Residences on Pine between Third and Fourth Sts

Address: 543 Third St
Name: Samuel Thomas/Edwin Thomas/Durham/Bugbee Residence
Year built: 1865
Built by: David Thomas

Samuel Thomas, son of David Thomas was born in Wales, moved to America with his family in 1839 at the request of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co, and accompanied his father on his first trip to the site where they would construct the Lehigh Crane iron furnaces. After attending school at Nazareth Hall in Northampton County, he spent 4 years working in the blacksmith and machine shops of the Lehigh Crane Iron Works to learn the business and took an active role in the management of the iron works. At the age of 21, he helped erect and startup a furnace at the Boonton Iron Co in NJ before returning to the Lehigh Crane Works in time to erect the No 4&5 furnaces in 1849. He became superintendent of the Thomas Iron Co in Hokendauqua in 1854, then President in 1864. He also organized the Lock Ridge Iron Co in Alburtis before it was acquired by the Thomas Iron Co. Samuel developed mining properties for Lehigh Crane Iron Co and was also associated with the Catasauqua Manufacturing Co and Lehigh Fire Brick Co. He was actively involved in communities of Catasauqua and Hockendauqua. He led the funding drive to erect the first Civil War Monument in PA, the Soldier’s monument in Fairview Cemetery. In 1887, Samuel and his son Edwin purchased mineral lands and built a blast furnace near Birmingham, Alabama under the name of Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Co, subsequently resigning from the Thomas Iron Co. This plant was sold in 1899 to the Republic Iron Co upon Samuel’s retirement. He resided in the Mansion at 2nd and Pine during his later years.

Samuel Thomas wrote “Reminiscences of the Early Anthracite Iron Industry”, which was read by him at the September 1899 meeting of the AIME in San Francisco.
He married Rebecca Mickley in 1848 and they had two children, Gertrude and Edwin. Upon Rebecca’s death in 1894, he remarried. He died in 1906.

Edwin Thomas, son of Samuel Thomas, followed his grandfather, David, and father, Samuel, at the Thomas Iron Co. He attended Swarthmore and Lafayette Colleges, but still entered the family business by working as a machinist for three years in Hockendauqua before becoming superintendent at the Lock Ridge works (1877-1880). After working as General Mgr of Chestnut Hill Iron Co in Columbia, PA for 2 years, he returned to Hockendauqua and served as purchasing agent and manager of the mechanical engineering department.

From 1886-1899, Edwin was General Mgr, VP, then President of the Pioneer Mining and Manufacturing Co in Alabama, a company built by him and his father. He stayed on a year after the sale, then moved back to 543 Third St in Catasauqua. H e served as VP of Thomas Iron Co from 1915-1916, president of the Nescopee Coal Co, and was a director of the Upper Lehigh Coal Co, Wahnetah Silk, Thomas Iron, Hazel Brook Coal, and Virginia Coal & Iron. He was a trustee of St Luke’s Hospital, and served as President of the National Bank of Catasauqua from 1903 till his death in 1924. He was an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua.

Edwin & his wife Ella made some changes to the home during their tenure. Later in life, he moved into the family home at Second and Pine and encased the wood sided home in stone.

Other Occupants:
Edwin lived here until his father Samuel died in 1906, at which point he moved into 2nd & Pine. Grace and Richard Kohler then moved into Third and Pine. Grace was the oldest daughter of Oliver Williams and Richard Kohler was the chief accountant for the Union Foundry. They married in 1902 and bought 545 Fourth St in 1910.
From 1910-1914, Henry G. Barnhurst, his wife Florence, and two daughters lived here. After his mother’s death (his parents lived in Allentown), his father Henry A. moved in with his son’s family here. He and his father were both employees of Fuller Engineering, Henry G was a mechanical engineer and his father was a consulting engineer and expert in cement manufacturing machinery. His father died suddenly in 1914 while boarding an electric car in Allentown to return home to Catasauqua. The Barnhursts moved to the area around 1904, when Henry A became superintendent of Lehigh Foundry and Machine Co in Fullerton. Henry G and his wife Florence lived at 507 Walnut before moving here to the corner of Pine and Third.

Edwin Thomas sold the home to Fred S. Durham in 1923. Durham owned Bonney Forge in Allentown, making forged valve bodies. The Durham family sold the home to Monica and Newt Bugbee, Jr. in 1955. Newt’s mother was Blanche Thomas Horn, daughter of James Thomas (son of Hopkin Thomas) and Mary Ann Davies (daughter of Daniel Davies and brother of George Davies).

Architectural Notes:
The original home was two & 1/2 stories with a Mansard roof. There were no outbuildings since carriage house & stable were shared with 525 Second. Georgian period renovations were made in 1972 following a serious fire. Interior is open and spacious. Drawing room, library and paneled dining room open off the entrance hall.

*David also built a large home In Hockendauqua for his son John who followed his father at the Lehigh Crane Iron Works, then took over management of the Hockendauqua Works after Samuel moved on to the works in Alabama. John was similarly involved in the Catasauqua Manufacturing Co, the Lehigh Fire Brick Co and the National Bank of Catasauqua. John had several sons, three of whom (David H., Samuel R. & Capt. John W.) also followed in the family businesses.

Address: 226 Pine St
Name: Catasauqua Club
Year built: 1868
Built by: Morgan Emanuel

Morgan Emanuel quarried and supplied ore to Crane Iron and others and was a stockholder in the Thomas Iron Co. He was one of the early residents of the Welsh community here, a founder of the first church, the first elected “street commissioner”. He died in 1884.
He was born in Wales in 1805 and worked as a seaman until becoming engaged with the iron works in Dowlais, Wales, contracting and furnishing supplies. He came to Pottsville as a mining contractor in 1844 before moving to Catasauqua in 1846. A story In Glaces’s book “Reminiscences”, tells of Morgan coming to Catasauqua from the coal region having heard that a Welshman had built an iron works here and hoping to ask him for a job. Encountering him on Front St, David Thomas responded that he was sorry, but “we don’t have much work at present”. Morgan responded, “Oh,, that is all right, I do not need much work.” With that rejoinder, Thomas hired him on the spot. Emanuel inspected ore for the Crane furnaces and supplied ore to the Crane and other furnaces in the area. He became a stockholder in the Thomas Iron Co.
He married Elizabeth Miller of Mt Bethel and built the elegant home on Pine St. One of their children, Margaret, later subdivided the property and in partnership with others, built the multifamily homes on either side. Morgan, Sr. was a member of the Presbyterian Church and died in 1884. Elizabeth died in 1894 and they are both buried in Fairview Cemetery.

Morgan Emanuel, Jr. a son from his first marriage in Wales, worked in the mines in Wales, then followed his father to Catasauqua, where he returned to school, before going to work at the Lehigh Crane Iron Works and learning the blacksmith trade, went to work in the railroad shops of the LV Railroad. Morgan, Jr, married Margaret Lewis of Mauch Chunk in 1855. He helped build the Thomas Iron Works in Hokendauqua as head of the blacksmith shop there. He later supplied furnace furnishings for the Crane, became the Cranes agent for supplying limestone, and opened a quarry to supply stone for the construction of furnaces 3 & 4 at the Hokendauqua plant.

In 1861, Morgan Emanuel, Jr. introduced dynamite to the Lehigh Valley and was the first to introduce “Magneto” (combination of Leyden jar and electric batteries) for firing fuses. He received patents for blasting powder (using Chile saltpeter) and started a business with William E. Thomas manufacturing blasting powder in a facility on the west side of the river by the Race St Bridge. Emanuel, Lewis & Company/ Emanuel and Son supplied powder and other explosives to local mines and quarries until his death in 1901. He traveled as agent for Smith & Rand Powder Co of NY and Rand Drill Co, with offices in Denver, furnishing blasting powder for construction of the Union and Pacific Railroad from Cheyenne to Ogden.

In 1863, Morgan, Jr. served in 38th PA Volunteer Infantry during Civil war. He owned the Crystal Hill Dairy farm in Northampton, and he and his son David (born in 1865) operated Crystal Hill Creamery on 2nd St. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua and became a Ruling Elder there. The family later owned a home at Third and Strawberry.

David, son of Morgan Jr, went into partnership with his father in the Crystal Hill Dairy and Creamery. David organized Emanuel & Co for the manufacture and crushing of blast furnace slag for roofing and concrete aggregate and did general contracting for the furnaces. He married Winifred Williams, who was the daughter of Oliver Williams (616 2nd St) and the sister of Jessica (Williams) Holden.

William, born in Catasauqua in 1860, followed his father Morgan, Jr. in the powder business. William studied chemistry at Lafayette College and was appointed to the position his father held as general agent for Lafin and Rand Powder Supply, with his headquarters in Denver. He also engaged in general mine and mill supplies for various companies. While visiting the family home at Third and Strawberry for his father’s funeral, he became ill and died a month later. The Emanuels are buried in Fairview Cemetery.

Site History: The Catasauqua Club was chartered in 1897 and purchased the Emanuel house in 1900. The club was originally organized as a Bicycle Club; the success of which resulted in the formation and charter of the Catasauqua Club. The Auquasat Club, a young mens social club merged with the Catasauqua Club somewhat later. It was many years before the club opened its doors to women. There are bowling lanes in the basement of the club.

Lots on/surrounding the Emanuel estate on Pine were developed in 1906 by the Catasauqua Real Estate, a partnership of Winifred Williams Emanuel, George Williams (Winifred’s cousin and the son of John & Emma Williams of Bridge St) and Rowland T, Davies formed the develepment company that would build 16 brick homes, including the six row homes that flanked the family home on Pine St, homes along Third between Pine & Walnut, and also the homes along Limestone between Pine and Walnut, subdividing the Emanuel lot.

Early residents of the row homes included Rowland T. Davies at 234 Pine St, Joseph & Hattie Kane and their son Benjamin (1930 directory: Joseph was a principal in the school system and his son was a teacher). the office of Dr. Carl J. Newhard, who practiced out of 119 Pine St earlier before moving here in the 1950s. Another early resident was Charles D. W. & Annie Bower who ran Bower’s Meat Market on lower Front St. The 1929/1930 directory lists 232 Pine as the home of Margaret and Michael Cunningham, a machinist.

Address: 546-548 Fourth St
Name: Frank & Lizzie Williams Horn – Edward & Annie Williams Boyer
Year built: 1885
Built by: John Williams

Edward D. Boyer, pharmacist and storekeeper, married Annie Williams, daughter of John Williams. Frank Horn, son of Melchior M. Horn, a founder of the National Bank of Catasauqua and its first Cashier, married Lizzie Williams, also a daughter of John Williams. Horn followed in his father’s profession and, after starting out as a cashier, became President of the National ank of Catasauqua.

John Williams built this double home for his daughters and their husbands on the SW corner of Fourth and Pine
Architectural Notes:Queen Anne styling. Stories built with contrasting materials: the first floor is stone, while the upper stories are a mix of shingle, timbers and wood.

Address: 545 Fourth St
Name: James Thomas
Year built: 1902
Built by: James & Mary Ann Thomas

The lot remained undeveloped until David’s son John died and John’s widow, Helen (Hopkin Thomas’s daughter) sold the lot to Mary Ann Thomas. She & James built this Romanesque-style red stone home. After James died, Mary Ann moved to a smaller home on Walnut St that was built for her by her brother George Davies.

James Thomas was born in Philadelphia, September 22, 1836, and was the youngest son of Hopkin Thomas and his wife Catherine (Richards) Thomas. He inherited his father’s genius in mechanics, and early in youth thoroughly learned the iron industry, in which business his attentions were engaged all his active life and in which he was eminently successful.

James Thomas came to Catasauqua, from Tamaqua, with his parents in 1853 at age 17. He apprenticed at the Crane Iron Works under the tutelage of his father, Hopkin Thomas, Master Mechanic, where he gained extensive knowledge of the iron-making business.

In 1861 Thomas married Mary Ann Davies, who was born in Wales and was the daughter of Daniel Davies, a colleague of Hopkin Thomas and the sister of George Davies, who would become Thomas’s partner in the Davies & Thomas Foundry.  When the civil war came, Capt. James Thomas led Company F of the 34th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Emergency Volunteers. Also during his life, he worked at the Carbon Iron Works in Parryville, PA and was general manager of the Irondale and Eureka Iron Companies in Birmingham, AL, making the first coke in Alabama.

The Davies & Thomas Company, Catasauqua, Pa.

The Wahnetah Silk Company, Catasauqua, Pa.

Along with George Davies, he was a partner in the Davies and Thomas Foundry and created the Wahnetah Silk Company.  The partners also founded the Catasauqua Electric Light and Power Co and the Bethlehem Electric Light and Power Company.

James Thomas was a member or Grace M. E, Church, Porter Lodge, F. & A M., Catasauqua Chapter, and Allen Commandery, No. 20, Knights Templar. He was a Republican and was appointed as delegate to the national convention held in Minneapolis in 1892. (His daughter Ruth Thomas McKee recalled that he was disgusted with the back-room negotiations conducted at the convention and never again sought to be involved with politics.) He served for several years on the school board.  He was a director of the Catasauqua National Bank.  He supported erection of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church at Fifth and Walnut Streets, where he was also an officer and was superintendent of the Sunday school for many years.

His biographies state “Mr. Thomas was one of the best informed men, reading broadly upon all matters of general interest and carrying his investigations into the best of literature. He was public-spirited, which, together with his high social standing and courteous manners, made him a very popular and honored citizen.”

He and his wife had the following children: Blanche T., wife of Charles R. Horn; Mary C. Thomas (died at the age of twenty-eight years); Rowland D. Thomas; Mrs. Ruth (Thomas) McKee, wife of William Wier McKee; Helen T., wife of Dr. James L. Hornbeck; Catherine R. Thomas (died aged eighteen years) and Hopkin Thomas.  James Thomas died December 18, 1906 at his home following an illness with stomach disorders.

Upon James’s death, Mary Ann Thomas sold the home in 1910 to Grace Williams Kohler, oldest daughter of Oliver Williams.

Richard Otto Koehler came to America in 1893 from Chemnitz Gerrmany and became a clerk at the Unicorn Silk Mill. He also worked for the Bryden, Catasauqua Casting, and the Lehigh Clutch Co as a sales agent, traveling extensively. He and Grace Williams married in 1902; he died in 1913. After her husbands death, Grace married Pelham Harding. The 1930 directory lists this as the residence of both the Hardings and of William and Henrietta Conley, suggesting that the home was converted into apartments. Mrs. Harding passed away in 1945 and Pelham Harding died in 1947. They are all buried at Fairview Cemetery. The 1929/1930 directory lists this as the home of Anna Heilig Kohler (she married a Mr.Eastman shortly thereafter, and had their first child in January 1930). Grace Harding’s heirs, Paul Harding and Anne Eastman sold the property to the Binders in 1945, the current owners.The home/apartments have fallen into disrepair.

Architectural Notes:
The architecture is influenced by the Romanesque style, built of deep set stone.

Address: Corner of 4th & Pine Streets
Name: Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church
Year built: 1926
Built by: Daughters of Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Williams

This church replaced the English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity church at Third and Bridge (now the Library) built in 1874. The congregation was originally part of the German-speaking St Paul’s on Howertown Road, but split off in 1873 to form their own English speaking group, constructing the English Church of the Holy Trinity at Third and Bridge St, currently the Catasauqua Library.

As a memorial to their mother, Jessica Holton, Winifred Emmanuel, and Grace Harding donated funds to build this new church at Fourth & Pine, which began services in 1926. The center stained glass window and the window at the back of the altar were relocated from the previous church building. Other windows were donated by local families at that time.  The congregation also purchased a three manual Moeller pipe organ for the church. In 1989, five rooms were added on between the church and parish building.  The coal cellar was remodeled into a Sunday School room.

Other Site History:
Land was originally part of Faust Farm, purchased by David Thomas. The deed book  shows that Lizzie & Louise Horn sold land to Holy Trinity in 1928,1929

Architectural Notes: Gothic

Address: 605 Fourth St
Name:  William W. McKee
Year built: 1891
Built by: James Thomas

Wm. McKee was the son of James H. McKee, who formed the firm of McKee, Fuller & Co with James W. Fuller II, as a car builder and manufacturer of wheels and axles for railroad cars.  McKee, Fuller & Co later took over the operations of the Lehigh Car, Wheel and Axle Works at Ferndale (Fullerton).
William McKee served first as a mining engineer with Eckley Coxe Coal Co. before going to work in the family business where he became President of McKee, Fuller & Co and a stockholder in Lehigh Car, Wheel and Axle Co at Fullerton. Later he had charge of the Catasauqua Electric Light and Power Co. He graduated from Polytechnic School in Philadelphia and the University of Freiburg, Germany.

He married Ruth, daughter of James and Mary Ann (Davies) Thomas.  He was a member of the Porter Lodge, Lulu Temple (Philadelphia) and the Catasauqua Club.  He died in 1905.  Their daughter, Mary, married Thomas Shannahan, a metallurgist, and they lived here c 1930.  Their daughter Ruth married John McVey, and they also lived here.  The McVey’s son John, who grew up here and was a graduate of CHS in 1951, is the author of “The Hopkin Thomas Project” website which preserves the history of Hopkin Thomas and much of Catasauqua.  Ruth, widow of William, died in 1966.

Architectural Notes:
The home is granite construction, Queen Anne style with wrap-around porch. Home was built by Jacob A Nagle of Allentown (built several homes here in addition to many commercial and industrial buildings in the Valley).

Note the copper beech trees in the neighborhood. These trees are reported to have been brought here by David Thomas from Wales, and many mansions in the neighborhood had large lawns shaded by copper beech trees.  The trees have recently been reaching the end of their life after ~ 150 yrs.

Site History:  The home is now apartments which were recently renovated by the current owner.