This reproduction view of Apollo, Pennsylvania was drawn by Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler and published by T. M. Fowler & James B. Moyer in 1896. Apollo emerged from the newly formed Armstrong County in the early 1800s. The early settlement next to the Kiskiminetas River was known as Warren���s Sleeping Place. When it was formally laid out in 1816, it was named Warren, but when the post office was established in 1827 the name was changed to Apollo. It had been determined that there was already another Warren in Pennsylvania and Apollo adopted its classical name.
Apollo obtained its first mill in 1849. In 1855, the Pennsylvania Canal was completed, which bolstered the community���s economy. Apollo���s great iron industry began with the formation of the Kiskiminetas Iron Company in 1856. The company���s rolling mill operated under different proprietorships until 1876, when P. H. Laufman & Co., Ltd. took over management. The firm erected a bigger mill adding to its capacity from 65 to 300 tons of de-carbonized steel per week and erected a copper plating works. The Apollo Foundry was organized in 1889. In the 1890's, the company ended a labor dispute by hiring local workers as replacements. To avoid further disputes the Apollo Iron and Steel Company aimed to improve its workers living conditions and hired the architectural firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot, of New York���s Central Park fame, to design a model industrial town, Vandergrift, just north of Apollo.
The map from 1896 includes streets, buildings, bridges and railroad lines. Features numbered & lettered references to the following locations: 1. Public Schools. 2. Chambers House. J. H. Chambers, Proprietor. 3. Apollo Iron & Steel Co. 4. Apollo Sheet Iron Mills. P. H. Laufman & Co. Ltd. 5. Planing Mill & Lumber Yard. Cochrane & McMullen, Proprietors. 6. Superior Roller Mills. W. H. Cornahan Co., Proprietors. 7. Apollo Roller Mills. Cruikshank & Young, Proprietors. 8. Planing Mill & Lumber Yard. Sam���l Jack���s Sons, Proprietors. 9. Apollo Water Co. 10. Apollo Electric Light Plant. 11. Paulton Station. W. P. R. R. 12. Apollo Station. W. P. B. R. R. A. Presbyterian Church. B. Lutheran Church. C. Reformed Church. D. Baptist Church. E. M. E. Church. F. United Presbyterian Church. G. Catholic Church. H. Presbyterian Chapel. I. A. M. E. Church. |