USA > West Virginia > Marion County > History and progress of the county of Marion, West Virginia, from its earliest settlement by the whites, down to the present, together with biographical sketches of its most prominent citizens > Part 5
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CHAPTER XV.
THE IRISH RIOT-THE GREAT FRESHET- COMPLETION OF THE RAILROAD-SUS- PENSION BRIDGE BUILT, ETC.
ARION county made no rapid strides in the " March of progress," until the year 1849, when a decided increase in her population com- menced, the tide of immigration following closely in the footsteps of the engineers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who completed their survey during this year. Some of the immigrants, however, were not of the most desirable character, and the history of Marion county at this time teems with stories of the feuds of the Irishmen who were employed in con- structing the railroad. These Irishinen, fresh from the bogs of Connaught and the Lakes of Killarny, brought with them all their local feuds and predju- dices. They had not been in this country long enough to learn that "all men are born free and equal," so that in their work it was necessary to keep · the men of the different clans apart, for certain as a Fardowner met a Connaughter, a fight ensued-the
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
fact that they were of different elans being sufficient cause for the most active hostilities. The Con- naughters who were employed at Benton's Ferry con- cluded one morning to make an attack on the Far- downers at Ice's Mills, a few miles distant, settle all old scores, and by one grand stroke drive them from the county. Accordingly they formed themselves into a band two hundred strong, and made a descent on Ice's Mills. The Fardowners, taken entirely by sur- prise, threw all work aside .and fled in dismay to Fairmont for protection. The Connaughters pursued them closely, firing off an occasional gun, or stopping to beat a poor fellow who was down, until, with shouts and Irish yells, they came rushing down the hills into the town. Here pursued and pursuers were brought to a stand still, for the citizens soon recovering from their astonishment turned out en masse and arrested every assailant they saw, so that in a very short time eighty-eight men were in jail. Not a very remark- able feat, when it is known that the raw Irishmen offered no resistance when being arrested. So great was thier terror of the law that a negro slave captured six men by simply grasping each by the arm and saying, "I arrest you, sir, you must go to jail." The prisoners were kept until the next day when nearly all were released. Shortly after, the remaining few were given their liberty, thus ending the Irish riot, long famous in the annals of Fairmont.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
In the summer of this year, 1849, the construction of three turn pikes-one leading to Weston, another to Beverly and the third to Fishing Creek-was be- gun. This enterprise, coupled with that of the rail- road, was the greatest incentive to industry and pro- gress the people of Marion had ever received.
The year 1852 is notable in the history of Marion county for three important events : The great flood, the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the building of the wire suspension bridge con- necting Fairmont and Palatine.
The great flood, which destroyed thousands of dol- lars worth of property, occurred on Monday the 5th of April, 1852. By reason of the heavy rains that had fallen the day before the West Fork and Mononga- hela rivers rose with fearful rapidity until 3 o'clock on Tuesday, rising at the rate of five feet per hour during part of the time-when the Monongahela at Fairmont attained a perpendicular height of forty- three feet above an ordinarily low stage of water, and eight feet higher than a great rise in 1807. The de- struction of property, particularly on the West Fork, was very great. On Monday about forty houses floated by Fairmont. How many passed during the night was unknown. Among them were the mills of Mr. Griffin, of Harrison county, and Mr. Lucas, of Worthington, and the mill and carding machine house of a Mr. Brice, of this county.
-
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
"In the town of Worthington every house, except one and the parts of two others, was swept away, and with them a large quantity of household goods. We insert the following, clipped from the account of the freshet, which appeared in the Fairmont True Virgin- ian the Saturday after the flood :
"The apothecary shop of our friend Dr. P. Davis, was seen passing by our town with cases, books and med- icines apparently uninjured. A cat was in a window, seemingly surveying, with much composure, the roam- ing element on which it was riding. A portion of his property was rescued and brought to shore. The only house which remains in Worthington, is the brick standing back from the river, and a part of that of R. Parish, occupied by T. P'. Lilly as a hotel, and a part of W. Hood's house. Mr. Hood lost his store house. and the greater part of his goods. The mill of Mr. Hoult, below town, has also been carried away by the
flood. But little damage, comparatively, has been sustained by the citizens of this place or Palatine. The greatest sufferers are the Messrs. Jacksons and William Gallahne. The mill property of the former has been considerably injured, but it is supposed that $700 will cover the loss. The house of Mr. Gallahue, near the lower ferry, with all his household goods and much of his provisions laid in for the year, and a small house below his, on the river bank, were swept away. It is impossible to enumerate all the cases of loss and suffering. One hundred thousand dollars will hardly cover the damages sustained by the citi- zens of this county alone. The railroad has also been
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
greatly injured, and it is apprehended that its com- pletion to this point will be delayed some two weeks. What has been the injury in Taylor county, we have not learned, but not much, we hope and suppose. And we sincerely hope it may not be as bad in Harrison as has been estimated by persons up the river. The 5th of April, 1852, will long be remembered as an important epoch in the history of this county, being the date of, by far, the greatest freshet within the memory of our oldest inhabitants, or known to them by tradition.
" P. S .- Rivesville also has sustained very great damage. Several of the best houses there have been carried away. Among them are the house and shop of S. F. Morris, the warehouse at the Pawpaw bridge and the bridge, all the stabling and out-buildings of Mr. Snodgrass, besides smaller tenements and shops.
"Newport, a little village on the opposite bank of the river, between this and Morgantown was com- pletely inundated, and we learn that one or two of the houses there were floated off. Almost every hour since the freshet we have received intelli- gence of some additional disaster. There seems in- deed to be no end to the destruction of property.
"The Tygart's Valley river was not so high as it was in 1846, and but little or no damage, therefore, has been sustained on that river. The great rise was in the West Fork."
On the 23d of June of the same year the comple- tion of the railroad to Fairmont was celebrated. The President and Directors of the Company, together with a large number of gentlemen from the cities of 9
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
Baltimore, Cumberland, Wheeling, Martinsburg, etc., and a large number of Marion county citizens, assem- bled in an arbor erected for the occasion, at a place now known as " the Y," about half a mile below town. We again clip from the True Virginian of June 26th, 1852 :
"According to appointment the President and Di- rectors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a portion of the City Council, with a large number of other gen- tlemen from the city of Baltimore, from Cumberland, Wheeling, Martinsburg, &c., and also a portion of our county men as the guests of the Company assembled at the arbor erected for the occasion, about half a mile below town, near Mr. U. Barns', on the evening of the 22d inst., to celebrate the completion of the road to this point. The train from Baltimore did not arrive until about S o'clock in the evening, owing to a tem- porary obstruction at the Big Tunnel. This was a disappointment to many of our citizens who had come a long distance to see the cars arrive, but who were compelled, in consequence of the lateness of the hour, to leave without gratifying their curiosity.
" Immediately after the arrival of the cars the com- pany were seated at the table which was well filled with the choicest viands and every luxury of the season-not omitting that " which brings good cheer." The company was a very large one, consisting of sev- eral hundred. In a short time the Hon. Mr. Swann, the President of the Railroad Company, was called out for a speech, and most ably did he respond to the call. We would like to give, at least, the head of his chaste
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
and elegant address, but the want of time and room forbid at present. He was followed by Mr. Young, of the Baltimore City Council, who introduced to the audience Mr. H. D. Brooke, of the Fourteenth City Ward, and in a speech, rich, racy and musical, he put the crowd in the very finest humor. He was fol- lowed by Mr. F. H. Peirpoint, and him by Mr. A. F. Haymond. These gentlemen made most excellent and appropriate speeches in their usual eloquent style. Mr. B. H. Latrobe was then called to the floor and made a highly interesting speech. He was followed by a Mr. Grey, who dilated upon the services of Mr. George Brown, of Baltimore, which brought that gen- tleman to his feet, but only to call out Mr. Latrobe, the distinguished attorney for the Company. This gentleman made an eloquent and beautiful speech. He was followed by Col. T. S. Haymond, which wound up, to the best of our knowledge and belief, the truly agreeable and interesting entertainment. It was the feast of reason and flow of soul. Between the speeches, that fine and justly celebrated brass band from Balti- more discoursed some of the sweetest music, employing none but sweetest notes for the occasion. Every at- tention was shown the visitors and strangers, and the regret was that their stay could not have been pro- longed. They left about 10 o'clock on Wednesday morning. The occasion was one which merited the celebration, and the celebration was worthy of the occasion."
Shortly afterward the road was completed through to Wheeling, passing through the following towns and villages in Marion county: Valley Falls, Nu-
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
zum's Mills, Benton's Ferry, Texas, Flemingsburg, [Johntown], Fairmont, Uztown, Barnesville, Barrack- ville, Farmington, Mannington and Glover's Gap. At Flemingsburg, which lies a short distance below the confluence of the Tygart's Valley and West Fork riv- ers, one mile west of Fairmont. the Monongahela is crossed by the railroad by means of a magnificent iron bridge, constructed at great cost to the company. The viaduct is 650 feet long and 35 feet above low water surface. This bridge was destroyed by the Confeder- ates during the War of the Rebellion, but shortly af- terward was rebuilt.
The suspension bridge across the Monongahela riv- er, connecting Fairmont and Palatine, which was fin- ished during this year, was built under the direction of Mr. James L. Randolph, assistant engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ; at a cost of about thirty thousand dollars. The State of Virginia subscribed twelve thousand and the citizens of Fairmont and Palatine eight thousand dollars of stock. The resi- due necessary to complete the bridge was borrowed and afterwards ail paid from the tolls of the company. This bridge, seen from a distance, is a most beautiful structure, hanging like a spider's web from the mas- sive stone towers that rise above, supporting it on either side-a very long and high web, however, for the distance from tower to tower is five hundred and sixty feet, while the bridge is fifty feet above the wa-
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
ter at its ordinary stage. The platform which con- nects the bridge proper with the land is eighty-five feet in length.
April 22d, of this year, the county was divided off into seven districts or townships, pursuant to an act passed April 3d, by the Legislature. The commission- ers who performed the work were Austin Merrill, Ben- jamin Fleming, George M. Ryan, Elijah B. Ross, Z. Musgrave, M. Vangilder, John Conaway, J. C. Beaty, Aaron Hawkins, and Jacob Straight. The names of the districts were: Boothsville district, No. 1-voting place at William Shaver's; Palatine district, No. 2- voting places at the store of Hezekiah Boggess, and the house of Enos Nuzum; Eastern district, No. 3- . voting places at Meredith's tavern, and the house of Henry S. Pride; Fairmont district; No. 4-voting pla- ces at the court house in Fairmont, and Conaway & Son's store in Barrackville; Pawpaw district, No. 5- voting places at Basnett's store in Basnettsville, and at the house of Amos Snodgrass in Milford; Worth- ington district, No. 6-voting places at Thomas P. Lilly's tavern in Worthington, and Col. W. J. Wil- ley's store in Farmington; Mannington district, No. 7-voting places at the tavern of Alexander Talking- ton in Mannington, and at the tavern in Beaty's Mills.
Afterwards the names of the districts were changed to those they now hold and they were called townships ;
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
they are now, however, called districts as before. The names of the districts at present are as follows: Fair- mont, Union, Grant, Winfield, Pawpaw, Lincoln and Mannington. The name "township," was changed to "district " by a new constitution made in 1872.
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CHAPTER XVI.
THE CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTY.
IN the year 1815, a Presbyterian minister, who had been holding a series of meetings in the neigh- borhood of Fairmont, preaching wherever he could obtain a room large enough to contain the people, effected a regular church organization. This event took place in a barn on the farm of Asa Hall, near ' Barnesville, and is believed to be the first permanent church organization within the bounds of Marion county, though there is one at Gilboa which claims to have a prior existence. The former organization, now known as the Presbyterian Church of Fairmont, in 1822 built a frame church on the ground afterwards occupied by the old brick building that has recently been demolished, which stood on Jefferson street, op- posite the Mountain City House. This frame church was of the most primitive description. No lath or plaster covered its walls, and no ceiling reflected the light of the tallow candles in their dim candle-sticks fastended to the posts, or held in position against the
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
wall by two nails driven into the studding. In 1850, this church gave place to the old brick that, in turn, has been pulled down to help furnish material for the handsome Presbyterian Church that now stands on the corner of Jefferson and Jackson streets, built in 1879.
The first brick church built within the town of Fairmont was the recently demolished Protestant Episcopal Church, which was built by the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and used by them until the building of their present commodious place of wor- ship on Main street, in the year 1852. Among the events which took place within its walls, are some of secular as well as of religious interest, for here the first court that ever convened in the county, held its regu- lar sessions, and it continued to be used for that pur- pose until a court house was built.
In 1834, the Methodist Protestant denomination built a frame church on Quincy street, and after a lapse of seventeen years, it was pulled down to make room for the substantial brick structure which now ' stands on the same ground. This latter church, erected in 1851, is still used as a place of worship by the Methodist Protestant denomination.
It seems hard to realize, on looking at an old log building, now used as a barn, standing at Yellow Rock Ford, two and a half miles from the mouth of the West Fork, that this was ever a church. It was,
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
however, the first Baptist Church ever built in this region, though the exact date of its erection is un- known. Here Joshua Hickman, and other celebrated clergymen, preached the Word to the inhabitants of the surrounding country.
The Roman Catholic Church, of Fairmont, was built in 1858, and is the only regular organization of the kind in Marion county, though there are quite a number of that faith, especially along the route of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.
As time passed on other churches began to dot the green hills and vales of the county, until now there are a great number of all denominations, and all are prosperous, comprising in their membership the bulk of the population. There is scarcely a home in the county that is inaccessible to a church of some kind. The only African church in the county is in Fair- mont, and is called the African M. E. Church.
For many years Marion county has had good schools, and especially is this true since the establishment of the free school system. Among the principal instruc- tors of her youth during the few years previous to and during the civil war, were J. L. Morchead, George W. I .. Kidwell, B. F. Martin, Alexander Steele, Miss Mary J. Shore, Prof. Lanigan, and others. The Fairmont Male and Female Seminary, under Prof. W. R. White, from 1856 to 1864, was a very successful institution, being an educational power in the community, and
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
having students from all parts of the State, many of whom now occupy prominent positions in life. Prof. White is the author of the "Alphabet Made Easy" -- a very popular primmer in general use throughout the country.
Since the establishment of the free school system the progress of Marion county in educational matters has been rapid, until now every advantage to gain a common school education is afforded the youth. Up- on every hand are neat, convenient school houses, pro- vided with first-class teachers. The following table from the report of the county superintendent, J. N. Satterfield, for 1879, will serve to show the reader the condition of the schools in Marion county in that year, financially and otherwise :
Total value of all school property in county, $70,062.75 Aggregate value of buildings, . 60,825.00
Number of common schools in county, 103
Number of graded schools in county,
5
Number of high schools in county,
1
Total number of schools,
109
Whole number of buildings,
105
Number of districts, 5
Number of sub-districts,
102
YOUTHIS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 6 AND 21.
Number of white males, 3,304
Number of white females, 2,927
Number of colored males, 15
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
Number of colored Females,
18
Total number of males, 3,319
Total number of Females, 2,945
Whole number of youths between ages of 6 and 21, 6,264 Of these, the whole number attending school is 4,710 Number of males, 2,644
Number of females,
2,066
Average daily attendance,
3,164
Average age of pupils,
11.5
Number of male teachers
94
Number of female teachers,
26
Whole number of teachers,
120
A branch of the State Normal School is located in Fairmont, and as it is celebrated throughout the State for its excellence, and an institution of which Marion county may well be proud, it deserves special mention: The act establishing a system of free schools was passed December 10, 1863, and it was im- mediately found that there was need of well trained teachers. The State did not at first provide for a school for teachers and many such institutions were started as private enterprises. The first of these was the Fairmont Normal School, which was opened in in 1865, by J. N. Boyd, then editor of the National, in the basement of the M. P. Church. The success of this school prompted the citizens to take steps towards securing such an institution permanently in Fair- mont, and in the winter of 1865-6 a bill proposing to establish a State Normal School at that place was in-
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
troduced into the Legislature, but that body adjourned without taking any action upon the bill. The citi- zens of Fairmont formed a joint stock company un- der the title of "The Regency of the West Virginia Normal School," and secured a charter for the same. The incorporators were Oliver Jackson, Jacob C. Bee- son, Ellery R. Hall, John N. Boyd, Dennis B. Dorsey, James J. Burns, T. A. Fleming, J. H. Brownfield, T. A. Maulsby and A. Brooks Fleming. A board of di- rectors was elected, of which Oliver Jackson was Pres- ident. Ellery R. Hall, Secretary, and J. J. Burns, Treas- urer. A lot was purchased of Judge E. B. Hall for $1,500 and the wing of the present building was be- gun in the summer of 1867. It was 68x40 feet and two stories high. In February, 1867, the Legislature voted $5,000 to this school, on condition that $2,000 additional be paid by citizens of Marion county. The condition was complied with and the institution passed into the hands of the State. In 1872 the main building, which is 80x40 feet, and three stories high, was erected. The entire cost of the building has been about 820,000, of which the State gave $10,000 and the district of Fairmont the remainder. After its purchase by the State, Prof. W. R. White, who had been the first state superintendent of free schools, was the first principal of the Normal School. Prof. White secured of Dr. Sears, agent of the Peabody fund, a gift of $500 for the normal department and
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
$1,000 for the model school, which donation was con- tinued through the four years following. In 1870, Prof. White resigned, and was succeeded in the Prin- cipalship by Prof. J. C. Gilchrist (now Principal of the State Normal School located at Cedar Falls, Iowa), who continued in office until the late Dr. J. G. Blair received the appointment, in 1871. The latter gen- tleman retained the office until his death, December 22d, 1878. In 1874 the Normal and Public Schools were separated, and from this time on the benefits of the separation have been felt by both schools. On the death of Dr. Blair, Miss M. L. Dickey, who had for eight years been the first assistant teacher, was ap- pointed to fill his place, which position she now holds. Dr. Blair was a man of profound learning and bore an almost national reputation as an instructor, and it is conceded by the friends of the school everywhere that Miss Dickey, whose reputation for talent and tact in disciplining and teaching a school of this kind is en- viable, is well worthy to fill his place. The lowest number of students attending the school at any one time during its existence was 30, and the highest 221. They come from all parts of the State, and many have been from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1879, 19 counties of West Virginia were represented in the school. The faculty at present consists of Miss M. L. Dickey. Principal; Miss Lucy Fleming and Prof. U. S. Fleming, assistants; and Mrs. A. M. J. Pinnell, teacher
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
of music. The building is provided with a commodious hall or chapel, containing an organ, and is capable of holding five hundred people, a large main school room, library and apparatus room, the several neces- sary class rooms, and a music room, appropriately fur- nished with a piano, etc. The school has two pros- perous literary societies-the Mozart Society and the Normal Lyceum. This latter organization has re- cently laid the foundation of a library.
The Normal School is worthy the encouragement of the county, for it not only reflects great credit upon the community, but it is a source of considera- ble revenue. .
CHAPTER XVII.
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THE FIRST STEAMBOAT-THE BANKS OF MARION COUNTY-JOURNALISM IN THE COUNTY.
N the 11th of February, 1850, the first steamboat that ever followed the Monongahela river to its head arrived at Fairmont. It was called the Globe, and its appearance created intense excitement among the citizens. Fairmont is the proper head of naviga- tion of the Ohio river, for it is here that the Monon- gahela is formed by the confluence of the two smaller streams, the Tygart's Valley and West Fork rivers ; and the Globe, in making the trip, proved successfully that the river was navigable to this point. At
various times during several years following, other boats came this far up the river, and during the high water of 1852, the Thomas P. Ray and others made regular trips for some time. It was no unusual thing for the Fairmont newspapers of those days to contain reports like the following, which are clipped from the True Virginian of March 13th and April 10th, 1852, respectively :
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
" PORT OF FAIRMONT.
" ARRIVAL, MARCH 6TH, "Steamer THos. P. RAY, departed same day.
"Our town was cheered with the welcome whistle of the Steamer Thomas P. Ray, on Saturday last. The river, though unusually high for boats to run above the slack water, seemed to offer little resistance to her powerful engines. The trip was made in less time, we are informed, than any boat that has prece- ded her. Her principal lading was salt and whisky."
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