History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 59

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc > Part 59

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WILLIAM IRVINE, ANDREW ELLICOTT, GEORGE WILSON, Agents.

The following statement of prices paid by the Harrisburg & Presque Isle Land Company at the public sale of lots in the town of Erie, held at Carlisle on the 3d and 4th of August, 1796, will be of interest in this connection:

INLOTS.

No. 1859, corner Seventh and German

$ 7 18

No. 1403, Seventh, near State. 27

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

No. 1996, Sixth, between German and Parade. 8

No. 2809, corner Fourth and Liberty. 40

No. 2810, corner Third and Liberty. 41

No. 2838, Third, near mouth of Cascade ... 21

No. 3277, Second, corner Parade on road to Fort. 260

No. 3292, corner Second and German 260

No. 3420, corner Liberty on Lake.

106

FIVE-ACRE OUTLOTS.

No. 277 $38

No. 278. 33

No. 283. 49

No. 378. 56

No. 418.

No. 519.

No. 523

No. 565 69

Lots No. 2045, 2046, 2047 and 2048, included in the block bounded by State, Peach, North Park Row and Fifth streets, were purchased at Carlisle in 1796, by Thomas Huling, Thomas Forster and Alexander Berryhill, bringing respectively $152, $21, $70 and $112. Lot No. 2050, northwest corner of Sixth and Peach, now occupied by the residence of Mrs. Charles M. Reed, was bought at Phila- delphia, in 1796, by Alexander Addison for $34. Lots No. 2041, 2042, 2043 and 2044, whereon the Reed and Ellsworth houses now stand, were purchased September 1, 1801, by Thomas Forster and David McNair, for $54, $30, $10 and $21, respectively, Mr. McNair buying the two center lots and Mr. Forster the corner ones. Lot No. 2049, the site of the First Presbyterian Church, was bought by Thomas Hamilton August 3, 1801, for $30.

Lots No. 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1940, lying between State, Peach and Seventh street and South Park Row, now occupied by the Dime Savings Bank, Park Presbyterian Church, etc., were purchased by Joseph Kratz, Jan- uary 23, 1806, for $110; and on the same date he bought Lots 3326 and 3327, corner of Fourth and State streets, for $88. Lots No. 1401 and 1402, west side of State street, between Seventh and Eighth, were purchased, the first one by Samuel Smith, March 23, 1802, for $30, and the other by Thomas Hughes, April 1, 1801, for $30. Lots No. 1399 and 1400, east side of State, between Seventh and Eighth streets were purchased, the first mentioned by William G. Sydnor, May 13, 1801, for $30, and the latter one by Abraham Smith, March 23, 1802, at the same price. Lots No. 1287 and 1288, west side of State, between Eighth and Ninth streets, were purchased respectively by John Hay, for $54, and John Vincent, for $31, June 11, 1804. Lots No. 1289 and 1290, east side of State street between Eighth and Ninth, were purchased by Andrew Willock, May 25, 1801, for $30 each. Lots No. 727 and 728, east side of State street, between Ninth and Tenth, were purchased, the former by Samuel McKelvey, June 12, 1804, for $20, and the latter by John Lewis, March 30,

1805, at the same figure. Lots No. 729 and 730, west side of State street, between Ninth and Tenth, were bought respectively by Joseph F. McCreary and Basil Hoskinson, the first June 15, 1804, for $20, and the latter June 12, 1804, for the same price. Lots No. 735 and 736, on Peach street, between Ninth and Tenth, the site of the Erie Academy, were purchased August 15, 1805, by Samuel McKelvey for $20 each. Lot No. 753, northwest corner of Tenth and Sassafras, the site of St. Peter's Cathedral, was purchased by John Gray, June 27, 1815, for $20. Lot No. 1280, northwest corner of Peach and Ninth streets, the site of the Downing Block, was bought by John Leninger, July 23, 1804, for $30. Lot No. 1936, northwest corner of Peach and Seventh streets, the site of the Wetmore House, was purchased by Abraham Smith, March 23, 1802, for $25.

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CITY OF ERIE.

There is doubtless a greater difference between the prices paid for out- lots when originally purchased and the value of the same ground to-day than there is between the inlots. For instance Outlot No. 375, located between Peach and Sassafras and Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets, and now the site of the Union Depot, was bought by David McNair, March 1, 1801, for $20. Mr. McNair also purchased on the same date, Outlot 376, bounded by Peach, Sas- safras, Fifteenth and Sixteenth streets at the same price; also Outlot 407, comprising the large block lying between Twelfth and Fourteenth and State and Peach streets for $25. On the 23d of November, 1805, William Wallace purchased Outlot No. 406 for $25, which also extends from Twelfth to Four- teenth, and from State to French streets. Joseph Kratz, purchased Outlot No. 540, which lies in the eastern part of Erie, between Ninth and Tenth streets, January 23, 1806, for $20.

There were 169 inlots and 33 outlots in Erie disposed of at Philadelphia, Carlisle and Pittsburgh in 1796, from which was realized in principal and interest $4,165.20. The prices paid for the inlots and outlots which are here given, may be taken as a fair estimate of those paid at the first sales as well as throughout the earlier years of the town's existence. For the benefit of cur readers, we will here state that a complete transcript of these original sales, from which we obtained our information is in the possession of J. W. Wet- more, of Erie, the same book containing the date of first sale, name of pur- chaser and price paid for every inlot in the first section of Erie, from 1 to 3381, and every outlot from 1 to 604; also a similar record of the first sales made in the second section of the town.

The settlement and building up of Erie was now but a matter of time, and in 1796 we find Capt. Daniel Dobbins casting his fortunes with the little ham- let, followed in 1798 by William Wallace, and in 1799, by Jonas Duncan and John Teel. Jonas Duncan was among the very first carpenters and joiners who came to Erie; he arrived in 1799, and brought his apprentice, John Teel, with him, who proved a fixture, and for over half a century, the leading car- penter and joiner of the place; he died a few years since, respected and esteemed. From that year until 1815 the following are believed to have be- come residents of the place: Col. Thomas Forster, John Gillespie, Thomas Hughes, Thomas Wilson, Robert Irwin, John Gray, Richard Clemment, Judah Colt, Capt. John Richards, John Wilson, John Cummins, Mary O'Neill, Rob- ert Knox, Stephen Wolverton, Giles Sanford, William Lattimore, W. W. Reed, John Dickson, Capt. William Lee, David Cook, P. S. V. Hamot, Gen. John Kelso, Barnabes McCue, Thomas Wilkins, George Gossett, Basil Hoskinson, George Landon, Holmes Reed, Hugh Cunningham, William Lamberton, Ar- chibald McSparren, James Duncan, George Leninger, Willard Cotton, Thomas Laird, Joseph Kratz, Mrs. Silverthorn, Robert L. Curtis, Marmaduke Curtis, John Lewis, George Schantz, Samuel Hays, Robert Hays, John McDonald, James Sydnor, Robert Brotherton, Jonathan Stratton, James Wilson, George Moore, Thomas Large, Robert Brown, Collender Irvine, Robert Large, Jona- than Baird, Isaac Austin, B. Rice, Amos Fisk, Peter Grawotz, George Bueh- ler, Thomas Stewart, John E. Lapsley, John Hay, Rufus Clough, David Mc- Nair, Ezekiel Dunning John Woodside, John Miller, James McConkey, William Bell, John C. Wallace, Thomas H. Sill, Jacob Spong and Rev. Robert Reid. Doubtless, there may have been a few others who came during that period, but whose names are " lost mid the rubbish of forgot- ten things." Many of those pioneers had families, and the children are often better remembered than the parents, whose energies were spent in build- ing up homes for those who came after them. While some of those mentioned

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

became prominent in the affairs of the county or State, and are duly recognized throughout this history for the work which they accomplished, little is known of others, only that they here settled, lived and died, leaving no record of their often adventurous lives.

Some of their names we find connected with the early lake navigation, building boats through which to carry on a commercial business with the older settlements. In 1799, Capt. William Lee and Rufus S. Reed, built a boat called the " Good Intent " at the mouth of Mill Creek; and in 1800 Eliphalet Beebe built the "Harlequin." In 1805, the schooner "Mary" was constructed at Erie, andowned by Thomas Wilson, while many other boats purchased from time to time by citizens of Erie, prominent among whom were Rufus S. Reed and Capt. Daniel Dobbins, added much to the commercial prosperity of the town.

By the act of March 12, 1800, which erected several counties out of terri- tory previously embraced in Allegheny, Erie was designated as the seat of justice for Erie County. For three years the county was attached to Craw- ford, but on the 2d of April, 1803, a separate and distinct organization was effected. The court met at the hotel of George Buehler, which stood on the corner of French and Third streets, subsequently known as the " McConkey House," and the headquarters of Commodore Perry, while building his fleet in 1813.

The war of 1812 is treated of in a previous chapter, and a detailed account is given of Erie's connection with that eventful period; yet we think it appropriate to here mention the fact that the gunboats Porcupine, Tigress and Scorpion, were built at the mouth of Lee's Run, afterward the site of the "Navy Yard," and subsequently occupied by the canal bed; while the Law- rence, Niagara and Ariel were constructed at the mouth of the Big Cascade, the present site of the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad docks. Perry's victory brought a feeling of safety to Erie, that it had not known since the beginning of this struggle against tyranny, and his victorious return to the town was hailed with the wildest enthusiasm. All classes vied with each other in paying the youthful hero due honor, and the streets of the little borough resounded with the boom of cannon and the glad shouts of rejoicing. In fact, throughout this period, Erie was a kind of military camp, but with the close of the war the life of the town again settled down to peaceful avocations.

SCRAPS OF HISTORY.

A custom prevailed in Erie prior to 1810, which required every man to spend each Saturday afternoon in grubbing out stumps from the streets. There was also an ordinance in operation until June, 1846, requiring every man who got on a spree to dig three stumps from the highway, as a penalty for each similar offense against the morals of the town. We are not aware how far intemperance was checked through this ordinance, but may safely conclude, that though, doubtless, having a salutary effect upon those addicted to the vice, men's appetites then as now cannot be eradicated by force or stringent laws.

In 1813, there was a fine drive on the sand beach of the bay, from State street to the mouth of Big Cascade. This drive had been used for several years, and was a favorite one among those who were so fortunate as to possess a saddle horse or turnout.

In 1812, the hotels were one on the corner of Third and French, kept by Thomas Rees, Jr .; one on the corner of Fifth and French, by James Duncan, known as the Globe Hotel, which he was still running in 1826; the old stone on the corner of State and South Park Row, by Robert Brown, who erected it

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CITY OF ERIE.

in 1811, opened it as the American House in the fall of 1812 and kept it till 1829, being succeeded by Joseph Y. Moorehead who carried on the tavern for several years. Thomas Laird had a hotel in 1812, on the corner of Eighth and State; and soon after the war closed John Dickson built a tavern on the corner of Second and French, known as the Steamboat House, which he carried on for many years, as in June, 1825, Lafayette was here entertained at a grand banquet given in honor of his visit. The old hotel erected by George Buehler on the corner of French and Third was used by Commodore Perry as headquarters during his stay at Erie. It was at that time occupied, and long afterward carried on by Thomas Rees, Jr.

An old landmark that will be well remembered by the older inhabitants of Erie, was the "Bell House," erected in the fall of 1805, on the corner of Sixth and French streets. The builder was John Teel, and the owner William Bell, who occupied it as a store and residence in the spring of 1806. In the winter of 1812-13, it was opened as a hotel, but in a short time Fox and Bailey bought out the stock of Mr. Bell's store, who died in December, 1813, and oc- cupied the whole building till 1819, when they returned to the East. It was then opened as a hotel by William Hughes, an Irishman of fine education, who, having been an actor in hie youth, organized a dramatic company among the young men of the borough, and gave exhibitions in a building that stood on French, between Third and Fourth streets. John W. Bell succeeded Hughes in the hotel, and a Mr. Jennings organized the first dancing class of the vil- lage in this building. It was used successively by George Selden, Thomas G. Colt & Co., John C. Beebe and S. Smyth as a business place; but in 1871 it was torn down to make room for the Becker Block.

The South Erie Hotel was built by Nathan McCammons, on the corner of Peach and Twenty-sixth streets, in the winter of 1817-18. It was purchased by Capt. John Justice in April, 1821, and in 1824 passed into the hands of James Parks, and was subsequently kept by George Kelly, Abraham Shank, M. B. Mills, James Gray, John Willey, George Tabor and others. During the speculation of 1837, this property sold for $17,500. There were also hotels kept at various times on Federal Hill by George Moore, Thomas Laird, Ira Glazier, George Kelly, Thomas Childs, N. M. Manly, Simeon Dunn and others.

Another early tavern was Ryan's, located at the elbow of the Buffalo road, near John Saltzman's, and afterward kept by a Mr. Taggart. It was a great stopping place, and will, doubtless, be vividly remembered by many of our readers.

Two hotels of a later day than some of those mentioned were the Farmers Hotel, built by James Duncan on the corner of Fifth and French in 1820, which is yet (1883) standing, and the Park House, erected by John Morris, for a residence, in 1829, on the corner of Peach and South Park Row.

The court house, Mr. Hughes' house on Seventh street, and Mr. Hamot's, on German, north of Second street, were the only brick buildings in Erie in 1820; while Giles Sanford & Co., P. S. V. Hamot, C. & S. Brown, Wright & Kellogg and George Selden were the only merchants.

The total borough tax in 1820, as shown by the duplicate of that year, was $175.20. Rufus S. Reed stood highest in valuation of real estate, viz., $6,798, followed by the heirs of John Kelso with $3, 740; P. S. V. Hamot, $3,120; Judah Colt, $2,940; John W. Bell, $2,052; Giles Sanford, $2,012; Thomas Laird, $1,579; Samuel Hays, $1,552; Benjamin Wallace, $1,461; heirs of William Wallace, $985; Thomas H. Sill, $730. The corner where the Dime Savings Bank stands, with the buildings then occupying it, was val- ued at $1,600; the four lots occupied by the Reed and Ellsworth Hotels at

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

$656; the Teel House, with two lots, corner of Peach and Ninth streets, at $290; house and two lots corner of Seventh and Sassafras, at $49; Farmers' Hotel, $587; lot corner French and Second, $850; Capt. Dobbins' house and lot, $575; two lots of George A. Eliot, corner of Peach and Sixth, $300; the lot on which Caster's and Murphy's stores stand, $150; house and two lots on the northeast corner of State and Tenth, $164; sixteen lots, corner of Twelfth and Parade, on the west side of the latter street, $64; thirty-two lots north of these, $172; the lots on which Rosenzweig's block, Rindernecht's aud others stand, were purchased by John Warren in 1824 for $300. Tax was then col- lected by the High Constable, but the reader can readily discover from the amount of borough tax collected in 1820 that his duties were not very arduous.

On the 23d of March, 1823, the court house, with all its contents, was destroyed by fire. It stood in the West Park, a little north of the soldiers' monument, and was built in 1808. A new court house was erected on the same site and finished in the spring of 1825. The bell that hung in the cupola of this latter building originally belonged to the British ship Detroit, captured by Commodore Perry in the battle of Lake Erie. It was transferred to the United States brig Niagara, where it did service until 1823, when it was placed in the navy yard at the mouth of Lee's Run, in Erie. In 1825, the navy yard was abandoned and the material sold at auction, Rufus S. Reed purchased this bell, and again sold it to the county. It did good service un- til the purchase of the bell for the present court house in 1854, when it was stolen, but recovered in a few months, and subsequently bought by the city authorities. The present fine building on Sixth street, west of Peach, was completed and occupied in May, 1855.

Rufus S. Reed built the Mansion House in 1826. It was long the leading hotel of Erie, but on the 22d of February, 1839, the town was visited by the most destructive fire that had yet occurred, and the Mansion House, together with all the outbuildings, containing stage coaches, horses, etc., also several frame houses and stores, were consumed. It was all the property of Mr. Reed, excepting the stages, stock, etc., which was principally owned by the Messrs. Hart and Bird. With his usual energy and public spirit, Mr. Reed covered the burnt district with a new hotel, known as the Reed House, which was burned in March, 1864, rebuilt, and again destroyed by fire in Septem- ber, 1872, the present elegant structure succeeding the last fire.

Another event of 1826 was the organization of "The Active Fire Com- pany of Erie," on the 22d of February, Washington's birthday. It was the pioneer fire company of Erie, and included in its roll of membership nearly all the male residents of the borough who were old enough to be of any assist- ance.

The first steamboat built at Erie, the " William Penn," was launched at the Cascade May 18, 1826, and commenced its regular lake business in August of that year, John F. Wright, master.

The revenue cutter, Benjamin Rush, was built at Erie, about 1825, by Capt. John Richards, and intended for service on the upper lakes. In March, 1833, the cutter Erie was launched at Reed's dock, and placed in charge of Capt. Dauiel Dobbins, who also was the second commander of the Benjamin Rush.

Gen. C. M. Reed built the steamboat Pennsylvania at the foot of Sas safras street, and launched her in July, 1833. He also constructed the Thomas Jef- ferson in 1834, and the James Madison, in 1837, at the same yard; and in 1840, he built the Missouri.

The ill-fated steamer Erie was built by the Erie Steamboat Company, at the foot of French street in 1837, and in 1841 burned on Lake Erie with ter- rible loss of life.

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CITY OF ERIE.

The United States gunboat Michigan was brought to Erie, in sectione, from Pittsburgh, put together and launched on the 9th of November, 1843. It was accepted and commissioned by the Government August 15, 1844, and is the only vessel of war on the chain of lakes.

In the fall of 1828, Joshua Beers opened a store in the brick block pre- viously erected by him on the northeast corner of State street and North Park Row, then a deep ravine and quagmire. The same year, Dr. C. F. Perkins put in a stock of drugs in one of the rooms of the Beers Block. It was a business much needed in Erie at that time, and the Doctor'e enterprise was thoroughly appre- ciated by the people among whom he spent the balance of his days.

The Erie Bank, the first banking institution opened in the town, began bus- iness in January, 1829. It was organized principally through the influence of Rufus S. Reed, who was its President, with P. S. V. Hamot as Cashier.

In 1835, Hiram L. Brown purchased of Joshua Beers the brick block erected in 1827-28, and in the spring of 1836 opened the Eagle Hotel. He carried on the hotel business in that building until its destruction by fire April 1, 1851. Mr. Brown immediately erected a five-story structure on the site of the old building. This house was kept by Mr. Brown until his death in March, 1853. It was long called Brown's Hotel, but since coming into the possession of Col. Ellsworth has been known as the Ellsworth House. The Colonel sold the property early in the summer of 1883, since which time it has not been in operation as a hotel.

In 1832, the third section of Erie, both in and outlots, was donated by the commonwealth to the borough, divided into fifty acre lots and sold to the high- est bidder, excepting 100 acres located in the southwest corner of said section, which was reserved for an almshouse farm. The money obtained from this sale had to be used in building piers and wharves, and constructing a canal basin in the bay of Presque Isle.

The borough was authorized, in 1835, to borrow $50,000 for the purpose of furnishing a water supply for the town, but the project was never carried out. In 1841, water was brought from a spring a mile or two distant, through wood- en pipes, each consumer to pay $1 rate for his supply. These were the first water works that Erie possessed, and, doubtless, were of much service in fur- nishing the borough with good water.

In 1834, the borough limits were extended into the bay 1,300 feet, and four years afterward the sale of one row of water lots in the second section was authorized, to pay the expense of grading and improving the streets in said section.

The year 1836 is especially noted on account of the reckless speculation that prevailed throughout the country. Erie was no exception to the rule, and its sales of real estate during the month of February, 1836, exceeded $1,000,000, Eastern capitalists and speculators being the principal purchasers. The leading cause of this speculating mania at Erie, and the sudden rise in the prices of real estate, was the passage of the Canal and United States Bank bills. Values at once leaped upward, and in one week of March, 1836, the sales of Erie lots amounted to over $1,500,000. A piece of ground, which sold in February for $10,000, was repurchased the following March, by a company at Buffalo, for $50,000. These enormous prices could not last long, and upon the failure of the United States Bank, in 1840, they rapidly declined until the depression in real estate was so great that it could scarely be disposed of at any price, and was actually "a drug on the market." The local newspapers earnestly encouraged the speculation in every way, and a species of reckless extravagance seized upon all classes, only to be dispelled

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

when the victims awoke from their dream to find, in many cases, instead of riches, that the earnings of years had been swept away.

In 1837, Lieut. T. S. Brown, of the United States Engineers, made a re- survey of the first section, by authority of the borough, and established the corners of the street crossings. The map of Erie, prepared at the time by A. G. Steers, from Lieut. Brown's surveys, may be found in the City Engineer's office. It shows the passage which then existed through the west end of the peninsula, and connecting Lake Erie with the Bay of Presque Isle, also many other points of interest relating to the plat of the town at that date.

The large building on State street, known as the Custom House, was erect- ed, in 1837, by the United States Bank, for a branch of that institution, as also the residence adjoining, for a cashier's home. The parent bank failed in 1840, and the Erie branch went down with it. The bank building was purchased by the Government, for a custom house, in 1849, for the sum of $29,000. It is a fine brick structure, faced with marble, containing marble steps and columns, its architecture being of the Grecian temple order.

At a meeting held early in 1846, it was resolved to plant the public square with trees. B. B. Vincent, Elisha Babbit, W. C. Lester and C. Mc- Sparren, were appointed a committee to co-operate with the town authorities. The project was carried out, and, June 2, 1846, a meeting of congratulation was held in front of the Reed House, because the square had been adorned and beautified by the planting of shade trees, which to-day are one of the principal ornaments of Erie. The square had been previously known as the "Diamond," but at this meeting it was resolved to call it " Perry Square" in honor of the victor of Lake Erie. It was also resolved at this meeting to erect a monument to Commodore Perry, but this and all other efforts in that direction came to naught, and even the parks do not bear his name, so soon are the dead forgotten.

The Erie Extension Canal was finished to the bay in the fall of 1844, and December 5, the R. S. Reed, loaded with coal, and the passenger packet, Queen of the West, arrived, amid general rejoicing, on a through trip from the Ohio River. The canal ceased operations in 1872, and has since been aban- doned.

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History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 59

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280