USA > Indiana > Jefferson County > Madison > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Kentucky > Jefferson County > Louisville > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Scioto County > Portsmouth > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > The western address directory : containing the cards of merchants, manufacturers, and other business men, in Pittsburgh, (Pa.) Wheeling, (Va.) Zanesville, (O.) Portsmouth, (O.) Dayton, (O.) Cincinnati, (O.) Madison, (Ind.) Louisville, (K.) St. Louis, (Mo.) , 1837 > Part 3
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Road to Pittsburgh, (Pa.)
when they pay their fare, expressing on its face the pay- ment of the money and for what distance-and if it is any other than the proprietors of the line to whom the money is paid, see that the receipt be worded " for the proprietors of the . - line," naming it in the blank. 7
Our landlord expressed himself freely in the presence of the driver, and stated that " the coach belonged to a half line," and not to the regular line, and that " the same Simpson had done such tricks before-that he would take the passengers' money, start them off in an extraw, making similar promises as had been made to us, and the no less disingenuous Sprout would confirm the decep- tion, as he had done in the present instance." The dri- ver (Jim Strong) heard him out, and replied, that "Sprout had told him to drive no farther than Bloody Run, that that was two miles beyond his part of the line to Bed- ford, and the other owners might take the passengers on from there-and he was resolved to do as Jimmy Sprout had told him-Jimmy Sprout (he said) had as much mo- ney as any other man, and he was not going to lose a winter's work by disobeying his orders, which he expect- ed he should, if he had driven the passengers to Bed- ford." Mr. Jordan informed us, that "two other proprietors, named Barclay and Vondersmith, lived in Bedford, which was the nearest agency the con- cern had ; and that their coach might be down in the course of the night, as had been the case in these emer- gencies before-that the team might then take this coach on to Bedford, and Jimmy Strong take the one he brought here, back."
About midnight the Bedford coach arrived, and with much difficulty we effected an arrangement, as the driver 3.
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Western Address Directory.
had no authority, he said, to do so ; and although the other stage, which had been our companion, arrived be- fore he started, no communication was made that it left passengers at Bloody Run in waiting-that one or both of the owners were present when he left, and he thinks had they been informed, they would probably have given him some instructions. This man expressed a good deal of indignation, when he heard of what had transpired with reference to the conduct of the other owners.
Between one and two o'clock, after crossing the Juni- ata again, we reached Bedford, 134 miles from Balti- more. All was as quiet as death. Our establishment was not expected : no owners, drivers, or any person could be found, awake -- we were at Reynold's tavern, too. In about an hour, however, another team of horses was brought forward, which was " the one last in from the east," and therefore the same which had left us at Bloody run ; but no owner presented himself to afford us any satisfaction, with reference to matters either retrospec- tive or prospective, and as soon as possible we were on the road again.
We again crossed the Juniata, and before day, 9 miles from Bedford, passed through Shellsburg. At the relay, in the vicinity of this place, no driver could be found ; at length the one already in charge, obligingly continued on with us, with the same team.
. About an hour before day, we commenced ascending the Allegheny mountain. The weather was fair and cold. I occupied one end of the middle seat of the coach, as that very seldom has to be surrendered to those whom politeness has designated as entitled to our special re- gards ; and besides, something can generally be observed even through the little pane, if the weather is such as to
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Road to Pittsburgh, ( Pa )
require the window to be kept closed. The window was down at the time to which I have referred, and my head was reclining upon the lower edge of the frame. We had nearly reached the summit, and sweeping round a cove, or gorge, which projected into the body of the mountain, it brought the cove to the South- East of us. My mind was occupied with the sub- ject before me, for I was viewing, without moving my head, the awful abyss below. Imperceptibly the tops of the trees became mingled, as it were, with the clouds in the distance, (for it was not sufficiently light to discrimi- nate between real and imaginary objects)-but as we proceeded on our ascent, and the day beginning to ex- hibit a faint outline of its approach, the clouds gradually receding, withdrew their apparent connexion with the mountain scenery, and left a streak of sky, stretching along the whole horison, which put on the precise ap. pearance of a lake studded with islands, of various forms and sizes -- now and then a promontory jutting into the illimitable expanse below, while above were bays, estua- ries, coves, &c. as defined on our most circumstantial charts. The scenery of this imaginary lake, so illusive was the perspective, was exactly in keeping with the trees near me, and so unmoved was its surface, that not even one of the softest airs of zephyr appeared to breathe over it. Its first color was that of straw ; but as we continued to ascend, and the dawn to advance, the straw was changed to burnished gold, gilding every object around it, but all still keeping up their comparative dis- tances-and it was not till I moved, to procure a more advantageous and distinct view of the truly sublime spec- tacle -- for my mind had become lost in reverie-that I was placed in a more sensible position, when lo !- the
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golden lake, and all the rich islands which it encompas- sed, and the trees, and the shrubs on the shore, vanished. and left the view of a most extensive valley or interval of country, partly forest and partly cultivated, but of immense distance, below the position we occupied. The day, (18th Nov. ) was fair, but cold-intolerably so, on the summit of the Allegheny mountain. We proceeded about two miles, when we reached some improvements ; and the rocky fields, with water gushing out at various pores and crossing the road-the hemlock, beech, birch, some chesnut, and those particular trees found gene- rally on low grounds, astonished us to meet with them on the " mountain top." The marks of a most devasta- ting snow were perceptible all the morning, which fell on the 5th Oct. previous, with such violence for 16 hours, that for some time after it abated, it measured two feet on a level. The trees were despoiled of their foliage, limbs broken off with the weight, as well apple trees be- low, as the forest trees above.
We breakfasted about 9 o'clock, but could get no fresh team; and, after remaining an hour or two for our horses to refresh themselves, moved downward towards the western base of the mountain. We passed through Stoystown, a small village, 19 miles from Shellsburg, on the acclivity of Laurel mountain, in Somerset county, and 9 miles farther reached Jenner's cross roads, another stage house and relay.
It was our misfortune to meet with a repetition of the. indifference and insolence here, that we experienced at Bloody Run; but the owners of the extraw came in for a portion of the abuse at this time, which tended in some measure to mitigate our unpleasant situation, inasmuch as we expected greater facilities in getting forward. We
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Road to Pittsburgh, ( Pa. )
were disappointed, however, and at one time expected that our line was here to terminate, until another, the "Good Intent," should overtake us, which we knew would be our only and ultimate dependence: but about 3 o'clock, our growling, impertinent, swearing driver, who was to be, (for the one who left us here was quite civil, and very obliging,) concluded to proceed with us to Laughlin Town, at the western foot of the Laurel mountain. Having dined, we moved on quite comfort- ably, and got over the mountain a short time before sun- down. The distance was 7 miles.
The view from the apex of the Laurel mountain, west- wardly, was very interesting-various and delightful. The declining sun, for the atmosphere was clear, added much, perhaps, to the novelty and beauty of the new formations which now presented themselves.
On the eastern side of the Allegheny, the natural ap- pearance of every thing was objectionable; because, pro- bably, not as I expected to have seen them, from the un- pleasant vehicle in which I travelled: the lands, I have already stated, were steril; the farm houses and those of the villages bore not the evidences of thrift; the roofs of the barns were thatched-and the cold weather had stript the trees of their foliage, and the snow had fallen, and in many places was lying, thus early concealing all objects of a vegetable character, from view. The coun- try to the west of the Laurel mountain assumed quite another appearance-on its face, the innumerable hil. locks, as they appeared, with now and then a hill, with its head towering above the other members of the fami- ly, formed quite a contrast with the objects, yet remain- ing impressed on my mind, to the eastward of the Alle- gheny mountain, and I must confess gave me a much
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Western Address Directory.
better opinion of the country, which I now saw, than of that which I had left. The marks of winter were yet scarcely perceptible-there certainly must have been two or three weeks of frosty weather sooner on the eastern than on the western side of the mountains-but we were getting down the mountain, and I had not much time for farther observation until we arrived at Laughlin Town, a village of tolerable handsome appearance, in West- moreland county, on the head waters of the Loyalhanna river ; and in consequence of a freak of our driver, after watering his team, he mounted his box, and observed, that as the stables had been changed to Ligonier, about three miles father on, he would drive us there. He did so in short order-for the road lay along the river and was in good condition for travelling.
When we arrived at Ligonier, the horses were imme- diately unharnessed and put into the stable ; and after waiting half an hour, and seeing no appearance of others to succeed them, we were informed, on enquiry, that we could not be conveyed any farther : that the owners of teams hence to Pittsburgh were in no way connected with the line which had brought us thus far ; and besides, a disposition was about to be made of the horses by putting them into a new line. It at first appeared as if no argu- ment could be advanced to urge these people, (for there were three or four of them.) to the performance of what we considered their duty : and one of them at length ob- served, that as there was no way-bill, they were not obliged to proceed " any how," and he would " be d-d if he would go." This threat soon produced the way- bill from one of our passengers, with a threat fully as argumentative, that "if we were not conveyed as stipu-
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Road to Pittsburgh, (Pa.)
lated by the way-bill, that a prosecution would be insti- tuted, and all the facts appertaining to the case, published, as had been stated to those interested at Bloody run, if any interested were in hearing." Whether the threat had the desired effect or not, I cannot say ; but a team was soon before the coach, and the road to Young's Town was travelled quicker than any ten miles we had passed over since we had been in the line-and the driver was careful and civil. We stopped at the Fountain Inn, half a mile west of the village, about 10 o'clock, and in a short time had an excellent supper, and elicited from our obliging landlord, his opinion of the characters of the stage owners into whose hands we had fallen. After supper, we were put into another coach, " more comfort- able," our landlord observed, than the other, and be- tween 11 and 12 o'clock, reached Greensburg, the seat of justice of Westmoreland co. 10 miles from Young's Town.
On our arrival at Greensburg, we were informed that we could not proceed farther, until the coach from Pitts- burgh, (32 miles distant, ) came in, which would be some- time in the night, probably not till near day ; and as we were much fatigued, concluded to go to bed, and take a new day for the prosecution of our journey-and we did as we intended.
We started for Pittsburgh about 8 o'clock, but as the coach which our obliging landlord had put us into the night before, at the Fountain Inn, was a broken down one, which he was sending to the top of Turtle creek hill to its owner, to get mended, we could not travel fast- however we had more time for observation, and I endea- vored to profit by the circumstance. 1912825
The hills which I had noticed from the top of the Lau- rel mountain, dotted the whole face of the country .-
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Western Address Directory.
They varied in height from 100 to 200 feet-their sur- faces were nearly all arable, although I thought the pro- cess of ploughing must be attended with difficulty. The wheat fields looked well, and they were numerous ; the grain blades were peering from one to three inches, ap- parently, above the surface of the earth. The thousands of apple trees were not yet all disencumbered of their fruitful burthens of various hues ; and if they were, their branches continued to give umbrage to their prolific pro- ductions. The foliage of the forest trees, although in the " sear and yellow leaf," continued to afford a subject to be agitated by the breezes which gently wafted by us ; and the sheep, hogs, and poultry were visible at some point, wherever the eye might be directed.
Our road passed along the base of these' " thousand hills," which interlocked each other, on the sides of many of which we perceived veins of coal were opened ; and we learnt that the article was used, for all purposes of fuel, from the western base of the Laurel mountain to Pittsburgh ; the price, delivered at the door, being only 43 cents a bushel-wood was also abundant, but coal was preferred to it.
Passing through Grapeville, 4 miles from Greensburg ; Adamsburg, 2 ; Jacksonville, 3 ; Stewartsville, 4; Tur- tle-creekville, 9, (22 miles,) on the summit of Turtle creek hill we saw, in a western direction, a heavy black cloud of smoke canopying, what we were informed, was Pittsburgh-in 9 miles farther, passing through Wilkins- ville and East Liberty, we were in the city -- and at 5 o'clock, P. M., Nov. 19, no longer depended on an extra. Distance from Chambersburg, 158 miles ; from Balti- more, 235.
WESTERN
ADDRESS DIRECTORY.
PITTSBURGH:
ITS FOUNDATION AND EARLY HISTORY.
LETTER I.
First reconnoisance of the ground on which Pittsburgh now stands, by Gen. Washington-Erection of Fort Du Quesne-Unsuccessful attempts to reduce it-Defeat of Braddock and Grant-Fort eva- cuated and set on fire by the garrison-Taking possession of, re- pairing, and changing its name, to Fort Pitt-Foundation of Pitts- burgh-Its many local advantages, connected with other places- Onward progress, &c.
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 1st, 1856.
I arrived at this " Birmingham of America" on the evening of the 19th ult. and as newspapers had long since informed me of its fame, as a manufacturing town and city, I felt more than an ordinary degree of anxiety to " see and hear for myself."
The next day was Sunday, all the following week rainy or unsettled weather-in consequence of the muddy
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Western Address Directory.
streets, piles of building materials, and boxes and pack- ages of goods, and the passage of carts and drays in conti- nual succession, I could do little more than look out of the windows, or listen to the conversation of the strangers who were constantly arriving or departing.
Pleasant weather, apparently, at length came-but to one unaccustomed to the soot and smoke with which his senses are continually beset, is very annoying ; and this is the objection urged by strangers, I find, to Pittsburgh. A short sojourn amongst, and enlisting in feelings with, the ingenious and industrious population of the place, you soon lose sight of these objectionable features, and are quite apt to form the opinion, that it is only among minerals that gold is to be found, and that it cannot be possessed without soiling of hands-therefore, he whose hands are the most sooty, handles the most money, and it is reasonable to infer is the richer man.
A celebrated writer has said, in his reflections whilst among and observing the ruins of Carthage, "Here once flourished an opulent city, here was the seat of a power- ful empire."-The converse in its fullest extent would have been the result of the same philosopher's reflections, I have no doubt, had he taken a station on Boyd's hill, on any day within the last five or six years, having pre- viously informed himself of the increase of our western population, the healthy condition of the inhabitants all over the United States, and the mineral wealth, com- mercial advantages, and great mechanical industry of the many enterprising citizens of this city! Yes !- Here must be a great and flourishing city : the hills will be reduced and the valleys filled-and where now stand ยท dwellings on Penn, Liberty and some other of the court
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Pittsburgh-its Foundation, &c.
streets, will be stores and warehouses ; and Grant's, Boyd's and Quarry hills, will become the only sites for the erection of the domicils of the then people. If no revolution, other than seasons, occur in the meantime, it will require but a few years to verify this prediction.
It may be well, while upon the subject of predicting what Pittsburgh will probably be, to state what it was.
It is not eighty-five years since the first white man, as far as history informs, ever trod upon the soil of this place : and who was that white man ? If no other data -(I am not superstitious)-were in my possession, to justify me in the prediction favorable to the prosperity of this city, it would be from the circumstance that GEORGE WASHINGTON was the first white man, of whom we have any positive record, that ever stood upon the spot where Pittsburgh is now located !
In the early part of Washington's life, as stated by Marshall, say about the year 1751, it was discovered that France was beginning to develop the vast plan of con- necting her extensive dominions in America, by uniting Canada with Louisiana. To effect this object, the troops of that nation had taken possession of a tract of country claimed by Virginia, and had commenced a line of posts to be extended from the lakes to the Ohio, for the pur- pose of facilitating trade with the Indians and thus se- cure their friendship. It was requisite in the opinion of the Virginia Assembly, that a competent person should penetrate the wilderness to the country in question, and ascertain how far those reports were entitled to credit. The Assembly, at that time, (latter part of the year,) 175S, was in session ; and Mr. Washington having reach- ed his majority the preceding February, the mission was
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tendered to him, and accepted. In November he reach- ed Will's creek, " then the extreme frontier settlement of the English, where guides were engaged to conduct him over the Allegheny mountains." On his way, at the mouth of Turtle creek, (on the Monongahela,) be was informed that the French general was dead, and that the army had gone into winter quarters. Turtle creek emp- ties into the Monongahela, a little below the mouth of the Youghiogeny, but the French posts, as we shall soon see, were on the Allegheny, and not nearer the conflu- ence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, than 80 miles, as the roads are now laid out. "Pursuing (says the same biographer) his route, he examined the country through which he passed with a military eye, and select- ed the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, the place where Fort Du Quesne was afterwards erected by the French, as an advantageous position, which it would be advisable to secure and to fortify im- mediately."
"After employing a few days among the Indians in that neighborhood," (continues our author-that "mili- tary eye" was as perceptible to an Indian as to a white man)-" and procuring some of their chiefs to accompa- ny him, whose fidelity he took the most judicious means to secure, he ascended the Allegheny river. Passing , one" (doubtless the first) " fort at the mouth of French creek," (where Franklin, the county town of Venango, now is,) " he proceeded up the stream to a second, where he was received by the commanding officer, &c. to whom he delivered the letter of Mr. Dinwiddie, (the Lieuten- ant Governor of Virginia,) and from whom he received an answer with which he returned to Williamsburg."
Pittsburgh-its Foundation, &c. 41
Great exertions were made by Washington to induce the Assembly of Virginia to lose no time in fortifying this point, as it was ascertained, from the reply of the French commandant, that the forces under his command would not be withdrawn from the country.
Accordingly, a regiment of 300 men was raised early the next year, and the command given to a Mr. Fry, Mr. Washington, from his excessive modesty, declining the honor. However, he was subsequently appointed Lieu- tenant Colonel, and, anxious to be actively engaged, advanced with two companies to the Great Meadows, ly- ing between the Allegheny mountains, and there was in- formed by some friendly Indians who visited him, that the French were employed in constructing a fortification at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers; which fortifications they completed, and called Fort Du Quesne, in honor of the Marquis, their govern- or, of Canada. This, probably, would never have been effected, had they not been informed of the attention shewn certain Indians, by the courier to their command- ing officer, the ground he travelled over, and the glance of his " military eye," two years before. With the fore- going circumstances, as they present themselves, I have no hesitation in believing that Gen. Washington was the first white man that ever reconnoitred the site now oc- cupied by this present city.
This place was held by the French until November, 1758. Had Washington's advice been listened to, how- ever, the enemy might have been dispossessed some years before. But he was a young man ; and British officers could not reconcile to their feelings, the idea of crossing the ocean and leaving a country, where battles were 4*
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Western Address Directory.
fought in open fields, scientifically, to be dictated to by young men who had scarcely ever seen a column formed or displayed, much less one who could not hold a com- mission from the executive of a province, unless in su- bordination to an officer commissioned by the crown.
The expedition under Col. Fry proving unfortunate, another was attempted under Gen. Braddock ; and on the 9th July, 1755, a battle was fought on both sides of the Monongahela, about 9 miles above where I write, in which Washington was engaged as a volunteer aid to the General ; the battle lasted about three hours ; the General, after having three horses shot under him, at length received a mortal wound, and the troops fled, re- crossing the river, in great disorder. Gen. Braddock was brought off the field, and soon after expired .- Washington escaped unhurt, notwithwithstanding two horses were killed under him and four balls passed through his coat.
The last expedition was under Gen. Forbes, in 1758, and, had the counsel of Washington been again attended to, might have reflected more generalship upon the commanding officer. But, like his prede- cessors, he knew too much. The troops rendezvoused at Fort Cumberland, and in June were employed in opening a road to Raystown, (in Bedford County, Penn- sylvania, ) at which Col. Bouquet was stationed. In con- sequence of the want of harmony in opinion of the best practicable route to Fort Du Quesne, Washington pre- ferring Braddock's old road and Bouquet to opening a new one, much time was lost, and the new route was ultimately determined upon by Gen. Forbes. While Col. Washington was at Raystown, Major Grant, a
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Pittsburgh-its Foundation, &c.
Scotchman, with a select corps of 800 men, (I have read one account, not official, which stated that they were highlanders ; and I have read several other accounts, official and unofficial, which were silent as to their na- tional character,) had been previously detached from the advanced post at Loyal Hanna, (in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,) to reconnoitre the country about Fort Du Quesne. "In the night he reached a hill near the Fort, and sent forward a party for the purpose of discovery. They burnt a log house, and returned .- Next morning, Major Grant detached Major Lewis of Col. Washington's regiment, with a baggage guard, two miles into his rear ; and sent an engineer, with a cover- ing party, within full view of the Fort, to take a plan of the works. In the meantime he ordered the reveillee to be beaten in different places. An action soon com- menced, on which Maj. Lewis, leaving Capt. Bullett, with about 50 Virginians to guard the baggage, advanced with the utmost celerity to support Maj. Grant. The English were defeated with considerable loss ; and both Maj. Grant and Maj. Lewis were taken prisoners .* In
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