History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 124

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
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USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 124

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The old academic edifice was a plain two-story brick building, with four windows and a door in the first story and five windows in the second story, at both front and back sides. There were no windows in the gable ends. There were an entrance and four rooms below stairs, and a small and two large rooms above stairs that opened into one another. The rooms below were intended for a family, the small room above stairs for the private room or study of the preceptor. One large room above stairs was used for the school-room of the girls, and the other for that of the boys. In the old academy, although they had but one instructor, the boys and girls were kept care- fully separated. They had not only different rooms, but different play-grounds and different times of in- termission.

The act of incorporation required the dead lan- guages and the mathematics to be taught in the academy, in addition to the ordinary parts of an English education. To this course of instruction some of the preceptors added the French language.

Such, as far as we have been able to learn, were | The classical books used were the same as now used,

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but the editors were different. Instead of Anthon's books they used Clarke's Cesar and the in urum Del- phini editions of the classics. The English books were altogether different from those now used. The present books are more diffuse and minute in impart- ing information. Their object is evidently to simplify the acquisition of knowledge.

Among the first teachers in the academy were Jon- athan Findlay, Charles Lucas, and Thomas Will. Findlay was a brother of William Findlay, once Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania, and an uncle of James Find- lay, Esq., an able and learned lawyer of the Greens- burg and Pittsburgh bars. These were succeeded by James Jones, Samuel Sherwell, Farnsworth, Lathrop, Ames, Woodend, and Moore. In July, 1850, the old academy was burned to the ground. It is not known whether it caught fire by accident, was set on fire by s barbarian incendiary, or was consumed by a kind of spontaneous combustion from the excessive heat of the flames in the lamp of science.

Some of the instructors in the old academy were men of natural ability and good education. Thomas Will had graduated with honor at St. Andrew's in Scotland, and James Jones had done the same at St. Omer's in France. Sherwell was one of the best and most accurate English scholars in the United States. Azer Lathrop, Farnsworth, and Ames were natives of New England, and graduates of her best colleges. Ames afterwards became a bishop in the Methodist Church. He was a good scholar and a good teacher, although it must be confessed that there were some imputations against his morals, and he is yet remem- bered as leading in several disreputable -marauding expeditions by night, and particularly on one occa- sion wherein the outsiders took possession of an old building in which was being held a negro revival.

The alumni of the old Greensburg Academy reflect honor on their alma mater. Among those who re- ceived a great part or all of their education at the Greensburg Academy were Henry D. Foster, Thomas Williams, of Pittsburgh ; James Reed, of Gettysburg ; Edgar Cowan, Augustus Drum, J. M. Burrell, Wil- liam F. Johnston, Albert G. Marchand, Capt. Alex- ander Montgomery, U.S.A., J. Herron Foster, Peter C. Shannon, all distinguished citizens, and many others who have gained fame and fortune at the press and the bar, in the pulpit and in the field, and in all the higher walks of professional or active life.

After the burning of the old academic building there was no place for education at Greensburg, ex- cept the common schools, for more than ten years. In the spring of 1862 the directors of the public schools in Greensburg made a contract with the trus- tees of the burnt academy for the transfer of the ground and funds of the extinct institution to them. The transfer was made in accordance with the pro- visions of two acts of Assembly. The one was a gen- eral act, which provided for the transfer of public places of education on certain contingencies, and the

other was a special act passed for this occasion and this object. The ground belonging to the old acad- emy consisted of several acres, on which it had been situated, and the funds consisted of the principal and proceeds of the donations to it, which had been in- vested in bank stock. It was made an essential con- dition of the transfer that scholars resident outside of the district of Greensburg should be received into the schools about to be established on the site of the old academy on the payment of certain proportionate sums according to the grade of the schools. Another condition was that a place and facilities should be always afforded in the building about to be erected for an academic department.

After the transfer had been completed, a contract was made, in June, 1862, with two skillful artists for the erection of a suitable edifice for both schools and academy. The building was finished in 1863, and four schools or departments were opened for the education of the youth of both sexes. In 1864 there were five schools opened, and 1865 saw six departments in full operation under the care of the same number of in- structors.

The new academic building stands on the site of the former house. It faces to the west. Its dimen- sions are large, and its appearance quite imposing. Its length is between eighty and ninety feet. Its width is about sixty feet. The edifice has a flight of stone steps and a handsome porch on the west side, leading to a pair of double doors with a small vestibule between them. These open into a wide and lofty entry, with two large rooms on each side. The four rooms in the first, story are occupied by the first four departments. In the second story are two rooms as large as those below stairs, a small room over the porch at the entrance, and a capacious, well- lighted hall. The two rooms are occupied by two re- maining departments. The small room contains the library and philosophical apparatus, and the hall is intended for examinations, exhibitions, and lectures. It is a fine room, being about sixty by thirty feet. The ceiling is lofty, and the room receives light from ten windows. The laws of phonetics have been carefully observed in its construction, and a sound not above a whisper is audible in every part of it. In regard to light and ventilation, the new building is said to be far superior to the old one, and inferior to no structure in the country. There are large double doors at the east and west entrances, with porch and steps, and a large door and entrance on the southern side with covered stoop and steps. There is a large and well-aired basement, one part of which is used for wood and coal, and the other is occupied by a family, whose duty it is to cleanse the rooms and out- buildings, and take care of the plot, the house, and its appurtenances. There is a comfortable and ex- tensive attic, and the whole is surmounted by a turret, which overlooks the country for miles around, and in which is hung a splendid fine-toned bell, whose musi-

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cal notes can be heard all over the built-up portion of the town and its suburbs.

The situation of the building is as salubrious as it is delightful. It stands on the highest ground for miles around it, and so has the benefit of all the airs of heaven. On the western side it overlooks a scope of hilly but highly cultivated country, interspersed with handsome houses, gardens, groves, and orchards. On the south the view extends over Greensburg to a fine stretch of undulating corn and meadow land until it is obstructed by the hills rising at the dis- tance of several miles below town, or the curling smoke that lies over the constantly glowing craters of coke ovens. On the east the prospect reaches to Chestnut Ridge and Whortleberry Hills. Just below the building it presents to the eye a most attractive and beautiful landscape. In the summer, when the air is mellowed with a delicate haze, it is a dreamy and delicious vision ; and it has been said by one who saw with the eye of a poet or landscape-painter that all that is wanting to make its beauty perfect is the sparkling flow of a lucid, silvery stream of water.

The plot belonging to the academy is covered with grass and ornamented with shrubbery, and its borders are surrounded with silver-maples and horse-chest- nuts. The outbuildings are large, clean, and conven- ient. There is a cistern of soft water, and also a well of excellent limestone water, within twenty paces of the house. The academy contains a small but well- selected library, intended for the use of the scholars, and a philosophical apparatus. This consists of an orrery, tellurium, globes, telescope, microscope, mag- netic needle, magnet and wheel, pyrometer, kaleido- scope, and Claude Lorraine glass. For the use of the schools a variety of maps and charts is supplied for the purpose of teaching and illustrating painting, zoology, geography, anatomy, and astronomy. The rooms are furnished with all kinds of conveniences and facilities for study and learning, such as benches and desks, with places for books, blackboards, and maps along the walls, bells to summon the scholars, clocks to tell the hour, and thermometers to regulate the temperature.

The original cost of the building was $11,500. The cost of the furniture was $1000. The cost of the phil- osophical apparatus has been upwards of $250. The shrubbery and other improvements of the ground cost more than $500. There is now a broad brick pave- ment from the town past the academy grounds, and from the gate to the front steps of the building.

The board of directors has drawn up, adopted, and caused to be published in pamphlet form a system of instruction and rules for the government of their public schools. The course of study is all laid down, and the duties of teachers and pupils are enjoined in a clear and forcible manner. Some of these rules de- serve commendation for the good sense, respect for the community, and sound morality exhibited in them. By section eight of chapter three teachers are

enjoined to use such corporeal punishment as would be exercised by a parent in his family. By section thirteenth teachers are required to prevent, both in school and out of school, all improper games, quar- rels, vulgar and profane language, and all disrespect to citizens and strangers. By section twenty-sixth the morning duties of each department shall com- mence with reading a portion of the Holy Scriptures and repeating the Lord's Prayer. By section second of chapter fourth pupils are forbidden to throw stones, cut or chalk fences, or use obscene or profane language under penalty of suspension and expulsion. By section tenth pupils are forbidden to eat fruit or sweetmeats in the school-rooms, and the use of tobacco in any shape is prohibited, not only in the house but on the premises. By section fifteenth any pupil guilty of flagrant misconduct, or whose example is pernicious, can be suspended by the principal and expelled by the board. By one of the rules uniform report cards must be furnished to the teachers, and these cards must be filled by them every week, so as to indicate the attendance, recitations, and con- duct of the pupils. These reports are taken home every Monday by the pupils, and if not returned the next day with the signature of the parents or guar- dians, the pupil who makes no proper return may be excluded from his place in the schools.

THE GREAT FIRE OF 1858. .

About two o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 21st of September, 1858, a fire broke out in a stable of Jeremiah Gilchrist on a lot back of his res- idence, in the lower part of the square upon which is now the Masonic building, and before it could be checked or got under control destroyed that whole portion of the square and the residence of John M. Loor, in which was the post-office, on the corner diag- onally to the Kuhns Block. The loss was estimated at $30,000, which, considering the enhanced value of real estate in town now, was at that time regarded, as it really was, of great magnitude. Much personal property was either lost by the fire or was stolen. For a long time it was doubtful whether the town could be saved, but after three hours' hard work on the part of the firemen and the citizens generally the fire was checked.

The ground remained long after vacant, and pre- sented a desolate appearance with its débris exposed. At length the first building erected in the "burnt district" was a small building used for a tailoring- shop, and the next, Gen. Foster's law-office. At length the ground changed hands, and now the finest build- ings and the most costly cover the site of that former eye-sore and add greatly to the wealth and architectu- ral beauty of the town.

FIRE AT ROBINSON CORNER.

On Sunday morning, 10th of October, 1875, the old Robinson Corner, as it was called,-that is, the corner

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now occupied by the Baughman building,-took fire and in a short time was entirely consumed. At the time of its destruction it was occupied on the first floor by William Robinson & Co., dealers in general merchandise, and by his son, dealer in grocery and queensware. The second floor was divided into three apartments, occupied respectively by J. M. Carpenter as a law-ofice and Joseph Greer as a justice's office, by Robert Black as a tailor-shop, and by 8. Weiner, dyer and scourer. The occupants lost everything they had in the building. The fire was combatted with great energy, the two fire companies being on the ground shortly after the first alarm. The fire was checked on reaching the Baughman brick store building, adjoining the burning buildings on the north side of Main Street. This building being much loftier than those burning, having a solid wall of brick, against which the flames were powerless, and protected by galvanized iron cornices, lintels, and roofing, the flames on reaching it were fortunately controlled.

GROWTH AND PROSPERITY.

But shortly after the close of the late war an unpre- cedented demand for houses and building lots sprang up in all the business towns of the country, and Grecosburg shared in this. The causes for this de- mand appeared to be a ceaselees torrent of foreign immigration, a rapid increase of native population, and a much larger influx than theretofore of the in- habitants of the country into our cities and towns. The reasons that of late years so strongly impel the people of the rural districts to change their locations for the more crowded life of the towns are alleged to be the revolutions in trade and employment induced by railroads, the high price of mechanical and other labor, the money made during the war, the segrega- tion of wealth, and the great temptation for men of substance to abandon agricultural toils, invest their property in the public funds, and live at more leisure, where they have more of the conveniences of civil- ization and greater opportunities for enjoying social life.

The present want of tenement-houses began to be noticed about this time, and more than one article appeared in the town papers in which the demand for houses was set forth and the want of a due sense of public enterprise on the part of the property-hold- ers of the town reprehended. In the spring of 1866 in one of these papers appears, in a lengthy and sen- sible article on this subject, the following extract :

" While other towns endeavor to increase their wealth and numbers by all kinds of inducements, Greensburg seems to be destitute of that cpecies of public spirit which rejoices in the prosperity and takes pride in the growth of a community.

"On nearly every street in town there are good vacant sites for houses, or old buildings that are neelces, unsightly, and unprofitable. On these vacant spaces neat and comfortable buildings ought to be erected, aud the old rotten buildings should be replaced by others fit for the habita- tion of respectable people. On Main, Pittsburgh, and Ottoman Streets there are capital vacant sites for the erection of good houses. All the caviross of the town sbound with places to bandsome, pleaseut, and

convenient for dwelling-benese that almost any other community would at once appreciate them and convert them into homes for happy families."

MARKET-HOUSES.

Of the public buildings of the early Greensburg not the least conspicuous was the market-house. A market-house was regarded as an indispensable public building in the old colonial towns, and a visible indi- cation of a county town. The market-house stood on the corner of the public square and on part of the ground now occupied by the court-house. It was built of brick.

la s mantecript book belonging to the burgesses and Council of the borough, which is called "Laws of Greensbarg," and which, besides containing come of the carly ordinances of the corporation, also contains the minutes of their proceedings, we find the follow- ing insertions about the beginning of the present century :

"To amount of expenditures ca the market-bones, as por contrast wich Nathan Williams (eso his account), Soda.

"Oct. 30, 1991. To paring the merket-house and gravelling in fest with stone, as por order of the burgeres to Both. Stewart for that our-

" To posting the market-beurs, as por order of the Burgerses in forver " To taking cut stampa, streets. and alleys, co per order in favour of James MeLaughlin, R.JO."

The new market-house was opened on Tuesday morning, April 3, 1860. Visitors were much grati- fied with the neatnees, the cleanliness of its stalls, and the systematic order in which all the arrange- ments had been made. The stalls were occupied by Messrs. Bierer, Landis, and Shearer. On that occa- sion Mr. Landis made his first appearance as a butcher in the town, and his beef was the subject of com- mendation. It was, however, said that the first meat was sold by Frank Shearer, and that C. H. Stark, coach- and carriage-maker, was the purchaser. Wil- liam Cline was appointed market clerk.

PUBLIC HALLS.

Mrs. Armstrong was the proprietor of the Dublin Hotel, where were held the Fourth of July celebra- tions and dancing-schools, at about the date of 1812. In the Register of June 11, 1812, appears the fol- lowing notice:

LAST NIGHT BUT ONE. THEATRE.

At the Dublin Hotel, Greensburg, on Friday evening, June 12, 1812, will be presented a much admired comedy, called The Prize; or 2,5,3,8. Between the comedy and farce recitation,

" Mary, the Maid of the Inn," written by Southey, by Mra. Turner. Comic Song,-" Thimble's scolding wife lay deed," by Mr. Williams. To which will be added a celebrated Comic Opera, called " The Wag of Windsor; or Man of All Trades."

* For particulars see bills.

A more advanced step had been made in the his- trionic profession, or rather in the appreciation of the legitimate drama, in 1824, as will be seen in the fol- lowing announcement of May 7th of that year :

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THEATRE

Meters. Laces, Davis & faith will perform the tragedy of Richard ILL. and the force of " Sylvester Daggerused, or the Med Danstable Actor," sad ding several comic songs, at Mr. Singer's Hotel. This evening, to commence at & o'clock preciesly.

In the carly part of 1870 the house which had been erected by the burgesses for a market-house was pur- chased from them by Maj. Israel Uncapher, and by him converted into a public hall adapted to the use of public meetings, concerts, dramatic entertain- ments, and so forth. The innovation was hailed with the liveliest expressions of satisfaction by the people of the town.1 In May it was ready for occu- pancy, and during the second week of that month a company of traveling artists, called the "France & Lannier Combination," played to crowded houses. They put upon the boards " Lucretia Borgia," " East Lynne," and " Under the Gaslight."

In the alteration made in the building the interior arrangement had been entirely remodeled. A stage, with appropriate curtains, scenery, footlights, wings, and boxes, had been erected. The dressing-rooms were underneath the stage. The walls were papered, the ceilings painted, and three tasty chandeliers appended. The auditorium was capable of seating about four hun- dred people conveniently and comfortably, and the entire arrangement of the seats was such that a good view of the stage could be had from every part of it.

The opening of the hall was attended with success. Under the personal management and scrutiny of Maj. Uncapher, who regulated his conduct with mil- itary strictness, the best of order was preserved at all public entertainments given in the hall while he was manager. The pleasing feature of the good order maintained at the opening performances was publicly commented on. It was said that before that the pub- lic performances given in the town had been con- stantiy annoyed and disturbed by the pack of unruly and unwashed urchins that nightly infested the streets from dark to bedtime, who set everybody at defiance, and yelled and whistled and howled unre- strained. Until that time it had scarcely been re- garded possible to keep order at any stage perform- ance.

GAS-WORKS.

A new era in the progress of the town was the erection of the gas-works, which were commenced in September, 1858, and completed about the last of the next December. The lot upon which they were erected was purchased from Henry Welty, and had a front of one hundred and twenty-five feet on the turn- pike, running back about two hundred and twenty- five feet to the south of the railroad. The works consist of e building sixty feet by twenty-five. feet, built of brick with a slate roof, and divided into three rooms as distinctly separate as if they were three houses. The first contains the retorts,-two benches

of five retorts each. The middle room contains the station meter, capable of registering one hundred thousand feet of gas. The third room contains the purifying boxes. There are four courses of metal sieves in each box, upon which lime is placed and the gas made to percolate up through it, this. com- pleting the process of manufacturing. The gas- holder is thirty feet in diameter, fourteen feet high, and of a capacity of ten thousand cubic feet of gas.

CEMETERIES.

The largest and most beautiful of the burial-grounds of Greensburg lies adjacent to the northeastern sub- urbs of the town, and is at present denominated the St. Clair Cemetery. In former times a portion of this cemetery was commonly called the Presbyterian graveyard, but was properly and legally known as the Borough burial-ground. The borough obtained its title to the ground by a deed of donation from William Jack (usually called old Judge Jack) " to the Burgesses and inhabitants" of Greensburg. The deed was dated 18th of April, 1803, and was entered on pages 107 and 108 of Deed Book No. 7 of the records of Westmoreland. After a description of the bounds and quantity of ground conveyed, being one hundred and thirty-one perches, the deed recites the object of the grant in the following words :

"To have and to hold the maid described lot to the Burgesses and in- habitants to and for the use of them and their successors forever, to erect thereon, as soon as convenient, . house for the public worship of Al- mighty God, the administration of the Sacraments of the Christian ro- Ligion, and preaching from the svend Seriptares of truth, not love thea sixty feet square to be set apart on a site on the southwesterly part of the said lot for the said house of worship and ground adjoining, and the ross- due of the maid lot for a place of burial of the dead"

Another piece of ground adjacent was donated by Judge Jack to the borough to have and to hold for purposes of education.

The Presbyterians, with the consent of the other inhabitants, erected upon the first-mentioned plot a meeting-house, and so the burial-ground received the name of the Presbyterian graveyard. The old burial- ground lay upon an open common, and where the graves were not inclosed by walls or railing, or where these had fallen or were broken down, they were trodden on by the cattle and swine of the town and neighborhood. The erection of a new Presbyterian meeting-house on ground belonging to that congre- gation south of the town, and the making of the Central Railroad just on the northern limit of the graveyard, caused it to fall into a very bad condition of decay, neglect, and detriment, and led to the for- mation of an association of citizens, who, with es- timable sensibility and public spirit, desired to have such a cemetery near Greensburg as would evince a decent respect for the memory of the dead, and at the same time embellish the environs of the borough and gracefully as well as fully provide for the last sad necessities of an increasing population.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 124

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: