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THE OLD PIKE.
THE OLD PIKE.
A HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL ROAD, WITH INCIDENTS, ACCIDENTS, AND ANECDOTES THEREON. ILLUSTRATED. BY THOMAS B. SEARIGHT. UNIONTOWN, PA: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 1894. Copyright, 1894, by T. B. Searight. PRESSES OF M. CULLATON & CO., RICHMOND, IND....
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LETTER FROM JAMES G. BLAINE.
LETTER FROM JAMES G. BLAINE.
Hon. T. B. Searight, Uniontown, Pa. My Dear Friend :— I have received the sketches of the “Old Pike” regularly and have as regularly read them, some of them more than once, especially where you come near the Monongahela on either side of it, and thus strike the land of my birth and boyhood. I could trace you all the way to Washington, at Malden, at Centreville, at Billy Greenfield’s in Beallsville, at Hillsboro (Billy Robinson was a familiar name), at Dutch Charley Miller’s, at Ward’s, at Pancak
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
Inception of the Road—Author’s Motive in Writing its History—No History of the Appian Way—A Popular Error Corrected—Henry Clay, Andrew Stewart, T. M. T. McKennan, Gen. Beeson, Lewis Steenrod and Daniel Sturgeon—Their Services in Behalf of the Road—Braddock’s Road—Business and Grandeur of the Road—Old and Odd Names—Taverns—No Beer on the Road—Definition of Turnpike—An Old Legal Battle. The road which forms the subject of this volume, is the only highway of its kind ever wholly constructed by the
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Origin of the Fund for Making the Road.—Acts for the Admission of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri—Report of a Committee of Congress as to the Manner of Applying the Ohio Fund—Distances from Important Eastern Cities to the Ohio River—The Richmond Route Postponed—The Spirit and Perseverance of Pennsylvania—Maryland, “My Maryland,” not behind Pennsylvania—Wheeling the Objective Point—Brownsville a Prominent Point—Rivers tend to Union, Mountains to Disunion. Act of April 30, 1802, for the admis
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
The Act of Congress Authorizing the Laying Out and Making of the Road. An Act to Regulate the Laying Out and Making a Road from Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled , That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three discreet and disinterested citizens of the United States, t
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Special Message of President Jefferson—Communicating to Congress the First Report of the Commissioners—They View the Whole Ground—Solicitude of the Inhabitants—Points Considered—Cumberland the First Point Located—Uniontown Left Out—Improvement of the Youghiogheny—Distances—Connellsville a Promising Town—“A Well Formed, Stone Capped Road”—Estimated Cost, $6,000 per Mile, exclusive of Bridges. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States : In execution of the act of the last ses
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
Pennsylvania Grants Permission to Make the Road Through Her Territory—Uniontown Restored, Gist Left Out, and Washington, Pennsylvania, Made a Point—Simon Snyder, Speaker of the House—Pressly Carr Lane, a Fayette County Man, Speaker of the Senate, and Thomas McKean, Governor—A Second Special Message From President Jefferson, and a Second Report of the Commissioners—Heights of Mountains and Hills—On to Brownsville and Wheeling—An Imperious Call Made on Commissioner Kerr. An Act authorizing the Pre
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury, called upon for Information respecting the Fund Applicable to the Roads mentioned in the Ohio Admission Act—His Responses. TENTH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION. Communicated to the House of Representatives March 8, 1808. Treasury Department. March 3, 1808. Sir : In answer to your letter of the 1st instant, I have the honor to state: 1st. That the 5 per cent. reserved by the act of 30th April, 1802, on the net moneys received for public lands in the State of Oh
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
The Life of the Road Threatened by the Spectre of a Constitutional Cavil—President Monroe Vetoes a Bill for its Preservation and Repair—General Jackson has Misgivings—Hon. Andrew Stewart comes to the Rescue. SPECIAL MESSAGE. May 4, 1822 . To the House of Representatives : Having duly considered the bill, entitled “An act for the preservation and repair of the Cumberland Road,” it is with deep regret ( APPROVING, AS I DO, THE POLICY ), that I am compelled to object to its passage, and to return t
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
State Authority prevails—The Road surrendered by Congress—The erection of Toll Gates authorized—Commissioners appointed by the States to receive the Road—They wrangle over its bad condition, and demand that it be put in thorough repair by Congress, before the States will accept it—Old and familiar names of the Commissioners—The Road accepted by the States. At the session of the year 1831, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a bill, which was approved April 4th, of that year, by George Wolf, gove
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
Plan of Repairs—The Macadam System adopted—Mr. Stockton offers his services—Capt. Delafield made Superintendent—The Road in a bad condition—Permission asked to deviate from instructions, and refused—Capt. Giesey lifted the old road bed indiscriminately— First defects to be remedied—Lieut. Mansfield at Uniontown—Plan emphasized in notices for contracts—Free passage for water a first consideration. Engineer Department , Washington , July 23, 1832. Lt. J. K. F. Mansfield, Corps of Engineers : Sir :
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Lieut. Mansfield superseded by Capt. Delafield—The Turning of Wills Mountain—Contractors not Properly Instructed—Capt. Delafield suggests a Change of Plan, and enforces his Views by Copious Quotations from Macadam—He is Permitted to exercise his own Discretion—Too much sand between Uniontown and Cumberland—Operations at Wills Creek suspended—A Collision with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company—The difficulty adjusted, and operations resumed. Engineer Department , Washington , October 5, 1832.
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
On with the work—Wooden Bridges proposed for the new location up Wills Creek and Braddock’s Run—The War Department holds that Wooden Superstructures would be a Substantial Compliance with the Maryland law—New instructions issued from Wheeling—The old bed to be retained—Two classes of work—Frauds by Contractors—Form for Contracts forwarded from Brownsville—Report and Estimate called for by the Senate—The law of Congress renders a change of plan necessary—The Secretary of War greatly interested in
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
Gen. Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, transmits a Report—More about the Wooden Bridges for the New Location near Cumberland—The War department thinks they will do—John Hoye stoutly Objects—The Governor of Maryland takes a hand against Wooden Bridges—John Hoye to the Front Again—The Pennsylvania Commissioners make another demand that the Road be put in Repair. War Department , January 3, 1835. Sir : Herewith I have the honor to transmit a report from the Chief Engineer, which furnishes the informati
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Iron Bridge over Dunlap’s Creek at Brownsville—Interesting facts relating to its projection and construction—The first step—Several respectable Gentlemen of Brownsville call the attention of the Government’s Agent to the subject. National Road, 85-5/8 Miles from Cumberland , August 15, 1832. Sir : Yesterday, as I passed through Brownsville, I was waited on by several of the most respectable gentlemen of that place, who were anxious to have me examine the bridge over Dunlap’s creek, between B
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
Appropriations by Congress at various times for Making, Repairing, and Continuing the Road—Aggregate of Appropriations, $6,824,919.33. Note —The appropriation of $3,786 60, made by act of Feb. 26, 1812, is not included in the above total for the reason that it was a balance from a former appropriation. The act of March 3, 1843, appropriates so much as is necessary to settle certain claims on contract for building bridges over Kaskaskia river and constructing part of Cumberland Road. HON. T. M. T
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Speech of Hon. T. M. T. McKennan, delivered in Congress, June 6, 1832—The Road a Monument of National Wealth and Greatness—A Bond of Union—Business of the Road—Five Thousand Wagons unload in Wheeling in a single year—Facilities afforded by the Road for transporting the Mails and Munitions of War. This road, Mr. Speaker (the National Road), is a magnificent one —magnificent in extent; it traverses seven different States of this Union, and its whole distance will cover an extent of near eight hund
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
Life on the Road—Origin of the Phrase Pike Boys—Slaves Driven Like Horses—Race Distinction at the Old Taverns—Old Wagoners—Regulars and Sharpshooters—Line Teams—John Snider, John Thompson, Daniel Barcus, Robert Bell, Henry Clay Rush, and other Familiar Names. As the phrase “Pike Boys” is frequently used in this volume, it is considered pertinent to give its origin. When first used, it was confined in its application to boys—sons of wagoners, stage drivers, tavern keepers, farmers, and in fact th
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
Old Wagoners continued—Harrison Wiggins, Morris Mauler, James Mauler, John Marker, John Bradley, Robert Carter, R. D. Kerfoot, Jacob F. Longanecker, Ellis B. Woodward—Broad and Narrow Wheels—A peculiar Wagon—An experiment and a failure—Wagon Beds—Bell Teams. Harrison Wiggins, widely known as a lover of fox hunting, and highly respected as a citizen, was one of the early wagoners. His career as a wagoner ceased long before the railroad reached Cumberland. He hauled goods from Baltimore to points
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Old Wagoners continued—John Deets—His story told by himself—David Church—John Snider loads up with Butter—Billy Ashton, John Bradfield, Frank Bradfield—An Escapade—William Hall, Henry Puffenberger and Jacob Breakiron—Collision between a “regular” and a “sharpshooter”—Joseph Lawson, Jeff. Manypenny, Joseph Arnold, The Sophers, Robert Beggs, Thomas Gore, and John Whetsel. JOHN DEETS. John Deets was a wagoner on the road as early as 1826, before the invention of the rubber, or at least before its a
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
Old Wagoners continued—The Harness they Used—John Morrow a maker of Harness—Capt. Elias Gilmore encounters a Man Eater—Perry Gaddis, William G. Patterson, Alfred Bailes, the Scarboroughs and McLaughlins—Hill, who respected Sunday—James Riley and Oliver Pratt, Robert Carr, Robert Allison, David Herr, William Keefer, Abram Beagle, Samuel Youman, Robert Cosgrove, James Brownlee, John Collier, Darius Grimes, Fielding Montague, James Smith, Elisha Maxon, Jacob Marks, Thomas Starr, Thomas Hastings, He
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
Old Wagoners continued—An Exciting Incident of the Political Campaign of 1840—All about a Petticoat—Neri Smith, Isaac Stuck, John Short, William Orr, Ashael Willison—A Wagoner Postmaster—Robert Douglas—A Trip to Tennessee—Abram Brown, William Long, Samuel Weaver—A Quartet of Bell Teams—A Trio of Swearing Men—A Peculiar Savings Bank—William C. McKean and a Long List of other Old Wagoners—Graphic Description of Life on the Road by Jesse J. Peirsol, an Old Wagoner—Origin of the Toby Cigar—The Rubbe
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
Stage Drivers, Stage Lines and Stage Coaches—The Postilion—Changing Horses—He comes, the Herald of a Noisy World—Pioneer Proprietors—Peter Burdine and his Little Rhyme—Anecdote of Thomas Corwin—Johny Ritter—Daniel Brown, his sad Ending—Soldier Drivers—Redding Bunting—Joseph and William Woolley—Andrew J. Wable—James Burr. “My uncle rested his head upon his hands and thought of the busy bustling people who had rattled about, years before, in the old coaches, and were now as silent and changed; he
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
Stages and Stage Drivers continued—Character of Drivers Defended—Styles of Driving—Classification of Drivers—Samuel Luman, old mail driver—His thrilling encounter with Robbers—George Fisher dashes into a Whig procession—Daniel Leggett—Accident to Black Hawk—Tobias Banner, Jerry McMullin, George McKenna, Paris Eaches, Jack Bailiss, Henry A. Wise, and other familiar names. Mr. A. J. Endsley, of Somerset, an intelligent, educated and observing gentleman, who was born and reared on the National Road
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The first Mail Coaches—The stage yard at Uniontown—Employees therein—Mr. Stockton goes back on John Tyler—Names of Coaches—Henry Clay and the drivers—Anecdote of Clay, and Humes, of Claysville—Jenny Lind and Phineas T. Barnum on the road—Exciting race between an old liner and a Good Intent driver—Old Mount, the Giant of the road—Sim Houser, Archie McNeil, Watty Noble, the Nestor of stage drivers, and other familiar names. The first mail coaches were arranged to carry but three passengers, in add
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Stages and Stage Drivers continued—Gen. Taylor approaching Cumberland—Early Coaches—The first Troy Coach on the Road—Mr. Reeside and Gen. Jackson—John Buck—Accidents—Kangaroo and Bob-tail Teams—John Mills and William Bishop—Celebration at Cumberland—David Bonebraker, Hanson Willison, and a long list of other old drivers—Billy Willis and Peter Burdine—Fare Rates—The Way Bill—The Landlords—Pilot and Pioneer Lines—Compensation of Stage Drivers—Hopwood’s Row—Withdrawal of the lines—The dignity of st
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CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
Distinguished Stage Proprietors, Lucius W. Stockton, James Reeside, Dr. Howard Kennedy, William H. Stelle—Old Stage Agents, Charley Rettig, John Risley, William Biddle, James Coudy, Redding Bunting, Edward Lane, Theodore Granger, Charles Danforth, Jacob Beck, Daniel Brown, “Billy” Scott, “Lem” Cross, and B. W. Earl—The Pony Express. The most conspicuous of all the old stage proprietors of the National Road was Lucius Witham Stockton. James Reeside was probably an older stage man, and may have ow
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CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers from Baltimore to Boonsboro—Pen Picture of an Old Tavern by James G. Blaine—The Maypole—The Hand in Hand—Earlocker’s—Pine Orchard—The Brown Stand—Levi Chambers, the Nullifier—Old Whalen’s Sunfish, Bob Fowler’s Goose and Warfield’s Ham—Poplar Springs—Allen Dorsie, Van McPherson, The Widow Dean, Getzendanner’s, Peter Hagan, Riddlemoser and the McGruder House, Peter Zettle, Emanuel Harr. “ Caldwell’s Tavern : We did not use the high sounding hotel , but the good old A
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Boonsboro to Cumberland—Funkstown, Antietam, Hagerstown, Dirty Spigot, Shady Bower, Clear Spring, North Mountain, Indian Spring, Hancock—The House of Nicodemus—Accident on Sideling Hill, the Longest Hill on the Road—Snib Hollow—Town Hill—Green Ridge—Pratt’s Hollow—A Fugitive Slave—Polish Mountain—Flintstone—Martin’s Mountain. Boonsboro is a small town at the foot of South Mountain in Maryland, and in the palmy days of the National Road was a lively villag
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Cumberland to Little Crossings—The City of Cumberland—Everstine’s—The Six Mile House and Bridge—Clary’s—Tragedy in Frostburg—Thomas Beall—Sand Springs—Big Savage—Little Savage—Thomas Johnson—The Shades of Death—John Recknor—Piney Grove—Mortimer Cade—Tomlinson’s—Widow Wooding. The city of Cumberland is the initial point, as before stated, of that portion of the National Road which was constructed by authority of Congress, and paid for with funds drawn from
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Little Crossings to Winding Ridge—Grantsville—The Old Shultz, Steiner and Fuller Houses—The Veteran, David Mahaney—Thomas Thistle, Widow Haldeman, Death of Mrs. Recknor, Negro Mountain, Keyser’s Ridge, Log Cabin Boys of 1840, James Stoddard, Dennis Hoblitzell, The Fears, The McCurdys, Adam Yeast, David Johnson, Perry Shultz, Truman Fairall, John Woods, The Bane House, Wooing and Wedding of an Old Tavern Keeper, James Reynolds, Henry Walters. Next after le
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CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXX.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Winding Ridge to the Big Crossings—The State Line—How it is Noted—The Old Stone Tavern on Winding Ridge, John Welsh, Major Paul, The Wables, Edward C. Jones, The Augustines, Daniel Blucher, Petersburg, Gen. Ross, William Roddy, Gabriel Abrams, The Risler Family, Col. Samuel Elder, Robert Hunter, John McMullin, Alfred Newlon, Lott Watson, John Mitchell, John Bradfield, The Temple of Juno, The Big Crossings, Endsley’s Old Tavern, John Campbell, William Imho
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CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Big Crossings to Mt. Washington—Old Shellbark, Jacob Probasco, Jockey Hollow, Old Tom Brown, Mt. Augusta, Marlow’s, the Three Cabins, McCollough’s—A Fugitive Slave Tragedy—A Sermon cut short by the Baying of Hounds—Charley Rush—The Sheep’s Ear—the Bull’s Head, the Old Inks House, Nick McCartney, Boss Rush, Samuel Frazer, John Rush. The first old tavern west of the “Big Crossings,” and the first in Fayette county, Pa. (for the river here is the boundary li
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CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Fort Necessity, Washington’s First Battle Field, Monroe Springs, Reception to President Monroe, Gate Bob McDowell, Braddock’s Run and Grave, Fayette Springs, A Trio of Old Fiddlers, Chalk Hill, Snyders, Old Squire Price, The Summit of Laurel Hill, Molly Calhoun, Ephraim McLean, The Big Water Trough on Laurel Hill, The Goat Pen, The Turkey’s Nest, Monroe, known now mostly as Hopwood, Matthias Fry, German D. Hair, The Old Morris House, Widow Sands, Harry Gi
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
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
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
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 oppo
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CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers, continued—Searights to Brownsville—Able Colley’s, Johnson’s, known later as Hatfield’s—William Hatfield, his Good Name and Melancholy Death—An old and odd Indenture—The old Peter Colley House—A Tavern with a Brief Career, the Red Tavern, Wilkes Brown, Brubaker’s—Brownsville—Anecdotes of Jackson and Clay—James Workman and Doctor Stoy—Ham and Eggs—Bazil Brashear, James C. Beckley, William Reynolds, the Monongahela House, the Clark House, the Iron Bridge, Bridgeport,
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Brownsville to Beallsville—West Brownsville, the Birthplace of James G. Blaine—Indian Hill, later known as Krepps’ Knob—Indian Peter and Neil Gillespie—The Adams House, John Cummins, Vincent Owens—An Old and Mysterious Murder—Malden, Bry Taylor—Tragic Death of a Beautiful Girl—Centreville, John Rogers, Zeph Riggle, Battelly White, the whip-maker, Mrs. Dutton, Eli Railley, The Old Constitution, Beallsville, David Mitchell, Andrew and Thomas Keys, Robert Cl
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Beallsville to Washington—Hillsboro—The Old Hill House—Samuel Youman, next to Old Mount the biggest man of the Road—George Ringland, John Noble, Billy Robinson, Charley Miller’s, The Gals House, Daniel Ward, Egg Nog Hill, The Long Stretch, Thomas Hastings, The Upland House, Joseph Doak, The Mount Vernon House, Maj. Dunlap, Charles Rettig, Pancake, Jonathan Martin, The Sample House. Three miles west from Beallsville the traveler reaches the village of Hill
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Old Tavern and Tavern Keepers continued—Washington—Washington and Jefferson College—The Female Seminary—James Wilson, first Tavern Keeper in Washington—The two Dodds—Major McCormick’s—The White Goose and the Golden Swan—Hallam’s Old Wagon Stand—The Valentine—The Buck—The Gen. Andrew Jackson—The Globe—The Cross Keys—The Indian Queen—The Mermaid—The Rising Sun—The Gen. Brown—The Fountain—Billy Brown and Jimmy Brown—The Mansion—John N. Dagg—A Giant Boot Jack—The American—The Fulton—The National—Sur
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CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—Washington to West Alexander—Rankintown—John Rankin—Andrew McDonald—Freaks of an Old Wagon-maker—Robert Smith—John Coulson—Millers—Bedillions—The S Bridge—Caldwells—Mrs. Brownlee—Another Widow McClelland—Claysville—John Sargent—An event in the Life of Dan Rice—Basil Brown—Dennisons—The Walker House—Jonathan D. Leet—Coon Island—John Canode—Rogers and the Doughertys—John Valentine. After passing Washington the ancient little village of Rankintown is reached
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CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XL.
Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers continued—West Alexander to Wheeling—A Modern Gretna Green—Dr. McCluskey—Crossing Another State Line—Abram Carr—The Widow Beck, with whom Abram Lincoln boarded, and at whose house Robert T. Lincoln was born—The Widow Rhodes and Abram Beagle—John White, Isaac Jones, Roney’s Point, Ninian Bell, John Bentley, James Kimberly, Triadelphia, John D. Foster, Col. Thompson, the Widow Gooding—The Clay Monument—Col. Moses Shepherd and his wife, Lydia—Samuel Carter—Michael Bla
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CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLI.
West of Wheeling—Old Stage Lines Beyond the Ohio River—William Neil—Gen. N. P. Flamage—Stage Stations—Old Taverns and Tavern Keepers—Rev. Doctor Cinnabar and “Sunset” Cox were old Pike Boys—Lively Times in Guernsey—Crossing another State line—Sycamore Valley—Old Taverns in Richmond—A link out—Centerville—Dublin—Through Indiana—The Road Disappears among the Prairies of Illinois. It is estimated that two-fifths of the trade and travel of the road were diverted at Brownsville, and fell into the cha
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CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLII.
Superintendents under National Control—Gen. Gratiot, Captains Delafield, McKee, Bliss, Hartzell, Williams, Colquit and Cass, and Lieuts. Mansfield, Vance and Pickell—The Old Mile Posts—Commissioners and Superintendents under State Control—William Searight, William Hopkins, and Earlier and Later Commissioners and Superintendents—A Pennsylvania Court Wipes Out a Section of the Road. Down to the year 1834, as has been seen, the road was under the control and supervision of the War Department of the
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CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Old Contractors—Cost of the Road—Contractors for Repairs—Stone Breakers—An Old Stone Breaker Convicted of Murder—The Measuring Ring—The Napping Hammer—An Old Stone Breaking Machine—A Second Table Showing Heights of Mountains and Hills. The first contracts in sections for the first ten miles of the road west of Cumberland were signed April 16th and May 8th, 1811, and were finished in the fall of 1812. The next letting was in August, 1812, of eleven miles, extending west as far as Tomlinson’s, and
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CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Two Noted Old Tavern Keepers—Thomas Endsley and William Sheets—The Latter the Driver of the First Mail Coach Out from Cumberland—A Wedding Party Surprised, and a Marriage Prevented—William M. F. Magraw, a well known Man of the Road. A prominent and widely known man of the road was Thomas Endsley. He was born near Richmond, Virginia, in 1787. He was the only child of parents who came from Switzerland and settled in Virginia at an early day. His mother was of an old family of Gilberts, who were Qu
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CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLV.
Dumb Ike—Reminiscences of Uniontown—Isaac Johnson—Squire Hagan—A Musician Astride of a Hog—Anecdote of Judges Black and Williams—Morgan Miller, an Old Tavern Keeper—Philip Krishbaum, an Old Stone Cutter—Crazy Billy—Highway Robbery—Slaves Struggling for Liberty—William Willey, an old Friend of the Slaves—Unsuccessful Attempts at Suicide by an old Postmaster and an old Drover—Tom Marshall, of Kentucky, appears on the Road and amuses the boys. The National Road had its variety, as all the ways of l
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CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVI.
The Arrest, Trial, Conviction and Sentence of Dr. John F. Braddee, the Notorious Mail Robber—George Plitt makes the Information—Bill Corman turns on his Chief—Braddee gives Bail—His Bondsmen—Strayer and Purnell—The Witnesses—The Indictment—The Jury—The Verdict—The Defendant Dies in the Penitentiary. There is no doubt that Dr. John F. Braddee was the most notorious individual that ever lived in Uniontown. The exact date of his advent to that place seems to be unascertainable, but it was more than
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CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVII.
John Quincy Adams visits Uniontown—He is Welcomed by Dr. Hugh Campbell—The National Road a Monument of a Past Age—A Comparison Between the National Road and the Appian Way. The foregoing lines were written by one who mourned the departing glories of the old road. When they were written the steam car had taken the place of the four-horse coach, and the writer was giving vent to his grief over the change. Steam has since encountered a formidable competitor in the shape of electricity, and the time
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Transcriber’s End Notes
Transcriber’s End Notes
Several illustrations (“ROAD WAGON” and “STAGE COACH”) appear in the table of illustrations but do not have captions in the images themselves. These have been added. The table of illustrations indicates that a portrait of Ellis B. Woodward was to appear after p. 119, where he is mentioned. In fact, the portrait was bound between pages 132 and 133. It has been placed in its intended position. The spelling of place names vary locally, e.g., Allegany / Allegheny. The word “phæton” appears both with
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