History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 36

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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996

HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

Head, Front Street, by Elizabeth Gant; Red Lion, Second Street, by Jacob Magg ; City of Philadelphia, Society Hill, by George Leadbeater; Stars, Elbow Lane, by Thomas Rogers; Jolly Post Boy, near Frankford; Ship "Hero," Front Street, by Widow Malaby ; Bunch of Grapes, formerly Bull's Head, Third, below Arch, by Josiah Davenport; Horse and Dray, Passyunk road, half mile from the city, after- ward Whittington and Cat ; Upper Ferry, Ashton's ; King of Prussia, near the market, Germantown ; Wagon, Race Street, opposite Moravian Alley, by Ball, Elbow Lane, near Third Street; Boatswain Hall, Front Street, between Walnut and Spruce; Bull's Head, by John Evans, Strawberry Alley ; Dr. Franklin, by John Fiegele, corner of Race and Second Streets; Bear, Second Street, between Race and Vine; Black Horse, by John Fritz, Second Street, between Vine and Callowhill; the Rose, by Mrs. Fourrage, Race Street, between Fifth and Sixth ; Sportsman, by Charles Gordon, Water Street, between Walnut and Spruce; Red Lion, by David Gordon, Race Street, between Fourth and Fifth ; Leopard, Yost Eberth; Seven Stars, Second, near Arch, by | Spruce Street, between Third and Fourth; General Diedrick Rees; Admiral Keppele, between the Swedes' Church and the fort, fronting the river ; Cross Keys, Chestnut Street, by Joseph Ogden ; Buffalo, Race Street ; White Horse, Elbow Lane, by John Cowpland; Pennsylvania Farmer, by Charles Dilworth ; Indian Queen, Fourth, between Market and Chestnut, by John Little; Marquis of Granby, Market Street, next door to Presbyterian meeting- house; Golden Swan, Third, above Arch; Pennsyl- vania Farmer, near the new market, by Samuel Chesnut; Gen. Wolfe, Southwark ; Anvil and Double Cross Keys, by Benjamin Armitage, corner Fourth and Chestnut ; Vauxhall, on the agreeable banks of the Schuylkill, at Passyunk, by Thomas Mullan, for- merly of the Tun, on Water Street; Blue Bell, King- sessing, by Samuel Smith ; Drove of Cattle, upper end of Race Street, by Lewis Saisengen ; Sign of Dr. Franklin, southwest corner of Walnut and Fifth, by William Hornby ; Huntsman and Hounds, old York road, Abington, by John Webb; Jolly Post, South- wark; Rose, Third and Arch, by Ludwick Kuhn ; Fort, Society Hill, by John Thomas; Queen of Hun- gary, by James Gilchrist; Cheesecake House, Fourth Street ; Masons' Arms, Walnut Street ; Roebuck, Ger- mantown ; Conestoga Wagon, Market Street ; Globe, south side of South Street, near the new hospital, by Clayton Biddle; King of Denmark, Second Street; Britannia, Walnut, near Front, by Ann Jones; Foun- tain, Market Street, by Mary Biddle; The Row Gal- ley, Front Street ; Green Tree, Race, between Second and Third; Prince of Orange, Second Street; Albe- marle, Northern Liberties, by Caspar Stawl; Gen. Wolfe, upper end of Front Street, by Godfrey Lon- berger.

Washington, Front Street, between Arch and Race; King of Prussia, by Michael Hay, Race Street, between Third and Fourth; Butchers' Arms, by Edward Handle, New Market Street, above Callow- hill; the Salute, by William Hood, Third Street, between Chestnut and Walnut; American Soldier, South Alley, between Fifth and Sixth Streets; Red Cow, Water Street, between Race and Vine; Blue Ball, corner of Sixth and Market Streets; Samson and Lion, by John Eisenbrey, corner of Vine and Crown Streets ; Cross Keys, by Israel Israel, Third and Chestnut Streets ; Green Tree, by Andrew Kesler, Third Street, between Arch and Race ; Plow, Market Street, between Seventh and Eighth ; Seven Stars, by Charles Kugler, Fourth and Race Streets; Buck, Michael Kraft, Second Street, between Race and Vine ; Golden Fleece, by Luke Ludwig, corner of Fourth and Lombard Streets; Harp and Crown, Front Street, between Market and Chestnut; Foun- tain, by James Mccutcheon, Second and Lombard Streets; Seven Stars, by John Mckinley, Fourth and Chestnut Streets ; Jolly Sailor, by Robert Moffett, Second and Lombard Streets; Mermaid, Second Street, between Pine and Lombard; Rose, South Street, be- tween Fourth and Fifth ; Noah's Ark, by Ingellert Minzer, Second Street, between Vine and Callowhill ; Jolly Sailor, Eighth Street, between Chestnut and Walnut; White Horse, Market Street, between Sixth and Seventh ; General Washington (Jacob Mytinger), Vine Street, above Second; Conestoga Wagon (Samuel Nicholas), Market Street, above Fourth ; King of Po- land (Philip Oellers), Vine Street, between Fifth and Sixth; Lamb (Francis Oskullion), Second Street, below Lombard ; Seven Stars, Market Street, between Front and Second ; Dragon and Horse, Walnut Street, between Front and Second ; Green Tree, Water Street, between Race and Vine; Indian King (Mrs. Sidney Paul), Market Street, between Second and Third ; Heu and Chickens (Valentine Pegan), Spruce Street, between Front and Second; Louis the Sixteenth, (Sarah Potts), Vine Street, between Seventh and Eighth ; Ship, Water Street, near Chestnut; Kouli Khan, Chestnut and Front Streets; Horse and Groom, Sixth Street, between Market and Chestnut ; Bunch of Grapes (John Razer), Third Street, above Market; General Wayne (Tobias Rudolph), Penn

The following were in existence in 1785: The Struggler, by Edmund Conner, Water Street, between Spruce and l'ine; Cork Arms, by John Conner, Water Street, below Walnut; Black Horse, by Isaac Connelly, Market Street, between Fourth and Fifth ; Plow, by Matthew Conrad, Third Street, above Market; Cordwainers' Arms, by James Culbertson, | South Street, between Fifth and Sixth ; Three Tuns Walnut Street, below Second; Harp and Crown, by William Carson, Third Street, above Market; Dusty Miller and White Horse, by John Clemens, Chestnut Street, above Seeond ; Strap and Block, hy Cook Lawrence, Arch Street wharf; Saint George, southwest corner of Second and Arch Streets; Blue

997

INNS, TAVERNS, ORDINARIES, COFFEE-HOUSES, AND HOTELS.

and Pine Streets; Harp and Crook, Water Street, near Spruce ; Rising Sun (Sarah Stimble), Market Street, above Front; Kouli Khan (Robert Stephens), Chestnut Street, below Second; Horse and Groom, Strawberry Alley; Jolly Tar (John Stafford), Water Street, below Race ; White Horse, Second Street, between Vine and Callowhill; Moon and Stars (Mary Switzer), Second Street, above Vine; Eagle, Fifth Street, above Race; Organ (William Shedecker), Spruce Street, above Fourth; White Horse, Straw- berry Alley ; Three Jolly Irishmen, Water and Race Streets ; Cross Keys, Race Street, between Sixtli and Seventh; Darby Ram, Church Alley; United States, Water Street, near Spruce; Indian Queen, Fourth Street, below Market; Rising Sun (Samuel Titmus) ; Wilkes and Liberty, Market Street wharf ; Boar's Head, Elbow Lane; Cumberland, Front Street, near Poole's bridge ; Turk's Head ( Adam Weaver), Chest- nut Street, above Second; Eagle (George Weiss), Third Street, between Race and Vine; Fox and Leopard, Pine and Penn Streets ; Cross Keys, Water Street, between Market and Arch ; Buck (George Yoe), Callowhill Street, between Second and Third.

The following are of later date: The Taking of Major André, Second Street, above Tammany ; the Seven Stars, Fourth Street, above Race ; William Tell, Race Street, above Twelfth; General Warren, Sixth Street, below Pine; the Constitution and Guerrière and Landing of Columbus, both on South Third Street; General Lafayette, Thirteenth and Callowhill Streets ; Cross Keys, Fourth Street, above Market ; the Indian Queen, below Market on Fourth Street ; Bust of Columbus, Chestnut Street, below Seventh, on Co- lumbia House ; Robert Fulton, Water Street and Chestnut ; Delaware House, sign of ship at sea, oppo- site Robert Fulton, on Chestnut Street ; Pennsylvania Farmer, Race Street, above Fourth ; White Swan, Race Street, below Fourth; Golden Swan, Third Street, above Arch ; Penn's Treaty, at the monument ground, Kensington ; The Hornet and Peacock, an old frame building next to St. George's Church, Fourth Street ; Bull's Ilead, Third Street, above Callowhill, east side ; Black Bear, Front Street, west side, near Callowhill; Commodore Porter, Callowhill Street, below Second, east side ; and First Ward Northern Liberties Hotel adjoining ; Penn Township Guard, corner Willow Street and Ridge road; sign of Second Company of Fencibles, southeast corner of Third and Coates Streets ; iron sign, Third Street, below Coates, east side ; Franklin, Third Street, above Buttonwood, east side; Wagon and Horses, now Military Hall, Third Street, near Green. Later still we have Governor Simon Snyder, northeast corner of Crown and Cal- lowhill Streets; Cross Keys, southwest corner of Race and Ninth Streets; Wounded Tar, north side of Vine Street, above Eighth ; Bald Eagle, west side of Third Street, above Callowhill ; Tiger Hunt, north side of Vine Street, below Fourth ; Lion, west side of Second Street, below Noble; Girard Bank and Surroundings,

west side of Dock Street, below Third (McGowan's) ; Simon Bolivar, north side of Chestnut Street, above Sixth (full length) ; the White Horse, Market Street, above Thirteenth, in front of the Tivoli Circus; the Sorrel Horse, Market Street, below Thirteenth ; the Golden Horse, Market Street, below Twelfth; the Plow, Third Street, opposite Church Alley ; General Montgomery, Sixth Street, near South ; General Brown, kept by Simpson, northeast corner of Fifth and Buttouwood Streets; the Three Tuns (three wooden barrels strung crossways on an iron rod), Vine Street, below Eighth, where the church now stands; Eclipse and Sir Henry, Broad Street and Centre Square, where the Tabernacle Presbyterian church now stands; Constitution and Guerrière, kept by William Herlick, afterward famous as a militia-fine collector; Samson and the Lion, southwest corner of Vine and Crown Streets; the Bull's Head, said to have been painted by Benjamin West, Strawberry Street; Washington, Lafayette, and Franklin, a slatted sign, Chestnut Street, opposite the old Chest- nut Street Theatre, above Sixth Street, afterward Second Street, below Lombard ; the Seven Presidents, Coates Street, above Ninth; the Volunteer ( Vans- tavoren), Race Street, opposite Franklin Square ; Robert Fulton, northeast corner of Front and Chest- nut Streets ; Kouli Khan, northwest corner of Chest- nut and Front Streets; Coat of Arms of the States of the Union, Callowhill Street, below Second ; Top- gallant (Hammitt), Cherry Street and Bryant's Court ; Bird Pecking at Grapes, southwest corner of Third and Chestnut Streets, in the basement ; Patrick Lyon, Sixth Street, below Race; Sheaff, Second Street, between Race and Vine; Barley Sheaff, Fourth Street, below Vine; General Wash- ington (Von Buskirk), Market Street, south side, between Seventh and Eighth Streets.

Philadelphia at the present time (1884) can boast of some of the finest hotels in the country. The Con- tinental Hotel, located at the southeast corner of Chestnut and Ninth Streets, occupies the site of two famous buildings,-the old Philadelphia Museum, which occupied the southern portion of the lot on Sansom Street, and the Cooke Equestrian Circus Com- pany, which occupied that portion of the lot fronting Chestnut Street. The circus was opened to the public Aug. 28, 1837. The building subsequently became the National Theatre, under the management of Wil- liam E. Burton. Messrs. Welch & Lent and Ray- mond & Waring occupied the theatre building for some years as an amphitheatre. The museum and circus were both destroyed by fire, with much adjoin- ing property. on July 5, 1854. About 1858 the lot was secured by the Continental Hotel Company, and the hotel opened for the reception of guests Feb. 16, 1860. The building is six stories in height on Chest- nut and Ninth Streets, and eight stories in the rear on Sansom Street, and covers forty-one thousand five hundred and thirty-six feet of ground. The principal

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

story is supported by ornamented cast-iron piers ; the first floor level with the street, which is used by the hotel, occupies twenty-four thousand six hun- dred and twenty feet of the whole area. The total number of rooms in the Continental is about seven hundred, with accommodations for about twelve hun- dred guests. The Continental Hotel Company is under the management of the following directors : Daniel Haddock, John Baird, John Hunter, Charles

Ninth ; the St. Cloud, on Areh Street, above Seventh ; the Bingham, on the corner of Market and Eleventh Streets ; the Merchants', on North Fourth Street (this hotel was the largest in the city in 1837, when it was first opened) ; the American, Chestnut Street, between Fifth and Sixth; St. Stephen's, Chestnut Street, between Tenth and Eleventh; the Washing- ton, Chestnnt Street near Seventh, and Grand Cen- tral, Market Street.

THE CONTINENTAL HOTEL, J. E. Kingsley & Co., Chestnut Street, corner of Ninth.

Reed, and Mr. Seltzer. J. E. Kingsley is the sole lessee. His son E. F. Kingsley and H. S. Brown are associated with him in the management of the hotel.

The Girard House, directly opposite the Continen- tal, on the north side of Chestnut Street, has accom- modations for about one thousand guests. It occu- pies the site of the Fisher and Leaming mansions. It was built by Messrs. George W. and J. G. Edwards, in

1851, and opened in the following year. The architect , powder began to make some impression upon the was John MeArthur, Jr., who also designed the Con- tinental and the La Pierre House.

The La Pierre, or Lafayette Ilotel, located on the west side of Broad Street, between Chestnut and San- som Streets, was also originally built by George W. and J. G. Edwards. It was opened for guests in Oc- tober, 1853, and was greatly enlarged and improved in 1883.

Among the other hotels of the city we have the Colonnade, southwest corner of Chestnut and Fif- teenth Street; the Irving, on Walnut Street, above

CHAPTER XXXI.

MILITARY.

POWDER-HOUSES AND MAGAZINES-BARRACKS-ARSENALS -ARMORIES AND FORTS.

Powder-Houses and Magazines .- The danger which might result from the careless storage of gun- minds of the people about the year 1724. For three or four years previously legislation was sought for the purpose of reducing the danger of loss of property by fire. An act to prohibit the breaming of any vessel in any dock in the city with hot pitch, tar, etc., except at sneh places as should be appointed for that service by the city corporation, was passed in 1721. The keeping of fire on board of vessels, candles excepted, when lying in port after eight o'clock in the evening was prohibited, except upon permission by the mayor in case of sickness or extraordinary occasion. The

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MILITARY.

old practice of cleansing city chimneys by setting fire to them and burning them out at the top, by which not only the house in which the practice occurred, but others in the neighborhood, were in danger, was prohibited under fine. Also the firing of squibs, ser- pents, rockets, and other fire-works in the city with- out the Governor's special license. In 1725 petitions were presented to the Assembly calling attention to the necessity of having a magazine for the storing of gunpowder. That dangerous article was frequently kept in stores and houses by merchants and others. Such of them as were very careful frequently placed it on board of vessels lying upon the water. But as sailors were generally reckless, there was danger in that practice. In consequence of these represen- tations an act of Assembly passed on the 24th of Au- gust, 1725, which, after stating in the preamble the necessity of the establishment of some suitable maga- zine for the storage of gunpowder, recited that Wil- liam Chancellor, sailmaker, had been encouraged by some of the magistrates, merchants, and others "to build a suitable powder-house or store for the receipt of all the gunpowder which shall or may be imported into the said city on a piece of ground he lately pur- chased from Daniel Pegg, lying near the north end of the said city, adjoining to a swamp on the south side, and upon the king's high road upon the east end thereof." The location was north of Pegg's Run, south of the present Noble Street, west of the present Front Street, and east of the present New Market Street. The lot was on the west side of the king's high road to New York, and nearly on a line with a passage now called Emlen's Court, a portion of which was the old highway. It was in sufficient nearness to the river to allow the easy loading or unloading of the powder. Under the act Chancellor was appointed the keeper, upon the direction that he should build " a good, substantial, tight, and secure powder-house or store for gunpowder, of brick or stone, . . . to be well boarded and covered, and so fit and capacions as may reasonably be expected will contain all the gun- powder to be from time to time imported into the said city."

In consideration of these undertakings Chancellor was given authority to keep the magazine, he being accountable to the owners of the powder, " lightning and other unavoidable accidents excepted." At- tendance was necessary to be given daily at the powder-house between nine and eleven in the morn- ing, and one and three in the afternoon, and upon other occasions when necessary. The keeping of more than twelve pounds of gunpowder at any time within the city, or within two miles thereof, except at " the powder-store," was prohibited under penalty of ten pounds. Captains of vessels arriving in port were also obliged to deposit their powder with him upon arrival or coming to anchor. For his care Chancellor was allowed to charge for storage twelve pence per barrel per month, and proportional rates

for half-barrels and casks for the first six months, and sixpence per barrel and proportionately for smaller quantities after the first six months. For delivery, for twelve pounds or lesser quantity, sixpence above the storage. Penalties were denounced against the keeper of the powder-house for negligence. Under an act passed in 170I " for preventing accidents that may happen by fire in the towns of Bristol (formerly called Buckingham), Philadelphia, Germantown, Darby, Chester, New Castle, and Lewes within this gov- ernment," it had been declared that not more than six pounds of gunpowder should be kept in houses, shops, or warehouses, nnless it be forty perches dis- tant from any dwelling. This provision was repealed. The new act was directed to continue in force and effect for twenty-one years. The act of Assembly by which Chancellor was granted this power conferred the authority upon him, his executors and assigns. After the house was built Chancellor died, and this franchise remained in the family. Elizabeth Chan- cellor, daughter of William, petitioned the Assembly in 1746 for a renewal of the privilege. She stated that her father was dead, and there were no other means of supporting his orphan children except from the profits of the office. She asked that the right of keeping the powder-house should be renewed. In the mean while the district of the United States had increased in population, and the inhabitants con- sidered the continuance of the powder-house in their neighborhood detrimental to their interests. A pro- test to the Assembly against the renewal of the powder-house right to Miss Chancellor was sent. The remonstrants represented that if the magazine were removed many good tenements with wharves and stores would soon be begun; that a market-house would be established in the place laid ont for that purpose (at the intersection of Callowhill and New Market Streets) ; and that the prosperity of the neighborhood would be thereby insured. These re- monstrances prevented immediate action, but on the 8th of May, 1747, an act was passed in which the original grant to Chancellor was recited, and it was declared that Elizabeth Chancellor, acting executrix under the will of her father, on behalf of herself and her orphan brothers and sisters, should be entitled to all the perquisites, fees, and rewards secured by her father under the previous act, for one year, "and from thence until some future provision be made by act of Assembly, and no longer." Capt. William Hill was the deputy under William Chancellor and his daughter.

In June, 1748, there being considerable fear of the coming up the river of hostile privateers, it became a matter of prudence to guard the magazine. The Provincial Council, upon the rumor that there were three privateers in the river, took some action :

" Order'd, That the Keeper of the Powder llonse be sent for ; & being come and examined as to the condition of the Powder house & the number of men who had watch'd there & how many were necessary to guard it

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

as a watch ; it was order'd by the Board that the Windows chou'd be stopp'd up & that four or five Men shou'd be kept in Pay st four shillings per Day for a Guard."

In April, 1754, Dr. William Chancellor sent a peti- tion to the Assembly asking that the profits arising from the management of the powder-house should be continued to his two younger sisters and William Hill, who had hitherto been chiefly supported and maintained thereby. This petition was laid upon the table. The last act of the Assembly secured the right to Miss Chancellor until a new law was passed. As the Assembly did nothing in relation to Dr. Chan- cellor's petition on behalf of his younger sisters, the opinion became prevalent that the powder-house grant to the Chancellors had expired. The Contri- butionship Mutual Insurance Company (Hand-in- Hand), by petition, in 1760, stated that, in conse - qnence of the belief that the powder-house act was no longer in force, it was a common practice to store gunpowder among the buildings in the city, and to draw it through the streets without protection by cov- ering the casks, a practice very dangerous and the cause of much uneasiness to the people. Notwith - standing these representations, the Assembly made no enactment upon the subject. The magazine remained in use for the storage of gunpowder, although the placing of the material there was not compulsory, as formerly. In 1776, before the Decla - ration of Independence, gunpowder then had become so great a necessity that the building of powder-mills was encouraged.1

1 The following powder-mills were offered to be built under the patron- age of the Committee of Safety, who offered to lend each builder one hundred and fifty pounds on security, and to supply each mill with fifty tons of saltpetre per week. A premium of one hundred dollare was offered for the first mill put in operation, fifty dollars for the second, and thirty dollars for the third, and it was promised that these three mille first erected should have a preference during the year in contracts over the others. The following offers were made to the committee by the persons named, the situations proposed for the mills being also stated.

Dr. Robert Harris, on Valley Stream or Crum Creek, twenty five milee from the city.

George Luch, Stony Run, Philadelphia County, fifteen miles from the city.

George Lush, Mill Creek, Philadelphia County, ten miles from the city.

Heory Hubback (or Huber), Swamp Creek, Lower Milford, Bucks Co., on the Bethichem road, thirty-seven miles from the city.

John Flack, on a stream emptying into the Neshaminy, Buckingham, Bucks C .,, twenty-five miles from Philadelphia.

Thomas leimberger, near the Yellow Spring, Windsor township, Chester Co.

William Thompson, on the Neshaminy, Bucks County, twenty-twe miles from the city.

Dr. Vao Leer, of Gloucester County, N. J., proposition to turn a full- Ing-mill into a powder-mill.

Harris, lleimberger, and Lush built their mills, and received their loans. It is doubtful whether tho others did anything. In February the Assembly resolved that it was necessary to erect a powder-mill under rlirection of the Committee of Safety. Congress also ordered the erection of a Continental powder-mill. The Province of Pennsylvania paid for it. It was established on French Creek, Chester County. Proposals were published for the discovery of "sulphur ore." They brought reports of the discovery of the substance supposed to bo wanted near York, l'a. ; from Jacob Freee, ten miles from Elizabethtown, N. J. ; from Elias Boudinot, and also from Josoph Borden, at Bordentown.

Lewis Nicola, in March, 1776, prepared a plan of a powder-magazine. That which was in existence, he said, " was very unfit for the purpose for which it was erected. .. . As badly situated as possible in a low, swampy place, unprotected by a surrounding. wall or fence, and not secured from fire, accidental or de- signed, whereas magazines should as much as possi- ble be placed in dry. airy situations, so as to admit a free circulation and at the same time well guarded against fire." A description of the proper building for a magazine, with the drawing of a plan, was given. The walls were to be of a proper thickness, with con- trivances for free ventilation to keep the powder dry, the magazine to be vaulted and covered above the arch, with a roof leaving a space within. The whole to be surrounded by a brick wall, at the two diagonal corners of which were to be placed sentry-boxes, each of which would command a view of two sides of the magazine. "The most suitable place I know of near this city is a piece of waste ground on the west side of Fourth Street, opposite the barracks; this situation is airy and convenient for the security of the maga- zine, as sentries could be supplied from the Barrack Guard, which would save ye trouble and expence of a particular guard for the security of the Powder."

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 36

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992