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EARLY SOCIAL CONDITIONS
CHAPTER XXV
ONE is led to wonder what the early social conditions
of DuBois were when in 1870 there were only four families living
within the lines of the present city and only a few scattered
residents within an area of 2 or 3 miles, and most of the country
east of DuBois a dense wilderness.
The rapid growth of the town from 1870 to 1881 with a
new population drawn from all sections of the State, made up of
woodsmen, mill-men, miners, adventurers from the old country and
whatnot from other places with the nearest Justice of the Peace and
Constable in and beyond Luthersburg, would indicate that there must
have been some lively times in the old town.
The population of Brady Township was an old,
staid class of people whose public forums were the various stores
located in Luthersburg, Troutville, Salem and West Liberty, where
the men congregated of evenings to discuss politics and local
gossip. These people had no idea of the kind of population floating
into what they called the "North Country" or "Backwoods," of their
prosperous township.
The Panic of 1873 brought in a large additional
population. The industry started by Mr. DuBois necessarily developed
rapidly. His Big Mill employing one hundred or more men, was ready
for operation in 1874 and the woods surrounding the town was full of
woodsmen cutting the timber ready for manufacturing. By 1875 or 1876
the mining industry commenced to develop and this was at a time when
the Molly McGuires were being driven out of Schulkill, Luzerne, and
Lackawanna Counties, a number- of whom came to DuBois under changed
names, and of whom some were found here, and taken back to stand
trial for felonies in their own counties. With the large number of
places in town selling liquor, it does not take a vivid imagination
to understand what went on:
In 1880, just before the projection of the B. R. & P.
Railroad, what was known as the "lower oil country" was breaking up.
The price of oil had gone as low as ten cents per barrel. The
producers started for other fields and the camp followers were
looking for new openings too. They concluded DuBois was their Mecca.
This element did not add anything to the morals or uplift of the
town.
Along with the camp followers came many lewd women who
located on Spruce Alley, the eastern limits being about Conwell
Alley, and from that west to Jared Street. This alley got the
pseudonym of "Hoodoo Alley." Some of this element got into the hotel
business, several opened drug stores and others took up local
politics.
The early condition may be illustrated by the story
told of
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