1228 W. Market St. (From the Seller) In the 1850?s, Charles Baber was a Pottsville businessman. One of his companies made doors and wood trim. He purchased around 50 acres and started a cemetery in the fashion of European Park cemeteries?meaning trees and a pond and walkways. The first person was buried in his cemetery in around 1848. He called it the Mt. Laurel Cemetery. There are also accounts that the Mt Laurel cemetery was already there and he expanded it...that makes sense considering the date of the early graves. At the same time, railroads were competing with canals to haul coal down to Philadelphia. During the 1860?s, the railroads won out and the canals closed by the 1870?s. At some point Charles purchased lots of stone that was either used in the canal or from the unused stockpile from the canal company and built the stone wall along Market St., the stone house, and a stable foundation behind the house. The house was used to house the caretaker of the cemetery and the stable housed the horses and wagon and other necessities for him to do his job. The house probably dates from the late 1860?s to mid 1870?s. Charles died in 1885 and willed the cemetery, house, and stable to the Episcopal Church. He is buried near the chapel not far from the Yuenglings and Potts. While the stone house is well built, it is not a fancy hardwood filled place common for a 150 year old house. It is my belief it was custom built as the caretaker?s house and purposely made spartan. The house was in the church?s hands until 1978. One of the early private owners cut the hole in the wall and put the Market St driveway in. It may have been when the Hi-rise was built in 1980. This account is from research done by a former owner. The written account has been lost but I remember the highlights
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