Identifier: guidebookofcentr00harp (find matches)
Title: Guide-book of the Central railroad of New Jersey, and its connections through the coal-fields of Pennsylvania
Year: 1864 (1860s)
Authors: Harper, firm, publishers, New York. (1864. Harper & brothers) (from old catalog)
Subjects: Central Railroad of New Jersey
Publisher: New York : Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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will not compare with these in the matter ofpicturesqueness. Through these gateways of natural magnificence weenter the town of Mauch Chunk itself, the capital of Car-bon County, and the centre of the Lehigh Coal Basin.It is 89 miles from Philadelphia and 121 from New York. The town is small in area, and is situated at the junc-tion of Mauch Chunk Creek with Lehigh River, beingon all sides surmounted by mountains more than a thou-sand feet high. The name is Indian, and signifies BearMountain. In 1818 the whole country in this vicinity was a com-plete wilderness. It was known, indeed, that anthracitecoal was to be found here, but every attempt to get itto market had been baffled. In 1817, Josiah White, ac-companied by G. F. Hanto, visited this region for thepurposes of reconnoissance, the object of which was toascertain the feasibility of using the Lehigh River toconvey the coal to market. The prospect was any thingbut encouraging, but it was determined to commence 1 ■ . Vj!lllll if
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CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY. 9) operations. Accordingly, roads were made from themines to the Lehigh, and upon the latter were built a se-ries of dams to aid the navigation by slack water. Thuswas established the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Com-pany, with which enterprise the early history of MauchChunk is identified. In 1832 the dependencies of this company gave em-ployment to 400 men, principally miners, who, with theirfamilies, made a population of 2000. After passingthrough many a perilous crisis, and after an expense oftwo and a half millions of dollars, the enterprise was atlast consummated. In 1830 the population of Mauch Chunk was 700; in1840, 1200; in 1850, 2557. The principal manufacto-ries of the town are two founderies and machine shops,two iron forges, a screen and wire factory, a wire ropemanufactory, a steam flour-mill, three boat-yards, andtwo shoe nactories. Besides these there are the machineand repair shops of the Lehigh Canal and NavigationCompany, and the car re

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