Hastings, founded in 1889,
was named in honor of Daniel Hartman Hastings, Governor
of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1899. It was incorporated as
a borough on December 4, 1894.
In
1887, Governor Beaver, General Hastings and Colonel Spangler,
all of Bellefonte, and Robert Coleman of Lebanon, incorporated
under the title of Blubaker Coal Company, came to Cambria County
and bought some 14,000 acres of coal lands in Elder, Susquehanna,
Barr and Caroll Townships upon which they had taken options
at an earlier date.
It was intended that the company be named "Brubaker", the name
of the creek, a tributary of Chest Creek, which rises in the
southwestern part of Elder Township and flows through the present
town of Hastings. According to Mr. Isidore Pfiester, an engineer
for the Blubaker Company, the name Blubaker was the result of
an error in printing.
The development of the coal lands in the area was dependent
upon suitable transportation to move coal to the markets. The
established railroads were reluctant to extend their lines to
the new coal field, but through some clever moves on the part
of General Hastings and Colonel Spangler, the Pennsylvania Railroad
was extended from LaJose to Hastings. A more suitable connection
was later established with an outlet to the mainline at Cresson.
Leases were entered into with the Laurel Hill Coal and Coke
Company and the Chest Creek Coal and Coke Company, which speeded
the development of the area. The latter company built coke ovens
and made such a good product that it received a prize for the
best coke at the World's Fair in 1893. Through advancement in
the art of making coke, the ovens were later abandoned.
The first car of coal was shipped from Hastings in July 1888
by the Chest Creek Coal and Coke Company. This company was later
purchased by T.H. Wakins and others who organized the Pennsylvania
Coal and Coke Corporation, which operated in the area for many
years.
The town was laid out in 1888 under the supervision of Mr. H.D.
Van Pelt. In sixteen months more than 100 buildings, storerooms
and homes were built, and the population increased to more than
1,000.
In 1890, the first municipal building, known as the "lock-up",
was built. This building was used in the early days for borough
council meetings.
In common with similar rapidly growing towns, Hastings had much
trouble with its water supply. In the beginning, each home had
its own well. Private capital organized the Hastings Water Company
in 1891. The borough had much litigation in the matter, and
in 1926, the borough purchased the water system from private
interests.
A highlight of the problems related to the water supply was
the typhoid epidemic, which struck the town in 1908. The water
supply was found to be uncontaminated, but the epidemic led
to some municipal improvements, including a sewage system completed
about 1914.
The development of the cultural and religious life followed
quickly after the establishment of the commmunity. A Swedish
Lutheran Church was established in March 1891, and the Catholic
parish was established in the same year. During the year 1889,
Rev N.B. Smith of the Cherry Tree Circuit organized the first
group of Methodists who met in a building owned by Aaron Goldman.
The Methodist Church was also built in 1891.
Wood School on Beaver Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues,
was the first school in the community. It was a two-room building,
and the instruction was by Mr. Boughter. Mr. Austin Weakland
was a teacher in 1890 in a two-story building on Third Avenue,
present home of Mr. Andrew Bills.
The first public school for the new town was a four-room wooden
building on the site of the present Catholic Church; it was
built in 1890 and had two grades in each room. The first teachers
were Miss Mollie Nash, Mr. George Beaver, Miss Anna Callahan
and Mr. J.S. Foley.
A two-year high school was established in 1904. The course was
extended to three years in 1913. In 1923, the high school began
an accredited four-year course.
The population of Hastings in 1950 was 1,846.
(NOTE: Mr. Jim Commons, former Mayor and member of the Hastings
Borough Council, researched and submitted this information to
the Hastings Borough Secretary in 1996.)
