Post-Civil War Transformation

Post-Civil War Transformation. Perry County Bicentennial.

1866: First bank organized in New Bloomfield. , 1869: First water company organized in Blain. , 1891: First telephone line strung between Newport and Loysville. , 1898: Newport Square lit by electricity.

, Following the Civil War, Perry County, like much of the north and mid-west, experienced an era of rapid economic growth, industrialization and agricultural mechanization. Well-paying jobs in industry attracted farm laborers from the countryside to the county's river towns. Others moved to the cities or to the fertile lands in the west., The river towns prospered and modernized. Businessmen organized banks, water companies, electricity generating plants and telephone exchanges. Planing mills mass-produced "gingerbread" ornamentation for new homes and barns. Local merchants sold manufactured furniture and clothing. Families took excursions to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia or to Atlantic City., The era also brought cultural changes. Farmers organized granges to advocate for improved public services. Returning veterans attended GAR events. A third Great Awakening in American religion sparked the construction of sizable Protestant churches to accommodate larger congregations., To care for children orphaned by the Civil War, the State funded a home in Andersonburg (1865-1878), and the Lutheran church sponsored Tressler Orphans Home in Loysville (1867-1962). After 1880, free high schools at the local level replaced all of the subscription academies, except New Bloomfield Academy. Professor Silas Wright, hoping for State support to train teachers, operated the Juniata Valley Normal School (1867 to 1878)., [Captions:] , The home of George Fleisher, owner of the Newport Planing Mill, displayed fine Queen Anne details., Until the 1889 flood, Liverpool remained a canal port for shipping coal and other products., In Marysville the Pennsylvania Railroad maintained an enormous rail hub., The Duncannon Iron Works was one of the largest producers of nails and iron in the country., In 1884, Liverpool High School was the first in the country to graduate a class. Ickesburg High School, in 1916, was the last to graduate its first class., The Marshall Iron Furnace was one of many industries in and around Newport., The C. A. Rippman Tannery in Millerstown won an international award for quality leather goods., Sponsored by Dennis K. and Pamela M. Dum and Families. , Dedicated to William Reapsome Dum Perry County Commissioner (1903 - 1906)..