USA > Virginia > Washington County > Washington County > History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 > Part 56
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In 1798 Henry Clay and Captain Henry St. John Dixon came to
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
Abingdon together for the purpose of settling, provided the country suited them. The former, after looking around for a week or two, proceeded on to Kentucky, where his mother had settled after her second marriage, and the latter, having become acquainted with the family of Mr. Diek White, on the farm now owned by William Clark, married one of his daughters and lived for many years where the Stonewall Jackson Institute now stands .*
On the 20th of March, 1799, the County Court appointed Wil- liam King, James Armstrong, John Eppler and Robert Craig commissioners to report a plan for a new stone prison, which was afterwards built on the public square in the rear of the present courthouse, James White being the contractor, at the price of $1.532.25.
By Act of the General Assembly of Virginia of date January 10, 1803, the corporate limits of Abingdon were extended to the west as far as Lot No. 16, which addition to the town has since been known as "Craig's addition" to the town of Abingdon. On the 13th of January. 1803, the General Assembly authorized the trus- tees of the town of Abingdon to conduct a lottery for the benefit of Abingdon Academy, the proceeds to be used in purchasing a library, philosophical and mathematical apparatus and anything else necessary for the use of the said Academy. By this same Act the Academy was chartered, with many of the prominent citizens of the town as trustees, evidencing the disposition of the citizens of Abingdon, at this early day, to afford their children every necessary facility for securing an education.
The General Assembly of Virginia, during the first fifty years of the history of Abingdon, adopted numerous laws extending the time of the property owners for building houses upon the lois purchased of the town, as required by the Act of the Assembly in the year 1778.
On the 3d day of August. 1802. an election was held for trus- tees to succeed Andrew Willoughby, who had died, and Robert Craig and James Armstrong, who had removed from the town. The candidates voted for by the freeholders of the town were Andrew Russell, James White. Frederick Hamilton and John
*Charles B. Coale.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
McClelland, the three first named being elected. The freeholders voting in this election were as follows :
William King,
Samuel Glenn,
John McClelland,
Pat Lynch,
John McCormack, John Gold,
W. Greenway,
James Longley,
A. Russell,
G. T. Conn.
Between the years 1800 and 1810, a new courthouse was built upon the public square, which courthouse served the county until the year 1848. This courthouse was built of brick and was a very substantial structure.
By the year 1806, the town and county had grown in importance to such an extent that a newspaper, a badly-needed institution, was established in the town of Abingdon by John G. Ustick, the name of the paper being "The Holston Intelligencer and Abingdon Advertiser."
The first postoffice in Southwestern Virginia was established at Abingdon on the 25th day of April, 1793, with Gerrard T. Conn as postmaster, and this was the only postoffice to be found in the county of Washington, until the year 1833. It is hard to believe that the citizens of this county for forty years had but one post- office and one place at which they could mail their letters and receive their mail.
From the year 1793 until about 1835, Abingdon was the centre of the business life of Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and Kentucky; all mails for the sections named were distributed at the Abingdon postoffice ; and a large per cent. of the wholesale trade for the same section was controlled and supplied by Abingdon merchants.
Such was the condition of affairs in Abingdon at the beginning of the war of 1812, and, with the first evidences of war, the patriotism of the citizens of the town knew no bounds.
A number of brick buildings had been erected in Abingdon, among the number being the brick building erected by William King, which building is still standing on the east side of Court street, opposite the courthouse, and is beyond question the oldest building in the town of Abingdon.
Abingdon was visited by its first great fire on Thursday night,
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
September 10. 1812. A description of the fire and the damage done thereby is here copied from a newspaper published in Abing- don on the following Saturday."
"At the hour of midnight of Thursday night last we were alarmed by the cry of Fire! which proved to be in the new brick building of Colonel Francis Preston, which was in a few moments so far con- sumed as to preclude all hopes of its salvation. The flames con- tinued to rage until the following property was consumed : Colonel Francis Preston's frame dwelling house, brick building, ice-house and every stick of timber on his lot; two houses occupied by Mr. John McCormack. with their out-houses: Mr. Estill's office, Mr. William MeKee's dwelling house, his new frame store. compting room, kitchen, etc .; Major James White's saddle shop, dwelling house, kitchen, etc., and the building occupied by John Mcclellan. Esq.
"This dreadful destruction of property was the work of some fiend of hell. An attempt was made to fire the new courthouse, but the exertions of a single person, a slave, saved it. Captain F. Smith. who was early on the spot. discovered the fire in the court-house. ITe entered when the flames had risen to the height of a man's head. He was about to abandon the building, when Mr. William Trigg's yellow man JOE ran in. caught up in his arms the combus- tibles on fire, throw them into the street and saved the building. This was done at the hazard of his life. If the courthouse had been consumed. we apprehend not a building in the western pre- cinct of the town would have escaped.
"The citizens are about to reward JOE by presenting him with a sum of money. A subscription will be handed the citizens of the town for that purpose. Gentlemen of the County who feel an in- terest in the welfare of Abingdon, and who may happen to be in town can have an opportunity of contributing by calling on Benj. Estill, Esq., Capt. F. Smith, or Andrew Russell, Esq."
The Board of Trustees for the town of Abingdon. between the years 1808 and 1812. adopted a number of by-laws and ordinances which conduced very much to the peace and good order of the town. They began by first adopting rules and regulations for the govern- ment of the trustees at their regular meetings.
*Political Prospect.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
Secondly. They adopted an act to enforce the attendance of the trustees.
Third. An act describing the duties and regulating the fees of the town sergeant.
Fourth. An act to levy a tax on the tithables and property in the town of Abingdon.
Fifth. An act to protect property in the town of Abingdon against fire.
Sixth. An act concerning out-houses.
Seventh. An act laying off the streets and alleys into precincts for the purpose of keeping the same in repair.
Eighth. An act to regulate the building of chimneys to houses and blacksmith shops.
Ninth. An act to prevent obstructions and remove nuisances from the streets and alleys of the town.
Tenth. An act to restrain negroes and mulattoes from being dis- orderly and for other purposes.
Eleventh. An act to preserve good order in the town of Abingdon.
Twelfth. An act to establish market days in the town of Abing- don.
Thirteenth. An act concerning houses of evil fame.
Fourteenth. An act to prohibit the female of the dog kind from running at large in the town of Abingdon.
Fifteenth. An act fixing the marks of the hogs owned by the citi- zens of the town of Abingdon.
Sixteenth. An act to restrain negroes from wandering about the streets after night.
Seventeenth. An act allowing witnesses for their attendance be- fore a justice of the peace.
Eighteenth. An aet respecting patrols in the town of Abingdon.
This last act was passed on Friday, 11th day of September, 1812, the day after the fire heretofore mentioned.
Among the laws adopted by the Board of Trustees at this time was one that provided that "any woman found quarreling or rioting in the streets or alleys or in any other part of said town to the disturb- ance of the inhabitants, shall be punished by ducking, as is pre- scribed by the Act of the Assembly of this Commonwealth." This law was adopted on the 29th of April, 1809.
The by-laws and ordinances adopted by the trustees were excellent
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Washington County, 1777-1810.
in their character, and could not be improved upon by the law- makers of this day.
At the time in question and until the year 1833, Abingdon was without sidewalks, and her citizens had nothing more than a dirt footway on either side of the street.
On the 26th of June, 1811, the Board of Trustees, by an ordi- nance, declared that "there shall be nine feet laid off in front of the lots on Main street, the main cross and Valley streets for a footway, and the same shall be kept constantly clear and free from obstruc- tions for the convenience of passengers ; and that the footways in all other streets of the town shall be seven feet wide."
About this time numerous trees were planted along the footways above mentioned, some of which are to be seen at this day, notably the large trees along Main street west of the courthouse and front- ing the residence of Mrs. Bessie Watson.
If the Board of Trustees of Abingdon held meetings or made a record of their proceedings from the year 1812 until the year 1828 I cannot find it.
The General Assembly of Virginia of the 30th of December, 1819. adopted a new charter for the town of Abingdon, extending the cor- porate limits of the town east to the creek near the tan-yard of Lind- say & Newland ; thence to Valley street; thence following the outer limits of Valley street to the old town.
It is impossible to give any of the particulars of this extension of the town, as no record of the Board of Trustees for this period has been preserved.
On May 9, 1828, the trustees of the town re-enacted, with but few changes, the by-laws and ordinances adopted by the Board of Trus- tees in the years 1808 and 1812.
The additional by-laws adopted were :
First. An act to impose a tax on public shows.
Second. An act to prevent mischievous dogs from running at large in the streets and alleys of the town.
Third. An act concerning coal-houses.
Fourth. An act to restrain hogs from running at large in the town of Abingdon.
Fifth. An act concerning small-pox, and
Sixth. An act to require the sidewalks or footways on the main street of Abingdon to be paved.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
On the 13th of June, 1833, the following members of the Board of trustees-to-wit: Andrew Russell (President), J. W. Paxton, Thomas Findlay, John M. Preston, Daniel Lynch, Charles C. Gib- son, Elias Ogden and Jacob Lynch-met at the courthouse in the town of Abingdon and enacted the following law :
"Whereas the inhabitants of the said town are now engaged in the laudable enterprise of MacAdamizing the Main Street between the sidewalks or footways, and it is deemed proper by this Board that the said sidewalks or footways shall be paved with brick, and curbstones shall be placed next the street, in order to place the said Main Street in proper repair, and that this repairing should be made in front of each lot by the owner thereof,
. "First. Be it enacted by the Trusteees of the town of Abingdon, that every owner of a lot on the Main Street in said town be and he is hereby required, within twelve months from the time said MacAdamizing shall be completed, to pave with brick the footway in front of his lot, and every person failing herein shall, for every month the said foot way in front of his lot shall remain unpaved, pay a fine of five dollars, to be recovered as other fines are recovered by law.
"Second. Be it further enacted, that every owner of a lot or part of a lot on said Main Street be and he is hereby required to deliver or cause to be delivered, in front of his lot on or before the 15th day of August next, to John Kellar, the superintendent of the MacAdamizing of said street, a sufficient quantity of curb- stones to curb the side of the foot way in front of his lot, which curb-stones shall be at least twenty inches in depth and twelve inches in width and not less than five or more than seven inches thick. Every person failing herein shall pay a fine of eight dol- lars for every lot he or she shall own, or in that proportion for a greater or lesser piece of ground, which fines, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be appropriated to the purchase of the curb-stones hereby required to be delivered."
The approach to the courthouse from the east and west pre- vious to 1830 was exceedingly steep, the courthouse standing upon the summit of an oval-shaped hill on the north side of Main street and facing south. The approach from the east was not only steep, but large limestone rocks, to a great extent, rendered the street almost impassable.
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Washington County. 1:12-15:0.
As early as the year 1830. Colonel John Kellar, who was super- intendent of the streets in the eastern precinct of the town, spent a considerable sum of money in blasting the rocks out of the street east of the courthouse, and soon thereafter a number of the enter- prising citizens of the town. by private subscription, undertook the macadamizing of the main street of the town. The subscribers to this cause, with the amount contributed by each, as far as I can ascertain, were as follows :
Andrew Russell. 17 11
John Gibson, . 10 00
Chas. S. Bekem, 5 00
John Preston. Jr .. 5 00
Samuel Logan. 20 00
Elias Ogden, 25 00
John Hall, 3 00
Daniel Sheffey, 30 00
John S. Preston, 40 00
General Francis Preston,
50 00
John M. Preston. 500 00
If there were other contributors to this fund, no record of names or amounts contributed has been preserved. The work of macada- mizing Main street was done by Jacob Clark under the supervision of Colonel John Kellar.
The county of Washington and the town of Abingdon assisted in discharging the cost of macadamizing the main street, the private subscriptions not being sufficient for the purpose.
Washington county was represented in the General Assembly of Virginia in the year 1834 by Colonel John Kellar in the Senate and Thomas McCulloch in the House of Delegates.
Colonel John Kellar was one of the most enterprising citizens that ever lived in the town of Abingdon. and, as a result of his efforts in behalf of the town, he succeeded in having the General Assembly of Virginia, on the 11th day of March, 1834, adopt a new charter for the town of Abingdon, which charter completely changed the form of government and greatly extended the corporate limits of the town.
Under this new charter the limits of the town were as follows: Beginning on the northeast corner of the bridge near the currying shop of George V. Litchfield. and in a line with the lands of John N.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
Humes ; thence northwardly on said line to a point in a line parallel to the northern boundary of the inner lots of the said town; thence westwardly on said parallel and along the said line to the line of the land of Alexander Findlay ; thence with the said Findlay's line to a point parallel to the southern line of Valley street; thence with the said parallel westwardly to a point parallel to the western line of the lot on which Jacob Loehr formerly lived; thence in a direct line southwardly to the line of said lot and along the same to the alley ; thence with said alley to Lot No. 17 in Robert Craig's plan ; thence with the eastern line of said Lot No. 17, and continuing in the same direction to a point parallel to the southern boundary of the inner lots first laid off for the said town ; thence to the said southern boun- dary and along it to the southwestern boundary of Samuel Bailie's lots; thence with the line of said lot to the gate at the corner of General Francis Preston's and John N. Hume's land; thence in a straight line to the beginning.
This charter provided that all the free white inhabitants of said town should be a body corporate by the name and style of Mayor, Council and Inhabitants of the town of Abingdon, and by that name sue and be sued, etc.
This charter directed that on the first Monday in May, 1834, and annually thereafter on the first Monday in May, the inhabitants of said town legally authorized to vote for members of the General Assembly and the freeholders therein who may not be inhabitants and all other housekeepers therein not thus qualified shall assemble at the courthouse of the county, in said town, and shall there and then elect ten persons, being freeholders in said town, who shall be called and denominated a Council, and one other person who shall be denominated a Mayor. The Council thus chosen were directed to hold two regular meetings in each and every year-one the first Mon- day after they were elected and the other on the first Monday in December, and at such other times as they shall be assembled by the Mayor. The Council were authorized to appoint a clerk and treas- urer, and the Mayor was authorized to appoint the town sergeant, surveyors and superintendents of the streets, and such other powers were conferred upon the Mayor and Council of the town as were necessary for the government and improvement of the same.
This charter has been followed in all subsequent amendments of
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
the laws of the town, and it is from this source that we derive our present form of town government.
The first Mayor and Council elected under this charter were as follows :
Mayor-John M. Preston.
Council-Daniel Lynch, Augustus Oury, John S. Preston. Jere- miah Bronough, R. R. Preston, Benjamin Estill, John Kellar, Peter J. Branch, Daniel Trigg, Chas. S. Bekem.
Clerk and Treasurer-Jacob Lynch.
Sergeant-Jacob Clark.
The Mayor and Council thus elected adopted the necessary laws for the government of the town, and in doing so they followed, to a great extent, the laws adopted in the years 1808 and 1812 by the Board of Trustees of the town.
The one act adopted by the town of Abingdon that is worthy of notice at this point was an act to regulate the sale of ardent spirits in the town, adopted June 12th, 1837. This act provided that, "If any person within the corporation of Abingdon shall sell by retail (other than an ordinary keeper), to be drunk in or at the place where sold, or in or upon the premises of which such person has con- trol, or within the said corporation, any wine, rum, brandy or other ardent spirits, or a mixture thereof, he or she so offending shall pay a fine to the said corporation of $5.25 for each offence."
A description of Abingdon as it was in the year 1835 has been pre- served, which description is as follows :
"It is situated on the great valley road, about 8 miles north of the Tennessee boundary, at the southeast side of a mountain ridge. about seven miles distant from either of the two main forks of the Holston River. A part of the town stands on a considerable emi- nence, beneath which there is a cavern containing a lake.
"Abingdon contains, besides the ordinary county buildings, be- tween 150 and 200 dwelling-houses, many of them handsome brick buildings. A portion of the inhabitants are followers of Baron Swedenborg, in other words belong to the New JJerusalem Church. but they possess no house of worship and their preacher occasionally occupies one or the other of the Methodist houses.
"There is an academy for females and one for males, (both brick edifices) 2 hotels kept in good style, 3 taverns principally used for the accommodation of wagoners, 1 manufacturing flour mill. 9 mer-
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cantile houses, some of which are wholesale establishments and sell goods to the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars an- nually, 3 groceries, 1 woolen and 2 cotton manufactories and one well-established nursery.
"There are 4 tanyards with saddle and harness manufactories at- tached to them, 10 blacksmith's shops, 1 hat manufactory and store, 6 wheelwrights and wagon makers, 2 cabinet warehouses, 3 brick- layers, 2 stone masons, 3 house-carpenters, 3 watch-makers and jewel- ers, 2 boot and shoe factories, 3 house and sign painters, 2 copper- smiths and tin-plate workers and 3 tailors.
"Abingdon is rapidly increasing in population and trade. Old houses are giving place to handsome brick buildings, which the opu- lent and enterprising citizens are daily erecting. The main street has lately been MacAdamized at considerable expense, but greatly to the improvement of its utility, beauty and comfort.
"As a specimen of the flourishing condition of this town, we must mention that a quarter acre lot, situated near the courthouse, re- cently sold for upwards of $4,000. There is a distributing postoffice here. Population, 1,000 persons, of whom thirteen are resident at- torneys, and 3 regular physicians.
"County Courts are held on the 4th Monday in every month ; quarterly, in March, June, August and November.
"Judge Estill holds his Circuit Superior Court of Law and Chan- cery on the 2nd Monday after the 4th of April and September."
It may excite some surprise when told that in this large and well- populated county there were in 1831 but two postoffices, the one in Abingdon and the other at Seven-Mile Ford ; but since the severance of Smyth the one at Seven-Mile Ford is now in that county, in con- sequence of which there is not, to our knowledge, any other postoffice in this county except the one at Abingdon, the county seat. The merchants doing business in the town of Abingdon at this time were: William McKee & Co., Edward M. & John C. Greenway, John M. Preston, Col. James White and Findlay & Mitchell, and with such merchants Abingdon was the centre of trade for all the sur- rounding country. All goods were brought to Abingdon from Bal- timore by wagon.
The practicing physicians in Abingdon at the time were Drs. Earl B. Clapp, James W. Paxton and Alexander R. Preston.
There was but one church in the town, and that was a frame
Washington County, 1777-1870. 643
structure occupied by the Methodist Episcopal church, and one in the vicinity, and that was the Presbyterian church situated west of the entrance gate to the Sinking Spring Cemetery. That church was a very old log-building, weatherboarded on the outside and ceiled inside, and to this old-fashioned house nearly all the people gathered from the town and surrounding country for the worship of God.
Upon the arrival of Rev. Lewis F. Cosby in AAbingdon in March, 1831, efforts were immediately set on foot to build a Methodist Protestant church, which church was erected that year upon the present location of that church. The Presbyterians, being stimulated thereby, at once undertook the erection of a new church, and in the same year their new church, now Temperance Hall, was completed and occupied.
The County Court of Washington county, on the 24th of July, 1838, upon the application of John W. Stevens, captain of a com- pany of artillery, granted permission to erect a gun-house upon the public. lot, and John M. Preston, Elias Ogden and Jacob Lynch were directed to superintend the erection of it. This company was organized as a result of the agitation preceding the Texas Revo- lution, and Captain Stevens organized this company of artillery from the patriotic youth of Abingdon.
On the 23d day of October, 1838, a new county jail was completed on the public lot at the corner of Court and Valley streets, and the prison bounds were so extended as to include the new jail.
On the 16th day of November, 1841, Andrew Russell, after more than forty years of active participation in the government of the town of Abingdon, departed this life, and appropriate resolutions were adopted by the County Court of Washington county, Virginia, in token of respect to his name.
On the 21th of May, 1844, the County Court of Washington county appointed John M. Preston a commissioner to have a well dug upon the jail lot, which was done, and this served large numbers of the people of the town until the year 1901.
In the year 1846, the citizens of Washington county were very greatly interested in the war between the United States and Mexico, Captain A. C. Cummings and General Peter C. Johnson taking an active part in the efforts made to organize the citizens of this county and enlist them in the service of their country, and on the
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
25th of March, 1846, the County Court entered the following order :
"On motion of Arthur C. Cummings, Captain of the Artillery attached to the 164th Regiment of Virginia Militia, and it appearing to the court that the cannon which was sent out for the use of the said company is being injured for want of a shed to place the said cannon under to protect it from the weather, it is therefore ordered that leave be granted the said Cummings to have a suitable shed erected for the purpose aforesaid on the lower end of the public lot on which the courthouse stands, provided he can procure the same to be done at an expense not exceeding the sum of twenty dollars, and that the same be levied in the next County levy."
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