Big Sewickley Creek Bridge 1917: "Longer to complete than did the building of the Panama Canal"

 

Big Sewickley Creek Bridge
From Allegheny Co. looking north into Ambridge, Beaver County
1917
credit: Allegheny Co. Dept. of Public Works

About the photo above:

Streetcar tracks crossed the bridge in 1917. The dark building just above the photo's center and the first building on the right were on the part of Beaver Rd./Beaver St. that leads into Ambridge from the bridge. To the dark building's left is a home that I think was on Bank St. and the backs of some buildings in the 300 block of First St. The dark building and all buildings to its left have been razed. The tall building farther up the left side of the street must be the S. P. Kristufek Department Store. If you enlarge the photo enough, you can see a horse standing next to the Kristufek store. And, above the first utility pole on the right, a carriage.

The nearest building on the right is still standing; Hark's Place bar is now there, 70 Beaver St./Rd. Beyond that, the building with all the porches was one of the infamous "Crackerbox" tenements that stood on the hill above Merchant St./Beaver Rd., razed in 1960.

Far in the background are homes in the 100 block of Merchant St. And behind them, the domes of Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, 210 Maplewood Ave.

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Long before Ohio River Boulevard connected Ambridge with Allegheny Co., the small Big Sewickley Creek Bridge provided the connection.

The Economy Centennial was being celebrated when Ambridge's June 6, 1924, Citizen* newspaper noted on its front page: 

an important milestone in the history of Ambridge...the beginning of the end of the work on the Big Sewickley Creek bridge between Ambridge and Fair Oaks, which has been a bone of contention between two counties, a street car company, residents of three boroughs and tourists of 48 States for a number of years.

Because that very morning, a contractor had started pouring concrete in the bridge's road bed and expected the work to be completed "in about two weeks."

Even though the bridge is only about 200 feet long, that same Citizen article claimed it took "longer to complete than did the building of the Panama Canal and has cost enough to build a bridge across the Ohio River."

The history of the bridge's construction is murky. The Citizen article said Allegheny County records showed a bridge at the site    "[96] years ago" according to a construction inspector, who said he had found a 1828 "road view plan" showing a bridge at the same location.

However, the inspector's history was questioned by John Frederick (Fred) Knoedler, who was a non-Harmonist caretaker of Old Economy and its property both before and after the Harmony Society dissolved. Knoedler said that according to Harmonist records, "the Economites drove through the creek to get to Leetsdale" during their early years in Economy. But, he says, "much later," there was a bridge across the creek when the Harmonists had pastures on both sides of Big Sewickley Creek. Knoedler remembered "wire gates hung from the bridge to keep the [Harmony Society's] cattle from going up the creek." 

The Citizen also said that "during the youth of John Duss," who was born in 1860, the bridge was condemned, and Duss designed an arch under the bridge to strengthen it. "The original arch still stands, but is is now encased in concrete."

A 1906 G. M. Hopkins & Co. map shows a narrow bridge in that spot. Eventually, the bridge was raised and the walls heighted to accommodate street cars.

Then, during the WWI years, a decision was made by some entity to further widen and rebuild the bridge. Beaver County's commissioners claimed they had no money for such a project. So Allegheny Co. undertook the work on its own. I believe the photo above shows that reconstruction project. 

But the work did not go well. In fact it went so wrong that The Citizen said:

The [whale] may have swallowed Jonah, according to tradition, but no one who ever had any thing to do with the Big Sewickley Creek Bridge from that time on would believe that Jonah was anywhere but right handy to that bridge. His hoodoo seemed to be always present.

What was supposed to be a one year project took two. Twice high water moved the derrick. Once all the bridge's "large stones were washed down the creek, requiring lines to be tied to them to 'snake' them out of the creek." 

Even after the construction project finished, problems continued when the streetcar company said it wouldn't pay to move its tracks. So in 1923, the two counties agreed to do the job themselves. But then, after the contractor had moved one of the tracks, he claimed that he didn't have enough money to finish the job. And the work dragged on and on into the spring on 1924--bad weather didn't help. But finally--finally--the bridge construction appeared to be nearing completion.

But wait, there's more!

If you enlarge the photo at the top, you can see what appears to be the back of a carriage, and near that carriage, part of a sign peeking out on the right side of a pole. And if you're like me, you thought, "I wish I could read what that sign says. 

Well, wish granted. Because there's another photo! And while the photo was focused on the bridge's stone arch, it shows more than that.

Big Sewickley Creek Bridge
from the Allegheny County side of Big Sewickley Creek
1917
credit: Allegheny Co. Dept. of Public Works

First, an enlargement of the sign: 

Ambridge speed limit sign
Merchant St. near Valley Rd.
1917

About the photo above:

The sign says "Ambridge Borough, Speed Limit, 15 miles per hour." It appears to have stood about where the "Welcome to the Borough of Ambridge" sign is now, just north of the intersection of Valley Rd. and Merchant St.

An enlarged photo also shows a tailor's signs painted on the windows of the building with the awning, now Hark's Place.  I think the left window says "Merchant Tailor." The one on the right window says "John [last name I couldn't read], Tailor."

The sign on the side of the one story wooden building says "Favorite Cigarettes." While there are more signs on the side and on the front, I can't make them out. 

Could the house on the right side of the photo, above those two buildings, have been on Valley Rd.? And the houses on the very top of the hill on Glenwood Dr.?

And towards the right side of the photo, a man wearing a hat is standing, looking toward the photographer. And us.

_____

Thanks to Debby Rabold, Bell Acres Borough's historian, for sending me the two photos above. Debby has also written about the Ambridge-Leetsdale Big Sewickley Creek Bridge and provides a somewhat different history of its construction than the one written in The Citizen. She also has included some early photos of that bridge. Here's a link to Debby's article: "Big Sewickley Creek...Early Bridges," which also includes information about other bridges that cross Big Sewickley Creek. 

_____

* The Citizen's June 6, 1924, article was republished in the March 21, 1939, Daily Citizen. The latter did correct several typos in the original article, including that a bridge was at the site "6 years ago." That befuddled me at first, because I knew that the bridge had been built before 1918. In 1939, the bridge was referred to as the "Ambridge-Fair Oaks Bridge."

Ambridge's Harmony Hotel. And the other Ambridge Harmony Hotel

"Harmony Hotel"
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 635b
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

Just a short distance northwest of the well-known and highly regarded Economy Hotel,* once located on the southwest corner of what is now 14th and Merchant Sts., there was a smaller, less impressive hotel. The Harmony Hotel, sometimes belittled as the "Tramp Hotel" or the "Hotel of the Unfortunates," hasn't been in business for many years, although its building still stands at 277 Fourteenth St.

Why those disparaging nicknames? According to Sarah Buffington, Old Economy Village curator:

"The guests at the Economy Hotel were told to arrive promptly at 4:30 for supper, so as not to keep others waiting. The staff was fed after the hotel guests, and then the 'tramps' were fed afterward. These homeless people were allowed to stay for one night, but were then told to move along. The Harmony Society kept track of them so that they wouldn’t overstay their welcome."

The date of the photo above is uncertain, but it probably dates from the late 1800s, before there was an Ambridge, or early 1900s. The building dates from much earlier, back to the establishment of Economy, and wasn't originally used as a hotel. Although it doesn't look like the typical, brick Harmonist house, it was the early home of Frederick Rapp, adopted son of George (Father) Rapp. Frederick Rapp later moved to a brick house that is on the grounds of Old Economy Village.

The three people in the photo are unidentified. but according to Buffington, the woman and girl may be Carrie Staples, a widow, and her daughter Katherine. Staples was a boardinghouse keeper there at the time of the 1910 census. 

The photo below shows a recent Google Street View of the former Harmony Hotel building:

277 Fourteenth St.
Google Street View
October 2013

What is not visible from Fourteenth St. is a large addition--that appears to me to be at least as large, or maybe larger, than the original house--built on the back of the building, probably around the time it became the Harmony Hotel. Buffington said the addition "is very much set up like an old hotel." You can see the addition from Boyleston St. Here's a satellite view of 277 Fourteenth St.:

277 Fourteenth St.
Google Satellite View

The other Harmony Hotel in Ambridge

To confuse Ambridge history more than it often is, there was another Harmony Hotel, across town from the one on 14th St. This Harmony Hotel, at 300 Merchant St., was built and operated later than the hotel on 14th St., but was also viewed as disreputable, especially by the American Bridge Co.

This Harmony Hotel was the bane of the American Bridge Co. for years. The company didn't want its employees drinking, and so devised deed restrictions that said that the area within the original boundaries of Ambridge was supposed to be "dry"--alcohol free--for 50 years. However, the Harmony Hotel, mere blocks from the company's plant and office, sold liquor. Legally. That was possible because the Harmony Hotel wasn't in Ambridge; it was in Harmony Township, at that time, just a walk across Merchant St. from Ambridge. Which I'm guessing made its site a very attractive spot for a bar...er...hotel.

The building shows up on the 1911 Sanborn Insurance map as the location of the planned "Hotel May," named for its builder. Sometime between then and 1915, the name was changed to Harmony Hotel. The battle between its owner and American Bridge Co. over the hotel's liquor license appears to have begun early. Here's part of the remarks made by F. T. Cadmus, the plant superintendent, from the Daily Times, October 22, 1915:

The liquor license battle continued in 1916 when the hotel was owned by George T. Davis. In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 14, 1916, Davis' attorney claimed that the American Bridge superintendent, Cadmus, had warned employees of the company that they would be fired if they were seen in the barroom of the Harmony Hotel.

So American Bridge must have been pleased by this announcement in the January 2, 1917, Daily Times:

A "temperance hotel" may not have proved to be as popular as the barroom at the Harmony Hotel may have once been, because in 1920, Divine Redeemer Church, across Merchant from the hotel building, bought it and converted it into a parochial grade school. After the church built a new school in 1961, the building was sold to the Karnavas Vending Co.

Karnavas Vending Co.
former Harmony Hotel
former Divine Redeemer School
300 Merchant St.
Google Street View, Oct. 2017

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*Later renamed the Old Economy Hotel in the late 1800s.

The curious carved pillars on Wagner Ave.

Pillar with the date "1884" on Wagner Ave.
April 16, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

Pillar with letters on Wagner Ave.
April 16, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

The 200 block of Ambridge's Wagner Ave. is a narrow, one-way street in the historic district, running between Church St. and Merchant St. The block is lined with a few modest non-Harmonist houses and not heavily traveled. If you did drive through it, you might not have even noticed the two tall stone pillars, one on either side of the steps in front of 269 Wagner.

269 Wagner Ave.
Google street view
October 2013

But if you were one of the street's occasional pedestrians, and particularly observant, you might have been struck by the odd pillars and stopped to take a better look. They are worn and look old and unlike anything else in Ambridge. On them, near the top, are carvings of six pointed stars, near the bottom are what appear to be letters. In addition, below their stars, the right pillar has the date 1884; the left, the letters "H" and "L" separated by a symbol. What do the carvings and letters mean? And why are the pillars in the tiny front yard of 269 Wagner where they seem out of place?

Here's what I know:

John Frederick (Fred) Knoedler, a stonemason by trade, helped carve the pillars. Fred and his wife, Katherine Kroll Knoedler, were long time employees of the Harmony Society, performing a variety of duties, but not Harmonists themselves.

The pillars originally stood in front of Economy School, built by the Harmony Society for the area's children. The letters "H" and "L" on one pillar stood for Jacob Henrici and Jonathan Lenz, the two Harmony Society trustees at the time the school was built in 1884, the year on the second pillar. (Beaver County Times, August 20, 1974)

The Economy School was built at the corner of what is now the northeast corner of Church and Laughlin Sts. You can see it in the left foreground of the photo below. The building to the right is the Blaine House, used as a school before the Economy School was built. The building in the background between the Blaine House and Economy School is Ambridge's Fourth Ward School.

"All Three Economy Schools"
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 2404
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The photo below shows students in front of the Economy School in 1898. You can see the pillars on the sides of the student group.

"Economy School - 1898"
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 2369
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The former Economy School building is now an apartment building:

Former Economy School building, now converted to apartments
1514 Church St.
April 6, 2016
credit: Nancy Knisley

After the Economy School was closed, its pillars were relocated, although I don't know when they ended up in front of 269 Wagner, once the home of Fred and Katherine Knoedler's daughters, Christiana Knoedler and Katherine Brown.

Christiana Knoedler standing with one of the pillars in front of her Wagner Ave. home
Beaver County Times
 August 20, 1974

Economy's Grand Historic Pageant, the Centennial Parade, June 7, 1924

Economy Centennial Celebration postcard, front
1924

Economy Centennial Celebration postcard, back
1924

The former village of Economy, established by the Harmony Society in 1824, later absorbed into the borough of Ambridge, celebrated its centennial from Friday, June 6 through Sunday, June 8, 1924. The weekend was full of ceremony and entertainment, but the Grand Historic Pageant--also known as a parade--probably was the most attended event.

According to the Centennial Program, the Saturday, June 7, parade was scheduled to begin at 2:30 P.M. on Park Rd., turn east on 1st Street, turn north on Merchant, march to French Point, then proceed to Ohioview Ave., 12th St., Church St, 11th St., Melrose, and finish on 10th St. Since many of the photos below were taken on Maplewood Ave. at 8th St., I'm not sure how accurate that description of the planned route turned out to be.

The June 9 Ambridge Citizen proclaimed the parade, "The greatest spectacle in the history of Beaver County."

The Citizen reported:

As the great procession held in connection with the Economy Centennial passed before the vast throngs that had gathered from far and wide records were being established that placed Ambridge at the very pinnacle in the county chronicles. For size, for originality, for picturesqueness, for beauty, for historical value, the Ambridge pageant and parade surpassed anything that had ever before been attempted in this valley. Over 2,500 persons and over 200 autos and floats formed a procession about three miles long, requiring 45 minutes to pass a given point.

...

The background for the paraders formed a great sight itself. The brightly decorated buildings, with every available window, nook and corner filled with people; many roofs filled with daring spectators, the line of parade on both sides massed with 40,000 people from various parts of the country; every accessible, vacant, lot, filled with automobiles parked during the procession; the Legion's avenue of flags and the American colors everywhere, the town was veritably a mass of color and humanity.

The Citizen said that after the parade had passed, "It required over an hour for the crowds to disperse from Merchant street [sic]."

The parade's tremendous success may have surprised former Harmony Society trustee John S. Duss. When the plans for the Centennial's events, including the ambitious ideas for the parade were discussed in December 1923, the Daily Times reported, "It is the opinion of Mr. Duss, however, that the time is too short to adequately stage such a pageant."

Only a few of the parade photos I've found identify the scene shown, so I tried to match the Citizen's and Centennial program's descriptions with the unidentified photos and to put the photos in order of their appearance in the parade. None of the original photographers for any of the photographs are identified.

The parade was organized into four divisions.

Division A had the Ambridge Police Force; three Legion color bearers (J. R. Armington, Walter Shephard, and Victor Pate); a car with Centennial President John T. Jessen and three women from "the Old Folks Home"; and a float of Uncle Sam and Columbia.

The Citizen said Ambridge Police "Chief P. J. Caul and his force of six" marched. So this may be them; the uniforms look like theirs, but I'd like to confirm that identification:

Ambridge police force?
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

This must be, without a doubt, the "Uncle Sam and Columbia" float. The Citizen identified R. K. Smith as Uncle Sam and Miss Janet Bianchi as Columbia. The location where the photo was taken doesn't look familiar to me. Any ideas?

Uncle Sam and Columbia float
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

Division B represented the area's early history, 1784 - 1824. The Citizen described this division: "Every important event that history records for this section was shown and noted in order of their happenings."

The photo below must be from that division. The photo is very faded, but there's a man in a colonial uniform plus an Indian wearing a headdress on the float. The Centennial program lists the floats in this group. Could the float in front be "Conrad Wersser [sic] raising the British flag at Logstown in presence of the English trader Geo. Croghan and a group of Indians"? (Conrad Weiser was the colonial ambassador to the Indians.) Or perhaps, "George Washington in 1753 in conference with Sachems of the Six Nations, at Logstown"?

"Early history" floats
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The Citizen mentioned one colonial rider on horseback: General Anthony Wayne portrayed by Dr. C. R. Bonzo. Maybe the below photo shows him.

General Anthony Wayne ?
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The parade's Division C was the Harmony Society era in Economy, featuring floats depicting daily Harmonist life.

Harmony Society haymakers float
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The 1826 Economite fire engine was borrowed from the Carnegie Museum for the occasion.

Economite fire engine
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Borough of Ambridge

Mrs. John S. Duss, one of the last trustees of the Harmony Society, and John Duss, Jr. rode in the Duss coach.

Coach carrying Mrs. John Duss and John Duss, Jr.
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Borough of Ambridge 

Division D was the "Modern Ambridge" section, with Ambridge officials followed by bands, floats, decorated trucks, and marchers from schools, organizations, industries, and businesses.

Several local fire departments participated in the parade, but only one had a name ending in "sdale" as shown on the truck in the photo below, Leetsdale.

Leetsdale Vol. FD firetruck and firefighters
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The next photo may be Ambridge's Hook and Ladder Co., No. 1. While this photo is unidentified, the fire truck looks very much like Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1's in a photo in the Centennial program.

Ambridge Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 ?
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The Kemena Lumber Co., located at 10th and Merchant Sts. in 1924, built a tiny house on their float, "complete in every detail, even to the gardens and lawn in front of the porch on which sat little Virginia and Frank McCabe," said the Citizen.

Kemena Lumber Co. float
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

According to the Citizen, the American Bridge Co. float "represented a railroad bridge span, complete in every detail."

American Bridge Company float
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Borough of Ambridge

I can't even guess at the identity of this band, one of a number of local bands that marched. Nor can I identify the street shown. Does the street look familiar to anyone?

Band (unidentified)
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The Citizen described the Ambridge Woman's Club float as decorated with 5,000 Richmond roses and said the women riding on the float represented the club's activities: "Alberta Budd represented the Spirit of Woman's Club; Zilpha Miller, the nurse; Dorothy Kelley, an injured child; Mary Bittinger and Betty Fitzgerald, the library; and Mildred Schermerhorn, health. Mrs. Thos. D. Norris drove the float."

I'm still trying to identify the building behind the float. The brick street narrows down the location a bit to "not Merchant St.," and the trolley tracks should narrow it further. Perhaps Park Rd. or 1st St.?

Ambridge Woman's Club float
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Borough of Ambridge

The list of Ambridge organizations participating in the parade was extensive. The photo below shows the Patriotic Order Sons of America.

Patriotic Order Sons of America

Economy Centennial Parade

June 7, 1924

courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

The Citizen says the Loyal Order of Moose float: "decorated in lavender and white, represented Mooseheart and Moose Haven homes; the former by a number of children and the latter, an elderly couple at a desk." The scene was shot at the Moose Palace building, formerly at the northeast corner of 13th and Merchant Sts., destroyed by a fire in 1937.

Loyal Order of Moose float
Economy Centennial Parade
Moose Palace, 13th and Merchant Sts.
June 7, 1924
courtesy of Lorianne Stangl Burgess

According to the Citizen, 400 students of St. Stanislaus parochial school "marched in the formation of the American flag." The children in the flag's staff wore yellow hats; those in the stripes wore red and white hats; and those in the canton (the rectangle with the stars) wore blue and white hats. The photo below might show some of the students.

St. Stanislaus parochial school children?
Economy Centennial Parade
8th St. and Maplewood Ave.
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center 

I have no idea who this group of girls carrying U.S. flags represented.

Girls with U. S. flags

Economy Centennial Parade

8th St. and Maplewood Ave.

June 7, 1924

courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center 

The Ambridge Savings and Trust Co. float "represented its Liberty Bell savings accounts, with Miss Liberty (Miss [name unreadable]) sitting by the Liberty Bell," the Citizen said.

Ambridge Savings and Trust float

Economy Centennial Parade

8th St. and Maplewood Ave.

June 7, 1924

courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center 

The Citizen reported, "The Ukrainian Nationality of Ambridge had a large turnout."

Ukrainian Nationality of Ambridge marchers

Economy Centennial Parade

8th St. and Maplewood Ave.

June 7, 1924

courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center 

The Citizen described the J. M. Breen's Furniture float as "a bower of ferns and palms" and playing the role of a newly married couple who furnished their home at Breen's were Virginia Goerman and William Goerman.

Breen's Furniture float
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
courtesy Beaver County Genealogy and History Center

I wish I had photos of some of the other business participants' entries like the Briola Brothers ice plant's truck "loaded with large cakes of ice, in which had been frozen fish and fruit." Or the Ambridge-Economy Bottling Works truck which dispensed free pop.

Be on the lookout for memorabilia from the Economy Centennial parade. The Citizen noted, "Most of the business firms represented in the parade threw souvenirs of all descriptions all along the route of the parade."

Update: Sept. 29, 2016

More parade photos!

First, four photos from the Old Economy Village Archives:

Father Rapp's coach was borrowed from the Carnegie Museum for the occasion. It would have been at the beginning of the Harmony Society section of the parade. According to the Ambridge Citizen, 18 men in silk coats and high hats formed the guard of honor.

Father Rapp's coach
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Old Economy Village Archives

Float depicting Harmony Society Women spinning
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Old Economy Village Archives

The Citizen reported, "The old Economy milk wagon with the daily bulletin, announced the loss of a 'hen with red band on left leg.'"

Economy milk wagon with daily bulletin
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Old Economy Village Archives

Another photo of the Economy haymakers float:

Economy haymakers float
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Old Economy Village Archives

Two photos belonged to the late Eddie Dzubak, Sr. and are posted courtesy of his children, Lesabeth Trzcianka and Eddie Dzubak, Jr. :

The Knights of Columbus contingent had 65 (85? hard to read microfilm) marchers as well as a float showing the landing of Columbus.

Knights of Columbus
Ambridge Council No. 1780
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Eddie Dzubak, Sr. Collection

The Citizen reported that "St. Michael's Russian Society had 70 members in line."

Beneficial Russian Society of St. Michael of Ambridge
No. 121 of R.B.O.
Economy Centennial Parade
June 7, 1924
Eddie Dzubak, Sr. Collection

The final new photo, published in the August 25, 1954, Ambridge Daily Citizen, shows some of the crowd watching the Economy Centennial parade at 4th and Merchant Sts. and provides a view of some of the east side of the 400 block of Merchant. Look at the men hanging on the utility pole on the far left!:

Wagons and floats
Economy Centennial Parade
4th and Merchant Sts.
Daily Citizen
August 25, 1954

Daily Citizen caption:

Pictured above is one of the original United Dairy white horse and single wagons which participated in the Economite Centennial Parade during the summer of 1924. The picture was taken at 4th and Merchant Sts.

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Many of the photos above credited to the Beaver County Genealogy and History Center were taken at the intersection of Maplewood Ave. and 8th St. The brick house with front porch in the background is still there, now the Anglican Church in North America Provincial Office, 800 Maplewood. The porch is now enclosed. The large three-story building behind the house is the Ambridge Hotel, Merchant St., built in 1905, razed in 1964.

As big and grand as the Economy Grand Historic Pageant may have been, Ambridge's Golden Jubilee parade, described as a "mammoth spectacle", held in 1955, topped it in number of units and length.

Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church

Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church
Park Rd. and 8th St.
November 20, 2013

Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church's architecture may be more contemporary than most of the other Ambridge churches, and its church building may be newer than many, but Zion's congregation is one of Ambridge's oldest, going back to the very beginning of Ambridge.

In the early 1900s, after land that had belonged to the dissolved Harmony Society was sold off--most importantly to the Berlin Iron Company, which later merged with the American Bridge Company-- new residents of many nationalities and faiths moved into the area, among them, German Lutherans, joining the few Lutheran families already living there.

There was already a German church in the area, but it was not Lutheran. The Harmony Society, whose members had split from the Lutheran Church in Germany, had come to the U.S. to escape religious persecution and for freedom to follow their own beliefs. The Society's church, on the 1300 block of Church St., was where the Society held its own, unique religious services. After the Society disbanded, its church served as a community church, with the remnants of the Society as well as various denominations without their own churches, holding services in the building. Ironically, in 1907, the church became a Lutheran congregation, the still-existing St. John's Lutheran Church.

According to the history of Zion's shared with me by the church's current pastor, Rev. Cletus Fahrion, area Lutherans met on April 25, 1904, for the purpose of establishing a Lutheran Church. Worship services began on May 9, 1904, attended by 25 people, and soon after that, the church charter was signed.

At first, the congregation worshiped on the top floor of the Ambridge Savings and Trust Co. building* on 5th and Merchant Sts. They began to raise money to build a church of their own, and bought lots on Park Rd. between 7th St. and Bryden Rd. (the current 8th St.)

Here's a bit of Ambridge history I don't believe I'd come across before reading about Zion's beginnings: American Bridge offered to donate $500 to any congregation that could build a church before January 1, 1905. I don't know the significance, if any, of that particular date.**

In addition, to qualify for the $500, any church built had to cost at least twice the value of the property on which it stood. According to Zion's 100th Anniversary book, the congregation's first pastor, the Rev. Paul Kummer, "accepted this challenge and was able to oversee the total construction of a brick and cement block edifice at a cost of $5,250."

The cornerstone for that building was laid on October 9, 1904, and dedicated on March 26, 1905.

The postcards below show that first church building.

"German Lutheran Church"
postcard
postmarked January 20, 1910

The card below was also mailed, but the postmark is indistinct, so I don't know which postcard is older.

"Zion Evan. Lutheran Church"
postcard
date unknown

Here's a church photo from the 1924 Economy Centennial Souvenir Program:

"Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church"

Economy of Old, Ambridge of Today

1924

Here's a photo of an ivy-covered church on the cover of Zion's 50th Anniversary program:

"Original Church Building 1904 - 1953"

Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church

Fiftieth Anniversary program

May 2, 1954

Eventually the congregation grew to a size that a new church building was planned, and on March 16, 1953, the Rev. Frederick B. Haer presided over the groundbreaking for the new building. On May 3, 1953, the first unit of the basement was dedicated.

The original church building was razed beginning in August 1953.

Here's the architect's drawing of the proposed new church building. Compare it with the photo of the current church at the top of this post; it's different. The drawing more resembles the current 8th St. side of the church, but doesn't quite match that either. Can someone provide an explanation?

"Proposed Zion's First Lutheran Church"
Dedication program
November 3, 1957

Here's a photo of the new church under construction from the May 30, 1957, Beaver Valley Times:

New Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church under construction

Beaver Valley Times

May 30, 1957

Original Times' caption:

NEW CHURCH -- This partially completed building soon will be the new home of the congregation of Zion First Lutheran Church, Ambridge. The building's cornerstone will be laid Sunday afternoon.

According to the Times' article accompanying the above photo, the cornerstone would include: a Bible, Luther's Small Catechism, the church constitution, the 50th Anniversary booklet, the 1956 church report, a membership list, and copies of the Beaver Valley Times and Daily Citizen.

The current church building was dedicated on November 3, 1957.

In 2004, Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

Zion's First Evangelical Lutheran Church

One Hundredth Anniversary 1904 - 2004 booklet

cover

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I can't identify the building in the background of the two Zion's postcards, and it's really bugging me. The only large building I know of that was near the church in 1910, when the colored postcard was mailed, was the Second Ward School built in 1904. But the background building on the postcard looks nothing like that school. The roof-line is obviously wrong.

The first Ambridge High School, later Park Road School, was immediately south of, not behind, the original church, and it wasn't built until 1914, so it didn't exist when the colored postcard was postmarked.

The background building doesn't look like the Ambridge Hotel built in 1905 on the corner of Merchant St. and Bryden Rd. (now 8th St.), and the location of the background building on the postcards seems wrong for the hotel.

Houses had already been built on the 700 block of Maplewood across from the Second Ward School by 1905, and I would think they'd block the view of any buildings on Merchant St.

Perhaps artistic license by the artist who drew the postcard scenes? Seems odd though that the same building would appear on two postcards. And, although indistinct, the same building may be in the background of the ivy-covered church photo from the 50th Anniversary book.

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Zion's Church Trivia: longtime KDKA radio DJ Art Pallan was the keynote speaker at Zion's 80th Anniversary Dinner on May 4, 1984.

* Later, the Ambridge Savings and Trust Company building was home to the Economy Bank of Ambridge. The building was razed and that corner is now the location of Wesbanco Bank's drive-through.

**Another early Ambridge church was the Methodist Episcopal Church, chartered on January 5, 1904, built on the southeast corner of 6th St. and Melrose Ave., and dedicated on August 7, 1904, claiming the title of the first church to be built in the borough of Ambridge. (The older Harmony Society church was built in Economy, not Ambridge.) That church was bought by Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in 1907 and razed about 10 years later to build the church that currently stands at that intersection.