History of 912 Mahantongo St,
Pottsville, Pennsylvania – The Former Home of Penn State Schuylkill Campus
I started
this story because I wanted to know more about the house at 912 Mahantongo St.
where myself and my Dad spent much time.
Dad was a professor of Math for Penn State from 1960 to 1978. The campus
in Schuylkill county at the time was based at 912 Mahantongo St. I spent time there as a young child waiting
for Dad to take me home from school, mostly in the library.
At first, I wanted just a photo of the
building. That proved my hardest task,
but I did eventually find several and include them here. During the search for the photos, I found
many events mentioning the address of the house through newspaper
articles. The house became more
interesting, the more I searched. In going down this particular rabbit hole of
the 912 Mahantongo St house history, I have decided to keep going and
investigate the interesting histories of both Gen. Henry Pleasants and Adm.
Norman Farquhar, who lived at 912, as side stories.
Here is where I will begin to intersperse
information about some of the occupants of 912 Mahantongo St.
According to
the book “Penn State Schuylkill – 75 years of transforming lives” by Rosanne
Troy Chesakis, 2010, 912 Mahantongo St was built in 1874 by a famous Civil War
General Henry Pleasants on a street that would become Pottsville’s own
“Millionaires Row”, the place to live for the very prosperous in the
1800’s.
Pottsville Republican – Nov 9, 1995 – pg 3
Pottsville
Republican – Feb 11, 1994 – pg 19
Henry
Pleasants was born in 1833 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to an American John
Pleasants and Sylvia Naveis of Argentina.
He lived there until he was 13 years when he came to Philadelphia to
attend school and lived with his Quaker uncle Henry Pleasants and family. Henry became a mining engineer and came to
Pottsville in 1857 working for the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron
Co. He entered the Army in 1861 and
became the Captain of Co C of the 48th PA Infantry.
1850 Census Henry Pleasants living with his Uncle’s family in Philadelphia
1860 Census Henry Pleasants and first wife, Sarah Bannon, she died the
same year – Pottsville, PA South Ward
Henry
enlists in the Army in 1861, some say that so he would die and join his wife in
eternity.
After the
war, sometime between 1865 and 1867, Henry marries Ann Eliza Shaw. Their first
child Emma is born in 1867.
1870 Census
of General Henry Pleasants living in Pottsville, street unknown but in District
316, South East Ward
General
Henry Pleasants is most famous for being the creator of the plan to tunnel
under the Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia during the Civil War. He used the 48th Pa Volunteer
Infantry regiment that was made up of Schuylkill county coal miners to
accomplish his plan. The plan was
successful, but Burnside’s Union forces failed to use the advantage created by
the explosion. This became known as the
Battle of the Crater, July 29,1864.
Photos below found at - https://longislandwins.com/columns/immigrants-civil-war/a-volcano-in-virginia-the-battle-of-the-crater/
Col Pleasants and men placing gunpowder
The explosion
The crater in 1865
After the
Civil War, the former general came back to Pottsville, regained his old job and
in 1870 was working as the chief mining engineer for the Philadelphia &
Reading Coal & Iron Co. He planned all of the shafts in the Pottsville area
owned by his company and was thought of as a very skillful engineer. The
General dies at age 47 on March 26, 1880, leaving a wife and 4 children as seen
in the 1880 census.
1874 – 912 Mahantongo built by General Pleasants.
Pottsville Republican – Aug 6, 1994
Atchison Daily – Mar 26, 1880 – pg 1 Gen. Henry Pleasants Obituary
1880 Census of 912 Mahantongo St
Pleasants family – wife and 4 children and 2 servants living there after Henry’s death
The Peninsula Times Tribune – May 29, 1926 –
pg 1
Annie Shaw
Pleasants Carpenter passes away in Palo Alto, California as the widow of Dr
John Thomas Carpenter , her 2nd husband. John T Carpenter died in
1899 in Pottsville. He was also listed on Henry Pleasants’ will as one of two property
appraisers for the estate.
Pottsville
Republican – Feb 26, 2000 – pgs 1,2
General
Pleasants connection to another early Pottsville family
Gen. Henry
Pleasants mentioned above was married to an Annie E whose second husband was a
Carpenter.
You might
think that this is the end of the Pleasants family story, but Henry and Annie
had a son John. He has an interesting
story as well. John was born in
1872 in Pottsville and did live at 912.
I do not know when John’s mother married John Carpenter, but by 1890,
John Pleasants, age 18, and his brother James, age 15, were living at 212
Mahantongo St. alone. The youngest
Pleasants child, Hiram, was born in 1877 would have been age 13, but it is not
known what happened to him.
Eleventh census of Schuylkill County, PA –
1890
John may
have received his education in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins University. In the 1891 yearbook for the school, a John
Pleasants is shown as a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Alumni Association.
Lexington
Herald Leader – Jan 14, 1898 – pg 6
John was working in Philadelphia when he
received the position in Boston in 1898.
By 1910, he is shown living in Baltimore and working as a church
organist. The Shaws were a Kentucky family.
1910 Census
– Baltimore
By 1914,
John seems to have settled in Pittsburgh as the organist/choirmaster at St
Peter’s Episcopal Church and also offered musical lessons as shown in this ad
in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Nov 29, 1914
– pg 10
Pittsburgh
Post Gazette – Oct 1, 1916 – pg 52
Here John is
shown with the St Peter’s Choir
St Peter’s Episcopal in Pittsburgh also has an
interesting chapter. Built in 1851, the
church originally stood at Grant and Diamond Sts. About 1900, the church and grounds were
bought by Henry Clay Frick. The building was dismantled brick by brick and
moved to a new location at Forbes and Craft Aves. The building was donated back to the
congregation and that is where John Pleasants would have worked. It was sadly demolished in 1989.
Apparently,
John enlisted during World War 1, as this article tells of his return. I have found no evidence of this yet.
Pittsburgh
Press – Jan 28, 1919 – pg 12
I cannot
find John in the 1920 census, but he does show up in 1930, living in Roselle,
New Jersey and working as a musician for a church.
1930 Census
Daughter of
Civil War General Henry Pleasants and John’s sister
Pottsville
Republican – Jun 13, 1944 – pg 10
I could not
find John in either the 1940 or 1950 censuses.
But he did come back to Pittsburgh and was living at 5105 Fifth Ave,
Oakland/Shadyside area of Pittsburgh at the time of his death in 1954. He came
home to Pottsville one last time to be buried in Baber Cemetery.
Pennsylvania
Death Certificate
The
Pittsburgh Press – Apr 7, 1954 – pg 30
His address
in his obituary and on his death certificate led me to look up it up and this
is what I found.
5105 Fifth
Ave Pittsburgh is the former Willis McCook mansion built in 1906-07. McCook was
a lawyer for Henry Clay Frick and chairman of the Carnegie Steel Co. This mansion is located on Pittsburgh’s
“Millionaire’s Row”. The McCook’s gave up the home in the 1940’s due to high
maintenance costs and back taxes. At
the time John lived there it had been divided up into apartments, along with
the smaller mansion next to it. The proximity of the home to Carnegie Mellon
University, made it a convenient place for many students to live in the 1960’s. Among those students are some names that may
be familiar. Shirley Jones, Andy Warhol, George Peppard and Albert Brooks all
lived here when they were students at CMU.
After a disastrous fire in 2004, the mansion was saved and restored and served
as a luxury hotel, Mansions on Fifth, since 2011. Nice article on this home’s
history here -
https://mansionsonfifth.com/history-mansions-on-fifth.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawIIiktleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfmCzemK3HwHHIpLLC67fXxlZfVuoKZsma28uW14fzOkWJ_pe0A-Aopsdg_aem_qUprXVgqr1wfojbUS-whOQ
So that ends
the story of the Pleasants family’s connection….except for one thing. Whenever, I begin looking into someone like
General Henry Pleasants, I also look at their ancestry. First thing, I look at my tree to see if the
surname is there. Surprise, sometimes it
is, and in this case I had one person named Pleasants in my tree. She was Frances Pleasants, of Philadelphia, and
was an ancestor of one of my husband’s DNA matches who has Wilkes Barre
roots. Now, Frances is not a blood
relation to my husband but married a man who is. A very distant cousin that I had to go way
way back to see the common ancestor.
But, I wonder if Frances is related to Henry? Sure enough they were and are a close 2nd
cousin to each other, sharing the same Pleasants great grandparents. So
this and the Pittsburgh connection made this an interesting side story to
investigate.
So back to
912 Mahantongo St.
By 1886 the
building was a Boarding House owned by the Hawley sisters, Amanda & Rebecca
Pottsville
Republican – Jan 28, 1886 – pf 4
Pottsville
Republican – Jul 17, 1888 – lot sold
A death at
912 Mahantongo St
Pottsville
Republican – Feb 7, 1891 – pg 4
The 1890
census is not available to know what happened to Mrs Annie Pleasants.
1900 Census
of 400 Mahantongo St – Hawley sisters are the residents – the sisters ran a
boarding house here also
Pottsville
Republican – Aug 10, 1901 - Death of the Hawley sisters brother
Pottsville
Republican – Sep 20, 1902 - Death of Rebecca Hawley
Pottsville
Republican Jan 5, 1931 – Death of Amanda Hawley
1902-
Admiral Norman H Farquhar retires from the US Navy and begins living at 912
Mahantongo St. Possibly with his brother Guy.
He would die in 1907 and his brother, Guy and family, are shown to live
at 912 in 1910.
Pottsville
Republican – Jan 27, 1996 – pg 22 from an article about some of Pottsville’s
historical figures and where they lived.
The Miners Journal – Oct 14, 1899 – pg 1
1910 Census
of 912 Mahantongo St – Farquhar family are the residents – Guy Farquhar is the
brother of Admiral Norman H Farquhar also of Pottsville.
Admiral
Norman H Farquhar had a very illustrious career in the US Navy. While he was born in Pottsville, once he was
in the Navy he did not spend much time there. When he died, he had a winter
residence in Washington DC and a summer residence in Jamestown, Rhode Island
where died. He is buried in Arlington
National Cemetery.
Norman Farquhar about 1865
Pottsville
Republican – Mar 4, 1899 – pg 1
Pottsville Republican – Jul5, 1899 – pg 1
Article written by Walter S Farquhar, the Admiral’s nephew, a long time writer and sports editor for the Pottsville Republican
Guy
Farquhar, was a prominent attorney and President of the Schuylkill Trust Co.
Norman S Farquhar is the Admiral’s son.
The Miner’s Journal – Sep 9, 1909 – pg 4
In 1915, 912
Mahantongo sold by the Frances E Farquhar estate To Mrs A.C. Milliken – Frances
was Guy Farquhar’s wife, Guy passed away in 1914.
Pottsville
Republican – Apr 7, 1915 – pg 1
1920 Census
of 912 Mahantongo St – Milliken family after Mrs Milliken's husband passes.
Pottsville Republican – Sep 10, 1931 – pg 6 - Mrs Cullum
is a daughter of Mrs Milliken
Pottsville Republican – Aug 30, 1937 – pg 6 - Mollie Cullum is granddaughter of Mrs Milliken
The Milliken
family originally lived in a mansion built on Greenwood Hill in the early
1800’s. Later owned by the Leader Nursing Home. In 1918, the mansion was used as a hospital
during the Spanish flu epidemic. Sometime before the 1920’s they left the home.
Later a hospital was built on a Milliken property on Mauch Chunk St. and named
the A.C.Milliken Hospital. The name
transferred to a new hospital built on East Norwegian St and later named the
Good Samaritan Hospital which is still operating today under the Lehigh Valley
Health System.
A.C.
Milliken was the husband of Alice Milliken, who as a widow, lived at 912
Mahantongo St. He came to Pottsville in 1890 as the general manager of the
Pottsville Iron & Steel Co. He died
in 1905.
The Miners
Journal – Dec 13, 1905 – pg1
Pottsville Republican – Jun 11, 1926 – pg 10
Milliken
Estate sells 912 Mahantongo to Charles Dietz to be used as a funeral home
Pottsville
Republican – Aug 1, 1942 – pg 2
Dietz
Funeral Home
Pottsville
Republican – Aug 3, 1942 – pg 6
The Penn State Chapter
Dietz
Funeral Home purchased to be leased to Penn State University
Pottsville
Republican – Jul 22, 1948 – pg 1
Lot next to
912 Mahantongo St bought
Pottsville
Republican - Jul 30, 1948 – pg 10
Tax
exemption for 912 Mahantongo St
Pottsville
Republican - Aug 28, 1948 – pg 12
Improvements
made to 912 Mahantongo St
Pottsville
Republican - Sep 30, 1948 – pg 17
PSU - 912
Mahantongo St
Pottsville
Republican - Sep 28, 1956 – pg 24
Penn State
Librarian
Pottsville
Republican – Oct 25, 1960 – pg 5
My Dad, John
F Heacock, was a math professor at Penn State Schuylkill from 1960- 1978. His office was in 912 Mahantongo St. I attended elementary school at the St John’s
Parish school which was located across the street and up the 10th St
hill. I would very often wait for him to
finish office hours or classes in the library at 912 Mahantongo St. Miss Devendorf would allow me to help her in
the library while I waited. Library would have been on first floor to left of front door as looking at building, It extended to the back of the building. Very fond
memories of this time.
John Heacock
new teacher at Penn State
Pottsville
Republican – Sep 2, 1960
Penn State
plans move to Rest Haven in Schuylkill Haven, PA
Pottsville
Republican - Apr 20, 1962 – pg 8
Pottsville
Republican - Jan 19, 1966 – pgs 1 & 2
Two great
happenings in Pottsville. A green light to start renovations on Rest Haven
property to become Penn State Schuylkill.
The planetarium benefited not
just Pottsville High School, but other schools in the area. I was fortunate to be able to have field
trips there getting exposure to Astronomy and star gazing.
New Penn State campus to be ready for fall classes
Pottsville
Republican – Feb 26, 1966 – pg 1
912 Mahantongo St for sale again after Penn State makes move
Pottsville
Republican – Jan 10, 1967 – pg 23
912
Mahantongo St sold to John Tropp
Pottsville
Republican - Mar 2, 1968 – pg 12
10 years
later, 912 Mahantongo St suffered a fire and the building was eventually torn
down.
Pottsville
Republican – Sep 5, 1978 -pg 27
Some other
articles and photos
Evening Herald – Nov 9, 1995
Pottsville Republican – Aug 6, 1994
Pottsville
Republican – Aug 6, 1994
PSU The Call
– Apr 18, 1974
Pottsville
Republican – Nov 9, 1995 – pgs 1,3 - Plans to
build a new library at Penn State Schuylkill
I did this story mostly for myself, to preserve the history of some of my personal memories. But I hope that it was as interesting to you as it turned out to be for me. 912 has a rich history of war heroes, boarding house proprietors, a funeral director, a musician, teachers and students. From millionaire homes to a college campus. For me, I truly believe that the beginnings of my love of reading and history are right here in 912.
Please give credit and post a link to my blog if you intend to use any of the information written here. My blog posts are © Ann M Sinton 2025. All rights reserved
.jpg)
