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Old Stone Jail Exhibit has Public Appeal

            On the morning of December 18, 2001 a varied group of local citizens gathered in the 1870 cellblock of the old stone jail in Ebensburg to reflect on the heritage of the 132 year old structure.

            The exhibit was part of a year-long Local History Grant provided by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Additional assistance was provided by the Office of the Cambria County Commissioners and personnel from the present County Jail.

            Invited guests included the three county commissioners, representatives from the Cambria County Prison, Historical Society board members, guests, and the 8th grade class of Holy Name Elementary School. Due to limited space a public viewing was held following the formal opening.

            Following the encouraging words from the public speakers, the school children held a “press conference” with a panel of experts mainly composed of county prison personnel. Questions ranged from; “Where did prisoners go when they escaped from the lock-up?” to “Do the inmates meals meet their religious requirements?”

            The enthusiasm displayed by the 8th graders was encouraging to the exhibit creators.

            The exhibit is self-guided and is open to the public free of charge.  It is open Monday through Friday from 9:00AM until 4:00PM. Please enter on the W. Sample St. side at the Public Records Center.

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Meet Kathy Jones - Our New Curator

                At its December meeting, the board of directors of the Historical Society accepted, with regrets, the resignation of its curator, Leslie Conrad, who had served in that position for nearly five years.

            Leslie, known for her friendly and helpful relationship to our patrons, has accepted a full-time position in the library at St. Francis University. Good luck, Leslie.

            An interim curator, Thaddeus Wolf, filled in until a successor could be found. After an extensive search of many qualified applicants, our new curator, Kathy Jones, began her new duties on February 1, 2002.

            Kathy is a native of rural northeastern Bradford County, PA where she was the fifth generation to live on the farm that has been in her family since 1846. Her interest in family history and genealogy began there with her grandmother’s stories and continues today as she works on her own history/genealogy. For the past ten years, Kathy has been secretary and historian for her annual family reunion, maintaining the family archives.

Kathy is a graduate of Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA where she majored in Biology. She has been a Master Gardener volunteer with Cooperative Extension since 1993. She is a member of First United Church of Christ, Ebensburg where she serves on the Deacon Board, is treasurer of the Women’s Fellowship, and is a member of the bell choir. Kathy has been a docent at the Historical Society Museum since 2000. She and her husband, Andy, have been married 26 years and reside in Cambria Township.

·        Please be sure to stop in and say “Hello” to Kathy.

·        In other news, the Board of Directors are working on two issues recently raised by our patrons. First, we are looking into the microfilming of the Johnstown newspapers and secondly, we are considering republishing the 1890 Cambria County Atlas.  Stay tuned for details as these projects  are just in the beginning stages.  Also, it is not too early to start thinking about Cambria County’s Bicentennial celebration in 2004. What role should our Society take?

·        Though we have had a website for some time, we now have an e-mail address: cambriacountyhistorical@verizon.net.

·        This issue will end our “Men of the Monument” series and begin a new series of eight flyers available at the Old Stone Jail exhibition in Ebensburg.

·        Please note that the museum now closes at 4:00PM rather than 4:30PM.

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Johnstown

A City and its Wards

                In January 1831 the name of Conemaugh Old Town was abandoned and the community was chartered as Conemaugh Borough. In 1834 another name change occurred when the town was then named Johnstown in honor of it founder, Joseph Johns.

            Johnstown’s municipal neighbor was Conemaugh Borough which took up the former name and was chartered in 1849. Other boroughs were soon formed as well:

               Johnstown originally had four wards and then Kernville became the 5th and 6th Wards. Hornerstown and Sharpsburg made up the 7th Ward.

            After the Great Flood of 1889, the people of the valley went to the polls and voted to consolidate the eight boroughs. On December 18, 1889 Johnstown was granted a third-class city charter.

Grubbtown became the 8th Ward.

Conemaugh Borough became the 9th and 10th Wards.

Woodvale became the 11th Ward.

Prospect became the 12th Ward.

Millville became the 13th and 14th Wards.

Cambria Borough became the 15th and 16th Wards.

The village of Moxham was annexed to the 7th Ward in 1889. In 1891, it then became the 17th Ward.

            Morrellville received its borough charter in 1890. However, in 1897 it was annexed to Johnstown to become the 18th, 19th and 20th Wards.

            Coopersdale was separated from Johnstown by Morrellville. When that borough was absorbed by Johnstown, there was no obstacle blocking Coopersdale for annexation. They became the 21st Ward in 1898.

            Later, Roxbury Borough would become part of the 8th Ward and Walnut Grove would become part of the 17th Ward.

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Logging Railroads

from “The Logging Railroads of West Central Pennsylvania” Book # 12 in the series

Editor’s Note: With the recent trend of converting old railways into biking and hiking trails it would be interesting to find the exact locations of these listed sites. The author admits there is little known about the earlier sawmills and the placement of their railway lines.

William Whitmer & Sons, Inc. Twin Rocks, Cambria County

                Twin Rocks is 2½ miles east of Vintondale, and probably was the location of the first logging railroad operating in Cambria County. It had operated prior to 1896, for in the purchase of various properties (under the title) William Whitmer and Son, Inc. (it is noted that they purchased property) near Vintondale in Cambria and Indiana County.

                The history of this operation is given in Book 2, Chapter 3 of this series, and little has been found to supplement the information recorded there. It is uncertain who owned the land, for certainly the Whitmer Company did not, as a search of county deed records showed no purchase by them. One lady, whose family worked there remembered the operation and spoke of the location of Griffeytown. It may have been possible that the timber was owned by the Griffith family of Ebensburg, but this is speculation.

Alfred Oakes Summerhill, Cambria County

                It is known that Alfred Oakes operated a sawmill and had a logging railroad near this community. Neither the years of operation, type of railroad and sawmill, nor other information on this job has been found.

James Flynn Flinton, Cambria County

                This operation is obscure and little is known, other than it was owned by James Flynn (Flinn) and that it was working in the 1890 era. He had about 2 miles of tram road up Beaver Valley, and may have brought the lumber from the McGriffens sawmill on Kibler Run. Flynn also had a sawmill at Flinton and his train followed Beaver Dam Run. Some people say the locomotive blew up, others say it was stored in a shed at Flinton as late as 1897. After this job, Mr. Flynn moved to West Virginia.

Cole Brothers St. Lawrence, Cambria County

                Another of Cambria County’s small logging tram roads was operated by the Cole Brothers, several miles west of St. Lawrence along Rock Run. The tram road was narrow gauge and used a homemade vertical boiler locomotive. The job was in operation during the 1913-1916 period.

Krumenacker Lumber Company     Marsteller and Portage, Cambria County

                This company was founded in the 1880’s by Henry Krumenacker. It began with a water mill and was a family affair throughout its existence.

                Their first use of a railroad was about 1927 when they built a narrow gauge line on Moss Creek from Marsteller, south one mile toward Nicktown. They operated here for several years using a circular mill, then moved to Portage where they built 2 miles of narrow gauge railroad. At this location, they installed a band sawmill. Both locations used a gasoline powered locomotive.

                They were at Portage for several years and then moved to Buckstown, Somerset County, and remained in business at this location until 1941.

Webster Griffith Ebensburg, Cambria County

                The Griffith family were prominent citizens of Ebensburg, beginning when Thomas Griffith arrived from Wales in 1805-06 and settled there. He gathered considerable property during his lifetime,  had an interest in lumber, and eventually became known as the largest cherry lumberman in the state. He had sawmill operations in Cambria, McKean, and Elk Counties, and a retail lumber company in Philadelphia.

                Information on his operations are sparse. According to (late) Dr. Bennett of Ebensburg, the Ebensburg mill opened in 1901 near the site of the Ebensburg Farm Co-operative. There was no log pond, and logs were cleaned with water and steam. The type of mill is unknown. The logging railroad was narrow gauge and ran in the direction of the Summerhill Road for 1½ miles. At the same general time, he had a small mill at Beulah, using a horse tram. The mill at Ebensburg burned in February of 1905 and the operation was closed. Mr. Griffith purchased a new 17-ton Heisler locomotive in 1903-04, which was used on this operation and the following one at Nanty-Glo.

Webster Griffith Nanty-Glo, Cambria County

                Following the destruction of the mill at Ebensburg, Webster Griffith moved to Cardiff, Cambria County, near Nanty-Glo. Here he established a small band mill. The American Lumberman of 1910 reported a daily output of 15,000 feet and that he cut 3.5 million feet in 1906. His 5 miles of logging railroad at this location was 42 inch gauge. (He) owned one locomotive and 6 cars. It ran northward toward the township line with spurs covering a 3 to 4 square mile area.

                Elisha Mahan was Superintendent at Cardiff (where) the timber was mostly hardwood. The operation continued into 1923 (when) the location (was) sold to a coal company.

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Great Photographs: Heritage—March 2002

Archives of Cambria County Historical Society
Please give credit.

Click on photo for full-size display.

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