USA > West Virginia > Lewis County > A history of Lewis County, West Virginia > Part 13
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After acting upon the report of the commissioners the justices next proceeded to take up matters relating to the administration of the new county. They declared that the bills and notes of certain banks in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee were lawful cur- rency within the county ; they ordered several deeds re- corded; they appointed viewers to lay out new roads . and they designated road supervisors to see that the roads of the county were kept in proper repair. Negotia- tions were begun with Joseph Johnson, Lewis Maxwell and John G. Stringer, the new owners of the Flesher farm, for the purchase of the real estate on which Henry Flesher's strawstack stood. After the lapse of two years the deed was recorded. The price paid for the "publick squeare" was $300.
At the June term of the court the business transacted was somewhat widened in scope, and with what had gone before, completes practically the whole round of administrative duties of the old county courts of Lewis County. The first letters of administration were granted to James Mays, administrator of the estate of Jon- athan Mays, deceased. He was also appointed guard- ian of the infant children of Mays. The first levy of the new county was a poll tax of $1.05 on each tithable· The court also approved a list of claims amounting in all to $174.41, which were mainly for rent of a temporary courthouse, stationery and office furniture, extra ser- vices of county officers and claims of two of the commis-
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THE FORMATION OF LEWIS COUNTY
sioners appointed to locate the seat of justice of the county. The complete list of claims is as follows :
To Mrs. Newlon for use of home to hold court in $20.00
To Jacob Minter for making one writing desk 8.50
To Clerk of this Court for extra services (four months) 8.33
To same for books for use of county 18.39
To same for paper for use of county 10.83
To Robert W. Collins, Clerk of the Su-
perior Court for books furnished for use of County 15.37
To same for paper 4.17
To Edwin S. Duncan, Esq., Attorney for
the Commonwealth in the Court for his services for four courts. 16.33
To Sheriff of Lewis County, for extra services 12.50
To Lewis Maxwell, Commissioner to lo- cate the seat of Justice for Lewis County 30.00
To John McCoy for same.
30.00
$174.31
Meanwhile the circuit court for Lewis County was being put in operation. In April, 1817, "the Honorable Daniel Smith, one of the judges of the General court present to hold a Superior Court in the Eleventh judicial district of the Commonwealth," came to the county and set up the "Superior Court of Law for Lewis County." Robert W. Collins was appointed clerk. He took the several oaths and gave bond in the amount of $10,000 John G. Jackson was appointed prosecutor for the Com- monwealth. Edwin S. Duncan and Oliver Phelps were given leave to practice in the court. The first grand jury to be empanelled in the county consisted of William Hacker, foreman, William Simons, William Bennett, James Allen, Daniel Harpold, Alexander West, Samuel
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
Bonnett, John Bailey, Thomas Batten, David Smith, John Starcher, John Life, Jacob Bonnett, Mark Smith, George Fisher, Adam Flesher, Paulser Butcher, Jacob Bush and Robert Simpson. It returned indictments, all for assault and battery, against the following named citi- zens of the county: Zechariah Westfall, Samuel Hall, John Hall, Levi Nutter, Joshua Russell, Travis Walker, Adam Alkire, Jacob Bennett, Mark Hershman and Jacob Romine. A petit jury was summoned upon the indict- ments. In September, 1817, Judge Smith returned for the regular term of court which met every six months. In 1819, Lewis County was made a part of the Fifteenth judicial district and Judge Lewis Summers, perhaps the most distinguished jurist in northwestern Virginia be- fore the Civil war, came to Weston to hold court.
The county court of Lewis County held a session for the transaction of judicial business in June, 1817. A grand jury composed of George Dobson, foreman, John Brown, Peter Hardman, Samuel Stalnaker, William Moneypenny, John Cline, Jacob Wolf, Samuel Oliver, Minter Bailey, Emanuel Alkire, Daniel McCann, George Stealy, David Wolf, Paulser Butcher, William Peterson, Jr,. Martin Life and Jacob Abbott, returned one indict- ment against Presley Hamilton for keeping a tavern and retailing liquor without a license. The usual indict- ments returned to a county court were for assault and battery, profane swearing, failing to observe the Sab- bath day, horse-racing and against road overseers for failing to keep their roads in repair. The overseers usually laid the blame on their companies. At first in- dictments were also made against some of the citizens of the county for failing to work on the roads when called The overseers generally filed a plea in abatement and were allowed to "go without day". In 1819, the court found Lucy, the female slave of Thomas Batton, guilty of having murdered her infant, She was sentenced to be hanged in the courthouse yard at Fleshersville. Her value was appraised at $500, and ordered to be certified
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THE FORMATION OF LEWIS COUNTY
to the auditor of public accounts for the reimbursement of her owner.
In 1819 the following named citizens of the county were appointed school commissioners by the county court : Joseph McCoy, John Mitchell, Asa Squires, David W. Sleeth, Edward Jackson, Lewis Maxwell and Aaron Gould.
The first term of court at the permanent seat of jus- tice appears to have been held in 1818 in a house then being constructed for Lewis Maxwell just across the street from the public square. It is said that Judge Smith sat on a chair placed on Maxwell's workbench. The records were carried about on the person of the clerk or left at his home for the next year or two.
Work on the permanent courthouse was not begun at once, partly owing to the dissatisfaction of the peo- ple of Westfield with the site chosen for the county seat and the threatened appeal to the General Assembly, partly through the lack of funds.
In 1819, the justices were summoned by the sheriff for the purpose of taking action regarding the construc- tion of a permanent courthouse. Two brick kilns which had been burned by James M. Camp, were tendered to the court for use in building the new structure. They were inspected by a commission appointed by the court and were reported to be "good merchantable brick." The court accepted them. Colonel Edward Jackson, Henry McWhorter and Jonathan Wamsley were ap- pointed to contract with a superintendent for construct- ing the building. At the session of the court held in February, 1820, Jacob Lorentz, Joseph McCoy, R. W. Collins and John Mitchell were appointed to submit a plan for the structure. Another committee, consisting of James Allen, Henry McWhorter and R. W. Collins, were appointed on behalf of the court to let the contract which should "be advertised in some publick newspaper in the Town of Clarksburg as well as at the front door of the courthouse of this county." Only the walls,
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
doors and windows were to be contracted for at first, and the court gave notice that only $500 would be paid to the contractor the first year.
The committee for submitting a plan for the struct- ure made their report at the next term of court recom- mending the construction of a courthouse thirty-six feet long and thirty feet wide. Later an allowance was made for an addition for the clerk's office. The contract was let to James M. Camp, who, besides being a building contractor and brickmaker, was also the jailer, captain in the 133rd regiment of the Virginia militia, coal bank owner, real estate dealer, trustee of the town of Weston, tavern keeper and justice of the peace. The building was ready for occupancy some time in 1821. According to the description given by 'Squire Oliver, who saw the building as it was in 1844, it was not a model of archi- tectural beauty. "It would make you laugh," he says, "to see such a building. It was constructed of brick, two stories high with a cupola enormously high, all out of proportion, and when the wind would blow, which it often did, it would sway the whole building. It was, after the style of most of the dwellings, only partly fin- ished. The jury rooms were unplastered. In fact, it never was finished."
The courthouse was used for a great variety of pur- poses. Some of the religious societies in the making held their meetings there; new and struggling congregations listened to their circuit preachers discoursing from the rostrum; the trustees of the town of Weston shaped the policies for development of the town in the jury room; a few terms of school were taught in the building, the classes being dismissed during the glorious period when court was in session ; home talent plays were staged and public meetings were called to meet in the old building which continued to be the courthouse of the county until a more imposing structure was erected in 1856-7. The courthouse yard was "pailed in" in 1832 at a cost of $64.
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THE FORMATION OF LEWIS COUNTY
The county was without a permanent jail until 1824, the prisoners being kept in a building adjoining the home of Jailer James M. Camp, which was erected in 1818 of logs two feet thick. In 1823 a commission was appointed for the erection of a suitable jail. The next year, in accordance with the report of the commissioners, a jail was constructed on the public square. The walls were solidly built of sandstone, but the flues of the chim- neys were so large that prisoners frequently climbed up them and escaped.
In order that prisoners for debt should not be con- fined too closely and also that they might have an op- portunity to go about their business and raise money to pay their debts, the court directed Adam Baird to lay off prison bounds not to exceed ten acres in extent. The bounds at first practically followed the limits of the town of Weston, and also included part of the lands on the west side of the river. Within the bounds the prisoners were allowed to go at will; but they could not go outside the bounds without being in custody. A room was re- served for them in the second story of the jail where they slept at night.
Lewis County in 1820 contained a population of 4,347, of whom 125 were colored. The settlements were still confined mainly to the West Fork and Buckhannon river valleys with a few on Elk river and on the tribu- taries of the Little Kanawha. There was little danger that the settlers in the outlying portions of the county would be numerous enough to demand separate county governments for many years. 1
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NOTE-The statement that Joseph Johnson was a part owner in the Flesher land on which Weston was built is based on his own declaration made late in life. The original deed conveys the land to Maxwell and Stringer, and Johnson's name was not mentioned ; nevertheless his great interest in the campaign and in the building up of the town gives color to his statement of financial interest. As the craftiest politician of his section, his desire to keep the transaction secret is easily explained.
CHAPTER XV. THE BEGINNING OF WESTON
The improved farm of Henry Flesher became a thriving village soon after its selection by the commis- sioners as the county seat of Lewis County. Shortly after the new county was formed Henry Flesher seems to have conveyed about one-third of his farm, embracing all that part east of the river to Joseph Johnson, Lewis Maxwell and john G. Stringer. Johnson lived near Bridge- port, and was afterwards to become famous as the only man west of the Alleghanies who ever became governor of the State of Virginia. His interest soon passed to Maxwell and Stringer who were both young men, and the former had been a member of the commission which selected the permanent county seat.
The new proprietors immediately took measures to develop the old farm as a town-site. Early in 1817, Colonel Edward Jackson was employed to lay off the town into lots and mark the streets. Later a day was set for a great lot sale, and the announcement was posted all over the new county and in Clarksburg. A great crowd was attracted, partly by the desire to secure lots in the new town, partly to partake of the refreshments, partly to meet their friends. It was an occasion long to be re- membered by those who came to the old farm of Henry Flesher, which was then unoccupied, except for a house being built for Lewis Maxwell just opposite the lot designated as the public square. At the end of the day the promoters of the lot sale had no cause to be disap- pointed with their sales. Lots were sold to Thomas M. Batten, James M. Camp, George Conley, Edward H. Jackson, Paulser Butcher, Adam Flesher, Alex Kester,
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THE BEGINNING OF WESTON
William Moneypenny, Sarah Batton, Richard Johnson, John Sprigg, Moses and John West, Charles West and John Pritchard. The last-named purchaser selected lot No. 22 on the right side of Main street, which was the farthest out in the country of any of the lots sold.
The plan of the town as laid off by Edward Jack- son is practically the same as the plan of Weston today, and shows the good sense and vision of the surveyor. His employers were not entirely satisfied with the plan, however, and ten years later they secured an act of the legislature which blocked the head of Main street where the Bland hotel was afterwards built, and extended Water street to connect with Run street. All the streets that now exist in the central part of Weston were surveyed and marked by Colonel Jackson. The lots each contained practically one-fourth acre, having seventy-two and one- half feet frontage and extending back from the street one hundred and fifty feet.
Building operations began at once on most of the lots purchased on the day of the sale, and the village soon contained ten or fifteen log houses. There was only one frame building in the town at that time. It stood op- posite the court house and was occupied by Lewis Mar- well for several years until he built a more imposing house a little farther down Center street. Parts of the first house built in Weston are still standing.
In January, 1818 the General Assembly passed an act establishing the town as Preston, the inhabitants to have the same rights and privileges which have been noted in the case of Westfield. The following named cit- izens of Lewis County were designated as trustees: Henry McWhorter, Paulser Butcher, William Peterson, James M. Camp and Robert W. Collins. The town was called Preston in honor of James P. Preston, then gov- ernor of Virginia. In the autumn of the same year a new county named Preston was formed from Monongalia, and the name became undesirable for the town ; for any- one not acquainted with the geography of northwestern
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
Virginia would probably take it for granted that the town of Preston was the county seat of Preston County. It was very usual in those days for the county seat to bear the same name as the county. The awkward sit- uation was seen immediately by Colonel John McWhor- ter and John Bozarth, who then represented Lewis County in the House of Delegates, and they introduced a bill at once changing the name of the town from Preston to Fleshersville. The new name of course was to commemorate the name of the first settler who had come to the site of the town before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The citizens of the town, particularly the purchas- ers of the original farm, objected strongly to the new name. Henry Flesher, upon selling that part of his farm on the east side of the river, had moved to the other side, and had built his cabin upon what is now a part of the hospital lawn. He had consistently refused to have anything to do with the development of the town. So strong were the objections of some of the influential citizens of the town that at the next session of the legis- lature the delegates from Lewis County again secured a bill changing the name of the town. This time it bore the nondescript designation of Weston, which has at least the advantage that it can be borne by any town west of Eastport, Maine, without awakening jealousies or causing bitter feeling among the first families. The town has since borne the name without serious opposi- tion.
The same year the first postoffice in Lewis County was established at Weston, under William Y. Henry as postmaster. The location of the office and the duration of his term are unknown. The mail was brought once a week from Clarksburg on horseback.
Until the opening of the Clarksburg and Weston turnpike in the late 'forties the streets of Weston were under the supervision of the county court, which appoint- ed overseers to keep them in repair. All the citizens of
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THE BEGINNING OF WESTON
Weston between the ages of sixteen and sixty were compelled to work their own roads and streets. By an order of the county court passed in 1819, the road down the river from Run street to Maxwell's run was made a separate precinct and "all the hands of Weston (were) to work same." The precinct remained unchanged for a quarter of a century, and it was a regular spring and fall occurrence for all the lawyers, merchants and other citizens of high and low degree to take mattocks, picks and shovels and try to put the road in passable condi- tion.
One of the first duties of the governing authorities of the town was to secure ground for a cemetery and the public buildings. The trustees of the town obtained from Stringer and Maxwell an acre of ground lying on the hillside at the head of Center street "for the pur- pose of a Publick Burying yard for the Burying of those who may die in the Said Town and its vicinity and for the purpose of erecting thereon a publick meeting house and School house in Such manner as may hereafter be agreed on by the freeholders and house keepers resi- dent in the said town." This tract is known as the Ar- nold cemetery. For half a century after the establish- ment of the town it was the burial ground of most of the dead. The trustees never erected upon the lot the town hall and the schoolhouse for which purpose it had been donated by the promoters. The courthouse was used both as a meeting place for the trustees and for a schoolhouse for many years afterwards. The people of early Weston seem never to have suffered from too much government at the hands of the trustees.
The early prosperity of Weston was largely due to its position as the political center of the county. The location of the courthouse was a prime factor in inducing citizens from the surounding country to locate in Weston. The court officials of course found it convenient to live near the seat of government. Lawyers and others whose business led them often to the courthouse also located
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
in the town. The crowds who came to the courthouse every court day-and court day came every month-led to the establishment of hotels for their entertainment. One of the first court orders after the establishment of the town gave to Thomas H. Batton the right to keep an ordinary at his house in the town of Weston. An ordinary was a place where meals were served, liquors sold, and lodgings furnished at a certain fixed price. James M. Camp, jailer, militia captain, etc., was given a similar license. Both establishments prospered. Colonel Camp, in spite of his various occupations, found time to be a very hospitable tavern keeper, and it is said that no guest ever went away dissatified with the treatment he had received. People who knew Colonel Camp speak feelingly of his kindliness and good breeding. He seems to have been a man of large vision in business matters, but careless of detail, and the large tracts of land which he at one time owned slipped from his grasp because he failed to have his deeds recorded.
The county court fixed the prices to be charged by the ordinary keepers. Following is the first schedule of prices in effect :
For dieting of every meal's victuals. .25
For a night's lodging. 121/2
For Liquors for Rum per 1/2 pint. 183/4
For Wine per do .25
For Whiskey and Brandy per do. .121/2
Oats and Corn per gallon
.121/2
For Horse to Hay 12 Hours. .17
For same to pasture 12 hours. .121/2
It will be noted that the prices are expressed in most cases in fractions. This is due to the fact that the Eng- lish sixpense (121/2 cents), ninepence (183/4 cents), and shilling (25 cents) were the principal coins in circulation.
The first homes of Henry and Adam Flesher were heated with wood, but Colonel Camp introduced the burning of "stone coal" which was dug by slaves from
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THE BEGINNING OF WESTON
the bank on Stillhouse run (now Town run). This bank continued to be the principal source of fuel for some of the residents of the town until about 1826 when the road to it was discontinued.
Aside from the attraction which the town had as the county seat, Weston possessed many advantages over Westfield and most of the other sites of the county which the commissioners might have chosen. As a com- mercial center the location could hardly have been in- proved upon at that time; and the county has been so judiciously pared down in the creation of other counties that Weston remains still the commercial as well as the political center of the county. The road along the West Fork river was the natural route of travel for all the res- idents of Collins Settlement to reach the state road at Clarksburg. The old Indian trail through the Polk creek and Stone Coal valleys was the natural route of travel from the settlements on the Buckhannon and the upper Tygart's valley sections to the west. The site was already an important center of roads when it was chosen by the commissioners. It would probably in time have become a considerable center of trade even if the courthouse had been located at Westfield, and it might have become the leading town in the county without the residences of the court officials and the crowds on court days.
It was not long after the establishment of the town that its importance as a business center was realized. Weeden Hoffman, who had started a small store at Westfield about 1817 or 1818, moved his stock of goods to the county seat about 1823, locating about where Kaplan's store is now. The first store building was not a large one and the stock of goods was not very ex- tensive, but it was nevertheless a great improvement for the town. People were able to secure their goods without having to go to Lorentz' or Westfield. On ac- count of the small amount of currency in northwestern Virginia at that time most of the receipts of the mer.
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A HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY
chant were in produce. Whiskey at ten dollars a barrel, ginseng, hides, butter, maple sugar, honey, beeswax and other products of forest and farm were stored in the wareroom adjoining until the wagons could go to the east.
Most of the stock in trade came from Baltimore, and was hauled over the wretched roads in monster cov- ered wagons. Merchants went east on horseback once or twice a year to purchase their stocks, which were deliv- ered in Weston by teamsters who made a regular busi- ness of hauling goods. The charges for transportation were about three cents a pound. The trip one way re- quired eighteen days, though the bill of lading allowed three weeks. The price of the goods was reduced as the distance necessary to transport the goods by wagon was lessened .. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad reached Har- per's Ferry in 1839, Cumberland in 1842, Piedmont in 1850, Fetterman (near Grafton) 1852, and Clarksburg in July, 1856.
The second store established in Weston was that of R. P. Camden, who commenced business apparently on the corner now occupied by the National Exchange bank, about 1827. The business was continued there and else- where for many years. After 1834 the proprietor of the store was also the postmaster, and the mails were sorted in one corner of the building set aside for the purpose. Other early merchants were Allen Simpson and Mc- Bride and Smith.
The county seat was also recognized as an excellent location for the establishment of a mill by several citi- zens. Wheat and corn could be ground in 1819 at the Jackson mill below Weston, and corn at the Connelly mill a short distance out Polk creek. It was thought that Weston was a better location than either because of the number of residents in the town and also because of its being a center of travel. There was considerable ri- valry among the applicants for permission to erect the mill. Joseph Johnson, who was one of the proprietors of the
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THE BEGINNING OF WESTON
land on which the town was built, in order to increase the desirability of residence on his lots, applied, in April, 1817, to have a commission appointed to condemn land for a mill below the mouth of Stone Coal creek. Before his application could be acted upon he sold out his inter- est in the town site to the other two partners, and al- lowed it to lapse. A little later in the year the court, granted permission to John Burnside to erect a mill dam across the West Fork river on Johnson's location. The
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