|
Gable's 30th Anniversary Souvenir A Brief History of Altoona and the People's Store
ALTOONA, PENNA. New York City, 2 Walker Street Chemnitz, Germany, 25 Theatre Strasse Paris, France, 3 Cite Trevise Manchester, England, 66 Faulkner Street St. Gall, Switzerland, 16 Rosenberg Strasse
A Project of Blair County PA USGenWeb Archives Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja
Part Two
A Brief History of Altoona Written Specially for Gable & Co.'s Thirtieth Anniversary by Harry L. Johnston
ALTOONA, PA., is one of the most unique cities in the United States. Altoona is a city of workers, where there is neither the very rich nor the very poor; a city of homes and home owners; a city of railroad shops, and rolling stock and motive power; a city of ideas and ideals; a city of stability and dependability; a city of progress and of expansion; a city of promise, with confidence in itself and faith in the future; a city without hate, without fear; a city where people live and laugh and labor and love.
Altoona has a romantic location, on gently sloping hills, at the base of the Alleghany mountains. On every hand the mountaintops kiss the azure of the sky by day and meet the stars by night.
Altoona lies at the head of the picturesque Logan valley or Tuckahoe valley, as it was commonly called in the pioneer days, and is elevated 1168 feet above tide. It is situated about thirty miles from the geographical centre of Pennsylvania.
The city derives its name from the liquid and expressive Cherokee word, "Allatoona," literally "high lands of great value." The name was bestowed by Archibald Wright, of Philadelphia, long a resident of the Cherokee country in Georgia, and an admirer of the musical names of that Indian language.
Some writers have stated that the name was derived from the Latin word altus or the French word alto, but J. Simpson Africa, in his history of Huntingdon and Blair counties, gives the Cherokee derivation on the authority of the person who bestowed the name, Mr. Wright. Strickland Kneass suggested that the name was too long and it was shortened, by omitting the second syllable, "la," to Altoona.
In 1849 Altoona was part farm, part wilderness and largely swamp. Indeed, there were three farms, owned respectively by William London, David Robison and Andrew Green.
Robison owned the middle farm on which the original village was laid out in that year. It came into his possession ten years earlier. It contained 223 acres and included that portion of the city now extending from Fourth to Fourteenth avenues and from Eleventh to Sixteenth streets.
Archibald Wright purchased the Robison farm, through Mr. Cadwallader, but he subsequently presented it to his son, John A. Wright, after whom the public school in the Third ward was named.
Robison lived in a farm house built of logs, which was erected near where the Logan House now stands. Mr. Wright had ascertained that he would be willing to accept $6,000 for his farm. On the day when Mr. Cadwallader arrived to close the deal, Robison was butchering. While the negotiations were pending a letter dropped from Mr. Cadwallader's pocket. This letter authorized the bearer to pay $10,000 for the farm, rather than permit the deal to fall through. It was picked up by Mrs. Robison, and, like a good wife, she acquainted her husband with its contents, with the result that Mr. Cadwallader was forced to yield to the demand for $10,000, instead of getting the farm for $6,000.
Andrew Green owned the farm lying east of Eleventh street and much of it was covered with virgin timber. After Altoona was laid out he concluded to start a rival city, which he called Greensburg. He foolishly declined to make the streets of his town conform to the general plan of Altoona, which is responsible for the unsightly and inconvenient offset in the avenues at Eleventh street, between Eleventh and Sixteenth avenues.
William Loudon owned the farm west of Sixteenth street, which he purchased from Eli Hastings in 1838 and occupied a year later. It contained 204 acres. The homestead, the usual log house, stood near where the Eighteenth street culvert passes under the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad. When he learned that the new railroad company intended to locate its shops here he laid out a portion of the tract in lots.
It is said that the officials of the Pennsylvania railroad really preferred Hollidaysburg as its headquarters at the foot of the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, but that the property owners there demanded prohibitive prices for their land, so another site was sought. Hollidaysburg at that time was a flourishing community and had been for some years by reason of the canal. It was also the county seat and is yet.
Mr. Wright encouraged the railroad to locate its shops and offices in Altoona by donating thirty-five acres of the Robison farm to the company. In truth, he may have been the agent of the company in buying the farm. At all events the railroad accepted the gift and Mr. Wright appointed Clement Jaggard his representative to sell off the remainder of the farm in lots. Mr. Jaggard became one of the new town's most important men. The Jaggard mansion, erected on Sixth avenue, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, years afterwards, stood in a grove which many hoped the city would buy for a park. The High School now occupies a portion of the plot. Feb. 18, 1914, the Altoona school board authorized the purchase of three additional lots fronting on Sixth avenue, including the old mansion, and the estate donated a lot 50x120 feet on Fifth avenue.
Feminine appellatives were bestowed upon the streets of Altoona as originally plotted. After the village had been laid out by John A. Wright, a number of civil engineers and others held a little celebration. Mr. Wright was asked if he had yet named the streets. He said that he had not. Whereupon they proposed to name them after their sweethearts, which proposition met with favor. And thus it was that the streets came to be called Virginia, Emma, Harriet, Adeline, Rebecca, etc., which included the names of several of Mr. Wright's family.
The original street names and their present designations follow
The first building erected on the original site of Altoona after Mr. Wright came into possession of the property, was a frame structure for the use of Strickland Kneass and the surveyors of the railroad. It was used as an engineers' office and was located near the railroad, probably at what is now Tenth avenue and Twelfth street.
Views Taken in and About P.R.R. Altoona Shops - 1
But in the immediate vicinity, indeed in what is now included within the boundaries of the present city, were several other buildings. As early as 1825 John McCartney, a native of Franklin county, was living in a cabin which he built on what is now the Cricket field at Chestnut avenue and Seventh street. Much of his time was spent in clearing what later became the Seventh ward of the timber and converting the land into a farm. In 1828 he married Charlotte Christman, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Christman, and moved on the farm, where eight children were born to them. When the city outgrew its original lines, he laid out the farm in lots, and established the suburb of McCartneyville, subsequently known as Logantown. His eldest daughter, in 1851, married John A. Smith, venerable and respected citizen, living today (1914), and they settled on the northwest side of the city.
Altoona grew slowly at first. Prospective inhabitants awaited developments. John B. Westley was the town's first contractor and builder. He erected the first house in the fall of 1849, for the use of Mr. Worrall, an engineer employed by the Pennsylvania railroad, at Eleventh avenue and Fourteenth street. Local histories credit Mr. Westley with building the first house in 1851, on Tenth avenue between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, but this is incorrect, although he may have erected a structure there in that year. Prior to 1852 he had erected these other buildings: Residences and storehouse for John Loudon on Eleventh avenue, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, residence for Enos M. Jones at 1406 Eleventh avenue, shop for Thomas Elway, a tailor on Twelfth avenue, dwelling for Joseph Boone, a lumber dealer, on Gospel Hill, house for Henry Eicholtz at Eleventh avenue and Thirteenth street and a house for William Payne on Ninth avenue, between Ninth and Tenth streets. Mr. Westley died at his home, Seventh avenue and Tenth street, April 6, 1900.
The year 1850 is a most memorable one in Altoona's history. It was the year the first train of cars reached the city over the newly constructed Pennsylvania railroad. Oddly enough there does not seem to have been much of a demonstration over the event, epoch-making though it was. Perhaps there were not enough people here then to make much of a fuss.
On Sept. 17, 1850, the first train was run through to Duncansville, which was then the terminus of the Middle division. What is now the Hollidaysburg branch was part of the main line for the time being. The cars crossed the mountain over the Old Portage, which had been used to haul canal boats from Hollidaysburg over the mountain to Johnstown,
On Dec. 10, 1850, the first train ran through Altoona to Pittsburgh. Meantime the present main line over the Alleghanies was being laid out and built. It was used for the first time on Feb. 15, 1854. It was a great engineering feat and gave the famous Horse Shoe Curve to the world.
Altoona was now made the western terminus of the Middle division. Originally the railroad track was laid along Ninth avenue, and the first station established at Ninth avenue and Twelfth street. But the main line was changed to parallel Tenth avenue and the station was moved to Tenth avenue and Thirteenth street. For a time the ticket office and waiting room were in the Logan House. Later a building was erected on the present site of the depot. It sufficed until 1871, when a new station was erected. In its day it was an imposing structure, but it has since been considerably altered.
Enos M. Jones, grandfather of the present state senator, Enos M. Jones, located in Altoona in 1851, purchased the lot at 1406 Eleventh avenue and built a home there. It is still in the family. Mr. Jones was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad company. Five years after his arrival the lot on which the Brant House now stands was offered for $250. In 1913 it was sold to the railroad company for $80,000 including, of course, the present hotel. For some reason the people were rather pessimistic in those early days and did not think Altoona had much of a future. Otherwise, they might have bought up the choice lots, held them and amassed fortunes.
Views Taken in and About P.R.R. Altoona Shops - 2
Portion of P.R.R. Classification Yards at East Altoona - Largest in The World
In 1851 Altoona consisted of a dozen houses. In addition to those previously named there were Adlum & Irvin's store, Benjamin Figart's store, Dr. Gabriel Thomas' residence, and the Exchange hotel, the latter located on Tenth avenue between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. A brick building was in course of erection on Virginia street (Eleventh avenue) for railroad offices.
Few streets had been laid out and none of them was graded. Trees covered the present site of the First National bank. Where the Logan House now stands was a pond in which the boys went swimming in summer. Deer passed through the straggling village in their migrations to and from the "licks."
With the advent of through passenger traffic it became necessary for the railroad company to furnish accommodations for its patrons, so it was decided to erect a hotel here. The Logan House was the result. It was begun in 1854 and rushed to completion the following year. The stone was obtained from the William Bell farm. The hostelry did not extend back to Eleventh avenue as it does now, but it was nevertheless a great building at the time, located in the midst of a wilderness. It attained fame all over the country later, and was the scene of the conference of loyal war governors on Sept. 24 and 25, 1862, at which it was decided to uphold the hands of President Lincoln in the vigorous prosecution of the war. It is said that this conference was one of the most momentous events of the Civil war and that it very largely contributed toward the preservation of the Union of states.
Establishment of the Railroad Shops
With the advent of steam transportation it became necessary to establish shops for the manufacture and repair of motive power and rolling stock. Accordingly the Pennsylvania Railroad company began the erection of its original shop unit in 1850 at Twelfth street. It consisted of a two-third round house, with eight tracks, for storing locomotives. One portion of the building was partitioned off for a paint shop and another for repairing freight cars. A long one-story building contained a locomotive repair shop, machine shop, car shop and foundry. When the road was opened from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, these constituted all the shops at that time. Today none of the original buildings remains. In their stead, in the same vicinity, have been erected what are known as the Altoona Machine shops, where locomotive repairing is a specialty.
Anticipating the need for expansion, the "lower," or Altoona Car shops were erected below Seventh street. The third unit, the Juniata shops, one of the most complete plants of its kind in the world, was started in 1889. Originally intended to erect 150 locomotives a year, enlargements now give it a capacity of one locomotive a day. Much of the experimental construction is also done at the Juniata shops. Following the completion of the classification yards in 1902-03, what might be termed another shop unit was established with the construction of the mammoth East Altoona roundhouse, with the necessary departments for repair work. The last great shop unit here is the South Altoona foundries, erected in 1903. It is one of the most modern plants in the country, with a capacity of 900 wheels a day.
These shops contain many departments, include one hundred buildings, and occupy fifty acres of ground space. Their estimated value, including equipment, is $18,000,000. In normal times between 15,000 and 16,000 persons are employed in the shops, yards and offices. Middle division records show that 2,162,895 cars moved past Denholm in 1913. The number of loaded cars was 1,307,790.
Incorporation of Altoona
Altoona became a borough Feb. 6, 1854. The population was 2,000. The first election was held on March 10, 1854, John I,. Piper, Herman L. Lombaert, George R. Everson, Jacob Hesser, and Thomas McCauley being chosen to council. George W. Patton was chief burgess. In 1855 Greensburg was taken into the borough. In 1857 a building was erected at Thirteenth avenue and Twelfth street for a lock-up, the second floor of which was used for council meetings.
Altoona became a city on April 3, 1868. The population then was over 8,000. In 1885 two branches of council were established - select and common, one representative from each ward being elected to select and two representatives from each ward to common. Early officials had much to contend with. Many perplexing problems confronted them. Still, these public servants managed pretty well, for they evolved a city out of an overgrown village. And no one was unnecessarily burdened with taxation. Altoona today owns property valued at $2,500,000, including the water system, with a net bonded indebtedness of $1,607,556.86. The assessed valuation of property is $26,232,000, which is probably two-thirds its real value, and the tax rate (city) is 10 mills. Altoona has 36.54 miles of paved streets, nine miles of main and sixty-six miles of lateral sewers, and owns a sewage filtering plant costing $100,000 and is about to build another worth $150,000. The death rate for 1913 was 11.71 per thousand of population.
The old order obtained until Monday, Dec. 1, 1913, when the bicameral form of government was superseded by the commission form of government, a body of five men, including the mayor, composing council, and combining both the legislative and executive functions of the government. Hereafter the people will elect the commissioners and they will appoint all the employes of the government, save only the city controller, who is the people's representative to guard the city's expenditures.
Present Board of City Commissioners, 1914
Top: Frank E. Rooney, Ira J. Shelley Bottom: H. J. Cornman, S. H. Walker, George W. Kuebler
Burgesses of Altoona
Mayors of Altoona
Commissioners of Altoona
S. H. Walker, mayor; director of Public Affairs; Ira J. Shelley, vice mayor, director of Accounts and Finance; George W. Kuebler, director of Public Safety; Frank E. Rooney, director of Streets and Public Improvements; H. J. Cornman, director of Parks and Public Property.
The terms of all expire on first Monday of January, 1916.
Formation of Blair County
Blair county was erected from portions of Bedford and Huntingdon counties on Feb. 26, 1846, on which date Governor Francis R. Shunk signed the bill, but the formation cannot be said to have been concluded until the following June. The county was named after John Blair, a son of Captain Thomas Blair, soldier in the Revolutionary war, who located in Blair's Gap in 1785. Hollidaysburg was chosen the county seat because it was then the largest town in the county. Governor Shunk appointed these officers to serve until the next election: Associate judges, George R. McFarlane and Daniel McConnell; district attorney, John Cresswell; sheriff, Benjamin Betts; prothonotary and clerk of the courts, Jeremiah Cunningham; register and recorder, John M. Gibboney; commissioners, Valentine Lingenfelter, William Bell and William C. McCormick.
Judge Jeremiah S. Black, later chief justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court, and also attorney general of the United States, held the first term of court on July 27, 1846, in the Methodist church. Forty-nine lawyers were sworn in that day and three more the day following. Oddly enough, the first suit entered was for a divorce - Mary Armstrong vs. John Armstrong, subpoena issued June 23, 1846. The divorce was granted March 25, 1847. The entire costs were $7.75. Divorces come higher today.
On Oct. 13, 1846, an election was held, these county officials being elected: Sheriff, Samuel J. Royer; prothonotary and clerk of the courts, Joseph Smith; register and recorder, Louis H. Williams; commissioners, John K. Neff, Edward McGraw and William Bell; auditors, Charles E. Kinkead, William P. Dysart and James Wilson; treasurer, Joseph Morrow; coroner, Joseph C. Morgan.
The contract for a court house and jail to be erected on the site of the present court house, was let July 4, 1846, to Daniel K. Ramey, at his bid of $11,998.50, and both were ready for occupancy in June of the following year. The contract for the present jail was let to Jonathan Rhule in 1868. It cost about $100,000. Bids for the present court house were advertised Aug. 11, 1875, and twenty-three were received, the contract being let to John Schreiner, of Pittsburgh, for $100,003. The building was completed July 2, 1877, and was made the occasion of a celebration, at which judge John Dean delivered the historic address. At a cost of $242,000, the court house was remodeled and enlarged and it was rededicated Oct. 4, 1907.
Judge Black continued on the bench until April 5, 1849, when the judicial districts were changed, and in the same month George Taylor, of Huntingdon, was appointed president judge of the Twenty-fourth district, to which Blair county belonged. He served until 1851, when the judiciary was made elective. He was chosen for ten years, being re-elected for a second term. He died in 1871.
John Dean, of Hollidaysburg, was his successor, having been elected in October, 1871. He was twice re-elected for ten years each, but in November, 1892, he was elected an associate justice of the Pennsylvania supreme court. He died May 25, 1905.
Hon. A. S. Landis, of Hollidaysburg, was appointed to the vacancy, Jan. 2, 1893, by Governor Robert E. Pattison, and served one year, when he was succeeded by Martin Bell, also of Hollidaysburg, who was re-elected in 1903. Judge Bell died Jan. 2, 1910.
Governor Edwin S. Stuart appointed Thomas J. Baldrige, of Hollidaysburg, to the vacancy on Jan. 12, 1910. Judge Baldrige was elected for ten years in 1911.
Associate Judges of Blair County
Gas and Water For Altoona
The Altoona Gas and Water company was incorporated April 9, 1859, to supply the new town with gas and water, the privilege having been granted by the state legislature by Act of May 2, 1855. The officers were: President, W. H. Wilson; treasurer, William M. Lloyd; secretary, B. F. Rose; managers, John Shoemaker, Enos M. Jones, Charles J. Mann, Rev. A. B. Clarke and George B. Cramer. The Pennsylvania railroad evidently had a joint interest in the water rights, for both the company and the city obtained a supply of water from Pottsgrove, and distributed it from the old reservoir at Fifteenth avenue and Twelfth street. Stockholders in the gas and water company did not have much faith in the future of the city, for they contented themselves with laying 4-inch mains, which were later replaced by 8-inch mains.
Both gas and water were introduced in Altoona on Dec. 15, 1859. Later it was discovered that the old arrangement could not be continued, so the city finally decided to establish its own water system, bought a site at Kittanning Point and in 1871 built a reservoir, simultaneously erecting the Prospect Hill distributing basin. In 1872 the city purchased the water system from the gas and water company for $20,000, the railroad company took over the Pottsgrove plant and the Altoona Gas company was formed May 8, 1871, retaining the gas portion of the concern.
This was the beginning of Altoona's splendid water plant, which today includes the reservoir, impounding dam and Lake Altoona at Kittanning Point, the Prospect Hill and Oakton distributing basins and a site for a reservoir in Riggle's Gap, together with the water rights of Riggle's Run, with an aggregate value of $2,160,500, or more than four-fifths of all the property owned by. the city. The capacity of the city reservoirs in gallons is as follows
Lake Altoona has cost the city about $600,000, but $300,000 more will be required to complete it, when it will have a capacity of 1,600,000,000 gallons.
The Altoona Gas company continued the old name until 1913, when it adopted the name of the Altoona Gas Light and Fuel company. Gas sells for $1.20 per thousand cubic feet, with a discount of 10 cents per thousand feet. Natural gas, introduced in 1913, retails at 35 cents per thousand cubic feet.
Organization of Fire Department
When Altoona began to assume the aspects of a town, fire protection became a necessity. So in April, 1859, the Good Will Fire company was organized, with Alexander A. Smyth, A. H. Maxwell and A. C. Vauclain as the prime movers. The hand engine of the Good Will company, of Philadelphia, was purchased and arrived here Oct. 22, 1859. There being no water in the town at that time, the celebration was postponed until Dec. 15, 1859, when both water and gas were introduced, and made the occasion of a "big" parade. W. W. Smith and Andrew Kipple, members of the original company, are still living. The Empire Hook and Ladder company was organized Sept. 14, 1866, and purchased a truck, ladders, etc., from the Empire company, of Lancaster. The following year the Pennsylvania Railroad company bought the first steam fire engine for Altoona, and installed it in the car shop yard. The Vigilant Steam Fire Engine company was organized March 26, 1868. Council, having authorized the purchase of two steam fire engines for the Good Will and Vigilant companies, the engines were ordered and arrived July 4, 1868. Subsequently a number of other volunteer companies were organized and there was great rivalry between them to see who could be the first to respond to the fire alarm. The volunteer department continued in service until 1895, when the agitation for paid fire fighters culminated in the organization of the present department on May 1, of that year, with J. N. Tillard, as the first chief. In 1896 Mr. Tillard was succeeded by William P. Pimlott, who served six years, when Theodore W. Allemann was appointed chief by Mayor S. M. Hoyer, and is still in the service. H. C. Graybill is assistant chief. The department consists of six engines, two hose and one chemical company (including two Pennsylvania railroad companies), and two. truck companies. All told there are seventy men in the department, not counting the firemen paid by the railroad company.
Establishment of Street Car Service
Street car service was established in Altoona July 4, 1882, by the City Passenger Railway company, of which John P. Levan was president. The line extended from First street up Chestnut avenue to Eleventh street, to Eleventh avenue to Bridge street to Seventeenth street to Eighth avenue to Fourth street. It cost $35,000 to build and $10,000 to equip with six cars and thirty horses. July 4, 1891, the road was electrified. In 1892 the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway company was formed to construct a line to Hollidaysburg, and service was established June 23, 1893. The following year a line was built to Bellwood and opened July 1, 1894. Tyrone people financed a trolley line between Tyrone and Bellwood, and subsequently sold it to the American Street Railways company, which, in 1901, had acquired the City Passenger and Logan Valley companies. All the lines were placed under one local management. The system now consists of eleven branches, with fifty-two miles of tracks and has 400 employes. S. S. Crane, of Altoona, is the general manager and operating head. J. J. Sullivan, of Philadelphia, is president of the American Railways company.
Altoona High School. Erected 1905-06 Photo Made From Architect's Drawing by Gable & Co.
The Schools of Altoona
The public school preceded the church in what is now Altoona. In 1815 - almost a century ago - a log school house was erected at what is now the southeast corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-fourth street, in the midst of the primeval forest. It was known at first as Beale's school, but later its name was changed to Black Oak Ridge school. Fine spring days some of the boys would play "hookey" and fish in the stream that then ran through what is now the Sixth ward. This building served until the Union school was established, in 1838, at what is now Union avenue and Sixteenth street. Barton Hastings was the first teacher in the new building. He taught spelling, reading, writing and arithmetic. In 1854, the year Altoona became a borough, the county superintendency was established. John Rutherford was the only applicant for teacher in Altoona. He got the job.
A one-story school house was erected in 1855 at Seventh avenue and Fifteenth street for about $1,000, and John Rutherford chosen teacher of the boys and Miss Cordelia White teacher of the girls. The pupils numbered 158. During the same summer the second building was erected at Fourteenth avenue and Thirteenth street. Thus began Altoona's public school plant. When the city was incorporated, in 1868, there were seven school houses and ten school rooms. In 1914 the school buildings number seventeen, including the High and Central Grammar schools, and there are 178 rooms in the grade schools. There are 240 teachers employed. The value of the school property owned by the district is estimated at $1,094,900. The enrollment is 7,995, and the annual cost per pupil is $21.96.
HON. E. F. GILES, POSTMASTER and Postoffice Government Building and Postoffice, Chestnut Ave. and Eleventh St.
The office of city superintendent was established in 1869, and only four men have held the position, as follows: Professor John Miller, who died Sept. 3, 1875; Professor D. S. Keith, who served thirty-one years, or until 1905; Professor H. J. Wightman, who served until 1908, when Professor Henry H. Baish was chosen and still holds the office.
All that is now known of the first school board is that Thomas K. Burchinell was the first president. Minutes of the early meetings have been lost, and the first board of which there is any record is the one in 1867, when the members were: J. L. Reifsneider, president; J. H. Dysart, R. A. O. Kerr, A. J. Kelley, H. W. Snyder and R. P. Johnston.
The present board is composed of William F. Eberle, president; M. H. Canan, J. D. Hicks, D. S. Keith, A. S. Stayer, M. D., W. E. McKee, J. S. Fleck, Thomas G. Magee and F. A. Bell.
Rev. John Tuigg established the first parochial school in 1853, with Mary Levi as teacher. Today there are seven parochial schools, with fifty-eight rooms, and an enrollment of almost 3,000.
Altoona Postoffice and Postmasters
Robert McNamara was the first postmaster in this vicinity, having been appointed Nov. 11, 1817. The office was then in Collinsville, Huntingdon county. He was succeeded, Aug. 3, 1830, by David Y. Hileman, who held the job just two months, when McNamara took it back. McNamara was then in turn followed by these postmasters on the dates given: Esther Denlenger, March 18, 1834; Michael Hileman, April 25, 1835; Benjamin Figart, March 24, 1846; George Boozel, Dec. 21, 1848.
On Nov. 1, 1850, George C. Ferree was appointed and the office moved to Altoona. After Thomas Elway was appointed on June 29, 1852, he moved the office to 1402 Twelfth avenue, and after Henry A. Sellers was appointed May 21, 1853, he moved the office to 1408 Eleventh avenue. John Shoemaker was appointed Sept. 20, 1856, and located the office in the old Masonic temple, now the Hotel Bingham, 1012 Twelfth street. Jan. 7, 1861, the office was made a presidential appointment, and Shoemaker re-appointed on that date. George W. Patton was appointed May 6, 1861, and established the office on the site of William F. Gable & Co.'s present store, but soon afterwards reoccupied the old Masonic temple, where the position of postmaster was successfully filled by the following gentlemen: Frank B. Stewart, April 5, 1869; T. B. Patton, Feb. 8, 1877; (resigned, May, 1891); Albert P. McDonald, May, 1891; (died Nov. 22, 1895); Reamer Hoke, (acting), Nov. 22, 1895; Hambleton P. Wilson, Feb. 1, 1896. During Mr. Wilson's incumbency the new postoffice building at Chestnut avenue and Eleventh street was begun March 7, 1901, and occupied Sept. 30, 1902. George Fox was appointed postmaster March 1, 1905, and Ellsworth F. Giles May 20, 1913.
The steady growth of the office is shown by the increasing receipts during the past thirteen years
Churches of Altoona
In the old Black Oak Ridge log school house, at what is now Fourth avenue and Twenty-fourth street, was organized, in 1834, the First Lutheran congregation. The school preceded the church, the church antedated the city. Rev. Henry Baker, pioneer divine, was the first pastor, accepting the call in 1846, and for thirty-five years thereafter ministered to his growing flock. The congregation later worshipped in the Union school house, then in Collinsville and eventually bought two lots of ground on Eleventh avenue, above Fourteenth street, where its first church was dedicated in 1854.
Closely following the Lutherans came the First Baptists, early known as the Pleasant Valley Baptist congregation, organized in May, 1842, in the Union school house, with seventeen members.
The Presbyterians held meetings in the Union school house as early as 1841, but the First Presbyterian church was not organized until some time later. The first deed made in the new town, as the records at Hollidaysburg show, was on Feb. 11, 1851, for two lots at the corner of Twelfth avenue and Thirteenth street, to the First Presbyterian church, the price being $100. A church was built and on Nov. 3, 1851, arrangements were made with the Hollidaysburg Presbyterians for the services of their pastor on alternate Sundays. The church was destroyed by fire in 1855, and in December of that year the lot was sold for $3,000. The Murray residence now occupies the plot. Later a church was built on Eleventh avenue between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets.
While the United Brethrens held services as early as 1844 in this locality it was not until 1851 that the First church was organized and not until 1856 that the site at Eighth avenue and Twelfth street was purchased.
The first mass said in Altoona was at the home of Mrs. Catherine Lynch, so history records. Prior to 1852 occasionally services were held by Catholics. In that year St. John's Catholic church was organized and two lots at the present Thirteenth avenue site purchased. In 1854 Rev. (later Bishop) John Tuigg was installed as rector. The present church was dedicated in 1875.
The Methodists were among the earliest residents and met with some regularity as early as 1850, but it was not until 1853 that a separate charge was formed and became the First Methodist Episcopal church.
Altoona has always been a very religious community. Members of congregations have contributed liberally towards the erection of handsome houses of worship. The congregations at present include: Baptists, 4; Brethren, 2; Catholic, 7; Church of God, 3; Episcopal, 1, (and a mission); Evangelical, 2; Hebrew, 2; Lutheran, 8; Methodist, 9, (and an Italian mission); Presbyterian, 5; United Presbyterian, 2; Reformed, 4; United Brethren, 3; and one each of the following: Church of Christ, Disciple, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Christian Science, International Bible Students, Mennonite Gospel mission, Union Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, First Church of Christ, Salvation Army and Gospel Workers.
Altoona's Financial Institutions
Altoona's first banking institution was established by Bell, Johnston, Jack & Co. In 1857-58 William M. Lloyd, who had been a member of the firm, absorbed the interests of the other three and reorganized the bank as William M. Lloyd & Co., which went out of business during the 1873 panic.
In 1863 the First National bank was organized, capital $150,000. It was followed in 1870 by the Mechanics' Savings bank, now the Union bank, capital $125,000; in 1872 by the Altoona bank, now the Central Trust Company, capital $250,000; in 1882 by the Second National, capital $100,000; in 1901 by the Altoona Trust company, capital $250,000; and in 1905 by the Mountain City Trust company, capital $250,000.
The bank clearances for last year, 1913, follow:
The resources of Altoona's six banks and trust companies total in round figures $9,500,000. The deposits total in round figures $7,450,000. The bank clearances above referred to do not include the annual payroll of the Pennsylvania railroad, nor the amount spent for raw material used in the railroad shops.
In addition to its banks, Altoona has thirty-two building and loan associations, each with a capital of $1,000,000, and with assets close to $6,000,000.
View of 11th Avenue Looking East from 14th Street
Pioneer Business and Professional Men.
In 1849 Bernard Kerr opened a store in a log house on Tenth avenue.
The same year Adlum & Irvin began merchandising. Aug. 10, 1850, John Loudon established a store at Eleventh avenue and Fourteenth street, and the year following Clement Jaggard embarked in business on Tenth avenue between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. In 1852 Henry A. Sellers. erected a building at 1408 Eleventh avenue, where he kept store. George W. Kessler was the pioneer druggist, his place of business being on Eleventh avenue, above Thirteenth street. William O'Donnell opened the first hardware store. Mangus Bender was one of the first coal dealers. Samuel Ettinger conducted the first clothing, store, but sold out to Harry Tuck in 1858. Richard Smith is said to have been the first tailor, opening in 1851 or early in 1852. Thomas Elway began tailoring in the latter year. Benjamin Figart was the first shoemaker. It is a question now whether Nick Agnew or Samuel Yingling was the pioneer butcher. Agnew peddled meat in a wheel barrow. Yingling's slaughter house was under a pine tree on the Dry Gap road, in 1851. Howard Larcomb is reported to have been the first telegraph operator. In 1852, Miles R. Jones, son of Enos M. Jones, was private operator to Thomas A. Scott.
Dr. Gabriel Thomas located here in 1851. Dr. J. T. Christy came in November, 1854. He amputated the first leg taken off in Altoona, which was also the first leg lost through an accident on the Pennsylvania railroad. Dr. William R. Findley opened an office in October, 1858. He brought a letter of introduction to Thomas A. Scott. When he presented it, Colonel Scott said: "Doctor, I'm glad to see you in our growing little town, and heartily glad you have come. Why, let me tell you, sir, Altoona contains today 4,000 souls, and I believe you will live to see its population 7,000."
William Stokes was the pioneer lawyer, followed by Lewis W. Hall. D. J. Neff, hale and hearty today, nestor of the Blair county bar, was the fourth lawyer to locate here, arriving in 1860.
The first newspaper, the Altoona Register, was established in 1855 by William H. and J. A. Snyder.
The Daylight Store
The Daylight Store, William F. Gable & Co., proprietors, ushered in a new epoch in merchandising in Altoona. It began its career in a room, 20x40 feet, at Eleventh avenue and Thirteenth street, on March 1, 1884, in a snow storm. It was too hardy to be nipped in the bud by any such elemental frost and for thirty years it has been growing, growing, until now its forty-five or more separate departments, each a complete store in itself, finds a home 175 feet long and 120 feet deep, with five floors for business, none too large - very often too small.
The secret of this success is service. The Daylight store has been, still is and will continue to be a store of the people, by the people and for the people. No demand is too great to be satisfied, no request too small to be overlooked. Nothing is left undone, nothing is ignored, nothing is postponed. Service, to be of real value, must be prompt and efficient. That is the only kind acceptable to The Daylight Store. Customers make their wishes known to the capable and courteous clerks and the goods are ready for delivery. Between 375 and 500 people, according to the requirements of the season, are necessary to maintain a service of this character, but it is worth all it costs in the satisfaction it gives the patrons.
Next to service there is personality, plus ideals, in The Daylight Store. Emerson says that every great enterprise is the lengthening shadow of one man. The personality is big enough to take an interest in every individual customer - in every individual visitor. And the ideals are high enough to eliminate mere competition and make co-operation a dominant factor. The Daylight Store co-operates with the people to the latter's advantage. It is helpful in a thousand ways. It brings the offerings of the markets of the world to Altoona. The counters that panel its almost three acres of floor space are rich in the profusion and variety of its wares.
And then there is the matter of confidence. Confidence has been a large element in the building up of The Daylight Store. It was never more in evidence than today. Every statement made by the firm bears the trademark of truth; every promise of a bargain is backed up with the goods; every word of advertising is printed with the ink of honesty. When you see it in Gable & Co.'s ad, it's so.
Service, Personality, Ideals and Confidence are the cornerstones on which a great and beneficent enterprise has been reared for the people of Central Pennsylvania.
Miscellaneous Information
The Mechanics' Library
The Altoona Mechanics' Library and Reading Room association was organized Sept. 13, 1858. Prime movers in its establishment were such distinguished men as Thomas A. Scott, fourth president of the Pennsylvania railroad; Andrew Carnegie, iron master and philanthropist, and Robert Pitcairn, great railroad man. Nov. 13, 1858, the library was formally opened in an old building that stood across the railroad tracks from the present ticket office at Thirteenth street and had been used by the master mechanic. Later the library occupied a room over the ticket office of the Pennsylvania railroad for twenty-five years, then moved to the Eleventh avenue addition to the Logan House, and is now located in the old First Presbyterian church on Eleventh avenue. Over 52,000 volumes are on the shelves.
Hospitals
The Altoona hospital was incorporated Nov. 26, 1883. H. J. Cornman is president, Miss Anna C. Wray superintendent. Capacity, 150 patients.
Mercy hospital was opened in July, 1910. J. A. Elder is president, Miss Laura M. Hamer superintendent. Capacity, 30 patients.
Population of Altoona
The population of Altoona at each census from 1860 to 1910, inclusive is as follows:
Blair County
Chamber of Commerce
The Chamber of Commerce was organized several years ago, but was re-created in the fall of 1913, after an enthusiastic campaign. It now has over 500 active, energetic members. Its officers are: President, W. C. Westfall; vice presidents, H. K. McCauley, Bertram Leopold, Dr. W. Frank Beck, W. E. Russell and E. B. Greene; secretary, H. J. Seads; treasurer, C. F. Anderson; manager, George H. Mosser.
Newspapers
Altoona has four daily and four weekly newspapers, all of them above the average, as follows:
Altoona Tribune, morning, daily, except Sunday; Weekly, Saturday; editor, W. H. Schwartz. Altoona Mirror, evening, daily, except Sunday; president and founder, Harry Slep ; managing editor, Harry L. Johnston. Altoona Times, morning, daily, except Sunday; editor, Charles M. Kelley. Altoona Gazette, evening, daily, except Sunday; editor, R. J. Kaylor. Deutscher Volksfuehrer, weekly, Friday; editor, L. G. Lamade. Deutscher Wacht, weekly, Friday; editor, G. H. Hemminger. Land and Labor, weekly, Saturday; editor, F. H. Hall.
Commerce and Industrial
In 1913 a total of 1,482 mercantile licenses were issued and the total volume of business was, in round numbers, $22,500,000.
In the Altoona industrial zone there are sixty or more industries, with an output of approximately $52,000,000 annually. Three silk mills employ 1,100 operatives. The Altoona Iron company employs between 300 and 400.
In a work of this character it is difficult to determine where to draw the line. Delving into the records unearths many interesting historical features. But where the exigencies of space demand brevity it becomes largely a matter of condensing the chief facts into the smallest compass. Hence, this sketch has been confined only to the more important steps in the development of Altoona.
~~~
When you come to "THE PEOPLE'S STORE" we want you to feel perfectly at home and free to inspect the goods and ask for information, regardless of whether you wish to buy or not.
ALTOONA, PENNA.
Blair County PA USGenWeb Archives - History Blair County PA USGenWeb Archives USGenWeb Archives Project: Pennsylvania
|
