November 5, 1899: Miscalculation Causes George Y. Rhoads to Make Difficult Choice

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA

November 5, 1899: George Y. Rhoads, a Douglas Township school teacher, was attempting to cross Pennypacker’s trestle, just above the Manatawny Station on the Colebrookdale Railroad line, at 6:43 PM.

He had assumed that the 6:34 train had already passed on its way to Pottstown and midway across the trestle, he was startled by the headlight of the engine coming around the curve.

Choosing death by leaping off the trestle rather than being smashed by the train, he jumped 25 feet down from the bridge as the train thundered by, stunned by the leap but uninjured.

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