Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-29

worked by charcoal furnaces. 1t was in
1852 that the Cambria Iron Company was
chartered, but it was few years before such
an immense establishment as the projectors
proposed could be made to run smoothly and
with any reasonable promise of financial re-
turn. The man who finally did make the
enterprise success was Hon. Daniel J.
Morrell. 1t was while serving at its head
that he was elected to Congress, and after
ward to the Presidency of the American
Iron and Steel Association.
A Great Enterprise
By 1871 the Cambria works was not sur
passed in size by any of the mills at Pitts
burg. Since then it has steadily grown.
At the time of the flood the concern covered
dozens of acres of ground, operated 35 miles
of railroad tracks about its buildings.
worked its own coal mines and coke works
ovens, and owned 1,500 cars on which to
move raw and finished materials. More
than z 900 men were in the company's en-
ploy at this date one year ago. Nearly a
mile above their main factories the company
also operated the Gau tier Steel Works. and
With such an army of workmen. and with
nearly 1000 tenement houses owned
by the company and rented to their en-
ployes, this corRation of course contrib.
uted immeasurab1y to the growth of Johns
town. Owing to the extreme narrowness of
the valley at this point, and the smallness
of the delta on which the business portion
of Johnstown is built, the population spread
to the neighboring hillsides for homes. Then
they crossed over the SUBMITS of some of
these hills and built their houses in the ad-
jacent valleys.
Surrounding Boroughs Created.
Thus were the surrounding horourbs
created. They grew and fourished. Cluster.
ing all about Johnstown they made the
parent city their market place. Though
different in name, they were all one at heart,
Cambria's men lived in all of the porouphs
and though the separate town Councils re.
fused to consolidate, that pretty little mark
on Johnstown's main street was the prone
made and common property of all the 80, 900
people in the eight or ten miles of Cone
maugh Valley.
OF these surrounding boroughs Conemaueh
borough was the most prosperous. 1t was
incorporated in 1S49 and was thIckIy settled
up to Green Hill. The population at the
time OF the Hood was supposed to be about
1900 souls. Still higher up the river is
Woodvale. 1t was laid out in 1864. Here
were located the works of the Johnstown
Manufacturing Company, and the Chemical
Company. People lived
In 800 Snug Houses.
East Conemaugh and Franklin. half
mile farther up the river, were in turn
suburbs for Woodvale. Coming back to
Johnstown we find Kernsville on the south
shore OF Stony creek. II was very thickly
populated at the time of the food. Morris
street being business thoroughfare, with
all its cross streets thickly settled. Kerns-
vile was to Johnstown proper what Allie
gbeny City is to Pittsburg. Below Johns
town city was Millville, incorporated in
1858. Here are the rolling mills and the
foundry. On Prospect Hill are located
hundreds of workmen's homes On the
western bank of Conemaugh river lay Cam
bria, which was surveyed in 1858 and incor-
porated In 1862. It's residences were made
up entirely of the company's employees.
Cambria was reputed to have had at the time