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A TWENTIETH CENTURY
HISTORY
+ +
OF
ERIE COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA
A NARRATIVE ACCOUNT OF ITS HISTORICAL PROGRESS, ITS PEOPLE, AND ITS PRINCIPAL INTERESTS
BY
JOHN MILLER
PUB!
ILLUSTRATED
MBRA
Volume I
1909 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO
TIM
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 706982 ASTOR LENOX AND TI DEN FOUNDAT ONS R 1915 L
COPYRIGHT, 1909, By John Miller.
TO BEGIN WITH
It may well be questioned whether, west of the Appalachian range of mountains, there is to be found a locality that, in its time, has played a more important part in the world's history than Erie county has. Lifted into prominence in the historical landscape as the distance of time widens the perspective, Erie county incidents tower in the back- ground, landmarks in the history of America and of the world.
We read that the French, in pursuance of a policy, built a fort at Erie (Presque Isle), constructed a military road to Lake Le Bœuf, where another fort was built, and there established a line of communication by batteaux down the streams to the forks of the Ohio. But how few have recognized the fact that the building of the two Erie county forts and the construction of that portage road was the overt act leading up to the grand climax; that the culmination occurred when Legardeur de St. Pierre, at Le Bœuf, in curt, soldierly fashion, made reply to the message of Dinwiddie, carried into the wilderness by Washington; that that reply, delivered upon Erie county soil, precipitated a conflict in which three nations were involved, known in American history as the French and Indian War and in the history of Europe as the Seven Years' War? That the military work of the French in Erie county was at the time regarded as of a serious nature has been understood, else Governor Din- widdie would not have commissioned his most trusted officer, Col. George Washington, an express messenger to carry dispatches in the
depth of winter so far into the heart of the great forest. But how serious it was, and how important as bearing upon the history of the world that occupancy of the French was to be, only time, as it widened the horizon of historic vision, could tell. Forts Presque Isle and Le Bœuf and the "Old French Road," viewed in the light shed upon them by the world's history, matured by time, acquire a significance beyond what has generally been bestowed upon them.
Another incident lifts Erie into prominence in history. It is in con- nection with the Second War for Independence. Well may it be said that, but for the part played by Erie in the War of 1812 the result of that conflict might have been different. Surely it is not exaggeration to say that the great naval battle on Lake Erie was the decisive en- gagement of that war. Had it not been for Capt. Daniel Dobbins's representations to President Madison. there probably would not have been built an American fleet for service on Lake Erie; and had it not been for Capt. Dobbins's thorough knowledge of the lake and of the situation of affairs, and his energy in carrying out his plans, for which
( 1172. 2)
iv
TO BEGIN WITH
he won the approval of the President, the American Nation might have had a hopeless task in its efforts to stem the tide of disaster that was overwhelming the northern frontier. That glorious victory of September 10, 1813, in which the Erie-built ships humbled British naval pride by defeating an entire squadron-the first instance of the kind in British history-may well be regarded as the turning point in that war, the winning of which confirmed, and forever established, American inde- pendence.
Let Erie not forget the distinguished part it has played in the history of the world.
In this History of Erie County an effort has been made to set down in as orderly fashion as possible, the occurrences that have trans- pired, so far as can be ascertained from the records. By records, let it be explained, is meant not alone the writings of those who have written accounts of the happenings from time to time, but those relics that were left by the original owners and occupants of the soil. meagre though they are in quantity, obscure in quality, and perhaps misleading or un- certain in character. With no written language and with nothing but traditions passed from father to son through no telling how many genera- tions, Indian history is necessarily hazy ; scarcely more so is that history the only record of which is found in the isolated mounds and mysterious earthworks scattered about and overgrown by centuries of forest. That Erie county had been occupied by that mysterious race, that in this sec- tion, at least, preceded the Indian of the white man's ken, there are numer- ous proofs in what survives of their work. Whether they were an earlier and distinct race, or merely the forebears of the Indians that still survive, is a matter for the ethnologists to settle. At any rate, they once were here, and Erie county seems to mark the ultimate boundary of their possessions. For the elucidation of the history of the red man ---- that child of the "stone age"-indebtedness is acknowledged to the writ- ings of F. W. Halsey, John Fiske and Francis Parkman.
As to the period of French occupancy, covering, so far as Erie county is concerned, the six years from 1753 to 1759-the narrative of the building of the forts, the construction of the portage road, and the incidents of the war that, centering at Fort Duquesne, finally resulted in driving away the French-it is proper to state that the main reliance has been on the historical works of Francis Parkman; of Frank H. Severance of the Buffalo Historical Society, and the anonymous History of Western Pennsylvania, published in 1846 by Daniel Kauffman of Pittsburg (its author, "A Gentleman of the Bar"). The story of Wash- ington's visit to Fort Le Bœuf-our Waterford of today-is from the journal kept by George Washington himself.
Mention must be made of the work done by the late Miss Laura Y. Sanford, whose excellent History of Erie County lias been exceed- ingly serviceable, especially with reference to the beginnings of the per- manent settlement of Erie. To the historical account of the building of Perry's fleet, the Battle of Lake Erie, and the disposition made of the ships and prizes, written in 1876 by Capt. W. W. Dobbins, a son of Capt. Daniel Dobbins, the writer of this history is indebted. Ac- knowledgment must be made of the service rendered by the late
V
TO BEGIN WITH
Benjamin Whitman, who, with commendable zeal, took advantage of opportunities that happily then existed of gathering into orderly shape an immense store of facts relating to the early settlement of the county, still available when collected, a third of a century ago, from the lips of pioneers now passed from the stage of human affairs. From the writ- ings of the late Hon. James Sill; of the late Rufus L. Perkins; of the late Lewis W. Olds: of Thomas C. Miller, Rev. J. P. Irwin, Robert J. Moorhead, Dr. Edward Cranch, J. Elmer Reed, the late Capt. N. W. Russell and Mrs. Isaac Moorhead, much has been obtained, while of the living, who yielded to interviews, it would be in vain to give a list- unwise to attempt it, because in a list that would be so extended many might inadvertently be omitted.
Other sources of information have been the records in the City Hall, (in the search through which Mr. Thomas Hanlon, for many years City Clerk, has rendered invaluable service) ; the well preserved newspaper files in the Public Library; many excellent scrap-books (not omitting some made by the late M. S. Vincent), and the city directories, back to the first number published by Henry W. Hulbert in 1853. Acknowledg- ment must be made of the assistance furnished by the Postmaster General's office ; by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Schaefer ; by Hon. Isaac B. Brown of the State Department of Internal Affairs, and by Collector B. B. Brown of the Erie Custom House and Isador Sobel, Postmaster of Erie.
Covering the Civil War Period, besides what the newspapers of the time afforded, indebtedness is acknowledged to the writings of Rev. John Richards Boyle, and George L. Kilmer ; to Bates's regimental histories ; to numerous magazine articles, and to Capt. E. L. Whittelsey and Capt. James Hunter.
These acknowledgments are here made to account for the absence of foot-notes, and it is trusted this explanation will be taken as sufficient excuse for the omission of these marks of authority or verification in their place. That the history which follows may be accepted with as tender criticism as the indulgent reader can conscientiously grant is the hope of the author.
Erie, September, 1909.
J. M.
.
CONTENTS
PART ONE-THE COUNTY
I. THE SCENE OF THE STORY. 1
II. THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS 10
III. THE FRENCH IN POSSESSION 19
IV. WASHINGTON'S MISSION 30
V. THE FALL OF FRENCH POWER
40
VI PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY
49
VII. THE TRIANGLE
57
VIII.
READY FOR THE SETTLERS.
65
IX. COMING OF THE PIONEERS
72
X. DEATH OF ANTHONY WAYNE
81
XI. SETTLEMENT BEGUN
88
XII. LAYING OUT THE ROADS
97
XIII. THE COUNTY ORGANIZED
107
XIV. THE WAR CLOUD'S SHADOW 117
XV.
NON-COMBATANTS 128
XVI.
PERRY MEETS THE ENEMY 137
XVII.
AFTER VICTORY WAS WON. 147
XVIII. THE RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT 160
175
XX.
EARLY INDUSTRIES
187
XXI.
HOW COMMERCE GREW
203
XXII.
THE PENINSULA
214
XXIII.
THE CANAL BUILT
234
XXIV.
COMING OF THE GERMANS.
245
XXV.
THE RAILROADS ENTER
258
XXVI.
THE RAILROAD WAR
267
XXVII. THE RAILROADS BUILT
294
XXVIII.
SLAVERY IN ERIE 308
XXIX. ERIE'S WAR REGIMENTS 324
XXX.
THE LAKE NAVY 341
XXXI.
MINUTE MEN AND CONSCRIPTS 352
XXXII.
THE WAR DEBT PAID 363
XXXIII. THE BENCH AND BAR 374
XXXIV. THE SPANISH WAR 390
XXXV. NOTABLE PEOPLE 400
1
XIX. SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY
viii
CONTENTS
XXXVI. THE GRAPE BELT
412
XXXVII. POLITICAL RECORD 419
PART TWO-TOWNSHIPS AND CORRY
I. AMITY 437
II. CONCORD 440
III. CONNEAUT AND ALBION 444
IV. ELKCREEK 451
V. FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH
455
VI. FRANKLIN
463
VII. GIRARD TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH
466
VIII. GREENE
477
IX. GREENFIELD
481
X.
HARBORCREEK
486
XI.
LE BŒUF AND MILL VILLAGE
491
XII.
MCKEAN AND MIDDLEBORO
496
XIII.
MILLCREEK 510
500
XIV.
NORTH EAST
XV.
SPRINGFIELD AND EAST SPRINGFIELD
522
XVI.
SUMMIT 528
XVII.
UNION AND UNION CITY 531
XVIII.
VENANGO AND WATTSBURG 541
XIX.
WASHINGTON AND EDINBORO 547
XX. WATERFORD TOWNSHIP AND BOROUGH 556
XXI. WAYNE 563
XXII. THE CITY OF CORRY
PART THREE-THE CITY
I. THE SITE OF THE TOWN 585
II. THE TOWN OF ERIE 591
III. THE BOROUGH CHARTERED 604
IV. BECOMES A CITY
623
V. ERIE'S HARBOR
641
VI. BURNING OF THE ERIE
657
VII. IN TIME OF WAR 665
VIII. PUBLIC MARKETS 680
IX. ERIE'S INDUSTRIES
688
X. VANISHED INDUSTRIES
713
XI. BUSINESS AFFAIRS
727
XII. ELECTRICITY ENTERS
739
XIII. BY TROLLEY ROUTE
748
XIV. PUBLIC BUILDINGS 779
763
XV.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
XVI. THE CITY SCHOOLS 788
XVII. ERIE CHURCHES
802
XVIII.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 830
XIX.
HOTELS, THEATRES, SPORTS 845
XX. PARKS AND RESORTS 855
XXI. JOURNALS AND JOURNALISTS 869
XXII. CONCLUSION 881
568
PART FIRST THE COUNTY
CHAPTER I .- THE SCENE OF THE STORY.
THE HEART OF THE GREATEST FOREST IN THE WORLD .- THE WOODS, HILLS, STREAMS AND LAKES, AND GENERAL PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTY.
It would not be proper to enter upon the history of this or any other section or part of the American continent without turning back to the beginning of it-the beginning as we have come to understand it- and dating our start on the 12th of October, 1492, the day when Columbus discovered America. No; on second thought, I had better not put it that way, though this is entirely in accord with historical convention. The best way to put it is : the day upon which Columbus discovered there was a western shore of the great Atlantic sea. It is better this way for two reasons. First, America had long had its existence and was not sooner known to the inhabitants of the eastern continent simply because none had been possessed of the energy, the enterprise, the good judgment, the abounding faith and the indomitable will the great Genoese was endowed with. The other reason is that after all Columbus did not discover America ; he just fell short of it; and though it did happen to him that once upon a time he viewed the mainland of America he did not know it. When he passed through the strait that makes Trinidad an island and viewed the land upon his left he believed that too to be of the same nature as all the rest of his discoveries in the western hemisphere, only an island. In truth it was the main land of South America. But even had he known the real character of the land he was viewing, as a dis- coverer of the continent he had been forestalled.
But that vaster moiety of the western continent, that portion that was in time to attain to the proud position of standing in the fore-front among the nations of the world? The beginnings of that, applying the measure of time that has ever since been employed by European people, date from the voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot, sailors enlisted in the service of Great Britain, who, in 1497-1499, pushing their adventurous prows in the direction of the setting sun and choosing a course nearer to the latitude of the nation under whose flag they sailed, found and explored a marvelous coast, extending hundreds of leagues, from Labra- dor to the Gulf of Mexico. It is this discovery, or voyage of exploration, if you please, that most concerns us-that, in fact, had most to do with
2
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
the advancement of the new continent, and the whole world in fact. It was the real discovery of America. For it was an enterprise belonging to the race that was to build up, beyond the Europeans' setting sun, an empire vaster in area, greater in power, and incalculably higher in liberty than any nation the world had ever seen. It was Columbus who gave the cue; it was the Cabots with the Anglo-Saxon behind them who entered upon the stage as the actors of the opening scene of the world's greatest nation-drama.
Let us now spread before us the map of this discovery of the Cabots -this new continent as it was when first viewed by the eyes of those European mariners. What manner of land was it?
It was the greatest forest in the world, extending from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi river (generally) and from the Gulf of Mexico northward, to the shores of Hudson's bay, and then further northward and westward, to the mouth of the Mackenzie river on the shore of the Arctic ocean, and up into Alaska. Nor did it end there, for. crossing the continent, this stupendous forest reached southward again in two spurs, one the great timber country of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia ; the other the timber tract of the Rocky mountains. It was a forest of hundreds of species of trees, ranging from the palmettos and pines and live oaks, cypresses and gums and magnolias of the south, to the spruces and firs and birches that in the extreme north become dwarfed by their proximity to the icy zone into mere shrubs.
Almost in the geographical centre of the eastern or main section of this great forest is the area that is the scene of this history. It is truly a goodly land. Perhaps no other part of the great North American forest, of equal area, could boast of a greater variety of trees, certainly no other could produce more species valuable to the race of man. And in vast abundance, too, are those timbers that are to become an adjunct toward the founding and development of a commonwealth never before approached. There is no means by which to calculate the influence upon the building of this nation that was exercised by the white pine and the hemlock spruce, which at one time were abundant here. The same is true, though probably in lesser degree, of the chestnut and the several oaks ; of the cherry and the walnut; of the tulip-tree or whitewood, and the cucumber : of the ash and maples and beech ; of the cedars and elms and hickories ; of the birches and linden or basswood.
Everywhere they grow within easy reach, forming a covering so dense that the sunlight scarcely prevailed to reach the ground beneath to stimulate the humbler growth that through the slow process of evolu- tion had come to accommodate itself to the conditions that prevail. Literally it is a trackless forest, for the few and widely separated Indian trails scarce merit the name of paths-the red man's highway through the great forest is not overland; the streams are his true thoroughfare ; the rivers of varying degree and the lakes his means of communication.
3
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
And conceive what must have been the surprise of the earliest of the European explorers when, having penetrated the recesses of the forest, they were stopped upon the shore of a vast sea that seemed to stretch illimitable; a sea without a tide; a sea of pure sweet water; that lay before them a glassy mirror in time of calm, or in storm was even more terrible than Old Ocean himself. And more wonderful still, to learn, as exploration progressed, that within the confines of this great forest there extended a series of these seas or lakes, extending hundreds of leagues in a diagonal direction, some (the greater of them) joined together as a chain, others separated by varying distances, the whole covering the equivalent of thirty degrees of the earth's latitude.
Its streams, too! Perhaps the grand Montaña of Brazil, the principal rival of the great North American forest, can boast of more numerous navigable water-ways in the tributaries of the Amazon, but certainly no continent can produce, in section habitable for a progressive race, a system as complete, for purposes of communication or as aids to in- dustry, as that (or those, if you please) with which the great forest of North America was furnished. They abounded, and their courses seemed to lead in every direction. It was possible for the early explorers to penetrate in every direction-to the north or south, to the east or west- by employing the rivers, and white man and savage alike were prompt to put them to use.
This stupendous forest, nearly a thousand leagues in greatest extent, was inhabited, but it was not populous, neither as regards man nor the lower animals, though in respect to species or kind there were many varieties in both classes. Mankind was represented by a race of brown men, mistakenly called Indians, and quite as erroneously spoken of as red, the color designation due no doubt to the almost universal custom of the savages of painting their faces and bodies, the favorite hue being red. Of these Indians there were many tribes or nations, differing in appearance and language and mode of life. They were children of nature, their industries insignificant, and even agriculture as a means by which to obtain subsistence but little practiced. From the forest they obtained a large proportion of their food. The chestnut, the acorns of the white and chestnut oaks, the beech, hazel, hickory, pecan, walnut, butternut, wild plum and cherry, service berry, berries of species of vi- burnum and wild grapes, besides the fruits of the several brambles and berries of the heath family of shrubs, all contributed to the bill of fare of the savage. The maple yielded sugar ; other trees were made to yield sustenance from their inner bark, while plants of humbler growth con- tributed root. stem, leaf or seed to help supply the necessary food.
More important, however, were the animals that were hunted; for their flesh, or for their skins, or for their tendons that were required for bow-strings or thread. The Virginian deer and the bear were found throughout nearly the entire range. The elk, and in the north, the moose.
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
The bison or buffalo, in the beginning of the white man's acquaintance with the North American continent, was not strictly a denizen of the great plains of the interior. Its range extended east to the Alleghany mountains, and as late as the year 1795 was to be found in what is now central New York. To this day its presence in the eastern part of the great forest is certified by the name borne by a populous city, and in this county of Erie by the lake and stream named after it-Le Bœuf. And the fauna included animals of the carnivora-the cougar or panther, the wolverine, the lynx, the wolf, the fox, besides furbearing animals such as the beaver, the mink, squirrels, the hare or rabbit, the muskrat, the skunk. These denizens of the forest, as well as the great game, all contributed to the support of the savages who represented the human race as lords of the great North American forest. In the process of time these animals were to play an important part in working out the destiny of this continent. It will appear in the course of this narrative how important this part was.
The location of Erie county is very near the geographical centre of this vast forest that stretched, north and south, over forty degrees of lati- tude. It was, before the advent of the white man, a typical section, repre- sentative of the American forest at its best, for here the arboreal vegeta- tion, favored by situation and climate, reached its perfection. There were lacking several species to be found only farther south ; there were, however, other species that do not thrive in the south, while many that here attain to vigor and great proportions do not grow much farther north. It is a fertile tract, and, comparatively level, especially favored the broad-leafed trees or hard woods. Many chestnuts, tulip-trees and syca- mores attained to truly gigantic proportions, reaching quite to the recorded limit of height. The white pine was best on the southern slope of the county's great divide, having in the early days been reasonably abundant in the valleys of French creek and its tributaries. The hemlock spruce, a slow growing but valuable timber tree, was more generally distributed, frequently dominating restricted districts. The chestnut was especially abundant on the lake shore plain. The most plentiful of all the species of trees was the beech, particularly on the uplands, while the sugar and red maples were universal and abundant. The oaks of several species or varieties (such as the white, red, black, scarlet and chestnut ) were well distributed, seldom, however, forming groves or woods as did the hem- lock, chestnut, maple and beech. The basswood, the tulip-tree (poplar or whitewood of the lumberman) the cucumber, elms of two species, cherry, tupelo, white ash, hickories, walnut and butternut and the black and yellow birch were common and generally distributed, though according to all accounts that can be obtained the paper or canoe birch was not a denizen of this county, or if so, was scarce. The black ash chose the swampy places and the sycamore was not content unless its feet were in the water. There were three indigenous poplars, two of which favored
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
sandy situations, near the water, and the third, indifferent, was best suited with a heavier soil. There was but one willow that attained to the dignity of a tree-the black or swamp willow-the numerous species of willow trees of the present time, coming as immigrants with the white man, just as the Lombardy poplar did. Besides these there were the tamarack of the swamps, and the ironwood, and, sometimes attaining to the stature or hiabit of a tree, the service berry, the flowering dogwood, the pawpaw, the wild plum, the witch-hazel, the blue or water beech and the alder. The red cedar or Virginian juniper, frequently a good-sized tree, once was plentiful enough to yield material for fence- posts, and probably the black spruce, the white cedar and the locust were among the trees of Erie county. On the peninsula is to be found an oak, that does not grow upon the mainland.
Topographically Erie county is interesting. Generally speaking it consists of a series of ridges that extend with comparative regularity parallel with the lake shore, highest in the east and gradually falling away as they extend toward the Ohio line. The high dividing ridge (Erie county's great divide) which separates the waters of the Alle- gheny tributaries from the water that discharges into Lake Erie, crosses the New York state line near Colt's Station in Greenfield township, where it is 1,000 feet or more above the level of the lake. It then passes in nearly a straight line to Strong's, on the turnpike ten miles from Erie in Waterford township, where it is from 850 to 875 feet above the lake level. From Strong's westward it becomes less distinctly marked and much depressed, and is altogether lost before reaching Con- neaut township. Conneaut lake in Crawford county is a little more than five hundred feet above Lake Erie. From this dividing ridge there are four tolerably well marked terraces to, and parallel with, the lake. These terraces are higher and better defined near the New York state line, and become much depressed on reaching Elk- creek and Fairview townships, with the exception of the lowest, or north- ernmost one, which extends into Ohio. The streams which empty into the lake in some instances run, each within one of these terraces for a considerable distance before they find an opening through which they can pass to a lower level. This is most notable toward the western part of the county, the best examples being Walnut creek and Elk creek. which rising due south of Erie, flow westward long distances before they finally discharge into the lake. Conneaut creek, rising in Crawford county and flowing north, after passing Albion takes the characteristic westerly course into Ohio doubling upon itself before it finally turns northward to the lake. The streams to the east of Erie, on the other hand, have a more direct course from the high dividing ridge. The valleys and ridges south of the divide are none of them regular or easily defined ; they are numerous and scenically beautiful. Toward the east, in the neighbor- hood of Corry, the hills are high, but they gradually become dwarfed
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