The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-27
History Of the EnterpriSing Body
That Has Accomplished Much in
Furthering the Commercial In
tereStS of Scranton.
BY D. q. ATHERTON.

| books with the many thousands Of
readers, who take advantage of the
| opportunity afforded them by those
who desired to build a lasting monu-
ment to the memory Of him they
loved. Verify they builded better
than they knew"
The railroad facilities OF the city are
unsurpassed. No less than five diff
| ferent trunk lines enter it's limits and
| distribute its many thousands of tons
! of product to all parts of the United
| States. The Delaware, Lackawanna
and Western railroad passes through
the heart of the city, running elegant
| vestibuled trains direct from New
| York TO Buffalo and the far West. The
| Delaware and Hudson Railroad, with
lines extending to Albany, Saratoga,
Lake George and Montreal, also add to
| Scranton's great railway system; the
| Central Railroad of New Jersey, with
through trains to New York and Phila-
delphia; the Erie and Wyoming Valley,
| which Is q branch of the great Erie
system; and the ontario and Western,
with lines extending north and west.
| The direct connections with the Lehigh
| Valley and the great Pennsylvania
system places Scranton in an enviable
| position. and makes it a most desir-
able place for manufacturers.
AS a resident city, Scranton enjoys
many distinctive features. Its climate
! is healthy The city is situated in q
| beautiful valley seven hundred and flf-
| ty feet above sea level The summer
| season is delightful. The days are
warm and the nights cool The ther-
! mometer rarely goes above ninety in
summer, or below zero in winter It's
streets are wide and we'll paved with
asphalt, and In the resident portion
| lined on either side with elegant homes.
| Its beautiful drives up and down the
valley and across the mountains to
nearby summer resorts and lakes
makes it very attractive city in which
to reside.
The water supply Of Scranton is
enormous. The city is supplied from
mountain streams emptying into reser-
| voirs erected at great cost, with
daily capacity of 35,000000 gallons.
There is enough water always in re-
serve to supply the city's needs for one
| year without rain.
Much has been written of the early
history of Scranton, and there remains
nothing for the writer to do but to
quote from some of the many historical
sketches heretofore published.
Scranton was created a borough
! February 14th. 1856, and by act of leg
islature chartered a city April 23rd,
1866. Phillip Abbott was the first set
! tier in the Deep Hollow, as the Electric
| City was designated from 1888 to 1898,
when it took the name of Slocum Hol-
low. In the month Of May Mr.. Abbott
marked out his clearing and erected
L.. l,yt Isa,N he u 10 .i,gr
Brook, and subsequently established
! the first Scranton industry in the erec-
ton Of a primitive gristmill. The
stones were of native granite, and the
running gear was marked for its sim
| plicity, the entire plant being nothing
| more than a corn cracker which re-
duced the grain to a sort of course
| stamp. Not a nail was used in the
| construction of the mill, and the chisel
| and mallet were not utilized in the
work. The bolt consisted of deer
skin, we'll tanned and stretched upon
poles, perforated with numerous holes.
| through w the flour was sifted. In
| 1896 a box IN ore, carried by j. ].
| Albright to -,arthampton county, was
the means Of attracting the attention
of Henry Scranton and others to the
remarkable resources of the valley and
in 1S40 the nucleus of the LackaWanna
| Iron and Steel company was formed
| by q company consisting of Colonel
George Scranton, Seldom T. Scranton,
Sanford Grant, William Henry and
Philip II. Mates. This company began
at once the construction Of an iron fur
mace, and the first stages Of develop
J ment We're entered upon.
THE village of Scranton In 1910 had
| d Of 400 NJ lai
upon a circumscribed scale in 1871 by
Captain Stott, a civil engineer of Car
! hondale. in lS45 an attempt was made
TO have the town. which then con-
tanned 500 inhabitants called Harrison,
! i'm honor of the favorite presidential
! candidate, General William Henry
| Harrison. The idea, however, was not
| universally popular, and the old name,
/ SloCum Hollow, clung to the locality
| until the pOpuation had increased to
2,730, when 1t was called Scrantonia in
| honor Of the founders Of the town. The
latter name did not entirely please the
I citizens. and on January 27th, 1851, it
was reduced to plain Scranton, and the
/ borough and city have been known to
fame since by the latter title. The first
| post office was opened in 1850, and the
first council was organized March 27th.
1876"
Thus briefly have quoted some of
the early history Of Scranton, around
| which has grown and develop the
greater Scranton of today.
Much might be said of the struggles
through which the early settlers passed
during the trying times prior to 1SA0,
| but why deal with the past when the
| present and future have so much that
is interesting and of far more import
tanCe To those of the age.
The Scranton Board of Trade was
organized in 1865, and Incorporated in
| 1871. During all of the years of its
successful career its influence has
steadily Increased, until today It oc-
cupies a prominent position among the
progressive bodies Of its kind through
out the country. 1t represents the en-
terprse and aggressiveness charac-
| tzristic Of the citizens of our city. It's
work in the past has been varied, and
the results Of its labor are evident on
every side. Its membership comprises
the best business and Industrial ele-
ment of the city. 1t represents the
! people 1t is non-partisan in the
broadest sense of the term. 1t is an
organization in which its members can
be heard In behalf OF reforms In al
matters Of n public nature. When IL
speaks its voice is heard and it's rec
concentrations respected so far as pos
-'le. Its aim is now, and always has
s<H TO promote the industrial inter-
1SAS' the city. This work is not
la HS to the securing of new indus
| fries ttnlV buf ic axtapaad 10 Tho So.