PACKER TWP, PA

From:

1. (Text) The five volume Eckhart's "History of Carbon County"
found at
the Dimmick Memorial Library, Jim Thorpe/Mauch Chunk.

and
2. The Pennsylvania State University topographical map repository.

PACKER TOWNSHIP ^{Large Map}

In 1787, an early road was built between the Falls of Nescopeck along the Susquehanna River and the Union Sawmill at Lausanne by the Lehigh River. Merchants from Berwick traveled this road to Philadelphia. The stagecoach road was worked by Evan Owen in 1789, and in 1792, Nicholas Curran completed a road which descended the Broad Mountain to Lausanne.

(See the early road on this map).

Also see roads and political boundaries of Packer and Banks townships here.

In 1790, the first settlers of the Quakake Valley were Daniel Heil and George Glaze. They lived previously on the south side of Blue Mountain and traveled on a road which had been built to a point about four miles south of Tamaqua. The intervening miles were covered on a road of their own construction. These men built the first sawmill in the township.

Packer Township was named after Asa Packer, a leading entrepreneur in the early development of Carbon County. The township was created in 1847 from part of Lausanne Township. It was bounded on the north by Banks Township, on the west by the Schuylkill County line, on the south by Mauch Chunk Township, and on the east by Lausanne Township.

Early settlers were the Faust, Gangwer, Gerhard, Hartz, Hinkle, and Wetzel families.

(See also "The Old Reed Cemetery")

A plot of the village of Quakake was recorded in Northampton County records in 1831. It was given as bounded by Branch Creek, Terapin Manor Lane, Turnpike Street and Keichner Lane. The plan detailed elaborate maps and inducements for potential lot buyers. Only a few lots were sold, and the project was abandoned. The firm of Hoover Brothers, established soon after the Civil War, began the manufacture of powder in the northwestern part of the town ship at Quakake.

In 1849, the township assessment was $37,857 for real estate and $105 for pleasure carriages. It con tained 68 taxable inhabitants. Tavern owners included William Hartz and Andrew Siegfried.

Lumbering was carried out on a large scale. Cleared land was quickly adapted for farming which became well known in the Quakake Valley. Its streams provided power for grist and sawmills.

In 1887, the prospering farmers in Quakake Valley contemplated organizing a local agricultural fair, separate from the Carbon County Fair at Lehighton. Another major industry was powder manufacturing for the mining industry which surrounded the town ship.

Villages within the township were Gerhard Station, Hudsondale, and Quakake.

Geography

The Broad Mountain (1) extends through the entire length of the southern and middle portion of the township while Spring Mountain (2) lies in the northern part. Between these mountains is the Quakake Valley (3), extending from east to west through the township and containing all the land under cultivation.

Wetzel's Run (4) flows southeast and Joins Quakake Creek (5) at Hudsondale. Quakake Creek originates on Spring Mountain and flows eastwardly through Packer and Lehigh townships where it Joins Hazie Creek and becomes Black Creek while enroute to Penn Haven where it empties into the Lehigh River. Nesquehoning Creek (6) flows eastward along its southern boundary and enters the Lehigh River (7) at Lausanne.

Packer Township

Quakake Creek - 1 04/2004

Quakake Creek - 2 04/2004

A few more pictures of Quakake Valley.

Hudsondale

Jacob Hartz, a clockmaker, relocated to the township in about 1800. Around 1812, he built a tavern known as the Spring Mountain House at what was called Hartz's Station (later known as Hudsondale). He sold the hotel to George Kelchner in 1820. Jacob Kelchner, father of the latter, lived in the township after 1808.

In 1875, Peter Hartz, grandson of Jacob Hartz, was proprietor of the Spring Mountain Hotel.

Samuel W. Hudson (for whom the village of Hudsondale was named) came to the township in 1859 and built a large foundry and machine shop. He was outstanding innovator and earned 16 patents ranging hydraulics to pneumatics.

Hudson owned the stone gristmill built at Hudondale in 1869. He was also a sawmill operator and dealt in mine timber. His son, S.B. Hudson, continued the business in 1885. In June of 1870, A. E. Landerbum was the first postmaster at Hudsondale.

Grist Mill

Ochre Mill

In 1875, prominent farmers near Hudsondale were Frederick Brenckman, John Engelhart, D. R. Keller, John Romig and Reuben Steiner.

Tide Water Pipe Company

In 1886, the Tide Water Pipe Company purchased a tract of ten acres from the S. W. Hudson estate and built its pumping station at Hudsondale across the road from the Hudson Gristmill. The 350 mile long oil line spanned from the Pennsylvania oil fields near Bradford to the Jersey seacoast and transported 10,000 barrels daily. Operations commenced in May of 1887.

Pumping Station

The Hudsondale station, containing three huge steampowered pumps, was one of three main pumping stations along the pipeline. The others were located at Muncy in Lycoming County and Changewater in New Jersey. The pipeline crossed over the Lehigh River at Oxbow Bend as two six inch pipes. For precautionary measures, a watchman was engaged at this point. The first watchman who lived there was Samuel Rice.

The Brenckman Family

In 1889, Henry L. Brenckman began lifelong employment with the Tide Water Pipe Company. His parents were Frederick and Susannah (nee Bittner) Brenckman. Frederick was a carpenter and farmer at Hudsondale.

Henry L. Brenckman married Minnie Strunk, daughter of Herman and Ellen Strunk, and their children were Raymond, Virginia, Lillian, Herman, Dorothy, Ruth (d.b.m) Esther, Frederick, and Louise.

The Smith Family

In 1887, Marshall L. Smtth established the Hudsondale Ochre Works at the site formerly occupied by the Hudson Foundry. Initially, yellow ochre was mined at Penn Haven, and later, a rich vein of red ochre was discovered about one mile west of the mill.

Marshall Smith, a son of Charles and Margaret Smith, married Mary Reazer, and their children were Charles, Ida May, Talbot, Allen, William, Cora, Thomas, and John.

Powder for the Mines

In 1869, Smith and Rand managed the Schaghticoke Powder Company, which became the Lafflin and Rand Powder Company in 1871. In the 1880's, they operated two magazines or fortified storage depots, each with a capacity of 5,000 powder kegs, on Broad Mountain. They also maintained a magazine at Hudsondale which had a capacity of 2,000 kegs. Robert Klotz & Son of Mauch Chunk was the agent for sales and distribution.

In 1836, the DuPont Powder Company established two magazines with a combined capacity of 15,000 kegs in the extreme southeast corner of the township along the old turnpike road between Hudsondale and Mauch Chunk. Alexander Leisenring of Mauch Chunk was their agent.

Powder Magazine

St. Matthew's Church and School

A recent group of photographs of the St. Matthew's Church area.

More on the cemetery at St. Matthew's Church

Click Here for a link to the town of Nesquehoning. It's just over the Packer Twp boundary in Mauch Chunk Twp. Lots of history and many pictures.