​MEMORIES OF PERKASIE

DAVIS FEED MILL TRESTLE

Rick Doll image

​At one time, the railroad in Perkasie was very busy. There were numerous through passenger and freight trains along with local freights serving Perkasie businesses. One of the local sidings was at the Freed’s Hay Press. The hay press was replaced with Stover’s Feed Mill in 1938 and still operates today as Davis Feed Mill. This railroad siding leads to a concrete and metal structure that still exists, unused today.  

Matt Lynch searched the Central News and found that this structure was constructed in part by the borough in 1929. The concrete bins under the railroad track were constructed by O’Rourke Brothers of Perkasie and used to unload coal from railroad cars. The coal was needed to fire the boilers in the borough electric plant located next door. The coal would have to be trucked to the stockpile outside of the plant. The borough paid $2.00 to Stover’s for every car unloaded.  This procedure ended in 1948 when Perkasie Borough stopped generating electricity.
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Also, of interest, are the two spotlights attached to the unloading structure. They were used to illuminate the large powerhouse smokestack where “Perkasie” spelled out in the brickwork. 

Rick Doll 2020