fine example of Georgian architecture, northwest corner of Sixth and
Washington Streets; was built, 1791. Christ Protestant Episcopal
Cathedral, Gothic, brownstone; built in 1864; architect, Potter, New
York; has good windows. The Reading Museum and Art Gallery, Eighth and
Washington Streets, has a good collection of paintings, representing
foreign and American artists, including sixty paintings given by Mrs.
William Littleton Savage, as memorial to her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
George DeBenneville Keim, and other works of art and natural history; it
is open free to the public. The Historical Society of Berks County, 38
North Fourth Street, has a good historical collection. Among the notable
artists who have lived in Reading are Christopher H. Shearer,
represented in permanent collection at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts, Philadelphia; Benjamin F. Austrian, noted still-life painter, born
here, 1870; James A. Benade, landscape; F. D. Devlan, animal painter and
cartoonist; during the Civil War he furnished many cartoons for Frank
Leslie’s illustrated newspaper; George Seiling, mural decorator, born in
Bavaria, 1818, his paintings are in St. James’ Church, “The
Transfiguration,” and Calvary Church, “Christ Bearing the Cross.”
Calvary Reformed Church has stone mosaic decoration in chancel by H.
Hanley Parker.
Charles Evans Cemetery, acquired by gift in 1864, has Gothic gateway,
dark sandstone; made in 1847; architects, Calver & Hall, Philadelphia;
the chapel is brownstone, Gothic, built, 1854; architect, John M. Gries,
who was a major in the Union Army, killed in battle of “Fair Oaks”; here
is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, with bronze tablets; erected,
1889.
Reading was the resort of many fugitives families from Philadelphia
while British were there in the winter of 1776-77, and became the scene
of much gayety. General Mifflin, afterwards governor, had his country
seat at Cumru, three miles southeast of Reading, now used as the County
Almshouse and Hospital buildings. In the different wars of this country
Berks County men were among the first to offer their services; the
Ringgold Light Artillery, Captain James McKnight, is said to have been
the first company that reported at Harrisburg in response to President
Lincoln’s Proclamation in 1861, and was one of five Pennsylvania
companies to arrive first at Washington in defense of the Capital.
At KUTZTOWN, settled by Germans in 1733, is the Keystone State Normal
School, originally MAXATAWNY Seminary, but since 1866, the Normal
School, enlarged after most improved models of school architecture. Four
miles distant is VIRGINSVILLE; here is a natural curiosity, the “Crystal
Cave,” of vast dimensions, with crystal formations in every shape and
color; it is lighted by electricity. BOYERTOWN, with two large
academies, and BIRDSBORO, with fine churches and residences, are noted
for their iron furnaces. HAMBURG is the home of the Berks County State
Sanatorium No. 3 for tuberculosis; Spanish architecture. Berks County
has several picturesque old bridges, the oldest, with one arch, stone,
built in 1822, spans the Wyomissing Creek at its mouth, opposite
Reading. Thirteen other stone arch bridges, the longest, over Maiden
Creek, four arches, built in 1854; and twenty-five wooden covered
bridges, are decided artistic assets.
Historic iron furnaces in Berks County are at BIRDSBORO, Hay Creek
Forges, built, 1740, by William Bird on land obtained by warrant and
survey; he also erected Hopewell Furnace in 1759, and the Berkshire
Furnace in Heidelberg about 1760; his son, Mark Bird, inherited the
property, and built Spring Forge and Gibraltar Forge; in 1796, John
Louis Barde became the owner; his daughter was married to Matthew
Brooke, who subsequently purchased the property, which has become an
extensive iron works. COLEBROOKDALE, famous as the seat of the first
blast furnace in Pennsylvania, was on Iron Stone Creek, named for the
Colebrookdale furnace, in Shropshire, England; it was founded by Thomas
Rutter and Thomas Potts in 1720: in 1724, the output was forty-eight
tons of pig iron per annum, each ton valued at £5; this was the first
furnace to cast pots, kettles, and other hollow ware by the use of sand
moulds; it had a long and prosperous career. HOPEWELL, a cold blast, one
stack furnace, employed one hundred and seventy men and boys, the iron
ore was obtained from the Hopewell mine, about two miles away, water
from Hopewell Creek formed the motive power; a dam was constructed a
quarter of a mile above the furnace and conveyed by a race to the big
water wheel; the property covered 5163 acres, chiefly woodland; stoves
were cast here with much detailed design, marked with the name of Bird;
also cannon for the Revolutionary Army; Hopewell furnace, although idle
for many years, is not dismantled, and the village street of
iron-workers’ homes is much the same as it must have been in early
times.
OLEY FORGE, south of the little hamlet called Oley Churches, and about
ten miles from the confluence of the Manatawny and Schuylkill rivers,
was organized by John Ross in 1744, and was in active operation for one
hundred and twenty years. In 1760, a valuable deposit of iron ore was
found in Oley Township, and in 1765 Dietrich Welcker erected OLEY
FURNACE, near the mountain; it was owned by General Daniel Udree during
the Revolution. PINE FORGE was among the earliest of those erected in
the Manatawny district, on land conveyed by William Penn to Thomas
Rutter; the original patent is in possession of the Rutter family. There
is every evidence that the group of early forges and furnaces had a
general interchange in their business affairs, as the owners of the
plants were almost identical; William Bird, in 1733, was cutting wood
for the use of Pine Forge, at two shillings ninepence a day. Ten years
later we find him renting one-eighth of Pine Forge at £40 per annum.
The management of the old forges was patriarchal in its character; grist
mill, sawmill, and the village store were all under control of the
company, and the records of the old forges and furnaces are filled with
human interests of an earlier day. WINDSOR FURNACE,
[Illustration: TRINITY CHURCH, READING, BUILT IN 1791]
on Furnace Creek, under shadow of the Blue Mountains, besides making pig
iron and the usual hollow ware cast in colonial times, was noted for
remarkable artistic work under the management of Jones, Keim & Co.; one
casting, being a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” is now in
possession of the Philadelphia Exchange.
[Illustration: BEDFORD COUNTY]
IX
BEDFORD COUNTY
Formed March 9, 1771; named by Governor John Penn, in 1776, from fort of
this name in the county. Is widely known for its mineral springs. When
first established it embraced entire southwest part of the province.
Mean altitude 1100-1200 feet above sea level; in northwest at Blue Knob,
near Blair and Cambria County line, is highest elevation in
Pennsylvania, 3136 feet above sea level. Surface is broken by parallel
ranges of mountains, with narrow, beautiful valleys, in a high state of
cultivation. Chief industries are farming, stock raising, and apple
growing. It is said that the most important fields of bituminous coal in
Pennsylvania are largely in the northeast of this County known as “The
Broad Top Coal Fields.” Population Scotch-Irish, German, and English.
First permanent settlement was made in 1750, by a Scotchman named Ray
(McRay), an Indian trader, near present site of Bedford, then Raystown.
In 1755, Colonel James Burd was appointed by the province to construct
the first wagon road, from Fort Louden, Franklin County, to join
Braddock’s road near Turkey Foot, Somerset County, passing through
Raystown (Bedford), practically identical with the Chambersburg and
Bedford Turnpike, now Lincoln Highway. On western border where this road
crosses main range of the Alleghenies, at a point two-thirds of the
ascent, is a view unsurpassed in the picturesque charm of the
landscape, stretching far and wide. The highway follows the main course
of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata, crossing this stream at least
four times; bridges are iron or old wooden ones.
The fort at Raystown was constructed in 1758 by the vanguard of General
Forbes’ army; it embraced about seven thousand square yards, occupying
the bluff now bounded on the east by Richard Street; south, Pitt Street
(Lincoln Highway); west, Juliana Street; north, the Raystone River; it
was the most prominent military stronghold in the central part of the
province, and the principal rendezvous of troops forming the right wing
of General John Forbes’ army in his expedition against Fort Duquesne,
5850 men, besides wagoners; largest single contingent was 2700
Pennsylvania provincials under Colonel Bouquet, who had chief charge of
entire force, until General Forbes arrived; the 1600 Virginians were
under command of Colonel George Washington and Colonel William Byrd. In
1759, General John Stanwix, then in command of the garrison, had the
name changed to Fort Bedford, in honor of the Duke of Bedford; now no
trace of the fortification remains.
In 1794, Bedford became the headquarters of General Henry Lee, Governor
of Virginia, who was commander in chief of the army of 13,000 troops
raised to quell the Whiskey Insurrection; President Washington, after
reviewing the troops at Carlisle and Cumberland, came to Bedford and
made his headquarters in a stone house on Pitt Street, house still
standing.
BEDFORD, county seat, population 2330; laid out, 1766, by Surveyor
General John Lukens, with a commodious square, in the most convenient
place. Courthouse erected, 1828, colonial with clock tower, architect
and contractor, Solomon Filler, faces the square. Opposite is the United
States Post Office, built, 1915, Indiana limestone, classic, Doric
columns, architect, Oscar Wenderoth; also facing the square are the
Presbyterian Church, colonial, built, 1828, on site of an earlier one
built in 1810; and the Lutheran Church, fine two-story building and
parsonage. The Soldiers’ Monument in honor of Bedford County volunteers
in Civil War occupies center of square. Handsome memorial colonial
gateway forms entrance to Bedford Cemetery, stone, with bronze tablets.
The therapeutic qualities of the Mineral Springs are believed to be
second to none anywhere in the world, and justly entitle Bedford to the
name of the Carlsbad of America; one and one-half miles south of the
borough, within an area of a few square rods, several varieties of water
are to be found; most famous is the Magnesia Spring, efficacious in
disturbances of the digestive organs; others are known as the Black
Sulphur, Limestone, Chalybeate, and Sweet Water Spring. Colonial Hotel
has a colonnade of Doric columns, twenty feet high, made of native solid
trees; the links for the Scottish game of golf are on a place earlier
named Caledonia. The Bedford Chalybeate Springs, about one mile
northeast of the town, contain waters showing analysis of carbonate of
calcium, magnesium, iron and sodium, and sulphite of calcium. Ten miles
southwest of Bedford are the White Sulphur Springs in Milliken’s Cave,
second largest health resort in the country; waters are unexcelled in
health-restoring properties.
[Illustration: NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY]
X
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY
Formed March 21, 1772; named for the Duke of Northumberland.
Mountainous, with great amount of fertile land, watered by the
Susquehanna River and tributaries. Chief industry is coal mining.
County seat, SUNBURY, population 15,721, on site of a populous Indian
village named Shamokin, occupied variously by different tribes; in 1745,
the town contained about fifty houses and three hundred inhabitants; the
Six Nations used it as a tarrying place for their war parties against
the Catawbas of the South.
It was the residence of Shikellimy, an Oneida chief sent by the
Iroquois, who claimed the land by conquest in 1728, he was the Indian
diplomat, and land agent of the three great tribes of Pennsylvania, New
York and Delaware, with supervision of the Delaware, Shawnee, and other
tribes. He also had to look after all matters relating to the settlement
and purchase of Indian lands by the whites. In 1742, Count Zinzendorf,
with Conrad Weiser and others, came to Shamokin; Shikellimy gave them a
hearty welcome, and promised to forward their design of having a
Moravian Mission there; it was established in 1747 by Martin Mack and
his wife; Bishop Cammerhoff and Zeisberger visited the town the next
year. In 1748 Shikellimy died; “the Chief who never swerved in his
friendship to the Province”; he had been baptized in the Christian faith
in Bethlehem, and was buried just outside of what was later Fort
Augusta; James Logan, his second son, was perhaps the best known of his
children; made so by the murder of his family, near the mouth of Yellow
Creek, on the Ohio, in 1774, and the famous “Logan’s Lament.” A large
boulder, with memorial tablet, marks Shikellimy’s grave; it was placed,
in 1915, by the Fort Augusta Chapter, Daughters of the American
Revolution, and the Pennsylvania Historical Commission; the boulder is
of very close grained rock, of the kind used by the Indians for their
hardest and strongest implements; it was quarried near Wapwallopen,
about forty miles above Sunbury; this rock boulder, from our local
mountains, will resist the forces of nature for centuries to come, as it
has done for ages past.
Shamokin (Sunbury) was also the residence of Allummapees, or Sassounan,
the head chief of the Delawares, so that this place was, in every sense
of the term, the Indian capital of Pennsylvania from 1728-48, and was
deserted in 1749 on account of a severe famine along the Susquehanna. At
the north of Sunbury, along the river drive, is site of Fort Augusta,
built in 1756 by Colonel Miles and Captain Trump of the Second
Pennsylvania Battalion; it was the frontier, after Forts Muncy, Brady,
and Freeland were destroyed in 1779 by British and Indians; the powder
magazine, and well, built of brick, are still intact and in good
preservation. This was said to have been the most strategic point in the
whole section; a monument on either side of the roadway marks the place.
On the site of the fortifications is a brick mansion; within are many
relics taken from the fort, and draft of original plan. Visitors are
welcome. Site of Fort Freeland on north side of Warrior’s Run, four
miles east of Watsontown; it was a large stockaded log house, built in
1773, enclosing about half an acre.
SUNBURY was laid out 1772, by William Maclay and John Lukens, by order
of Governor Richard Penn, who named it. William Maclay, first United
States Senator from Pennsylvania, built his stone residence, still
standing, on the river bank in northwest part of town; the city plan is
like that of Philadelphia, and many of the streets have the Philadelphia
names; Market Street faces a public square between Second and Third
Streets, known as Cameron Park, in which is the Civil War Soldiers’
Monument, granite shaft surmounted by a life-size, granite statue of
Colonel James Cameron, who organized a regiment from this county.
Courthouse, Second Street, facing west side of Cameron Park, originally
built in 1866; Georgian; brick with Hummelstown brownstone trimmings;
was remodeled in the same style in 1915 and enlarged, in the rear, with
a cross wing, giving two fine courtrooms, last architect, William H.
Lee, Shamokin. The prison, one block away, at the corner of Second and
Arch Streets, medieval castle style, built, 1878, dark gray stone, with
stone wall twenty feet high, surrounding the whole structure, has wing
used as a penitentiary, where prisoners serve out their sentences; they
weave carpets and make coarse hosiery.
NORTHUMBERLAND, settled, 1772, population 4061. Dr. Joseph Priestly,
chemist and philosopher, was its most noted inhabitant; he emigrated
here in 1794, to be with his son, and died, 1804; in 1874, Scientists
of America celebrated here the centennial of Dr. Priestly’s discovery of
oxygen; his house, built, 1796, is still standing, in excellent
preservation; a portrait of Dr. Priestly, by Gilbert Stuart, is owned by
Miss Priestly. The Academy was erected in 1803, mainly through the
efforts of Dr. Priestly; Rev. Isaac Greer, first principal.
XI
WESTMORELAND COUNTY
Formed February 26, 1773, named for the County of Westmoreland, England.
Chief industries, coal, coke, gas, and manufactories. Ruins of old
furnaces abound in this section, relics of the iron industry about 1800.
The Lincoln Highway crosses this county, formerly the Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh Turnpike, entering near LAUGHLINSTOWN, at the base of Laurel
Ridge, elevation, 2700 feet; here is a museum of relics, shown in an old
tavern of stage coach days, built about 1800, where Daniel Webster is
said to have stopped, and Zachary Taylor, in 1848, held a reception.
Three miles west is LIGONIER, on site of a fort built by Captain Burd
under the direction of Colonel Bouquet, a Swiss; named for Sir John
Ligonier, a famous English general; all traces of the fort have been
obliterated; a descriptive tablet, erected by the Daughters of the
American Revolution, is in the town square. In the High School Library
is an engraving, from a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, of Sir John
Ligonier. Near by is Idlewild Park.
At Bushy Run the Indians made a furious attack on Bouquet and his
company but were utterly routed and they retreated beyond the Ohio;
Bouquet then marched to Fort Pitt and recovered it in 1763; next year he
led an expedition beyond the Ohio River, the Indians sued for peace, and
he compelled them to
[Illustration: WESTMORELAND COUNTY]
bring all their captives to Fort Pitt. One and a half miles west of
Ligonier is residence of General Arthur St. Clair, from 1767-72, “The
Hermitage,” rebuilt, excepting one room, which is well cared for; there
is a well-grounded tradition that Washington sent from Mount Vernon two
expert carpenters, whose quaintly designed woodwork, mantelpiece and
wainscoting doubtless saved this room from destruction; the house was
marked in 1913, by the Phœbe Bayard Chapter, Daughters of the American
Revolution, of Greensburg.
Four miles west of Latrobe is St. Vincent’s Monastery and Church,
dedicated in 1905, brick and stone buildings, with highly decorated
interiors, containing the main altar, onyx, set with jewels, and fine
wood carvings from Italy. North, on William Penn Highway, is NEW
ALEXANDRIA; here, owned by Elizabeth Craig, is a Rattlesnake Flag, in
use before the Revolution, made of crimson silk; in the upper left-hand
corner is the English coat of arms; on the field is a rattlesnake with
thirteen rattles, indicating the thirteen colonies; underneath are the
words “Don’t tread on me,” J. P. F. B. W. C. P.--for John Proctor’s
First Battalion Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; by whom it was
adopted.
GREENSBURG, population 15,033, formerly called Newtown, settled in 1782;
made county seat in 1786, and name changed in honor of General Nathaniel
Greene, who had died at Savannah, Georgia, that same year; many of the
Westmoreland County soldiers served under him in the Revolution. It now
has its fourth courthouse, a dignified building, French Renaissance,
white granite, the façade surmounted by a well-proportioned dome,
dedicated, 1908; architect, William Kauffman; contains portraits of
judges and lawyers. Among the churches of good architecture are the
United Brethren, classic, Doric, architects, Winkler & Macdonald; and
the First Presbyterian on South Main Street, Gothic, stone, architects,
Cram & Ferguson. Other notable buildings are the Post Office, classic,
Ionic; the Y. M. C. A., an adaptation of Colonial, and St. Joseph’s
Academy, with beautiful grounds, overlooking the whole town.
In St. Clair Cemetery is a monument to General Arthur St. Clair, who is
buried here. About five miles distant is Oakford Park. Fells Church in
Rostravor Township southwest is said to be the second Methodist Church
west of the Alleghenies, built of logs in 1792; present stone building
in 1834; in the burial ground are many pioneers of western
Pennsylvania.
XII
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Formed March 28, 1781; named for President Washington; originally part
of Augusta County, Virginia. First court held here was two miles west on
the Gabby farm, marked by granite block; inscription, “On this spot, was
held in 1776, the County Court, for the District of West Augusta,
Virginia; the first Court held by English-speaking people, west of the
Monongahela River. Erected by Washington County Historical Society
1905.” Chief industries, between 1860-80 raising fine stock and wool
growing; in 1884, oil was discovered and for ten or fifteen years this
county became an oil center, with some of the largest wells; now coal is
being shipped all over the country from seemingly boundless veins.
WASHINGTON, county seat, laid out in 1782, population 21,480.
Courthouse, built in 1900, on Main Street, Italian Renaissance, Columbia
sandstone and granite; architect, F. J. Osterling; contains portraits,
also collections made by the Washington County Historical Society;
ground given by David Hoge of Virginia, who owned large tracts of land
where the town now is. Town Hall, corner-stone laid by General U. S.
Grant, in 1869; contains Public Library, gift of Dr. Francis J. Le
Moyne. Washington and Jefferson College, combined in 1870, from
Washington College founded 1787, and Jefferson College founded in
Canonsburg, 1802; both flourished until the Civil
[Illustration: WASHINGTON COUNTY]
War, when many students enlisted and financial depression followed;
located one square east of the courthouse; oldest part, two story,
stone, erected, 1793; main building, brick, 1836, enlarged, 1875, houses
the Y. M. C. A., the museum, classrooms, and laboratories; several other
fine buildings of brick and stone are on the campus; chapel contains
portraits.
Washington Seminary, recognized as one of the oldest and best
institutions for women students, one square south of college, was built,
1836. Bradford House, first stone house in this locality, was built,
1794, by Colonel William Bradford, a leader in the Whiskey Insurrection.
Residence, Dr. Francis Julius Le Moyne, native of this town, built in
1812, East Maiden Street near Main, is one of the landmarks; he was a
brilliant scholar, abolitionist, and promoter of the underground
railroad; he built the first crematory in America, located south of
Washington, first cremation, Baron de Palen, in 1876. Dr. Le Moyne was
cremated, 1879. The Presbyterian Church leads, with the other principal
denominations represented, also Jewish Synagogue. West from Washington,
the Campbell family founded the Disciples, or Christian Church, on
Buffalo Creek.
The Cumberland Road, built, 1811, brought an almost unbroken stream of
home seekers through this town, en route to the west; bridges and
culverts built about the same time still stand, models of solid masonry
and good engineering, one is between Washington and Claysville, town
named for Henry Clay, who had an interest in the road and frequently
came here.
CANONSBURG, laid out, 1787, by Colonel John Canon, population 10,632, a
portion of his first grist mill is on original location near Chartier’s
Creek. Jefferson College chartered, 1802; oldest building erected in
1830; on North Central Avenue, highest ground in town; was outgrowth of
Dr. John McMillan’s Log Cabin Latin School from 1782; first classical
school west of the Allegheny Mountains, his cabin stands on the campus,
marked by a bronze tablet, placed by the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity,
custodians; having been removed from its original site, two miles south
of town; Franklin Hall, converted into a Memorial Hall in 1900, contains
portraits of college presidents and professors between 1802-69, also
collections of old books from several early libraries and literary
societies; may be seen by applying to any of the Memorial Hall
Committee. Stone edifice, opposite campus, built by John Roberts, Esq,
who conducted a school and kept post office here in 1801, parts of walls
are said to be part of stone Academy Building, erected by Colonel Canon,
for which he donated the ground in 1790; it was merged with the Log
Cabin School to form Jefferson College.