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/82

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES caused to be incorporated the Columbia and Montour Electric Loiupany. The incor]>orators ot this company were E. R. Sponslcr, W. F. Low ry, Myron 1. Low , C. kl. Creveling, A. W. U uy, the company liaving an authorized capital o f $525,000 and an authorized bund issue o f $525,000. T his company subsequently p u r c lu s ^ outright from the holding company and from the various subsidiary companies all the right, projKfty and franchises of the gas, electric light and power companies, and they arc now being operated by the Columbia and Montour Electric Company, which company also ac­ quired nincty-hvc per cent of the capital stock of the C olum bb and Montour Electric Railw ay Company, and controls the management and Operation o f tlu t corporation. lu 1 9 13. the name of the Columbia and Montour Electric R ailw ay Company, because of its sim ilarity to the name of the power company, w*as changed by ap prw riate action and is now the North Branch Transit Com ­ pany. Since June 1, 1 9 1 3 > both the power company and the transit company have been under the management o f H. I). W albridgc & Company. N o. 14 W all street, New York. Nearly all of the original local incorporators rctainccrland. Milton. Watsontown and Turbotvillc, in Northumberland county. B R ID G E S tlK R W T C K

T he first bridge across the Susquehanna at Berwick w as authorized by the Legislature in 1807. and an organization w as made five years Liter, with Abraham M iller as president; John Brown, treasurer, and S ilas Engle, Thomas Bowman and Elisha Barton as managers. T his bridge was completed in 18 (4 by Theodore B u rr at a cost o f S>2,000. Its length w as 1.260 feet and it rested on timber piers, boxed in with hcas'y planks. In the winter o f 1835-36 it w as carriec rated for some years as a toll bridge by the company. It was made a free county bridge by proceedings in court in­ stituted by a petition o f citizens o f Berwick and Nescopeck tiled M ay I, 1899. A. J. Derr, J. C. Brown and G. W. Kcitcr were ap(>oiitt€d viewers, and on Sept. 25, 1899, they reporte<l m favo r o f a free bridge, and assessed the damages to be paid to the bridge company at $25,349, which action w as approved by the grand ju ry. A fte r some delay caused by a motion for time to 6tc an appeal hy the bridge company, the court made an order on Feb. 5, 1900, Jcclarin g this bridge a free county bridge. T his being a bridge between Colum­ bia and Luzenie couijties similar action had been taken in the Luzerne County court, and a similar order made. The Luzcm c county viewers were George J . Llewellyn, W. n, Sturdcvant and C. A . Shea, who with the Columbia county viewers had met and con­ sidered (he matter, and had made their joint report in favor o f (he bridge and assessing the damages on Ju ly 2 1, 1 8 ^ . T his bridge w as destroyed by the flood o f March, 1904. Proceedings were at once started to iiave it replaced by the State in A pril. 1904. Tlte report being favorable, (he contract w as let on Ju n e 1 3 ,19 0 5. to (he Y o rk Bridge Company for $209,500. and an iron and steel bridge was erected and completed in 1906. It is one o f tltc flncst structures that crosses the river anywhere. A free ferrv w as maintained by the two counties during i(s construction. D A N V J tl.e

The Danville Bridge Company was chartered Tan. 2 .18 2 8, the officers of the company being: Daniel MontC'omerv. president; Jam es I>oughead, treasurer; John Cooper, secretary; John C. Boyd, William Colt. Peter Baldy. S r., W illi^m Boyd, Andrew M cRcynolds, Robert C. O ricr, managers. On (he 3d of M arch o f that year a contract was made with John P. Schuy­ ler and Jam es Fletcher for the construction of the first bridge. The work on the foundations iKgan in that month, and in Januar>*. 1829. the bridge w as completed, the company accept­ ing it tltc following month. The State held a small amount o f stock in this bridge. Daniel Hoffman was appointed the first toll collector, at a salary o f $65 a year. On March 14, 1846. the bridge w as swept