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CITY OF DUBOIS Page 103
the water was carried to turn the water wheel operating the saw mill
and extending as a mill race into the creek.
The saw mill pond was constructed of cribbing built
across the valley and an embankment thrown up from the dirt either
in the dam or on the banks. This dam was probably 25 feet to 5o feet
south of the road. The territory covered by the water had not been
cleared, and the dam had been in existence long enough that all of
the white and other timber left standing in the dam, had died, of
which a good part had rotted down, and was lying in this pond. Mr.
Rumbarger had not used the mill and the dam had largely disappeared
at the time he laid out his lots in '72. At a point near Orange
Alley a boy who was fishing there about 1872 caught a fish 16 inches
long.
The white pine timber in the territory just described
had been cut off and a great deal of the hemlock had been removed
for one purpose or another. In appearance a more forsaken piece of
land could not be imagined.
In the spring of 1879 a forest fire occurred along
South Brady Street, threatening the destruction of some houses
located on that street.
When Mr. Rumbarger laid out his plan of lots no
attention was paid to grading of streets or removing stumps, dead
trees, brush or logs from either the lots or the streets, and when
one bought a lot, he bought it "as is". If the land were not cleared
the purchaser cleared it, took out his own stumps, graded his own
roads or alleys and got along the best he could.
The township roads were 33 feet wide. Mr.
Rumbarger was wise in laying out his Main Street and Booth Street
wider than the roads. He did not locate lots east of Peach Alley. In
that locality he laid out two large blocks, extending east to Henry
Shaffer's line. Nearly all of these two blocks later were sold to
Annie Evans and became known as the "Evans Addition".
That part of the land of Henry Shaffer from Conwell
Alley west was spouty, full of springs and spring runs. South of
East Long Avenue were large springs coming out at the foot of the
hill. Several of these springs cut across the road about the middle
of the Commercial Hotel and formed a strong spring run. When that
building was finally constructed as it now is, a tile sewer two feet
in diameter had to be carried through it to take care of the water.
At Brady Street the land has been raised fully 6 feet. On South
Brady Street numerous spring runs rising west of Stockdale Street
formed a gulley more than 6 feet below the level of the present
street running through to Pentz Run.
In 1930, when the Highway Department was improving
South Brady Street, a pine stump more than two feet in diameter was
taken out of the ground probably five feet below the surface of the
street. The logs composing the old bridge were found in the bed of
the spring run more than six feet below the surface of the street.
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