A train and horse-drawn carriage travel side by side along the Susquehanna River just outside of Catawissa. This would be a part of present-day State Route 42.
The rapid increase of population and the demand for homes was the cause that led to the organization of the Catawissa Land and Building Company and the Catawissa Mutual Building Fund As- sociation, in 1865 and 1870, respectively. The result of their for- mation was a period of building activity, extending from 1869 to 1873, during which many persons who otherwise could not have obtained money were enabled to own homes. The demand for homes and lots caused F. L. Shuman to purchase the Zarr farm and lay out the Shuman addition in 1882. One of the prominent citizens of Catawissa was Clark F. Harder, who built the planing mill in 1866. He made it one of the chief in- dustries of the town, and in 1885, during the building boom, put up seventeen houses, furnishing his own materials from the mill. Most of the better class of residences of that date were built by him. Today, Catawissa has evolved into a thriving little riverside com- munity. The Catawissa Bottling Company produces the iconic Big Ben’s soda, and nearby attractions like Rohrbach’s Farm Market and Rolling Hills Red Deer Farm provide opportunities for fun for visi- tors. So, the next time you’re in town, be sure to stop for a bit and appreciate it! ~ 31
From an old history, published at Philadelphia in 1847, the infor- mation is had that in 1840 Catawissa had a population of 800, ex- ceeding that of Bloomsburg by 150. The town then contained three churches, several stores and taverns and upwards of two hundred dwellings. There were a foundry, a paper mill and several tanneries in and near the town. The Germans predominated in the popula- tion then. The building of the Catawissa railroad was a blessing to the town and caused a rapid increase of population. Six months after the opening of the road the headquarters were established in Cataw- issa and extensive repair shops built in 1864. Thus the town be- came the home of many operatives, and as the other roads came in became quite a railroad center. These operatives brought their families, established homes and became important factors in the growth of Catawissa for a number of years, until the extension of the Reading road from Shamokin to Milton caused a removal of much traffic from the Catawissa division and reduced the number of employees in the repair shops. There are still a number of em- ployees of the Reading and Pennsylvania roads in the town, but few compared with the past.
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