Before there was Harris’ Ferry, there was a shallow plateau allowing Native Americans to ford the Susquehanna River. Trails led to and from the eastern and western shores. The landings weren’t called Shipoke or Lemoyne then, but they were made to order for the trading post and ferry established by entrepreneurial pioneer John Harris.
A new book by Eric V. Fasick, “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River,” begins at that beginning, starting with the ford in the river and chronicling the centuries-long relationship between a capital city and its shallow, sometimes sparkling, occasionally cranky waterway.
The book, from Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series, draws largely from the Historical Society of Dauphin County’s archives. As chair of HSDC’s collections committee, Fasick has special insight into the rich trove.
“I knew what was upstairs,” he says. “I knew what we had.”
The history of residents’ interactions with the river is a history of moneymaking, says Fasick. Ferries, toll bridges, dance halls, sports, festivals, dredging for waste coal washing down from northeast Pennsylvania—it’s all there in a book that explores the Susquehanna’s waters, islands and bridges from Colonial days to the 1990s.
As the book recounts, before City Island became the focal point for mid-river fun, there was Independence Island, near what is now the Harvey Taylor Bridge. Ferries would carry guests to a dance hall fashioned from a rolling rink transported to the spot.
“They had an old coal chute they set up for kids to slide down into the lagoon,” says Fasick.
Around 1900, the city of Harrisburg acquired its own island, known originally as Turkey Island and then called by the names of a succession of owners. One island owner, John J. Hargest, had been well known for the vegetables he grew and sold in Market Square.
The newly named City Island became home to a bathing beach, originally restricted for male use by city officials who said they had “witnessed the antics of Atlantic City and Coney Island.” Until urban flight and the coming of municipal pools, it was a popular cool-down destination for residents and a revenue generator for the city.
“The push from the city was to keep people in town,” said Fasick.
In a generations-spanning coincidence, Fasick realized after publication that the cover photo his editor chose—scores of men, women and children enjoying a dip in the river—included his great-grandfather and great-grandmother or her sister.
Rises, Falls
Fasick, steeped in local history and river culture, was born in Harrisburg and grew up in Lemoyne. He works at the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and serves on the HSDC board. He has been published in history journals and authored another Arcadia book, “Tropical Storm Agnes in Greater Harrisburg.”
As Fasick’s river chronicle shows, the Susquehanna’s role in the life of the region rises and falls with the city’s fates. Beginning in 1900, the City Beautiful movement did the river a favor, leading to construction of riverfront walkways, dedication of parklands and an end to raw sewage pumped directly into those sparkling waters.
People responded by celebrating life on the water. Festivals, whether they were called Water Carnival or Kipona, originally included participatory races. Residents competed in the fastest freestyle, swiftest canoeing or the unique talent for swimming while reading a newspaper without getting it wet. Really.
But the general intimacy with the river from those days has dissipated.
“We want everything sterilized to the point where we don’t want to be in that perceived filth,” he says.
City Island activities have included football games, track meets, concerts and gardening. The one constant through all the years—at least, since around 1893—has been baseball, and, when photos lacked identification, Fasick turned history detective.
For one long shot from center field, he spent more than 35 hours and used such clues as arched lettering on a player’s uniform, a coach’s distinctive jacket, and the overcoats worn by spectators to conclude that it was Sept. 22, 1904. On that cool day, the Harrisburg Athletic Club defeated the visiting Washington Senators, led by Hall of Fame pitching legend Walter Johnson.
“I was trying to date the photos and, really having no background on baseball at the time, I thought it gave me a good groundwork to start with this one,” says Fasick.
And in a photo from Sept. 25, 1919, when the Boston Red Sox came to town, is that Babe Ruth approaching first base? There’s no proof, but Fasick says the big guy in baggy breeches played that day, and that stiff-backed running stance sure looks familiar.
“I think it’s Babe Ruth,” says Fasick. “I put my proverbial rear end out there on that one saying it’s Ruth, but I really do think it is.”
“Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River,” by Eric V. Fasick, can be purchased at several local bookstores and online. A book-signing will be held to coincide with the opening of the “Susquehanna River Islands” exhibit, June 14, at the Historical Society of Dauphin County, 219 S. Front St., Harrisburg. Information is at www.dauphincountyhistory.org.
