USA > West Virginia > Preston County > A History of Preston County, West Virginia, V.1 > Part 19
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Beginning with the year 1877, county institutes have been held regularly, and have often been conducted by very experienced educators. Interesting local institutes were also held during the later 70's, and in recent years this excellent feature has again become fairly prominent. In 1882 there were 94 male and 26 female teachers. Of the former 14, and of the latter 6, were inexperienced. Isaac P. Martin is mentioned as having taught 32 terms, and Isaac L. Wilson 28. The salaries, rang- ing from $26 to $35, were above the average for the state, owing to the exertions of Mr. Hawthorne. Yet it was remarked that the teachers confessed their weakness by having a horror of institutes and examina- tions.
The teachers of the early days often pursued their calling far into middle life, and some of them are not only well but kindly remembered by the older of the living citizens. Benjamin Payton was a highly es- teemed teacher in Grant. Perhaps a little later came Absalom Bran- don, a book-loving bachelor of Pisgah, and Robert Arnold, an immi- grant from Ireland. Around Kingwood, the first of whom we hear mention was a man named Murphy. Robert White was an able teacher of the same locality, and so was the eccentric Nicholson, a native of England. In the Craborchard were Isaac P. Martin and also John Bro- sius, a stern disciplinarian. Martin O'Gorman, a native of Ireland and trained for the priesthood, imparted some of the strength of his superior culture to the people of Kingwood, Valley, and Lyon.
The work of the old field school was practical, so far as it went. Books were about as few as could well be the case, yet the few were thoroughly mastered, and the disciplinary value of such drill, even though it lasted but the fourth of the year, was by no means inconsid-
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erable. Since the teacher was very often a man of maturity, experience, and recognized standing in his neighborhood, he in consequence carried with him a certain prestige, and also an atmosphere that compelled re- spect. The net result of these conditions was to impart a fairly service- able knowledge of reading and writing, and a mathematical drill that would meet any ordinary need. By having to master his "task," instead of merely playing at it, the pupil was thereby advanced in the highly necessary habit of steady application. The stern discipline of the schoolroom, with its disdain of moral suasion alone and its strong flavor of hickory bark, was calculated to imbue the pupil with a wholesome respect for law and order. As for manual training and calisthenics, there was no occasion for these matters whatever. The former was covered by the resourcefulness necessary in and about the farmhouse, and the latter was covered by the labor at home and by the rough and tumble sports of the playground.
Yet the old system had its serious defects. The teacher, through the fault only of his meager advantages, had in most cases an equally meager acquaintance with general knowledge and could not impart a very decisive uplift to a promising boy or girl. On the part of the pupil there was little or no access to history and geography, and he could thus gain no true perspective of the world without. Though his patriot- ism toward his country was sincere, it was necessarily ignorant, because it rested on tradition rather than on substantial and orderly informa- tion. Even his acquirement of the art of reading could be used but little. Letters were rarely written or received. Papers and books were alike scarce. In many a home there were practically none, and the bookishly inclined youth was in hard case, unless he could make some shift to send away to procure volumes that in any case were relatively dear, or unless he could borrow of the exceedingly few persons who had private collections of any consequence. The influence of these conditions is . still very apparent among us.
The close of the Transition Period found the supply of teachers more equal to the demand, and despite an increasing ratio of female in- structors, the latter element was yet in the minority. The personnel of the teaching force was naturally good. There were many instances of long-continued service, and there was more latent ability in an insti- tute membership than the verbosity of the visiting instructors per- mitted them to call out.
The next and present period brought with it an undeniable de- terioration in the teaching corps. There were still competent and con-
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scientious instructors, both old and young, yet the tendency of the new industrial conditions was to draw out of the ranks the brightest and most ambitious, and to keep others of like temperament from taking their place. The tendency went so far as to produce an educational famine, and in not a few instances the schoolhouse remained closed until the arrival of spring enabled some teacher to add a second term to the one he had already taught.
Toward the middle of the last century there was a manifest desire on the part of the people of Preston to share in the larger intellectual life that was arising in America. It was shown in the founding of the two academies, in the prevalence of debating societies, and in the forma- tion of one or more chartered literary associations. In the present epoch we see on the one hand a steady replacing of shabby school buildings by more presentable structures, and the more or less com- plete furnishing of the interior equipments now deemed needful by those who are looked upon as authorities. On the other hand, we be- hold in the commercialization of the age a tendency to neutralize in the forum of actual life the results which the schoolroom is feeling its way to secure. This is unfortunate, because life is meant to be deep and sub- stantial, and not narrow and shallow.
Books and periodicals now appear to a fair extent in some of the homes of Preston, and while the higher educational institutions of this and other states have enrolled and continue to enroll some of the younger Prestonians, the proportion of such to the entire population is not what the situation and general rank of the county might lead the observer to expect. There is to be noted a decadence of the appetite for the more substantial results of the debating society, and the local jour- nalism of the present day exhibits less in the way of contributed articles of leisurely make-up than when people were moving in the less feverish pace of prior decades. It is to be added that these manifestations are by no means peculiar to Preston County. They are a symptom of the gen- eral tendency of the day, and possibly it is a passing symptom.
Despite all the obvious limitations in the educational record of the county, such results as have been wrought out in its schools have en- abled the people born and bred in these valleys to enter well into the spirit of the modern industrial era, and to secure for themselves a large share of its material possibilities. The sons and daughters have scat- tered forth in all directions, and may be found in almost every region under the folds of the national banner. Wherever they have gone, they
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have stood well toward the fore in securing those prizes which bear the trademark of the age.
On a hill a mile south of Brandonville is a two-storied log house commanding a pleasant outlook. Though dating from the year 1804, it remains in good preservation, and is still occupied as a dwelling. With the single exception of the house built by James McCollum, this ancient landmark is believed to be the oldest one in Preston that is still in- habited.
Hither came, in 1839, two Pennsylvanians whose names were Alter and Miller. They very appropriately named their new home "Mount Pleasant Farm." It was perhaps the first instance where any farm in the county has been given a distinctive name. Yet the designation has long since been forgotten, and though in quite recent years a very few citizens of Preston have given names to their farms, the practice has not by any means grown into a custom. East of the Blue Ridge, the usage is very conspicuous. It is an English trait growing out of the strong attachment to rural life which is characteristic of the natives of Eng- land. But in crossing the mountains the settlers did not bring with them an ancestral attachment to a spot of ground.
The firm of Alter and Miller set up a printing press in the log house, and in June, 1839, they began the publication of the "Mount Pleasant Silk Culturist and Farmers' Manual: Devoted to the Growth and Manufacture of Silk and Beet Sugar, and the Improvement of Ag- riculture, Horticulture, and Rural and Domestic Economy."
The new periodical was a thin magazine of from 16 to 24 double- column pages about 6 by 9 inches in size. It was bound in a tinted cover, and on the ornamented title page appeared cuts of the silk-worm and of mulberry leaves. The publication appeared monthly, and the price was one dollar a year, not including postage. It is now nearly forgotten and very few copies are in existence. The duration of the venture was one year.
The "Silk Culturist" had a very creditable appearance, and the edit- ors possessed some ability, although they were more zealous than prac- tical. They were in advance of their day. It is only to populous coun- tries possessing a large measure of wealth and of luxurious taste that the silk industry is well adapted. Within the space of perhaps twenty years, the weaving of silk has developed into an important industry in the one state of New Jersey. This commonwealth is now old and thickly inhabited, and lies close to large centers of population and
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wealth. But the United States of 1839 was practically a new and unde- veloped country. It had only a fifth of its present population, and vastly less than a fifth of its present wealth. Attempting to develop a really efficient silk culture at that day was much like building furniture fac- tories on the treeless tableland of Nevada.
The beet sugar industry was already a success in Europe, but it was too soon to expect America to take up the subject. Apart from this general fact, the sugar beet is much better suited to the western half of the United States than to the eastern. The former section was then almost uninhabited, and its capabilities were almost wholly un- known.
The "Silk Culturist" was not designed as a purely local enterprise. It sought and received patronage in other states than Virginia, although the subscription list was unquestionably very light. In the north of Preston it stimulated a temporary interest in the mulberry tree and in silk-worms.
Postal regulations were not the same then as they are now. The editors complained bitterly of a ruling of the postoffice department, whereby seven cents postage was charged on each copy of their little magazine. For a paper of a single sheet, the rates then in force were one and one-half cents a copy for a distance of less than 100 miles and two and one-half cents for any greater distance. Letter postage was ten cents for a less distance than 80 miles and twenty-five cents for a greater distance than 400 miles. The prepayment of postage was not compul- sory, and very often it was not done. In the remitting of subscription money, the pastmaster-general ruled that "a postmaster may inclose money in a letter to the publisher of a newspaper to pay the subscrip- tion of a third person, and frank the letter if written by himself."
Here is an extract from a copy of the magazine:
Our expenses of living are too high-They have upon an average during the last ten or twenty years been quadrupled. Were they increased for necessaries and comforts? No! but for the hateful luxuries and superfluities of life. We live too high. We dress too fine. We are now, in the midst of calamity, the finest dressers and the highest livers, perhaps, in the world.
The ahove quotation sounds a good deal as though written during the winter of 1907-8 as a comment on the causes of the current business depression, and as an exhortation to more economical habits of living. On the contrary, it was written during the winter of 1839-40, while the United States was in the throes of the severe depression following the panic of 1837.
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We of the present day accuse ourselves of extravagant living, and fondly imagine that our grandparents were thoroughly devoted to the "simple life" and to economical habits. But here comes this journalist of 74 years ago, charging his contemporaries with an expensiveness of living similar to that which we confess to being true of ourselves, and lauding the simplicity of the days of his fathers, just as we laud the simplicity of the days of our own fathers. Until we reflect that simplic- ity and luxury are to a great degree relative terms, the words of this critic make us all the more willing to concede the truth of the adage of Solomon, that "there is nothing new under the sun;" or, as Whittier puts the same thought :
"And yet the past comes round again, And new doth old fulfill."
Thus the first publication within the confines of Preston was an ambitious attempt to secure a much more than local hearing. All sub- sequent efforts have been in the line of local journalism.
When we consider the thousands of newspapers and other period- icals which now abound in our land, it is startling to be reminded that in 1775 there were only 37. Of these, nine were in Pennsylvania and but two in all Virginia. Not until 1784 did the first American daily, the "Pennsylvania Packet," appear at Philadelphia. Yet great as is the present number of journals, probably a still larger number of titles are inscribed on the tombstones of defunct periodicals. Even if the propo- sition does not hold good for the nation in general, it is very true of Preston County.
The owners of the "Silk Culturist" followed theis first venture with a local newspaper called either the "Mount Pleasant Democrat" or the "Preston County Democrat." It came out during the campaign year of 1840, and notwithstanding the title, it was an upholder of the Whig party. Its term of life was very brief and no copies are known to be in existence.
The next publication was the "Fellowsville Democrat," and it made its bow May to, 1848. It was brought out by Sylvanus Heer- mans, the energetic founder of Fellowsville. The paper was of four pages with five broad columns to the page, and the title was borne on a streamer held in the mouth of a flying eagle. It was ably edited, and as in the case of its predecessor, it was Whig in its politics. This paper continued two years or a little longer, and went down with the decay of Fellowsville that was occasioned by the arrival of the railroad.
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In 1849 a rival appeared at the same village. This was the "Pres- ton County Herald," published by Lewis and Thorpe and edited by E. S. M. Hill. It was Democratic in politics and had an existence of about one year.
After another vacant interval of about eight years, the "Preston Register," a Democratic journal, appeared at Kingwood, June 11, 1858. It was published by D. B. Overholt, and lasted about two years.
Still one more paperless era transpired, and then the first number of the "Preston County Journal" was issued May 19, 1866. With merely a temporary interruption, it has been published continuously ever since. From the first it has been Republican in politics. The founder was Levi Klauser, who continued to conduct the paper until his death in 1873. The next man at the helm was W. M. O. Dawson, lately governor of West Virginia. He presided over its columns in a very able manner for a long period, and was followed by James W. White, who in 1899 gave place to Horatio S. Whetsell, the present editor and proprietor. Being the leading organ of the dominant party in Preston, the "Journal" has always commanded a good patronage, which had risen in 1889 to a circulation of a thousand copies, and since then to a much larger num- ber. This paper has always been maintained at a grade above that of the average newspaper of West Virginia, and it has enjoyed the services of several very able correspondents. Its file contains a large number of varied and valuable contributed articles.
In October, 1870, James H. Carroll launched a Democratic rival, the "Preston County Herald," which in September, 1877, was rebaptized with the name of "West Virginia Argus," which it still retains. The paper was for some time conducted by W. Scott Garner, the veteran journalist of Preston County. He was followed by Henry C. Hyde, likewise a writer of more than usual ability, and he in turn by J. Slidell Brown, whose lively and pungent pen illuminated its columns until 1906, when the "Argus" was sold to M. E. Mehrton, a native of Penn- sylvania. But Mr. Brown has since resumed the editorial pen. Under him the newsy character of the paper has caused it to circulate exten- sively among Republican readers, and it is well known in other counties.
In 1873, the Greenback movement occasioned the rise of a local organ of that party under the name of the "Kingwood Chronicle." With the decline of Greenbackism, the new paper passed out of individual ex- istence.
In 1880, George Purcell and George N. Wolff made a new venture
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at Fellowsville in the form of the "Broad Axe." It was soon moved to Newburg and renamed the "Newburg Enterprise," but did not long sur- vive the change of climate. Another short-lived venture at the same place was the "Newburg Herald," by Charles H. McCafferty. Both these papers were independent in politics.
For quite a term of years, Terra Alta has had a Republican paper of its own which has existed continuously, though with some vicissi- tudes, as the "Oracle," and later as the "Preston Republican." From his home near Tunnelton, W. Scott Garner published for some time "Garner's Gleaner." It was discontinued when Mr. Garner took em- ployment in another state. Dr. E. K. Sutton formerly published from Gladesville a small paper, the "Gladesville Telephone." For several years Kingwood has had a third paper, the semi-weekly "Preston Leader," of eight pages and Republican in politics. It has been edited by Leroy Shaw and by Samuel B. Montgomery, but is now under the management of Maurice L. Jackson. A few years since, the "Rowles- burg Record" appeared at the "river city" of Preston.
J. Frank Lantz, Albert A. Dorsey, and some other Prestonians have labored in the journalistic field, but elsewhere than in this county, and generally in other states.
The press enjoys a great opportunity for educative influence, and with a cordial feeling between editor and patron, the enterprising local paper fills a want which the journal of wider circulation may supple- ment, yet never supplant. Its field lies in making known the current events of the county, in presenting its policies and its needs, in discuss- ing topics of general interest, and in adding to its miscellaneous articles the narration of striking facts in local history.
"Literary Preston" is a brief tale. Dr. Purinton, the recent head of the University of West Virginia; Prof. F. V. N. Painter of Roanoke College, and Walter H. Michael of New York were reared in Preston and have gained high repute for their work in the lines of theology, pedagogy, and law. Henry C. Hyde, a lifelong resident of the county, planned, and at the time of his untimely demise had partially com- pleted, a "Digest of the West Virginia Reports." The finishing touches were put on by other hands, and the three volumes are now in the library of every well-equipped attorney in West Virginia.
The beautiful and inspiring scenery of Preston, the interesting his- torical background, the striking events interwoven with the develop- ment of the county, and the composite character of the population, all
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combine to constitute the elements of a strong incentive to literary achievement. It is to be regretted that as to the natives of these hills no more has been done to impart to them the literary fame they are so capable of bestowing. W. Scott Garner has brought out a booklet en- titled "Rustic Rhymes," and has amply shown that the conditions of local poetic inspiration are not at all lacking. But in prose literature, save in fugitive efforts, there is as yet a void.
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CHAPTER XXII INDUSTRIAL PRESTON.
Preston Farms - Industrial Changes - Manufactures - Mining.
Preston is but indifferently suited to general farming. While the soil has not the erosive quality so noticeable farther south, the contour of the land is very uneven. The abrupt hillside is very common, and there is never an entire absence of stones of all sizes and of ragged out- line. The frequency of shade and running water, the moderate heat of the summer season, the comparative freedom in the open from annoying insects, and the tendency of the soil to cover itself with grass, all com- bine to render the county better adapted to grazing than to farming. The greater share of the open ground is therefore kept in meadow and pasture. The tilled fields are of small size, and often are very unfavor- able to the use of improved machinery.
Yet in spite of these disadvantages, the farm has thus far been our main support. It is significant that Preston has never yet lost ground in population, whereas many a rural county, even in the agricultural West, has recorded a falling behind in one or more of the decades since the close of the Civil war. In the census year of 1900, the aggregate output of the Preston farms was in excess of $2,000,000. This is a highly creditable showing. In the leading item-the value of farm products not fed to stock-this county gave place only to one other in the entire state.
Previous to the Transition Period, the abundance of game and fish was not only a distracting influence, but the soil was impoverished by what might well be termed predatory tillage. Since then a more rational procedure has become general. The fields are now as a rule well cared for. The fertility of the soil is conserved in any practicable manner. The use of lime has attained large proportions, and is attended with the most beneficial results. The good husbandry of the Prestonian of the present day is manifest in the returns of the last federal census. The yields per acre of corn, oats, wheat, buckwheat, and potatoes were respectively 25, 25, 13, 17, and 105 bushels. In every instance these figures were above the average for the state of West Virginia, although in an agricul- tural sense certain other counties are more highly endowed by nature. Furthermore, the yields per acre of wheat and buckwheat were above the average for the United States, and in corn the deficiency was but 10
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percent. Of the 55 counties of the state, Preston ranked first in its pro- duction of buckwheat, of orchard and dairy products, and of honey. In fact, its crop of buckwheat was greater than that of all other counties combined.
While the average field devoted to general crops looks very small to one who is familiar with the more purely agricultural states, certain farmers have produced yields of very respectable amount. Two farmers in Pleasant-Jefferson Cuppett and Alpheus McNair-have each grown 1,000 bushels of corn in one season. Andrew Spindler of Grant grew 900 bushels on 131/2 acres, the season being poor. Enos Ashburn of Reedsville grew 1,800 bushels of oats in 1888, and the year previous Eli G. Albright of Cranesville grew 600 bushels of oats on 10 acres. In the last named locality, cabbages of 35 pounds weight have been produced.
The history of the local agriculture is interesting. In the infancy of the county, the staple crops were corn, oats, rye, and flax. It was the day of the domestic loom, and flax was therefore indispensable. The corn and oats were consumed on the farm until the advent of the pikes brought a home market to those farmers within reach of them. The rye was condensed into liquid form, and became an article of export down the Ohio river. Wheat was rather slow in coming into general use, and for a while it was not thought it would do well in these rugged uplands. Neither was buckwheat a prominent crop for a considerable period. The output of the orchard was of value only with respect to home consump- tion, and the kitchen garden was relatively of less importance than it is now. So long as wild animals remained plenty they were a pest to the farmer, and in particular the innumerable pigeons lightened his crop of grain. But the very abundance of insect-eating birds kept down many a smaller pest, which at the present time, with the ruthless slaughter of the feathered friends, it has become necessary to combat by spraying. Fortunately, the English sparrow had not yet been introduced. How- ever, there was a small black bug which caused some damage to the standing grain by sucking its juices.
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