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Page 166
STREET PAVING
CHAPTER XXXV
0NE of the annoyances to the residents of early DuBois
was mud. It is doubtful if the condition in DuBois was worse than
any other town built on low ground, but it is doubtful if few towns
of the size of DuBois did not have some system of paving.
In the spring and fall South Brady Street was almost
impassable, and West Long Avenue might have been described as "a
river of mud." At the corner of Long Avenue and Brady Street the mud
from the top of the hill floated to that corner, raising it to a
considerable height above its original location. Likewise, from the
top of the hill west the mud floated to the foot of the hill, and
from Pentz Run to Main Street was a bottomless mud hole.
As soon as the wet season of the fall or the thawing of
the spring started, the crossing at the corner of Long Avenue and
Brady Street became impassable for foot traffic. The Street
Commissioner would cut 2x4s about 2 feet long and spike them on this
crossing at intervals of 16 inches to 18 inches, so that persons
could cross without getting into the mud too deep. As the mud
floated from the top of the hill and filled in the two inches,
another piece was spiked on top of the first and as many as four
pieces of scantling on top of one another were spiked on this
crossing. If the person crossing the street misstepped, he sank into
the mud. One day a little boy about six years of age started over
the crossing and about half way across missed his step. The boy
remained stationary until an adult came along and pulled him out.
Up to this time there had been no system of paving
invented other than asphalt or Belgian Block. With the property
valuations of the Borough of DuBois as low as they were, the Borough
was unable to raise sufficient funds, by borrowing money to pave the
streets. No legislation had been passed at that early date to enable
the paving of streets in boroughs and charging it to the abutting
property owner.
In the early part of 1886 the Borough Council decided
that something must be done and they invented a system of wood
paving of their own.
They directed the Street Commissioner to grade the
street, lay a flooring of one inch boards on the dirt and on top of
that to construct a paving of hemlock planks 2 x 6 inches, set on
edge, to a width of 20 feet, and to be spiked at intervals of 4
feet.
Hemlock lumber was comparatively cheap, being worth
about $8.00 per thousand feet delivered on the ground.
The advantage of this paving was that it was
constructed very rapidly.
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