title: The city of Scranton,
text: cr ^ a- 'o ..tv .0 r ***** V A.’A' ° n ■' * A* V' V V v AT** ^ <0 <£• '•• ' : f)h% A^ 1 * ■"» Ay A ♦’’J ^ A* °* *•■•'* <o o. O A C\ • ^ * "tn <v* °. ■V ,, v •-<"? .U *<S> *•*’• AT I v »!/*•*■ *> V sj ; W ;j ° d^'Qn o %0WKS» * .A A* j ^niii^ ° c^°^n * aV«** -» ^IfflflP^ ° <A ^v o x/j O ' J? '% '*•** ■ <V" ^ *** 'V ^ ^ : V ' 4 *- *o 'KsdP "'tur# ' . * O' & * *i 1 • aV*^ •* J* * /V yT » 4 ^ -I *> V c> A tt* <& • '' « X* - - «*> A V V * '• *■ - 0 ^ V V «V ^ °. H > * 0>^ - >r * a V "#V . ! ■I 9> X* o, ‘■.To’ ,0 J _ -v- V . *_L.y*T*„ ^ a 0 f. - * < V' c y * & 'S** ° r vi^ V • ,v;':> .^r • ^ o x • 4 0. N ^ * A^ • ; ♦ '^O A v > ^ o S& • * : : ^° ^ v. c,-* jv * ° l - -W7* — ♦ <LT ^ ^ 4 <> ^T.I 1 .0^ ^ 4j- ^ ^ v c 0 w ° ♦ 0^“ • L 1 * + **o Ay c 0 “ ° ^ -* - ^ r V > .„/V>2^ *» O ,1*0' » ^ V ♦ *y ^ ^ T O « ’- '♦o^' ’ * 0 a 0 •'' <y %> ° * 0 a 0 v. " 1 °^. * ® - ° a 0 ’ a 1 <0 V o’*®' T .TTL'. <^\ ,0' .!•». T v % »* >1% ^ .0 V T V % » \ y % ^ v \ ,<^ \ >♦ ;& ^ ri» ^ <?* ^ yT^ ; °. o ♦'TvT* <0^ A <v ♦TttT* ,0^ - A ^ ,G^ •* <T> • o y i'V'* C\ *0^ *» • o. "T Tv * f ' •!> ^ • A ♦ ■* O A^> - -of ; n ^5 °<* ^V. *T^*’ ^ °°j, ■'*..o’ / ^ • \ <$> 'M£a\ U ^ ' : 'Sssslmk. *<? ,*o ^ T °. w • / B ■\ ; -w?-' ^,- s*\ --yw. : yy --W.*' •:... T5 '...* A <*. + .TvT‘ A v >3. '•.»* <b *-..«' .G v V5 'o.»» A <, A* /^W. V c° .W^T O o ,‘^ + 0° .W^.% °o J* S<mk. +-T 1 \ ♦ o »»- ^ A? % *oo->° ,‘0° A° .;k>°:. 0 % A, v X A? > >. * " 1 ‘ A ^° ^ v • A °?rv o v^9 o ' >-W- - • >> v' V .-V-.V- vO* .-■ •• Vi „-m\ V,/ •*. vP V ^ TWfT V "’ a’ , . ^ v *J ^ *vi ,. t’''V. '-!W ; '.«aBr/ TT-, •.¥»• y\ '.agf; /\ *.x, <T *'TT« 5 ^O, 'o.** A <. "AT«' ,G^ T5 '...• A <*, *ATT‘ ,0^ '< " tp X t • A*■», 'V .A" ^ ,0^ t » T*. "V o°“ ° % <A o v e- L '-*- ^O. # . ■% ^ *£MX- X <: '&M&K * £ *Sk&~ X * : v* o^ O' ^ o 1 ° XwX:°? >y° ^ V y a -o5 ^ -Vi^ 0 i * aO ^ * y •-' 'f>' -c-^ ° 0 p.0 “%■ *.. ' . T -a.^ £q A ’ T/ ft 0 0 AT' T V »LTl'-i. CV .0 ► ’ T' ^ V A T% c\ ,o v. ^ 0? .-a- A. *#T a-Jv .A. <i. A r • * •» r ♦ A V "V, • 4 V ^ - A* .*. '*r-^ .-’i v .^5 °it* «*, o_ V < V ^ * 0 H 0 ^ & \j - s * * j O 0)^ • t * o. A. v ^>4^' >. A' 'A' 1 v jv^ • «$*&&//;, \ v^ v ° ^ G - • * <£• B \/ i'ia\K» ^ . eV'T'. • ^ ^ «. 'V Mu',)?* 4^ ”^p. V'"’* o^. ■ ■ •. V" •■’>..*•. V^'A... ..%"*• ■*>..... V' ''.Vt %/ $&>. yAm:\ ^ v^ »jTLf* X yy »• T- > v' *iZ'* X yy * ■ , A" %A « \/ %/ * \f y^iy- VA ?<s ^ aT’ \ 4> v ^ A ^ vtRa* 'V v ^ A? ^ •. <v o ^o, 4 * a <, 4 ''T.«* jy & A <> ^ "■ *°v ^ °-x .A c ®JL 0 ^ ^ .A . ^ ^^ ^^ o A c°!* 4 ^ o v o % "V c v fmtfffo* ° •j 5SSW- c ° .A .•rfSSW- ^ G u *V^v O , V s v . *: * < o ' 0 " ^ ,<^ A). ' * .To ’ , 0 ' .* ^ o o % yyzyfs a o o' A v X e “° ^ C <^. " , A X mHt A 0 ^ A’ '"- 0 a v ^V % ^ ^y° V *^Tt ^ ^ r 'P- ., V ^ ^° V ’ 'VT 4 tV»V 1 ^ A' '?'■' ^ ^.'Ai 4 A 4 'A *y T> '*>,»• A "/TVi* .G v C> 'o.*» a ^ *^7vT' ,G v 'o.»* a <" *. + O jA o ° r ? 0 -» '^x o' * • w # # -» o _A 0° * ° + ^,. o^ « L ' # ^ o A^ o 0 w ° + X ^ *^ 0 * * 0 $' " r xxf 4 [ x\ ^ A' ^ ; . / A • ^ ^ *' n *u ' • • 0 aP ii> * * # * • .a*' a 0 » v °# ^ A/ r ^ * * * / £V f # o 4 \ S • • > 1 ♦,A gg A“ S<. *^Wi * Nfv, A* ♦iiV/k'' A *V$lDW ^ >> io- vV Si. • « • A 0 l” . « * o- * V V. * <' * .<y ■ * - V -u • * «? ^ °o —cr-— s <L V <^> ^ *'..** ,G r o 'o. . * A, g° b o ^ .••"•-'** _ ** «5' ^ °. <* *'- * * a* ^ ' * \ G° V '*+<? :m£&- -ov 1 * aV** ^ <> ■* ■ % ,y , :r»'. ’> . ■. .'A¥a'. X#* :s : <?X v, ^ aK * A *'..•* .0 V _»* VI'* e\ <* ^ V ■ % •■ 1 *> V o * A ^ C K ** p av » <f>y ^ o aVA ^ ' 4> x % • ^\ °W ; ** v % ^fepV /\ ; .W: ^ V *V , S*. '“ * *" A <V* ..«*\o' S*.*'^"* <v ” <* ,g* % *'*.?•* a <* *y^ f O o ^ 0 “ a 4 # ^ Q v o ^ 0 <>" a * ,«.'•* ^o c 0 * O 4 ^ *• < n s i^NXvNx^ i/> ^ - ’ ^' .^1 w * *J5T-. \ C ♦ i Jf5^/% l > # ^ v*® 1 o V ^ * ^° ^>_ v ^, o^ ,,. p ' % " ’' ./' ,.., ' • - 0 ’ 0 f u ,. o ■ \V ... \ ' * ; - *' f°' t ' * ' * ’ y ^ ^ tW2Tfe \ '% U y c % ,^° V > v *v ^ 5 .. \‘' Tr ° J 0 *°° •• \/ 4 * o o. 'o,»* A <. *'..«* A o V 4- o°" 0 * <& •i> s. ^ 4 • 1 ' * - *0 ^ o°V* ^ % aL G *w#b 2 ’ O -'• »p %<i « *Jrfl//%3> * w. -V ' va A _ ns. ' 9 o K • •• /* v»y;:v*»v' V-V f "v^v 0 J, v * C # ■ ^ ^•’ % s * * r ( y y • 0 5 • * ^ ,-^V i • o •>'■* - \ V o ^ A .VSfi&ik'. a"* *VaW/^- ' ^ A v A* 2 " /jA^al’* ^ .A * aV'^* ‘ £ % • K f\ ° * » V/ o 1 ^ ^L- r'p- ^ <^ V * 1 5 -y 4 A % c o * o, A .!.'•* **o <y e 0 * o, ^ <r "v. ^ * % mV2**:* 0 ^ .* * V % • •*'•'#*' \ ^ ' •'^ / A°° ?£Si£\ ^„A 4 .\t^S^A. ^ ^ ^/. cj^ ^ ^ * > ? \ : -Ji|l- : /\ : ... o 'o, ,* A <v , J ..' G x -J '*.»'* A 1 1 * ♦ -)^ V 0 “rVj* * 0^ . • 1 ' * * O A 0 ° " ® * A>. 4°*^ ^ . . 0 -" .0 V *• • ’ * A* Si. ** - a ° a0° V , ^Ls ^0 ' t * • \# V C>^ 4 f)' * ^ % • *r O ^o ^ : a ^ ^ <• -« S a' 1 „»" 0 « <1^ • -x*^xv . + *r «bv* ■ THE CITY OF SCRANTON THE METROPOLIS OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY, INSTITUTIONS AND INDUSTRIES OF THE CHEAPEST FUEL CITY IN THE WORLD BY GEORGE H. JOHNSON, C. E., Sc.D. Assisted by THOMAS J. DUFFY, City Editor of the Scranton Tribune NEW YORK CAPITALIST PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 fw? THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Co pres Received JAN. 27 1904 Copyright Entry CLASS XXa. No. COPY A. COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY THE CAPITALIST PUBLISHING CO. C 0 M r ;h( Inipedaer . CiatMi AgW PREFACE This very brief review of the history and present condi¬ tion of the City of Scranton, with a statement of its indus¬ trial and commercial advantages, makes no claim to com¬ pleteness; nor does it make any claim to being in propor¬ tion. For the evident lack of proportion there are several reasons. Some of the information diligently sought by the author seemed to be inaccessible. The business men of Scranton are so busy in making history and in making money that they have no time and little inclination to con records of the past or to make records of the present. Executive and business ability seem sometimes to be in¬ compatible with literary, statistical and historical appre¬ ciation. In the case of some very successful corporations the officers evidently felt that the publication of any facts about their business would be injudicious as tending to attract competition, or perhaps criticism from their patrons on the ground of excessive earnings as indicated by the growth of the business and capital. Special effort has been made by the author to bring all the data up to date, and to verify the statistics. It will be noticed that biographical matter, which is so prominent in many local histories, has been entirely omit¬ ted from these pages. Some other subjects that have been well covered in other books on Scranton have also been in¬ tentionally omitted here; the design of the present work being to include topics of timely but permanent and gen¬ eral interest—preference being always given to matter heretofore unpublished or not easily accessible. The authorities chiefly consulted have been the reports of public institutions, the United States Census and other Federal and Pennsylvania State reports, the reports of the Board of Trade, the files of Scranton daily newspapers and Dr. Hollister’s History of the Lackawanna Valley. I am personally indebted to Mr. C. S. Seamans, secretary of the Board of Trade, and Mr. Thomas J. Duffy, city editor of The Scranton Tribune, for advice and assistance. The illustrations of the book were not selected by the author—which accounts for any lack of correspondence between them and the text. GEORGE H. JOHNSON. Office of The Capitalist Publishing Co. New York, N. Y. December 7th, 1903. Erratum Page 28, column 2, line 7, for Lackawanna read Lackawaxen. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE. 6 A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE CITY OF SCRANTON. 7 HISTORY. 9 COAL AND CULM.. 17 CITY GOVERNMENT.19 United States and County Buildings.21 Scranton Public Library.21 The Public Schools.22 The Hillside Home.22 RAILROADS.23 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.23 Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley.25 Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.28 New York, Lake Erie and Western.31 Central Railroad of New Jersey.31 BANKING.32 REAL ESTATE. .38 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.. 40 International Correspondence Schools.40 Mount St. Mary's Seminary..41 School of the Lackawanna.44 Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf.44 Scranton Conservatory of Music.45 PHILANTHROPIC AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS.45 Young Men’s Christian Association.45 Young Women’s Christian Association.52 Home for the Friendless.52 Florence Crittenton Mission.53 HOTELS.54 INDEX. PAGE HOSPITALS. 54 Lackawanna State Hospital.54 Moses Taylor Hospital.55 Scranton Private Hospital.56 Hahnemann Hospital.59 CHURCHES.60 First Methodist Episcopal.60 First Presbyterian.60 St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal.61 PERIODICALS ... •• .62 MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 65 Dickson Manufacturing Co., Allis-Chalmers Co. and American Locomotive Co.67 Scranton Forging Co.71 Finch Manufacturing Co.71 Scranton Stove Works. 72 Scranton Brass Works.72 Van Dyke Piano Manufacturing Co.75 S. G. Barker & Son.75 Dickson Mill and Grain Co.76 Pennsylvania Central Brewing Co.76 A. R. Gould & Sons.77 The Silk Industry.78 Scranton Lace Curtain Co.81 Lackawanna Mills.81 Scranton Yarn and Finishing Co.82 Other New Industries.82 WHOLESALE AND JOBBING BUSINESS.84 PUBLIC SERVICE INSTITUTIONS AND CORPORATIONS .... .86 Thirteenth Regiment Infantry. 86 Scranton Gas and Water Co.88 Scranton Railway Co.90 .101 ..102 INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE CITY OF SCRANTON In 1837 there were only two dwellings within the limits of what has since become the City of Scranton, namely, tne home ot Barton Mott, the miller, and the historic house of the elder Slocums. In 1856 the village had 3,000 inhabitants and was incor¬ porated as a borough. In 1866 the town had 20,000 inhabitants and was incor¬ porated as a third-class city. In 1901 the city had 105,000 inhabitants and became a Pennsylvania city of the second class. In November, 1903, the population, by careful estimates, had reached 116,000 within city limits, 300,000 within 30 minutes’ trolley ride, and 400,000 within 20 miles of the City Hall. The Court House is in latitude 41d. 24m. 29s. N. and longi¬ tude 79d. 39m. 47s. W. from Greenwich, at an altitude 745 feet above sea level. It is 145 miles from New York City, 160 miles from Philadelphia and 317 miles from Pittsburg. The area of the present city is 12,333 acres. Length of traveled streets and avenues.....149 miles. Length of paved streets. 21 miles. Length of courts and places. 36 miles. Length of sewers. 75 miles. The streets are lighted by 781 arc lights. There are 50 miles of street railway within the city limits and about the same connected mileage outside the limits. There are five steam railroads that enter the city, viz.: Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, main line; Delaware and Hudson; Central Railroad of New Jersey; Erie and Wyoming Valley; New York, Ontario and Western. There is also one steam and electric railroad, viz.: the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley. There is a daily water supply from mountain lakes of 35.000,000 gallons. There are 40 public school buildings valued at $1,864,- 000 and 12 annexes. There are 82 churches of many denominations. There are 13 banks in the Scranton Clearing House As¬ sociation. They have a combined capital of $2,500,000, sur¬ plus of $3,500,000 and deposits of $30,000,000. The clear¬ ings for 1902 amounted to $72,832,180.87, and for the first ten months of 1903, to $87,647,782.11. The Postoffice receipts show a large increase every year for the past ten years. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1S93, the receipts were: $82,716.80; for 1898, $142,- 865.96; for 1903, $261,863.85. The current year also shows a large increase. There are 140 incorporated manufacturing establish¬ ments with a capital actually invested of $30,000,000. There are 30 anthracite coal mines within the city lim¬ its and the city is headquarters for 58 coal mining com¬ panies. Lying on the dumps within the city limits are many millions of tons of the cheapest steam fuel in the world, culm being only 15 to 25 cents per ton, and buckwheat and birdseye coal $1.25 per ton. There are 15 iron foundries in the city. There are 28 periodicals. There are 20 academies and schools for special training. There is a well-equipped free public library with four branches. The business directory of the city shows, among many other classifications: Architects .10 Artists .11 Boots and shoes, wholesale. 6 Building and Loan associations.15 Building material dealers.17 Car wheel manufacturers. 3 Coal mining companies.48 Coal and land companies. 6 Contractors and builders.75 Dry goods, wholesale. 7 Electric light, heat and power companies.10 Engineers, civil and mining.20 Flour, feed and grain, wholesale.'.12 Grocers, wholesale.11 Land companies.20 Lumber dealers, wholesale.17 Meat dealers, wholesale. 8 Mining companies.11 Paint manufacturers. 7 Planipg mills. 9 Real estate agents and brokers. 37 Silk manufacturers. 9 The Board of Trade, composed of the leading business men of the city, is a very active organization, oc upying a building which cost $100,000. Through this organiza¬ tion, it is not difficult to interest local capital in the pro¬ motion of any new and meritorious industry mat comes to Scranton. The city is one of the most salubrious in the country, the annual death rate, 1900-1902. being only seventeen per thousand. Board of Trade Building. THE CITY OF SCRANTON THE METROPOLIS OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA With the great economic gifts of nature, coal, iron, gas, oil and timber, the State of Pennsylvania is endowed be¬ yond any other State in the Union. While the natural gas and oil are found only in the western part of the state the anthracite coal is found only in the eastern part. This unequalled treasure of hard coal occurs in three narrow valleys—in the most northern of which lies the beautiful City of Scranton, the metropolis of northeastern Pennsyl¬ vania. It is known the world over as the City of Anthra¬ cite. It is true that the whole city is undermined, and the wealth thus obtained by her citizens has been invested in splendid public and private improvements. But it is also true that Scranton would hold her place as the third city of the commonwealth, and a very prosperous manufactur¬ ing and commercial city, if all the coal mines of the valley should be flooded and permanently closed. Scranton has always owed her prosperity to the energy and business ability of her citizens. The unique natural wealth of the valley has been utilized to the best advan¬ tage. The town was made first by iron, then by coal, and later by the various industries that consume coal; but first and last it has always been her own citizens who have used the gifts of nature for the blessing of the whole coun¬ try, and who in the utilization have reaped a harvest of a hundred-fold. The United States Census of 1900 reports the value of manufactured products in the State of Pennsylvania that year to have been over five hundred million dollars greater than in the year 1890—and this increase was greater than that of any other State in the Union. A further examina¬ tion of the detailed statistics shows that Scranton has been gaining on the other large cities of the country as a manu¬ facturing community, and in 1900 she stood No. 51 in the gross value of manufactured products. The story of the rapid development of the Lackawanna Valley with its metropolis is one of fascinating interest. From aboriginal times to the present day the history stirs the blood of those who are ambitious to do and to achieve. A Bit of Old History. The word Lackawanna is a corruption of the Indian Lee-ha-ugh-anna; lee-ha signifying the forks and hanna the stream. Hence the name for the locality of the meeting of two rivers. The name was first applied by the Delaware Indians to the locality at the mouth of the Lackawanna, but later it was used as the name of the river. To geolo¬ gists and antiquarians the valley of the Lackawanna is one of the most interesting regions in America. Rich beds of coal and iron and evidences of glacial action for the one, and rare Indian relics for the other make the ground of the valley a fascinating subject of study. Dr. H. Hollister, author of the History of the Lackawanna Valley, made a valuable collection of Indian relics found In the valley. This collection is still in Scranton in the pos¬ session of Mrs. Hollister. Hon. Steuben Jenkins of Wyo¬ ming also made a valuable collection of such relics. Dr. Hollister was authority for the statement that no less than seven Indian villages were located on the east bank of the Lackawanna River. The Flats, one of these sites, is now built up with great factories for the production of iron castings, silk goods, pianos, lace curtains and beer, as well as coal breakers, culm piles and railroad tracks connect¬ ing the various factories with the markets of the world. A hundred years ago the whole valley was a wilderness tracked by Indian paths and visited occasionally by hardy pioneers; to-day it is crowded by industry and commerce. The first white settler in what is now Scranton was Philip Abbott, a native of Connecticut. He tramped through the wilderness in 1778 and settled in a romantic spot he called “Deep Hollow” on the bank of Roaring Brook. He fled after the Wyoming Massacre of the same year, but re¬ turned to the Hollow in 1786 where he built a log cabin and primitive grist-mill or corn-cracker. Thus he established and operated the first industry of the future manufacturing metropolis. Near the mouth of the Lackawanna River there were then small settlements of whites—a hardy remnant of those who suffered the savage butchery of the Wyoming Massacre, and who after fleeing from those terrible scenes had later returned to win from bountiful nature the liveli¬ hood and perchance the wealth she had to bestow. The paths of the wilderness were doubtless often traveled by scouts and hunters who tramped their Way from the settle¬ ments of the Wyoming Valley to the Connecticut colony from whence many of the early settlers of\this part of Pennsylvania had come as early as 1762. Even at that time it is quite possible that the Abbotts considered themselves fortunate in being on the line of through travel between the settlements. But for eleven years Philip Abbott, his brother James, and the few who accompanied them, were THE CITY OF SCRANTON JO Municipal Building, Washington Ave. mantic name are associated many of the early traditions of the Lackawanna Valley. That appellation is still frequently used, and is not taken as a term of reproach even when it assumes the personal and uneuphonicus form of Slocum Hollowite. The Slocums established a saw-mill and a distil¬ lery; and the next year they added to the nascent indus¬ tries a forge for working the iron they found outcropping along the Brook. This pioneer forge was used until 1828, and was one step toward the great development that was to follow. Clark tells us in his History of the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys that Ebenezer Slocum prophesied that "the Hollow would be a great city some day, and he longed to have the privilege of seeing it fifty years after he was laid in the grave.” But with all the energy and enthusi¬ asm of its founders it took Slocum Hollow forty years to grow to a population of one hundred. In 1836 a box of iron ore carried by Joseph J. Albright to Northampton County was the means of attracting the attention of William Henry. Henry then prospected Lack¬ awanna Valley and finally succeeded in interesting George Scranton and others in its great resources. In 1840 these gentlemen together with Selden T. Scranton. Sanford Grant and Philip H. Mattes, formed the nucleus of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. The construction of an iron furnace was immediately begun, and the indus¬ trial development of the village was fairly started. Five years later the population had increased to five hundred, and in 1853 it had reached three thousand. January 27th, Lackawanna County Court House, Washington Ave. alone in tneir occupancy of the attractive site on Roaring Brook. In 1797 they sold out to John Hone. Then in 1799 came the Slocum brothers, Ebenezer and Benjamin, whose sister Frances Slocum was the Indian captive whose experi¬ ence is historic. The Slocums bought out John Hone and named the settlement "Slocum Hollow,” and with this unro- 1851, the name of the village, which had been Slocum Hollow from 1799 to 1848, and then Scrantonia, was chang¬ ed to Scranton. The town was named after Colonel George W. Scranton whose energy and genius as a business man were impressed upon every enterprise in which he became interested. He was born in Madison, Connecticut, May THE CITY OF SCRANTON 11 Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, Court House Square. Scranton became the successful manager of the iron fur¬ nace at Oxford, New Jersey. It was the next year that he formed, with his associates, the iron company which at once commenced work on the site of the present city of Scranton. August 20th, 1840, titles were taken to a large t:act of land, which was afterward increased by the pur¬ chase of four thousand acres. Slocum Hollow then com¬ prised five dwelling houses, a school house, a cooper shop, a saw-mill and a grist-mill. In 1841 the new iron furnaces were ready for operation, but it was not until 1842 that the first successful blast was made. Anthracite coal was used experimentally in this blast, and the result was most encouraging to those who had invested so extensively in the iron and coal of the valley. The next problem was to find a market for their product. There was then no rail¬ road in the region, and it was very expensive to haul either coal or iron to a railroad, canal or navigable river. The Erie Railroad was in process of construction, being laid with iron rails made in England. In 1844 the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company built a rolling mill, and then Colonel Scranton secured a contract to furnish the Erie Railroad with several thousand tons of rails. These Scranton-made rails were the first that had been rolled in this country. The successful execution of this contract was the beginning of the prosperity of the company and of the town; it was also very advantageous to the railroad company for thereby the road was completed in time to save for itself the millions of dollars granted by the State of New York. All the rails were hauled fifty miles by wagon to reach the railroad. It was the energy of the pioneers of Scranton that overcame such difficulties, and Armory 13th Regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania. Adams Avenue. 23rd, 1811, being the eldest of seven children and the lineal descendant of John Scranton who emigrated from England and was one of the original settlers of the New Haven colony. When only twenty-eight years old George to the same quality is due the extraordinary and contin¬ uous growth of the city. A few years later Colonel Scranton became inter* Red in the construction of the Delaware. Lackawanna and THE CITY OF SCRANTON l’l Western Railroad, of which the City of Scranton has al¬ ways been the real center. The beginning of this railroad was in 1850, and from that time its interests have been largely identified with the City of Scranton. In later years came the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, the Central been called the Western city of the East, in consequence of the tireless energy of its citizens. Among the fathers of the future city whose names are most prominent in her industrial and commercial history were Scranton, Platt, Archbald, Albright, Mattes and Manness. ( Railroad of New Jersey, the Erie and Wyoming Valley, and then the New York, Ontario and Western by means of the Ontario, Carbondale and Scranton Railroad. All of these roads contributed to and shared in the wonderful development of the Lackawanna Valley and Scranton in particular. The city has never experienced a “boom/’ but from the time of the incorporation of the borough, Febru¬ ary 14th, 1856, it has enjoyed a continuous growth. It has In 1866 Scranton was incorporated as a city, and during the decade 1860-1870 the population increased from 9,223 to 35,092. The year after the City of Scranton was chartered the Scranton Board of Trade was organized, and four years later it was chartered. This organization has always been active in promoting the industrial, financial and commer¬ cial interests of the community. At the present time it Scranton High School, Washington Ave. and Vine St. THE CITY OF SCRANTON l: has a membership composed of over two. hundred of the most prominent business men of the city, and twelve standing committees. The political history of the Lackawanna Valley, which centers in Scranton has been characterized by the same active, aggressive spirit that is always manifest in her industrial enterprises. The first settlers of northeastern Pennsylvania came over from Connecticut and founded the county of Westmoreland, and then the legislature of Connecticut promptly passed a law giving the new county equal representation in their body. After the bitter con¬ troversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania was set¬ tled, in 1786, Luzerne county comprised what we now know as Luzerne, Lackawanna,, Susquehanna. Wyoming, Colum¬ bia and Lycoming counties, with portions of Bradford, Sul¬ livan and Montour. The separation of Lackawanna from Luzerne county, April 17th, 1878, was the result of a long continued and strenuous agitation by Scranton citizens who found it exceedingly burdensome to be obliged to go to another city to transact their county business. Time after time the bill was defeated. in the legislature at Har¬ risburg, because strong interests were opposed to the divi¬ sion. The Lackawanna county business is now transactrd in the beautiful Court House where three judges preside in the civil and criminal courts and one judge in the orphans’ court. In 1895 the legislature created a new appellate court, called the Superior Court, and Scranton was named as one of the cities in which it would meet. This court sits every January in the Lackawanna County Court House, and brings a great deal of business from out of the city. A campaign had been carried on for a quarter of a cen¬ tury in Congress to secure the formation of a new Federal district for eastern Pennsylvania. Several years ago this was brought to a successful conclusion through the efforts of Hon. William Connell—the Scranton representative. The Middle Federal district of Pennsylvania was thus created with headquarters in Scranton. President Mc¬ Kinley thereupon appointed as the judge of the new court Hon. R. W. Archbald of Scranton, who for years had been Colonel E. H. Ripple, Postmaster. Government Building. Postoffice and U. S. Court House. 14 THE CITY OF SCRANTON the president judge, of the courts of Lackawanna county. The Federal court room is on the second floor of the Gov¬ ernment building. Scranton is also the headquarters of the internal revenue district of northeastern Pennsylvania. It is a difficult undertaking to try to name in one sen- ration will be equal to any task and responsibility that they may be called upon to meet.” Scranton occupies a valley and also a succession of gently-rolling hills, the most important of which is Hyde Park Hill from whose summit a beautiful view is obtained. Topographically the streets of the city may be described as Hotel Jermyn, Wyoming Ave. and Spruce St. t:nce the principal attractions of a city like Scranton. Several years ago President J. A. Lansing of the Board of Trade said: “We have unsurpassed railroad facilities, more abundant water supply, the brightest and clearest everywhere undulating but nowhere steep. The elevation of the Court House above the sea is 745 feet. The city is surrounded by mountains two thousand feet high, and it enjoys the great advantages of an invigorat- l The Country Club, Scranton, Pa. sunlight, the best school houses, the smallest debt, the lowest tax rate on actual valuation, and everything that goes to make up a delightful town to live in of any city of 100,000 inhabitants in this land, and the men of this gene- ing atmosphere, pure water and perfect drainage. The temperature seldom goes above ninety degrees in sum¬ mer, or below zero in winter. Pulmonary troubles are not indigenous. On the hillside a few miles from Scranton THE CITY OF SCRANTON 15 may be seen a cluster of tents where consumptives from a distance have come to live. “And they are being cured too,” the physician remarked who pointed them out to the writer. The residence streets of the city are well paved with great ice cap was along the southern boundary of Luzerne county, and Lackawanna was covered with drift and “till,” At Scranton the striae on the rocks indicate that the course of the movement was south 53 degrees west. A glacial terrace lies nearly one hundred feet above the river, Residence of Colonel L. A. Watres, Elmhurst Boulevard. Built by Peter Stlpp. asphalt and lined on either side with trees and beautiful and below Scranton two terraces are seen with sharp homes. The fine drives up and down the valley and across escarpments which were formed by the cutting action of the hills to nearby summer resorts and lakes are particu- the river. Pot holes in rocks, formed by stones revolving larly appreciated by people of leisure. Nay Aug Park, under the impulse of glacial currents, are found just north through which Roaring Brook leaps down over the roman- of Scranton. North and northwest of Scranton the coun- George F. Reynolds’ tic falls, is a delightful and popular resort. Within less than an hour’s ride of Scranton are a number of mountain lakes of glacial origin which attract many visitors and cottagers during the summer. The varied topography of the Lackawanna Valley is largely due to glacial action. The terminal moraine of the Suburban Property. try is broken and diversified. It is a labyrinth of hills and connecting valleys of the Devonian and Silurian ag j, and all covered with a mantel of giaciai anrt. Twenty miles northeast of Scranton are the Twin Elk Hi ns, reach¬ ing twenty seven hundred feet above the sea, and showing striae to their very summits. This indicates that at Scran- 16 THE CITY OF SCRANTON ton the ice cap was not much less than half a mile in thickness. Geographically Scranton is situated upon the highlands of northeastern Pennsylvania in the northern anthracite coal region, about 150 miles from New York City and Phi- ed by prosperous towns that are tributary to it. Its situa¬ tion is evidently more advantageous than that of most other cities of its size in the United States. Moreover, as the headquarters and shipping point of the Lackawanna Valley coal mining companies Scranton has a unique and Residence of Charles Schlager, Esq. ladelphia and 317 miles from Pittsburg. It is not in com¬ petition with these older and larger cities, but it is near enough to them to be easy of access, and to effect the in¬ terchange of coal and other heavy products in the inexpen- very great advantage over cities with which it is other¬ wise comparable. And this advantage is two-fold. First, the work of mining, preparing for market, hauling and shipping the coal is necessarily done from here, and this Interior of Residence of Charles Schlager, Esq. sive haul of a single night. Its location therefore affords unusual commercial advantages for an inland city, besides being admirably situated as the metropolis of the Lacka¬ wanna and Wyoming valleys—being completely surround- makes in itself enough business to support a prosperous city. Second, the cheap fuel attracts many manufactur¬ ers who save enough on power alone to enable them to pay dividends while competing plants, less favorably THE CITY OF SCRANTON 17 located, are obliged to close their works or operate at a loss. The valley of the Lackawanna is about thirty-five miles in length from north to south, and is really an extension of the beautiful valley of Wyoming. Scranton is situated on the banks of the Lackawanna River near the center of this region which is known as the northern anthracite coal field. The area of the field is 198 square miles. Eleven coal measures are found here aggregating from thirty to commercial value of that kind of coal. In 1830, however, owing to the opening of Eastern markets through the ope¬ ration of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, the annual pro¬ duction of the northern field reached 43,000 tons. Fifty years later it was 1,141,927 tons; and in 1902, as stated before, it was 10,985,649 tons. According to William Grif¬ fith, M. E., the average increase in the demand for anthra¬ cite coal in this country since the civil war has been one and one-fifth million tons per annum. Residence of F. W. Gerecke, Esq, fifty feet in thickness. The yield of the five measures gen¬ erally worked averages about six thousand tons per acre. The total amount of coal in Lackawanna and Wyoming counties, called the Wyoming region, has been officially estimated at 5,700,000,000 tons, of which 1,670,733,552 tons had been mined previous to 1902, leaving 4,029,266,448 tons to be mined. Lackawanna county is divided into the first and second coal inspection districts. The production of the first district for the year 1902 was 4,932,924 tons, and the number of employees was 18,490. The production of the second district for the same year was 6,052 725 tons, and the number of employees 18,229. The increase in the production has been rapid. In 1820 the use of hard coal was still experimental. Many people, hearing that the “black stones” would burn had tried them as fuel without success, and there resulted a general incredulity as to the Culm. When anthracite coal was first sent to market, indeed as late as 1853, it was always in large lumps just as it came from the mine; and the consumer had to break the lumps into smaller pieces to fit his fire-place the best way he could. In 1852 the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Rail¬ road introduced a machine at their Scranton mine to break the coal into convenient sizes, and the next year they in¬ stalled a steam-power coal breaker at their Diamond mines. Some years later a breaker was erected at the mines of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, and then it was generally used throughout the anthracite region. The convenience of coal in its familiar commercial form has been gained by wasting from twenty to thirty per cent, of the coal. This waste material, which is crushed and pul- 18 THE CITY OF SCRANTON verized coal, accumulates in immense quantities at every breaker. In some localities around Scranton these culm piles are the principal feature of the landscape. The mate¬ rial is often piled up to a height of about one hundred feet and for several hundred feet in length. A small railroad is built up the side of the artificial hill and on this the cars sold on the dump to Scranton manufacturers for fifteen; or twenty-five cents per ton. In 1885. Dr. H. Hollister, the historian of the Lackawanna Valley, wrote: “This appalling amount of waste is a total loss to coal territory, to all companies engaged in its production, and People’s Coal Co. r Tenth St. loaded with waste are pulled up by a cable and emptied at the top of the mound. These black pyramids, all formed from the purest coal, represent a tremendous waste. Some of the piles contain more than a million tons, and yet a few years ago they were worth less than the ground on to the world at large. Before half of the coal owned' by companies in the valley is mined, the culm piles,, which already smother villages and cities along the Lackawanna, will close up the valley with ground coal, and obliberate- the fair vale from the sight of coming generations,. Wilhim People’s Coal Co. Retail Depot. which they rested. Consequently anybody could have the culm without money and without price. Recently, since it has been demonstrated that this material, so long rejected, makes good steaming fuel when properly used, it has been the anthracite coal area lies sufficient culm to pay the national debt if it could be utilized with judgment and economy. Within a radius of three miles of the Scranton court-house are two hundred and fifty boilers where steam THE CITY OF SCRANTON 19 is generated exclusively from culm. The manufacturers save at least $25,000 each month in this manner. Still, in spite of this, 6,000 tons of the purest coal are wasted every day in the year, and thousands of tons accumulated in culm dumps.” Although the local demand for culm is increasing every year, which has a tendency to raise the price, and the per¬ centage of waste has been largely decreased, yet it must be many years before consumption gains on production, or makes any great diminution in the accumulations of half a century. Some boiler plants, for example the power house of the Scranton Street Railway Company, have been located adjacent to culm piles, and the material is carried directly into the fire boxes, which are provided with McClave grates made in Scranton especially for this fuel. elective bodies called the Select Council and the Common Council. The executive government of the city is carried- on through a City Recorder and nine departments, established by ordinance approved March 7th, 1901. These depart¬ ments are as follows, namely: Public Safety, Public Works, Collector of Delinquent Taxes, Assessors, City Treasurer, City Controller, Law, Charities and Correction, and Sinking Fund Commission. The salary of the City Recorder is fixed by said ordinance at $3,000 per annum, and he is required to give a surety bond in the sum of $25,000 for the faithful performance of his duties. The salaries of the directors of the departments of Pub¬ lic Safety and Public Works are $2,500 each. The salary of the members of the Board of Assessors is $1,500 each Residence of J. J. Williams, Esq. THE Cl T 1 GOVERN MEM AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Scranton was incorporated as a city of the second class in 1901. Under the previous incorporation of 1866 the city was made up of Providence, Hyde Park and Scranton boroughs and Providence township. Subsequently portions of Dunmore and Lackawanna townships were annexed. The legislation of the City of Scranton is enacted by two per annum; of the City Treasurer $4,000, and of the City Controller and City Solicitor $2,500 each per annum. The Director of the Department of Public Safety is also Director of the Department of Public Charities and Correc¬ tion—the salary of the latter office being included in the salary of the former. The salary of the members of the Sinking Fund Commission is $50 each per annum. The heads of the departments of Public Safety, Public Works, 20 THE CITY OF SCRANTON and of Law, and also the City Controller, are required to give surety bonds in the sum of $10,000 each, and the City Treasurer in the sum of $80,000, and each member of the Board of Assessors and of the Sinking Fund Commission in the sum of $1,000, conditioned for the faithful perform¬ ance of their several duties. These bonds are paid for by the city. 