. I I . I. . .‘ I....II Vwioc§.o.¢..II9.~.c.. ... I. .. . . .I. I . I. .. . v.. 0.. ..o .. Iv ~...o.~. .II . .o.I_. .. ... ... . . .. . I. ..II.~ I, . ........ .. .I ..v. I . ., . I. . ... . ..I. I .o. ... . . ..I.. . I . . .... .. L on .9. : I_c\o.... . v..... . v I. .0 I. ._..o.o.. . I. I I .I . 4 ..o I I It .. . cc .. .I. . . I O. .c. I .. . I . . I . . .- .7.o.l _ .o I ... V . . V I . ~I... .. _.. I... .. . o .. .. . .. I .. ...~o,0... .. _._ . I II ... . . o. I ..__ .. I I . ..§....I.I . . .., .. . OI: . - o-ltuocoI. . . . . I ... . I. . . . . I It: .1 I. t....~..,..'.‘>.l~_».. I. 0-. . . I . II . 1- G o ..o.'. .o.....-. o ...o _... . . a .I .‘ .r . I 0.! 3 I. I.-.. v I I It I ‘ ' . I - |. I . . . . .. . . o . . : . . . .. r I. .I I. .I . . I . .. . .. . . I 7 . I _ .._ 1 . p .3 . . ,' I . I I. I I I . . I.. . . I t . .. . _ V I . y .I . . I I . .. . . I. o o. . I ._ I . I .. I s., I . ,. I . I. .. I ..I . . .. .I . . I . ._ .I ._.I I . o.I. .. . I I I .. I .. IV I . ... . . ,. . . . . . _ . I . I. . I . .. _ . :3 V. . . v . . .. . .. ... _ . _ . I .o. . I . . I . u I u C I n n o I I II I. .. . .. ... . . . .I .. . . . o . . I. . . I. . .0 It. I I .. .I . . u. . I . ._ I .I . . _. . . . I . . I . . . . II I l ~ 3 .. . ...I I . . II I . . -C ..l I . . . . . . I . a I I . t I O . I I II I A I . I I .. I I. I .o u . ‘ . . C . . I. a I I . ' — _ I. u I I . . . I I . I. . o . I. I I I U I I . Q C .4v I I. .. .. _ I I. I ‘ I O J 0 . .I.. . . . .. . . . . o . I _. .I I. I I . .. I . . ..... . I . D. I I. I | 0' ’u C I I ¢ I u . C o l. . I ....o. . . I I . ,. . .. . . . I I..I I. . . I I. I... I. . . . . ... . . . I . ._ OI ' I .I b I I a h l A V .5 I l a. I C I ‘ I w .1 I o I I I o . I I. I I I II U I . o - a 4 II 0 _ l I O l . . . . .. l . . . . W o I V . . . g. . .. . m I CV. — I .I. it I I C a . \ . I . . .. I .v... .IA . .‘3. . . r . I No .. .Io. . . v r O a I ' ' v T I I I! I I A ’ c... L I It a . 4 I I I I _ n . . . . o I o . a II 0 I I I I I . I II . . . I I . 6., 0?... IAIIJOIICII.II. I. AOII..¢III3 III a O . I o 0.. I C- 1v I . III II- II. 0 I II VI. .I§I I I -I .. I I|I 0‘0 0 0 0| ) III-I . I I I " I I I I I I ‘II I I I O I I .1. .I\ ~ .0‘lu‘0a. ‘4; O. I OIOII U .9 I. . G'HESXS «Junflnmujfl‘ujnlmmflngmflwnn “2:33;: Universxty PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE MSU II An Affirmative Adlai/EM Opportunity Institution l 0-169 This is to certify that the thesis entitled A HISTORICAL (EOGRAPHY 0F CAMBRIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA presented by Lawrence C. Mitchell has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for M.A. degree in Geography mm;{/’VL/ Major professor August 13 1965 Date ' ’ llllll .1 W! rngP l "’1‘" lliv {H Nil-ll i —. F _ r h — h, - —‘ .-_— . _. —-— P- 1- - h I. '3: n.— I:— .r __-_. u— p.— .— iu— ._ ., 1d UH .¢.m.3 z. awtha « w~ mu m. _q a» mm an Mm mm mm "m mmm mammaa mammmam M H 0"! *u 1-1 e 3 .3 m a tr; e", :n m a: m m a: m m m3 1:» a, m an as an a: as so 035-”. m an 053?: an c: c: a: m”aacan”aeseammaamwnxxammmawmmmoccammmmmammaaaaaaaamuf ~_~p---~hp-~hhhh----~5fififih.hhfifihhfihhh-hphp-7 macawcammmammummcaeumamemmmammmmmmmmmommmmmmmmmmeuuumm_ mmnmmmmammmmmnnmmmmmarmmmmm“anmmwmmmmmmmmmmmnmnmmnmmmn_ vvvvvewe‘vevvvegeveveevevveeeeveevvevwevievevvqereoee. mammmmmmmmmnnmnnnnnntmmnmmnnmmmnnnmnnmmmmnnmnmmmmmmxrnn -----~NN~N-NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNflNNNNNNNNNNNN _____________________________________—______r___r______ 322:3t:2::23333833358323331233333:3333:33232mnmmznn~n5222:: aeaaacccaaaaacaaacaaaom=ace:===ammoaecaaaaaaarraamaaeaa r #. “an a: mg .1" ABSTRACT A HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA by Lawrence C. Mitchell The theSis presents results of study of geographical changes in Cambria County, Pennsylvania through time and attempts to explain their occurrence. In most ways, this county is much like others in the Allegheny Plateau region of the state. Not only is this true of its physical characteristics, described in the introductory chapter of the thesis, but 3150 of its settlement and economic evolu« tion, and of the problems faced. Like the others, Cambria County is today suffering from the depressed condition of one of its major industries, coal mining, and has been losing pOpulation. Indeed, changes in population trends, correlated with shifts in human activity, provided the basis for delimiting the four time periods studied. A chapter of the thesis is devoted to each. The first interval, the Pioneer Period, 1730-1820, began with the earliest known visit of white traders to a village of approximately 100 Indians occupying a site at the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Stony Lawrence C. Mitchell Creek in present day Johnstown. It ended with the Opening of a new transportation route through the county. Between these happenings, the Indians were largely displaced, and white settlers established subsistence farms frontier in— dustries, and rudimentary trails and roads. By the end of the period, sixteen years after Cambria County’s creation (1804), the population was 3,287 persons. Over the next forty years population growth was more rapid, the number in 1860 being 29,155. This in part, at least, was due to construction of a canal—railway route be“ tween Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, which crossed Cambria County. In fact, much of the railway portage over the Allegheny Front lay in the county. Not only did the new transportation provide Jobs directly, but is stimulated trade, changed agriculture, and contributed to the devel— opment of an iron industry based on local ore and charcoal fuel. This second period ended with the start of the Civil War and the abandonment in 1863 of the canal in Cam— bria County in favor of a railroad laid parallel to its course. The third period, 1863-1920, was one of very rapid population growth and a new mineral development, the mining of coal. Cambria‘s population grew 197,839 in 1920. The Civil War and subsequent railroad building provided a treu mendous stimulus to Cambria‘s iron and steel industry. This expanded, despite exhaustion of charcoal supplies, Lawrence C. Mitchell because of the existence of good coking coal in the county. Although coal was mined here as early as 1809, the post Civil-War industrial demands were such that Cambria be— game one of the nation's leading coal-producing counties. World War I, like the Civil War, quickened industry in the. county. Steel mills boomed and coal production reached an all-time high of 20,569,000 tons in 1918. Meanwhile, immigrants from many lands had swelled the population. Johnstown had become increasingly important as an industrial center, and this despite the tragic flood in 1889. Ag— riculture, like mining, reached a peak all-around significance near the end of the period. Mixed farming in conjunction with dairying prevailed. The fourth period, 192091960, was one of maturity and subsequent decline. Population apparently peaked soon after 1940, when it was 213,459, but by 1960 had dropped to 203,283, only 5,444 more than in 1920. The period's early years, beset with labor trouble in mine and factory, race problems occasioned by use of Negro strike breakers in the steel mills, and cut—throat competition, were followed by the deadening effects of the "Great Depression". Recovery was marked during World War II. Coal production, for example, reached 20,266,000 tons in 1942, close to the 1918 peak, but subsequently it declined to only 6,955,000 tons in 1963. Agriculture, too, is of decreasing consequence. Only in the Lawerence C. Mitchell Johnstown metropolitan area is population increasing. Here. steel production has changed from heavier to lighter goods, industry has diversified, and service occupations have gained in relative importance. It can be concluded that as a whole, Cambria County is a depressed area facing an uncertain future. A HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CAMBRIA CCUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA By Lawrence C. Mitchell A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Geography 1965 ..(u¢ m.._kz=oo (3.3240 tam—823.28 womflhzozu ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my thanks to each and every person who has contributed to the preparation and completion of this thesis. Brevity prevents the listing of each one who has helped, either by suggestions, directions or long suffering. I especially owe a note of thanke to those who provided me with material, since much of the early information about Cambria County is scattered or lost. Three residents of the county were especially helpful: Mrs. Mary E. Brougher, Head of the Reference Department of the Johnstown Public Library, with material and ideas; and Mr. Michael Timo and Mr. Mike Pirich, Jr., with memories of their mining years, I am also deeply appreciative to Mr. James Bogdan, Mr. Rodger Walcott and Mrs. Williams for their time and aid in securing material. I am especially grateful to my wife, Marion, who has played two added roles during the preparation of this paper, typist and substitute father to our son, Mark. Above all, I wish to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Paul Cross Morrison, for his guidance stimulation, patience and encouragement. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS LIST OF APPENDICES Chapter I. INTRODUCTION. Statement of Problem. Physical Setting Location . . Area and Boundaries Topography Drainage . Climate . . Historical Periods . . II. PIONEER PERIOD, 1730—1820 . Pre—white Settlement. . . . . White Settlement . . . . . . The First Occupants Agriculture . Industry . Transportation III. CANAL PERIOD AND BEGINNINGS OF A MINERAL INDUSTRY, 1820-1863 . . , . The Pennsylvania Canal System. Route . . . . . . Equipment. The Canal System in Cambria iv Page iii vii viii ix Chapter Page The Waterway . . . . . . 40 The Allegheny Portage Railroad . . . . . 41 Effects of the Canal and Railroad . . . . 47 New Allegheny Portage Railroad . . . . . 5O Mineral Development . . . . . . . . . 51 Iron. . . . . . . . . . 51 Cambria Iron Company . . . . . . . . 54 Technical Advancements. . . . . . . . 57 Miscellaneous Growth . . . , . . . . . 59 IV. RAPID GROWTH AND A NEW MINERAL DEVELOPMENT 1863—1920. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 The Stimulus of the Civil War i . . . . . 62 Significance of the Railroads . . . . . . 65 Coal, A New Mineral . . . . . . . . . 66 The Geology . . . . . . . 66 The Development of Mining: . . . . . . 7O Coke Manufacture. . . , . . . . . . 79 The Johnstown Flood and Its Effect . . . 80 Evolution in the Iron and Steel Industry . . 81 Population and Immigration . . . . . . . 83 The Status of Agriculture . . . . . , . 86 V. MATURITY AND DECLINE, 1920-1960. . . . . . 93 Population Characteristics . . . . . . . 93 Strikebreaking and Race Problems . . . , 95 Steel Industry Trends. . . . . . . . 101 Problems of the Coal Industry . . . . . . O4 Prices and Competition. . . . . . . . 104 Unions and Wages. . . . . . . . . . 105 Mining Conditions . . . . . . . . , 107 Federal Involvement in Cambria County . . . llO Advent of the ”New Deal” . . . . . . . 110 A Second Johnstown Flood . . . , . . lll Imposition of Government Controls , . . . 111 Coal During World War II and After , . . . 113 V Chapter Page Wartime Production and Problems. . . . . 112 Post- War Changes and the Present . . . 116 Relation of Coal Industry to Employment of Women. . . . . . . . . 121 The Service Occupations . . . . . . . . 123 Agriculture Since 1920 . . . . . . . . 125 Whither the Future? . . . . . . . . . 128 APPENDIX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 vi Table 10. LIST OF TABLES Statistical Data Old Allegheny Portage Railroad Iron Ores of Cambria County. Selected Mineral Production of the United States During Civil War Bituminous Coal Beds of Cambria County Population Statistics, Number of Foreign Born Whites in Cambria County, 1900-1910-1920. Selected Farm Statistics, Cambria County, Pennsylvania Selected Livestock Statistics, Cambria County, Pennsylvania Selected Crop Statistics, Cambria County, Pennsylvania Growth of Negro Community in Johnstown, Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Production in Cambria County, 1900—1963 vii 63 72 85 88 89 90 109 LSIT OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Frontpiece: Contemporary Cambria County, Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l. Generalized Physical Conditions Cambria County, Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Detailed Drainage Cambria County, Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Population Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 1810— 1960. a o o o o o o u o o o o e o o I o e o o 4. Statewide Factors Affecting Settlement of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . o 5. Settlement Beginnings, Cambria County, 1731— 1820. O 0 O o h a O O O I a e 5 e 0 O O 6. Pennsylvania Canal and Railroad Route. . 7. Generalized Cross Section, Trans-Pennsylvanian Canal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Canal and Railroad in Cambria County . . . . . 9. Generalized Cross Section, Old Allegheny Portage Railroad. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. Generalized Cross Section Coal Seams. . . . . . 11. Mining and Smelting Cambria County, 1875. . . 12. Mining and Smelting Cambria County, 1891. viii I...J TU 22 43 43 44 44 71 75 75 Table LIST OF APPENDICES Geologic Surveys of Pennsylvania Chronological Incorporation Dates for Boroughs in Cambria County, Pennsylvania Coal Beds in Cambria County . . Industrial Directory of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 1959 . . ix Page 132 133 134 137 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION One field of study for the professional gecgrapher is called historical geography. This includes any study cf past geography or investigation of geographical change through time. This is a generic apprrach which focuses attention on the process of change, be this in cultura-, physical or biological phenomena. The contemporary scene can be adequately described and explained only by examining 1 happenings and conditions in the past. Statement of Problem The purpose of this thesis is to present a summary View of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, using the methods :1 historical geography. This means inspecting he county‘s past for geographical Changes and attempting to establish why these changes have occurred. The study Will, therefcre that were active in the county during its evolution from about 1730 to the present} 1 . - . Preston E. James and Clarené F. cones, American eography, Inventory and Prospect ( " z - * A University Press, 1954), pp. 71e73. The main reason for selecting Cambria County was that it is typical of the Allegheny Plateau region of Pennsylvania. Cambria“s problems, both historical and contemporary, are found in the other counties. It has progressed through much the same general settlement and evolution; and recently has experienced a similar level of stagnation. Corollary with the above, however, are several factors which make Cambria County a unique situ— ation. These include the normally expected items of names, dates and local pride and unusual items such as transpore tation routes, transhipment complexes and definition of the county by a survey starting at a cherry tree, The specific objectives of this study are: 1. To examine the development, growth, and decline of a selected region using the methods of historical geography. 2. To show alterations (sequence of occupancy) in an area by changes in pOpulation and economy as the area progressed in time. Physical Setting Location Cambria County, Pennsylvania, named for the Cambria Hills of Wales, is located about sixty miles east of Pittsn burgh and two hundred miles west of Philadelphia. Along its eastern edge lies the Allegheny Front; an escarpment which separates the Ridge and Valley Province from the Appalachian Plateau,2 Since Cambria County is part of the Plateau Region: the detail of its topography is that of the dissected flat—bedded plateau surface found elsewhere in western Pennsylvania. Area and Boundaries The total area of Cambria County is 444,800 acres, or about 670 square miles, and it is divided into thirty townships (Frontpiece). Its shape resembles a parallelo— gram with its short sides on the north and south: The width axis averages about twenty miles and the length axis some thirtynfour miles. The boundary, separating Cambria from Blair County to the east, appears highly irregular on a map (Fig. 1). This is due to the Allegheny Front, which is more complex and lower in the Cambria County area than it is either to the north or south. Along the county‘s boundary, the Front has been eroded into a series of knob—like peaks and appears to have two crest lines.3 The method of locating the eastern boundary was to sight from one high peak to the next. Since no attempt was made to follow either the outer or inner crest line, a ziguzagged line like the cutting edge of a saw resulted, w—fi V ‘ f 2The Allegheny Front is composed of the upturned beds on the northwest flank of the eroded Nittany Antlcline. 3The outer or eastern one is composed of a conglomern ate strata, while the western one, on which the true summ;ts are located, is coal bearing. From the southeastern corner of Cambria County (longitude 78C 45* E, latitude 40° 15' N) to the town of Scalp Level, ten miles to the west, the southern boundary U) i a straight line. From Scalp Level, it follows Paint Creek, and then Stony Creek (Fig. 2). At the mouth of Mill Creek, it runs due west to the Westmorland County line, a distance of seven more miles. Thus, Cambria‘s southern boundary is about twenty—four miles long. It is shared With Somerset County. Portions of Westmorland and Indiana Counties border Cambria on the west. The boundary here, like that on the east, runs for part of its length along a crest line, namely the heights of Laurel Hill. It can be broken into two parts. The northern section lies west of Laurel Hill and extends in a straight line southwes.ward from Cherry Tree (Canoe Place), to the center of Conemaugh Gap, a distance of twenty—four miles. From that point{ the southern section fo lows the crest of Laurel Ridge for approx1mately eight miles, but here the line is somew t more westerly ll; oriented than it was farther north. The ma; or di II ere-ce between Cambria‘s eastern and western to indarl es is the greater regularity of the Western one; Laurel Ridge dies not have the high degree of dissection exhibited by the Allegheny Front. ~ 4 . Franklin Platt and William G . Platt, Reporr ;_Fr*g_;:: in the antria and Somerset District of the :iiEEiLii__-_;_ “— Fields of Western Pennsylvania (Harristur 2 Second Pennsy1~ vania Geological Survey, 1877), H. H., Vol. X\X, pp, Xl—XIII. (See Appendix Table 1): To the north is Clearfield County. The boundary here is a straight east—west line which follows the 405 43.5' latitude line for nearly twenty—five miles. Consequently 01 the county is somewhat wider at the top than at the bottom. ’6 Topography Broadly viewed, however, Cambria county appears as a wide, shallow, rough-bottomed, longitudinal depression, bordered by two anticlinal ridges—-The Allegheny Front on the east and, with the exception of the county's northwest corner, Laurel Hill (or Ridge) on the west. The depression is split nearly in half by the Ebensburg anticline, a ridge which is inferior to the two main ones, but parallel to them (Fig. 1). This anticline is so slight that a difference of only 200 feet can be measured between its heights and the lowest points of the adjacent synclines. All three anti— clines have a general strike of North 35°F and South 353% and this is roughly the direction of the county's eastern and western boundaries.7 There is also a short ection of the N010 anticline, about five miles in length, in the county R to the north and west of Laurel Ridge.v 5This information was obtained from the nine United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps which provide cover— age of this county. These were first published 1903-1915 and revised 1950 and later. 6 . . . . . i Joseph C. Wess, Origin of Cambria County (abensburg, Pennsylvania, Clerk of Courts Office, Circa 1900), p. l. 7 . . ..--. . . hi Franklin Flatt and Wllllam G. Flatt, ob. o1t., p. it. 8 . . . , it . James D. Sisler, Bituminous Coal Fields of Pennsyl— vania (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Fourth Series, 1932), Bulletin M-b, p. 96. (D Adjacent to each anticline is an almost parallelsynclin which derives its name from the major or most central town located in it. Between the Allegheny Front and the Ebens- burg anticline, on the eastern side of the countV, is the Wilmore syncline. In the north, just west of the Ebensburg anticline, is the Bradley syncline. It appears to be a minor structure, part of the major Johnstown down—fold which is well developed to the south. Still another downwarped structure is located in the northwest at Barnesboro, just to the west of Laurel Ridge. It occupies only a small area in Cambria County and is only two miles wide at Nicktown (Fig. i).9 Most of the county has a hilly surface, typical of a maturely—dissected plateau region. The rock layers are a succession of Carboniferous and Devonian sediments. Because little or no folding occurred, but rather the entire area was uplifted as a unit, the aspect is that of a highly dissected penaplane, ”. . . a land of high—topped divides separated by steep—sided valleys in which flow deeply entrenched H ° 10 ‘ L4 2. i ' ._ ' i.‘ n . A“- ~.. :, streams (Fig. l). The highest point in the county is in the southeastern corner of Washington Township, just south 0 of Big Spring Gap, where a border peak reaches over 2,95J 9Ibid., p. 96. 10“. . . . . . willard Bradford, Pennsylvania GECliiy ngmmarized (harrisburg: TOpographic and Geologic Survey, Dept. of Internal Affairs, l935), Bulletin 113, p. b. FIGURE I GENERALIZED PHYSICAL CONDITIONS CAMBRIA COUNTY. PENNSYLVANIA I / LEGEND x EXTREME ELEVATIONS MAJOR DRAINAGE —— ANTICLINES v w smcunes o I ! TOWNS 0 $21 SCALE 2 (‘4 ') //TOWN AND STRUCTURE NAMES l. NOLO ANTICLINE 2. BARNESBORO 3. LAUREL HILL 4. JOHNSTOWN 5. EBENSBURG 6. WILMORE Z ALLEGl'ENY FRONT a NICKTOWN 9. SUMMIT IO.SCALP LEVEL ll CI£RRY TREE / IDS. FIGURE 2 DETAILED DRAINAGE CAMBRIA COUNTY LEGEND 9 WEATHE R STATION M 'NARROWS' E9151 SCALE feet. The lowest elevation, 1,100 feet, is in the exit area of the Conemaugh River below Johnstown. Thus, the maximum relief for Cambria County is about 1,760 feet.11 Drainage The divide between Ohio—Mississippi—Gulf of Mexico drainage and that to the Atlantic Ocean traverses southeast across the northern part of the county between Nicktown in Barr Township and Summit in Cresson Township and then follows southward along the Allegheny Ridge. North and east of this line, the water flows to the Atlantic via the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and the Juniata River. South and west of it, the greater part of the county drains toward the Gulf of Mexico via the Conemaugh River and its headwater tributaries (Fig. 2).12 Six main streams, fed by innumerable small tributaries or runs, drain Cambria County. Three of these flow northward, each along the axis of a syncline. They are Clearfield Creek, Chest Creek and the headwaters of the West Fork of the Sus— quehanna River. A fourth stream, the South Fork of the Blacklick River, begins near Ebensburg, situated at the geographical center of the county.13 It flows westward, 11United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps. l2Stanley W. Lohman, Ground Water in South-Central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Geological Survey Fourth Series, 1938), Bulletin W 5, p. 153. l3Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania (New York: Oxford University Press, 19A0), p. 551- leaves the county by a gap in Laurel Ridge, and just across the border in Indiana county, is joined by the North Branch of Blacklick River.lu Twenty miles beyond this, the waters of the Blacklick flow into the Conemaugh River. This river, together with its two largest tributaries, Stony Creek and the Little Conemaugh, is not only the most important drainage feature in the county in volume, but also in commercial usefulness. Its consequence can easily be seen by a check of its industrial use, or of population located along its banks, as compared to the other streams. It begins with a spring in the area of Summit, near the top of the Allegheny Front, and leaves Cambria County northwest of Johnstown through a gap in Laurel Hill. Known as the Conemaugh Gap, or The Gap of the Conemaugh, this very narrow, steep-walled defile is locally called simply, "the Narrows” (Fig. 2). Stony Creek, the main tributary of the upper Conemaugh, is the sixth of the main streams. It is part of Cambria County for about eight miles, but for the most part, is a drainage feature of the Somerset Sub—Basin of the Wilmore , SYHCline to the south.15’lo 1A . H. -. . , . Franklin Platt and William G. Platt, op. cit. U 7.3 I- 15 l6 . A. . , . Franklin Platt and William G. Platt, co. cit., pp. XIII-XV. United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps. 10 Climate Two official observation stations are Operated by the United States Weather Bureau in Cambria County, these being at Ebensburg and Johnstown. A third is located just ouside the county in the Allegheny Front at the Altoona Horseshoe Curve. Climate differences are not great between the three stations, although variations do occur locally throughout the county because of unlike physiography, slope—sun relation— ships and air—drainage.l7 The county, as a whole, has an average of about 155 days frost—free growing season and 180 days between killing frosts. The weather station located at the Johnstown Airport, at an elevation of over 1,200 feet, reports 169 days frost— free and 190 days between killing frosts, while Ebensburg, a mere seventeen miles away, but at a height of 2100 feet, reports 139 and 168 days respectively.18 Annual precipitation amounts to about forty—five inches, including an average fifty—two inches of winter snow. Warm spring rains, which cause early thaws, occasioh~ 1 ally result in floods. There are 0—3D thunder“ I I . +— _— v”, 7—. ‘ 03.3.10 cm 01 (U LU C a year, mostly occurring during the summer and deliverin a total of 10-15 inches of rain. Annual precipitation over 1 -. .. , i , 7Nelson M. Aauffman, Climates of tne st tes; Pennsv;— vania (Washington, D. C., U. S. Department of - Weather Bureau, 1960), No. 60—36, p. 1. 18Ibid., pp. 5—6. 11 the last seventy-four years has ranged from a minimum of 32.39 inches to a maximum of about 60 inches.19 Both reported extremes of daily temperature for the county occurred at Johnstown. These were —18°F in January, 1912 and 103°F in August, 1918.20 The extremes of average monthly temperature recorded in 1960 were a high of 73.3°F for July at Johnstown and a low of 26.2CF for January at Ebensburg. The averages would place the county under the Koeppen System as having a be climate.2l In general then, the climate of Cambria County is humid—continental with warm summers, cold winters and precipitation well distributed through the year. Historical Periods The remainder' of the paper is organized into four time periods. Each of these is based on a major shift in human activity which is reflected in the trend of numbers of people when shown on a population graph (Fig. 3). It is the author's assumption that a distinct change, either upward or downward, of population indicates a change of activity in the area. People arrive or leave because of growth or decline in the region's economy, as well as because of natural reasons. 2 O 0 O 1 1'“ o T w o "Climatology" in Jonnstown nconomic and industrial Survey (Circa 1960). 1 . . H . . For explanation of the climate classification system devised by Waldimir Koeppen, see Arthur N. Strahler, Physiga; Geography (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960), pp. 134—-b2. l2 IIIHIIIIIIIIlIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'TIII’HIIIIIII IIII IIIII I&O l820 FIGURE 3 /<’// POPULATION // / CAMBRIA COUNTY / I8I0 " I960 / .- / / / LEGEND / / — — PERIOD LINE / *—' POPULATION / EACH VERTICAL UNIT REPRESENTS 2.500 PEOPLE / / POPULATION STATISTICS / l8IO 2.. I7 / . I820 3.287 l830 7.076 I840 H.256 I850 I7] 76 I860 29.I55 I870 36.569 IBBO 46.8” I890 66.375 |900 I04.837 l9lO I66.I3l I920 I97.839 I930 203.!46 l940 2l3.459 l950 209.54“ l960 203.283 I830 I840 I850 I860 I870 I880 1890 I900 I9I0 I920 I930 I940 I950 III III] IIIIIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IlII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I960 13 The first period ended sixteen years after Cambria County was created and was an interval of extremely slow growth. In the 90 years previous to 1820, the population increased from 100 to 3,287. During this time, the European and American settlers displaced the Indian occupants, occupied the county and established farms, frontier industries, and a primitive transportation network. Following these pioneer years, a major east-west trans—Pennsylvanian transportation system was constructed through the southern portion of Cambria County. This and the development of an iron industry brought economic prosperity and a moderate increase in population to the area. The third time period was one of rapid growth. During the years 1863 to 1920, the population increased 168,084 persons. This was also a time of great immigration and economic activity, including the development of a new mineral resource—~coa1. Even a disaster such as the Johnstown flood, which destroyed the county's main city and killed thousands, failed to slow the upward trend. The fourth and last period, 1920 to 1960, was one of stagnation. A comparison of popu— lation figures for 1930 and 1960 shows an increase of only 137 persons. Economically, the situation during much of this period, especially during later years, was bleak. World War II forced mechanization, especially in the mines and heavy industries, and at its close, returning veterans found them— selves without jobs. In the following chapters, each of the four periods are dicussed and an attempt is made to explain changes in population that are indicated by changes in the slope of the line on the population graph. Thus, this graph is the dividing rod for the remainder of the thesis. CHAPTER II PIONEER PERIOD 1730-1820 Pre-White Settlement The earliest known inhabitants of this region were a mixed group of Shawnee and Delaware Indians under the leader— ship of the Shawnee chief, Okewelsh. They occupied the alluvial site, now called ”The Point" in present day Johns- town, at the confluence of the Conemaugh River and Stony Creek.1 The flood plain at "The Point” served two purposes for the Indians. First, it provided an easily tilled, naturally productive crop area which was periodically ferti- lized by spring flooding. Because of this, along with warm summers, long growing season and an abundance of moisture, the Indians, and the white settlers who came later, were virtually assured excellent crops. The second factor of value was the moat-like defense given to "The Point" on two sides by the fairly swift bordering rivers. Coupled with this defense aspect of "The Point,” should be the ”Great Wall Effect" of the Allegheny Front on the east and Laurel Ridge on the west. Laurel Ridge contains only one major access route to the county's interior; that through the gap cut by the Conemaugh River lM. Margaret Green, From Trail Dust to Star Dust (Johns— town, Pennsylvania: Wm. M. Greer, 1960), pp. 11-12. 15 16 after it leaves Johnstown flowing westward. This gap was easily corked by any settlement at ”The Point," which in turn was protected not only by the two rivers, but by rugged land to the east. Plainly, this area was a well-chosen location for occupation, life, defense and control of what later became Cambria County. Since, in addition, the surrounding dissected plateau surface was covered with a mid—latitude mixed forest, predominating in oaks, but also having considerable white pine, poplar, ash, chestnut, hickory, walnut and giant spruce, which was filled with a variety of game, one can easily under- stand why the Indians considered this prime territory.2 The first contact between this group of Indians and whites is believed to have been about 1731 when two trapper— traders, Jonah Davenport and James LeTart, reported trading with Indians at a village called Connumah, Caugh—naugh—maugh, or Quin-Nim-Maugh. Little Otter, as it translated, had a strength of sixty warriors from a population of twenty families,3 probably 100—150 people,“ and at this time was the largest known Indian village west of Shamokin.5 Continued contact between the Indians of this area and English traders, combined with an attempt at settlement at 2Ibid., p. 10. 31bid., pp. 11—13. H Number of people arrived at by conjecture. ’1 s 5Shamokin was a ”melting pot“ of tribes at the c:nI-u— ence of the North and West branches of the Susquehanna River, where the present city of Sudbury, Pennsylvania is located. 17 ”the Forks of the Ohio" by a group from Virginia, soon alarmed tflmaFrench,who recognized a peril to their fur trade. The first French attempt in 17A9 to solve the problem involved burying lead claim markers. By 1752 they realized more than markers were required. They then erected a series of forts and encouraged attacks by French allied Indians or by Indians who were normally friendly to the British. An attempt by Virginians to build a counter—fort at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, on land purchased from the Indians, resulted in a French take over of the installation. It was completed by its new occu— pants, named Fort Duquesne, and held by them for six years. General Braddock led an English expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1755 and was soundly defeated. In the end, how— ever, Braddock's road defeated the French by providing a / cleared route to the Ohio for colonial settlers.O Three years after Braddock's failure, General John Forbes led between 6,000 and 7,500 men from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia in another attack on Fort Duquesne. Forbes advanced by slow stages from settled parts of Penn— sylvania and constructed forts and depots for supplies along his route. He moved first via a new road, constructed in 1755 by James Burd, to Raystown (Bedford), where he occupied and strengthened a fort built one year previously (Fig. A). 6John D. Hicks, The Federal Union (Cambridge: The Riverside Press, Houghton—Mifflin Co., 1952), Vol. I, an: edition, p. 97. 18 Fort Bedford served Forbes as a jumping off place against Fort Duquesne and as a possible safe retreat area in case of repulse. It was built of eighteen foot logs and surrounded by water defenses, a river and deep moats. The advance westward was slow since Forbes insisted on the construction of a wagon road along his route for the movement of equipment and supplies. In November 1758, Forbes arrived at Fort Duquesne, which had been abandoned by the French. He occupied and renamed it Fort Pitt or ”Pittsborough” in honor of William Pitt.7 Many of the Indians who still felt a loyalty to the French left the area and the Indians who remained were dis— turbed by the differences between the methods and rules of the British and those of the French. The British garrison was not allowed to fraternize; British traders drove hard bargains; English colonists came to settle and farm, not to trade; and French renegades held out hope of a re-conquest.8’9 May, 1763 saw a well-planned uprising, under the direction of Pontiac, which overwhelmed eight out of the twelve forts on the frontier and seriously threatened the others. After two days of battle (August 5 and 6), Colonel Henry Bouquet suceeded 7Solon J. Buck, The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1939), pp- 87-95. 8Green, op. cit., pp. 11—13. 9Hicks, op. cit., p. 103. 19 in defeating the Indians twenty miles from Fort Pitt at a spot called Bushy Run (Fig. 4). Skirmishes between Indians and settlers, however, continued to occur as late as 1764.10 In an attempt to appease the Indians, Sir William John- son promulgated the Proclamation of 1763 which closed the area west of the Appalachian Crests to colonization. As a result of this, Pennsylvania was forced to give back to the Indians all the land west of the Allegheny Ridge that had been pre- viously purchased in 1754. Convinced of victory, Pontiac signed a peace treaty in 1766.1)"12 For two years the frontier retreated to a static line at the Conococheaque Valley and Fort Loudon, which now was a buffer between the Indians and more densely settled areas. Intermittent attacks by Indians on settlers in this area continued, however, and brought reprisals by the whites. In fact, one of the first acts of revolution against the English Crown occurred in 1765 when James Smith and a group of settlers seized and destroyed "King's Goods"——trinkets, knives, guns, ammunition and rum, which were trade items to 13 be exchanged for Indian furs. loWriters' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania (New York: Oxford University Press, 1940), p. 36. ll Buck, op. cit., p. 88. laHicks, op. cit., p. 104. l3Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, op. cit., p. 448. 20 Repeated incidents, suchemsabove, finally necessitated a new treaty, and in 1768 the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, New York was signed. For the price of $10,000.00 the Indians sold to the state of Pennsylvania all the land south and east of a line from the ”Canoe Place” on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, thence to Kittaning and down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers (Fig. 4). As defined in the treaty of Fort Stanwix, the ”Canoe Place” (now called Cherry Tree), is the place beyond which there is "insufficient water to float a canoe.”lLI’15 Cherry Tree today is not part of Cambria County, but is used to define the county's boundaries (Fig. 2 and page three). Ihite Settlement April 3,'l769 was the date the state opened sale of the newly acquired land and on that date, for a sum of 43 pounds, Charles Campbell bought the first piece of land in what is now Cambria county. His purchase was the land between the Conemaugh River and Stony Creek——a piece of land that is now downtown Johnstown. Campbell later sold this property to a Mr. Johnston, who in turn sold it to James McLanahen. In 1793, McLanahen sold the 249 acres to the first real 16 settler——Joseph Shantz. l“Green, op. cit., pp. 13—15. 15 16 Buck, op. cit., pp. 197—200. Green, op. cit., p. 17. The First Occupants Previous to this, though, several spots in the area that became Cambria county had been temporarily occupied. In 1770, Soloman and Samuel Adams and their sister Rachel settled at what was later known as Horner's town, about 2.I miles up Stony Creek from ”The Point.” But the Adams made no permanent impact on the area. Their period of occupancy was short because of repeated Indian troubles. Rachel and Samuel were killed by Indians and Solomon moved away. Their horse trail to Fort Bedford, which they used for the movement of furs, maple sugar, jerked venison and fish, is now part of the modern road system (State Route 56). One point on it, where Samuel was killed, is now the borough of Scalp Level (Fig. 5).17 The Adams family is given credit for the first road in Cambria County——The Bedford Trail. Yet there is evidence that this was a regularly used Indian trail to the sulphur, sweet water, magnesia, limestone and iron spring at Bedford Spring, two miles south of Fort Bedford.18 This would help explain the location of Fort Bedford at this particular spot, at the Bedford and Forbes juncti;n,_a spot that :verlooked, and therefore controlled, some Indian movements. l7Ibid., pp. 18~19. 18 Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, op. cit., p. 526. /' STATEWIDE FACTORS AFFECTING SETTLEMENT OF CAMBRIA COUNTY “"— / FIGURE 4 / / // \ f /. \_.,.._/ / .I'. l// {gait ‘ COLUMU“ PNL‘DEU”‘R {on ( J uTmm LEGEND _ —— TREATY LINES RIDGES. HILLS AND MOUNTAINS _nu-— TREATY DATES o I to TOWNS OR PORTS D MAJOR BATTLE $52! SCALE CHfRRY TREE FIGURE 5 SETTLEMENT BEGINNINGS , CAMERIA COUNTY l73I-I820 ,7 / LEGEND . E . *1 \ ----- TOWNSHIP LINES I \x ( I" —— WAGON ROAOs ‘ . ‘- ,1 I SETTLEMENTS - - PACK TRAIL IFS SCALE 23 Forbes' and Braddock's Routes opened western Penn- sylvania and Ohio for settlement by providing good wagon paths to the new area.19’2O The excellent land and good access roads attracted many settlers and this disturbed the Indians, especially the Shawnee. Consequently, in 1774 another Indian war broke out, known as Lord Dunmore's War, which discouraged settlement for the next several years. Two years later the American Revolution began. As a method of harassment, the British encouraged the Indians to attack settlers on the Frontier. Raids in outlying Pennsylvania were plentiful and there are reports of a few families fleeing the area of Cambria county to escape trouble in 1777. The Wyoming Valley massacre occurred a year later and this effectively stOpped all expansion in Pennsylvania until after the Revolution when colonists again began to move in via the military roads.21 Although Cambria County was not on the main stem of Forbes Road (U. S. Route 30), the side trail first used by the Adams Family (State 56) led settlers into a new and tempting side pocket. After the Revolution, the land about Pittsburgh was ”almost all settled," and west of Pittsburgh lgIbid., p. 38. 2OBraddock's route neither traversed nor proximated Cambria County. It aided the county, however, by funnelling settlers into a western defense zone. 2lBuck, Op. cit., p. 151. 2).; an Indian menace still lingered. Yet, here to the east was a large amount of rich land with few occupants, alon 011 with what appeared to be a short cut to the West, by k Cl- boat on the Conemaugh River, if Cambria was not as promising as it appeared. Thus, it was that the less venturous settled on the many flat areas, thankful that Fort Pitt was between them and the Indians. Many of the more daring, however, grew tired of Cambria and moved on to the West. Among early settlers of this period, Captain Michael McGuire settled at Kaylor's Station on Chest Creek (later the town of Loretto) in 1787 (Fig. 5). He was joined shortly by six settlers including Michael Roger (Rager), who is best remembered for swelling the population with twenty- seven children.23'214 Kaylor's Station continued its growth in a slow, quiet manner, similar to many other pioneer communities of the time, with the normal activities of self sufficient farming and home industry. Its only claim of distinction lay in the fact that even then it was the oldest continuously inhabited community in Cambria County. The last Indian disruption of settlement in western Pennsylvania occurred during 1793-94 with an attack by the 22Ibid., pp. 233—248. 23Green, op. cit., p. 18. 2”Joseph C. Wess, Origin of Cambria Counpy (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania: clerk of Courts Office, Circa 1960), p. 4. 25 Seneca tribe under Cornplanter. Buck explains it thus: The failure of Pennsylvania and the United States to provide the Seneca with adequate trade facilities and to send teachers, carpenters and farmers to aid them in adopting the white man's ways, as had been promised, together with the moral effect of the defeats of Barmer and St. Clair and the influence of the British agents and traders, caused these Indians to waver in their allegiance to the Americans in 1793 and 1794. An occasion for the manifestation of the growing discontent of the Seneca was furnished in the attempt of Pennsyl- vania to occupy the Erie Triangle by 1794.23 On August 4, 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians at Fallen Timbers. The lack of aid or reinforcement of the Indians by the British, followed by Jay's Treaty of withdrawal eliminated the Indian henceforth as a factor in Pennsylvanian settlement.20 Shantz built a log cabin at Connumah in 1793. Six years later, he plotted a village to be known as Conemaugh New Town, as a replacement for the former Indian community 27 of Connumah, Old Town. With many English and Welch settlers, fl Anglicanization was to be expected and the earliest examp e was the changing of the name of Joseph Shantz to Joseph Johns. I Subsequently, Joseph Shantz Conemaugh New Town was commonly U ) referred to as John's town CJ*Johnstown, although the Pennsyl— CID vania General Assembly did not legalize the name until 1834. J 25 26 Buck, op. cit., p. 202. Ibid., pp. 200—304. 2 T i C 1 O ‘ I 7"History," in Johnstown Economic and Industrial Survey (Circa 1960). 28 i n . . A . . John E. Gable, history of Cambria County Pennsylvatia ,Topeka and Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co , Idah) Two Volumes, Vol. 1., p. 5. 26 In the establishment of this town, Johns set aside public lands, as had William Penn in Philadelphia before him, so the city would have beautiful and healthful parks. He specified five such areas: (1) a square at Market and Carr for a school and church, (2) a town square at Main and Market, (3) a parade grounds at ”The Point," and (4) a Cemetery. The fifth, called Central Park, was a bitter disappointment to Johns because he hoped it would contain the County Court House, but this never came to pass.29 In 1795, the town of Beulah (Beula) was settled on the Blacklick River by a group of Welch immigrants.3O It develOped into a small, but thriving community with two schools, several hostels and a library. The County's first newspaper, the Western Sky, was published here. The town was devastated by a fire in 1796, however, and never quite recovered. The last remnants of activity ceased in 1804 when Ebensburg (only three miles away) was chosen as the county seat. The town's existence is marked today only by a historical marker just off State Highway 45.31 A religious dissenter, the Rev. Rees Lloyd, led another group of Welsh immigrants to Cambria County in 1796 and settled on a hill at its geographical center. Ebensburg, the city they established, is today located at an altitude 29Green, op. cit., pp. 18—24, 73. 3OWess, op. cit., p. 4. 31Green, op. cit., pp. 18-24, 73. 27 of its central position (Fig. 5). There was dissention among the early settlers over the language to be used in the church and this resulted in two churches with similar beliefs, but one of which used the ”ancient Cambrian tongue" until 1824.32 Michael McGuire's request that a Roman Catholic priest be assigned to Kaylor's Station, by now a place of some consequence, resulted in the arrival in 1799 of Father Demetrius Gallitzin. The first mass celebrated in Cambria County was served by Father GallitZin in a log cabin on Christmas Eve the same year. Gallitzin's functions did not stop at jtst the actiVIties of priest, he was also a counselor, lawyer, doctor, trader, tanner and farmer. A year later he added a new profession when he opened the iirst p :cchial school and became a teacher. Soon after his arrival, Father Gallitzin suggested changing the community's name from Kaylcr's Station to Loretto as a means of attracting more settlers.33 The town ‘2 I. . ’ -. 7 1 -' o u . $— 1 3 Writers' Program oi the Work Projects AdfllfilEDThngfl in the State of Pennsylvania, op. -it., pp. 551, 393. 33 — - Green, 001 Clta , pp. lB—iga :3an '7 T 1' 4-1. 4 h 1- -- N ' I" H -~-‘ I s r'-. ,—.-E -‘+—mn,~,—‘r‘ n. Luv ' le-LiinJ—fl, d. pan.;‘:: ln tile RUQCJlZLI’- .13 .LbL/ivtu..C-LIJ‘ _, ll-ZLCI given up his privileges and titles to study Ior :Ie pric t— hood at a seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained by Fish:p John Carroll in 1795. 5 m UL) oretto was the en from the Italian Shrine of the (11 (pt—4 same 1’1 53) 28 citizens approved and Itgpif”.;Station disappeared as a Cambrian place name. As another attempt to encourage settlement, Gallitzin bought up large amounts of land which he sold on easy terms to settlers. His personal funds were not enough for such transactions, so he obtained money from his father, who was the Russian Ambassador to Holland, from his mother and from the King of Holland.36 The extent of Gallitzin's encouragement, both to religion and settlement, can be seen from the growth of his church and of his travels through the area. One year after his ministery began he records, "of a congregation at Loretto, there are about forty families, but there is no end to the Catholics in all the settlements round about." On Easter of 1811, there were 424 persons who received communion, and during the summer Bishop Egan of Philadelphia confirmed 185 new communicants to raise Gallitzin's charges to over 600. When possible, Gallitzin traveled to neighboring towns to celebrate mass and from his travels we can begin to see the extent of settlement in Cambria County and beyond. He went quite regularly to Ebensburg, Johnstown and outside the area of Cambria County to 37 Frankstown, Bedford, Uniontown and other places. 36Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, op. 013., pp. 391—392. 37Buck, 0p. cit., pp. 402, 404, 413, 416, 418. 29 Settlers had continued to pour into Western Pennsylvania at a tremendous rate. On March 26, 1804, a new group of counties were created by an "Omnibus Bill." Included among these was Cambria County. Land for it was separated from the counties of Huntington and Somerset and was divided into three townships, Conemaugh in the south, Cambria in the center and Allegheny on the north. As mentioned above, Ebensburg was selected the county seat because of its central location and because it was the county's largest town With 150 people (Fig. 5).38’39 Cambria's new citizens at first were mostly Germans or Swiss, but then came a large group of Scotch—Irish, followed by Welshmen. At the time of the county's erection, the pOpulation included approximately: 35% English; 18% Irish; 17% Scotch; 12% German and 10% Welsh.140 During 1804, Munster was added to the list of settlements thatrumvcon- tained Conemaugh (Johnstown), Beulah, Loretto and Ebensburg.“l 38Ibid., p. 214. 39 . - Wess, op. oit., p. 2. uOThese are estimates arrived at using information from several sources including Solon J. Buck, p. 151, M. Margaret Green, p. 27 and the tatistical Abstract of the U. S. Bureau of Census, as well as statistics obtained from the Johnstown Chamber of Commerce. ulWriters' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, op. cit., p. 219. 30 Agriculture Agriculture, of a subsistence variety, was largely confined to the valleys, where alluvial soil was to be found, and to areas near the center of the geological syn- clines. In the latter location, portions of "The Barren Measure"!42 (non-coal bearing rocks) spread over the surface and yielded a smooth, workable soil which was hampered only by the need for constant fertilization. Some limestone beds occurred in thin outcroppings which furnish narrow streaks of rich soil. In general, however, returns from most soil outside the valleys were scanty and unremuner— ative.“3 On the summits of each of the anticlines, cultivation was useless since the soil consisted of thick layers of sand intermixed with blocks of conglomerate sandstone. Such areas were generally covered with laurel thickets and this probably accounts for the name applied to the Laurel Anticline.uu Industry (II 8") The first industrial development in the confine o the county, beyond the home industry level, took place in udPlatt and Platt, op. cit., p. XIII. u3Ibid., pp. XIII, XIV. Mibld., pp. XIV, xv. 31 Loretto before 1800 with the erection of a grist mill by Father Gallitzin. Other mills of this kind in the area were in Stoystown and Bedford. Conemaugh had no mill until 1812, when John Storm built one to save the time consuming trip to the other towns. The beginning of a new century witnessed considerable expansion of industry; a forge for simple iron working, a saw mill, a tannery and a distillery. Wagon making, carpentry and the manufacture of farm tools were being carried on, in most cases, as side lines or a part of home industry. In 1809, a forge was established in Cone— maugh at the head of Vine St. (on Stony Creek) for the manufacture of iron articles.45 The iron was brought in as pig from the Juniata Valley by pack train. A flood in 1810 destroyed the dam which had provided power to operate the bellows and other equipment at the forge, which was 46 . The then moved to the banks cI the Conemaugh River. forge was later purchased by Bethlehem Steel Company, which today operates a plant on the site. uSThe liter“*ur~ dludg ees as t: which of two men founded this Icrge. Green says, "probably Jthn Hollid“v of Hollidaysburg”, the U. S. Census ior 1880 in its rcporI "The Manufacttring of Iron and S‘ee ,” p. 86 tIedits John Buckwatter. h Greer-1, CEO -.tc, if}. EMT-28- 7) I I 32 Transportation Many of the present transportation routes of the county were established as early as 1792..47 The main way by which settlers arrived was determined by the Adams— Bedford Footpath, which as early as 1780, developed into a rudimentary wagon road. Later, immigration routes were furnished by various pack—train trails, which developed into wagon roads. The most important of these was the Galbreath Trail, better known by its later name, the Frankstown Road. It ran west from Frankstown (Blair County) through the town of Munster, across Cambria County and Laurel Hill, and on to Pittsburgh. This route was commer- cially so important that a second Frankstown Road developed to link Conemaugh to the main route. This second trail ran southwestward from Frankstown to Conemaugh and then northwestward to Join the main Frankstcwn Road at Chestnut Ridge. The major obJective for this trail was to transport Cambrian products to the Pittsburgh market. Also operative before 1792 was the Benscreek Road, or Somerset Pike, which connected Conemaugh to Stoystown, its mail depot on Forbes t Road, and to the town of Somerset farther to the south. the statement of it to Cambria through the “gation.” (See “7This is directly contradictory t Peter Goughnour. He reported, after a v County in 1798 that, "there were no road Wilderness and nothing but canoes for na Green, op. cit., p. 23). QBGreen, op. cit., pp. 76-77. 0 18 S V1 Lg) Settlement sites in this country were often chosen because of their proximity to rivers. This had previously been true in Vermont and elsewhere in the east, since rivers commonly provided water power and transportation “9 routes. Until 1816, however, Cambria's rivers were not used to any extent for transportation except for logs and an occasional settler. The main function of rivers was to Supply power to the towns on their banks, power to Operate blacksmith bellows and to grind grain. In 1816, Issac Proctor began a transportation service between Johnstown and Pittsburgh Viakeeitbat This was Significant because Mr. Proctor made round trips and up to that time, traffic by river had been one way——down-stream. It was also important since it helped reduce the cost of moving goods between Johnstown and Pittsburgh and return. It should also be mentioned that this served as local "proof" to a later generation of the necessity and practi- cality of a canal system. One of Mr. Proctor's items of cargo was Juniata iron which came to Conemaugh by pack train and was destined for consumers in Pittsburgh. (1'! Settlers also left Johnstown on their own eetc at L generally breaking them up at the end of the route for cabin 50 lumber or selling them for cash. ngartha Lee Tuthill Andrews, Evolution of Settlement in Orange County, Vermont 1760—1960 kMasters Thesis, April, 1964), p. 28. 50Green, op. cit., p. 28, 29, 34. The progress in the early days of Cambria was slow and it remained largely an agricultural county until the late 1820's when another change in transportation-—the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal--was undertaken. This pushed the county into a new period of development. CHAPTER III CANAL PERIOD AND BEGINNINGS OF A MINERAL INDUSTRY 1820—1863 During the 1820's and early 1830's several changes occurred that eventually involved Cambria County. Greatest among these was the attempt by the state of Pennsylvania to meet the challenge of New York State's Erie Canal and of the National Road to Baltimore which flanked Pennsylvania on the north and south, respectively. The Ohio—MiSSissippi River System also seemed in league against Pennsylvania since it led trade away from the state. As a route, the latter was long and round about, but it required little work and had the exoiting lure of New Orleans at its end. A second change agent at work was the ”Steam Revolution" which introdtced three magor items: steam— Q 101’ o driven factor' machiner steam trans 9 .A l -_ - farming. All if these were to play magor parts in the Li) tion, and power *r‘ 4 YA” ,-. A; row _-r- n~~ . .-"‘-r- ,,.‘ ‘-‘ ’--‘ u economic chiutlofi oi Cambrid County beoeuse _: their . rx 7‘ .\ -» u. 4 ,\ [IT-1"- .‘ ‘ . _. .- ,A A 1 ,— 1 - ,, ._,.—. ‘ - V . ‘1 ,. 1, I" EffGCt 3n tfunleuuftd-lun~ lin— 1.37.7181” 6;:-..'*:viriliy lilfl'J'TJITI‘j. tranrportation by producing more g33ds for shipment. ' v. '3 n- ‘ ., -'.r~r " r" V‘ ‘; (if; i . flown-it) I‘l . . v . \ .‘w‘t )‘J i "SI—KI u Smith, Indus Henry Holt & 36 Early attempts by the state to move commerce through Pennsylvania were by Forbes Road and other turnpikes, yet these roads had many failings, including expense of upkeep, poor accommodations on the route and the long period of 2’3 Pennsylvanians time necessary to move the frieght. desiring better transportation with the West (chiefly Philadelphia merchants and bankers) pointed out, as early 'as the turn of the eighteenth century, that much profit was being lost to other states and ports. Each year during the 1820's more than 150,000 bushels of grain had been brought down the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers to Harrisburg, some of it even from beyond the mountains. Much more was being lost, though, that could have been moved and marketed through Pennsylvania if a better water transportation system were available.“ "DeWitt Clinton's Big Ditch,” the Erie Canal, had been the scoff of the nation for ten years, until its beginning of operation in 1825 demonstrated the capabilities of a canal. Then there was a tidal wave of interest in canal building. After all, the Erie Canal was a ready—made 2Solon J. Buck and Elizabeth H. Buck, The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1939), pp. 161-165. 3M. Margaret Green, From Trail Dust to Star Dust (Johnstown, Pennsylvania: Wm. M. Greer, 1960), p. 56. “Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania (New York: Oxford University Press, 1940), p. 443. 37 example and advertisement for any group that chose to pro- mote one. Was it not paying for itself; had it not cut the cost of transportation to a tenth of the previous cost; had it not reduced the time of transport from Buffalo to New York from twenty days to eight days; and had it not, or wasn't it making New York the greatest city in the nation?5 The Pennsylvania Canal System In March, 1824, as an attempted reply to its flankers, the state of Pennsylvania appointed a board of "Canal Commissioners" to investigate the feasibility of an east— west canal across the state. By the end of the year, the survey was complete and in 1825 the legislature passed a Public Work Act and an authorization bill to build a canal System which would "bind together this Great State."6 General inspection of a map makes the scheme appear ridiculous, since the state is crossed northeast—southwest by several "fence-like" mountain ranges. Pennsylvania‘s rivers, however, are unique since they cross mountain systems as well as edge them. In fact, the survey was able to report that only at the Allegheny Front would a portage 5John D. Hicks, The Federal Union (Vol. 1, Cambridge: The Riverside Press, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1952), 2nd ' edition, pp. 359-361. ' 6William B. Wilson, "The Evolution, Decadence and Abandonment of the Allegheny Portage Railroad,” The Pennsylvania Railroad Mens News, Vol. 9 (Sept. 1897), pp- 289-305. 38 be needed between east state (Columbia) and west state (Pittsburgh). The rest of the route could be negotiated by water.7 Route The Pennsylvania Canal began token Operation in 1832 and full operation soon thereafter. By 1835, a traveler to the west could start in Philadelphia and ride a railroad eighty miles to Columbia on the Susquehanna River. Even before the railroad, there had been excellent land route connections between the two cities, since Columbia was part of Philadelphia's hinterland. But to handle the increased volumes of passengers and freight, a railroad was needed, and this was completed in 1834, the cars being horse-drawn at first. From Columbia, at 225 feet altitude, the traveler would continue Via canal boat north on the Susquehanna River to Amity Hall and thence west to the town of Hollidays- burg at 953 feet via the Juniata River. There he changed to rail carriages again and went over the Allegheny Front, reaching 2,397 feet altitude at Summit, and down to Johnstown at 1172 feet. At Johnstown he changed to boat once more and proceeded to Pittsburgh on a canal that paralleled the 7William B. Wilson, "The Evolution, Decadence and Abandonment of the Allegheny Portage Railroad,” The Pennsylvania Railroad Mens News, Vol. 9 (Oct. 18977, pp- 317-323. 39 Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas and Allegheny Rivers (Fig. 6 and 7). Such a trip took about seven days.8 Equipment The boats at first were eight feet Wide and sixteen to twenty feet long. Later, they were redeSigned in three sections so they could be handled, one seetion to a car, on the railroad. The sections were rejoined when they were returned to the canal. The later boats averaged seventy feet in length, sixteen feet in width and since reservoirs had been constructed to provide more water, drew six to eight feet of water. In 1842, new boats were designed that split into four sections, with horses or mules, feed and ha.ness in the first section, merchandise and passengers in the two middle sections and crew liVing quarters in the last section. The horses or mules were used to pull the boats with the animals on board replacing those on the tOWpath every six hours. Generally there were two tricks or twelve hours to a days work for men and beast. Basins were necessary for the operation of the canals, as places of storage for boats and as a means of docking the boats at freight warehouses on their banks. As far as I have been able to determine, there were four such basins along the Pennsylvania Canal system, these being at Pittsburgh, 8Green, op. cit., p. 61. 40 9 Johnstown, Hollidaysburg and Columbia. Boats were moved about in the basin by poling and from the basin to the railroad or vice verse by man power and a lever system. This replaced the original method of transferal of cargo and passengers to different vehicles at each transportation mode change (Fig. 7)- r—Zl YT (D C) W :3 {1) i I (I) g m (T (D 4 H :3 O m 4 t) H ‘1. £1) The Waterway We t of Johnstown, a lengt of only six miles of the (I) canal was in Cambria County. It started in "The Narrows" on the western edge of the county and ended at the Johnstown Canal Basin (Pig. 8). This segment averaged between four and six feet in depth (later deepened to eight feet) and riaticns in depth were due to {D (T () s: d O\ O D-h (D (D H 8' In :3 S‘ F" D. ( f :7 <1 Q) low water caused by occasional dry peric‘s. in an attempted " ' .-- ' '~ A c w. ' ,. fl... 7.. 4 -. solution to this problem, the state constructed a feeder 3 The Johnstown basin was loc>ted between Portare and Clinton Streets with Railroad Street on the north. It was semicircular in shape, about 200 yards at its widest and so on this, with Green , Johnstown and Hollidays— r. J Some sources seem to disag' g t .re were only two has; 41 bCO yards long at its base. Water for the basin was con— tributed by a fortyefoot I eder dam (Suppes am) on Stony Creek and by a sluce from Little Conemaugh River. Today Vision oi Bethlehem 5.1. this area is occupied by the Cautier D Steel Company. (J i (‘1‘ Q) 0% (T) :30 $1) Fl F"! HS ( ) Q) Q. The Allegheny P The Allegheny P7fjmwi Railroad was not what we today would think of as a railroad. .It was part of the canal system and was comprised of a series of levels and inclined (7‘. FE) ' I F" (D m :7. (D ' 5 CK ’ 1‘1 W I 73 \_T‘ D—h J 3 L; L U D U) K—f C 3 planes which crossed t . 6). There were a, HTth a t“ C) II: a ‘) l .l :...J P" Q. Q) (<1; (fl U f. H. m /. “Ii }_1 T ”D :5 "U k- 81‘ :3 ' I) (ll {1 ’s WE?re ]\ (D F n -§- ‘ A I I .1 v * - A A V ' ‘ .I . /'\ ‘ 1 ~. -Cflitn cl 4.4 miles, while the eleven it H) ( ) (_) 3 CT } Al :‘5 (p L1 [1 ., making an overall dic;ance LA } l\ :3; P F) (D m lg! S r+ {—1 a Q.) }_- (D >< T FD -< I‘T '5 i . - a A n 35.6 miles. 5 The highest elevation was a, y? I A) (D (I) ("T Q (.r l ”‘ . . ~ ‘- -i . -. ~ g . . ._ ,‘ * f ,. A . fl ', _' ,_ 1.. a. ou Silt, Willi: THE Cabin: 1"; z.-!.»I”ll’1.;:tuhl”l and H'.Dllid:i§bbuf’% were aT 1,;7; Ieet ard 95y Iee' rec‘eC*:\€ly. F1‘e :5 Tr: ‘( —‘ N - r‘ «a. ‘. fi~\ r“ -‘ ~ ‘~ - ~r , .1 ‘\Y‘ i r. ‘ ~<. r'd‘~ -3 -. fir: .—- . ~. ”‘ .. :V lnCLLUEd pidnbb GL1 Six ti Lhfi lbvfiic Wtid in debi;1 bddnfij 4 ‘ ._‘l \ ,..._“.\ .,. ‘_ , :- ; -_,-. 1‘ M.” ‘r'q..,~_- . r“! .. While --...":—. profit? S G(::2- ,‘:.I'.'LJ.’:L1 2?»: H; .-.-::_;:,}1C'7{IJ i“ .' is fit- if] Sigi 7‘ i . " ' “ E" - I - q, ~a. :fi‘ r“ f f'“ "x V‘ \ - ‘ 1 ‘ County \Lig. j and latle i}. The rallrzad right if w?3 has cleared frgm basin t» 'I A ‘, _ .n. h I: —. ->. - ,«f {- I __ ., 1’ A , y f,» Basin to a width o1 idu -ceb, i.e. 0U its: n 21 u Sid- cl +_ “ . -~~ ‘~ 'r. .- - .— ax H 'N '. f, - ’~ ‘ '1 3 ‘1 I ‘- A r- I l‘ ." "- .‘. the tracKs. Theze were two reasons fox tnis. LBS was to 1 r‘\ .LC:T ‘ v I’ f' “A air-J- d 3 pk O‘J_l ’10 , A Lsfik .1 fi - -' W L J- ..-,~-\ +- F-Yn v-ar \v *V": -*> I ll‘Llp 14.1.x KL) r" fl Achil.‘ ’xrlq l._ : ;l -L..,-: I I’ the Prei*1“5t P:r:; if F‘in‘;"an_:, rteLCLn—d by re s __n« _' ' * f 11 [fl ~— ’ 1 A ,“ v F ‘ ‘ ‘+— .| \ ‘. ’ PrCil( (‘LL'Scolc) ‘iiiiia‘:-_bila. Ifl: 5c Eil_q=.t, i830), " _’\ '1'! ‘. I" Let/it:) in.’ I"? o .L-jo u 2 TABLE l.-—Statistical data old Allegheny Portage Railroad. LEVELS PLANES Length of Number Length Ascent* lepe Ascent* 1** 4.1 mi. 101.5 ft. 1 1607.8 ft. 150.0 ft. 2 13.1 mi. 189.58 ft. 2 1760.H ft. 132.4 ft. 3 1.4 mi. 15.8 ft. 3 1480.3 ft. 130.5 ft. U 1.0 mi. 18.8 ft. 9 219U.9 ft. 187.9 ft. 5 2.6 mi. 25.8 ft. 5 2628.6 ft. 201.6 ft. Summit or l.6 mi. 19 ft. and 6 l/U mile ”dead" level at height 2397 feet above sea level 7 0.2 mi. level 6 2713.9 ft. 266.5 ft. 8 0.6 mi. 5.4 ft. 7 2655.0 ft. 260.5 ft. 9 1.2 mi. 12.0 ft. 8 3116.9 ft. 307.6 ft. 10 1.7 mi. 29.6 ft. 9 2720.8 ft. 189.5 ft. Hollidaysburg 3.72 mi. 1U6.7 ft. 10 2295.6 ft. 180.5 ft. *Ascent or descent depending on direction of movement or place of origin. **Level one had a tunnel that is 900 feet in length as part of its construction. (See Fig. 7 and 8). 143 PENNSYLVANIA CANAL AND RAILROAD ROUTE HGURE 6 EREEPORT \\_ ' AMITY HALL COLUUUI‘ FNILADEL'HIA LEGEND CANAL I TOWNS W RAILROAD ‘E‘fiEéf SCALE HGURE 7 GENERALIZED CROSS SECTION TRANS-PENNSYLVANIAN CANAL SUMMIT . ‘l LEGEND 2:11;: VERTICAL SCALE IN FEET as: HORIZONTAL SCALE IN MILES «mm RAILROAD SECTION 2. CANAL SECTION 0 CHANGE OF TRANSPORT I INTERMEDIATE TOWNS JONNSTOWN (I OLLIOAVSDURG ”if.“ FREEPORT 1.! PITTSBURGH ‘QJLI AMITY NALL IurI COLUMBIA ..'4'J> MLAWLFHIA IOU ALI FIGURE 8 CANAL AND RAILROAD IN CAMBRIA COUNTY //_/ LEGEND / «w. CANAL ......... RAILROAD o I 2 TOWNS LEE! SCALE JOHNSTOII (1,1‘?‘ GI m r "E 953 FEE T I FIGURE 9 GENERALIZED CROSS SECTION OLD ALLEGHENY PORT AGE RAILROAD LEGEND 0 00 é————;1MVERTICAL SCALE IN FEET I:_—:I HORIZONTAL SCALE IN FEET INCLINED PLANES 'LEVELS' NUMBERS REFER TO TABLE I CANAL JUNCTIONS 2 SUWT (2.397) NOLLIOAYSOW I953) “5 minimize the damage that could be done by falling trees, and two, if the railroad proved unsuccessful the cleared area could be used as a turnpike. Rails were of pine or oak, capped with a flat iron plate and were placed four feet, nine inches apart. These were fastened in an interesting way to 3 l/2 cubic foot blocks of stone. Holes were drilled into the stone, oak plugs inserted, and then the rails were nailed to the plugs. Spreading of the track was a problem, but wooden striders were used to minimize this. Frost and ice heavage over a winter often made re-setting of the blocks necessary. Horses or mules served as motive power on the levels and were not entirely displaced by steam locomotives until 1851. Power on the inclined planes was proVided by two stationary engines which were at the tOp of each plane. At first, rail carriages were pulled up the plane by a stout rope, and later by a wire cable, which passed around the drum of one of the stationary engines. The second engine was on hand in case of breakdown or repair of the first one. Each level or plane required a change of power, hitching or unhitching the horses; and connecting or dis- connecting the engines. The time required for an average trip from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg, with no accidents or delays, was seven hours, with an average of one departure each way per day. The route of the railroad through Cambria County, as well as the entire east-west canal system thrcugh the state, is best demonstrated by maps and graphs IFigs. 6, 7, 8, 9). There are, however, two noteworthy itens in the county Which should be called to the reader' attention. The firs (II is the tunnel at the head of plane number cre. This was . the first railroad tunnel ever built in the United States. I) U) (D Completed in 1834 at a c ;t of $37,A98,8A, it we 901 feet long, 20 feet high and l9 feet wide, and can still be seen to this day. The second item was built at the same time, t of $54,562.5u. it was a bridge by which the at a CO (1' railroad crossed the Conemaugh River one mile west of the FT 0) (5+ I—“ O :5 O ‘ \ :5 I present Pennsylvania Railroad South Fork 8 eidered the most perfect store arch in the Urited States at the time, it had an 80 io:t span, was 79 test high and 28 ieet wade. In I'. ( \ '3 (j) C" Cl ,1 C C. (II (I. Ffi 3 \j‘l U: C<' (D L) P—S r I G” <2 C7 L) CT C—fi d P t . 1‘ 7 I' "~ '7 ' s -. <- - r.‘ —- v .\ - r‘ ‘ ’- T -‘ .- ‘ ‘ 'V- o I‘ bid and NEW PC‘Itdtje 11:114.: vials. (:1fo by the id'.':r FBI’J.:3JJ_\/ai.ici V‘ Q _ n 5 ‘ ~. . '47 _ 7 r > r- - \‘_‘ h‘ h '_ v " 1 naiiroad, s destroyed by the gzeat Iiocd o1 Mai 31, 1 L WEI. 1889. a ‘ _ I...,.« f L. - ,. - .‘ a q o .. An eXCei-eri and -i. iu,‘—d U?U’I 5* r :1 a rip (‘I ‘ h: "‘ "‘ “ . ." “ 7 ' . " " 1" ‘ 7'15 -". 1 '1". -. [-4.1 .' t1? ."‘,- ‘ r 1; :— I I ‘ 74' _*, r‘ " V vn 14.4.3 raLirv’dQ IA'CjO ELLVLA. .LIi _ JL’LC 'J’ ‘-./ll.i. SELL LL» 'Lt-SA‘.‘ .Li. ‘ II ‘ ‘ Y__ - -.r- ”r. w. ,"‘~,. - r. r‘ ‘a w‘: I ~~ hlS Emerlcan RQTJCC I..J 'jlr:f_‘:'_<-:i C' '..I_I.L.:..T._' .11. — L d .L. L_ 4) O ‘~5rw . ,. , . _ r green, cp. Cl:., pp. 60-73. 16.. - A - , Floyd G. HLenStlfi‘, Tre o'ew Ar‘n rriafe «nd . . — _ ‘~ ( A In ,\ - ~ - r ' ,' .'- n .. .— .— . " . . ‘ , , ' .L . 1" “ : I‘ '_‘ W .—~:‘I :- —_ P‘rfudéi‘: I‘LUnL/ment \PJ 451-31.“), pLAi-J.L-Lrl(:.d’ l_7jd I, By. GMT—v.1. L17 . . .Occasionally the rails were laid upon the extreme verge of a giddy precipice; and looking from the carriage window, the traveler gazes sheer down, without a stone or scrap of fence between, into the mountain depths below. . . . It was very pretty traveling thus at a rapid pace along the heights of the mountains in a keen wind, to look down into a valley full of light and softness; catching glimpses, through the tree-tops, or scattered cabinsg. . . .men in their shirt sleeves, looking on at their unfinished houses, planning out tomorrow's work; and we riding onward, high above them, like a whirlwind. It was amusing, too, when we had dined, and rattled down a steep pass, having no other moving power than the weight of the carriages themselves, to see the engine, released long after us, come buzzing down alone, like a great insect, its back of green and gold so shining in the sun. . . . It stopped short of us. . .when we reached the canal, and, before we left the wharf, went panting up this hill again, with the passengers who had waited our arrival for the means of traversing the road by which we had come.1 Effects of the Canal and Railroad This new transportation system had special meaning for Cambria County, yet the operation of the system in this county is illustrative of its effect on other areas in the state as well. First, and possibly the most important item of note, was that Cambria was being crossed by the most modern, least expensive, and fastest transportation system in the United States. Secondly, since the canal operated only during the day, over—night stops were necessary. Thirdly, Johnstown was far enough from Pitts- burgh to be outside its trade area, and since many small towns surrounded Johnstown, it soon became the trans—shipment 17Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circul- ation (New York: Wilson & Co., 1832), Chapter 10, p. 12. A8 center for its environs, especially Cambria and Somerset Counties. Cambria was also blessed by the necessity for a complete change in transport modes (from canal to railroad). This required handling of goods, trans-shipment and a time lag during which passengers "stretched their legs," exchanged new items and conducted business. Other effects on Cambria County that are less direct can also be demonstrated. Farmers, in the early days of settlement, had been nearly self sufficient. They had been operating profitably using early seventeenth century methods, inadequate fertilizers, neglected livestock and poor soils. Their main products were corn, wheat, oats, barley, buck- wheat, rye, potatoes, hay, flax and wool. The Opening of the new transportation system suddenly plunged the farmers into a "modern" market situation. The production of certain crops, such as potatoes, increased greatly since this area was highly suited to their production. Other crops that were marginal or could be produced at less cost elsewhere, such as wheat, declined only to increase in later years. The farmers responded by increasing the size of their farms, by putting more acres into crops, by updating their methods and by shifting to new enterprises, such as dairying. All of this hastened the end of small scale, self—sufficient farming. It should 49 be noted, however, that some Cambrians were Still trying i8, 19 to be self—sufficient as late the 1930’s. 0) (P This change in agriculture had several effects. For one, it encouraged the migration of some farmers westward to newer and richer farming areas. More people, however, were attracted by the possibility of working on the transport system. In any event, more new people were attracted to Cambria County than left and the pOpulation -grew. This caused earlier comers to examine themselves and their county for new Opportunities. The tempo of life was qUickened and horizons expanded. The county was now along a main stream of movement between east and west. Service towns began to develop in Cambria County along the route of the railroad. Probably the best docu— mented story of these, outside that of Johnstown, is about the town of Summit or Summitsville. It developed at the top of the Allegheny Crest; any way on she railroad was down from there. It never achieved any lasting importance Since it was primarily a "switching point.” Yet, at the time, there were two hotels there with summer resort or overnight accommodations. Lemon House was located slightly down the eastern slope of the Front from Summit (Mansion) 188. B. Derrick, Soil Survey of Cambria County, Pennsylvania (Washington, D. C.: United States Printing Office, 1917), p. 9. 19 Martha L. Andrews, Evolution of Settlement in Orange County, Vermont 1760 to 1960 {Masters Thesis, April, 1964), p. 78. 50 House Hotel. The latter was located at "the highest point on the railroad (2700 feet)."‘0 With the final demise of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, the town's population plummeted from over 400 to about 100 people. As the volume of traffic increased on the Railroad, additional workers were needed. Replacement workers were also needed as can probably be best illustrated by an extract from the register book of the Summit House Hotel, which on June 12, 1853 had the following entry: Capt. Roland Humphreys kilted [sic. J at A. P. R. R. Tunnel. Thomas Caroll's leg taken off by cars between 4 and 5. Michael Storm very badly injured on Plane 8. Stable of Mans ion House burned down about 12 p. m., also house of Mrs. Molery. Surely a day of accidents. New Allegheny Portage Railroad A ”New Portage Railroad" was begun in l852 to "eliminate the dangerous and expensive (inclined) planes. This new line followed essentially the same route as that he old Allegheny Portage Railroad, except that it O H) ‘_+ ascended the next ravine north in the Allegheny Pr crt. it was to be a railroad, as we commonly think of one in m1:* (0 P recent times, with steel rails and steam lcccmcti e ,i __ ¢.,A ,7 : CCALC‘ LW'J ml 1.11;.1 f,_.‘ July, 1855, the new road, which cost the 2 O - 1 1 ‘ " Mahlon d. Baumgardner, The Alle;ne ; 941 Pertrg; Railroad 1834—1854J Building, Operation and iravgl E~*.sen Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Privatilb Published, 1952), pp. 9—12. dllbid., pp. 22-36. 51 dollars, began operations. Pennsylvania, however, was financially over extended. Rather than be embarrassed, either by having to repudiate its debts cr by allowing the deterioration of the facilities, the state sold the system. It was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for $7,500,000 and the promise of continuation 22 23 of its Operation or of equal services. ’ Mineral Development Iron One of the earliest of the new settlers attracted by the canal and railroad was George Shryock King, who arrived in Johnstown from Mercersburg in 1833 at the age of 24. Mr. King opened a general store, believing that business would be excellent because of the superior transportation system. Despite such faith, not only on the part of King, but of many individuals, the effects cf the ”Panic of 1837" were so serious that in l840 there 24 ”no money" in Cambria County. King's knowledge tf was history and business caused him to believe that ) .3 (D (1') natural mineral products of the vicinity could be used a a new source of income and led him to investigate the possibilities. 22 . Green, op. cit., p. 60. 23 .l 4 l , Wilson, op. cit , pp. 289-305. Cne cause of this listed by ch_s was the overspelu ing by many states on ransport systems, such as Canals. 52 The concept Of mineral exploration and develOpment was not a new one to most districts of Pennsylvania, since prior to the Canal and Railroad, land transportation was so expensive that local exploitation of materials was a necessity. Local availability of iron ore was extensive, even though this ore was poor in quality in some cases. Today, wherever a traveler goes in Pennsylvania he comes upon iron pits, or mines, and furnaces where iron was extracted, either before, during, or after the Canal and Railroad Period.25 King's idea of mineral exploration led to the dis- covery of iron ore deposits at several places in Cambria County. The first was on Ben's Creek and when tested in Blair County, the product proved to be good bar iron, but hard and brittle. The smelter constructed at Ben's Creek was called Cambria Furnace. Another one was built near a mine below Coopersdale. Shortl, afterward a mine was Opened at Benshoff's hill, in what proved to be an excellent ore body. Since this deposit was near the Canal, the ore was hauled to the Canal and via it to Cambria Furnace. Another mine and furnace were opened soon at Mill Creek, followed by Rhey's or Johnstown Furnace at the foot of Prospect Hill. It is noteworthy that every furnace was 25William 0. Hickock, Iron Ores of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Fourth Series, "Minerals," 1933), Bulletin M lB—A, p. l. 53 located on a stream. This was because the bellows that provided the air blast for furnace Operation were Operated by water power (Fig. 11). Each furnace was about 30 feet square at the base and 45 feet high. Inside, it was shaped like an egg standing on end (narrower at the tOp). It rested on a "bosh" so that the raw material would drOp as it was con— sumed. Into the hollow thirty—foot stack were dumped iron ore and charcoal. Then the blast was turned on, and the fired furnance was kept going. The molten metal ran out from the bottom of the furnace when it was tapped.26 The iron ore mined in Cambria County was generally found in a bed about fifty feet above one that is now called Upper Freeport Coal. (See Chapter IV). Most was a particular ore called Siderite, yellowish-white, ash— gray, or brown in color and frequently contaminated with quantities Of clay. Other common contaminates were argillaceous nodules (clay—iron knuckles), or bands of carbonaceous matter which resulted in "Blackbird Iron Ore." In some cases, the deposit had been modified or altered into a limonite-like ore. Generally, both ores were car— Ii :1 pa bonaceous in form, containing about 62% ferrous oxide about 38% "carbonic acid." Their chemical formula was a CéGreen, Op. cit., p. 33. 54 TABLE 2.—-Iron ores Of Cambria County. Siderite Limonite FeCO3 Fe203 . H20 aq Analysis Analysis I I: 6.0 FeCO3 77.99% .e203 74 577 MnCO3 .45% Mn203 2.58% CaCO3 1.43% A1203 1.54% MgCO3 3.53% COO 0.60% A1203 2.81% CuO -—-- 8102 and quartz 11.56% PbO -——— H20 and organic matter 2.23% P205 0.13% 100.00% SiO2 6.90% H20 13.1C% 99.42% Source: Samuel G. Gordon, The Mineralogy of Pennsylvania, p- 54. 55 FeOCOz, or FeCOB, or Fe2C3 . H2O aq. It was not a highly remunerative ore, but was self fluxing (Table 2).27 The early furnaces had an output of four to five tons of pig metal per day, which had a market value of $22 to $25 per ton in Pittsburgh. Iron made in Cambria County was always a little lower in value than other iron because of its hardness. By itself, it did not make good bar iron, but when three—quarter Juniata pig, or other softer metals, and one-fourth Cambria were mixed it made the very best iron in the market. As King had anticipated, trade with Pittsburgh based on pig iron from Cambria County develOped. The demand for Cambria County iron was so great that even local blacksmiths were able to make a little side money by smelting iron at their ”furnaces." Eventually, by including these local "furnaces," Canbria County was able to count twenty-five furnaces. Many of these ended up in 1852 as part Of an organization under King's direction, called "Cambria Iron." Cambria Iron Company In 1853, Dr. Peter Schoenberger bought a partnership in Cambria Iron from King. Shortly thereafter, a disagree— ment over manufactured products developed. Schoenberger 2 .- r a 7F. A. Genth, Preliminary Report of the Mineralogy Of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Board Of CommiSSioners, 1874), pp. 159-161. r.“ 6 J wanted to produce boiling kettles for the sugar and molasses industry Of Louisiana and transport these by to Via the Canal-OhiO—Mississippi to Louisiana. This was not as naive as it seems, since at that time Cambria was providing the sugar and molasses industry of Louisiana with "hogsheads" (barrels) made from local oak. The sugar industry petered out in the 1870's and it might be said with hindsight that the same would have been true of the market for Schoenberger's sugar pots. King, on the Other hand, wanted to produce iron rails for railroads. This was then an almost non-existent industry in the United States; in fact, the Canal-Railroad had to import rails from England. King, believing that the expansion of the United States would call for more rails, went to Boston to Obtain funds to buy out Schoenberger. In this, he was successful and in late 1853 the Cambria Iron Company was founded. Later that year, the first rolling mill was completed and July, 1854 saw the production Of the first American made rails. Subsequently, the company changed owners Often, but its growth continued steadily. In nine years, the operation had expanded sO, its assets reached $51,099 35‘C8 In 1855, because Of financial troubles, stemming from the lack Of a protective tariff, Cambria Iron leased the 28Green, Op. cit., p. 30—36. 57 mill to Wood, Morrell and CO. of Philadelphia, a combine Of eastern Quaker businessmen. This brought Daniel J. Morrell to Cambria County as mill superintendent. Mr. Morrell's desire to improve the Operation, plus his business knowledge, served to make Cambria Iron the leading rail producer in the nation. Technological Advancements Another person who came to Cambria Iron with Morrell was John Fritz, who served as Morrell's chief engineer. Also a thinker and inventor, Fritz is credited with the development Of a new rail roller known as the three-high roll mill. On the Old two-roll mill, the rail bars could be passed through only one way. Then they were "idled" back and passed through again. By placing a third roll above the two, the bar could be passed back and rolled at the same time. Besides preventing accidents caused by the bars lapping around the rolls, this method speeded produc- tion. The first mill to run three-high rolls was destroyed by fire after the successful completion of a weeks run which produced 722 tons Of rails. The cause of the fire has never been established, but the most creditable one is that a worker or workers made this the first attack by steel workers on automation. 58 Another inventor that Morrell encouraged was William Kelly. Kelly had earlier experimented in the Kentucky iron ore regions with no success. Inspired by the Fritz success, Morrell listened when Kelly explained his idea for the removal of carbon and other impurities from iron by the introduction of a blast of cold air. In 1857, Kelly began experiments in the Cambria Iron yards, using labor and materials supplied by the company. His first public demon- stration of his process was a failure, but Morrell made possible a second trial. In 1858, Kelly succeeded in publically using his process to produce a thin plate of the first pneumatic steel ever made. A patent was granted to Kelly and Morrell and the process was soon in Operation. The original Kelly Pneumatic Converter is now on loan to the Smithsonian Institute from the Bethlehem Steel Company. With this new production method, Morrell envisioned re— placing all iron rails with steel ones. Rails made of Cambria ore had a flexibility that other manufacturers could not match. They retained this even in the winter when other rails became brittle and broke. Because of Fritz's three—high roller and Kelly's converter, Cambria Iron was able to corner the rail market in the United States and hold it for several decades. Meanwhile, however, other fundamental changes were beginning to sweep the iron industry. The very cause of prosperity in Cambria County, the building Of railroads 59 would soon make possible the displacement of Pennsylvania's lowgrade iron mines and mining communities by bringing to market cheap, high-grade ore from other sources. The iron industry of Cambria County would continue only because of its specialization and use of:modern methods.29 The Iron Works started by King has had its name and ownership changed six times since its beginning. The names and. dates of use are as follows: Cambria Iron Co. 1852-1855 Wood, Morrell and Co. 1855-1862 Cambria Iron Co. 1862—1898 Cambria Steel Co. 1898—1916. Midvale Steel & Ordinance CO. 1916-1923 Bethlehem Steel Co. l923~-present3O Miscellaneous Growth Other evidences of economic growth during the period being discussed were the Opening of the first bank in the county in 1854 and the establishment of a telegraph system in 1856. Expanded Opportunity for employment, especially in the iron mines, the smelting furnaces, and the shipment of iron to Pittsburgh, but in other activities as well, attracted a rapidly increasing number of people.31 29Hickock,op. cit., pp. 1-5. 3OGreen, Op. cit., pp. 41-49. 31"Chronology: in Johnstown Economic and Industrial Survey (Circa, 1960). 60 Between 1840 and 1860 Cambria‘s pOpulation rose from 11,256 to 29,155 (Fig. 3). Although the majority of this growth centered near the Allegheny Portage Railroad line, settle— ment and population increase were going on in other parts Of the county. The community Of Belsano was established in 1830 and named for a town in Italy. It was, and today remains, a quiet hamlet dependent mostly on agriculture and lumbering. Carrolltown was laid out by Father Ballitzin in 1840 and named for Bishop John Carroll. Cresson, founded during the previous decade, served as a vacation spot in 1840 for William Harrison who became President Of the United States in 1841.32 The towns of Chest Spring and Wilmore developed and were formally incorporated in 1858 and 1859, respectively (Appendix Table 2).33 On May 1, 1863, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which had built a railroad parallel to the canal (in spite Of the Civil War) abandoned the section Of canal between Johnstown and Blairsville and thus brought to a close the canal period in Cambria County. Vestiges of the Canal and the portage railroad are still evident. Remains Of bridges, 32In 1841, one month after assuming Office, President Harrison died. His body was taken to its last resting place via the Allegheny Pennsylvania Railroad. 33Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, Op. cit., pp. 392. 61 the edges of South Fork Dam, several tunnels and some of the grades can still be seen if one chooses to walk the d 34. 35. 36 route the Canal and railroad once occupie 34 35Writers' Program Of the Work Projects Administra- tion in the State of Pennsylvania, pp. cit., pp. 386—394. 36Also used throughout this entire chapter was a skeletal chronology from: John E. Gable, Histogy of Cambria Wilson, Op. cit., pp. 317—323. County, Pennsylvania (Topeka & Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1926) 2 Volumes; and Joseph C. Wess, Origin of Cambria County (Ebensburg, Pennsylvania: Clerk of Courts Office, Circa 1960), as well as ideas from Martha L. Andrews, Op. cit. CHAPTER IV RAPID GROWTH AND A NEW MINERAL DEVELOPMENT 1863-1920 With the death of the Canal, Cambria County entered the period of its greatest numerical population growth. The economic factors that contributed most to this were the iron industry, the railroad and the development of mining Of coal——a new fuel source. Because of these activities, there was a demand for a larger labor force which was met by natural increase and immigration. Cambria‘s population of 29,155 in 1860 grew to 197,839 in 1920 (Fig. 3). The Stimulus of the Civil War The armies Of the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865 concentrated many attacks on each other's supply and troop movement facilities. Railroad lines and bridges suffered the greatest damage. The destruction of either was simple and quickly accomplished; the results were significant-—delay and expense to the enemy} The demands for metal for replacement Of these facilities, as well as to satisfy other wartime needs, greatly expanded the iron and steel industry (Table 3)u . Up to now, wood had been the principle fuel in the home, in industry, and for the railroads, but the growing 62 TABLE 3.--Selected mineral production of the United States during the Civil War. Year ending Year ending ‘ December 31, 1863 December 31, 1864 Pig Iron $ 397,916 $ 803,788 26,375 tons 50,050 tons Railroad Bars $1,484,973 $3,687,970 Iron Sheets $ 270,576 $ 383,975 Iron Tubes 142,794 148,403 Other Iron Products 2,457,575 3,427,850 Steel $2,063,842 $2,012,197 Coal $ 808,456 $ 693,268 305,884 tons 245,361 tons Source: John D. Morgan, Jr., The Domestic Mining Industry Of the United States in World War II (Doctor's Thesis a: the Pennsylvania State College printed by The National Security Resource Board) p. 11. Original source, American Annual Cyclopadeia (New York: D. Appleton & CO. 1865), p. 748. b 4 demands due to the war depleted the timber resources of Cambria, as they did in every other iron producing area of Pennsylvania. "Charcoal trees" disappeared quickly. Even large stands, such as the 25,000 acres of walnut, oak, and Spruce that Cambria Iron had purchased in 1854, were used up by the great demands.l Fortunately, a new method (the Siemens process) made it possible to use a poorer grade of coal than anthracite for smelting and this soon replaced charcoal as a fuel in the industry. Consequently, the production of iron in Cambria County was encouraged because of the area's excellent "smokeless" bituminous coal. The expansion of coal mining will be discussed in greater detail later. Suffice it is to say at this point that it and the iron and steel industry of Cambria County increased rapidly as a result of the Civil War and its aftermath. The reconstruction period that followed the fighting brought not only a need for replacement of rails in older settled areas of the nation, but a western expansion and development that in ten years (1864—1874) more than doubled the railroad mileage of the United States.2' 3 Since the lM. Margaret Green, From Trail Dust to Spar Dust (Johnstown, Pennsylvania: Wm. M. Greer, 1960), pp. 30-35. Ibid., pp. 14-15. 3R. B. Saylor and A. E. Warne, Statistical Abstract of Johnstown, Pennsylvania (University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University, 1953), p. l. (ix x } 4' iron and steel industry of Cambria County was one Of the few rail producers in the nation, it was hard pressed to keep up with demands. Fritz's three-high roller was in production twenty—four hours a day and indirectly automation seemed to be making more work, at least in Cambria County.“ Still other new processes, such as the open hearth, were introduced in Johnsoown in an attempt to keep up with the demand. Ores were even imported from Lake Superior to eel, but Still the Cambria iron (I) (4 meet the great need for industry was hard pressed to supply the market. Besides were being su (I) I a.) ' the normal market, new areas of us for Cambrian steel es eoiall brid e construction. ’ Significance of the Railroads The iron industry created and manufactured and the railroad carried Cambria iron products to the entire country. Topography virtually dictated a riparian location 5 and in Cambria County they left the for the railroads stream beds only when an easier route (the road bed of the Allegheny Portage Railroad) was available. The importance to the coal— ron ore-steel complex of the transportatio “Writers' Program of the Work PrOjects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania (New York: Oxford University Press, 1940), pp. 50-54. SAlfred J. Wright, United States apd Canada (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1948), p. 22 . system cannot be are: emphasized. It is probably that if the transport system had not existed the coal-iron-steel complex could not have existed either.6 The excellent rail communications to Pittsburgh and the west and to almost anywhere in the east moved much freight and many passengers through Cambria. Many of these remained to make various contributions to the growth of this area.7 The railroads, unknowingly, aided the iron industry in the search for a charcoal substitute. The cuts necessary to proVide the one per cent grade of the track bed as it crosses the Allegheny Front and descends into 8 exposed all of the upper geological 9 the Ebensburg Valley strata of the area, including coal at several points. Coal: A New Mineral The Geology The rocks of this area are mainly of the Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian and Devonian systems. The first 6 John D. Morgan of the United State; the Pennsylvania St Security Resource B 7Franklin Platt and William G. Platt, Report of Pro- gress in the Cambria and Somerset District oi the Bituminous Jr., The Domestic Mining Industry n wxrld War ll -‘octor's Thesis College printed by the National d), p. 249. +3 (r) l—‘ u Coal Fields of Western Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: Second Pennsylvania Geological Survey, l877), H. H., Vol. XXX, p. 2. 8 The SOil Survey of Cambria County defines the Ebens- burg Valley on page 6 as a ”broad lowland belt found between Laurel Ridge and the Allegheny Crest.“ 9Platt and Platt, op. cit , pp. X-XI. 6? three are collectively referred to as the "Carboniferous" when details are unessential. The name comes from the fact that the chief coal beds of the world are found in these systems.10 The Carboniferous rocks of Cambria County are fresh water beds consisting mostly of gray sandstones, shales and conglomerates with the middle portion (Pennsylvanian system) containing extensive coal beds. The Carboniferous beds re exposed in many ravines and remain almost in their original horizontal attitude. The coal beds that are exposed at the summit of the Allegheny Front in the tunnel of the Pennsylvania Railroad have a dip of one degree. Each lower bed dips somewhat more steeply with the greatest dip being found in the Middle Silurian beds.ll In the valleys and flood plains, deposits of the Quaternary system are found which are composed mainly of clay, sand and gravel.l2 In detail, the coal bearing strata of the Pennsylvania and Mississ1ppi series are in the Monongahela, Conemaugh and Allegheny groups and under these in the Pottsville series. Except for a few lenses of Pittsburgh coal in the Wilmore syncline, coals of the Monongahela group are absent , loWillard Bradford, Pennsylvania Geology Summarized (Harrisburg: Topographic and Geologic Survey, Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1935), Bulletin 113, p. 8. ll Platt and Platt, op- cit., pp. XV—XVI. from Canbria Counfy. The Conemaugh group is composed of thin beds of coal interspersed with limestone, shale and sandstone. They are much eroded and generally not mined. Next below is the Allegheny group which contains the extensive and productive coal beds for which the county is famous. These are exposed at many spots throughout the count‘, especially where stream erosion is great. Below is another Carbonifero s division, the Pottsville . ’ , T series. it (I3 coal befo are economically unproductive and, in general, are intact. wo other still lower groups are found. They are the Mauch Chunk and the Pocono. Both are composed of shales and sandstones and.have few outcroppings or exposures in the county, except in the deep channel area of the Conemaugh River. Since neither is a coal producer, further discussion of them does not seem necessary.13 There are eight major structural districts in Cambria County which affect the poSition and depth of all the coal beds. These have been discussed earlier (See Chapter I), but some repetition here might be useful. The Allegheny Front, a double—ridged upturned escarpment on the east side of Cambria County has no coal beds in the eastern most ridge, which is composed of older strata underlying the coal—bearing formations. West of it, is l3ib1d., pp. 96-97. M ,. j Tl . . n‘ ' the nil in union tne mop below that in tre Front and the coal layers are ostly deep beneath the surface. The syncline is wide in the sot'hern part of the county and tails out just north of St Augustine. In the Ebensburg or Viaduct anticline, Just west of one Wll ore, the beds are 200 feet higher in altitude than the corresponding ones in the neighboring synzllnes. Th‘s rise means that coal is nearer the Eu face and so the shaft mines of the former area are replaced :n many ca.es by drift or slope miles. Tner is a minor structure KCZV" as the Bradley syncline west of the Ebensburg anticline and it is generally thought to be part of the next dlEtf‘ZC to the west, the Johnstown syncline. This stru:ture has for the most part, a very even and gentle slope. its beds, including t.e coal, rise most rapidly on its western edge, where they pass into the Laurel “ill anticline. cf the largest upfolds and is rich in coal seams. On its Barnesboro synolins, a small narrow of the last coal areas to go in County. Here th over-burden is so available for stip mining. Lastly, miles, the Nolo anticline is a part is of little consequence. qu'tw -1" A’s/“1" “3 ON [\1 \I' P?- The VESCEFH Laurel Hill is one in the Allegheny plateau region flank h (1‘ (f: l e structure and CC (D in Cambria tion thin, the coal 1 S and for only a few 7— J of the country, bu Early coal miners named the coal beds of Cambria County by a letter system With A representing the lowest worked beds and E the top ones worked. The beds which are highly productiie are E or Upper Freeport; D or Lower Fre (D f) P All are in the Allegheny group. Cambria Cotnty is one of the few counties in the 1...: r-r U‘ Q; ’1 (D Li) *3 :34 (I) (D (D nation to hate f,ur ma-or coal beds in (.1 beds are especially excellent because of their ”cod pro— file depths, uniformity of composition and freedom from impurities. There are, in fact, twenty—four different Coal beds in Cambria's confines. Besides the four magor beds, five others are marginally workable for ”custom" coal The remaining fifteen are too thin for profitable mining. Fourteen of the larger beds are shown in Figure [T‘- r" .f. A r p. I rr"\ the rest are not sn,an because (‘f hey are each under six Cambria County is generally div;ded into five pro— duztion districts. These can roughly be arranged in a rical sequen e Wl’h lining beginning first in Johnstown—South Pork, then in Portage—GallitZin, Blacklio Mountain and last in "arnesboro- ' J-g - Inn removal of coal s’arted nearest the surface from the most rt; C o: Upper Kittaning; and B or lower Kittaning 10. k, 71 FIGURE IO GENERALIZED CROSS SECTION COAL SEAMS CAMBRIA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA PHoHLE TOP F—A—K’x HTTSBURGH UPPER 2:1 OTHER MATERIAL FREEPORT a (mom SISLER 293) LOWER FREEPORT UPPER KWTANNWG MIDDLE OUTTANNHNS BENS CREEK LOWER COAL KITTANNING r— COAL _ “Am" BROOKVKLE +."“IJ MERCER BAKERSTOWN H GALLITZIN MAHOMNG PROFHE BOTTOM My \l I\'1 easily accessible beds. As each bed was depleted, the mines moved deeper into the earth (Fig. 10, Table A and Appendix Table 57. The first coal deposit noted in the literature about Cambria County was that found in Moxham (part of Johnstown) by Louis VanLuven in 1788. The first shipment of coal is believed to have been in 1809 when on a return trip the Juniata pig iron pack train took some coal from Johnstown to Hollidaysburg. During the canal period, iron smelted by charcoal was shipped west to Pittsburgh and coal was shipped east to various timber poor, iron smelting regions. In fact, in 1843, some 973 tons of coal were shipped out of Cambria County on the Canal. But in the County, the iron industry Operated on wood until the beginning of the railroad.16 The requirements of post Civil—War industrial pro— duction led to the opening of more coal mines and one of the first of the new group to develop was at South Fork, on the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line in 1867. Mr. R. J. Hughes, who opened a mine here, claimed to have been the first operator in the county to mine from the 17 Miller or ”B" vein coal. l6Green, op. cit., p. 50. 17John Fulton, "Geologic Notes on Cambria County,” History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania (New York, Chicago: LeWis Publishing Co., 1907) 3 volumes, Vol. I, p. 12. 73 .mzmH .m pmnsmuoom =.mHom>Hmmccmm mo monHm Hmoo msocH53uHm= .hmHmHm .o mmamw "condom .dmmpm ummwan CH mocwunoaeH amoummpw on» mo ohm moon mmmzes .zposoo menEmo oH .cH m Hmoo uwoon on» NHHHMOHwOHooo Locum: mqu>mBBom t.mcHE on mHnmuHmopa . . pocuuuscgasm cam saw an swam .pu H Axoopm . .omcHE Lm>mc . .xOan monooH NH pm>o EouHom .2H m . mm A.¢V oCHAMHQ .uOprch man CH Hwoo .2H m .pm m mm Am no hmHHsz nonupooEH pon .mompm pmeme wcHCwupHm Amzoaa .conoL man mo mHmoo . ponuo on» can» nmm woos mam .pm H mH xomho mcmm .muoHoa 3mm w cho pm mmocx H u oHnmeos mo mH .CH m cm wcHCMupHm chqu wzmmomqq< .mmeHLSQEH mo mocmmnm .oH m .um m on A.o no pcoEmov an UmemE .Hmoo Emopm ucmHHmoxm _ wchmppHx hoods. .vmumsmnxm mum moon Locpo .CH 0 .pg m mm Am no ocoummEHgv con: sz>Howpxm vooHE on HHH3 uhooompm hmzoq: .mmmOQLSQ moHEmopm you pooHHooxm .CH 0 .pk m on Am no who» mxoov uncommhm hogan: deosm whopzm m .onpoz poz .CH 0 om wchocmz oHnmxpoz AHmoo xoopo chLmv mocmppooEH commmHo on 0» cHop 009 .CH m cm cprHHHmc HmHoLmEEoo Hwoo whooooLm good: mom mo ohm moon m>opw .pm mmm .oHomcHEoD .2H m .mmH ozoumumxmm mmmcu mo moocv mua¢zmzoo .cH m mmH Hmoo .CH m .p@ H mmm Hwoo COHpoHpomoo Hwnmcoo mmoconce Hm>hopoH com ozone CH mwcmm CH mwcmm .hucsoo mHLnEmo mo moon Hmoo mSOCHESuHmII.z mqm<9 79 in l873, the post war boom gave way to a depression which was to last for about five years. The net effect of this was minimal as far as Cambria County is concerned. The people simply put in garden plots and waited it out. The mines and factories worked on a reduced basis and the miners and factory workers patronized company stores. This simple, near-closed economy prevented too much hard— ship. The significant item that came out of the depression was Pennsylvania's Second Geological Survey.18 This investigation of the state's mineral wealth served as a basis for future economic advancement. The survey outlined in detail the bituminous coal fields of Cambria County. Resulting published information was highly detailed, including the types, thickness and analysis of each mine's coal. The study helped establish the total extent, for the first time, of the coal industry in Cambria County. It reported that in the year 1875 there were seventy—seven active coal mines there. The most important of these are shown in Figure 11.19 Coal and iron differ in their reliance on transpor— tation. Iron is a stationary industry; once the plant and labor force are located, all supplies funnel into the i8Writers' Program of the Work Projects Adminis- tration in the State of Pennsylvania, op. cit., pp. 50, SH. 1 _ 9Piatt and Platt, Op. cit., 194 pp. and 4 maps. 75 FIGURE l l MINING AND SMELTING CAMBRIA COUNTY l875 LEGEND I SMELTING IRON ORE ° COAL MINING -H-H-9 RAILROAD F. BARNESBORO o o . TOWN $595 SCALE , BLACKLICK ‘ RITTER a a EU"! . d P. .,.I. ’« GALLITZI JOHNSTOWN , 0 ° (\\\ 00 J"~' \ *1 J‘s; . 3 6° / SOUTH FORK .917. O F. 9 O o A FIGURE l2 \ ‘~\ MINING AND SMELTING ( >14 CAMBRIA COUNTY x D ‘ ’/ I89I I 1:. I \ ‘ LEGEND \ , ,’ I. V x ‘5 ’1" - SMELTING ix l \- \ . I - COAL MINING W RAILROAD o o 2 TOWN $52": SCALE production area. Coal, on the other hind, is a raw material handling industry, whose sole function is the changing o“ location of the mineral without producing changes in its structure or usefulness.20 Thus, coal and railroad were very closely related and for many years a new mine meant an extension of the railroad and Vice versa, the extension of the railroad meant opening new mining territory. The fact that coal from each mine moved to market meant that almost every track that left the main line led to a coal mine. Generally, the relative permanency of railroad tracks and track right of ways pinpOinted even abandoned mines. This was particularly true if the rails ran through a small town (mining village; and ended in uninhabited areas, such as the Bell Gap Spur (Northeast corner of Fig. ll). Since other mineral production, such as sand, clay, limestone and trap rook were at a minimum in Cambria County, following the rail lines operated as an almost foolproof method of locating coal mines while doing research for this th sis. Before the extension of the railroad to all parts of the county, however, some movement of coal by barge occurred. For example, an out of the way furnace A CONorman H. Leonard Jr., The Bituminous Coal Industgy (New York: Macmillian, 1953), p. 38. Quoted by Walter Adams, The Structure of American Industry, Some Case Studies. like Ritter furnace (west central Cambria County) was supplied by barge from mines such as Big Bend, Moore's, D. Rowland and E. Rowland, which are on the South Fork of Blacklick Creek (Fig. 11). The indication of coal mines by the presence of rail lines can easily be demonstrated if one examines the period following the 1873 depression. If the map of coal mines in 1875 (Fig. 11) is compared with that of 1891 (Fig. 12) one of the first things that can be seen is the extension of rail—lines throughout the county. Along each of the new rail—lines is a profusion of mine locations clearly indicated by the number of mine symbols.21 Thus, a direct correlation seems to exist between railroad building and the development of coal mines. The main exception to this generalization is the Ebensburg spurs whose main function is passenger traffic. The importance of rail transportation can best be demonstrated by the following quote: Coal is transported entirely by railroad and high— way. The railroads of Cambria County are one of the greatest assets of its coal trade. The main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad follows Conemaugh River across the county. That line, with branches in mining towns, gives excellent facilities for moving coal to Eastern Cities, Tidewater, Central States and Lake trade. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad running from Johnstown to mainline at dlPiatt and Platt, 0p. cit., p. xv. Fogkw:;d is another direst route to both easterr and western coa; trade centers The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad carries Cambrfi a Cc unty roal north to the other conties in Pennsylvania, which are barren of coal, to New York State and to the New England States. Railroad facilities, as well as e.xc ellent quality and reputation of coal has made Cambria County one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in the United St.a. tes Although the above quote is not from the period under wsexless/1, it was as applicable in 1877 as in more recent was opened when large scale ccmmeriCial mining began at Barnesboro and the railroad was extended to serVic the new mining communities 25 Because of the high quality of the coal and the excellent transportation service afforded by the Pennsylvania Railroad on the south and the New York J hi .L (I) Cf Central Railroad on the north, field had a phenomenal 9A rate of growth.‘ After this, the coal industry in Cambria County con— tinued to grow at a moderate rate until l902. In that year, a strike tC’tlred n the anthraCite fields of eastern Pennsylvania which forced the Eastern anthr aoi :e users -\ in factories and homes to look for a new heating fuel. To the average consumer, the only di fier rence between anthracite and bituminous ccal was the darker smoke and lower cost of 23 . i - , . . . W?i*€fc' rrceram or the Work Bro;ects Administration J ;. the State of Eerrsylvania, 3p “1:“, p. 551. J. S, Barrows, "The Barnesboro—rat cn Coal Field of e nylvania" (L nited States Geological Survey, Bulletin 225, 190a), pp. 295—3 (1’ \I \Q‘; A. I the latter. The demand for Cambrian smokeies coal from (ll the 2, ”C," "D” and ”E” coal seams, by the consuming Bast, almost swamped the mines. This was to become a repetitious story, each strike by the anthracite industry drove more and more users to bituminous coal. Lack of cohesion and co—Operation among the bituminous miners led to a "playing" ofcxmagroup against another for many years unti , via a union, unity was finally achieved. Coke Manufacture In spite of new techniques Siemens process), bituminous coal did not produce quality steel. Even though the bituminous coal of Cambria contained only a small amount of volatile material, it was too high to make high grade steel. This caused the iron and steel industry of Johnstown to seek a special non—corrupting fuel for use in steel manufacturing. The desired fuel was obtained by removing the volatiles from coal by heating it in the absence of air. This resulted in a burnable product known as coke. Coke making in Cambria County is actually a footnote to the steel industry, but it is doubly worthy of notice here since it consumed large amounts of Cambria coal. Before 1895, all coke in Cambria was made in beehive ovens. This is a firebrick chamber built with an arched roof in a manner reminiscent of an old—fashioned bee hive. 80 A typical oven was 12 feet in diameter and held five to seven tons of coal in a uniform layer (after raking) between 18 and 24 inches in depth. A row of rail tracks ran along the front of a battery of ovens for unloading purposes and another row of track along the top for loading. These ovens were loaded, regulated and emptied by crude hand methods and volatile waste gases were allowed to escape. This type of operation meant waste and the possibility of impurities in the product. Coking time was usually forty—eight to seventy-two hours.25 in 1895, Cambria Steel Co. put 60 ovens of the Otto—Hoffman type into production and in 1899, 100 retort coke ovens (United—Otto type) were added to the company‘s resources. In 1904 and 1907, 100 and 112 ovens of the same type were added to bring Cambria Steel's total to over 360 ovens. The volatile material obtained from this new process was used at the plant for fuel and power.2 The Johnstown Flood and Its Effect 1n the spring of 1889, Cambria County was catapulted onto the world scene when a flood occurred which took fs 4,200 lives. May 31, 1889 found Johnstown under two to 25Philip J. Wilson Jr., and Joseph H. Wells, Coal, Coke and Coal Chemicals (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1950), pp. 138-130. ‘6Richard R. Rice, The Mineral Production of Pennsylvania for 1913 (Harrisburg: Topographic & Geologic Survey of Pa., 1915), p. 10. seven feet of water. After a week of continuous rain, the dam constructed at South Fork to provide water for the Johnstown Basin of the 01d Canal System, broke. The waters of Lake Conemaugh moved as a body through the entrenched meanders of the Conemaugh River and struck Johnstown at about four o‘clock. In ten minutes, most of the city was gone. This tragic incident brought world attention, sympathy, and aid. It also developed an intense community spirit which helped the area recover. Shortly after the flood, many of the small sub—sections of the city consolidated with the city and a greater Johnstown emerged. Mines were pumped out, factories erected and orders began to pour in for products from Johnstown. In its own way, the flood was good for the city. It provided a lot of publicity and it destroyed old equipment, thus forcing modernization of manufacturing facilities. Hindsight shows us, that communities which do not modernize have often been abandoned. In industry, it is often cheaper to build anew than to remodel. Evolution in the Iron and Steel Industry Through most of this period, Cambria Iron Works was the only major metal handler in Cambria County. In 1883, another company, Lorain Steel began because of the direct encouragement of A. J. Moxham. It was located on Stony ""‘- " ’a r V“ ‘ V‘ A H ' ‘ ." V' ‘ "7r - ~ ‘ r ,t I" A ' T " . .' r" ".7 ')*\ w v ‘vi EEK .11: JUC p- .J/ u: I'.V}(.rliiln, I’ll/YIN de‘E uI u chF-ot'c»~.l .Lll some ways, it might be considered to be a competitor or rival of Cambria Steel, but since it purchased pig iron from the older firm, this would not seem to be entirsly true From this time until about 1898, the steel industry was a period of intense, and at times destructive, competi— tion. Variou agreements and pools were arranged. Many (I) people hate pointed out the outstanding characteristics .-. . H . .. - < -. n28 of these was the frequency With which they collapsed. From 1898 to 1900, a widespread concentration move— ment took place in the steel industry. Large companies, such as Federal Steel, National Steel, National Tube, American Bridge, American Sheet Steel and others were organized into three holding companies under Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan and W. H. Moore, respectively. Each of these groups realized the problems of a ”battle between ., H , ,. 29 the giants and a co—operation agreement resulted. in 1900, Andrew Carnegie directed Charles Schwab to sell the Carnegie Iron and Steel organization. Schwab, a rative and resident of Eoretto in Cambria County, persuaded J. P. Morgan to buy ott Carnegie for $A00 million dollars. 271 . ‘Creen, op. £i£°, p. 45. 2 8 l 5 H. R. Seager & C. A. Gulic , Trust and Corporation Problems (New York: Harper Brothers, 1959), pp. 2, lb. 2 H . . - . 9waiter Adams, The Structure 01 American Industry— §gme Case Studies (New York: Macmillian, 1953), pp. 197— 03 LA) Schwab was then elected President of the resultant firm-- United States Steel of New Jersey, better known as U. S. Steel.3O One of the plants which was part of this "empire" was Lorain Steel in Johnstown. The main objective of the new firm, which controlled 65% of the United States output of steel, was to completely integrate steel production from raw material to finished product. The Commissioner of Corporations, in his report on the Steel Industry, however, believed that U. S. Steel had been formed to restrict competition and to secure large profits from the sale of inflated securities. Later when U. S. Steel was taken to court on these counts, the court found in favor of the company since ”size alone was 31 not proof of the charges brought” by the commissioner. Population and Immigration Between the years 1860 and 1920 the population of Cambria County increased some 160,000 people. During the same period twenty-seven boroughs were incorporated (See Appendix). All of this growth cannot be credited to natural increase alone. An examination of census data shows us that much of it was due to immigration. 30Douglas A. Fisher, Steel Serves the Nation (Pitts- burgh: United States Steel Corporation, 1951), pp. 18—22. 31 Adams, op. cit., p. 148. :1; U4 Members of new cultural groups were now seen in Cambria in greater and greater numbers. Italians, Jews, Armenians, Lituanians, Poles, Russians and Greeks were just a few of these. They came to work in the mines and steel factories, to marry friends or friends of friends and to open small business establishments.32 As a rule, the supply of immigrant labor was absorbed by the ever—present demand for labor in the heavy industries. The offspring of earlier immigrants often did not follow their father's occupation, especially when this was dangerous or dirty, like coal mining. The new immigrant waves took these Jobs.33 Most of these new or second wave immigrants came to Cambria County between 1890 and 1910 (See Table 5). The largest groups were the Austro-Hungarians. They were followed in numbers by the Italians, Germans and Russians. An interesting problem presented by the Austro- Hungarians and Russians was the complexity of their natural origins. This can be easily demonstrated by selecting one group, such as the Slovaks. At various periods before immigration, these people were ruled by Russians, Austrians 32R. B. Saylor and A. E. Narne, A Statistical Abstract 9: Johnstown, Pennsylvania (University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University, 1953), p. 9. 33Isaac A. Hourwich, "The Immigrant and the Labor Market," from Immigration as a Factor in American History by Oscar Handlin (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall: 1959): pp- 57-58- ( L \j: J : TABLE ,.——Pcpulatlon StatlSth‘ number of foreign—born whites in Cambria County,l900—l9lO-1920. CAMBRIA COUNTY Census Year Nationality 1900 1910 1920 Austria 2,991 14,427 7,949 Hungary 3,535 10,418 3,839 YugoslaVia - - — w — - 1,430 Russia 298 2,602 1,498 Lithuania — — — - - - 390 Latvia — - ~ — - — - — Finland 26 111 — — - Rumania — — — 18 59 Greece — — - 49 165 Italy 1,316 5,529 5,104 Spain — — - — — — — — - Palestine — - — - - - 309 Turkey 5 380 - — - Canada 137 164 148 England 2,586 2,868 2,200 Scotland 743 863 791 Wales 946 806 573 Ireland 1,357 1,044 627 Norway 31 37 - - - Sweden 421 462 289 Denmark 78 57 — — — Netherlands 5 28 - - - Belgium 153 321 — - - Switzerland 54 51 53 France 332 594 405 Germany 3,554 3.704 8,843 Cland i,;69 — — — 6,213 Czechs — — — — — - 3,272 Misc. 232 155 802 Source: ”Population” in Johnstown Economic and Industrial Survey (Circa, 1960). ’\ ~.ms .a es roles. The people belong t; a clavl; n L); Spe King ;;rgua g: up which may be called Slavish, Russian, Ruthenian or Slcr k. 31) loation by the census may lump them (7') (J l——« l I" “ f. p. I h Modern cla:~' 1 into such diterse categories as Austrians, Czechs, Slovaks (independent country in 1938), Russians, Ukrainians, Polish T" U] o laws. in fact, a neighbor or relative from over the ridge might even b a Gallican. The mayor problem faced by these new residents was the hostility of their "Yankee" neighbors. They were, in a sen e, and the path of least resistanc (’D (I) dictated a ghetto-like eXistence, traces of which can still be found today. 'n this ghetto, they were bound together by a common anguage, religion and customs. In some inStances, a group would be not only in a ghetto, but also in a company town where the language barrier helped prevent contact With other people—-thus keeping out American ideas (I) @ LT H. U1 2" Q P such as union even true in large communities like Johnstown or Pittsburgh. The changes in agricultu ”ring this era (1863— 1920; are quite clear if one examines the statistics (See j“Paul U. Kellogg, Wage Ear inngittsburgh——The Eittsburgh Strtey (Philadelphia: Wm. Fell Press Co., 1914), pp. 56— o 3“For further discussion of this point see: Leon thwack, The AT rican Labor Movement (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice—Hall, 1962,. Tables 6, 7, and 8). The first major change to be noted is a reduction of land in farms from a peak of 311,349 acres reached in 1880 to 198,544 acres in 1920. This is a decrease of 42,805 acres and yet there were only thirty— nine less farms in the latter year (Table 6). Farms averaged 127.8 acres in size in 1880 and 81.8 acres in 1920. During the period there were decreases of 3,791 acres in cropland, 4,391 acres of pasture, and 87,064 acres of woodlct, or a total of 95,246 acres in these three categories. Obviously, some marginal farms ceased production and other farmers abandoned fields which had poorer soils and steeper slopes, mostly those in woodlot or idle land not suitable for use. The next noteworthy statistic is the great increase in the number of dairy cows during these years. The total number of cattle declined 1,041 from 14,218 in 1860 to 13,177 in 1920, having reached a peak about 1880 when there were 18,830 head. Yet during the same years the number of milk cows rose from 6,056 to 12,168 (Table 7). The increase in dairying, and also in chicken and egg production, was especially pronounced near the larger towns and in more accessible areas. Meanwhile the number of swine remained much the same, but head of sheep and goats, which reached a high of 16,389 in 1870, dropped to 2,328 in 1920. This latter was due in part to development of western sheep ranches and probably also related to damage by dogs from the coal mining settlements. 88 manpmma pomcwEme mmhom CH vozoe hmma coma Um>OLQEHCD m m .mppOdmm mzmcmo mmpmpm Umuaca mzoflhm> on» Eopm mama c.mca cma.a acc.mm ccm.am aac.cc mcc.cma ccca c.ca ccc.m cmc.cm mmm.cm mcc.ac cc=.caa cmca c.cc caa.m aac.mc mcam.aa mma.ma aca.maa ccca c.ac mca.m acc.ca acc.am mac.cc cam.caa cmca a.ac ccm.m cac.cm amc.mm acc.caa ccm.cca cmca m.mc aca.m acc.ca maa.mm cac.cma cccvcmm caca m.mc ccm.m acc.ac ccm.cm cca.caa mmm.mam ccca c.cca aam.m mcc.cc aacc.am amm.cma ccc.cmm ccca m.ama am:.m caa.mca ca:.cm mmc.caa ccm.aam ccca mac.a cac.mma cmc.mc acc.cmm caca mccm.maa aam.ma aac.cca ccca maca.aca amc.am caa.cma cmca ccca Ammpo< mo pmpEsz poaoooz manpmmm ocmadogo magma CH coma .mficm>azmccmm .hpcsoo mfipoemo moaumflpmpm Show Umpomammtl.w mqm<9 (r: \(7 TABLE 7.—-Se1ected livestock statistics Cambria County, Pennsylvania Swine Date Total Cattle Milk Cows Sheep & Goats Hogs or Pigs 1840 8,5181 11.461 10,769 1850 10,583 4,551 13,267 5,946 1860 14,218 6,056 12,413 7,642 1870 12,579 6,537 16,389 7,486 1880 18,830 7,899 14,725 13,358 1890 18,560 8,280 14,130 8,414 1900 18,234 8,279 13,465 7,917 1910 14,085 8,434 4,410 7,580 1920 13,177 12,168 2,328 11,865 1930 12,451 7,385 1,525” 6,500 1940 10,4552 6,6003 1,051 5,195 1950 12,008 6,250 517 6,267 1960 12,520 4,881 578 7,228 Data from the Various United States Census Reports. lNeat cattle 2Over 3 months of age jNumber milked 4a Six months or older 1721. -o —— r a: e p tr is'1cc camb iczl;“thty, Perrsy_uvar'a Date Corn ‘heat Oats Hay Potatoes 1840 31,9436 34,4216 l44,470b 5,584a 87,856b 1850 58,947b 42,8980 193,082b 10,326a 20,784b 1860 81,2446 23,2890 216,172b 134,766b 1870 153,2526 56,9386 346,9910 25,801T 89,368b 1880 10,4t5a 11,047a 14,558a 26,879a 2,243a 336,1130 117,0990 346,5630 20,554T 169,134b 1890 6,980a 5,961a 13,240a 57,601a [2,268a 212,4670 74,840b 329,1890 45,096T 81,1200 1900 9,738a 7,240a 13,622a 35,544a 2,8168 262,4206 114 47Gb 414,5200 36,297T 296,520b 1910 7,897a 5,252a 14,800a 35,766a 3,572a 303,747b 100,579b 459,603b 53,769T 422,257b l9£t 6,883a 5,44a 15,368a 38,380a 3,644a 303,7470 100.5790 “59,6050 53,769T 422,257b 1930 6,999a 3,9742 13,152a 31,3998 3,981a 160,8850 51,902bh 387,457bh 34,895T 454,759b 1940 8,99a 5,195a l2,ll9a 28,146a 5,557a 231,3816 109,755b 432,446b 545,485b 1950 8,075a 7,433a 11,897a 25,023a 2,5811 292,7:2b 106,710b 350,1376 536,529b ;960 ‘6,653a 3 734a 10,6543 21,435a -,986é 280,6566 75,7506 487,766b 631,279b Dar“ from the tari us United States Census Reports. a : acres 0 = bushels bh = bushels harvested T = tors harxesied 91 The most spectacular increase in crop production was in potatoes, no doubt the result of growth of local and eastern urban markets for this cheap bulky product. The trend in most crops, however, was increased production (Table 8). This was much more due to increased yields per acre, than to any material gain in acreages cropped, and reflected improved efficiency of techniques and concentration of agriculture on the best suited land. Nevertheless, more land was probably devoted to hay, oats, and potatoes in 1920 than at any previous time, while areas planted with corn and wheat were lower than past peaks. Orchards also developed considerable importance during the period being discussed, producing well since the cold air, which could ruin the fruit, drains downhill causing a temperature inversion which protects the trees from frost damage. Everything considered, it appears that agriculture reached a peak all-around significance in Cambria County about 1920. Mixed farming of wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, fruit, hay and forage prevailed in conjunction with dairying. Changes from earlier, less commercial, activities were due to the growth of urban markets and improved transportation. Also, as Derrick pointed out, "Another reason why agriculture has received increasing attention in the county during the last thirty-five years (1880-1915) is the fact that lumbering, 92 which formerly was. . .(a) principal occupation was declined, owing to the diminishing supply of timber.”36 The county's rapid growth and development during this period leads one to speculate that the future would be one of continuing expansion and progress. The excellent industries, fine natural and agricultural resources, and large and diversified population appear to have had no problems to contend with as they enter a new and modern era. This Optimistic view is not born out. Each area of activity, that did well during the period just discussed, "tOps out" and declines in the following one. Consequently, the period from 1920 to 1960 in Cambria County can best be characterized by the phrase, maturity and decline. 36B. B. Derrick and A. L. Patrick, Soil Survey of Cambria County, Pennsylvania (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1917), p. 10. CHAPTER V MATURITY AND DECLZNE 1920-1960 The years between 1920 and 1960 might best be charac- terized as ones during which Cambria County reached maturity and began old age. A twenty year period of slow demographic growth was followed by anothe twenty years during which there was a slow decline. POpulation Characteristics From 1920 to 1940 the pOpulation increased from 197,839 to 213,459 or nearly eight per cent, but by_l960 it had dropped to 203,283 people, or only 5,444 more than in 1920. This meant a net growth during the forty years of al— ‘5 most 2.8 per cent, or roughly a growth rate o1 .07 per cent 1, 2 , 3 3’ va +— >‘<"+- \“f-»" -' v per year. Comparing this to our net hatioia. growth rate of 1.37 per cent per year, it tec;mes evident that a large number of people had left the county since the growth in pOpulation was much below what might have been expected through normal natural increase. 16. B. Saylor and A. E Warne, §~§tatistical Abstract of Johnstown, Pennsylvarla_(bnlv-rsity Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University, 1953), p. 3. 2United States Bureau of the Census, Current Populaticn Report: Population Estimate, March 11, 1‘65, (Washington, D. C.: United States Government Printing Office). \(J k ,0 T“ ia 7 .~ 7‘ .9 , a » < ._ —~ . - . A .«x .‘ - — f a r ’\ I— I r r. c #1.. *: ._'u(_'....-z;:121~.’. oi porn'Jiatia/n may boom Cc 0‘: c1 iii-J to this per1:d, we shcuxd not We led nto an assumption of a static situa*;on. Eiring the first decades mentioned above, many 1mmigrants tcften of an unwanted kind; strikebreakers roes) arr1ved During the second period, some addi- \ oe:ause of the arrival of trained or 4,- - ,.a L.. -, ‘ -a 1;?: t; *he populatljn skilled help, occurred. This lfiflJX was more than nullified, however, by an emigration of unskilled or semiskilled workers and;;;u¢3 people to more promising economic areas. One c'her population trend must be recognized during this period, namely a movement from rural areas to urban centers. The main reasons for this were the better quality and abun- dance of such se VlCEE as education, health, shopping, and entertainment in these centers, and the greater availability there of employment opportunities. Many of the small=r towns of Cambria County, from World War II times to the present exhibited either decadence or ex- treme slowness of growth because of dependency on one industry, coal, There were, however, some towns which had other di- ources if income, such as Ebensburg, a center of government and Loretto, an education center. These continued to progress. The county's only city, Johnstown, reached its population maximum cf 67,327 people in 1920. Since then, it (‘f‘ has declined 0 its present size of 53,946, with the greatest demographic loss, 9,000 people, occurring in the last decade. Cne of the most reasonable explanations of this, the flight ‘5‘ \Il from cities to the urban fringe of suburbia, seems to be in- dicated by the statistics of Greater Johnstown.3 This is Cambria County's only major urban complex and its only area of continuous population growth for the period 1920 to 1960. During those forty years, Greater Johnstown‘s population increased over 15,1“1 peOple to a total in the last census of 112,641. Strikebreaking and Race Problems One factor during this period, which repeatedly affected population and economic growth, was a series of interruptions because of labor disputes, strikes and lock outs. The first strike of concern in this connection, was headed by William E. Foster,Ll founder of the National Committee for Organizaw tion of Iron and Steel Workers. In 1919, he directed the workers of United States Steel in an organization and recogns ition fight which ended unsuccessfully in January, 1920.5 The effects of this strike on Cambria County were tremendous. Its failure not only temporarily brought unions into disrepute 3Greater Johnstown is a term applied to include the city of Johnstown, thebcroughsof Brownstown, Daisytown, Dale, East Conemaugh, Ferndale, Franklin, Geistown, Lorain, Southmont and Westmont and the townships of Conemaugh, East Taylor, Lower Yoder, Middle Yoder, Richland, Stonycreek, Upper Yoder and West Taylor. “In 1951, Foster was the General Secretary of the American Communist Party. 5Douglas A. Fisher, Steel Serves the Nation (Pittsburgh: United States Steel Corp., 1951), p. 7“. r’ 9b with iron and steel workers there, but also served management with a reason for barring unions from Cambria's plants until after the Taylor-Lewis talks of 1937.‘6 Another facit of the labor strife was the lmpcrtatlon of southern Negroes as st ikebreakers. ”Indeed, the great steel companies of western Pennsylvania and Ohio had been responsible for bringing in increasing numbers of Negro work— ers since 1916, including many strike— rr;akers during the . V 8 . great steel strike of 1919.” ’ Thus, Ne roes came to work in the steel mills of Johnstown and Vi:inity.9 They were stimulated in this m; gra ati o.by economic and social oppression in the South and by what they believed were mp ortunities presented by a labor shortage in the North.LO Part of the reason for this importation of workers can be explained by the following le:tter written by Captain W. R. 6Editors of Fortune Magazine, "It Happened in Steel," Fortune Magazine (New York, Time, lnc., May, “ ” 176-186v 7Richard B. Sherman, "Johnstown Vs. The Negro: South— ern Migrants and The Exodus of 1923," fig; nsylvania History Vol. 30, No. U (October, 1963) pp. ~54, “64. 80ften these people did not realize that they were strikebreakers. The company wculd hire the in distant areas and transport them to the plant. When they arrive , they were J. company housed and put to work. Negro employees of Cambria Steel were housed in the Rosedale se: ti;n of J;mh1stown, which is three miles north oi the central business district. There, most of the prOperty belonged to Camccia Steel. 9Very few Negroes are residenfls if any other part of Cambria County, outside of the city ci Johnstown, according to the United States census. 9 lOSherman, o . ci \Jl pt M 5 97 Jones, a former superintendent of Cambria Iron, as adVice to a new superintendent: We must be careful of what class of men we collect (employ). We must steer clear of the West where men are accustomed to infernal high wages. We must steer clear as far as we can of Englishmen (read Americans for Englishmen) who are great sticklers for high wages, small production and strikes. My experience shows that. . . (immigrants) . . . make the most effective and tractable force you can find (employ) . . . But mark me, Englishmen have been the worstwilass of men I have had anything to do with; . . U* Although this letter is not of this same period, it demon- strates the feeling of steel owners and managers toward unionizers. It should be realized that even the immigrants did not remain untainted for long. As soon as they began to escape their ghettos and become Americanized, they, too, began to unionize. Migration of Negroes to Northern States reached peaks in 1916-17 and in 1922. The proportion of Negro population in the North as a whole, rose from 1.8 per cent in 1910, to 3.3 per cent in 1930. Johnstown's Negro community, which dated back to the mid-1880's, in 19lO numbered A62 persons. This minority group in Johnstown grew 5&9 per cent from 1910 to 1923 (Table 9). The effect of this on the community was fear, fear that the Negro would replace the white man in the labor market. In 1923, approximately 21 per cent of the _ lloscar Hadlin, Immigration As A Eactor in American His- tory (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1959), pp. 66-67. 98 TABLE 9.--Growth of Negro community in Johnstown, Pennsylvania 1910-1923 Per Cent Increase Total Negr; ApproXimate Negro Community Date POpulation Population Per Cent Negro After 1910 1910 55,482 462 .8% _ _ _ _ 1920 67,327 1,671 2.5% 26% 1923 67,000 3,600 (est.) (est.; 4.5% 549% Source: Richard 8‘ Sherman. Pennsyiva Journal of the Pennsylvania Hi October, 1963. m :3 '2 31’ II: R. B. Saylor and A.~ E. Warne. A Statistic Abstract of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, June, i963. p) ‘H \C) \L) the work force in the Cambra Steel Plant, the largest single ’) employer in the county, was Negro.lt Even with the importaww tion of Negroes, Cambria Steel could not obtain enough of the type workers desired. See Captain Jones Letter.) Because of this, Cambria Steel began to bring in Mexicans. Little objection occurred with the latter group, since its size remained small and they were soon withdrawn from the community because of the problem described below. The race problem came to a head in August, 1923 when Robert A. Young, a Negro, shot and killed a white police officer, Joseph Gachen. Young was believed to have been drunk and possibly under the effect of drugs at the time. During the attempt to capture Young, there was a gun fight. Young and two officers were killed and several police officers were wounded. The local Ku Klux Klan, had been primarily anti-Catholic and anti—immigrant in orientation, and only nominally anti-Negro until this time, since very few Negroes lived in the county. With an influx of Negroes, however, the latent feelings became active and because of the Young incident the Klan launched a campaign of terrorization 12The reader should note that ”.5 per cent of Cambria’s pOpulation was Negro, yet 21 per cent of Cambria Iron‘s labor force was Negro. The reason for this becomes clear when one realizes the Negroes were "imported" by Cambria Iron to break a strike. They took the Jobs formerly held by whites, leaving the whites unemployed, thus lending credence to the white fear the saturation of the employment market. 100 by burning crosses near Bosedale. An attempt by the police to protect the Negroes was nullified by the following order from Mayor Joseph Cauffel: I want every Negro who has lived here (Johnstown) less than seven years to pack his belongings and get out . . . For their own safety, I am order- ing all newly arrived Negroes to leave town His order went on to forbid the public assembly of Negroes for any purpose and to require registration with the police or mayor's office of all Negroes in Johnstown.13 The New York Times headlined the Negro exodus in its September 15, 1923 edition, Johnstown Expels 2,000 Working Meg. The people of Johnstown answered this by defeating Mr. Cauffel at the next election. Cambria Steel Company lost many good workers and the attention of the nation focused on Cambria County when the N.A.A.C.P., Governor Pinchot and the Mexican Ambassador each demanded an investigation of the whole problem.lu According to the 1960 census, there were 2,655 Negroes living in Johnstown, which had a pOpulation of 53,949. Thus Negroes at present compose a little less than five per cent of the city's pcpulation. They reside mainly in the central l3Sherman, cpzciti, p. USA, 46“. 1“The Mexican Ambassador is involved in this investiga— tion as a representative for nationals from his country who were imported in small numbers by Cambria Steel. A genuine fear for the safety of the Mexicans resulted in their re- turning to their homeland after the investation. urban complex, around Dale , and alcn the southern edge of Middle Taylor Towrsnip *3 No active ncstllit” against them is apparent in the ccmmanity today, yet the posSibility of covert hostile feelings does eXist. Hois;ng is no longer as r—J- 1.. 09 :5‘ :“1 <4 09 :3‘ (D \‘I‘ ( f (D Q Q) (I) ’ I .5 :T (D l \O [\l C) U: OJ {.1 Q; l ( f L 09 D L7 (D 09 "S (D U) m "3 (I) not found in significant numbers in many areas, no single Specific area can be designated as the Negro area. When viewed on a county wi e oasis, however, ens finds 3,526 Negroes 3 distribution is mapped it is pLain to see that the Negro in Cambria County is strictly an urcan (creater Johnstowfin phenome “a Steel Indistry Trends The period being diseissed also opened with an attaCk on United States Steel by the various independents under the leadership of Char;es Schwab, then Freeident of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. 3; hwa b enVLsizned a unifi aticn of the independent steel companies to develop another giant compan" to better compete With United States Steel. He had the unique ability of merging small independent :cmpanies With Bethlehem Steel, but still preserving to them some semblance of indea pendence. In 1923, Cambria Steel Joined the Bethlehem Corpation. 5 , . United Sta t8- KfirlC‘JLQ f I”; 2%4’37- P 37d Hfi4::rg! {.360 .. . . - -, .. _‘“r-_-—-7M7TT”-. ‘T_ 77"— 77' F7 :1 Z7777. . Census Tracts, by the unit ed 0 ates or e: meat -ri' -ng oili-e. An important strategic move in S hwab fight wit (1'? r_l United States Steel was the establislment o: a wider, area + ‘ HQ 3.7 C U! W {I} ,1. C’) ff H? '7“ k“ Cf # (D (T) '_. :T' Q) L7 distribution of Opera :. Irv—\ysd't 7‘ 1*“Y‘__ .- :4 7771‘ » a .y- -. 1- :‘~~ hat; a-L’ macn-A‘r’J : ’1 LAD I. w: h, ’er: L“) -f—‘l L‘-’ L4.» .1— U) 0‘ C. *1 0‘? D" Q) :3 Q *1: (f U) ’D :s ,1. "< '\ U) +- :3 (7) DJ E (T 3 rt: 0; L) \ '"fi (‘0 U f (H '3 if, H ”S (1‘ r- L) r? O) b Bethlehem U) ("f‘ (D (D H n) :3 Q; Ht ('7‘ U) U) :7. 7 3 '0 (3 fl \ “f ’_ l :‘1 0’1 Q *U ("T a g) l 3 F4 7‘3 (h (I Steel Corporation, .f throughout :3. ’ ) L.’ L f l h *i v a?“ ‘3‘, D." I (1) 9‘: , (L r '\ OJ |,_J ‘ 0Q L (‘T g . l I) l { the country and ;::s'ohg yes: ‘2: marneic Cn' :ther Ia:t:r p) f (I which hampered United Sfa'ss Steel was that man; of the ;hde— I"! 7’:‘I‘ “"r‘r 7“!”' .v .5 H c: mologJ-w } (I t I) Q) T L pendents were more pr grossi alloys at Republi: Steel, for example, and contlnuous rolling at tie American Roliing Mill Coupanj. This left United States Steel using archaic methods tn::h resulted in less ef‘ioient Operation, The beginnings of the use of scrap steel also tended to - - x; , 'unm- " - -v M a s,- -, nullify Un-ted States o*:e, o _:tn are m m Lily o oils ed . .3 —- ‘ $ A —-‘ .. ‘‘‘‘‘ A t" _‘_1 some movement o: site- s_an's t, mdffl:o azeis r_- this meant that Johnstown steel n E}: 04 f? r) U (D f: K I) l 1 U. U F - B P‘( x f k, 0Q is) \3 (.L U) _, (T‘ (I I U D; (D ”U 0 (fl .4, d U1 2 Q.) U) {D If "3 {:3 H» 33 x ’S“, ( E 1 “f < :5 C x I (_ L. r ‘9 i L; ( i I ( \1 CT (T) K ) H1 :ered to “XpLElfi wra iron and a.) Four reasons may (I \‘T L D "i J [-0 F3 3 ’i Q I steel production rema;ned a:x ,. ‘~-< __ . d . a - L ‘ 3 L La available; 2. labor was experi;: ei <1 1~«pen=iwe; 3. The m (I) m P. C (1” ( l- (j (1/ \l $.15 "V CL 1 \ ( {D I, - C ) D) k _I Pittsburgh market w ‘\ C r» f 7‘ -_s - ,7; - r _ r ,n, f. .- « 7,» 1 ,g -. 51*. Afl'.x..£itl 1,7,“;rlLl-Z" 4.- c1.,-.. lei supply of good coking c \l‘ ' ° - v t, ..' . ,-.‘. '. . ,o ,. t , (Lo, t r, .A . , V. ~. _ keeping iron and steel {Fodm ti n t;:a a-o :a, Ugh, o1 .n» 103 controllers of the industry were of local origin and were proud of the regionenfiiits people.16 There was another factor of change at work from 1920 to the present which directly affected Camria County's steel industry and influenced its coal production as well. This was the transition from heavy industry products, such as rails, plate, structural steel members and industrial equipment, to supplying sheet and strip steel for consumer goods. EXpansion of automobile manufacturing was important because it resulted in that industry becoming the largest consumer of steel.17 This shift from heavy to light industry is well demonstrated by Appendix Table 4 which gives the 1959 breakdown of indus- tries in Cambria County. There were only three primary metal (heavy industry) companies in Cambria in 1959 and they em— ployed 14,365 workers. The secondary metal (light industry) companies were not as large in total employment, but they were extremely diverse in their production and promised to continue growth, eventually employing more workers than the heavy industries. The only interruptions to development of this trend were during the years l9UO-u6 and 1950—52, when national defense necessitated armanent production. 16Alfred J. Wright, United States and Canada (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.,‘l9h8) p. 102 17Fisher, 02. cit., p. 37 *1.- mm 104 Problems_of the Coal Industry Prices and Competition The coal industry entered this era with problems. The three most direct ones it faced were erratic prices, ruthless competition and labor disputes. The latter were caused when the Operators and managers, in an attempt to meet the first two problems, compounded their troubles by cutting wages.l8 A regular cycle appeared in the coal industry. When there was a demand for coal, high prices brought huge production by the operators in an attempt to cash in on the market. This would be followed by a sharp price drop. Production then had to be increased with the hope of breaking even. The cycle ended with‘ the mines shut down and waiting for higher prices. The situation of intensive price competition or "cut throat" marketing prevailed in the industry until 1937. Under it a mine Operator would agree to deliver coal at cost or even less than cost if he could obtain a new market by under« bidding the consumer's current supplier. The basic theory behind this was that once the mine began supplying a consumer, the operator could escalate his price and eventually recoup his deficit. Using this system, betweenJéfiM)and 1934, the owners suffered losses each year except in 1936. Consumers, q: 18Negro labor did not enter the mining picture, possi- bly because the southern Negro was fearful of mines and be“ cause the white miner refused to take the Negro down and teach him the necessary skills. 105 in their turn, were faced with periodic shortages and errat- ically fluctuating prices which were caused by the owner's efforts to escape their deficits.19 A coal strike in the United Kingdom in 1936 opened briefly an export market for United States' bituminous coal and siphoned Off the indus— try's excess production.20 This relief, however, was only temporary. Unions and Wages Workers were plagued with long seasonal layoffs, un- sanitary and unsafe working conditions, and a very low annual income. As early as 1898, the miners had formed unions as a means of improving their lot. Yet, even the minor improve- ments which the early unions were able to obtain through collective bargaining, were to be eroded. The impotency of the miners' union from the early 1920's to New Deal times can be best demonstrated by the fact that the operators as a means of making up their losses from under-bidding were able to cut the miner's wage each year without union action. The threat that cowed any rebellious group was a move on the part of the owners to another area. The miners feared a layoff, but were 19Norman H. Leonard, Jr., "The Bituminous Coal Industry," from the book by Walter Adams, The Structure of American In- dustry, Some Case Studies (New York: Macmillan, 19537, p. 29. 20Ibid., p. A0. Leonard categorizes the Operational costs of the coal industry in the following manner: 60--65% wages, l7--22% transportation costs, 8--10% controlled by federal and state laws, and 15-—3% cost structure available for change--this is where profit, if any, would show up. 106 terrified of permanent unemployment caused by mine abandonment. The miners were also carefully informed by management of the existence of many non-union replacement workers. In 1926, an average Cambrian miner was making $25.00 to $30.00 for a six-day week. It should be remembered that this was during one of the better periods of production and market. The next year when the export market vanished, the prosperity of Cambria's miners did too. In an attempt to stOp wage 21 the miners struck on April 1, 1927.22 Some of the cutting, mines, for example one in Portage Borough, which I have been able to document by interview, stayed closed for twelve months. Several mines Opened after three months Of striking, accept- ing the union scale, rather than continuing to lose business. Feelings became so bitter as the strike period extended, however, that miners lost sight of their objectives and re- fused to return to work even when the owner agreed to a new contract that would allow mine Operation under the union wage scale. The only major accomplishment of this strike was the destruction of the union. In 1928, when the miners finally went back, wages dropped to $2.00 per day, after deductions. This meant providing for a family on $12.00 per week if the mine had enough orders to work a six-day week. The reader 21The wage cut involved the elimination of a $5.00 per week bonus that hourly rated man had received under the pre- vious contract. 22April 1 is the first contract date for each new con- tract period between the U.M.W.A. and the mine Operators. This is a national holiday in coal mining areas and is called John Mitchell day, after the first president of U.M.W.A. 107 might remember that this was the period when Ford began to pay $5.00 a day as wages.23’ 2H Mining Conditions When a mine temporarily closed or a miner was "laid Off" or injured, he and his family continued to occupy a company house and to run up debt in the company store. These had to be repaid, in some cases with interest, by labor in the mine. The debts that a miner had because of the system served better than chains to hold him in servitude. It should be remembered that the mines and the miners were in remote or backward areas, where no other employment was available and that the men had no other skills for the general employment market. Escape meant leaving associates and friends, moving to a new area, establishing a new home and finding a new Job. Often a miner had begun to purchase the company house in which he lived; he could not get his money out and he did not want to lose his investment. TOO, he generally had insuffi— cient funds with which to leave the area. His only hOpe was to remain, subsist, and wait for the mine to reOpen. All this, 23Interviews with Mike Pirich, Jr., former bituminous mine worker and owner, Flint, Michigan, December 27, 1964 and March 30, 1965- 2“An excellent description of this whole labor problem can be found in a book entitled "I Went to Pit College" by Laurin Gilfillan, (New York: The Literary Guild, 193M). 108 coupled with the dangers of mining, probably explains why most miners were anxious that their sons escape the mines.25’ 26 A great increase in production tonnage occurred in 1929 when theoretically there should have been some decline (Table 10). During this period, the miners were being paid by tonnage with a "going rate" of 50¢ per ton. Manual loading and a ten hour shift would bring an income of about $2.00 a day before deductions for supplies. This extreme low wage scale then would explain how the owners could produce so much coal. The "Traumatic Impact of the Great Depression"27 is not as evident in the production statistics of Cambria County as it is in those for the United States as a whole, probably because Cambrian coal was more in demand than other coals and also because a good number Of the larger producers were captive mines (Table 10).28 In 1932, how— ever, when Cambria's coal production was at its lowest ebb in many years, miners were working three days out of a 25Leonard, Op. cit., p. 44. 26John D. Morgan, Jr. The Domestic Mining Industry of the United States in World War II (Washington, D. C. The National Security Resource Board, 1999), Doctor' 3 Thesis at the Pennsylvania State University, p. 211. 27Leonard, op. cit., p. 30. 28A captive mine is a mine owned and Operated by a company principally involved in the production of some other product, such as steel or chemicals. 109 TABLE 10.——Co3; production in Cambria County 1900—1960. Thstsard , Th usard Date Ixre Date I;rs 1900 8,190 1933 12,047 1901 9,045 1934 12,498 1902 10,562 1935 12,522 1903 10,942 1936 14,469 1904 10,846 1937 14,819 i 1905 12,601 1938 12.333 it 1906 12,439 1939 13,785 - 1907 16,362 1940 16.386 1908 14,138 1941 18,603 1909 15,545 1942 20,266 1910 16,629 1943 19,535 1911 16,929 1944 19,477 1912 17,585 1945 16.578 1913 19,621 1946 15.183 1914 18,034 1947 17,594 1915 18,716 1948 15,794 1916 19,588 1949 10,967 1917 19,731 1950 12,449 1918 20,569 1951 13,601 1919 16,900 1952 12,339 1920 18,968 1953 11,983 1921 16,339 1954 9,137 1922 12,957 1955 10,904 1923 19,751 1956 11,016 1924 16,640 1957 10,783 1925 17,327 1958 8,185 1926 18,861 1959 7.234 1927 14,562 1960 6,650 1928 15,013 1961 6,026 1929 17,515 1962 5,885 1930 15,865 1963 6,955 1931 13,236 1932 10,836 Source: . S. Bureau of Mines, Mineral Yearbook, various editors. llO two-week period. The author's father-in—law recalls a two—week pay check of $4.34 total pay after deductiOns for dynamite and caps, carbide, work clothes and other Operating necessities. During this period, a worker would be penalized by receiving a "day off" if his car returned to the surface with twentyvfive pounds or more rock and impurities per long ton (2240 pounds). The second Offense meant a two- day leave; the third, three days. Each month the slate was wiped clean and the system began again. The food problem was perhaps the greatest "thorn in the paw" of each miner. This was taken care of by garden patches, of the type still in evidence in small mining communities in Cambria today. The present patches belong to Older or retired miners‘ families who remember the "Old days" when Mama's canned goods carried the family through between pay checks.29 Federal Involvement in Cambria'County Advent of the "New Deal" The "New Deal" of Franklin D. Roosevelt brought the National Recovery Act on the scene in 1934. This raised wages and brought about better working conditions.30 It also meant the recognition and appreciation Of unions. 29Pirich, Op. cit., and author's observations. 3OLeonard, Op. cit., pp. 47—48. lll Yet, coal tonnage didn't increase as much as desirable during this period because the consuming industries were still not producing. Wages, however, were going up and more peOple were finding employment. A Second Johnstown Flood On March 17, 1934 a second Johnstown flood occurred costing fifty million dollars in property damage and twenty—five deaths, mostly from heart attacks. As before, the nation was sympathetic and in a month's time the city was functioning again. The bad publicity because of race riots was replaced by national concern. In an attempt to attract federal funds for flood control, the city mass- mailed 16,000 letters to Washington. The answer returned on August 13, 1936 in the presence of President Franklin Roosevelt. During his visit, he pledged a public works program which would leave Johnstown "flood free." The project, which began in 1938 and was finished in November, 1943, was accomplished under the supervision of the United 31 States Army Engineer Corps. Imposition of Government Controls In 1938, government controls of the coal industry reached the point ofprice fixing and the mines were v— 31George Gore, The Johnstown Flood Story (Photo- graphic Essay published locally), pp. 1-36. 112 required to use a uniform accounting procedure. Non co— Operators were subject to a tax Of up to 19.5 per cent of 32 the value of coal in the mine. Further government inter— vention occurred just before World War II when the combina— tion of strong and militant unions and more workers than the industries could employ, led President Roosevelt to 'suggest that the forty-hour week be made the law of the land.33’ 3” Coal During_World War II and After Wartime Production and Problems Coal production in Cambria County increased by 3,000,000 tons in 1940 and it hadalmost as large a rise in 1941. This pre—war upswing raises the question of why, since the United States didn't enter the war until after December 7, 1941. The answer lies in war orders from Allied governments. These boosted steel into full production and this was reflected in Cambria County by increased coal orders.35 From 1938 to 1945, the output per man—hour in coal mines increased by almost 30 per cent. This permitted a 32Morgan, op. cit., p. 180. 33Ibid. p. 207. 3“Leonard, op. cit., pp. 47-48. 35Morgan, Op. cit. 113 out in employment and the union policy was one of keeping an efficient industry which paid its workers well. With this as a union and management policy, a production record of over 20,000,000 tons was attained in 1942 with almost 2,000 less miners than the previous year (Table 10). The decrease in manpower was possible because of an expansion of mechanization. Most mines were cutting by machine and over half were machine—loading at the time. The obvious question is, where did those 2,000 men go? Most went to the armed services, while some went into the steel industry or to the construction industry where workers were needed.36 High production levels throughout the war years did not mean the lack of labor problems. A short coal dispute flared in 1941, but was settled in January 1942. Two government seizures of the mines occurred in 1943 because of labor trouble. In 1945 there was another seizure on April 3 and a strike which extended from September to mid- October}.Z During this period, while tons of coal pro— duction were being lost because of the conflict, the steel industry was Operating at 98.1 per cent of capacity.38 361bid., pp. 211, 249. 37Ibid., pp. 258—261. 38Walter Adams, The Structure Of American Industry, §gme Case Studies (New York: Macmillan, 1953), p. 153. 114 In 1942, Cambria was the fourth largest county in Pennsylvania in the production of bituminous coal. As a shipper of coal to the United States market, she ranked among the first counties in the nation. A portrait of coal in Cambria County in 1942 would picture the industry at one of its more peacefulEHKiproductive periods. That year Cambria's coal industry reached its second highest pro- duction level on record with the delivery of 20,266,000 tons. Only in 1918, another war year in another war, was the output greater (Table 10). The next two years should have been even better than 1942 but labor troubles and mine "seizures by the government prevented this. The county coal production peaked in the years 1942—1944 and began a down— ward trend which continued until 1954, when only 9,137,000 tons were mined. The greatest Obstacles faced by the coal industry in Cambria County and the nation during World War II are listed below. Despite these problems the industry in Cambria produced at near record levels during the war years. 1. A severe labor shortage--most men not "frozen" in position by law were away in uniform, or were needed in other industry such as construction. This shortage was solved in the Cambrian mines by mechanization. 2. A lack of transportation equipment and lack of up-to—date loading facilities-—most mines loaded 115 their coal directly into rail cars since they had no storage room. Morgan reports "several days of idleness each month" caused by lack Of railcars. 3. A lack of definite policy under which to Operate——Morgan lists 31 pages of agencies and organizations active and in authority in Washington, D. C. who were involved with mineral production.39 Increased complexity of mining because of mechaniza- tion brought higher wages to the miners since now they were becoming specialists. But it also meant the fellows who left the "pick and shovel" mines during the depression or during the early war years were members of a new group—- the technologically unemployed. The shortage Of coal throughout the war, labor dis— putes, priority use in industries, and unstable prices and supply, led the consuming market to look for a new fuel source. This loss of customers can probably best be deomonstrated by reviewing the changing importance Of coal as an energy source. Coal Once reigned supreme in the energy market, its only competitors being localized water power and wood. In 1900 coal supplied 90 per cent of the total energy demand in the.United States in contrast to the 46 per cent it supplied in 1945. By 1945, 39Morgan, op. cit., pp. 134—166. 116 coal had lost 51 per cent of its public utility demand, 20 per cent of its railroad demand, and 15 per cent of its industrial demand. . . . The petroleum industry, which in 1918 supplied only 9.8 per cent of the energy market, raised that percentage 28.1 per cent by 1933. Expansion fog water power and natural gas was also significant. 0 Two factors kept coal in the running. The first was that the other fuels could not supply the total market needs if coal was removed. The second is apparent from the quotation, "The declining relative position of coal has been cushioned by large increases in the size of the energy market as a whole; the demise Of the coal industry has occurred without any decrease in the absolute tonnage produced and sold.“1 Post War Changes and the Present Cambria County, at the present time, can still be considered to be an important coal production area because of its high-grade and special coals. In 1963, the latest year for which county totals are available, its production tonnage was surpassed by only three other Pennsylvanian counties, namely Washington, Greene and Clearfield. In 1962, however, Cambria's coal output reached a record low of 5,885,000 tons. This was the lowest production in more than 62 years. The start of the long trend decline, which resulted in a loss Of about 70 per cent of production, uoLeonard, op. cit., p. 32. ullbid. 117 r can be traced back to 1944 (Table 10). Annual production, for the present at least, seems to have stabilized around six million tons as demonstrated by the average for the years 1960 to 1963, 6,379,000 tons to be exact. The recent period, then, has been one of decline in production and the picture Of coal in Cambria County is that of a seriously ill industry. An important fact that should be stressed before mention of other facits Of coal mining in Cambria County today, is that the mines in Operation are divided into two groups: ”captive” mines which are the larger, high production mines, and ”house coal,” which mines are operated by a father and sons or by a group of close relatives, in some cases as a weekend or "moonlight” operation. Using a rough rule Of thumb, I was able to count 104 "house coal" mines among the 121 mines that are presently producing in Cambria County}l2 This means there are only sixteen large mines operating. Classifying the mines of Cambria County another way shows 101 underground mines, two augur mines and 18 strip mines. 0f the 6,955,000 tons of coal mined in 1963, 88 per cent was produced by the underground mines. In the United States in general, strip and augur mining, which are the two newest methods, are expanding 421 classified the mines as a ”house coal” mine by the use Of three indicators: (1) low total production (under 1000 tons annually); (2) small work period (under 80 days operation per year); and (3) few workers (ten or less men involved in the operation). Case in point is the Heseltine Coal CO. which had one operator who worked the mine ten days during the year. 118 because of the low initial capital needed to begin production and the relative low Operating overhead. They are able to produce coal at low costs, averaging between $3.26 — $4.50 per ton F.0.B. the mine. In Cambria County, however, strip mining accounts for about 10 per cent of the total coal production and is not expanding since most of the area's coal is under too much overburden to the economically mined by this method. In two instances, augur mines are attempting to continue Operations where overburden has become too thick, but the results have been less than satisfactory.“3 The strip mines are located in the north— west corner Of the county. The largest Operation is that of the C. E. Powell Coal Co. and employes 110 men; 16 other strip mines have less than ten employees each, and one has only two workers. The situation in Cambria County for 1963, the latest date for which statistics were available, was an average of u3George F. Deasy and Phyllis R. Griess, "Geographical Significance Of.Becent Changes in Mining in the Bituminous Coal Fields of Pennsylvania," Economic Geography, Vol. 33 (October, 1957), pp. 283—298. Deasy explains it thus: ”As strip mines in the rugged terrain of western Pennsylvania are pushed farther and farther into the sides of mountains, they gradually encounter overburden so deep that normal stripping Operations no longer are practicable. In order to continue Operations, huge augurs, measuring up to 280 ft. long and more than 4 ft. in diameter, now are used at a number Of mines to bore horizontally into the exposed seams of coal along the 'high wall.‘ The coal from the augur falls into a conveyor which elevates it onto trucks. The number of tons of coal produced per man-day with augur mining exceeds that Obtained with conventional stripping equipment." 119 3,646 men employed per working day in bituminous coal mines. Over 96 per cent were members of the U.M.W.A. (union). The mines worked an average 184 days and produced 6,954,484 tons of coal, or a daily production per man of 10.36 tons. Cambria coal retailed for $5.82 a ton F.0.B. the mine head, as compared with $5.08 the average price of coal in the state. At present, the normal work period is an eight hour portal hmhuaopening) to portal day, five days per week. Statistics on wages are somewhat difficult to obtain, but union wages average twenty—six dollars per working day. Using the present scale times 184 days, an accurate estimate of the average annual wage for a Cambria County miner in 1965 would be $4,784. It must be remembered that "house coal" or part time miners make much less than "captive" miners thus reducing theinnuapicture. It should also be noted that Cambrian wages are generally above average for the state. Present daily output per man averages about 10.4 tons, which is quite high when compared to the 1956 figure of 4.9 tons, yet it is somewhat low when compared to that possible using the newer production methods. The most significant reason for this rise in production rate is that now 97 per cent of underground coal loading is done mechanically. The low daily output per man relatively, can be partly explained by the time lost due to travel from the mine opening to the coal face and while waiting for empty cars at the coal face. Time loss also occurs because 120 of accidents which are fairly common in underground mining. Cambria's safety rate can be demonstrated numerically in terms of coal mined per non—fatal accident. This is about 94,000 tons per non-fatal accident, which is about average for underground mines throughout Pennsylvania.45 About 9 per cent of the coal produced moves by truck and the rest is transported by rail. This means the railroad and its problems are closely interrelated with the coal industry. This is not really adverse. Most sources point out that the development of Cambrian coal has been because of the excellent rail network that facilitated movement of the product to makret. 'The only difficulty in this transportation situation is that since coal mines have no storage facilities, coal must be loaded directly into railroad cars. The lack Of cars available at the mine headingluksoften led to a stOppage of work in the mine. Deasy, in describing coal mining in southern Pennsylvania at an earlier period said "The south, (of which Cambria County is part) retains much of the flavor of the classical coal mining industry Of pre-World War II." In fact, Cambria County can serve as an excellent example Of the rise, decline, and present state of the older coal industry areas of 46 Pennsylvania. uSThese statistics were obtained from the various Mineral Yearbooks, prepared by the Bureau of Mines for the years 1962 and 1963, especially Vol. 2, "Fuels," and Vol 3, Area Reports. 46Deasy and Griess, Op. cit., p. 297. 121 The last three developments during this period which should be noted are: (1) a great increase of women in the labor force, (2) the enlargement of most of the service industries in the municipal and county areas, and (3) the changes in agriculture since 1920. These factors are as important as coal and probably with the exception of the latter, owe their development as much to the mining of coal as does the steel or coke industry. Relation of Coal Industry to Employment of Women The traditional role of women at the beginning Of this period was in the home. Usually, only because of the death of her husband would a woman seek outside work. Wright points out, however, that various side industries were able to begin production in steel and coal areas using female workers.l47 Their gainful employment was Often a necessity for the family owing to the seasonal nature of the husband'sehmloyment or some otherdisability a husband might suffer. The wage scale was very low and if the women objected they were "let go." Unions were, and in many cases still are, not part of the scene in female employment in Cambria County. The first industry in which females were employed was clothing manufacture. u7Wright, Op. cit., p. 226. 122 Sewing shops were able to use the skillful women who had learned tailoring by practicing on their families.“8 The number of women employed increased when World War II siphoned Off many men. Industry kept production up by replacing the men with women. During the war, working women were a common fact in industry, Often performing better than the men they had replaced. After the war, female employment was freer because of greater mechanization of industry, various labor-saving home appliances, and the destruction of prejudice against working women. The women were also accustomed to working by then and were quite reluctant to give up their greater freedom and money income. The extent of female involvement in productive industry in Johnstown can demonstrate this new role of women. In 1939, there were 897 females employed in pro— ductive industry; ten years later the number was 1,841. The overall total of women employed in Johnstown in 1949, however, was 2,268 or about ten per cent of the city's labor force. In 1960, the census of the county listed 17,595 employed females in a labor force of 61,703. Thus, “8This industry is still evident in several boroughs, with each borough having its own specialty product. Barnes— boro-Patton-men's shirts; Gallitzin——men's shirts; Hastings——dresses; Ebensburg—-dresses; Lilly—-pajamas; Portage--women's foundations (Bali); Johnstown——men's and boy's clothing, corsets and allied garments, dresses, apparel belts. 123 women who composed about 8.7 per cent Of the county's population accounted for slightly more than 28.5 per cent of thelabor force. Clearly then, the women were propor- tionately more significant in the employment picture than among the general population. This seems a far cry from the days when a "woman's place was in the home." The Service Occppations Service industry increases have occurred in two main areas; education and consumption. In most cases, the information available on these is poorly organized and irregularly codified, so I have used illustrative informa— tion from the city of Johnstown when county information was weak. In Cambria County, the city of Johnstown is the leader in educational facilities and is served by thirty— One public schools and fourteen parochial schools. The Johnstown College Of the University of Pittsburgh now has a four-year program in the Liberal Arts operating in the city and the enrollment is constantly expanding. A recent gift means that soon the college will be operating on its own 137 acre campus. Other higher education in the city is provided by the Johnstown College Of Music and 49 the Cambria—Rowe Business College. ugSaylor and Warne, Op. cit., p. 2. 124 All areas of the county outside Johnstown are similarly equipped with first through twelfth grade school systems.50 Higher education is also well represented by St. Francis College in Loretto which was founded in 1847; it too has a challenge of keeping up with its enrollment. This is a small Catholic Liberal Arts College which is well attended even by students of a non-Catholic background. Nearby is the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Seminary. Students leaving the county often go either to Indiana State College in Indiana County, The Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania or the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. The total number of persons employed as professional educators in Cambria County for the year 1960 was 3,095. This statistic does not represent super- visory personnel or other people necessary for Operation of schools. Cambria County clearly then is an area committed to furnishing education for its young people. Probably the greatest push for accounting for this commit- ment is the belief by the immigrant miners and steel workers that education is the only way to ”keep the kids out of the mines or mills" and give them a chance for a better life than that had by their parents. 50Many of the public school systems in the smaller towns do not have kindergarten, thus this reads first through twelfth grades instead of the more usual kinder— garten through twelfth. 125 If we examine the employment statistics for 1960, it is found that a total of 61,703 persons were employed. Of those 30,516 were involved in mining, agriculture, forestry, construction and manufacturing. The remainder, 31,186, or slightly more than one out of every two workers, were involved in some type of service industry (Appendix Table 4). A complete breakdown and discussion of each of these employ— ment areas is not necessary for this paper. The one impor— tant fact that needs to be pointed out here is that employment in basic industries such as coal and steel is declining, yet employment in service industries is on the increase. One probable explanation for this is the Madison Avenue emphasis on consumption which has not bypassed Cambria County, but rather has inundated the area. In times past, much of the present service industries were not Operative or were decidedly smaller. Now many of the products, such as bread, that were formerly made at home are being purchased outside it. This calls for an expansion“ of the baking industry and thus expansion of a service industry. Agriculture Since 1920 The prevailing type of farming in Cambria now con— sists of a general mixed farm operationixiconjunction with dairying, poultrying or meat raising. The agricultural statistics for this period indicate that a reduction of land in farms has continued from the previous period. 126 Between 1920 and 1960 there was a decrease of 78,082 acres in farms. Coupling this with the 42,805 acres lost between 1880 and 1920 gives a total loss for the 80 year period of 120,887 acres. The number of farms has also diminished quite drastically, drOpping from 2,398 in 1920 to 1,139 in 1960 (Table 6). This decrease of 1,259 farms can be attributed both to the change in definition of "farm" by the census and to an increase in the number of part—time or "suburban farmers" who no longer list their land as a farm. Marginal farms have also been removed from the scene. Mechanization of farms has increased the need for capital, thus forcing many small operators "out of the market." With the elimination of many Of these small farms, the average farm size has increased by ten acres. Coupled with this should be the realization that increased yield per acre and other agricultural improvements have lessened the land necessary to produce adequate returns. A major decrease in numbers of sheep is probably the most evident change in livestock for this period. In fact, they are nearly eliminated from the table of statistics, there being only about 500 sheep in Cambria County today (Table 7). In other livestock, the largest change of this period can be noted in the number of milk cows. A decrease of 7,287 head occurred, from 12,168 in 1920, to 4,881 in 1960. The statistics headed "tota1 cattle” indicate that beef cattle are taking up the slack caused by the decrease 127 in dairying (Table 7). This might be explained in terms of the farmer desiring to raise pasture—using animals, but wishing to avoid the constant attention needed by a dairy cow. The answer is to raise beef cattle. Poultry farming continues to be on the upswing, especially near the city of Johnstown which provides an excellent market for chickens and eggs. With the exception of 1920, a prolific year, and 1940, a slack period, hog production seems to have been on a relatively stable basis for the entire period. The crop statistics that are the most significant of this period is the decrease in acreage, yet the main— tenance of quantity of production. This can be credited to improvements in plants, fertilizing techniques and use of machinery. The greatest production increases were in oats and potatoes, both accomplished despite a reduction of acreage planted. There was a loss of 4,714 acres and 1,658 acres respectively (Table 8). Corn, a somewhat marginal item anyway, was down in bushels in 1960, when compared to 1920, althoughthe acreage remained about the same. This no doubt reflects variations of growing conditions. Hay showed some slippage also, dropping 16,945 acres in the period, probably because of the decrease in the number of milk cows. Wheat displays a fluctuating pro— duction throughout the entire forty years and very few generalizations can be drawn except to say that average yield per acre remained essentially the same thrOtghout the entire period. 128 Orchardsalsc>continue to be important in the county, although nut production has slipped because of west coast and foreign competition. Whither the Future Where is the county to go from here? Obviously more coal production is not the answer or else mines would be in peak Operation now. This may someday be a solution, however, for if we as a nation exhaust our other fossil fuels, we may one day return to coal. Agriculture and forestry, as we have seen, are not industries that have a particularly hOpeful outlook. If they should rebound, they will not be Of much use as absorbers of the unemployed .since few men would be required and, as has been demon- strated lately, few Americans desire this type of employ— ment. An increase of manufacturing also at present appears to be only a limited answer since most raw materials, except coal, must be shipped in and most finished products must be shipped out to markets. The town Of Portage, however, used some careful thinking to bring in manufacturing. Its location on the main rail—line meant easecfi‘access to Pittsburgh and the major eastern markets. The only thing lacking was a product and a manufacturing plant. The town met this problem by making voluntary contributions to raise the capital with which a plant was built and equipped. An eastern shoe 129 manufacturer was invited in and now the town has a small shoe—making plant in operation. It seems that other areas of the county, with a little imagination or initiative could do the same. One new employment possibility that could bring a good monetary return with very little depletion of resources is tourism. Cambria has the inherent ability to attract tourists through five different areas: history, geology, sports (hunting and fishing), cultural backgrounds, and simply as a restful vacation spot. Accommodations are available in Johnstown and Ebens— burg that are approved by AAA and suitable facilities exist in most of the other communities. Twenty—eight hotels with a total of 994 rooms are presently operating in the county. Interestingly enough, the AAA Tour Book indicates ”One of Pennsylvania's best restaurants is to be found in the town of Gallitzin." Historical attractions of Cambria County include the first railroad tunnel in the United States and many other items of history discussed in the first four chapters. Geologically, there is the Horseshoe Curve just to the east of the county and from there a one per cent grade to Summit and down to Johnstown which is perfect in terms of viewing exposures of geological strata. At St. Boniface, there is the "Seldom Seen Mine” which has an electric 130 51 train trip for tourists through a real coal mine. Hunting and fishing is good because of the woodland cover and many streams. The area is culturally polyglot because of the diverse origins of the people. If each group or subgroup staged a gathering or folk celebration similar to the "Indian Roundup" at Gallup, New Mexico, or to Cleveland's "All-Nation Exhibition and Food Fair," most of the summer could be financially rewarding to the county. Another example, is Fiddler's Green. It was formerly the site of fiddle contests and exhibitions on Saturday nights. Most of the county is quite scenic and there is an excellent guide book to the various routes and sights of the county.52 Thus it would seem that, barring a resurgence of underground mining Of coal, the most significant resource available in Cambria county is the people. Economic pro— gress will depend to an increasing extent upon their arriving at imaginative answers to the question, ”Whither the Future?" 51American Automobile Association, Mid—Eastern Tour Book (Spring, 1964—65 Edition), p. 191. 52See Writers' Program of the Work Projects Adminis— tration in the State of Pennsylvania for tours across the county. APPENDICES 131 APPENDIX TABLE ;-—Geolog1c survey of fennsylvania and 1st 2nd 3rd 4th There have been four geological surveys of Pennsylvania four resulting series of publications. Survey 1836-1854 Publications--Six annual reports, four two quarto volumes, and a state geologic map. Survey 1874-1887 Publications--8l volumes, 35 atlases, and a grand atlas. or CommisSion Survey 1899-1919 Publications-—Six biennial reports and 12 economic reports survey 1919 -? Publications--numerous, consisting of the following classes Atlas Reports County Reports General Geologic Reports Mineral Resource Reports Special Bulletin— Oil and gas atlas reports Ground Water Reports Progress Reports Information Circulars m (3312 UJZCDC>> HT) 132 APPENDIX'TABLE 2——Chrcnological incorporation dates for Boroughs 1n Cambria County Penns' vania. 1825 Ebensburg 1845 Loretto 1858 Carrolltown (April) 1873 1876 1883 1887 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 Chest Springs (May) Franklin (March) East Conemaugh (Sept.) Gallitzin Tunnelhill Lilly Ashville (June) South Fork (August) Johnstown (A.F.) Portage Dale. Westmont (June) Summerhill (Sept.) Daisytown (June) Patton (Sept.) Spangler (Dec.) 133 1896 1898 1906 1908 Barnesboro (March) Hastings (December) Ferndale Scalp Level Cresson (June 7th) Sankertown (June 11th) Brownstown (June) Vintondale (Sept. 4) Cassandra (Sept. 23) Lorain Nanty—Glo Southmont Geistown Ehrenfield Lines indicate time breaks between chapters. APPENDIX TABLE 3—-Coal beds in Cambria County The coal-bearing formations in Cambria County contain some twenty-four coal beds. Four are of great importance in large areas. Lower Kittanning ("B_," Miller, White Ash) Coal. This coal is the lowest mined and most persistent bed in the county. It has great importance in the southern part of the county where it is highly prized as a steam coal. In the northern half of the county also it is a persistent bed with good thickness and quality; its development has been slow because it is below drainage under most of the county, and other good coals are more easily accessible. Upper Kittanning ("CL” Cement) Coall This bed lies about 125 feet above the Lower Kittanning. It is mined ex— tensively for steam coal in the southern part Of the county where it reaches its greatest thickness and importance. Deve1Opment Of this coal began in the northern part of the county at Hastings and later spread to Patton, where it is thinner and of poorer grade than in the Johnstown region. Lower Freeport ("C," MoshonnonA Limeston) Coal, In the northern part of the county the Lower”Freeport is an excellent coking coal with low sulphur content and is therefore more widely prospected and developed than the other beds. In the southern half of the county it is mined at many places, especially in the Johnstown region, but it is poorer than the other coals and has been tested in only a few places by drill. This bed is 120 to 190 feet above the Lower Kittanning coal. Upper Freeport ("E," Lemon) Coal. Thirty to forty feet higher in the geologic column is the Upper Freeport bed. The coal is used in railroad locomotives and with varying results in making coke. It has been mined principally in the Barnes- boro county on account of higher percentage of ash and sulphur than in the other beds. The Upper Freeport is thicker and better in the southern part of the county and is mined in many places. Five other beds are mined for custom coal. These are listed below. 134 :35 E:;;:;_ngg. lhls is geoicgically the lowest coal in Cambria County. It is thin and mixed with many partings of bone and shale. At South Fork its horizon is of commercial importance because it is associated with a valuable bed of flint clay. Middle Kittanning Coal. The Middle Kittanning coal is found at many places from 25 to 25 feet above the Lower Kittanning bed. In this county it is unimportant and of poor quality. The Mahoning Coal lies about 45 feet above the Upper Freeport coal and between the lower and upper parts of the Mahoning sandstone. The coal itself is not valuable but the iron ore and clays associated with it are sometimes worth eXploitation. The Harlem Coal lies from 300 to 400 feet above the Upper Freeport coal. It has been mined as custom coal in one locality. The bed is very thin, but it is reported to be a good smithing coal. Pittsburgh Coal. An impure coal lying about 775 feet above the Upper Freeport and having an average thickness of less than two feet in a very small acreage on a knob two miles south of Wilmore, has been correlated as the eastern remnant of the Pittsburgh coal in Cambria County, The coal has been mined but is of little value Six other beds are notewcrthy. These are listed below. Brockville (”A") Coal. The Brockville bed lies from 40 to 100 feet below the Lower Kittanning coal. This bed is four feet thick at Dysart and on Stony Creek. Large numbers of "knife blads" and nodules of iron pyrite, and partings of shale and bony coal make it so high in ash and sulphur that it cannot be profitably mined, although the fixed carbon and ‘ the volatile matter compared well With the Lower Kittanning. iii; Creek (Lower Kittanning rider) Coal. A local coal fourteen feet above the Lower Kittanning has been mined on Bens Creek. Drill hole records in this region indicate that it is a persistent bed, having an average thickness of 2% feet. It has more ash than other coals of the same region; other« wise its quality is the same. Conemaugh Coals. Numerous small beds of unmineable coal in the Conemaugh formation are scattered through 700 to 900 feet of strata above the Upper Freeport bed. 136 ... | The Brush Creek or Gallitzin Coal, lying 70 to 110 feet above the Upper Freeport coal, never exceeds one foot in thickness and is unmineable. The Bakerstown oal is an unmineable bed lying some 225 feet above the Upper Freeport coal. Clarion ("A") Coal. This bed, lying the Brookville coal, is seldom over one f: and is never mined. to 40 feet above thick in the county The remaining nine are so thin that they will probably never be mined, so they are not listed here. 137 APPENDIX TABLE 4-—Industrial Directory Of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, 1959 Industry and name of firm BITUMINOUS COAL Adams I-‘uel Corp. Balzano Coal Co. Barnes I: Tucker Co. Barnes 1. Tucker Cu. (Spring- field Coal Corp.) BIOIIC Coal Mine Bastln, Lester Becker Fuel C0. Berwxnd-thte Coal Mining Co. Bethlehem MU‘ICS Corp. Bird Coal Co. Black Coal C0. Blacklu '74 Mining Co. Brookdale Coal Cu. (William Si‘efic‘) BLITIthnI Coal CO. Burke-It, A. R. Byrnes Bros. Coal C0. Cambria Mills Coal Co. C l: C Coal Co. Chest Creek CnaJ C0. Chukaree H111 Coal CO. Citizens Coal Co. Collins Fuel Co. Commercial Coal C0. of Twin Rox‘xs Deal & Lantz Coal Cu. Dear. Coal C0. Delozxer, T. N. Laslern Gas In Fuel Automates (Coal DIV.) F k K Coal Co. Hastings Fuel CO. Hollz Coal Co. . A. 13.. Estate Huber Street Coal Mining CU. Hughes 8: Co. , C. A. Irv-penal Coal Corp. Jalkson Hill Coal CO. Johnstown Coal & Coke Co. Kenner Coal CO. Lantzy Bros. Coal Cu. , In. . Laurel Ridge Coal Cu. Lick Run Coal Ma rpnrt Coal Co. Martznllalt- Coal Co. McCornil k Coal Cu. Lillie-r Coal CU. , H. W. Miller Shall (.wal CO. North Canbria Fuel Cu. Orr Coal Co., Inc. P P In K Coa; Cu. Patton Clay Mfg. Co. Pennsylvania Coal & Coke DIV. (Penne'lexas Corp.) Piper 8.- Co., Inc., W. H. Powell Coal Co. , C. E. Press Coal CO. Prln(1: Coal Lt Supply Co. Prospect Coal Co. Red Ridge Coal Co. Red Top Coal Co. Reghett: Coal Co. Reynolds Coal Co. Rich HI“ Coal Mining Corp. Richland Coal Co. Ruulabueh. C. L. Scanlan I: Son, Walter J. Scott Bros. Coal Co. CAM BRIA COUNTY Loc anon of plant BITUMINOUS COAL NflNING Adams Twp. Reade Twp. Barr Twp.; W. Carroll Twp. Spangler Susquehanna Twp. Adams Twp. Chest Twp. Adams Twp., Richland Twp. Cambria Twp.; Cone- nuaugh Twp.. .Mldrllc Taylor Twp. I-‘erndale Reade Twp. Blacklick Twp. E. Taylor TWP. Adams Twp. Summerhxll Twp. Susquehanna Twp. Reade Twp. White Twp. Saint Bomface Jatkson Twp. Stonycreek Twp. Vintondale Blacklick TWp. Slonycrvek Twp. White Twp. Gallitzxn Twp. Colver. Portage Reade Twp. Elder Twp. Elder Twp. Conen'iaugh TWP. Washington Twp. Blacklick Twp. Jac kson Twp. Beavcrdale Gallxtzxn TWp. W. Carroll Twp. Dean Twp. Sunnnierhlll TWP. I‘nrlage Twp. Portage Twp. Susquehanna Twp. Reade Twp. l-‘urlage Twp. Susquehanna Twp. Beaverdale Susquehanna Twp. Chest Twp. Barr Twp.; Croyle Twp. Washington Twp. Fallentlnber Susquehanna Twp. Gallitzin Twp. R. D. d. Portage Dean TWP. Elder Twp. Dean TWP. White Twp. Elder Twp. Ru‘hland Twp. Conemaugh Twp. Dean Twp. Reade Twp. Office address No. em- ployes South Pork 45 Dysart 4 357 W. Lancaster Ave., Haverford 456 357 W. Lancaster Ax e. , Haverford 217 810 Maple Ave. , Barnesboro Z Sxdman - Hasungs 4 1500 Pennsylvania Bldg. , l,223 Phila. Z 800 E. 3rd St. , Bethlehem 2, 531 7 Bala Ave. . Bala Cynwyd 107 Fallentimber 4 P. 0. Box 417, Ebensburg 3 P. O. Box 46, Mineral Paint 6 Dunlo - P. O. Box 146, Summer Hill 65 200 Chestnut Ave. , Barnesboro - Fallenumber 22 Ulahlel» 3 Osceola Mills 18 P. O. Box 34, Hexlwood I3 74 Colgate Ave. , Johnstown - Vintondale 338 1898 Davis St. . Nanty Glo 16 .204 Poplar St. , Johnstown 2.2 Raxney ll P. O. Box 8, Coupon - Koppers Bldg. , Pittsburgh 19 900 Blandburg 7 l2 5. lfith St.. Phila. 7 Spangler St. . Hastings 7 17.: Chandler Ave. , Johnstown 4 P. O. Box 207, Cresson 62. 703 Johnstown Bank In Trust Bldg. , Johnstown 69 P. O. Box .101, Vintondale 7 1006 United States Bank Bldg. , Johnstown 221 Coupon 15 P. 0. Box 719, Spanglcr 4 713 Fifty-eighth St. , Altoona. Z P. O. Box 45, Lloydell 8 R. D. 2. Box 87, Portage 14 P. O. Box 365, POrtage 3 Barnesboro 16 Glasgow 10 1016 Johnson Ave. , Portage 35 P. O. Box 4.27, Patton 19 P. O. Box 35 2 P. O. Box 485, Barnesboro 2 P. 0. Drawer M, Patton 2.3 115-19 Ashcroft Ave. , Cresson 467 Liam SL, Lilly 18 Blandburg I42 P. O. Box 245, Barnesboro 3 Hillsdale 33 R. D. 2. Box 102, Portage 30 P. O. Box 186, Altoona 4 Spangler 13 P. 0. 50174, Dean 2 Glasgow 4 P. O. Box 2.46, Cresson 215 400 Maple Dr. . Wmdber 20 2.2.0 Bedford St. . Johnstown ’ - 319 Spruce St. , Cresson l Blandburg 34 Industry and name of firm BITUMINOUS COAL (Ci-mm.) Shaffer & Sons Coal Co. , I. Shank Mine Co. , Albon C. Sherbine, Lawrence Sterling Coal Co. Stinerran Coal & Coke Co. Stoker Coal Co. , Irvan Swank's Sons, Hiram Tocarchik, Joe Toti'; 8: Knecht Coal Co. Velest Coal Co. , Inc. W Gr H Coal Co. Nantiez Coal Co. , Forrest Wertz Bros. Coal Co. Windber High Grade Coal Co. Witherow Coal Co. Wood Coal Mining Co. , F. B. Yobbugy Co. , Joseph E. Zernlock Coal Co. Zimmerman, D. P. 138 CAM BRIA COUNTY Location of plant Richland Twp. Richland Twp. Wilmore w. Carroll Twp. Croyle Twp.; Richland Twp.'. Stonyc reek Twp. Portage Twp. Dean Twp. Susquehanna Twp. Conemaugh Twp. Dean Twp. Dean Twp. Adamo Twp. Dean Twp. Richland Twp. Dean Twp. W. Carroll TWp. Nanty 010 W. Carroll Twp. Dean Twp. Oftic e add re" 3204 Graham: Ave. , Windlier 456 Cooper Ave. , Jazznstovtn P. 0. Box 60 1089 Suburban Station Bldg. , Phila. 3 1145 Suburban Station Bulg. , Phila. 3 P. O. Box 116, Llovdell P. O. Box D30, Johnstown Spangler R. D. 3. HooversVille 1115 PhllideIphia Axe. , Barneaborn R. D.. AshVille £8 Huff St. , Diinlo R. D. 4, Box £38, Altoona I309 Midway, Windber Fallenhnber 300 Chestnut St. . Ba rnesboro Route 4&2 W. , Ebensburg Spangler 8.1.! Fourth Avr. . Juniata, Altoona MINING AND QUARRYING OF NONMETALLIC MINERALS SAND AND GRAVEL, EXCEPT GLASS SAND Nicosia Stone Qua rry FIRE CLAY Swank's Sons, Hiram MEAT PACKING PLANTS Froelich Packing Co. , Alex Hahn Packing Co., Edward Johnstown Packing Co. W. Taylor Tw p. E. Taylor Twp. Johnstown Johnstown w. Taylor Twp. SAUSAGES AND OTHER PRAPARED MEAT PRODUCTS Armour 8.: Co. Weiss Bros. ProviSions Johnstown Lower Yoder Twp. CONDENSED AND EVAPORAT ED MILK Weller's. Inc . ICE CREAM AND FROZEN DESSERTS Penn Crews lrr- (Irean. Cu, Von Lunens Dairy Stun» FLUID MILK Gallikcr Dairy Co. Griffith Farm Dairy Johnstown Sanitary Dairy Cu. Keystone Farms Dairy Vale Wood Dairy Johnstown C res son Geistown Johnstown R. D. Z, Ebensburg Johnstown Munster Twp. Munster Twp. PREPARED FEEDS FOR ANlhtALS AND FOWLS Lantzy Milling Co. Garnian .li-lii.htn\\ ;‘ 300 Cooper 1\\¢‘. , P. 0. Box 030, Johnston“ FOOD AND KINDRED PRODUCTS P. O. Box 485 Hitkory St. L B G: U R. R. P. 0. BOX 188, Johnstown No. en.- plot e!- O.— elf. f- l’. Union Stoi 11 Yards, Chicago ‘I, [11. P. O. Box 328, Johnstown 11‘) Luther Rd. Park A\e. 8: Front St. .1450 Bedford St. , Johnstown 447 Franklin St. R. I). .1, Ebensburg 408-111 Franklin St. R. D. 1, Ebensburg P. O. Box 13, Cresson R. D. I, Barneaboro BREAD AND OTHER BAKERY PRODUCTS, EXCEPT BISCUITS, CRACKERS, AND PRETZELS American Stores Co. Barnesboro Bakery, Int. Cambria Home Bakery, Inc. Cookie Jar, Inc. Elite Bakery, Inc. Harris-Boyer Co. Home Baking Co. Livxngston Baking Co. Merteria Bakery Minniea Pie Shop Patty Cake Bakery Penn Traffic Co. Russo's Bakery, L. Johnstown Ba rnesbo ro Ferndal e Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown Ebensburg Johnatown- Two Plants Patton Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown 1.14 N. 15th St.. Phila. 1 1.5.10 Philadelphia Avr. 55‘) Feriidale Axe. , Frrndale, Mail Johnstown 53b Mam St. 310 Bedford St. 147 Fairlzeld Ave. 11}. E. Sample St. 54‘) Coleman Ave. 303 McIntyre Avt'. 350 Oakland Ave. 060 Bedford St. 31‘4—47 Wabhingtun St. 301 Strayer St. It: 17 :0? "r5 139 CAMBRIA COUNTY Indultry and name of firm Location of plant Office address No. cm- ploycs BREAD AND OTHER BAKERY PRODUCTS, EXCEPT BISCUITS, CRACKERS AND PRETZELS (Contd ) Stella' 0 Corner Cupboard John-town 304 Locust St. Yoet'l Sweet Wheat Bakery Johnstown 612 Oak St. M CANDY AND OTHER CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTS O'Sheal Candies Johnstown Illa Solomon St. 5 BOTTLED AND CANNED SOFT DRINKS AND CARBONATED WATERS Cal-andra Bottling Work. Can-and ra Cedar St. 16 CocaoCola Bottling Co. of John-town 3200 Huntmgton Ave. , 24 Johnetown. Inc. Newport News, Va. Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. , Barneeboro 406 aneteenth St. 5 Haetlngl Bottling Work. Haetmgl 429 Spangler St. 2 McAlliIter Bottlnng Co. , Inc. . A. Johnstown 425 Coleman Ave. 36 Neht BONJII'I‘ Co. 0! Johnstown, Inc. Loram 425 Valley Ave. , Johnltown 14 Squirt Bottling Co. . Inc. John-town 528 Waehmgton St. 22 Tulip Bottling Co. John-town 4“ Th: rd Ave. 47 MANUFACTURED ICE Shaffer Ice Co. . F. M. Johnstown 151 Horner St. 6 FOOD PREPARATIONS, N. E. C. Daniela R. D. S, Johnetown R. D. 5, 801247 A, Johnstown 8 TOBACCO MANUFACTURES CIGARS Penn Cigar Co. John-town llS McConaughy St. l3 APPAREL AND OTHER TEXTILE PRODUCTS MEN'S, YOUTHS', AND BOYS' SHIRTS (EXCEPT WORK SHIRTS), COLLARS, AND NIGHTWEAR Phfllnpe-Van Heuaen Corp. Barneeboro; Patton 417 Fxfth Ave. , 527 , New York 16, N. Y. Publix M13. Corp. (Publtx Gallitzin 350 Fifth Ave. . 325 Shirt Corp.) New York 13. N. Y. MEN'S. YOUTHS'. AND BOYS' CLOTHING, N. E. C. Hartman-Schneider Co. John-town 627-31 Elder St. 23 DRFSSB ' Carol Ann. Inc. Haetmge P. O. Box 222 76 Cay Artley Apparel. Inc. John-town 232 Levergood St. 558 Jo-Ann Dreee Mfg. Ebeneburg 206 W. Sample St. 76 WOMEN'S, MISSE'S'. CHILDREN'S, AND INFANTS' UNDERWEAR AND NIGHTWEAR Chance Pajama Mfg. Co. Lxlly 33l Mam St. 77 CORSETS AND ALLIED GARMENTS BeetIorm Foundation. of John-town 3801 Forty-eeventh Ave. , 451 Pennsylvania. Inc. Long Island City, N. Y. Puntan Foundationl. Inc. Portage 508 Broadway. . 302 New York 12, N. Y. APPAREL BELTS See-Gal Mfg. Co. John-town 220 Franklin St. I? LUMBER AND WOOD PRODUCTS. EXCEPT FURNITURE SAWMILLS AND PLANING MILLS, GENERAL Adamo Bros. John-town R. D. 1, New Florence 3 Amadei, Tony Barr Twp. Nxcktown 3 Baker'a Sons, Elijah Beaverdale Emexgh 6 Becker. Ralph C. R. D. l, Portage R. D. 1. Box 620, Portage - Chalan & Chappell Portage Twp. R. D. 1. Box 134 A, Portage 6 Cramer. Jamel E. R. D. I. Barneuboro R. D. l, Box 194 B, - Barneoboro Doltveira Bron. Jackson Twp. Twin Rock. 5 Dumm Bron. Lumber Co. Barr Twp. Nicktown 3 Hammond Co. , J. V. Spanglcr P. O. Box 832 67 Herman Lumber Co. . John Portage I211 Gillespxe Ave. 6 K E C Lumber Co. DunJo P. O. Box 22 6 Krumenacher Lumber Co. Barr Twp. R. D. I. Carrolltown 5 Lon; & Sonl. George Chest Twp. R. D. 1, Box 83, Patton 6 Long Lumber Co. . Lom- Cambrla Twp. 902 N. Carolme St. , Ebensburg 4 Lowman. Charlee W. In C. L. W. Taylor Twp. 8 Cooper Ave. . Johnstown - Mantndale Lumber Co. Portage Twp. P. O. Box 207, Portage b hidusrry and name of iirm 1H0 CAMBRIA COUNTY l.ocation of plant SAWMILLS AND PLANING MILLS, GENERAL (Contd.) McNulty's Sawmill Queen Lumber Co. Ragley, Herman Rhody, K. C. Rorabaugb, Samuel E. Rummel, Ward Smith. Cletus In Clement Wagner Lumber Co., Inc. Walter E Sons. H. E. MILLWORK PLANTS Citizens Lumber & Supply Co. Hammond, William L. Moxham Lumber Co. Thomas-Kinney Lumber Co. woon PRODUCTS. N. E. c. Fishel. Glen R. E. Carroll Twp. Munster Twp. Barr Twp. White Twp. Cambria Twp. Blacklick Twp. Croyle Twp. Reade Twp. Adams Twp. Ebensburg Barrie sboro Johnstown Johnstown Blandburg FURNITURE AND FIXTURES WOOD HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE. EXCEPT UPHOLSTERED DeFrebn h Sons, William Ebensburg Cabinet Co. MATTRESSES AND BEDSPRINGS Page Bedding Co. , C. H. Johnstown Ebensburg Johnstown FURNITURE AND FIXTURES. N. E. C. Brooklyn Hospital Equipment Co. . Inc. United Metal Fabricators, Inc. FOLDING PAPERBOARD BOXES Friendly City 80: Co. Johnstown Richland Twp. Olin 0 address NO. Carrolltown Claysbulg R. D. Z, Ebensburg 207 Highland Avr. , Patton R. D. l. Box 576, Portage Belsano R. D. l. Box 608, Portage R. D. l, Fallentimber R. I). l, liox 2.34. South Fork E. Ogle St. Eleventh St. Park Ave. I: DuPont St. 548 Horner 5t. [Huntlburg 813 Muffler SI. 70‘) Triumph bl. 47 Messenger St. Oak In Murdock Sta. (:09 Bob Whit! SI. , Jillinblnan PAPER AND ALLIED PRODUCTS Johnstown 725 RAilroad St. PRINTING. PUBLISHING, AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES NEWSPAPERS: PUBLIS'IING, PUBLISIING AND PRINTING Barne sboro Star Globe Gasette. Inc. Johnstown Tribune Publishing Co. Mountaineer-Herald Sediott Publications. Inc. Union Press Courier Barne sboro Patton Johnstown Ebensburg Portage Patton COMMERCIAL PRINTING, EXCEPT LITHOGRAPHIC Beckley Printing Co. . F. R. Bensboit Printing Co. Carroll Press Eagle Printing Co. Gipe Bros. Lints Printing Shop North Cambria News Penn Printing Co. Probert Printing Shop Raab & Son, Inc. , William H. SchuberfPress. Inc. Valley Printing Co. Portage Johnstown Catrolltown Barne sboro Jolnstown Ebensburg Hastings Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown COMMERCIAL PRINTING. LITHCXJRAPHIC Weigal I Barber. Inc. PHOTOENGRAVING Conemaugh Engraving Co. of Johnstown. Inc. INDUSTRIAL GASES Air ledaction Sales Co. Div. (Air Reduction Co. . Inc. ) Johnstown Johnstown 520 Philadelphia A\v'. First Natl. Hank liltlg. 4.15 Locust St. 113 b. Centrr St. 709 Caldwell Av.-. 542 Magee Ave. 513 Main St. 46 Valley Pike Main St. 905 Philadelphia Ave. 18 Clover 5t. Masonic Bldg. Hastings 646 Main St. I97 Fatrheld Ave. 220 Franklin St. 542 Main St. 667 Main St. 343 Stonyc reek St. 425 Locust St. CHEMICALS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS Johnstown- Two Plants 150 E. 42nd St. . New York l7, N. Y. em- pluyes 44 It: H a. f. me'O'Ou-IAC-t 28 23 1141 CAM BRIA COUNTY Industry and name of firm Location of plant Office address No. em- ployes 155131.61 Ibil I“’.‘PGANIC CHEMICALS, N. E.'C. Sunshine Chemical Works Johnstown 134 Spring St. - SPECIALTY CLEANING, POLISHING, AND SANITATION PREPARATIONS Hal-Pro Processing Co. Patton 809 N. 5th Ave. 2 PETROLEUM REFINING AND RELATED INDUSTRIES PAVING MIXTURES AND BLOCKS Interstate Amiesite Corp. Barnesboro P. O. Box 868, Wilmington 99, Del. 5 Pennac Asphalt Products Co. W. Taylor Twp. 83 COOper Ave. . Johnstown 7 STONE, CLAY, AND GLASS PRODUCTS BRICK AND STRUCTURAL CLAY TILE Triangle Clay Products Co. Johnstown 83 Cooper Ave. 39 CLAY REFRACTORIES Swank's Sons, Hiram Johnstown P. 0. Drawer 630 131 STRUCTURAL CLAY PRODUCTS, N. E. C. Patton Clay Mfg. Co. Patton P. 0. Drawer M 142 CONCRETE BRICK AND BLOCK ' Beckey, William Blacklick Twp. R. D. 2, Ebensburg - Butler, W. W. Johnstown 206 Mango Ave. 5 DeGol Bros. Gallitzin 1027 Quarry St. 3 Farrell Builders Marstellar Mar stellar 16 CONCRETE PRODUCTS, EXCEPT BLOCK AND BRICK Fihoff Concrete Products Co. Stonycrcek Twp. 240 Bentwood Ave. , Johnstown ll Kissell Concrete Block Co. Johnstown Murdock & Oak Ste. 13 Norwalk Concrete Vault it Tent R. D. 1, Box 137, Service Middle Taylor Twp. Johnstown 2 CUT STONE AND STONE PRODUCTS Keystone Memorial Cn. Johnstown 93 Clinton St. 4 Van o’coyoc Memorial Studio, R. C. Johnstown 850 Millcreck Rd. 2 MINERALS AND EARTI-IS, GROUND OR OTHERWISE TREATED Cambria Slag Co. Johnstown 1200 Wick Bldg. , Youngstown, Ohio 33 NONCLAY REFRACTORIES Haws Refractories Co. Johnstown-Two Plants 407 Main St. 98 PRIMARY METAL INDUSTRIES BLAST FURNACES, STEEL WORKS, AND ROLLING MILLS Bethlehem Steel Co. Johnstown 800 E. 3rd St. , Bethlehem 14, 340 GRAY IRON FOUNDRIES South Fork Foundry a: Machine Co. South Fork South Fork 9 MALLEABLE IRON FOUNDRIES Korns Co. . C. C. Southmont 350 Southmont Blvd. , Johnstown 16 ' FABRICATED METAL PRODUCTS FABRICATED STRUCTURAL STEEL Griffith-Custer Steel Co. Johnstown 307 Bedford St. 57 Leffler's Ornamental Shop W. Taylor Twp. 775 Cooper Ave. , Johnstown 1 Structures, Inc. Johnstown P. O. Box 538 33 METAL DOORS, SASH. FRAMES, MOLDING, AND TRIM Steptcrat’t Corp. Johnstown 1195 Franklin St. - SHEET METAL WORK McCall & Co. , Inc. . C. S. Johnstown 418 Wood St. 15 ARCHITECTURAL AND MISCELLANEOUS METAL WORK Sender Ornamental Iron Works Johnstown 73 J St. 142 CAMBRI A COUNTY Industry and name of firm Location of plant Office address No. em- ployes ELECTRO} LATING, PLATING, POLISHING, ANODIZING AND COLORING McDonald Bros. R. D. 1, South Fork R. D. 1, Box 105, South Fork 2 FABRICATED LIETAL PRODUCTS, N. E. C. United States Steel Corp. Johnstown 525 Willian. Penn PL, 3. 450 . Pittsburgh 30 MACHINERY, EXCEPT ELECTRICAL . IINING MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT Flood City Brass In Electric Co. Johnstown Elder 8. MeSsenger Sts. 4o liar-4ey, Charles J. Johnstown 322 Homer St. 4 Penn Machine Co. Ferndale 106 Station St... I-‘crnzlalt, 135 12111 Johnstown MELTALWORKING MACHINERY, EXCEPT MACHINE TOOLS .\ tI u;-...l Bonding Machinery Corp. Ferndale 100 Station St. , Julillblfllkll - PUMPS, AIR AND GAS COALPRESSORS, AND PUMPING EQUIPMENT Erugio Products Coxp. Johnstown 11h Dui’ont St. 4 MACHINE SHOPS, JOBBING AND REPAIR Joimstown Welding Co. Johnstown “*1 Poplar St. .; Rvignarri Machine Co. R. D. 1, South Fork R. I). 1, South Fork 3 S:‘..itn's Machine Shop Johnstown 820 Vino-:1 St. ‘1 Stevens Mtg. C0. Ebensburg 72:1 Cresson Rd. 58 ELECTRICAL MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIAL APPARATUS, N. E. C. General Electric Co. Johnstown 1 River Rd. . 14 Schenectady, .\. Y. Universal Electric L- Mfg. Co. Johnstown 62“ Eider St. 22 .‘v cstmghouse Electric Corp. Johnstown P. O. Box 2278, Pittsburgh 30 2.1 NONCURRENT CARRYING WIRING DEVICES Deltron Electric Products, In. . Ebensburg 1326 N. Margaret St. 4 J A B CO. , Inc. Ebensburg P. O. Box .105 CATHODE RAY PICTURE TUBES , Lamont TeleviSion Tube Corp. Cresson 1027 Front St. 42 TRANSPORTATION EQUIP MENT TRUCK AND BUS BODIES Mason 8: Holt-Singer C0. Johnstown Matthews 8: Short Sts. 4 Trabold Co. Johnstown P. O. Box 167 17 AIRCRAFT PARTS AND AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT, N. E. C. Nahunal-Unltcd States Radiator Johnstown 221 Central Ave. 512 Corp. RAILROAD AND STREET CARS Bethlehem Steel Co. (Car Shop) Johnstown 800 E. 3rd St. , Bethlehem 2, 62° Davis Brake Beam Co. Johnstown P. O. Box 982 86 . PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CONTROLLING INSTRUMENTS ORTHOPEDIC, PROSTHETIC, AND SURGICAL APPLIANCES AND SUPPLIES Johnstown Orthopedic Co. Johnstown 1009 Beckley Ave. — hfISCELLANEOU-S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IVLARKING DEVICES DuRaney Rubber Stamp Works Johnstown Fisher Bldg. , 536 Main St. - SIGNS AND ADVERTISING DISPLAYS Mmahan Neon Signs Lower Yoder Twp. lOl Norton Rd. , Johnstown 5 O'Hara Sign 8: Paint Supply Ebensburg P. O. Box 82 g Oppy Sign 8: Neon Co. , Harry R. Johnstown 97 Clinton St. 8 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1&5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, Walter. The Structure of American Industry—Some Case Studies. New York: Macmillian, 1953. American Automobile Association. Mid-Eastern Tour Book. Spring 1964—65 Edition. Andrews, Martha Lee Tuthill. Evolution of Settlement in Orange County, Vermont 1750—1960. Masters Thesis, April, 1964. Ashley, George H. A Syllabus of Pennsylvania Geology and Mineral Resources. Topographic and Geologic Survey, 1931. Department of Internal Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ashley, George H. and Campbell, Marius R. Geologic Structure of the Punxsutawny, Curwensville, Houtzdale, Barnesboro and Patton Quadrangles. United States Geologic Survey, Bulletin 531, 1913. Baumgardner, Mahlon J. and Hoenstine, Floyd G. The Allegheny Old Portage Railroad 1834—1854, Building, Operation and Travel Between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown,,Pennsylvania. Local publication, 1952. Baumgardner, Mahlon J. and Hoenstine, Floyd G. The Summit House Register for the Month of June, 1852 as reproduced photographically. Bradford, Willard. Pennsylvania Geology Summarized. Topographic and Geological Survey, Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, Bulletin 113, 1935. Buck, Solon J. and Buck, Elizabeth H. The Plantinggof Civilization in Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1939. Burrows, J. S. The Barnesboro—Patton Coal Field of Central Pennsylvania. United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 235, 190A. Butts, Charles. Coal Mining Along the Southeastern Margin of the Wilmore Basin, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 255, 1904. iw 145 Butts, Charles, Description of the Ebensburg Quadrangle. U. S. Geological Survey, Geological Atlas of United States, Folio 133. Cambria County Historical Society, Cambria County Sesqui- centennial 1804—1954, Local publication, 1954. Cayton, Horace R. and Mitchell, George S. Black Workers and The New Unions. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1939. Central Pennsylvania Coal Producers Association. Bituminous Coal Mining Lectures, Altoona, Pennsylvania. Clapp, F. G. Water Resources of the Curwensville, Patton, Ebensburg and Barnesboro Quadrangle, United States Geological Survey, Water Supply Paper 110, 1905. Deasy, George F. "Geographical Significance of Recent Changes in Mining in the Bituminous Coal Fields of Pennsylvania," Economic Geography, Vol. 33. Worcester, Massachusetts: Commonwealth Press, October, 1957. Derrick, B. B. Soil Survey of Cambria County,,Pennsy1vania. Washington D. C.: United States Printing Office, 1917. Dickens, Charles. American Notes for General Circulation. New York: Wilson & Co., 1842. Feldman, Herman. Racial Factors in American Industry, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1931. Fisher, Douglas A. Steel Serves the Nation. Pittsburgh: United States Steel Corp., 1951. Fulton, John. ”Geologic Notes on Cambria County,” History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. 3 volumes, Vol. I. New York, Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., l907. Gable, John E. History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. 2 volumes. Topeka and Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1926. Genth, F. A. Preliminary Report of the Mineralogy of Pennsylvania. Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg: Board of Commissioners, 187A. 146 Gilfillan, Lauren. I Went to Pit College. New York: The Literary Guild, 193A. Green, M. Margaret. From Trail Dust to Star Dust. Johnstown: Wm. M. Greer, 1960. Gore, George. The Johnstown Flood Story. Johnstown, Pennsylvania: Schubert Press, Inc., 196A. Handlin, Oscar. Immigration as a Factor in American History. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1959. Handlin, Oscar. This Was America. New York: Harper and Row, 1964. Hice, Richard R. The Mineral Production of Pennsylvania for 1913. Topographic and Geologica Survey of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, 1915. Hickock, William O. "Iron Ores c1 Pennsylvania." Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Fourth Series, Bulletin M—18-A, Minerals, Harrisburg, 1933. Hicks, John D. The Federal Union. Vol. 1., 2nd edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1952. Hoenstine, Floyd G. The Skew Arch Bridge and Old Portage Railroad Monument. Local Publication, 1952. Industrial Directory of the.Commonwea1th of Pennsylvania. Fifteenth Edition. Harrisburg: Bureau of Statistics, 1959. James, Preston E. and Jones, Clarence F. American Geographg Inventory and Prospect. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1954. Johnstown Economic and Industrial Survey. Johnstown: Johnstown Chamber of Commerce, 1942, updated to 1960. Kauffman, Nelson M. Climatography of the United States: Pennsylvania, Washington, D. C. United States Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau, #60—36, February, 1960. Kellogg, Paul U. Wage Earning Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Survey. Philadelphia: Wm. Fell Press Co., Survey AssOCiates Inc., 1914. 147 Keystone Coal Buyers Manual. New York: McGraw—Hill Publishing Co., Inc., 1956. Leighton, Henry. Clay and Shale Resources of Pennsylvania. Topographic and Geologic Survey, Department of Internal Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bulletin M—23, 1941. Leonard, Norman H., Jr. "The Bituminous Coal Industry" from The Structure of American Industry, Some Case Studies by Walter Adams. New York: Macmillan, 1953. Litwack, Leon. The American Labor Movement. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice—Hall, Inc., 1962. Lohman, Stanley W. Ground Water in South—Central Pennsylvania, Topographic and Geologic Survey, Department of Internal Affairs, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Bulletin WvS, 1938. Masters, Kenneth. 1959 Industrial Directory of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg: Bureau of Statistics, l959. Miller, Benjamin L. Limestones of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Fourth Series, Bulletin M-20, Harrisburg: 193A. Morgan, John Davis. The Domestic Mining Industry of the United States in World War II, Doctors thesis at The Pennsylvania State College, published by the National Security Resource Board, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1949. Nicklin, Philip H. A Pleasant Peregrination Through the Prettiest Parts of Pennsylvania. Preformed by Peregrine Prolix (pesudo). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Grigg & Elliott, 1836. O'Connor, Richard. Johnstown—The Day the Dam Broke. Philadelphia, New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1957- Pennsylvania Business Survey. Bureau of Business Research, The Pennsylvania State University. State College, Pennsylvania: Hines Printing Co., 196A. Platt, Franklin and Platt, William. Report of Progress in the Cambria and Somerset District of the Bituminous Coal Fields of Western Pennsylvania. Vol. XXX ' Harrisburg: Second Pennsylvania Ge0logical Survey, H. H., 1877. lA8 Reese, John F. Coal Reserves in Cambria County; Pennsylvania. TOpographio Geological Survey, Fourth Series, Bulletin 4, 1922. Reynolds, Robert L. "The Coal Kings Come to Judgment," American Heritage. Vol. XI, No. III. American Heritage Publishing Co., April 1960. Ries, Heinrich, Bayley, W. S. and others. Highgrade Clays of Eastern United States. United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 708, 1922. Saylor, R. B. and Warne, A. E. Statistical Abstract of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University, 1953. Sohotter, H. W. The Growth and Development of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Co., 1927. Seager, H. R. and Gulick, C. A. Trust and Corporation Problems. New York: Harper Brothers, 1959 Sherman, Richard B. "Johnstown vs The Negro: Southern Migrants and the Exodus of 1923," Pennsylvania History. Quarterly Journal of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, Vol. 30, No. A, October, 1963. Sisler, J. D. Coal Beds in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Bureau of Topographic and Geological Survey, Common— Wealth of Pennsylvania, Bulletin No. 23, January 16, 1922. Sisler, J. D. Bituminous Coal Fields of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Geological Survey (Fourth Series), Bulletin M-6, 1932. Smith, J. Russell, Phillips, M. Ogden, Smith, Thomas R. Industrial and Commercial Geography. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1913. Stone, Ralph W. Building Stones of Pennsylvania. Harris- burg: Pennsylvania Geological Survey (Fourth Series), Bulletin M—lB, 1932. Storey, Henry W. History of Cambria County Pennsylvania. 3 volumes. New York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1907. Strahler, Arthur N. Physical Geography. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1960. 1A9 Swartz, Frank M. Horseshoe Curve Field Trip, Field Conference of Pennsylvania Geologists, 1946. United States Department of the Interior. Minerals _ Yearbook, Bureau of Mines, Fuels, Vol. II {1961-1963). United States Department of the Interior. Minerals Yearbook, Bureau of Mines, Area Reports, Vol. III 'T1955TI963), Wess, Joseph C, Origins of Cambria County. Office, Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, 1960. Clerk of Courts Wilson, William B, "The Evolution Decadence and Abandon— ment of the Allegheny Portage Railroad,“ The Pennsylvania Railroad Mens News, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September, 1897, October, 1897. Wilson, Philip and Wells, Joseph H. Coal, Coke and Coal Chemicals. New York; MoGraw—hlll Book Co., Inc,, 1950. Wright, Alfred T. United States and Canada. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 19A8. Writers‘ Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, New York: Oxford University Press, Deoemter, lgflo, Interviews Mrs. Mary E0 Brougher, Head—Reference Department, - (Cambria) Public Library. April, 1963, Mr. Mike Pirich, Jr., former bituminous mire work owner, Flint, Michigan, December 27, l9oA, 1965. Mr. Michael Timo, resident of Portage, Pennsylvania, April, 196A, October 196A. lltllllllllHHIIHIIWIIIIIIllllllllllllllllHilllllllllfllll 5824638