The
Hyde-Murphy Company
The
Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company contracted with the Hyde-Murphy Company
of Ridgway, Pennsylvania, for the construction of many company houses in a number
of mining towns such as McIntyre, Lucerne, Iselin, Aultman, Waterman, Ernest,
Coy, Tide, and probably most of those in other Company towns. This letterhead
fragment to Lucius W. Robinson, the President of the Coal Company, contains
the proposal for the building of homes in one of the towns. The letter indicates
the cost of the four basic building plans offered: Plan
A homes, $1,875 ; Plan B homes, $1000; Plan C homes, $775; and Plan D homes,
$970. The least expensively built homes were, no doubt, to be used as rentals
for the miners while the more expensive ones were for the mine managers and
the town doctor. In many company towns, the homes of management personnel were
usually segregated from those of the miners and were usually of better construction
with more amenities.
The Hyde-Murphy Company was started in 1866 as
the Ridgway Sash and Door Company. In
addition to specializing in the building of company towns, in
the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Company was known for the fine woodworking
craftsmanship it provided to homes, schools, colleges, churches, and public
buildings.
Included among the number of
stately and well-known public buildings for which they provided paneling and other
fine woodwork are: the U.S. Congress, U.S. Supreme Court, the Pentagon, and the
Smithsonian Institute. Many older stately homes in Ridway, Pennsylvania,
have interiors built by the Hyde-Murphy Company. Hyde-Murphy ceased operations
in 1961.
Document: courtesy Archives Department, Rochester and Pittsburgh
Coal Company
Records, Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Richard H. Quin, Indiana County Pennsylvania:
An Inventory of Historic Engineering and
Industrial Sites
(Washington D.C.: National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, 1993), 11-12.
Paul Frederick. A Look at Charming Towns
in the Forest: Ridgway. n.d. <http://www.allegheny-online.com/towns-ridgway.html>
(24 September, 2001).
The Towers Victorian
Inn. n.d. <http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/pa/b/pab3801.htm>
(24
September, 2001).