Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-08-28
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pessripsios q The Flrss sssvs Piais Ever Csss
In Pennsy1vunia. y

The workmen employed in making tho
excavations preparatory to the erection OF
Fred Brimmer's new building on North
Queen street below Chestnut have unearthed
very interesting relic. It 10 . castiron |
plate about two fest square, very heavy, and
was cast by Jacob Huber at Elizabeth Fur
mace in the year 1865. It = elsborste-
of the plato II . double line Of
moulding, and Ia each corner u flower,
presumably tulipor lily. Two large arches
supported on columns occupy ac0ut Two
the ccntre Of the arch Il the name Of the
maker, JACOB HvBER. There ere lilies and
eta.s q The top of the arch and also below the
word YAcoB ;while below the word HvBER
circle the circnmisTencs ,s rS g whfcn s,,t tSs ~
plate h 30 much rusted the lott0rs cannot be
made out Just below this and running
acroes the entire width Of the plate are the
IAoop>uy RRR~lsT&
Near the bottom OF the plate, In very large
l figures, Il the date -l7-55- enclosed IN . long,
narrow oval, with flowers before and eNer
the figures, and also between the II and %.
The wood-stove, OF which this OLD pla.e
posed OF six plates, the frcnt one being
hinged door, through which the fuel was pus
l into the stove.
The recently published history Of Lancas-
factured the irst wood stove In uee Ia the
province. which was IN the shape Of D box.
and had six plates. II was generally placeo
10 Q partition between two rooms, and heated
The historian Il evidently at fault Jacob
/ Huber built bis furnace on /" Furnace Run, :
/ northwestern branch Of Middle creek, IN
1850, and a. this old plate shows, no inade
first and only German in America who knew
/ how to make iron, and 30 recorded the fac
upon stone tablet placed In the stack ovel
the mouth of the furnace.
In 1857 he sold the furnace and lands be
longing to II ~ earon Steigei and others, and
1t was the baron who gave 1t the name o
| Elixabeth Furnace, In honor OF bis wife
! Steigel and his partners did big busines
Z | and bought large tracts OF lands, and Steige
: improved Huber's stove, by inventng th
, | template stove, of which he seemed to b
; very proud, as he had cast on the side plate
4 the words % Baron Steigel is the man wh
! knows how to mako stoves" And 80 he did
: his template wood stove has not been In
8 proved upon during the past hundred AN
3 | twenty-five years. But the old plate ur
4 earthed q few days ago shows that Hube
made stoves before steigsi had foundry .n y
q cast in the solid iron that Jacob Huber
| the First"
i How the old plate happened to get to u
d 1 premises on which II was found, can only :
/. guessed at. A century ago there was taver
4 there, and 1t continued TO be tavern unit
| 1910 or later. 1t does not require very vic
stretch or imagination TO see the tayer
loungers and strangers and travellers OF
y hundred years ago sitting around the old 81
J, plate stove in the bar-roopi, toasting the
shins as they drank their three-cent whisk
d Ex-Mayor Zimmerman very well remet
IN bers that John Weidler, cabinet maker, wi
II | occupied the Brimmer premises for mar
years used the old stove plate in his shop
burn shavings and other rubbish on. Yea
IL | afterwards 1t was used as cover to priva
sewer that connects with the public sew
on North Queen street and there 1t lay in I
oi ground until IT was unearthed as stat
y. | above.