126 CITIES, AMERICAN. (NOBBISTOWN, OAKLAND, PASADENA, PAWTUCKET.) 



Norristown, a borough and the county seat of 

 Montgomery County, Pa., on Schuylkill river, 

 seventeen miles by rail northwest of Philadel- 

 phia. It extends two miles along the left bank 

 of the river, rising by a series of terraces to a 

 height of 200 feet above the water. Its area is 

 2,300 acres. The population in 1870 was 10,- 

 753; in 1880, 13,063; in 1887, 18,736. The 

 mortality, according to the census of 1880, 

 was 12 '74 per thousand. The town's funded 

 debt is $73.000. The value of its taxable real 

 estate, etc., is $7,551,541. Three railroads run 

 through the borough, and two more at Bridge- 

 port, on the opposite side of the Schuylkill, 

 are of easy access. Two telegraph lines have 

 offices in the town, and eighty telephones are in 

 use. There are two street-railways with an 

 aggregate trackage of seven miles, two electric- 

 light companies, a board of trade with 300 

 members, and a land and improvement com- 

 pany. A project well under way contemplates 

 the formation of a trust to provide capital for 

 new manufactories brought to Norristown. 

 All the streets are macadamized. The build- 

 ings are all of brick or stone, frame structures 

 being prohibited in the thickly-settled parts of 

 the town. In 1887 250 new dwellings were 

 erected. The industries are varjed : its 84 

 manufacturing establishments include 12 iron- 

 works, 18 woolen, cotton, and carpet mills, 

 4 hosiery factories, 3 shirt factories, 5 flouring- 

 mills, 5 brick-works, and a glass-works. Tne 

 total number of persons employed in the town 

 in manufactures is 3,511, and the total value 

 of the property used for manufacturing pur- 

 poses, $3,013,000. Among the public institu- 

 tions are two opera-houses, a large marble 

 court-house, built in 1854, at a cost of $150,- 

 000, 19 churches, a library of 2,300 volumes, 

 and another of 6,000 volumes, 5 public schools, 

 372 business establishments, 7 building and 

 loan associations, 45 secret, beneficial, and 

 literary societies, 3 national banks, 1 private 

 bank, and a trust, insurance, and safe-deposit 

 company ; 5 weekly and 3 daily papers are pub- 

 lished. The Hospital for the Insane of the 

 Eastern District of Pennsylvania is on high 

 ground in the northern part of Norristown. 

 The institution comprises twenty massive brick 

 buildings, and has 1,600 patients. The water- 

 supply of Norristown is obtained from the 

 Schuylkill (at a point where the river is 800 

 feet wide) by means of submerged pipes. The 

 reservoir, 194 feet above the surface of the 

 river, has a capacity of 110,000,000 gallons, 

 the daily pumping capacity of the water-works 

 machinery being 2,500,000 gallons. Over 21 

 miles of distribution-pipe are laid. The built- 

 up portion of Norristown has been doubled in 

 size within the past ten years, the greatest 

 changes occurring within the four years pre- 

 vious to 1888, during which street-railways 

 were built, electric lights introduced, a board 

 of trade established, and a general impetus 

 given to manufacture. Its proximity to Phila- 

 delphia and the low price of commutation 



tickets have combined to make it the home of 

 many men whose business is conducted in 

 Philadelphia. 



Oakland, a city of Alameda County, Cal., on 

 the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. The 

 population in 1870 was 10,500; in 1880, 34,- 

 555; and in 1887 was estimated at 70.000. It 

 is connected with the interior of the State by 

 the Southern Pacific Company's system of rail- 

 roads and the Sacramento and San Joaquin 

 rivers. On account of its harbor facilities it 

 is admirably adapted for commercial and manu- 

 facturing purposes. "Woolen and cotton fab- 

 rics, jute bags, flour, nails, glass-ware, agri- 

 cultural implements, files, tacks, boots and 

 shoes, and furniture form the principal manu- 

 factured products. Being a suburb of San 

 Francisco, it is a city of schools, churches, and 

 homes. The streets are well kept, and the 

 city presents a pleasant appearance on account 

 of its fine residences and grounds. 'The cli- 

 mate is remarkable for its uniformity. The 

 mean maximum temperature for the decade 

 ending in 1885 was 91, and the mean lowest 

 temperature for the same pericd, 32. Delicate 

 plants, .is the heliotrope, fuchsia, and gerani- 

 ums, thrive out of doors during the winter 

 months. The city is well supplied with rable 

 and horse cars, and communication is regularly 

 maintained with San Frrncisco eight miles 

 distant by a system of steam cars and ferries 

 running at intervals of fifteen minutes. 



Pasadena, a city of Los Angeles County, Cal. 

 In 1883 the population was about 1,200; in 

 January, 1888, it was estimated at 12,000. It 

 has 10 miles of graded streets; 11 churches; 

 one of the finest school-buildings in California ; 

 a free public library of 10,000 volumes in a fire- 

 proof building that has also accommodations 

 for natural history collections; 4 banks; good 

 hotels; and many beautiful villa residences. 

 Twelve railway trains arrive and depart daily. 

 The newly incorporated Salt Lake and Los 

 Angeles Railroad will soon enter the city 

 through one of the wildest passes of the Sierra 

 Madre mountains. There is an open trail from 

 the city to the summit of the range, where a 

 hotel is to be built 4,000 feet above sea-level. 

 The city is surrounded by immense fruit- 

 ranches, and manufactures large quantities of 

 wine. 



Pawtueket, a city of Rhode Island, incorpo- 

 rated in 1886, four miles north of Providence, 

 and at the head of navigation on Pawtucket 

 river. The population in 1885 was 19,030, and 

 in 1887 a little over 23,000. Three lines of 

 railroads pass through the city, and horse-car 

 tracks were laid in the principal streets in 1886. 

 Water was introduced in 1878, and the cost of 

 the present water-works is $1,333,000. In 

 December, 1887, $150,000 was voted for anew 

 pumping station. In 1887 there were received 

 at this port 150,000 tons of coal, 5,000,000 feet 

 of lumber, 1,800,000 bricks, 11,000 casks of ce- 

 ment, 4,000 casks of lime, 6,000 feet of North 

 river stone, 1,200 bales of cotton, 250 tons of 



