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re-elected; 1881, Peter Brown and L. T. Dodson; 1882, both re-elected; 1883, Rudolph Ludwig and L. T. Dodson; 1884, both re-elected; 1885, James Collins and L. T. Dodson; 1886, Rudolph Ludwig and L. T. Dodson, but Dodson did not qualify on account of sickness, when John M. Powell was appointed temporary clerk. July, 1886, Thomas A. Buckley was elected clerk and has continuously held the office to the present; 1887, burgess, James Collins; re-elected the next year; 1889, B. F. Davis; 1890, W. D. Cowen; 1891, John M. Powell. Present city officials (1892): Burgess, E. P. Gallagher; council, Patrick Dooris, president; Dr. E. W. Rutter, Henry Smith, Owen Fritzinger, James Williamson and Frank De Pierro; clerk, Thomas A. Buckley; treasurer, B. F. Davis; chief fire, Charles Shepley; chief police, J. Kenedy; solicitor, John D. Hays, who has filled the office with eminence since the borough was incorporated; street superintendent, Hugh Bagler. The prominent railroad is the Lehigh, now the Reading system, which leaves the main line at Drifton and joins it again on the way to White Haven. The New Jersey Central road runs nearly a mile north of the place and has its depot at the Upper Lehigh.

The place is surrounded by colleries; the first was the Woodside, and for a time this was the name of the place. The incentive to the growth of Freeland was when Coxe Bros. & Co., or rather when Eckley B. Coxe gave it his kind encouragement. He presented the town with ten acres of ground that is the park on the south, and in various other ways, as the old settlers will tell you, gave Freeland the "boom" that has carried it forward in such fine style.

The

One of the best public institutions of Freeland being the water works. It was incorporated July 20, 1883, the incorporators being the following officials: President, Joseph Birkbeck; treasurer, Thomas Birkbeck; secretary, F. Schilcher. works were commenced and completed in 1883, and the water was turned on in November of that year. The main supply is from two artesian wells, one on the east of town and one on the north. These furnish the finest granite-water, cool, and the freest from animal matter of any attainable waters. From the engines the water is pumped to the top of the hill west of town, where is one of the finest arranged reservoirs in the State, all under roof, and the building surrounded by a ten-foot fence quite a distance from the building, making it impossible for anything to be put in the reservoir from the outside. This water in the lower town has a fifty-pound pressure, sufficient to throw a large stream to the top of the highest building; capacity of reservoir, 470,000 gallons. This is, in addition to a third well, that can be used in an emergency, a reserve of water as the pumping is done direct to the pipes. The entire capacity of the pumps is sufficient for a population, in any emergency, of 50,000. The elegance of the Freeland water is another great inducement added to the place for making it a great summer resort. In many respects the altitude, the fresh, bracing winds, the cool and delightful nights, the health and its fine water will some day attract wide attention from those seeking the world's most delightful nooks as summer resorts.

At the second meeting of the council in 1876, steps were taken to grade and fix the streets and provide a "lockup.” Chris Wiegand was made street supervisor and intelligently proceeded about the business. The lockup was built at the intersection of Pine and Johnson streets and became "Fort McNellis," in honor of its first occupant. This served its purpose until 1884, when the present town building was erected, containing a council room and lockup. In 1885, 750 feet of hose was purchased; two carriages and a hook and ladder outfit provided. Bonds were issued for these improvements, that are paid off except a small amount not yet due. In 1885 a hose house was built at a cost of $1,200, and the same year the streets were re-graded. In 1890, such had been the growth of the place, that a prime system of sewers became a strong necessity; an election was held, and a hot campaign on the subject ensued, and, by a majority of one, it was decided to push this work. Bonds to the amount of seven per cent. of the assessed value, making $5,965

were issued and placed on the market, and two and a half miles of main sewers are being rapidly put down. There is no call on the taxpayers to pay the interest on the public debt, as it is expressly provided that saloon licenses shall pay it all; about $2,000 annually is paid by the saloons, and this defrays the total expense of the borough. So in the matter of taxation there is no place of its size less burdened with taxes. The salaries of officials are not "bloated" sinecures, but are noted for considerable labor and nominal pay therefor.

The present remarkable spurt in the growth of Freeland is largely due to the enterprise and foresight of the borough officials of 1891. They boldly faced the unreasoning opposition of the old fogies and the happy results are visible on every hand-the permanent and valuable improvements are being added.

The large and commodious opera house was built and opened to the public in 1889 by John Jannes. His building that had formerly occupied the same ground was destroyed by fire in 1887. The building is a two-story, with a fine auditorium on the ground floor, and in this, on the main floor, are business rooms, with offices on the second floor. The planing-mill was built in 1885. In the place and adjoining are 2 hardware stores and 1 in the township; 2 drug stores; 2 leading hotels; 2 merchant tailors and 2 in township; 4 clothing; 4 shoe and boot; 2 livery; 2 blacksmiths; 3 wheelwrights; 2 furniture; 2 lawyers; 5 doctors; 1 baker, 2 in township; 2 watchmakers, 2 in township; 3 milliners, 2 in township; 1 cigar factory and 1 in township; 4 bottlers; 6 general dry goods and grocery stores, and 6 in township, and 40 small notion stores in different lines; 2 very bright and progressive newspapers. The particulars of the lawyers, doctors and newspapers will be found in their respective chapters as well as a mention of the societies of which Freeland could, if inducements were offered, count up about a hundred.

Citizens Bank of Freeland was incorporated January 30, 1890; capital stock, $50,000. Officials: president, Joseph Birkbeck; vice-president, H. C. Koons; cashier, B. R. Davis; directors: Joseph Birkbeck, H. C. Koons, John M. Powell, Mathias Schwabe, Charles Dusheck, Antony Rudewick, John Smith, William Kemp, John Burton and John Wagner; secretary of board, John Smith.

HANOVER TOWNSHIP.

The early history of this, one of the original Connecticut townships, is so closely interwoven with the history of the settlement and troubles of the Wyoming valley that it is there given mostly as found in Miner's Pearce's and Chapman's and other accounts of those "times that tried men's souls." The recent History of Hanover Township, by Henry Blackman Plumb, of Sugar Notch, published in 1885, is one of the important additions to the county's literature concerning the early settlers on the Susquehanna river. In his preface he says: "I was born in the house of one of the old veterans of the Wyoming massacre and the Revolutionary war." This was the house of Elisha Blackman, who was eighteen years of age when the bloody July 3, 1778 burst into history. Blackman was a resident of Wilkes-Barre from 1772 to 1791, and then in Hanover township till the day of his death, 1845. Mr. Plumb had carefully digested every accessible record and all that had been published, and from the lips of his venerable kinsman had heard his recollections of the dark and dismal story that enveloped the people as a pall during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Mr. Plumb has performed his task with admirable fidelity and judgment, and has unconsciously reared for himself an imperishable monument in the hearts of the descendants of the pioneers, as well as the lovers of our country and its history. A single paragraph from his preface is given that all men may know the incalculable loss that circumstances have entailed upon us all: "But I must acknowledge my great indebtedness to Hon. Steuben Jenkins, for information and documents furnished. He furnished the key to unlock hidden mines of the most valuable information to a historian of Hanover. It seems to me now that without the list of ancient transfers of land (transfers previous to

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the Wyoming massacre) I should have remained ignorant of some of the most important facts contained in this book. It is understood that Mr. Jenkins is gathering materials for a copious and searching history of Wyoming to its minute particulars; and from what I have seen of his acquisitions in this respect, I have reason to think the work will be most thorough and valuable." The death of Mr. Jenkins has ended that dream and even the store of invaluable materials in Mr. Jenkins' possession when he died are not now, and may unfortunately never be accessible to the compiler of the annals of Wyoming. Mr. Plumb was the first to find access to the old Hanover Town Record, and he tells us it is "the only book of the kind concerning Wyoming valley in existence."

The first name that will forever remain as a prime part of the story of the settlement of Hanover township is that of Capt. Lazarus Stewart, who fell at the head of his company of Hanover men at the battle of Wyoming, July 3, 1778. An account of him and the part he performed on that memorable day are given in previous chapters. Capt. Stewart and his forty men-the "Paxton boys -came from Lancaster first in February, 1770. They were moving in behalf of Connecticut against the Penns, capturing Fort Durkee, and the four-pound canon that had been brought here. The roster of this company is as follows: Lazarus Stewart, Thomas French, Robert Young, James Stewart, Adam Storer, Jacob Stagard, George Ely, Lodwick Shalman, George Aspen, John Lard, John McDonnell, George Meane, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., William Young, Peter Kidd, John Robinson, John Simpson, Adam Harper, Peter Seamen, John Poop, Mathias Hollenback, (spelled then Hollenbaugh), Joseph Neal, Baltzer Stagard, John Stellie. John McDormer, William Stewart, Lazarus Young, William Carpenter, Luke Shawley, Nicholas Farrings, Conrad Phillip, Casper Relker, John Sault, Peter Szchewer, Robert Kidd, Ronemus Haine, and Adam Sherer. Within the next two years the following were all that remained in Stewart's company: Lazarus Stewart, Lazarus Stewart, Jr., James Stewart, William Stewart, Robert Young, John Robinson and Thomas Robinsoneight of the Lancaster men. Their places were partly filled by Charles Stewart, David Young, John Young, James Robinson, William Graham, John Donahaw, Josias Aspia, Hugh Coffrin, and John Franklin and Silas Gore; the last two from Connecticut.

One of Stewart's men was the first man killed in the Yankee and Pennite war for these lands; his name is given as William Stager, but it was probably Jacob or Baltzer Stagard. It seems that this campaign and the much fighting during the months of March, April and May, caused many changes in Stewart's men. Some were killed, drowned or captured, others sickened and others discouraged, sold their claims and left. What remained, however, were active in planting crops, and the summer moved along happily. In September, however, the Penn followers attacked the settlement and captured the fort. December 18, following, Capt. Stewart with thirty men re-captured the fort and expelled the Pennites from the valley. Connecticut had granted Hanover township, then including all of what is now Hanover, Wright, Bear Creek, Bucks, Denison and Foster townships, or everything from Wilkes-Barre township to the Lehigh river. At the time of the distribution or allotment of the lands, Hanover had but eighteen "proprietors," but each one of these had one hired man, and at that time the township was the same as the other townships, five miles square.

At a town meeting in Wilkes-Barre, October 19, 1772, presided over by Capt. Zebulon Bulter, it was voted, "That Capt. Lazarus Stewart and William Stewart are deserving the town of Hanover, agreeably to the votes passed at the general meeting of the proprietors of the Susquehanna company, held at Windham, January 9, 1771. The lands in Hanover were marked out and divided among the settlers in three divisions. The first division made in 1771 or 1772; the second in 1776

and the third in 1787.

The following Hanover men were in the battle of July 3, 1778: Captains:

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