History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 57

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314

USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 57

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April 14, 1801 .- The commissioners of Fayette and Westmoreland Counties met and completed contract with James Finley to build a bridge supported with iron at or near Isaac Meason's, over Jacob's Creek, for the sum of six hundred dollars, one-half to be paid out of the treasury of Fayette, and one-half out of the treasury of Westmoreland. The bridge to be ; "a patent Iron chain suspension" structure of seventy feet span, and to be completed ready for use on or be- fore Dec. 15, 1801. This bridge over Jacob's Creek, on the turnpike road between Connellsville and

. Mount Pleasant, was the first iron suspension bridge erected in the State of Pennsylvania. The plan on which it was built was invented and patented by Judge James Finley, of Fayette County. Another bridge of this kind was built a few years later over Dunlap's Creek, at Bridgeport. The plan, however, proved defective and the bridges unsafe, the one last named falling under the weight of a team and ordi- nary wagon-load, after having been in use less than ten years.

Oct. 9, 1801 .- The commissioners made a contract with David Barnes, of Connellsville, "to build a frame bridge over Indian Creek, to be completed against the first of July next, he to receive 8324.99, in three equal payments." This bridge was completed and accepted by the commissioners July 5, 1802.

Oct. 27, 1801 .- Commissioners met at Bridgeport to view the bridge over Dunlap's Creek at that place, and having done so, authorized Isaac Rogers, Sep-

bridge at a cost not exceeding 8300. An account of the several bridges over Dunlap's Creek between Brownsville and Bridgeport will be given in the his- tory of the former borough.

July 3, 1802 .- Commissioners contracted with Tim- othy Smith to build a bridge over Dunlap's Creek, near the house of Nathaniel Breading, for $123.50.

BRIDGES. Feb. 3, 1803 .- " Agreeable to an Order from the Court of Quarter Sessions, the commissioners pro- In the records of the county commissioners, entries ! ceeded to Sandy Creek to sell and contract for the building of a bridge over the said creek, agreeable to notice given in the Newspaper of the County." The sale was made to Enos West, the lowest bidder, at $249. The bridge was accepted by the commissioners Jan. 5, 1804.

Nov. 11, 1808 .- Completed bridge over Georges Creek, near New Geneva, accepted by commissioners.

Dec. 8, 1808 .- Commissioners contracted with Jesse Forsythe for building a bridge over Redstone Creek at $1200. Completed in August, 1809.

Ang. 6, 1833 .- Commissioners agreed with George Marietta to build a new wooden bridge over Jacob's Creek, in place of the old Finley chain suspension bridge, for 8267. The iron of the old bridge sold to Nathaniel Mitchell for $90.

April 3, 1834 .- Commissioners contracted with George Marietta for building a bridge over Redstone Creek, at the crossing of the State road leading to Pittsburgh. Contract price, $375.

1838.1-Bridge over Mounts' Creek, on road leading from Connellsville to Pittsburgh.

1839 .- Bridge over Dunbar Creek, on road from Connellsville to Laurel Furnace.

1839 .- Bridge over Big Redstone Creek, on road from Brownsville to Cookstown.

1839 .- Bridge over Big Redstone, at Sharpless' Paper-Mill.

1840 .- Over Downer's Creek, at or near Cookstown.

1840 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, at Merrittstown (re- building).

1841 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, on road leading from Brownsville to Morgantown road.

1842 .- Over branch of Redstone Creek, "wbere the great road leading from Uniontown to Pittsburgh crosses, at Mitchell's Tilt-Hammer."

1846 .- Over Jacob's Creek, road from Uniontown to Greensburg.

1848 .- Over Jacob's Creek, on road from Detwiler's Mill to Mount Pleasant.

1850 .- Over Jennings' Run, on Pittsburgh State road (Union and Menallen townships).

1850 .- Over Redstone Creek, near James M. Lynn's mill (Redstone and Jefferson townships).

1850 .- Over Jacob's Creek, at Tyrone Mills.

1 The list of hridges built in Fayette County in the different years from 1838 to 1881 has been gathered from the commissioners' records by Thomas Hazen, Esq., a member of the present (1881) board.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

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251

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

1850 .- Over Mounts' Creek, on Connellsville and Pittsburgh road.

1851 .- Over Georges Creek, at Crow's Mill.

1851 .- Over Jacob's Creek, near Stouffer's Mill (in conjunction with Westmoreland County).

1851 .- Over Brown's Run, at Cookstown.

1851 .- Over York's Run, on road from Geneva to Uniontown (Nicholson township).

1851 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Cook's Mill, lower ford (Redstone and Franklin townships).

1851 .- Over Indian Creek, road from Connellsville to Somerset (in Springfield township).

1852 .- Over Dickerson's Creek (Dunbar and Frank- lin townships), road leading to Connellsville.

1852 .- Over Georges Creek, at Long's Fulling- Mill, on Morgantown road.

1852 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, near Finley's Mill (Luzerne and Menallen townships), road from David- son's Ferry to National road.

1852 .- Over Georges Creek (Nicholson and Spring Hill townships), road from Virginia line to Browns- ville.

1852 .- Over Redstone Creek, near Clement's Mill (North Union).

1852 .- Over Dunbar Creek, near Spear's Mill (Dun- bar township).

1852 .- Over Redstone Creek, lower ford, Jona- than Sharpless' mill.

1852 .- Over Brown's Run, at James Williams' (German township).

1852 .- Over Robinson's Run (Dunbar), one-half mile west of New Haven.

1852 .- Over Indian Creek (Springfield township), where Clay pike crosses.

1852 .- Over Georges Creek (Georges township), road leading from Smithfield to Morgantown.

1853 .- Over Sandy Creek, at Elliott's Mills.

1853 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, "at Young's Saw- Mill or one mile up" (Redstone and Luzerne).

1853 .- Over Little Redstone (Fayette City), " near saw-mill dam of William E. Frazier."

1854 .- Over Youghiogheny River, at Ohio Pile (Stewart township).

1855 .- Over Meadow Run, "where Turkeyfoot road crosses said road, in township of Wharton."

1855 .- Over Little Redstone Creek, on State road, near line between Jefferson and Washington town- ships.

1856 .- Over Rowe's Run, near Redstone Creek (Redstone township).

1857 .- Over Georges Creek (Georges township), on road from Smithfield by way of Spring Hill to Morgantown.

1858 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, near Elijah Van Kirk's (Redstone and Luzerne).

1859 .- Over Crabapple Run, at Redstone Creek (Franklin and Jefferson townships).

1859 .- Over Trump's Run, on road from Connells- ville to Indian Creek (Connellsville township).

1861 .- Over Rush's Run (Luzerne township), on road from Brownsville to Fredericktown.

1861 .- Over Jacob's Creek, near John M. Stouffer's, on road from Broad Ford into Westmoreland County.

1862 .- Over Youghiogheny River, at Ohio Pile (bridge of 1854 rebuilt ).

1863 .- Over Indian Creek, on road from Springfield to Somerset.

1863 .- Over Jacob's Creek, on public highway lead- ing to Monnt Pleasant.

1864 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Work's Mill1 (Menallen and Franklin).

1868 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Cook's Mill,2 up- per ford (Franklin and Redstone townships).

1869 .- Over Little Sandy Creek (Wharton town- ship), road from Haydentown to Somerfield, on farm of R. P. Mcclellan.

1869 .- Over Perkins' Run (Springfield township), on road from Springfield to Petersburg.

1871 .- Over Redstone Creek, Fayette Street, in borough of Uniontown.

1871 .- Over Big Meadow Run, on road from Ohio Pile to Farmington (Stewart and Wharton town- ships).

1871 .- Over Cisely's Run, Fayette City Borough, south of town.

1871 .- Over Dunlap's Creek, one-half mile below Merrittstown (Redstone and Luzerne).

1871 .- Over Meadow Run, near S. Rush's ( Whar- ton township).

1874 .- Over Jacob's Creek, between Ray's Ford and Cunningham's Ford (by Tyrone township and Westmoreland County jointly).

1874 .- Over Jacob's Creek (Bullskin township), where the road to Mount Pleasant crosses, at Walk- er's Ford (one-half expense agreed to be paid by cit- izens of Westmoreland County ).

1875,-Over Redstone Creek, at Cook's Mill (lower ford). A rebuilding of the bridge of 1851, which had been carried away by flood.

1875 .- Over Redstone Creek, upper ford. Re- building of the bridge built in 1868, and carried away by flood.

1875 .- Over Cook's Run ( Washington township), between mill-dam and stable of N. Brightwell.

1875 .- Over Galley's Run, at Broadford (Connells- ville and Tyrone).

1875 .- Over Little Sandy Creek, east of Shinbone (Wharton township).

1875 .- Over Cox's Run ( Luzerne township).

1875 .- Over Little Redstone Creek, at Armell's Mill, one mile south of Fayette City.

1876 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Linn's Mill (Red- stone and Jefferson ).

1877 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Parkhill's Mill (bridge rebuilt ).

1 Carried away by flood in 1876.

2 Carried away by flood, and rebuilt in 1875.

252

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

1877 .- Over Jacob's Creek, above Everson to Scott- dale.

1877 .- Over Redstone Creek, in Uniontown Bor- ough, on " read leading to Hogsett's."

1877 .- Over Redstone Creek, at Vance's Mill (re- building).

1879 .- Over Mounts' Creek, at steel-works, Con- nellsville Borough, bridge rebuilt.

1880 .- Over Redstone Creek, near residence of I-aac Lynn.

1880 .- Over Mounts' Creek, at brick-works ( Bull- skin township).

1881 .- Over Brown's Run, on line of Georges and German townships.

THE NATIONAL, OR CUMBERLAND ROAD.

The first and the most earnest, as he was also the most illustrious of all the advocates of a great national highway to cross the Alleghenies and connect the re- mote settlements of the Ohio Valley with the country east of the mountains, was Gen. George Washington. One of the first objects to which he gave his attention after his retirement from the command of the Revolu- tionary armies was a careful examination of the country between the Potomac and the Monongahela, to note the advantages offered and the obstacles to be surmounted in the great public enterprise which he had in view. Even at that early time he had in contemplation the possibility of a canal, to form a water-carriage be- tween the Potomac and Youghiogheny Rivers, but as such an enterprise would involve a heavy expense (the extent of which he probably but faintly realized) a good substitute would be a substantially built road, the opening of which he believed to be necessary to bind togetber the eastern and western sections of the States which his sword had made free and independ- ent.1

It was in the year 1784 that Washington made his exploring-trip from the Potomac to the Ohio. From Cumberland to the Laurel Hill, he passed through a region with which he had been made familiar thirty years before, by marching through it in his own cam- paign of 1754, and with Gen. Braddock in 1755. Ar- riving at the Youghiogheny, he embarked in a canoe with an Indian pilot, and passed down that river to Ohio Pile Falls, where he landed, and thence rode across the country to the Monongahela, and up the valley of

that stream into Virginia. It is related of him that in September of the year named he was on one occa- sion seated in a hunter's cabin near the Virginia line, examining maps and asking questions of a number of frontiersmen who stood around him, relative to the passes of the mountains and the adaptability of the country for the construction of the road which he had in mind, when a young man of foreign appearance, who was among the bystanders, volunteered an opinion indicating a certain route which he believed to be the best for the purpose. At this interruption Washington regarded the speaker with surprise, and with something of the imperious look of the com- mander-in-chief, but made no reply, and continued his examination. Upon its completion the general saw that the opinion expressed by the unknown speaker was undoubtedly well founded, and turning to him said, in a polite but decided way, "You are right, young man ; the route yon have indicated is the correct one." The young stranger proved to be Al- bert Gallatin, afterwards Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and one of the principal promoters of the eonstruction of the great National road to the Ohio. It was here that Washington first formed his " acquaintance, and the friendship thus begun con- tinued uninterrupted during the lifetime of the chief.

From the upper Monongahela, Washington passed through the county of Washington to the Ohio River. Four years later he was elected President of the United States, and during the eight years of his ad- ministration he continued a steadfast and earnest advocate of the project of a great highway, to be con- structed by the government, aeross the Alleghenies, for the purpose of binding more firmly together the eastern and western sections of the United States.

During the administration of President Adams (in 1797 ) the proposition for a road across the Alleghe- nies, to be built by the government, was brought up in Congress, but no action was taken. Again, in 1801, the subject was brought to the attention of Congress in President Jefferson's first message to that body. Some discussion ensued, but without result at that time. On the 30th of April, 1802, an act of Con- gress was passed admitting Ohio into the Union as a sovereign State, and by the provisions of that act a one-twentieth part of the net proceeds of sales of public lands in the new State, was set apart to be ap- plied to the construction of roads from the Atlantic sea-board over the Alleghenies to and across the Ohio. This was the beginning of the legislation which re- sulted in the construction of the National road west from Cumberland."

1 The llon. Andrew Stewart, of Fayette County, in a speech delivered by him at the village of Confluence, Somerset Co,, on the occasion of the opening of the railroad from Pittsburgh to Cumberland in 1871, said that there had come into his hands a hox of papers, among which were many original reports, letters, and other manuscript in the handwriting of Washington, why had himself given the box referred to to Gen John Mason, of Georgetown, D. C., and that he ( Mr. Stewart) had found upon examination of these letters and communications-many of them ad- dressed to the Legislatures of Maryland and Virginia, as well as to members of Congress and others-that Washington had constantly ad- vocated the building of substantial toads across the mountains to the Ohio Valley as the only means of keeping the East and the West united, and that without them, in the opinion of the writer, for many reasons, sep- aratin was inevitable.

" On the 5th of March, 1804, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania passed an act providing for the incorporation of the " Uniou and Cum- berland Turnpike Road Company," appointing Ephraim Douglass, Al- exander MeClean, Nathaniel Breading, Isa-ic Meason, Jacob Beeson, Jacob Bowman, Samuel Jackson, James W. Nicholson, Joseph Torrence, Charles Porter, John Cunningham, Samuel Trevor, and John Gibson, of Fayette County ; John Heaton, John Minor, Hugh Barclay, and John Badolet, of Greene County ; Neal Gillespie, Zephaniah Bell, Thomas

253

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

On the 30th of December, 1805, the Senate of the United States passed a bill entitled " An Act to regu- late the laying out and making a Road from Cumber- land, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio." It was then debated and passed in the House of Repre- sentatives, and became a law March 29, 1806. The com- missioners appointed by the President under this act to lay out the proposed road from Cumberland to the Ohio River were Col. Eli Williams and Thomas Moore, of Maryland, and Joseph Kerr, of Ohio, who proceeded to examine the country through which it was to pass, and without having fixed upon that part of the route west of the Monongahela, made their first report, which was presented to Congress, with the message of President Jefferson, Jan. 31, 1807. In a special mes- sage to Congress, Feb. 19, 1808, referring to the report of the commissioners, he said, "I have approved of the route therein proposed for the said road as far as Brownsville, with a single deviation, since located, which carries it through Uniontown. From thence, the course to the Ohio and the point within the legal limits at which it shall strike that river is still to be decided."

In 1811, Congress passed " An Act in addition to the act to regulate the laying out and making a road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio," by which it was provided, "That the sum of fifty thousand dollars be, and is hereby, appropriated in making said road between Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, and Browns- ville, in the State of Pennsylvania, commencing at Cumberland, which sum of fifty thousand dollars shall

Acheson, James Kerr, and Joseph Pentecost, of Washington County, and Thomas Spencer, Abraham Morrison, James Mitchell, and John McClean, of Somerset County, commissioners to receive subscriptione to the capital stock of the said company, which was to be incorporated under the act for the purpose of " making an artificial road from the western eide of Lanrel Hill, near Union-town, to the State line, in a direction towards Cumberland, in the State of Maryland."

It was provided and declared by the act, " That the President, Mana- gers, and Company shall have a right to cause a road to be laid ont [on the route indicated] sixty feet wide, and at least twenty feet thereof to be made an artificial road bedded with wood, stone, gravel, er any other hard substance well compacted together, and of sufficient depth to seente a solid foundation to the same, in such manner as to secure, as near as the materials will admit of, a firm and even surface, rising towards the middle by a gradnal arch, and so nearly level io its progress that it shall in no place rise or fall more than will forer an angle of five and a half degrees with a horizontal line, and shall forever hereafter maintain and keep the same ie good and perfect order and repair from the town of Union to the State line aforesaid."

The company was empowered to erect toll-gates and collect toll on the road, the work to be commenced within six years, and completed within ten years from the date of the act, under penalty of forfeiture of its franchises, and the State to have the right of taking the road at any time after 1830 by reimbursing to the company the cost of its construc: tion.

It is apparent that the projected turnpike was to be an eastern thor- oughfare, not only for the people of Fayette and Somerset Counties, through which it was to pass, but also for the inhabitants of Washing- ton and Greene Connties, and was eventually to be extended west of the Monongahela. But the act of Congress passed soon afterwards providing for the construction of the National road caused the abandon- ment of the project for constructing the Union and Cumberland turn- pike.

be replaced out of the fund reserved for laying out and making roads to the State of Ohio, by virtue of the seventh section of an act passed on the 30th of April, 1802."

The first contracts, in sections, for the first ten miles from Cumberland bear date April 16th and May 8, 1811. These were finished in the fall of 1812. The next letting was of eleven miles more, to Tomlinson's, in August, 1812, which were nearly completed in 1814. From Tomlinson's to Smithfield, eighteen miles were let in August, 1813, but not finished until 1817, owing to the scarcity of laborers during the war, war prices, and the fear of failure of some of the contractors. The next letting was of about six and a half miles west of Smithfield, in September, 1815, in sections, to John Hagan, Doherty, McGlaughlin and Bradley, William Aull, and Evans and Ramsay. In February, 1817, about five miles more were let [carrying the road to Braddock's Grave] to Ramsay and McGravey, John Boyle, D. McGlaughlin and Bradley, and Charles Mckinney. And in May, 1817, it was let about nine miles farther, to Uniontown, to Hagan and McCann, Mordecai and James Cochran (large and popular contractors), Thompson Mckean, and Thomas and Matthew Blakeley.

It has already been noticed in President Jefferson's special message to Congress on the 19th of Febru- ary, 1808, that he had approved and adopted the route recommended by the commissioners from Cum- berland to Brownsville, on the Monongahela, with the exception of a part of it in Fayette County, which the commissioners had laid out in such a manner as to leave Uniontown in an isolated position away from the line of the road. This action of the commission- ers cansed no little consternation at the county-seat, for it was believed that the town would be ruined if the great Cumberland road should be laid out to pass at a distance from it. But the matter was taken in hand by Gen. Ephraim Douglass and others of the most influential citizens of the place, who represented the case to President Jefferson so effectively that he changed the route to pass through Uniontown, as indicated in his message. Thus the route was estab- lished as far west as Brownsville, but westward from that point to the Ohio it was Jeft undetermined. There was great rivalry and jealousy existing be- tween the several eligible points on the Ohio, for it was believed that wherever the road should strike the eastern shore of that river there would spring up a flourishing city. The people of the inland towns lying between Brownsville and the Ohio (especially those of the town of Washington 1) were exceedingly

1 When it became known by the publication of President Jefferson's message (above referred to) that the route of the National road had been fixed between Cumberland and Brownsville, but not west of the latter point, the people of Washington took measures (as those of Uniontown had previously done) to secure the location of the route of the road through their town. David Acheson, Esq., who had been elected to the State Legislature in 1793 on the Republican ticket with Albert Gallatin to Congress, and who in that capacity represented Washington County

254

HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

anxious lest the road should be finally located at a distance from them. The question of the location of the road between the Monongahela and the Ohio was a very delicate and difficult one for the commis- sioners to decide, and in their report to President Jefferson they left it open, with the remark that "in this is to be consulted the wishes of that populous section of Ohio and the connections with roads lead- ing to St. Louis under the act of 1806." Afterwards (in the same year) they made, by direction of the President, an examination of the route from Browns- ville by way of the town of Washington to Wheeling ; but no final location of that part of the route was made then, nor until several years later. When James Madison became President of the United States he confirmed the action of his predecessor, Jefferson, in reference to the location of the road from Cumberland to Brownsville, and in 1815, soon after the declaration of peace with Great Britain, he directed the commis- sioners, Williams, Moore, and Kerr, to proceed with the examination and survey of the route between the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. This was done under their direction in the fall of that year and in the winter of 1815-16, by their engineer, Caspar Wever, of Weverton, Md. Two principal routes were sur- veyed, one through the borough of Washington,

at different times during the administrations of Washington and Jeffer- son, wrote to Gallatin (who was then Secretary of the Treasury, and always on terms of intimate friendship with Mr. Acheson), soliciting his influence and co-operation in favor of the location of the road through the town of Washington to Wheeling. To this letter and request of Mr. Acheson, Gallatin replied as follows :

" NEW YORK, Septer. 1st, 1808 " DAVID ACHESON, ESQ., " WASHINGTON. PA.

" DEAR SIR: On receipt of yr letter respecting the western road, I im- mediately transmitted it to the President at Monticello. I was under the impression that he had previously directed the Commissioners to examine both routes, & to report to him .- It seems however that it had not then been yet done. But on the 6th ult. he wrote to them ' to make an examination of the best route through Washington to Wheeling & also to Short Creek or any other point on the river offering a more ad- vantagrous route towards Chilicothe & Cincinnati, & to report to him the material facts with their opinions for consideration."

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History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 57

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 1314

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 1314