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 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9
" PORT OF FAIRMONT.
" The favorite Steamer, Thomas P. Ray, Captain Hughes, arrived on Wednesday, the 7th inst., about 10 o'clock in the evening, with a heavy cargo of gro- ceries, salt and merchandise of different descriptions for various persons.
" She left this port on Thursday morning about 10 o'clock with tobacco from Logan & Carr's and other articles of traffic. The Thomas P. Ray is a finely finished boat, and the officers are spoken of as gentle- men and are accommodating men."
The most recent arrivals of this kind at the " Port of Fairmont " were the West Virginia, a small boat, which landed July 5th, 1873, and returned to Morgan- town the same evening, and the Elector, a large side- wheel steamer, arriving January 24th, 1876, and de- parting the following day.
The arrival of the Globe aroused considerable en- thusiasm in the breasts of the people of Marion
105
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
county on the subject of slack-water. Meetings were held, and steps taken to seeure permanent navigation. Major O'Bannon, editor of the Democratic Banner, agitated the question in the columns of his paper, and took a strong personal interest in the matter. A company was formed called the Monongahela Naviga- tion Company, and books were opened to receive sub- scriptions of stock, Major O'Bannon, making journeys to Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Baltimore and other places, delivering addresses before the Boards of Trade, and endeavoring to interest capitalists in the project. The matter did not receive sufficient and substantial encouragement from the people of the county, how- ever, and the enterprise soon fell through. The fol- lowing, clipped from a lengthy editorial on the sub- ject in the Banner, will show how the. press labored to secure slack-water; and the reader may infer from it that the citizens did not encourage the thing as they should-after the excitement incident to the arrival of the Globe had worn off :
"Improve this river, and this place becomes at once the grand entrepot for all the trade on the line of the railroad for thirty or forty miles, and south of us for fifty miles, intended for the Pittsburgh market, and all the trade within striking distance of the river, intended for Baltimore. This is not all: this place becomes the mart for the entire region of country south and south-west, and north and north-east of this for some forty miles. Real estate within ten miles of
拉
106
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
this river, would immediately advance from twenty- five to fifty per cent. Omit to make this improve- ment and that same property is bound to depreciate in the same ratio. Is it not time then for the people to wake up? We would like to see a lively interest felt and evinced on the subject. Too great lethargy has been resting on the people in relation to this mat- ter. There is too much at stake to slumber over!"
In the year 1853, and the month of October, the First National Bank of Fairmont was organized as a State Stock Bank. It was afterwards, in 1858, changed to a free banking system, with Oliver Jackson as President, and Thomas F. Conaway, Cashier. It was made a National Bank on the 2d of April, 1865, with Jacob C. Beeson as President, and Joseph E. Sands, Cashier. The handsome banking house and cashier's residence now occupied by the bank, was erected in 1875, at a cost of $35,000.
The Mountain City Bank began business August 1st, 1874.
In 1875 the Farmer's Bank, of Fairmont, began bu- siness with William Ridgely as President, and Jacob N. Gould, Cashier, the latter gentleman having been previous to this time a teller in the First National Bank.
These are the only banks in the county.
The first newspaper issued in Marion county was published at Fairmont, and called the Marion County Pioneer, Lindsey Boggess, editor and proprietor, and
107
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
afterwards R. Fulton Cooper took charge of it. It was issued about the year 1840. This was followed by the Baptist Recorder, of which Dr. W. D. Eyster was pub- lisher and proprietor, Joseph Walker, editor, and Daniel S. Morris, printer. Then came the Democratic Banner, edited and published by Morris, which. com- menced publication in March, 1850. Mr. Morris sold the Banner in 1851 to A. J. O'Bannon, who in a short time changed the name of the paper to The True Vir- ginian und Trans-Allegheny Advertiser, associating with him in the publication Benjamin F. Beall. After- wards Beall's interest was transferred to George P. Morgan, when the last part of the name was dropped, it being called then simply The True Virginian. W. F. Drinkard purchased the paper in 1853, and contin- ued to publish it until 1861, when it ceased to exist. During the last years of its existence William Mac- Donnell, celebrated for his humorous style of writing, was the local editor. The political complexion of the paper was Democratic.
In 1853 the Fairmont Republican was issued by J. M. Scrogin, and edited by Dr. W. W. Granger, during the following year. Next the Methodist Protestant Sen- tinel made its appearance, conducted by Dr. D. B. Dor- sey, then by Rev. Samuel Young. In 1862, Col. A. F. Ritchie launched upon the sea of journalism the Fair- mont National, whose corps of editors comprised J. T. BenGough, J. N. Boyd and Timothy B. Taylor. Then
108
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
followed, in 1866, the Vedette, a Republican paper, ed- ited and published by J. N. Boyd and Timothy B. Taylor, in turn, who disposed of the paper to Josiah Dillon, who changed the name to The West Virginian, and it was afterwards purchased by Henry W. Rook and Charles M. Shinn. In 1873, Mr. Shinn assumed entire control of the journal, and in 1875 sold it to the present proprieters, A. II. Fleming and Lamar C. Powell. The paper is now in a prosperous condition, and is the organ of the Republican party of Marion county. The office was destroyed in the great fire of 1876. A new one was speedily purchased by the pro- prietors, and the paper continued. being much im- proved in appearance by reason of its new dress.
After the suspension of the True Virginian, in 1861, the Democratic party of Marion county had no paper again until 1870, when the Liberalist was started by Fontain Smith & Son, who in a few weeks disposed of it to J. R. Grove. James Morrow, jr., then became its editor and William S. Haymond its local editor. The Liberalist lived barely through the Presidential cam- paign of 1872. In February. 1874, Major W. P. Cooper commenced the publication of the Fairmont Index, which has since been the organ of the Marion county Democracy. In April, 1876, the fire which destroyed the West Virginian office, likewise almost totally burned the Index material. The little that was saved from the flames, together with the books of
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY. 109
the office, and the good will of the business, were pur- chased of Major Cooper by Clarence L. Smith and George A. Dunnington, who continued the publica- tion of the sheet, enlarging it to its present propor- tions. In February, 1877, after having conducted the paper through the Presidential campaign of 1876, Smith and Dunnington disposed of the Index to the present proprietors, William A. Ohley. and Albert J. Dick. This paper has also quite recovered from the effects of the fire, and the Democratic party can at last boast of one organ which is permanently established.
The Mannington Ventilator, an Independent paper, was published by E. S. Zeveley in 1875 and 1876, but it did not live but a portion of each year.
The West Virginia Real Estate Journal, published monthly at Fairmont, by Thomas HI. B. Staggers and Charles J. Corbin, was started in August, 1879, and is the latest journalistic venture in the county. It is principally devoted to the real estate interests of Ma- rion and surrounding counties.
With this last exception all the journals men- tioned above have been weeklies. The only daily pa- per that has ever been published in the county was the Normal School Daily, published by R. S. Miller and W. S. Meredith, at Fairmont, during the progress of commencement at that institution in June, 1879.
11
1
CHAPTER XVIII.
-
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION-DIVISION OF THE STATE, ETC.
FTER the events related in the sixteenth chap- ter nothing of great interest transpired in the county for several years. The War of the Rebellion, which broke out in 1861, attracted the attention of citizens to other scenes than the comparatively in- significant things that were happening in Marion, and many of those who were fit for service enlisted in the conflict either upon one side or upon the other. Those whose sympathies were with the South (and they comprised a large number of the most prominent men in the county) left their farms and houses and joined the Confederate Army-many taking with them their families, and leaving their property to be confiscated by the Government. After the close of the war the majority of them returned, while a few re- mained in the South, having taken up their perma- nent residence there. During the four years struggle which followed the passage of the Ordinance of Seces- sion in Virginia, Marion county furnished many
111
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
brave soldiers for both sides. Some left home never to return alive, and their bones lie in the fields of the Sunny South, or upon the mountains and in the valleys of their native State. Others returned battle- scarred veterans, and have lived to see the chasm, which divided the opposing hosts, bridged, and to forgive and try to forget the bitter past. Men who for four long years fought upon opposite sides-each striving for what he conceived to be the right-now, as in days of old, partake of one another's hospitality, and calmly and good-naturedly discuss their political differences of the past and of the present.
The county of Marion fortunately was not em- braced in that part of Virginia which was so long the seat of active war; consequently her citizens were in a measure spared the terrible scenes which were en- acted in other portions of the State. The only event of any special interest which transpired within the county was the raid of the Confederate General Jones on the 29th of April, 1863. The principal ob- ject of the raid, which was extended throughout the State-was to destroy property and obtain for the Con-' federate Army horses and provisions. On the morn- ing of the day above mentioned the army entered Fairmont and proceeded at once to take possession of the town. The railroad bridge, mentioned in a former chapter, which crosses the Monongahela one mile above Fairmont, was destroyed, and at this place
112
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
the Confederates had a short skirmish with a com- pany of Union men. There was also considerable skirmishing during the entire day in and around the town. It was the intention of the Confederates to burn the suspension bridge between Palatine and Fairmont, but the idea was finally abandoned. Gov- ernor F. H. Pierpoint was at this time the Union Governor of the State, and his home being in Fair- mont, it was sought out by the raiders, and his library taken from the house and burned in the street. The arrival of Mulligan's Union battery in the evening was too late to do effective service, for Jones and his men had taken their departure. This was the nearest Marion county came during the war of having anything like a battle within her borders. In the skirmishes during the day several men on both sides were wounded, but none were killed.
As this county is within the limits of what is now the State of West Virginia, it is proper to give in this connection a brief account of the formation of the State, which occurred in 1863, and the causes which led to it.
For many years before the adoption of the new constitution of 1852 there had been considerable dis- satisfaction among some of the best men of Virginia on the subject of equal representation, and threats of dividing the State had been made by those of the wes- tern portion. This alarmed the castern men, and in
113
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
1847 they passed in the Legislature an act making it treason for any person to instigate others to establish a usurped government within the State. Any person so doing, cither by writing or speaking, were liable to be confined in jail not exceeding twelve months, and fined not exceeding one thousand dollars. This law was intended to suppress the discussion of the subject of a division of the State. In order to satisfy the people of the west on the subject of equal repre- sentation, the constitutional convention of 1851-2 fixed the basis of representation in the House of Del- egates on the population. This gave the western part of the State a majority in the House; but in the Sen- ate the representations were still by districts, and some of the districts of western Virginia, with popu- lations of from fifty to sixty thousand were represented by one Senator-no more than the districts in tide- water with populations of less than twenty thousand each. The westerners, in order to procure this com- promise from the east, were obliged to consent to a clause in the constitution to the effect that all slaves under the age of twelve years should not be taxed, and all over that age were to be valued at three hun- dred dollars for the purposes of taxation. This pro- duced great dissatisfaction in the west. They had but few slaves, and the constitution provided that all other property should be taxed ad valorum-so that & pig or a calf, a month old on the first day of Februa-
114
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
ry, was taxed at full value, while young negroes were not taxed. The constitution did not prohibit the tax- ing of incomes and salaries, and the Legislature taxed incomes of over one thousand dollars at two per cent, while negroes were taxed at forty cents on the hun- dred dollars; so to give an extreme case, a merchant's clerk with a salary of eleven hundred dollars paid twenty-two dollars tax, and a negro valued at three hundred dollars, paid one dollar and twenty cents- the clerk paying as much as about fifteen slaves. The slaves might be hired out at two hundred and fifty dollars a year, and thereby yield their master an in- come of nearly four thousand dollars, but this income was not taxed because the slave had already been taxed. These inequalities of taxation produced, as above mentioned, great dissatisfaction. It was oppres- sive, and prepared the minds of the people to throw off the yoke at the first opportunity. The war gave them this opportunity, and they took advantage of it.
The Union citizens of the State called a convention composed of the members elected to the General As- sembly, on the fourth Thursday of May, 1861, and in addition thereto, doubled the number of delegates that each county was entitled to in the popular branch of the Legislature. The Capital of the State, being in the hands of the Secessionists, the conven- tion assembled at Wheeling on the 11th of June, 1861, to take into consideration what was best to be done
115
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
for Virginia. The convention declared the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General vacant, (because the incumbents had joined the Con- federacy) and proceeded to elect officers to fill their places for the term of six months, until their succes- sors should be duly elected. Francis HI. Pierpoint, of Fairmont, was chosen Provisional Governor, and at the expiration of the term named he was regularly elected Governor of what was known as the " Restored Government of Virginia." After the State was divi- ded Pierpoint removed the seat of Government from Wheeling to Alexandria.
On the 20th of June, 1863, West Virginia was made a State. It passed through the forms of legislation prescribed in the Constitution of the United States for the formation of a new State, and was made one of the States of the Union. Thus were the threats of the past fully carried out, and the erection of the State of West Virginia was not altogether one of the results of the Rebellion, but of oppression in the days previous to the Rebellion. Wheeling was made the temporary Capital, and the business of the new State was immediately entered upon, with Arthur I. Bore- man as Governor.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE MINING INTERESTS-THE FIRE AT FAIR- MONT-MARION MILITIA, ETC.
AFTER the war had ceased, and the discharged soldiers returned to their homes, they went to work with energy upon the farms or in the shops which had so long remained idle. During several years following, until about the year 1870, very little was done, however, towards the development of the resources of the county, and the people of Marion lived a comparatively humdrum existence. About the year mentioned capitalists became interested in the mineral resources of the county, and large amounts of coal lands were purchased by them along the line of the railroad. In quick succession the West Fair- mont, the American, the New York, the Marion and the Central Mines were opened and set to work, each employing quite a number of miners and making large shipments of coal. The three first named mines were owned by Eastern companies. The Pierpoint and Watson and the O'Donnell are the oldest mines in the county, having been in operation for several
117
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
years previous to the opening of the others. The West Fairmont and the Central (the latter owned by an individual, Mr. O. Jackson, of Fairmont,) do quite a large coke business-the West Fairmont especially, burning and shipping large quantities. The latest coal mine of any importance which has been opened in the vicinity of Fairmont is the Gaston Mine, owned by Mr. J. O. Watson. It is at present doing a large business and employing a considerable number of hands. Shortly after the opening of the Marion Mine it was consolidated with the West Fairmont, and they were afterwards known as the West Fair- mont and Marion Gas Coal and Coke Company.
The commencement of these industries did more to bring wealth and population into the county than anything since the building of the railroad, and had it not been for the memorable " panic," which brought such distress upon the commercial interests of our country generally, and the high rates of freight charged by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for carrying coal to the markets, they would have, ere this, reached gigantic proportions. For some time the American, New York and Pierpoint & Watson Mines have been idle, partly for the reasons above mentioned, and partly for reasons known only to the proprietors. The O'Donnell, the Gaston, the West Fairmont and Ma- rion, and the Central, have recently received fresh
12
118
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
contracts, and are at present running steadily, giving employment to quite a number of men.
On September 21st, 22d and 23d, 1870, was held the first annual fair of the Marion County Agricultural, Mechanical and Mineral Association, upon their grounds near Fairmont. The Association continued to hold annual fairs until 1877, when the last one was held-it being unsuccessful. For the first three or four years the exhibitions were very creditable and the receipts of the Association were good. A new in- terest in the products of the county seemed to be awakened and the spirit of competition interested the farmers to such an extent that the good effects of the fairs were materially felt. Owing to the lack of in- terest on the part of some of the Association, how- ever, and to other reasons. there have been no exhi- bitions for three years, and the splendid grounds owned by the company are lying comparatively idle -used only for picnic and holiday celebration pur- poses.
Passing over a period of nearly six years, during which time nothing of importance transpired within the bounds of the county, and the industries men- tioned in the beginning of the chapter were daily proving of great benefit to Marion, and the citizens generally were hard at work improving their lands, and enjoying universal prosperity, we come to the year 1876-memorable in the history of the United
119
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
States as the great Centennial year, and also in the history of Marion county for other reasons. In this year, on Sunday morning, the second of April, occur- red the great fire which destroyed the principal busi- ness portion of Fairmont, the county seat, besides ren- dering cleven families homeless. When discovered, the fire was burning up the steps leading to Foreman's photograph gallery and Bean's furniture room, be- tween Swisher & Carpenter's and Pendergrast's store rooms, on Main street, and before the alarm could be given the two latter buildings were wrapped in flames. Efforts to quench the fire were futile, and nothing of importance within the buildings were saved. The stores of T. F. Brock and M. A. Chisler and the resi- dence of Dr. Brownfield were then destroyed, and, spreading across the street, the flames, with fearful rapidity burned the entire block between Jefferson and Bridge streets down to Decatur Alley, except the residence of Mrs. Sommers (now occupied by Mr. John Crane). A strong wind from the north-east blew great flakes of burning shingles as far as across the river into Palatine, and the scene was one of great excitement.
There being no fire engines in the town, the only means at hand by which the flames could be extin- guished were buckets of water in the hands of the citizens-and even the women and children worked steadily carrying water and salt and assisting to
120
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
remove goods from burning houses, or to pull down buildings. The wind finally changed and the flames were brought under control. The principal losers in the fire were Dr. J. H. Brownfield, residence ; M. A. Chisler, grocery store : Swisher & Carpenter, dry goods store; Israel Foreman, photograph gallery ; Barton Bean, stock of furniture; A. R. Mencar, furni- ture store ; J. W. Lott, produce dealer; John Fisher, meat market and residence ; Francis Christy, dwelling and tailor shop; Stone & Bebout, hardware store ; Mrs. Fitzgerald, dwelling and millinery store ; Mona- hon heirs, three buildings ; John Schubach, bakery ; E. C. Kerr, shoe store and dwelling; Jane Laidley's heirs, dwelling; Thomas M. Fleming, household goods; Miss Maria Vanzandt, millinery goods; Mrs. Ella Horan, millinery and notion store; A. G. Hall, post office, book store and residence ; J. E. Fleming, grocery store ; Index newspaper office ; J. O, Watson, business house ; F. M. Fleming, shoc and hat store ; M. A. Chisler, business house ; Chas. Corbin, cigar manufactory; Stephen Oakes, barber shop ; Mrs. E. Arnett, building containing millinery and notion store ; M. M. Comerford, drug store ; C. B. Carney, drug store ; West Virginian newspaper office; Mrs. Anna Turney, business house and dwelling.
In addition to the above property, which was to- tally destroyed, the following persons had property scorched by the flames or damaged considerably by
121
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
water: Mrs. M. M. Sommers, residence; B. A. Flem- ing, residence; Captain T. A. Maulsby, steam mill; R. C. Dunnington & Co., stock of dry goods.
The fire was thought by many to be the work of an incendiary, and circumstances were strong to induce this belief, but the guilty parties were never brought to light. A large portion of the loss, which was about $75,000, was covered by insurance, the money from which helped the losers by the fire to replace the burned buildings with new and handsome ones. Al- most the entire burnt district has been rebuilt, and in the places of the old structures are elegant modern brick business blocks and residences, so that now there is no town in West Virginia the size of Fair- mont, that can boast of as fine business houses. The. citizens of the town scarcely consider the fire of 1876 as a calamity, since, from that time, they date an cra of improvements in Fairmont. Large and costly buildings have been erected, streets have been graded, new streets have been opened, old buildings have been improved, and other important improvements have taken place. The town and its suburbs have a population of probably two thousand, which is con- stantly increasing. Besides its coal interests, the county seat contains other branches of trade which contribute largely to the revenue of the town and county. Cabinet shops, a foundry, a planing mill, and steam and water power saw and flouring mills
122
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
are among the most important, while a mile north of town is situated the Barnesville Woolen Factory and flouring mills, and within a mile, on the Baltimore 'and Ohio Railroad, up the river, is a large saw mill and lumber yard and a brewery.
The Fourth of July, 1876, is memorable throughout the country for having been the one hundredth anni- versary of the Declaration of Independence. On this day the citizens of Marion county assembled at the county seat and celebrated the event by an immense procession, and a grand picnic upon the fair grounds. Addresses were delivered, the Declaration of Inde- pendence read and patriotic airs were played by the bands. At night a grand display of fireworks took place from Hamilton's Hill in Fairmont. An im- mense crowd of people took part in the celebration, and it was a day long to be remembered in the an- nals of Marion county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.