CHAPTER XXII.
Borough of Parryville
By
Dennis Bauman.
Pages
757 to 759
the borough of Parryville is situated about six
miles below Mauch Chunk, and is bounded on the north and west by Franklin
township, on the east and southeast by Lower Towamensing, and on the south by
the Lehigh River. The first settlement
at this locality was made about 1780 by Peter Frantz, and in 1781, Frederick
Scheckler and Leonard Beltz had taken up land there and in the vicinity. Frantz & Scheckler soon after
erected a stone grist-mill on the Poho Poco Creek, which enters the Lehigh
River at this place. The property
remained in their possession until 1815, at which time it passed to Jacob and
Peter Stein. The mill was run by Jacob,
and Peter built a large stone hotel, which is now in use for dwellings. Between the years 1836-40 the Pine Forrest
Lumber Company was established and made this place headquarters. Saw-, lath-, and paling-mills were erected
on the Poho Poco Creek, near the river, and the manufacture of lumber was
carried on extensively. Large tracts of
land were owned in the northern part of the county and in Luzerne County, from
which the greater part of the logs were obtained. Daniel Parry was the president of the company, and as the
settlement grew up around these mills, the place became known as Parrysville,
and finally Parryville.
In
1836 the Beaver Meadow Railroad Company completed its road to the opposite side
of the river, and made Parryville the terminus and shipping-point. The coal from the cars was here dumped into
the canal-boats of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. This business continued till the freshet of
Jan. 7 and 8, 1841, when the wharves, trestle-works, and chutes were swept
away, and also the railroad, track from Parryville to Penn Haven
Junction. The railroad was not rebuilt
from Mauch Chunk to Parryville, and the former place from that time became the
shipping-point.
About
the year 1855, Messrs. Bowman, Brother & Co. formed a copartnership, and
established an anthracite blast-furnace (now known as No. 1), which was run by
water-power from Poho Poco Creek until …
…about 1857. In that year the company sold their interest
to a corporation under the name of the "Carbon Iron Company." The first board of directors ' was elected
in August, 1857, and consisted of the following persons: William Reed, James
Dinkey, Henry Bowman, Solomon Boyer, David Bowman, John Bowman, and Dennis
Bauman. On the 10th of August, Dennis
Bauman was elected president, and A. W. Butler secretary and treasurer.
Improvements
were made and the capacity of the works increased, and it was soon demonstrated
that the water-power was not sufficient to furnish the power for the blast, and
steam was introduced. In the year 1864
a second furnace was erected (now known as No. 2), and in 1869 furnace No. 3
was built. In the year 1876 the
property passed to the "Carbon Iron and Pipe Company (limited). A
"pipe plant" was recently erected, and these works are now
operated by the last-named company, the officers of which are A. A. Douglass,
president; George Ruddle, secretary; and H. P. Cooper, superintendent.
The
village has grown up as the result of the location of the furnace here, and now
contains a population of about eight hundred, and in addition to the furnaces
about one hundred dwellings, two stores, flour and feed store, two churches,
one school-house (with four rooms), a hotel, and a depot of the Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad.
The first road that
passed through this locality was the one laid out in 1747, and made in 1748,
extending, from Bethlehem to Gnadenhutten.
It is known through this region as the "Fire Line Road," and,
ran over the hills. It was used as a
military road from January, 1756, to January, 1761, when Fort Allen was
garrisoned. About 1815 a wagon-road was
constructed from Parryville to Lehigh Gap, along the north bank of the Lehigh
River, which was much used. Many
stories are related of the causes that gave to the old road the name "Fire
Line," but none that are trustworthy.
The application of the name dates far back in the Indian war period,
between 1756 and 1761.
The circuit has been changed several times, as follows: Parryville, Weissport, and Slatington, Parryville and Lehighton. For a time, when the furnaces at this place were in full operation, Parryville became a separate station, and had a membership of from sixty to eighty. About the year 1876, on account of depression in business, the iron-works suspended their operations, the membership declined greatly, and Parryville became connected in a circuit with Slatington, Slatedale, and Maria Furnace, and is still in that circuit. The church now has a membership of thirty-two. A Sunday-school was commenced upon the organization of the church in 1858, and has been in successful operation to the present, having now, including teachers, a membership of from eighty to one hundred and fifty. The pastors who have served the church from 1858 to the present time are as follows: Revs. Jacob Sclhichter, William T. Magee, G. T. Barr, S. Powers, W. B. Durell, E. Townsend, William H. Friese, J. Lindenmuth, J. P. Miller, L. B. Brown, L. B. Hoffman, G. L. Shoffer, Josiah Bawden, William F. Sheperd, and F. Illman.
On
the 4th of March, 1867, Parryville became an independent school district, and
the following directors were elected in that year: Dennis Bauman, James
Thomas, James Anthony, Jacob Peters, Samuel Davis, Thomas Petit. Since 1875 the
directors have been as follows:
1875.—W. W. Bauman, A. T. Peiffer, George Davis,
George F. Anthony, C. Rinker, J. A. Koch.
1876.—Charles
Raddetz, L. F. Remely.
1877.—Robert Peters, J. L. Miller, G. W. Bauman,
William Romig.
1878.—Charles
Raddetz, William Blose.
1879.—None
reported.
1880.—H.
P. Cooper, William Bamford.
1881.—Jacob
Peters, G. W. Bauman, W. L. Katz.
1882.—John
Pickford, Charles Saeger.
1883.—H.
P. Cooper, John D. Kistler.
The
borough of Parryville was incorporated by the court of Carbon County early in
the year 1875, and the first election ordered to be held in February of that
year.
The
following are the names of those who have served as burgesses, councilmen, and
justices of the peace:
Burgesses
1875-78.—Dennis
Bauman.
1879-80.—Jacob
Peters.
1881-83.—H.
P. Cooper.
Council
1875.—A.
T. Pieffer, A. R. Snyder, Charles Belford, George Davis, J. E. Beltz.
1876.—Jacob
Peters, G. F. Anthony, Charles Raddetz, Harrison Wentz, A. T. Pieffer.
1877.—Jacob
Peters, Stephen Snyder.
1878.—A.
R. Snyder, Jacob Peters, Jonas Beltz, Charles Raddetz, William Blose.
1879.—Dennis
Bauman, Harrison Wentz, J. L. Miller, William Rinker.
1880.—William
Rinker, John Petit, John Strickler, Jr., Jacob Becker, John Pickford, Henry
Milheim.
1881.—John
Pickford, Dennis Wentz, William Blose, Jacob Petera, Dennis Bauman, Henry
Milheim.
1882.—Jacob
Peters, 0. J. Mantz, John Pickford, Dennis Bauman, Beden Snyder, W. D. Kutz.
1883.—Jacob
Peters, Henry Sleider, James Andrews, Frank P. Boyer, Dennis Bauman, Thomas
Thomas.
1875.—George F. Anthony, Daniel Wentz.
1877.—James M. Bauman.
1879.—Dennis
Bauman.
1880.—William
B. Anthony.
1882.—Harrison
Wentz.
1883.—Solomon
Reiner.
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From
The History of the Counties of Lehigh & Carbon, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
By
Alfred Mathews & Austin N. Hungerford
Published in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1884
Transcribed from the original in April 2003
by
Stephen E. Fritz
Web page by
May 2003