STONE HOUSE, DARLINGTON’S.
STONE HOUSE, DARLINGTON’S.
We next reach the “Summit House.” This is not a wagonstand, nor strictly an old tavern, but rather a fashionable and popular summer resort. It is on the apex of Laurel Hill, and has the advantage of pure air, and an extensive and charming view of the surrounding and underlying country. At this point large finger boards were erected, indicating distances and routes to the Washington Springs, Dulaney’s Cave and Jumonville’s Grave, which are landmarks indelibly impressed upon the memories of surviving wagoners and stage drivers. The property here belongs to[V]Col. Samuel Evans, a wealthy and well known citizen of Fayette county.[W]Ephraim McClean kept the house here for many years, and made it famous by the excellence and style of his entertainment. His flannel cakes and spring chickens have passed into history, as unrivalled productions of culinary art and tempters of the appetite. There is a large spring and bath house here. This has ever been a favorite resort of parties in pursuit of pleasure. Here the youth, beauty and fashion of Uniontown were wont to come to while away an evening in eating, dancing and other diversions. The rooms were small, but the pleasure was unbounded. Here also the yeomanry of the county came to make a harvest home, or celebrate an anniversary. The drive, up and down the mountain, is delightful, and formed no small share of the pleasure incident to the old time parties at this popular place of resort.
Ephraim McClean left this house many years ago and settled in Illinois. He was succeeded by Henry Clay Rush, who maintained the reputation of the house during his occupancy, but left it in 1856 to go to Searights. Brown Hadden came in after Rush, and after Hadden the house was successively kept by Stephen W. Snyder, John Snyder, William Boyd and Webb Barnet, the present occupant. Anterior to the erection of the present buildings, and many years ago, one Molly Calhoun kept a small cake shop at this point, and displayed upon her sign-board the following quaint legend:
“Out of this rock, runs water clear,’Tis soon changed into good beer,Stop, traveler, stop, if you see fit,And quench your thirst for a fippennybit.”
“Out of this rock, runs water clear,’Tis soon changed into good beer,Stop, traveler, stop, if you see fit,And quench your thirst for a fippennybit.”
“Out of this rock, runs water clear,
’Tis soon changed into good beer,
Stop, traveler, stop, if you see fit,
And quench your thirst for a fippennybit.”
About a mile down the western slope of Laurel Hill we come to the famous watering trough. Here William Downard lived for many years in a stone house built against the hillside. He did not keep a tavern, for he had no ground for teams to stand upon, and no stabling that was accessible, but he always maintained the big water-trough in good conditionpro bono publico, and it would be almost impossible for big teams to make the ascent of Laurel Hill, in hot weather without water. Downard was eccentric and cross, and begrudged the use of his water to persons he did not like, although the supply was inexhaustible. He was born near Uniontown of English parentage, a Federalist in politics, and a skeptic in religion. He was endowedwith strong sense, and could argue with considerable force. He has been dead many years.
A little over a mile below the big water trough the romantic spot known as the “Turkey’s Nest” is reached. The road crosses a small stream here, which, owing to the peculiar formation of the ground, required the erection of a bridge, supported on the south side by an immense stone wall. This is one of the largest stone structures on the road, and is in a good state of preservation. It is a fine specimen of workmanship, and a grand monument to the skill of the old time stonemasons. This locality has always been invested with much interest, and admired by the lovers of picturesque beauty. Until recently it wore its primitive colorings. Now it is changed. Its primitive appearance has disappeared before the advancing forces of progress and improvement. The native trees have been cut down and a little hamlet occupies their places with attendant stables, cribs, coops and other out-houses. The old massive curved stone wall remains, but all about it so changed in appearance that the spot is scarcely recognized as the “Turkey’s Nest.” It is the popular belief that this locality derived its name from the discovery here of a wild turkey’s nest, by workmen engaged on the original construction of the road.
An old long log house, near the foot of the hill, was called the “Goat Pen,” and why is not accurately known, but this name it bore from one end of the road to the other.
We now reach the ancient and celebrated village of Monroe, a name it took in honor of the President hereinbefore mentioned. Approached from the east, the first old tavern and the first house in the place is the “Deford House,” in the olden time and by old people called the General Wayne House. It appears that at an early day General Wayne had occasion to pass this way, and tarried over night with John Deford, who kept tavern in a small log house a short distance in the rear of the present building. Deford at this time was contemplating the erection of a new and more imposing edifice, and applied to his distinguished guest for a plan. It was furnished, and the present stone structure is the outcome of it, which shows plainly enough that General Wayne was a much better soldier than architect. Deford kept tavern here for a long time, and was succeeded first by Henry Fisher and next by Matthias Fry. Samuel Magie is now the owner of the property, and its career as a tavern is ended.
A frame house a short distance below and on the opposite side of the street from the Deford House was once kept by James Dennison, who had a considerable trade. It was afterward kept by Matthias Fry, but business then had greatly decreased. Fry, in his prime, was one of the best men on the road, and a great favorite among the wagoners. He had been a wagoner himself for many years, and was at one time general agent for a transportation line from Baltimore to Wheeling, which made him the disburser of large sums of money, and he discharged his office with scrupulous fidelity. He was a large,fine looking man, stoutly built, and possessing great physical power. Although amiable and good natured, he was occasionally drawn into a fight, and on one occasion, at Petersburg, in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, whipped three reputed bullies, one after another, who entered his house when he lived there, and proposed to “clean him out,” as evidence of their prowess. He died a few years ago in Monroe, where his widow is still living.[X]
JAMES SNYDER.
JAMES SNYDER.
The next old tavern in Monroe is the stone house built by Andrew McMasters, and subsequently owned and kept for many years by German D. Hair. He was the only man that ever kept this house, and he died in it a few years ago, aged about eighty years. He was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and came to the vicinity of Uniontown about the time the road was made. He was a stonemason by trade, and worked on many of the bridges of the road, including the eastern and western bridges at Uniontown.
Next we come to the “Shipley House.” Like all the tavern houses in Monroe, and nearly all the private houses, this is a stone building, and is two stories high. It was erected by E. W. Clement, and good workmanship displayed in its construction. It was kept awhile by Clement, and after him at different times by John Wallace, Archibald Skiles, Samuel Shipley, Redding Bunting, and Lindsey Messmore.
Next is the “Monroe House,” one of the oldest in the place. It was built by Andrew McMasters, and subsequently and successively kept by E.W. Clement, Thomas Acklin, James Shafer, A. Skiles, John Worthington, M. Fry, and Calvin Springer. This was a popular house in the golden era of the road, and did an extensive business. Monroe was a thriving village when the pike flourished, and the center of fun and frolic. It began to decline when the trade left the road, but is now reviving and wearing an air of prosperity by reason of the coal developments in the vicinity.
On the hill above Monroe stands an old two-story brick house, fast sinking into decay, which was once a well known and popular tavern stand. It was owned and kept by William Morris. He put up an imposing sign, inscribed on the west side with the words, “Welcome from the West,” and on the east side the words, “Welcome from the East.” This was no false lure, and travelers from the east and west crowded into the old house to enjoy its good cheer. Alonzo L. Little, for many years editor and proprietor of theGenius of Liberty, was a son-in-law of William Morris, and he had a son (Luther) who settled in Iowa and was elected State Treasurer there.
Harry Gilbert once kept a tavern in the house where Charles Livingston now has a grocery, at the east end of Uniontown, and in later years it was kept by M. Fry and J. Allen Messmore.
Many years ago the Widow Sands kept tavern in the frame house at the point where the Connellsville and Cool Spring Furnace roads lead off from the pike.
GEN. EPHRAIM DOUGLASS.
GEN. EPHRAIM DOUGLASS.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Uniontown—The Town as it Appeared to Gen. Douglass in 1784—Its Subsequent Growth and Improvement—The First Tavern—Other Early Taverns—An Old Chief Justice and an Old Landlady wrangle over a Roasted Pig—Anecdote of George Manypenny and President Jefferson—The Swan, The McClelland, The Seaton, The National, The Clinton, The Moran, The Mahaney.
At the east end of Uniontown the road crosses Redstone creek, over a massive and extensive stone bridge, one of the best and most expensive samples of masonry on the whole line, built by Kinkead, Beck and Evans in 1818. Gen. Ephraim Douglass, the first prothonotary of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in a letter to Gen. James Irvine, in 1784, describes Uniontown in the following vigorous and graphic style:
My Dear General—If my promise were not engaged to write to you, my inclinations are sufficiently so to embrace with alacrity any opportunity of expressing the gratitude so justly due to your valuable friendship, of declaring the friendship of mine. This Uniontown is the most obscure spot on the face of the globe. I have been here seven or eight weeks, without one opportunity of writing to the land of the living, and though considerably south of you, so cold that a person not knowing the latitude, would conclude we were placed near one of the poles. Pray have you had a severe winter below? We have been frozen up here for more than a month past, but a great many of us having been bred in another State, the eating of hominy is as natural to us as the drinking of whisky in the morning. The town and its appurtenances consist of our president and a lovely little family, a court house and school house in one, a mill and consequently a miller, four taverns, three smith shops, five retail shops, two tan yards, one of them only occupied, one saddler’s shop, two hatter’s shops, one mason, one cake woman (we had two, but one of them having committed a petit larceny is upon banishment), two widows and some reputed maids, to which may be added a distillery. The upper part of this edifice is the habitation at will of your humble servant, who, beside the smoke of his own chimney, which is intolerable enough, is fumigated by that of two stills below, exclusive of the other effluvia that arises from the dirty vessels in which they prepare the materials for the stills. The upper floor of my parlor,which is also my chamber and office, is laid with loose clap-boards, or puncheons, and the gable ends entirely open; and yet this is the best place in my power to procure, till the weather will permit me to build, and even this I am subject to be turned out of the moment the owner, who is at Kentuck, and hourly expected, returns. I can say little of the country in general, but that it is very poor in everything but its soil, which is excellent, and that part contiguous to the town is really beautiful, being level and prettily situate, accommodated with good water, and excellent meadow ground. But money we have not, nor any practicable way of making it. How taxes are collected, debts paid, or fees discharged, I know not; and yet the good people appear willing enough to run in debt and go to law. I shall be able to give you a better account of this hereafter. Col. McClean received me with a degree of generous friendship, that does honor to the goodness of his heart, and continues to show every mark of satisfaction at my appointment. He is determined to act under the commission sent him by council, and though the fees would, had he declined it, have been a considerable addition to my profits, I cannot say that I regret his keeping them. He has a numerous small family, and though of an ample fortune in lands, has no cash at command. The general curse of the country, disunion, rages in this little mud hole with as much fury, as if they had each pursuits of the utmost importance, and the most opposed to each other, when in truth, they have no pursuits at all that deserve the name, except that of obtaining food and whisky, for raiment they scarcely use any. The commissioners—trustees, I should say—having fixed on a spot in one end of the town for the public buildings, which was by far the most proper, in every point of view, exclusive of the saving of expense, the other end took the alarm and charged them with partiality, and have been ever since uttering their complaints. And at the late election for justices, two having been carried in this end of the town, and none in the other, has made them quite outrageous. This trash is not worth troubling you with, therefore I beg your pardon, and am with unfeigned esteem, dear general, your very humble servant.
“EPHRAIM DOUGLASS.”
That was a long time ago, and a great change has come over the face of things. Gen. Douglass lived to see Uniontown arise from the mud hole and become a flourishing county seat. His mortal remains lie buried within the sound of the court house bell, and could he come forth now, and see Uniontown, he would be startled. Instead of a mud hole, he would see finely paved streets, studded with handsome buildings, lighted by electricity, enlivened by electric cars, telegraphs, telephones and railroads, and where the old distilleries stood, beautiful and staunch church edifices with spires pointing to the skies, and in fact he would behold all the evidences of a flourishing city, inhabited by active, intelligent and Christian people.
The first tavern in Uniontown was kept by John Collins in 1781. It was a log house on the north side of the main street, the site of which is now covered by “Commercial Row.” This old house remained standing until 1839, when it was torn down by its owner of that date. Isaac Beeson, who erected the buildings thereafter known as “Commercial Row.” John Collins kept this old tavern down to the year 1799. It was subsequently kept at different times by Samuel Salter, Cuthbert Wiggins, William Salter, John Hoge and Andrew Byers. William Salter was an old sheriff. Byers went from this house to the old Walker House, now the “Central,” and afterward to the “Clinton House.”
Jonathan Rowland, Daniel Culp and Matthew Campbell each kept a tavern in Uniontown as early as 1783. The location of Rowland’s tavern is not accurately known, but the best evidence available, points to the lot now owned by Daniel Downer, esq., and occupied by law offices, near the court house, as the site. Jonathan Rowland subsequently became a justice of the peace, and a leader in public affairs. Culp’s old tavern was a log house on the lot now owned and occupied by Justice Willson, corner of Main street and Gallatin avenue. Matthew Campbell’s old tavern, stood on the western side of the lot now covered by the Moran House, formerly and for many years known as the “Fulton.”
Colin Campbell as early as 1785 kept a tavern in a house that stood on the lot now covered by the Bryan building, on Main street, near the center of the town. This old tavern was subsequently owned and presided over by Samuel Salter, father of William Salter, the old sheriff.
Margaret Allen kept a tavern in the east end of town, a little above and opposite the Madison College buildings, in the year 1788, and for some time thereafter. She died in 1810, at the age of ninety-one years.
Dr. Robert McClure opened a tavern in December, 1792, a short distance west of the court house, on the south side of the street, and kept it down to the year 1813. It does not appear that any other person kept this house. It was in close proximity to the “Jolly Irishman,” hereafter mentioned.
Thomas Collins, son of John Collins, before mentioned, kept a tavern as early as 1794 in an old house on the lot, corner of Morgantown and Main streets, now occupied by the Tremont buildings. Thomas Collins was sheriff of Fayette county from 1796 to 1799, and commanded a company of soldiers from Uniontown and vicinity in the war of 1812, locally called the “Madison Rowdies.” A number of his descendants are still living in the neighborhood of Uniontown.
Previous to the opening of the present century the veteran of Laurel Hill, John Slack, before mentioned, kept a tavern in the old Shelcut house, on the south side of Main street, opposite the old Gregg house, and afterward kept the “Spread Eagle,” the exact location of which is involved in doubt, but the best information availableassigns it to the Weniger corner, opposite the old Walker house, hereinafter mentioned.
William Downard, subsequently proprietor of the big water-trough house on Laurel Hill, kept tavern in the Shelcut house from 1801 until probably 1808, when he retired to the pine covered slope of Laurel Hill, where he spent the remainder of his life. He served as County Commissioner from 1802 to 1805.
The Gregg house, situate on the north side of Main street, on the lot now covered by the residence of Dr. J. B. Ewing, was in existence as a tavern as early as 1798, and continued as late as 1865. It was a small house of brick and frame united, but had a large patronage. In early times travelers and other guests at taverns did not desire or expect separate rooms, and hence a small tavern like the Gregg house could accommodate as many persons as the more pretentious hotel of the present day; and at wagon stands the bar room, as before stated, was the only bed chamber for wagoners. James Gregg was the first proprietor of the Gregg house, and was succeeded by his widow, Nancy Gregg, in 1810. After her time it was kept in turn by William Medkirk, Matthew Allen, Simeon Houser, Amos Howell, Philip D. Stentz, and Thomas Moxley. James Gregg, the old proprietor of this house, was the father-in-law of the late Hon. Daniel Sturgeon, who was a United States Senator in the days of Clay, Webster and Calhoun.
In 1779, and for a number of years thereafter, Pierson Sayers kept a tavern in the house now occupied by Mrs. Ruby, on the north side of Main street, a short distance west of the court house. While keeping this house Sayers was elected Sheriff, and turned over his tavern to Jacob Harbaugh, who conducted it for three years, when, singularly enough, he was elected to succeed Sayers as Sheriff. Ellis Baily, the grandfather of Mrs. Ruby, bought this property from Pierson Sayers, and subsequently, and for many years, it was the private residence of the late Hon. John Dawson.
James Piper kept the “Jolly Irishman” as early as 1801. This bustling old tavern was located on Main street, opposite the residence of the late Hon. Daniel Kaine. James Piper, a son of the old proprietor, was a prominent and influential citizen of the town and county for many years. He was a member of the bar, a Justice of the Peace, Register of Wills, and Recorder of Deeds. He left Uniontown about 1850, went west, and died soon after.
William Merriman kept a tavern near Margaret Allen’s old stand as early as 1802. But little is known at this date of Merriman or his old tavern. Its existence was brief and its patronage limited.
At and before the beginning of the present century Samuel Salter kept a tavern in an old log and frame house that stood on the lot now occupied by the handsome residence of the Hon. John K. Ewing. Chief Justice Thomas McKean “put up” at this old tavern on his visits to Uniontown to hold the courts of Fayette county, and was frequently regaled with roast pig. The pig was well prepared, cookedand dressed, and in all respects savory, but its frequent appearance on the table moved the old Chief Justice to believe that he was getting “too much of a good thing,” and accordingly one day, in peremptory terms, he commanded the dining room girl to remove the offensive dish, which she did with trembling hands. This of course raised a storm in the old hostelry. Mrs. Salter became indignant, and, bringing back the pig, replaced it on the table, at the same time addressing the Judge thus: “You are Chief Justice and run the court; I am chief cook and run this dining room. That pig must stay,” and it did. Upon the withdrawal of Salter, in the year 1811, this old tavern came under the management and control of Jacob Harbaugh, the old Sheriff before mentioned. After Harbaugh’s time it was kept by George Ewing down to a period as late probably as 1830. Hugh Espey, a well remembered old County Treasurer, and straightgoing Presbyterian elder, married a daughter of George Ewing.
Opposite the old Gregg house, and adjoining the Shelcut house, George Manypenny kept a tavern as early as the year 1814, and probably before that date. This was a leading tavern of the town, subsequently conducted by Benjamin Miller, and after him by Harry Gilbert. One of the old stage lines stopped at this house. George Manypenny, the old proprietor, was the father of the late Hon. George W. Manypenny, who was for many years a prominent and popular political leader and officeholder of the State of Ohio. He was born in Uniontown, and most likely in his father’s old tavern. George Manypenny, sr., is described by those who remember him as a vigorous, pushing and witty Irishman. He called once to see President Jefferson, and was invited by His Excellency to take a glass of wine with him, which he did without hesitancy, and to obtain a second glass, this story is told of him: As he was about to withdraw from the executive mansion he remarked to Mr. Jefferson that he was going home, and would tell his friends that he had the honor of taking two glasses with the President of the United States, and hoped His Excellency would not let him go home with a lie in his mouth. As the story goes, the old President saw the point of the ingenious suggestion, and again brought forward the wine.
The Walker house, corner of Broadway and Main streets, was kept as a tavern as early as 1816 by Zadoc Walker, who owned the property. General LaFayette was entertained at this house in 1825, and Santa Anna, the renowned Mexican warrior, stopped over night in it on his way to Washington City, about sixty years ago. This house has been kept at different times since by Andrew Byers, William Byers, Redding Bunting, and others. When Bunting kept it, it was called the “United States.” It has recently been enlarged and improved, and its name changed to the “Central.” Its first host under the new name was James I. Feather, who subsequently became associated with William A. McHugh. Its present lessees and managers are Messrs. Frock and Mitchell. The Spottsylvania house, formany years conducted prosperously by John Manaway, and afterward, until it closed, by Lloyd Mahaney, adjoined the Walker house on the west, and used a number of rooms belonging to that old hostelry.
AARON WYATT.
AARON WYATT.
The McCleary house ranked high as an old-time inn or tavern. It is situate on the corner of Main and Arch streets, a substantial brick building, recently enlarged, embellished and improved, and at present catering to the public under the historic name of “Brunswick,” and conducted by Russell W. Beall, a gentleman admirably equipped for the business. Ewing McCleary owned and kept this old tavern as early as the year 1819, and many years thereafter. Upon his death, which occurred in this house, it was continued as a tavern under the management of his widow, until she became the wife of William Hart, when he took charge of it and kept it down to the year 1840, or thereabout, when he fell into disgrace and retired under a storm of popular reprobation. This house was a favorite stopping place of General Jackson. On an occasion a committee of citizens met Jackson on the road near town and tendered him the freedom of the municipality. Among other things made known to him by the committee, he was informed that quarters had been provided for his accommodation at the Walker House. He replied that he “always stopped at Hart’s.” “But,” rejoined the chairman of the committee, “Hart is a Whig, and his tavern a Whig house.” The old warrior answered back by saying that “Hart always treated him well, and he would go to his house,” and to Hart’s he went, reluctantly escorted by the Democratic committee. After Hart’s precipitate withdrawal from this old house, it was leased by S. B. Hays, subsequently of the Mansion and other old taverns in Washington, Pennsylvania. Hays conducted it for a brief period when it went into the possession of Joshua Marsh, who remained in charge not longer than a year or two, and left it to take charge of the National House. Its next occupant was the veteran Redding Bunting. After Bunting came Aaron Stone, then William Beatty, and after him William Gans. After Gans, Peter Uriah Hook was installed as landlord, who named the house “The Eagle,” and remained in charge a number of years. Hook was an eccentric man, given to redundancy of speech, a merchant, auctioneer, and for two years a member of the lower branch of the State legislature. He died in Uniontown, a number of years ago, but will not soon be forgotten. Aaron Wyatt succeeded Hook, and kept the house until his death. His widow and son James succeeded to the management, and James dying in the house, it passed to the hands of his widow, Mrs. Kate Wyatt, and from her to Russell W. Beall, the present occupant.
The before-mentioned old taverns were of the town, rather than of the road. Most of them were in existence and doing business before the road was made. The remaining old taverns of Uniontown, hereafter mentioned, were essentially taverns of the National Road, and derived their principal patronage from it.
The Swan, Nathaniel Brownfield proprietor, is an old, long frame building, at the west end of town, supplemented some years after it commenced business, by a brick addition to the eastern end. Thomas Brownfield, father of Nathaniel, the present proprietor, and grandfather on the maternal side, of the author of this volume, kept this old tavern as early as 1805, and down to the year 1829. When the National Road was opened for business, this house became a wagon stand, and continued such until the last crack of a Battelly White whip was heard on the road. It was provided with two commodious wagon yards, one at the front, on the roadside opposite the house, and the other between the house and the large stable in the rear. With the exception of one year that this old tavern was kept by William Cox, Nathaniel Brownfield, who was born under its roof, has kept it, uninterruptedly, from the date of his father’s death, and “holds the fort” to this day, “with none to molest or make him afraid.” Upwards of eighty, and in vigorous health, he has witnessed and participated in the exciting scenes of the road from the beginning to the end thereof. At an early period he became the owner of a farm consisting of one hundred acres adjacent to town, which he managed advantageously in connection with his tavern, and within the past year sold for the sum of one thousand and five dollars per acre, retaining his old tavern stand, to which he is attached by so many memories. His wife and good helpmate survives with him, and together they occupy the old tavern and recount with varied emotions the stirring scenes of the eventful past.
The McClelland House, as has been elsewhere stated, is one of the best known old taverns on the National Road. It is located on the north side of the Main street, and in the western end of town. As early as 1795, Richard Weaver kept a tavern in a wooden building on the lot now covered by the McClelland House, and was succeeded by William McClelland. William McClelland was keeping this old tavern in 1802, and owned the lot on which it stood at that date in fee simple. After the death of William McClelland his son, Alfred, came into possession, tore down the old building, and erected in its stead the present brick building, known always thereafter as the McClelland House. This house was the headquarters of the Good Intent line of stages, from the time it was put on the road until it was withdrawn at the end of the road’s career as a national highway. Alfred McClelland presided over this house and controlled it from the date of its erection until he died, with the exception of brief intervals mentioned below. He was a large, raw-boned man, of agreeable, though somewhat awkward manners, and had complete knowledge of the mysterious art of keeping a tavern. He had for his main clerk and bar-keeper, Macon W. Rine, a confidential and loyal friend, well remembered by the older citizens of Uniontown, as a thoroughly competent man for his employment. Alfred McClelland died on the 8th of September, 1862. In the intervals before mentioned, the McClelland House was kept for a short time previousto 1840 by S. B. Hays, before he took control of the old McCleary House. Thereafter, at different times, the house was kept by Jerry Colflesh, Lewis D. Beall, William and Thomas Swan, J. W. Kissinger, Calvin Springer, William Wyatt, Kim Frey, Russell Frey, Frey and Swan, Joseph C. Stacy and Charles H. Rush, in the order named. It is at present conducted, as elsewhere stated, by Mrs. Sarah E. McClelland, widow of the old proprietor, and retains all its ancient prestige, under her admirable management.
THE BROWNFIELD HOUSE.
THE BROWNFIELD HOUSE.
The Seaton House was a familiar hostelry in the olden time. It was founded by James C. Seaton in the year 1820, or thereabout. It is located on the northeast corner of Main and Arch streets, diagonally opposite the old McCleary House, and is now known as the West End Hotel. Mr. Seaton, the old proprietor, came to Uniontown from Virginia, and died in this old house many years ago. The house was built in sections at different times until it reached its present large proportions. During its occupancy by Mr. Seaton it was a wagon stand of the National Road, and extensively patronized. It was provided with ample grounds for wagons and teams to stand on, which are now covered by the Lingo block and other buildings in the vicinity. Mr. Seaton had three sons: Hiram, James, and John. Hiram was the old toll collector before mentioned, and James was a pike boy in a general way. He drove stage occasionally, and also the express; led horses from station to station on the road, and made himself useful in many other ways. He died at his father’s old tavern in the meridian of the bright era of the road, and before he had reached middle age. John Seaton, the other son, went west, and died recently in Nebraska. Daniel Collier, before mentioned as keeper of the old tavern at Mount Augusta, was a son-in-law of James C. Seaton; and Charles H. Seaton, the well known insurance agent of Uniontown, is a great-grandson of the old proprietor, and others of his descendants are still living in Uniontown and vicinity. After Mr. Seaton’s death this old tavern was continued a number of years by his widow, and growing old she leased it to James Swan, who conducted it for a brief period, Mrs. Seaton boarding with him in the house. Mr. Swan was succeeded by Philip D. Stentz, and he in turn by J. W. Kissinger, Kim Frey, David G. Sperry, John Messmore and Henry Jennings. The late James T. Redburn bought the property from the Seaton heirs and sold it to John Messmore, who in turn sold it to Henry Jennings. It is now owned and kept by George Titlow, under the name of the West End Hotel, as before stated, well conducted and well patronized.
The old National House is located on the northwest corner of Morgantown and Fayette streets. It was built for a private residence by the late Hon. Thomas Irwin, and occupied by him as such until he was appointed Judge of the United States District Court for the Western district of Pennsylvania, when he moved to Pittsburg. Judge Irwin sold the property to the celebrated Dr. John F. Braddee, of mail robbing notoriety, and he occupied it during the period covered by his depredations upon the mail bags. Its situation for such operations was convenient, as it adjoined the old Stockton stage yard hereinbefore described. After Braddee’s conviction L. W. Stockton acquired title to the property, and subsequently sold and conveyed it to Joshua Marsh, who opened it as a tavern. It was the headquarters of the Stockton line of stages from the time it was opened until all stage lines were withdrawn from the road. James K. Polk, with his family and traveling companions, stopped over night at The National when on his way to the capital to be inaugurated President, in the spring of 1845. A large number of citizens assembled on the occasion to meet the coming President, and were addressed by him from the high steps in front of the house. The National was a well kept house. Situate a distance from the main street, it was comparatively exempt from the ordinary street noises, and conducted in a quiet manner, disturbed only by the arrival and departure of the stage coaches. Mr. Marsh, its old proprietor, was a man of retiring disposition, gentle manners, and feeble health. He visited Washington when Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated President, and was one of the unfortunates who were poisoned on that occasion at the National Hotel of that place. He returned home, but never fully recovered from the effects of the poison, and died in Uniontown. Among others who kept the National were George Evans and Col. Samuel Elder. The latter is still living, a hale octogenarian, at Ligonier Westmoreland county, Pa.
The Clinton House, which stood on a lot adjoining the old Court House, was a popular house throughout its whole career. It was demolished in 1890 by condemnation proceedings, and the lot on which it stood taken by the county for the use of the new Court House. It was erected in 1835 by the late Hon. Andrew Stewart, who occupied it as a private residence and kept his law office in it for a number of years. It was first kept as a tavern by Andrew Byers, and after him, from time to time, until its demolition, by Stephen W. Snyder, whose wife was a Risler, Zadoc Cracraft, Isaac Kerr, Jesse B. Gardner, John Bierer, Calvin Springer, Springer & Renshaw, Bernard Winslow, William Springer, Joseph Wright, J. R. Thornton, and James I. Feather. General Taylor stopped over night at the Clinton House in 1849,en routeto Washington to assume the office of President of the United States. It was kept at that time by Andrew Byers.
COL. SAMUEL ELDER.
COL. SAMUEL ELDER.
The Moran House is the old Fulton House, opposite the Court House, on Elbow or Main street. Like the old Seaton House, the Fulton was built in sections, some of them by Seth Howell and others by his predecessors. Seth Howell kept this house a long time. He was called “Flinger,” because he had a habit of flinging disorderly persons out of the house, as he termed the process of ejecting. Howell was succeeded by Calvin Springer, and he by William Thorndell, who became the owner of the property. David Mahaney came in after Thorndell, Michael Carter after Mahaney, and it next passedto the hands of James Moran, its present occupant and owner, who gave it the name of the Moran House. This old tavern was always well patronized, and continues to be under its present proprietor, who has added many improvements, and the house is in better shape now than at any time heretofore.
The name Mahaney has long been identified with the National Road. The Mahaney House was built and is conducted by Lloyd Mahaney, a son of David, elsewhere mentioned. It is the newest hotel in Uniontown, and the finest in architectural display. It is a hotel, having come into existence after the old inns and taverns had been relegated to the dead past. It is located on a lot formerly owned and occupied by George Ebbert, adjoining the present National Bank of Fayette County on the east, and is on the south side of Main street. It is well managed and does a large business, and is likewise one of the best of the many recent improvements in Uniontown, and reflects credit on its proprietor.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Uniontown to Searights—Anecdote of John Slack—Slack at Night and Tight in the Morning—Old Roads—Parting Tribute to the Old Taverns of the Mountains—Henry Clay Extols the Virtue of Buckwheat Cakes—Boss Rush and his Poker—Moxleys—The Old Hunter House—Searights—The Grays and the Gray Meeting—Jackson Men and Adams Men Meet and Count Noses—Old Political Leaders—Barnacles of the Road.
The tavern keepers on the “old road,” as it is called, were as earnestly opposed to the building of the National Road, as those on the latter were to the building of the railroad, and for like reasons. The following anecdote serves as an illustration: John Slack kept a tavern for many years at the summit of Laurel Hill on the old road, in a house near the Washington Springs. Before the National Road was opened said Slack, in a complaining manner, “Wagons coming up Laurel Hill would stick in the mud a mile or so below my house, when the drivers would unhitch, leave their wagons in the mud, and bring their teams to my house and stay with me all night. In the morning they would return to their stranded wagons, dig and haul them out, and get back to my house and stay with me another night. Thus counting the wagons going east and west, I got four night’s bills from the same set of wagoners.” “Now,” concluded Slack (since the completion of the National Road), with indignation, “the wagoners whiff by without stopping.” Old wagoners were accustomed to say of Slack that he was “Slack at night and tight in the morning,” meaning that he was clever and cheerful when they “put up” with him in the evening, and close and exacting in the morning when bills were payable.
The old road referred to was the Braddock road, which from the summit of Laurel Hill, turned northwardly, as before stated, to Gists (Mt. Braddock), Stewart’s Crossing (Connellsville), Braddock’s Field and Fort Pitt (Pittsburg).
THE SEARIGHT HOUSE.
THE SEARIGHT HOUSE.
An old road between Uniontown and Brownsville was laid out in 1774 by viewers appointed by the court of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, before Fayette county was established, upon a petition signed mainly by inhabitants of Brownsville and vicinity, who complained that “they had to carry their corn twenty miles to the mill of Henry Beeson at Uniontown.” The distance of twenty miles complained of was by way of the old road known as “Burd’s,” fromthe mouth of Redstone creek to Gists, where it intersected Braddock’s road. The road between Uniontown and Brownsville, above mentioned, was carried east of Uniontown, to intersect the Braddock road, which it did, near Slack’s tavern. The line of the National Road closely follows that of the old road between Uniontown and Brownsville. Marks of the old road are plainly visible to this day, and some of the old buildings, which were erected along its line, are still standing, notably the dwelling of Thomas B. Graham, esq., three miles west of Uniontown, which was an old tavern. This old house was the first residence of the Hon. Andrew Stewart after his marriage, and his oldest son, David Shriver, was born in it.
John Slack, the old tavern keeper before mentioned, was the father of Mrs. McClean, wife of Ephraim McClean, who for many years kept the Cottage tavern on the summit of Laurel Hill, and no doubt the fame of this house under the management of the McCleans is attributable in great measure to the early training of Mrs. McClean in her father’s old tavern, where she was reared.
Heretofore in these pages the reader has been introduced to old taverns and old tavern keepers on the mountain division of the road, a long division covering two hundred miles, including the intervening glades and valleys. Surprise is often expressed that there were so many good taverns in the mountains, remote from fertile fields and needed markets. That they were equal to the best on the road is conceded; and that the old taverns of the National Road have never been surpassed for bounteous entertainment and good cheer, is likewise conceded; in fact, has never been disputed. It may seem a trifling thing to be written down in serious history, that the old taverns of the mountains excelled all others in the matter of serving buckwheat cakes; but it is germane and true. To relieve this statement from the imputation of being a trifling one, it may be added that there are men and women still living on the line of the National Road who often heard the great statesman, orator and patriot, Henry Clay, praising the good qualities of the buckwheat cakes furnished by the old mountain taverns with as much fervor and more enthusiasm than he ever exhibited in commending his favorite measure, the Protective Tariff. And, as a matter of fact, it might be stated in this connection, that the making of buckwheat cakes is essentially a home industry, not, however, of the infantile order, and while it may not need protection, is certainly deserving of encouragement. Another memorable feature of the mountain taverns was the immense fires kept constantly burning in the old bar rooms during the old-time winters. In many instances the grates were seven feet in length, with corresponding width and depth, and would contain an ordinary wagon load of coal; and when the fires were stirred up in these immense grates, and set to roaring, the jolly old wagoners occupying the bar rooms paid little heed to the eagerness of the howling mountain weather. The old landlord of the mountains took special pride in keeping up his bar room fire. He kept a poker from six toeight feet long, and would not allow it to be used by any one but himself. Boss Rush, not inaptly termed “the prince of landlords,” was so careful and punctilious about the management of his bar room fire that he kept his big poker under lock and key, so that no one could use it but himself, always using it at the right time, and keeping up a uniform and proper temperature for the comfort of his guests. With this parting tribute to the memory of the old taverns and tavern keepers of the mountains, the attention of the reader is now invited to those on the line of the road through the rich valleys of the tributaries of the Ohio. Monroe and Uniontown, and the intervening space of two miles between these points, are covered in a previous chapter.
Three miles west of Uniontown is an old tavern stand known in late years as the Moxley House. It is a long log and frame building, situate on the south side of the road, with a porch extending along its entire frontage. This house was first kept as a tavern by Bazil Wiggins, an uncle of Harrison Wiggins, the old fox hunter before mentioned, next by John Gray, grandfather of the old and popular conductor from Uniontown to Pittsburg on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, now and for many years deceased. Its next occupant, and from 1836 to 1838, was William Cox, a brother-in-law of E. W. Clement, the famous swearer. In 1838 the property was purchased by Thomas Moxley, who went into possession and continued it as a tavern stand down to the year 1863, when Henry Clay Rush bought it and occupied it until the year 1865, when he sold it to Edmund Leonard, its present occupant. When Moxley took charge of this old tavern he gave it the name of “The Half-way House,” for the reason that its location is about midway between Cumberland and Wheeling. It was always a well conducted tavern, and did a large business, mainly in the line of wagon custom.
Less than a mile west of the old Moxley House, on the south side, and back a few yards from the road, is a fine brick building, which, during a portion of the prosperous era of the road, was a well known and popular tavern stand. The house was built by Robert Hunter, who occupied it for several years, but did not seem inclined to court patronage, and, as a consequence, did not do much business. He leased the house to William Darlington, and moved to Ohio. Darlington, as before stated, had been an old wagoner, was a man of amiable temper, and did a large business at this house. He remained in it until the year 1848, when he moved to the mountain and took charge of the Stone House, then known as the Fayette Springs House, now Dean’s. There he remained until he became the occupant of the Mansion House on the estate of the late Col. Samuel Evans, near Uniontown, where he died. When Darlington vacated the old Hunter House it was turned over to Peter Colley, whose father, Abel Colley, had previously bought it from Hunter. Peter Colley kept the house a number of years, and died in possession. He was a man of quiet deportment, attentive to strangers and travelers, andenjoyed an extensive line of custom, until the termination of the road’s high career. The old tavern is now the private residence of A. A. Taggart, son-in-law of Peter Colley, proprietor of one of the planing mills of Uniontown, and a successful contractor and builder.