‘ic hall, with the little house in the
——
Betorratie atm,
Bellefonte, Pa., April 8, 1932.
——
-—
HISTORIC OLD HOUSES
IN HISTORIC BELLEFONTE
From a Paper by Miss Mary Hunter Linn, read
petore the Woman's Club ot Belletonte, on
Monday evening, larch 28, 1952.
(Concluded From Last Week)
in 1824 Alfred Armstrong came
from Carlisle to be principal of the |
Academy. His reminiscences, given |
in an address when he came pack |
fifty years later, furnish a very good |
pen picture of the town in its early |
outh. I wish you could read it in|
its entirety as 1t is given in Linn’s
History of Centre County, His de-
scription of the individual men, wo-
men and young people whom he lov-
ed and admired, and in whom he
was able to inspire a great devotion,
is charming. It is in the town that
we are interested and I am going to
quote his first paragraph.
“How well I remember the appear-
ance of the old town as it was on
the day of my arrival in it. The
Academy, then a single, old-fashioned
stone building reared on an emi-
nence in the west. Bellefonte could
then, in her infancy, boast of hut
few public edifices, and they were
erected in simple, yet substantial ar-
chitecture, and with a view rather
to utility than ornament and show.
The old stone court house then stood,
ag it does now, on the east side of
the town, the same out of which has
been reared in modern times, your
present elegant structure, rivaling
in beauty and convenience any other
of the kind in the State. Two church
buildings then adorned the town.
They were both small stone edifices.
The Presbyterian on the northwest,
the other, the Methodist, on the
north terminus of the hill on the
east. The Catholic church, a fine,
substantial stone building on the
south side of the town, was erected,
I think, some years after the time
of which I now speak. These were
the first and only public edifices in
the place, a beautiful and appropri-
ate tribute of respect to law, educa-
tion and religion, in their regard for
which the staid inhabitants of that
old town were behind no other peo-
ple. The private residences were all
stone, with a single exception, I
think, of one old frame house stand-
ing on the Benner property near the
center of the town.”
Note the omnipresence of stone in
this description. The first settlers at
once realized the practicability of us-
ing the native limestone for building
their permanent houses. With the
memory of the stone houses they had
left in the lower counties they set
to work on the new ones, making
them, in many cases, copies of the
old ones and not one whit inferior
in design and workmanship, though
they were to be wrought out in the
back woods of the State.
With slight variations the houses
were built on one of two plans: A
single rectangular house with the
hall on one side, usually with a back
building, or the double house with
the hall in the center. Our house is
a good example of the first kind and
Miss Humes’ house of the second. All
the houses mentioned in the first
part of this paper, as built before
1810, were ‘built of stone. It was not
a complete list and many houses |
were added in the years following, |
especially in the second decade. Some |
of these are still showing the faces |
of their youth, some are so obscured
by additions of other materials that |
their original structure is entirely |
forgotten, and others have disappear- |
ed entirely. I can count thirty- |
five houses, in the town and its out- |
skirts, easily recognized as the old
stone houses. We have spoken of the |
three houses on the corner of High
and Spring streets. There was a
fourth one of stone, where the)
Farmer's National Bank now stands, |
a “Center Hall” house owned by the
Presbyterian minister, Rev, James |
Linn, who married a daughter of |
James Harris. Both sides of High |
street were well built up very early. |
On the north side the stone houses
are still standing, changed but eas-
ily recognized. Between the Diamond
and Bishop street the only original
is the Clevenstine store and resi-
dence. On Bishop street we have the
Brant House built by Bond Valen-
tine in 1828. Between this and the
McClure house are distinctly seen
stone houses and some obscured. On
Spring street are the Academy group
and Mrs. Brown’s house, and in ad-
dition to those already mentioned,
the Widdowson house. Further east
on Howard street are the Bower
house, the several buildings on the H.
P. Harris property and the Ameri-
can Legion home. The houses on
Allegheny street, from Howard to
Pike Alley, including the Humes and
Andrews houses, are all very old and
form a solid section of old Bellefonte
soon to be broken into.
On East High street are N. B,
Spangler’s house, the original Mason-
rear so lately vacated by Miss Ar-
mor; the Heverly-Hoffer property,
parts of which, until 1867, formed
the old county jail. Also we have
the houses scattered in the outer
range of the town, the stone house
on Willowbank. street, between the
railroad and the mill race, Burnham,
the Forge house, the porch house
near the spring, and the Beaver
farm, Mr. Armstrong mentions the
old frame house on the Benner prop-
erty, as “The next year.” In 1825
a new building material appears.
Philip Benner, for his son, Matlack,
built the present house of bricks,
which, tradition says, were brought
from Philadelphia. He also built the
brick hotel called the Pennsylvania
hotel where the Brockerhoff house
now stands.
In 1833 Patrick Cambridge built
Dr. Brockerhoff's residence. The
Montgomery house, which is plaster-
ed brick, H, P. Schaeffer's store, the
old McQuistion house, on West high
street, were built about that time.
Just after brick was introduced to the
town there was living in the house
where Mrs. W. U. Irwin's now stands,
a rather remarkable man, Charlie
Callahan. Besides being a very good
tailor he was an architect of mueh
ability, who built houses in several
parts of the State. In Bellefonte he
built, for Judge Hale, the present
J. L. Spangler house, a residence for
Edward Humes, which is now the
Masonic building, and on the present
site of the Bellefonte Trust Com-
pany an elaborately ornamented
building called the Arcade, These
were brick buildings with marble and
iron trimmings and heavy stone
bases. The Arcade and the Pennsyl-
vania hotel were wiped out in the
disastrous fire of 1864.
_ Mr. Armstrong's memory was a
little at fault when he could not recall
other frame buildings. For instance,
the Macmanus house, lately so well
restored by Forrest Tanner, About
that time, or a little later, Robert
Hays built for a residence, in the
neighborhood of his tannery, the
Meek house. Later were built many
good houses of all kinds of mater-
ials as the town stretched out in all
directions. On Allegheny street Ed-
ward Graham built the present Ole-
wine house, Thompson Milliken, the
Talleyrand, and Linn Street, in the
woods beyond the Red Lion hotel,
(Mrs. Hastings’ property), was reach-
ed in the ’50’s.
My first plan in writing this sketch
was to give some of the details of a
few old houses built before 1850 and
the personalities who gave them life
through the years, for Bellefonte is
just as rich in its memories of hu-
man life as it is in its old houses,
so that you could walk along the
street and look on these old houses
as individuals. In digging up facts I
have come upon, in court house rec-
ords, in histories and biographies.
in newspaper files, and last but not
least, in family traditions, such a
wealth of material that, piecing to-
gether at this time has been impos-
sible. There is much about all the
| houses that ought to be recorded. It
can be done by taking groups of
houses at one sitting, telling the
story of a neighborhood. This will be
attempted very soon, probably by
different individuals. If present mem-
bers of families who lived in Belle-
fonte before 1860 would write down
the traditions some of them have it
POSTAL RATES BOOSTED
TO SOUTH AMERICA
On and after April 1 there will be
no two-cent letter rate and no one-
cent post card rate from the United
States to South America, the United
Staes Post Office Department an-
nounced Thursday.
Full postage on all letters and post
cards must be prepaid, the Depart-
ment said.
South and Central American coun-
tries, as well as the Spanish Repub-
lic and its possessions require
three cents for each ounce or frac-
tion thereof on letters; two-cents for
post cards, single, and four cents for
post cards, double. Similar rates ap-
ply for Canada and Newfoundland.
All other foreign countries require
the following postage rate: Letters,
for the first ounce or fraction, ‘five
cents; letters, for each additional
ounce or fraction, three cents; single
post cards, three cents; double post
cards, six cents.
—Opening the Nittany Lion spring
sports program, the Penn State base-
ball team will play its first game of
the season tomorrow, Saturday,
meeting St. Francis College at State
College. The Lion tossers have been
held back by weather conditions
which prevented outdoor practice,
and will take the field virtually un-
tried in team play. This year’s con-
test is the second between the two
institutions, a single game being
played in 1930. Last year a scheduled
contest was cancelled because of
rain.
Japan recently examined 10,000,-
000 primary school children and
found 22 per cent feeble-minded,
The average man weighs 13 per
cent more than the average woman,
but her heart weighs 22 per cent
more.
“Give a sentence using the word
‘bewitches’.”
“Go ahead. I'll bewitches in a min-
ute.”—Judge.
would be a great help in telling a
story of the old town woven around
its houses.
EVERY BARBER MUST
HAVE A CERTIFICATE
OR HUNT A NEW JOB
Pennsylvania barbers have gradu-
ated to the ranks of the educated
specialist who must pass rigid exam-
inations, physical and mental, as
prescribed by the Musmanno Barber
Act, effective April 1.
If not proficient the applicant will
not be allowed to operate a shop or
to work as a barber anywhere in the |
Commonwealth. Likewise, the appli-'
cant must be a good physical speci- |
men, not addicted to liquor or drugs,
nor unfit to slip a razor smoothly
over tender throats and chins or to
create that pink glow on the coun-
tenance after a massage. |
Under the new law, practicing
barbers were given until April 1 to
file application with the board, to-
gether with an affidavit from a phy-
sician certifying his physical fitness. |
This procedure cost the barber $2.
Any barber or would-be barber not
holding the certificate must pay $5
to obtain his license.
MORE FARM LANDS
NOW MORTGAGED
A survey of 17,000 representative
farms throughout the country re-
veals that 38 per cent of the mort-
gaged farms were mortgaged for
more than half their value, as of
January 1, 1931, according to the
Bureau of Agricultural Economics,
.U. 8. Department of Agriculture.
More than half of all farms, how-
ever, are free of mortgage debt.
Sixty-four per cent of all farms
were free of martgage debt in 1928,
according to the bureau’s estimate.
Although definite figures for all farms
are not yet available for later years,
relatively fewer farms are free of
debt now than four yars ago. In this
connection, it is pointed out, the
Bureau of Census reports that 58 per
cent of the farms operated by their
owners in 1930 were free of mort-
gaged debt compared with nearly 63
per cent in 1920.
Twenty-five per cent of the mort-
gaged farms in 1931 were mortgaged
up to 25 per cent of their value; 37:3
! per cent were mortgaged for between
Any applicant must have studied 25 and 50 per cent of their value; 22
the occupation for two years either
under a practicing barber or in a
recognized barber school or must
have practiced in another State for
two years.
Public examinations are held in
March, June, September and Decem-
ber in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Scranton, Harrisburg and Erie by
the board.
Passage of the new barber's act
and approval of the Governor ends a
20-year fight by its backers. In 1914
the code was passed by the Legisla-
ture, only to be vetoed by the Gov-
ernor,
THE TRAGEDY IN DETAIL
Deacon Callahan had taken his
wife tc the races. Just as the horses
were lined up for the next heat she
leaned over nervously and asked
him for a safety pin while grabbing
frantically at something that seem-
ed to be slipping around her knees.
Just then someone nearby shouted
“They're off!” and Mrs. Callahan
fainted,
Yes, this happened years ago.
——Subscribe for the Watchman.
per cent were mortgaged for between
150 and 75 per cent of their value; 10
! per cent between 75 and 100 per cent
of their value, and 5 per cent were
{ mortgaged for more than 100 per
i cent of their value. Approximately
42 per cent of all owner farms were
reported by the 1930 census as mort-
gaged,
'! The most favorable mortgage
{ debt situation was in the New Eng-
| land States, where more than 80 per
cent of the mortgaged farms covered
| by the survey were mortgagd for less
| than 50 per cent of their value.
A Bladder Physic
Is a medicine that works on tH¥ blad-
der as caster oil on the bowels. Drives
out impurities and excess acids that
cause irritation which results in getting
up nights, frequent desire, burning, leg
pains and backache. Get a 25c test box
of BU-KETS, (5 gr. Tablets) the pleas-
ant bladder physic from any druggist.
After four days if not relieved go back
and get your money. You will feel better
i after this cleansing and you get your
regular sleep. Sold by C. M. Parrish,
| druggist.
|
ANNOUNCING
THE NEW FORD
V-8 Cylinder
THE NEw FORD EIGHT
De Luxe Tudor Sedan
Eight-cylinder, 90-degree V-type, 65-horse-power Engine * Vibrationless
Roomy, Beautiful Bodies * Low Center of Gravity » Silent Second Gear
Synchronized Silent Gear Shift * Seventy-five Miles per Hour * Comfortable
Riding Springs * Rapid Acceleration * Low Gasoline Consumption * Reliability
New self-adjusting Houdaille double-
acting hydraulic shock absorbers with
thermostatic control . . . New rear
spring construction . . . Automatic
spark control . . . Down-draft carbu-
retor . . . Carburetor silencer . . . Bore,
3 1/16 inches. Stroke, 3 3/4 inches
: : «+ Piston displacement, 221 cubic
inches . . . 90-degree counterbalanced
crankshaft : . : Large, effective fully
enclosed four-wheel brakes . . . Distinc-
tive steel-spoke wheels with large hub
caps... Handsome V-type radiator . . .
Graceful new roof line and slanting
windshield of clear polished plate safety
glass... Single-bar bumpers, chromium
plated . . . Low, drop center frame. . .
Mechanically operated pump drawing
fuel from fourteen-gallon gasoline tank
in rear . ; . Choke on instrument panel
able in fourteen
. + . Individual inside sun visors ; zs
Cowl ventilation . . . Adjustable driver's
seat . . . Choice of Mohair, Broadcloth
or Bedford Cord upholstery in all de
luxe closed types.
THE NEW FORD FOUR-CYLINDER CAR
An improved Ford four-cylinder, 50-horse-power
engine, operating with new smoothness, is avail
body types at $50 less than the
corresponding V-8 prices listed below.
A GREAT NEW CAR AT AN UNUSUALLY LOW PRICE
Roadster . . . $460 Coupe . . . . $490 DeLuxe Roadster $500 De Luxe Tudor $550
Phaeton . .. 495 Sport Coupe . . 535 DeLuxe Phaeton 545 De Luxe Coupe 575
Tudor Sedan . 500 Fordor Sedan . 590 Cabriolet . . . 610
De Luxe Fordor . $645
Victoria . . . . 600
Convertible Sedan 650
(P. 0. B. Detroit, plus freight and delivery. Bumpers and spare tive extra. Economical terms through Authorized Ford Finance Plans of Universal Credit Co.)
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
KLINE WOODRING.—Attorney at
Law, Bellefonte, Pa. Practices in
® all courts. Office, room 18 Crider’
Exchange. 61-1
KENNEDY JOHNSTON.—Attorney at
%s Law, Bellefonte, Pa. Prompt at-
- tention given all legal business emn-
trusted to his care. Offices—No § Bolt
Hight street 57-14
M. KEICHLINE.—Attorney at Law
and Justice of the Peace. All
business will receive
Offices on second floor
49-5-1y
~” ® professional
prompt attention.
of Temple Court.
G. RUNKLE.—Attorney at Law.
Consultation in English and Ger-
® man, Office in Crider’s Bxchapge,
Bellefonte, Pa. 58-6
SPECIALISTS
R. R. L. CAPERS.
OSTEOPATH.
66-11
State College
Holmes Bldg.
Bellefonte
Crider’'s Ex.
D. CASEBEER, Optometrist.—Regis-
tered and licensed by the State.
Eyes examined, glasses fitted. Sat-
isfaction guaranteed. Frames replaced
and lenses matched, Casebeer 1dg.,
High St., Bellefonte, Pa. 71-22-t£
Licensed
by the State Board. State College,
every day except Saturday, Belle-
fonte, in the Garbrick building opposite
the Court House, Wednesday afternoons
from 2 to 8 p. m. and Saturdays 9. a.m.
to 4:00 p. m. Bell Phone. 68-40
E% B. ROAN, Optometrist,
Fire Insurance :
AT A W
20% Reduction
76-36 J. M. KEICHLINE, Agent.
Bellefonte, Pa.
IRA D. GARMAN
JEWELER
1420 Chestnut Street
PHILADELPHIA
Have Your Diamonds Reset in Platinum
74-27-tf Exclusive Emblem Jewelry
FEEDS!
We have taken on the line of
Purina Feeds
We also carry the line of
Wayne Feeds
per 100 lbs.
Wagner's 169% Dairy Feed - 1.26
Wagner's 20g; Dairy Feed - 1.80
Wagner's 329, Dairy Feed - 1.45
Wagner's Pig Meal - - - - 1.60
Wagner's Egg Mash - - - - 175
Wagner's Scratch Feed- - 1.80
Wagner's Chick Feed - - - 1.80
Wagner's Chick Starter and
Grower with Cod Liver Oil 2.10
Wagner's Horse Feed- - 125
Wagner's Winter Bran - - 1.00
Wagner's Winter Middlings - 1.20
Wagner's Standard Chop - 1.20
Blatchford Calf Meal 25lbs - 1.25
Wayne Calf Meal Per H - - 3.50
Wayne Egg Mash - - - - 210
Oil Meal 34¢)- - - - 2.00
Cotton Seed 439%- - - 1.40
Soy Bean Meal- - - 1.60
Gluten Feed- - - - 1.40
Fine Ground Alfalfa Meal - 225
Meat Scrap 45% - - = = 200
Tankage- - - - 2.15
Fish Meal- - - - 2.15
Fine Stock Salt - - - - - 1.00
Oyster Shel - - - - - - 1.00
Let us grind your Corn and Oats
and make up your Dairy Feed, with
Cotton Seed Meal, Oil Meal, Gluten,
Alfalfa, Bran, Midds 'nd Molasses.
We will make delivery ontwo tom
orders.
All accounts must be paid in 30
days. Interest charged over that
time.
If you want good bread and
pastry use Our Best and Gold Coin
flour.
C. Y. Wagner & Co. in
BELLEFONTE, PA.
75-1-1yr.
Caldwell & Son
Bellefonte, Pa.
Plumbing
and Heating
Vapor....Steam
By Hot Water
Pipeless Furnaces
Full Line of Pipe and Fit-
tings and Mill Supplies
All Sizes of Terra Cotta
Pipe and Fittings
ESTIMATES
CheerfullyssdPromptly Furnished