotic Highlanders, and the faniilj- name is associated with manj' stirring historical events. His grandfather, Thomas Dickson, was for more than twenty years in the British army, and while sergeant in the Ninety-second Regiment, Highlanders, served with marked distinction through the Peninsular War, when the French, under Napoleon, were driven in dismay. Mr. Dickson had the distinction at the time of his death of being one of the few surviving officers of the last charge at the Battle of Waterloo. James Dickson, the eldest son of the old soldier, mar- ried Miss Elizabeth Linen, a most estimable woman, with true Scottish instincts of honesty, modesty, frugality and efficiency, to the attainment of which virtues she brought up her sons with the utmost zeal. In 1832, the cholera broke out in Scotland, and the Dicksons, together with a number of other families of the neighborhood, emi- grated to America. They first settled in Canada, and after remaining there for two years, went to Carbondale, and located on a farm near Dundaff, in Susquehanna County. George L. Dicksou early went 302 A Half Cenhcry in Scranton. at once rebuilt. During the following year, more buildings were erected. Mr. George L. Dickson resigned the presidency, in 1882, and was su.c- ceeded by H. M. Boies. During his administra- tion, extensive improvements were made to the plant. In 1886, he was succeeded by Mr. James P. Dickson, son of the founder, who is still the competent head of the concern, which now ranks among the foremost in the country. In 1857, S. and J. Tunstall started the Provi- dence Stove Foundry. It was a small affair, and employed only two or three hands, but is worth}- of mention because it was one of the first estab- lishments in this section to produce stoves es- pecially adapted to the consumption of anthracite into the employ of the Delaware and Hudson Company, at Car- bondale, and lived there until the organization of the Dickson & Company establishment. In September, 1856, he married Miss L,ydia M. Poor, daughter of Hon. J. M. Poor, of that place. Three children ■were born of the union, only one of whom, Walter M. Dickson, now associated with his father, survives. Mr. G. D. Dickson succeeded his brother as president of the Dickson Company, and held that office until 1882, when he became general agent for some of the leading iron manufacturers of the country, including the Otis Iron Works ot Cleveland, the National Tube Works of New York, the Standard Tube Works of Philadelphia, and a large number of other similar concerns. In 1863, he took an active part in the organization of the First Na- tional Bank, of which he is still vice president, and the oldest director in point of continuous service now living. He is a vestryman of St. Ivuke's Episcopal Church, and has been all of his life prominently identified with the philanthropies which tended to the good of the community as well as the enterprises which promoted its prosperity. A Half Century in Sctanton. 303 coal. To-da}', a number of large concerns con- tribute much to the prosperity of the valley on the lines that were originally laid down by this es- tablishment. The works were purchased b}' Mr. Henry O. Silkman, in 1861, and a few months later he became the sole proprietor, in name as well as in fact. He increased the number of de- signs, and greatly expanded the business. After a number of years, and usual vicissitudes, the concern passed into the hands of George Quinn, who had become well qualified for its conduct by long service. Another of the old concerns is the Finch estab- lishment, now an incorporated institution, which was established by A. P. Finch and Burton G. Morss, in 1S55. It subsequently passed into the hands of the senior partner, Mr. I. A. P'inch, and was successfully conducted by him, until incor- porated, a short time ago. The Scranton Stove Works was established in 1S65, under the name of Fisher & Co. It was in- corporated, three years later, and received a large accession of capital from a number of prominent men who then became interested. The first direc- tors after incorporation were H. S. Pierce, T. F. Hunt, A. E. Hunt, C. H. Doud, W. G. Doud, 304 A Half Century in Scranton. Sanford Grant * and J. A. Price. Most of these gentlemen have siuce retired from active service on the board, but their successors employ some two hundred workmen. Some of the more important industries which have been established within the three last dec- ades are the Moosic Powder Company, the Boies Steel Wheel Company, the Weston Mill Compan}^, the Stowers Packing Company, the Green Ridge Iron Works, the Harvey Silk Mill, the Sauquoit Silk Mill, the Meadow Brook Silk Company, the Scranton Glass Company, the Scranton Steel Mill and numbers of others, the detailed history of which has been frequently printed in the various industrial publications which have been issued from time to time by enterprising advertising agents who have located here. * Sanford Grant, who was one of the early partners of the Iron Works in Slocum's Hollow, was born in Vernon, Tolland County, Connecticut, and was a son of Augustus Grant, who was descended from some of the earliest settlers of the Plantation, while his mother was from another New England family, equally well established. In his boyhood, Sanford Grant received the usual common school educa- tion, and supplemented it by a course in the High School of Vernon, of which he was a graduate. In his early manhood, he went to New Jersey, and, after a number of fairly successful business ventures, finally located in Belvidere, where he resided at the time of the ven- ture of the Scrantons in what is now so teeming a city. Mr. Grant embarked in the enterprise with them, and for a number of years con- ducted the mercantile side of the business, and finally disposed of his interest to Mr. Piatt. He was twice married, and left two children. He died January 29, 18S6. A Half Century in Scranton. 30& One of the most important factors iu the devel- opment of the city, and one that, taken in connec- tion with the cheap fuel that the city affords, makes Scranton unapproachable as a location for manufactories, is the Scranton Gas and Water Company. It was soon after the advent of the railroads that I foresaw the necessity of an abun- dant supply of pure water for both domestic and mechanical purposes. Up to that time, nothing had been done, nor had the subject ever received thoughtful consideration. The existing works had supplied themselves with what water was necessary for their various mechanical operations^ and the citizens generally depended npon the wells that had been sunk or driven, adjacent to their various properties. The town developed from a sparse hamlet to a thriving village without very many facilities for a good water supply. Many of the wells driven were failures, and the local springs had to be depended on. One of the best of these was that of Martin L. Newman, and early in the forties he began to peddle the water from it to such of the residents as would buy at a cent a gallon. One of the first wells in the center of the city, was put down on my lot, near where the First Presbyterian Church now stands, and was sunk by John Jermyn, now a millionaire. It was one of the first jobs that he obtained in the valley, and, though not a success, so far as water was 306 A Half Century in Scranton. concerned, was as characteristically well executed, as have been all of his much greater projects since that time. To return to the history of the Scranton Gas and Water Company. I communicated my views as to the necessity for such a public enterprise to Mr. J. H. Scranton, and impressed upon him the necessity of immediate action from an industrial as well as a hygienic standpoint. It met with his ideas, and speedy co-operation ensued, so that, by March, 1854, a charter was granted to Benjamin H. Throop, Joseph H. Scranton, John D. Mead Edward C. Fuller and James McKinney, and their assigns and associates to provide, erect, and main- tain all works, machinery, fixtures and other ap- pliances necessary for the introduction into the Village of Scranton, Luzerne County, a sufficient supply of gas and pure water. The capital stock authorized was $25,000, which could be increased to $75,000 if necessary. Negotiations were at once entered into for the construction of a plant, and resulted in the signing of the following contract, a copy of which is still in my possession : This indenture, made the twenty-fifth day of May, 1857, between B. H. Throop, Joseph H. Scranton, John D. Mead, Edward C. Fuller and James McKinney, of the A Half Century in Scranton. 307 Borough of Scranton, of the first part, and John White, of the City of New York, of the other part ; Whereas, the said parties of the first part procured the passage of an Act of Assembly of the State of Pennsyl- vania, on the sixteenth day of March, 1854, for the purpose of supplying the Borough of Scranton, in Luzerne County, with gas and water, they being named therein as corpo- rators, under the name and style of The Scranton Gas and Water Company, now this indenture witnesseth : That said first parties, for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar to them in hand, well and truly paid by said John White, and for the further considerations, viz : that said John White, or his associates or assigns shall go on and organize a company under the said charter, procure the necessary subscription to said stocks, and provide, erect, and maintain all works, machinery and fixtures necessary or proper for making and introducing into the Borough of Scranton, aforesaid, a sufficient supply of gas, and for that purpose provide, erect and maintain all proper buildings, etc., for the reception of the gas to be intro- duced, and have the same commenced and completed, and in full operation, on or before the first day of August, A. D., 1858 ; doth hereby assign, transfer and set over to the said John White, and his associates, or assigns, all their right, title, interest, property and demand whatsoever, in and to the said charter, and give him, the said White, his associates or assigns, as full and absolute power to organ- ize a company under the said charter as we ourselves possess : To have and to hold him, the said John White, and his associates or assigns forever. Provided, nevertheless, in case the said company is not organized, and the works completed on the said first day of August, 1858, the privilege hereby assigned to revert to said assignors, and this assignment to become null and void. 308 A Half Cenhiry in Scranton. Given under our hands and seals, the day and year first above written. Benj. H. Throop, [seai<] Jos. H. Scranton, [seal] John D. Mead, [seal] E. C. Fuller, [seal] James McKinney. [seal] A true copy, James Ruthven, [seal.] The original works were constructed under this contract. The water in the Lackawanna River had not at that time become polluted with the mine water from the various shafts and slopes which have since been located upon it, and con- verted it into a sewer, and this was deemed the most available source of supply. A pump house was erected on the banks of the stream, in Pine Brook, near where the street car line now crosses the river, and the reservoir on the corner of Madison Avenue and Olive Street, lately pur- chased by the First Presbyterian Church as a site for their new edifice, was constructed. At this time it was above any residence in the city, and gave an abundant supply. The demand for water increased, however, as did also that for gas, and in 1858, the capital stock was authorized to be increased to $100,000. In 1861, Hyde Park and Providence were included in the territory for which the franchise was granted, and the stock has since been largely increased. CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. LABOR TROUBLES. Early Relations Between Labor and Capital— Effect of Prosperity — A Reaction and the First General Strike — The Fruit of Concessions —The Long Strike and Its Tragedy— The Strike of 1877— The Brewing of the Trouble -Patriotic Young Men Prepare for Emer- gency — The Riot and the Citizens' Meeting — Effort to Organize a Company — The Battalion Idea— The Thirteenth Regiment. MONG the experiences that half a cen- ([^ tury of active life in this valley has brought few were more thrilling, none more exacting in the qiiasi-public duties of good citizenship they entailed, than were the weeks and days when the entire prosperity and progress of the region was threatened by the differences of capital and labor, unless, perhaps, we except the trying days of "the Sixties," which have been hereinbefore alluded to. The early history of mining or other industry contains little or no record of any serious disagreements between the employers and the employed, and the reasons for 310 A Half Century in Scranton. this are obvious. When the first operations were begun this valley was an isolated territory with but slow and broken communication with larger cities and the seaboard. The first workingnien who came into it were brought by the projectors of its initiatory enterprises, and from the ver}? condi- tions in which all found themselves placed, the re- lations of these men and their families toward the leading spirits of each new industry were of a peculiar character. None were very rich, and all were hard workers. The proprietor and his em- ployed were thrown in close daily contact, and were on the most intimate and friendly terms. The communities were small, and wealth, advan- tages and social position had not made perceptible those subtle distinctions and differentiations which belong to more complex civilization, and, most of all, the daily personal contact of the indomitable men who were at the head of the leading enter- prises generated a degree of enthusiasm and esprit de corps that made anything like general antagon- ism well nigh impossible. Even when the iron works were at their lowest ebb, and had received the soicbriquet of " the Jersey Humbug," or when wage payments from the companies all up and down the valley were in the much-discounted " scrip," there was a marked fealty among those who would have preferred some more profitable kind of payment. So, through the first two dec- A Half Cenlury in Scranton. 311 ades, there was never any disagreement worthy of mention, except it be "The Irish War," which occurred during the construction of the railroad, in 1850-51, and was the outgrowth of race antipa- thies between some of the laborers employed on the work and not a question of difference of wages. During this time values began to increase rap- idly, and those who had been industrious found themselves growing each year more prosperous. Work was plenty, wages were good, the prospects were bright, and there was no reason for dissatis- faction, nor a thought of it. Then came the war, with its increase of prices on every commoditj'. The thousands who hastened to the front to save the country from the impending dissolution in- creased the demand for labor of every character, both skilled and unskilled, and the wages paid for mining and iron-working reached the highest point that has ever been recorded. With the sur- render, prosperity increased. Throughout the en- tire North every industry boomed. The next few years saw the association of capital expand enter- prises in every direction, and work wonders throughout the country. The recuperative powers of the Nation, which astonished the civilized world, were particularly felt in such manufacturing and productive centers as the vallej^ had come to be, and were, of course, followed by a disregard of due 312 A Half Century in Scranton. economy in both personal and domestic expendi- ture. Both labor and capital began to develop the arrogance that insensibly grows from unbroken and unprecedented success, and, in their own con- ceit, to forget the interdependence which, in its due recognition, had done so much to achieve all that had been mutually beneficial. The conditions, too, had changed vastly. In great aggregations of men, personalities are necessarily lost, and with them the influence which they always exert. The day when the individual worker was personally known to his employer had passed. He had been removed from his sphere of observation or influ- ence by all of the cumbersome departmental sys- tem which seems to be inseparable from the suc- cessful management of great concerns. Corpora- tions had taken the place of individual owners, general regulations that of personal direction, and all of this had co-operated to the gradual crystal- ization and differentiation of the community into the two classes which represent two great potential- ities of modern civilization. It was toward the close of the first half decade after the war that the reaction from venturesome speculation began to be felt all over the country. The era of unprecedented prosperity had made men reckless, and now the more conservative be- gan to grow cautious. There had been a gradual A Half Century in Scranton. 313 falling off of prices from the war rates, and yet production had gone on steadily increasing, and the prices paid for labor in the coal regions re- mained much the same. The great producing companies found that they could not make money without a reduction in the price per car paid for mining coal, and it was accordingly made. On May 25, 1869, the first general strike occurred in this region. Demand had been made for an ad- vance of ten cents per car, and the Delaware and Hudson Company refused to accede to it. A sim- ilar demand was made of the Delaware, Lacka- wanna and Western, and was similarly met. The strike lasted until the latter part of August fol- lowing and was then ended by mutual concessions. During this time there was but little violence, and none that was the result of organized effort to coerce the employers. Of course business was de- cidedly disturbed by the suspension, and some little lawlessness prevailed at various points, the Rockwell Breaker being burned at this time; but there was nothing to seriously threaten law and order, though it was evident to the thinking ones that this preconcerted action, growing, as it did, out of the constantly forming secret organizations, presaged no good and would eventually present serious problems to be met and dealt with. 314 A Half Century in Scrantofi. The next year brought forth fruit. It was what has since been known as " The Long Strike," and extended to the mines of the Schuylkill Region as well. This was brought about also by the an- nouncement of a reduction. The price of coal had been steadily falling and the amount placed by the companies as what they could pay was much less than the miners anticipated, although they had expected some reduction. This strike commenced on February 4, 1871, and continued for many months, and was signalized near its close by the first conflict to death that the valley had known. For several months there had been many efforts to arrive at some agreement, both among^ the carrying companies and the Workingmen's Benevolent Association, under whose auspices the strike was inaugurated. The State authorities had been invoked in aid of some of the propositions- made, and the Supreme Court was appealed to, but all to no purpose. Politics became mixed up in the matter, and a Workingmen's Party was or- ganized ; the State Legislature, through a commit- tee appointed by the Senate, took a hand, but all to no purpose. Meanwhile work was resumed in the Schuylkill Region, and some of the German miners in this valley decided to go to work at the Hampton Mines. They at once became the object of hatred with the strikers, and a number of law- less acts were committed to intimidate " the black- A Half Century in Scranton. 315 legs," as the would-be workers were called. All through April, and until nearly the middle of May, the valley was aroused by accounts of dem- onstrations, and it finally became necessary to ob- tain military aid, and part of the Fifteenth Regi- ment was sent up from Wilkes-Barre and Hazle- ton. There was a serious accident by which some of the militia lost their lives, and unprotected men at various mines were beaten and wounded. Matters came to such a pass that it was deemed advisable to arm the miners so that they could go to and from their work without molestation, and out of this grew the tragedy which brought the strike to a close, but which left behind it a bitter feeling which demagogues and agitators fostered and used as a lash to goad the thoughtless and dissatisfied on to more desperate deeds a few years later. On the seventeenth of May some thirty miners were returning to their homes in Hyde Park, after completing their day's work at the Hampton Mines, They were accompanied by a detachment of soldiers and ten laborers armed with Winchester rifles. As they reached the old P'ellows' Corners they were attacked by a crowd of about two hundred Welsh miners and their wives, who hurled vile epithets at them. When these failed to provoke any response a volley of stones followed. Thus brought at bay, one of the 316 A Half Century in Scranton. guard fired, and two men were killed, while the crowd fled. The circumstances which led to the great strike of 1877, the last which afflicted this community, are too fresh in the minds of those interested to need more than a passing notice. The panic of '73 had caused widespread depression, and the con- traction of every line of business caused a con- tinual falling in the price of coal. The first re- duction of ten per cent, was made at the close of 1874. Although there was a strong effort on the part of some of the labor organizers to create a strike at this time, the good sense of the miners was sufficient to withstand the agitation and little came of it. During the two years that followed the quota assigned by the arrangements of the carrying companies caused the mines to run only on two-thirds time, and, at the close of this season, another reduction of fifteen per cent, was an- nounced. Again an effort was made to incite the miners to a strike, but the more conservative of them considered wisely their condition and suc- cessfully opposed any such action. The year 1877 will be remembered all over the country as one of not only great depression, but of terrible, devastating and bloody labor troubles, extending over a widespread area. Pittsburg, A Half Century in Scranton. 317 Buffalo, Reading and a number of other great cen- ters were terrorized, and the entire business of the country was prostrated. At Scranton the princi- pal difficulty was to be found in an excess of mine labor, and the fomenting of discontent among all classes of workmen by petty politicians and paid agitators, some of whom were attempting to utilize the contrasts which riches and poverty present to their own political advantage, and prostitute the purposes of the legitimate trade organizations to their self-aggrandizement. All this had its due effect, and, on July 24, the employes of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, numbering more than a thousand, stopped work at noon, and that afternoon a similar action took place among the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western firemen and engineers. The next day the strike had ex- tended to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com- pany's men. All of these employes went out be- cause they had made demands for advances in wages to which the companies found it impossible to accede iinder the existing depressed business conditions. The great body of idle men thus forced upon the community was largely aug- mented by an army of idlers from other cities, and the low mutterings of discontent excited forebod- ings in the minds of all of the thinking men of the community. All of the militia in the city had been sent to Pittsburg to aid in the suppression of 318 A Half Century in Scranton. the riots there, and, singularly enough, there were many in the city who had the cause of the strikers at heart, or at least gave them reason to think so from motives of polic}/, and thus increased the danger, should there an emergency for action arise. The address of the Mayor, counseling obedience to law and order, and the strenuous efforts that he was making to adjust the difficulties excited hope that all might pass off tranquilly, and blinded many to the real danger cloud that was forming. Meetings of a secret character were being held in every quarter, and these did not es- cape the alert eyes and ears of some of the younger men of the city, who, circulating around in public places, detected, from the hints dropped, the trouble that was brewing. It is not necessary to deal in detail with all of the events which immediately preceded the riot and its heroic quelling on August i, 1877. They have been fully and elaborately exploited many times and are the subject of a voluminous memoir. So, too, the story of that memorable firing, the attempted vengeance of the friends of the mob by the assassination of all of the participants tinder cloak of law, their timely rescue, the trial, and the vindication — all of these are well recorded and stand for the honor of the city. In these pro- ceedings I acted only the part of any other good A Half Century in Scranton. 319 citizen, giving snch counsel as my wit, and such aid as my purse possessed in the cause of right and justice. It was a time that tried the temper and good offices of all of us, and such efforts as I put forth were in the direction of well-considered co-operation on the part of all to meet the trying requirements of the ordeal wherein so much of love, liberty, and perhaps life, were at stake. From the moment that the necessity of a posse became evident I was convinced of the wisdom of organizing a permanent military force, composed of the best material, to make final and decisive the victory over lawlessness that had just been se- cured. The citizens' meeting, which had been called bj^ a number of prominent business and professional men, on the day after the riot, and at which there had been given a complete endorsement of the course taken by the posse, gave great encourage- ment to those who were anxious to form such an organization. A few of them met in the hall over the Second National Bank, and the matter was quite fully discussed. I then and there assured them that if they desired to form a company I would take the responsibility of seeing it armed and equipped on my own shoulders, for I felt that there would be hearty co-operation among all the best elements of the city. On the morning of the 320 A Half Century in Scrayiton. seventh, just one week after the riot, a paper was addressed to Hon. George Sanderson, the presi- dent of the citizens' meeting, and a number of those, who, at it, had commended the action of the corps. It set forth the fact that one hundred and over of the best young men in the city were will- ing to organize a body legallj^ constituted to pre- serve the peace of the community in case of emer- gency. Meanwhile I had been diligently circu- lating a subscription paper, and had raised several hundred dollars for the proper armament of the guard. That evening, when there was a general meeting of the citizens at the company's store, where the Mayor had made his headquarters ever since the riot, these facts were made known by Mr. H. A. Kingsbury, who " reported that assur- ances had been received from Dr. B. H. Tliroop of his co-operation, and that he had already taken the matter in hand, and had given his convictions that the citizens generally would support the move- ment to organize an independent military zo\\\- panJ^''' " At this meeting a committee was appointed to consider the best means of perfecting such an or- ganization, and, after thoroughly canvassing the matter, it was decided that a battalion of four com- ■ "A City's Danger and Defense." — Rev. S. C. Logan. A Half Century in Scrmiton. 321 panics should be formed. This, of course, meant a much greater outlaj^ than had been at first an- ticipated, or than I had intended to guarantee to give or raise. I had in hand or subscribed nearly a thousand dollars, and this was abundant for the single company at first contemplated. In raising this amount I had been materially assisted hy Mr. H. A. Kingsbury, and as we had circulated our list we had met with a ready acquiescence from all whom we asked to co-operate with us. When the order for the measurement for uniforms of the full four companies, which had meanwhile been ordered by the board of officers, was presented a dilemma arose as to how they should be paid for, and I was again called in consultation with the major and others. The result of this conference was the issuance of the following, which appeared in The Scranton Republican of the twenty-third : TO THE CITIZENS OF SCRANTON. Attention : Gentlemen ! At a meeting of the law and order loving citizens of Scranton, on the second of August, resolutions were unan- imously adopted recognizing the obligations of the city to the Mayor's "special police," constituted of our brave young men, who met and dispersed the mob on the first instant and kept the city in safety until the troops arrived. The undersigned, then and afterwards, were appointed a committee to circulate a paper endorsing and encouraging any effort to organize a permanent military force for the protection of the city, pledging the signers to such co- 322 A Half Century in Scranton. operation and support as might be needed to properly fur- nish and equip it under the laws of the State. We have prosecuted this work with energj' and are now ready to re- port. Four military companies have been organized of the very best young men of our city, and are required by the Governor to be mustered for inspection on the eleventh of September next. No time is to be lost. Your committee has gone as far as it can without further instructions. We therefore call a meeting of all law and order loving citi- zens of Scranton, at the Academy of Music, on Friday evening, the twenty-fourth instant, at half past seven o'clock, to hear the report of the committee and take such action as the exigency requires. (Signed) B. H. Throop, M. D., S. C. Logan, H. M. Boies, H. A. Kingsbury. The response to this call was not as large as might have been expected, but those who did at- tend were thoroughly in earnest and it was not without its decided fruits. It was organized by the selection of a chairman and a number of vice- presidents from among the leading men of the city, and the report of the committee was then made through tbe writer, who detailed the work that bad already been accomplished. Some nine hundred and fifty dollars had already been sub- scribed — all and more than he had guaranteed personally to raise. Since he had offered to be in- dividually responsible for tbe equipment of the single independent company, contemplated at the A Half Centitry m Scranton. 323 meeting where this offer was made, it had been seen fit to expand it to four companies. This meant a good deal more money, at least $3,000. After canvassing the field as he had, and knowing how narrow it was, it seemed to him that in such a pressing emergency the quickest way would be for each one to increase his individual subscrip- tion, and he ended by doubling his own. This incited others to action and, before the meeting had closed, $1,500 had been guaranteed. In due course of time the battalion was equipped, pro- vided with an armory, and finally merged into the Thirteenth Regiment, all of which has oft been told. Both organizations more than fulfilled all expectations, and have ever received the loyal sup- port of the best elements of the community, and it is safe to say that none of those who were act- ive in the formative daj^s have ever had reason to regret any energy that was put forth. The pres- ence of a well disciplined and completely organ- ized force of men who have the courage of their convictions as to the necessity of the proper main- tenance of law and order has had the most salu- tory effect on the elements which, in other locali- ties, are inclined to be troublesome. Soon after the organization of the battalion the scalawag ele- ment, which was in the main responsible for the riot, found the locality a decidedly uncomfortable one, and betook themselves to other fields and 324 A Half Century m Scranton. pastures new, and none have ever returned. The guard, which Colonel Ripple'-'' so ably commands, is to-day as much the pride of the honest workers of the valley as it is the reliance of every man whose interests are centered in the valley. * Ezra H. Ripple is, and for many years has been, a prominent figure in Scranton. He is the only son of Silas and Elizabeth (Harris) Ripple, and was born at Mauch Chunk, February ii, 1842. He came, with his parents to Hyde Park, in 1857, and four years later, the death of his father left him the entire care of both the business and the family. Colonel Ripple had received a substantial common school education, and had supplemented this with a full course at Eastman's College, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. This was but the beginning, how- ever, and, although one of the city's busiest and most active men, few, if any, have found time for more thorough culture, or can boast of better selected and well-kenned books, and a wider range of practical information than he. When the call came for emergency men, to re- sist the threatened invasion of the State, he was one of the first to volunteer, and in July, 1864, he was captured at Charlestown, S. C, and confined for three months in the Andersonville Prison, and for five in the Florence Stockade, where the horrors of a military prison did not daunt his brave spirit. From Florence he was successful in making his escape, but was detected, and tracked by blood-hounds, which overtook him in the swamps, and with which he had a desperate struggle for life, until recaptured by their owners. During the disturbances of 1877, he was an active participant, and a wise counselor in preserving the peace and dignity of the city and, on the organization of the Battalion, was chosen as one of the captains of the four companies which composed it. On its consolidation with the Thirteenth Regiment, he was commissioned Major, and in due recog- nition of the manj' qualities which so eminently fit him, has suc- ceeded to its Colonelcy. Colonel Ripple was elected the first Treas- urer of Lackawanna County, in 1879, and was also the choice of the people for Mayor of the city, in 1886, both of which positions he filled with that credit that has always marked his every act of public and private life. He is identified with many of the material concerns of the city, as well as its leading philanthropies, and is beloved and respected by ail who know him. A Half Century iti Scra7iton. 325 It stands as a guarantee that the rights of the humblest as well as the most conspicuous citizen shall be respected in every particular, and the dignity and sanctity of the law shall ever be maintained. CHAPTER NINETEENTH. SOME TOWNS ADJACENT. The Transition Along the Vallej' — Mount Vernon and Its Founder — Jermyn, and Its Enterprise — Archbald, Winton, Peckville, Ol)'- phant — The Laying Out of Priceburg, and the Incorporation of Throop. Jv^xiifir^HE remarkable development of Scranton, during the past half century, is not more interesting than has been the evolution of some of the towns in its immediate vicinitj', now tributary to it, and destined eventuallv to become integral portions of it. Wherever its enterprise has located industries, there have thriving com- munities sprung up, and their rapid evolution into towns has kept pace with the progess of the par- ent city. The system of rapid transit has added to the impetus they had attained in the last few years, and half a decade has seen a number of them incorporated as boroughs, and making rapid strides toward cityhood. It would be interesting 328 A Half Century hi Scranton. to have the annals of each of them collected, and suitably compiled; bnt that must be left for some younger and more ambitious contributor. Scarce one of them had a scrap of local history, when I came into the valley. Many were not even known by any particular name. They were simply a part of a vast tract of unimproved land, covered with dreary forest, roadless, and with only here and there a rude cabin, where some venturesome hunter or lumberman had made his humble home. Some of the most thriving are located in what was, and is still known as the Township of Blakely, which, according to Dr. Hollister, received its name in honor of Captain Johnston Blakely, who com- manded the United States Sloop of War, Wasp, and was in several brilliant engagements. This township was erected out of Providence, in 1818, and includes Carbondale, Archbald, Oly- phant, Peckville, Winton, Throop and many other thriving towns. It was at Mount Vernon, where the late Lewis Watres* had located, in 1837, that one of the first churches in the valley was erected by him, at almost entirely his own expense. * Lewis S. Watres, Esq., was born in Phcenixville, Pennsylvania, in 1808. When twenty-seven years of age he settled in the Lacka- wanna \'alley, at a beautiful little spot, which he called Mount Ver- non, ten miles from Scranton, and now called Winton. Mr. Watres purchased four hundred acres of land at that place, and began develop- A Half Century in Scranton. 329 At this time, 1837, there were only a few ham- lets, and his activity at the opening of what was then a great lumber enterprise for this section, made him a conspicuous figure in the community. ing his timber interests, and opened a successful market for it at EUensville, New Jersey, and points on the Delaware River, to which the lumber was transported by taking it first to Honesdale and Port Jervis by sled or wagon, and thence by raft to its destination. One year after his settlement here, Mr. Watres was made Justice of the Peace of Blakely Township, in which office, as in all the positions of his life, he had the respect and unbounded confidence of everyone with whom he came in contact. In 1837, Mr. Watres erected the first church built in the Lacka- wanna Valley, at Pecktown. It was a Presbyterian Church, built by subscription, but aside from twelve dollars paid by subscribers, the en- tire cost was borne by the builder. To Mr. Watres also belongs the credit of opening up one of the first coal mines in the Lackawanna Valley below Carbondale. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, he recruited a company of men, and reported at Harrisburg for dutj'. His company was mus- tered in with the Fifty-second Pennsylvania ^'olunteer Regiment, but Mr. Watres had an affliction of asthma, which prevented his going to the front. Later, he again took a company to Harrisburg, wliich was mustered into the Fifty-sixth Regular Pennsylvania Volunteers ; but again his health prevented his entering active service in defense of the country he loved so well. In 1865, he removed with his family to Scranton, and in the year following, was elected Alderman of the Ninth Ward, to which office he was successively re-elected until the time of his death, in 18S2. No man, perhaps, ever lived in the valley who had more friends and fewer enemies than Alderman Watres. In every relation of life he was tender, sympathetic and loyal, and he possessed a strength of character which served him well and made him conspicuous among his fellows. Mr. Watres' wife was a talented poetess, who, as "Stella of the Lackawanna," was well known and greatly admired. His four child- ren still survive : Mrs. John L. Hull, Charles Watres, Hon. Louis Arthur Watres, Lieutenant-Governor of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Carrie W. Lovell, wife of Judge Edward C. Lovell, of Elgin, 111. 330 A Half Century in Scranton. He was connected with all of the public-spirited movements whicli engrossed tlie attention of the time, and was one of the most ardent advocates of the slack-water navigation project, co-operating with us in every possible way. The transition that has taken place all along the valley between Scranton and Carbondale since first I drove my weary nag down to Razorville, is one that can scarcely be comprehended, except by the older residents. Even the past ten years have witnessed marvelous changes, and so rapid and marked have been the improvements at every point that it is well-nigh impossible for a retracing mind to recall them, either chronologically or even in outline. In every direction breakers rear their heads, and the clouds of steam, the many inter- weaving lines of rail, the spires of churches, the sound of school bells, the whistle of the locomo- tives, and a thousand sounds which go to make up the busy hum of industry, form a strange contrast to the primitive conditions which I beheld. A drive from Carbondale through the outskirts of that citj^, now extending rapidly down the val- ley, brings one to Jermyn, named in honor of John Jermyn,* who is one of those that can show what "John Jermyn was born in Suffolk, England, in 1827. He was de- nied the advantages of a thorough education, and earl 3- in life was thrown upon his own resources, and was obliged to make his own wa}- A Half Century in Scranton. 331 pluck, energy and honest determination can do, afforded by the progress of the vallej/. Where, half a century ago, there came gurgling down into the Lackawanna one of the prettiest trout brooks in all this section, and alive with trout, there now stands a thriving village. The brook was name- less then. Subsequently' one or two settlers built near it, and the name of one of them was taken as a designation of the location they had chosen. As the deiile, and the mountain side adjacent, began to be cleared, and others came to join the first set- tlers, a straggling village sprung up, and to this the name of Rushdale was given. This, in time, gave wa}^ to Baconville, and that in turn to Gib- in the world. After various vicissitudes, he drifted to London, from Avhich point, in company with a number of others who had heard of the opportunities which the New World afforded, started for America, and, in the spring of 1847, landed in New York, with scarcely more capital than a pair of strong arms and a brave heart. His attention was directed to Slociim's Hollow, and the possibilities for employment that it might afford, and thither he came. His first work was done as has been described, and so faithfully did he perform his task that his services were in demand. His zeal and honesty commended him, and it was not long before he had several small contracts, and began to employ others to aid him. One of the most important of these was to open the Diamond Mines, and he Avas the first man to break the ground for the undertaking, for he never scorned labor, and was ever ready to set the example of industry. This contract was pushed to a successful issue, and, in 1854, he secured another to open the mines at the Notch, known as Rockwell's Mines. Several other lucra- tive contracts followed, and all were so satisfactorily executed that he was finally enabled to secure a most advantageous arrangement for the coal on the Gibson Estate, at Rushdale, as it was then known. It proved to be a most important step for him, and laid the foundation for the fortune which he has since accumulated. The mines had thus 332 A Half Ceiitury in Scranton. sonburg, in 1869, when the borough was incor- porated, most of the lands in the vicinity having been purchased by the late William Gibson. It is a thriving place, with a number of manufacturing industries, outside of its mining interests, to give it prosperity, and half a mile below it are located the powder works of the Moosic Company, which also add to its trade. Archbald was a wilderness until 1S44, and along the banks of White Oak Run was a favorite hunt- ing ground where deer from the mountains, as the}' attempted to ford the river, fell under the sharp crack of the settlers' rifles. These were substan- far been a failure aud operations at them had been abandoned for sev- eral rears. Nevertheless, Mr. Jermyn was convinced that there was money to be made out of the venture, and with that pluck and perse- verance that had been characteristic of him, and against the advice of all his friends, he put in new and improved machinery, and, in 1865, opened the plant. He succeeded in securing two new leases of one million tons each, in addition to the one million of the original lease, and, in the next few years succeeded in delivering the entire output, and placing himself among the wealthiest operators of the vallej*. Since that time he has become prominently identified with many of the enterprises of the valley, and has shown a most commendable public spirit, making some of the greatest improvements in the char- acter of the commercial buildings of the city, and the other towns with which he has become identified. He is one of the largest indi- vidual owners of Scranton real estate, and the wisdom and sagacity which has attended him in all of his coal ventures, has not deserted him in this new field. In 1S53, Mr. Jermyn married a daughter of Joseph Knight, Esq., and three sons and two daughters are the fruit of the union. Up- right, honest and industrious, Mr. Jermyn merits the confidence that is reposed in him by all who know him, as well as the magnificent harvest that he his reaped from his arduous labors. A Half Century in Scranton. 333 tiall}' the conditions, when IMr. James Archbald/^' for whom the place was named, and Mr. Clarkson came to open the mines. A small foot-bridge was thrown across the stream at the mouth of the run, and a blacksmith shop and a few dwellings for workmen were erected. From this small begin- ning it has grown steadily to the present thriving town of five thousand inhabitants, principall}^ from '■■ James Archbald was born in A^-rshire, Scotland. His fatlicr was one of the sturdy Scotch yeomen of the last century. His mother was descended from W'odrow, the famous preacher, and was the grand- daughter of Wodrow, the Historian. She had been a carefully nur- tured minister's daughter, and it was from her that James Archbald inherited a taste for music, art, and general culture, which he im- proved in his maturer years. When James was about twelve years old, his father emigrated to New York State, and settled in the Mo- hawk Valley. Here his boyhood was spent at agricultural pursuits, lumbering and trading. His naturally bright mind, although denied scholastic advantages, except for a very short period, prompted him to seize everj' opportunity for reading and studj^ and he did so profit- abl}'. When the Erie Canal was building, he took a contract thereon, and filled it so successfully that Mr. Jervis gave hiui a position on the engineer corps. From thence he went with the latter to aid in the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, and, when the mines were opened at Carbondale, in 1829, he was appointed Superintendent. When the Pennsylvania Coal Company commenced the construction of its road, Mr. Archbald prepared the plans for it also. He had de- vised the Gravitj' System on the road over the mountain from Carbon- dale, and the same plan was adopted here. When Col. (ieorgeW. Scranton was obliged to abandon his position as General Agent of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, on account of increasing ill health, Mr. Archbald was selected by the directors to succeed him, and, in 1858, he became Chief Engineer of the road, a position which he held up to his death, in 1870. When Carbondale was incorporated as a city, he was elected its Mayor, and held that position four terms, or until his removal to Scranton. He was a man of great simplicity of character and purity of life, and a favorite with all of his employes. 334 A Half Century in Scranton. the mining industry carried on by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company; but now it com- mences to have some other manufactories and does a good mercantile business. One of its prominent and successful manufactories is a knitting mill, which was established there in i8Si, and has been of niucli value to the town in giving employment to the women and girls. Its excellent streets, fine churches, and creditable business blocks show how substantial has been its progress. The Town of Winton, which lies pleasantly sit- uated but a mile below, and is practically con- nected by a continuous street, owes its existence to the coal operations of W. W. Winton, Esq ,'" and in reality had its foundation day when his breaker was opened there, in 1874. It, too, has grown amazingly, and is well equipped with all the modern conveniences, and bids fair to merge into its neighbors. Already several other indus- * W. W. winton was born in the Town of Butternuts, Otsego County, New York, in 1815. He received a liberal education and, when his father moved to Providence, in 1833, the son, fresh from school, began to act as Village School Master. He then engaged in the lumber busi- ness, and the field of his operations was on the Parsonage Lot, and near where the blast furnaces now stand. He again began teaching in the new " Bell School House," and afterward went to Danville, where he read law. In 1842, he opened astore at Wallsville, with Hon. A. B. Dunning as clerk. Afterward both returned to Providence, where for a number of years, they conducted a mercantile business under the style of Winton & Dunning. He commenced the banking business • flui C-fUjMdd-" A Half Century in Scranton. 335 tries have been added to its resources than those directly connected with the coal business, and all seem to thrive. Peckville has lumber as its principal industrj', and the major portion of its working population is employed in the large saw mills, planing mills and other establishments for the fabrication of forest products. While most of the timber has been cut out of all this section, some considerable pine and hemlock are to be found on the other side of the mountain, and this is easily reached from Peck- ville, and is controlled by the parties operating there. It has good churches, schools, stores and all the requisites to supply the wants of its in- habitants, and is a thrifty place. Olyphant consisted of nothing but a saw mill and a couple of log houses until 1558. The lands there had passed into the hands of William Hull, who lived across the river, and he had steadfastly refused to sell or lease them to the Delaware and next door to the St. Charles Hotel, and then established the First Na- tional Bank of Providence, which was subsequently merged into the Second National Bank of Scranton. He was the founder of the Pres- byterian Church, at Providence, and gave the lots on which the build- ing stands. He also made a number of additions to the various por- tions of the city, and to Winton and Peckville. He was enterprising, public-spirited and courageous, as well as very kind hearted. He aided many, and had their gratitude. Mr. Winton married Miss Catherine, the daughter of Henry Heermans, and left five children. He died December 30, 1894. 336 A Half Century in Scranton. Hudson Company for some reason or other. The company had already secured a large tract below the Hull lands, and when Hon. Lewis Pughe and Edward Jones and others secured a lease from Hull, and at the same time for other tracts adjoin- ing, and also made contracts with the company, the work of development at once commenced. Since that time the town has grown steadily, and is supplied with water, electric lights, and all that goes to make it a desirable place of residence for those who find occupation there. Among the early settlers, about a mile below Olyphant, were lyuke and Michael Decker, who each had fairly improved farms, some twentj'-five years ago. One of these, consisting of about fifty- eight acres, I bought at sixt3^-five dollars an acre. Immediately adjoining me Mr. Bli K. Price and Dr. Pancoast also made purchases, and the village which sprung up was called Priceburg, in honor of Mr. Price. In 1880, John Jermyn sunk a shaft and erected a large breaker, and an influx of popu- lation followed. This mine was leased to the Pan- coast Coal Company, in March, 1881, and now em- ploys some seven hundred hands. The town was laid out in a symmetrical fashion, the sale of lots was at once begun, and buildings of a neat and substantial character began to appear in every direction. It is now duly incorporated. A Half Century in Scranton. 337 During the year 1888, a paper was drawn up, signed by a number of the prominent residents of that portion of the Borough of Dickson City, and then known as the Village of Throop, for the pur- pose of creating a new borough out of that portion of the borough lying on the southeast side of the Lackawanna River. By request of Mr. W. R. Storrs, of the Delaware, Lackawanna and West- ern Railroad Company, these papers were not used. A new petition was circulated, and presented to the Grand Jury in April, 1893, and the creation of the borough was recommended. In November, 1893, Judge R. W. Archbald set aside the report of the Grand Jury, and, on technicalities, refused to create the borough. A new petition was immediately circulated and presented to Court on July 4, 1894. This petition was signed by all but eight of the resident prop- erty owners, and, after a hot fight before the Grand Jury, that body recommended the division. On April 16, 1894, Judge Archbald confirmed the re- port of the Grand Jury and handed down a decree incorporating the Village of Throop into a bor- ough, to be known as the Borough of Throop. Following is an excerpt from a Scranton paper 338 A Half Century ifi Scranton. of April i8, 1894, illustrating the enthusiasm of the Throopites over their victory : "Never was the natal day of American Independence celebrated by the people of a community with greater eclat than was the celebration given at Throop yesterday by the inhabitants of that infant borough, in honor of the sever- ance of the bonds of union which connected them with the apron strings of Dickson City for the past quarter of a century. From the topmost pinnacle of the high tower of the Pancoast Coal Company's shaft, the Stars 'and Stripes floated proudly to the breeze, which emblem also adorned the Pancoast Coal Company's store and all of the private residences in the beautiful little village. The colliery was idle during the entire day, and at noon the schools were closed to give the young and old an opportunity to cele- brate. The people in general donned holiday attire. " At 3 P. M., the time announced for the procession to move, the people, young and old, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, assembled at the starting point, in front of the Company Store, and awaited the procession to move. Messrs. C. D. Sanderson and H, W. Bellman appeared to be the leading spirits in the gathering. Carriages and horses, gaily decorated, were formed in line to receive and convey the enthusiastic citizens, with their invited guests, in making a circuit of the new borough. The procession was led by a barouche, containing Mr. C. M. Sanderson * * Clarence M. Sanderson was born in West Cambridge, now Arling- ton, Massachusetts, in 1829, and was the son of Benjamin Lawrence Sanderson and Miss Mary Cutter Cooke, both of whom were direct descendants of passengers on the Mayflower. Mr. C. M. Sanderson attended the common schools of West Cambridge until he was about thirteen years old, and then went to Vermont. On attaining his ma- jority, he went to the copper mining region of Lake Superior. In ^■icc S.Soe, Scranl^n.Fci. ^-^ ^^^^zri^^<:^^6/^^ CUT- A Half Century in Scranton. 339 and Dr. B. H. Throop, in honor of whom the new borough has been named, followed by one containing Mr. C. D. Sanderson, Charles Dudley Sanderson, Jr., H. W. and E. R. Bellman, and Mr. Thomas Monahan. A party of bicyc- lists, representatives of the press and many prominent citi- zens of the new borough, the gaily decorated hose carriage and other features made the occasion one to be remem- bered." A special election was ordered by the Court on May I, and the following officers were elected: Btirgess, John Sj-kes ; Councilmen, John H. Law, Thomas Monahan, John E. Evans, William Col- lier, Owen McCormick and Euke Kelly ; School Directors, Charles D. Sanderson, H. W. Bellman, John B. Walker, John Lavin, John Brown and Edward McNealis. On the date of its incorporation the borough had a population of one thousand six hundred and thirty-nine, with two hundred and sixty-six dwell- ings, nine hotels, eight stores, two store-houses, two churches, one graded school-house (employing 1865, he returned to Boston, and engaged in the coal business, as a member of the firm of Huddell & Co. In 1876, he removed to Pitts- ton, and opened the Phcenix Mine there. On the organization of the Pancoast Coal Company, in 1880, he was elected its President, which office he still holds. Mr. Sanderson married, in 1851, a daughter of Hon. John Wait, of Vermont. She died in 1864. In 1866, he married Mrs. Eliza A. Bellman. He has three children, his eldest son, C. D. Sanderson, being the Superintendent of the Pancoast Coal Company. 340 A Half Century in Scranton. four teachers), one small school (employing one teacher), one butcher shop and one colliery (epi ploy- ing seven hundred hands). The number of regis- tered voters were two hundred and seventy- seven. Throop is reached by the Scranton Division of the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad, and a neat depot has been built. The Postofi&ce was cre- ated on July 5, 1882, and a commission as Post- master was issued to Charles D. Sanderson, who has held the office ever since. On April 26, 1894, Throop Hose Company, No. I, was organized, and named in honor of the late Dr. George S. Throop. During the year 1894, considerable territory has been laid out into build- ing lots. New streets have been opened, and here and there one sees neat dwellings in course of erection that are a credit to any community. A Borough Hall of ornate design has recently been completed. It contains a council room, apart- ments for the hose company, for the Burgess, and the Chief of Police, a lock-up, and on the first floor is a public hall. The site for the building was given to the borough by Price, Pancoast and Throop. A Hungarian Catholic Church is about to be erected, and a public park and a cemetery are probable improvements of the near future. CHAPTER TWENTIETH. A WORD AT CLOSING. The Scranton Postoffice— The First Milk Route — Express Facilities Established— The Press and Its Work — Hollister's History — Some Facts About Early Hyde Park — Vale. IN bringing to a close these reminiscences of half a centviry of active life in the Lacka- wanna Valley, and in glancing over the pages already written, I become aware how many de- tails have been omitted that might have proved of interest to the friends at whose instance, and for whose gratification these chapters have been pre- pared. Already the notes, which I simply in- tended to expand a trifle and put in a more endur- ing form than was originally given them, have become voluminous, and the task has become irk- some ; yet there are one or two things which I must yet touch on briefly. One of these is the Postofiice. 342 A Half Century in Scranton. It is quite probable that a mail route passed througli this township some years before any Postoffice had been established in what is now comprised within the territorial limits of Scran- ton. The main line of travel between Pittston and the upper waters of the Delaware traversed the valley, and over this the lirst pony riders went. On the tenth of January, 1811, an office called "Providence," after the name of the town- ship, was established ; but it was not located at Razorville immediately. Mr. Benjamin Slocum was the first Postmaster, and he lived at the old Slocum Forge, then called Unionville, where were the principal mills, distilleries, and other indus- tries of the settlement, and the of&ce was at his house, or upper distillery, as it was called, which stood about where the blast furnaces are now. Mr. Slocum served for several years, and then resigned in favor of Mr. John Vaughn, who re- moved the office to his store, on the southeast side of Razorville Corners, which were then called " Centerville " * by some. It always remained in * " As the village (Providence), from these causes (the completion of the Drinker Turnpike, and the establishment of a tri-weekly stage from Philadelphia) began to grow in importance, Slocum HoUovs', shorn of its glory by the abandonment of its forge and stills, was judged by the Department at Washington as being too obscure a point for a Postoffice, as the receipts for the year 1827 averaged only |3.37>^ per quarter. The office was removed the next year to its thriftier rival. ' ' — Hollister. A Half Century in Scranion. 343 Providence after that, until merged into the car- rier system of the city, in October, 1883. The Postofi&ce at Hyde Park was established, July 14, 1832, and Hon. William Merrifield was the first Postmaster. After serving but a short time his removal from the place necessitated a successor and Robert Merrifield, his father, suc- ceeded him for three years, or until William once more located in Hyde Park, and was again made the Postmaster. It was in his store that I found the office located when I first visited Hyde Park, in October, 1840. As the iron works of Messrs. Scrantons, Grant & Co. began to prosper, and houses for the work- men employed in the furnaces and mills, sprang up on this side of the river, by far the largest of the mail-receiving part of the community was cen- tered there, nevertheless residents of this side of the river were deprived of postofifice facilities, and had to depend entirely on Hyde Park and Provi- dence. An early effort was made to obtain one here, but this side of the river had always been intensely Whig, as well as a temperance commun- ity, and had but little sympathy from the Demo- cratic power that predominated in old Luzerne. However, after a time, permission was given to Mr. John W. Moore, who had opened the first tailor shop in the Hollow — or Harrison, as it was 344 A Half Century in Scranton. then called, in honor of that President's recent election — to take the mail matter from Hyde Park to his store, and there distribute it to the persons to whom it was addressed. Soon he tired of the thankless task, and induced Mr. Amsden to as- sume the " Postmastership." He, too, soon de- sired a release from the position, as there were no facilities for conducting the business properly. About this time I erected a dwelling and drug store, on the street that was destroyed by the con- struction of the Delaware, Lackawanna and West- ern Railroad, and about where Clark & Snover had their tobacco factory, until a few years ago. It was a two-story frame structure, and at the front end of the counter a desk was arranged to give ample facilities for handling the mail. I was appointed Postmaster by S. R. Hobie, May 6, 1853, and commissioned by P'ranklin Pierce, Februarj^ 4, 1857, and continued under the administration of President Buchanan. The office was in charge of B. C. Fuller, my deputy, for all these years, or until L. S. Fuller, his brother, was appointed my successor. This of&ce was in reality the first Post- ofSce in Scranton, and it was under my adminis- tration that mails were first brought here without being extracted at Hyde Park, and carried by Mr. Moore in a leathern satchel. A Half Century in Scranton. 345 The name of the office was at first called Harri- son, but was soon changed to Scrantonia, in honor of the gentlemen who had been so active in estab- lishing the works. That the two final letters were dropped came about subsequently, and during Mr. Fuller's administration. When the subject of es- tablishing an office was first agitated, during the time that my drug store was in process of erection, the matter of a proper name was one of consider- able discussion. Quite a number felt that the Messrs. Scranton were entitled to the compliment, and among one of the most conspicuous in this opinion was Rev. J. D. Mitchell, who, like myself, was a very warm friend of the Scranton s. It was suggested that he write to the representative of this district, with whom he was well acquainted, and request that the name Scrantonia be substi- tuted for that of Harrison, which had been used in the petitions already sent on. This he agreed to do and, when the commission came, the change had been made. Later, by general con- sent, the letters "ia" were dropped, and an order to that effect was subsequently issued by the de- partment. The names of those who have filled the office since my appointment are: L. S. Fuller, Duglass Jay, A. H. Coursen, W. H. Pier, M. D.; J. S. Slocuni, J. A. Scranton, E. C. Fuller, D. W. Con- 346 A Half Century in Scranton. nelly, D. M. Jones, and the present incnmbent, Frank M. Vandling. The free delivery system was put in force during Mr. Scranton's adminis- tration. As the Hollow commenced to fill up with men, who were employed about the new works, and there was less of agriculture in the immediate vicinity, it began to experience one of the diffi- culties which always attend new and rapidly-form- ing communities. There was a scarcity of fresh beef, and more especially of milk. This latter was a serious deprivation. There were many families who had young children, and in my daily rounds I found not a few little babies who were actually suffering. The parents had not been able to get a cow, and the supply in the neighborhood was entirely inadequate. After vainly endeavoring to persuade some one to go into the milk business as a commercial venture, I determined to do it m3'self as a matter of public spirit. In 1845 ^ secured the services of Jacob Teeter, and purchased thirty or forty cows, which I put on the Kilmer farm, where there was excellent pasturage. The proper facilities for serving it out were secured, and Teeter and John Courseu peddled it at a minimum cost to me. This was the first regularly established milk route in the city, and proved a decided boon to those whose circumstances did not warrant the A Half Century in Scrajiton. 347 ownership of a cow, but who had to have a limited supply of this necessity. From a similar desire to promote the interests of the new town, I was driven into another branch of business. It was very difficult to get small par- cels to and from the outside world, and particu- larly to New York. The opening of the Leggett's Gap Road, in 185 1, had caused all the stage lines to be abandoned, and there was no express office nearer than Great Bend. There was such con- stant complaint, that when I was appointed Post- master, I determined to obviate the inconvenience. I therefore established an express line, connecting with the other companies at Great Bend, and mak- ing through rates. I had a regular messenger on each train, and the office was adjacent to the Post- office, at my drug store. This line continued for a number of years, and was finally sold to the American Express Company. The first newspaper ever established in Scran- ton was The Mirror and Lackazvanman, which was started in Providence, in 1845, by F'ranklin B. Woodward, and when the matter was first can- vassed amongst us, as he said, the object was to be the agitation of a new county, I helped that along a little too. Soon afterward it developed a quite different tone on other matters, and I sold out. 348 A Half Century in Scr anion. The paper was discontinued about 1847. The Lackawanna Herald was the next to appear, and this was the first to be published in the borough of Scranton. It was afterward merged with The Spirit of the l^alley., under the name of The Her- ald of the Union^ which in time became The Regis- ter. This passed into the hands of E. S. M. Hill, the first Mayor of Scranton, and was made a daily in 1867, but passed out of existence in aboiit two years. The Scranton Weekly Republican was es- tablished by Theodore Smith, of Montrose, in 1856. After passing through several vicissitudes of ownership, it became the property of Hon. Jos- eph A. Scranton,* under whose successful man- *Joseph A. Scranton was born in Madison, Connecticut, July 26, 1838, and is the eldest son of Joseph H. Scranton, and the only child by his first wife, Eliza M. Wilcox, of that place. He was educated in the New England schools, and fitted for college under Dr. Taylor, at Phillips' Academy, Andover, Mass., graduating from that institution in the Class of 1857. He entered Yale College, Class of 1861, but was obliged, by lung trouble, to withdraw during his Fresh- man Year. He married Miss Ada E., the eldest daughter of General A. N. Meylert, and they have two children, Robert M., now in part- nership with his father, and Eliza, wife of L,ieutenaut Tate, U. S. A. Mr. Scranton has been a prominent and efficient man in public life ever since he left college, and has done much to aid in the advance- ment of Scranton. He was appointed Internal Revenue Collector by President Lincoln, in 1862, and served until 1866. In 1867 he pur- chased an interest in The Scranton Republican, then a weekly, and, in November following, the first issue of the daily appeared. He assumed entire proprietorship a year later, and since that time the paper has gone steadily forward, always championing the Republican cause, yet alive to the interests of its own city. It has had much to ■do with moulding the political opinions of Northeastern Pennsyl- (yt c/ '^ ''Li^ i^ct/ -^tT-c^c A Half Century in Scranton. SIQ' agement and the fine executive ability which he inherited from his father, Joseph H. Scranton, it has grown to be the most prominent journal in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The list of papers that have come and gone since then is too long to be enumerated. It includes those which have been good, bad and indifferent — embracing almost every character of literature, from religion to athe- ism, from law and order to anarchy, say nothing of those of a purely commercial or technical char- acter. All of them have had some good points, and their files contain much that will prove of in- terest to future writers on the rise and progress of Scranton. It was in some of the earlier publica- tions that the notes which formed the basis of Dr. Hollister's * history first made their appearance,. vania, and has always maintained a manly, frank, thoughtful, digni- fied and consistent position. His signal service to the Republican party led to his appointment as Postmaster, by President Grant, in 1874, and his reappointment, by President Hayes, in 1878. He has been many times delegate to both National and State Conventions, and was elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh, Forty-ninth, Fifty-first, Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth Congresses. Mr. Scranton has secured many important measures for this district. He succeeded in securing the United States District Court here, in having the Federal Building located and constructed, and has been on the alert to serve his constituents in every manner possible. * Horace Hollister, M. D., was born in Salem, Wayne County, Pa., Nov. 32, 1822. His parents, Alanson and Sally Hollister, had some years previous made their way through the Salem forest, when that portion of the historic "Shades of Death " still possessed almost the terrors that the fugitives from Wyoming found, and amid these isolated surroundings, the future historian of the valley grew to man- hood on his father's farm. He received a common school education,. 350 A Half Century in Scranton. and man}^ others, myself included, were frequent contributors. such as it was in those days, and also attended one term at the Acad- emy at Bethany, but his keen mind made the most of these meager advantages. After spending the summers of 1S37 and 1838 boating on the North Branch Canal, between Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Phila- delphia, he began the study of medicine, first with Dr. Charles Burr, of Salem, then with Ebenezer T. L,osej', of Honesdale, and finally with Dr. B. H. Throop, at Providence. He graduated at the Univer- sity of New York, in 1846, and at once returned to Providence, where he took the practice that Dr. Throop had gained, while the latter re- mo^ed temporarily to Carbondale. Here he remained a faithful min- ister to the wants of the suffering, until called to his last resting-place. From his boyhood. Dr. Hollister displayed a deep interest in history and archaeology. Born at a time when the atrocities of the Red Men were within the memory of the living, and in a spot pregnant with the terrors which had been inflicted, he developed the strongest interest in all that pertained to them, and amid the exacting duties of a large, though not lucrative practice, found time to amass one of the largest and most valuable collections of Indian relics extant, embracing some twenty thousand implements, of every material known to aborigines. He also was a constant student of the early history of the Lackawanna Valley, and besides contributing extensively to the publications of the day, prepared a history, which is the standard authority for all this section. He was a man of somewhat eccentric character, blunt, even almost rude in his manner, yet warm of heart, kind, and truly benevolent. None who suffered continued to do so did it lie within his power to alleviate their misery. He affiliated with no church, nor recognized any creed or dogma believed by the majority ; yet he lived by the golden rule, and conscientiously, and numbered among his friends all who knew him. During the last years of his life, he was paralyzed and obliged to give up active practice, yet, until the end, he kept up his literary labors, and besides revising his history, which has passed through several editions, contributed to various magazines on both professional and general subjects. He was a graceful writer, a keen thinker, and both humorous and sarcastic. Although of an entirely different character, his literary attainments quite equaled those of his sister, Mrs. Lewis A. Watres, who will long be remembered as the sweet and gifted poetess, "Stella of Lackawanna." Dr. Hollister died a few years ago. A Half Century in Scranton. 351 Mention has been made but casually of the early history of Hyde Park in the preceding notes. That which is not interwoven with such incidents as have been related, may not be out of place related specifically. The earliest settler in Hyde Park is generally conceded to have been a Mr. Lindley, who made a clearing and erected a cabin, about what is now^ the intersection of Main and Washburn streets, in the spring of 1790. One of the Dolphs soon followed his example, and settled on the other side of the street, or path, as it then was. The third settler was Elder William Bishop, who built on the site of the Merrifield place. Early in this century, Joseph Fellows, who, though then resid- ing in Alban}-, owned considerable property in« this vicinity, was persuaded by his brother-in-law, Phillip Heermans, to lay off a portion of the vil- lage, and sell lots, and to the latter, therefore, must be accredited the conception of the enter- prise. The community was a purely agricultural one, engaged in most laborious pioneer work, and grew very slowly, so that, at the end of the first quarter of the present century, it was scarcely more than a hamlet, with a church, a tavern, a school-house, and one general store, together with such handicrafts as are to be found at most rural centers. 352 A Half Century in Scranton. Town meetings were first held in Providence Township as early as 1813, and were usually con- vened at the house of Stephen Tripp, jiist above Hyde Park, whose reputation for hospitality was wide, and who usually sustained it in a most sub- stantial way, after the business of the day had been disposed of. As late as 1828, when what are now Lackawanna, Covington, Jefferson, Blakely, Greenfield and Scott, were included within its boundaries, the entire vote cast at the National election was no, evenly divided between the Fed- eral and Democratic Parties. The "Old White Tavern," as the Heermans' House was known, was the changing place and dinner station of the stage line between Wilkes- , Barre and Carbondale, and hence was a news and political center, much as Cotrill's Tavern was at Providence. After the establishment of a daily stage line, when the great, lumbering four-horse vehicles drew up at noon-time, bringing both mail and passengers, it was a general rendezvous ; and under the proprietorship of Norvel D. Greene, be- came a hostelry justly celebrated for miles around. It was the scene of many a hard-fought battle in the political arena. The rivalry between Hyde Park and Razorville was so strong that the struggle for the polling place was finally com- promised by an arrangement that was made to .4 Half Cenhcry in Scranton. 353 hold the election in each place each alternate year, and on such occasions the voting was done at the "Old White Tavern." Mr. Greene was a public- spirited citizen, and usually took a hand in what- ever was going on, and this only added to the popularity of his tavern. The first school-house in Hyde Park was erected on Alain and Division Streets, about 1816, and served as a place of worship for a number of years, or, until Calvin Washburn donated land for a church. Here was erected the first edifice for religious worship. Mr. Washburn was a member of the sect known as Christians, and the church was primaril}' for the worship of that denomina- tion, although others were permitted to use it. In 1840 the village contained, besides the church and school-house, two stores, two taverns, two blacksmith and wagon shops, a cabinet and a couple of shoe shops, a few other establishments, and not over twenty dwellings. Charles Atwater kept a few goods for sale at his dwelling, prior to 1833 ; but in that year Judge William Merrifield erected the first exclusively mercantile building. The Borough of Hvde Park was incorporated May 4, 1852. The records of the first election show that it was held at the residence of William Phin- ney, two years later, and resulted in the selection of 354 A Half Cenhiry in Sa'anion. William Merrifield as Burgess. He was suc- ceeded by Joseph Fellows, William Smith, E. Heermans and A. B. Stevens, all of whom have served several terms each. It is not my purpose, in these notes, to go extensively into the details of civil history any farther than is necessary to connect my memories into some semblance of a narrative. Local historians have very ably re- corded everything of this character most fully and accurately. The details of the Bounty Tax, and the litigation it brought about, as well as the reasons for the separate existence of the borough as such, after it had been absorbed into the munici- pality of Scranton, can be found in the latest of these volumes. As a village it was noted for be- ing somewhat clannish and jealous of the develop- ments on the other side of the river ; but it soon outgrew this narrowness and, as the march of im- provement went on, streets were laid out, better bridges spanned the river, and the enterprises that sprung up in the ^' Hollow " ramified in every direction, it accepted the situation grace- fully, and has now become a valued and vigorous portion of a great city. A WORD AT CLOSING. Though I lay down a weary pen, and have re- tired from many of the fields in which I was once active, I have not ceased to feel the keen interest A Half Cejitury in Scranlon. 355 of other days in all that pertains to Scranton and its advancement materiall}^, sociallj', intellectually and morally. The record I have made of the pluck and indomitable perseverance of the found- ers of the city, the contrasts that I have drawn of the valley to-day and half a centurj' ago, the ex- periences, the vicissitudes, the failures and the achievements, all carry with them lessons, which, I trust, may be of profit to the younger men, all of whom can accomplish as much in the next half century as has been done in the past. That they will strive to do so for the honor of the city in which we take such just pride, is my earnest wish, so that when those of them who are now in the prime of manhood shall put aside the last sheets of their reminiscences, at the end of a longer life than is vouchsafed to most men, it will be at the mark of a transition fully as wonderful, and, with as much satisfaction as do I now, may they write Vale.