Remembering Conshohocken and West Conshohocken

by Jack Coll

Overview

The banks of the Schuylkill once echoed with the hum of the steel mills, and immigrants came across the sea to transform Conshohocken and West Conshohocken into thriving industrial towns. When the storm clouds gathered in Europe, the neighboring communities proudly sent more sons and daughters per capita to serve in World War I than any other town in America. Author Jack Coll chronicles the history of these Pennsylvania mill towns with a series of compelling vignettes. From stories of Ned Hector, an African American soldier who fought valiantly during the Revolutionary War, to the heroics of the Conshohocken fire companies, Coll pays tribute to his home and evokes times gone by.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596294127
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	08/20/2010
Series:	American Chronicles
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Jack Coll has been writing articles for dozens of publications for more than thirty years. His interest in Conshohocken and surrounding areas has led this award-winning photojournalist to establish a library of more than fifteen thousand photographs of the area. He has also authored several publications on locations in Montgomery County. Jack moved to Conshohocken in 1974 and has been married to his Conshohocken-born wife, Donna, for thirty-seven years. Jack and Donna's two children, Brian and Jackie, were both raised and still reside in the borough. Jack has stayed involved in the community for more than thirty years as a member of the board of directors for the Conshohocken Fellowship House and a committee member for Mayor Robert Frost and the Mayor's Special Events Committee. He has played active roles over the years in the Conshohocken Soapbox Derby, the Conshohocken Car Show and dozens of other organizations, including the Conshohocken Merchants Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 13

Part 1 From Indians to Industry

Conshohocken Today 15

The Schuylkill River 16

The Leni-Lenape Indians 17

William Penn and the Trinket Purchase 19

Washington Takes the Stage, but Not in Conshohocken 20

It All Started with a Canal 21

The Birth of Industry in the Village 23

It's About Time to Incorporate 25

Part 2 Conshohocken, The First Hundred Years

Incorporation, It Really Started in Norristown 27

Let's Honor Edward "Ned" Hector 28

Early Leaders and Street Names 30

Everybody's Welcome, They Came Looking for America 32

The Bridge-Matson's Ford, That Is 37

Part 3 Industry

It All Started with a Shovel Head 43

John Elwood Lee, What a Man 45

Newton and Hervey, the Walker Brothers 48

The Quaker Chemical Story 50

Alan C. Hale, Almost a Century 52

And There's More 53

Part 4 The Uniforms: Police, Firemen and Military

Police 57

Washington Fire Company 70

New Century, New Fire Company 77

Conshohocken Military 80

Part 5 A Little Education on Schools

It Started Immediately 85

Montgomery County Taps the Best 87

Catholics, Conshohocken Was the First 88

Say Goodbye to the Public School 89

Conshohocken Community College 90

Part 6 Sports

Baseball, the Fact and the Funny 93

Football, Tough as Steel 97

Basketball, It's About the Hall of Fame 99

And All the Rest 101

Part 7 Business

It Started Slow 107

Fayette Street Was a Boom 109

Family Businesses Still Doing Business 112

Part 8 A Few Conshohocken Gems

Hannibal Hamlin, a Guest of the Woods 115

Governor John F. Kennedy Misses Conshohocken 115

The First Lady, During and After 117

Finally, Conshohocken Gets a Presidential Visit 117

The Pines 118

Conshohocken's Only Hospital 120

Bishop Matthew Simpson, the President and Conshohocken 121

That's Right, Owner of the Philadelphia Phillies 122

Just a Few More Names 123

About the Author 127