USA > Pennsylvania > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 98
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PUBLIC GROUND, MARKET-HOUSE, AND OTHER MATTERS FROM THE BOROUGH RECORDS.
The plat known as the Public Ground in Browns- ville borough appears to have been a matter of dis- pute in early years. In the year 1807, Jonathan Miller, John Sheldon, and Henry Wise gave notice that they had been "authorized to erect a Market- House on a certain piece of ground in the town of Brownsville known as the Public Ground," where- upon they were notified and warned not to erect any building on that ground until an investigation should be had, and a decision rendered by the proper tribu- nal. The protest came from Basil and Wilkes Brown, executors of Thomas Brown, deceased. A public notice by these executors to the effect that " they hold an entrust on that piece of ground" is found in the Genius of Liberty of May 4th in that year.
Nothing is found in reference to any official action being taken in consequence of the protest of Thomas Brown's executors, but it is certain that a market- house was built on the ground in question, and that it was used as the public market-house of the town until 1815, when a new one was erected, but the old one was soon after repaired, and continued in use for about twelve years longer.
The first action taken concerning the erection of the second market-house in 1815 has not been found.
28
430
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
but that the erection had been decided on, and a site fixed for it, is shown by a resolution of the Council on the 15th of April in that year, "That the centre of the Market-House be in the centre of Market Street, opposite the division line between Jacob Bow- man's two lots, which lie on the southwest side of said street;" and also by the tenor of a petition to the Council signed by thirty-eight freeholders, dated May 5, 1815, praying for a change of the site of the proposed market-house "as formerly fixed by the Council." A vote of the Council on the question of removal of site resulted in the decision that it should remain as previously fixed upon.
On the 2d of June following, " It was agreed that a Market-House be built on the Scite last agreed on, of the following dimensions, viz .: fifty feet long and eighteen feet wide from out to out of the pillars. The roof to be supported by ten pillars, five at each side. The Roof to project four feet on each side out- side of the pillars ; the bottoms or bases of the pillars to be built with stone and lime-mortar, sunk two feet in the ground, and to rise one foot above the surface, twenty-two inches square, and to be raised six feet six inches above the stone, with brick and lime-mortar, twenty-two inches square." It was also " Agreed that an advertisement be put in the American Tele- graph for mechanicks to hand in proposals for doing the work to the Council at Basil Brashear's [tavern], on the 16th inst., betwixt the hours of 2 and 4 o'el'k P.M." On the 4th of August, 1815, " A Contract was made with John M. Hazlip for Compleating the Market-House, for which he is to receive Three hun- dred and fifty dollars, the work to be done, in a sub- stantial, workmanlike manner, against the first of October next."
Dec. 26, 1815, " The Market-House being Com- pleated, the Council appointed George Graff, John Laybourn, Griffith Roberts, and Ephraim Butcher Referees to view the work and report to the Coun- cil." Part of this committee reported, Jan. 5, 1816, "that the work throughout the whole is done in a substantial and workmanlike manner." This report was signed by John Laybourn, George Graff, and Griffith Roberts. But the other member of the view- ing committee, Ephraim Butcher, certified only that " I, as one of the referees chosen.to examine the work of the new Market-House, have done so, and do cer- tify that in my opinion the mason-work is sufficiently substantial," thereby inviting the inference that, in his opinion, the other parts of the work were not done according to the requirements of the contract. It was accepted, however, and on that day (January 5th) a committee was appointed "to level the mar- ket-house floor, fix chains across the ends," and attend to certain other small matters.
Feb. 23, 1816, the Council passed an ordinance " That from and after the 15th of March Market shall be held in the Market House on Market Street of said borough on Wednesday and Saturday of each
week ; the Market hours shall be from daylight until nine o'clock A.M. on each of said days in the months of March, October, November, December, January, and February, and from daylight until eight o'clock A.M. on each of the aforesaid days in the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September."1 The commodities to be deemed articles of marketing were meats, salted or fresh, eggs, butter, poultry, cheese, lard, tallow, candles, fruit, and all kinds of vegetables, but not grain. A fine of one dollar was imposed on each and every person buying or sell- ing marketable articles at any other place than the market-house during market hours. The stalls on the southwest side of the building were to be occupied by the butchers and fishmongers at a reasonable rate, fixed at $5 each per annum.
James Workman and Nathan Smith were empow- ered " to enclose the Market House with a pale l'ence and a gate at each end, and to have the sides so se- cured as to prevent sheep, hogs, and geese from en- tering the same."
In August, 1817, the superintendent of the work on the National road (then in process of construction) requested the removal of the market-house in Market Street, it being in the location of the road, and so situ- ated as to impede the progress of the workmen. On the 9th of that month the Council "Resolved that the materials of the Market House be offered at public sale on Wednesday next, 2 the Council reserving the Stone, Brick, and Gates for the use of the Market House in Front Street," meaning the old building erected for that purpose on the Public Ground in 1807. This old market-house was then repaired, and used by the people of the borough until the erection of the present market-house. Quit-rents were paid on it to Sally Brown as late as the year 1844, when a bill of six years' rent was presented to the Council and ordered paid. The present brick market-house was built in 1829. An addition to it was projected in 1853, and the Council passed a resolution to that effect, but it was not done, and the building as it stands to-day (at the corner of Market Street and Bank Alley) is the same as when erected fifty-two years ago.
The grading of the National road, in 1817-18, ren- dered Front Street almost impassable, by reason of the filling at the upper end and the excavation at the lower. The borough board ordered that street graded to the National road, to make it passable. At a Council meeting held June 17, 1818, it was resolved, on motion of George Dawson and Valentine Geisey, that the sum of $4000 be obtained as a loan from bank, and that the same be equally expended on Front, Market, and Water Streets,-Front Street to be graded forty-five feet wide. On the 21st of Sep- tember in the same year the Council considered an offer from John Bogle to contract "To pave Front Street for 825 per perch, running measure."
1 Repealed May 11, 1820.
2 The timber aud roof were sold to Elijah Clarke for $46.
BROWNSVILLE BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP.
431
Sept. 23, 1819, James L. Bowman and D. B. Bayliss were authorized to employ Freeman Lewis " to make a survey and draft of the borough." The work was accordingly done by Mr. Lewis, and on the 20th of October the Council "Ordered that survey monu- ments be erected in the centre of Market Street and elsewhere, under the direction of Freeman Lewis," which was also done.
LIST OF TAXABLES IN BROWNSVILLE IN 1818.
Robert Ayres.
John Chenney.
John Allender.
Church Cashing.
David Auld.
James Carter.
Basil King's heirs.
Michael Sowers.
David Aviel.
Charles Campbell.
Michael Kelly.
Henry Stoy.
James Allison.
Jacob Crawl.
Mary Kennedy.
Lewis Switzer.
Thomas Anherry.
Landon Crocker.
John McCartney, Jr.
Charles Sheets.
David Allen.
William Crawford.
Edward Maloine.
Philip Shafner.
David Anderson.
Emmanuel Crossin.
William Miniken.
George Shuman.
J. Auld.
Thomas Carter.
John MeMordee.
Nathan Smith.
Ephraim Butcher.
Thomas Downey.
George MeMichael.
Isaac Saffel.
D. Bayliss & Co.
John Dixon.
John Marsh.
James Spencer.
John Biddle.
Henry G. Dales.
Ready MeSherry.
Thomas Stephenson.
Peter Beaker.
George Dawson.
William Moffit.
Henry Shreve.
John Bowman.
John Duvale.
Israel Miller.
John Smith.
Basil Brown.
William Drake.
John MeCartney, Sr.
Philip Smith.
Basil Brashear.
John Davis.
William McFall.
Robert Scott.
John Beckley, Admin.
Neal Doffeo.
Charles Michael.
Andrew Stark.
Edward Burns.
Bartholomew Depsey.
John MeCadden.
William Scale.
Henry Barkeman.
Peter Elston.
Thomas MeKibhen.
Jacob Sheffner.
James Boner.
John Everhart.
John MeKennon.
Samnel Shuman.
James Blaine.
Charles Ford.
John McCadden, Sr.
Thomas Sloauc.
George Boyd.
John Fletcher.
Robert McClane.
Henry Sweitzer & Co.
Bank of Brownsville.
John Foster.
John McCormick.
Joseph Thornton.
Nathan Briggs.
Robert Fordis.
William MeMullen.
Martin Tiernan.
James Breading.
Jacob Fouch.
Allen McCurdy.
George Trucks' heirs.
James S. Bowlin.
John Frew.
George Murre.
Aaron Townsend.
Ezekiel Baldwin.
Henry B. Goe.
Henry Morrison.
James Thomspon.
Jacob Bowman & Son.
Robert Graham.
Hugh McDonald.
Ebenezer Taylor.
Thomas Berry.
George Graff.
John Murry.
Eli Tascour.
Charles Brown.
Patrick Gormley.
Yardner McGuire.
Matthew Thona.
Simeon Bowman.
Valentine Giescy.
David McGraw.
Abram Underwood.
Joseph Baldwin.
Neal Gillespie.
James Morrison.
David Victor.
Sarah Brown.
John Gribble.
William Morgan.
Thomas Wells.
Randle Black.
Henry Graham.
Joseph Noble.
Ilenry Wise.
Benjamin Berry.
John Gordan.
Solomon Norris.
John Wise.
James Butterfield.
John Givin.
Joseph Novis.
James Workman.
James Boyle.
Robert Hamilton.
Daniel Osten.
Mary Workley.
Nancy Beckley.
Peter Ilumerickhouse.
William Ogle.
David Wilson.
Bonnell, Gregg & Carruthers. Chads Chalfant.
George Ilanes.
Charles O'Donnold.
Frederick Weigle.
John Connelly.
Matthew Ilntchinson.
John Pattinger.
William Willis.
James Chalfant.
William Hogg.
Robert Philson.
Henry Wilson.
Joseph Craig.
E. & C. Ilunt.
John Peters.
Simon Watson.
John Christmas.
Caleb Hunt.
Thomas Pierson.
John Weaver.
Robert Clark.
George Hogg & Co.
Ruel Perry.
Robert Whele. William Walker.
Jonah Cadwallader.
William Howard.
William H. Parks.
Jacob Rencheneker. Benjamin Whitehouse.
Thomas Rhoads.
Jonathan Worrell.
Joseph Copley. Matthew Coffin.
Thomas Headon.
Samuel Rogers.
Travers Worcester.
Elijah Clarke. John Collins.
James Hutchinson. John Harris.
Michael Ifarris.
Henry Holman.
James Harkness.
Henry Irwin.
Adam Jacohs.
John Richards.
John Jaquis. John Johnston. James Johnston.
John Rape. James Reynolds.
John Robinson.
Samuel Jackson.
Samuel Rose.
John Johnson.
Samuel Richards.
James Jones.
Robert Ritchie,
Joh Jones.
Hlenry Rigden.
John Juil.
Michael Rusler.
Jacob Kennear.
Levi Springer.
Mary Kennear.
William Stephenson.
George Kennear.
Patrick Sullivan.
William Craig. Jacoh Conrad.
William Hanes.
Robert Henderson.
Henry Hull.
William Rhoads. James Watters.
John Rogers.
John Wright.
George Craft. Jacob Coplan. Charles Chadwick.
Nathan Chalfant.
John Hazlip.
Patrick O'llair.
H. H. Wadsworth.
BUSINESS OF BROWNSVILLE IN 1818.
The following list of persons, following the several occupations indicated in 1818, is from the assessment roll of that year :
432
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Merchants.
Jacob Bowman (P.M.).
D. B. Bayliss & Co. James E. Breading.
Robert Clarke.
Ready McSherry.
Wilson Drake. John Everhart.
John Johnston. David Allen. Hatters.
Valentine Geisey.
Matthew Hutchinson.
E. & C. Hunt.
John Bowman. Charles Campbell. Robert Ritchie.
Caleb Hunt.
George Hogg & Co.
Robert Henderson.
Adam Jacobs.
John Johnston.
William Moffit.
Robert McClane. William Ogle.
Israel Miller.
Thomas Mckibben.
Samuel Rogers.
James Thompson.
John Rogers.
Ebe. Taylor.
William Stephenson. Philip Shaffner. H. H. Wadsworth.
" Dealers."
Edward Burns.
George Boyd.
Isaac Saffell. John Weaver.
" Doctors."
Lewis Sweitzer.
Samuel Shuman.
Henry W. Stoy.
"Schoolmasters." Robert Ayres. David Taylor. Inn-keepers.
Basil Brashear.
Nancy Beckley.
John Connelly.
William McMullen.
Joseph T. Noble. James Reynolds. Coppersmith and worker.
George Shuman.
Henry Irwin. George Michael, Charles Michael.
The following additional names appear on the roll of 1819, viz. :
Printer. Robert Fee.
Tanner.
James Workman. Boat-builders. Nathan Chalfant.
James Carter.
Thomas Carter.
John McCartney. James McCartney. Brick-maker. Joseph Thornton.
Bakers.
Henry Dales, Jr. John Williams. Schoolmasters. Edward Byrne. James Johnston.
Inn-keepers. James Auld (and shoe- maker). Evan Cadwallader. John McCartney.
Merchants. Henry Sweitzer. James L. Bowman. "Quit-rents."
Jacob Bowman & Son.
Simeon Bowman.
Peter Humrickhouse.
Nathan Smith.
Sally Brown (daughter of the original pro- prietor).
Many of the locations occupied by the business men mentioned in the above lists have passed from the memory of those who were living in Brownsville at that time, but some of them have been ascertained and are given below.
The store of Jacob Bowman & Son was on the lot where J. N. Snowdon and John Anderson now reside.
Hogg & Bowman (George Hogg and Simeon Bow- man) did business on Water Street, two lots south of the site of the United States Hotel. Where the hotel stands was the store of Henry Sweitzer.
James L. Bowman kept a store in the "Neck," where now is Armstrong's drug-store, but whether he was located there at the time referred to (1818-19) has not been definitely ascertained.
The store of D. B. Bayliss & Co. was on Front Street, where S. P. Knox now lives. James E. Bread- ing's store was in the Central Hotel building on Mar- ket Street. Thomas MeKibben's store was on Front Street, adjoining or near that of Bayliss & Co.
Peter Humrickhouse kept his store on Front Street, now the residence of George E. Hogg. Humrick- house came from Hagerstown, Md., to Brownsville about 1814, and removed to Coshocton, Ohio, about 1830.
John and Samuel Rogers (twin brothers) were lo- cated in trade on Front Street. They had been in business there at least four years before 1818.
Elisha Hunt and Caleb Hunt kept a store in the Neck, where now is Keiser's jewelry-store. The Hunts were members of the Society of Friends.
Matthew Hutchinson (an Irishman) did a small mercantile business on Front Street, on a lot adjoin- ing the Black Horse tavern.
The store of Adam Jacobs, Jr. (father of the present Capt. Adam Jacobs), was in Market Street, where Charles Johnson's grocery-store now is. His father, Adam Jacobs, Sr., had commenced business as early as 1800 in a store located on Water Street, next below the site of the rolling-mill.
Israel Miller's store was on Front Street, opposite the old Monongahela Bank building (now Dr. Rich- ard's residence). Miller afterwards moved his busi- ness to a store where Joseph Sanforth's cabinet-shop now is on Market Street. Later still he removed to where Samuel Graham resides.
The store of Valentine Giesey was opposite the Black Horse tavern on Front Street.
Philip Shaffner's location was on Water Street. Besides the business of his store he also carried on a coppersmith and tin-working shop.
Robert Clarke's store was in a building that stood
Shoemakers. Andrew Stark.
William Walker. John Wright. Blacksmiths. John Beadle. Nathan Briggs.
Saddler. Ephraim Baldwin. Cabinet-maker.
John Allenden.
Chair-maker. Thomas Rhoads.
Watch-makers. Henry J. Rigden. James Spencer. Justice. James Blaine.
Gunsmith. Landon Crocker.
tin- Nailers.
Tailors. Abraham Underwood. John Robinson.
Allen MeCurdy.
John McCaddu, Sr. John McCaddu, Jr.
Tanners.
433
BROWNSVILLE BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP.
on the site of the Snowdon House, and upon the erec- tion of the latter the store was kept in it.
Henry J. Rigden's watchmaker-shop was on Front Street, though he afterwards had other locations in different parts of the town. An earlier watch-maker than he in Brownsville was Isaac Goodlander. Mr. Rigden first started business here in 1817.
Dr. Lewis Sweitzer's office was in the three-story stone house now owned by Ayres Lynch, on Front Street.
The boat-yards of Nathan Chalfant and James and Thomas Carter were on the river-bank, helow and near the site of the United States Hotel. Chalfant was one of the earliest boat-builders in Brownsville.
Jacob Bowman's nail-factory (built before 1800, but not in operation at the time to which the preceding business list has reference) was located on the sloping ground on Front Street, below the present residence of N. B. Bowman. Eli Abrams, George Michael, and Henry Irwin were workmen in this establishment, which (as tradition has it) produced the first nails made west of the mountains.
The old grist-mill and saw-mill owned by Robert Clarke and Neal Gillespie is not mentioned in the business list referred to, but was built at about that time. In the Navigator,1 published at Pittsburgh in 1821, is found the following mention of this old mill : " There has been built lately on the town side a valu- able grist- and saw-mill, turned by the water of the river, in which are wool and cotton carding machines. The mills are owned by Messrs. Gillespie & Clark, who got an act of Assembly passed to throw a dam across the river by engaging to make a safe way for the passing and repassing of boats up and down the river. This was at first done by a chute in the dam, and since by a lock canal." The old mill building, a long, low, gambrel-roofed structure, is still standing on the bank of the river north of Britton's distillery. It is used as a store and warehouse by S. S. Graham.
In the publication above referred to (the Navigator) the following account is given of the condition of Brownsville in 1821 :
" Brownsville (or Redstone) lies immediately below Dunlap's Creek, on the east side of the river, finely situated on a first and high second bank. It contains ( 18102 ) about one hundred and twenty houses, principally of wood, some handsomely built with stone and brick, a market-house, an Episcopal Church, eighteen mercantile stores, two tan-yards, a rope-walk, two boat- yards, two tin and copper mannfactories, two factories of nails, one printing-office, which issues a weekly paper, a post-office, a warehouse, one seythe- and siekle-maker, blacksmiths, silver- smiths (one of whom makes surveyors' enmpasses), tailors, shoemakers, saddlers, etc. Within a few miles uf the town are four Friends' mecting-houses, twenty -six grist-, saw-, oil-, and fulling-mills, and within four miles, up Redstone Creck, a val- uable paper-mill. .
" Burd's fort formerly stood here. In addition to the above, a manufactory of steel, established by Morris Truman & Co., was in full operation in 1811. Mr. John Gregg, near Browns- ville, has contrived a machine for planking hats, either hy horse or water. It is calculated to save mueb labor in the batting business. Cotton and wool cards are also made. A largo cotton manufactory is erecting, in which the steam-power will be used ; and a foundry on an extensive scale has been erected, as also a manufactory for making mill-saws. A steam- bout was commenced in 1813, and bas now made several trips ; the engines constructed by Mr. French. The Monongahela Bank was established here in 1813, with a capital of $300,000. [Here follows the mention of Gillespie & Clark's old mill, as beforo quoted.]
" The inhabitants of Brownsville aro remarkably industrious, and the settlement around the town is the oldest and richest in the western country, and is principally settled by Quakers. This being a place of considerable embarkation, individuals make it their business to supply travelers with hoats and all uther necessaries for deseending the river."
LA FAYETTE'S VISIT TO BROWNSVILLE.
The visit of the Marquis de La Fayette to Browns- ville in May. 1825, was a memorable event in the an- nals of the borough. Having started in 1824 front the Eastern cities on an extended tour of the United States, he was at the time mentioned moving eastward from the Ohio on his return. On the evening of the 25th of May he arrived at Washington, Pa., where he was to pass the night, and in the morning proceed to Brownsville and Uniontown. The reception commit- tee of the last-named place were at Washington to meet him, and it appears that he considered himself as in their charge from the time of his leaving Wash- ington. The message sent forward from that place in the evening of the 25th was, "He will leave here to- morrow morning early, will breakfast at Hillsborough, dine at Brownsville, and sup and lodge at Uniontown."
In accordance with this arrangement, Gen. La Fay- ette, accompanied by his son, George Washington La Fayette, and his private secretary, set out from Wash- ington at a very early hour in the morning of the 26th, and took the road to the Monongahela River, escorted by the reception committee and others from Fayette County. The scenes attending the arrival of the party at Brownsville were described in an account written a few years later by one who witnessed them, as follows :
" The citizens of Brownsville had also made prep- arations to give the general a very warm reception. At that time there was no bridge over the Mononga- hela at that place, and communication was kept up between the two counties of Fayette and Washington by means of a flat-boat ferry. This ferry-boat was magnificently fitted up by the citizens of Brownsville for this grand occasion, being nicely carpeted and decorated with beautiful arches. A company of vol- unteers, commanded by Capt. Valentine Giesey, was present, each member of the company having the following appropriate motto printed and attached to his cap, ' Welcome General La Fayette !' About the
1 A book "Containing directions for Navigating the Monongahela, Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi Hivers, with descriptions of Towns, Villages, Harbours, &c."
2 Meaning by the census of 1810.
434
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
time of La Fayette's arrival on the opposite side of the river, the Volunteers, accompanied by twenty-four ladies dressed in white, representing the then twenty- four States in the Union, entered the ferry-boat, and were soon landed on the opposite side of the river, where the first general reception given to La Fayette by the citizens of Fayette County took place, on the ferry-boat on the west side of the Monongahela River.
"After a general welcome was extended to General La Fayette by the large concourse of people assem- bled on the shore, the ferry-boat returned to the Brownsville side of the river, and the distinguished patriot was escorted, amidst the most unbounded en- thusiasm, to what was then called the Brashear's Hotel, kept by Colonel Brashear, where a most sump- tuous dinner had been prepared for the occasion. La Fayette's reception at Brownsville, in the language of one of the survivors of that memorable occasion, was affectionate and touching. So urgent were the citi- zens of that place for the General to remain that the committee from Uniontown, of whom George Crafts, then sheriff of Fayette County, was one, were com- pelled to remind him that a very large concourse of the citizens of the county was awaiting his arrival at Uniontown. Upon being thus reminded, the General very pleasantly remarked to the citizens by whom he was surrounded ' That he was now in the custody of the sheriff, and they must excuse him.'"
The reception at Brownsville was much briefer and less elaborate than that which was given to the hero at Uniontown, but it was an occasion which will never fade from the memories of those who witnessed it.
FERRIES.
The first ferry across the Monongahela River at Brownsville was established by Capt. Michael Cresap in 1775, under authority granted by "a Court held for Augusta County [Va.] at Fort Dunmore" on the 23d of February in that year, which action is recorded 1 as follows : " On the motion of Michael Cresap, license is granted him to keep a ferry on Monongahela River at Redstone Fort to the land of Indian Peter, and that he provide a Boat."
Capt. Cresap died in the fall of the same year, and it is not known by whom the ferry was continued, but in about 1784 it passed into the hands of Neal Gillespie, who had purchased the land of Indian Peter on the west side of the river. In the minutes of the December session of Fayette County court for
1 In the original record of that court, which (as alsu the minutes of the Yohuganit, Va., County court) is still in existence in Washington, Pa., the " Indian Peter" mentioned is the same oldl friendly savage who first settled near Philip Shute's place, in what is now North Union township. It appears that Shute was a quarrelsome man, and made it so uncomfortable for the peaceabdde Peter that the latter was compelled! to abandon his land ( which had been granted to him by the Penns), and having represented the case to the proprietaries and asked for another piece of land one was given him located on the Monongahela opposite Brownsville.
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