Pennsylvania State Archives

Environmental Resources - Manuscript Groups 214-308

Environmental Resources, Manuscript Groups 214-308

MG-214 Warren J. Harder Collection

ca. 1910-1968
10 cu. ft.

The collection is divided into two categories, Research and Photographic Materials. Items of interest to the environmental historian may be found within Photographic Materials. These consist of negatives, prints and glass slides which are organized into distinct files such as Lantern Slide File, General File

Lantern Slide File

Slides are arranged in envelopes alphabetically by subject

Box 1

  • Canals. In envelopes 1 to 10.
  • Disasters
    • 1910 Middletown, Dauphin County fire in envelopes 11 to 16
    • 1902 Flood in envelope 17

Box 2

  • Canoeing. Includes scenes of a creek, dam, farm scene, and fishing in the Harrisburg area. In envelopes 20 to 41

Subject file (Harrisburg area)

Materials are arranged in numbered loose leaf notebooks

Box 1

  • Vehicular bridges and Market Street subways (Harrisburg). In Notebooks 6 and 7
  • The Pennsylvania Canal, eastern and miscellaneous divisions. In Notebooks 11 and 12
  • Floods, Bird's Eye Views, Miscellaneous Views, Street Scenes. In Notebooks 16, 17, 18
  • Printed matter: maps of early Harrisburg, Harrisburg in 1776, Bird's Eye Views of 19th century Harrisburg, and 1868 map of Pennsylvania. In Notebook 19.
  • Redevelopment plans: Materials consist of b/w photographs and some negatives of Harrisburg from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. In Notebook 20.

MG-217 Harrisburg Home Star Collection

1895 (1962-1971) 1971
5 cu. ft.

This photograph collection of the defunct newspaper Harrisburg Home Star is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Photographs

Box 2

Clarks Valley Dam, n.d: There is one b/w photo and one relief map of the dam.

Box 3

  • Flood, 1964 and undated. Unidentified scenes of the 1964 flood in Harrisburg. In folder "Flood"
  • Goddard, Maurice K: one undated b/w portrait photo of the former head of the Dept. of Forests and Waters. In folder "Gilm-Gooding"
  • Harrisburg (inc. negatives), 1919-1921, 1928, 1939, 1962-1970, undated (six folders in all) Prints include skyline view from river, March 21, 1921, snowstorm of March 18, 1928, and downtown scenes. In "Harrisburg" folders.
  • Harrisburg (City Clean Up) (inc. negatives) 1963, 1964, 1967, 1970, undated. In "Harrisburg City Clean Up" folder

Box 4

Harrisburg Parks (inc. negatives), 1965, undated. Some photos appear to be those of Italian Lake. In folder "Harrisburg High-Harrisburg Tech"

Box 8

  • Tornado, November 18, 1918. These are Harrisburg storm damage photos taken by Harrisburg photographer Ray Rathlon. Photographs are numbered. A "table of contents" list gives the photo number as well as the street address of the site. In folder "Tornado"
  • Harrisburg Flood (oversize folder) Missing as of 1/10/07

MG-218 Photograph Collection

ca. 1850-Present
20 cu. ft.

Collections of photographs, generally arranged by counties, pertaining to Pennsylvania's forges and furnaces, iron and steel companies, coal and other mines, gristmills, sawmills, covered bridges, transportation systems (canals, roads and turnpikes, railroads, etc.) and county courthouses. Collections also hold photographs of or pertaining to Pennsylvania's capitol buildings, Pennsylvania's military history, Pennsylvania's governors and other political leaders, political campaigns and elections, and the commonwealth's civic, religious, and business leaders. Topics relating to the environment covered in this collection include mines, coke, oil, coal, lumber, leather, steel, electricity, canals, and floods.

Series C, Mines

Box 4

  • Cornwall Ore Mines, 1853, undated (Inc. workers) (2 items) (folder 4-6)
  • Ruins of Building at Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, undated (1 item) (folder 4-7)
  • Unidentified coal miners, undated (1 item) (folder 4-1)

Box 14

  • Harry Springer/Frick Company Photographs (folders 14-1 through 14-9)

"Harry Springer was a professional photographer in Scottdale. About 1915, he was hired by the HC Frick Company to take picture of its company towns in Westmoreland and Fayette Counties. William Cramer was head of Frick Company's (now US Mining Co.) drafting section. In 1959, during a long strike, as management he had nothing to do, so he began cleaning out the office. He found about 600 8x10 contact prints mounted on cloth. They were the prints Springer took for the Frick Company. The location of the original photographs is unknown." -Linda Ries.

There are 373 photographs and negatives of landscapes, buildings, and machines relating to mining in 9 folders.

Series D, Coke

Box 4

Consolidated Coke Co., missing as of 7/26/01

  • Sterling Plant, Connellsville Region, Fayette County (1 photo)
  • Grays Landing, Connellsville Region, Fayette County (inc. National Transportation Co. Fleet, 1 photo)
  • National Transportation Company Steamer "Winifred" with her first tow (2 photos)
  • First Barge of Coke Loaded by consolidated Coke Co. (1 photo)
  • Approach to Consolidated Coke Co. Grays Landing River Tipple (1 photo)

Possible Coke Ovens near Unionville (added 11/21/79) (2 items) (folder 4-12)

Series E, Oil

Folder 4/9

  • Oil Field near Lamartine, Pennsylvania (1 item)
  • View of burning tank at Meadow Land, Washington County, May 31, 1893 (1 item)
  • Stereographs, L.P. Greenlund & Co., Photographer
    • Caldwalder Well #635, Cherry Grove District (1 item)
    • Glade Run, Pennsylvania (Wells) (1 item)
    • Well at Glade Run, Pennsylvania (1 item)
    • Warren, Pennsylvania, looking East (1 item)
    • Warren, Pennsylvania, looking West (1 item)
    • Oil Wells, Irvine Flats, East Warren, Pennsylvania (1 item)
    • Front Street, Warren, Pennsylvania (1 item)

Folder 4/8

Stereographs, Miscellaneous

  • Scene on Oil Creek, Pennsylvania (1 item)
  • Oil Region of Pennsylvania "Going to Petroleum Centre" (1 item)
  • "Explosion of the Benzine Tank," Burning of the Imperial Refinery near Oil City, Pennsylvania, Sept. 10, 1875 (1 item)
  • Great Burning Well at Cherry Grove, Pennsylvania (1 item)
  • Lady Hunter Well, Petrolia City, Butler County, Pennsylvania (1 item)
  • Oil Region of Pennsylvania: "Trunkeyville, PA"
  • Oil Region of Pennsylvania: "Old Boyd House"
  • Oil Region of Pennsylvania: "A Petroleum Centre"
  • Oil Region of Pennsylvania: "An Oil Prince"

Series F, Coal

Folder 4/11

  • Coal dredging operations on the Susquehanna River, Harrisburg, Photographer: Mary G. Mowry, undated Negatives and Prints (22 items)
  • Huken Coal Breaker from History File, Panther Valley (added 7/12/76) (1 neg.).
  • Coal Production & Reclamation Work Harmm Creek Coal Corp. (added 6/6/77) (1 scrap book).

Folder 4/10

  • Coal Fleet, Pittsburgh, Monongahela & Allegheny rivers, undated (2 items).

Series G, Lumber

Folder 4/12

  • Drawing of Lumber Camp, Tucker Co. WV (added 11/13/76) (print & neg.) (folder 4-2)
  • Unidentified lumbermen, undated (2 items) (folder 4-4)

Series H, Leather

Folder 4-3

  • Tannery - returning to work after 1937 (June) CIO Strine-Elklnun (1 item)
  • Tannery - workers at the Jamison City Tannery, Columbia Co., PA, ca. 1900 (1 item)

Series PP, Steel

Folder 4-14
PP1.) Pennsylvania Steel Company, Steelton, PA (3 items)

Electricity (1 folder)
Workman erecting transformers in 1912-13 in Cambria & Blair County (folder 4-13)

Box 5

Series: Transportation: Canals (9 folders)

  • Pennsylvania Canal
    • Flemington, undated (2 items) (folder 5-2)
    • New Hope, undated (1 item) (folder 5-3)
  • Boats (Inc. People), undated (4 items) (folder 5-6) Printed Copy of original painting by NH Trotter in 1880 for Henry H. Houston (1 item) (folder 5-8)

Folder 5/9

  • Copy of sketch of Juniata River at Aqueduct, 1899 (1 item)
  • Men and canal lock (1 item)
  • Canal unidentified (1 item)
  • Canal Aqueduct, Middletown, undated (2 items), not found as of 7/26/01

Items moved to MG-327: Ira J. Stouffer Postcards, [ca. 1915]

  • Petersburg (4 items)
    • Aqueduct, undated (4 items)
    • Lock, undated (3 items)
    • Lock House, undated (1 item)
    • Tow Path, undated (1 item)
  • Warrior Ridge, Canal Lock (1 item), not found as of 7/26/01
  • Susquehanna Canal, tidewater Canal, Lock #8, above Shenks Ferry, Wrought iron hinge-pin strap Lock #2, Oct. 1940 (7 items) (folder 5-10)
  • Canal Boat and Tow - Leigh Gap near Palmerton, Pa., undated (1 item) (folder 5-7)

Level 5 map case

  • Schuylkill Canal boats for Philadelphia& Reading RR, Highspire, PA (1 item)

Box 23

  • Delaware & Hudson Canal & Railroad scenes (includes gravity Railroad at Honesdale) (49 items) (folders 23-1 through 23-2)

Box 15

Series, Floods (17 folders)

  • 1972 Agnes Flood, Collected by Joseph Kingston, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
    • Harrisburg (Color) (39 items) (folder 15-1)
    • Photographer: Reading Times (18 items) (folder 15-2)
    • Photographer: York Daily Record (26 items) (folder 15-3)
    • Photographer: Pennsylvania Mirror, State College [Inc. Centre County, Clinton County, Tyrone] (6 items) (folder 15-4)
    • Photographer: Pittsburgh Press [Reproduction restricted] (45 items) (folder 15-5)
    • Photographer: Eagle, Reading (10 items) (folder 15-6)
    • Photographer: Standard-Speaker, Hazelton (61 items) (folder 15-7)
    • Photographer: Curtis K. Salonick [Wilkes-Barre Area] (22 items) (folder 15-8)
    • Photographer: The Milton Standard (23 items) (folder 15-9)

Folder 15/10

  • Harrisburg Area Flood: Photographer LeRue Lemer, Harrisburg, undated
    • Destruction of Hargest's Island (Inc. Covered Bridge) (1 item)
    • Ewington [in 1880 became part of Steelton], showing main street after flood (1 item)
    • Unidentified (1 item)
  • Johnstown Flood, 1889 [Inc. RR Bridge, Location of Dam] (5 items) (folder 15-11)
  • June 2, 1889, Uncaptioned flood scene, (1 item) (folder 15-12)
  • Floods and High Water-1936, Harrisburg, The Telegraph Press, 1936 (1 Vol.) (2 items) (folder 15-13)
  • Johnstown Flood of 1889 (Scrapbook includes photographs, clippings,) (1 Vol.) (folder 15-14)
  • Two views of flooding probably on Susquehanna River, circa 1910 (2 items) (folder 15-15)
  • Harrisburg Flood views, 1936m (37 items) (folder 15-16)
  • Johnstown Flood Views, (9 items) (folder 15-17)
  • 1972, Harrisburg Flood, collected by J. Kingston, PHMC, (39 items)

MG-219 Philadelphia Commercial Museum Photograph Collection

[ca. 1840-1954]
12 cu. ft.

This collection represents the photographic files of the Philadelphia Commercial Museum, which was founded in 1894 to promote American and foreign commerce and to collect information concerning the products of world trade. The name of the museum was changed in 1966 to the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center.

Photographic files, arranged by counties and by subjects, include these major categories:

  • Pennsylvania scenes
  • Philadelphia scenes
  • American Indians
  • agriculture
  • educational institutions (Carlisle Indian School, Dickinson College, Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania, etc.)
  • industry (airplane, aluminum, automobile, brick, cement, clothing, coal, electric, fur, gas, glass, iron and steel, lumber, mining, paper, petroleum, pottery, printing, radio, railroad, rubber, shipbuilding, street car, telephone, etc.)
  • natural science (birds, fish, wild life, etc.; and transportation (air, canal, coach and wagon, mail, railroad, river, sailboat, steamship, etc.)

The collection consists of three series:

  • Series I: Pennsylvania Scenes, [ca. 1840-1854]. (9 boxes)
  • Series: II: Subject File, [ca. 1840-1854]. (18 boxes)
  • Series III: William H. Rau Photos from Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, [ca. 1840-1854]. (29 prints)

Items pertaining to the environment are found in the first two series.

Series I: Pennsylvania Scenes (ca. 1840-1854)

9 boxes

Folders are arranged alphabetically by name. Examples of items of interest to students of conservation include the following:

Box 1

  • Allegheny County-Allegheny & Monongahela Rivers, Monongahela River Dam
  • Beaver County-Bathing beaches at Beaver Falls and Monaca
  • Berks County-Schuylkill River
  • Bucks County-Canal at Kintnersville
  • Chester County-French Creek
  • Coal region-Mauch Chunk, Pottsville, Wilkes-Barre and other unidentified cities.
  • Delaware County-Darby Creek, Mill on Crum Creek, Wharfs
  • Delaware River region-Delaware Water Gap, harbor activities at Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, the Hog Island Yards and the Delaware River Bridge, 1929
  • Erie County-The public docks at Erie, 1914
  • Forest County-Virginia white pines
  • Lycoming County-strip farming to control erosion
  • Mifflin County-Lewistown, Jacks Mountain, Peace Mountain, and ruins of the Pennsylvania Canal by Joseph T. Rothrock and William H. Rau.
  • Montgomery County-Farm, Ognotz, Old York Road

Box 2

  • Northampton County-Remains of the Sullivan Road near Wind Gap, bridges over the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers and aerial views of Bangor, Easton, Nazareth, Portland and Wind Gap by the Aero Service Corporation and Dallin Aerial Views.
  • Philadelphia Area-Schuylkill River, Woodside Park

Box 4

Philadelphia area-Docks

Box 5

Philadelphia area-Docks, Fairmount Park

Box 6

  • Philadelphia area-Industry, folder 3 "Miscellaneous": Gas tank, 47th and Chestnut Sts.
  • Point Breeze Oil Works
  • Power plant, Hydroelectric Company, Schuylkill River
  • Two gas tanks, unlabeled, View of smoke stacks and industrial buildings, unlabeled

Box 7

Philadelphia area-Port of Philadelphia, Street Scenes

Box 8

Philadelphia area-Street Scenes

Box 9

  • Philadelphia area-Water implements
  • Pike County-Winona and Buck Hill Falls, by Joseph T. Rothrock, and Delaware River views at Matamoras and Lack waxen.
  • Schuylkill County-Mahoney Valley
  • Wayne County-Lake Wallenpaupack, Pocono Mountains
  • York County-McCall's Ferry

Series II: Subject File (ca. 1840-1854)

18 boxes

The subject file is arranged alphabetically by subject. Box numbers continue early numbering series beginning with box 10. Subjects frequently cover multiple boxes.

Agriculture (includes workers, machinery, various processes from planting to marketing)

Box 10

  • Farms: Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia (1 folder)
  • Plowing: Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, United States (1 folder)

Box 11, Trees

  • Pennsylvania: Bartram's Garden, Chester and Montgomery Counties, Norristown, and Philadelphia
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • United States

Box 12, Truck Farms

New Jersey (1 folder)

Industry (includes workers, raw materials, manufacturing, products, marketing)

Box 13

Coal, General and Anthracite (4 folders)

  • General: Pennsylvania, Ohio, United States.(2 folders)
  • Coal, Anthracite: Pennsylvania, Bridgeport to Scranton; Pennsylvania, Shenandoah to Miscellaneous; Pennsylvania, Miscellaneous to Canada. Undated photo labeled: "A cave-in caused by carrying the mine tunnels too near the surface." Unspecified site, Pennsylvania. Also another undated photo showing land reclamation or reforestation of former strip mine area in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. (2 folders)

Boxes 13 & 14

Coal, Bituminous (2 folders)

  • Pennsylvania to Virginia
  • West Virginia to Strip Mining

Box 14

Coke, Electric Power, Gas (3 folders)

  • Coke: Pennsylvania: Brier Hill Coke Co, Connellsville Coke Region, Johnstown, Lebanon, Pittsburgh and Robesonia; Alabama; New York; Ohio; Tennessee;
  • Electric Power. Pennsylvania: Baldwin Locomotive, Juniata Electric Power Co., Westinghouse Company; Maryland; New Jersey
  • Gas. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Box 15

Iron and Stee1 (4 folders)

  • Iron and Steel, Various Places: :Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp., Johnstown, Pa., McKeesport, Pa., Montgomery County, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Colorado, New York (1 folder)
  • Furnaces, (1 folder)
  • Mines (1 folder)
  • Ore Handling (1 folder)

Box 15

Blast Furnaces

  • Folder 1: Pennsylvania: Bethlehem Steel, Homestead, Johnstown, McKeesport, Montgomery County

Box 16

Blast Furnaces

  • Folder 2: Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Robesonia; Alabama, New York
  • Folder 3: Ohio, Youngstown; Wisconsin, Allis-Chalmers; United States

Box 17

Steel Mills, Lumbering (2 folders)

  • Steel Mills in Pennsylvania: Bethlehem Steel Company, Midvale Steel Company; Ohio, Texas, United States. (1 folder)
  • Lumbering: Centre, Chester and Elk Counties, Pennsylvania and Miscellaneous (1 folder)

Box 18

Lumbering cont.

  • Cut lumber: Forest County, Pa., Wheeler & Dusenberry; Galeton, Potter County, Pa., Hick's Run, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., Sheffield, Warren County, Pa.; New York, Ohio, Miscellaneous (1 folder)
  • Hauling Log: Pennsylvania, California, McGiffert Logging Engine, New York, Oregon, Santa Clara Lumber Company, Texas, Miscellaneous(1 folder)
  • Men and Camps: Elk County, Forest County, Mont Alto, Franklin County, Sheffield, Warren County; New York, Miscellaneous. (1 folder)
  • Forest Fires: Clinton County (from Rothrock); Forest County, United States (1 folder)
  • Tree Planting: Caledonia Park, Franklin County; Huntingdon County, Adirondacks; New Jersey; New York; United States. (from Rothrock) (1 folder)
  • Trees and Forests: Dauphin County (from Rothrock); Forest County (includes holdings of Wheeler & Dusenberry; New Haven, Pa.; Pennypacker Reserve, Perry County; Snyder County Reserve; South Mountain Reserve; Sullivan County (from Rothrock); Tyrone, Blair County; Pennsylvania Maps; Miscellaneous; New York; United States (1 folder)

Box 20

Petroleum

  • Petroleum folder 1: Butler County; Drake Well, 1861, 1896-1897, 1905; Franklin, Venango County; McKeesport, Allegheny County; Marcus Hook, Delaware County; Oil City, Venango County; Oil Creek, Venango County, 1863, undated
  • Petroleum folder 2: Philadelphia (includes Atlantic Refining Company); Titusville, Crawford County, 1863, 1864, undated; Miscellaneous
  • Petroleum folder 3: New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, United States

Box 22

Waste Products

  • Pennsylvania, Philadelphia scenes showing garbage dumps, garbage workers and trash treatment plants. Item of interest is a photograph of "Incinerating Plant at 49th Street and Botanic Avenue, Philadelphia." It shows smoke and fumes emanating from the plant into the atmosphere. (1 folder)

Natural History

  • Folder 2: Birds
  • Folder 3: Deer, Maine (return from the hunt)
  • Folder 4: Fish and Fisheries: Erie, Pennsylvania; Manhaden Fisheries, New Jersey, New York, United States. Item of interest is a photograph showing a Railroad Car of Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries with fish being unloaded by workers for distribution in Pennsylvania's rivers and lakes.
  • Folder 5: Flowers (includes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  • Folder 6: Fossils

Box 23

Natural History cont.

  • Folder 7: Game
  • Folder 8: Insects
  • Folder 9: Silk worms

Box 25

Transportation, Waterways (11 folders)

  • Folder 1: Chemung River; Delaware & Hudson Canal; Delaware River: Flat Rock, Canal Lock; Juniata River (inc. Pennsylvania Railroad); Lancaster; Lehigh Canal; Lehigh Water Gap; Merchant's Exchange, Philadelphia (photograph of F. H. Taylor drawing); Morris Canal
  • Folder 2: Pennsylvania Canal (includes covered bridge)
  • Folder 3: Pittsburgh; Old Pittsburgh Line

Box 26

Transportation, Waterways cont.

  • Folder 4: Reliance Transportation Company (incl. railroad); Schuylkill Canal; Schuylkill River (includes covered bridge, railroad; Susquehanna River (includes bridges, railroads, floods in 1875 and 1904, ferry, post cards) This folder also includes the print Negative Number 1824, "The Old Wooden Rockville Bridge, 1870"
  • Folder 5: Tidewater Canal; Tohickon Creek; Union Canal; Warrior Ridge (canal and Pennsylvania Railroad); Western Transportation Company; Miscellaneous (including railroad)
  • Folder 6: Delaware (includes canal)
  • Folder 7: Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland (includes canal, post cards), Massachusetts, Michigan (includes canal), Mississippi (includes canal)
  • Folders 8 & 9: New Jersey
  • Folder 10: New York (includes canal, post cards)
  • Folder 11: West Virginia. The folder includes the publication The Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway by Wilfred H. Schoff (Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association, 1915)

MG-220 Merle H. Deardorff Collection

1544-1971
19. cu. ft.

Merle H. Deardorff (b. 1890, d. 1971) was a Warren, Pennsylvania banker who developed a lifelong interest in Native American history. The Dearoff collection consists of three series: Author and Biographical Materials, General Correspondence and Research Notes. Within boxes, arrangement is roughly in alphabetical order. Items of interest pertain mainly to the Allegheny Reservoir or Kinzua Dam in Warren County which drew controversy because the facility was being built upon Native American land.

Author & Biographical Materials

1938-1944, 1960, 1968, and undated
series #220m.1

Box 1

"The Indians and the Kinzua Dam." Speech by Dearoff consisting of typed notes in outline.

Research Notes

1939-1970
9 boxes
series #220m.3

Box 1

  • Allegheny Route to Genesee Towns, ca. 1778, 1949. This folder contains mainly correspondence between Dearoff and the PHMC concerning the Allegheny Route.

Box 2

  • Kinzua Dam, 1939-1970
  • Allegheny Reservoir, Legal Papers, 1939-1968 (3 folders)

Box 3

  • Allegheny Reservoir Report on Cornplanter Grant in Elk Twp., Warren County, Pennsylvania, March 1963. Report includes photographs dated 1961 by the US Army Corps of Engineers as well geological maps of the Seneca Indian reservation.
  • "An Analysis of the Kinzua Dam Controversy Considering the Corps of Engineers Vs. The Seneca Indian Nation" by Randy Stein, et al, April 16, 1969

Box 4

  • "A Flood Control Dam on the Upper Allegheny River, Forty Years of Controversy," by Roy E. Brant, March 1969
  • New York State's Legal Jurisdiction in Allegheny Reservoir, 1944-1945
  • Land-Notes and Correspondence, 1940

Box 5

  • Residual Land of the Grant, 1961-1964
  • Sherman's Island, 1967. Item is an 1861 survey map.
  • County Maps: These are Hevenor Handy Book County Map Books of Pennsylvania and of New York, both undated. The maps are in loose leaf format in a folder.

Box 6

  • New York-Pennsylvania Boundary Report, 1886, and Hardenburgh's Map of 1787.

MG-239 Hamlin Family Papers

1880-1900
5 cu. ft.
14 boxes

The papers relate to banks, the lumber industry, railroads, the Bradford oil boom, the Hamlin family of McKean County, and especially Byron D. Hamlin and his son Delano R. Hamlin. Father and son along with John Forrest were partners of the law firm of "Hamlin and Son" handled financial transactions of clients buying, owning or leasing forest, oil, and coal lands in north central Pennsylvania. The letters and postcards are between the Hamlins and individuals like Joseph Bushnell, Jerry Carry, William N. Crawford, Frank A. Deans, John Forrest, C.W. and F. H. Goodyear, Henry and W. O. Hamlin, B. C. Harrington, J. Bayard Henry, Thomas L. and Elisha Kent Kane, B. G. Morrison, C. D. Monroe, Orange Noble, W. F. Pratt, C. W. Scofield, Joseph Seep, Henry Suhr, and Lewis F. Watson. There are also letters to and from Pennsylvania companies including Allegany Lumber Co. Ltd., Bradford Oil Company, Coudersport and Pine Creek Railroad, Penn Refining Co. Ltd., Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, South Penn Oil Co., and Standard Oil Co. Although the Hamlin Family Papers deal mainly with financial matters, there are materials of interest to the environmental historian. Below are examples of what may be found here.

Box 1

  • Complete list of timber required for building an oil rig with prices for entire needs quoted. Letter no.1881-38.
  • Letter, L. E. Mallory of the Emlenton Oil Co. to Byron D. Hamlin, Jan. 27, 1881, Mallory offers to sell the timber on their oil lands. An example of how oil companies made additional profit from their lands. Letter no. 1881-3.
  • Letter, P. H. Towel to Byron D. Hamlin, March 10, 1881 reveals confidential plans of the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad Co. to expand in Pennsylvania. Letter no. 1881-12.

Box 2

  • Letter, D. Young to Byron D. Hamlin, May 21, 1883 re drilling of 35 oil wells on the Hamlin farm. Letter no. 1883-164.

Box 3

  • Letter, J. B. Gifford to Bryon D. Hamlin, August 27, 1884 re 10,000 acres of white pine, hemlock, and other lumber and coal near Renovo, Clinton County. Letter no. 1884-313.

Box 4

  • Letter, J. T. Thurlow of Bradford to Bryon D. Hamlin, Nov. 26, 1885 re: "I have a tract of 200,000 acres of the heaviest timber land anywhere to be found, with coal 10 feet thick, the timber is oak, poplar, cherry" Letter no. 1885-398.

Box 8

  • Letter, H. E. Brown to Bryon D. Hamlin, Oct. 10, 1890 re his property in Elk County which has 14 producing oil wells. Letter no. 1890-271.

Box 9

  • Letter, William W. Niles to [Bryon D.] Hamlin and [John] Forrest, Dec. 19, 1892 re land rich in pine timber and oil. Letter no. 1892-342.

Box 11

  • Letter, Elisha K. Kane to Bryon D. Hamlin, Jan. 13, 1896 re timber mills in McKean County, forest fires, and drought. Letter no. 1896-14.

MG-244 Emporium Lumber Company Records

[ca. 1883-1972]
8 cu. ft

This manuscript group contains correspondence files, accounts, legal papers, maps, blueprints, and related materials of the Emporium Lumber Company (Potter County) which was incorporated in 1892. Included also is an account book, 1883-97, of the firm of Sykes and Coalfish which preceded the Emporium Lumber Company.

The collection pertains primarily to the period 1892-1920, during part of which time the company was the largest hardwood company in Pennsylvania, operating mills at Keating Summit, Galeton, and Austin, Pennsylvania and Danby, Vermont. The correspondence files provide a wealth of information regarding all aspects of the lumbering industry. Founded by William L. Sykes and William Coalfish, the company was controlled by members of the Sykes family until its dissolution in 1972.

Included among the company's correspondence after 1940 is a great deal of material relating to the leasing of gas and oil rights, correspondence concerning Sykes family holdings in the Embreeville Timber Company (Tennessee), and other family interests. Though almost exclusively the records of the Emporium Lumber Company, the collection does contain references to the Emporium Forestry Company, which was chartered in 1912 to allow operations in New York State. The Emporium Forestry Company dissolved in 1950 and its assets were transferred to the Emporium Lumber Company.

The collection is arranged in three series: Accounts, 1883-1971; Legal Papers, 1892-1968; General Correspondence, 1883, 1897-1970; and Maps and Blueprints, 1903-1961, undated. Documents pertaining to environmental history may be found in the latter two series. Below is a sampling of what items of interest are available.

General Correspondence

1883, 1897-1970

Carton 13

  • Report by William S. Harvey, G. W. McNees and Joseph C. Righter, Sept. 7, 1910. The report summarizes conservation work in the Commonwealth in terms of the state Dept. of Forestry, forest fire fighting and prevention of water pollution. In folder Turner and Owen, 1910, Jan-Dec.

Carton 24

  • Flyer or pamphlet issued by the Caterpillar Company advertising Caterpillar Tractor No. 45. Flyer features a drawing showing a farmer driving a tractor over farmland. Published in 1916. In folder Galeton Pa. Main Office, 1917, Jan-Dec.

Carton 30

  • Letter, Robert R. Lewis to George W. Sykes, Nov.8, 1924 re proposal for revising a lease to Hurd Coal Co. A stream, Wetmore Run in Potter County, "is in part diverted to a public water supply by the Galeton Eldred Water Co. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to require the lessor to protect said water supply from contamination by the mining operations conducted hereunder." In folder Conifer, NY Office, 1925, Jan.-May.

Carton 33

  • Publication, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dept. of Internal Affairs, East Folk-Wharton Gas Field, Potter County, Pa. by John R. Erbright, Chas. R. Fettke and Albert I. Ingham(Topographic and Geologic Survey Bulletin No. M30, 1949). The item is essentially a geological survey study with accompanying map. In folder Conifer, NY Main Office, 1949, folder no. 2.

Carton 36

  • Publication, The Maple Leaflet (a publication of the Patterson Lumber Co. of Wellsboro, Pa.) Vol. 17 no. 3, March 15, 1963 issue. It features the article "Forests for Our Grandchildren Threatened." In which the problem of deer consuming tree seedlings intended for reforestation is addressed. In folder Cranberry Lake, NY Main Office 1963, folder 5.

Maps & Blueprints

1903-1961, undated.
1 carton

The series features blueprint plans, maps, data about machinery, and photographs about the Emporium Lumber Company. Items of interest include:

  • Maps pertaining to Gas and Oil Lands in Pennsylvania, 1928, 1938, nd.
  • Geological Survey Structure-Contour Maps of Pennsylvania, 1951, 1954, 1961.
  • Topographic Maps of Pennsylvania

MG-263 George Atwell Richardson Papers

1869-1974
12 cu. ft.

George A. Richardson was a metallurgical engineer and photographer. He worked for the Midvale Steel and Ordinance Company, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Milwaukee and the Saint Paul Railroad Company, Chicago, and was sales manager of Metallurgical Laboratory, Inc., Philadelphia. He was interested in history and early aviation, became a lecturer on historical subjects, and authored articles for various magazines.

The materials consist of photographs, personal papers, and magazines. The photographs are primarily photo prints, glass plates and nitrate negatives taken by George A. Richardson during his travels in eastern Pennsylvania, the United States, and Canada, 1908-1936. Also included are glass lantern and film slides purchased from commercial firms for use in Richardson's lectures on the worldwide development of aviation, the canals and frontier forts of Pennsylvania, the Sullivan Trail, and the Appalachian Trail, ca. 1910-1970. Other photo prints include views of anthracite and bituminous coal mining in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; and steel mills and other industries in Pennsylvania, 1918-1927. Papers include personal diaries by Richardson, 1910-1924, and his father George Carr Richardson, 1869-1881; correspondence, 1904-1968; business receipts and accounts, 1911-1921; literature and pamphlets on photography, 1922-1927; and undated research notes on family history. Below are listed examples of what is contained in this collection.

Box 19

Research Materials: Pictures, 1918-1927, undated

  • Canals, undated (inc. Morris & Essex Canals)
  • Canals-Inclined Plane
  • Coal Mining, ca. 1918, undated
  • Dam with small power plant, undated
  • Schuylkill Canal

Box 20

Lectures: Appalachian Trail, 1917-1955

  • Lectures, 1955
  • General Correspondence, 1933-1934
  • Pictures, undated
  • Oversize glass plates, undated 48 plates and 1 box 16mm reel
  • Quadrangles for Trail Lectures (34 items)

Box 21

Lectures: Sullivan Trail, undated

  • Research material
  • Pictures
  • Negative glass plates: 28 plates- 3x4 ea. In 1 box

MG-270 MacFarlane-Little Family Papers

1831-1945
2 cu. ft. / 4 boxes

James MacFarlane (1819-1885) was a graduate of Pennsylvania College (1837), a civil engineer, studied law and was admitted to the bar (1843), practiced law at Bloomfield, Perry County (1843-1851), was General Superintendent and sole manger of Barclay Railroad and Coal Company (beginning in 1857), served as a District Attorney for three years, organized the Towanda Coal Company (1865), was head of the Associated Blossburg Coal Companies (1868), authored books dealing with coal and geology in the U.S., and was appointed Commissioner of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. He married Mary Overton (1847) and was the father of six children, one of whom, Ella L., married William Little, a lawyer of Towanda. Their son, James M. Little, was a mining engineer, spending time in gold mines in Australia, 1909-1910, Mexico, 1911-1915, during the period of the 1910-1911 Revolution, and Chile, 1915-1918. Later in life, he became president of Ivanhoe Cooper Company in Bisbee, Arizona. J.M. Little was the author of books on mining in the U.S. and Chile.

The Papers contain biographical notes and materials on J. Macfarlane and J.M. Little; general correspondence; published books; and photographs. Also of note is J.M. Little's diary of a trip to Europe in 1905. The general correspondence covers three generations, and is mostly to or from J. Macfarlane and his children and between W. and J.M. Little, although there is also correspondence between all family members, friends, and more distant relatives. Letters describe family news, news from university scholars, legal and mining concerns, investment opportunities, and politics of the day. The published books are authored by J. Macfarlane and J.M. Little, including the latter's illustrated Columbia University thesis for a mining engineer degree with hand colored photographs of mines and mining operations, and two reference books on mining. There are also four folders of photographs, including: family members, Alf Tellam, Colorado mines and mining operations, and mine, mining operations, staff, and the revolution in Cananea, Mexico. Potential items of interest to environmental historians are James McFarlane Little's books, publications, maps, and photographs found in boxes 3 and 4.

Box 3

James McFarlane Little Sketch Books, Mining Equipment, 1906-1911.

These books feature photographs of mine company buildings, equipment, and people as well as interior and exterior views of mines, shafts, pump stations etc.

  • Wolverine Copper Mine, June 18-July 13, 1906 (includes other mines too)
  • Salt Lake Mine Copper Company, 1907-1910
  • Elisa Mine, C.C.C. Company, 1911
  • Mine descriptions, 1912: These are geological charts, blueprints and diagrams by James M. Macfarlane.

Author, 1926, 1940, undated

  • James M. Little, "Mining Project." Presented as Partial Requirement for the degree of Inquiries of Mines, Columbia University. Thesis, undated, 88 typed pages.
  • James M. Little, The Geology and Metal Deposits of Chile, (New York: The Branivill Company, 1926) 188 pp. with 2 maps in pocket
  • James M. Little, Erosional Topography and Erosion: A Mathematical Treatment, (San Francisco: A. Charles & Co., 1940) 104 pp.
  • Ivanhoe Copper Company of Bisbee, Arizona and Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 1922-1932. The home office was located at Towanda. Although information is available here in one folder, it has various materials on the company of which James Macfarlane Little was president. The genesis of the company is documented by news clippings of 1922 from the Brisbee (Arizona) Daily Review. There are three reports: a 1924: "Outline of the Warren or Bisbee District," a 1927 special report and a 1929 annual report. Especially useful is the article "The Bisbee Mining District: Fifty Years Young," by J. B. Tenney, Engineering and Mining Journal 123 no. 21, May 21, 1927. There are two undated maps: "Bisbee District Showing Ivanhoe Copper Co. Property" an
  • Ivanhoe Copper Co., Bisbee, Arizona, Geologic Map of Vicinity of Shaft." Finally there are two black and white photographs of the Ivanhoe company shaft in Arizona.

Pictures, 1889-1911

  • 46 b/w 6x8 prints depicting the mining town of Alf Tellam, Colorado, 1905-1906
  • 30 scrapbook pages with b/w photos paged on both sides of Cananea, Mexico, 1910-1911. Views include shots of mine openings, shafts, pillars and flood damage.

MG-281 Samuel W. Kuhnert Papers

[ca. 1912-1976]
30 cu. ft.

Samuel Wilhelm Kuhnert (b. 1890 - d. 1978) was born in Steelton, Dauphin County and grew up on a farm near Halifax. He operated a photography processing business from his home in Camp Hill, and later in Harrisburg. Having a special interest in aviation, in 1919 he began experimenting with aerial photography. For the following two decades he made and sold oblique aerial views of towns and landscapes in central Pennsylvania. Following his death, his children donated his images to the State Archives, as well as his flight suit and aerial cameras to the State Museum of Pennsylvania.

The collection consists of over 6,000 photographic prints and negatives, motion picture films, miscellaneous business and personal records, and newspaper clippings. Photographic negatives are arranged alphabetically by subject and grouped into the following categories: aerial views, aircraft, pilots and miscellaneous (train, airplane, and automobile accidents and other disasters filmed for insurance companies; funerals; the 1936 flood in the Harrisburg region; a 1932 snowstorm in Camp Hill; and family portraits). Most of the photographs are aerial views of towns in central Pennsylvania. Motion picture films are of family and friends. For a more detailed description see Linda Ries' Guide to Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives.

Miscellaneous business and personal records include greeting cards that Kuhnert manufactured, [ca.1940s]; poetry Kuhnert wrote, [undated]; business envelopes and stationery, [undated]; business cards, fliers, and a calendar, 1909, 1930s, 1944, and [undated]; sheet music Kuhnert photographed, [undated]; fliers and program on the Gospel Herald Society, [undated]; business correspondence 1923-1976; miscellaneous business papers, 1923-1948; business receipts, 1921-1923; a binder with business photographs, envelopes, fliers, letters, and receipts, ca. 1930s; personal correspondence, 1929-1972; published or printed reference materials, including camera, flash, and chemical manuals; plane motor oil log, (blank) [undated]; Popular Mechanics, [undated]; flying instructions for Penn-Harris airport; and articles on planes, [undated].

Newspaper clippings (.25 cubic feet) are organized non-alphabetically by topic and contain articles illustrated with Kuhnert photographs or topics of interest to him including: Harrisburg events; airplane crashes; world events; Silver Wings Fraternity; photography; published Kuhnert Photographs; PA Game News, 1938 (Kuhnert took the cover photograph); aerial photos; obituaries; aviation; Kuhnert studio ads, ca. 1930s; Harry Ganster murder; dirigibles; Walter Kuhnert balloon, 1936; Charles Lindbergh at Harrisburg Airport (Capitol City) in 1930; Kuhnert and Potteiger aerial show ads, 1936-1937; program of Harrisburg airport aerial circus, 1932; miscellaneous; and accidents and disasters. In addition to the partial listing of processed items identified below, there are additional photographs of various sizes that have not yet been processed.

Aerial Views (Prints)

[ca. 1925-1974, & undated]
5 boxes
series #281.ml

Folders in boxes are arranged both by number and title.

Box 1

  • Folder 1: "Adams County Apple Blossoms, 1929" (4 prints)
  • Folder 3: Amity Hall, Flood, 1936 (4 items)
  • Folder 12: Camp Hill [Cumberland County]Beverly Park under construction, 1939 (1 item)
  • Folder 14: Camp Hill [Cumberland County] Bellevue and Beverly Park, April 25, 1942 (1 item)
  • Folder 32: Dauphin [Dauphin County and [Susquehanna] River, [ca. 1935] (8 prints)
  • Folder 33: Dauphin, [Dauphin County] snow, undated. (1 print)
  • Folder 35: Duncannon [Perry County] Clark's Ferry, showing Powell's Valley, undated (4 items)
  • Folder 40: Dauphin [Dauphin County], Last Raft, Susquehanna River, March 1938 (3 items)

Box 2

  • Folder 1: Harrisburg, City Island, undated (11 items)
  • Folder 7: Good Hope Park, Ray Stewart Farm, circa 1931 (6 items)
  • Folder 21: Harrisburg, City Island, circa 1935 (4 items)
  • Folder 31: Harrisburg, City Island, undated (5 items)
  • Folder 32: Harrisburg, City Island, [ca. 1930) (2 items)
  • Folder 33: Harrisburg, City Island, Veterans Encampment, 1932 (20 items)
  • Folder 34, Harrisburg, City Island, Bathing Beach, 193[3]? (3 items)
  • Folder 35: Harrisburg, City Island, [ca. 1935] (2 items)
  • Folder 36: Harrisburg, City Island, Color Prints, August 15, 1956 (2 items)
  • Folder 37: Harrisburg, City Island, Ball Field and Parking Lot, undated (2 items)

Box 3

  • Folder 3, Harrisburg, Mountain Dam Project, undated (2 items)
  • Folder 16: Hershey [Dauphin County] 1930 (2 items)
  • Folder 49: Harrisburg, Reservoir Park and Hill, undated (4 items)
  • Folder 50: Harrisburg: Ice in Susquehanna River, undated, ca. 1936 (3 items)

Box 4

  • Folder 4: Mechanicsburg [Cumberland County] Willow Mills Park, etc., Betz, 1931 (2 items)
  • Folder 5: Mechanicsburg [Cumberland County] Copenhaver Nurseries, undated (3 items)
  • Folder 6: Milroy [Mifflin County] Kishacoquillas Park, undated (1 item)
  • Folder 18: Niagara Falls, circa 1935 (4 items)
  • Folder 32: Peter's Mountain, undated (4 items)
  • Folder 34: Powell's Valley and Pine Acres, June 1, 1948 and Cove Mountain looking east to the Susquehanna ca. 1935 (21 items)

Photographic Prints of Disasters and Accidents

1902-1966, undated
1 box
series #281m7

Although this series is in three boxes, items of interest to students of conservations are mainly found in box 10. Photographs are both numbered and labeled by subject. Materials include the following topics:

  • Camp Hill, Cumberland County Snow Storm of 1932
  • Harrisburg: Storm of Easter, 1949
  • Flood of 1936 in the communities of Clarks Ferry, Harrisburg, Highspire, Lemoyne, Liverpool, Middletown, Newberry, Rockville, Steelton, Sunbury, West Fairview, Wormleysburg, and York, Pennsylvania.

Miscellaneous Photographic Copy Prints and Oversize Prints

1906-1967, undated
2 boxes
series # 281m.13

Box 25

  • Folder 5: Pine Acres Farm, 1965 (28 items)
  • Folder 28: Dumping Yard in Harrisburg, undated (3 items)

Box 26

  • Folder 8: Snow scenes at unidentified mansion house, undated (4 items)
  • Folder 9: Unidentified fields in Powell's Valley, undated (7 items)

Motion Picture Films

1934-1949, & undated
2 boxes
series # 281m.14

These are assorted 16mm reel motion picture films. Relevant films include the following

Box 27

  • Folder 2: "Flood," 1936 (1 reel)
  • Folder 3: "Mountains in Autumn-Part I," 1944 and 1945 (1 reel)
  • Folder 4: "Mountains in Autumn-Part II," 1944 and 1945 (1 reel)
  • Folder 5: Judas Blossoms and Dogwood, Gettysburg, 1946 (1 reel)
  • Folder 6: "May Flood in Color," 1946 (1 reel)
  • Folder 7: "Old Farm Snow Storm and Snow Scenes at Capitol," 1947 (1 reel)
  • Folder 8: "Pine Acres," 1949 (1 reel)
  • Folder 9: "Metzger Flood-Arthur Smith," undated (1 reel)

Box 28

  • Folder 1: "Peaches and Fruits," 1944 and 1945 (1 reel)

MG-282 Pennsylvania Coal Company Records

1838-1975
126 cu. ft.

The Pennsylvania Coal Company was chartered in 1838 and organized in 1915 in Scranton to mine anthracite coal. In 1849, it merged with the Washington Coal Company. Because of an 1869 disaster at its Avondale mine in which 110 miners died, laws were passed providing for a second opening to mines and better ventilation. A majority of company capital stock was acquired by the Erie Railroad Company in 1901.

This group contains corporate records, mostly minutes and financial accounts, of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, 1838-1971 (42 cu. ft.). These materials are on digitized microfilm. Also included are the records of the following subsidiary companies: Blossburg Coal Company, 1871-1956 (22 vols.), Hillside Coal & Iron Company, 1867-1945 (52 vols. and 14 cu. ft. of loose papers), New York, Susquehanna & Western Coal Company, 1887-1944 (25 vols.), and Northwestern Mining & Exchange Company, 1873-1972 (37 vols.). The records are grouped according to company and then topically. Some of the records came from donations to the Anthracite Heritage Museum, and some were donated by the Pennsylvania Coal Company and its parent firm, the Erie-Lackawanna Railway Company. The following summary describes some of the records:

  • Journals show debits and credits, with amount, reason, and names.
  • Ledgers, arranged by names of companies or customers or type of expense (e.g. Real Estate Expenses), show debits and credits, with amount and reason.
  • Royalty Records are an account of types and amounts of coal mined from various locations, giving date and location coal was mined, type of coal: lump, grate, egg, stove, chestnut, pea, "bwt.", rice, barley, total, and total amount mined.
  • Stock Ledgers are organized by stock owners' names, and note numbers of shares transferred and person to whom stocks were transferred.
  • Stock certificates are company ledger copies of printed stock certificates and give name of stock owner, date of purchase, and stock certificate numbers
  • Field and Survey Books and Underground Field Books give elevation and other measurements for mines and breakers.
  • Document Boxes are part of the inventory of Pennsylvania Coal Co. material donated by Stewart Milner.

Also of interest are the series Field and Survey Books, 1873-1964 (28 boxes) containing valuable geological information on mines and the Document Boxes (10 boxes, numbered 31-41) Within each document box are sub-series organized first by topic and then by number of document.

Box 32

Sub-series: Pennsylvania Coal Company

  • 16. Plans for Sewers, West Pittston, c. 1870
  • 22. List of Average Thickness of Coal Seams in Luzerne County for All Coal Companies
  • 25. Pennsylvania Coal Company Culm Piles Estimated to June 1, 1900.
  • 27. Tabular Estimate Showing the Approximate Quantity Estimate of Waste Coal or Culm.

Box 41

Sub-series No. 9: Benjamin Morgan Lot

  • Memo, Notes of Survey, May 29, 1861
  • Tracing Showing Coal Explorations
  • Sketch Showing Coal Deposit

Sub-series No. 14: Moosic Lake and Spencer Reservoirs

  • Survey
  • Spencer Reservoir
  • Cobb Pond
  • Spencer Reservoir
  • Spencer Reservoir
  • Reservoir on top of Mountain

MG-287 Agnes James Spry Collection of Arthur H. James Memorabilia

1938, 1955-1959, 1967, 1969
5 cu. ft.
{series #287m.5}

Arthur H. James (b. 1883 - d. 1973) was governor of Pennsylvania from 1939 to 1943. Born in Luzerne County in 1883, James graduated from the law school of Dickinson College, was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in Plymouth, Pa. in 1904. In 1912, he married Ada Morris, who died in 1935. In 1941 he married Emily Radcliffe Case. He was elected District Attorney of Luzerne County in 1920 and reelected in 1923. From 1926 to 1930, he was Lieutenant Governor of the state and also served as Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania from 1932 to 1939, when he became Governor of Pennsylvania. As governor, he created the state's Department of Commerce and the Anthracite Emergency Commission, extended the Pennsylvania Turnpike, strengthened the civil service, and reinforced liquor control laws. Mobilizing the state's efforts during World War II, he created the State Council of Defense and the Selective Service Board, set up the Pennsylvania Reserve Defense Corps for home defense, and organized the Citizens' Defense Corps. James left office in 1943 and returned to his private law practice.

The collection consists of both handwritten and typed copies of a biography of Governor James, written by his sister, Mrs. Agnes James Spry, in the mid to late 1950s. Also present are typed and handwritten speeches given by her brother, including his inaugural address, his campaign keynote speech, and others concerning taxes and the New Deal. One speech was given on December 10, 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Miscellaneous items include a photograph of James, a newspaper clipping of his 1941 wedding to Mrs. Emily Radcliffe Case, and a 1938 campaign brochure from when James was a Superior Court judge. Below is a sample of an environmental disaster which occurred while James was governor.

Handwritten Biographical Notes

1954-1959

Folder: Handwritten Notes-Arthur James Biography-Wyoming Valley Flooding, 1940.

MG-288 U.S. Weather Bureau Records for Pennsylvania

1930-1974
10 cu. ft.

This collection was donated by Mr. Daniel B. Mitchell, Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Data Service. These are the original, official, governmental meteorological records for Pennsylvania. The collection includes Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets (WBAN-20), for U.S. Weather Bureau Stations at Harrisburg, 1967-1971, Philadelphia, 1967-1973, Pittsburgh, 1967-1973 and Williamsport, 1967-1974. Winds-Aloft Computation Charts (WBAN-22), originating from the U.S. Weather Bureau Stations at Bellefonte, July 1930-April 1935, Curwensville, July 1948-April 1952, Harrisburg, November 1938-June 1957, Kylertown, May 1935-1942, Philadelphia, July 1940-July 1948, Phillipsburg, 1943-June 1948, Pittsburgh, 1934-1964, and Williamsport, May 1952-June 1957 are also included. Finally, Summary of Constant Pressure Charts (WBAN-33) from the U.S. Weather Bureau at Pittsburgh, list temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, and related data for the years 1946-1973.

Note: Accession folder correspondence notes that the National Climate Center (NCC) remains the official repository and only agency authorized to give certified or authenticated copies of these records for court or other purposes.

Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets (WBAN-20)

1967-1974
14 boxes
series # 288m.1

Box 1

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, January-March, 1967 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, April-June, 1967 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, July-September, 1967 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, October-December, 1967 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, January-March, 1968 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, April-June, 1968 (folder 6)

Box 2

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, July-September, 1968 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, October-December, 1968 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, January-March, 1969 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, April-June, 1969 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, July-September, 1969 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, October-December, 1969 (folder 6)

Box 3

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, January-March, 1970 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, April-June, 1970 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, July-September, 1970 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, October-December, 1970 (folder 4
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, January-March, 1971 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Harrisburg, April-May 3, 1971 (folder 6)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-March, 1967 (folder 7)

Box 4

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, April-August, 1967 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, September-December, 1967 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-March, 1968 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, April-July, 1968 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, August-December, 1968 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-February, 1969 (folder 6)

Box 5

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, March-May, 1969 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, June-August, 1969 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, September-December, 1969 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-March, 1970 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, April-June, 1970 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, July-September, 1970 (folder 6)

Box 6

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, October-December, 1970 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-March, 1971 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, April-July, 1971 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, August-December, 1971 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-April, 1972 (folder 5)

Box 7

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, May-August, 1972 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, September-December, 1972 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, January-June, 1973 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Philadelphia, July-December, 1973 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-February, 1967 (folder 5)

Box 8

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, March-April, 1967 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, May-June, 1967 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, July-August, 1967 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, September-October, 1967 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, November-December, 1967 (folder 5)

Box 9

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-February, 1968 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, March-April, 1968 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, May-June, 1968 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, July-August, 1968 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, September-October, 1968 (folder 5)

Box 10

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, November-December, 1968 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-February, 1969 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, March-April, 1969 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, May-June, 1969 (folder 4)

Box 11

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, July-August, 1969 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, September-October 20, 1969 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-March, 1970 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, April-June, 1970 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, July-September, 1970 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, October-December, 1970 (folder 6)

Box 12

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-March, 1971 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, April-June, 1971 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, July-September, 1971 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, October-December, 1971 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-March, 1972 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, April-December, 1972 (folder 6)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Pittsburgh, January-August, 1973 (folder 7)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-March, 1967 (folder 8)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, April-June, 1967 (folder 9)

Box 13

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-September, 1967 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, October-December, 1967 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1968 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1968 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1969 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1969 (folder 6)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1970 (folder 7)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1970 (folder 8)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1971 (folder 9)

Box 14

  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1971 (folder 1)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1972 (folder 2)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1972 (folder 3)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1973 (folder 4)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1973 (folder 5)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, January-June, 1974 (folder 6)
  • Winds-Aloft Computation Sheets, Williamsport, July-December, 1974 (folder 7)

Summary of Winds Aloft Charts (WBAN-22)

1930-1964
5 boxes
series #288m.2

Box 1

  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Bellefonte, July 1930-June 1932 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Bellefonte, July 1932-April 1935 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Curwensville, July 1948-July 1950 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Curwensville, August 1950-April 1952 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, November 1938-1939 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1940-1942 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1943-1945 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1946-1948 (1 folder)

Box 2

  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1949-1951 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1952-1954 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Harrisburg, 1955-June 1957 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Kylertown, May 1935-1937 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Kylertown, 1938-1940 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Kylertown, 1941-1942 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Philadelphia, July 1940-1942 (1 folder)

Box 3

  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Philadelphia, 1943-1944 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Philadelphia, 1945-July 1948 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Phillipsburg, 1943-1945 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Phillipsburg, 1946-June 1948 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1934-1936 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1937-1939 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1940-1942 (1 folder)

Box 4

  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1943-1945 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1946-1949 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1950-1952 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1953-1954 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1955-1956 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1957-1958 (1 folder)

Box 5

  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1959-1960 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1961-1962 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1963-1964 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Williamsport, May 1952-1953 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Williamsport, 1954-1955 (1 folder)
  • Wind Flow Charts, Surface and Aloft, Williamsport, 1956-June 1957 (1 folder)

Summary of Constant Pressure Charts (WBAN-33)

1946-1973
5 boxes
series # 288m.3

Box 1

  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1946-1947 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1948-June 1949 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, July 1949-1950 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1951 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1952 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1953 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1954 (1 folder)

Box 2

  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1955 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1956 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1957 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1958 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1959 (1 folder)

Box 3

  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1960 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1961 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1962 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1963 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1964 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1965 (1 folder)

Box 4

  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1966 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1967 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1968 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1969 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1970 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1971 (1 folder)

Box 5

  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1972 (1 folder)
  • Constant Pressure Charts, Surface and Aloft, Pittsburgh, 1973 (1 folder)

MG-308 Thomas W. Pomeroy, Jr. Papers

1969-1979
29 cu. ft.

Thomas Wilson Pomeroy, Jr. (b. 1908) was a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice from 1968-1979. Originally a lawyer from the Pittsburgh area, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1933, practiced law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, married Maria Frances Whitten in 1935, and became a partner in the firm of Kirkpatrick, Pomeroy, Lockhart and Johnson, 1946-1968.

The papers are chiefly Opinion Files relating to cases heard by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1969-1979. Both original and final drafts of the opinions along with candid handwritten notations are included in the dossiers. Although many of the cases are simply appeals from lower courts (for example, Court of Common Pleas, Orphans Court, Court of Quarter Sessions, and Commonwealth Court) regarding contractual obligations, criminality, personal injury, equity, guardianship, estates and damage awards; some cases deal with topics such as discrimination, collective bargaining, eminent domain, affirmative action, environmental controls, and desegregation. Below are examples of legal cases heard by Judge Pomeroy relating to environment

Legal Opinions

1969-1978

Box 2

  • Folder J408, Lancaster Area Refuse Authority v. TransAmerica Insurance Company. A landfill operation pollutes water wells.

Box 3

  • Folder J222, Folmar and Turza v. Elliot Coal Mining Company. A coal-cleaning plant produces air pollution.

Box 5

  • Folder J338, North Star Coal Company v. Waverly Oil Works Company. Coal stripping company's activity threatens nearby producing gas wells.