Why Woodvale Ave and How They Got There

The year is 1881. John Herman Lux, age 19, pictured on left, makes his way from Ludwigsthal, Austria-Silesia, through the Port of Philadelphia, and on to Johnstown, PA. He left behind his parents, a brother and two sisters, to begin a new life. He went to work in the Cambria Steel Works. His younger brother, Frank, followed in his footsteps two years later. Their parents, Aloysius and Caroline (Heider) joined them in 1890, one year after the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889. Their daughters, Molly and Anna, also emigrated and it is assumed they accompanied their parents.

Bertha Brosig emigrated in 1881 at the age of 15 along with her older brother, Joseph, a younger sister, Anna, and their parents. Her biological mother was Luise Kerl but it is not known if she was the biological mother of Anna. John Brosig's second wife was Josephine. It is presumed at this point that Luise passed away and Josephine emigrated with the family to America. This was the same year Bertha's future husband arrived. Sources in the Brosig family indicate that John and Bertha knew each other in Austria.

The meeting place for newly arrived immigrants was the Hotel Riedel at 799 Railroad Street.

On the left is a photo of the Hotel Riedel as shown in the Official Souvenir Silver Jubilee Program (15 and 16 November 1910) of the German-Austrian Music Society.

How did this family come to settle on Woodvale Ave. in Johnstown? We can only guess but a man by the name of Hermann Niessner (picture on right) may have had something to do with encouraging many immigrants to this part of the country. Hermann Niessner came to America in 1874. Three years later he returned to his hometown of Ludwigsthal, Austria-Silesia, and married. His visit to his hometown resulted in many of his neighbors immigrating to Johnstown. He was the owner of large greenhouses on Poplar Street and in Geistown.

Woodvale Borough was a growing community. Maple Avenue was the main street and it was almost a mile long with overhanging trees. Almost everyone had electricity or natural gas in his home. Woodvale Borough boasted a woolen mill built by Cambria Iron, the Rosensteel Tannery, two schools and several churches. Woodvale Avenue even had a streetcar line! After the flood only the woolen mill remained.

About 1000 people lived on Woodvale Avenue prior to the flood of 1889. During the flood 314 died and 255 homes were washed away The photo on the left shows the back yard of a house about midway on Woodvale Ave. The church in the background on the left side of the photo (St. John Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, built in 1910) is on Maple Ave, the principal street of Woodvale Borough. Note the absence of trees and vegetation on the hills in the background. This lack of vegettation was a contributing factor in the Flood of 1889.

Johnstown had been plagued with many floods prior to the Flood of May 31, 1889. There was the "Great Pumpkin Flood" of 1786. This occurred in the fall causing the pumpkin crop to wash into the valley. Johnstown had many more "pumpkin floods." Floods also occurred in 1808, 1847, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1887 and 1888. Why so many floods? Timber was being stripped off the mountains and hills and in Johnstown the river channels were being narrowed to make room for new buildings. Heavy spring rains and failure to heed warnings about the stability of the earthen dam which was built by the Cambria Company had a devastating affect.. Originally built to create a reservoir for a feeder to the Pennsylvania Canal, it was abandoned when the canal became useless and was taken over by the Sportsman's Club. Poor maintenance caused the relief-gates to be permanently stopped up, and gravel, clay and mud was used to raise the embankment to a height far beyond that of the original structure. Even during ordinary spring rains water flowed into the basements of many homes. Another contributing factor was the mill itself which filled up the creek beds with refuse and ashes, thus narrowing the beds of the creeks.

Before the Flood

After the Flood

The Cambria Company was the major land holder and employer for its works and mines. They also owned railroad shops, planning mills, flour mills, several banks and newspapers. The Company built rows of tenements for its employees. These were two story wooden structures built close together. The better homes had cellars. The tenements rented for from $5 to $15 a month, and the average building cost was $500. Besides owning the flatlands the Company owned the surrounding hills which contained deposits of limestone, coal and ore.

The people on Woodvale Avenue were blue collar workers. Most of them worked for the Cambria Company. Some of the other occupations of the residents were butcher, merchants, painters, salesmen, bricklayers, coal miners and one was a teamster for a brewery.

They came from Europe with the German-Austrian nationality being predominate in the section where the Lux family lived. Other nationalities were Hungarian-Slovak, Austrian-Slovak, Irish-English, English, Russian-Yiddish and Italian.

I have no information on why the street where our family lived was called "Woodvale" other than the obvious that it was full of trees!

The Lux House on Woodvale Ave as it looked in 2000.	View looking toward Maple Ave in 2002. Note vegetation on hillside.

FACTS ABOUT JOHNSTOWN:

Joseph Johns, a German, laid out the city of Johnstown in 1800. Before that it was occupied by an Indian Village, Kickenapawling. First it was called Conemaugh and later named for Johns. It was incorporated as a village in 1800, a borough in 1831, and a city in 1889, seven months after the Flood. The population in 1889 was 10,000 in Johnstown and 30,000 if the surrounding communities were included.

Additional Facts About the Lux Family

Bertha (Brosig) and John Herman Lux had nine children and six survived.

According to the 1900 Census they owned their own home and it was mortgage free.

When Bertha's father passed away in 1901 he left his estate to Bertha and her siblings who inherited $86.52 each, Josephine $300, and Joseph Stahr (connection unknown) $300.

Caroline and Aloysius did not speak English but the rest of the family could read and write English and German.

According to the 1910 Census, John Herman worked as a Day Laborer in the Steel Mills and the eldest son, John, was employed as a bookkeeper in the Coal Office. Frank was employed as a Helper in the Machine Shop and Aloysius was a Helper in the Steel Mill. Albert and Herman were in school and Marie was still at home.

Bertha's brother, Joseph, who was four years older, lived next door to Bertha and John. Joseph was married and had five children.

It is interesting to note that many families took lodgers into their homes. Their ages ranged from late teens to early thirties with the mid twenties being the predominate age.

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These facts were obtained from the 1900 and 1910 Census Records, the Silver Jubilee Booklet of the German-Austrian Musical and Beneficial Society of Johnstown, PA, dated 15 and 16 November 1910. On-line resources were "History of the Johnstown Flood" and "The Johnstown Flood 1889."

If you have any stories that were told to you by family members and would like to share them I will be happy to add them to our history. You can email them to Millie.

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