Posts Tagged glenn park

      The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal organization that split from the English Odd Fellows organizations which originated during the early part of the 1700′s when charitable and selfless acts were not common. The American branch became the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the number of lodges in the United States increased until every State in the United States had a lodge. The Civil War saw a great number of Lodges close as membership plummeted but rebounded a little after the war. The Great Depression also struck a blow to membership as many were unable to afford membership.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows had two lodges in Ellwood City, the Glenn Park Lodge 1016 instituted Sept 10, 1891  and the Alferetta Rebekah Lodge 142 instituted Oct 14, 1902. The Glenn Park Lodge met every Thursday in the Schweiger Building (601 Lawrence Avenue). The Odd Fellows’ ladies’ auxiliary in Ellwood City was known as the “Daughters of Rebekah”.
Ellwood City Lodge 9 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows came about by consolidation of Glen Park Lodge, Refuge Lodge, and Wampum Lodge 865 instituted Jan 22, 1874. The consolidation of the three lodges was instituted Jan 20 1932, by Grand Master Rev. Simon Sipple, other Grand Lodge officers.
The name Ellwood City Lodge No. 9 was suggested to the Grand Lodge by the secretary Lawrence Rabberman and adopted by the Grand Lodge without question. During the following years the lodge supported a softball team in the I.O.O.F. league of Beaver Valley (they won the championship in a playoff with Freedom); they also had a team in the Civic Bowling League.
The lodge contributed to the support of the Wayside Inn, I.O.O.F. home in Grove City, PA and Orphans Home in Meadville, PA. The independent Order of Odd Fellows is the oldest fraternal organization in the United States. The newly formed Lodge 9 continued for many years though last record I can find is 1967.

Originally Published April 20, 2009

    Ellwood City Memories was recently shown a booklet published in 1891 as a tool by the Pittsburg Company to “sell” the newly forming town of Ellwood City. The booklet pushed the town as a resort town with the close proximity to Rock Point Park, Ellwood City’s own Glenn Park, the separation of residential areas and industrial areas, running water, electric, and the crown jewel – the Hotel Oliver. This picture and following write-up were both contained inside the booklet, but we apologize for the poor picture quality as we did not want to scan this picture and possibly damage the over one hundred year old booklet.

    “The Hotel Oliver occupies a commanding site in “Oliver Park” overlooking the chasm of the Connoquenessing and Glen Park, and from it is obtained a magnificent view of the beautiful surrounding country. The Hotel Oliver is supplied with every modern convenience; sanitary plumbing, steam heat, natural gas, electric light, etc. The purest of clear, cold spring water is piped into the hotel. It is furnished throughout in the most complete manner, and is under the management of one of the best hotel men in the country, with cuisine and every appointment strictly first-class. A number of handsome cottages are being erected in “Oliver Park,” adjoining the hotel for the use of families preferring them to rooms within the hotel. It is remarked by all who have seen this site that it is an incomparable hotel location, with its surrounding park of original forest trees, extensive lawn, flowers and fountains interspersed with charming walks and drives. The Connoquenessing Club has begun building a handsome Club House at the foot of Fifth Street, facing the Hotel Oliver and immediately over the springs and chasm, in one of the most charming spots on the Connoquenessing. Another hotel, to be called the “Glen House,” is already under contract with the builders. This house will be located on the borders of Glen Park, overlooking the famous “Sentinel Rocks,” the most romantic spot on the Connoquenessing.”

    Glen Park was one of the big selling points when convincing people to relocate to the new town of Ellwood City. The park ran along the south side of the Connoquenessing Creek from the current site of the Fifth Street Bridge and stretched approximately five miles west. Glen Park was heavily populated with a multitude of trees including hemlock, beech, birch, and other forest trees and many large rocks covered with ferns and moss. Roads were graded through for easy access and the place was named by H.W. Hartman.
    Since there are not many people around today that can recall the scenic gorge along the Connoquenessing, we can only imagine the beauty and grandeur. The creek held storied beauty where it rolls over the rocks amidst the wildest scenery, having no counterpart for romance and picturesqueness anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains.
    Glen Park consisted of over one hundred acres with walks and drives to access the beautiful scenery including the Palisades, the Sentinel Rocks, etc. The park also had six crystal clear never ending springs bubbling forth from the rock formations and seven other fine springs flowed from the tabled and mineral ridge above.
    The park was abandoned when the factories along the B&O railroad began dumping garbage and refuse along the top of the hill. The area along the creek is still undeveloped and has regained a lot of the natural beauty that was lost. The old Glenn Park would make an ideal scenic spot for a bicycle trail similar to those found in Pennsylvania’s State Park’s.

    The house at 111 Wampum Avenue has been known as many things in Ellwood City’s history, but it will remain known as the Nathanial Nye home. The house was once a train station, the scene of the first Hazel Dell Borough election, and it is not where it used to be. Today the house sits across Wampum Avenue across from Barry’s Ice Cream but the structure formally sat on the other end of Wampum Ave where Costa Spoa built a supermarket in 1960. James and Ruth purchased the home from Mr. Spoa and had it moved to its current location.
    Built in the 1860’s by J.H. Marshall, the building was the Hazel Dell station for the Pittsburgh & Western Railroad before Ellwood City was founded. While it was a train station, John Marshall served as the flagman since Hazel Dell was only a flag stop on the line. John also served as postmaster there until his son-in-law Nathanial Nye was appointed to the post on October 25, 1886. Nathaniel P. Nye was also elected Noble Grand of the Glenn Park Lodge, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at the clubs institution on September 10, 1891.
    We are trying to uncover the history behind not only this house but also the families that have lived here. If you have any memories about this house, whether it be who lived here, who built it, the time you broke your arm falling out of the tree in the back yard, or even the great treats they gave out on Halloween. Please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE. Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.

    The picture here, we are told, is a picture of an I.O.O.F. funeral parade. The men of the club are in full uniform and heading South up the hill of Fourth Street towards the Locust Grove Cemetery on the hill. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows had two lodges in Ellwood City, the Glenn Park Lodge and the Alferetta Rebekah Lodge.

    A number of the houses along Fourth Street in this picture are still standing today, however the miniature farm on the left is no longer there. There are a multitude of other things that are different from this picture to today. We can clearly see that Fourth Street is still a dirt road in this picture yet the sidewalks are paved. We have to question if this was not a funeral parade and rather a holiday parade by the attire of the folks on the sidewalks watching the parade. The little girls are dressed in there fancy white dresses, the men are dressed in suits and almost everyone has on a hat.

    The First Christian Church on the corner of Fourth Street and Wayne Avenue was a wooden structure at the time of the picture and you can see its steeple peeking above the houses. Even a little more North on Fourth Street you can see a row of trees lining the left side of the road. This is Oliver Park which was part of the Hotel Oliver (later Hotel Lawrence) and the site of the first murder in Ellwood City.

    Finally on the left side of the picture, you can see the Hotel Lawrence. The “crown jewel” of founder Henry W. Hartman’s plan for Ellwood City. This view is of the back of the building and as you can see, it is still quite an impressive sight. Between the Hotel, Oliver Park, and the unseen Glenn Park, and nearby amusement park Rock Point Park, it is easy to understand why Ellwood City was considered a resort town in its earliest days.

    I am sure there are many more things you notice about this picture that others might not have noticed. If you would like to leave a comment about this picture, please do so below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE.

Hotel Oliver

     Hotel Oliver, located on the grounds of Lincoln High School, was the first major building project in Ellwood City. Planned to be among the best hotels of western Pennsylvania, Simon Harold of Beaver Falls built the hotel with all the most modern conveniences that were available. When Hotel Oliver opened May 2nd of 1891 it marked the “official opening” of Ellwood City. The hotel itself had electric lights and bells, steam heat, and top of the line sanitary arrangements and fire escapes.
     The hotel, named in honor of Henry W. Oliver a Pittsburgh capitalist and steel manufacturer, was an important part of the early life of Ellwood City. The town was able to secure a reputation as a resort town thanks in part to picturesque Glenn Park, Rock Point Park, and Hotel Oliver being built as a summer resort.

    Hotel Oliver Grove was located directly behind Hotel Oliver on Crescent Avenue. The park extended from 4th St. to 6th St. and all the way to Oak Ave on the South. The popular picnic area was the site of first murder of Ellwood City, an apparent robbery.
    The southside of Oliver Ave at 6th St behind Oliver Park was a building shaped in the form of a letter “T”. The building housed Hotel Oliver’s billiard room & bowling alley. A hotel’s Bar-room was also located in a separate building to the rear & west of the main building & connected to the main building by a small hallway.