Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-18
Ehfntt1g Gl1at

enlightening idea of just how the town
OF Harrisburg was regarded in 1890,
IVe years after 1t was laid out by John
darris, the younger, is furnished by
the first Gazetteer of Pennsylvania,
which is being reviewed by William
Perrlne in the Evening Bulletin, o5
fhlladelphia. A copy of this publicas
tloh came to light few days ago ana
Mf. Perrine, over the name of Penn
makes some comments which will hok
Ine attention not only or people In
tnls city but in other towns. The
Gazetteer was published in Philadel-
phla by the Bailey printing house and
there is what is now an entertaining
description of some of the cities of
the State. Here are some extracts I
from Penn's review: Philadelphia
was then the capital, as Lancaster was
soon to be for a short time. Harris
burg was described as "a post town"
II is, said Scott, regularly laid out
and contains upwards of three hun
dred houses. Several of these are
neat, commodious dwellings,, some of
brick and others of stone, handsome
brick courthouse, stone jail and II
spoken of as ''the largest inland town
in the United States" Reading was
also called a post town, chiefly in
habited by Germans, remarkable for
the manufacture of wool hats and
containing about six hundred houses,
/
some and tlourishing town of North
ampton county, with about ninety
| dwellings. At that time, 1t may he
remarked, there were only twenty
three counties in Pennsylvania, and
! Lehigh had not yet been formed.
Pittsburgh was another post town,
with several streets crossing one an
other at right angles, with two hun
dred dwellings, beside a jail, court
mousse Presbyterian and German
Lutheran church, two breweries and
large distillery 1t was thought 10
be advantageously situated for carry
ing on extensive inland trade with
tne western country, and had become
the thoroughfare to Kentucky" It's
distance west by north from Phila-
Gelphla was computed at three hun
| dred and fourteen miles, and il was
said that the little town had been
lately fortified and a body of troops
stationed there, possibly consequence
OF the Whiskey Insurrection which
washington and Hamilton had sup
pressed not long before. Columbia, of
which great things in the future were
expected, was referred to as a town
which had lately been laid out on the
east side of the Susquehanna river;
| Wilkes Barre, which had derived it's
original hyphenated name from John
| Wilkes and Colonel Barre, had forty
five dwellings; Norristown had twenty
| dwellings and an elegant stone build
ing for keeping the records of Mont
gomery county; Easton had $50
dwellings,; Chester, which had been in
existence for more than a century and
had about sixty dwellings, was COM
mended as place which could be
reached from Philadelphia in q
| mornings ride and which, "haVing
genteel accommodations, is the resort
of much company in the summer sea-
SON.; West Chester which was in its
IN fn NO tnit oh 4
ings; Carlisle had four hundred houses
and there were at least eighty students
at Dickinson College; Somerset was so
new a county that the compiler said it
was out of his power to give its popu-
lation; Gettysburg contained about
thirty dwellings.
Capitol Park Policemen Shea and
Lapp are wondering what would hap
pen to them If they should arrest II
couple of the State squirrels for
malicious mischief. The squirrels
have gotten the habit of raiding Mr..
Rambo's beds of tulips and hyacinthS
and yesterday one fat and saucy squir-
rel deliberately went to a flower bed,
nipped off a stalk with fine bud and
then going to the side of one of tha
walks proceeded to rip the bud apart
with an air of pride in the Mortified
glances cast at him by those who
passed by. His vandalism was initiated
and the policemen are wondering
whether the statute of limitations ap-
plies to squirrels.
April divorce court as a rule always
produces the latest styles in Spring
millinery, but yesterdays session was
more than ordinarily colorful with the
variety of shades in flowers and rib
bons and feathers. AS usual the bulk
of the seats were occupied by wit
nesses, libelants and spectators of the
fairer sex and (also as usuaD they
turned out in Easter hats. There were
pokes,' and sailors, and turbans and
a dozen or more other varieties that
mere men folks can only ponder and
wonder about. We'll" observed one
of the older attorneys as he glanced
around the brilliant courtroom. I've
attended many and many a divorce
court and I've heard many and many
narrowing and humorous tales of mar
ital unhappiness and as a rule most of
the unhappiest stories are told by the
wiVes-or their mothers But, I'll say
this, never do / remember when the
saddest wife in the court room did not
at Springtime divorce court, wear the
latest sprightliest thing in hats!"
Among the nominating petitions
filed yesterday was one from Captain
j. Beaver Gearhart, of Danville. He
will be a Republican candidate for the
Legislature from Montour county and
is known to many Harrisburgers.
Captain Gearharts father was Wilson
NJ. Gearhart of Danville, for years
chief clerk to the secretary of the
Commonwealth. He visited here fire.
quently while his father was on the
Hill and served as captain of company
T., 18th Pennsylvania infantry, seeing
service in the Spanish war.