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Chesterfield
 Florence
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Florence
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE AND ROEBLING
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Florence City
In 1849, an association
of New York financers organized the Florence City Company
and purchased 600 acres of land that was laid out as city
lots. The original Constitution of the Florence City Company
called for the issuance of five thousand shares of stock.
Four thousand shares were used to pay for a tract of land in
Mansfield Township along the Delaware River. This tract
consisted of 1000 lots measuring 16 feet by 100 feet and one
1000 lots of not less than 100 feet square. These lots,
together with land for public streets, parks, and public
landings, were all part of what Florence today. In addition,
1000 shares of company stock was issued for the purpose of
constructing wharves, water works and a city hall. They
built the magnificent Florence Hotel and wharf on the banks
of the Delaware River where the municipal boat launch is now
located. Front Street was the main residential street,
intersected by Broad Street, the main commercial road in
Florence.
The hotel was
a mainstay for visitors, social gatherings and eventually
served as the Municipal Complex until it was destroyed by
fire in February 1979. A hotel register of visitors who
stayed at the hotel during the 1800s is stowed safely away
at the new Municipal Building on Broad Street.
Despite the promise of the area, the Florence City Company
eventually succumbed to poor management and fell into
bankruptcy. Despite the demise of the company, the town and
its inhabitants remained.
The Florence
Iron Works was established along the Delaware River in 1857
near present day Foundry Street. In 1867, Richard D. Wood
purchased the plant which became the driving force behind
the continued development of the community. Homes,
recreation facilities, stores and a library were erected for
the company's workers. In addition to providing reading
rooms and books, the library also housed game rooms and
conducted classes on home making.
Mr. Wood established his residence next to his foundry which
is now the H. Kenneth Wilkie Memorial Park. The R. D. Wood
mansion, as it was known, stood until the mid-1900s when it
was eventually demolished to make way for public use of the
land that surrounded it. The R. D. Wood company created most
of the present day water and sewer systems in the community.
Some of the companies valves and fire hydrants are still in
service today. The company was also responsible for
exporting pipe, fittings, hydrants and valves to Europe.
Much of Paris, France is fitted with equipment forged at the
R. D. Wood Company in Florence. IMO and Amstead Industries
are now located on the site of the R.D. Wood Company. IMO
creates nuclear submarine components for the United States
military and Amstead creates pipe as the R.D. Wood Company
had done.
Florence was
also a noted vacation spot along the Delaware River. Young
couples paying a visit to the area were a common scene,
sitting along the Delaware's sandy beaches enjoying the day
far from the hot and overcrowded cities of Philadelphia and
New York. Florence was a short and pleasant boat ride from
the cities.
An advertising circular from 1850 said:
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"the
town is laid put on a gradually rising slope while
overhanging the town is an elevation which for its
natural beauty and adoption to elegant improvement, is
wholly unrivaled by any spot accessible to
Philadelphia." |
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Florence Township Municipal Building
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In 1850, Florence was billed as
an ideal place to spend carefree days or to invest in real estate to
profit from vacationers.
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Boats such as the Pekenoket,
Columbia, Springfield, Burlington, John A. Warner, and the steamer
Florence all served vacationers flocking to our shores. Chartered
ships would moor for the day just off the banks to allow their
riders to partake in the town's offerings.Dr. Trall of
Philadelphia also found Florence to be a lucrative and relaxing
locale. He took advantage of the wealth of fresh water springs from
the ground above the banks of the Delaware. Around 1872, Dr. Trall
erected a massive, four-story "Hygeian Home and Hygero Therapeutic
College" along at the top of the hill overlooking the Delaware
River. The building was located between what is now Cedar and Oak
Streets. The purpose of the home and college was the well being of
its guests through Hydro Therapy. Very little information remains
about Dr. Trall's operation and its eventual demise.
Roebling
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The story of
Roebling began in Mulhausen, Prussia on June 12, 1806. On that
day, John A. Roebling was born. John was fortunate enough to
study architecture, bridge construction and hydraulics at the
Polytech- nic Institute in Berlin. He was also a student of the
famous philosopher Hegel from whom he learned the doctrine of
self-realization and independence, which characterized his life.
It was his belief in this doctrine that led to his decision to
leave Prussia in 1831 to get away from the political and
religious tyranny that was taking place. John and a group of
young people who emigrated with him eventually settled on the
outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pa. where they founded the town of
Saxonburg.
It was here that
he began to fabricate rope out of wire. He used his wire rope to
build suspension bridges and it became very much in demand. In
order to meet the increasing demand for his rope he built a
factory in Trenton, NJ. in 1848. In 1850, John Roebling began to
build a suspension bridge across the gorge of the Niagara River.
Along with his two sons, Washington and Ferdinand, John
completed the bridge and became world famous.
In 1866, John
began to build the Brooklyn Bridge that would eventually connect
the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City.
However, John died as a result of a construction-related
accident in 1869 and his son Washington took over the task of
supervising the project to its completion.
Around the turn of
the century, the Roeblings decided to build a steel mill to make
their own steel to be used in making their wire rope. They
wanted to build the mill in Trenton, close to the existing
plant. However, due to high land prices they decided to look
elsewhere. After much searching, John Roebling's third son,
Charles, purchased a 115 acre peach and potato farm near the
railway station called Kinkora from Jacob Hoffner for $17,000 on
June 25, 1904.
Charles and his
brother Ferdinand then spent $4,000,000 to build their steel
mill, wire rope plant and the town of Roebling to house the
workers that they required. The nearest experienced workers
lived in Trenton, twelve miles to the north of the new plant and
the Roeblings felt that the only way to ensure success was to
have the workers nearby. Charles conceived the design and
lay-out of the town of Roebling and thus, he is considered to be
it's founder. The area was made ready for industry by filling in
approximately fifty acres of marsh lands along the Delaware
River, building roads along which 750 new brick homes were
constructed. |
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