USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > An historical account of the old State house of Pennsylvania now known as the Hall of Independence > Part 13
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THE BANQUETING HALL.
Before the identity of the Banqueting Hall is merged in " the long room of the Philadelphia Museum," it behooves us to recall a few of its earlier associations, for it played no unimportant part in the history of the times.
Among other recognized obligations of a provincial government was that of giving state banquets on fitting public occasions. To meet this requirement Mr. Hamilton had thrown the whole of the front, of the second floor, into one long room ; this, with one ante-chamber,
1 The President's chair, the table, and the inkstand, together with two ordinary chairs raised on stilts, for the Sergeant-at-arms, and some others, were retained and carried to Lancaster, and thence to Harrisburg, by the Legislature.
2 Thus after a dispersion of seventy years, they are, one by one, so far as preserved and identified, secured and replaced in this chamber. "The adventures of the chairs of the Congress of 1776 " might fill as many volumes as did those " Of a Guinea " some hundred years ago.
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
constituted the Colonial Banqueting Hall. Very frequently the Coun- cil Chamber, on the opposite side of the hall, and communicating also with the Long Room, was brought into requisition. In these were marked the advent of a new Governor, the arrival in the Province of any of the Proprietary family ; here was celebrated, by the loyal citizens of Philadelphia, the King's birthday ; and here were enter- tained, generally, distinguished visitors whenever policy demanded such hospitality.
Its first use, as has been seen already, was on the occasion of the completion of the State House, when William Allen, as Mayor, en- tertained his fellow-citizens, -the grand "raising frolic."
Upon the birthday of George II., in 1752, the Governor, a son of Andrew Hamilton, not only gave a handsome entertainment at his mansion at " Bush-hill; " but in the evening a supper and " a brilliant grand ball " at the State House ; all three chambers were brilliantly lighted, as well as the fine stairway and hall leading thereto. " One hundred ladies and a much greater number of gentlemen formed," says a contemporary, " the most brilliant assembly that had ever been seen in this Province. The whole company were elegantly enter- tained by His Honor at supper in the long gallery, and everything conducted with the greatest decorum."
Here, too, the succeeding Governor, Robert Hunter Morris, held a levée, and rivaled Governor Hamilton in the elegance of " a supper in the long gallery," and the brilliancy of the guests.
Governor William Denny was here feasted by the Assembly in August, 1756. The civil and military, as well as the clergy, were in attendance ; while in March of the same year, the city officials en- tertained Lord Loudoun, on the occasion of his visit to Philadelphia, as commander-in-chief of the royal troops in America. In the following year, General Forbes was also feasted at the State House.
" The Birthday" balls were frequent during the years preceding the Revolutionary War.
When the Assembly entertained an incoming Governor, they or- dered the clerk " to speak to some suitable person to provide a hand- some dinner," designating the day in the " quaker style," and directed to be invited thereto, besides the present (and generally the late) Governor, the mayor and corporation, the officers, civil and military, the clergy, and the strangers in the city. John and Richard Penn frequently were feasted here. "The Merchants," and " the City Au- thorities," as well as the State were permitted to use the Banqueting Hall.
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THE BANQUETING HALL.
On 21st May, 1766, besides other demonstrations of joy, a grand entertainment took place at the State House to celebrate the repeal of the Stamp Act. It was given by the principal inhabitants, and attended by " his Honor the Governor and the Officers of the Govern- ment, the Military, Captain Hawker, of His Majesty's Ship Sardine, which ' had been brought before the town and gaily decorated,' and the other gentlemen of the navy and all strangers in the city." The worshipful the Mayor presided, assisted by some of the Aldermen. Three hundred plates were laid ; " the whole was conducted with the greatest elegance and decorum, so that detraction itself must be silent on the occasion."
After dinner, toasts were drank to the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and Royal family, even the House of Lords, the Commons, and the Ministry ; each specifically received the honors, while " the glorious and immortal Mr. Pitt," and " that lover and supporter of justice Lord Camden," were treated to a bumper. " America's friends, generally " and by name, " the Virginia Assembly"; "Daniel Dulany " winding up with the " Liberty of the Press in America." The cannon belonging to the Province had been placed in the yard, and gave the royal salute after the drinking to the King, and seven guns after every other toast. The evening was enlivened by bonfires : beer, ad libitum, to the populace ; - the Liberty Bell pealed forth its gratulations. Before the company dispersed in the Banqueting Hall, they passed a resolution, in order to demonstrate their affection to Great Britain, and their gratitude for the repeal, that each would, on the approaching 4th June, " the birthday of our most gracious Sove- reign George III., dress ourselves in a new suit of the manufactures of England, and give what homespun we have to the poor."
Probably the last and certainly the most significant of all the ban- quets, was that given to the members of the First Continental Con- gress in September, 1774.
" On Friday last," says Bradford's " Journal " of September 21, " the Honorable Delegates, now met in General Congress, were ele- gantly entertained by the gentlemen of this city. Having met at the City Tavern about three o'clock, they were conducted from thence to the State House by the managers of the entertainment, where they were received by a very large company, composed of the Clergy, such genteel strangers as happened to be in town, and a number of respectable citizens, making in the whole near five hundred. After dinner, toasts were drank, accompanied by music and a discharge of cannon." These showed, even yet, no diminution of loyalty. "The
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
King," " The Queen," "The Duke of Gloucester," "The Prince of Wales and Royal Family," " Perpetual union to the Colonies," " May the Colonies faithfully execute what the Congress shall wisely resolve," " The much injured town of Boston and Province of Massachusetts- Bay," " May Great Britain be just and America free," "No un- constitutional standing armies," " May the cloud which hangs over Great Britain and the Colonies burst only on the heads of the pres- ent Ministry," " May every American hand down to posterity, pure and untainted, the liberty he has derived from his ancestors," " May no man enjoy freedom who has not spirit to defend it," " May the persecuted genius of Liberty find a lasting asylum in America," "May British swords never be drawn in defence of tyranny," "The arts and manufactures of America," "Confusion to the authors of the Canada Bill," " The liberty of the press," "A happy recon- ciliation between Great Britain and her Colonies, on a constitutional ground," "The virtuous few in both Houses of Parliament," " The City of London," "Lord Chatham," "Lord Camden," " Marquis of Rockingham," " Mr. Burke," " General Conway," and some others, concluding with " Dr. Franklin," and " Mr. Hancock."
" The acclamations with which several of them were received, not only testified the sense of the honor conferred by such worthy guests, but the fullest confidence in their wisdom and integrity, and a firm resolution to adopt and support such measures as they shall direct for the public good at this alarming crisis."
Thus Independence Hall shares with Carpenters' Hall, even its association with the Pioneers of the Union.
THE UNION OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES SUGGESTED BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AT THE CONGRESS IN ALBANY IN 1754 FOSTERED BY MASSACHUSETTS IN 1765 DEVELOPED AT CARPENTERS HALL IN 1774 WAS IN THIS BUILDING EFFECTED IN 1776 AND MADE MORE PERFECT, SEPTEMBER 17, 1787.
Among the reminiscences of the early years of Independence Hall that came thronging upon us, though thrust aside from their chron-
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A CONGRESS ADVOCATED.
ological order by historical events, there are some which demand rec- ognition. 1
REVERSE.
.......
ADMIT THE BEARER
TOONEOF THE
LECTURES ON
....
ELECTRICITY Eben Kinnersles
TICKET OF ADMISSION.
To the practical telegrapher of 1876, more especially to those who have (though in different form) accomplished the transmission of electrical messages through thousands of miles of water, it cannot fail to be interesting to find that some, if not the very earliest, experiments on this subject were exhibited, and explained, at the State House.
While Franklin was the medium of communication through Peter Collinson, with the Royal Society, and thus throughout Europe of the
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
celebrated " Philadelphia experiments," in electricity, his co-laborer in the work, Ebenezer Kinnersley, gave, in one of the chambers of the State House, his lectures on " the Electrical Fire," its properties, char- acteristics, and in some respects adaptations.1
This course of lectures commenced September 21st, 1752; they were advertised in " The Pennsylvania Gazette," and the hope ex- pressed that they will be thought worthy of regard and encouragement " as the knowledge of human nature tends to enlarge the human mind, and give us more noble and more grand and exalted ideas of the author of nature, and if well pursued, seldom fails producing something useful to man.".
Among the most interesting of the expositions it was shown : -
That the electrical fire is an extremely subtle fluid.
That it does not take any perceptible time in passing through large portions of space.
That this fire will live in water, a river not being sufficient to quench the smallest spark of it.
Dr. Kinnersley discharged a battery of eleven guns by a spark after it had passed through ten feet of water.
He showed that this fire was the same with lightning, and he also exhibited the method by which houses could be secured against the latter.
From Independence Hall Dr. Kinnersley, by a singular coincidence, went to Faneuil Hall, and there, thirty-nine years before the birth of Samuel F. B. Morse, explained some of the mysteries of that power utilized by the latter, and almost within ear-shot of the very house where Professor Morse first saw the light.
Our Building is not exempt from association with the primitive owners of the soil. Here, in the Council Chamber, at least one grand
1 Franklin, Kinnersley, Philip Syng, the scientific silversmith (the same who made the silver inkstand used in signing the Declaration of Independence), and Thomas Hopkinson, formed this junto. It was Mr. Hopkinson who discovered the power of metallic points in drawing off and diffusing the fluid, a discovery utilized by Franklin in his lightning rod. An admirable address on Dr. Kinnersley by Mr. Horatio Gates Jones, of Philadelphia, is yet in MS.
Phil Sang - She: Stopkinson
THE TREATY ELM.
127
ASSOCIATION WITII THE INDIANS.
" talk " with the Indians was held by the President and Council, at the close of September, 1771. Chiefs of the Cayugas, of the Dela- wares and Shawanese, Tuscaroras and Mohicans, were present. They came upon a friendly visit to confirm the lands that " we gave to the Proprietor Onas, [William Penn] and to no other person, and we not only gave Wyoming to him, but a great space of land round about it except the place where the Indians live."
Though eighty-nine years had elapsed, these " savages " had not forgotten the Treaty of Shackamaxon, under the great Elm "remem- bering," say they, " that there was an old road between us and our Brethren at Philadelphia [Shackamaxon], in the very beginning of Time, we sat out with some of our people and found the old road, and travelled safe in it to this city, and we are glad to find the old Council Fire, which was kindled by our Fathers, is still burning bright and clear as it used to be, and that we see our Brethren-our Fathers and your Fathers were in close Friendship. Here they presented a string of wampum of three rows -they held fast the covenant chain and strengthened it- one held it fast at one end and the other at the other end, but there were always some bad people who wanted to break the chain, but they never have been able to do it. Both you and we have held it fast," etc.
Deputations from the different Indian tribes had been frequently sent to treat with the State Government, and to receive the usual " condolences " upon deaths of their sachems. They were entertained generally in " the yard " at the public expense, and previous to the summer of 1759 were lodged in one of the wings of the State House.
Apprehensive of fire from carelessness on their part, directions were given by the Assembly to erect a small house adjoining for their use. It is supposed that this gave rise to the construction and use of the two long low sheds at the ends of the Building, which are shown in Peale's picture of the Hall, as it stood in 1778, and which during the Revolution were used for artillery and general munitions of war.
Few alterations or repairs were made to the State House from the time of its completion to the termination of the Revolution. The steeple in which the Bell had been placed was of wood, and sur- mounted " the Tower " so-called. As early as 1771, Rev. Mr. Duché in his " Caspipina's Letters," tells us that the architecture of the stee- ple was considered so miserable that it was determined " to let it go to decay," in order to its better replacement. In 1773, a skillful car- penter was employed to view and report on its state ; and the Assem- bly in the following year considered the expediency, and indeed gave
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
the order, " that it should be taken down and the brick work cheaply covered to prevent its being damaged by weather." This order has given rise to the error of Mr. Watson, the annalist, and generally those who have since depicted the State House in 1776 have adopted his statement, inferring " what ought to be done, has been done " - but such was not the fact. Estimates were actually submitted in March, 1775 ; it was then proposed to place a cupola upon the front building, but the subject was "referred for further consideration to the next sitting of the House." The Continental Congress met only a short time afterwards within its precincts ; this circumstance, together with the pressure of the stirring events preceding the War of Independence, rendered further action impossible at the time.
In April, 1781, the condition of the steeple was considered abso- lutely dangerous, and was then, and not until then, pursuant to the peremptory order of the Assembly, taken down.
" The heavy fraim whereon the Bell used to hang " was lowered into the brick tower, and the old Liberty Bell was now again suspended from its beam ; the three windows of the otherwise close room were nitted with sounding-boards in order to give full effect to its tones, for alarums, rejoicings, etc. The Tower was plainly though effectually covered for the preservation of the building, and was surmounted by a slender spire or point. Immediately in front of the spire on the main roof, a second bell, called the " clock bell," and sometimes confounded with the Liberty Bell, was suspended with a slight covering or shed built over it, as is seen in Birch's " Familiar Views of the State House." The Bill for this work is also extant, and may interest the curious : -
Mr. Thomas Nevell, for the State House. 1781, TO JOHN COBURN, Dr.
July 16. - To sundry hands getting down the Old Steeple, and
getting up the new one, getting up the Bell, and fixing of it, . £12 00 00
To the two falls and blocks and Crab getting the Old
Steeple down and the new up, and the Bell, 8 00 00
£20 00 00
NOTE. - This is the Rigger's bill against Nevell the Carpenter.
In September, 1784, important repairs were needed for the protec- tion of the building. These are specified in the Report of the Com- mittee, and are entirely immaterial, so far as the general appearance is concerned. The sidewalk had not been entirely paved, but was in
THE OLD STATE HOUSE, 1781-1813. (REAR VIEW.)
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EARLY SURROUNDINGS.
turf, except apparently the then usual " pebble-stone" footway of semi- circular form leading up to, and from, the steps. These stones seem to have been taken up about 1784 or 1785, and a brick side-walk par- allel with the street, nine feet in width, was constructed; the inter- vening space was graveled. It so remained for some time after the commencement of the present century.
No trees then ornamented the front, but a pump for " the conven- iency of the public," and for protection from fire, in connection with the leather fire-bucket - one hundred of which were ordered to be sup- plied and which were kept constantly on hand - was placed in front of each arcade.
It was at one time deemed desirable to open a street through to Market, immediately opposite the State House, and a Committee was appointed by the Assembly, March 19, 1772, to confer with the owners of the lots, to ascertain " if the same may be had at a reasonable price and make report."
INN OPPOSITE THE STATE HOUSE.
The plan was never acted upon. It does not appear that any report ever was made upon the subject.
" THE WINGS."
Of late years a notion has crept into, and taken possession of, the public mind that the State House stood alone, and that the present wings
9
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
are mere innovations. This is by no means the fact. What is now called " the row " covers nearly the same ground, and is not essentially different from the originals, which were erected and appropriated for the reception of the Records and Public Papers of the Province. Ac- cording to the primitive practice of the times, these, in custody of the officers, had always been kept at the respective residences of the latter. The public exigencies, however, as early as 1735, seemed to demand a change in this respect, to meet the convenience of the community. This induced the planning, and prompt completion of, the eastern wing of the State House. It was a low two-story structure of brick, of about the same depth as the main building, and at a distance therefrom of about thirty feet, though connected with it by an arcade on Chest- nut Street, shut in, in the rear, by a blank wall. Within the arcade was constructed a stairway, which led to the single large chamber of the second story of " the wing," its only means of access. The lower floor was divided into two rooms, which were assigned respectively to the Register General (the custodian of the original wills made in the then County of Philadelphia ) and to the Recorder of Deeds.
Much opposition was made, by both these officers, to taking posses- sion of these quarters. The former protested that his papers and rec- ords were more secure against embezzlement and fire, where he kept them in his private residence, than they could possibly be in the public building designed for them. He also " considered it a hardship to attend at certain hours at the State House." The Recorder of Deeds, whose important functions - unknown to the English practice - had been carried on since the first settlement, protested, in yielding to the requirement, that he would not be responsible for the Records if the removal were insisted upon, and asked in such case to be permitted, at least, to retain at his residence each volume until its completion.
These gentlemen, however, were summarily required to take pos- session of the offices assigned.
The " western wing " corresponding with that on the east seems to have been finished three years later, - in 1739. Its lower chamber or chambers (for it is uncertain whether it consisted of two rooms) was accorded to the Secretary of the Province, and was occupied contin- uously by that officer down to the summer of 1779, when application was made by the Board of War, through Lewis Nicola, for the use of the second floor for the accommodation of twelve or fifteen Indians then daily expected. This second floor was granted in October, 1739, upon their application, to the Philadelphia Library Company, "to deposite their books in." The Library was continued here until 1773,
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THE WINGS.
when it was transferred to the Carpenters' Hall, just in time for the convenient use of the Congress in the following year.
It would appear that the flags captured during the Revolution were herein displayed and that this chamber, and certainly a corresponding chamber in the eastern wing, was used as a Committee room for the Assembly and for Congress.1 Charles Thomson, the " permanent Sec- retary " of the latter, also had here his private office.
Shortly after Congress left Philadelphia, the upper chamber of the western wing was occupied by the Supreme Court of the State,2 and some efforts were made in 1786, to make it conform to the convenience and dignity of the Court. The State arms were painted and placed over the chair of the Chief Justice, "partitions put up " in the cham- ber, and a new "stove placed therein."
It was the custom for the doorkeeper of the Assembly in Colonial days to occupy the attic of the western wing. The product of " the Yard " was his perquisite. We find one Joseph Fry, the incum- bent in 1788, praying to be exonerated from the payment to the State of one hundred and ninety-five pounds, with which he was charged for arrears of rent. Apparently he kept a cow " to consume the herbage of the State-House yard."
At the close of the Revolution, while pensions were provided by the State for officers, soldiers, and seamen of the Continental Army, of the Pennsylvania line, wounded, maimed, or disabled so as to prevent their obtaining a livelihood, a corps of invalids was formed, to guard public property and offices, and among others the State House and adjoining buildings. This corps was ordered, in March, 1789, to be disbanded, and the Supreme Executive Council was authorized to em- ploy a requisite number of watchmen, under the civil establishment of the city, to guard the publie buildings.
State House Yard, or Independence Square, as it is now dubbed, only extended, at first, from Fifth to Sixth streets, and, back from Chestnut, three hundred and thirty-seven feet, or rather more than
1 The " Busto," of the Proprietary, Thomas Penn, presented to the Province by his wife in 1773, though all trace of it seems lost, was most likely placed in the " Committee room at east end of State House," where the State House deeds were from time to time ordered to be deposited in " the chest; " and where, also, John Hughes was also directed to place his Record Books, etc., etc.
2 The locus sitce of the Supreme Court during the Revolutionary War, after April, 1776, - its last sitting in its own chamber, and its last session as " the Pro- vincia! Supreme Court."-cannot be determined. Mr. Fletcher, the present pro- thonotary, has sought for the minute books of the period in vain.
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HISTORY OF INDEPENDENCE HALL.
one half the distance toward Walnut. It appears that a single tree was then upon the premises, which were inclosed by a high brick wall.
The whole Square originally had been cut up into convenient lots. The Chestnut Street front, 255 feet deep, was divided off into eight lots forty-nine and a half feet front each, and, with the exception of the westernmost (at corner of Sixth Street), still " vacant," had been all granted by Penn, in 1683, to private individuals, in order, from Fifth Street.
Edward Jones,
Peter Edwards,
John Roberts.
David Kinsey,
John German,
Richard Miles.
John Oliver,
Vacant.
While the front on Walnut Street had been granted to -
John Evans, Vacant.
David James, David Powell,
Samuel Miles, Wm. Davis, in right of Thos. Jones.
Vacant.
David Powell.
The last named having been granted as late as 1715, the others in the years 1683, 1684, and 1692.
The original purchases by William Allen, at the instance of An- drew Hamilton, and by Mr. Hamilton himself, covered the whole Chestnut Street front, (the title to which passed through intermediate purchasers.) and just sufficient in addition - 82 feet by 148} on Fifth, and the same on Sixth Street -to justify his requirement that a ces- sion should be made to the city and county out of the Chestnut Street front of lots, upon which to build their respective Halls.
The legal title of the Province to the property had not been per- fected in 1762. On the third of February of this year the existing deeds were brought in and delivered to the House ; they were ordered to be kept in the Committee Room. The chain of title not being com- plete, however, an act was passed divesting all the interest of Andrew Hamilton and William Allen and their heirs, and vesting it in Isaac Norris, the then Speaker, Thomas Leech, Joseph Fox, Samuel Rhoads, Joseph Galloway, John Baynton, Edward Penington, Esquires, as Trustees for the Province. A proviso was added, and it was declared " to be the true intent and meaning hereof that no part of said ground lying to the southward of the State House, within the wall as it is now built, be made use of for erecting any sort of buildings thereon, but that the same shall be and remain a public green and walk forever." This act was passed upon 17th February, 1762. A committee who had been appointed to treat with the owners of the lots, lying to the southward of the State House, in order to their purchase by the Prov-
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