USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > History of Independence Hall : from the earliest period to the present time : embracing biographies of the immortal signers of the Declaration of Independence, with historical sketches of the sacred relics preserved in that sanctuary of American freedom > Part 4
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Allusion has been made to the preceding fugitive scraps of history, only for the purpose of augmenting the interest attached to Independence Hall. As part of the story of this sacred edifice, they must forever remain inseparable. In Carpenters' Hall the first efforts of a struggling people to become free assumed a tangible form-in Independence Hall those efforts culminated to a glorious consummation. In the one, full and emphatic exhibitions of the people's will were obtained-in the other, that will was vitalized into an unyielding resolve. So that, in whatever light we choose to regard the connection, it contributes largely to the association which cluster around the sublime reminiscences of the " Cradle" where Liberty was fostered, and from which it grew into vigorous manhood.
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INDEPENDENCE HALL :
CHAPTER III.
"THE OLD STATE HOUSE."
" As he with his boys, shall revist this spot, He will tell them in whispers more softly to tread :
Oh ! surely, by these I shall ne'er be forgot-
Remembrance still hallows the dust of the dead !"-Byron.
THIS venerable edifice, which excites so much patriotic veneration from the American people, and is regarded with profound esteem abroad, was known until the year 1776, as the "STATE HOUSE." From that memorable period-when the representatives of the nation resolved to be free-the room on the east side of the main entrance has been designated by the appellation of INDEPENDENCE HALL. For wise and patriotic reasons it has never been altered. By that designation it will remain hallowed to all time. So long as a single genuine spark of freedom remains in the human heart, so long will Independence Hall be re- garded as the birth-place of liberty-the immortal spot where the manacles of oppression were sundered, and despotism received its most formidable rebuke. The "State House," originally constructed for the purpose of accommodating legal business, the dispensa- tion of Colonial statutes for Pennsylvania, and the transaction of various other matters, was commenced in the year 1729, and completed in 1734. Its dimen- sions and architectural plan - the design being fur.
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS,
nished by an amateur architect, named John Kearsley, Sr.,-were regarded by many as too large and ex- pensive; and the erection of the building was, there- fore, quite strenuously opposed. Had the men who first conceived the noble enterprise of building it fore- seen the exalted character which their contemplated edifice would assume in future, there would not prob- ably have been a single dissenting voice in the liberal plan projected by its founders. It is a singular his- torical fact, that most of those who opposed the plan of the edifice in the commencement, and who were still living at the time, were opposed to the adoption of the " Declaration of Independence," which occurred within its very walls about a quarter of a century after- ward. According to bills and papers kept by Andrew Hamilton, one of the three Commissioners who had the superintendence of the financial matters connected with its construction, it appears that the edifice cost originally $16,250. The two wings which now form important addenda to the building, however, were not erected until the years 1739-40, and increased the total amount to $28,000-but their cost cannot be counted in the original bill. Watson, in his Annals, says :
" Edmund Woolley did the carpenter work, John Harrison the joiner work, Thomas Boude was the brick mason, William Holland did the marble work, Thomas Kerr, plaster, Benjamin Fairman and James Stoopes made the bricks; the lime was from the kilns of the Tysons. [These kilns were situated in Manship township, Montgomery county, about one mile west from Willow Grove, and fifteen miles from the Hall of Independence. This property has ever since re-
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mained in possession of that family. Joseph C. Tyson, Esq., is now owner of the kilns, and carries on the lime business very extensively.] The glass and lead cost £170, and the glazing in leaden frames was done by Thomas Godfrey, the celebrated. I may here use- fully add, for the sake of comparison, the costs of sundry items, to wit : Carpenter's work at 4s. per day ; boy's 1s .; master carpenter, E. Woolley, 4s. 6d. ; brick- laying, by Thomas Boude, John Palmer, and Thomas Redman, at 10s. 6d. per M .; stone-work in the founda- tion, at 4s. per perch; digging ground and carting away, 9d. per yard; bricks, 31s. 8d. per M .; lime per 100 bushels, £4; boards, 20s. per M .; lath-wood 18s. per cord; laths, 3s. per C .; shingles, 20s. per M .; scantling, 1}/1. per foot; stone, 3s. per perch, and 5s. 5d. per load. Laborers receive 2s. 6d. per day ; 2100 loads of earth are hauled away at 9d. per load." These items are only given as specimens of curiosity, and will serve to amuse, if not to instruct.
The wood-work of the steeple by which the building was first surmounted, on examination in 1774, was found to be so much decayed, that it was decided to remove it, and it was accordingly taken down, leaving only a small belfry to cover the bell for the use of the town-clock-which had but one dial-face, at the west end of the building. In that condition it remained until 1829, when the steeple which now crowns the building, was erected on the plan of the original one. Some years ago the interior wood-work to the room in which the "Declaration of Independence" was signed, was removed, for the purpose of modernizing the plans, but public sentiment soon demanded its restoration, and it now presents the same appearance
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
it did on that memorable occasion. In 1854, the City Councils of Philadelphia" very patriotically re- solved to place in this sacred room-where they properly belong-all the relics associated with the brilliant history of the Hall and the times cotempora- neous with the American Revolution, which they could obtain. With commendable zeal and enterprise they have obtained and arranged in their appropriate places portraits of nearly all the distinguished "Signers of the Declaration of Independence," as well as many other valuable relics, all of which are sacred memen- toes uniting the present and the past with ligaments of inseverable affection. Hence it is that, when we visit that holy place-that Mecca of freedom's chil- dren -that shrine where Liberty's sons and daughters bow in holy reverence-we feel that the eyes of the mighty are gazing upon us, watching our conversation and our national characteristics, to see whether we who enjoy so many rich and glorious privileges, rightly respect and appreciate what they hazarded their lives and enjoyments to effect! There are in- cidents connected with Independence Hall sufficiently impressive to excite our warmest patriotism. "When the regular sessions of the Assembly were held in the State House," says Watson, "the Senate occupied up- stairs, and the Lower House the same chamber, since
The object of the City Councils in this was, to secure such relics a permanent position in the Hall of Independence, and to afford visitors a source of gratification. Many of these portraits are of inestimable value, and are the only authentic ones of the distinguished persons they represent. They should ensure the respect of every American who desires to look upon the por- traits of departed heroes, while they elicit the admiration of strangers and the great from abroad. 5*
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called Independence Hall. In the former, Anthony Morris is remembered as Speaker, occupying an ele. vated chair facing north-himself a man of amiable mien, contemplative aspect, dressed in a suit of drab cloth, flaxen hair slightly powdered, and his eyes fronted with spectacles. The Representative chamber had George Latimer for Speaker, seated with his face to the west-a well-formed manly person, his fair large front and eyes sublime declared absolute rule." For many years previous to 1855, the upper apart- ment of Independence Hall was divided into rooms which were occupied by the Supreme Courts of the United States, and was rented for offices of various kinds. But in that year the municipal authorities had the partition walls which separated the rooms torn away and the apartments tastefully fitted up and appropriated to the use of the City Councils, both branches of which now hold their sessions within its sacred precincts.
When we consider the associations which cluster around this venerable room-how many incidents have occurred here to remind us of our nation's rapid progress from dependent colonies to a great and pros- perous empire-how steadily and surely our institu- tions have given demonstration of the practical work- ings of a Republican form of Government; we feel constrained to believe that a municipal corporation which has the honorable task of framing codes and ordinances to govern nearly a million of human beings, might act with motives as pure and lofty as those which prompted the members of the Colonial Assembly, who met in the same building, and the same room ! But exigencies and extraordinary occa-
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
sions develope the intellectual abilities of great and good men, while expectation and desire of self-ag. grandisement characterize time-serving politicians, whose patriotism is measured by the amount of pelf derived from official preferment. We can scarcely reconcile to our belief that here, within the holy fanc where freedom of thought and principle first assumed tangibility ; where vitality was given to declarations of ancestral patriots; where germs of the mightiest and most influential nation that ever flourished were sown, any corporate body of men, convened in a rep- resentative capacity, could ever act with other than the purest and most patriotic motives. There is something so peculiarly reverential about every por- tion of this building, so awe-exciting and sacred, that boisterous passions and declamatory partisanism should never mar or desecrate its walls. Not a word ought ever to be uttered here inconsistent with the first expressions of republicanism, promulgated by the founders of the nation. Oh! let this temple re- main pure and unsullied from any act calculated to tarnish the fair escutcheon of our country's glory. Let it be kept a shrine where holy thoughts, holy aspirations, and holy deeds are registered ; where free- dom's children may come and worship, and feel them- selves sanctified by the purity of its atmosphere.
Grave and deliberate as were the general purposes, during the early period of the Revolution, to which the "State House" was appropriated in the Colonial days of Pennsylvania, it was on several occasions used as a hall for banqueting. In the long gallery, up- stairs, the feasting tables were spread, around which hilarity and mirthfulness prevailed, while the tables
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themselves were loaded with every desirable luxury which the appetite or inclination might fancy or de- sire. Soon after the edifice was completed, in 1736, William Allen, Esq., then Mayor of Philadelphia, made a feast at his own expense. This entertainment, which was of a sumptuous and costly character, was spread in the "State House," and the Mayor extended his invitations to all distinguished strangers in the city. The number of invited guests exceeded any at the feasts given in the city on previous occasions, while those who partook of his hospitality expressed their unanimous consent that, " for excellency of fare, it was a most elegant entertainment." On the arrival of their new Colonial Governor, Denny, in 1756, while the Assembly was in session, that body gave him a reception dinner, and this feast was likewise spread at the "State House," at which the "civil and military officers and clergy of the city" were present. This entertainment occurred in August, and was an im- portant event during that session of the Assembly. It had a tendency to harmonize various antagonistical personal feelings, which were looked upon as boding no peculiar good to the new administration. Again, when Lord Loudon, commander-in-chief of the King's forces in the several colonics, visited the city in the year 1757, the corporation received him at the "State House" by a grand banquet. General Forbes, who was then commander at Philadelphia and of the southern settlements, was also present on that occasion. Various guests were invited, among whom were officers of rank, gentlemen strangers, clergy and private citi- zens, who partook of those municipal hospitalities. It was remarked by some uninvited guests at the timc,
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
that the expenditure for this entertainment was greater than had ever before been made by the authorities for public receptions, which indicated a very early hos- tility to such feasts-especially when given at the ex- pense of the public treasury. When in 1774, the first Congress met in Philadelphia, a sumptuous collation was prepared by the gentlemen of the city, for the en- tertainment of its representatives, the "State House" was selected as the building in which the festive cere- monies should be performed. The members and in- vited guests congregated first at the "City Tavern,"" and thence marched in an imposing procession to the "State House," in the dining hall of which the re- past was spread. About five hundred persons par- took of the dinner, and when the toasts were given they were rendered patriotic by the " firing of can- non and martial music." These festive occasions exerted salutary influences upon public sentiment, and had a tendency to develope, in no small degree, political feelings which actuated the people. No doubt the principles promulgated and advocated around the brimful goblet and board, were regarded in a patriotic or disloyal sense, according to the domi- nant characteristics of leading men, with their ad- herence to Parliamentary laws, or republican sym- pathy. Whatever sentiment was toasted and re- sponded to then, was given in the spirit of honesty, and elicited purity of expression. Words were not wasted in declamatory sentences; appeals were not made for idle or pernicious purposes ; and intriguing
* The City Tavern stood on the site of the "Coffee House," and was a distinguished eating restaurant.
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politicians had no unworthy ends to subserve. Every heart was prompted by motives of lofty and patriotic devotion-whether in the cause of the Crown, or against the exercise of its prerogatives. Then, there was no cause for severe animadversion of the manner in which the public business was conducted, which has since afforded plausibility for charges of pecula- tion and corruption. Every act, politically and pri- vately, was performed with an eye single to the entire interest of all concerned. None felt disposed to take advantage of his fellow, or to enhance his personal objects by extortionate exactions from others. By those festivals ties of friendship were strengthened, bonds of mutual enterprise cemented, national mea- sures suggested and frequently adopted. Deliberate and calm discussion of various topics connected with governmental affairs, gave power and character to the purposes for which such scenes of friendly greeting were given, and assisted in forming a deep and strong attachment to their country and their homes.
Notwithstanding the fact, that Independence Hall is regarded as a most sacred shrine of Liberty, in days of yore it was used for various purposes-some of which illy comported with the true character of the building. Mr. Watson says: "For many years the public papers of the Colony, and afterward of the City and State, were kept in the east and west wings of the State House, without any fire-proof security as they now possess. From their manifest insecurity, it was deemed, about nineteen years ago (now thirty), to pull down those former two-story brick wings, and to sup- ply their places by those which are now there. In former times such important papers as rest with the
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
Frothonotaries were kept in their offices at their family residences." When workmen were superintending the removal of the former wings of the State House, Mr. Grove, who was the master-mason, made several interesting discoveries of relics. These were mostly found under the foundation of the walls, as the work- men excavated the ground considerably deeper for the present cellars. At the depth of some five feet, and close to the western wall, was dug up a keg of Indian flints. Nothing appears upon record to give the faintest idea as to who performed the deed, or for what purpose they were buried there. The impression of the keg was distinct, but the wood had decayed and become assimilated with the loamy soil. At about the same depth, and in close proximity to it, were uncovered the complete equipments of a ser- geant, consisting of a musket, cartouch-box, sword, buckles, &c. "The wood being decayed, left the im- pression of what they had been." These discoveries excited considerable- curiosity, and attracted a large multitude of people to see and examine them. But a greater and more general excitement was created, a day or two subsequently, at the announcement that a lot of bomb-shells, filled with powder, had been ex- humed by the diggers. This circumstance led to various conjectures, relative to the object for which they had been buried beneath the building, but a satisfactory solution of the mystery bas not, as yet, been given. Some entertained the belief that it was intended for another Guy Faux plot, to destroy the edifice on a particular occasion. Most probably, how- ever, they had been placed there for safe keeping, or to prevent their falling into unfriendly hands. Sub-
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sequently, when the present foundation was built two of these bombs were walled in with the stones and now form a portion of the stone-work. Future antiquarians and monarchical adherents may regard this in a symbolic light, as typical of the ultimate downfall of Republicanism, because, beneath and within the very walls of the structure in which free- dom of conscience and the rights of humanity were asserted, are imbedded the elements of its own de- struction. We congratulate ourselves, however, upon the fact that should Independence Hall ever crumble into ruins, there are associations connected with it sufficiently impressive to inspire the hearts and direct the sentiments of the American people in every thing pertaining to their own unsullied Nationality and Re- publican sentiments ; for, as Milton remarks, “recon- cilement never grows where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep."
We have remarked that Independence Hall was used for various purposes. In the year 1802 the Legislature of Pennsylvania granted to Charles Wil- son Peale, the use of the upper rooms in which the public banquets were formerly given, for the exhibi- tion of curiosities which he had collected and arranged under the title of the " Philadelphia Museum." This institution was commenced in the year 1784, with the simple donation of a "paddle-fish" from the Ohio River. From that time until his decease, Mr. Peale was engaged in efforts of conveying instruction and amusement to the citizens of Philadelphia, and all who wished to visit his museum. The doors of the museum were never open to the profligate and licen- tious -- the place having been scrupulously preserved
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
as a resort for the virtuous and refined of society. In the arrangement and classification of his natural curi- osities, Mr. Peale was singularly fortunate. He adopted the system of Linnaeus in classifying his birds and mammalia : that of Mr. Cleveland in his mineralogical cabinet, which contained over 1700 specimens. In conchology, which contained more than 1000 specie ;, he employed the system of Lamarck. The museum contained a large collection of fossil reliquia of our own country and of Europe, at the head of which was the mammoth, the bones of whose skeleton were dis- covered in a morass, in Ulster County, New York, by persons digging for marl. Cabinets of fish, reptiles, comparative anatomy, and a numerous collection of miscellaneous articles of works of Art, implements, dresses, arms, antiquities, and so forth, from various parts of the globe, were appropriately located in various parts of the rooms. The museum contained many valuable paintings of officers and diplomatic characters who figured during the Revolution, which were painted by Mr. Peale during that stormy period. In that year the proprietors had succeeded in collect- ing 274 quadrupeds of various species, and 1284 birds. The collection of insects was very large, and arranged in geographical divisions. That portion of it embracing the Sessilosstera was well adapted to their perfect preservation and most advantageous display. This museum was incorporated in 1822, by an Act of the Legislature, and was then removed to the Arcade.
As a place of literary entertainment, Independence Hall assumes a conspicuous reputation. In 1771, the Rev. Jacob Duché, Assistant Minister of Christ Church and St. Peter's, in Philadelphia, wrote as follows :-
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" The 'State House,' as it is called, is a large, plain building, two stories high. The lower story is divided into two large rooms, in one of which the Provincial Assembly meet, and in the other the Supreme Court of Judicature is held. The upper story consists of a long gallery, which is generally used for public enter- tainments, and two rooms adjoining it, one of which is appropriated for the Governor and his Council; the other, I believe, is yet unoccupied. In one of the wings, which join the main building by means of a brick arcade, is deposited a valuable collection of books, belonging to a number of the citizens, who are incorporated by the name of 'The Library Company of Philadelphia.' You would be astonished, my Lord, at the general taste for books, which prevails among all orders and ranks of people in this city. The librarian assured me, that, for one person of dis- tinction and fortune, there were twenty tradesmen that frequented this library." The Library Company of Philadelphia, to which the above reverend writer so sneeringly alludes, (and who, during the Revolu- tionary struggle for Independence, turned Tory to the cause of Freedom,) was first started by Benjamin Franklin, in 1731, and was called " The City Library," in consequence of a union which was made on the first of July of that year, of several Libraries. In October, 1732, their first importation of books from England arrived, amounting in cost to £45 15s. sterling. The Library was located in Pewter-platter alley, but in 1740 it was transferred to the State House. Thence in 1773 it was placed in the "Car- penters' Hall," where it remained until the year 1790. It received its incorporation in 1742, under the title
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ITS HISTORY AND ASSOCIATIONS.
of the "Library Company of Philadelphia." In 1792 this Company, the Loganian, and the Union, were merged into one-making a tria juncta in una.
During the progress of the struggle for Freedom, the State House was signalized for many scenes which transpired within it, and was, at one time, used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. A "lobby" extended the whole length of the building, then eastward from the head of the stairs, and in this "lobby" the American officers who were captured at the battle of German- town were retained as prisoners. It was used as a hospital after the battle of the Brandywine, where many a noble patriot breathed his last. Such were some of the sad purposes for which this sacred struc- ture has been used. This building is also rendered immortal from the fact that here Washington "bade farewell to public life, and delivered that memorable address which will ever be cherished as a sacred legacy by his grateful countrymen." In 1824, La- fayette received his friends in Independence Hall. It has been subsequently used as the audience cham- ber of several distinguished visitors, and a reception room for the Presidents of the United States. The body of the venerable John Quincy Adams here lay in state, on its way to his final resting-place. In con- nection with the historical associations which cluster around this immortal structure, we may use the re- marks of Raynal, a distinguished Frenchman, who wrote a few years after the Declaration of Indepen- dence had been signed. He said : " With what grandeur, with what enthusiasm, should I not speak of those generous men who erected this grand editice, by their patience, their wisdom, and their courage!
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Hancock, Franklin, and the two Adamses, were the greatest actors ix this affecting scene; but they were not the only ones. Posterity shall know them all. Their honored names shall be transmitted to it by a happier pen than mine. Brass and marble shall show them to remotest ages. In beholding them, shall the friend of freedom feel his heart palpitate with joy ; feel his eyes float in delirious tears. Under the bust of one of them has been written-' He wrested thunder from heaven and the sceptre from tyrants.' Of the last words of this eulogy shall all of them partake. Heroic country, my advanced age permits me not to visit thee. Never shall I see myself among the respectable personages of thy Areopagus; never shall I be present at the deliberations of thy Congress. I shall die with- out seeing the retreat of toleration, of manners, of laws, of virtue, and of freedom. My ashes shall not be covered by a free and holy earth; but I shall have desired it; and my last breath shall bear to heaven an ejaculation for thy posterity." Thus do these historical incidents rush to our memory, while stand- ing in Independence Hall. Few places there are sufficiently impressive to remind us of their associa- tions, but
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