USA > West Virginia > Preston County > History of Preston County (West Virginia) > Part 18
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"The following altitudes taken from the profile accompany: ing this report, to which I respectfully refer you, are calcu- lated above tide water: Pennsylvania line, 1628 feet above tide water; Bruceton, 1553 ; Michael's Summit, 1738; Little : Sandy, 1585; Falkenstein's Summit, 2109; Landon Iron Works, 1396; Cheat River, 1188; Kingwood, 1750; Duvall's Summit, 2309; Morgantown Turnpike, 2251; mouth of - Bird's Creek, mouth of Middle Branch, mouth of Field's Creek, all making Three Fork Creek, 1312 ; Hardman's Iron- Works, 1202; Balto. & Ohio R. R., 1109-Duvall's point bes: ing the highest, and the Balto. & Ohio R. R., the lowest.
"The region passed through is rich in coal, iron, fire-clay: and timber. The coal-field is extensive, being one continu ous field throughout the whole length of the route. The coal" is found in three strata; one of 8 feet, one of four feet, and a small one 18 inches ; the stratum of 8 feet being the lowest. and the one of 18 inches, the highest in the geological forma -- tion. It is bituminous, of superior quality, making good coke and yielding by analysis, 10,000 cubic feet of gas to the ton of 2240 pounds.
"The iron ores are of three kinds : the red hematite, the brown hematite, and the corbonate of iron or spathic iron øre, commonly called carbon ore, and found in five separate strata, varying in thickness from one to four feet, and yield- ing from 33 to 82 per cent of iron. The carbon ore is a val- nable ore, yielding from 40 to 60 per cent of metal and found
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FROM 1863 TO 1881.
in strata in large masses and producing an iron particularly adapted to the manufacture of steel.
"Limestone is found in abundance. The fire-clay is of superior quality. The timber, consisting in large part of poplar, white oak, and pine, is of large and thrifty growth. The lands are cheap, and invite the attention of capitalists.
"The water power afforded by Cheat River, a short dis- tance below the mouth of Muddy Creek, is great, and that afforded by the various streams along the route, is large and in the aggregate great.
"Kingwood, Brandonville and Bruceton are situated in well-known large and thriving agricultural sections, in which are cultivated the various cereals of this latitude, and in which are also raised for the Eastern markets, cattle, horses and sheep.
"On the bottom lands of Cheat River, at the mouth of Muddy Creek, and, also, on the bottom land of Three Fork, near the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, where the survey ends, are good sites for towns. At these points when the coal, iron ore, fire-clay and timber along the route are put to prac- tical use and the road constructed, will spring up flourishing , manufacturing towns. Capital and labor will be in requisi- tion and conduce to the general prosperity-capital by its usefulness, labor by its industry."
Efforts were made after this report to secure the necessary capital to build the road, and various plans were proposed and. discussed, but no action was attempted on any of them until the next year.
In this year (1873) on July 10, the county court determined the question as to what should constitute the districts of the county, and by what names they should be known and called, as follows: "It is unanimously ordered that the present sub-divisions of the county by townships shall constitute the districts thereof, and shall be called and known as follows: Grant Township as Grant District, Pleasant Township as Pleasant District, Portland Township as Portland District, Union Township as Union District, Reno Township as Reno.
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
District, Lyon Township as Lyon District, Valley Township as Valley District, and Kingwood Township as Kingwood District.
The year 1873 closed in Preston County with very dis- couraging prospects. The panic was closing down public works, and men were idle on account of nothing being done. The county was prosecuting an unsuccessful suit, so far, against the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company for taxes due from the company upon the assessed value of their prop- erty in the county, consisting of the thirty-three miles of their road and the rolling stock thereon. This suit had been carried on so far with considerable expense to the tax-payers, while at the same time the county was paying interest on a bonded debt of $14,000.
On Wednesday, the 7th day of January, 1874, the county court granted the overseers of the poor authority to purchase a farm, at some convenient place in the county, suitable for the use of the poor ; also, to sell and convey the lands here- tofore acquired and now owned for that purpose ; provided, that the farm so purchased should not cost more than five thousand dollars.
On the same day, the court appointed J. C, McGrew, C, M. Bishop and C. W. B. Allison as commissioners to confer with the proper agents or attorneys of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at such time and place as should be most convenient for such commissioners, when requested so to do by said agents or attorneys, and receive such propositions as they desire to make relative to the adjustment of taxes on the B. and O. R, R., and report their proceedings to the court, But no authority was granted said commissioners to com- promise with the said B, and O. R. R., for said taxes. Mr. Allison, now deceased, was a well-known lawyer of Wheeling. and was chief of counsel for Preston County in her suit against the railroad.
On the 11th of September, the auditor having certified to the court the value of the property of the B. & O. R. R., in the county assessed for the year 1874 for taxation at fiye
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FROM 1863 TO 1881.
hundred and fifty-one thousand dollars, the court there- upon proceeded to apportion the same between the several districts through which the said road passes, and ordered the apportionment to be as follows, to wit: Lyon District, 6 miles, one hundred and six thousand six hundred and seventy three dollars and sixty cents ; Kingwood District, three and a half miles, sixty-two thousand two hundred and seven dollars and ninety cents; Reno District, five and one half miles, ninety-seven thousand seven hundred and forty- seven dollars and forty cents ; Portland District, twelve and one half miles, two hundred and twenty thousand one hun- dred and sixty-three dollars and twenty cents ; Union Dis- trict, sixty-two thousand two hundred and seven dollars and ninety cents.
The Iron Valley and Pennsylvania Line Railroad was still a subject of discussion. One of the plans proposed to secure capital to build it was for the county court to submit to a vote of the people a proposition for the county to subscribe a sum sufficient with what individual subscriptions were re- ceived, to build the road. The question was argued before the court, which refused to submit the question to a vote of the people.
Messrs. McGrew, Bishop and Allison, the commissioners appointed to meet the commissioners of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, proceeded to Baltimore and had a conference with them ; but Mr Allison was personally objectionable for some reason to some of the railroad officials, and they failed to come to any definite understanding. On the 8th of July, 1875, the court rescinded the resolution for the appointment, of the above-named commissioners, so as to drop Mr. Allison ; and it was ordered that James C. McGrew and C. M. Bishop be appointed commissioners to confer with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company touching the matter of taxes due from the said company to the county or any of the districts thereof, including the assessments and levies for that year. The commissioners were clothed with full and ample power and authority to make a full and final settlement-arrange
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
and agree upon a permanent basis of all future assessments and levies on subjects of taxation owned or that might be owned by the said Baltimore & Ohio Railroad within the limits of Preston County. These commissioners were successful in obtaining a compromise, which was effected by them with Caleb Boggess, acting for the road. This arrangement was made in Kingwood; and on Tuesday,. January 6, 1876, the court approved and entered of record the compromise, according to which the sum of $18,000 was accepted in full discharge of all taxes and levies assessed or claimed to be due from the said company, includ- ing county, township and district levies for the year 1874, and each and every year prior thereto; and that the taxable property of the said company should be-valued and estima- ted for assessment and taxation at the aggregate sum of $332,000 as an annual basis of taxation after 1874.
Hard times still continuing, with but little prospect of getting better, this compromise was considered by many as a good financial measure for the interests of the county. With the $18,000 received the bonded debt of $10,000 was- paid off, and the county had a surplus of $7500 left over for any future contingency. The county levy had been running in '73 and '74 at 72 to 83 cents on the $100, but was now re --- duced to 18 or 20 cents.
The Centennial year opened with brightened prospects financially for the county, and many hoped for a speedy re- sumption of general business.
About the first of June, 1876, Dr. W. R. Potter consulted with his neighbors of Kingwood, about the propriety of calling a meeting to consider the matter of celebrating the Centennial Fourth of July. The Journal and Herald pub- lished a call for a meeting of the citizens at the Court- house on Saturday evening, June 10. The meeting assem- bled as called, and elected the Rev. Dr. Prettyman chairman and John H. Holt secretary. The unamious voice of the meeting was in favor of a celebration befitting the occasion. An executive committee of fifteen was appointed to take
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FROM 1863 TO 1881.
charge of the matter. This committee was composed of the following persons : Charles E. Brown (chairman), J. H. Holt, F. Heermans, William M. O. Dawson, J. H. Carroll, Jacob Basnett, Joseph Jackson, Dr. W. R. Potter, Peter Voltz, James A. Brown, C. M. Bishop, the Rev. F. Elliott. Elisha Thomas and Dr. R. B. L. Trippett. The following preamble was placed at the head of the programme : " Agree- able to the proclamation of the President of the United States, the CITIZENS OF PRESTON COUNTY are requested to meet at the Court house in Kingwood, on the Fourth of July, 1876, for the purpose of celebrating the Centennial Anni- versary of our National Independence, at which time an historical sketch of the county and its towns will be read by the Hon. William G. Brown." The Hon. Charles J. Faulk ner was engaged to deliver the oration, but found it impos- sible to be present. But a few days before the event, he wrote the committee that it would be impossible for him to be present.
The following full account of the celebration we take front The Preston County Journal of July 8, 1876. The head- lines over the account were, "The Centennial Fourth ! How . It Was Celebrated .- The County Celebration at Kingwood, July 4th, 1876."
"Conscious of the fact that what we shall very hastily write under this heading, will perhaps be turned to a hun dred years from now-at the next Centennial-to see how high the patriotism of the people of Preston ran a hundred years after the promulgation of that grandest of all political documents-grand in thought, grand in expression of it, and sublime in motive, -- we can but regret our limited time and space.
"The Fourth came on Tuesday, but the air was full of it on Monday. All was a bustle of preparation. The 'Cen- tennial Guards,' in their beautiful uniform, were drilling, the martial bands were playing, flags in abundance were waving, and had an inhabitant of another planet dropped suddenly
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into the world on Monday, he would have guessed that we were on the eve of some great event.
"Tuesday morning was cloudless, and the day dawned auspiciously. A salute fired at 6 o'clock by the Centennial Guards (Capt. J. E. Murdock's military company, for which he procured muskets in Wheeling), ushered in the day.
"At 15 minutes to 9 o'clock the splendid bell on the Court-house began to ring and for a quarter of an hour every bell in town pealed forth in joyous clang the birth of the Second Century of American Independence.
' Bells of joy ! on morning's wing Sent the song of praise abroad ! With a sound of broken chains Told the nations that He reigns, Who alone is Lord and God!'
"Then to the music of the Mozart Brass Band of King- wood and the Gribble Martial Band, of Grant District, the crowd began to gather at the Court-house, and the people from every part of the county poured in, some afoot, some on horseback, and some in buggies and in all kinds of wheeled vehicles. Shortly after, a monster delegation from the east side came up via Albrightsville, marched up Main Street, turned down Price, up High, up Tunnelton, turned around, and were soon joined by the delegation from the Glades. Then the procession, commanded by the Hon. C. M. Bishop, Col. Jno. D. Rigg, and Col. Isaiah Kirk, Mar- shals of the Day, formed and marched down High Street to the Copeman Grove, in the following order :
Color-bearer. Ministers and Orators of the Day. The Mozart Brass Band, beautifully uniformed, in their splendid Band wagon, drawn by six horses. The Gribble Martial Band. The Centennial Guards. Footmen. Carriages and Horsemen.
"By actual count there were over 1300 people in the pro- cession, and it reached from the Court-house to the grove.
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"After arriving at the grove, the order of exercises com- ienced, the speakers being introduced by the Hon. James C. McGrew, by the playing of 'Mocking Bird' by the brass band, followed with a selection by the martial band. Then the Rev. Dr. Prettyman read the xxii chapter of II Samuel. beginning with the words in the second verse, 'The Lord is my rock, and my fortress,' which was followed by a most eloquent prayer by the Rev. Henry G. Blayney. 'Hail Columbia,' by the brass band. The Hon. James C. McGrew then delivered a short address, closing with words of wel- come, followed by 'Bonnie Jean, by the brass band. Next. Whittier's Centennial Hymn was read by our young towns- man, Mr. John Homer Holt, and the brass band played 'Battle Cry of Freedom.'
"Never before did we hear the Declaration of Independ- ence so well delivered as it was by Prof. George N. Glover: Certainly, he is an accomplished rhetorician. And then the crowd's enthusiasm was augmented by 'Yankee Doodle,' by the brass band. Then the Hon. William G. Brown read his historical Sketch, which is published elsewhere entire, the brass band discoursed 'Old Hundred,' and the Rev. Dr. F. Elliott pronounced the benediction:
"Dinner ! There were 550 feet of table, and around it the crowd formed a line, at some places twenty-five persons deep, and the waiters dispensed the food, until every man, woman, and child had enough.
"Dinner over, the crowd gave themselves up to such amusements as each one wished. Some went down to the platform, just outside the enclosure, where the dancing was : some gathered around the speakers' stand where the bands played; while others engaged in conversation."
The Hon. James C. McGrew, who was selected by the committee to deliver the opening address, spoke as follows :
"My Friends : The Committee of Arrangements have made it my duty to speak to you words of welcome to this Centennial gathering. These words are to be few and sim: ple, but earnest and sincere.
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY,
"Near four hundred years ago, towards the close of an au- . tumn day, a traveler well advanced in years, weary and foot- sore, stood at the gate of a Franciscan monastery in Anda- lusia, begging for some bread for his little boy whom he led by the hand, and who was crying from hunger. The super- ior of the convent, struck by the noble appearance of the stranger, entered into conversation with him, and, becoming interested, invited him to rest. That way-worn traveler was Christopher Columbus. For ten long years he had urged upon the attention of King John of Portugal his theory, and his plans for reaching India by sailing to the west, and in so- liciting from the Court of Lisbon, aid to carry his project into execution. Disgusted at last with his want of success, he secretly left the capital accompanied by his little son Diego, and on foot, took the road to Spain, hoping to be more successful at the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella, than he had been at that of John.
"Eight years thereafter, on the 3d day of August, 1492, Columbus, in command of three small ships, the Santa Ma- ria, the Nina and the Pinta, sailed from the roadstead of Saltez near Palos, an obscure seaport on the Mediterranean, on his long projected voyage of discovery. Sailing west- wardly, he soon entered an unknown and unexplored sea. Unaccustomed to voyage far from land, the superstitious fears of the sailors were soon awakened, and many of them wept, and declared that they should .not live to return to Spain. For weeks his ships continued to penetrate farther and farther into that mysterious sea, his crews dissatisfied and turbulent, and sometimes almost breaking out into open mutiny, compelling their commander to resort to various de- vices to conceal the progress of the ships, and allay their fears.
"At length, when they had been seventy-one days at sea, and Columbus was under an extorted promise to turn the bows of his ship towards Spain, should land not be discor- ered in ten hours, and when all were anxiously straining their vision towards the western horizon, on the 12th of October, 1492, Rodrigo Friana, a sailor on board the Pinta, was the
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FROM 1863 TO 1881.
first who saw the new world, and thereby become entitled to the 'silken doublet' promised by Columbus and the 10,000 merivedis guaranteed by Isabella to the person who should first set eyes upon the land. But Columbus never saw the main land of the American Continent. His discoveries ex- tended no farther than the Caribbean Sea, which he named the West Indies. And it is an interesting fact, that to the day of his death, he persisted in the belief that those new islands were a part of Cathay or Farther India.
"Amerigo Vespucci, following presently in the track of Columbus, seems first to have perceived in these western re- gions a New World; and thus succeeded in giving to the country his own name, that of AMERICA.
"But, in fact, the Continent was first seen by neither Col- umbus ner Vespucci, but to the Cabots belongs the historical honor of having, first of the Europeans, seen the main-land of the Western Continent.
"One hundred and twenty-eight years pass slowly away, and yet but little is known of this New World lying far to the west of Europe.
"On a dreary December day in the year 1620, a little band of pilgrims who had fled from the religious intolerance and persecution then prevailing in Western Europe, landed on a granite boulder on the shore of Massachusetts bay, and there, in that inhospitable region, amidst discouragements and hard- ships almost intolerable, they planted deeply the tree of po- litical and religious freedom, under whose branches the happy millions of American free men and free women meet to-day.
"More than a century and a half goes by; and the two or three feeble Colonies which had a precarious foothold.on the shores of the New World at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, had increased to thirteen, and the few thousand in- habitants to three millions. But the tree of liberty was not allowed to flourish and bear its full measure of fruit unas- sailed, nor without constant and careful culture.
"The Colonies, acknowledging allegiance to the British crown, soon discovered that the King and the Parliament had
16
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
but little respect for Colonial rights; and it was early appar- ent to the representative men of the country, that if these rights were maintained, it must be by the united, action and co-operation of all the Colonies. Accordingly, in the month of September, 1774, the first Continental Congress, composed of delegates from all the Colonies except Georgia, assembled in the City of Philadelphia. Amongst its first acts was the promulgation of a declaration of "Colonial Rights,' in which it was claimed that the enjoyment of life, liberty, and prop- erty, were natural rights, and the privilege of being bound by no law to which they had not consented by their Repre sentatives, was claimed for the Colonists in their character as British subjects, and the sole and exclusive power of legisla tion for the Colonies was declared to reside in their respect- ive assemblies. These just demands were imperiously and insultingly denied by the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain, and the right to tax the Colonies without their con- sent, and without the right of representation or remonstrance. and to carry their citizens beyond the seas to be' tried for im- aginary offences, were insisted upon.
"These differences were irreconcilable, and the Continental Congress was not long in reaching the conclusion that, in order to secure Liberty, they must strike for Independence as well. The conflict could not long be delayed, and Lex- ington and Concord hastened the final grand event.
"On the 4th of July, 1776, one hundred years ago to-day, in the State House in the City of Philadelphia, where teeming multitudes from the four quarters of the earth are to-day as- sembled a's witnesses of the power and glory of our Nation, that glorious declaration to which you will soon have the pleasure of listening, was made to the whole world, "that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connec- tion between them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought to be totally dissolved. '
"To that bold act of the Continental Congress, more than
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to any other one, do the people of the United States of America owe their deliverance from British thralldom, and the free and liberal institutions they now possess.
"Is it not, then, very fitting and proper, that we come to- gether on this 4th day of July, in the year of grace 1876, that we may in common with the millions who inhabit this free land, unite in commemorating an event, some of the be- mign effects of which have blessed our country for a century, and are blessing us to-day, but the ultimate results of which upon the nations of the earth, the wisest cannot forsee, and which are destined to be seen and felt and acknowledged in human affairs, as long as humanity exists upon the earth ?
"Then, my friends, let us be glad, and rejoice together in what our Revolutionary Fathers, a hundred years ago achieved for our country, for us, and our posterity, and for mankind. Let us rejoice in our freedom and Union; in our arts and industries; in our fields and mines ; in our trade and commerce ; in our homes, our schools, our churches; and in our Christian civilization.
"But, in our rejoicings, let us not forget devoutly to offer our grateful acknowledgements to Almighty God for his past and present blessings so richly poured out upon us as á Na- tion and a people.
"And as we step from the First into the Second Century of our Nation's history and existence, let us not forget the obligations which rest upon us as individuals, to do each his part in the future, to secure the continued prosperity of our beloved country, the happiness of our fellow-citizens, and the perpetuation of the liberty and independence which was se- cured to us by the patriotic men and women of a hundred years ago, remembering now and at all times, that 'right- eousness exalteth a nation, but siu is a reproach to any people. '
"Allow me, my friends and fellow-citizens, to express, for the committee who have charge of the present arrangements, the gratification and pleasure it gives them to meet you here to-day; to bid you welcome to the festivities of the present
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
occasion, and to express the wish that you may enjoy mucha on this Centennial Day, and that you may have long life, prosperity, and happiness."
From the historical sketch-"An Historical Sketch of Preston County and Its Towns"-read by the Hon. William G. Brown, we extract very largely, as follows:
"One of the objects which Congress had in view in passing the resolution, as well as the President in issuing the proc- lamation, just read, was to furnish and secure among the archives of every county, data to which the future historian might refer. Tradition is the most obscure and short- lived medium through which the history of a country or a people can be transmitted. This was soon discovered by men and they thought to give a more enduring form to the history of their times by the erection of towers, pyramids, and mounds. But even this mode failed of its purpose. The first great tower, that was designed to connect this earth with heaven and immortalize its builders, has not only disappeared, but has left no ruins or mark to tell who were its architects, or where it stood. The pyramids of later times, found in Egypt, through the agency of the hieroglyph- ics found on them, impart some dim light in relation to the object of their erection, as well as the persons whose memories they are designed to commemorate. While the simple mounds of America, by their deposits, only tell that they were the receptacle of human bodies-as to all else they are silent. After the introduction of letters and the facilities of the printing press among the more enlightened nations, the history of men and passing events became more accurate and minute; and it is hoped that the future his- torian of our times may find much to enrich his pages in the deposits made to-day among the records of the many thousands of counties and cities of our country. The glories of Greece and Rome, and the fame of their illustrious men, now famil. iar to the students of all our schools, would have been lost to the world but for the brilliant historians that gave them to their posterity.
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