Swatara Furnace - Page 28, August 2nd, 1830

You are reading it right, we are still on page 28, August 2nd, 1830; the scan below is at the bottom of the page of my last post, sent out on 24 October, 2016.

Ledger Post

Page 28, Bottom, - August 2nd, 1830

Please note that the above information in the scan looks like it was transferred from the (Blue Book), so, we don't really know on what date the work was done. The last two entries are "Firsts" though, we have Mr Robt Johnston being paid $6.60 for cutting 44 cords of wood at .15 a cord, that is an awful lot of work for that amount of pay; where I live now a cord of wood runs anywhere from $75.00 to $125.00 per cord. At the very bottom, under "Coal Ecpense" (a little misspelling)  we have a Mr "Bradford" being paid $4.00 for Coal Baskets, it doesn't say how many baskets; back then when they said "Coal" they were referring to Charcoal, the coal dug out of the ground was called "Stone Coal"

Swatara Furnace/Forge Area History

Highbridge Photos

To all of my Blog followers - On each of my posts there is a small picture of me, in the upper right hand corner with a hat on, taken in the early 1990's, above is a picture of my Mother, Ruth (Williams) Grumbine and me sitting on Highbridge looking South down Mill Creek towards the Swatara Furnace/Forge area. All of the photos in this post were taken by my Dad, Arthur W. Grumbine between 1935 and the start of World War Two. Judging by my size in the above picture I would say my Dad took this one in the Summer of 1939. After the start of WW 2, color slide film was almost impossible to buy; my Dad did have a few rolls on hand and used them   during the early 1940's, I do remember though that the Highbridge slides were the ones Dad took in the late 1930's. 

Looking North, up Mill Creek, the large rocks in the creek are in heavy shade.

Under Highbridge, looking South, the above road went Northeast, past "The Deep Hole" and into the "Jeff Swamp" area. According to local lore, the two wooden Highbridge supports were erected during World War One to support heavier RR engines and heavier freight cars; the above support was at the East end of the bridge.

Looking West across Highbridge towards "Goldmine", stops in-between and ending up in Dauphin, I have a list of the other station stops that I will post at a later date. Not shown in this slide, a little to the left and rear, on the left side was large metal water cistern that the Bridge-tender could get water out of to put out any fires  that might have been caused by hot coals falling from the steam engines firebox. There will also be more information on the Bridge-tender and his home that was just to the rear of this picture.

In the 1930's and up until the start of World War Two the Reading Company ran passenger rail-fan trips on the old S&S Railroad to Dauphin and back; my Dad took this photo when the train was headed West; when I enlarged the picture it looked like the engine number was 511.

Above is # 511 headed back East after the trip to Dauphin.