USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 50
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The first bank established in Charleston was a branch of the Bank of Virginia, in 1832,
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with J. C. McFarland as President, Samuel Hannah as Cashier, and John M. Doddridge, Teller.
The first ferry franchise was granted by the Legislature to George Clendenen in De- cember, 1794, to run from the point of junction of the Kanawha and Elk Rivers, across both rivers.
In 1809, John and Langston Ward started a ferry across the Kanawha at the mouth of the Ferry Branch, but it was not legally established until 1812.
The Alexander Quarrier Ferry and the James Wilson Ferry were established in 1820.
The first clock and watch maker to locate here was Thomas Matthews, in 1808. He was an ingenious and skilful workman, and made by hand many of the old eight-feet, eight- day clocks in vogue here in the early part of the century. He was eccentric as well as in- genious. He used to say that "the primitive settlers here were as healthy, peaceable, moral and happy a people as he ever saw until the doctors, lawyers and preachers came in; then," he said, "they began to get sick, to quarrel and law with each other, and to develop all sorts of meanness." I don't know whether he claimed to have established the relation of cause and effect between these phenomena, or whether he regarded them as merely curious coin- cidences.
Fleming Cobb, of canoe memory, brought from East Virginia the first fruit trees to the valley. The eccentric "Mad Ann" Bailey brought the first geese to the valley, and she brought on horseback the first worm-still for making whiskey. The first tanyard was started by William Blaine, below Elk, "in an early day." The first dray and hearse were brought here by Noah Colly, colored, about 1835. The first regular undertaker was S. A. Skees, in 1867. The first cabinetmaker was James G. Taylor, about 1833.
The wire suspension bridge across the Elk was built by a stock company in 1852. It was cut down by General Wise, in 1861, but repaired by the company.
The Keystone Bridge was built by J. Brisben Walker in 1873, destroyed by ice in 1879, and rebuilt by the county in 1885 as a free bridge.
The first Circuit Court ever held here was by Judge Coulter on the 29th day of April, 1809.
Of Judge Coulter the following anecdote is related: Having fined a transgressor for some infraction of the law at this first sitting, the victim, probably not a teetotaller, arose and, unabashed by the solemn dignity of his surroundings, addressed the Court as follows: "See here, Mr. Judge, ain't you a-settin' of your Coulter a leetle too deep for new ground?"
Judge James Allen followed Judge Coulter in September, 1811, and Judge Lewis Sum- mers succeeded Judge Allen on the bench in 1819, and held the position until 1843.
The first steamboat ever at Charleston was the Andrew Donnally, in January, 1821; the next was the Eliza in 1823.
In 1833, there was a very exciting and long-remembered steam boat race here, on which, it is said, several thousand dollars changed hands. The principal bet was $500 between Mr. T. S. A. Matthews on the canoe, and Capt. N. B. Coleman on his steamboat, the Daniel Webster. The canoe was a long, slim and well-proportioned "dug-out," highly polished and varnished to lessen the friction of the water, and was manned by six young and athletic rowers, full of pluck and confidence.
The opinions of the public were about equally divided; every one was willing to back his judgment, and betting ran high among all classes of citizens, ranging from a few dollars to several hundred dollars in amount. But the canoe soon came to grief; it was capsized by the passing steamer, and the confident rowers treated to an involuntary bath. The vener-
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able Capt. N. B. Coleman is, I believe, the last survivor of those directly connected with the contest. The late J. H. Goshorn was the last of the rowers.
In the fifties a sprightly young lady from one of the Northern cities, and who had been reared amid all the luxuries and conveniences of city life, came to Charleston to visit one of her "country cousins." Upon her return home she reported to her friends that the Charlestonians were a charmingly simple-minded and worthy sort of people, but with oh! such primitive ways. "Would you believe it," said she, "that they still preach hell-fire down there, and haul their water in barrels?"
The first frame house built here was on Kanawha street, just below the Court-House lot, in 1813. The next was on the south side of Kanawha street above Alderson, in 1814. The first brick house was on the bank between Truslow and Clendenen streets, and is still standing.
The first general merchants here were Henning & McFarland, in 1813, followed by Bureau, Summers & Scales, at the corner of Summers and Kanawha streets.
In 1871, the street nomenclature, hitherto much confused, was reconstructed and re- corded.
In the same year Spring Hill Cemetery was established, and the city first lighted with gas.
In the same year the first steam ferry across Kanawha River was established.
In 1872, the West Virginia Legislature first met here.
In 1873, the Chesapeake and Ohio R. R. was opened to travel, and the U. S. Govern- ment commenced the improvement of the navigation of the Kanawha River.
The first natural-gas well in America was struck within the present city limits, by Capt. James Wilson, in 1815, while boring for salt water. It is on the river bank nearly opposite the residence of Mr. Frank Woodman.
The first tailor here was James Truslow, in 1815. The first shoemaker was George Mitchell, in 1815. The first hatter was Gabriel Garrou, in 1816. The first pottery-ware maker was Stephen Sheppard, in 1818. The first wharf-boat here was established by H. W. Goodwin, in 1865. The first public free-school building was erected in 1870.
The first brick pavement (roadway) in America was laid by J. P. Hale in Capitol street in 1870. Summers street was paved with brick in 1873, and is still in use and in good con- dition.
In 1875, the State Capitol "on wheels" was removed to Wheeling. In 1885, it was re- turned to Charleston, its now " permanent location," the location having been settled by a vote of the people of the State.
In 1884, the Government Post-Office block was completed and occupied. In the same year the O. C., now the K. & M. R. R., was completed to Charleston.
The first wholesale grocery was established by Ruby & Hale, in 1872. The first whole- sale dry-goods house was by Jelenko Bros., in 1874. The first hardware wholesalers were W. F. & J. H. Goshorn, in 1875. The first wholesale liquor dealers were Samuel Strauss & Co., in 1876. The first wholesale shoe house was kept by Jalenko & Loeb, in 1877.
In September, 1861, occurred the highest flood ever known in the Kanawha River since the valley was settled, It rose to 46 feet 1012 inches above low-water mark, and submerged most of the city. The next highest water was in September, 1878, when it was 41 feet 7 inches above low-water mark.
In 1884, the City Hall was built. In 1885, ice-making machinery was introduced here by Lieutenant Staunton. In 1886, the county rebuilt the Keystone Bridge. In the same
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year the Charleston Water Works Company commenced the service of water. In 1887, electric lights were introduced by Mr. Michaelson. In 1890, the Charleston Street R. R. commenced running. In 1891, the splendid steel bridge across the Kanawha River was com- pleted and opened. In 1892, the Burlew Opera House was opened. It is a superior struc- ture, with all improvements and seats 1,500.
The approximate population of Charleston at the several dates given below has been about as follows:
1788 to 1790. 35
1798 to 1800. 60
1805 to 1810.
100
1820
500
1830
750
1840
1,200
1850
1,500
1860
1, 800
1870
4,000
1880
4,500
1890, with suburbs
10,000
About one-fifth, or twenty per cent, of the population is colored.
The early settlers of a new country are generally an enterprising, wide-awake and pro- gressive people. It is such people who have the pluck and energy to sever their connections with an old community and go to a new-to go West and grow up with the country, or go West and build up a country.
From all the accounts we have of them, the earlier settlers of Charleston and vicinity were no exception to this rule. On the contrary, these characteristics were probably excep- tionally pronounced in their cases; and for racy, sprightly wit and fresh originality, in ad- dition to their general intellectual development, I doubt if they were excelled by the builders of any other Western town in the United States.
There is still afloat here, handed down traditionally, a fund of humorous and racy anec- dotes in relation to the smart sayings, doings and practical jokings of these old worthies that would fill a volume if gathered together.
"They were such men, take them for all in all, We shall not look upon their like again."
THE CAPITAL CITY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
FOLLOWING Dr. Hale's chapter of early history of old Charleston, the new Charleston and Capital City of West Virginia has so much of modern improvement and commercial im- portance to distinguish it that a reference thereto is deemed appropriate for this volume.
The Capital City of West Virginia is situated on the Great Kanawha River and has all the natural advantages desirable in an inland location, with ample room for growth from Elk River eastward. "The corporate limits are about four hundred acres in extent, and to this territory it adds the mercantile control of Elk City, a thriving town on the western bank of the Elk River, as well as that of the village of Ruffner, South Side, and North Charleston. These divisions are purely imaginary except in name, for the interests of these towns are most closely allied with those of Charleston proper. The population of Charleston may be
CAPITOL BUILDING, CHARLESTON, W. VA.
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estimated at the minimum of 12,000, to which may be added a considerable floating popula- tion not calculable."
The Great Kanawha joins the Ohio waterway to Cincinnati and beyond-away down to the Crescent City. What an extensive intercommunication, and what a teeming pathway of commerce it will be in the years to come when a vast population in that extensive chain of river ports shall give demand for the coal and iron and lumber, the fruits and other life-sus- taining products, which West Virginia will always be able to supply!
The beauty of the Great Kanawha is of a tangible and permanent character. The banks are high and steep and fringed with small wood; beyond are the hills and mountains in noble repose, while a peaceful quiet reigns over all the scene, broken only by the railroad or steamboat whistles, resounding in the dells and valleys like the blast of a conch shell.
The climate of Charleston is particularly favorable for nervous affections, the ozone of the air being superabundant and invigorating, while the heat of Summer is equalized in a most remarkable manner by the rapid condensation and precipitation so characteristic of this section of the Kanawha Valley, where an impromptu shower bursts upon the day as if at pleasure, and sweeps over the city in a harmless yet decided energy of rainfall.
Charleston has plenty of territory along the north bank of the Kanawha for future de- velopment. Her front or Kanawha street-now partly given up to business and partly to the dwellings of her prosperous citizens-affords one of the finest prospects of river view and hillside to be seen in any city of the United States. The Kanawha, with its improved chan- nel and costly lock-and-dam system, will float all freight to and fro at any season of the year, and the steamboats and tows gliding by give an ever-changing scene of commercial activity.
The city has the very purest of river water, supplied by that beautiful and transparent mountain stream, the Elk.
The buildings of Charleston on her principal streets are decidedly abreast of the times, both in solidity of construction and architectural appearance. Tall and deep stores, with plate-glass fronts, are a feature of the business locality that the stranger is at once impressed with. It is stated upon intelligent and reliable information that Charleston does more wholesale business in all commodities than any other city of equal population between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Another authority says: "With the most entire assurance and confidence, the writer proclaims that no city of corresponding population in America, ten years ago, has made equal permanent advancement with Charleston within the decade-es- pecially in those things which go toward making a community great, prosperous and happy. Its expansion in all material interests has been simply marvellous."
On Capitol street are several superior buildings of stone and brick, namely: The Charleston and Citizens' National Banks, the Kanawha National Bank, and the Kanawha Valley Bank; Government building and Post-Office; Coyle & Richardson's; Shrewsbury block; Daily Gazette building-a five-story printing and publishing house of large capacity ; the Burlew Opera House, massive and artistic, with a stage complete for setting any great play or spectacular performance.
At the head of all stands the State Capitol Building, with every element of good judg- ment and artistic beauty combined in its construction, and manifest in the halls of legis- lation and justice, which are spacious and lofty and full of light and ventilation. West Vir- ginia's Capitol is Charleston's pride. The spires are high and picturesque, and the ensemble of the structure suggestive of a University as much as of a State House and public reposi- tory. The architecture is Renaissance, with Gothic predominating above, and a blending of Corinthian and Doric below.
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1
Surrounding this beautiful and cheerful-looking Capitol is an extensive lawn, dotted with shade trees, and the great care bestowed upon this green carpet keeps it always in at- tractive condition.
No city of equal population anywhere can welcome Sunday with a more numerous or tuneful ringing of church bells, and such stone edifices as the First Presbyterian, the Kana- wha Presbyterian and the Episcopal Churches would grace the richest avenues of any large city in the United States or Europe.
Across the Kanawha the city communicates with South Charleston over a first-class iron and steel bridge, with approaches a quarter of a mile long, and having four stone piers, with a main span of 400 feet between piers and 415 feet from centre to centre of piers.
Here on the south bank of the river are an iron foundry and machine shops and the tubular boiler works. Near the bridge abutment is the depot of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, a great trunk line of costly construction and noted for solidity, speed and comfort. A few more intercommunicating railroads, like the Kanawha and Michigan and the Elk River Railroads with terminals at Charleston-which are now under way-will make sure her destiny as a future centre of trade and manufacture and the Capital City of a highly favored State, whose wealth of coal, iron and timber is fairly beyond reckoning.
Charleston was first made the Capital of West Virginia by Legislative Act of February 26, 1869. Previous to that date Wheeling had been the Capital from the formation of the State, June 20, 1863, and had so continued to April 1, 1870, when the Legislature voted to remove to Charleston, and it may be remarked that this desire of Kanawha County to possess the State Government became manifest from the first; the subject was constantly agitated by her distinguished men.
On May 27, 1869, a meeting of citizens was held in Charleston to prepare for building the State Capitol, or "State House" as it was then called, in accordance with the provisions of the Act that they should erect such a building at their own expense. A "State House Company" was formed, and stock issued at $500 a share. On August 25, 1869, the. Com- pany was incorporated with these charter members:
George Jeffries, L. L. Comstock, John Claypool, William A. Quarrier, Job E. Thayer, John Slack, Sr., Hedgeman Slack, Thomas B. Swann, Greenberry Slack, Henry C. Mc- Whorter, Nicholas Fitzhugh, Samuel A. Miller, Edward B. Knight, Henry Chappel, Ben- . jamin H. Smith, James H. Brown, John Bryden, Albert M. Doyle, John P. Hale (Henry C. McWhorter, Agent for Charleston Extension Company), David Eagan, Moses Franken- burger, Dulce R. Laidley, Gilliland & Anderson, W. T. Thayer, Samuel Christy, and William H. Edwards, all of Charleston, except the last, who resided at Coalburg. Upon the organization of the company, Col. Benjamin H. Smith was elected President; John Slack, Sr., Treasurer; and Henry C. McWhorter, Secretary; with these gentlemen as a Board of Directors: Thomas B. Swann, Benjamin H. Smith, William A. Quarrier, Greenberry Slack, and E. B. Knight.
A Cincinnati architect prepared the plans, and on September 11, 1869, the contract for the structure was let to Dr. John P. Hale for $50,000. The first stone was laid on the 20th of that month, and on November 3 the corner-stone was put down in the midst of ap- propriate cereinonies, with Masonic honors. Changes in the design of the building increased the cost to $71,000. The stock-holders raised $40,000, and Dr. Hale made up the deficiency of $31,000, but completed the work and fulfilled the promise of having the building ready in time, and on April 1, 1870, it was formally occupied by the State Government.
Wheeling now wanted the prize back again and made efforts to secure it. An Act was
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passed February 20, 1875, by which that city once more became the seat of government; and this change was no doubt made largely because of the difficulty of access to and from Charleston, as river transit only was to be had, unless a long journey were made by horse- back or wagon and stage to and from Parkersburg. The completion of the Kanawha and Michigan and the Ohio River Railroads, together with the Chesapeake and Ohio, changed all this, and brought Charleston within easy communication of different sections of the State. These conditions were in favor of Wheeling at that time, and her citizens offered to put up a State House of imposing proportions, costing some $75,000, which was finally built and oc- cupied by the State Government in 1876. The records and State archives were kept at Charleston by process of law, but on the 29th of May the Governor and his officers departed for Wheeling. The injunction was finally dissolved by the Court of Appeals and the ar- chives taken to that city.
But the Charlestonians did not relinquish the hope of permanently securing the State Government, and again the question was agitated in the Legislature for a final settlement, to take effect after the ten years had elapsed which the law specified should be the term at Wheeling.
The State House built by the citizens of Wheeling is a splendid structure and a credit to the State; nevertheless Wheeling was compelled to relinquish the prize by Act of the Legis- lature of February 21, 1877, when the question was left to be decided by the vote of the people of the State, with three places named for a choice, viz. : Clarksburg, Martinsburg and Charleston, the city receiving the largest number of votes to become the permanent Capital of West Virginia on and after May 1, 1885. A most spirited canvass among the people resulted in a victory for Charleston.
The old State House had been deeded August 13, 1878, to the Board of Public Works, as representing a property value, including $8, ooo for the land, of $79,000. The Act allowed $50,000 toward the new building, which was built around the old one under the architec- tural designs of Kemble & Peeples, of Pittsburg. The Board of Public Works advertised for bids, which on May 27, 1880, were opened, and the contract awarded to A. H. Sheppard for $183, 245, but owing to changes in specifications the amount was reduced to $150,000. Mr. Sheppard went ahead up to December 14, 1882, when he had been paid $135,000. The terms of contract held Io per cent back until after the completion of the building. Shep- pard asked for this $15,000, in order to enable him to finish the work, as he claimed, but this was refused by the Board, and his counsel admitted that he was not able to go on with the contract. S. M. Howard then succeeded Kemble & Peeples as architect, and on June 24, 1884, the contract for finishing the Capitol Building was awarded to Henry D. Ruffner and James Grady on a bid of $61,500. Several thousand dollars were then required to perfect the plans, and the structure was finished on July 7, 1888, when the Board of Public Works received the building and paid the balance in full on the contract. Kelly & Jones, of Pittsburg, did the plumbing and heating work at a cost of $34,000. (For further particulars and details see Southern Historical Magazine, Charleston.) According to this authority the Capitol Building and grounds represent a total cost of $389, 923. 58. "The front wall facing Capitol street is 230 feet in length and surmounted by a tower 194.03 feet high, being 125.5 feet to the centre of the dial of the clock placed therein. The central hall extends back from the main entrance 180 feet; while the east and west wings extend in the same direction 130 feet. In the building are 85 rooms, 121 doors, 313 windows, and 832 gas-jets, which, in 1891, consumed 979, 400 feet of gas."
As a matter of historical significance it is worth noting the vote on the Capital as taken
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from the official tables. Kanawha gave 6, 140 votes for Charleston, 42 for Clarksburg, and 2 for Martinsburg; whereas Lewis County gave Clarksburg 1, 426, and Charleston 261, with 29 for Martinsburg. Boone, Clay, Lincoln and McDowell gave their entire vote to Charles- ton without one exception; Cabell gave 6 for Clarksburg and 1, 832 for Charleston; Dodd- ridge, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Preston, Ritchie, Taylor, and Wetzel Counties gave their entire vote, almost, for Clarksburg; Wood County was about equally divided; Ohio County, in which Wheeling is included, gave 2,615 for Clarksburg, 1, 193 for Martinsburg, and 218 for Charleston; Taylor and Ritchie Counties gave nearly their whole vote to Clarks- burg; while Roane, Summers, Wayne and Wyoming gave, respectively 2, 3 and 2 for Clarks- burg, I each for Summers and Wayne to Martinsburg, and the rest to Charleston; Raleigh and Putnam gave all but 2 and 5 each to Charleston, and these small favors went to Clarks- burg. The totals were: Clarksburg, 29, 942; Martinsburg, 8, 046; Charleston, 41, 243, or 11, 310 plurality, and a majority of 3, 255 over Clarksburg and Martinsburg combined.
To illustrate how Kanawha voted in comparison with Harrison, in which Clarksburg is located, and Ohio County which has a large vote, the election totals for each in 1876 are given, being the vote cast for Governor of that year. Kanawha County gave a total Demo- cratic and Republican vote of 4,813; Harrison, 3, 364; Ohio, 7,084. In 1877, on the Capital selection, Kanawha voted a total of 6, 184; Harrison, 3,888, and Ohio, 4,026, showing a gain of votes for Kanawha over the 1876 election for Governor of 1, 371 ; of Harrison, a gain of 524 votes, while Ohio County voted 3, 058 less on the Capital question than on the Governorship of the year before. These figures show what an effective canvass was made by the friends of Charleston, and the State Government in all probability will remain where it is for the future. B.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE GREAT KANAWHA RIVER.
NOT until March, 1875, did the Kanawha River enterprise receive important recognition under the River and Harbor Law, and then it obtained a very substantial start of $300, 000. But the measure required yearly agitation in order to secure a share of the total sum allowed for internal waterway improvements, which were more or less dependent upon the President's scrutiny of the bill and his preferences for or opposition to the specific amounts called for. That the State of West Virginia to-day can show such a great engineering work is due wholly to her Representatives in Congress and the Senate during the first few years of River and Harbor legislation, when neither her political prestige nor her geographical position were favorable for the promulgation of her needs in this very important particular of river trans- portation through her Southern domain. The work is now well-nigh completed and will re- main as enduring as the stream itself, which has been raised to the dignity of a navigable waterway with almost unlimited carrying capacity at all seasons of the year, and destined to float to the markets of the world the inexhaustible deposits of coal and iron and the lum- ber from forests whose variety and extent are fairly bewildering. In compiling a statement of this engineering work and of its results in the betterment of the State, of course little or nothing can be said which has not before been said carefully and scientifically in official re- ports of the progress of the enterprise, and we shall herewith do the best we can in arrang- ing for the purposes of reference and of historical record such extracts as shall, in a limited sphere, be most essential to the object in view. The Charleston Daily Gazette of October 27, 1891, has the following graphic description of the building of Lock Seven, typical of the great improvement generally. After referring to "the long period of low water, as yet un-
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