Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Renovo, Pennsylvania
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== Renovo was built for and by the [[Philadelphia & Erie Railroad]] as the midpoint between [[Philadelphia]] and [[Erie]]. The town was laid out on a mostly-flat flood plain along the West Branch of the [[Susquehanna River]] in North-Central [[Pennsylvania]], and was incorporated in 1866. Many of the buildings of what became the sprawling Railroad Shops complex were built before, during, and after the [[American Civil War]]. The Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, along with many other relatively smaller lines eventually became incorporated into the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest corporation in the world with an annual GPO larger than the federal government, and is the only corporation in history to have paid out dividends due to its profitability for 100 years. Unlike most "rural" towns and residential areas, Renovo was laid out in an industrially-oriented urban grid with avenues given names of the [[Great Lakes]], and "side streets" numbered from 1 to 16. Houses were mostly built close to one another or incorporated into row houses. Houses with larger lots allowing for big yards were a rare luxury. Before the town was completely built out, Renovo was known and advertised as a "resort town in the mountains". One can still find newspaper ads and brochures extolling the restorative mountain air, clean water, and outdoor activities such as [[fishing]] and [[hunting]]. There were several large hotels in the town well before the turn of the 20th century. The railroad made access to this remote area seemingly quick and effortless for those living in other cities which enjoyed railroad service. The town boasted dozens of bars and restaurants as well as churches which gave testimony to the forward-directed, optimistic, and vigorous energy which fueled the town's growth and development. Most institutions which one would find in a town of the era or today, such as a [[hospital]], [[YMCA]], [[schools]], [[taxi service]], shops, clubs, lodges, [[fraternal organizations]], [[professional services]], and [[sports teams]], were established. The major employer was the Pennsylvania Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad shops. The shops were a massive complex, stretching from one end of town to the other, containing a 25 rail freight classification yard, service shops for diesel and steam locomotives, and even its own coal power plant.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=Summer 1994|title=Renovo and the P&E RR|journal=The Keystone|volume=27|pages=16β24}}</ref> As long as the Railroad prospered, the town was a bustling center of activity. Some aspects of [[railroad]] business began to decrease as early as before World War II, but business surged back strongly during the War. However, further decline in demand for both passenger and [[freight transportation]] via the railroad came with the building of the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]], the building of the [[Interstate Highway System]], the surge of automobile ownership and use, and the consolidation of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Shop facilities to other locations such as Pittsburgh and Altoona. The closing of the shops in the 1960s tolled the death knell for Renovo as an enterprising town with a future. Its present population is less than 2,000; it was once around 5,000. Many residents drive the two-lane, windy roads and I-80 to other towns for employment. There is also a substantial contingent of lifelong residents and transplants who are retired. The change in human activity over the years hasn't dimmed or substantially altered the natural environment of this [[Allegheny Mountains|Allegheny Mountain]] area of the larger [[Appalachian Highlands]]. In 1972, Renovo, along with many other parts of Pennsylvania were devastated by flooding and torrential rain from [[Hurricane Agnes]], which stalled over the state, dumping up to 19 inches on parts of the state, and between 8 - 10 inches on Renovo.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} In the 1980s, Renovo was a pawn in a large scandal, which sought to defraud the [[Federal government of the United States|United States Government]] of millions of dollars. In 1983, a company called Chem-Con Corp. took over the vacant railroad shops after [[Berwick Forge & Fabricating]], which made railroad boxcars, closed. Chem-Con made seasheds, which are containers used to transport military vehicles, for the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]. In 1986, Chem-con was first suspected of inflating costs to the government. The FBI began an investigation into Chem-com in the same year, and Chem-con was exposed for defrauding nearly $12 Million from the U.S. Government and Navy.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mekeel|first=Tim|title=Is Herley the next Chem-Con or ISC?|url=https://lancasteronline.com/news/is-herley-the-next-chem-con-or-isc/article_4fe6e6a1-142e-5dcc-9a8c-ff0cbb75e681.html|access-date=2021-06-14|website=LancasterOnline|language=en}}</ref> In 1987, Chem-con filed for bankruptcy, and a company called American Coastal Industries resumed operations at the shop buildings, later going bankrupt too. This scandal and "false hope" for the town, bringing hundreds of the town's unemployed back to work, in addition to a fire that tore through the business district on Erie Avenue, was devastating for Renovo, adding many more to the jobless and money-tight residents, who would eventually leave town for better opportunities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Call|first=RON DEVLIN, The Morning|title=RENOVO IS A PASSENGER ON AN ECONOMIC ROLLER COASTER TOWN FACES ADVERSITY WITH SPIRIT OF RENEWAL|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1988-12-18-2659297-story.html|access-date=2021-06-14|website=mcall.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Call|first=SCOTT J. HIGHAM, The Morning|title=CHEM-CON PAPER TRAIL TOLD A STORY OF CORPORATE GREED CONVICTED OFFICIALS OF CHEM-CON|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1988-12-18-2659294-story.html|access-date=2021-06-14|website=mcall.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Renovo, Pennsylvania
(section)
Add topic