Mont Clare, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mont Clare | |
| formerly Quincyville | |
| Village | |
 Schuylkill Canal Lock 60 in Mont Clare
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| Name origin: Mont Clare/Clair from poet Bayard Taylor | |
| Country | United States of America |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Montgomery |
| Township | Upper Providence |
| Landmarks | Schuylkill Canal, Mont Clare Bridge |
| River | Schuylkill River |
| Coordinates | |
| Government | Unincorporated Village |
| Timezone | Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) |
| Zip code | 19453 |
| Area code | 610, 484, 835 |
  Location of Mont Clare in Pennsylvania
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Mont Clare is a village in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA. Originally named Quincyville, the village is located on the left bank of the Schuylkill River, opposite Phoenixville, at the site of the former Jacob's ford. Mont Clare, along with neighboring Port Providence, host one of the two remaining watered stretches of the Schuylkill Canal. The village name has also been spelled with the homophones Mont Clair and Montclare.
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[edit] History
Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, there was an aboriginal American encampment or village on the site, of the Lenni-Lenape tribe.[1] In Colonial America the ford drew traffic through Quincyville, including American and British troops during the American Revolutionary War. In the 1820s, the construction of the "Schuylkill Navigation" Canal brought more commerce through the village. And in 1844, the first Mont Clare Bridge was constructed to replace the ford. In 1846, Joseph Whitaker sold his interest in the Phoenix Works and moved across the river to Quincyville to land he purchased there. Whitaker built a dwelling and a steam saw mill. The residence was named Mont Clare at the suggestion of poet Bayard Taylor,[2] setting the stage for the future name of the village.
By 1859, Quincyville consisted of "an inn, store, steam saw mill, lumberyard, and seventeen houses. There was formerly an iron foundry and machine shop here, which ha[d] been converted to a paper mill". "There was also a post office here which was discontinued in the spring of 1858."[3]
By the 1870s the village name was changing from Quincyville to Mont Clare (see below).
Between 1882 and 1884, the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Rail Road was completed between Philadelphia and Reading with a station in Mont Clare.[4] The line is on a raised viaduct that curves over the northern half of Mont Clare before crossing the Schuylkill River.
At some point the Mont Clare post office was reopened and eventually assigned the ZIP Code 19453. The post office closed again near the turn of the 21st century.
Mont Clare is the site of Lock 60 a fully restored and operating lock of the Schuylkill Canal, as well as the restored locktender's house.
[edit] Village names
The village name seems to have changed in the 1870s. In an 1871 atlas,[5] the village is labeled Quincyville and in an 1877 atlas,[6] it is shown as "Mt. Clare", but that atlas' included history of Upper Providence refers to it as "Quincyville or Mont Clare". This predates the construction of the railroad and station in the village, although there is a claim that the railroad dubbing the station Montclair[sic] after Whitaker's estate was the source of the name change[7] The 1884 county map in Bean's history shows both names.[8]
The spelling of Mont Clare is the subject of some historical debate. An 1895 Philadelphia Inquirer article claims that Bayard Taylor spelled it Mont Clair in 1847 and blames the railroad company for changing it to Mont Clare,[9] a similar claim to the above. Yet Pennypacker, a local, in his 1872 history of Phoenixville, consistently refers to the village as Mont Clare and attributes the estate's name to Bayard with that spelling. In any event, Mont Clare is the modern spelling listed by both the USPS and GNIS, although the latter lists Montclare as a variant.
[edit] Notable people
In 1862, the future 24th Governor of Pennsylvania, Samuel W. Pennypacker, had his first job teaching in a one room school house in Mont Clare.[10]
Mont Clare is given as the birthplace of Harry "The Sundance Kid" Longabaugh in 1867,[11] although then it was still called Quincyville. He was born at 122 Jacob Street.[12][13]
[edit] Historical maps
- 1871 Map of Quincyville and Upper Providence Township: GIF Format TIFF Format[5]
- 1877 Map of "Mt. Clare" and Upper Providence Township: GIF Format TIFF Format[6]
- 1884 Map of Montgomery County EnlargedOriginal[8]
[edit] Geography and culture
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
Mont Clare is located on the inside of a bend of the Schuylkill River, which forms the western side of the village. The village is at a historical ford and present day bridge. Originally settled between the river and a bluff, the village has expanded eastward up the bluff along Bridge Street (PA29). The lower part of Mont Clare is in the river flood plain.
Mont Clare is primarily a residential community. The village has two churches: the Holy Archangel Michael Byzantine Catholic Church (locally known as St. Michael's) and the Otterbein United Methodist Church. Commercial concerns include Produce Junction and three automobile repair shops.
[edit] References
- ^ Pennypacker, Samuel Whitaker (1872). Annals of Phoenixville and Its Vicinity: From the Settlement to the Year 1871. Phoenixville, PA: Bavis & Pennypacker, printers, pp. 5-7.
- ^ Pennypacker, p. 144.
- ^ Buck, William Joseph (1859). History of Montgomery County Within the Schuylkill Valley, p. 101.
- ^ Corporate Genealogy - The Pennsylvania Railroad. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
- ^ a b Hopkins, G. M. (1871). Atlas of the County of Montgomery and the state of Pennsylvania.
- ^ a b Scott, J. D. (1877). Combination Atlas of Montgomery County.
- ^ The Schuylkill Canal, or Oakes Reach. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b (1884) in Bean, Theodore W.: HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA, ILLUSTRATED, 1884. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck.
- ^ From The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Named by Bayard Taylor", The New York Times, 1895-12-06, p. 2. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (1843-1916). Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ The Schuylkill Canal. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
- ^ Find Pennsylvania Hometowns Here. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ The True Story of The Sun Dance Kid. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
