J. Wesley Gephart
Encyclopedia
John Wesley Gephart was a Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
lawyer and industrialist. Educated in Bellefonte and at Princeton University
, Gephart's dilligence and intelligence were already marked when he was admitted to the bar at the end of 1876 and joined the Bellefonte law practice of James A. Beaver
in 1877. He took a prominent part in the civic and moral life of the town, and enjoyed a reputation as a skillful lawyer and charismatic orator. In 1891, he became president of the newly organized Valentine Iron Company, and thereafter became increasingly devoted to furthering industry and commerce in his home town. He laid aside his legal practice in 1893, after becoming the superintendent of the new Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, to become a full-time industrialist.
His energies were primarily directed towards the promotion of the iron industry in Bellefonte, and the development of railroads to serve it, although he was also an active participant in Bellefonte's civic life, especially the YMCA
. He more than once clashed with the Pennsylvania Railroad
, which had previously enjoyed a monopoly on rail service to Bellefonte. Gephart proved highly successful in attracting outside capital to Bellefonte-area enterprises. At the peak of his fortunes, he supervised the town's two major blast furnace
s, the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, many of the iron ore banks in the Nittany Valley
, and additional mines and quarries that fed the furnaces. However, competition with steel mill
s proved insurmountable for these businesses, and most were either dismantled or moribund within a decade after his death in 1905.
, a town in Penns Valley. His parents were John P. Gephart, a well-to-do local farmer, and Mary (Swartz) Gephart. He was educated at the Bellefonte Academy
and Princeton University
. Gephart paid his way through college in part by working as a printer, having learned the trade at the Bellefonte Watchman in his youth. He graduated from Princeton with honors in 1874, and was named a Boudinot
fellow in history.
Gephart returned to Bellefonte to study law under James A. Beaver
, and was admitted to the bar on December 13, 1876. A contemporary newspaper account praised his diligence and "retentive memory." On January 7, 1877, he joined Beaver's law practice, thereafter conducted under the name of Beaver and Gephart. John M. Dale joined the partnership ten years later, around the time of Beaver's election as governor. Gephart enjoyed an excellent income from his law practice, and was highly regarded as a lawyer and orator. He took part in the local civic life as an officer of the Centennial Temperance Club, and as a member of the local Presbyterian church, where he was Sunday school
superintendent. Gephart married Ella M. Hays on October 23, 1879 in Bellefonte. They had three children: Wallace Hays, William Wilson, and Elizabeth.
In 1884, he reported himself to be a "Conservative Democrat
," but unlike his law partner, Beaver, did not aspire to political office. Gephart also declared himself in favor of a tariff
"adjusted so as to protect
and encourage industries needing it, but not to foster monopolies." The twin themes of encouraging industry and antipathy to monopoly would color much of his later career. His support for a protective tariff led him to publicly break with the Democratic Party in 1888 and endorse Benjamin Harrison
's candidacy for president, much to the discomfiture of Centre County
Democrats. In 1889, Governor Beaver appointed Gephart one of the Commonwealth's commissioners to the Exposition Universelle
.
, which carried ore from Taylor Bank to the Furnace. Gephart became the railroad's general manager. The new iron company soon became enmeshed in a dispute with the Pennsylvania Railroad
over the high freight rates on traffic to and from the furnace. The only railroad outlet for the furnace was the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
, which had been leased by the PRR since the Civil War
. This monopoly allowed the PRR to set freight rates to and from the furnace at its pleasure, and the rates it imposed on Valentine Iron were significantly higher than those charged to Centre Iron, its predecessor. The high rates threatened to make the furnace economically uncompetitive, and Valentine Iron began lobbying the PRR for relief. Gephart had become a director of the Bald Eagle Valley in about 1890, perhaps to strengthen his negotiating position.
After eighteen months of negotiations failed to yield a satisfactory result, Gephart was able to persuade Valentine Iron's main stockholders to adopt a new plan to save the company. In February 1893, they agreed to help finance a competing railroad into Bellefonte to carry their iron traffic. Gephart and his backers chose to take over the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, which had a charter from Mill Hall to Bellefonte but which had only managed to complete 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) of grading at the Mill Hall end. Gephart arranged for the issue and sale of $600,000 in fifteen-year bonds of the railroad to Drexel and Company to finance its completion, and he was named superintendent of the railroad in June 1893. Under his direction, construction work resumed in July 1893, and the 27.3 miles (43.9 km) line was completed to Bellefonte. It crossed the Nittany Valley Railroad in what is now the suburb of Park View Heights, established an interchange, and began to operate the Nittany Valley under a five-year lease. In November 1893, Gephart resigned from his law practice to devote his full attention to Valentine Iron and the success of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. The railroad ran its first freight train on December 6, followed by its first passenger train on December 18. The Bellefonte Board of Trade celebrated the opening of the railroad with a lavish banquet at the Bush House
in Bellefonte on December 22. Attendees included not only local businessmen and officials of the Central Railroad, but officials from nearby railroads such as the Reading, the Beech Creek, the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad
and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway
; E.T. Stotesbury
, of Drexel & Co., the Central's bondholder; and two Bellefonte natives and ex-Governors, Curtin
and Beaver. As one of the principal honorees, Gephart delivered a speech on the "Future of Bellefonte," and "Canvasback
duck à la Gephart" was among the dishes on the menu.
The triumphal completion of the Central Railroad notwithstanding, Gephart was to find the Pennsylvania Railroad was not so easily defeated. In September 1893, as construction on the Central Railroad was still underway, the PRR brought suit against the Valentine Iron Company. In 1887, the PRR, through its Bellefonte, Nittany & Lemont subsidiary, had agreed to help finance the Centre Iron Company in exchange for exclusive rights to its traffic. It argued that this covenant remained binding on Valentine Iron as the successor to Centre Iron. Gephart won a victory in the first round of the case in January 1894, but the PRR appealed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
. At some point during 1894, as the litigation wound on, Gephart ceased to be a director of the Bald Eagle Valley. In 1895, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's verdict and granted an injunction to prevent Valentine Iron from shipping over the Central Railroad. The Central Railroad also surrendered its lease of the Nittany Valley Railroad as a result of the new verdict. Stung by the ruling, Gephart declared that the iron company was "jeopardized" without access to "competitive railroad facilities" and resigned the presidency of Valentine Iron (and from the Nittany Valley Railroad) in an open letter to Bellefonte's business community in November 1895. He remained superintendent of the Central Railroad, which suffered financially by the loss of the iron traffic.
Seeking to boost traffic on the Central Railroad, Gephart was probably also involved in the chartering of the Bellefonte and Clearfield Railroad in December 1895. While not an officer, Gephart was understood to be the principal figure behind this railroad, and its officers included his brother-in-law, Lorenzo Terbal Munson, and John P. Harris, who was a stockholder of the Central Railroad and Gephart's successor at Valentine Iron. This line would have connected the Central Railroad, at Bellefonte, with the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway at Clearfield, Pennsylvania
. By passing through the Clearfield Coalfield
, the proposed railroad could have brought bituminous coal
and coke
down to the furnaces at Bellefonte. However, the projected expense of construction up the Allegheny Front
meant that the Bellefonte & Clearfield remained a paper railroad.
. Gephart was named president of the new company, whose assets included not only the furnace and its historic ore sources at Mattern Bank and Red Bank, but the Scotia
ore deposits, acquired from the Carnegie Steel Company
after it switched to Mesabi Range
ore. Gephart also obtained a charter for the Bellefonte Lime Company in September 1899, which bought the Morris lime quarry at Salona, Pennsylvania, on the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. In addition to Gephart, the organizers included L. T. Munson, John P. Harris, and Charles M. Clement, president of the Central Railroad. The new company was to supply limestone to Bellefonte Furnace, and to the Beech Creek Railroad for ballast.
However, Bellefonte Furnace was not on the line of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania; it lay across Spring Creek in Coleville, on the tracks of the Bellefonte Central Railroad
. Gephart attempted to negotiate a new connection with, and trackage rights over, the Bellefonte Central to allow the Central Railroad to reach the furnace, but was rebuffed. Instead, Gephart announced that the Central Railroad would build its own branch directly to the furnace. The new branch would cross Spring Creek and the PRR line to reach Bellefonte Furnace and a connection with the Bellefonte Central's tracks. Its construction was delayed when the assistant superintendent of the PRR's Tyrone Division attempted to forcibly block the construction of the bridge piers on either side of the PRR right-of-way by dumping coal and rubbish into their foundations. A few days later, however, Gephart had the last word in the matter: PRR executives arrived to announce that the Central Railroad's construction had been properly authorized, and had the obstructions removed at their own railroad's expense. The new branch was opened in July 1899. Revival of the Bellefonte & Clearfield was expected at this time, but never took place.
Gephart's coup in restarting Bellefonte Furnace was repeated in 1900 with the revival of the former Valentine Furnace, now known as Nittany Furnace. After Gephart left the presidency in 1895, the furnace, the Nittany Valley Railroad, and associated ore lands had come into the hands of the Empire Steel and Iron Company. However, Empire essentially abandoned Nittany Furnace in April 1900, allowing the Commonwealth Trust Company, which held a lien
on the property, to buy it at a sheriff's sale. As with Bellefonte Furnace, Gephart assembled a group of Eastern investors to purchase the furnace from Commonwealth Trust and rehabilitate it. The new company had the furnace back in blast on June 5, 1902. However, Gephart only anticipated running Nittany Furnace during times of peak market demand for iron.
Gephart was also involved in more diverse business enterprises. In 1901, he was a director of the American Central Contracting Company, whose board included other railroad and coal investors. On April 24, 1903, Gephart obtained a charter for the Bellefonte Coal and Coke Company, which bought a tract of 1100 acres (445.2 ha) of coal land near Winslow, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
, on the Pennsylvania and North Western Railroad. Coke ovens were planned there, which would have provided fuel for the two furnaces.
Among all his business activity, Gephart still found time to take part in the civic life of the community. He organized a subscription drive to get the Bellefonte YMCA
out of debt in October 1895. He was a director of the organization in 1904, when the YMCA was raising funds for a new building. In 1903, he was vice-president of the newly organized Nittany Country Club. Gephart was also a trustee of his alma mater, the Bellefonte Academy.
Wes Gephart died suddenly at his home in Bellefonte, of a stroke, on February 14, 1905. Contemporary obituaries praised his "indomitable energy and perseverance," an "active influence" in the church, Sunday school, and YMCA, and asserted that "no one living in Bellefonte...could interest and command capital as Mr. Gephart did." After his death, Bellefonte and Nittany Furnaces, though owned by separate groups of investors, came under a single management. The Bellefonte Furnace investors were more closely tied to the Central Railroad, and that furnace operated somewhat more frequently than Nittany, to generate traffic for the railroad. The superintendency of the Central Railroad was assumed by Gephart's son Wallace, who was soon made its president.
However, Gephart's industrial empire would not long survive him. The formation of large, vertically integrated firms such as U.S. Steel
and Bethlehem Steel
made independent blast furnaces such as Bellefonte and Nittany increasingly uneconomical to run. The Panic of 1907
proved to be the final blow for the furnaces, which operated only sporadically afterwards. Bellefonte Furnace went out of blast for the last time in December 1910; Nittany Furnace, in January 1911. The Central Railroad survived a little longer, but it could not cover its operating expenses without the traffic provided by the iron furnaces. Its last train ran in November 1918.
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Bellefonte is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
lawyer and industrialist. Educated in Bellefonte and at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Gephart's dilligence and intelligence were already marked when he was admitted to the bar at the end of 1876 and joined the Bellefonte law practice of James A. Beaver
James A. Beaver
James Addams Beaver was an American politician who served as the 20th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1891...
in 1877. He took a prominent part in the civic and moral life of the town, and enjoyed a reputation as a skillful lawyer and charismatic orator. In 1891, he became president of the newly organized Valentine Iron Company, and thereafter became increasingly devoted to furthering industry and commerce in his home town. He laid aside his legal practice in 1893, after becoming the superintendent of the new Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, to become a full-time industrialist.
His energies were primarily directed towards the promotion of the iron industry in Bellefonte, and the development of railroads to serve it, although he was also an active participant in Bellefonte's civic life, especially the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. He more than once clashed with the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, which had previously enjoyed a monopoly on rail service to Bellefonte. Gephart proved highly successful in attracting outside capital to Bellefonte-area enterprises. At the peak of his fortunes, he supervised the town's two major blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s, the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, many of the iron ore banks in the Nittany Valley
Nittany Valley
The Nittany Valley is an eroded anticlinal valley in the central portion of Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is separated from the Bald Eagle Valley by Bald Eagle Mountain and from Penns Valley by Mount Nittany. The valley is closed to the north by a high plateau that joins...
, and additional mines and quarries that fed the furnaces. However, competition with steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
s proved insurmountable for these businesses, and most were either dismantled or moribund within a decade after his death in 1905.
Early life and legal practice
"Wes" Gephart, as he was known to his contemporaries, was born in Millheim, PennsylvaniaMillheim, Pennsylvania
Millheim is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, a town in Penns Valley. His parents were John P. Gephart, a well-to-do local farmer, and Mary (Swartz) Gephart. He was educated at the Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy was a historic school building located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The original building was built in 1805, as a two-story, rectangular limestone building. It was enlarged between 1839 and 1845, with the addition of two bays and wings to the north and south...
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Gephart paid his way through college in part by working as a printer, having learned the trade at the Bellefonte Watchman in his youth. He graduated from Princeton with honors in 1874, and was named a Boudinot
Elias Boudinot
Elias Boudinot was a lawyer and statesman from Elizabeth, New Jersey who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a U.S. Congressman for New Jersey...
fellow in history.
Gephart returned to Bellefonte to study law under James A. Beaver
James A. Beaver
James Addams Beaver was an American politician who served as the 20th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1887 to 1891...
, and was admitted to the bar on December 13, 1876. A contemporary newspaper account praised his diligence and "retentive memory." On January 7, 1877, he joined Beaver's law practice, thereafter conducted under the name of Beaver and Gephart. John M. Dale joined the partnership ten years later, around the time of Beaver's election as governor. Gephart enjoyed an excellent income from his law practice, and was highly regarded as a lawyer and orator. He took part in the local civic life as an officer of the Centennial Temperance Club, and as a member of the local Presbyterian church, where he was Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
superintendent. Gephart married Ella M. Hays on October 23, 1879 in Bellefonte. They had three children: Wallace Hays, William Wilson, and Elizabeth.
In 1884, he reported himself to be a "Conservative Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
," but unlike his law partner, Beaver, did not aspire to political office. Gephart also declared himself in favor of a tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
"adjusted so as to protect
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
and encourage industries needing it, but not to foster monopolies." The twin themes of encouraging industry and antipathy to monopoly would color much of his later career. His support for a protective tariff led him to publicly break with the Democratic Party in 1888 and endorse Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
's candidacy for president, much to the discomfiture of Centre County
Centre County, Pennsylvania
Centre County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 153,990....
Democrats. In 1889, Governor Beaver appointed Gephart one of the Commonwealth's commissioners to the Exposition Universelle
Exposition Universelle (1889)
The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...
.
Valentine Iron and the Central Railroad
Gephart began his career as a Bellefonte industrialist at the end of 1890. The Centre Iron Company, operators of Valentine Furnace, went bankrupt and was sold under foreclosure in November 1890. Gephart was named president of the Valentine Iron Company, which was chartered January 23, 1891, to take over Centre Iron's property on behalf of the bondholders and re-open Valentine Furnace. Valentine Iron also leased the Nittany Valley RailroadNittany Valley Railroad
The Nittany Valley Railroad was a Pennsylvania shortline built to haul iron ore to blast furnaces near Bellefonte.The company was incorporated on March 15, 1887. It was controlled by B.K. Jamison, president of the Centre Iron Company...
, which carried ore from Taylor Bank to the Furnace. Gephart became the railroad's general manager. The new iron company soon became enmeshed in a dispute with the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
over the high freight rates on traffic to and from the furnace. The only railroad outlet for the furnace was the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
Bald Eagle Valley Railroad
The Bald Eagle Valley Railroad was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad which owned several rail lines in central Pennsylvania. It had its genesis in the Tyrone and Lock Haven Railroad, a financially-troubled railroad chartered in 1857, which was unable to complete more than a small portion of...
, which had been leased by the PRR since the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. This monopoly allowed the PRR to set freight rates to and from the furnace at its pleasure, and the rates it imposed on Valentine Iron were significantly higher than those charged to Centre Iron, its predecessor. The high rates threatened to make the furnace economically uncompetitive, and Valentine Iron began lobbying the PRR for relief. Gephart had become a director of the Bald Eagle Valley in about 1890, perhaps to strengthen his negotiating position.
After eighteen months of negotiations failed to yield a satisfactory result, Gephart was able to persuade Valentine Iron's main stockholders to adopt a new plan to save the company. In February 1893, they agreed to help finance a competing railroad into Bellefonte to carry their iron traffic. Gephart and his backers chose to take over the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania, which had a charter from Mill Hall to Bellefonte but which had only managed to complete 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) of grading at the Mill Hall end. Gephart arranged for the issue and sale of $600,000 in fifteen-year bonds of the railroad to Drexel and Company to finance its completion, and he was named superintendent of the railroad in June 1893. Under his direction, construction work resumed in July 1893, and the 27.3 miles (43.9 km) line was completed to Bellefonte. It crossed the Nittany Valley Railroad in what is now the suburb of Park View Heights, established an interchange, and began to operate the Nittany Valley under a five-year lease. In November 1893, Gephart resigned from his law practice to devote his full attention to Valentine Iron and the success of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. The railroad ran its first freight train on December 6, followed by its first passenger train on December 18. The Bellefonte Board of Trade celebrated the opening of the railroad with a lavish banquet at the Bush House
Bush House Hotel
The Bush House Hotel was located in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1868-69 and burned down on February 8, 2006.Thomas Edison stayed there while bringing electrification to the town...
in Bellefonte on December 22. Attendees included not only local businessmen and officials of the Central Railroad, but officials from nearby railroads such as the Reading, the Beech Creek, the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad
Williamsport and North Branch Railroad
The Williamsport and North Branch Railroad was a short line that operated in north-central Pennsylvania between 1872 and 1937. After a long struggle to finance its construction, it was completed in 1893. It derived most of its freight revenue from logging and to a certain extent from anthracite...
and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway
The Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway was one of the more than ten thousand railroad companies founded in North America, most of which came and went. It lasted much longer than most, serving communities from the shore of Lake Ontario to the center of western Pennsylvania.One of the minor...
; E.T. Stotesbury
Edward T. Stotesbury
Edward Townsend "Ned" Stotesbury was a prominent investment banker, a partner in Drexel & Co. and its New York affiliate J. P. Morgan & Co. for over fifty-five years....
, of Drexel & Co., the Central's bondholder; and two Bellefonte natives and ex-Governors, Curtin
Andrew Gregg Curtin
Andrew Gregg Curtin was a U.S. lawyer and politician. He served as the Governor of Pennsylvania during the Civil War.-Biography:...
and Beaver. As one of the principal honorees, Gephart delivered a speech on the "Future of Bellefonte," and "Canvasback
Canvasback
The Canvasback is the largest of the North American diving ducks, that ranges from between long and weighs approximately , with a wingspan of . The canvasback has a distinctive wedge-shaped head and long graceful neck. The adult male has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black...
duck à la Gephart" was among the dishes on the menu.
The triumphal completion of the Central Railroad notwithstanding, Gephart was to find the Pennsylvania Railroad was not so easily defeated. In September 1893, as construction on the Central Railroad was still underway, the PRR brought suit against the Valentine Iron Company. In 1887, the PRR, through its Bellefonte, Nittany & Lemont subsidiary, had agreed to help finance the Centre Iron Company in exchange for exclusive rights to its traffic. It argued that this covenant remained binding on Valentine Iron as the successor to Centre Iron. Gephart won a victory in the first round of the case in January 1894, but the PRR appealed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.-History:...
. At some point during 1894, as the litigation wound on, Gephart ceased to be a director of the Bald Eagle Valley. In 1895, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's verdict and granted an injunction to prevent Valentine Iron from shipping over the Central Railroad. The Central Railroad also surrendered its lease of the Nittany Valley Railroad as a result of the new verdict. Stung by the ruling, Gephart declared that the iron company was "jeopardized" without access to "competitive railroad facilities" and resigned the presidency of Valentine Iron (and from the Nittany Valley Railroad) in an open letter to Bellefonte's business community in November 1895. He remained superintendent of the Central Railroad, which suffered financially by the loss of the iron traffic.
Seeking to boost traffic on the Central Railroad, Gephart was probably also involved in the chartering of the Bellefonte and Clearfield Railroad in December 1895. While not an officer, Gephart was understood to be the principal figure behind this railroad, and its officers included his brother-in-law, Lorenzo Terbal Munson, and John P. Harris, who was a stockholder of the Central Railroad and Gephart's successor at Valentine Iron. This line would have connected the Central Railroad, at Bellefonte, with the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway at Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Clearfield is a borough in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,631 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clearfield County.-Geography:Clearfield is located at ....
. By passing through the Clearfield Coalfield
Clearfield Coalfield
The Clearfield Coalfield is a bituminous coal mining area in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, USA. The coal seams are found in most parts of Clearfield County, with the notable exception of the northern part of the county.-Mining history:...
, the proposed railroad could have brought bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
and coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
down to the furnaces at Bellefonte. However, the projected expense of construction up the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front delineates the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east from the Appalachian Plateau to its west...
meant that the Bellefonte & Clearfield remained a paper railroad.
Resurgence and death
Gephart was not daunted by these reverses. Operating surreptitiously, he assembled a consortium of New York and Philadelphia investors, who formed the Bellefonte Furnace Company in May 1899 to take over the operations of Bellefonte Furnace, idle since the Panic of 1893Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. Gephart was named president of the new company, whose assets included not only the furnace and its historic ore sources at Mattern Bank and Red Bank, but the Scotia
Scotia, Pennsylvania
Scotia was a village in Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, at . Although the community was called Scotia, the name of the local post office was Benore ....
ore deposits, acquired from the Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
after it switched to Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
ore. Gephart also obtained a charter for the Bellefonte Lime Company in September 1899, which bought the Morris lime quarry at Salona, Pennsylvania, on the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania. In addition to Gephart, the organizers included L. T. Munson, John P. Harris, and Charles M. Clement, president of the Central Railroad. The new company was to supply limestone to Bellefonte Furnace, and to the Beech Creek Railroad for ballast.
However, Bellefonte Furnace was not on the line of the Central Railroad of Pennsylvania; it lay across Spring Creek in Coleville, on the tracks of the Bellefonte Central Railroad
Bellefonte Central Railroad
The Bellefonte Central Railroad was a shortline connecting Bellefonte and State College, Pennsylvania. Constructed in the late 19th century to haul local iron ore to furnaces in the Bellefonte region, it later hauled freight traffic to Penn State and lime for steelmaking from local quarries...
. Gephart attempted to negotiate a new connection with, and trackage rights over, the Bellefonte Central to allow the Central Railroad to reach the furnace, but was rebuffed. Instead, Gephart announced that the Central Railroad would build its own branch directly to the furnace. The new branch would cross Spring Creek and the PRR line to reach Bellefonte Furnace and a connection with the Bellefonte Central's tracks. Its construction was delayed when the assistant superintendent of the PRR's Tyrone Division attempted to forcibly block the construction of the bridge piers on either side of the PRR right-of-way by dumping coal and rubbish into their foundations. A few days later, however, Gephart had the last word in the matter: PRR executives arrived to announce that the Central Railroad's construction had been properly authorized, and had the obstructions removed at their own railroad's expense. The new branch was opened in July 1899. Revival of the Bellefonte & Clearfield was expected at this time, but never took place.
Gephart's coup in restarting Bellefonte Furnace was repeated in 1900 with the revival of the former Valentine Furnace, now known as Nittany Furnace. After Gephart left the presidency in 1895, the furnace, the Nittany Valley Railroad, and associated ore lands had come into the hands of the Empire Steel and Iron Company. However, Empire essentially abandoned Nittany Furnace in April 1900, allowing the Commonwealth Trust Company, which held a lien
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...
on the property, to buy it at a sheriff's sale. As with Bellefonte Furnace, Gephart assembled a group of Eastern investors to purchase the furnace from Commonwealth Trust and rehabilitate it. The new company had the furnace back in blast on June 5, 1902. However, Gephart only anticipated running Nittany Furnace during times of peak market demand for iron.
Gephart was also involved in more diverse business enterprises. In 1901, he was a director of the American Central Contracting Company, whose board included other railroad and coal investors. On April 24, 1903, Gephart obtained a charter for the Bellefonte Coal and Coke Company, which bought a tract of 1100 acres (445.2 ha) of coal land near Winslow, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,200. It was established on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and named for then-President Thomas Jefferson. Its county seat is Brookville...
, on the Pennsylvania and North Western Railroad. Coke ovens were planned there, which would have provided fuel for the two furnaces.
Among all his business activity, Gephart still found time to take part in the civic life of the community. He organized a subscription drive to get the Bellefonte YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
out of debt in October 1895. He was a director of the organization in 1904, when the YMCA was raising funds for a new building. In 1903, he was vice-president of the newly organized Nittany Country Club. Gephart was also a trustee of his alma mater, the Bellefonte Academy.
Wes Gephart died suddenly at his home in Bellefonte, of a stroke, on February 14, 1905. Contemporary obituaries praised his "indomitable energy and perseverance," an "active influence" in the church, Sunday school, and YMCA, and asserted that "no one living in Bellefonte...could interest and command capital as Mr. Gephart did." After his death, Bellefonte and Nittany Furnaces, though owned by separate groups of investors, came under a single management. The Bellefonte Furnace investors were more closely tied to the Central Railroad, and that furnace operated somewhat more frequently than Nittany, to generate traffic for the railroad. The superintendency of the Central Railroad was assumed by Gephart's son Wallace, who was soon made its president.
However, Gephart's industrial empire would not long survive him. The formation of large, vertically integrated firms such as U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
and Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
made independent blast furnaces such as Bellefonte and Nittany increasingly uneconomical to run. The Panic of 1907
Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred, as this was during a time of economic recession, and there were numerous runs on...
proved to be the final blow for the furnaces, which operated only sporadically afterwards. Bellefonte Furnace went out of blast for the last time in December 1910; Nittany Furnace, in January 1911. The Central Railroad survived a little longer, but it could not cover its operating expenses without the traffic provided by the iron furnaces. Its last train ran in November 1918.