Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-25

V. B. McGahan, James h. Goodwin, Jane
| Colwell
Jonathan P. Ross was foreman of tn
grand jury which passed on the charter ap
| plication.
Five Mills Except by Popular Vote.
Mr.. Sharp lived to see his farm develo,
into healthy borough and died within
few years, mourned by the whole com
munity A daughter, Mrs. Eliza Clark, i
the only surviving member of his family
and his name died with him, except in til,
fourishing village of $500 inhabitant
which bears it.
An Early Boom for the Borough,
The growth of the town was greatly stim.
ulated in 1916, when J. C.'&5 George Levi.
and James O'Hara built the Vesuvius Iron
Works in the heart of the borough, ground
being broken in the midst of a great corn
held. The mill was small at first, but nail
factory was added and gave the town some
Importance. During the first Is years of its
existence several changes were made in the
firm, but in 1868 it became known as Lewis,
Bailey, Dalzell & Co., Robert Dalzell and
A Med. Bailey having become partners.
In 1875 Bailey retired, and in 1879 the firm
failed. The iron boom of 1880 caused the
purchase of the works by Moorhead Bros. &
Co., the present owners, who rebuilt and
extended the plant to its present proper
tlons.
In 1871 the Isabella Furnace Companv
built their works Just below the town. and
the furnaces were blown in the next wear.
In 1873 Spang, Chalfant & Co., who had be-
come the owners of the Etna Iron Works and
largely extended them, built large tube
mill Just on Sharpsburg's borough line. but
before it was put into operation the effects
OF the panic and disputes over patents
caused litigation, which prevented the mill
from starting. In 1881, however, they
started it up as an open hearth steel mill,
and it has been doing we'll ever since, EN-
ploying now about 800 men,
In addition to The above industries there
are in the borough two big planning mills,
two varnish works, three mill grease fac
tories, brick works, Tibby's three glass
factories, red lead works, a glass DOT fac
tory, stove foundry and a spring steel
wire works, and numerous smaller estab-
hshments. Nearly every religious sect in
existence has a church in the town, and
most of them have handsome, large build
lngs. The Y. NJ. C. A is erecting $40, 900
building, and the German Catholic Church
has nearly completed $40, 600 schoolhouse.
A Very Prosperous Municipality.
In 1885 Sharpsburg was perhaps the only
town of its size in the State which had no
debt and 5000 in the borough treasury. In
that year water works was built at a cost
of $65, 900, all but 5000 of which was
raised on an issue of bonds authorized bv
popular vote. The debt has been already
reduced to S52, 600, and in the meantime an
electric light plant, by which the streets are
lighted, has been built, and is maintained
by the borough at cost of about $50 per
light, and arrangements are now being made
to supply the residents with incandescent
lights at a slight expense.
The taxable valuation of the borough is
81, 800, 600, and this year the entire tax lew,
including school and county taxes, will be
less than mills. The charter of the bor-
ough contains provision that the Councils
may not fix the borough tax rate at more than
mills unless improvements demand it, and
not then unless the people, by popular vote,
authorize them to do SO. In a few wears
the town will be completely severed,
the most extensive part of the system
having already been completed and pro-
gressive Council is now preparing to con-
tlnue the work. Within the past few
months the horse car line which succeeded
the omnibus, which in 1S42 carried people
into this city, has been in turn succeeded by
rapid electric line, and another on the Al
legheny side of the river is now in contem-
plation. Altogether, Sharpsburg's pros
poets are brighter than ever before, and at
this end of the first half century of her
corporate existence her people have good
reason for a merry festival