Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/144

 COLUM BIA AND M ONTOUR COUNTIES room, and lock-up. On the second and third floors are tw o large rooms, and several smaller rooms, fo r public meetings, the flre companies, etc. The building is supplied with all modern conveniences. D avid lie n sin g e r w as the con­ tractor and builder, and the cost w as $15,0 0 0. Up to the time of the erection o f this building the town had occupied rented quarters fo r a council room. I N O U S T S ie S A N D

B U S IN E S S

H O U SES

One of the oldest industrial establishments in Bloom sburg is the extensive foundry and oiachtne shops o f H arm an & H assert. T h is business w as founded by P eter S. H arm an and Grorge H assert in 1875. M r. H arm an had had many years’ experience in the foundry business, and M r. H assert w as a machinist o f unusual skill. T h ey began on a sm all scale in a building 6 0 by 50 feet, m aking plows and stoves, but the business g rew rapidly, dem and­ ing additional buildings and machinery. S ta rt­ ing m odestly, they soon did a business o f over $2,0 00 a year, but by 18 79 the trade had increast^ until (hey w ere em ploying thirty per­ sons, and had entered the m anufacture o f min­ ing cars. B y 1886 they were doing a business of $55,000 p er annum and were preparing to enlarge w hen in 1888 the entire w orks were destroyed b y fire. T h ey immediately replaced the burned fram e buildings by ones o f brick, and added others, m aking the plant the largest in the town at that time. A t present the plant turns out m ining cars, hand cars, casts col­ umns, and does general custom machine work. The fam ous old founders of the company passed to their final rew ard some years ago, and the business has been continued by mem­ bers of their fam ilies. It is now an incor­ porated concern under the name o f Harman & Hassert, w ith the follow ing officers: Presi­ dent, general m anager and treasurer, J . L ee Harman; vice president. George E . H asse rt: secretary. Jo h n G . Harm an. C arriage IV orks One of the oldest concerns in this section is the establishment o f J. B. Brobst, known as the Bloomsburg Carriage W orks. T h e busi■Kss was established by D avid Brobst in 1849, and conducted by him fo r thirty-five years. I d 18 ^ it came into the hands o f J. B. Brobst and his brother. T h is partnership continued until 1907. when J. B. Brobst assum ed entire control and management of the plant. T h e premises occupied consist o f a repair and

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blacksmith shop and carriage factory. In a separate building across the street are the paint shops, a large new brick building and a fram e building. In the conduct o f this busi­ ness M r. Brobst is ably assisted by his son Paul. ^ m m V ari C a r Sr F o u n d ry Com pany T h e Bloom sburg branch of the Am erican C a r & Fou nd ry Company had its origin in the machine simp and foundry o f Sem ple & T a y lo r, started in 1863. In 18 7 1 more capital w as enlisted, the facilities increased and the m anufacture o f mine ca rs commenced, under the firm name of the Columbia County Iron M anufacturin g Company. T h e company be­ coming involved during the panic o f 18 7 3. the plant w as sold to M. W. Jackso n, o f Berw ick, who .sold an interest to G. M. & J. K. L o ck ­ ard, who had been forem en in the old shop. In 1879 they became sole ow ners and that year fire destroyed the entire w orks, with a loss o f $40,000 and on ly $18 ,0 0 0 insurance. H ow ­ ever, in three months they rebuilt and entered upon a career o f prosperity, during the follow ­ ing fo u r years producing o ver fo u r thousand cars, and doing a business o f m ore than one million dollars annually, having two to three hundred men on (heir payroll, with a w age list o f $10 ,0 0 9 a month. Subsequently the plant became the property of the Bloom sburg C a r Com pany and w as incorporated on the consolidation of the Am erican C a r & Foundry Com pany in 1900. T h e plant consists o f a group o f fram e buildings which cover the larger part o f a city block, and which are fit­ ted with the latest improved machinery and labor-saving devices, and employment is given to o ver three h u n d r^ skilled workmen. T h e capacity is two thousand freight cars and three thousand mine e ars annually, which find a m arket throughout the coal regions and in several of the so u th Am erican countries. In 19 14 an addition to the export building, o f 65 by 1 1 2 feet, w as made, and the company started on an ord er o f fo u r hundred ca rs fo r the Lehigh V alley railroad. T h e B loom sburg W oolen M ills w ere established in 1882 by S. A. C asw ell, M. E. C asw ell, E. C. Casw ell and H. C. H a lf­ penny. T h ey arc located at S ix th and W est streets. A fte r the death of the first tw o part­ ners named above, and the w ithdraw al o f M r. H alfpenn y, the firm name w as changed to E. C. C asw ell & C o., the other member of the