French Point Hotel, 1891 - 1902

French Point Hotel
Economy PA
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 390
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The French Point Hotel was built in 1891, during the waning days of the Harmony Society's existence, at the northern edge of what is now Ambridge--but was then Economy--approximately where Merchant St. currently intersects with Ohio River Blvd. (Rt. 65).

The hotel was one of the important buildings in the historical bridge linking Economy with Ambridge

"Economy Hotel (New)"
French Point Hotel
Economy PA
Manuscript Group 354: Old Economy Village Collection
Photo Number 624
courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Old Economy Village
used with permission

The vintage panorama below shows the French Point Hotel on the far left. The Harmony Society's lumberyard is on the right, below the hotel. The hotel's being located near the lumberyard led to the hotel's destruction on April 23, 1902.

"Lumber Works. Economy PA."
French Point Hotel (left) above Harmony Society's lumberyard
courtesy Laughlin Memorial Library Archives

Local historian Bill Bowan wrote information about the photo in the bottom margin:

W. K. Shafer Family purch. Hotel from Harmony Socy. 1895. Lumberyard & Hotel burned down in the same fire 1900-1901.

The fire began at the lumberyard, eventually spreading one to two acres, destroying the hotel, lumberyard, and several outbuildings. The source of the fire was thought to be a spark from a passing train engine. So Bowan was right about the fire, but not the year the fire happened.

Although described as the setting for "many brilliant functions...by society people of Pittsburg and Sewickley," the hotel, fortunately, had been vacant for at least five weeks at the time of the fire. (Pittsburg Commercial Journal, April 24, 1902). The reason the building was unoccupied was that it was in the process of being converted into a sanitarium of some kind. A train car of goods for the new sanitarium was also destroyed in the fire.

Previously, the hotel had been a popular stopping point for cycling groups traveling along "the Beaver road." (The Pittsburgh Press, Aug. 22, 1898; May 13, 1899).

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Update:
The following information was written as a Facebook post on the Old Economy Village's page on September 18, 2020, by the curator Sarah Kirschensteiner Buffington. Sarah has given me permission to add it to this blog post. It contains information I didn't know until I read Sarah's post: 

Did you know there was another hotel at Economy?  The French Point Hotel was built in 1891 just north of Economy at what was known as French Point.  That was where the Harmonists landed when they arrived in 1824 to their new land.  The location of the hotel is thought to be where Merchant Street enters Ohio River Boulevard.
  

The story of the hotel is not well known at all, and was in fact part of the testimony for the Schwartz vs. Duss court case of 1900.  The "Feucht Faction" (descendants of the infamous Hildegard Mutschler Feucht always feuding with John Duss for control of the Society) claimed that Duss built the "big house" for Cyrus Reed Teed, who claimed that he was God.  Teed supposedly had "spies" at Economy to learn all about the Harmony Society so that he could come in and claim all of their money.  Teed did indeed come to visit in 1892.  Duss on the other hand said that Jacob Henrici had the building built as a boarding house for saw mill workers.

The structure cost $10,000-12,000, had 23-26 rooms, electric lighting, hot air heating, hardwood floors, and was completely furnished.  All of this was very significant at the time and very lavish for boarders of a sawmill.  Who would you believe?

The building was not operated as a hotel until 1896, when Lorenzo D. Schafer leased it from the Harmony Society.  It was a favorite spot for people from Sewickley to Rochester to stay during bike outings and such during the summer.  The hotel was famous for its chicken and waffle dinners.  It closed about 1899.

The French Point Hotel burned on April 23, 1902 reportedly as a result of a spark flying from a passing train that caught a lumber shed on fire.  The flames spread quickly up the hill to the hotel.  No one was there at the time, and the building was empty.  There had been plans to turn it into a sanitarium.  Supplies for its new purpose were sitting in a train car on a siding and also burned.

It is interesting to note that the building burned on the last day of testimony at the appeal of the court case in the United States Supreme Court. 
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Since the French Point Hotel was destroyed in 1902, it could not have been one of two hotels where travelers might have stayed in 1906 as stated in the book Ambridge by Larry R. Slater.
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Ambridge trivia: Jim Holman, the current owner of the K & N Restaurant, 755 Merchant St., is a descendant of the Shafer family who owned the French Point Hotel. I know this because while I was in K & N one lunchtime, Mr. Holman came out from the kitchen to show me a framed copy of the panorama above and told me that his family had owned the hotel. He added that he had a much larger version of that photo at home.
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Thank you to Jeffrey Snedden, the writer of the "Histories & Mysteries" column for the Beaver County Times, for his invaluable help in finding information about the fire that destroyed the French Point Hotel.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #8 Wooden coins

For Ambridge's 1955 Golden Jubilee, merchants handed out not just wooden nickles, but also wooden dimes and quarters.

I've never seen one of the Golden Jubilee wooden dimes or quarters, have you?

Examining wooden coins
Ambridge Golden Jubilee
Beaver Valley Times
June 22, 1955

Times caption:

WOODEN NICKELS INITIATED -- W. L. Cain, president of Ambridge Economy Bank, and Kay Kokoski, "Miss Ambridge Golden Jubilee" who is a teller in the bank, examine wooden coins, official money of Ambridge Golden Jubilee. The money will be handed out by merchants in the form of change. It is redeemable in Ambridge, Economy and Mellon National Banks. It comes in three denominations, nickles, which are red; dimes, which are blue, and quarters, which are green.

A photo of a Golden Jubilee Wooden Nickel is in the July 17, 2015, post "Golden Jubilee: Old Fashioned Bargain Days."

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.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #7 Davidson's

Davidson's Department Store once had two locations in Ambridge.

Davidson's ad
Milady's Style Parade and Recipe Book for 1935

I don't know when the 1329 Merchant St. store closed, but the 510 Merchant St. store closed in 1976.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #6 Kennedy Drive

Kennedy Drive was called Latimer Avenue until December 9, 1963, when Ambridge Borough Council changed the street's name to honor President John F. Kennedy, assassinated less than three weeks earlier on November 22.

Kennedy had traveled via Latimer Avenue enroute to Pittsburgh from a political rally in Aliquippa on October 12, 1962.

According to the December 10, 1963 issue of the Beaver County Times, 41 residents of Latimer Avenue had petitioned to ask for the name change.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #5 11th St. oil well

A working oil well once stood on 11th Street between Duss Avenue and Beaver Road.

Oil Derrick
11th St. between Duss Ave. and Beaver Rd.
circa 1900s
Daily Citizen
July 12, 1955

Original caption says:

IN THE GOOD OLE DAYS--This oil derrick was on 11th St., near Duss Ave., and Beaver Rd., in the early 1900's. Are you old enough to recall the setting?

I knew there once were oil wells in the Legionville and Tevebaugh Hollow areas, and I also knew that the Harmonites invested in oil wells, but the wells I'd read about weren't in what's currently Ambridge Borough, but rather on farmland in Economy and New Sewickley Townships.

I hadn't read anything about oil wells on the hills of Ambridge until I stumbled across an article about Economy in of all places, a 1899 magazine for railway conductors* which described "green hills dotted with oil derricks" and mentioned "hillsides, now leased to an oil speculator whose derricks overlook the village."

The photo above is the first I've found clearly identified as being an oil well in Ambridge. I do not know the year the photo was taken.

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* "Economy--A Communistic Scheme in Practice" by Isaac Barrow, The Railway Conductor, 1899, Vol. XVI, Published by the Order of Railway Conductors
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Update December 4, 2014: Because I know I have readers not familiar with Ambridge streets, I'm adding this current Google satellite view of the area of 11th Street between Duss Avenue (on the left side) and Beaver Road (not Beaver Street as indicated by Google) on the right. That area may have been vacant enough for an oil well in the 1900s, but it's been densely residential for a long while. You can't tell from this view, but 11th Street from Lenz Avenue to Beaver Road is quite steep.

I don't know how the derrick in the photo could be "near" both Duss Avenue and Beaver Road as described in the original photo caption. Perhaps the person who gave that as the location wasn't familiar with Ambridge streets. Or we have different definitions of "near."

11th St. between Duss Ave. and Beaver Rd.
Ambridge
Google satellite view
2014

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #3 American Legion post, Elks Temple

The Canady-Hull American Legion Post 341 at 400 Duss Avenue was once the Ambridge Elks Temple.

Canady-Hull American Legion Post 341
June 23, 2013

Elks Temple
Economy Centennial Souvenir Program,
Economy of Old and Ambridge of Today
1924

According to a June 9, 1965, Beaver County Times article about the Elks' 60th anniversary, the temple at Fourth Street and Duss Avenue was dedicated on July 28, 1913. Then, in 1939, the Elks moved to 22 Beaver Street, Fair Oaks, just across Big Sewickley Creek from Ambridge.

Which is rather confusing since an article in the October 3, 1953,  Beaver Valley Times says about the Legion, "the post home was dedicated in 1934."

I hope that I'll eventually find information explaining the overlapping years between when the Legion supposedly dedicated the building at Fourth and Duss in 1934, and 1939, when the Elks moved to Fair Oaks. If anyone has information that can help, please leave a comment.

[Update August 8, 2014: In the Old Economy-Ambridge Sesqui-Centennial Historical Booklet, May 1974, the entry for American Legion Post 341 says the post's first home was purchased in 1934 at the Third Street location that later became the site of the G.A.P.A club*. And it also says that because of swelling membership during WWII, the Post acquired a new home. So, the Legion did not move into the Fourth Street Building in 1934. Confusion about the dates resolved, I guess.]

Just noticed from the photos that the fire hydrant apparently didn't move between 1924 and 2013.

[Update: August 31, 2014:

When I first saw this postcard on eBay, I thought, "Oh, look, another view of the American Legion, with a car parked in front of the building on the 4th Street hill." Then I noticed there was no American Legion sign on the building. And then I did a double-take when I saw the caption, "B.P.O.E. Building, Ambridge, PA."

B.P.O.E.
postcard,
 postmarked October 2, 1937

So, the large addition on the Duss Avenue side to the original Elks Temple was added by the Elks before they moved to Fair Oaks and sold the building to the American Legion.

I decided I needed to own this postcard despite the fact that it's not in the greatest condition, so I bought it.]

[Update July 25, 2017: Although the Elks had moved from the 4th and Duss building, it was still on the market in June 1942.

Sale of former Elks building
4th St. and Duss Ave.
Daily Citizen ad
June 8, 1942

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[* Update September 6, 2014:  The G.A.P.A. (Greek-American Progressive Association) Hall was located at 310 Third Street.]

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #2 French Point Monument

"The French Point Monument" at the intersection of Church and Henrici Streets commemorates the arrival of the Harmonists in the area along the Ohio River that would become Economy, their third and final home.

The marker is not one of the larger historical markers put up by the state like the ones near Old Economy or in the Harmony Society Cemetery, but rather a brass plaque set in stone, erected by the Economy Centennial Association during the 1924 Economy Centennial celebration (see #6 on program below).

Centennial Program for June 6, 1924,
Economy Centennial Souvenir Program,
Economy of Old and Ambridge of Today

The French Point Monument,
Church and Henrici Streets,
April 1, 2014

Plaque,
The French Point Monument,
Church and Henrici Streets,
April 1, 2014

The text of the plaque reads:

On May 24, 1824,

the first contingent of the Harmony Society,

who founded Economy, Pa.

embarked at New Harmony, Ind.,

on the steamboat "Ploughboy."

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Landing here on June 6, 1824,

they encamped the first night

under a large oak tree 290 feet north of this spot.

Erected by

Economy Centennial Association,

June 6, 1924.

Ambridge trivia: Did you know...? #1 Fourth St.

Ambridge's Fourth Street was once named "Charles Street."

I do not know exactly when the change from Charles to Fourth happened, but based on some of the materials I've looked at for my Ambridge research, the change was made between 1917 and 1924.