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Beers Historical Record
Volume I
Chapter 5
Methods of Transportation, Ancient and ModernRIVERS AND STREAMS–SURVEYS AND IMPROVEMENTS–DECLINE OF
WATER TRANSPORTATION–THE SIX CAPTAINS–THE PENNSYLVANIA CANAL–POSTAL
FACILITIES–ROADS AND ROAD BUILDING–MODERN METHODS–RAILROADS–A NOTABLE
GATHERING–ELECTRIC RAILWAY LINESThe Allegheny river passes nearly north and south through the western part
of the county, fed on the east by the Red Bank, Mahoning, Pine, Cowanshannock
and Crooked creeks, and the Kiskiminetas river; on the west by Buffalo creek
and several large runs. The Allegheny is now the only navigable stream in the
county. Red Bank creek forms the northern boundary line, and is so called from
the outcropping deposits of red sandstone near its mouth. Mahoning creek, a
large and rapid stream, rises in Jefferson county and after flowing through
Armstrong fro about forty miles, joins the Allegheny, ten miles above
Kittanning. Crooked creek rises in Indiana county, winds its tortuous way
through Armstrong and enters the Allegheny six miles below Kittaning. There
are many good mill sites on this stream and in the past there were seven large
flouring mills on its banks, but in 1913 there were no mills by a dam site in
operation except at South Bend, where D. B. and L. A. Townsend operate a large
waterpower mill. The Kiskiminetas on the southern boundary line is a beautiful
stream of considerable width, with frequent shallows and rapids. On its banks
were many salt wells and iron furnaces, and at one time Pennsylvania canal
utilized its waters for most its length. Buffalo creek rises in Sugar Creek
township, flows southward for twenty miles, supplying several mills on the
way, and finally enters the Allegheny one mile below the mouth of the
Kiskiminetas. In the county are also Pine, Mill, Licking, Plum, Bear, Catfish
and Limestone creeks, and many small runs with appropriate or romantic names.
Cowanshannock creek is the most sedate of the streams and bears almost a
straight course through the county, emptying into the Allegheny two miles
above Kittanning.KEELBOATS AND RAFTS
Before the invention of steamboats the traffic on the streams was carried
on by means of keelboats and barges, propelled by sweeps. Large numbers of
rafts were sent down in the flood stages of the rivers and creeks, most of
them being of sawed lumber. These were utilized by the pioneers as a method of
transportation to the south and west, and many a raft held the entire family,
cattle and household goods. Josiah Copley recalled seeing a raft moored to the
bank at Freeport that held fully one hundred persons. The travelers were going
about their household duties in as unconcerned a manner as if they were on dry
land, instead of having ten feet of water under their feet.From 1835 to 1840 the quantity of lumber floated down he Allegheny exceeded
50,000,000 feet board measure, and the total was over $1,000,000 in value.
According to the Western Navigator of Pittsburgh, the quantity of
boards and timber floated down the Allegheny in 1811 was 3,000,000 feet,
amounting to $27,000, at $9 per thousand. That timber is now worth at least
$24 per thousand. In that year keelboats brought to Pittsburgh 16,000 barrels
of salt, averaging $8 a barrel, and returned with cargoes of whisky, iron
castings, cider, apples, bacon and foreign imported goods.EARLY IMPROVEMENT OF STREAMS
Those primitive modes of transporting goods from the North and East were
obviated by the completion of the Pennsylvania canal, skirting the southern
border of this county, in or about 1828. Freeport thereafter became an
entrepot for merchandise and other freight from the East, and of considerable
quantities from Pittsburgh for the region drained by the Allegheny river.By act of March 9, 1791, the Kiskiminetas, and by act of March 21, 1798,
the Allegheny river and the Sandy Lick or Red Bank creek were declared public
highways, the Allegheny to the northern boundary of the State and the Red Bank
from its mouth to the second great forks.An order was issued by the county commissioners, June 22, 1819, to Samuel
C. Orr, for $77.68, for his services as a commissioner appointed by act of
Assembly to superintend the expenditure of $1,000 appropriated for the
improvement of Red Bank, and $200 for the improvement of Toby’s creek, now
the Clarion river. On the same day an order was issued to Alexander Wilson for
$16, and on Sept. 22d to David Lawson for $12, for their services for
examining the improvement of the navigation of those two creeks.STEAMBOATING
From and after 1828 passengers, goods and other freight were transported up
and down the Allegheny river in steamboats and barges towed by them during
such portions of the year as there was a sufficient stage of water. The
increase of various branches of business, resulting from the rapid increase of
population along the east and west of that river, and the multiplicity of
furnaces for the manufacture of pig iron, caused by a vast deal of
transportation by steamboats. The last trip of a steamboat for passengers was
made by the “Ida Reese,” Capt. Reese Reese, in April, 1868, and the
last trip of a keelboat from Pittsburgh to Warren was by the
“Yorktown,” the next month thereafter. For several years a line of
ten steamboats had plied from Pittsburgh to Oil City, but the completion of
the Allegheny Valley railroad killed this traffic. Of these the passenger
steamers “Bell,” Capt. John Russel, “Laclair,” Capt. James
Kelly, both of Armstrong county, and the “Ida Reese,” Capt Isaac
Reese, were the principal boats. The largest distributing warehouse on the
river was at the mouth of Mahoning, from which point Brookville, Clarion and
several furnace towns were supplied with freight. Jeremiah Bonner owned the
warehouse.SURVEYS
By resolutions of Congress, surveys of the Allegheny river were heretofore
ordered to be made. One was made, in 1829, under the superintendence of James
Kearney, lieutenant-colonel topographical engineers, from Pittsburgh to eleven
miles above the mouth of French creek, and another, in the summer and autumn
of 1837, under the superintendence of George W. Hughes, United States civil
engineer. The maps, charts and plan of the latter, who was required to examine
into the practicability of constructing a canal along the valley of the
Allegheny river, were unfortunately destroyed by the burning of the building
occupied as an office. Nothing was saved but a mutilated portion of the
profile, and the journal which was kept by the gentleman charged with the
soundings and making an examination of the bed of the stream, so that he was
obliged to avail himself of the report of Colonel Kearney’s survey, from
which are gathered the following:The Allegheny river, above, the Kiskiminetas, flows generally through a
deep, rocky and precipitous ravine. Its bed is formed of a succession of
eddies or ponds, with intervening natural dams, having an inclination or slope
in the direction of the current, the limits of which, in terms of the altitude
and base, may be expressed by the fraction 1/12 and 1/700 nearly. The bottom
is mostly of sandstone in place, except upon the ripples or obstructions,
where it is usually covered with gravel and stones broken and rounded by
attrition. The navigable depth of water on these obstructions does not exceed
two feet; and upon some of them there is not more than eighteen inches–a
depth which is often confined to a very narrow space; the greater part of the
shoals being nearly, and, in some places, quite bare at low water. Following
the lines of the survey, which are not always parallel to the axis of the
stream, the distance from the mouth of French creek to the Kiskiminetas would
be ninety-four and a half miles, nearly, with a descent of the stream of two
hundred and sixteen feet; and from the Kiskiminetas to Pittsburgh,
twenty-seven miles, with a fall of forty feet.HIGH WATER
In the middle of July, 1842, the stage of water in the Allegheny was such
that its navigable condition was very good, which had been and which has since
been an unusual occurrence at that season of the year. The water was so high
that rafts of the largest size passed down it to Pittsburgh, and the steamers
“Izaak Walton,” “Warren,” “Ida,”
“Pulaski,” and “Forrest” made trips to points in the upper
Allegheny.The tremendous floods in the Allegheny in 1913 caused the national
government to establish “flood relief boats” for this section. Light
draft, high speed boats will be stationed at Pittsburgh to be sent in cases of
high water to removed imperiled persons and afford prompt relief in cases of
hunger and destitution. Complete crews will be held at instant call and all
the most improved life saving devices will be kept on board for instant use.
Medical men will be summoned for the emergency work, when needed. The great
flood of March 1866, was most destructive, when over two hundred barges of oil
and several steamers were swept away when the ice broke up.LATER IMPROVEMENTS
Within the last twenty years the improvement of the Allegheny has consisted
of only a few dikes to confine the stream to smaller limits and deepen the
channel. Three of these dikes are located in the boundaries of Armstrong
county, at Nicholson’s island, near the mouth of the Cowanshannock and
opposite Watersonville.The traffic on the river has become practically nothing, the old-time
passenger and freight steamers being converted into sand dredges and the
flatboats are only seen at Pittsburgh during high stages of water. The last
passenger steamer to make the trip between Kittanning and Pittsburgh was the
“Nellie Hudson,” in 1913, being wrecked in the ice breakup in the
spring of this year, Capt. James M. Hudson.The only business done on the Allegheny now is the dredging of sand and
gravel, the business being in the hands of practically one family, the Hudson
brothers, who have almost three million dollars invested in dredging machinery
and boats. James M. Hudson alone has $80,000 tied up in the stretch of river
between Parker and Freeport.The cradles on the boats operate endless chain bucket dredges, that delve
thirty-five feet into the bed of the stream, bringing up the sand and passing
it over screens where it is drained of water and loaded into barges alongside.
One of these boats can average 500 tons a day. The product is sold to the
plate glass works at Ford City, Tarentum and Kittaning and shipped even as far
as New York. For grinding glass the sand is unsurpassed, the Kittaning plant
using 150 tons a day and the works at Ford City, 250 tons daily.An interesting and remarkable fact is that the Allegheny river in this
county is practically controlled by the Hudson brothers, who are the last
remnant of the old guard who are trying to have the stream restored to its
pristine popularity. For over sixty years this family of steamboatmen have
plied the rivers and piloted its steamers and they have an undying faith in
the value of the watercourses of this county. At all times they are ready to
champion the cause of river improvement, and they have hopes to realize their
ambition of seeing again the procession of craft plying up and down the
Allegheny, as in the days of yore. They with most other business men in the
valley belong to the Allegheny River Improvement Company, whose slogan is
“On to Cairo.”Every one of the six Hudson brothers was born in Westmoreland county, but
their homes are in Armstrong and here their life work has been done. Each of
the six brothers is either a captain or pilot, holding working certificates
now, although the oldest one will be seventy-nine in January of the coming
year — 1914. W. K. Hudson was born Jan. 24, 1835; J. P. Hudson, April 16,
1838; John S. Hudson, Sept. 9, 1844; T. P. Hudson, May 11, 1847; H. P. Hudson,
Sept 11, 1849; James M. Hudson, March 16, 1852.THE PENNSYLVANIA CANAL
The act of the Legislature authorizing the construction of the Pennsylvania
canal was passed in 1825 and the work of digging and blasting started in the
following year. The length of the canal from Johnstown to the mouth of the
Kiskiminetas river was sixty four miles, in which space there were a number of
locks. This did not include the different sections of slackwater, one of which
extended from Leechburg to below Apollo. This was called the seven-mile level.
The distance covered by the canal within the bounds of Armstrong county was
twenty-five miles, most of which was along the bank of the Kiskiminetas. At
the mouth of that river the canal was carried across the Allegheny by means of
a wooden aqueduct, resting on stone piers. Thence the course was through
Freeport across Buffalo creek on another aqueduct, and down the Allegheny to
Pittsburgh. The water for this thirty-five miles was supplied from the dam at
Leechburg, this county, where the boats were locked out of the seven-mile
level into this the longest stretch of canal on the entire route.The stone for the locks and bridge piers was obtained from the quarries
near the rivers, and the work of construction was mostly done by Irish
immigrants, who finally became settlers and land owners after their labors
were ended.The estimated cost of the canal was: Excavation, embankment, etc.
$654,124.93; 368 feet of lockage at $600 per foot, $220,800; 35 bridges at
$250, $8,750; 32 miles of fence at $480, $15,360. The total cost is estimated
at about one million dollars. The dimensions were: Width at the waterline, 40
feet; width at the bottom, 28 feet; depth, 4 feet. The locks were 15 feet wide
and 90 feet long.After the completion of the Pennsylvania railroad the trade of the canal
languished, and in August, 1857, the State sold the entire line of the canal,
locks, etc., to the railroad for $7,500,000. That road having thus eliminated
its only competitor, allowed the canal to relapse into ruin, using but a small
portion of the route for a roadbed. For almost the entire length of the route
through this county the canal is not used by the road, although upon that side
of the river most of the towns are located.The locks and dam at Leechburg, built by David Leech, caused a lake to form
as far up as Apollo, where boats again entered the canal, the locks being
located a short distance below if going east. Going west they entered the
canal above Apollo at dam No. 2, both in Armstrong county. The dam at
Leechburg was 27 feet high and 574 feet long.The first boat that passed Leechburg on the canal in 1834, was a packet,
built near Saltsburg, probably at Coal Port, which made a fine display, having
on board banners and music. About two weeks afterward one of Leech’s boats
was launched and started for Pittsburgh. She was detained a considerable
length of time below Freeport, in consequence of a break in the embankment at
the aqueduct. After the water was let into the canal above Leechburg a boat
was drawn out of the river into the canal, run up to Johnstown and loaded with
fifty tons of blooms. On her return, while passing through the tunnel, says
Morris Leech, she was filled with bout three tons of stone and clay. When
about one hundred yards below the tunnel, hundreds of tons of earth, etc.,
fell from the tunnel into the canal, which shut off the water below it, so
that the boat did not reach Leechburg until nearly a month afterward.A FAMOUS RACE
Soon after the breach at the Freeport aqueduct was repaired, a prize of
five hundred dollars was offered to the proprietor of the boat that would
first arrive at Pittsburgh. Harris and Leech were the contestants. The former’s
boat was a light packet, and the latter’s — the “General Leacock”
— was a much larger and heavier one. Harris was confident that his smaller
and lighter boat would win the prize. On the 1st of July, about four miles
above Pittsburgh, Leech’s was within a mile of Harris’. The next day Leech’s
men cut poles, peeled the bark off them and laid them across the canal, in
which there was then only six inches of water. By the aid of one hundred men,
relays of the poles, five yoke of oxen and ten horses the boat was kept up out
of the mud and moved onward. When Leech’s horses came abreast of Harris’
boat, an extensive and fierce fight between the crews of the two boats began.
When Harris discovered that he had to contend with superior numbers, he
proposed that he would give up the contest if his contestants would quit
fighting and permit his boat to go to the rear. On a signal being given by
Leech all fighting cease, and his hundred muddy men plunged into the clear
water of the Allegheny and washed. The next day all hands aided with the poles
in hauling Harris’ boat to the rear and starting her up the canal. On the
Fourth of July tables were set in the hold and under canvas on the deck of
Leech’s boat, on which a sumptuous dinner was served to five hundred
persons, including General Leacock, then canal superintendent, who presided,
engineers and a large number of Pittsburgh merchants.The number of freight and passenger boats then built was four,
“Pioneer,” Captain Monson; “Pennsylvania,” Captain Cooper;
“De Witt Clinton,” Captain Joshua Leech; “General Leacock,”
Captain Robert King. The cabin for passengers in each was in the center.DAMAGES
A part of dam No. 1 at Leechburg was swept away July 7, 1831, b a sudden
and heavy flood in the Kiskiminetas, causing a cessation of canal navigation
for that season. A new lock and dam were located by the engineers about sixty
rods below the former ones and within the limits of the town. At the letting
the contract was awarded to Thomas Neil, of Tarentum, Pa., for about $16,000.
He had scarcely entered upon the performance of his part of the contract when
the commissioners turned it into to State job, the cost of which is known to
very few persons, if any. From Nov. 10, 1831 and throughout the principal part
of the following winter, the weather, most of the time, was very cold, which
caused a large accumulation of ice in the river, which broke up Feb. 10, 1832,
with a high flood that carried away the lock, the northern abutment of the
dam, and did much damage elsewhere. That abutment had to be repaired and a new
lock built before navigation could be resumed on the canal.David Leech, Robert S. Hays, George Black, George W. Harris and William F.
Leech, constituting the copartnership of D. Leech & Co., of which David
Leech was the traveling agent, subsequently established distinct lines of
freight boats and packets, or exclusively passenger boats, which they
continued to run until the canal was superseded by the Pennsylvania railroad
in 1864.POSTAL FACILITIES — OLD AND NEW
There was only one post office in 1818 between Kittaning and Indiana, and
the weekly mail was carried by a postboy, who rode horseback the entire
distance, stopping at the several homes of the settlers en route. The roads,
if it is possible to dignify the routes of those days with that title, were
circuitous and only passable to wheeled vehicles in the summer.Josiah Copley, the mail carrier in 1819, was an apprentice at the printing
trade, under James McCahan, proprietor of the American, a weekly
published in Indiana. Part of his apprenticeship contract was that he should
carry the mail for one-half of the three-year term for McCahan, who had the
mail contract. This was an economical arrangement for the contractor, who had
his mails carried free, and secured a printer for the same remuneration.
Copley had many adventures in his trips through the country, and gained a wide
experience which served him well in later years of his life.The route in 1819 was from Indiana via Greensburg, Freeport, Lawrenceburg
(Parker City), to Butler. The people of the vicinity of Red Bank creek also
received their mail from Kittanning.As the years passed the postal routes were extended and the mails were
usually carried by the stage coaches. Then came the railroads, with their
speed and larger capacity, and the number of post offices increased rapidly as
the country was settled more. The number of post offices had reached the
greatest height by 1900. After that date the gradual introduction of the rural
mail routes caused the abolition of the smaller of the offices, until at this
date there are less post offices in the county than in 1880, but the mails are
more frequent and regular.Within the last year the introduction of the long-desired parcel post has
worked a revolution in the mail service. Specially built wagons and
automobiles pass over the roads daily, delivering letters, packages and the
daily papers to the formerly isolated farmers, and in return the farmers ship
their produce direct to the city dwellers without delay or damage. What the
final result of these wonderful advances of the postal facilities will be,
none but a prophet can predict.POST OFFICES
The post offices in Armstrong county in the year 1913 are: Adrian, Apollo
(with four rural routes), Atwood, Brickchurch (one rural route), Chicasaw,
Cockran Mills, Cowanshannoc, Cowansville (one route), Craigsville, Dayton
(three routes), Dime, Echo (two routes), Edmon, Elderton, Ford City (two
routes), Fordcliff, Freeport (two routes), Girty, Johnetta, Kaylor, Kelly
Station (two routes), Kittaning (seven routes), Leechburg (three routes),
Logansport, Longrun, McGrann, Mahoning (one route), Manorville, Mateer,
Mosgrove (two routes), Oak Ridge, Olivet, Parker’s Landing (six routes),
Pierce, Furnace Run, Queenstown, Rimer (one route), Rosston, Rural Valley (one
route), Sagamore, Seminole, South Bend, Spring Church, Templeton, Tidal,
Wattersonville, Whitesburg, Widnoon, Worthington (two routes), Yatesboro (one
route). Several of these post offices will be abandoned and the patrons served
by rural routes at the close of this year, 1913.EARLY ROADS
At the early settlement of this county there were not any well-made roads.
From 1805 till 1810 the court of Quarter Sessions granted orders for opening
twenty-five public roads in various sections within the present limits of this
county. Yet those who traversed the county as late as 1821 say that most of
the roads then afforded very poor facilities for travel and transportation of
goods. Most of the traveling was done on foot and horseback, and for lack of
bridges the fording of streams was often hazardous.After the introduction of wheeled vehicles into the county there were some
attempts made to build roads, but lack of knowledge prevented any permanent
good resulting. The State-aided roads were the Kittanning and Freeport road,
in 1824; the Kittanning and Indiana road, in 1835. Other routes were the
Butler and Freeport and the Kittanning and Butler turnpikes. All of these
roads were “worked” or kept up with the plow and shovel, with
occasional stone topping. Some of the turnpikes began to be made about 1815.Prior to 1810, before the manufacture of iron was begun on the Conemaugh,
and salt on the Kiskiminetas, iron was transported from Winchester, Va., and
salt from Hagerstown, Md., as well as other goods from the East, on
pack-horses, over the Allegheny mountains. After the commencement of the
manufacture of salt and iron west of the Allegheny mountains, they were
transported to Pittsburgh, in flatboats, down the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas and
Allegheny rivers. After the completion of the turnpike from Pittsburgh to
Philadelphia, goods purchased in the latter for this region were left at
Blairsville, and distributed thence to their various places of destination.
They were generally hauled by six-horse teams in large covered Conestoga
wagons, bells being a part of the horses’ trappings. An early writer said that
he had seen as many as twenty of these teams stop at a country tavern over
night. The drivers, each having his own hammock, would lie in every direction
in the barroom. Each prided himself on having the best team and hauling the
heaviest load. When intoxicated, they would get into broils and scuffles in
making good their respective claims to those merits, the resultant blackened
eyes being then deemed but trivial circumstances.As early as 1825 there was a mail stage line from Ebensburg, Cambria Co.,
Pa., via Indiana, Elderton and Kittanning, to Butler, leaving Ebensburg at 3
o’clock P. M. on Thursday and reaching Butler at 10 o’clock A. M. on the
following Saturday. That was considered a very important line, because it
opened up a direct communication between the eastern and most western counties
of this State, and was then a cheap and expeditious mode of conveyance. The
fare from Ebensburg to Butler was $3.75, or six cents a mile for way
passengers, and the time between those two points was forty-three hours.Either before or shortly after 1825 lines of stages were established
extending from Freeport via Slate Lick, Worthington, Brady’s Bend and Catfish,
with a branch from Slate Lick via Kittanning, to Clarion, and another branch
from the mouth of Mahoning to Brookville, which were withdrawn after the
completion of the Allegheny Valley railroad and its branches.There were for a while two opposition lines of stages running north from
Freeport, and so brisk was the competition that passengers were carried for
almost nothing, and in some instances furnished with meals and whiskey gratis.While the Pennsylvania canal was closed through the winter, and the river
was too low for steamboats, stages were the public conveyances for passengers
from this region to and from Pittsburgh. While the canal was open they were
conveyed by packet-boats from Pittsburgh to Freeport, thence by state–some of
the time by a packet-boat towed by horses–to Kittanning and other points, and
by packets also to Leechburg, Apollo and other points along the canal, and
thence to their respective destinations by private conveyances.Those who traveled those routes know the rate of speed with which trips
used to be made. But for the information of those who use modern methods of
rapid transit, it may be appropriate to state, in this connection, that it
required about eighteen hours to make a trip by stage and canal from
Kittanning to Pittsburgh.One of the only good roads in the county was made by a few of the citizens
of Leechburg and Freeport after the Pennsylvania canal was abandoned. In 1878
they leased the canal from the Pennsylvania railroad for a nominal sum and
graded the bed with cinder, thus creating a level and convenient driveway from
Leechburg to Freeport, crossing the Allegheny on a ferry.MODERN ROADS
At present roads are handled in the same slipshod manner as in the early
times, except in the case of those roads taken over by the State. Of these
latter there are sixteen miles in Armstrong county, twelve of macadam and four
of brick construction, now completed. There are 143 miles of road to be
treated with concrete and brick surfaces in the future.In the sixty-seven counties of Pennsylvania there are fifty superintendents
of roads for the State. Mr. Charles W. Meals, the official in charge of this
district, has all of Armstrong and half of Clarion and part of Butler counties
under his control.From the reports of the constables of the townships in 1913 the following
is a condensed review of the condition of the roads of the county: Ten
reported the state of the roads as fairly good. Those of South Buffalo,
Valley, Wayne and Cowanshannock were said to be poor. Bad roads were reported
in Brady’s Bend, Gilpin, Burrell, Manor, South Bend and Kiskiminetas. Roads at
Manorville, Ford City, Wickboro and Elderton were stated to be dangerous to
travel. One original genius, Albert Morrison, from North Buffalo stated that
the roads in his section were “neighborly like.” Such are the
problems that confront the residents of this county in these modern times of
autos and good roads.RESULTS OF BAD ROADS
Pennsylvania built the first really good road noted in the history of the
Colonies–the Lancaster Turnpike–and it was just a century ago that the old
Cumberland road was being built within the borders of the State. Pennsylvania
was always to the fore in facilities for transportation, roads, canals and
railroads, but latterly the people of the State have seemed to rely on its
previous achievements in this respect. When New Jersey, in 1891, established
State aid in the building of highways, Pennsylvanians thought it a good
thing–for New Jersey. When Massachusetts inaugurated a system of State roads
in 1894, Pennsylvanians congratulated that State on a step which would perhaps
reduce the number of abandoned farms, which at that time had become a menace.
As other States fell in line, with State aid or State road laws,
Pennsylvanians continued to plod through the mud, maintaining a sympathy for
those States where the physical conditions required that public money be
expended on the public highways.In 1903 Pennsylvania awoke. A law was enacted creating a State Highway
Department, and granting aid to counties and townships for the purpose of
improving the highways. Under this law and a number of amendments, many local
roads have been improved in nearly every county in the State. Then the
revolution came. The automobile, originally a fad of the rich, emerged from
its chrysalis. Over night the whole scheme of transportation of persons and
goods was changed, and the developments from the change are still continuing.A study of the subject disclosed the fact that the ill-kept conditions of
our roads was responsible for many of the ills to which the people were
subject. While the original inspiration for this study was probably due to the
automobilists, the study itself proceeded along economic lines, the interests
of the whole people being taken into consideration.A newspaper investigation conducted three years ago in Pennsylvania, showed
that there were seven thousand abandoned farms in our State. They were the
farms where it had proved impossible to pay the bad road tax of $1.41 on the
products. When the roads are improved, and this excess of cost of marketing is
eliminated, these abandoned farms will again become productive: the land will
become of substantial value and both the local community and the State at
large will profit.The State has already taken over the roads, and it is necessary for the
State Highway Department to improve them. The only method by which this can be
properly accomplished is by so amending the constitution that from time to
time bonds may be issued to pay the cost of such construction. It can never be
done so long as Legislature appropriations must be depended upon.MODERN REMEDIES
The whole American public agrees that we need better roads; the farmers’
Granges are in favor of better roads; farmers themselves know that a good road
in front of their property increases its value; and all who ride in carriages,
wagons or automobiles are aware of the value of good roads. So it isn’t
necessary to tell the people of this country that we need good roads–they are
already convinced of that fact. But they want to know how to get them and at
the same time not burden themselves with future debts that will hang like a
sword over the heads of their children. Bond issues are suggested and not many
months past the people were permitted to express themselves on the bond
question. In that election the will of the people was strongly thrown against
a bond issue that seemed to be supported by the most enterprising and
prominent citizens of the State of Pennsylvania. But the issue was not so much
as to whether a bond issue was necessary but as to whether those who offered
this method of road building were sincere in their offers of help, or merely
desired to get their hands into the pockets of the farmer. The farmers, to a
large extent, seemed to lean to the latter view.However, it is universally accepted by those who have the building of roads
at heart that the bond issue is the real remedy. The matter becomes one of
economics. Can we make and maintain good roads under the bond plan and be
better off financially than in the past? Under the old plan of letting each
community pay for its own roads the prosperous portions of the county had good
roads and kept them up with economy, while the poorer portions were compelled
to do without, or at best suffer from incompetent and misdirected labors of
local workmen. Under the State-aid plan fifty per cent of the work is paid for
by the State commission, and the balance is made up by the county, all sums
being raised by taxation.But the bond issue goes further. By means of this method all of the road
tax is applied to the work direct, and the proportion is adjusted in such a
manner that those who can afford to pay for good roads are automatically
compelled to assist those in less fortunate situations.KINDS OF ROADS
Now about the roads themselves. Conditions alter the methods of road
building in each community. Let us see what they are in this county. Here we
have three classes of vehicles to contend with–the farm wagon, with sharp,
narrow tires and heavy loads; the automobile, with soft tires and high speed;
and the traction engine, with wide tires and great weight.First, the farm wagon. Here we find that a road must be made of firm, hard
surface, but at the same time of sufficient surface roughness to give grip to
the shoes of the horses. The sharp calks of the horses and the narrow tires of
the wagons soon cut into a soft surface. For this class of traffic, the most
successful road is the stone or macadam one.Second comes the automobile, which is growing in use year by year. For this
vehicle a road is needed that has a slightly rough surface, but the material
must be bound together by a tar or other binder, in order to prevent the
violent suction from tearing the road to pieces.Third, the heavy traction engine requires a deep, hard road, with a very
substantial foundation. Traction engines are really road improvers, as they
help to compact the road surface and counteract the injury done by the autos.Lastly, let us look upon the class of materials offered by the local
conditions of Armstrong county. We have stone of three kinds, sandstone, and
two kinds of limestone. We must reject the sandstone, owing to its soft and
disintegrating character. And the two limestones are not much better, even
though used in the form of concrete mixtures. They are too soft and liable to
turn to dust after continual use. Time has proved the truth of these
statements by the evidence of the present so-called roads which have been the
receptacles of funds for many generations, just as a deep well would be–there
is no evidence to show of the money spent in the past.But nature has not left Armstrong entirely destitute of good road material.
Man needs but add his labor to the great mass of clays–firebrick, or
vitrified brick–is the ideal road surface. It will withstand the cutting
action of the wagon tire and toe-calk, the suction of the autos and the great
weight of the traction engine. And the supply of raw material is almost
inexhaustible, while the price compares favorably with the best of other
materials. Undoubtedly, the future roads of the county will be of brick, with
a tar binder and a deep concrete base.THE AUTOMOBILE
Ten years ago the automobile was the rich man’s toy, and there were less
than 30,000 of them in the United States. To-day there are about 80,000 in the
State of Pennsylvania alone.To-day the motor vehicle enters into every phase of commercial and
industrial life as well as the various social factors in human existence. The
doctor who presides at a birth or is called in an emergency which might often
mean life or death, gets there on time in his motor car, which too often was
not the case with the horse. When a marriage ceremony takes place they must
have automobiles and at funerals the motor hearse and motor carriages are
coming more and more in use every day. In all the necessities for a vehicle of
any kind the motor vehicle is becoming paramount. The business man of one town
or village with his automobile can drive a distance of fifty miles or so in
the morning, transact his business during the middle of the day and drive home
with less effort than would be required to drive twelve or fifteen miles with
a team. The merchant makes his round of customers in the country and the
doctor visits his patients in one quarter of the time previously consumed. The
farmer can drive ten miles to town for needed supplies, almost before
breakfast, while with a team and bad roads a large portion if not all the day
would be required. The auto trucks enable merchants to greatly extend their
zones of delivery and to make their deliveries promptly and under all weather
conditions, while under the old system there were few who went beyond the
boundaries of the cities or villages. The fact that there are1,100,000
automobiles and trucks now in use in the Unites States as against 30,000 ten
years ago, and that 350,000 more are being built this year and that most of
these are put to every possible kind of use, and that their daily area of
travel is about ten times that of a horse, indicates to every person who
thinks that to the traffic of ten years ago has been added a new traffic ten
times as great.It is not that the new traffic has taken the place of the old. It has in
the main been added to it. Many roads that were traversed by 100 teams a day
ten years ago are now traversed by 100 teams and 1,000 motor vehicles. It is
the new travel that has created the revolution in transportation and the
revolution has only commenced. New vehicles are constantly being devised and
placed on the roads to add to the convenience of the public, and these call
for more and better highway construction.Motor trucks carrying from eight to twelve tons are already common and
roads must be built to sustain their weight. Motor omnibus lines are springing
up all over the country, and even trolley cars that run on the roads without
rails are in use in some localities, particularly in the State of New York.RAILROADS IN ARMSTRONG COUNTY
By act of April 4, 1837, when the late Gov.. Wm. F. Johnston was
representing this county in the lower house of our State Legislature, a
charter was granted for constructing the Pittsburgh, Kittanning and Warren
railroad. Various supplements were afterward passed, by one of which the name
was changed, as suggested by Josiah Copley, to the Allegheny Valley railroad.
Nothing was done toward making the road until about fifteen years after the
granting of the original charter, when Mr. Johnston, the first president of
the board of managers, and other earnest and energetic friends of the project,
began to utilize the power and privileges conferred by that charter, and
succeeded in raising a sufficient amount of stock to build it as far as
Kittanning, to which point it was completed in January, 1856, which was its
northern terminus for about eleven years, when the late William Phillips
became the leading energetic spirit in prosecuting its extension to Brady’s
Bend, and thence to Oil City, and in leasing other roads above, until in 1880
the company controlled lines to Brockton, N. Y., and other points on the
Philadelphia & Erie. The Bennett’s branch, or “Low Grade”
division of this road, was built in 1874, from the mouth of Red Bank creek to
Driftwood.The Northwestern Pennsylvania road was chartered in 1853, to run from
Blairsville to Freeport, but after some construction had been done it failed.
It was bought by the Western Pennsylvania railroad in 1859, work was resumed
in 1863, and in 1864 the first train run as far as Kiski Junction. The
following year trains ran into Allegheny, and in 1871 the Butler branch was
built and operated.The Parker and Karns City narrow gauge road was chartered in 1872 and
operated in 1874. It was consolidated in 1881 with the Pittsburgh &
Western, became financially embarrassed in 1879, and in 1882 leased to the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. It was make standard gauge in 1887.The Pine Creek & Dayton road, narrow gauge, was built in 1869 to carry
ore to the Pine Creek furnace. In 1899 the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh
road built their line through the county, using part of the old roadbed of the
Pine Creek road. A line of the B., R. & P. was also surveyed through
Apollo to Pittsburgh, but not utilized in any way. The Rural Valley R. R. is a
branch of this road, from Echo to Rural Valley.The first telegraph lines in the county were erected along the line of the
Allegheny Valley road in 1863. Later they were absorbed by the Western Union.The Pennsylvania Railroad Company began the operation of the Allegheny
Valley road under lease, Aug. 1, 1900, and on April 7, 1910, acquired
possession of the entire line. The mileage of the Pennsylvania in the county
is 34.38 miles of main track, of which 29.68 miles is double track. The
company proposes to complete the double tracking of the entire line through
the county and to change the alignment wherever necessary. One of the
improvements under way is the great Kennerdell tunnel through the hill at
Brady’s Bend, which will be completed in 1916.Since the company took charge of the road they have built new stations at
Johnetta, Templeton and Kittanning, and erected modern steel bridges over the
Kiskiminetas river, Red Bank and Mahoning creeks. They have also added 29.68
miles of secondary track in the county.There are an average of seven northbound and seven southbound passenger
trains through Kittanning daily, and four northbound and four southbound
passenger trains through to Pittsburgh and Kittanning every day. The average
number of freight trains running through Kittanning every twenty-four hours is
twenty-eight, and the number of employees of the road in the county is almost
one hundred. This is certainly a very economical and creditable report for the
chief railroad in this part of the State.At present there are 200 miles of steam railroad through and adjoining this
county. Of this the Allegheny Valley division of the Pennsylvania has 60
miles; the Conemaugh division, 23 miles; the Low Grade division, 25 miles; the
Butler branch, 8 miles; the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh, 33 miles; the
Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern, 30 miles; the Bessemer & Lake Erie’s
branch from Brady’s Bend, 6 miles; the Baltimore and Ohio, 4 miles. The
Buffalo and Susquehanna road enters the county for about one mile on the
eastern border, the terminal station being Sagamore. These roads are not all
strictly in the county, but run in some instances along the borders, so that
the people of Armstrong are dependent upon them for transportation, and the
stations are connected with the towns by bridges over the several separating
rivers.Numerous projected surveys have been run through the county in various
portions, for roads of the Buffalo & Susquehanna, Buffalo, Rochester &
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern roads.PITTSBURGH, SHAWMUT & NORTHERN RAILROAD
One of the most important events in the history of Armstrong during the
last twenty-five years occurred during the year that this history was compiled
and the writer had opportunity to view the beginning of the life of a railroad
financed partly by Armstrong county capital and catering largely to Armstrong
county people. This was the Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern railroad, which
connects together with iron bands the people of Kittanning and Brookville.The road was organized in 1905 and construction commenced in 1906. The
first train left Kittanning on Monday, Oct. 20, 1913, with forty-one
passengers. The first ticket was purchased by James Millville, one of the
officials of the American Bridge Company, who were the contractors for the
beautiful bridge across the Allegheny at Mahoning creek. J. W. Williams was
the engineer and D. H. Croyle conductor. J. F. Carpenter, depot agent, sold
the first ticket. Dr. C. E. Keeler of Elderton received the first package of
freight that came over the new road.The length of the road through Armstrong county is thirty miles, and the
stations on the line are McWilliams, Eddyville, Fort Pitt, Putneyville,
Oakland, Seminole, Caldwell, Tidal, Chickasaw, Mahoning, West Mosgrove,
Furnace Run and Kittanning. The route is through East Franklin, Washington,
Madison, Mahoning and Red Bank townships, following closely the west bank of
the Allegheny and the Mahoning creek banks on both sides. It does not cling so
closely to the Mahoning as the “Low Grade” division of the
Pennsylvania does to the Red Bank, but crosses the former at two places in
Madison township, avoiding the severe bends of that stream by two bridges and
two tunnels. The route on the Mahoning is wonderfully picturesque, that stream
having as yet escaped the vandal touch of the noisy but necessary rolling
mill, the clear waters flowing undefiled through a valley of great scenic
beauty.On the night of Oct. 23, 1913, a banquet was given at Kittanning by a
number of the representative citizens of Armstrong County to the officials of
the road at the home of Hose Company No. 1, at which many addresses were made,
a most historic and interesting one being that of J. D. Daugherty, a prominent
attorney of Kittanning. The historic significance of this gathering will be
better realized by those who in future years peruse these pages and see how
far the expectations of these 1913 pioneers are realized. For the benefit of
future historians and as a record of a few of the leading men of this
enterprise and their supporters, is appended a list of the participants in
this banquet.Officials of the railroad and allied corporations–F. S. Smith, receiver;
F. B. Lincoln, assistant receiver; Dwight C. Morgan, vice president and
general manager; W. S. Hastings, auditor and treasurer; S. A. Vanderveer,
assistant treasurer; John T. Armstrong, purchasing agent; C. L. McIntyre,
claim agent; W. W. Henshey, chief engineer; H. R. Downs and D. H. Martin,
assistant engineers; N. L. Strong, solicitor; G. H. Jones, R. E. Ball, W. R.
Craig, James H. Corbett, E. A. Corbett, Chas. P. Morgan, C. A. Marshall, M. C.
Aubrey, James T. Ganson, Stanley Cobham, J. N. Henderson, C. J. Best, P. J.
Burford, J. V. Carpenter, G. K. Russell, J. S. Porter, C. S. Ferne, J. B.
Strong, F. A. Schmidt, C. W. Pryor, Arnold Hurst, Arthur White, Thomas Hall,
C. P. Bailey, J. R. Herbert, J. I. Downs, G. E. Doverspike, F. D. King,
William Atkins, H. C. Watson, F. E. Clawson, Dr. B. J. Longwell, Dr. L. Z.
Hays, Dr. T. R. Hilliard, Dr. W. B. Adams, E. W. Tait, J. C. Barnett, H. H.
Gardiner, E. J. McLaughlin, J. T. Odell, F. S. Hammond, John L. Smith, J. D.
Weaver, H. S. Wilgus, J. C. Smith, J. P. Creagh, M. L. Gahr, R. L. Barrett, C.
L. Lathrop, B. C. Mulhearn, W. R. Craig, W. W. Morrison, Fred Norman, R. P.
Mellinger.Representative men of Armstrong County–Robert Allen, Dr. J. E. Ambler,
James Amet, Joseph Apple, Benjamin L. Arnold, Harry A. Arnold, Henry Bauer, C.
N. Bayne, R. C. Beatty, L. E. Biehl, Dr. W. J. Bierer, Fred E. Blaney, Harry
P. Boarts, S. F. Booher, John Borger, Dr. Albert E. Bower, M. L. Bowser, W. A.
Bowser, William F. Brodhead, W. P. Brown, Andrew Brymer, Hon. Joseph
Buffington, judge U. S. court, Joseph Buffington, Orr Buffington, George H.
Burns, Henry Bernd, P. P. Burford, I. T. Campbell, A. H. Chandler, H. M.
Claypoole, J. S. Claypool, Blair Coggon, Charles Colwell, Henry C. Colwell,
Henry Colwell, John P. Colwell, R. C. Conner, Leo Conner, William Copley,
Daniel H. Core, James Coughlin, Jr., John Crossett, L. H. Croyle, R. A. Crum,
J. P. Culbertson, Fred C. Dailey, J. D. Daugherty, William B. Daugherty, C. H.
Davis, Ivan D. Doverspike, J. R. Einstein, Harry Ellermeyer, William
Ellermeyer, Paul T. Evans, William Fecther, W. N. Ferguson, George B. Fleming,
K. G. Fleming, C. E. Foster, F. M. Foster, John A. Fox, Frank M. Fries, Daniel
G. Fry, Chambers Frick, J. M. Gable, H. G. Gates, Harry R. Gault, J. A. Gault,
A. L. George, J. E. Geiger, Hon. J. Frank Graff, Peter Graff, Abe Greenbaum,
M. J. Glenn, A. S. Gruskin, A. E. Handcock, C. E. Harrington, P. L. Heaphy,
Harry A. Heilman, H. H. Heilman, Neale Heilman, Tyson Heilman, Wm. M. Heilman,
Hon. D. B. Heiner, Hon. W. G. Heiner, W. C. Heidersdorf, Harry Hefferin, H. B.
Henderson, Miram Hill, Harry E. Himes, B. S. Henry, E. S. Hutchison, P. C.
Hutchison, Rev. J. W. Hutchison, W. W. Irwin, A. L. Ivory, M. S. Jack, W. H.
Jack, Dr. C. J. Jessop, Dr. S. A. S. Jessop, F. C. Jones, S. L. Kaufman, J. B.
Kennerdell, R. E. Kennerdell, C. C. King, E. M. King, Hon. J. W. King, E. E.
Kinter, Dr. J. K. Kiser, F. S. Knoble, Charles Kwal, E. B. Latshaw, C. K.
Leard, Paul Libarakis, James Linnon, W. A. Louden, H. G. Luker, R. T. Lytle,
Blaine Mast, A. M. Mateer, M. J. Maxwell, Charles Meals, Frank Means, Harry W.
Miller, Burt Milson, W. B. Meredith, Charles J. Moesta, Henry Moesta, Dr. F.
C. Monks, D. H. Montgomery, H. E. Montgomery, William Moore, R. W. Moorhead,
C. O. Morris, S. H. McCain, W. P. McCartey, E. E. McCoy, L. E. McConnell, A.
W. McClister, Harry D. McClure, J. C. McGregor, James McCullough, Jr., Dr. T.
N. McKee, Paul L. KcKendrick, Hon Geo. W. McNees, H. L. McNees, S. G. McNees,
F. H. McNutt, Frank C. Neale, Valentine Neubert, L. H. Nevins, W. A.
Nicholson, C. T. N. Painter, James M. Painter, Hon. John H. Painter, H. L.
Patterson, George Peecook, W. L. Peart, Roy W. Pollock, E. G. Procious, John
Pryor, J. O. Ralston, George W. Reese, C. L. Reeder, Ferdinand Reisgen, W. E.
Reisgen, Fritz Reitler, Harry Reynolds, S. H. Richardson, John W. Rhodes, E.
E. Ritchey, Dr. Russell Rudolph, John A. Rupp, Howard Sargent, E. E.
Schaeffer, D. L. Schaeffer, Tillman Scheeren, K. B. Schotte, W. H. Schuyler,
H. H. Schweitering, H. G. Semple, John W. Shadle, Henry Shaffer, J. M. Shankle,
A. L. Sheridan, Roland B. Simpson, S. A. Smith, W. S. Snyder, Fred B. Stage,
Dr. J. M. Steim, R. A. Steim, R. D. Steim, Charles Stenger, H. H. Streiber, W.
J. Sturgeon, George G. Titzell, Charles A. Utley, Joseph Walbert, Hay Walker,
Charles Watterson, Charles Weylman, H. H. Weylman, Douglas White, John Wick,
Jr., B. L. Willard, George W. Wilson, O. N. Wilson, R. D. Wray, Charles A.
Wolfe, Dr. E. H. Wright, Dr. Jay B. F. Wyant.ELECTRIC RAILWAYS
Armstrong county is supplied with but one electric road, but it is possible
that soon other lines will cross the county, as fast as the many advantages
are brought to the notice of the capitalists. The road is in two sections,
located in the northern and southern ends of the county.The Kittanning and Ford City Street Railway Company was organized in 1898
with F. A. Moesta, president, John T. Crawford, secretary, and James
McCullough, Jr., treasurer. They, with J. A. Gault and John F. Heilman,
constituted the directors.The first trial trip after the completion of the road was made on July 3,
1899, and the regular operation of the line began in August of that year. The
line through Ford City was built in 1903, and the extension to Lenape Park in
1904. In 1907-08 the line was extended north through Wickboro to Cowanshannock
creek. The length of this line is 10 3/4 miles.The Leechburg & Apollo Electric Railway Company was organized in 1902
with the following officials: John Q. Cochran, president; S. M. Jackson,
treasurer; S. M. Nelson, John P. Klingensmith, Dr. J. D. Orr, Edward Hill, J.
W. Crosby, James B. Kifer, directors. The road was opened for traffic in 1902.
In 1905 the company name was changed to the Pittsburgh and Allegheny Valley
Railway, most of the officers being retained in the reorganization. It was
sold to the West Penn Traction Company in 1911. This line runs from Leechburg
to Apollo, passing through Gilpin, Parks and part of Kiskiminetas townships, a
distance of eight miles, part of the line being along the towpath of the old
Pennsylvania canal.A portion of the construction was under different charters, Kittanning and
Leechburg Street Railways Company, Kittanning and Ford City Street Railways
Company and the Kittanning & Mosgrove Street Railways Company. These
companies were afterwards merged under the name of the Kittanning &
Leechburg Railways Company in the year of 1904.Â
The officers and directors were F. A. Moesta, president; James McCullough,
Jr., secretary and treasurer; John A. Fox, Charles J. Moesta and Henry E.
Moesta, directors.This property was sold to the West Penn Traction Company Nov. 1, 1911. In
this sale was included the Kittanning Electric Light Company, which supplies
light and power in Kittanning, Wickboro, Applewold and Manorville.The power house of the Kittanning line is located at Garrett’s Run, and has
an installation for emergency purposes of 2,400 horsepower. The current,
however, is supplied from the West Penn plant at Connellsville, one of the
greatest in the world, by means of high power lines that run across the county
through Leechburg and into Westmoreland county. The power houses at Garrett’s
Run and Leechburg are only kept ready in case of breakdowns. The amount of
current that can be supplied is unlimited.Surveys and considerable detail work have been done between the temini of
the line at Lenape Park and Leechburg, with the possibility of the completion
of this line at some future date. Extensions are also contemplated from the
northern terminus at Cowanshannock to Mosgrove.RAILROADS IN ARMSTRONG COUNTY
By act of April 4, 1837, when the late Gov.. Wm. F. Johnston was
representing this county in the lower house of our State Legislature, a
charter was granted for constructing the Pittsburgh, Kittanning and Warren
railroad. Various supplements were afterward passed, by one of which the name
was changed, as suggested by Josiah Copley, to the Allegheny Valley railroad.
Nothing was done toward making the road until about fifteen years after the
granting of the original charter, when Mr. Johnston, the first president of
the board of managers, and other earnest and energetic friends of the project,
began to utilize the power and privileges conferred by that charter, and
succeeded in raising a sufficient amount of stock to build it as far as
Kittanning, to which point it was completed in January, 1856, which was its
northern terminus for about eleven years, when the late William Phillips
became the leading energetic spirit in prosecuting its extension to Brady’s
Bend, and thence to Oil City, and in leasing other roads above, until in 1880
the company controlled lines to Brockton, N. Y., and other points on the
Philadelphia & Erie. The Bennett’s branch, or “Low Grade”
division of this road, was built in 1874, from the mouth of Red Bank creek to
Driftwood.The Northwestern Pennsylvania road was chartered in 1853, to run from
Blairsville to Freeport, but after some construction had been done it failed.
It was bought by the Western Pennsylvania railroad in 1859, work was resumed
in 1863, and in 1864 the first train run as far as Kiski Junction. The
following year trains ran into Allegheny, and in 1871 the Butler branch was
built and operated.The Parker and Karns City narrow gauge road was chartered in 1872 and
operated in 1874. It was consolidated in 1881 with the Pittsburgh &
Western, became financially embarrassed in 1879, and in 1882 leased to the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. It was make standard gauge in 1887.The Pine Creek & Dayton road, narrow gauge, was built in 1869 to carry
ore to the Pine Creek furnace. In 1899 the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh
road built their line through the county, using part of the old roadbed of the
Pine Creek road. A line of the B., R. & P. was also surveyed through
Apollo to Pittsburgh, but not utilized in any way. The Rural Valley R. R. is a
branch of this road, from Echo to Rural Valley.The first telegraph lines in the county were erected along the line of the
Allegheny Valley road in 1863. Later they were absorbed by the Western Union.The Pennsylvania Railroad Company began the operation of the Allegheny
Valley road under lease, Aug. 1, 1900, and on April 7, 1910, acquired
possession of the entire line. The mileage of the Pennsylvania in the county
is 34.38 miles of main track, of which 29.68 miles is double track. The
company proposes to complete the double tracking of the entire line through
the county and to change the alignment wherever necessary. One of the
improvements under way is the great Kennerdell tunnel through the hill at
Brady’s Bend, which will be completed in 1916.Since the company took charge of the road they have built new stations at
Johnetta, Templeton and Kittanning, and erected modern steel bridges over the
Kiskiminetas river, Red Bank and Mahoning creeks. They have also added 29.68
miles of secondary track in the county.There are an average of seven northbound and seven southbound passenger
trains through Kittanning daily, and four northbound and four southbound
passenger trains through to Pittsburgh and Kittanning every day. The average
number of freight trains running through Kittanning every twenty-four hours is
twenty-eight, and the number of employees of the road in the county is almost
one hundred. This is certainly a very economical and creditable report for the
chief railroad in this part of the State.At present there are 200 miles of steam railroad through and adjoining this
county. Of this the Allegheny Valley division of the Pennsylvania has 60
miles; the Conemaugh division, 23 miles; the Low Grade division, 25 miles; the
Butler branch, 8 miles; the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh, 33 miles; the
Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern, 30 miles; the Bessemer & Lake Erie’s
branch from Brady’s Bend, 6 miles; the Baltimore and Ohio, 4 miles. The
Buffalo and Susquehanna road enters the county for about one mile on the
eastern border, the terminal station being Sagamore. These roads are not all
strictly in the county, but run in some instances along the borders, so that
the people of Armstrong are dependent upon them for transportation, and the
stations are connected with the towns by bridges over the several separating
rivers.Numerous projected surveys have been run through the county in various
portions, for roads of the Buffalo & Susquehanna, Buffalo, Rochester &
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern roads.Source: Page(s) 28-46, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and Present,
J. H. Beers & Co., 19114.
Transcribed 1998 by Cynthia G. Hartman and James R. Hindman for the Armstrong
County Smith Project.
Contributed by Cynthia G. Hartman and James R. Hindman for use by the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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