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Environmental Resources, Manuscript Groups 6-156

MG-6 Diaries and Journals Collection

1763-1938
8 boxes

This collection consists of miscellaneous diaries, journals, notebooks, travel accounts, memorandum books, and weather journals. Items of interest to environmental historians include the following:

  • Beyer, Abraham, Diary and Day Book, 1872-1880. Abraham Beyer was a farmer who lived near Tyrone in Huntingdon County. His diary and day book record the weather, farming activities, his health, neighborhood news, and financial transactions.
  • Disney, Hardie, Journal 1884-1938. Journal of Hardie Disney (b. 1875), a hunter born in West Fairview, Westmoreland County containing his record of approximately 15,000 wild fowl bagged over the Susquehanna River, chiefly in Dauphin and Cumberland counties, with dates and species listed; information on ducks shot prior to 1898 is summarized in the introduction. Included is a typed tabulation by Dr. Harold B. Wood, listing scientific names and number of each species killed, and 21 photographs of various species of wild fowl from 1901 to 1917; also newspaper clippings of interest to sportsmen, pertaining to weather conditions and river stages and some items of local interest.
  • Ewing, John, Dr., Memorandum Book, May 31-Aug. 27, 1874. Survey notes and narrative account kept by Dr. John Ewing (1732-1802) during a journey in connection with the settlement of the southern boundary lines in Pennsylvania. Ewing gives a detailed description of the territory noting the crops, trees, streams, hills, soil, mountains and waterfalls during his trip. He traveled through York, Somerset, Bedford, Fayette, Westmoreland and Washington Counties.
  • Gates, David, Diary, 20 May 14-Aug. 1795. Gates was a surveyor who traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and then to Presque Isle, Erie County as a member of a surveying party whose mission was to locate a fort and survey the land in Presque Isle. Gates reports on travel conditions, individuals connected with civilian and military parties and encounters with Native Americans.
  • Heisley, J., Dr., Meteorological Journal, 1843-50. Journal records daily meteorological observations in Harrisburg, Dauphin County including measure of rainfall, velocity of wind, records of temperature and barometer.
  • Potts, Stacy Jr., Diary, 1798-1799. A colorful narrative of Stacy Potts' travel by stage coach and river across Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh and from there to New Orleans by boat. The Diary begins with an entry for Oct. 9, 1798 and concludes with his journey to Providence, Rhode Island on Aug. 20, 1799. Potts describes the countryside of Cumberland, Lancaster and Allegheny counties.
  • Langdon, William T. Diaries, 1855-1884. William Langdon (b. ca. 1828) was apparently born in Clearfield County. He worked as a rafter, carpenter, lumberman and in oil fields. The diaries cover the years 1855, 1872-1873, 1880-1884. The major topic of his diaries is weather. The 1855 diary comments on the land at the Sinamahoning River, Cameron Count; Lewistown, Mifflin County; Harrisburg, Dauphin County; Wrightsville, York County; Columbia and Marietta, Lancaster County; Altoona, Blair County; Cherry Tree, Indiana County; and Philadelphia. The diary for 1872-1873 was recorded while Langdon lived in Cherry Tree, Indiana County. Among the communities Langdon describes in that diary are Clearfield, Clearfield County, Lock Haven, Clinton County and Blairsville, Indiana County. The 1880-1881, 1882, and 1882-1884 diaries were recorded by Langdon while residing in Eldred, McKean County.
  • Quay, Joseph F. Travel Diary, 1859. A periodical record of a trip by stage coach from Clinton County to Marion, Ohio in August and September 1859. Pennsylvania towns mentioned include Bellefonte, Tyrone, Lewistown, Altoona, and Pittsburgh.
  • Strickland, William, Notes and Receipt Book, 1787-1854. William Strickland (1784- 18?) was born in Philadelphia. He was an important Philadelphia architect. Strickland designed the Masonic Temple, the U.S. Bank building, the Philadelphia Customs House, the U.S. Mint building, the U.S. Naval Asylum building and several theaters in Philadelphia. During the War of 1812, Strickland, Robert Brooks, and William Kneafts were hired as "topographical engineers" to describe local topography for the subcommittee for the defense of Philadelphia. The brief report is dated Sept. 28, 1814. This item is also available on digitized microfilm.
  • Taylor, Edward, Diary of Travels through Pa. and Ohio, 1817. Edward Taylor lived in New Jersey, began his trip Sept. 29, 1817 through Penna. into Ohio and returning around Dec. 4, 1817.Description of mileage traveled, route taken, places stayed, weather and condition of roads. Counties described by Taylor include Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lycoming and Somerset.
  • Trip through Central Pennsylvania Journal, Anonymous, 1794. The author reports on a trip from Philadelphia starting June 27, 1794, by an unidentified Englishman. The author gives a unique description of the countryside around Loyalsock, Lycoming County.
  • Weather Diaries, 1882-1937, Anonymous. These diaries were recorded apparently at Chambersburg, Franklin County over a forty-five year period. Six diaries are dated January 1882-May 12, 1889, May 13-1889-August 23, 1897, August 24, 1897-March 7, 1907, April 19, 1907-May 30, 1919, October 1, 1919-May 5, 1923, and May 1, 1923-December 31, 1937. The diarist comments on weather, crops and flowers in the area.
  • Weaver, Josiah B., Diary, Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 1863. Millersburg, Dauphin County schoolteacher writes about teaching, religion and daily weather conditions.
  • Went, R., Diary, New York City, 1863. The author records his trip by train from New York City to Philadelphia to a convention. On his return trip he visits Harrisburg and the coal regions. His observations include coal mines near Pottsville, Schuylkill County and the Mauch Chunk inclined plane. Other areas described include Philadelphia, Summit Hill, Carbon County, Mount Pisgah, Bradford County and Easton, Northampton County. Went describes plants, trees, mountains, coal veins and miners' homes in his diary.
  • Wissler Diaries Collection, 1872, 1875, 1878, 1881-94, 1896, 1899-1902. Aaron B. Wissler, a native of Lancaster County and of German-American ancestry, was a prodigious inventor. Through his diaries he succeeds in preserving pertinent commentaries upon the conditions and events in his locality during the last quarter of the 19th Century. Each volume contains several pages of cash accounts in addition to other valuable memoranda. In all of his diaries, Wissler begins each day's report with a description of weather conditions, i.e. temperature, humidity, rainfall amount and wind directions.
  • Yates, Thomas. Chart of the Susquehanna River, 1850. Log of a rafting journey from Oct. 29-Nov. 3, 1850. Supply lists, time tables, places landed, detailed charts of the Susquehanna River from Shepard's Landing (North Branch) to Wrights (Chiquies Creek).
  • Youngman, Andrew A., Weather Observations, 1889-1905. These are recorded in twelve notebooks kept by Andrew Youngman of Sunbury, Northumberland County. Youngman was the publisher of the Sunbury Gazette from 1855 to 1883. His notebooks contain daily entries of local and national weather patterns along with news of local events.

MG-8 Pennsylvania Collection (Miscellaneous)

Spanning the period from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, the Pennsylvania Collection contains miscellaneous archival materials dealing with many legal, political, military, business, medical, educational, social, civic, and religious subjects. Subjects include materials concerning Democratic, Know-Nothing, Republican and Whig politics; the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War; the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Pittsburgh and Western Railroad Company, Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, and various forges and furnaces; colonial land policies; slavery; and the Society of Friends (Quakers). Other types of documents found here are correspondence, family papers, minute books, letter books, Notebooks, scrapbooks, and autograph albums. A number of prominent individuals and families in Pennsylvania are represented here. Documents are grouped alphabetically by name of person, family, corporate body or subject and also numbered sequentially. However, there is no straightforward chronological arrangement.

  • #45-Coal Properties, Luzerne County, 1854. This is a report by geologist William F. Roberts of Philadelphia on the Ross Hill estate of State Supreme Court Judge George W. Woodward, in Plymouth Township, Luzerne County. Roberts gives a geological assessment of the anthracite holdings of the property.
  • #72-Engle Family Papers, Diary, 1854-1858. The diary is written by an unknown descendant of Ulrich Engle; it comments on the farming and weather conditions in Dauphin and Lancaster Counties.
  • #209-Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, 1819 and n.d. The folders contain a handwritten copy of an Act to reincorporate the Society, March 20, 1819 and a copy of a proposed Act for granting a sum of money to the Society to purchase land for a pattern farm.
  • #220-Proceedings of the 1st State Foresters Conference, Harrisburg, Dec. 8-9, 1920. Reproduction of proceedings first published in Bulletin no. 23, Pennsylvania Dept. of Forestry, 1922. Formal title is "Souvenir issue prepared for the 42nd Annual Meeting of the National Association of State Foresters at Hershey, Pa., September 13-17, 1964.
  • #240-William P. Schell Jr., Philadelphia, Power of Attorney to William P. Schell Sr., Bedford, Sept. 20, 1871. The correspondence concerns the leasing or purchasing of coal and minerals.
  • #272-Tioga Estate Mineral Report, 1835. "Report of the Geological Survey & details of the Mineral Exploration made between the months of Aug. & Nov. 1835, of about 16,000 Acres of Land near the headwaters of Tioga River" by Richard G. Taylor, a Philadelphia geological and mining surveyor.
  • #793-Scrapbook, Johnstown Flood of 1899. The scrapbook was compiled by Mary E. Gageby of Johnstown. It contains clippings also on the 1913 floods in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
  • #851-Letter, T. Mather Clapp, Nov. 17, 1822. A letter postmarked Washington, Pa. discusses people, buildings, geography and animals seen by the author during a trip from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. Nov. 1-17, 1822.
  • #981-Scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the March 1936 Harrisburg flood. The scrapbook contains clippings from the Harrisburg Morning Telegraph. The compiler of this scrapbook is unknown.
  • #1168-Game, Fish and Forest Laws, 1925, edited by Seth E. Gordon, Executive Secretary, Board of Game Commissioners, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg: J.L.J Kuhn, Printer to the Commonwealth, 1925)
  • #1190-Triangle Tour Book, Pennsylvania Good Roads Celebration at Caledonia Park, Oct. 4, 1921. This booklet published by the Lincoln Highway Association includes an essay on the "Need for Wider Roads."
  • #1216-Record Logbook of Geological Data, 1899-1900. The logbook was kept by the geologist A. Cummings.

MG-11 Map Collection

The Map Collection has more than a thousand maps of Pennsylvania in various sizes, hand drawn, engraved and printed, in black and white or in color and focusing upon different subjects. These are arranged in eight major sub-groups: 1 ) Colony and Commonwealth; 2) Counties; 3) Townships; 4) Cities and Boroughs; 5) Boundaries, Topography, Geology, Parks; 6) Transportation (Indian trails, roads and turnpikes, rivers and streams, canals, railroads, air, etc.); 7) Military and Battlefields (French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, Civil War). Additional Pennsylvania maps may be found in the following record groups and manuscript groups: RG 12, Records of the Department of Highways; RG 13, Records of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; RG 17, Records of the Bureau of Land Records; RG 29, Records of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission; RG 41, Records of the Navigation Commission for the Delaware River and its Tributaries; MG 110, Schuylkill Navigation Company Records; and MG 199, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Collection.

  • Subgroup 1, Colony and Commonwealth, is arranged chronologically by year. The earliest dated map here is from 1638-1655. The most recent is from 1981. This subgroup features maps showing roads, rivers, canals, railroads, roads, recreation areas and general topography. It is useful for tracing how Pennsylvania land was altered over the centuries. The earliest maps were created by explorers and pioneers. Later maps were created to show property owners, natural resources and local highways. Some regional maps, i.e. showing the Mid-Atlantic region can also be found here. Some maps are tourist or "official" road or recreational maps" of the state produced by the state highways department or the state parks department.
  • Subgroup 2, Counties is arranged alphabetically by county and then by year. All sixty-seven Pennsylvania counties are represented here but not necessarily for all time periods. Examples of maps found here include donation and depreciation lands, township creation, travel volume, Indian trails, public roads, covered bridges, railroads, topographic views, geology, and warrantee maps. A number of county maps were produced by the Second Pennsylvania Geological Survey from 1878 to 1884. General highway maps of Pennsylvania counties were created by the state department of highways in 1941 and from 1950 to 1960.
  • Subgroup 3, Townships, covers both general Pennsylvania and specific townships. The townships are arranged alphabetically according to county name. The earliest map here dates back to 1736. Found here are maps depicting canals, climates, coal mines and fields, coke works, erosion, flood control, forests, geographic surveys, land titles, oil basins, recreation areas, rivers, and transportation.
  • Subgroup 4, Cities and boroughs is arranged alphabetically by name. But not every Pennsylvania town or village is represented here. The earliest map in this category is of Pittsburgh in 1795. The cartographer/artist T. M. Fowler created many "Fowler's Panoramic Maps" from 1889 to 1905. In his maps, Fowler sketched specific buildings, streets, businesses, and institutions within cities and boroughs. Some of his maps can be considered "bird's eye views." This subgroup also contains aerial, survey, and topographic views. These maps of cites and boroughs give researchers perspective on the development of cities and boroughs in the Commonwealth.
  • Subgroup 5, Boundaries, topography, geology, parks is arranged chronologically by date. The earliest map dates from 1682. Many topographical maps of Pennsylvania were produced by the U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey, from 1891 to 1957. Maps of state parks were produced by the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry and its successor agency: Forests and Waters. Depiction of Pennsylvania boundary lines, state geology and the state park system are well represented. Images of coal mines, rivers, oil basins, climatology, and warrantee maps provide insight into land use in Pennsylvania history.
  • Subgroup 6, Transportation is arranged by date of map. The earliest map dates back to 1755. Included here are depictions of trails, roads, rivers, streams, canals, railroads, and air transportation facilities. Types of maps include aeronautical or aerial views as well as views from the ground like Indian paths or turnpikes. Most of the maps are of public roads and railroads.
  • Subgroup 7, Military and battlefields is listed chronologically by year from 1755 to 1983. They cover essentially the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. These maps illustrate how Pennsylvania's land was changed by different modes of transportation over time.
  • Subgroup 8, Vignettes: public and private buildings and general structures is arranged in three parts. Part one is a list of buildings arranged alphabetically by name. Part two is a list of maps of the Pennsylvania Great Seal and the State Coat of Arms. Part three consists of images of significant people in Pennsylvania history such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.

MG-20 Richard J. Beam Papers

1913-1945 (bulk 1926-1943)
1 box

Richard J. Beam was born in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania in 1869. He was a journalist with newspapers in Scranton, Reading and Philadelphia before serving as the Secretary of the Commonwealth under Governor Gifford Pinchot from 1931 to 1934. He was also a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. His miscellaneous papers feature letters from Smedley D. Butler, George H. Earle, Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, and Gifford Pinchot; materials pertaining to the Public Service Commission and its successor, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; copies of articles and addresses by Beamish; a political cartoon, 1931, featuring Beamish, Pinchot, etc.; and photographs, 10 items, of Beamish, Herbert C. Hoover, Pinchot, etc. The items of interest to environmental historians are the following:

  • In folder 1 there are two copies of a geological map of the Penfield Quadrangle in Pennsylvania in 1937, bearing notations on coal and other minerals in the area.
  • In folder 2 there is a letter dated November 23 1936 from Beam to Governor George Earle concerning proposed bill to regulate public utilities. There is also a letter from Joseph S. Reitz of DuBois, Clearfield County to Beam concerning coal mine property.
  • In folder 3, there are "Lists of major electric, gas, water and telephone companies operating in Pennsylvania at Dec. 31, 1938."
  • In folder 4, a letter from Gifford Pinchot to Beam discusses the Forest Bond issue and the "Mellon Organization."

MG-23 Arthur C. Bining Collection

ca. 1898-1955
(5 boxes, 1 volume)

Arthur C. Bining (b. 1893), was a professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and author of articles and books on iron and steel manufacturing. Among his writings are History of the Iron and Steel Industry in the United States, Pennsylvania Iron Manufacture in the Eighteenth Century and The Rise of Iron Manufacture in Western Pennsylvania. The Arthur C. Bining Collection includes manuscripts of some of his writings and research materials such as notes, photographs, clippings, and bibliographical references on the development of the iron and steel industry, particularly in Pennsylvania. Of special note is a loose volume entitled "The Robesonia Iron Company Limited, 1793-1918."

The Binning Collection's large group of photographs has potential interest to environmental historians. They illustrate iron furnaces within their natural locale and they documents abandoned iron furnaces amid reforestation. The following is a list of photographs taken in Pennsylvania in the Binning Collection. They are listed alphabetically by county and subjects. Locale is given in parentheses.

  • Allegheny County: National Tube (McKeesport); Blast Furnace Plant (Clairton); Carnegie Steel Co., Duquesne Plant #2 Furnace Ore, Coke & Limestone Bins (Carnegie)
  • Armstrong County: Kittanning Iron & Steel Manufacturing Co. (Kittanning)
  • Bedford County: Furnace (Hopewell); Mansion (Hopewell); Village street (Hopewell); Washing iron (Hopewell)
  • Berks County: Dalle Furnace (Bally); Windsor Furnace; Residence of William Bird (Birdsboro); Stove plate (Colebrookdale); Mansion (Pine Grove); Oldest Building (Pine Grove) Stream (Pine Forge); Stove plate (Reading); Sally Ann Furnace (Reading); Sally Ann Furnace (Reading); Mansion house & store (Reading); Henry Clay Furnace (Reading); Book-The Robesonia Iron Co. Ltd. (Robesonia); Cornwall Ore Bank (Robesonia); Furnace & Grounds (Robesonia); Robesonia Furnace & Mansion (Robesonia) Topton Furnace (Topton); Workman's houses (Womelsdorf); "Charming Forge"(Womelsdorf)
  • Bucks County: Franklin (Doylestown Museum); Andirons (Doylestown Museum); "Another Like Me" (Doylestown Museum); Brass knobs & designs on stove (Doylestown Museum); Fireplace (Morrisville); Fireplace in Washington's Headquarters (Morrisville)
  • Carbon County: Zinc furnace (Hazard)
  • Centre County: Nittany Furnace (Bellefonte); Hecla Furnace (Milesburg); Three sites of furnace (Milesburg)
  • Chester County: Worth Steel Co. # 3 Furnace (Coatesville) Road to Laurel (Laurel); Valley Forge (Valley Forge)
  • Cumberland County: Furnace (Carlisle); Stove plate (Carlisle); Pine Grove Furnace (Pine Grove)
  • Delaware County: Delaware River Steel Co. (Chester)
  • Fayette County: Jacob's Creek (Connellsville); Dunbar Furnace (Dunbar)
  • Lackawanna County: Lehigh Canal & general view of Crane Iron Works (Lehigh)
  • Lancaster County: Charcoal storage house (Manheim); Coleman Gardens (Manheim); Mansion of H. W. Stiegel (Manheim); Residence of Robert Coleman (Manheim); Stove plate (Manheim)
  • Lawrence County: Republic Iron & Steel Co. (New Castle)
  • Lebanon County: Front plate of stove (Cornwall); Old Charcoal Furnace (Cornwall); Revolutionary Cannon & Shot (Cornwall); Lebanon Furnace (Lebanon); High blast furnace (Sheridan)
  • Lehigh County: Macungie Furnace (Macungie)
  • Mercer County: Steward Iron Co. (Sharon); Shenango Furnace (Sharpsville); Youngstown Iron & Sheet & Tube (Sharpsville)
  • Montgomery County: Warrick Iron & Steel Co. (Pottsville)
  • Northampton County: Bethlehem Steel Co. (Bethlehem); Durham Furnace (Easton)
  • Philadelphia County: Cannon Stove (Philadelphia); Fireplace, Franklin (Philadelphia); Wall in the Southwark postal station lobby (Philadelphia)
  • Schuylkill County: Pioneer furnaces (Pottsville); High blast furnace (Sheridan)
  • Washington County: American Steel & Wire (Donora); Blast furnace (Monongahela); Four Furnace (Monongahela); Eliza Furnace Ore Yards (Monongahela); Ore yards, trestles & connecting bridges (Monongahela); Hot metal card (Monongahela)
  • York County: Codorus Furnace (York); Mary Ann Furnace stove plate (York); Brown patent furnace-hoist (York)

The following are photographs from other American states and from the nation of Australia within the Binning Collection with place named in parentheses.

  • Australia: Blast furnace & steel works (New Castle)
  • Alabama: Furnace #s 1 & 2 (Bessemer); Alabama Consolidated Coal & Iron Co. (Birmingham); Interior Cast House( Birmingham); Ensley Furnace (Birmingham); Ensley Furnace Pig Bed & Cast House (Birmingham); Mary Pratt Furnace (Birmingham); Sloss Furnace (Birmingham); 4152 Sloss Furnace (Birmingham); Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Co. (North Birmingham); Furnace (Ensley); Ensley & Eureka Furnaces (Ensley & Oxmoor); Works of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. (Ensley & Oxmoor); A. & J. Furnace (Sheffield); Three Furnaces (Sheffield); Shelby Iron Co. (Thomas); Woodward Furnace (Woodward); Woodward Iron Co. (Woodward); Gadsden Furnaces (place unnamed)
  • Connecticut: Beckley or Canaan No.2 Furnace (East Canaan)
  • Georgia: Cherokee Iron Furnace (Cedartown); Rising Fawn Furnace (Rising Fawn)
  • Illinois: Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp. (Chicago); Illinois Steel Co. (South Chicago); Iroquois Iron Co. (South Chicago)
  • Kentucky: (Watts Iron & Steel Plant (Middlesborough)
  • Maryland: Miurkirk
  • Massachusetts: Richmond Iron Works (Richmond Furnace)
  • New Hampshire: The Old Shack (Franconia)
  • New Jersey: The New Furnace (Oxford); Cobb Furnace (Split Rock Pond); Hanover Furnace; Stoves from Atsion Iron Works Mill; Thomas Iron Co. (Hakendauqua)
  • New York: Malthy or Phoenix Furnace (Niullerton)
  • North Carolina: North Carolina Steel & Iron Co. (Greensboro)
  • Ohio: Buckeye Furnace (Jackson County); Center Furnace (Lawrence County); Olive Furnace (Lawrence County); Pioneer Furnace (Lawrence County): Vasuvius Furnace (Lawrence County); Carnegie Steel Co. (Niles); LaBelle Iron Works (Steubenville); Carnegie Lorre B. (Youngstown); Ohio Hire Co. (Youngstown); Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. (Youngstown); Lincoln Furnace (place unnamed)
  • Virginia: Old Forge & Cliff (Clifton Forge); Victoria Forge (Goshen); Graham Furnace (Graham); Puloski Iron Co. (Puloski); Catawba Furnace (Roanoke); Shenandoah Furnace (Shenandoah); A Virginia Iron Furnace (place unnamed)
  • West Virginia: Blast Furnace & Steel Works (Morgantown)

MG-43 Dock Family Papers

1865-1951
7.5 cu. ft.

These are primarily the papers of Mira Lloyd Dock (1853-1945), botanist, lecturer, forest advocate, photographer, and civic leader who championed protection of Pennsylvania's environment. Dock was a founder of the City Beautiful movement, a national reform movement aimed at beautification of American cities, especially Harrisburg. Dock served as commissioner on the Pennsylvania Forest Reservation Commission, securing state appropriations for state forests and parks. She was regarded as an international expert in botany and forestry, presenting lectures regularly both in America and abroad. Dock teamed with foresters Joseph Rothrock and Gifford Pinchot to urge the Commonwealth to establish the state Forestry Department and later Pennsylvania's system of state parks. Dock also contributed to the creation of the Mont Alto Forestry Academy for training professional foresters. Also present in this collection are extensive materials relating to Mira Dock's grandfather, William Dock (1793-1868), and father, Gilliard Dock (1827-1895); her uncle, George Dock (1823-187?) who was a physician and professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia; and Mira's younger brother George Dock (1860-1951), also a physician and teacher of medicine. For related materials see MG-85, J. Horace McFarland Papers.

There are a large number of photographs, ca. 1880-ca. 1940, including images of various Dock family members, Joseph T. Rothrock, and Pennsylvania Governor William A. Stone; trees and forest reserves throughout Pennsylvania; and urban scenes including Coudersport, Harrisburg, Johnstown, and Philadelphia. Also present are views of churches, commercial and public buildings, and scenes relating her travels.

Mira Lloyd Dock Papers

1878-1947.
(Boxes 3-11)
{series #43m.2}

There is no inherent arrangement.

The series includes correspondence with family members, professional colleagues, as well as individuals and organization concerned with conservation. The bulk of her correspondence relates to the American Forestry Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry, the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, the State Forestry Academy at Mt. Alto, the Women's School of Horticulture at Ambler, the State Federation of Pennsylvania Women, and the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Major correspondents include Mary Colston, Robert S. Conklin, A. Boyd Hamilton, Florence Keen, J. Horace McFarland, John M. McFarlane, Warren H. Manning, Frederick Law Olmsted, Marlin E. Olmsted, Gifford Pinchot, William H. Rau, Joseph T. Rothrock, Ms. F. R. Wilkinson and Dock family members. Her letters illuminate how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began to form public policies and state agencies about state forests. Dock's relationship with many correspondents such as Pinchot and McFarland was not only professional but often personal in nature. Within in the correspondence is a folder dealing with a dispute Dock had with the American Forestry Association in 1907. There are also numerous notebooks and diaries, newspaper clippings, programs and flyers, maps, minutes of the Riverside Club, state forestry reservation commission minutes, along with copies of federal and state bodies dealing with forestry.

Glass Plate Negatives

1889-1900
(2 drawers)
{series #43m.3}

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

[From Linda Ries, Guide to Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives, p. 64]:

"Most are undated, but probably were taken between 1889 and 1900. Technical studies include: arbutus, cypress, ferns, habernaria purple, hackberry, Indian pipe, lilies, locust trees, mushrooms, orchids, pansies, phlox, pine, rhododendron, spring beauties, sugar maple, sumac, sunflowers, trillium, white thorn, willows, witch hazel, and unidentified items. Artistic studies include: apple butter making; Gilliard Dock's hunting camp, 'Camp Mariah;' at Broad Top; forests and gardens in England (copy negatives); various Harrisburg streets and bridges; hikers at High Rocks; a lotus pond in York County; the Susquehanna River at McCall's Ferry; a barn at Mont Alto; and gardens on the State Capitol Grounds, Harrisburg."

Lantern Slides

1892-1907 & undated
(2 drawers)

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

[Quoted from Linda Ries, Guide to Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives, p. 64]

"Glass lantern slides (290 items), were probably taken between 1892 and 1907, with some undated. A few are hand colored. While some are slide versions of the plates listed above, most are commercially produced probably taken or collected by Dock on her travels. The alphabetically arranged subjects are primarily of forests, parks, playgrounds and individual tree specimens in Pennsylvania, including Adams, Bedford, Bucks, Cameron, Clinton, Cumberland, Erie, McKean, Montgomery, Pike, Potter, Sullivan, Wayne and York Counties. United States and foreign views are also present. Miscellaneous items include apple blossoms, apple butter making, 'closed' and 'open' forests, logging and lumbering, maple sugaring, tree nurseries, river dumps, playgrounds, forest regeneration and others."

Photographs, Prints and Postcards

1889-1948 & undated
(4 boxes)
{series #43m.5}

[Quoted from from Linda Ries, Guide to Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives, pp. 64-65]

Photographs, 1889-1931 are prints made by local commercial photographers from negatives made by Dock, and prints and postcards include: Broad Top views, especially Camp Mariah; Rainsburg Gap; chestnut trees, spruce trees and Gilliard Dock on various hiking trips; the Pennsylvania Canal below Dauphin; the Dock family home in Harrisburg; Harrisburg Cemetery entrance; a lotus pond in York County; views of the Susquehanna at McCall's Ferry taken by Dock and printed by LeRue Lerner; and elm, locust and cedar trees at various locales.

Prints by other photographers include views of trees and historic buildings in eastern Pennsylvania by C. M. Bradford, undated; a New York City penthouse garden and a house in Chester, Pa., by R. R. Brock, undated, ruins of first State Capitol, Harrisburg, 1897, by E. K. Gaugler; Harrisburg playgrounds and sewers; Paxton Creek and Susquehanna River views by J. Horace McFarland, 1900-1910; the Johnson Garden at Germantown by William H. Rau, 1895; and the James Buchanan Birthplace by C.E. Seville, undated.

Miscellaneous subjects, not identified by date or photographer include: bridges, European gardens; Duncan's Island in the Susquehanna River; Rockford Plantation, Lancaster County; Mont Alto Forestry School Chapel; various buildings and fountains, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia; Coaley Poultry Farm, Coudersport; miscellaneous views of Easton; Gloustershire, Leamington, Lappenham, and Windsor Castle, England. People include Gilliard Dock, Mira Dock, S.B. Elliott, John Fulton, Robert D. MacMurdy, Governor William Stone and Joseph T. Rothrock; the Mont Alto Forest Academy Basketball Team, 1905-1906; views of San Antonio, Texas; and ceremonies dedicating a plaque at Young Womans Creek Forest Reservation, 1925; and other items.

MG-48 Fall Brook Railroad & Coal Company Records

1768-1938 (bulk 1819-1938)
345 cu. ft.

This collection contains records of the business and financial interests of the Magee family, Bath, New York, containing primarily the records of the Fall Brook Coal Company and the Fall Brook Railway Company. Born near Easton, Pennsylvania, John Magee (b. 1794, d. 1868) took up residence in Bath, Steuben County, New York, in 1816. Between 1818 and 1826, he served as constable and collector of Bath, deputy sheriff, high sheriff, and census marshall for Steuben County. Active in Democratic politics, he served two terms in congress between 1827 and 1831.

Though the Magee family interests focused on railroad and mining industries in north central Pennsylvania and south central New York, John Magee was also involved in land speculation, lumbering, milling, banking, and related activities. He directed the affairs of the newly organized Steuben County Bank from 1831 until his death. He also owned large tracts of timber land in Michigan and Wisconsin. He established and managed mail coach lines and was a principal promoter of several early railroad lines.

In 1854 John Magee obtained ownership of the Blossburg and Corning Railroad. The company descended from the Tioga Coal, Iron, Mining and Manufacturing Company, which was originally incorporated under New York State law in 1828 and given power to construct slack-water navigation from the Pennsylvania line to the junction of the Tioga and Chemung rivers near Corning, New York. The company was authorized in 1833 to build a railroad from the termination of the Chemung canal feeder to the Pennsylvania line, and was renamed the Corning and Blossburg Railroad in 1851.

In 1851 Magee obtained the lease for the coal mines at Blossburg, Pennsylvania, held earlier by Mallory & Bostwick of Corning, New York. Tiring of working under a lease, his son, Duncan S. Magee, began searching for new coal lands in 1856, which resulted in the discovery of coal near Fall Brook, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, and the organization of the Fall Brook Coal Company in 1859. The discovery of coal near Wilson's Creek in 1866 led to the construction of the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad, which was completed to the mines at Antrim in 1872. The Blossburg and Corning and the Wellsboro and Lawrenceville were consolidated to form the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railway Company, which was incorporated under the laws of New York and Pennsylvania in 1873. The Cowanesque Valley Railroad was purchased by the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim in 1874. The name of the Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim was changed in 1892 to that of the Fall Brook Railway Company. When John Magee died in 1868, his son, Duncan S. Magee, directed the family enterprises until his death one year later, whereupon he was succeeded by his brother, George J. Magee.

In order to provide a cheaper outlet for the coal mined at Fall Brook, Antrim, and Morris Run, George J. Magee undertook the construction of the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railroad, which was completed from Corning to Geneva in 1877. The Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway, later renamed the Pine Creek Railway, joined the Fall Brook system upon its completion in 1883. George J. Magee died in 1897 and was succeeded as president of the coal and railway companies by his son, John Magee. In 1899 the Fall Brook Railway Company, the Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railway Company, and the Pine Creek Railway Company were leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad for 999 years. In 1909 these three roads were consolidated to form the Geneva, Corning and Southern Railroad Company which was immediately leased to the New York Central.

Records, approximately 115 cu. ft., embracing minute books, letter press books, general correspondence, and account books are arranged in the following subgroups:

  • Fall Brook Coal Company, 1859-1938
  • Fall Brook Railway Company, 1892-1912; Blossburg and Corning Railroad, 1854-78
  • Corning, Cowanesque and Antrim Railway Company, 1873-92
  • Cowanesque Valley Railroad Company, 1871-74
  • Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railway Company, 1875-85
  • Wellsboro and Lawrenceville Railroad Company, 1867-73
  • Duncan S. Magee, 1850-66 (includes records of the coal mined under lease at Blossburg)
  • George J. Magee, 1864-1908 (includes estate records)
  • John Magee, 1816-68
  • Estate of John Magee, 1866-1909 (the estate controlled the capital stock of the Fall Brook Coal and Fall Brook Railway companies)
  • Executors of John Magee, Jr., 1873-98 (John Magee, Jr., d. 1873, was the son of John Magee and his second wife, Arabella Steuart Magee, d. 1864)
  • John Magee, 1892-1900 (John Magee, son of George J. Magee, became president of the coal and railway companies in 1897)
  • Ellsworth Family, 1880-1911 (Hebe P. Magee, sister of John Magee, Jr., married Samuel S. Ellsworth by whom she had two children, John Magee Ellsworth and Duncan Steuart Ellsworth. Included here are records of the firm of Magee & Ellsworth)
  • Daniel Beach, 1868-99 (Beach was the trustee of the estate of the elder John Magee)
  • Morris Run Coal Mining Company, 1875-1905 (interest in this firm's stock and property was controlled by the Fall Brook Coal Company)
  • Pardee Collieries, 1888-1905 (collieries were located near Philipsburg, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and were operated by George J. Magee and later by the firm of John Magee and W. C. Lingle)
  • Schuyler County Mills, 1860-65
  • Tioga Coke Works, 1882-1904 (firm built by George J. Magee with help from the Fall Brook Coal Company and the Morris Run Coal Mining Company) and the Tioga Improvement Company, 1867-99.

Numerous letters discuss local, state, and national politics and some pertain to strikes and industrial strife. Notable correspondents include George F. Baer, Simon Cameron, Austin Corbin, Chauncey M. Depew, Melville Dewey, Roswell P. Flower, Franklin B. Gowen, M. A. Hanna, Anton Hardt, Daniel H. Hastings, David B. Hill, William J. Howell, Stephen W. Kearney, John Lang, John H. Lang, Levi P. Morton, Marlin E. Olmsted, M. S. Quay, Winfield Scott, Cyrus D. Sill, C. Vanderbilt, W. H. Vanderbilt, W.K. Vanderbilt, and George Westinghouse, Jr.

The bulk of this collection, however, consists of business letters and memos, vouchers and receipts, inventory statements, and reports of the Fall Brook Coal and Fall Brook Railway Companies. Vouchers and receipts comprise over half of this total. The remaining 20 cu. ft. consists of legal materials and correspondence pertaining to the above organizations and individuals, as well as other enterprises involving the Magee family, e.g., the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company and the Beach Creek, Clearfield and Southwestern Railroad. As a result, there are few documents directly related to environmental history. Below are examples of what might be found in MG 48.

  • "Coal Book, 1850-1859." This volume records monthly tonnage reports and miners who worked on Coleman and Ellis Company Land and Seyman Company Land. In carton 1
  • "Coal Book, Board of Directors, Fall Brook Coal Company, 1859-1888."
  • This volume records monthly tonnage reports and miners employed by the company. In carton 1.
  • "Duncan S. Magee, Coal Sale Book, 1860-1866." The volume lists inventories and payroll records as well as monthly tonnage reports and names of miners. In carton 1.
  • A typescript copy of a Report on the Surveys undertaken with a view to the establishment of a railroad, from the coal mines near Blossburg or Peter's Camp to the State Line at Lawrenceville, in the County of Tioga and the State of Pennsylvania, and Mineralogical Report on the Coal Region in the Environs of Blossburg, by Richard C. Taylor (Philadelphia, Printed by Mifflin and Parry, 1833; reprinted by the American Philosophical Society as Pamphlet Number 718). In carton 1 under "William N. Richards Notes."
  • Letter, John Magee to Anton Hardt, December 2, 1898 about the possibility of oil in Tioga County. In carton 5.
  • Letter, H. H. Stock to Anton Hardt, April 1, 1898, about the geology of the Blossburg region, Tioga County. In carton 5.
  • Letter, James McFarlane to George Magee, September 5, 1874 on anthracite shale in McKean County. In carton 5.
  • Mine inspectors' reports on mine ventilation, 1877. In carton 275-A.
  • Letters dated 1887-1888 discussing coal lands in north central Pennsylvania. Correspondents include but are not limited to John M. Watt, mine inspector, Dept. of Internal Affairs, P. E. Womelsdorff, civil engineer, William D. Kelly, president, Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corp., George Magee, general manager, Fall Brook Coal Co., and H.M. Chance, geologist. In carton 278A.
  • Red Cross correspondence about the Fresh Air Fund. In carton 220.

MG-67 Harris Family Papers

1781-1849
4 boxes, digitized rolls 3331-3334

These are chiefly papers of James Harris (b. 1755, d. 1825) and James Dunlop Harris (b. 1797, 1842). The former, a deputy surveyor and member of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1800 to 1808, was, with his father-in-law, Colonel James Dunlop, the co-founder in 1795 of the town of Bellefonte, Centre County. The latter was a principal engineer on first the Western Division, next upon the West Branch Division, and finally upon North Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal. Included are a few items pertaining to the parents of James Harris: John Harris (b. 1723, d. 1794) and his wife Jane. John Harris was an early settler on the Swatara in Lancaster (now Dauphin) County, and founder in 1790 of Mifflintown on the Juniata. Probably the most striking item in the group is an inventory of the estate of Jane Harris (d. 1807) which includes a list of books which had belonged to her husband. This list shows a theological and historical library of very considerable dimensions and quality for a pioneer family in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania.

The papers of James Harris contain correspondence with William Bell, John Blair, John Mitchell, and others, 1802-26; a plan of Mifflintown (1790), 1814; deeds for lots in Bellefonte, 1807, 1809; agreements between James Harris and others, 1803, 1813, 1826; notebook, journal, notes, etc., regarding various surveying expeditions, 1784; notifications of Harris' appointment, 1787, to lay out a highway from Frankstown on the Juniata to the mouth of Loyalhanna Creek on the Conemaugh; field notes, 1787, relating to the Frankstown to Conemaugh road; book of acreages, with journal of surveys, 1786-87, on the Conemaugh, the Sinnemahoning, and other streams; field notes on surveys, 1792-1806; receipt book of William Harris and James Harris, 1803-13 and day book for the estates of John Harris and William Harris, 1800-26.

Revealing professional, political, and personal involvements during James D. Harris' employment as principal engineer on the Western Division, 1827-29, West Branch Division, 1931-34, and North Branch Division, 1836-38, of the Pennsylvania Canal, the papers of James Dunlop Harris embrace considerable correspondence with canal commissioners, superintendents, engineers, contractors, and such prominent individuals as Joseph Mcllvaine, William C. McPherson, John Mitchell, William Fisher Packer, E. F. Pennypacker, Francis R. Shunk, Joseph Smith, Thaddeus Stevens, and Josiah White. Included are such interesting items as a letter to John Mitchell, 1833, describing a riot between canal laborers and boatmen, and an account William F. Packer for the expenses of troops led by Captain S. H. Wilson to quell the riot.

There is correspondence, dated 1833-34, with James and Simon Cameron relating mainly to Harris' taking an engineer's position on the Portsmouth and Lancaster Railroad; correspondence, 1835, with Thomas Burnside of the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Company and Abner Lacock, president of the Pennsylvania-Ohio ("Cross Cut") Canal; correspondence, 1835-36, during Harris' employment as principal engineer on the Pennsylvania-Ohio Canal; and correspondence, 1831-41, with William Foster, Jr., Harris' assistant, friend, and successor in canal appointments. Related items include a longhand copy by Harris of his report on the survey of the Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad, 1838; notes by James M. Nesbit on two surveys done in 1837 along Penn's Creek, one for a railroad, one for a canal, both under directions of James D. Harris; a copy of Harris' report on the Union Canal, relative to the enlargement of that waterway, 1839; statements on canal techniques and canal problems; and various plans and drawings for canal features.

Section A: General Harris Family Materials

  • A-1:.One folder of biographical notes identifying members of the Harris family and John Mitchell (1781-1849), Pennsylvania Canal Commissioner.
  • A-2:Articles: "Bellefonte: Its Founding and Development From 1795 to 1835" by Ruth Imes Kapp, MA thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1937; "The Iron Industries of Centre County," by J. Thomas Mitchell.
  • A-3: Deed, 1785, to James Harris for a tract of land on Clearfield Creek, in then Bedford County.
  • A-4: Releases, 1830, to John Patton, signed by four sons of James Harris: John, James D., William and Andrew D. Harris.
  • A-5: Dr. John Harris (18? -1881), Recipes for drug compounds, 1831-1836.
  • A-6: R. Miller, Jr. to Mrs. Mary Ann Harris (widow of James D. Harris), January 16, 1845.
  • A-7: An envelope containing Jeffries' (1849) "Pantheon of American History" and a transcript of Wilson's survey on Bald Eagle Creek (1794); James Harris House, 10 drawings.

Section B: Papers and Correspondence of James Harris (1755-1826)

  • B-1. Miscellaneous correspondence, 1802-1826
  • B-2. A plan of Mifflintown (1790) 1814
  • B-3. James Harris' tract on Logan's Branch of Spring Creek, 1792
  • B-4. Agreement between John Harris and James Burnside, 1794
  • B-5: James Cummins vs. Robert Woods, 1803.
  • B-6: Estate inventory of Mrs. Jane Harris, widow of John Harris, founder of Mifflintown, 1807.
  • B-7: Receipt Book of William Harris and James Harris, 1803-1813.
  • B-8: Deeds for lots in Bellefonte, 1807 and 1809.
  • B-9: Agreements between James Harris and others, 1803, 1813, 1826.
  • B-10: Miscellaneous Accounts of James Harris.
  • B-11: Petition of Isabella Crozier, 1794-1812.
  • B-12:.Tract of James Sterritt on the Frankstown Branch, 1768, 1820.
  • B-13: Bond of William Bell, and his correspondence with James Harris, 1813-1826.
  • B-14:.Administrative account of the Estate of William Harris, 1826.
  • B-15: Notebook, journal, notes, etc., - concerning surveying expeditions, between the Forks of Conemaugh and, across the divide, Chest and Clearfield Creeks, 1784; and between Clearfield and Moshannan Creeks; Notification of James Harris' appointment in 1787 to lay out a highway between the Frankstown Branch and the Conemaugh.
  • B-16: Field Notes, 1787, of a road from Frankstown to Conemaugh
  • B-17: Book of Acreages, with Journal of Surveys 1786 and 1787 on the Conemaugh, the Sinnemahoning and other Creeks.
  • B-18: Field Notes on Surveys, 1792-1806.
  • B-19: James Harris' Book: Ledger, 1793-1801; Estate of Jane Harris, 1807; Estate of William Harris, 1807.
  • B-20: Plot for Bellefonte.
  • B-21: Day Book for the Estates of John Harris and William Harris, 1800-1826; Store Book, 1804-1806.
  • B-22: Account Book, 1810-1815.
  • B-23: Ledger, 1811-1819.
  • B-24: Issues of the Harrisburg Chronicle, 1825-1827, on the building of the Pennsylvania Canal.

Section C: Papers & Correspondence of James Dunlop Harris (1797-1842) Canal Engineer.

  • C-1: Lead pencil copies and notations concerning James Dunlop Harris, Canal Engineer, drawn from the Canal Papers, Pennsylvania Land Office.
  • C-2: Deed, 1831, Adam Reigart to James D. Harris
  • C-3: Correspondence, 1828-1828, with engineers and canal commissioners
  • C-4: Correspondence, 1827-1841, Letter to John Mitchell, September 1, 1833 about a riot between canal laborers and boatmen and an account to William. F. Packer for the expenses of troops led by Captain S. H. Wilson to quell the disturbance (original letters and photocopies).
  • C-5 through C9: Five folders of correspondence with canal commissioners, canal engineers, Contractors, etc. during the period between J. D. H ' s ouster from the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Canal to his appointment to serve on the West Branch Division, 1829-1831.
  • C -10 through C-14: Correspondence with contractors, engineers, canal commissioners, canal superintendents, and others during the period of J. D.H.'s principal engineering work on the West Branch Division, 1832-1834.
  • C-15 through C-16: Correspondence, 1833-1834, with James and Simon Cameron, concerning J.D. H.'s acceptance of an engineer job with the Portsmouth and Lancaster Railroad.
  • C-17: Correspondence, 1835, including letters from Thomas Burnside of the Bald Eagle and Spring Creek Navigation Co. and Abner Lacock, President of the Pennsylvania- Ohio Cross-Cut Canal.
  • C-18. Correspondence, 1835-1836, during J. D. H's employment as principal engineer on the Pennsylvania-Ohio Cross-Cut Canal. C-19 through C-20: Correspondence, 1831-1841, with William B. Foster, Jr., J.D.H.'s assistant, friend, and successor in canal appointments.
  • C-21 through C-28: Eight folders of correspondence 1836-1838, during J.D.H.'s term as principal engineer on the North Branch Division of the Pennsylvania Canal; with Canal Board Members including Thaddeus Stevens; and with other engineers and friends.
  • C-29: Longhand copy by J. D. H. of his Report on the Survey of the Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad, 1838.
  • C-30: Correspondence, 1839-1841, with Canal Board, assistant engineers, etc.
  • C-31: Plans and Drawings for canal features.
  • C-32: Miscellaneous Accounts.
  • C-33: Miscellaneous Articles of Agreement.
  • C-34: M. Stevenson vs. J. D. H. for Damages, 1834
  • C-35: Correspondence, H. H. Speise to J. D. H.
  • C-36: Memoranda on Canal Techniques and Canal Problems.
  • C-37: Notes by J. M. Nesbit, on two 1837 surveys along Penn's Creek, one for a railroad, one for a canal, both under directions of J. D. H.
  • C-38: Copy of the Report of J. D. H. on the Union Canal, relative to the enlargement of that waterway, 1839.
  • C-39: Field Notes of J. D. H. l8h.l-1842, on the eve of his death (photocopies).

MG-68 Harris-Fisher Family Collection

1749-1880
(16 boxes)

Personal and business correspondence, legal papers, and accounts, of Harrisburg founder John Harris II (b. 1727, d. 1791), his sons David (b. 1754, d. 1809) and Robert (b. 1768, d. 1851), and grandson George Washington Harris (b. 1798, d. 1882). The Fisher family is represented through a copy of will of George Fisher (b. 1732, d. 1771), founder of Middletown on the Susquehanna; papers of his son George Fisher II (b. 1765, d. 1853) a Harrisburg attorney; the latter's sons Robert J. (b. 1806, d. 1888) and John A. (b. 1798, d. 1864); of the latter's son George Fisher III (b. 1838, d. 1875); and of General Alexander L. Russell (b. 1813, d.1885), brother-in-law of George Fisher III, veteran of the Civil War, and president of the Macedon Silver Mining Company of Nevada.

A partial listing of the papers would include 2 receipt books of John Harris II, 1749-69, 1760-91; correspondence of John Harris with John Nicholson, 1788-89; a copy of John Harris' last will and testament, 1790; letters to Robert Harris from James Bayard, Thomas Forster, Charles M. Reed, Thomas Sill, and others, 1810-44, embracing items connected with the Harrisburg and Presque Isle Land Company; a journal, 1811, of Robert Harris' tour of the northern route of a contemplated Harrisburg to Pittsburgh turnpike; Robert Harris' receipt book, 1809-13, as executor for William Kelso; agreements, 1852, between the heirs of Robert Harris; business correspondence, 1821-80, of George Washington Harris with Ephraim Banks, James Bayard, Chester Butler, Simon Cameron, W. Wallace Cook, James D. Dunlop, Amos Ellmaker, Samuel Ewing, John Findlay, John A. Fisher, John Fox, Reah Frazer, John Gardner, Jacob M. Haldeman, Robert Harris, Alexander Jordan, John Lyon, Edward McPherson, Edward P. Pearson, William W. Potter, James Sill, Thomas H. Sill, Jasper Slaymaker, Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Huston Sturtevant, John Sturtevant, and C. S. Todd.

Also featured are business letters, 1801-48, addressed to George Fisher II from Thomas Elder, Cadwalader Evans, and Robert Evans; letters, 1839-51, between John Adams Fisher and his father, George Fisher II; letters, 1839-45, between John Adams Fisher and his brother, Robert J. Fisher; a letter, 1840, from William Henry Harrison to John Adams Fisher; letters, 1862, between John Adams Fisher and David Wilmot; letters relating to George Fisher III's stay at the Collegiate Institute, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1854-55, his experiences at Yale College, 1855-58, and his service in the Civil War as a member of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, 1861-62; and letters from E.M. Biddle, Joseph Casey, James H. Paine, and others, 1861-69, to General Alexander L. Russell pertaining to the Macedon Silver Mining Company of Nevada.

Of special interest to environmental historians are the following items:

  • B. Robert Harris (b. 1768-d. 1851), son of John Harris II, 1809-51: Journal, Northern Route of Contemplated Turnpike Road from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, 1811.
  • Miscellaneous: 1773-1819, Dauphin Co. Surveys, by Galbraith E. Patterson, Surveyors, 1773-1819.

MG-75 Joseph M. Huston Collection

1901-1918
(2 boxes, 2 bundles & 24 folders)

Architect Joseph M. Huston was born in Philadelphia in 1866, the son of Robert Huston. He graduated from Princeton University in 1892; and following a business partnership with Frank Furness, Huston launched his own firm in 1894. He specialized chiefly in designing homes but also designed commercial buildings such as the Witherspoon Building for the Presbyterian Board of Publication (Walnut and Juniper streets, Philadelphia, 1895). Then, in 1901, Huston entered and won the Pennsylvania State Capitol competition to select an architect to design a new state capitol to replace the original capitol which burned down in 1897. The contest created controversy among the members of the professional architect community who called for Huston's resignation. Unfortunately for Huston, this was only the beginning of the scandal involving construction of the Pennsylvania State Capitol building which was dedicated in 1906. Huston was charged with conspiracy to defraud the State of Pennsylvania by accepting bribes for the work on the Capitol and by charging the State more than was proper for the contracts required to complete the structure. He was convicted on April 29, 1910 and was sentenced in 1911 "for not less than six months and not more than two years" in the Pennsylvania Eastern Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Huston served six months and 20 days in prison but was paroled on 20 December 1911. He resumed work as an architect but never regained the status he once had as an architect. Huston died in 1940.

In the Joseph M. Huston Collection there are original architect's drawings for the state capitol building including competition drawings, photographic prints, and blueprints. The item of interest for environmentalists is the State Capitol Park plans by Pughand Hubbard Civil Engineers showing the park boundaries in Harrisburg, August 29, 1904.

MG-76 Horace A. Keefer Papers

1881-1934
(1 folder)

Horace A., Keefer, the son of Major John Brua Keefer of Harrisburg, was a clerk at Paxton Furnaces, Harrisburg. In 1879 he became Superintendent of South Mountain Mining and Iron Company, Pine Grove Furnace, Cumberland County, owned by Jay Cooke. Mr. Keefer was President of K.C. & L. Railway, Wallula, Kansas. From 1896-1900 he was a populist member of the Kansas Legislature. The papers contain incoming and outgoing correspondence of Horace A. Keefer relating to political and economic matters and histories of Pine Grove Furnace and early iron industries of Dauphin County written by Keefer. The correspondence included letters from Simon Cameron, 1881, 1887; William J. Bryan, 1900; Theodore Roosevelt, 1915; and other political figures from Kansas and Pennsylvania; letters to Bryan, 1914; George W. Norris, 1934; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1934; letter from Jay Cooke regarding William J. Bryan's candidacy, 1896, and newspaper article that published the letter and Keefer's reply. See also MG-175 Pine Grove Furnace Collection, letter press book of Horace A. Keefer, 1880-90. Documents pertaining to environmental issues are:

  • Horace A. Keefer, Early Iron Industries of Dauphin County, Harrisburg: Telegraph Press, 1927, 35 p. (republished by the Historical Society of Dauphin County, PA)
  • Horace A. Keefer, typed manuscript, "Recollections, Historical and Otherwise of Old Pine Grove Furnace, 1770-1928."

MG-85 J. Horace McFarland Papers

1859-1866, 1898-1951
(35 boxes)

J. Horace McFarland (1859-1948) is a leading figure in Pennsylvania environmental history. Although he was born in McAlisterville, Juniata County, on Sept. 29, 1859, McFarland resided in Harrisburg for most of his life. During the opening decades of the twentieth century he emerged as an articulate advocate of the "City Beautiful" movement that resulted in such progressive improvements as paved streets in Harrisburg, the City Island water filtration plant, Riverfront Park, Wildwood Lake and associated flood control projects. A noted early conservationist, McFarland also campaigned vigorously for the preservation of Niagara Falls, the development of national parks, roadside beautification and against the blight of billboards. Together with Mira Lloyd Dock, McFarland was a seminal figure in the growth the national "City Beautiful" movement. As a founder of the American Civic Association, he took the "Harrisburg Plan" on the road to cities all across the United States.

McFarland fought for the establishment of the National Park Service and promoted city planning and zoning to prevent urban sprawl. McFarland, owner of the Mount Pleasant Printing Company in Harrisburg, was also recognized for his work as a printer, as well as a master gardener whose books and photographs on roses, trees and other subjects were famous across the United States. A founder and president of the American Rose Society, he also served as the editor of the "Beautiful America" department of the Ladies Home Journal and as chairman of the State Art Commission for many years. His home and garden in the Bellevue Park section of Harrisburg was an internationally famous testing ground for hundreds of new plant species.

McFarland became a central figure in the fight led by John Muir and the Sierra Club to prevent San Francisco from damming the water at Hetch Hetchy Valley in the Yosemite National Park for the city's use. But in December of 1913, after five years of hearings and debates, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill giving San Francisco access to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. McFarland, though exhausted by the failed campaign, rallied quickly and with typical tenacity worked to turn defeat into a new opportunity. Within a few days, he wrote a personal letter to President Wilson in which he paved the way for getting the president's support for the development of a national parks system. He knew that yesterdays' opponent could be tomorrow's ally. Congressman John Raker of California, who championed the Hetch Hetchy bill, became a sponsor of the bill proposing the creation of the National Park Service; and Franklin K. Lane, who was city attorney for San Francisco during the Hetch Hetchy conflict, became McFarland's ally when the National Park Service was first proposed. (By 1913 Lane had become Secretary of the Interior.)

America's forty-one national parks and monuments were managed by various authorities-including the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Army. McFarland was among the first of those to suggest placing the parks and monuments under one unified bureau within the Department of the Interior in order to improve overall management and policy-making. In 1910, he began rallying support both within the government and from the public for this unification, gaining the favor of Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger. McFarland drafted the first version of a bill and then suggested calling in the nationally known landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., for further drafts. Six years and three secretaries of the interior later the National Park Service was established in 1916. McFarland served on the Department of the Interior's Educational Advisory Board for the parks and also as a member of the National Park Trust Fund until his death in 1948. For related materials see RG 6- Records of the Dept. of Forests and Waters, MG 43, Dock Family Papers, and MG 453-J. Horace McFarland Company Records.

Private Papers: 1859-96, 1898-1948

  • General Correspondence, 1898-1948 (4 boxes) {series #85m.1}
  • Addresses, Articles, and Books, 1906-1937, 1944, (1 box) {series #85m.2}
  • Capitol Park Extension Committee Materials, 1916-1943 (3 folders) {series #85m.3}
  • Commission on Living Conditions of War Workers Correspondence, 1917-1920 (3 folders) {series #85m.4}
  • Committee on Zoning Correspondence and Articles, 1921-1938 {7 folders) {series #85m.5}
  • Harrisburg Regional Planning Committee (including Municipal League of Harrisburg) Papers, 1909, 1924-1945 (4 folders) {series #85m.6}
  • Addresses, and Articles on Horticulture, 1899-1935 (5 folders}{series #85m.7}
  • National Capital Park and Planning Commission (Washington Plan), 1916,1922-1948 {2 folders) {series #85m.8}
  • Addresses and Articles Concerning Photography, 1900-1916 (1 folder) {series #85m.9}
  • Printing Correspondence, Articles and Lecture Notes, 1905-1947 (4 folders) {series #85m.10}
  • State Art Commission Correspondence, 1915, 1919-1920 (1 folder) {series #85m.11}
  • Invitations, 1913-1931 (1 folder) {#85m.12}
  • McAlisterville Academy Papers, 1859-1866, [undated] (2 volumes, 1 folder) {series #85m.13}
  • Personal Diaries, 1884-1948 (11 boxes) {series #85m.14}
  • Miss Helen McFarland Papers, 1902-1956 (1 box) {series #85m.15}
  • Col. George F. McFarland Papers, 1862-1873 (3 boxes) {series #85m.16}
  • Lantern Slides, [ca. 1895-1905] (1 box) {series #85m.17}

American Civic Association, 1901-1950

  • American Civic Association Correspondence, 1908-24 (36 boxes) {series #85m.18}
  • Minutes, Programs, etc., 1903-21, 1930-33, [undated] (1 folder) {series #85m.19}
  • Addresses and Articles, 1903-19, 1921 (1 box) {series #85m.20}
  • Billboards Correspondence, 1907-32, 1938 (2 boxes) {series #85m.21}
  • Billboards Addresses and Articles, 1905-39 (1 box) {series #85m.22}
  • Hetch Hetchy, Correspondence, 1908-15, 1918, 1934, 1946 (2 boxes) {series #85m.23}
  • Hetch Hetchy Articles, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1934 (3 folders) {series #85m.24}
  • National Parks Correspondence, 1908-1950 (4 boxes) {series #85m.25}
  • National Parks Addresses and Articles, 1908-1947 (1 box) {series #85.26}
  • National Parks Secondary Works, 1910-1947 (1 box) {series #85m.27}
  • Niagara Falls Correspondence, 1905-1947 (5 boxes) {series #85m.28)
  • Niagara Falls Addresses, Articles, Notes, 1903-1934 (1 box) {series #85m.29}
  • Niagara Falls Books and Reports, 1880-1949 (4 boxes) {series #85m.30}
  • Niagara Falls Secondary Works, 1901-1947 (2 boxes) {series #85m.31}
  • Niagara Falls Photographs, 1906-1934 (4 folders) {series #85m.32}
  • Niagara Falls Miscellaneous Acts, Maps, and Newspaper Clippings, 1906-1935 (3 folders) {series #85.m33}

American Civic Association and National Conference on City Planning, 1920-1946

  • General Correspondence, 1920-1946 (3 folders) {series #85m.34}
  • Articles, 1921, 1932-1933 (1 folder) {series #85m.35}
  • Press Releases, 1933-1934 (1 folder) {series #85m.36}

American Planning and Civic Association, 1920-1951

  • General Correspondence, 1923-1951, [undated] (1 box) {series #85m.37}
  • Cumberland Falls Correspondence and News Clippings, 1926-1929 (1 folder) {series #85m.38}
  • Everglades National Park Correspondence, 1930-1948 (1 folder) {series #85m.39}
  • Grandfather Mountain Correspondence, Addresses and Articles, 1944-1946 (1 folder) {series #85m.40}
  • Roadside Development Committee Materials, 1932-1934 (1 folder) {series #85m.41}

MG-110 Records of the Schuylkill Navigation Company

1815-1951
90 cu. ft.

This manuscript group tells the story of a canal which had already been in use for a few years before the Commonwealth launched the scheme of its state-owned Pennsylvania Canal in 1826. The records reflect significant eras of inland waterway transportation and commerce, the enterprise of late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century Pennsylvania citizens and men of affairs, the interrelationships of navigation companies and railroad companies, and the eventual supplanting by the railroads of transportation services long performed in Pennsylvania by artificial canal ways. Furthermore, the Schuylkill Navigation Company Records provide some information on the period in the 1790s when Robert Morris and other Philadelphians were promoting the Delaware and Schuylkill Canal Company, which was made obsolete by the building of the Schuylkill Navigation Company and the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Canal Company. The latter company was supplanted by the Union Canal Company. The Union Canal Company established its artificial waterway in the valleys of the Tulpehocken and the Swatara to connect the city of Reading on the Schuylkill with Middletown on the Susquehanna.

Records touch at some points upon the careers of engineers like William Weston, who began but never completed the Delaware and Schuylkill and the Schuylkill and Susquehanna canals, and also Loammi Baldwin, who planned the Union Canal, disagreed with the Board of the Union Canal Company and broke with those gentlemen to let them adopt another plan which failed of satisfaction for several decades. They touch at other points the careers of celebrated engineers like Edward Miller and Solomon White Roberts and of noted bridge builders like Charles Ellet, Jr. They provide data on the first tunnel built in the United States. They outline the record of water power in manufacture for more than a century. They signalize the vast industrialism of nineteenth-century Pennsylvania made possible through the mining and transportation of coal. They recapitulate the performances, individual and collective, of skilled and unskilled labor and of management in the affairs of a company for more than a century; and they illustrate the financing and the development of a great waterway corporation and service.

More specifically, the records reveal the relations of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, later known as the Reading Company, with both the Schuylkill Navigation Company and the Susquehanna Canal Company, i.e., the canal commonly called the Susquehanna and Tidewater, descending along the bank of the Susquehanna River from opposite Columbia and Wrightsville to Havre de Grace, Maryland. Of particular interest here are maps and map books, especially those which record the early years of exploration and construction and others which picture property holdings and services of the last years of operation. Of similar importance are day-by-day, year-by-year, reports of rainfall and weather conditions along the canal; descriptions of conditions at dams, bridges, and locks, or on towing paths; registers of boats, their tonnages, and destinations; of amounts of water power dispensed; of heights of water at dams; of toll charges and regulations; and of costs of repair and maintenance.

Financial problems and solutions adopted by the Board of Managers are revealed in the books of subscribers to stocks, the books of loans and of dividends, the minutes of stockholders' meetings, the ledgers of business performed, the letter books and letters of the entire succession of presidents of the company, and the printed annual reports (few in number) of the Board of Managers. The record of human leadership in the enterprise is offered through many an eminent name: Cadwalader Evans, first president; Clement C. Biddle, first secretary and treasurer; Joseph S. Lewis and Joshua Lippincott, second and third presidents; Stephen Girard, financier; and Asa Packer, prominent promoter. The correspondence of Frederick Fraley, sixth president, is preserved for forty years; that of Engineer James F. Smith for thirty-three years; that of Engineer, Superintendent and Manager Edwin F. Smith for almost a half-century.

The record group is arranged in eight categories under A through H.

  • A: Business Records, 1815-1951
  • B: Accounts, 1825-1945
  • C: Various [subjects], 1815-1940, n.d.
  • D: Broadsides, 1825-1862, n.d.
  • E: Maps, 1827-1948
  • F: Maps, Blueprints and Tracings, 1846-1948, n.d.
  • G. Printed and Typed Material, 1856-1940, n.d.
  • H: Scrapbook, 1845, 1 volume.

Items pertaining to environmental history are found within Sections A, C, E and F and summarized below.

Section A

  • There are five boxes of "Daily Reports of Water Measurement, 1880-1946."
  • In the sub series "Diaries and Journals, 1859-1944," the volumes for the years 1877 through 1884 contain weather reports.
  • General Correspondence, 1816-1951, in fifty-one boxes, covers many environmental topics such as maintenance of canals, canal history, flood levels and locks.
  • Similarly, the "Letter Press Books, 1849-1908, in twenty-one boxes, contain letters about water power, canals, railroads, and transportation issues.
  • The "Survey and Level Books, 1835-1945" in eight boxes is a useful source of information on bridges, reservoirs, sketches, locks, soundings, docks, and dams.

Section C

  • The category titled "Various" contained in three boxes has items pertaining to "description of locks and bridges, 1866-1891,"
  • "History of Engineering," "Letters on the Union Canal of Pennsylvania, 1821-1825," "Reservoir Surveys with Calculation of water, 1846-1857," "Statement of culm taken from Port Clinton, Kernsville, Felix's Dam, etc., 1906-1927 and numerous 19th and 20th century water power measurement reports.

Section E

  • There are approximately seventy maps dated 1827-1948 showing for example the plan of the property and works of Schulykill Navigation Company, surveys of water line and plan and elevation of locks.

Section F

  • Numerous blueprints and tracings relating to the Schuylkill Navigation Company are valuable to study. Examples of topics portrayed include the Manayunk Water Company, rainfall charts, the canal from Philadelphia to Port Carbon, Pa., water supply drawings, plans of hollow breast and land belonging to the company.

MG-128 Treziyulny Family Papers

1758-1921
(22 boxes and 13 oversized folders, digitized rolls 4553-45)

Arranged by chief correspondent and then by materials.

In the Treziyulny Papers are letters recording the surveying careers of Charles S. Treziyulny (b. 1757, d. 1851), styled on his tombstone at Bellefonte, Centre County, as "Baron Charles Stegner Treziyulny, Polish exile," and of son, Henry P. Treziyulny (b. 1800, d. 1877), for many years county surveyor of Centre County. These other members of the Treziyulny family are represented: Charles T. Treziyulny (b. 1804), by occasional letters or drafts of surveys; and Joseph Franklin P. Treziyulny (d. 1862), son of Henry P. Treziyulny, by correspondence, school books, drafts of surveys, and miscellaneous items casting light upon his military service during the Civil War and his death at the Battle of Fredericksburg. There are a few items connected with surveyor R. J. Gibbs, who married Sarah T., daughter of Henry P. Treziyulny.

The more important papers are those associated with the professional services of Charles S. Treziyulny and his son, Henry P. These include drafts of single tracts or drafts of connected tracts of land surveyed by them in the central counties of Pennsylvania or of copies of drafts of surveys made in that general area by a number of official deputy surveyors of the Province of Pennsylvania and the successors of these in the early decades after that Province had become the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These latter copies, secured from the Pennsylvania Land Office and assembled for professional surveying use in the time of Charles S. Treziyulny, in whose handwriting many appear to have been taken, illustrate the range of explorations of such eighteenth-century deputy surveyors as Richard Tea, Charles Lukens, William Maclay, Frederick Evans, John Canan, Joseph J. Wallis, and James Harris. Note that not all Pennsylvania counties are represented in surveys.

Items relevant to environmental history are found chiefly in the following series.

Charles S. Treziyulny Papers

1769-1900, n.d.
Correspondence

The correspondence is filed in three folders and is also available on digitized microfilm.

As county surveyor for Centre County, Treziyulny did surveys for various purposes such as describing the natural resources of certain tracts of land for potential purchasers. One such letter to Treziyulny from A. Ferguson, April 1, 1828 illustrates this purpose. Ferguson asks

  • "How much land is contained in those connected tracts which you say includes the upper coal bank. Also [tell me how] near these lines come to the creeks or do they include any part of [it]? If not can it be ascertained who owns the land betwixt them and the creeks, this last would be a material item in our favour to have the advantage of the water power." [A. Ferguson to Chas. S. Treziyulyn, April 1, 1828, folder 2, box 1, digitized roll 4553]

Another function of surveying was to help establish estate claims. Here is a request from Thomas Diehl.

  • "The season is now at hand when the iron masters cut the principal part of their wood and I am informed wood to be considerable extent has already been cut from our lands. [Therefore,] we wish to arrest such robbery." [Thomas Diehl to Chas. S. Treziyulny, October 11, 1828, folder 2, box 1, digitized roll 4553]

Within the Charles S. Treziyulny Papers are various warrants, deeds and legal documents. A rental agreement between farmers in Boggs Township, Centre County offers a rare glimpse into local agriculture in the 19th century. In this example, Lavinia Treziyulny rents her farm to John O. McKinley. The agreement says that Treziyulny was entitled to

  • "One third of all the wheat, rye, corn, oats, buckwheat, barley, hay, strawberries, apples and corn fodder that the said J. O. McKinley should grow on the said farm." [Rental agreement between Lavinia Treziyulny and John O. McKinley, March 1, 1862, folder 4, box 1, digitized roll 4553]

Henry P. Treziyulny Papers, Correspondence

1766-1900, N.D.

Treziyulny was often asked to identify natural landmarks or features such as woods and streams which were very desirable to buyers. A letter from Henry to his brother Charles in 1845 describes this characteristic of surveying.

  • "I wish you would inform me if there is any vacant land between the Muncy Mountains opposite [Bald?] Eagle running across to where Robert Holmes lives in Nittany or if you know anything about the Blue Springs between the mountains. I have been requested to make [a survey of] a tract of land; it is near where the Clinton County line crosses. It would be of some value as wood is now an object [for speculators]." [Henry P. Treziyulny to Chas. S. Treziyulny, January 8, 1845, folder 3, box 2, digitized roll 4554]

Often requests for surveys came from private land owners. A letter from Samuel Jack is an example.

  • "Sir, I have a tract of land known as the John Speer Tract on the mountains between Tyron and Milesburg. I wish you to write to me letting me know the earliest time you can meet me at the Tyrone City Hotel to go up to survey the land." [Samuel Jack to Henry P. Treziyulny, November 1, 1867, folder 8, box 2, digitized roll 4554]

Charles & Henry Treziyulny Papers, Field Notes and Field Books

Charles and Henry Trezyulny both kept various field note papers and volumes. These documents found within respective series under each person's name bear the markings and language of professional surveyors. The handwriting in the field notes are sometimes hard to decipher. But the documents do have information such as the latitude and longitude, mileage, acreage and natural landmarks of surveyed land. The name of the township or county or locale is not always apparent. Occasionally there is included a sketch or draft of a given tract of land.

Treziyulny Family Paper Surveys

The surveys are the "heart" of this manuscript collection. Most are stored in oversized folders. When used in conjunction with the correspondence and field notes, the surveys help illuminate the work of the Treziyulny family. The following is a summary of topics covered by surveys. For a comprehensive list, see the finding aid for this collection in the archives search room.

  • Allegheny County
  • Bedford County
  • Berks County
  • Blair County
  • Cambria County
  • Centre County
  • Clearfield County
  • Clinton County
  • Cumberland County
  • Curtin County
  • Huntingdon County
  • Lycoming County
  • Mifflin County
  • Northumberland County
  • Union County
  • Westmoreland County
  • Multiple County Name Surveys
  • Multiple natural scene surveys, i.e. mountains, creeks, valleys, furnaces
  • River views
  • Road views
  • Miscellaneous surveys and maps

MG-154 Henry Howard Houston Estate Papers

1895-1964
121 cu. ft. in two series

Papers of the estate of Henry Howard Houston (b. 1820, d. 1895) one of Philadelphia's wealthiest and most prominent citizens, who was involved in railroad, steamship, mining, and land development enterprises. Henry Howard Houston's great grandfather, John Houston, migrated from northern Ireland about 1725 and settled in what became Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Upon his death in 1769, the elder John Houston owned a farm exceeding 1,000 acres in the Pequea valley of Lancaster County. John Houston's eldest son, who was also named John, was born in Lancaster County in 1743 and attended Glasgow University where he received his certificate of attendance signed by Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations. Subsequently earning a degree in medicine from the Medical School of the College of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1768, the younger John Houston became a surgeon, along with four of his brothers, and served in the American Revolution where one of his brothers was killed at the Battle of Paoli. After the war, the younger John Houston acquired a large landed estate new present day Wrightsville in York County where he died in 1809. (He was married to Susanna Wright Houston (1732-1829) of Wright's Ferry, now Columbia, Pennsylvania, and one of his daughters was Martha Houston who married Joseph Mifflin and was the paternal grandmother of the noted Columbia poet and painter Lloyd Mifflin. For additional material on Lloyd Mifflin at the Pennsylvania State Archives see MG 165, Lloyd Mifflin Collection.) John Houston's son, Samuel Houston, was also trained as a physician at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania but apparently gave up the practice of medicine on account of ill health and retired to manage his properties in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

Samuel Houston's son, Henry Howard Houston, worked at various jobs, including a stint at James Buchanan's Lucinda iron furnace in 1843, then for D. Lee and Company from 1847 to 1850, and finally for the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he was selected to organize the company's pioneer freight business from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. He subsequently organized the American Steamship Company and the International Navigation Company, operating more than twenty ocean going steamships and many more that plied the waters of the Great Lakes. HHH (who was familiarly known as "H cubed" or "Cubie") was also a successful investor in gold and silver mines in Colorado and Montana and in the oil fields of western Pennsylvania, an investor in Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, long the largest land holder within the city limits of Philadelphia, and the developer of Chestnut Hill, Wissahickon Heights, and Roxborough. He also financed the construction of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Chestnut Hill and St. Peter's Church in Germantown, and was a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. He erected a 30-room stone mansion modeled on an Irish castle that he called Druim Moir (Gaelic for "Great Ridge") for his private residence. Situated amide 52 acres of lawn and woodland that included a small deer park, the mansion was surrounded by a number of other buildings including an older farm house, an entrance lodge, and two tenant dwellings and was connected to downtown Philadelphia by a new rail line. (Samuel Houston (1793-1863) who became the president of the Republic of Texas, and for whom the city of Houston, Texas was named, was a distant cousin of Henry Howard Houston.) For related materials, see the Henry Howard Houston Estate Papers at the University of Pennsylvania Archives and Record Center, the Smith Family Papers at the American Philosophical Society (Mss. Collection 76), and the Mifflin Family Papers in the Franklin and Marshall College Special Collections (Mss. Collection 32) at Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

This collection largely reflects the activities of mainly Henry Howard Houston's wife Sallie (1829-1913) his son Samuel Frederic Houston (1866-1952) and his granddaughter Eleanor Houston (1910-1987). The papers are chiefly legal and financial in nature, dealing with stocks, prices, industry company reports, financial market reports, and estate business. However, the collection also has much valuable information about electric, gas, nuclear energy, oil, railroad and water companies that the Henry Howard Houston Estate and its heirs invested in. The documents cover the period from about 1879 up to the early 1960s. Although the Houston Estate Papers collection is not arranged by subject, for the convenience of researchers, documents are listed here by natural resource and therein by type of materials.

Gas and Electricity

Consolidated Natural Gas Company, 1943-1962      

The documents of interest here consist of annual reports, proceedings of stockholder's meetings, prospectus, reports, and speeches.

  • Annual Reports are available for the period 1943 to 1949. In Carton 4, folder 41.The 1944 issue contains information on the October 20, 1944 fire at the East Ohio Gas Company plant in Cleveland in which 109 people died. A malfunction of a cylindrical storage tank is thought to have caused the blaze. Many private homes, utility and business properties and automobiles suffered damage or destruction as a result of the fire. Annual reports for the period 1950 to 1961 are found in Carton 18, folder 239.
  • Proceedings of stockholders meetings. They contain comments by company officials and stockholders about the company operation. Sometimes they describe underground storage, impact of weather on gas production, production in the Appalachians and pipeline companies. Proceedings available for 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1963, 1964 only. In Carton 4, folder 41.
  • Prospectus. These financial documents frequently discuses underground storage, by-product operations, transport systems. Available for 1947, 1952, 1955, 1959. 1952 prospectus contains map showing pipelines, underground storage fields, and compressor stations. In Carton 4, folder 41.
  • Reports. Carl H. Pforzheimer and Company reports for 1941 and 1943; Report of the New York Stock Exchange, November 10, 1943. In Carton 3, folder 41. Reports by the firm Kidder, Peabody, and Company are available for the years, 1943 and 1945. In Carton 18, folder 238.

Interstate Natural Gas Company Inc., 1930-1950

A report by Carl H. Pforzheimer cites company pipelines and production figures. The item is in carton 3, folder 66.

Laclede Gas Light Company

The company, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is represented here by annual reports from the period 1918 to 1941. The 1926 report is notable for its mention of the company's gas lines under the Mississippi River. In Carton 12, folder 128.

National Fuel Gas Company, 1894-1945

A prospectus and several reports offer insight into the production activities of Natural Fuel Gas. They are filed in carton 3, folder 56

  • A prospectus dated April 20, 1942 supplies facts on gas and oil wells, oil properties, pipelines, and gas supplies.
  • Reports. Carl H. Pforzheimer report for 1943 report. The report includes a map showing pipelines and compression stations.

Philadelphia Electric Company

Annual and interim reports of the company often cite the number of kilowatts of electricity and cubic feet of gas produced. Operations and plants of the company are sometimes mentioned.

  • Annual reports for the periods 1923 to 1929, 1941 to 1943, 1948 to 1953 and 1963. In Carton 11, folders 144 and 145. Annual reports for the period 1955 to 1959 are in Carton 18, folder 248.
  • Interim reports for the period 1950 to 1961. In Carton 11, folders 144 and 145.
  • Report by Morgan Stanley and Co. for 1956. In Carton 11, folder 144. Report by Morgan and Stanley for 1957. In Carton 11, folder 151. The latter report features a map of the Philadelphia Electric Company electric and gas facilities in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Public Service Corporation of New Jersey

There is an annual report for the year 1942. In Carton 18, folder 249.

Nuclear energy

There are some documents dating from the 1950s and 1960s that discuss nuclear power.

  • Interim report, Philadelphia Electric Company, June 1963, discusses construction of the Peach Bottom atomic power plant. In Carton 12, folder 151.
  • Publication, Petroleum Today (Spring 1962) features article on nuclear test detection. In Carton 8, folder 69.
  • Clipping, "Only Mineral Shortage Bars Atomic Home Heat," New York Herald, June 2, 1955. In Carton 8, folder 69.
  • Clipping, "World Oil Use," Wall Street Journal, June 9, 1959. The article predicts that atomic energy is no threat to the oil industry. In Carton 8, folder 69.
  • Speech, "Appraising the Probable Impact of Atomic Energy on the Petroleum Industry," by Robert E. Wilson, November 1, 1955. In Carton 9, folder 85.

Oil

Henry Howard Houston and his heirs held stocks in numerous oil companies especially in the Standard Oil Company and the so-called "Seven Sisters": Standard Oil of New Jersey, Royal Dutch Shell, Standard Oil of New York, Texaco, Standard Oil of California and Gulf Oil. When Gertrude Houston-the last of Henry Howard Houston's grandchildren-died in 1961, estate executors discovered that much of the wealth of the estate consisted of stock investments in Standard Oil of New Jersey. In the Henry Howard Houston Estate the bulk of the collection is financial in nature, dealing with stocks, stock market reports, prices, and dividends. However, for numerous oil companies-including the Seven Sisters and the Standard Oil groups-there are documents describing their exploration, drilling, storage, and transportation activities. The companies are listed alphabetically by name below.

Buckeye Pipe Line Company

Report, Carl F. Pforzheimer and Co. for 1942. In Carton 20, folder 260.

Galena-Signal Oil Company, 1913-1960

"A Brief History of the Galena-Signal Oil Co," undated, by Charles Miller and S.A. Megarth provides overview of the Franklin County, Pennsylvania firm that manufactures lubricating oils. This material is found in carton 3, folder 39.

Continental Oil Company, (CONOCO) 1920-1962

Documentation concerning the environment and this company consists of correspondence, proceedings of stockholder meetings, annual reports, interim reports, reports, publications and speeches.

  • Correspondence. Letter, L. F. McCollum to stockholder, January 24, 1955 cites crude oil production in 1954. Letter, L. F. McCollum to stockholder, January 30, 1957 gives production figures. Letter, L. F. McCollum to supervisors, July 2, 1957 discusses impact of Hurricane Audrey on Continental's refineries, and offshore rigs. In Carton 3, folder 49.
  • Proceedings of stockholder meetings are available for 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1960, and 1961. In Carton 3, folder 49.
  • Annual reports often cite barrel production by year or quarter. There are reports for 1926, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1942, and 1948. In Carton 3, folder 49. Reports for 1935-1950 are in Carton 16, folder 224. Reports for 1951-1961 are in Carton 16, folder 224.
  • Interim reports contain similar data as annual reports. There are reports for all years in the period 1950 through 1964. In Carton 3, folder 49.
  • Report by Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co. circa 1941. In Carton 20, folder 260.
  • Publications. At least three publications were produced by Continental.. Research Roundhouse c. 1950s describes the company's research labs and use of chemicals. One issue of Red Triangle Magazine, fall 1952 offers overview of company's activities. An anniversary publication, 75 Years So What? ca.1950 offers a nostalgic review of company history. All available in Carton 3, folder 49.
  • Speeches. Conoco president L.F. McColum in his speeches given 1957, 1959 and 1961 at stockholder meetings, discusses exploration and drilling activities. In Carton 3, folder 49.

Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company, 1957-1964

Documentation about the company's exploration, production, facilities and reserves are found in Carton 3, folder 62.

  • Annual reports for the period 1957 to 1961 are located in Carton 18, folder 239.
  • Proceedings of annual stockholders meeting are available for 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963. In Carton 3, folder 62
  • Interim reports for 1960, 1962 and 1963 cite production by barrels statistics. In Carton 3, folder 62
  • Prospectus for September 17, 1957 features a map "Northeastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, Canada acreage in which Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Ltd. Has Varying Interests as of June 30, 1937." In Carton 3, folder 62.
  • Reports of the Bank Trust Company for 1957 and 1960 contain contains facts about oil exploration, production, manufacturing, pipelines and natural gas. In Carton 3, folder 62.

Illinois Pipe Line, 1926-1941

A letter from Milliken and Pell to Illinois Pipe Line, June 25, 1926 cites 1925 barrel production figures for South West Pennsylvania Pipe Lines. In Carton 3, folder 63.

Interstate Oil Pipeline Company

  • Report, Carl H. Pforzheimer and Company for 1943. In Carton 20, folder 260.
  • Publication, Pipelines: The Silent Servant of the Oil Industry published by the Interstate Oil Pipe Line Company, n.d.

Miscellaneous Publications about the Oil Industry

These are publications about more than one company and mostly about national and international oil industries. They contain statistics on crude oil production, oil wells, oil reserves, natural gas, and pipelines. Below are a few examples of what is available here.

  • American Interests in the Middle East by Harvey P. Hall and Carl Herman Voss was issued as volume 72 in November-December 1948 by the Foreign Policy Association. Carton 3, folder 42.
  • The American Oil Boom, Second Stage by Charles S. Roberts, 1949. It cites crude oil barrel production numbers and volume supply of gasoline. In Carton 3, folder 42.
  • Argus Research Corporation newsletters for 1949 and 1950. They discuss the impact of winter weather upon the oil industry. In Carton 8, folder 8.
  • Carl H. Pforzheimer reports for 1949, 1951, 1955, and 1961. In Carton 8, folder 8.
  • Chase Manhattan Bank reports for 1958, 1959, and 1960. Carton 8, folder 8.
  • "Confidential Report on 18 Oil Companies" by James H. Wescott, 1931. In Carton 20, folder 261.
  • Eastman, Dillion, Union Securities and Co. Reports, 1959 and 1960. In Carton 8, folder 8.
  • Oil and Gas Journal Map. This large map of the United States and Canada was issued in 1932 and shows many oil wells and pipelines. In Carton 20, folder 268.
  • Oil, Its Conservation and Waste by James H. Westcott, Third Edition, (Beacon Publishing Co.: NY, 1928). 2 copies. In Carton 13, folder 169 and Carton 17, folder 226.
  • Petroleum 1946, a publication of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane is an illustrated review of the oil industry, citing oil drilling statistics for companies such as Gulf, Philips, Richfield, Shell, Sinclair and Standard Oil. Photos show exploration, surveying, riggers, and refinery engineers. In Carton 3, folder 42.
  • Petroleum Productive Capacity: A Report on Present and Future Supplies of Oil and Gas. Published by the National Petroleum Council, 1952. In Carton 17, folder 221.
  • R. W. Pressprich and Company reports for 1952 and 1954. In Carton 8, folder 8.
  • The Petroleum Almanac. Published by the National Industrial Conference Board, 1946. In Carton 17, folder 222.
  • United State Senate. Special Committee Investigating Petroleum Resources. Final Report, January 31, 1947. Carton 8, folder 8.
  • "Waste in the Oil Industry" by James H. Westcott, June 15, 1927. In Carton 20, folder 268.

Mission Corporation, 1935-1959

Information on this company is found in annual reports, interim reports, reports and publications. They are filed in carton 3, folder 68

  • Annual reports for the period 1936 to 1950 are in Carton 18, folder 242. Annual reports for the period 1951 to 1951 are in Carton 18, folder 242.
  • Publications. An anniversary booklet, Five Eventual Decades: A History of the Ohio Oil Company, 1887-1937 has an interesting national map illustrating pipelines, gas line, and refineries. Statistics cited are for the year 1936. In Carton 3, Folder 68.
  • Reports. Carl H. Pforzheimer for 1942. In Carton 3, folder 68.

Mission Development Company, 1948-1958

Statistics on oil exploration, production, and underground storage are in the following items found in carton 3, folder 54.

  • Annual report, Mission Development Company, 1948.
  • Interim report, Tidewater Oil Company, 1958.

Ohio Oil Company (later known as Marathon Oil Co.), 1925-1963

The company was known as Ohio Oil Company until 1962 when its name changed to Marathon Oil. Items of interest here are correspondence, annual reports, interim reports and publications. 7.

  • Correspondence. Letter, J. William Smallwood to J. E. Greene, July 28, 1953 discusses oil production in 1941 and 1942. In Carton 3, folder 67.
  • Annual reports. Reports are available from 1948 to 1952. In Carton 3, folders 67. Annual reports for the period 1931 to 1950. In Carton 18, folder 245. Annual reports for the period, 1951 to 1960. In Carton 18, folder 246.
  • Report of: Carl H. Pforzheimer, 1942. In Carton 3, folder 68.
  • Interim reports. Reports are available from 1917 to 1962. In Carton 3, folders 67.
  • Interim report for 1963. In Carton 3, folder 68.
  • Publications. Fortnightly Review published by E. W. Clark and Company, March 4, 1952 issue. In Carton 3, folder 67.

Oil Statistics Company

The firm publishes journals of interest to environmental historians.

  • Oil Statistics Bulletin issues for 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960. Carton 7, folder 61. Oil Statistics Bulletin, issues for 1961 and 1962. In Carton 17, folder 212
  • Canadian Oil Reports, 1956 issue. In Carton 7, folder 61.

Sinclair Oil Company (Consolidated Oil Corp.) 1932-1948

Documents are available under the name Consolidated Oil Corporation. Materials are found in carton 7, folder 50. Items of interest are

  • Annual reports are available for the years, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, and 1942.
  • Clipping, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 9, 1948 about laying of pipeline in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.
  • Dividend notices. Normally these documents are bereft of any information of interest to environmentalists. But here there is a 1937 dividend notice citing production statistics for that year. A 1944 dividend notice has a map showing Sinclair pipelines in Pennsylvania.

South Penn Oil Company, 1913-1948

These items which discuss oil production and oil reserves are found in carton 8, folder 78.

  • Letter, D. E. Crawford to Frank J. Fell, Jr., March 18, 1947.
  • Report, Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co for 1942 and 1947.

Standard Oil Company

The first Standard Oil Company in the United States was Standard Oil of Pittsburgh founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1868. The second Standard Oil-Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio)-emerged in 1870 when Rockefeller bought a refinery near Cleveland. Sohio rapidly became the dominant company in Rockefeller's oil empire in the late nineteenth century. Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso, later known as Exxon), founded in 1882, replaced Sohio as the primary Standard Oil firm after 1890. In 1911, in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Standard Oil Co. v. U.S. 221 U.S. 1 (1911), the federal government argued that Standard Oil had a history of buying out independent refiners and lowering prices to force competitors, who refused to joint the Standard Oil Trust, to declare bankruptcy. It therefore was in violation the federal 1890 Sherman Antirust Act. As a result of the court ruling, Standard was broken up into "baby Standards" and numerous miscellaneous companies independent of Standard Oil. Three of most powerful "baby Standards"-California, New Jersey, and New York-belonged to the "Seven Sisters" an oil industry nickname for the most influential American oil companies. The other four "Sisters" were Royal Dutch Shell, British Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Texaco and Gulf Oil. Below are examples of information on oil exploration, production, pipeline, and reserves about some of the Standard companies.

Standard Oil of California (Socal) 1911-1933

Standard Oil of California, also known as Socal, was founded in 1877. It was considered one of the so-called "Seven Sisters" of the oil industry. Later the company became known as Chevron. Information on exploration, production, and oil reserves are found in reports, interim reports and publications of the company. The following are examples of these documents.

  • A 1951 annual report for Standard Oil of California describes production and operations. In Carton 3, folder 42.
  • Reports by: Porteous and Co. for 1937, Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co. for 1944, Carl H Pforzheimer and Co. for 1944 and Montgomery Scott and Co. for 1957. In Carton 10, folder 89. Report of Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co. for 1942. In Carton 20, folder 260.
  • A report by Socal to stockholders circa 1954 "The Los Angeles Smog Story," defends the company against criticism of its alleged pollution practices.
  • Interim Reports for the years 1944 to 1954 and 1960 to 1964 are available. In Carton 10, folders 89 and 90.
  • Publications: The newsletter of Walston, Hoffman and Goodman, June 1, 1950 discusses discovery of new oil field by Socal.

Standard Oil of Indiana (Stanolind), 1912-1962

Standard Oil of Indiana, founded in 1889, is represented here chiefly by clippings, correspondence, publications, reports, interim reports. and speeches in Carton 9, folder 85. The papers frequently give information on exploration, production, oil wells, reserves and pipelines.

  • Clippings. An article in Outlook, Sept. 5, 1955 describes a fire at the company's Whiting, Indiana plant.
  • Correspondence. A letter from company president Robert E. Wilson to stockholders, Sept. 9, 1955 discusses the fire at the company plant in Whiting, Indiana. In Carton 9, folder 85.
  • Annual Reports. Available for the period 1952-1958 except for the year 1954. In Carton 10, folder 90.
  • Interim reports. These are available for the period 1946 to 1961 except for the year1948. In Carton 10, folder 90.
  • Reports. Various reports on the company exist. Examples are Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co. for 1942, 1944, and 1952; Smith, Barney and Co. for 1951; H. N. Whitney and Co. for 1948 and 1951. In Carton 9, folder 85.
  • Proceedings of the stockholder annual meeting of 1946. In Carton 10, folder 90.
  • Publications: Shareholder's News issues for 1961 to 1964 and "Solving the Oil Supply Problem," published in 1964. In Carton 9, folders 85 and 90.

Standard Oil of Kansas, 1916-1939

A report on the company by James H. Westcott, dated Feb. 3, 1932, outlines number of barrels produced, number of acres owned and location of company pipelines. In Carton 8, folder 72.

Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso, Standard Oil), ca. 1913-1959

The greatest of the Standard Oils, Standard Oil of New Jersey, founded in 1882, was considered by oil people as one of the "Seven Sisters. When Gertrude Houston-the last of Henry Howard Houston's grandchildren-died in 1961, estate executors discovered that much of the wealth of the estate consisted of stock investments in Standard Oil of N J. In 1966, the company changed its name to Exxon. On March 23, 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 52 million gallons of oil into Alaskan waters, it was the worst environmental disaster at sea in American history. There is, however NO INFORMATION on the Exxon Valdez accident in MG 154 because holdings only the period 1913-1959 for predecessors of Exxon. Relevant items available include clippings, correspondence, stockholder meeting proceedings, publications, reports, and speeches. Below are examples of what can be found in the Houston Estate Papers about Standard Oil of NJ and its activities that affect the environment.

  • Correspondence, Frank C. Roberts Jr. to the Estate of H. H. Houston, March 24, 1924. In Carton 9, folder 86; Inter-office memo of 1964. In Carton 9, folder 82.
  • Clipping, "New Esso Opens In Jersey," New York Times, Nov. 6, 1959. Unusual article mentions use of the plants pink locoweed and purple milk vetch in locating uranium deposits. In Carton 9, folder 82.
  • Map. Esso Vicinity Map of Bayway, New Jersey Refinery, undated. The map identifies Esso pipelines and refineries. In Carton 3, folder 42.
  • Non-company publications with articles on Standard Oil of NJ include: Report to Investors (Feb. 1963), Forbes Business and Finance (Nov. 1, 1960), and Moody's Stock Survey (January 27, 1964). In Carton 9, folder 82.
  • Proceedings of stockholder annual meetings for 1941 to 1944, 1948 to 1950, 1955 and 1958. In Carton 9, folder 81.
  • Publications of Standard Oil of New Jersey: The Lamp for 1930, 1944, 1958 and 1961; Standard Oil of NJ and Middle Eastern Oil Production (March 1947); Facts on the Importation of Oil into the United States and the Policy of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey on Oil Imports (1950) and Jersey Shareholders Quarterly issues for 1960-1963, and 1966; in carton 9, folders 81 and 90; Briefs: Items of Interest to Stockholders, issues for the period 1952 to 1960. In Carton 10, folder 90.
  • Reports by Carl H. Pforzeheimer for the years 1942, 1944, and 1948 In Carton 9, folder 81. Report by Carl H. Pforzeheimer for 1945 in Carton 20, folder 260.
  • Report by Morgan Stanley & Co. for the year 1949. In Carton 9, folder 81.
  • Reports by James H. Westcott on Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of California, 1926; In Carton 9, folders 81 and 82.
  • Prospectus, Standard Oil of New Jersey, 1948. In Carton 9, folder 82.
  • Speeches. Eugene Holman to company stockholders, March 15, 1957 in Carton 9 folder 82; Ralph W. Gallagher to U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Judiciary, May 24, 1944. In Carton 9, folder 81.

Standard Oil of New York (Scony, Socony-Vacuum, Mobil), 1927-1961

Founded in 1882 as Standard Oil of New York or Scony. It was so powerful it was considered one of the "Seven Sisters" or leaders of American petroleum. In 1931 Scony merged with another company Vacuum and became known as Socony-Vacuum. Most documents here in MG 154 discuss the company under the latter name. Scony-Vacuum became Mobil Oil in 1966. Statistical facts about oil production, drilling and oil reserves may be found in annual reports, interim reports, reports, publications and speeches by the company president at annual stockholders meetings. Examples include the following.

  • Annual reports for the period 1930 to 1950 are in Carton 18, folder 250.
  • Interim reports for the period 1955 to 1962. In Carton 10, folder 90.
  • Reports by Carl H. Pforzheimer and Company re Socony-Vacuum for1941 and 1946 In Carton 8, folders 74 and 77. The 1940 Carl H. Pforzheimer is in Carton 20, folder 260.
  • Reports of Morgan Stanley and Co. for 1946, 1952 and 1947. In Carton 8, folders 74, 76, 77.
  • Publications, Mobil Report issues for 1962, 1963, and 1964. In Carton 8, folder 74. Socony-Vacuum News, June 1948 issue has a map of the Middle East exhibiting pipelines, oil fields and refineries. In Carton 3, folder 42.
  • Speeches of B. Brewster Jennings at annual stockholders meetings in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, and 1951 (Carton 8, folders 73 and 74)

Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio)

  • Annual reports for 1960 and 1962. In Carton 10, folder 90. Annual reports for 1957, 1958, 1961 and 1964. In Carton 11, folder 99.
  • Interim reports for 1960-1962. In Carton 10, folder 90. Interim reports for 1950, 1951, 1957, and 1959. In Carton 11, folder 99.
  • Report of Carl H. Pforzhermer and Co. for 1942. In Carton 11, folder 96.
  • Proceedings of annual stockholders meetings for the period 1951 to 1955. In Carton 11, folder 96.
  • Company prospectus for 1943 and 1947. In Carton 11, folder 96.
  • Publications; The February 1950 issue of The Sohioan features an article on pipeline installation; The March 1950 issue of The Sohioan features an article about the technique of "water-flooding" in oil production. In Carton 11, folder 11. An 80th anniversary issue published in January 1950 has the company's history and many illustrations of service stations, petroleum products, pipelines, refineries and oil wells. In Carton 3, folder 42.

Union Tank Car Company

Report, Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co., for 1943. In Carton 20, folder 260.

Railroads

New York Transit Company, 1917-1935

Annual reports are available for the years 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, and 1934. They cite statistics on number of oil barrels transported. The reports are filed in carton 3, folder 59.

Pennsylvania Railroad, 1903-1950

The company's annual report of 1946 discusses new relay tracks, new rail yards, hauling freight from coal mines and new electrical facilities. In Carton 12, folder 141. See also the company's annual report for 1948. In Carton 18, folder 247.

Water

Citizen's Water Company of Scottsboro, Pennsylvania, 1927-1943

The company's operations are described in reports by William A. Roth in 1927 and Francis R. Weller in 1928. In Carton 11, folder 121.

MG-156 Edward Martin Papers

1866-1967 (bulk 1894-1966)
120 cu. ft.

Papers of Edward Martin (b. 1879, d. 1967), Waynesburg lawyer; state auditor general, 1925-29; state treasurer, 1929-33; adjutant general, 1939-43; governor, 1943-47; and U. S. senator, 1947-58. A member of the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1898, Martin saw action in the Philippine Campaign, 1898-99; Mexican Border Campaign, 1916; and World War I, 1917-19. He was named brigadier general in 1922, promoted to major general in 1939, took command of the 28th Division, Pennsylvania National Guard in 1939, and was inducted into federal service as commanding general, 28th Division, U. S. Army.

Official Papers

Subject File, 1943-1947

  • Coal-Bootlegging, 1943-1944 (Carton 6)
  • Congressional Legislation, 1944-1945: Flood Control, H. R. 4485, 1944 (Carton 7?)
  • Emergency Disaster Committee, 1944-1945 (Box 9)
  • Flood, May 28, 1946 (Box 9)
  • Forests and Waters, Appropriation for Parks, A-W, 1946 (Carton10)
  • Horse Shoe Trail, 1946 (Carton 11)
  • Pennsylvania Forest Products Committee Meeting, March 14, 1945
  • Pittsburgh Metropolitan Major Highway Study, June 20, 1943 (Carton16)
  • Post War Planning Commission, Conservation Committee, 1945 (Carton 17)
  • Post War Planning Commission, Stream Pollution, Schuylkill River, 1943-1947 (Carton 17)
  • Public Utility Commission, 1943-1946 (Carton 19)
  • Rim Parkway in the Poconos, 1945 (Carton 21)
  • State Farm Show Commission, 1944 (Carton 22)

Official Papers

General Correspondence, 1943-1946

  • Agriculture (Carton 1)
  • Board of Fish Commissioners (Carton 13)
  • Forests and Waters Dept. (Carton 14)
  • Game Commission (Carton 15)
  • McE-McF, J. Horace McFarland (Carton 27)
  • Pennsylvania L-So, Pennsylvania Railroad (Carton 31)
  • Pi-Pin, Gifford Pinchot (Carton 32)