USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > The courts of justice, bench & bar of Washington County, Pennsylvania > Part 10
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ACRES.
Pennsylvania Mining Company (Pittsburg Coal Co.) 42,156 Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company- 14,115 James W. Ellsworth 13,851
J. V. Thompson & Co. 13,588
Emmett Queen (Carnegie Co.) 12,715
John H. Jones 11,883
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DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1840.
ACRES.
D. E. Mitchell, Trustee "B"
6,392
National Mining Co.
4,826
Vesta Coal Company (Jones & Laughlin)
D. E. Mitchell, Trustee "A" 4,632
3,660
Ewing, Long & Co.
2,252
Midland Coal Company
2,056
H. O. Evans
1,562
J. A. Phillips & Co.
1,388
Cooper, Lackey & Co.
1,335
McCormick Coal Company
1,226
Charleroi Coal Company
1,210
Parke Brothers
1,156
James Neale.
998
Joseph E. Barnes
957
J. V. H. Cook & Sons
933
Washington and Lake Erie Gas Coal Company
829
Kirk, Wood & Co.
687
Shaner Coal Company
658
Carrie Furnace Company
622
Leonard, Sapper & Co.
519
Shoenberger Coal Company
376
Hickory Ridge Coal Company
371
John G. Pontafrack
319
Pittsburg Plate Glass Company
316
J. Piersoll
100
P. J. Forsythe
65
David Snee
59
And the districts in which these acres of coal had been sold, and the assessed values thereof, were as follows:
ACRES COAL.
ASSESSMENT.
Allen
28
$4,700
Amwell
3,685
73,700
Beallsville
463
18,520
Bentleysville
1,682
117,740
Carroll
4,927
594,555
Cecil
11,259
823,080
Chartiers
6,819
527,732
Centerville
5,525
525,500
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COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
ACRES COAL.
ASSESSMENT,
Canton
875
65,625
Deemston
3,659
230,560
Donegal
4,096
68,527
Ellsworth
369
36,900
East Bethlehem
2,201
197,580
East Pike Run
4,124
598,400
Fallowfield
8,351
611,300
Long Branch
482
72,300
Mt. Pleasant
4,680
345,375
North Strabane
13,064
982,794
Nottingham
8,863
640,385
Peters
8,693
643,334
Robinson
928
80,786
Somerset
11,911
833,770
South Strabane
853
63,070
Speers
78
7,800
Twilight
426
41,600
Union
4,092
335,700
West Pike Run
4,731
438,480
West Finley
16,121
195,372
West Bethlehem
13,486
386,651
Total
146,469
$9,261,836
The published list referred to contained a distribution of the holdings of the different coal-owners within the different townships; and the separate assessments so shown, though possibly to be reduced or increased in the final equalization or on appeals taken, are yet at least instructive.
QUESTION FOR THE FUTURE.
We place on record here a question puzzling to the minds of many thoughtful people of this day who have concluded to submit it for an answer to the great future: Will these immense corporate combinations, many of which, including the coal companies referred to, are now operating an extensive business in our county, become and remain a permanent bene- fit to the country at large, or sooner or later, and when, will they-go up in smoke?
--
"UP IN SMOKE."
[Half-tone by Bragdon, from photograph by Rothwell, of burning of 35,716 barrels of oil in tank of the Southwest Penn. Pipe Lines, at Meadow Lands Station, on May 30, 1893.]
VII. LAYING OF THE CORNER-STONE -CHANGES.
ON May 24, 1898, the plans having been approved, a con- tract was entered into by the county commissioners with William Miller & Sons, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for the erection and construction of a court-house and jail, "in all respects according to the plans and specifications prepared therefor," for the sum of $379,900; and on May 28th this contract received the approval of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and a record thereof was made at No. 205, May Term, 1898, of said court. Subsequently other con- tracts were entered into with Halpin, Kennedy & Co. for the plumbing work; with Maginn & Lewis for the heating and ventilating; with the Pennsylvania Construction Com- pany for steel furniture; with Philip McDonough for marble work; and with others for other portions - all which con- tracts were duly approved by the court.
Most of the work done under the general contract dur- ing the summer of 1898 and the following winter was done upon the new jail; but in the early spring of 1899 the work upon the court-house had so far advanced that it was de- termined to lay the corner-stone thereof at 2 o'clock P. M. of March 7, 1899.
At the hour appointed the members of the bar, and the citizens who had assembled to take part in the exercises or to observe the ceremonies, were driven by a heavy rain into the temporary court-room in the old Town Hall, where the addresses were delivered, Mr. James I. Brownson, chair- man of the committee of the Washington Bar Association, occupying the chair.
117
,
118
COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
Hon. J. F. Taylor, A. L. J., being introduced, said: THE HONORABLE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND FEL- LOW-CITIZENS:
The time is not yet here when we shall speak fitting words of praise for those engaged in rearing this splen- did masonry. When it shall be fashioned and finished into that beautiful temple of justice it is designed to be, then will a liberal-minded, liberal-handed citizenship of the county swell with pride and burst into dedicatory enco- miums for its projectors, designers, workmen, and builders.
According to a beautiful and somewhat touching custom observed by an enlightened people on such occasions as this, we are called for a short time from the field, the store, the shop, the desk, and the study, to witness the placing of this box containing evidences of the county's past history and of the progress of our own times; and upon almost the dawn of a new century, we of the old,
" Departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time."
From the climatic conditions of this spot, judging from the past, the material of which this structure is composed, the extent of its dimensions, and the solidity of our forms of government, it is within the range of probabilities that neither famine, flame, flood, sword, nor increase shall raze its walls until at least another century shall have rolled away. Then the hands of posterity shall hold, and their eyes rest upon, the contents of this box, which shall be sacred to them, and shall unfold to their admiring eyes and minds alert, from the beautiful penmanship of our school children, that we write, not in hieroglyphics, and build mounds, but in vertical lines, clear and legible, and build temples of justice; from the long list of churches and re-
119
LAYING OF THE CORNER-STONE.
ligious denominations, that we worship, not idols and the sun, but the only living and inspiring God; from the list of schools, colleges, and gymnasiums, factories and mills, stores and homes, that we are not Philippinos, but Greeks in learning and in the arts and manly sports. Then, pass- ing the whole in review, they shall say, "Truly, these, our ancestors, lived, loved, and labored for home, country, God, and truth."
On behalf of the honorable board of county commission- ers, and the committee from the bar, composing the com- mittee for this function whose chairman I am, I now present this copper box and its contents to the lionorable president judge of the courts of our county, appropriately selected by them to place it in the niche prepared for it in these walls, covered with this corner-stone, where it shall re- main in security for many, many long years to come, and until God's plans for man's purposes shall have rolled it away.
- On receiving the copper box, nine by nine by eighteen inches in size, with its contents inclosed, his honor J. A. Mc- Ilvaine, P. J., responded as follows:
GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE AND FELLOW-CITIZENS:
If the building the corner-stone of which is soon to be laid shall serve the purpose which its promoters intend it to serve, this box and its contents will probably not see the light of day for a hundred years to come. It will be opened and its contents examined by a generation who will refer to us as their forefathers, as we now refer to those who one hundred years ago did so much to make us what we are. And thus it ever is that history connects the past, the present, and the future. No man, no nation, labors and
120
COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
builds alone for the present. From the past the present has received a rich heritage; to the future it owes as much. The father of to-day toils and labors, plans and builds, not only for himself, but that his children may inherit from him. His love for them and his interest in their future welfare are the mainsprings of his actions. So it should be with a nation, a state, a county, a community. Their public acts should be rooted in patriotism, and they should ever have before them the welfare of future generations. Every public county building should be built honestly and without extravagance, yet it should be built not only for the present generation, but for future generations; and when such a building is completed, it should be of such a char- acter in its construction and appointments as to stand as a prophecy of the future growth and increased greatness of the county. Such a building we think we will have when this structure is completed.
And now, before the corner-stone is laid, let me express these sentiments: May this building be successfully erected without any accident or injury to any of these laborers, mechanics, or master builders; may this building, when erected, meet our highest expectations, be an honor to our county, and a monument to the enterprise and patriotism of her citizens; and lastly, may this building, so long as it shall stand, be in fact as well as in name a "Temple of Justice."
- Judge McIlvaine, at the close of his remarks, delivered the box with its contents to Mr. J. M. Yohe, superintendent of construction, and after some remarks by Mr. John H. Murdoch of the Washington bar, and other gentlemen pres- ent, the meeting closed with prayer by Rev. J. D. Moffat, D. D., president of Washington and Jefferson College, when
121
CONTENTS OF THE CORNER-STONE.
the box was carried by Superintendent Yohe and deposited in a receptacle prepared for it in the northeast corner of the new court-house.
THE CONTENTS OF THE BOX.
The contents of the box as thus deposited, collected by Judge Taylor, on the part of the court; Mr. J. Murray Clark, on the part of the county commissioners; and Mr. Winfield McIlvaine, on the part of the Washington Bar Association - were as follows:
Photograph of Washington Street Railway summer car.
View and history of Tyler Tube and Pipe Works.
History of Canonsburg Iron and Steel Company.
Catalogue and views of Trinity Hall.
College Pandora for 1899 and copy of Washington Jeffer- sonian.
Engraving of Hon. J. F. Taylor.
Pamphlets, " Objects and Purposes of Tingooqua Conclave, I. O. H.," and constitution and by-laws of the order.
Newspaper notices of Col. A. L. Hawkins and sons.
Business forms, etc., furnished by A. M. Brown.
Declaration of principles of Junior Order of United Amer- ican Mechanics.
Card of F. J. Osterling, architect.
List of officers of board of health of Washington borough.
Histories and statements of banks, national and private, of Washington County.
Engraving of J. L. Patterson, cashier of Burgettstown National Bank.
Specimens of Washington County petroleum and oil- bearing sand, furnished by Commissioner Dunn.
Photograph and obituary notices of Hon. A. W. Acheson. Photograph and obituary notices of Hon. George S. Hart. Directory of First Presbyterian Church of Washington. History of Presbyterianism in Washington.
Account of the exercises commemorating fifty years pas- torate of Dr. J. I. Brownson.
122
COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
Specimen copy of the court-house and jail bonds issued by Washington County.
Photograph of Hon. J. A. McIlvaine.
Photograph of William Morrison, contractor of masonry on court-house and jail.
Photograph of J. M. Yohe, superintendent of construction of court-house and jail.
Photograph of O. M. Hartley, Register.
Photograph of W. S. Campbell, Prothonotary.
Photograph of John W. Hallam, County Treasurer.
Photograph of Hon. E. F. Acheson, Congressman.
List of Judges, members of the bar, and county officers of Washington County.
Copies of the blanks and trial lists, furnished by Prothon- otary Campbell.
Lists of teachers and pupils of the public schools of Wash- ington and surrounding boroughs, principally in the vertical style of writing.
Biographical and historical catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College, 1889. Annual catalogues of same.
Historical sketch of Washington and Jefferson College.
" Pioneer Education in Washington County, Pa.," address by Dr. J. D. Moffat.
Pamphlet - Inauguration of Rev. J. D. Moffat, D. D., as President of Washington and Jefferson College.
Pamphlets - Semi-Centennial Celebration and Catalogue of Washington Female Seminary.
List of the manufacturers, business and professional men, and residents of Washington and suburbs.
History of Methodism in Washington.
Copies of the newspapers published in Washington County. Copy of Voters' Guide.
Proceedings of Washington County Centennial, 1881.
Half-tone portrait of Boyd Crumrine.
Paper book and bill in equity, furnished by Boyd Crum- rine.
Copies of Monongahela Republican, Washington Reporter,
123
CONTENTS OF THE CORNER-STONE.
and Washington Review and Examiner, printed in 1867, taken from corner-stone of old jail.
List of churches and pastors of Washington.
List of the soldiers in the Spanish war from Washington County.
List of all the contractors, sub-contractors, and material men connected with the court-house and jail buildings.
Sketch of the proceedings relating to the erection of the new county buildings, prepared by Mr. James Q. McGiffin, late county solicitor, and supplemented by Mr. James I. Brown- son, Jr., present solicitor, accompanied with minutes of the Bar Association relative to the death of Mr. McGiffin.
Constitution and By-Laws of Washington Bar Association. Picture of Admiral Dewey.
Specimens of canceled United States War-Revenue stamps, forms, etc., from the Farmers' and Mechanics' National Bank.
Forms, etc., from the First National Bank.
Addresses at dedication of Washington Female Seminary building.
Forms, etc., from Washington Female Seminary.
Copies of the "Reporter March " and " Tenth Regiment March."
History of the Washington Reporter.
Pictures of United States war - vessels engaged in the Spanish war.
Constitution and roll of members of Bricklayers' Union, No. 11, of Pennsylvania.
Statements, forms, etc., of the Dime Savings Institution and Title Guarantee and Trust Company.
History, description, and statistics of Charleroi.
Photograph of Robert Mckean.
History, forms, etc., from the Washington Cemetery Company.
Letter-heads and seals of the different county offices.
Constitution and By-Laws of the Washington County Medi- cal Society; obituary notices of Dr. F. J. Le Moyne and Dr. Wray Grayson.
124
COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
Photograph of Miss Fannie Kennedy, Deputy Register. Photograph of George D. Jenkins, County Surveyor. History of California Borough.
List of curators of the Public Library, Washington, Pennsylvania.
Piece of test-plate from the iron of which the boilers in the jail were made, stamped on one side with the names of maker, architect, etc., on the other with names of some of the Washington County soldiers at Manila, furnished by M. Ryan, the sub-contractor for boilers.
Constitution and By-Laws of the Medal of Honor Legion.
PETITION AND ORDER CHANGING INSIDE FINISH.
On August 15, 1899, a petition was presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions in the handwriting of Mr. J. Murray Clark, one of the then county commissioners, which petition and the order thereon were as follows:
TO THE HONORABLE THE JUDGES OF THE COURT AFORESAID:
The commissioners of the county beg to report that the work of constructing the new court-house and jail has not progressed as rapidly as they had desired; but the quality of the materials furnished and the character of the work performed have been so satisfactory that they are indis- posed to complain. The contractors have been fairly dili- gent, and most of the delay has been unavoidable.
The jail, except in a few particulars, has been completed, and the prisoners are now confined therein. For solidity of construction, for sanitary, heating, ventilating, and other arrangements, and for appliances for the easy handling and the safe-keeping of the prisoners it is confidently asserted that it is not surpassed by any prison in Ohio or Pennsyl- vania. This is the testimony of contractors, architects, and experts from other localities, and of many hundreds of our own citizens as well, who have examined the structure.
It is also very pleasant to report that as the work on the
125
PETITION AND ORDER CHANGING FINISH.
court-house progresses it has become the subject of great admiration by many persons. Some of these, including a num- ber of representative citizens and large property holders, have suggested to the commissioners that, as the exterior is so un- expectedly attractive, the interior should certainly be finished in corresponding style. To this end it has been urged that the original plans be amended and altered, so that marble floors may be substituted in certain halls and rooms for those that were designed to be of wood or other material; that portions of the walls may be wainscoted with Italian marble of first quality, and that a finish and decoration with stucco work, to a reasonable extent, may be added. The archi- tect has approved and most especially urged these proposed improvements, and has prepared minute plans and specifica- tions therefor, which, with bids on the same by prominent and reputable contractors, are hereto appended. The lowest and best bid so received for the marble work is $44,421.
The general contractors, Messrs. Miller & Sons, join with the architect in recommending the proposed changes, and have proposed to abate their compensation $8,850 if the changes be made. This would reduce the cost of the marble work to $35,571. Mr. F. Lingenfelser, the contractor for the plastering, strongly urges the addition of the stucco decora- tions, and proposes to make the same for the sum of $9,500, which sum the architect regards as very reasonable.
The propositions of Messrs. Miller & Sous and of Mr. Lingenfelser are hereto appended. From these and the low- est bid for the marble work, it will be seen that the proposed changes and additions will increase the cost of the court- house $45,071.
The commissioners having thus submitted the proposed amendments to and the alterations of the original plans, together with all the bids and propositions thereon, very respectfully refer the whole matter to this Honorable Court for instruction and advice in regard thereto.
JOHN M. DUNN. W. G. SHILLITO. J. MURRAY CLARK.
126
COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
Thereupon the court entered the following order:
Now, August 15, 1899, the foregoing report of the com- missioners, and the amended plans, specifications, bids of contractors, and other matters therewith submitted, having been carefully read and considered, the said plans and specifi- cations are approved; and the commissioners are hereby advised, requested, and empowered to let contracts in accord- ance therewith for the completion of all the marble and stucco work involved; provided, however, that the aggregate cost thereof shall not exceed the sum of $45,071.
By the Court. J. A. MCILVAINE. J. F. TAYLOR.
Whereupon, contracts were let and changes made in the inside finish accordingly. Subsequently, for stone in the steps and platform at the front portico granite was substi- tuted.
For a more detailed history of the proceedings which led to the erection of the new court-house and other public build- ings of 1900, reference is made to the carefully prepared address of Mr. James I. Brownson, the present solicitor of the county, delivered as a part of the dedication exercises, farther on in this volume. That history in full, however, will be found in detail in one of the Dockets of the Court of Quarter Sessions, set apart specially for the purpose, entitled "County Buildings and Grounds, 1897," in which is recorded consecutively in the order of date all the petitions, contracts, proceedings, interlocutory orders and decrees, relating to the subject, from the inception to the end. The petitions and exhibits, and the orders, opinions, and decrees themselves, are filed in the Court of Quarter Sessions, at No. 147, February Term, 1897; and see also a record made in the Court of Com- mon Pleas, at No. 205, May Term, 1898, of the said court.
THE FOURTH COURT-HOUSE, 1900, SOUTHEAST CORNER, FROM TOP OF SWAN BUILDING. [Half-tone engraved by Bragdon, from photograph by Hallam.]
VIII. DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW COURT-HOUSE.
A FRONT view of the court-house, as it stands at present, faces this page; but what the building itself is in detail, out- side and inside, will best appear by a descriptive paper, pre- pared with extreme accuracy and care for The Washington Observer, by its reporter, Mr. William E. McElroy of Phila- delphia (at one time a student of the University of Pennsyl- vania ), and published in its issue for the morning of November 17, 1900, the day of the dedication exercises.
It may be, although we sincerely hope otherwise, that in time to come carelessness and disregard may permit the walls, exterior and interior, of this magnificent building, its corri- dors, halls, and public offices, its bronzed stair-railings, mar- ble stairways, its pilasters, columns, and its beautiful dome, all now bright and yet soft in white and pink and olive and green and gold - for the soul of the building is within it - to become dimmed and lusterless in line and color. For this reason, and that, so far as printed language may avail, some conception may be preserved of the whole structure in the harmony of its appearance to-day, in its grace of form and beauty of color, we here present this descriptive paper sub- stantially as originally printed:
EXTERIOR.
The Washington County court-house is constructed in the Italian renaissance style of architecture, and has a frontage on Main Street of one hundred and eighty-eight feet, by a depth of one hundred and eight feet; its height from the pavement to the top of the dome being one hundred and fifty feet. It is constructed of Columbia sandstone from Cleve-
127
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COURTS OF JUSTICE, BENCH, AND BAR.
land, South Carolina granite, iron and steel, brick and cement; is entirely fire-proof and contains fifty-four rooms.
The main building extends one hundred and eight feet from east to west- through the vestibules, the area under the dome, and the semi-rotunda in the rear. From the north and south sides of the area extend the two main wings, which contain the principal court-rooms on the second floor. In the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest corners, between the main building and the main wings, are the secondary wings, which contain the county departments in the basement and first floor, and the offices of the court officials on the second floor.
The main feature of the entire building, and the key which practically controls the entire plan, is the location of the court- rooms. This idea has been taken from the court buildings of the Old World, the capitol at Washington, District of Columbia, and elsewhere throughout the United States, and has been adopted as the modern court-house arrangement by archi- tects of world-wide reputation.
Between two massive square and deeply paneled sand- stone pillars, which stand on the inner edge of the Main Street sidewalk, immediately in front of the center of the building, rises a flight of eight granite steps.
The pillars are each surmounted by a sphere, and orna- mented with four handsome bronze bracket lamps which project from the sides. These granite steps lead to a semi- circular platform of granite forty-four feet long by twenty-four feet wide, which forms the pavement under the portico and extends to the main entrances of the building.
The upper edge of this beautiful semicircular portico is adorned with a balustrade, beneath which is a heavy cornice ornamented with corbels, and a plain frontal sup- ported by four massive monolith sandstone columns thirty-six feet high, resting on granite bases, and finished with chaste Scamozzi capitals.
Beneath the portico three handsomely arched doorways with elaborately carved lintels, between which swing massive
[Half-tone by the Chasmar-Winchell Press, New York.] SOUTH FRONT OF COURT-HOUSE, AND SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE.
RUEFFRGEL
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129
DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW COURT-HOUSE.
Honduras mahogany doors, give entrance to a marble-lined vestibule, within which another pair of doors, leather-covered and studded with brass, lead into a second vestibule, also marble-lined. From this second vestibule the main corridor, which surrounds the central area under the dome, is reached.
The central part of the front of the building, which con- tains the main entrances, is seventy-four feet high, and pro- jects six feet from the remainder of the structure. Rising above the portico it is surmounted by an elaborately molded entablature, having in its center a rose window of colored art glass. On either side are square buttresses, on whose summits rest two allegorical terra - cotta groups of heroic size, representing "Justice " and "Liberty," forming an admirable support for the entablature in the center.
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