CITIES, AMERICAN. (OSHKOSH, PERTH AMBOY, PORTSMOUTH.) 



141 



shoes, and patent medicines, a large manufactory 

 of stereotype plates for newspapers, and other 

 smaller concerns. 



Oshkosh, a city of Wisconsin, the county 

 seat of Winnebago County, on the west shore of 

 Lake Winnebago. It is divided by Fox river, 

 which finds its outlet in the lake at this point. 

 It is 17 miles from Fond du Lac, 80 from Mil- 

 waukee, and 49 from Green Bay. The first set- 

 tlement of Oshkosh was made by French traders, 

 who established a post here, and 2 white fami- 

 lies removed hither from Green Bay in 1836. In 

 1840 the influx of settlers became rapid, and in 

 April, 1853, a city charter was obtained. Prior 

 to 1852 it was known as Winnebago, but at that 

 date it received its present name in honor of the 

 chief of the Menomonee Indians. In 1880 it had 

 a population of 15,748, and in 1890 of 22,836, 

 making it the third city in size of the State. 

 Twenty-four passenger trains leave the city daily 

 over the Northwestern, the Chicago, Milwaukee 

 and St. Paul, the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and 

 Western, and the Wisconsin Central Railroads, 

 the last having 2 passenger stations, one on 

 each side of the river. Six steamboat lines run 

 up Fox and Wolf rivers, and up and down Lake 

 Winnebago, from which there is direct commu- 

 nication with the Great Lakes. There are 5 

 miles of available dockage. The site of the city 

 is slightly undulating, with a fall toward the 

 river and lake, and is drained by an excellent 

 sewerage system. The streets are broad, and 

 cross each other at right angles. There are 10 

 miles of streets paved with cedar blocks, and as 

 many of street-car lines ; also 2 electric-light 

 plants. The water works, of the Holly system, 

 were erected in 1884, and in 1890 a filter plant 

 was added at a cost of $30,000. The 2 pumping 

 engines have a capacity of 8,000,000,000 gallons 

 daily, and the 10 filtering tanks are capable of 

 filtering 300,000 gallons each daily. The origi- 

 nal source of supply was artesian wells, but the 

 water of Lake Winnebago is now used. From a 

 large storage reservoir it is distributed through 

 37 miles of mains, with 300 hydrants. There is 

 a paid fire department. Two public parks add 

 to the beauty of the city, which has a $100,000 

 Government building, a hotel that cost a similar 

 amount, a courthouse, and a $50,000 city hall, 

 3 theaters, a Young Men's Christian Association 

 building and library, and 6 banks with a com- 

 bined capital of more than $1,000,000, four of 

 which are national. The 30 churches represent 

 the Roman Catholic. Congregational, Episcopal, 

 Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and 

 Universalist denominations. In addition to 1 

 high and 9 ward public schools, there is a State 

 normal school. Seven newspapers are published, 

 of which 3 are dailies and 1 is in the German 

 language. The assessed valuation of property 

 for 1894 was $6,195,194 real and $2,385,303 per- 

 sonal. The tax rate in 1893 was $2.65 per hun- 

 dred. The surrounding country is exceedingly 

 beautiful, and there are several summer resorts 

 near the city. Island Park, an elm-shaded is- 

 land of about 10 acres, with 550 trees, has hotels, 

 clubhouses, and cottages. The city is famous 

 as a yachting center, and there are extensive 

 fair grounds, with an excellent race track. The 

 Northern Asylum for the Insane was located 

 here by the State. The manufacturing estab- 



lishments of Oshkosh in 1890 numbered 502, 

 with $8,817,966 capital invested, and employing 

 6,480 persons. The amount paid yearly in wages 

 was $2,223,812 : raw materials we're used to the 

 value of $4,994,237, and the annual product was 

 placed at $9,509,842. In addition must be reck- 

 oned many small industries. The principal 

 features were 12 lumber and shingle and 8 plan- 

 ing mills and factories of sash, doors, and blinds ; 

 9 furniture factories ; an upholstery company, 

 foundries and machine shops, a logging-tool 

 company, iron works turning out sawmill and 

 wood-working machinery, boiler works, wagon 

 and carriage factories, breweries, 18 cigar fac- 

 tories, and others manufacturing pumps, coffins, 

 mattresses, matches, trunks, paint, and wall 

 paper, as well as brickyards, marble works, and 

 limekilns. The city has an altitude of 740 feet 

 above sea level. 



Perth Amtyoy, a city and port of entry of 

 New Jersey, in Middlesex County, on Raritan 

 Bay, at the mouth of Raritan river, 21 miles 

 southwest of New York, and 3 miles northeast of 

 South Amboy. It is connected by a steam ferry 

 with Tottenville, N. Y., which lies opposite. It 

 has a good harbor, easily accessible to all vessels, 

 and a line of steamers running direct to New 

 York city. In addition to the 3 great lines of 

 railroad that intersect here the Lehigh Valley, 

 the Pennsylvania, and the Central Railroad of 

 N"ew Jersey it has the Staten Island Railroad. 

 Perth Amboy was settled in 1683 and incorpo- 

 rated in 1784. In 1880 it had a population of 

 4,808, which increased to 9,512 in 1890. Large 

 deposits of fire clay and kaolin are found here, 

 and the city's chief industries are the manufac- 

 ture of terra cotta, fire brick, iron castings, ma- 

 chinery, cork, emery, whiting, chemicals, and the 

 shipment of oil and coal in vessels drawing 25 

 feet. There are 10 churches, 2 of which are 

 Episcopal, 2 Catholic, 2 Methodist (1 Danish), 1 

 Danish Lutheran, 1 Danish Evangelical, 1 Bap- 

 tist, and 1 Presbyterian. It has the usual tele- 

 graph and telephone facilities, free mail delivery, 

 electric light and gas, sewers, good police and fire 

 departments, and water works belonging to the 

 city, completed in 1893. 



Portsmouth, a city and seaport of Virginia, 

 in Norfolk County, on the left bank of Elizabeth 

 river, about 1 mile southwest of Norfolk, 104 

 miles from Richmond by rail and 150 by water. 

 In 1890 the population was 13,268, an increase of 

 1878 over that of 1880. It is the eastern terminus 

 of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which has 

 machine and car shops and roundhouses here 

 employing between 200 and 300 men, and in 1891 

 expended $120,000 for wharf and other property. 

 The shops and roundhouses of the Atlantic and 

 Danville Railroad employ between 100 and 150 

 men. The city is also the terminus of the Nor- 

 folk and Carolina Railroad, and connects, by 

 steamer ferry to Newport News, with the Chesa- 

 peake and Ohio, and. by steamer to Cape Charles 

 City, with the New York, Philadelphia and Nor- 

 folk Railroad. There are steamers daily to Balti- 

 more, and lines to New York (triweekly) and 

 Philadelphia, in addition to daily service with 

 Richmond, Norfolk, and other ports in Virginia 

 and North Carolina. There is direct foreign 

 trade, largely in cotton, coal, and lumber. The 

 river, which is nearly a mile wide, affords an ex- 



