USA > West Virginia > Myers' history of West Virginia (1915) Volume II > Part 7
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The next county jail was built by David Fuqua, a few years before the present ragged court house was constructed. for which he received £150. Colonel Joel Ruffner, who is ex- cellent authority for early Kanawha history, thus speaks of the jail: "It stood on the upper portion of the lot, rather in front of the present circuit court clerk's office as it now stands on the court house lot, and quite near Kanawha street. It was built of large, square hewed logs, lined inside with planks four inches thick and from eight to twelve inches wide, sawed out of oak timber with whip-saws. These planks were spiked against the walls of the building with large wrought iron spikes. No one ever escaped from the jail," says the Colonel. "except by means of the doorway. and it was on several occa- sions pretty well filled with violators of the laws."
The First Court House.
The first County Court Clerk's office was built on the lot precisely where the Hale House now stands. It was con- structed out of rough stone, was one story high, and was quite a respectable building for those days. With the exception of the roof, which was of clap-boards, it was fireproof. The rea- son why it was separated from the other public buildings, however, was to keep it out of the reach of fire.
From the County Court proceedings of April 16, 1802. I make the following extract in relation to the County Clerk's office :
"Whereas, John Reynolds has this day undertaken to build an office for the use of the present and future clerk of this county. on the lot whereon John Reynolds, the present clerk, now lives, and the said Reynolds to convey unto the
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Justices of Kenawha County, in fee simple, title in and to forty feet square of land, part of said lot, whereon to erect the said office. The said office is to be built of stone or brick; if of stone, the outside thereof is to be stuccoed, and the in- side plastered. The height to be eleven feet between the floors ; the lower floor to be laid with good oak or pine plank. Two windows, of eighteen lights each ; the roof to be laid with jointed shingles, well pitched; the door, windows and shut- ters to be handsomely painted, and the whole to be finished in a good, sufficient and workmanlike manner. And the said Reynolds is authorized to call upon the Sheriff, who is directed to pay the said Reynolds the sum of two hundred dollars for the purpose of erecting the same ; and the said Reynolds and Joseph Ruffner, Jun'r, his security, are to give bond to the Justices of this Court in the sum of $400 for the due perform- ance of said agreement."
In 1803 the population of Charleston was about 150.
Front street, on the Kanawha River bank, was about one- half mile in length and 60 feet wide. About two-thirds of the houses of the town were located on one side of this street, while on the river side there were no houses at all. Running parallel with Front street and about four hundred feet back of it was another street, partially opened, along which there were a few scattered houses. The remainder lay upon cross streets, flanking the public square. There were a few frame buildings along Front street, but the great majority of the houses along this street were of hewn logs, the buildings in the back-ground being mostly small round log cabins. Such a thing as a painted house was unthought of in Charleston at that time ; and if an itinerant painter had made his appearance in the town he would probably have been arrested as a sus- picious character.
The making of streets was a very simple operation. All they had to do was to cut a road through the woods and dump the brush over the Kanawha River bank, using the logs to build houses with or for fuel. The sloping bank of the river in front of the village was still covered with large sycamore trees and pawpaw bushes. A dense forest of large and lofty
History of West Virginia
beech, sugar, ash and poplar timber, with thickets of pawpaw, covered the ground in the rear of the village.
The public square occupied a position near the center of town and extended from Front to Second street. The court house was a small, unpainted, one-story frame building, stand- ing back about forty feet from Front street. Every magistrate in the county was a Judge, and for their benefit a bench upon a platform, four feet high, extended across one entire end of the court house. The jail, which was a log building, con- tained two cells-one for debtors, the other for criminals.
The whipping post, pillory and stocks were located in front of the jail, near the south end of the court house, and ranging with the front thereof, in full view from the street and the adjacent dwellings; the object in placing these instru- ments of torture in that conspicuous position being, it is sup- posed, for the purpose of affording the greatest possible van- tage ground to the gaze of the curious public .- Atkinson.
Another relic of barbarism sometimes called into action at Charleston at that time was the "wind-stopper"-a gallows used for the purpose of strangling the life out of unfortunates who were sentenced to capital punishment. It was a crude affair, similar to the contrivance used by farmers for hanging up hogs in butchering times-a stout pole being placed in the forks of two trees or similar device, about twelve feet from the ground. The victim was then placed upon a wagon or other vehicle and driven under the horizontal pole. The sheriff secured one end of a rope to the pole and the other around the victim's neck. Then "get up. Dan!" Down goes Bill to tread the air, and-there you are. "A very simple, very inexpensive and very effective operation." you say. Yes, but the barbar- ousness of it! But times have changed since then. Now, instead of taking a fellow out'in the woods and hanging him like a dog, he is taken to Moundsville on a first-class ticket and hanged like a gentleman, and, when cut down. he will be just as dead as the fellow who treaded air under a tree. Yet we boast of being a civilized people! Capital punishment is wrong from any point of view. It has absolutely nothing to
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recommend it, but everything to condemn it. It is but legal- ized murder ; repugnant to the moral senses ; a relic of barbar- ism and a disgrace to any country that practices it.
We have taken some time and space in picturing Charles- ton as she was a hundred years ago. We will now attempt to present a bird's eye view of the Capital City as she is today. To undertake to give anything like a complete description of Charleston's multitudinous industries would require a good sized volume in itself.
Up to 1900 the population grew very slowly, there being only 11,099 at the end of that year. During the next ten years these figures were more than doubled, and now, January 1st, 1914, the population of Charleston is about 35,000. The city has an area of 51/2 square miles, is 602 feet above sea level and has a mean temperature of 60 degrees.
The following summary of the city's business for the year 1912 will give some sort of an idea of what the people of Charleston were doing at that time, but within the last year the increase over these figures must be enormous :
Postal receipts. $ 150,000
Number of banks.
10
Stock and surplus 3.481,586
Total resources. 12,411,743
Increase in deposits in 10 years. 85%
Increase in capital stock in 10 years
375%
Manufacturing 5,165,000
Retailing
19,400,000
Jobbing
24,560,000
Assessed valuation of property
29,856,022
Actual valuation of property
49,760,000
Annual wages. 816,000
Capital invested 6,000,000
Persons employed. 3,679
Railroad passenger receipts 776,441
Freight receipts.
2,176,000
Charleston possesses many advantages which contribute to her upbuilding as a manufacturing center, the more im- portant of which is the abundance of cheap fuel and raw ma-
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History of West Virginia
terial and transportation facilities. Gas for manufacturing en terprises may be had as low as five cents per 1,000 cubic feet and coal for 65 cents a ton. Fire, building and terra cotta clay are found on every hand. The Kanawha River, the K. & M., the Coal & Coke, the K. & W. Va. and the C. & O. railroads. reaching north, south, east and west, afford transportation facilities unexcelled anywhere. The Coal & Coke traversing a country famous for its immense supplies of hard and soft wood, consisting of poplar, basswood, oak and hemlock, makes Charleston the headquarters for building material.
The city has 30 miles of street railway track, which, to- gether with equipment. represents a capital investment of $1.500,000, giving employment to over 100 people at an aver- age monthly salary of $50 each, while the public is given first- class service at a five-cent fare. These lines lead not only to the business marts of the city and the suburban homes and factories, but to Edgewood, Glenwood and Capital Parks. where may be found a haven of rest from toil and business cares. Here are winding paths amid stately trees or mossy dells spanned by rustic bridges some leading to lively places of amusement, while others wend their way to quiet, seques- tered nooks that offer a delightful trysting place for loving twain or dreaming musc.
Charleston has most excellent fire protection. by reason of which the loss by conflagration is kept to a low minimum, the loss by fire in 1912 being only $20,000. This department consists of 27 men, one volunteer company. three steamers, three plain hose wagons, three combination hose wagons, two ladder trucks, one supply wagon and one chemical engine. The city has 83 miles of streets, 26 miles of which are paved or macadamed ; 75 miles of paved sidewalk. The sanitary con- ditions, except in a few isolated cases, are good. there being over 38 miles of public and private sewers, while the streets and alleys are kept clear of garbage and offensive odors.
Charleston is noted for her many fine buildings. The State capitol and annex : the new Federal government build- ing : the handsome business blocks and hundreds of beautiful homes present quite a metropolitan appearance. The Y. MI. C. A. building, costing $100,000. is said to be one of the largest
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and best equipped of the kind in the United States. Charles- ton has two daily newspapers-the Mail and the Gazette- with a combined circulation of 15,000 copies daily ; 4 first-class hotels and 10 others, with a total of more than 500 rooms and a daily capacity of 1,000 guests; 38 churches-all denomina- tions ; 3 hospitals and several institutions for the homeless and destitute.
Owing to the rapid business expansion in Charleston some of the old residence districts are being gradually absorbed by business blocks. This has necessarily forced the development of outlying property for residence purposes, and farms that were a few years ago considered isolated sections are now built up with beautiful homes, paved streets, served by trolley lines and enjoying all the advantages of city life without any of its disadvantages. Take, for instance, the section bordering the street car line running out to Edgewood Park. Alongside of this line, starting from the paved streets of West Charles- ton and ending on the crest of the hills, a short distance from the Park, is a macadamized road which wends its way, wind- ing gracefully, turns up the mountain side and leads into the grounds of the Edgewood Country Club House and golf links. This building, for architectural beauty, is something to be admired. Between the club house and West Charleston, scat- tered along at short intervals, are many beautiful country homes, some of which are truly mansions.
Electric light and power are supplied by the Kanawha Water and Light Company. A domestic rate as low as eight cents per kilowatt hour, good service and ample facilities for growth to supply increased demand characterize the policy of this corporation. The same company supplies the city with its water from the Elk River, and careful analyses show Charleston's water supply is purer than that of the average city.
Of all classes of people. perhaps none deserve more credit for the upbuilding of a country than do the public school teachers. They are, in a large measure, the moulders and builders of the characters that will rule the next generation.
Following are the names of those comprising the high
History of West Virginia
and graded school faculty of Charleston for the school term of 1913-14:
SUPERINTENDENT-George S. Laidley.
SPECIAL-Mary B. Fontaine, assistant superintendent and superintendent of English ; J. H. Francis, music in high school ; Nine M. Owen, music in grades ; Myrtle N. Stalnaker. penmanship; H. Madeline Keely, drawing in grades; . 1. W. Croft, drawing in high school ; Mrs. Hallie B. Corsett, domes- tic science : Marie Warwick, sewing; J. H. Bowen, manual training; Mrs. H. C. Lounsberry, sanitary inspector. and Nellie E. Mason, secretary.
HIGH SCHOOL-W. C. McKee, principal ; Mary R. Mc Gwigan. Bettie K. Starke, Minnie L. Goff, Mary E. Reber, Helen F. Stark, Elizabeth P. Gray, Leila H. Bitner. Anna F. Lederer, R. J. Gorman, J. P. Templeman, Cecile DeBuys, J. M1. Bragg, teachers.
KANAWILA SCHOOL- Minnie S. Me Whorter, princi- pal : Olive M. Wildman, Ruth Dyer, Lila V. Bittrolff, Lydia Ruffner, Stella Francis, Grace G. Fultz, Minnie G. Slack, Alice J. McChesney, Thelma F. Wallen, A. Belle Dashiell, Frances Canterbury, Grace D. LeMaster, Eunice P. Withrow, Florence E. Dick, Marion E. Jenks, Georgia Hubbs, Eleanor Hopper, teachers.
MERCER SCHOOL-Harriet M. Wilson, principal ; EHa J. Spradling, Virginia Littleton, Sybil M. Ball, Erna B. Young, Lucy B. Saunders, Ella Smoot, Frances Irwin, Olive H. Whit ting. Mary S. Fravel, Katherine Blackwood, Emile Beckett, Daisy Foster, M. Ella Craig, Mabel F. Gibbons, teachers.
UNION SCHOOL- Ettie S. Walker, principal; Eliza- beth C. Keely, Lulu Gwinn, Josie S. Millan, Eloise Peebles. Jessie W. McEnery, Mamie S. Whatley, Grace Telford, Irene C. Hoffman, Nellie G. DeWees, Forest Settle, Martha Day, Kizzie Walters, Elsie Rippelton, Carrie Holt, Lucie G. Lewis, M. Alice Martin, Eva Echols. V. Rosa Shelton, Elizabeth Whiteside. F. M. Mckinley. Jennie W. Hutchinson, teachers.
LINCOLN SCHOOL-Mattie A. Rust. E. Belle Cun- ningham, Kate T. Farley, Marion I .. Board. Eloise C. Nisbet. Stella M. Young, Olive M. Young, Olive V. Robertson, Vera Hopkins, Pearl R. MeGec, Bessie M. Grose, Anna Popp. Kate
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S. West. Helen E. Cavender, Ethel Jackson, Edith K. Phillips, Mary E. Hagerty, Daisy B. LeMasters, Katherine F. Joachim, Gertrude M. Reynolds, Mary Jackson, teachers.
BIGLEY SCHOOL-Maggie P. Leet, principal, and Ruth Grose, assistant at Bigley and Elk; Margaret L. Kerr, Sarah C. Barber, Sallie Humphreys, Eunice H. Plunkett, Mary L. Branch, Eva L. Meeks, Leonora Hardway, teachers.
ELK SCHOOL-Muriel L. Porter, principal ; Hallie M. Hall, Minnie M. Morris, Mary Farley, Bessie Jordan, Lida F. Drennen, Kate N. Bower, Mary E. Drennen, teachers.
TISKELWAH SCHOOL-H. C. Robertson, principal ; Annie C. Thornhill. Ella Orth, Nellie Hastings, Lucy Barber, Nellie M. Hard, Christina Orth, Nette R. Jackson, Delsie M. Spriegel, Garnette B. Stafford, Monica B. Critcher, Maude E. Harmon, Vernie M. Chase, Pernae E. Stout, Cornelia L. Critcher, teachers.
BEECH HILL SCHOOL-Lucy J. Javins, principal, and Edith A. Savage, assistant.
COLORED SCHOOLS-C. W. Boyd, supervisor and principal.
GARNETT HIGH SCHOOL and Seventh and Eighth Grades (departmental work)-J. F. J. Clark, principal, mathe- matics and Latin : Rhoda A. Wilson, history and geography : L. C. Farrar, civics, zoology and algebra : Carrie B. Dellaven. English.
SPECIAL-Nina H. Clinton, English, music and pen- manship ; Flora M. Webster, commercial branches: W. T. C. Cheek, manual training : Gertrude N. Ewing, domestic science.
GARNETT-Annie E. Simpson, Estella James, Maude S. Viney, Hattie E. Peters. C. C. Lewis, Amelia R. Wilcher, Esther Fulks, Naola M. Farrar, teachers.
WASHINGTON-Lizzie C. Hopkins, Beatrice Calhoun, Irene Jackson, Ammie Hutchinson, Blanche J. Tyler, teachers.
ISLAND-I. C. Cabell, first, second and third grades. - Term. 9 months. Total enrollment, 5,270.
History of West Virginia
CLARKSBURG, HARRISON COUNTY.
(Note .- Much of the following information is taken from Haymond's History of Harrison County.)
John Simpson, a trapper, who in 1764 located his camp on the West Fork, opposite the mouth of Elk Creek, was the first white man known to have visited the present site of Clarks burg. Ten years later David, Obadiah and Amaziah Davis- son, Thomas, John and Matthew Nutter, Samuel and Andrew Cottrill. Sotha Hickman, Samuel Beard, the Shinn family and others located on or near the present site of Harrison's county seat ; and by 1778 there appear to have been several log cabins in the village. At one of their meetings about this time some one proposed that the place be dignified by giving it a name, whereupon a Mr. Shinn suggested the name of Clarksburg. in honor of George Rogers Clark, a noted general of the Indian and Revolutionary wars. In 1784 the village consisted of two rows of cabins extending from a point near the site of the present court house to a point just east of the intersection of Maple avenue, on the north side of Main street, where, at that time, stood Jackson's house, which had formerly been used as a fort.
Clarksburg was officially established as a town in Octo- ber. 1785, by an act of the General Assembly of Virginia in the following words :
"I. Whereas, a considerable number of lots have been laid off and houses built thereon by the proprietors of the place fixed for the erection of the court house and other public build- ings in the County of Harrison and application being made to this Assembly that the same may be established a town ;
"II. Be it therefore enacted : That the said lots so laid off, or hereafter to be laid off by the trustees, shall be and the same are hereby established a town by the name of Clarksburg, and that William Ilaymond, Nicholas Carpenter, John Myers, John MIcAlly and John Davisson, gentlemen, are hereby appointed trustees of the said town, who, or any three of them, shall have power from time to time to settle and determine all dis- putes concerning the bounds of the said lots, and in case of the death, resignation or removal out of the county of any
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one or more of the said trustees it shall be lawful for the free- holders of the said town to elect and choose others in their stead, and those so chosen shall have the same power and authority as any one particularly named in this act.
"III. Provided, always, and be it further enacted: That half an acre of ground, or so much thereof as may be thought necessary either in one entire or two separate parcels, shall be laid off by the said trustees in the most convenient part of the said town and appropriated for the purpose of erecting there- on the court house and other public buildings, and that the said trustees have full power to lay off as many lots, streets and alleys as to them shall seem convenient for the benefit of the said town, and that the possessors of any lot or lots in the said town shall, before the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, build thereon a dwelling house, with a stone or brick chimney, and upon failure thereof shall forfeit their lots to the said trustees to be further disposed of as they think proper for the benefit of the said town."
The first county court of Harrison County was held at the house of George Jackson, near where Buckhannon now stands. July 24, 1784, at which time and place Clarksburg was selected as the county seat of the new county, lots numbered 7 and & donated by Daniel Davisson and Joseph Hastings-being designated as the location where the public buildings should be erected. The next meeting of the court was held in Clarks- burg, at the residence of Hezekiah Davisson.
"The first court house, which was built in 1787, stood on what is now the northeast corner of Second and Main streets, and the jail stood on the opposite side of Main street, near where the Presbyterian Church now stands."
In 1797 there were about forty houses in Clarksburg, and perhaps 200 people.
Webb and Davisson owned the first mill in Clarksburg. It was built about 1776, at the entrance to the narrows, on Elk Creek. The mill house on the east side of the creek shortly followed. Another mill in Clarksburg was erected by George Jackson in 1784, and later on followed the Point mills on the river below the mouth of Elk Creek, one mile from the court house.
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History of West Virginia
Pursuant to an act passed by the General Assembly, Jan- uary 16, 1828, Thomas Haymond, Joseph Johnson and John Reynolds were appointed by the county court on June 16th following to lay off Clarksburg into streets and alleys. Papers of incorporation were granted the town by the General .Is- sembly March 15, 1849, the boundaries being fixed as follows :
"Beginning at the mouth of Elk Creek, thence running up the same to the mouth of a small drain a few rods below the Northwestern Turnpike bridge on the Hand of James M. Jack- son. thence due east one hundred rods to a stake; thence due south to Elk Creek; thence down the same to a point in said creek, lying due west from a certain spring known as the Monticello Spring, on the land of John Stealey; thence due west to the West Fork of the Monongahela River, and thence down the same to the mouth of Elk Creek to the beginning."
Between 1849 and 1897 there were several changes in the laws incorporating the town as the increase in population re- quired. On February 26, 1897, a general revision of all the acts was made and that charter is still in effect.
The earliest town records to be found are those of 1832. During the interval between that year and 1870 cach of the following named persons served a term or more in the follow- ing capacities :
President of Board of Trustees-John Stealey, Charles Lewis, Luther Haymond, A. J. Smith, Aaron Criss, Nathan Goff, James P. Bartlett. Enoch Tensman, Daniel Kincheloe. William P. Cooper. Thomas S. Spates. 1 .. D. Ferguson and R. S. Northcott.
Clerks-A. J. Smith, Richard W. Moore, James P. Bart- lett. E. L. Stealey. Robert L. Criss. Burton Despard and I.u- ther Haymond.
The following is a very interesting comparison of condi- tions at Clarksburg in 1810 with those of a century later :
Number
Year.
Assessed Population. Valuation.
Amt. Taxes. Taxpayers. S 84 31
1810
350
S 84.115
1910 9,201
14.290,486
153,613 1,840
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History of West Virginia
As we have shown in Chapter XV, entitled "Indian Wars and Indian Massacres," Clarksburg did not escape Indian in- vasions. Haymond's History of Harrison County quotes the following article, taken from the June number, 1892, of the Southern Historical Magazine :
"Clarksburg was a small village much exposed, and the children were kept within very narrow limits, lest the savages should chance to fall upon them. The little urchins, however, then as now, sometimes broke their bounds.
"One evening, when a squad of them had wandered too far, they discovered an Indian who was creeping up to sur- prise them. They set off for home at full speed, and the Indian, finding himself discovered, pursued them fiercely with his tomahawk.
"The larger children were ahead, but one little fellow, though he ran his best, fell into the rear, and the savage was gaining on him. At last the boy got so far that his pursuer stopped, poised his tomahawk and threw it at him, but missed, on which the child, looking back, exclaimed : 'Aha, you missed me though, you Red Devil.' "
In 1845 Clarksburg had improved considerably, there be- ing at that time "7 mercantile stores, 2 newspaper printing offices, 2 fine classical academies, 1 Methodist and 1 Presby- terian church and a population of about 1,100." The forego- ing figures, taken from Howe's History of Virginia, were per- haps excessive as to population, as, according to The Harrison Republican of August 15, 1845, there were only 806 people in the town proper on that date, including 140 colored people. Possibly, however, Mr. Howe included those on the "Point" and other settlements near by, which may have brought the number up to near 1,100.
The professional class of Clarksburg's early accessions came mostly from Eastern Virginia, bringing with them the traditions and social customs which had been introduced in the colonies nearly two and a half centuries before.
These held themselves somewhat aloof from the common herd in all social functions, and were designated as the "upper crust" of backwoods society. In this respect Clarksburg dif- fered from most other settlements west of the Alleghanies.
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History of West Virginia
As a rule the people of other settlements were of a homoge- neous character. No one was concerned in his neighbor's family pedigree. He did not care a continental whether his great-great-grandmother's great-great-grandfather was a third cousin to some King's Guard's wife's sister's child, or whether he was just plain John Smith, with no more pedigree than a whippoorwill or the night owl that hooted on his cabin roof just so long as he was honest and industrious and attended strictly to his own business.
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