History of Northumberland Co., PA - Chapter 8



CHAPTER 8 - Pages 297-328
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
RELATION OF HIGHWAYS OF TRAVEL TO CIVILIZATION - PUBLIC ROADS - THE
TULPEHOCKEN ROAD - THE OLD READING ROAD - EARLY COUNTY ROADS - TURNPIKES
- RIVER NAVIGATION - CANALS - RAILROADS - PENNSYLVANIA - DANVILLE AND
POTTSVILLE - PHILADELPHIA AND ERIE - NORTHERN CENTRAL - SUNBURY,
HAZELTON AND WILKESBARRE - SUNBURY AND LEWISTOWN - LEWISBURG AND TYRONE
- PHILADELPHIA AND READING - MINE HILL AND SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - MAHANOY
AND SHAMOKIN - ENTERPRISE - SHAMOKIN AND TREVORTON - TREVORTON, MAHANOY
AND SUSQUEHANNA - CATAWISSA - SHAMOKIN, SUNBURY AND LEWISBURG - DELAWARE,
LACKAWANNA AND WESTERN - LEHIGH VALLEY - WILKESBARRE AND WESTERN

   THE relation that highways of travel sustain to material and
intellectual progress has been frequently discussed in learned
dissertations upon the philosophy of civilization. It has been shown
that maritime nations were the first to advance in the arts; that every
great river is a highway by which civilizing influences penetrate to the
interior of continents, and that national insulation, as illustrated in
the case of certain Oriental peoples, results in a condition of utter
stagnation. The various agencies by which intercommunication is usually
facilitated in an inland community - public roads, navigable rivers,
canals, and railroads - the result as well as the cause of internal
development and progress, are properly comprehended under the
generalization which appears at the head of this chapter.

PUBLIC ROADS

   Two well defined routes of travel lead from the frontier settlements to
the Indian town at the forks of Susquehanna. That pursued by the Indian
traders and early explorers followed the course of the river; the other,
which may with some degree of propriety be called the overland route,
began at the settlements on the Tulpehocken, crossed the various mountains
and streams in a northwesterly direction, and probably intersected the
river some distance below Shamokin.
   Internal improvements in Northumberland county first received
attention during the construction of Fort Augusta. The following entry
appears in Major Burd's diary of January 15, 1757: "This day I went with
Captain Shippen and a party and laid out a straight road round Shamokin
Hill for the benefit of transporting our provisions hither, finding it
impracticable to pass over the mountain." On the 17th he went himself
with a party and began to open the road. On the 20th instant he wrote:
"This day I sent Captain Shippen and the adjutant with a small party to
extend the road from the first rise over the gut to the forks of the road
on the top of the mountain, with orders to blaze it............Captain
Shippen returns and reports he had found a very good road with an easy
ascent over the mountain that could be traveled at all times, and had
blazed it well. This day the party clearing the road to the first rise and
making the bridge over the gut reports the same finished." This was the
first road regularly laid out in the county.(1)
   While a regularly opened highway would doubtless have greatly
facilitated military operations, the first effort to open a road through
the present territory of the county resulted principally from commercial
considerations. At a meeting of the provincial Council on the 30th of
January, 1768,(2) a petition was presented from "a very considerable
number of the inhabitants of Berks county," setting forth that if a road
were opened from Reading to Fort Augusta "it would greatly tend to
advance the trade and commerce with the Indians who are settled at the
heads of the Susquehanna river, and to preserve the friendship and peace
with them, and would also save great charge and expense in transporting
skins and firs from thence, as the distance from that fort to
Philadelphia by way of Reading is much shorter than any other." Upon
taking the matter into consideration the board coincided with the
petitioners regarding the public utility of the road, but, as part of
the country through which it would pass to Fort Augusta had not yet been
relinquished by the Indians, it was not deemed advisable to open it
beyond the line of the purchase of 1749. An order was forthwith issued
directing Jonas Seely, John Patton, Henry Christ, James Scull, Frederick
Weiser, Benjamin Spycker, Mark Bird, Christian Laur, and Thomas Jones,
Jr. to lay out a road by the most direct course from Reading toward Fort
Augusta as far as the line of the purchase of 1749 or to some point on
the Susquehanna river between the mouth of Mahanoy creek and Mahanoy
mountain. The road was accordingly laid out and a return thereof made to
Council.(3) Beginning at Reading it extended in a general northwesterly
course fourteen miles ninety-one perches, to the Tulpehocken; thence
eight miles ninety-four perches, to the Swatara; thence twenty-eight
miles two hundred forty perches, to the Spread Eagle in the forks of
Mahantango; thence four miles two hundred fifty-seven perches, to
Schwaben creek; thence five miles one hundred sixty-four perches, "to a
white-oak on the bank of Susquehanna river and south side of the Mahanoy
mountain" - a total length of sixty-one miles two hundred six perches.
As thus returned the road was confirmed by Council on the 19th of
January, 1769, and an order forthwith issued that it should be opened and
cleared, "and rendered commodious for public service." Its course had
evidently been a traveled route before, as mention is made of "the lower
end of the dug road," "the old feeding place," "the old path to Lykens'
valley," "a noted spring by the old path," etc. This was the old
Tulpehocken road, the first public highway legally opened in
Northumberland county.
   On the 16th of January, 1770, a petition(4) was prepared, setting
forth the advantages to be derived from the opening of a road "from Fort
Augusta to Ellis Hughes's saw mill, on the navigable part of Schuylkill
about thirty miles above Reading." It was considered by Council on the
9th of February, when George Webb, Jonathan Lodge, Henry Miller, Henry
Shoemaker, John Webb, Isaac Willits, and Job Hughes were appointed to
lay out the road, in which service all of them participated except Henry
Miller. The report was returned to Council under date of April 14,
1770; it received the consideration of that body on the 23d of the same
month, when an order was issued confirming the road as laid out and
directing that it should be "opened and rendered commodious for public
service." It was declared to be a "King's highway." From a point on the
Schuylkill three fourths of a mile below Hughes's saw mill to "the bark
of the river Susquehanna by the northwest corner of Fort Augusta" the
length was "thirty-nine miles and one quarter and nineteen perches."
The general course coincided with that of the Centre turnpike, crossing
Broad mountain, Mahanoy creek and mountain, and Shamokin creek This
highway has been popularly known in Northumberland county as the old
Reading road,(5) and, with the Tulpehocken road, constituted the
facilities of overland communication in this part of the State at the
organization of the county.
   Public roads became a subject of judicial consideration in May, 1772,
at the first court of quarter sessions after the formation of the county,
when "sundry the inhabitants of the West Branch of Susquehanna and parts
adjacent" petitioned for the opening of a public road from Fort Augusta up
the east side of the West Branch to Lycoming. Richard Malone, Marcus
Hulings, Jr., John Robb, Alexander Stephens, Daniel Layton, and Amariah
Sutton, to whom the petition was referred, submitted their report at
August sessions, 1772; it was forthwith confirmed and an order of court
issued declaring the road "a public highway of the breadth of thirty-three
feet, to be cleared, maintained, and remain free and open for the public
or persons using the same agreeably to the laws of this Province forever."
As thus laid out it crossed the North Branch half a mile above Fort
Augusta "to a marked hickory near the bank in the main point," thence
passing the houses of John Alexander, William Plunket (above
Chillisquaque), John Dougherty, and Marcus Hulings between the North
Branch and the gap in Muncy Hill.
   Although this road was thus nominally established, it does not appear
that the order of court requiring it to be opened was fully complied
with as subsequent proceedings abundantly testify.
   "The petition of sundry inhabitants of the North Branch of Susquehanna
and of the waters of Mahoning creek in Turbut township" was also
considered at May sessions, 1772. They asked the "worshipful justices" to
take measures for the opening of a road from Fort Augusta to the narrows
of Mahoning, urging as reasons for immediate action that "the earlier such
a road is laid out and opened, the fewer inconveniences will arise to the
inhabitants, as they will then know better how to regulate their fences
and carry on their improvements." Thomas Hewitt, Robert McCulley, John
Black, Hugh McWilliams, Robert McBride, and John Clark, Jr., were
appointed as viewers; their report was returned and confirmed at May
sessions, 1773. The road thus laid out crossed the North Branch a half-
mile above Fort Augusta, coincided with Water street in Northumberland,
crossed McCulley's run, Miller's run at the forks, and continued, at no
great distance from the river, to Mahoning creek. It was the first public
road in the valley of the North Branch.
   The first road down the Susquehanna was confirmed in May, 1773. The
petition was presented at August sessions, 1772, and referred to William
Patterson, Samuel Hunter, Sr., George Wolf, Peter Hosterman, Casper
Reed, and Sebastian Kerstetter. They laid out a road "beginning at the
end of Market street in the town of Sunbury, thence down the Broadway
and along the bank of the river south twenty-five degrees west ninety-
four perches and nine feet, thence across the river," following the bank
on the western side "to a stone in the middle of Mahantango creek,"
where the road to Carlisle was intersected.
   A road from Mahantango to Sunbury on the east side of the Susquehanna
was petitioned for at August sessions, 1774. John Clark, Peter Almaug,
Leonard Kerstetter, Jonas Yocum, Michael Shaver, and John Shaver were
appointed viewers. Their report was confirmed at the corresponding term of
court in the following year; it provided for a bridle road twenty-one feet
wide, "beginning at John Heckert's on Mahantango creek," thence passing in
order Peter Yocum, Casper Snively, Fiddler's run, Anthony Fiddler, Peter
Weiser, Samuel Weiser, Mahanoy creek, Hugh McKinley, William Biles at
Biles's creek, Auchmuty's, Adam Christ, Christian Ferst, Hollowing run,
and Shamokin creek, "to William Baker's house on the road already laid out
and confirmed from Sunbury to Reading." This was the first road leading
from Sunbury to the southern part of the county. It was twenty miles one
hundred thirty-nine perches in length, and did not deviate from the bank
of the river to any extent in any part of its course.
   At February sessions, 1774, a petition was presented for a road "from
the town of Sunbury, betwixt the East Branch of Susquehanna and Shamokin
creek, to where it may fall on said branch a little above the mouth of
Mahoning creek, where a ferry will be erected." It was represented that
such a road would be of great advantage, not only to the inhabitants of
Augusta township, but also to those of Wyoming and Fishing creek; and that
"from the heads of Chillisquaque and Mahoning a level road can be had
through Montour's hill down Mahoning creek the best and nearest way to the
proposed ferry, and about two miles nearer from the said ferry to the town
of Sunbury than any other way can be found." As viewers David McKinney,
William Clark, David Fowler, Robert McBride, Samuel Crooks, and John
Teitsworth were appointed. At November sessions, 1774, they reported
having laid out a road "beginning at a black oak on the bank of the East
Branch of Susquehanna opposite to John Simpson's," thence by various
courses to "the Sunbury road at the bridge east of the said town." It was
forthwith confirmed, and was the first road opened south of the North
Branch from Sunbury to the site of Danville. The course was evidently
quite direct, as the distance between the termini was reported as ten
miles one hundred fifty-one perches.
   An unsuccessful effort was made to have this road extended to
Catawissa in 1778, but this was not accomplished until 1784. How tardy
was the development of the country at this period is shown by the fact
that at the latter date, ten years after this road from Sunbury to
Danville had been laid out, it was opened but five miles from Sunbury.
   The first proceedings for the opening of a road from Sunbury up
Shamokin creek were instituted at February sessions, 1775. Geiger's
mill was the only one in the valley at that date; and the petitioners
state that "to come to the only mill in their neighborhood, as well as
to the town of Sunbury" they were obliged to pass through "low or level
lands" upon which "a number of people" were "daily making improvements
and fencing in the level lands." They therefore prayed the court to have
a road laid out "from William Winter's land the most convenient way to
Geiger's mill and from thence to the town of Sunbury." Aaron Wilkerson,
Robert Fitzrandolph, William Baker, Thomas Runyon, Valentine Geiger, and
Anthony Hinkle were appointed as viewers; at May sessions they reported
having laid out a road "beginning at a white-oak marked N. B. on William
Winter's land," thence by Geiger's mill to Sunbury, which was ordered to
be opened the breadth of fifty feet. As the usual breadth was thirty-
three feet, this was evidently regarded as an important highway.
   As previously stated, a road from Sunbury to Lycoming was ordered
laid out at the second court of general quarter sessions after the
organization of the county. A considerable period lapsed before the
order of court was carried into execution, however. Under date of May
29, 1776, Samuel Wallis, an early settler at Muncy and one of the most
prominent and influential citizens of the West Branch valley, informed
the court that "the inhabitants of this county in general have for a long
time past labored under great inconveniences by having the common way
frequently stopped up at the will and pleasure of those who are settled
along it;" and at February sessions, 1778, a petition was read, stating
that "by accidents and other delays no road has yet been opened, to the
manifest and great inconvenience of the inhabitants." Joseph Wallis,
George Silverthorn, Andrew Russell, James Harrison, John Scott, and James
McMahan were appointed as viewers, but there is no record of their
proceedings. The "Great Runaway" and the harassing experiences of the
following years obviated any necessity for public highways in the West
Branch valley for some time afterward. At August sessions, 1785, a
petition numerously signed was submitted to the court, praying that a road
might be laid out from Samuel Wallis's by Henry Shoemaker's mills to
Northumberland; it was referred to James McMahan, James Carscaddon,
William McWilliams, Jacob Follmer, Jacob Hill, and John Robb, who reported
at February sessions, 1786, that "notwithstanding the many advantages the
said road would be to the inhabitants in the forks, yet the same was
retarded at the first by the order not being issued until the November
court following, since which time the inclemency of the weather and other
incumbrances disabled us to fully comply with the said order." There was
evidently some lack of harmony (perhaps this was one of the
"incumbrances"), and Henry Billeigh and John Alexander were substituted
for John Robb and James McMahan, respectively. But this did not entirely
obviate disagreements; their order was continued and they proceeded
thereon "unanimously from the place of beginning to Mr. James
Harrison's, but disputes there arising which was the nearest and best
way to proceed, and much time being spent in determining the same
without coming to any conclusion, the viewers declined proceeding to
finish the business." A new board, composed of William Fisher, Daniel
Montgomery, Richard Martin, Robert Reynolds, William Reed, and James
McClung, was thereupon appointed. Under date of August 19, 1786, they
presented a report, showing the courses and distances from Wolf's run
near Wallis's to Northumberland, a distance of twenty-two and three
fourths mile. That part between Wolf's run and James Harrison's and from
Chillisquaque meeting house to Northumberland was forthwith confirmed;
for the remainder a review was ordered, but not acted upon, and the
whole was confirmed at November sessions, 1788. In course of time the
northern end of this highway acquired the name of "Harrison's road," and
its southern end that of "Strawbridge's road."(6)

   A propensity to obstruct the highways was not confined to the West
Branch, as is evident from a petition from Mahanoy township considered
at March sessions, 1779. In the informal manner with which the
necessities of public conveniences were provided, a road had been opened
from Stonebraker's mill to the Gap church, which, the petition recites,
"John Chob hath fenced up ....... so that the neighbors can not go to
the mills or to the church, which is no advantage to him but a great
disadvantage to many of the neighbors." Martin Kerstetter, Dietrick
Rough, Michael Lenker, John Wolf, Martin Thomas, and Michael Shaffer
were appointed to lay out a road for public use, "upon condition that
the petitioners open, fence, clear, survey, and support said road at
their own expense." Under date of April 6, 1779, they reported having
laid out a road from the month of Mahantango to Stonebraker's mill,
which was confirmed, June 21, 1779. This was the first road in the
valley of that creek on the Northumberland county side.
   As opened in 1769, the Tulpehocken road extended to the Susquehanna
at Samuel Weiser's near the mouth of Mahanoy creek. No effort appears to
have been made to continue it to Sunbury until 1782; in a petition
presented to the court at February sessions in that year the following
interesting paragraph occurs:-

   We are informed by good authority that Robert Martin, of
Northumberland-Town, and Ennion Williams, of the city of Philadelphia,
have lately set on foot subscriptions in said city and other places in
order to raise a sum of money to be applied toward opening said road;
which subscriptions have met the approbation of a great number of
gentlemen, who have generously subscribed thereto to the amount of two
hundred pounds.

   Among those who indorsed this petition were Matthew Smith, prothonotary
of the county; Stephen Chambers and John Vannost, attorneys; Samuel
Hunter, William Cooke, Daniel Montgomery, Robert Martin, Joseph Lorentz,
William Gray, George Wolf, and Abraham Dewitt. They suggested a highway to
intersect the Tulpehocken road four or five miles above its terminus on
the Susquehanna and continue thence to Mahantango creek. As viewers were
appointed John Eckert, Peter Ferst, Henry Crips, George Wolf, Peter Hall,
Jacob Conrad, and Matthew Smith, with Jonathan Lodge as surveyor. Their
report, dated March 14, 1782, was confirmed at May sessions following, so
far as the road from Sunbury to the Tulpehocken road was concerned;
against that part between the Tulpehocken road and Mahantango creek the
inhabitants of Mahanoy township remonstrated, and it was not confirmed
until May sessions, 1785. The road thus opened became the principal route
of travel between Sunbury and the southern part of the county, Lancaster,
and Harrisburg. The name of the old Tulpehocken road was gradually
transferred to it and at the present day it almost monopolizes that
designation.
   The road originally laid out from Sunbury to the mouth of
Mahantango was merely a bridle road, and little more than a legalized
path. At February sessions, 1782, the court was petitioned to open a
public highway of the regular width, and viewers were accordingly
appointed. Nothing whatever was done under this order, and at February
term, 1785, John White, Casper Snider, Adam Miller, Sebastian Brosius,
Samuel Moodie, and Samuel Weiser were substituted for the persons
originally selected, and Samuel Auchmuty seems to have officiated in
place of Moodie. Their report was confirmed at May sessions, 1785, and
the road ordered opened thirty-three feet wide. At a later date this
road was widened at various places at considerable expense, and was a
much traveled route until the construction of the railroad.
   The road opened in 1786-88 from Northumberland to Wolf's run was
too far distant from the river to confer much substantial benefit upon
the inhabitants in the immediate vicinity of the West Branch. This was
early anticipated, and at February sessions, 1786, three petitions were
presented for a road from Sunbury to Lycoming, in which the citizens of
Turbut, Mahoning, and Muncy appear to have given a general concurrence.
A view was ordered, but no proceeding under it are known to have
occurred. A year later the case was reopened; John Boyd, Abraham Scott,
Thomas Palmer, Samuel Harris, Henry Shoemaker, and William Hepburn,
viewers appointed, made return at May term, 1787, which was confirmed
and the road ordered to be "maintained, deemed, and taken thenceforth
for an open highway of the breadth of fifty feet forever." As thus
described the road began "at a post on the westerly side of the East
Branch of Susquehanna river in the middle of Market street in the town
of Northumberland " continuing at no great distance from the channel of
the West Branch to "a post in the end of Amariah Sutton's lane and on
the easterly bank of Lycoming creek."
   A road crossing diagonally from Muncy creek to the mouth of
Mahoning creek and thence in a southeasterly direction to the Reading
and Sunbury road was projected at an early period in the history of the
county, and probably originated with the Montgomerys, the enterprising
founders of Danville. That part from the West Branch of Susquehanna to
the North Branch was confirmed at August term, 1785. At February
sessions, 1786, the court was petitioned to continue it to the Reading
road, but the persons appointed to that service "through hurry of
business" neglected to attend to it, and the petition was again presented
at May term. John Irwin, William McLees, John Teitsworth, Michael Weaver,
Alexander Ewing, and Richard Robinson were appointed as viewers; they
reported at August term following the courses and distances from the
Reading road to the top of Shamokin Hill near Robert Randolph's
plantation, a distance of five miles, which was confirmed; regarding the
remaining distance they were not fully agreed, and evidently failed to
agree, for at the same term of court a different set of viewers was
constituted. In August, 1790, another effort was made to have this road
opened, from the top of Shamokin Hill to the North Branch, but, owing to
irregularities in the proceedings of the viewers, their report was set
aside. The object desired was finally attained at November sessions, 1791,
when the report of James Finney, John Bogart, Isaac Coldron, Thomas
Willits, Nehemiah Hutton, and Jacob Faust, Jr., providing for a road from
General Montgomery's house at the site of Danville to "a pine tree in the
end of the old road on the top of Shamokin Hill" received confirmation at
the hands of the court. This was the most important road opened in the
eastern part of the county at an early date.
   The first public road in the valley of Little Shamokin creek was
petitioned for at August term, 1787. The projectors represented "that a
number of people who have settled, and others who are wanting to settle,
in Little Shamokin creek valley labor under many inconveniences for want
of a road to begin at the Reading road at Lewis's run and to extend up
said run through Lightfoot's and Starr's land, [in] the said valley,
Jacob Miller's land, and to meet the Reading road at John Miller's
tavern," and, with commendable public spirit, expressed their
willingness to "open and maintain such a road at their own expense,
providing the court will empower them to do so." As viewers the court
appointed Jacob Conrad, Adam Miller, William Gray, Thomas Reece, John
Weitzel, and John Miller, who made report at the following term.
   A legally authorized highway was first opened through the valley of
Greenbrier or Schwaben creek in 1788. It was laid out by Andrew Reitz,
John Nicholas Hettrick, John Nicholas Snyder, George Pfeiffer, Michael
Roth, and Frederick Kobel, and extended from the Sunbury and Paxtang
(Tulpehocken) road ten miles in a general easterly direction. The
viewers were appointed at November sessions, 1787, and their report was
confirmed at May term, 1788.    

TURNPIKES

   In 1799 Jacob D. Breyvogel collected certain sums of money
aggregating two hundred sixty-seven dollars, forty-nine cents, for the
improvement of the Reading road between John Teitsworth's and Jeremiah
Reed's. Thomas Grant was treasurer of the fund, and colonel John Bull
superintended its expenditure. The labor bestowed upon the road was
entirely inadequate, however, and it presented a favorable opportunity
for improvement under corporate auspices.
   The Centre Turnpike Company was incorporated by act of the
legislature, March 25, 1805, the corporators being Joseph Priestley and
John Cowden, of Northumberland; Charles Hall, of Sunbury; Dr. James
Dougal, of Milton; Daniel Montgomery, of Danville; Jacob Toppel, of
Hamburg; Joseph Heister and James May, of Reading; Samuel Morris, Thomas
Leiper, William Tilghman, and James Gibson, of Philadelphia, and William
Hepburn, of Lycoming county, who were authorized to construct a road by
the nearest and best way from Sunbury to Reading, the road to be opened
sixty feet wide and the width of the part artificially constructed to be
eighteen feet. Milestones were to be erected, and bridges were
authorized wherever the company should deem necessary or expedient.
   As with the majority of internal improvements in progress at that
date, the work of construction did not advance rapidly. A supplement to
the act of incorporation was secured on the 17th of March, 1806, by
which John Dorsey, Samuel Meeker, Thomas Fitzsimmons, and Peter Robison
were added to the corporators, and the company was granted the privilege
of constructing a section thirty miles in length beginning at
Teitsworth's tavern, thirteen miles east of Sunbury. By the act of March
21, 1808, the Governor was authorized to subscribe for six hundred
shares of stock in the company, which amount was increased to nine
hundred in 1812. Under this appropriation the road was at length
completed; but the company had secured advances from the Bank of
Pennsylvania, the adjudication of which involved protracted and
expensive litigation, and in 1821 an appropriation of thirty thousand
dollars was made by the legislature to be applied by the managers
towards paying the judgment obtained at the suit of the bank against the
former managers, Daniel De B. Keim, John Adams, and others. The
aggregate capitalization was one hundred forty thousand dollars; the
road was seventy-six miles in length, extending from Sunbury in a
general easterly direction to Bear Gap, on the extreme eastern limit of
the county, and thence southeast across the mountains to Reading. It was
never a paying property; on the other hand, it proved to be a drain upon
the treasury of the State, which ultimately sold its interest at much
less than the par value. It was purchased principally by. the Messrs.
Taggart and Priestley, of Northumberland, and their families had a
controlling interest in the property for many years. That part of the
road between Sunbury and Pottsville was very unprofitable to the
stockholders; consequently it received but little improvement, and
public sentiment at length compelled its abandonment The section
between Pottsville and Reading was operated until a few years since;
when the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley railroad was constructed it
became necessary to use the road bed of the pike as the line of that
railroad, and a controlling interest was accordingly purchased by J. C.
Bright, of Pottsville, for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The
turnpike thus ceased to be a Northumberland county institution in
proprietary control, as it had ceased to be in fact some years previously.
Originally projected by residents of this county principally, the turnpike
was an enterprise in every way creditable to local financiering. Aside
from business considerations, its management was distinguished by certain
social features well worthy of mention. Semi-annual banquets were
regularly held, usually at Pottsville or Reading, but sometimes in
Philadelphia or elsewhere. These were attended by the officers and
managers, many of the stockholders, and invited guests, among whom were ex-
Governors Curtin and Pollock on one occasion, with other prominent public
men. These will be remembered when the turnpike itself - the difficulties
of its early history, the perplexities of its management, and the
circumstances of its final abandonment - have passed out of the traditions
of the community.
   The Danville Turnpike Road Company was incorporated by act of the
legislature, January 21, 1813, with the following corporators: Lewis
Reese and James May, of Reading; Daniel Montgomery, Jr., and William
Montgomery, Jr., of Danville; Jacob Gearhart and John Jones, of Shamokin
township; Bethuel Vincent and Seth Iredell, of Milton; John Funston and
John Fruit, of Derry; Jacob Shoemaker and George Webb, of Pennsborough;
and Joseph Eves and Richard Demott, of Fishing Creek. The course of the
road led from Danville to Bear Gap by way of Elysburg. It was intended
by this to render the trade of Danville tributary to the Centre
turnpike, as well as to deflect a share of the travel over that
thoroughfare to Danville, and both objects were subserved to an equal
extent. But it does not appear that a great amount of money was ever
expended on the improvement of the road, while the tolls, which were the
same as those charged on the Centre turnpike, were deemed excessive and
exorbitant in proportion to the benefits conferred. This at length
resulted in the forfeiture of the charter, which was repealed by act of
the legislature, April 8, 1848. The road thus reverted to the townships
through which it passes, and has since received only the amount of
attention usually bestowed upon public roads.

RIVER NAVIGATION - CANALS

   The Susquehanna river was declared a public highway by act of
Assembly, March 9, 1771, and James Wright, George Ross, Thomas Minshall,
John Lowdon, Alexander Lowry, William Maclay, Samuel Hunter, Jr.,
William Patterson, Robert Callender, Charles Steward, Reuben Haines,
Thomas Holt, and William Richardson were appointed commissioners to
expend any moneys that might be subscribed or appropriated for the
improvement of that river or of the Juniata, Conestoga, Bald Eagle,
Mahanoy, Penn's creek, the Swatara, Conodoguinet, and Kiskiminetas. It
is not probable that the duties of the commission were onerous, although
their labors were doubtless attended with beneficial results.
   While the varieties of river craft used in the transportation of
the products of the upper Susquehanna valley included rafts, arks,
flatboats, etc., the Durham boat was most widely and generally known.
This craft derived its name from Durham, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania,
not far below Easton, where it was first made, and used by the proprietors
of the furnace at that place in shipping their product to Philadelphia,
Sixty feet in length, eight feet wide, and two feet deep, a Durham boat
drew twenty inches of water under fifteen tons burthen, and was therefore
peculiarly adapted to the navigation of shallow streams. It floated with
the current on the downward voyage; when a swift riffle was reached, a
light cable attached to a windlass in the stern or prow was made fast to
a tree or rock on shore, thus assisting in steadying the boat and
restraining its progress. When manned by four men with "setting" poles,
the boat progressed at the rate of two miles an hour against the
current; this method of locomotion was called "poling" or "cordelling,"
and was extremely laborious. It frequently occurred, however, that the
boat was sold with its cargo when the destination was reached, in which
case the boatmen returned on foot.
   The introduction of sails occurred in 1805-06, when the first
experiments in utilizing the force of the winds in river navigation were
made by Captains Jordan and Blair; the innovation was at once received
with favor, and generally adopted. A further improvement was the
introduction of horse-power in ascending the stream in a calm. The horse
was hitched to the boat by a light tow line, and was usually driven near
the bank by a boy; when not needed the animal was taken on board.
   Steamboat navigation on the Susquehanna was first attempted in
1826. Largely through the instrumentality of Peter A. Karthaus; who
owned a large body of land on the headwaters of the West Branch, and
Tunison Coryell, of Williamsport, two steamboats, the Codorus and
Susquehanna, were built, the former under Baltimore and the latter under
Philadelphia auspices. The Codorus was commanded by Captain Elger, who
experienced great difficulty in ascending the river, but Williamsport
and Farrandsville were at length reached, after which the boat returned
to Northumberland and ascended the North Branch as far as Wilkesbarre
and Binghampton. The Susquehanna was a boat of larger dimensions than
the Codorus, and in attempting to pass the Nescopec rapids in the North
Branch on the 3d of May, 1826, the boiler exploded, resulting in the
complete wreck of the boat and injury or death to many of the passengers
and crew. This disaster conclusively demonstrated the impracticability
of navigating the river by steam. After the construction of the Shamokin
dam at Sunbury a sufficient depth of water was created to permit the use
of small steamers between Shamokin Dam, Sunbury, Northumberland, and
adjacent points.
   The construction of canals was at once agitated as the only
feasible means of transporting the increasing products of the interior
of the State to the seaboard. On the 24th of March, 1828, an act was
passed by the legislature by which the board of canal commissioners was
"authorized and required, on behalf of this Commonwealth, as speedily as
may be, to locate and contract for making canals, locks, and other works
necessary thereto," from Northumberland to Bald Eagle on the West Branch,
and from Northumberland to the State line on the North Branch. A survey
and exploration by an engineer was directed to be made on the west side of
the West Branch, and, after taking into consideration "the relative
advantages, facility, cost of construction, and interests of the
Commonwealth," the board was to decide which side of the river was the
more eligible. Contracts were to be let in that year for the construction
of not more than twenty-five nor less than twenty miles on the West
Branch, and of not more than forty-five nor less than fifteen on the North
Branch. It is needless to state that the eastern side of the West Branch
was selected by the commissioners; and, if the injunction of the
legislature was fully carried out, nearly the entire length of both canals
in this county was placed under construction in 1828. Delays occurred to
interfere with the progress of the work, however, and it was not until
1830 that the North and West Branch canals were opened a sufficient
distance to secure an appreciable amount of traffic. The construction of
the Lewisburg crosscut was authorized by act of May 27, 1830.
   Two packet boats, the George Denison and Gertrude, were launched by
Miller Horton and A. O. Calhoon, respectively, in 1835, for the
transportation of passengers between Northumberland and Wilkesbarre.
Similar facilities were provided on the West Branch, and also on the
division between Northumberland and Harrisburg, and during the season of
navigation they were a great public convenience, partially taking the
place of the stage coach. During the prosperous days of the canal,
Northumberland was an important point upon this system of internal
communication. Here the outlet lock of both the North and West Branch
divisions was located; several hundred thousand dollars were collected
annually from tolls, and the amount of traffic was considerable. But
the public works of the State were never remunerative; a heavy
indebtedness was incurred in their construction, and when a comparison
of receipts with operating expenses revealed an annual deficit to
increase the original indebtedness, with the prospect of decreasing
revenue as the result of railway competition, popular sentiment and
public policy alike demanded such a disposition of the property as would
relieve the State from further expense in connection with it. The "main
line," between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, was sold to the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company in 1857; the West Branch division is now the property
of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Company, but has been abandoned
above Muncy dam and is used to a very limited extent between that point
and Northumberland; the North Branch division is owned by the Pennsylvania
Canal Company, and is principally used in the transportation of coal from
the Wyoming basin.

RAILROADS

   While canals or slackwater navigation entered almost exclusively
into the system of internal improvements designed by the State, and the
discussion of projects for the construction of artificial waterways
received a large share of public attention, there were also those who
regarded railroads as most likely to confer permanent advantages and
result in benefits commensurate with their cost. This was attributable in
some measure to the natural features of the State. It had not yet been
demonstrated that canal construction was feasible except in immediate
proximity to a river or other source of water supply, and hence
railroads received consideration as a means of communication between the
valleys of the Schuylkill and Susquehanna. Legislative provision was
made for the incorporation of three companies in 1826, one of which was
the Danville and Pottsville Railroad Company. As ultimately constructed,
the line of this road is located entirely in Northumberland county, of
which it was for some years the only railroad. It is now a part of the
Pennsylvania railroad system, a brief history of which may properly
precede that of its lines in this county.
   The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was chartered, April 13, 1846;
the original line of its road extended from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, a
distance of two hundred forty-eight miles, and was opened throughout its
entire length on the 15th of February, 1854. The line from Harrisburg to
Philadelphia is made up of the old Philadelphia and Columbia railroad,
originally a State work, and the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mt. Joy and
Lancaster railroad, chartered in 1832, opened in 1838, and leased in
1849. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has a large if not a controlling
interest in the Northern Central railway, and is the lessee of the
Philadelphia and Erie, the Sunbury, Hazelton and Wilkesbarre, the
Sunbury and Lewistown, and the Lewisburg and Tyrone railroads, all of
which are partly situated in Northumberland county.
   The Danville and Pottsville Railroad Company was authorized by act
of the legislature approved on the 8th of April, 1826, by which the
following persons were appointed as commissioners for its organization:
Daniel Montgomery and George A. Frick, of Danville; Andrew McReynolds,
of Columbia county; John C. Boyd, of Northumberland county; Benjamin
Potts, Francis B. Nichols, George Taylor, and John C. Offerman, of
Schuylkill county; Daniel Graeff and Edward B. Hubley, of Berks county,
and George W. Smith and Mark Richards, of Philadelphia. A capital of one
hundred thousand dollars was authorized, in shares of fifty dollars
each. The route of the proposed road was described as follows:
"Beginning at or near the ferry house on the south side of the
Susquehanna, opposite the town of Danville, in the township of Rush in
Northumberland county, and extending to the Schuylkill canal at
Pottsville."
   Over this line a railroad was to be constructed, with a grade not
to exceed an inch to the foot. Causeways were to be erected over the
railway wherever it was intersected by a public road or turnpike, and
also for the convenience of private owners through whose lands it
passed. It was declared to be a public highway upon completion of any
section five miles in length; persons using it were required to provide
such vehicles as should be prescribed by the company, and in the
transportation of commodities the following rates of toll were
established: coal, salt, gypsum, and lime, one and one half cents per ton
per mile; lumber, squared or round, two cents per mile per hundred feet
solid; boards, plank, scantling, or other sawed stuff reduced to inch
stuff, two cents per mile per thousand feet; staves and headings for pipes
and hogsheads, two cents per thousand per mile; all other articles not
enumerated, four cents per ton per mile; and twenty per cent. additional
for single and detached articles weighing less than a ton. The character
of these provisions is sufficient evidence that the railroad industry was
in its incipiency. The erection of causeways at every intersection with a
public road indicates an exaggerated idea of the danger of a railroad
crossing to public travel; the articles enumerated, coal and lumber,
show from what sources the revenue was expected to be derived; and the
railroad was popularly regarded as differing from the turnpike
principally in construction and motive power, individuals furnishing
their own vehicles for transportation on one as well as the other. It
was not until 1831 that the company was authorized "to purchase, with
the funds of the said company, and place on the railroad constructed by
them under this act, all machines, wagons, vehicles, carriages, and
teams, of any kind whatsoever that they may deem necessary or proper for
the purposes of transportation," the rates charged to be twice as great
as those originally provided for, and the goods to be transported in the
order of receipt at the depot. This marks an important advance in the
ideas of railroad management at that period.
   It does not appear that any definite progress was made under the
original act of incorporation. A supplement, which received executive
sanction on the 14th of April, 1828, authorized an increase of the
capital stock to one million dollars and the construction of branches to
Catawissa and Sunbury; the number of commissioners was increased, among
the additional names being those of Joseph R. Priestley, William A.
Lloyd, and John Taggart, of Northumberland, and Hugh Bellas, Ebenezer
Greenough, Martin Weaver, and Alexander Jordan, of Sunbury, with others
from Catawissa, Philadelphia, and Pottsville. New vitality was infused
into the enterprise; it obtained the active support of Stephen Girard,
of Philadelphia, and Burd Patterson, of Pottsville, while General Daniel
Montgomery, of Danville, had been an active promoter from its first
inception. A survey was made, the route was determined upon, and twelve
miles of the eastern division had been completed, when the death of
Girard deprived the project of its principal financial supporter. In
this emergency recourse was had to the State legislature, and on the 8th
of April, 1834, an act, pledging the faith of the State to the payment
annually of five per cent. interest for twenty-seven years upon the bonds
of the company to any individuals or corporations that should advance the
sum of three hundred thousand dollars or any part of it to the Danville
and Pottsville Railroad Company, became a law. Bonds were sold at auction
in Philadelphia, and the entire amount authorized by the bill was placed
without difficulty. In July, 1834, construction was begun on the section
between Sunbury and Shamokin, the grading of which for a distance of
twenty miles was completed in the summer of 1835. The formal opening to
Stambach's tavern (Paxinos), a point thirteen and one half miles from
Sunbury, occurred on Thursday, the 26th of November, 1835; the Sunbury
Workingmen's Advocate gives the following account of this event:-

   The two elegant and commodious passenger cars lately built at
Pottsville [the "Shamokin" and "Mahanoy"], large enough to convey,
inside and outside, about thirty persons each, having been placed on the
road upon the bank of the Susquehanna, the ringing of bells at twelve
o'clock and the joyful cheers of the traveling party and spectators
announced their departure for the engineers' quarters at the eastern end
of this completed division. Two of Mr. Weaver's mail-coach horses drew
each car, if drawing it can be called, when drawing there was none.
   The party in the cars were met by other citizens at the eastern
end, where a dinner had been prepared in such profusion and excellence
as showed that various modes of internal improvement were perfectly
understood. The oldest citizen of Sunbury, and oldest member of the bar
attending, Daniel Levy, was appointed president of the festivity, Lewis
Dewart and Charles G. Donnel, vice-presidents, Peter Lazarus and Daniel
Brautigam, secretaries, and Hugh Bellas was requested to deliver an
address.

   Toasts were proposed and drank, to the memory of Girard and Montgomery,
"the founders of the railroad," and in honor of its president and
managers, Moncure Robinson, chief engineer, William S. Campbell and G. M.
Totten, first assistant engineers, and their corps of assistants, Hugh
Bellas, the orator of the occasion, Mr. and Mrs. Day, the host and
hostess, etc. Many interesting circumstances in the history of the
enterprise up to that time are embraced in the following extracts from
Mr. Bellas's address:-

   The origin and honor of the project of connecting the Susquehanna
and Schuylkill by railway are due to General Daniel Montgomery. During
the summer of 1828, General Montgomery, then a canal commissioner,
obtained the services of Moncure Robinson in running various
experimental lines and exploring the woods and waters between Danville
and Sunbury, and Pottsville, to ascertain whether it were practicable to
connect the rivers by railroad. Together they traversed the woods and
climbed the hills, and searched the valleys for favorable routes. With
great labor and exposure and with greater ardor and resolution, they
persevered, until finally satisfied that a superior road to that at
first contemplated ought to be constructed; and that a location could be
made, saving a rise and fall of three hundred fifty-four feet from the
first proposed route in passing the Broad mountain, beside shortening
the road and dispensing with three inclined planes. These important
facts were stated in Mr. Robinson's report in October, 1831, with an
estimate of the cost at six hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. This
was predicated upon grading the road from Sunbury to Pottsville for a
double track, with a single track and the necessary turnouts laid down,
until increasing business should render the second track necessary. This
report was adopted and sanctioned by the company; but the great loss
sustained in the falling of the two main pillars of the structure, Girard
and Montgomery, chilled the ardent hopes of our friends. It is well known
that the sudden illness and death of Mr. Girard prevented his
appropriation of three hundred thousand dollars to the completion of this
work, besides his original subscription of two hundred thousand dollars.
   In the summer of 1832 the road formation of the eastern division of
the road was commenced, in conformity to the desire of Mr. Girard and to
the decision of a general meeting of the stockholders, and more than
half was done before the close of the year. In his desire to prosecute
the work vigorously, he ordered at once from England the iron to plate
the rails for the whole road. More fully to enjoy its advantages, he
effected arrangements and compromises with those who held conflicting
claims to his large estate in the Mahanoy coal field. This portion of
the road, extending from the Mount Carbon road, north of Pottsville, to
Girardville, was completed about the close of the year 1883, with all
its superstructure, machinery, planes, fixtures, and tunnel of eight
hundred feet, at the estimated expense of one hundred ninety thousand
dollars, forming a railway from Girardville to Mount Carbon of about
twelve miles. The formation of the road has been extended westward from
Girardville two miles and a half.
   In 1834 the formation of this western portion was commenced, and
finished early last summer; in August last, contracts were made for
laying down the superstructure of thirteen miles and three eighths from
the margin of the river at Sunbury to this place; and now, at the end of
three months, it is finished and traveled, and refinished. Eastward of
this point, running into the coal field some distance, six and a half
miles of road are formed and ready for the superstructure. The sills and
rails are all on the spot, and will be laid whenever the coal harbor is
completed at Sunbury, with its lock to pass the coal boats into the
great basin of the Pennsylvania canal.

   The proceeds arising from the sale of the bonds appear to have been
exhausted with the finishing of the road to Paxinos. No facilities had
yet been completed at Sunbury for transshipment to the canal, and Mr.
Robinson, the engineer, suggested a cessation of active construction
until connection should be established with the Susquehanna river and
Pennsylvania canal. This was duly granted; and in the general
appropriation for internal improvements in 1838, the Danville and
Pottsville Railroad Company received fifty thousand dollars, to be
expended in making the necessary improvements upon the western section
and in extending it to a point twenty and one half miles east of
Sunbury. It was the evident purpose of this latter provision to insure
the completion of the western section in order that it might prove a
feeder to the canal, a State work, and also place the road in a position
to yield a revenue for the payment of the interest upon its bonded debt.
In August, 1838, the road was opened to Shamokin. This event was duly
celebrated by a dinner at Kram's Hotel, at which Burd Patterson, Hugh
Bellas, John C. Boyd, and others were present and delivered addresses.
On this occasion the locomotive was first introduced; it was the "North
Star," built by Eastwick & Harrison, of Philadelphia, transported thence
by canal to Sunbury, and engineered by Mr. Eastwick himself. The first
passenger train from Shamokin to Sunbury consisted of the "North Star,"
the "Shamokin" and "Mahanoy" - the cars previously mentioned - and a few
other cars.
   The road was now regularly opened for traffic and travel between
Sunbury and Shamokin. A second engine, the "Mountaineer," was added
shortly afterward; Charles Gill and Lewis Garretson were the first
engineers of the "North Star" and "Mountaineer," respectively, but
retained their positions only about five months, when the former was
succeeded by Benjamin Katerman and the latter by George Shipe. Two trips
were regularly made each day during the season of navigation on the canal,
the trains consisting of forty loaded coal cars containing two and one
half tons, while the empty cars constituted the train on the return trip
from Sunbury. But the operation of the road was attended with many
difficulties and discouragements. The track consisted of wooden cross-
ties laid upon the ground at intervals of several feet; on these oak
stringers were fastened with wooden wedges, and the stringers, or rails,
were covered with bar iron two and one half inches wide and one half of
an inch thick. The weight of the engines was disproportionate to the
strength of this structure, and as a consequence the train was
frequently off the track, and the track was frequently off the rail,
causing vexatious and expensive delays and ultimately resulting in the
substitution of horse-power for the locomotives. Then the revenue from
the road was insufficient to enable the company to meet the interest on
its obligations, and after several years of unprofitable operation the
property was placed in the hands of Samuel R. Wood as sequestrator. Mr.
Wood was the second superintendent; he was preceded by Thomas Sharp'e,
with whom were associated Patrick Reilly as master mechanic and Messrs.
Robinson, Totten, and Cleaver, civil engineers. Mr. Wood had charge of
the property as sequestrator for some years. The rolling stock was sold
at sheriff's sale. The road was leased to William and Reuben Fagely in
1842, and during the ten years following they used it for the
transportation of coal to Sunbury by horsepower. For this purpose one
hundred horses were required; the round trip to Sunbury was made in two
days, four or five horses hauling a train of ten cars.
   During all this time, the annual interest on three hundred thousand
dollars at five per cent was regularly paid by appropriations from the
State treasury; and, as the company seemed to have abandoned all hope of
improving the earning power of their road, strenuous efforts were made
in the legislature to secure some disposition of the property that would
obviate the payment of the annual interest, or at least reduce it in
amount. Overtures were several times made to the holders of the bonds,
but without arriving at any basis of adjustment; at length, on the 2d of
April, 1850, an act was passed, the preamble of which defined the
position of the State in the following language:-

   WHEREAS, By an act of Assembly passed the 8th day of March, 1834,
the faith of the State was pledged for the payment of the interest at
the rate of five per cent per annum for twenty-seven years upon a loan
of three hundred thousand dollars to the Danville and Pottsville
Railroad Company; and the said railroad, with other property of the said
company, was mortgaged for the re-payment of the said loan; and the said
Company, having constructed a portion of their road extending ten miles
from the eastern terminus, and another portion, twenty miles in length,
extending from Sunbury into the Shamokin coal fields, have permitted the
former to go to ruin, and have practically abandoned all care of the
latter portion; and the said company are insolvent, and there is no
reasonable prospect that they will ever complete the said railroad, and
relieve the State from the annual drain of fifteen thousand dollars from
her treasury; and
   WHEREAS, The State has already paid the sum of two hundred twenty-
five thousand dollars and will be called upon to pay the further sum of
one hundred eighty thousand dollars interest to the holders of the said
loan daring the next twelve years; and the said railroad is yearly
decreasing in value, and will in a year or two become useless for all
purposes of transportation; and it is manifest that the holders of the
said loan will realize a much greater sum towards the repayment thereof
by an immediate sale of the said railroad, and the State will be
relieved from the payment of the interest on the sum thus realized by
the sale thereof.

   The auditor general was thereupon instructed to obtain, if possible,
the assent of the holders of the loan to a sale of the property under the
provisions of the acts of April 21, 1846, and March 16, 1847, the proceeds
to be applied to extinguishing the loan, any part thereof remaining unpaid
to bear interest until the termination of the period of twenty-seven years
originally specified. This consent was accordingly obtained, and,
agreeably to the wishes of the legislature, the property of the company,
its franchises, appurtenances, etc. were sold at sheriff's sale on the
16th of January, 1851, and purchased on behalf of the holders of the loan
for the sum of one hundred thirty thousand and fifty dollars, fifty
dollars more than the minimum amount required by the legislature.
Deducting the fees of the sheriff, amounting to four hundred dollars,
there remained the sum of one hundred seventy thousand three hundred fifty
dollars for the interest upon which the State was still liable under the
act of 1834.
   The new purchasers proceeded to reorganize the company, electing
Nathaniel Chauncey president, and at a meeting held on the fourth Monday
of April, 1851, at the Franklin House, Philadelphia, the name was
changed to the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad Company. The
rehabilitation of the property was an immediate and imperative
necessity. In 1853 the track between Sunbury and Shamokin was relaid
with iron rails; new locomotives, known, respectively, as the "David
Longenecker," "A. R. Fiske," "Green Ridge," "Carbon Run," "Thomas
Baumgardner," and "Lancaster," were procured; and on the 25th of August,
1853, the formal reopening occurred. In the following year the road was
extended to Mt. Carmel, and under the superintendency of A. R. Fiske the
company's prospects improved. But in 1858, the line of the road from
Sunbury to its intersection with the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven
railroad having been sold under foreclosure, a second reorganization
occurred under the name of the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad
Company, which was invested with all the franchises of the former
companies by an act of the legislature approved, March 25, 1858. The
road was operated by the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Company and
independently until the 27th of February, 1863, when it was leased for
nine hundred ninety-nine years to the Northern Central Railway Company;
it may thus be regarded as a part of the great Pennsylvania system, and,
after having experienced many of the vicissitudes incident to railroad
construction in the experimental stage, this line has been, since its
lease to the Northern Central, a valuable and productive property.
   The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Company, was chartered as the
Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company on the 3d of April, 1837, and received
its present name by act of Assembly, March 7, 1861. Among the original
corporators were Henry Reader, David Watson, Montgomery Sweney, R. H.
Hammond, Samuel Hepburn, Henry Frick, James Hepburn, Joseph R. Priestley,
Hugh Bellas, Charles G. Donnel, Alexander Jordan, E. Greenough, Edward
Gobin, John C. Boyd, Daniel Levy, Henry Yoxtheimer, Henry Masser, William
Forsyth, James Dougal, and Frederick Lazarus, of Northumberland county.
The period allotted for its completion was extended from time to time, and
finally, on the 12th of February, 1846, the company was allowed until the
1st of June, 1851, to begin construction. The road was opened between
Williamsport and Milton, December 18, 1854, and between Milton and
Northumberland, September 24, 1855. It was at first operated by the
Catawissa Railroad Company, which ran its rolling stock over the line for
some time, paying to the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company a percentage of
the net receipts as rental for the use of the roadway. The railway bridges
over the North Branch at Northumberland were completed in December, 1855,
and on the 7th of January, 1856, the road was opened to Sunbury, its
eastern terminus. The length of the line, extending from this point to
Erie, is two hundred eighty-seven and fifty-six hundredths miles, and it
was opened the entire distance, October 17, 1864, having been previously
leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for nine hundred ninety-nine
years from the 1st of January, 1862. The line in Northumberland county
begins at the northeast corner of Market square and Third street in
Sunbury, crosses the North Branch to Northumberland, and continues on the
east bank of the West Branch through the townships of Point,
Chillisquaque, Turbut, and Delaware, with stations at Sunbury,
Northumberland, Kapp's, Montandon, Milton, Watsontown, and Dewart.
   The Northern Central Railway Company was formed on the 9th of December,
1854, by the consolidation of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad
Company, the York and Maryland Line Railroad Company, the York and
Cumberland Railroad Company, and the Susquehanna Railroad Company. The
main line extends from Baltimore, Maryland, to Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a
distance of one hundred thirty-six and eighty-two hundredths miles. The
line through this county formed part of the Susquehanna Railroad Company's
authorized route prior to the consolidation.
   A railroad from Harrisburg to Sunbury was first projected in 1837,
and on the 3d of April in that year an act was passed by the legislature
providing for the incorporation of the Harrisburg and Sunbury Railroad
Company, the line to extend from the terminus of the Harrisburg,
Portsmouth, Mt. Joy, and Lancaster railroad at Harrisburg to the
terminus of the Danville and Pottsville railroad at Sunbury. Among the
commissioners were Alexander Jordan, Charles G. Donnel, E. Greenough,
Hugh Bellas, Edward Gobin, John C. Boyd, Mr. Backhouse, Peter Lazarus,
George Brosius, and James Hepburn, of Northumberland county. Ten years'
time was granted for the completion of the road, in default of which the
charter was forfeited.
   The Susquehanna Railroad Company was incorporated on the 14th of
April, 1851, with power to construct a railroad connecting with the York
and Cumberland, or with the Pennsylvania railroad on either side of the
Susquehanna or on the Juniata, thence extending through Halifax and
Millersburg to Sunbury, with the privilege of continuing the line to
Williamsport. John B. Packer, Charles W. Hegins, Alexander Jordan, H. B.
Masser, George B. Youngman, William L. Dewart, Edward Y. Bright, Joseph
R. Priestley, William Forsyth, Amos E. Kapp, James Pollock, Robert M.
Frick, and Reuben Fagely, of Northumberland county, were among the
projectors. On the 24th of November, 1852, a contract for the grading
and masonry of the entire line between Sunbury and Bridgeport was
awarded to Dougherty & Lauman; under this contract construction was
begun, but not completed until after the formation of the Northern
Central Railway Company. The formal opening of a part of the line
occurred on the 24th of July, 1857, when the first passenger train from
Harrisburg arrived at Trevorton bridge, proceeding thence to Trevorton,
where the company partook of a sumptuous banquet at the hotel of Henry
B. Weaver, Mr. Beebe, of New York, president of the Trevorton Coal and
Railroad Company, presiding addresses were made by President Barnum, of
the Northern Central, J. Pinckney Whyte, a prominent member of the
Baltimore bar, David Taggart, of Northumberland, John B. Packer, of
Sunbury, and others.
   On the 26th of August, 1857, Messrs. Faries and Morrison and
Warford and Wright, chief engineer and assistant of the Sunbury and Erie
and Northern Central railroads, respectively, were engaged in making a
preliminary survey for the purpose of establishing the connection of
their respective roads in Sunbury. The council of that borough, at a
meeting on the following day, authorized the Northern Central to locate
its road "in or through any street, lane, or alley in said borough the
said company may deem expedient," which action was unanimously ratified
at a public meeting held in the court house on the 2d of September.
Third street was accordingly selected, and on the 8th of February, 1858,
the work of grading through the borough was begun. The formal opening of
the road to Sunbury occurred on the 28th of June, 1858. At nine A. M. a
train left Sunbury for Harrisburg, and among the passengers was Governor
William F. Packer, one of the earliest and most persistent promoters of
the enterprise. The first train north arrived at half past three in the
afternoon, bringing Mr. Barnum, the president of the company, Mr. Magraw,
one of the directors, A. B. Warford, chief engineer, and other prominent
railroad magnates.
   The Sunbury, Hazelton and Wilkesbarre Railroad extends from Sunbury
to Tomhicken, Pennsylvania, a distance of forty-three and forty-four
hundredths miles. The company was originally chartered as the
Wilkesbarre and Pittston, April 15, 1859, for the construction of a
railroad along the Susquehanna river from Pittston to Danville or
Sunbury. April 10, 1807, the name was changed to the Danville, Hazelton
and Wilkesbarre Railroad Company. The survey of the route was begun by
F. C. Arms on the 22d of April, 1867. On the 10th of October following
the contract for its construction was awarded J. V. Creswell and W. M.
Wiley, and the grading of three miles between Sunbury and Danville was
finished in the same year. The progress of construction was attended
with protracted interruptions, and it was not until March, 1869, that
the laying of the track was begun. The line was formally opened from
Sunbury to Danville on Thursday, November 4, 1869. A train left Sunbury
for Danville in the morning, returning with a numerous company, who
joined those already assembled for the occasion at that point. The
officers at that date were as follows: president, Thomas Woods, of
Philadelphia; vice-president and superintendent, Simon P. Kase, of
Danville; treasurer, S. P. Wolverton, of Sunbury; secretary, George
Hill, of Sunbury; directors: Robert B. Sterling, S. P. Wolverton, George
Hill, Benjamin Hendricks, Simon P. Kase, A. F. Russell, and H. W.
McReynolds. The road was sold under foreclosure, March 20, 1878, and the
company reorganized under its present title, May 1, 1878; it was leased
by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for fifty years from the latter
date, and has since been operated as a branch of the Philadelphia and
Erie railroad. The line in this county passes through Upper Augusta,
Gearhart, and Rush townships, with stations at Sunbury, Klinesgrove,
Wolverton, Kipp's Run, Riverside, and Boyd.
   The Sunbury and Lewistown Railway has its eastern terminus at
Selinsgrove Junction, upon the east bank of the Susquehanna river in
Lower Augusta township, Northumberland county, where it forms a
connection with the Northern Central railway; thence it crosses the
Susquehanna river to Selinsgrove, and extends through Snyder and Mifflin
counties to Lewistown, upon the Juniata river, where it forms a
connection with the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad. The line is
forty-three and fifty-seven hundredths miles in length. It was opened in
1871, sold under foreclosure in 1874, and leased to the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company.
   The Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad was originally chartered, April
12, 1853, as the Lewisburg, Centre and Spence Creek, and reorganized
under existing title, December 31, 1879. It has its eastern terminus at
Montandon, on the east bank of the West Branch in Chillisquaque township,
Northumberland county, where it forms a connection with the Philadelphia
and Erie railroad; thence the line crosses the West Branch to Lewisburg
and extends to Tyrone, upon the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad.
It was opened in 1872, and is operated as a branch of the Philadelphia
and Erie railroad under lease to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
   The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company was chartered, April
4, 1833, and the first through trains between Philadelphia and
Pottsville were run in January, 1842. The chief business of the company
is the transportation of coal from the first and second anthracite coal
fields of Pennsylvania to Port Richmond, Philadelphia; it owns all the
stock in the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and thus
controls the production as well as the transportation of coal from the
properties with which the railroad is connected, of which several of
considerable importance are located in Northumberland county. The
Reading lines in this county are the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven,
Mahanoy and Shamokin, Catawissa, and Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg
railroads.
   The Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad was chartered, March
24, 1828, and opened on the 8th of October, 1831, but not extended to
Locust Gap until some years later. The main line extends from Schuylkill
Haven to Locust Gap.
   On the 18th of October, 1860, an excursion train of six coaches
formally opened a through route from Philadelphia to Sunbury by way of
the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven road. It was confidently expected
that the Philadelphia and Erie would bring to Philadelphia an immense
and valuable lake trade, to accommodate which two routes were in
operation - the Philadelphia and Reading railroad to Port Clinton, and
the Catawissa railroad thence to Williamsport; and the Northern Central
to Harrisburg, with the Pennsylvania railroad thence to Philadelphia. A
favorable opportunity for the opening of a third route was presented
when the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven railroad was constructed to a
point within four miles of the terminus of the Shamokin Valley and
Pottsville railroad. In the autumn of 1860 this link was supplied, thus
placing the Shamokin coal region in direct rail communication with
Philadelphia. The excursion by which this route was formally opened was
arranged by J. Dutton Steele and G. A. Nicholls, vice-president and
superintendent, respectively, of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad.
At the junction with the Shamokin Valley railroad the train was taken in
charge by A. R. Fiske, superintendent of that line. Sunbury was reached
in the evening; a band of music escorted the party to the Central Hotel,
where a banquet was held and addresses were delivered by Frederick
Frailey, president of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, ex-Chief
Justice Ellis Lewis, Philip F. Price, a director in the Sunbury and Erie
Railroad Company, and others. Among the four hundred members of the
party was A. M. Eastwick, of Philadelphia, a member of the firm that built
the first locomotive used on the Danville and Pottsville railroad twenty-
two years previously. This excursion gave rise to a variety of newspaper
discussion, in which the possibility of a through line to Erie via
Sunbury, composed of the Philadelphia and Reading, Mine Hill and
Schuylkill Haven, Shamokin Valley and Pottsville, and Sunbury and Erie,
was regarded as a highly probable consummation. The Mine Hill and
Schuylkill Haven railroad was leased by the Reading on the 12th of May,
1864, for a period of nine hundred ninety-nine years, but beyond this
the apparent indications of railroad consolidation in 1860 have not been
realized.
   The Mahanoy and Shamokin Railroad, formed by the merger and
consolidation of the Mahanoy and Broad Mountain, the Mahanoy Valley, the
Enterprise, the Shamokin and Trevorton, and the Zerbe Valley railroads,
was merged into the Philadelphia and Reading system on the 25th of
March, 1871, in pursuance of an act of Assembly passed on the 18th of
February previously. Of these various roads the Enterprise, the Shamokin
and Trevorton, and Zerbe Valley are in this county.
   The Enterprise Railroad Company was incorporated, March 21, 1865,
for the construction of a road not to exceed nine miles in length, with
its termini equal distances east and west of the lands of the Fulton
Coal Company, intersecting with the Locust Gap, or the Mahanoy and Broad
Mountain, or any other railroad on the east, and the Carbon Run railroad
on the west. The corporators were Thomas Baumgardner, John B. Douty,
John W. Hubley, Henry Baumgardner, David M. Lebkichler, Benjamin F.
Shenk, and William H. Douty. Construction was begun in 1866; on the 3d
of August, 1868, the road was opened for passenger travel from Locust
Gap Junction to Greenback colliery, and thence to Shamokin later in the
same year. It is now operated as part of the Williamsport division of
the Reading system, with stations at Locust Gap, Alaska, Enterprise,
Excelsior, Greenback, and Shamokin, and a branch from Alaska to Mt.
Carmel.
   The Shamokin and Trevorton Railroad, extending from Shamokin to
Trevorton, a distance of eight miles, was opened to travel on the 2d of
August, 1869, when the running of through trains from Shamokin to
Herndon was inaugurated. It is now operated as part of the Herndon
branch of the Williamsport division, with stations at Shamokin, Water
Station, Kulp's, and Trevorton.
   The Trevorton, Mahanoy, and Susquehanna Railroad Company was
incorporated on the 22d of March, 1850, by act of Assembly, for the
construction of a railroad from the mouth of Zerbe's run, in
Northumberland county, to the Susquehanna river at the mouth of Mahanoy
creek. The corporators were Felix Lerch, William Deppen, Jacob Raker, D.
M. Boyd, Alexander Jordan, Joseph W. Cake, Robert M. Ludlow, John P.
Hobart, Henry Donnel, Bertram H. Howell, Charles W. Hegins, Simon
Cameron, William L. Helfenstein, and Kimber Cleaver. On the 30th of April,
1850, Christian Albert, Peter Bixler, Edward Y. Bright, Alexander Jordan,
Jacob Raker, D. M. Boyd, William H. Marshall, William L. Dewart, John B.
Trevor, William L. Helfenstein, and Bertram H. Howell were authorized to
organize the Susquehanna and Union Bridge Company, with a capital of two
hundred thousand dollars, for the erection of a bridge across the
Susquehanna river at any point within five miles below the month of
Mahanoy creek. These two companies - the Trevorton, Mahanoy, and
Susquehanna Railroad Company and the Susquehanna and Union Bridge
Company - were consolidated under the name of the Trevorton and
Susquehanna Railroad Company on the 25th of April, 1854. A railroad
fourteen and one half miles in length was constructed from Trevorton to
the Susquehanna river; a wooden bridge thirty-six hundred feet in
length, with approaches fourteen hundred feet in length, connected the
terminus of the railroad with the Pennsylvania canal on the opposite
side of the river, where extensive wharves, a basin sufficient to
accommodate the canal boats used in transportation to distant points,
and other necessary appliances and facilities were provided. This was
the nucleus of a village of some proportions, to which the name of Port
Trevorton was applied.
   An affiliated corporation, the Mahanoy and Shamokin Improvement
Company, was incorporated on the 25th of February, 1850; the original
constituent members were Kimber Cleaver, D. M. Boyd, David Thompson,
William L. Helfenstein, and William H. Marshall. This company and the
Trevorton and Susquehanna Railroad Company were consolidated in
pursuance of an act of the legislature which became a law on the 24th of
March, 1856, and the resulting corporation received the name of the
Trevorton Coal and Railroad Company. For several years its affairs were
prosperous, and the development of the Trevorton coal region effected
through its agency was justly regarded as most beneficial to the county.
But like many other enterprises of this character it had been floated
principally on credit, and on the 8th of December, 1860, the property
was sold under foreclosure of mortgage at sheriff's sale.
   Litigation enters largely into the history of the railroad from
this time until it became part of the Reading system. The purchasers in
1860 were Hezron A. Johnson, Matthew Morgan, and James I. Day, who were
constituted the Trevorton Coal Company by act of the legislature
approved on the 28th of March, 1860. May 7, 1861, a mortgage for nine
hundred thousand dollars was executed by the company in favor of William
C. Pickersgill, an Englishman. Suit was brought by Robert G. Reiman in
1867 on unpaid coupons of bonds secured by this mortgage under an act of
Assembly then in force; judgment was obtained, and on the 3d of August,
1867, the railroad, coal lands, and other property of the company were
sold at sheriff's sale to John B. Packer and W. I. Greenough for one
thousand dollars. A contest was had in the Supreme court over the validity
of this sale, ultimately resulting in a compromise. Messrs. Packer and
Greenough conveyed to Robert G. Reiman, John W. Hall, and Henry Thomas;
they conveyed to the Zerbe Valley Railroad Company, the organization of
which was confirmed by the legislature, April 13, 1868. It was at this
time that the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company acquired control,
and began its administration by the erection of new bridges along the
entire line. It was the original idea of the Reading management to
construct a line from Port Trevorton through Snyder county to the
bituminous coal regions of Clearfield county, and had this project
materialized the Trevorton railroad would have become a link in a through
line from that locality to Philadelphia. It was relinquished, however, and
the importance of the line is principally of a local character. The Zerbe
Valley Railroad Company was merged into the Mahanoy and Shamokin
Railroad Company, September 7, 1870, and, with the latter company, was
formally consolidated with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
Company, March 25, 1871. What was originally the Trevorton, Mahanoy and
Susquehanna railroad thus became an integral part of the great Reading
system, and forms part of the Herndon branch, with its western terminus
at Herndon, on the line of the Northern Central railway, and stations at
Trevorton, Zerbe, Dunkelberger's, Hunter, Dornsife, Otto, Kneass, and
Herndon. The river bridge, which was adapted to wagon traffic as well
as railway uses, became unsafe for travel through decay and was removed
about ten years ago.
   The Catawissa Railroad Company was originally incorporated on the
21st of March, 1831, under the name of the Little Schuylkill and
Susquehanna Railroad Company, with authority to construct a road from
the termination of the Little Schuylkill Navigation Railroad and Coal
Company's railroad to the North Branch of the Susquehanna at Catawissa.
Portions of the road were constructed within a few years thereafter, but
financial embarrassments ensued and operations were abandoned. The
project was at length revived, however, and on the 20th of March, 1849,
legislative authority having been granted for an extension to
Williamsport, the name was changed to the Catawissa, Williamsport and
Erie railroad. It was opened to Milton in 1834. The company having
defaulted in the payment of interest on its bonds, its property was sold
at judicial sale, and the purchasers reorganized with the name of the
Catawissa Railroad Company under legislative authority secured on the
21st of March, 1860. The line enters Chillisquaque township a short
distance east of Pottsgrove and passes through the county to Milton,
where the West Branch is crossed; thence the route continues through
Union and Lycoming counties to Williamsport, to which it was opened in
1871. This road has been operated by the Philadelphia and Reading
Railroad Company since the 1st of November, 1872.
   The Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg Railroad Company was chartered,
February 16, 1882; the corporators were S. P. Wolverton, H. E. Davis, Ira
T. Clement, John Haas, Levi Rook, A. H. Dill, and John Smith, of whom S.
P. Wolverton was the first president and has filled that position
continuously from the organization of the company. On the 4th of February,
1882, an agreement was entered into between the New York Central and
Hudson River Railroad Company, the Fall Brook Coal Company, the Jersey
Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railroad Company, and other companies, on
the one part, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company on the
other, to build a railroad from Shamokin to some point on the Catawissa
railroad at or near Danville. April 1, 1882, through the influence of S.
P. Wolverton, a supplemental contract was made by the companies at
interest, by which West Milton, on the line of the Catawissa railroad, was
substituted for Danville as the northern or western terminus. The route
was surveyed in the spring of 1882, construction was immediately begun,
and in July, 1883, the line was opened. Its course coincides in general
with that of Shamokin creek from Shamokin to Sunbury; at the latter point
the Susquehanna is crossed by a substantial iron bridge, and from its
western terminus to West Milton the west bank of the Susquehanna through
Union and Snyder counties is followed, Lewisburg being the principal
intermediate point. The entire length is thirty-one and one tenth miles,
of which distance nearly two thirds are in Northumberland county, with
stations at Arter's, Snydertown, Deibler's, Vastine, Reed, Paxinos and
Weigh Scales between Sunbury and Shamokin. The road was leased to the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company for nine hundred ninety-nine
years from July 2, 1883, and is operated by that company as part of its
Williamsport division, which extends from Newberry Junction to Port
Clinton, the Catawissa railroad forming its western section, from West
Milton to Newberry, and the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven and Mahanoy and
Shamokin the eastern section, from Shamokin to Port Clinton. It is thus
apparent that the construction of the Shamokin, Sunbury and Lewisburg
railroad supplies an important link in the Reading system, placing the
mines and railroads of that company in the Mahanoy and Shamokin regions
in direct communication with its northern and western connections. It
also forms part of the Reading's line to the bituminous coal regions of
Clearfield county, through its connection with the Beech Creek road.
This branch of the Reading gives to a large part of Northumberland
county the advantage of a competing line to the seaboard, and has
therefore been productive of great local benefit.
   The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was formed, December
10, 1853, by the consolidation of the Lackawanna and Western (chartered,
March 14, 1849) and the Delaware and Cobb's Gap (chartered, December 22,
1850), and has since, by lease and consolidation, become one of the
great trunk lines of the country. What is known as the Bloomsburg branch
extends from Scranton to Northumberland, Pennsylvania, a distance of
eighty miles, and was originally chartered as the Lackawanna and
Bloomsburg railroad, April 5, 1852. It was the design of the projectors
to establish a line from the Wyoming and Lackawanna coal fields to
Philadelphia by connecting this road with the Catawissa, Williamsport
and Erie, and this object was satisfactorily accomplished by its
construction from Scranton to Rupert. March 3, 1853, the company was
authorized to extend its road to a connection with the Sunbury and Erie
or Northern Central, with a wide latitude in the choice of routes. The
north bank of the North Branch was finally selected, and on the 31st of
May, 1860, the formal opening of the road to passenger travel from
Danville to Northumberland occurred. The consolidation of the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western and Lackawanna and Bloomsburg railroad companies
was effected in 1873. The line in this county passes through Point
township a distance of about nine miles.
   The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company was chartered as the Delaware,
Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company, September 20, 1847,
and under existing title, January 7, 1853. The main line in Pennsylvania
was completed in October, 1855. The Mahanoy branch, extending from Black
Creek Junction to Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, and originally known as the
Lehigh and Mahanoy railroad, was acquired in June, 1866. Under traffic
agreement with the Northern Central Railway Company, the passenger
trains of the Lehigh Valley enter Shamokin over the tracks of the
Shamokin Valley and Pottsville railroad.
   The Wilkesbarre and Western Railway Company was chartered, January
22, 1886; the Milton and North Mountain Railroad Company, chartered in
November, 1885, and the Millville and North Mountain Railroad Company,
chartered in January, 1886, were merged into this company, December 25,
1886. The projected road extends from Watsontown to Shickshinny,
Pennsylvania, a distance of forty-six miles. The main line is
constructed as far as Eyer's Grove, a distance of twenty-one and one
tenth miles, and from that point a branch extends to Millville, one and
one tenth miles. Twenty-two miles of this road were opened to travel,
December 13, 1886; the Millville extension was opened, April 7, 1887.
Seven and six tenths miles are in this county, with stations at
Watsontown, McEwensville, Warrior Run, and Turbutville. The road passes
through a rich agricultural region in the northern part of
Northumberland, Montour, and Columbia counties.

(1) Pennsylvania Archives Second Series), Vol. II. pp. 754-755.

(2) Colonial Records, Vol. IX. p.440.

(3) Colonial Records, Vol. Ix. pp. 556-561.
  
(4) Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. IV. pp. 362-363.

(5) Colonial Records, Vol. IX. pp. 651-666.

(6) John Smith, John Allen, John Fruit, Samuel Russell, and Thomas
Pollock, appointed by the court to lay out a road from the county line
to Chillisquaque through Harrison's gap (actually a review of
"Harrison's road"), made report at August sessions, 1812, "That the old
road from the county line to the house of James Logan will answer, and
thence running from the house of said Logan south forty-nine degrees
east forty perches to a small branch of Chillisquaque creek through
lands of said Logan; thence south twenty-nine degrees east twenty
perches through lands of said Logan and to the line of the widow Watts'
land; thence south three degrees east fifty-two perches through lands of
the said Widow Watts to her house, thence due south one hundred perches
to the line of Widow Harrison's land through the lands of Widow Watts;
from thence the old road to Chillisquaque creek." The court approved the
report, and on the 15th of January, 1811, issued an order to open the
road. This road throughout a large part of its course became the eastern
boundary of the county by the set of January 22, 1816, the particulars
of which are given in the charter on Organization and Administration in
this work.