Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 16

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 16

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The question of removing the county seat seems to have been seriously consid- ered throughout the county, and on the 19th of February, 1852, an anti-removal meeting was held at Butler, which was pre- sided over by John White of Franklin Township. At this meeting it was decided to take active and aggressive measures toward preventing the removal of the county seat to another location and to that end township committees were appointed to obtain signatures to a petition which was to be presented to the legislature on the subject.

The petition, bearing numerous signa- tures, was presented to the legislature, and in May that body passed a bill author- izing the commissioners of Butler County to borrow $20,000, at six per cent. for a period of twenty years to be expended in the erection of public buildings. The act also provided that the lenders of the sum

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of money mentioned should not be subject. to taxation for that sum. This action of the legislature settled the county seat re- moval project for all time, and insured the erection of a new courthouse at Butler.

After the passage of this bill by the leg- islature and its approval by the governor, the board of commissioners secured the services of Architect Barr, and after- wards, in their official capacity, spent twelve days visiting the county seats of Lawrence, Beaver, Allegheny, Washing- ton, Green, Fayette, Blair and Indiana Counties, examining their buildings. As the result of this trip the commissioners decided to build a more imposing and cost- ly edifice than was at first contemplated, and this measure met with more opposition on the part of those who favored the county seat removal scheme. It was ar- gued by the opposition that a much cheaper building would answer the pur- pose just as well and that a great amount of money would thus be saved to the tax- payers. . Nevertheless bids were received for the proposed building, and on July 16, 1852, the contract was awarded to William Bell for $37,000. This amount was in- creased by extras to $40,000. After its completion the new courthouse was re- garded as one of the largest and best pub- lic buildings in western Pennsylvania, and remained the pride of the county for more than a third of a century.

. Work on the new building was com- menced in 1853, but it was not completed until 1855. During the period of construc- tion of the new courthouse, court was held in the basement story of the old Presbyte- rian Church on East Jefferson Street, and the county officers had their quarters in various parts of the town. A writer in the Butler Eagle in the latter part of the eight- ies thus describes the courthouse of 1853:

"It was built of excellent materials, native sandstone and brick, the stone-work being cut in a substantial man- ner, and of a style of architecture which possessed great dignity and beauty. The Goddess of Liberty with scales so delicately balanced in her right hand and the sword

of Justice in the other so ingeniously carved on the front gable was suggestive and the statue of Gen. Richard Butler, who fell at St. Clair's defeat in 1791 and after whom the town and county were named, was admired by all who viewed the structure. So much was this statue prized that when it became necessary to remove the building somewhat, it was carefully lowered and finally placed on the comb of the roof in front of the improved court house of 1877. This improvement was made in the fall of 1877 under the supervision of the then board of commissioners, J. C. Donaldson, Robert Barrons and W. A. Christy. The improvement cost about $10,000. It consisted of a new roof and a change in the shape of the ceiling, replastering, frescoing and a modification of the cupola with the addition of a clock. It was much improved in appearance, but was still not large enough for present uses. Malcolm Graham, then of Butler, had the contract. With the purchase of additional buildings for some of the offices, it would have answered the needs of the county for perhaps fifty years. This idea would have been probably carried out had the building not been destroyed by fire December 11, 1883."

The courthouse of 1853 stood back from the property line of the street some distance, and was surrounded by an iron picket fence about six feet high. A simi- lar iron fence at one time surrounded the Diamond Park on the east side of Main Street. At the time of the controversy over the removal of the county building to a central location the population of the county was a little more than thirty thou- sand and the population of Butler borough according to the census of 1850 was 1,148.

The addition of the town block in the cupola of the courthouse in 1877 was the beginning of a new era in the customs of the people of Butler. Previous to that time the ringing of the courthouse bell at 11 o'clock on Sunday mornings called the people to divine services held in the vari- ous churches. This custom had prevailed for many years and the official bell-ringer for probably a quarter of a century was John McCollough, who was janitor of the courthouse, and who is still residing in Butler. The old courthouse bell had a magnificent tone, and on a clear day could be heard nine or ten miles from the town, and after the establishing of the clock in the cupola it was the custom of the country people for four or five miles out of town to set their time-pieces by the striking of the

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hour by the "Town Clock." This bell was destroyed in the fire of December 11, 1883, The custom was not revived after the new courthouse was completed.

THE COURTHOUSE OF 1884.

Immediately after the fire of December 11, 1883, the commissioners set about to get temporary quarters for the court and county offices. The basement of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church was secured for the holding of court, and it was so used for the balance of the December term of Quar- ter Sessions, which was in session at the time of the fire. The county offices were established in different parts of the town for the time being, or until the commis- sioners could provide places for them. After some discussion and examination the English Lutheran Church building, formerly Witherspoon Institute, was leased for a term of two years, and was occupied by the court and county officers.

At the March term of the Quarter Ses- sions Court held in 1884, the first legal step was taken toward the erection of a new courthouse. During the session of the regular term of court the commission- ers presented a paper to the court an- nouncing the destruction of the courthouse by fire and accompanied with the state- ment of the financial condition of the county. Judge James Bredin, who was then presiding, submitted the question to the grand jury of which James D. Ander- son, of Penn Township, was foreman. The court amplified his remarks on the subject by suggesting to the grand jury the wis- dom of erecting a commodious and substan- tial building. The grand jury in their final presentment to court reported favorably, and advising the county commissioners to proceed with the rebuilding of the court- house with whatever enlargements might be found necessary for the accommodation of the public business and recommending that they avail themselves of the services of experienced architects. In their pre-

sentment, the jury expressed the belief that such a building could be erected at a cost of $85,000.

The recommendation of the grand jury and the suggestion of an $85,000 building caused opposition, and when the question was again submitted to the grand jury at the June term of court, Judge McJunkin, who was then presiding, discouraged the proposition to erect an expensive building and expressed his views on the subject to the grand jury. This grand jury, of which the late Nathan M. Slater, of Butler, was the foreman, reported in favor of the new building, but placed the probable cost at $50,000. Some question having been raised as to the regularity of the drawing of the jury for the March and June ses- sions, nothing further was done until the September court, when the question was again referred to the grand jury, of which Henry Buhl, of Forward Township, was the foreman. This grand jury recom- mended that the new courthouse be built of stone or brick, or such materials as the commissioners of the county, after dili- gent search and inquiry of good mechanics and master workmen, think best, and the jury further recommended that the com- missioners use all economy possible in the construction of a durable and sufficient building.

In the meantime James P. Bailey, of Pittsburg, had been selected as architect and the general plan of the building agreed upon. Three months were occupied in preparing the plans and specifications. Sealed bids were invited by publication for the erection of the building which were opened by S. T. Marshall, clerk of the commissioners, on the 13th day of Septem- ber, 1884, in the courtroom and in the pres- ence of the judges of the court, and a large number of citizens. The bids, of which there were fifteen, ranging from $117,700 to $182,000, were read aloud by Jacob Zeigler, of the Butler Herald, and were transcribed on the commissioner's

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minute book by the clerk of courts, W. B. Dodds.

The commissioners left the matter open for discussion for some time after the bids were opened, and they finally awarded the contract to R. B. Taylor, who was the low- est bidder and invited him to enter into a contract. Taylor's bid of $117,700 in- cluded all the work except that of fresco- ing, heating apparatus and the furniture for the bench and bar. Nothing was done by the commissioners until the meeting of the December court, when a bill of equity was filed on the part of those who were op- posed to erecting such an expensive build- ing. A preliminary injunction was granted, as prayed for, by Judge MeJun- kin, and on their petitions to court, Taylor, the contractor, and Bailey, the architect, were permitted to become co-defendants to the bill with the commissioners. Upon this, rules to show cause were issued and answers were filed. After hearing, the rules were made absolute. The December grand jury, of which D. R. Kennedy, of Muddycreek Township, was foreman, pro- tested against the erection of the court- house on the Bailey plan as being too ex- pensive and extravagant, condemned the stone walls proposed and wanted a fire- proof building erected at the cost of $76,- 000. The old board of commissioners re- tired at the close of 1884, and the new board, composed of John M. Turner, of Parker Township; J. C. Bredin, of Clay Township, and John C. Kelly, of Adams Township, took ther seats on the first Mon- day of January, 1885. The litigation over the contract for the new courthouse was re- sumed by Bailey and Taylor, who took out a writ of error and the case was heard on January 23, 1885, in the Supreme Court, then in session in Philadelphia. After a hearing this tribunal dissolved the injunc- tion granted by the courts of Butler County, at the cost of the plaintiffs. After some further delay the commissioners

ratified the contract entered into by the old board with Bailey and Taylor.

Owing to the delay caused by the legal controversy over the letting of the con- tract, work was not begun on the new building until April 6, 1885, and was com- pleted in July of the following year.

COURTHOUSE OF 1908.

When the new courthouse was completed and occupied in 1885, it was imagined that the county would be amply provided for for at least fifty years. The constant in- crease in population and the consequent increase in business of the court of the county in the last twenty-five years created the necessity of enlarging the quarters of the public officers and providing means for the adequate protection of the county dock- ets and court records. On the 1st of March, 1906, N. S. Grossman, William Sei- bert, and G. F. Easley, county commission- ers, employed J. C. Fulton, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, as architect to prepare plans and specifications for the remodel- ing and enlarging of the courthouse. On March 8, 1907, a contract was let to George Schenck, of Butler, and work was com- menced in the same month. The repairs included the moving of the side walls out to the street line, the addition of a third story, a new roof, and the fire-proofing of the vaults in all the offices of the first floor, and in the basement. The total cost of the improvements was about $155,000, to provide for the payment of which, the commissioners issued bonds to the amount of $125,000 on October 1, 1907, and the second issue of bonds on October 1, 1908, to the amount of $30,000. On May 8, 1907, the documents of the various offices of the courthouse were removed to the sixth floor of the Butler County National Bank Building, where quarters were pro- vided during the time that the repair work was being done.

The heating plant in the new building

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was installed by the Armstrong Warming and Ventilating Company, of Pittsburg. The decorating was done by the William G. Andrews Decorative Company, of Clin- ton, Iowa; the marble wainscoting and tile floors by the Logan Company, of Pitts- burg; the fire-proofing by the Expanded Metal Fire Proofing Company, of Pitts- burg; the fixtures by the Morreau Gas Fix- ture Manufacturing Company, of Cleve- land, Ohio; the counters by the Art Metal Construction Company, of Jamestown, New York; the furniture by A. H. An- drews Company, of Chicago, Ill .; the slate- roofing by Carl Barnard, of Butler, and the gutters and valleys by J. G. & W. Campbell, of Butler. The building was completed and ready for occupancy the middle of October, 1908.

When the first steps were taken to- wards the remodeling of the courthouse in March, 1906, an advisory committee com- posed of five members of the bar and two local contractors were appointed to assist the commissioners and architect in prepar- ing the plan and specifications. This com- mittee, which rendered valuable and ac- ceptable services, consisted of Hon. James M. Galbreath, Alexander Mitchell, Levi M. Wise, Everett L. Ralston, and S. F. Bow- ser, of the bar, and George Schenck and Ed. Weigand, of the local contractors and builders.

The courthouse of 1908 is an edifice that the people of Butler County can call the attention of the passing stranger to with some pride. The interior is well finished, the decorations beautiful, and the mural paintings illustrating historic places and scenes in the county, show an artistic taste in keeping with the age. The building is well heated, well lighted, and absolutely fireproof. Compared to its predecessors it is a magnificent palace, but yet not out of keeping with the dignity and the impor- tant position the county holds in the com- monwealth, and it will long stand as a

credit to its builders and the public spirit of the citizens of the county.

COUNTY JAILS.

According to Brackenridge's "History of Western Pennsylvania," the first prison in Butler was Bowen's pig-pen, which stood a short distance east of the log house in which the first court of the county was held in 1803. The first jail of which there is any definite record in the county was built by Abraham Brinker and stood on the corner of South Washington Street and the Vogeley Alley, on the site now oc- cupied by the residence of Mrs. Schultz. This old building was constructed of logs and brick and was used for many years as a cabinet-maker's repair shop, and was only torn down about the beginning of the present century. From the records of the transactions of the county commissioners in 1804, it would appear that work had been commenced on the public building, for on January 16th a warrant was drawn to Samuel Meals for "iron work on the public prison." In May of the same year James Blashford was paid for carpenter work done on the jail, and on the 7th of June the commissioners settled with Abra- ham Brinker for building the jail "accord- ing to agreement." Later in the year war- rants were drawn to William Freeman for plank used in the jail, and to Matthew Thompson for making spikes. In the fol- lowing year Benjamin White was paid for thirty logs and one thousand brick, for the county jail, and in 1806 Paris Bratton was paid for building a picket fence about the jail lot. This old log building appears to have answered the purpose of a public prison until 1817, when the new stone jail was finished.

THE FIRST STONE JAIL.

From the same records in the commis- sioners' office it appears that John Negley of Butler began the erection of a stone jail

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on the site of the present jail in 1812 .. From various causes the work was delayed and the building was not completed until 1817. This building answered the pur- poses of the county for almost half a cen- tury, and was not replaced until 1867. In 1821 the commissioners authorized the jail doors to be covered with sheet iron and in 1830, sheet iron was placed on the west wall of the prison room, and other repairs were made to add to the security of the building. The iron used in these repairs was secured with much difficulty and was hauled from Pittsburg on wagons.

The old prison was a gloomy enough af- fair, and while it would not be regarded as a safe place in which to keep criminals of the present day, it answered its purpose very well. During these years the jail yard was surrounded by a stone wall and the prisoners were allowed to exercise in the yard for an hour or so every day. The old prison was provided with a dunegon, which was located in the basement, and was used only for the safe keeping of des- perate criminals. A large iron ring was fastened in the stone floor of this dungeon, to which heavy iron shackles were fast- tened, and when the prisoner was thus se- cured he had little chance of escape. It is said that Mohawk was confined in this part of the jail a part of the time while he was kept a prisoner, and after his execution the iron shackles and manacles were kept hanging on the wall and were a source of terror and wonder to the bad boys of the town who heard many weird stories about them.

In May, 1867, the county commissioners awarded a contract to S. G. Purvis & Com- pany of Butler for building a new jail. The stone prison was enlarged to its pres- ent dimensions and the sheriff's residence was built on the street line in front of the prison. With some repairs and additional cells constructed of boiler plate, this prison lasted until 1898, when the interior was torn out and the building remodeled.

On the 5th of January, 1898, the county commissioners opened bids for the con- struction of the jail and sheriff's residence and the contract was awarded to the Van Dorn Iron Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, for $19,924. On March 4th of the same year the commissioners issued bonds to the amount of $20,000 at three and one- half per cent. interest to pay for the ex- penses of remodeling the jail. The stone work on the prison was sublet to George Schaffner of Butler and the contract for the carpenter work and finishing was let to George Schenck of Butler. While the building was being repaired, Sheriff W. B. Dodds kept his prisoners in the Mercer County jail. The new prison is provided with two tiers of cells and will accommo- date about forty prisoners. On the third floor there is located a separate apartment for women and children and a hospital room for the care of the sick. The entire building is brick, with the best sanitary ap- pliances, and compares favorably with similar prisons in the state.

RECENT JAIL ESCAPES.

During the existence of the old jail built in 1867 there were a number of jail escapes and deliveries, the most important of which was that of May 4, 1892, when James F. Mills (the murderer of Dugan), James Britton, Jesse Smith, T. J. Black, Charles Miller and Joseph Gibson suc- ceeded in "jimmying" the locks of their cells and escaping to the roof of the build- ing and thence to the street. Mills, Brit- ton and Smith were recaptured, and the others have never been heard of since.

When the new prison was built in 1898 it was guaranteed to be "pig tight and bull strong." In fact it was supposed to be so secure that it would be impossible for anyone to break out. As a matter of fact no one has broken out, but there have been a number of clever escapes effected with the aid of outsiders.

In May, 1902, Clyde Adams was confined

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in the county jail on the charge of larceny. On the evening of May 7th his escape was accomplished in a clever manner while the family of Sheriff Hoon were in the parlor of the. jail residence and fancied that everything about the prison was secure. Adams was assisted by his sweetheart, Maggie Houck, who was a domestic em- ployed by the sheriff's family, and by Lee Coovert and Abbie Houck, who were on the outside of the jail. The conspirators had arranged their plans so that Maggie Houck managed to secure the keys to the prison when no one in the sheriff's family was watching her, and unlocking the prison door, allowed Adams to walk out of the front door of the sheriff's residence. Adams was met on the outside by Coovert and the two girls, and the party made their escape into Ohio. Subsequently Adams and Maggie Houck were married and they were living in the vicinity of Youngstown when they were apprehended and brought back to Butler. Adams pleaded guilty to the charge of jail break- ing at the December term of court of 1902, and was sent six months to the workhouse. His wife and her sister, Abbie Houck, stood trial on the charge of assisting a prisoner to escape, were found guilty and sentenced to pay fines, which they served out in jail. Coovert entered the plea of nolle contendre to the charge against him, and was sentenced to three months to jail.

On the night of January 14, 1906, John Mininger broke jail by sawing the bars in one of the windows and letting himself down to the street by means of a rope. He had previously secured tools and saws from an unknown source and had tam- pered with the lock on his cell door.

John Rushnough escaped on the night of May 9, 1906, by the use of a skeleton key with which he unlocked the iron doors lead- ing into the hall of the sheriff's residence and relocked them again as he passed out. This escape was accomplished in a clever

manner and the prisoner was never ap- prehended.

A daylight delivery took place on Sep- tember 14, 1906, when Jerry Hall, who was in jail on the charge of horse stealing, and Larry Campbell, who had been committed on the charge of larceny, succeeded in "jimmying" the door from the men's cor- ridor into the elevator shaft of the prison and dropping down to the first floor. This was accomplished about dinner time, and when the attendants at the jail went to give the prisoners their dinner and opened the door into the elevator shaft, the two prisoners rushed out, gained the street, and succeeded in making their escape.

THE CAPTURE AND DEATH OF THE BIDDLE BROTHERS.

THEIR CRIME.

During the winter of 1901 the city of Pittsburg and the suburban towns were terrorized by a series of robberies, hold- ups and murders committed by a gang of desperate characters who made the city their headquarters. On the morning of April 12, 1901, the residence of Thomas H. Kahney, who lived at Mt. Washington, Pittsburg, was entered by masked burglars who attempted to chloroform Mrs. Kah- ney and shot and instantly killed Mr. Kah- ney. This robbery was the boldest that had been committed that year and the murder was wanton and uncalled for. The leaders of the gang of robbers were sup- posed to be Ed Biddle and his brother, John Biddle, and their accomplice was Walter Dorman. These men were under suspicion for the Kahney murder, and on the day following the murder, County De- tective Robinson, of Allegheny County, Officer Fitzgerald of the city detective force of Pittsburg, Inspector Gray, of the police force, and Patrolman Wess of the police force, went to a house where they had been informed that three men and a

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woman were in hiding, who were wanted by the officers. The officers entered the house and arrested John Biddle without any trouble. They then went up to the second floor where they found Ed Biddle and a woman named Jessie Bodyne. A fight ensued in which revolvers were used, and Officer Fitzgerald was instantly killed, while Ed Biddle was shot twice and dan- gerously wounded. Having secured their prisoners the officers went immediately to a house on Webster Avenue, where they found Walter Dorman and Jennie Seebers and arrested them.

Ed Biddle was taken to Mercy Hospital where his wounds were treated and after his recovery was taken to the Allegheny County jail and confined there with his brother "Jack" and Walter Dorman. Jack Biddle was tried for the murder of Thomas H. Kahney and Ed Biddle was tried on the charge of being an accomplice. They were convicted and sentenced to die on December 12, 1901. Walter Dorman turned state's evidence at the trial and re- ceived a penitentiary sentence. After his conviction and sentence, Ed Biddle sent a plea to the governor asking that he be not hanged on the same day with his brother, but that the executions take place on sepa- rate days. In compliance with this peti- tion, the governor changed the time for the execution of Jack Biddle to January 14, 1902, and that of Ed to January 16. In the meantime a plea for commutation of sentence to life imprisonment was pre- pared and sent to the governor and a re- prieve was granted to February 25th for the execution of Jack Biddle, and Febru- ary 27th, 1902, for Ed Biddle. Jessie Bo- dyne and Jennie Seebers, the two women who were arrested with the Biddles and Dorman, had been released on their own recognizance by the court, their being no charges against them.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 16

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526