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WILKES-BARRE 50 YEARS AGO
Reminiscences of a Veteran Resident of the City.
Coal was just coming into general use.
The Cities Early Hostelries and Her Primitive Method of Travel – Her Present Methods of Travel – Her Present Beauty and Prosperioty – A Natural Evolution, Wrought by Energy, Money, Civic Pride and Brains.
By J. R. Perry
Wilkes-Barre Times - April 10, 1906
In response to your request for an account of my recollectons of Wilkes-Barre, as it was when I first came to it. I may state my first visit to it was made in the summer of 1849, by way of the Broad mountain, and by stage, as that was the only public mode of conveyance. The roads were extremely bad, rough and muddy, and it took from morning, about 9 o’clock, when we left Tamaqua, to late at night to get here. I distinctly remember the appearance at night as we entered the valley and groped our way down Soloman’s gap, and also the sickly lights of a few tallow candles throwing their dull rays from the windows of the scattered homes leading from Woodville to the Public Square.
THE EARLY HOSTELRIES
The leading hotels at the time were the Phoenix on River street and the B. F. Wells at the corner now occuopied with the Bennett stores, and which was formerly owned by George P. Steele.
The Wells hotel was a shabby old frame building, though somewhat commodius, and was the headquarters of the stage proprietors, where at times could be found the chief conductor of travels- that is the stage drivers, chief among them Dave Seaman and Coxey. I came in on Coxey’s rig, and having a seat on the outside, by special request, I put my arms around his body and held him fast while he applied the brake, coming down the mountain.
Wilkes-Barre at that time was said to contain from 6,000 to 8,000 inhabitants. All the land below Northampton street, with the exception of a few scattered houses, was an open field, hogs, cows, sheep and dogs roamed at large and were unmolested. We knew nothing then of such a personage as the immortal Reilly, who in later years rendered his valuable service in taking up swine and cattle, to say nothing of giving of giving all sorts of nuisances a decent burial or removal. The nuisance abater was the result of a distinct evolution brought about by force of necessity, and the enlargement of the borough limits.
BUT FEW INDUSTRIES
As to manufactures they were very limited. On the west side of Public Square was a large foundry and machine shops owning and operated by Mr. Laning, and of course, all the buildings around the square were old fashioned frames. Mr. Laning soon after built the large and commodius shops on Canal street and they were conducted under the firm name of Landing and Marshall. What was peculiar about that copartnership was that it was formed with the express purpose of building steam canal packet boats to ply upon the North Branch canal, then under construction, to the State of New York.
