During the 1700’s the juncture of the Susquehanna River and the Swatara Creek made the villages of Port Royal (Royalton) and Portsmouth (lower Middletown) the most strategic area on William Penn’s frontier. Those streams that had provided a natural water highway for the Indians for centuries now made it possible for traders to use all sorts of riverboats, rafts and canoes to travel to settlements all the way from Baltimore far out into the sparsely settled frontier.
Ferry boats, too, carried passengers, salesmen, and their goods from shore to shore, so taverns and hostels were located all along the way. And the village of Port Royal had her share of them.
Pack horses, too, were important freight carriers. They were loaded with merchandise of all kinds: salt and iron being especially important commodities. Iron bars were bent to fit around the horse’s body, each carrying a 200 lb. load. Two men could manage 10 to 15 horses-one, “the pioneer,” led the train, and another in the rear kept the long, single line well under control. Usually the horses were fitted with a blanket for the rider to sleep on, besides pack saddles and bell collar ornaments; and most travelers carried a pistol, rifle, or knife for personal protection.
Another “vital” commodity was whiskey, often considered the staff of life by the hardy pioneers. Besides, it was far more profitable for a farmer to break his corn crop down into whiskey, than to transport meal or whole grain. Thus started the “Whiskey Rebellion” shortly after the Revolutionary War. The state authorities tried to crack down on the transport of whiskey because the people refused to pay the required tax on it. The farmers insisted, corn or whiskey, it made no difference.
“Mud Pike” followed the course of the Susquehanna from Columbia through Port Royal to Portsmouth until it crossed the main Philadelphia to Pittsburgh Pike west of Middletown, called the “King’s Highway”-now Route 230. Mud Pike was kept in fairly good repair for its day, until the railroad was laid out. Then, before the railroad took over most of the right of way, the pike was abandoned.
Royalton has always been known as a railroad town. The “Pennsy” even owned many of the houses along its tracks for the use of their workers, renting them out for $5 a month. Half the families in town seemed to have at least one of its members working on the railroad as trackmen, engineers, or general laborers.
The road was first surveyed about 1832. The farmers involved strongly opposed having their property divided, but the railroad won. In August of that year a single track was put down. A horse, harnessed to a car by a rope, furnished power. Not long after, a locomotive called the “John Bull” replaced the horse. The conductor rode on a perch high above the car, ready to blow a horn as a signal to start. The trip from Philadelphia to Columbia took nine hours. By 1850, however, other lines were in operation, as were the familiar steam locomotives.
Before the railroad bridge was built children scampered across the tracks on their way to school. Often they crawled beneath waiting freight trains rather than risk tardiness. Then, in building the bridge, hundreds of loads of dirt were hauled in by horse and wagon to provide a supporting hill. One can barely imagine the dexterity and patience that must have been required to get horse and buggy traffic up and down that hill during the ice and mud of winter.
The bridge itself was built of iron, with a floor of wide wooden planks spaced dangerously far apart. A low railing poorly protected the pedestrians who had no choice but to use it. One morning a work train’s high derrick snagged the bridge and destroyed it. Royalton Borough Records show evidence that months of deliberation passed before the Council and the Railroad could agree on repairing the bridge. When rebuilt in 1920 however, the new bridge still had a floor of wooden planks, although not so dangerously spaced. It was not until the Borough macadamized its streets that the bridge was paved also.
The Pennsy also maintained a small station, a watering pipe, two huge water tubs, a signal and switching station, and a large division work yard in Royalton. At times hundreds of men worked out of this division.
During every war traffic on the Pennsy was exceptionally heavy. Tanks, trucks, supplies, and thousands of soldiers passed through the town on their way to the battlefront. Electrification of the lines was done during the 1930’s, but it was not until recent years that the steam locomotives were completely phased out.
The Pennsylvania Canal, started in 1826 and opened to traffic in 1834, also ran through Lower Royalton. A complete trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh took several days and cost $10, exclusive of meals. A hearty breakfast or evening meal could be bought for $.25 – $.50, usually on the canal boat, or in a local tavern if the boat was tied up long enough.
December 8, 1900, navigation on the Pennsylvania Canal ceased for the winter. Although authorities agreed that the past season had been quite profitable because of the amount of anthracite moved, they cast doubt if the canal would resume operation in the Spring. Owners were advised to get rid of their boats. The few remaining evidences of the canal and its feeder have in very recent years been filled in-and some have become streets, such as Strasburg St.
