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/309

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUK COUNTIES

township, and ran it till 1852, when his nephew, Joseph Vorks, purchased it and operated it till 18O7. Larish jk Koherts, E. Cole and two of the Fritzs also operated sawmills in the period of the industr>* s palmy days. One of the most noted of the early sawmills was at Faradisc, a short distance above the H arring­ ton mill. T his was operated until 1875. Harrington’s foundry was established in 1 806 by Newton R. Harrington, at Pioneer Sio iion on Cole's creek. A sawmill was added in 1882, and the procncd up the territory in the up|>cr end of the county. 1'h c terminus of the road in Sugarloaf township was called Jam ison City, in honor o f Col. K. K. Jam ison, of Fhiladelphia. who aideu( a mile alx>ve Central ,nnd laid them out in lots, many o f which were sold and a num­ ber o f buildings erected 1 hereon. Soon quite a village grew up. and in 1889 a targe sawmill w as erected by (he Central l^ennsylvania Lum ­ ber Company! I.atcr a large tatmen,* was put up by Colonel Corcoran, who sod it to Thomas F. I^roctor, o f Boston. It w as subscciucnlly acquired by the KIk Tanning Company. These two plants employed numerous men and at­ tr a c t^ a still larger population, composed mostly of lumbermen and tanners and ihcir families. .A large general store was opened by .^tiltz & Company, and smaller stores and shops rapidly multiplied until the place seemed to ju stify the name o f Jam ison City. The town t>cing situated upon an elevation six Inindred feel higher than Bloomshurg, the idea was conceived by a number o f citizens of the latter town that the altitude, the cool nights, the many trout pools in the creeks, and the beautiful sccncr>* o f mountain and forest, rendered Jam ison City an ideal spot fo r a mod­ em summer resort note). So, in 1888. the Manor Rest Inn Company was formed, and upon the hillside above the town was erected

a hotel of Sw iss design, fully equipped with modem conveniences, and handsomely fu r­ nisher I. The first managers were Stiltz & Com­ pany, and the inn was o]>ened in 1890 with a great flourish. F o r some reason, however, the public did not take sufficient interest in the project to accord it a lucrative patronage and the hopes of the promoters were never real­ ized. Not long after the opening the company w as reorganized and the name of the place changed lu Procter Inn, but this had no effect, and finally in 1905 the hotel was closed, the funiiture disi>osed o f at public auction, and the building sold to Far‘in K tic, who conducted it as a hotel for a short time. He also lost money, and finally sold the building to a party who tore it down and utilized the ntalerial for building purposes elsewhere. W hm a distri­ bution W'as hnaliy made of the assets of the company the members received about ten cents un the dollar fur (heir investment. A t the time when Jam ison City w as at the height of its prosperity there were five places where liquor selling was licensed, and but one church and one schoolhouse. In addition to the extensive lumbering o|>crations carried 011 here, there were camps established at various places where the timlKr w as cut and hauled to the central mill. There it was converted into lumi>cr, the bark hcing used in the tannery. But it did not take long to work out the available timl>cr and soon there was nothing on which to support the large population, m 19 12 the mill was closed down and dismaniletl, the machinery being sent to other mills belonging to the company. The last carload o f lumber, which had l>cen cut some years before, was ship]Kd over the railroad to Bloomsburg in the .spring o f 1914. At present the tannery is still in o|>eration, ami bids fair to continue for at least five years. The |K>pulatioii is so reduced that two stores and one license<1 liquor establishment are all that the inhabitants seem to need. T IIF. C X iPrK R CK.AZI:

Between 1900 and 19 12 considerable excite­ ment was caused in (his section of the county by the rumor that there was copper to be found in Sugarloaf township. T his was partially caused by the copper craze almost universal over the United States. A company was formed in this county and considerable stock sold. With these proceeds a smelter was erected below Central and operations commencecriod, the plan proved a failure, as there