HEADER
Chapter 38
Brady’s Bend TownshipSHORTENING A RAILROAD – CAPT. SAMUEL BRADY – SETTLERS – KAYLOR –
INDUSTRIIES – THE BRADY’S BEND IRON WORK – A SAD FINANCIAL WRECK – CHURCHES –
PRESENT INDUSTRIES – SCHOOLS – POPULATIONThe name of this township is derived from the immense serpentine loop of
the Allegheny which forms its eastern boundary and causes the line of the
Pennsylvania railroad to almost double upon itself in traversing the inner
side of the great bend. However, within a few months after the issue of this
history, the trains will run through the great Kennerdell tunnel which is
being blasted through the solid rock of the immense hill opposite Brady’s
Bend, at a cost of about $750,000. The tunnell is 3,700 feet long and will cut
off a loop of seven miles. With the improved methods of rock cutting ‘in these
days it has taken about two years to accomplish work that in early days of
railroading would have required six years’ time, if it were even considered
possible with the crude methods then in use. A town of several hundred people
could be formed from the workers and their families, located around this
tunnel.This tunnel will complete the ruin of the little town of Brady’s Bend,
already the victim of severe misfortune in the past, and will put the thriving
borough of East Brady, Clarion county, on a side track. However, it is to be
hopped that the Pittsburgh & Bessemer road will see the advantage of
extending its line through Brady’s Bend and across the neighboring county,
thus again putting the two towns on a main line.The naming of the bend, the township and the formerly populous town is
attributed to a desire of the early settlers and their descendants to
perpetuate the memory of Capt. Samuel Brady, the famous Indian fighter.The township was organized in April, 1845, from Sugar Creek, and tire first
election was held at the house of John R. Johnston, the result being the
installation into office of the following citizens: Joseph King and John A.
Thompson, justices of the peace; Daniel B. Balliet, constable; Andrew Kaylor
and Andrew McKee, supervisors; Ephraim Myers, judge of election; George Duncan
and William Hagerson, inspectors of election; William H. Davis, Daniel Kemerer,
Jacob Millison, Robert A. Phillips, John Truby and Simon Wiles, school
directors; James E. Crawford and Thomas Donaldson,, overseers of the poor;
Thomas S. Johnston, township clerk.At the spring; election, 1846, the result was: Daniel B. Balliet constable;
Peter Kemerer, judge of election – , Leonard Rumbaugh and John Truby,
inspectors of election; Andrew Kaylor and Andrew McKee, supervisors; James
Summerville, assessor; Joseph King and Matthias C. Sedwick,, assistant
assessors; Hugh Moore and John Wiles, township auditors; Samuel M. Bell,
Daniel Kemerer, M. C. Sedwick, John A. Thompson and John Truby, school
directors – there, was a tie vote between Peter Brenneman and Joseph King;
Thomas Donaldson, overseer of the poor – tie vote between Jacob Millison,
Patrick Mehan, Andrew McKee and M. C. Sedwick Samuel M. Bell, township clerk;
Thos. Donaldson and John Quinn, fence viewers.
SETTLERS
Settlers in what is now – Brady’s Bend township, between 1784 and 1850,
were:
George King Leonharte Kealor
(later spelled Kaylor)ÂDavid Nixon Abraham Yorkey Adam Kemmerer
Jacob Allimong
 John Richard
Jonathan King
John Spangler Alexander Colwell Daniel Forringer James Forringer Andrew Kealor  Samuel McCartney Michael Barnhart Isaac Myers, John Y. McCartney John Wassol Thomas Butler John Linaberger George Spangler Henry Sybert David Rumbaugh Adam Sybert John Truby John Barnhart Daniel Stannard, John Well Benjamin Swain James Summerville John Craword Jonathan Mortimer William Holder F. W. Redmond Jacob Millison Philander Raymond  Jacob Hepler John Denniston John Weems Francis Lease William Ferguson Andrew Grinder  Matthew Pugh Sebastian Sybert William Benson Thomas Hooks James Barrickman  Paul Wolcot Randolph Lawrence John Millison Samuel LeFevre Peter Townsend Philip Templeton Dr. Elisha Wall
KAYLOR
The first gristmill built in the township was .that of Henry Sybert, on
Sugar creek, in 1812. He added a sawmill later and after his death in 1830 it
came into the bands of the Truby family. Around this mill by 1872 had grown up
quite a settlement, with two stores and three hotels. When the Allegheny
Western railroad, a branch of the Pittsburgh & Bessemer, came through to
Brady’s Bend this became the thriving mining town of Kaylor. Peter Brenneman
kept the first store there in 1874. In 1913 Kaylor has three stores, two
hotels and a Baptist church, of which Rev. M. V. S. Gold is the pastor. Drs.
G. A. Knight and C. B. McGogney are the resident physicians and C. B. McDonald
is the constable. Kaylor acquired its name from Peter Kealor, who built the
first sawmill on this tract in 1817.INDUSTRIES
In other parts of the township John Richard was first assessed with a
carding machine in 1822, the first fulling mill was started in 1844 by Joseph
Forringer, and Jonathan Mortimer erected the log gristmill on the run which
was later called Holder’s run, from William Holder, who several years
afterward owned the mill and site. The first distillery in the township was
assessed to Henry Sybert, Jr., in 1849. It was situated on the Allegheny near
where the Great Western Distilleries plant is now located.A sandstone quarry on the Allegheny, north of Brady’s Bend, was operated in
1857 by John Harrison of Pittsburgh, under lease from William J. Criswell.
Some of the stone from this quarry was used in building the jail at
Kittanning. A sawmill stood near this quarry in that year. Criswell’s
granddaughter, Emma, is the wife of Everett C. Hoch of Kittanning.The first schoolhouse in the township stood on the site of the one now
called Pine Run school, and was built while yet within the limits of Sugar
Creek township.Before completing the statistics of the township it will be necessary to
give the history of the Brady’s Bend Iron Company at the town of that name, as
the entire wealth of the township was at one time concentrated in that place
and the prosperity of the township, as well as that of the surrounding
country, was dependent entirely upon these mills.BRADY’S BEND IRON WORKS
Sugar creek empties into the Allegheny almost in the western center of the
great bend called Brady’s, and as if in emulation of its larger parent makes a
bend fully as severe just before the waters are mingled. This bend is at right
angles with the river and at one point makes so sharp a turn that the shortest
route to the town of Brady’s Bend is across the steep hill which separates it
from the river. The distance around the convolutions of the creek is about two
and a half miles, while across the hill it is, but three quarters of a mile.Along these bends of Sugar creek were distributed the various industries
which made up the plant of the iron works. Beginning at the river came first
the rolling mill and the machine shop, then around-the turn of the creek were
the coke ovens, on the side of the vast hill- and just below them in the
valley were the great stone and brick blast furnaces. The coal and iron mines
were in the sides of the hills on both banks of Sugar creek. The little
narrow-gauge railroad wound its tortuous way around the convolutions of the
creekside.The Great Western Iron Works commenced operations at Brady’s Bend in
August, 1839, under charge of Philander Raymond. The company acquired
possession of several hundred acres of land lying along the valley of Sugar
creek, and in that year selected the site of the first blast furnace, which
was completed and blown in about Christmas of the following year. A merchant
mill was also erected, the first intention being to manufacture merchant iron
and nails. Several machines for the latter purpose were erected, but on trial
the iron was found got adapted for this branch of manufacture. The manufacture
of strap rails was then commenced, and continued until the dissolution of the
Great Western Iron Company, in 1843.The Brady’s Bend Iron Company acquired possession of the property in 1844,
erecting a second blast furnace, which was completed in 1845. The manufacture
of strap rails was continued till 1846, in the latter part of which year the
works were altered for the manufacture of T-rails, which continued to be sole
product during their succeeding operations. They were entitled to the credit
of rolling the first T-rail made west of the Alleghenies.Alexander Campbell, who rolled the first rail at these works, afterward at
the Edgar Thompson Steel Works, in 1876, assisted in rolling a rail which was
on, exhibition at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The latter rail was
120 feet long and weighed 64 pounds to the yard.With the exception of a short stoppage from the fall of 1848 to the summer
of 1849, the works were in prosperous operation until 1858, when, owing to the
death of the principal proprietor, they were completely shut down for five
years. A new organization was effected in the fall of 1862, and work was
commenced in all departments in February, 1863.In 1864 a narrow-gauge railroad was built to supply the furnaces with ore
and haul the product to the Allegheny, where it was transshipped into the
keelboats for other points. Up to 1867 this was the only railroad in this
section and the rivers were used to a great extent in the iron carrying trade.
The assessors’ report for 1864 valued the railroad at $10,000, the plant and
machinery at $259,000, the total being $269,000. One of the principal
stockholders at this time was the late Samuel J. Tilden, one time candidate
for the presidency of the United States. The year 1871 was the topmost one in
production and the valuation of the plant reached the (at that period)
enormous total of $1,292,700. The company had then acquired 6,000 acres of
land for the mineral rights, holding title to the surface as well. These lands
were valued at $65.63 an acre.In 1872 there was a slight reduction in value to $889,176. In the next
year, however, the storm broke. It was the ’73 panic, and the mills could not
weather the financial blast and closed down forever in October of that fatal
year. To show the rapidity with which misfortune crushes an industry, a few
figures from the assessor’s books are given. In 1874 the plant was valued
thus: Four blast furnaces, rolling mill, machine shop, four oil wells and
6,000 acres of land, $282,663 1878 – Same plant and land, $158,7902. 1879 –
Four furnaces, $14,605; rolling mill, $10,954; machine shop, $2,191; wells
were drying up. Total, $27,500.In the assessor’s book of 1879 is a sad document. It is the affidavit of F.
W. Rhodes, agent for the trustees of the bondholders of the Brady’s Bend Iron
Company, in which he declares that the assessment of that year was excessive,
as the plant had been completely dismantled, the machinery scrapped and sold
for $5,000 as old iron, and nothing but the decaying buildings, a few portions
of the boiler house and the tall stone chimney were left as momentoes of the
great manufacturing plant. In 1880 there were left 10,000 tons of burned iron
valued at $10,000. It could not be sold for that sum, however.So perished in the height of its success an industry which from a small
beginning grew to great proportions in thirty-four years and was a blessing to
the whole surrounding country, giving employment to from 1,200 to 1,500
operatives, supporting a population of over 5,000, and benefiting not only
Armstrong county, but the neighboring counties of Clarion and Butler. The
output of coal for the sole use of these works rose to the aggregate of upward
of 110,000 tons per annum; of ore, to over 70,000 tons. The product of the
mill was shipped to all parts of the country, returning millions of dollars to
enrich the laborer, and which, circulating through all the channels of trade,
proved a source of wealth to hundreds not connected with, the works. From a
dense wilderness sprung up a. town built by the proprietors for their
employees, of about seven hundred houses, with churches of every denomination,
and schoolhouses which ranked with the best in the county for size and
convenience, while the neighboring town of East Brady can -also be said to owe
its existence to this great enterprise.After Mr. Raymond the plant was conducted by H. A. S. D. Dudley from 1850
to 1864; by John H. Haines from 1864 to 1869, and by Col. W. D. Slack from
then until the end in 1873. The remainder of the property of the later owners
of the plant is now in the hands of Edward W. Dewey, a nephew of the great
Admiral George Dewey of Spanish-American war fame.
CHURCHES
Brady’s Bend Presbyterian Church was organized in 1845 and at first was a
missionary enterprise. The iron company donated a lot and a neat building was
erected at a cost of $5,000. This structure was afterward sold to the German
Catholic Church and a $4,000 home put up on another lot given by the
proprietors of the iron works in 1865. In 1867 the company again evidenced
their pious New England ancestry by presenting the church with the site of the
parsonage, which was built at cost of $2,000. The first pastor was Rev. Louis
L. Conrad, from 1846 to 1849. Followed Rev. Carl Moore, 1850-53, then a
vacancy of four years, after which came Rev. D. Hall, 1857-67; Rev. S. H.
Holliday, 1868-74; Revs. Theodore S. Negley and William J. Wilson, until 1878;
Revs. S. A. Hughes and H. Magill., 1879-81 ; Rev. J. S. Helm, during 1885;
Rev. Swan, 1886; Rev. S. A. Hughes, 1887-88. A record of the last pastors of
this church is not available at present. Services have not been held in the
building for some years. The first Roman Catholic Church at this point was a
German congregation, under the charge of Father Lewis Vogelsang, and occupied
the old Presbyterian church on the top of the hill, which they purchased from
that denomination in 1865. This congregation was afterward consolidated with
the “Irish” Catholic organization after the building was torn down
in 1893. The English speaking Catholics united into a church body in 1867 and
erected the present frame church in 1868. The pastors in charge have been:
Rev. Fathers Thomas Welsh, Sheehan, Callahan, Hern, Ryan, Quigley and the
present pastor, Father Hopkins, who is within the diocese of Erie, it being
too far for the supplying of pastors from Pittsburgh.The Protestant Episcopal denomination organized here and erected a stone
building of Gothic design in 1867. For some time the church was prosperous,
but like the rest of the religious societies, succumbed to the gradual
disintegration caused by the decline in the town’s chief source of prosperity
– the iron works. The old church is in an admirable state of preservation and
stands in the center of the valley, a fine example of pure Gothic architecture
in contrast to the hideously plain edifices of the older congregation. During
the entire period of its existence the pastor was Rev. B. F. Brown who came in
1868.The Reformed Church has a neat edifice here and is served by Rev. J. A.
Law, of Chicora. Zion Lutheran church, built in 1870, is not now in use
regularly, but is supplied by pastors from Chicora, Butler county.PRESENT INDUSTRIES
The Great Western Distilleries Company, a Kittanning corporation, have a
plant for the manufacture of rye whiskey on the river bank near the bridge
across the Allegheny, employing six men.George Reed operates a sawmill on the Allegheny just above the town.
Siebert Brothers have a machine shop in the town, with an auto garage in
connection.The Upper Kittanning Brick Company have a large plant on the upper reaches
of the creek near the first run, with eight kilns, employing fifty men, and
producing 100,000 firebrick per day. They are one of the few brick plants
which use natural gas to fire the kilns.The Pittsburgh Limestone Company have a quarry in the forks of Holder’s
run, from which come some of the limestone used in the Pittsburgh furnaces.
They are also producing a brand of Portland cement.In 1882 the resident physicians at Brady’s Bend were Drs. J. W. and W. T.
James. The former is now dead, but the latter is still practicing in this
section. Another resident physician in 1913 is Dr. W. C. Butler.E. L. Dunkle & Sons keep the store at the river bank, and Matthew Blatt
is the village storekeeper in the heart of the old town. One hotel at the
upper end of the valley caters to the wants of travelers. It is conducted by
Thomas Rockett. The village blacksmith is J. S. Schneider.The old ferries at this point are supplanted by a fine steel bridge
constructed in 1886 by the counties of Armstrong and Clarion.SCHOOLS
The “Mill”‘ schoolhouse is situated on a small hill near the
Allegheny, in the sharp bend of Sugar creek, and is one of the most prominent
objects of the landscape. The “Furnace” school is higher up the
creek, near the Episcopal church. George E. Ballwig and A. S. Brenneman were
teachers here in 1867-68. The first recorded teacher was W. C. Miller, in
1864.The number of schools in 1913 was 12; average months taught, 7; male
teachers, 2; female teachers, 10; average salaries, male, $62.50; female, $42;
male scholars, 160; female scholars, 210; average attendance, 296; cost per
month, $1.89; tax levied, $5,069.45; received from State, $2,597.66; other
sources, $7,435.21; value of schoolhouses, $16,000; teachers’ wages, $3,810;
fuel, fees, etc., $3,001.09.The school directors are: William Jenkins, president; John H. Rohrbach,
secretary; Harry C. Lewis, treasurer; Hermon Schultz, Dr. Charles B. McGogney.POPULATION The population of Brady’s Bend township
in 1850 was -2,325; in 1870, 3,1619; in 1880, 2,340; in 1890, 1,261; in 1900,
891; in 1910, 2,696. The population of the village of Brady’s Bend in 1880 was
1,010. At present it is scarcely more than 300. In 1913 the assessment returns
for the township were: Number of acres of timber, 556; cleared land, 6,428;
value of lands, $93,635; houses and lots, 343, valued at $89,070, average
value, $259.67; 242 horses, valued at $9,115 average value, $37.66; 201 cows
valued at $3,115, average value, $15; taxables, 509; total valuation’,
$281,364. Money at interest, $54,278.
GEOLOGY
The geological formation of this township is practically the same as Sugar
Creek. The mines at Kaylor work the Kittanning and Freeport veins. The
Pittsburgh Limestone Company get their stone from the Vanport limestone vein.In the northwest corner of the township, between the waters of Long and
Pine runs, is the highest spot above sea level, 1,523 feet.Source: Page(s) 267-271, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J. H. Beers & Co., 19114.
Transcribed August 2001 by Vaughn Davis for the Armstrong County Beers Project
Contributed by Vaughn Davis for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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