Hardscrabble, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

For other uses, see Hardscrabble (disambiguation).
Hardscrabble
Neighborhood of Harrisburg
A section of Harrisburg’s Hardscrabble neighborhood along the western side of Front Street.
A section of Harrisburg’s Hardscrabble neighborhood along the western side of Front Street.
Map
Country United States
StatePennsylvania
CountyDauphin County
CityHarrisburg

Hardscrabble was a small settlement of mostly frame structures in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from late 18th century to 1924, so named because of its reputation as a rough place.[1][2]

Hardscrabble district along the Susquehanna River west of Front Street. It was replaced by the Sunken Gardens.

It was bounded by the Susquehanna River to the west, Calder Street to the north, Herr Street to the South and overlapping Front street to the east. Due to the prominence of the logging industry at the time, it was a riverside congregation area for the workers containing boat liveries, lumber mills and other business related to the river trade. Upon the decline of logging and river coal dredging, the area fell into disrepair by the early 20th Century.[3][4] In the midst of the City Beautiful Movement in the early 1900s, the City Council was working to improve the city by paving streets and erecting steps on and paving the esplanade along Riverfront Park. Because the settlement was impeding part of the city map's plan for Front Street—which had never been formally opened to date—Ross A. Hickok of the Harrisburg League of Municipal Improvements proposed to eliminate the area in the early 1910s.[5] Referred to by the Harrisburg Telegraph in 1915 as "The Gap in the Steps," Hardscrabble was "the only unsightly interruption in the magnificent line of the 'front steps of Harrisburg.'"[6] After the members of the seaside community collectively denied repeated attempts by the City to purchase their homes, the City took them to court for eminent domain.[7] The neighborhood was condemned by the City in 1915, and City Council awarded more than $64,000 (over $1.7m in 2021 dollars[8]) in damages to property owners, decided upon by square footage of property. Litigation ensued until residents eventually were forced to vacate the premises in 1921.[9] Among the displaced were the A. P. Dintaman and Harry J. Berrier boat pavilions, which housed over 500 canoes and watercraft. By 1924, the settlement was ultimately demolished and the basement foundations for some of the homes were kept to be transformed into the Sunken Gardens.[10]

  1. ^ "$107,105 Damages Award in View On Hardscrabble". Harrisburg Telegraph. 20 December 1915. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ "How did the neighborhoods in Harrisburg get their names?: AskPA". pennlive. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  3. ^ "Sunken Gardens Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  4. ^ Fasick, Erik V. (2015). Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River. Charleston, South Carolina. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-4396-5009-7. OCLC 967394266.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ "Clear Hardscrabble by Changing Street, League Suggestion". Harrisburg Telegraph. 27 January 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ "$107,105 Damages Award in View On Hardscrabble". Harrisburg Telegraph. 20 December 1915. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ Boak, Charles (1990). "Reminiscences" (PDF). Cumberland County History. 7: 46–57.
  8. ^ "Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value from 1913-2021". www.usinflationcalculator.com. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  9. ^ Fasick, Erik V. (2015). Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River. Charleston, South Carolina. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4396-5009-7. OCLC 967394266.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ "Sunken Gardens Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2021-09-02.