History of Wheeling City and Ohio Co. WV - Chapter X-B



CHAPTER X. WHEELING AS A TOWN AND CITY. PART B

The old graveyard was then in use, and its fences, house and the stable of 
Mr. Burt, the sexton, extended from the alley south of Fifteenth street to 
about the north line of Seventeenth street, and its high ground ran about 
on a level with the site formerly of the Rogers property southward about 
300 feet, when it sloped to about the present grade of Eighteenth street 
at the Flaccus factory. John street of East Wheeling was probably named 
for, or as a complimentary to, John Fawcett, one of the members of the 
East Wheeling Company and was the longest and first street of their 
addition. The late George Forbes', formerly the Houser, building, the 
Salsbury's row; Moffat's, formerly Samuel Neal's, Adam's, formerly Joseph 
Morrison's, and what was formerly Colonel Thompson's adjoining thereto, 
with the Exley brick, and two or three tenements near it, almost completed 
the list here. 

Eastward scarcely anything is recognizable except the Pumphrey residence 
and two or three frames in this block, and the former Butts' brick and 
several frame tenements in the blocks further toward the creek. 

An old landmark was a white lead factory on the northeast corner of 
Seventh (now Woods) street and John (now Sixteenth) street, then called 
the Baker & Roberts factory, but it long since gave place to dwelling 
houses. 

On Quincy (now Fourteenth) street, east on Fifth (now Eoff) street, the 
houses were then few, and still fewer remain in the same guise, although 
under their old coats, and their new one might pick out a dozen and 
resurrect the names of citizens who went west in the times of Wheeling's 
greatest financial difficulties, or eastward in the beginning of the late 
unpleasantness. The entrance to Allman's field at Quincy street was about 
where McCulloch street is now, but the road soon left the present street 
route and wound around the base of the hill, coming in below an old brick 
spring house and going thence to the creek crossing. 

We come now to the year 1840, when the prominent hotels in the city were 
the United States, where the Hotel Windsor now stands; the Virginia, 
latterly the Grant House, and McCourtney's on the corner of Main and 
Quincy streets, and the Powhatan House on Monroe street. McCourtney's was 
the favorite resort of drovers and cattle men, as there were ample 
accommodations for the great droves of horses, sheep, cattle and even 
turkeys that were driven over the mountains via the great thoroughfare. 

On these premises in the present center of the city where the 
Intelligencer office is now located, were the circus grounds, where Dan 
Rice, Stickney and other pioneers of the sawdust ring delighted the young 
and old of those days in their astonishing equestrian feats and athletic 
sports. 

The only Methodist church in the city at this time was the old Fourth 
Street church with its spacious galleries extending around three sides of 
it, the choir immediately facing the gallery. "Bobby" Hamilton, as he was 
familiarly called, led the singing, with his tuning fork. Here Cooke, 
Kenney, Babcock, Hudson and others who have long since gone to their 
reward uttered their eloquent sermons. A dirty little old school house 
occupied the site of the present North Street Methodist Episcopal church, 
and in it a Sabbath-school was conducted for years, of which "Uncle Billy" 
Wilson was superintendent and John Irwin was the librarian. Here worship 
was sometimes held, also a prayer-meeting, which was the germ from which 
sprang the present society. 

There were also the First Presbyterian, the Associate Reformed, the United 
Presbyterian, the Roman Catholic, the Episcopal and the Baptist churches 
and a Friend church in South Wheeling (now Center Wheeling), and a few 
societies of other denominations. 

One of the earliest industrial plants, the traces of which are now wholly 
obliterated, was a flourishing glass works, with a number of dwellings, 
and a company store situated along the river back north of the Top Mill, 
which was operated by a gentleman of the name of Eusell. Sweeney's glass 
house was also in operation at this time and had a fine reputation for 
their excellent cut glassware. A Mr. Anderson had a glass manufactory in 
East Wheeling, while the Plunkets were located in South Wheeling. At this 
time the Sweeney's, however, were the only ones having plants in 
operation. 

The building of steamboats and engines had been carried on by Arthur M. 
Phillips and sons. At this time the Sweeney brothers engaged in an 
extensive foundry business, and later Hobbs & Taylor's machine shops were 
started. Hubbard's sawmill, the cotton factory, Gill's silk factory and 
the paper mill were later important industries. 

Great financial distress prevailed during nearly the whole of this period; 
there was a stagnation in business and hopeless bankruptcy swept away the 
fortunes of the rich and the scanty means of the poor alike. Many persons 
left the city and the population was greatly decreased. 

In those days there were no postage stamps, the first of these having been 
issued in 1847. Hence the prepayment of letters was not a necessity. The 
rate for postage were five cents for every 300 miles and five cents for 
every additional 300 miles or fraction thereof. Envelopes were not in use; 
instead, a sheet of paper was folded up and fastened with a wafer of 
sealing wax. Often a letter would remain in the office for days, because 
the person to whom it was addressed had not the ready money to pay the 
postage, money was so scarce in those days. 

We had no gas works, railroads, public schools, seminaries, kerosene, 
sewing machines, cook stoves, base burners, clothes wringers, telegraph 
lines, telephones, street cars, church organs, lady clerks, and no 
saloons. There were taverns in those days, with entertainment for man and 
beast, and accommodations for boarders where the bar was a secondary 
affair, but an establishment for the sole purpose of selling intoxicating 
drinks had no existence. 

The first tidal wave of temperance to sweep over the city was the great 
Washingtonion. Immense and enthusiastic meetings were held which were 
addressed by prominent reformers. Numbers signed the pledge and many 
habitual drinking men and drunkards became total abstainers. An immense 
celebration was held on the Island on the Fourth of July, where a free 
dinner was given to the various delegations, which came with flying colors 
and bands of music from the surrounding towns and country. 

The political excitement in this community in the years of 1840 and 1845 
was intense and everyone, young and old, male and female, were more or 
less affected by it, and the cry of "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too", resounded 
throughout the country. Log cabins and hard cider was the party 
shibboleth. A tri-state meeting was held on the slope of Wheeling hill, 
which was not then denuded of its trees and which was an excellent spot 
for the holding of an out-of-door meeting. Here were gathered large 
delegations from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, and some of the most 
eminent speakers were imported from the state named and from others. An 
immense crowd had gathered for the occasion and a barbecue had been 
prepared, which was partaken of by the thousands who had thus come 
together to express their loyalty and allegiance to the tenets of their 
party. 

The late court house, which occupied the site of the new opera house in 
course of erection, was just finished at that day, and on the open space 
which was opposite on the corner of Monroe and Fourth streets, where the 
Odd Fellows' hall is now, there was erected a Whig pole, tall, strong and 
mast rigged. At the foot of this pole a speakers stand had been erected, 
where songs and addresses were made to amuse and incite the multitude. 

At this time barbecues, conventions and political gatherings were the 
order of the day, at which partisan leaders and their followers came and 
went in vast processions, in every possible rig and conveyance within a 
radius of 30 or even a greater number of miles, hauling log cabins, hard 
cider, great balls 15 or 20 feet in diameter suspended between poles, and 
on every available portion of their surface were emblazoned the names of 
the states with appropriate mottoes, and the popular political sayings of 
the chiefs to whom they were wedded, and whom they honored. The different 
industrial trades were represented in gaudily decorated wagons, in which 
artisans plied their various trades and vocations, carrying banners on 
which were burlesqued the sayings and declarations of their political 
opponents, or such as illustrated and emphasized the views and opinions 
entertained by the members of the profession. At that time there was no 
uniform election day in the states and hence great suspense was 
experienced concerning the result. 

Wheeling was intensely Whig then, and keenly alive to the benefits of a 
protective tariff which would build up her young manufacturing interests, 
but in this her hopes were blasted and the blight of misfortune overtook 
her, from which it took years for her to recover. 

The business depression herein referred to commenced in the year 1837 and 
was similar to the one experienced in 1893-1894. The occasion of this 
depression from which Wheeling suffered so severely was attributed to the 
removal by President Jackson of the government deposits from the United 
States Bank which disturbed the business and confused the currency of the 
country. The result was a loss of confidence and the prostration of every 
business interest. Distrust prevailed among friends and neighbors. A 
staple currency ceased to circulate, and the citizens of Wheeling had to 
resort to such shifts as were adopted by the people of other portions of 
the country to meet the condition of prevailing affairs. Hence a system of 
currency was introduced for the public relief by certain individuals in 
the community, which in a degree alleviated the financial pressure. 
Fractional notes were issued by private individuals for small sums of the 
following denominations: Six and a quarter, twelve and a half, eighteen 
and three quarters, twenty-five, thirty seven and a half, fifty and 
seventy-five cents. They were printed on flimsy paper, but they answered a 
good purpose. They were styled in the popular language of the day, 
"shinplasters". They continued in circulation until public confidence was 
restored, and were redeemed by the individuals by whom they were issued. 
The writer, then a boy, well remembers what a pleasure thrilled him when 
he possessed one of these shinplasters and the assurance with which he 
visited a candy shop to invest his fortune in the coveted sweets. 

One of the issue of these original notes would now be a curiosity, but 
they have gone to the grave with all perishable paper money. Real estate 
became a drug on the market and entire houses without number were 
tenantless and deserted. So great was the number of these that in many 
instances they were offered by their owners rent free to those who would 
take care of and protect them. 


OUR MARKET HOUSE 

Shortly after the organization of the town government of Wheeling in the 
year 1806, one among the numerous improvements then agitated was the 
necessity of taking measures to erect a building for a market house. In 
the course of events the project was realized by the erection of one, 
regardless of any particular style of architecture, as this latter 
consideration did not enter into the calculation. Hence while the one 
erected did not tickle the pride of the inhabitants in the character of 
its design and the display of its beauty in its proportions, yet for all 
practical purposes it answered the end for which it was intended. 

It was located on the brow of the bluff on the river bank at the east end 
of the present suspension bridge, which spans the river at that point, on 
Tenth street, in the space between the Zinn property and Logan's drug 
store, and between Main street and the terminus of the bridge. It was a 
small frame building, containing three or four stalls for meat, and was a 
much sought and coveted lounging place for the numerous cows and hogs, 
which at that early day were permitted to roam through the embryo city and 
which nightly rendezvoused there, enlivening the neighborhood with 
stertorous grunts and monotonous bawling, causing many a wooer of the 
sleepy god to utter dire imprecations upon the heads of his porcine and 
bovine neighbors, which thus innocently indulged their natural 
propensities at his expense. 

In its architectural proportions, it resembled an ordinary shed, the roof 
of which on one side projected to such an extent as to provide a generous 
shelter to any number of people who might seek its overhanging protection, 
provided it was not preoccupied by the before mentioned quadrupeds. The 
principal butcher of that day was a German by the name of Henry Sockman, a 
thrifty and industrious individual, who subsequently removed to a farm in 
Marshall county, in this state, which he had purchased with the proceeds 
of his business in Wheeling. He was noted for his eccentricities, but 
withal was a person of cheerful disposition and kindly instincts, and was 
consequently held in high estimation by his fellow townsmen. His slaughter-
house was located on the brow of the hill north of the water works 
building and in the rear of the present residence of Charles Rawlings, 
Esq., on Main street. Whether the inhabitants were induced to change the 
location of the market house by reason of the nuisance occasioned by the 
four-footed beats of the town, or by reason of its too limited 
accommodations to meet the growing demands of the period, we are unable to 
say, but at all events in the year 1822 the suggestion that a more 
commodious building was needed in a different location was acted upon, and 
it was determined to erect a new one, and hence in this last named year 
the authorities entered into a contract with a well known builder and 
contractor of that day - George Pannell, Esq., the father of the late 
Andrew J. Pannell, Esq. - for the erection of a more suitable one, better 
adapted to the purpose for which it was intended, to be located on Market 
Street, north of Union (now Eleventh) streets. Its dimensions were to be 
98 feet in length, divided into eight stalls on each side, with two 
passages on each side, and 17 feet clear between the pillars, and a roof 
projecting over the piers on each side seven feet and a half, with an arch 
extending the whole length of the building. A large space was left at its 
southern end fronting on Union street, which was paved with brick, around 
which on the outer edges locust posts were planted to prevent the passage 
of horses and vehicles. In aid of the erection of the same, certain 
inhabitants of the town and vicinity agreed and bound themselves to pay to 
the corporation in installments a sum of money amounting in all to $690. 
For this purpose a paper had been circulated in the community for 
subscriptions to the enterprise, which was signed generally and the 
requisite amount was soon secured. The following terms were incorporated 
in this subscription paper: 

Mr. Pannell was to undertake the collection of the same and pay himself 
thereout the sum of $600, and the balance thereof he was to pay into the 
town treasury, with this understanding, however: "That if the persons 
signing said subscription are bound to pay the several sums by them 
subscribed, and are now solvent, the said incorporation (town) shall not 
be bound for the payment of said sum of $600, or any part thereof, 
otherwise to be held accountable." The terms were satisfactory to the 
parties, and Parnell undertook to and did finish it on or before the first 
day of August, 1822, according to his contract and the subscribers paid 
the money as they had agreed to do, and thus relieved the town from all 
responsibility. 

The opening of the new market house was an event in the history of the 
town, and was regarded as an uncommon enterprise and a great stride in the 
prosperity of the place. It was not alone a convenience to the 
inhabitants, but it proved to be an inducement to the farmers in the 
vicinity to bring in their surplus produce. There were no hucksters at 
this early period who controlled the prices, but the farmers then brought 
in their produce, and sold it at prices which were moderate, but 
remunerative and just. That some idea may be had as to the prices then 
paid for the necessities of life, we quote a few as follows: Cleaned 
chickens from six and a fourth to eight cents each. Butter three pounds 
for 25cts., each pound being neatly printed with some appropriate device 
on it, such as a sheaf of wheat, a cow, etc. Eggs at three cents a dozen 
and fresh and newly laid, too. Hickory cured hams sold at six and a fourth 
cents per pound. The best cuts of beefsteak at four cents per pound. Corn 
meal brought 25 cents per bushel, and potatoes were a drug at 18 3/4 to 25 
cents per bushel. Thus it will be perceived it did not require a long 
purse to procure the eatables of life, as compared with the present day. 
In addition to Henry Sockman heretofore named, among others who in 
business there were Neil McNaughten and Louis Bayha, all of whom have 
passed away. In the year 1828 an addition to the market house was 
determined upon and accordingly, in September of the last named year, a 
contract was entered into. The Town House herein referred to is located at 
the south end of the present market house; after its erection it was used 
by the town council as a meeting place for the transaction of business, 
while the second story was being built at the north end of the present 
market house, when the town Solons abandoned it and removed to the new 
building provided for them, and where they continued to meet until they 
removed to the old City Hall on Market street, near Twelfth street, from 
which latter place they removed to the more palatial quarters in the City 
Building, which they now occupy. By the year 1830 it was discovered that 
the market house was too limited to meet the demand of the public, and 
that a further addition was necessary to meet these growing wants. In 
compliance with these, another extension was made. This was undertaken and 
completed by George Pannell, the same gentleman who had built the first 
section. Owing to the existing exigencies at the time, a portion of it was 
used before its final completion. Still another addition, to which we call 
attention, was made in the year 1832. The contract for this enlargement 
was made with John Sexton, and it was stipulated that it was to be 
extended northwardly to the distance of 62 feet. It was also provided that 
it was to be built without arches and hence the difference in the ceilings 
of the two sections which is so noticeable. This addition was to have five 
stalls and two doorways on each side, and in height, breath and material, 
as well as in all other respects, with the exception of the above 
mentioned, was to correspond as closely as possible with the other 
sections of the market house. The same was to be completed on or before 
the 10th day of December following, for which the contractor was to 
receive the sum of $315. 

Subsequently another section was added, the contractor for which was 
William Exley, by whom it was completed. The dimensions of this last we 
are unable to give, likewise the price to be paid for the same. The second 
story at the north end of the building was used for county purposes prior 
to the erection of the Court House on the corner of Twelfth and Chapline 
streets, as a place for the meetings of the courts. It was styled the 
"City Hall" to distinguish it from the "Town Hall", so called, which stood 
at the south end. Such is the history of the Second Ward Market House, so 
far as we have been able to gather it. In conclusion, permit me to call 
attention to the careless manner in which the archives of the town have 
been kept. Having occasion to consult them, with a view of obtaining some 
data in regard to the subject matter of this sketch, my effort was in 
vain, as the old books have been lost, destroyed or boxed up, as is also 
the case with the loose papers and memoranda, which, as I was informed, 
were promiscuously thrown together into boxes and nailed, so that 
searching for information as to the early history of the town and city, 
even if permitted to open the boxes, might be a work of a week or month to 
search among their miscellaneous contents before being rewarded with 
success, if at all. No one person is to be blamed for this neglect, but 
the present council could do no better thing than to employ some competent 
person to gather up these papers, placing each in its appropriate bundle, 
properly labeled, marked and arranged in cases, where persons desiring to 
inspect the same could have the opportunity. In an economical point of 
view, we believe it would pay the city to do this, as a matter of self 
protection in the future, if for no other reason. 

Samuel Riley, living three miles above the mouth of Wegee, in Ohio, a 
person eighty-six years of age, says that when he was a boy he was 
accustomed to attend the Market in Wheeling quite regularly at the old and 
first market house ever erected in the town. He says it was a building of 
rough, round logs, and was about 20 feet square and stood at the east end 
of the present suspension bridge on Tenth street. He sold his eggs at six 
and a quarter cents per dozen, and his butter at twelve and a half cents 
per pound. He in company with a neighbor was in the habit of carrying 
their produce and making their journey to market in a canoe which they 
paddled to and from the town. The market house had an opening in the 
middle on each side of it for ingress and egress. 

The butchers, of which there were three or four, occupied the inside of 
the building and the country people were ranged on the outside. A short 
distance east of the market house on the same street stood the first Court 
House of the town and a pillory and the stocks. These latter were not 
useless appendages but were often utilized in cases of incorrigibility and 
for petty crimes. He could not state when the market house referred to 
fell into disuse, but perhaps it was in the year 1820. 


LORENZO DOW 

Mr. Riley also gave some interesting facts concerning that singular and 
unique character, - Lorenzo Dow. He stated that he was present in the year 
1820 or 1821, he could not be positive as to the year, and heard Mr. Dow 
preach in a small frame house which stood on a portion of Noah Zane's 
property on Main street, just below that gentleman's old stone house, 
which it will be remembered occupied the corner of Main and the present 
Eleventh streets. He described Dow as a tall, thin, delicate looking 
man, - more like the shadow of a man than a substantial one. He was 
plainly dressed in the costume of the day and wore a beard which reached 
to his waist, and his hair had been suffered to grow to such a length that 
he could sit upon it, it being against his principles to either shave or 
cut his hair. 

On this occasion he heard Dow prophesy that in fourteen years from that 
day he would return and at ten o'clock in the morning he would again 
preach in Wheeling. Being a young boy he says he was much impressed with 
so definite and emphatic an announcement, as he had been taught by his 
parents that life was uncertain and that no one could foretell what a day 
might bring forth, and hence such an announcement seemed to be defying 
Providence. However, Dow's life was spared, and true to his prophecy, he 
returned at the expiration of the period of fourteen years and preached 
according to his promise. Dow was a member of no particular denomination, 
but was an eccentric though earnest evangelist. 

On this same occasion Mr. Riley says he heard Dow prophesy, that a great 
flood would occur in the Ohio Valley in the year 1832, also that another 
would happen in the year 1852, and that in 1876 the people would fail to 
elect a president, all of which predictions resulted as had been foretold 
by him. 

Mr. Riley was personally acquainted with Col. Ebenezer Zane, whom he 
described as a thick-set, fleshy person, and with Jonathan Zane, whom he 
described as a tall man, fully six feet in height, strong, compactly 
built, and muscular. He said there were three persons, - his father - one 
of the Zanes (which he did not mention) - and one of the McLures - whose 
respective heads measured 25 inches around and that on account of their 
size their hats had to be made to order - that he often carried his 
father's order for a hat to the hatter, who manufactured these hats for 
each of the three. 


EARLY RACING AND RACE COURSES 

In the early years of the last century horse racing was engaged in almost 
universally by the people. The first race-track near Wheeling, which was 
at Beech Bottom, was abandoned in 1825; prior to that year people came 
even so far as from Kentucky to participate in the sport. Sporting men for 
miles in almost every direction turned out to engage in it as principals 
or witnesses, and gambling was carried on openly. The race-track at Beech 
Bottom was located on the farm of Zachariah Pumphrey, an old time peculiar 
individual. He always kept a stock of hard cider on tap and the libations 
were freely indulged in. 

At the death of Pumphrey, the property passed into other hands less 
interested in horse flesh. During the existence of this race-track, Isaac 
Mitchell rode "Old Fred" and won the race, which was a heat of four miles. 
Colonel Voss, of Brooke county, an old Virginian, a fox hunter, &c., 
regularly attended the races at Beech Bottom; also Edgington, of Brooke 
county, an uncle of D. M. Edgington, and Isaac Leffler were also 
attendants on these races. Some of the names of the prominent horses were: 
Old Fred, belonging to Squire Mitchell, and Red Jacket, owned by one of 
the Wells at Beech Bottom. Colonel Voss was a leader and had a stentorian 
voice which could be heard over the entire course. Mr. King, who kept the 
Virginia House, brought a horse from Maryland, which could not run any 
distance as he had no bottom. The race course was removed to the lower 
part of what is now South Wheeling, and was called the Echols' race-track. 
About the last races held there were in the fall of 1832. In an open field 
adjoining, during the time of the races, there would be as many as 20 or 
30 faro tables in full blast at one time. Of course such an occasion was 
marked by numerous fights, and many were the bloody noses and cracked 
heads that bore testimony to the severity of the punishment inflicted upon 
their unfortunate possessors. During the flood of the early spring of this 
year the old wooden bridge which spanned the creek near its mouth had been 
carried away and the crowds in going to and coming from the scene of the 
races crossed on a pontoon, which was built on the site formerly occupied 
by the wooden bridge. 

It was about this time when Ritchie Town was laid out, and it was deemed 
advisable to remove the race-course to some more desirable location. 
Accordingly it was located in what was known as Edgington's field. The 
names of some of the prominent sporting men of that day are: Samuel 
Sprigg, Garrison Jones, Alexander Mitchell, Hugh Nichols, Noah Zane and 
William Gregg. The race course located on the Edgington land, which was 
part of John Good's farm, was carried on by a Baltimore company, which in 
the course of two or three years, finding it did not pay, abandoned it. 
Some of the noted horses which raced on this track were called by the 
following names, and owned by the following persons, to-wit: Black-Eyed 
Susan, owned by Hugh Nichols and Ebenezer Zane, Jr.; Rachel, owned by the 
same persons; Postboy, owned by William Gregg, and Bedford, owned by 
Ebenezer Zane, Jr. Sparrowhawk was another famous racehorse owned by 
Ebenezer Zane. They were accustomed to race their horses rain or shine, 
and no jockeying was allowed. During the time the course was located at 
Beech Bottom, the hotel located there was conducted by Garrison Jones. 

The moral sentiment of the community of that day was not so keenly alive 
to the demoralizing effect of horse racing as that of the present; and it 
was, so to speak, carried on in a much more dignified manner, but the 
excitement engendered by it was as great as that produced in the present, 
and there were some who were carried away by it to such an extent as to 
lead them in the midst of their frenzied feelings to make an offer of 
sacrifice of everything they possessed. As an illustration of this: there 
was an old man by the name of Thompson, at that time living on the 
Mitchell farm, who on one occasion while in his cups, during one of the 
races on the Ritchie Town track, having bet and lost all his money, 
proceeded to put up cow after cow, of which he owned several, until all 
were won from him, when in despair, he offered to put up "Katie," his 
wife, but found no takers. 

The Pumphrey farm at Beech Bottom, where the old race track was located, 
was purchased by a Methodist minister from Maryland, after which he would 
not permit horse racing on the premises, when it was removed to the 
adjoining farm below, owned by a man named Hedges, who, although Methodist 
also, showed no compunctions of conscience in allowing a portion of his 
farm to be so used. 

One of the most celebrated racehorses of that day was Federal, which was 
purchased in the East by Alexander Mitchell and was one of the speediest 
horses in the country. On one occasion Mitchell, mounted on old "Fed", as 
he was called, and rode through a crowd of sporting men and loungers and 
offered to bet his farm, acre by acre, that he could outrun any horse on 
the ground. He felt quite safe in making this banter, as he well knew the 
speed and endurance of his horse, and was well acquainted with that of the 
other horses. This horse won for its owner large sums of money, but 
finally his prestige waned, as other competitors were introduced that 
proved to be its superiors. 

Worthington, who lived adjoining the racetrack, determined to build a barn 
on his farm and employed one Murry, a local Methodist minister of West 
Liberty, to erect it. One day at the dinner hour, when all were assembled 
at the table, he enquired of Murray what part of the roasted chicken he 
would like, and Murry replied, "the rump"; cutting that part in twain, 
Worthington placed one of the severed pieces on Murry's plate, remarking 
at the time that half of the rump was enough for any man. 

In those early days, a mist of rain did not put the people out as it does 
today, and whether the track was dry or not, the race was run anyhow. 


THE CITY AS A U.S. PORT OF ENTRY 

Wheeling was made a port of entry by the Act of Congress which was passed 
March 2, Sec. 1. Chap. 87, U.S. Statutes, Act of 1831, the first section 
of which is as follows; March 2, 1831, says: "Be it enacted by the Senate 
and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress 
assembled. That when any goods, wares or merchandise are to be imported 
from any foreign country into Pittsburg, in the state of Pennsylvania; 
Wheeling, in the state of Virginia; Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio; 
Louisville, in the state of Kentucky; St. Louis, in the state of Missouri; 
Nashville, on the state of Tennessee, or into Natchez, in the state of 
Mississippi, the importer thereof shall deposit in the custody of the 
surveyor of the place a schedule of the goods so intended to be imported 
with an estimate of the cost at the place of exportation, whereupon the 
said surveyor shall make an estimate of the amount of duties accruing on 
the same, and the importer as consignee shall give bond with sufficient 
sureties to be approved by the surveyor in double the amount of the duties 
so estimated, conditioned for the payment of the duties on said 
merchandise, ascertained as hereinafter directed; and the surveyor shall 
forthwith notify the collector at New Orleans of the same, by forwarding 
to him a copy of such bond and schedule." 

Under another section of this Act the appointment of a surveyor at 
Wheeling was authorized in accordance with the provisions of Chap. 14, 
being an Act to authorize surveyors under direction of the Secretary of 
the Treasury to enroll and license ships or vessels employed in the 
coasting trade or fisheries, which applied here, as will be seen by the 
text which follows: 

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, that after the passage of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby invested with 
power to authorize the surveyor of the port of delivery under such 
regulations as he shall deem necessary to enroll and license ships or 
vessels to be employed in the coasting trade and fisheries, in like manner 
as collectors of ports of entry are now authorized to do under existing 
laws.

"Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That any surveyor who shall perform 
the duties directed to be performed by the first section of this Act, 
shall be entitled to receive the same commissions and fees that are now 
allowed by law to collectors for performing the same duties and no more. 

"Approved, February 27, 1830." 

Like everything new and untried in any locality, the beginning here was 
very small, faint as the first glimmering of the dawning day; and as fees 
and commissions which attached to his slender duties would not recompense 
the incumbent for an extensive outlay for books and stationery necessary 
for the performance of the work, according to modern ideas, only copies of 
blank forms were filed, and even they were devoid of that precision which 
the supervision of the present day would have induced. 

It is said that every effort to produce pleasure should also aim at 
profit, and that to benefit each other, in one way or another, should be 
the aim of mankind from the cradle to the grave, and that in our most 
rambling moods, a fact worth remembering should be introduced so that even 
in the enjoyment of the former we should be acquiring the latter. 

Hence, applying this idea here, the Statute II, Act of August 26, 1842, if 
referred to, and attention is called to the fact that on and after July 1, 
1843, the fiscal year should commence on July 1st in each calendar year, 
instead of the 1st of January, as has been previously provided for by law. 

Although scarcely remembered by our oldest citizens, Andrew Elliott, Esq., 
appears to have been recognized as the first surveyor and inspector at 
this port, and was instructed on the 20th day of March, 1831, concerning 
the execution and filing of his official bond. 

Thomas P. Norton, Esq., seems to have been the incumbent of the office 
after, and probably immediately succeeding Mr. Elliott. On the 19th of 
September, 1839, a new era appears to have dawned, and he then received 
instructions concerning the enrollment and license of vessels belonging to 
his port, under the law of February 18, 1793, and regulations made in 
pursuance thereof. 

The jurisdiction of his port, in regard to vessels which were to be 
permanently enrolled, is quite carefully defined, as the district in 
itself, and the permanently enrolled vessel was to be a vessel whose 
owner, whose husband, or managing owner, resided at a place more 
contiguous to this office, than to that of any other surveyors at the 
other ports enumerated in the Act of March 2, 1831. Instructions were also 
given concerning the collection of the Marine Hospital tax, the rendering 
of an abstract thereof to the First Auditor of the Treasury, and by an 
account, in which he was to credit said monies, and debit the United State 
with his salary, with the commission to which he was entitled, and also to 
such contingent expenses as constituted a proper charge upon the revenue. 

In these instructions is seen a commingling of accounts, very much at 
variance with modern regulations, as one could hardly fund a precedent 
from and deduction from the receipts on account of the Marine Hospital 
fund of this date, be the expense what it may. Nor indeed is such action 
permited in any like account except it be especially provided for in the 
law, as are the fees and mileage of witnesses summoned and required to 
appear before the local boards of inspectors established by the steamboat 
inspection laws. 

The late George Forbes, Esq., appears to have succeeded Mr. Norton about 
November, 1840, and his successor, in July 1841, was Samuel Atkinson, Esq. 
Our aldermanic townsman, Michael Edwards, Esq., next retained the office 
for six years, and was succeeded by one of the first proprietors of the 
Intelligencer, viz: E. B. Swearingen, Esq., who appears to have begun the 
keeping of copies of enrollments and licenses in book form with No. 1, 
Steamboat Cabinet, May 8, 1850, and to have issued 37 enrollments and the 
same number of licenses during the remainder of that calendar year; 56 
were issued in 1851; 57 in 1852, and 18 up to May, 1853, when Mr. 
Swearingen appears to have been succeeded by the late Hon. A. T. Pannell. 

At this juncture a fresh impetus was given to the business of the port by 
the completion of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to this city, and as a new 
channel for business was thus opened, the laws governing the 
transportation of bonded goods by rail, as well as by vessel, were here 
applied. Although importations were doubtless made previous to 1850, and 
from that to 1855, and over $7,000 were received from duties thereon, the 
year 1856 appears to have outstripped modern expectations and produced an 
income of over $22,000. This sudden excess was caused by importations of 
railroad iron, as the succeeding year the duties fell to a little over $3,
000 and suddenly again to $117[?] and then with a fresh start advancing, 
but to fall into the oblivion of 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866 and 1867. 

Increasing facilities and accommodations through the agency of the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company and their lines of steamers, have 
induced the collection of over $5,000 for import duties during the last 
and present calendar years, and as familiarity with the necessary routine 
increases, the accommodations provided for importers by the laws and 
regulations will doubtless be made available to those interested. The 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, as well as others, being now bonded lines and 
responsible for the duties on merchandise transported by them, also act as 
Custom House brokers or agents, and give attention to forwarding over 
their lines goods, merchandise or any importation whatever, when shipped 
or entered in their care, for owners or consignees at interior ports of 
entry or delivery, superseding by their own bond any bond heretofore 
required by the importer, and only requiring the oath of the owner or 
consignee concerning the truthfulness of the invoice presented and the 
identification of the shipment. 


CUSTOM HOUSE 

The heavy importation era drawing upon us in 1854 doubtless suggested the 
propriety of erecting a Custom House at this port, and while providing for 
various other localities, and in almost every section of the Union, 
Petersburg and Wheeling in the state of Virginia were made the recipients 
of governmental favors and provisions made therefore in Chapter 142, Acts 
of Congress, approved August 4, 1854. 

Instructions for the purchase of a site having been given, the claims of 
several localities were presented and considered, but a choice fell upon a 
property at the northeast corner of Market and John (now Sixteenth) 
streets, and for the sum of $20,500 Sobieski Brody and wife conveyed to 
the United States the following described real estate: 

"Beginning at the east line of Market street at a point where it is 
intersected by the north line of John street, thence along the east line 
of Market street and binding thereon, north nine degrees west, one hundred 
and thirty-two (132) feet, to John street, and thence along the north line 
of John street and binding thereon south eighty-one degrees west, one 
hundred and thirty-two (132) feet to the beginning." 

This selection and purchase in order to become a valid one, under the law 
quoted as authorizing the same, must have the consent and certain releases 
from the authorities of the state of Virginia, and for that reason occurs 
the following: 

"Chap. 2. An Act giving the consent of the State to the purchase by the 
United States of two lots of ground in the City of Wheeling for the 
erection of a Custom House, etc., and exempting said lots from taxation. 
Passed December 7, 1855. 

"Whereas, The Congress of the United States had made an appropriation for 
the purchase of a side and the construction of a suitable building at the 
City of Wheeling for the accommodation of the Custom House, Postoffice, 
United States Courts and Steamboat Inspectors, and for the erection of 
said building there has been purchased (if the consent of the General 
Assembly of the State be given thereto) two certain lots of ground in the 
City of Wheeling, situated at the corner east of Market street and north 
of John Street, said two lots of ground being designated on the map of 
said city as numbered seven (7) and (8) in square twelve (12), said two 
lots of ground forming a square of one hundred thirty two feet; and 
Whereas, said Congress has made said appropriation upon the condition that 
this state shall release and relinquish to the United States the right to 
tax or in any way assess said two lots of ground or the property of the 
United State may be thereon during the time that said United States shall 
be or remain the owner thereof. 

"Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That the 
consent of the General Assembly of this state is hereby given to the said 
purchase, so that Congress may exercise such authority over the place so 
purchased as it is within the contemplation of the Seventeenth Clause of 
the Eighth Section of the First Article of the Constitution of the United 
States. But the consent is given subject to the following terms and 
conditions, to-wit; 

"First. That this State retains concurrent jurisdiction with the United 
States over the said place, so that the courts, magistrates and officers 
of this State may take such cognizance, exercise such process and 
discharge such other functions within the same as may not be incompatible 
with the consent hereby given. Second. That if there should be five years 
consecutively a failure upon the part of the United States to use the said 
place for any of the purposes aforesaid, then the consent hereby given 
shall cease and determine. 

"2. The said lot of land and the building thereon for the purposes 
aforesaid are hereby exempted from any and all taxes imposed by this State 
or by the County of Ohio or City of Wheeling; but this exemption shall 
continue only as long as the United States shall be and remain the owner 
thereof; provided, however, that the Commonwealth of Virginia reserves the 
right to resume, at its pleasure, the jurisdiction ceded to the United 
States. 

"3. This act shall be in force from its passage."

Some conditions in the foregoing, which the reader may see, are omitted in 
the following, probably required for the satisfaction of the parties 
thereto. There was a subsequent enactment, viz: 

"Chap. 3. An Act to amend and re-enact an Act passed December 7, 1855, 
entitled an Act giving the consent of this State to the purchase by the 
United States of two lots of ground in the City of Wheeling for the 
erection of a Custom House, etc., and exempting said lots from taxation, 
passed February 5, 1856. 

"1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that the Act entitled an Act to 
amend an Act giving the consent of this State to the purchase by the 
United States of two lots of ground in the City of Wheeling for the 
erection of a Custom House, etc. and exempting said lots from taxation, 
passed December 7, 1855, is hereby amended and re-enacted so as to read as 
follows: 

"Whereas the Congress of the United States has made an appropriation for 
the purchase of a site and the construction of a suitable building at the 
City of Wheeling for the accommodation of a Custom House, Postoffice, 
United States Courts and Steamboat Inspectors; and for the erection of 
said building there has been purchased (if the consent of the General 
Assembly of this State be given thereto) two certain lots of ground in the 
City of Wheeling, situated at the east of Market street and north of John 
street, said two lots of ground being designated on the map of the city by 
the numbers seven (7) and eight (8) in square twelve (12), said two lots 
of ground forming a square of one hundred and thirty-two feet: and whereas 
the said Congress has made said appropriation upon the condition that the 
State shall release and relinquish to the United States the right to tax 
or in any way assess said two lots of ground or the property of the United 
States that may be thereon during the time that the United States shall be 
or remain the owner thereof. 

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia that the 
consent of the General Assembly of this State is hereby given to the said 
purchase, so that Congress may exercise such authority over the place so 
purchased as is within the contemplation of the Seventeenth Clause of the 
Eighth Section of the First Article of the Constitution of the United 
States. But this consent is given subject to the following terms and 
conditions, to-wit: 

"First. That this State retains concurrent jurisdiction with the United 
states over the said place, so that with the courts, magistrates and 
officers of this State may take such cognizance, execute such process and 
discharge such other legal functions within the same as may not be 
incompatible with the consent hereby given. 

"Second. that if the purpose of this grant should cease, or there should 
be for five years consecutively a failure upon the part of the United 
States to use the said place for any of the purposes aforesaid, then the 
jurisdiction hereby granted shall cease and determine. 

"Section 2. The said lots of land and the building to be erected thereon 
for the purposes aforesaid and other property of the United States upon 
said lot are hereby exempted from any and all taxes imposed by this State 
or by the County of Ohio or City of Wheeling; but this exemption shall 
continue only so long as the United States shall be and remain the owner 
thereof. 

"Section 2. This act shall be in force from its passage. 

The Seventeenth Clause of the Eight Section of the First Article of the 
Constitution of the United States, referred to in the before recited Acts 
of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia, is the following: 

"To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular 
States, and the acceptance of the Congress, become the seat of government 
of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places 
purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and 
other needful buildings." 


CITY WATER WORKS 

The City Water Works were completed and started in running order on the 
16th day of August, 1834, at which date the machinery was first put in 
motion, and the first jet of water from the river was raised to the 
reservoir. 

Previous to this time the city was supplied with water by the water carts, 
a cart consisting of a large hogshead holding about 120 gallons placed on 
the axle of a common cart. This was taken to the river and backed in as 
far as the hubs of the wheels, and a dipper formed by a bucket attached to 
a pole was used by the driver; the contents of the water cart when full 
were furnished to the consumer and for this service the drawer was paid a 
"levy" (12 1/2 cents). The proprietor of the principal water cart in the 
city was an aged Germen of the name of Adam Carp, who died soon after he 
recognized the fact that his occupation was gone, at the advanced age of 
nearly if not quite one hundred years. 

The first hydrant for use was put in by F. B. Hornbrook, Esq., and the 
dimension of the pipe was one-half inch lead, and was made by horse power 
at the chemical works of the father of Mr. Hornbrook, then located on what 
is now South Chapline street. 


TOWN CLOCK 

In the year 1835 under the auspices of Redick McKee, the town clock was 
placed upon the Presbyterian church, to do which required no little tact 
and energy on the part of that indefatigable, noble and enterprising 
citizen. The prominent citizens were waited upon by him with book and 
pencil in hand, soliciting such amounts as they might be pleased to give. 
It was ludicrous to hear the excuses some of even the well-to-do citizens 
would make and the argument they would urge against the clock. In those 
days it is probable there were not a dozen clocks in the city, and these 
were mostly the old-fashioned wooden Yankee clocks, and were confined 
exclusively to the homes of the wealthy; and it would frequently be urged 
there was no necessity for a "Town Clock" that neighbor A or B had a clock 
and by going to his home, only one or two squares distant, they could from 
him learn the time of the day or night. And so it was. The enterprise 
hung, and as I remember it must have been over a year before a sufficient 
amount was subscribed to justify Mr. McKee in ordering the clock and bell, 
and it was at last accomplished by the city either assuming a part of the 
debt to granting a liberal donation, - which ever it was it furnished town 
talk among a set of bar-room loafers and croakers for years, and while Mr. 
McKee deserved, and received, the thanks of all the truly progressive 
citizens, he was denounced by the opposite class. Some persons took stock 
in the town clock in the shape of a week's work, which was done for the 
purpose of putting their employers to shame, who in many cases belonged to 
the anti-go-a-head class of citizens. 


MILITARY COMPANIES 

The crack military company of the city in 1845 was the City Blues, 
commanded by Col. James S. Wheat. Their dress, which was blue in color, 
was of regular United States army pattern, including the regulation cap. 
Their arms consisted of the old-style flint-locks. The company was 
thoroughly drilled and made a fine display when on parade. Another 
company, styled the Wheeling Guards, ranked next to the Wheeling Blues in 
efficiency and drill. Their uniform differed from that of the last named 
company in that their pantaloons were gray in color instead of blue. Its 
roster consisted of 60 men. The company was commanded by Capt. A.S. Glenn. 
Still another company was styled the Wheeling Riflemen, consisting of 70 
men, whose uniforms consisted of green frock coats with brass buttons, 
with the regulation cap, furnished with a green cockade tipped in black. 
The fourth company was composed of German citizens, whose members were the 
same as those of the Riflemen. They were well disciplined and of fine 
soldierly bearing, and were commanded by Capt. John Salada. In addition to 
the foregoing there was an artillery company composed of 60 men, commanded 
by Dr. James Tanner. 

Each of these companies paraded frequently during the year and 
occasionally they would consolidate and all parade on the same day, making 
a fine military display. On such occasions they would be under the command 
of Gen. B.F. Kelley, - the Colonel Kelley who fought the first battle on 
the war between the north and the south at Phillipi in West Virginia. 
Colonel Kelley at the time was the ranking officer of the militia of the 
district. 

Since the war the military spirit has greatly decreased and at the present 
time there is but one military company in existence, and that is a company 
attached to the National Guards, a state organization. 


WASHINGTON HALL 

Washington Hall was erected in 1851-52 by an incorporation known as the 
Washington Hall Association. The building and ground cost about $46,000. 
On May 18, 1850, the following board of trustees was elected by the 
association, which had just received its charter, viz.; Morgan Nelson, 
William Hamilton, W. S. Wickham, George W. Sights, John McLure, William T. 
Selley, Alex T. Laidley, Jacob W. Warden, and William Fleming. The board 
was organized on the 11th day of June of the same year by electing Morgan 
Nelson, president; Alex. T. Laidley, secretary, and George W. Sights, 
treasurer. On Saturday, April 26, 1851, sealed proposals were received for 
the erection of a building on lot No. 4 on the corner of Market and 
Twelfth Streets, known as "Mendel's lot." The carpenter work was awarded 
to Luke McWilliams, the brick work to John W. and G. W. Boring, the iron 
work to J & J Baggs, the stone work to Joseph Pedley, the plastering to 
John Downs and the excavating to Smith & Gooding. The building committee 
consisted of George W. Sights, Walter Scott, and W.S. Wickham, appointed 
at a meeting of the board June 24, 1851. A committee on finance was 
appointed, consisting of William Fleming, Morgan Nelson and J. W. Warden, 
also a committee on assessment, consisting of W. J. Bates, John McLure, 
John McLure, Hr., and J. H. Thompson. The building was first opened to the 
public in the winter of 1852-3, when the completion of the Baltimore & 
Ohio Railroad was celebrated with a grand banquet in Washington Hall. It 
was not dedicated until a short time afterward. 

The third story of the building was transferred to the Masonic fraternity 
by those holding stock valued at $5,000, and the title to that part of the 
building was held by the trustees selected for that purpose. At the time 
of its destruction by fire the Washington Hall was occupied by the House 
of Delegates, the Legislature having met in this city on the 10th of 
November, 1875, pursuant to the decision made at Charleston on the 24th 
day of February, 1875. Washington Hall was destroyed by fire on the 
morning of the 29th of November, 1875, and was accompanied by the loss of 
life in the person of a traveling agent for a Philadelphia firm, who, 
being in the city at the time of the fire, heroically attempted to save 
the Masonic property, and while so engaged in the third floor a portion of 
that floor gave way and he was precipitated to the floor below, together 
with two other persons with him at the time, the latter of whom, however, 
were not fatally injured, one of them suffering a broken leg and the other 
being slightly bruised. After the fire the House of Delegates removed to 
the Court House, while the Senate, which at the time occupied a portion of 
the City Hall, being the next building to Washington Hall, removed to the 
old dining room of the McLure House. Subsequently the Legislature met in 
the Linsly Institute, where it held its sessions. 


TRANSIT BETWEEN THE CITY AND ISLAND 

Was accomplished by means of a ferry boat, which was swung from the side 
of the river to the other by the force of the current operating upon the 
lateral sides of small boats which were distant from each other at 
intervals of 40 to 50 feet and connected the one to the other. A lengthy 
wire cable, thin and flexible, some three or four hundred yards in length, 
was securely fastened to the shore on the east side of the island near its 
head, to which each of the small boats were attached, in each of which was 
an upright pole or stanchion 12 or 15 feet in height, and one end of the 
long wire was secured to the side of the ferry boat. By an arrangement of 
boards on the sides of the boat, which could be raised or lowered as 
occasion might require, the boat could be directed to the eastern or 
western bank of the river as might be desired. She was thus by force of 
the current moved safely across the river with a reasonable degree of 
dispatch and carrying at the same time loads to and fro to the extent of 
its full capacity. The point of landing on the Island side was immediately 
in front of the residence of the late Daniel Zane, Esq., and on the city 
side at the foot of Eleventh street in front of the Panhandle depot. 

About the year 1850 this mode of transit was dispensed with by the 
substitution of a steam ferryboat. It was during this last named year that 
the Wheeling and Belmont suspension bridge was completed and thrown open 
for travel. 


WHEELING & BELMONT BRIDGE COMPANY 

An act incorporating a company to erect a toll bridge over the Ohio River 
at Wheeling was passed by the General Assembly of Virginia on the 17th of 
February, 1816, the capital stock of which was to consist of $200,000, 
which was divided into 8,000 shares of $25 each. 

This act was subsequently amended by one passed March 10, 1836, as a 
number of the managers appointed under the former act had died or had 
removed from the county, and the remaining being generally aged and 
infirm, and it being doubtful whether the surviving managers could legally 
act without further legislation to remedy the matter this amendatory act 
was passed by the General Assembly. 

The original act was revived and further amended by an act passed by the 
same body March 10, 1836, and this last act was with the former acts 
amended by an act passed January 11, 1850, declaring the true meaning and 
intention of the fourteenth section of the act passed March 19, 1847. 

The enterprise was regarded as one of the greatest ever undertaken by the 
community. The interests and prosperity of the city demanded its erection 
and it was looked upon as opening a means of communication and trade which 
would result in a large return for the amount invested in its erection. 
Upon the organization to wait upon the citizens to obtain subscriptions. 
After much and patient perseverance the committee succeeded in raising a 
sufficient amount which, in their opinion, would authorize them and the 
directory to take the requisite steps to secure designs and estimates for 
the construction of the same. To this end negotiations were at once opened 
with competent engineers. Several of such were consulted, among whom was 
Mr. Roebling, an architect of great ability on the line of his profession. 
But the negotiations with this gentleman not being satisfactory and those 
entered into with others proving equally unsatisfactory, the contract for 
the erection of the bridge was awarded to Charles Ellet, Esq., who 
completed the work in the year 1850. 

In the year 1854 the city was visited with a violent storm of wind and the 
bridge was blown down, but the towers, cables and some of the suspenders 
remained uninjured and were in a condition to be used when the necessary 
repairs should be made. 

Upon the removal of the debris a temporary suspension bridge was 
established on the same site, of width sufficient for the passage of but 
one vehicle at a time. To prevent damage and inconvenience a bell was 
placed at the western end on the Island, which when the signal was sounded 
was to inform the watchman at that end that no vehicle was permitted to 
cross to the city until the one announced had succeeded in crossing. The 
same arrangement was operated at the opposite end of the bridge when a 
vehicle passed to the other side. 

As already intimated, this was an accommodation to the public to exist 
only so long until a permanent structure could be erected which was 
accomplished in the course of a few months. 


THE GAS COMPANY 

In 1849 and in 1850 after considerable discussion as to the advisability 
of establishing a gas plant to furnish light to the citizens a few 
individuals after considerable exertion on their part decided to organize 
a joint stock company for this purpose and in the year 1850 a suitable 
building for the manufacture of gas was erected and completed and the 
piping was laid, which was continued from time to time as the demands of 
consumers made it necessary. It at once became a paying institution and 
the result was large dividends to the stock holders. The premium on the 
stock was greatly increased in value and investors were greedy to obtain 
it, as the stock was eagerly sought for, but it was only to be had at a 
great premium. It soon became almost an impossibility to buy stock unless 
at most exorbitant prices. The company sold their gas for $3.50 per 1,000 
feet and retained it at that price for a number of years until the 
opposition on the part of the business community at the imposition 
practiced upon them led the latter to protest in emphatic terms, in which 
action they were finally successful, as the city became the purchaser of 
the property, but only after a long and tedious suit. 


KNOW NOTHING PARTY 

So-called, sprang into existence in the year 1855 and became a potent 
factor in the political world. Its growth was remarkably rapid and it 
received its accessions both from the members of the Democratic and Whig 
parties. One of the principles of the party was that all foreigners 
immigrating to the United States to reside should before becoming 
naturalized citizens of the country be required to reside here for twenty-
one years. It was a secret society, and had its secret workings, which 
every member was sworn not to divulge. It had its secret signs, passwords 
and signs of recognition. The dominant parties of the country were 
surprised at its rapid growth and widespread influence and regarded it as 
an institution which threatened to overwhelm them in its mighty vortex. 
During the canvass for the office of governor of Virginia in this year of 
which we write it had attained to its greatest distinction and prominence. 
The Whig candidate for governor was William L. Goggin and Henry A. Wise 
was the nominee of the Democratic party. The latter party, believing that 
the Whigs would carry the vote of the Know Nothing party experienced a bad 
fright, as the political sky was or seemed to be unpropitious. 

Upon the nomination of Mr. Wise he determined to make it the contest of 
his life. He therefore decided to stump the state, and if energy and 
eloquence could accomplish his election he would spend himself in the 
effort to carry his party triumphantly through the ordeal. Accordingly he 
visited every portion of the state from the tide-water to the Ohio. He 
came to Wheeling and boldly threw down the gage of battle to both the 
Whigs and Know Nothings. It was a powerful speech and abounded in 
argument, eloquence and satire and inspired his followers with the 
backbone of which they stood in great need. There was a citizen present by 
the name of John B. Wolff, who essayed to reply and to refute the 
arguments of Wise and to show their fallacy. He was as eloquent and 
sarcastic as Wise, who wished to answer him in turn, but was persuaded not 
to attempt it, as Wolff was a harum-scarum fellow and not worthy to be 
noticed. He yielded to the persuasion of his friends, while Wolff was left 
in the possession of the field as well as a large portion of the audience. 

The result of the election in the state was favorable to Mr. Wise, but he 
was defeated in this city and county, which at the time was counted as 
being strongly Democratic. The Know Nothings elected their whole 
legislative ticket in Ohio county. 


PRINTING ESTABLISHMENTS 

The first newspaper published in the city of Wheeling was styled the 
Wheeling Repository and was first issued in the year 1807, the proprietor 
and publisher of which was Armstrong. It was a weekly and in its day was 
considered an undertaking of no small magnitude. Its local news was 
limited and its matter was principally made up of the proceedings of 
Congress and the legislature when these respective bodies were in session, 
and of foreign news, which was received every month or six weeks. In 1820, 
or about then, the Virginia North Western Gazette was published under the 
auspices of Rob Curtis, who was also the editor. It was published every 
Saturday, was well filled with advertisements and literary selections. In 
1839 two printing establishments were in operation, and besides doing book 
and job printing each of them printed a tri-weekly paper issued every 
other day in alternate arrangement. A weekly was also issued mainly 
intended for the country, but all had a large circulation. One of the 
papers was named the Wheeling Gazette, while the other was known as the 
Wheeling Times and Advertiser, and of the later James E. Wharton was 
editor and proprietor. Both of them were conducted with zeal and ability. 
It is a noticeable fact that during the first quarter of the century the 
local part of the paper was relegated to an inferior position, and it is 
only in more modern years that this newsy and important part of the paper 
has obtained that prominence which it now justly occupies. 


THE PRESS 

A complete and detailed history of the press of Wheeling from the time of 
the establishment of the Repository, which would include the names, 
proprietors and dates of establishment and suspension, with something of 
the character of each, is quite beyond the possible. Indeed it is doubtful 
if the mention of the many of that ephemeral class would be of interest or 
value. The Repository, Gazette, Telegram, Virginian, Young America, 
Advertiser, Union, Argus, Press and News and others all, after a short 
existence, ceased publication. Of the few papers of Wheeling that have 
stood the trials of a generation the Intelligencer is conspicuous. It 
began its existence during the presidential campaign of General Scott in 
the summer of 1852. Although many times financially embarrassed, its 
friends always came to the rescue, and to-day it is one of the substantial 
and influential journals of the country. It was first published by 
Swearingen, Taylor & Company. Taylor was city editor, and J. H. Pendleton, 
editor in chief. In 1855 Z. Beatty became a member of the firm, which 
afterward was styled Swearingen, Beatty & company. In the same year 
Swearingen and Taylor retired from the firm. J. H. Pendleton succeeding to 
their interests, Taylor continued in the capacity of city editor until 
1856, when Hon. A. W. Campbell became his successor. Mr. Campbell and John 
F. McDermot bought the paper in 1856, and with them it became the 
strongest advocate of the principles of the Republican party in all the 
South, and it is said was the only daily paper in the state of Virginia 
that publicly and openly advocated the first election of Abraham Lincoln. 
It strongly supported the administration of Lincoln and the cause of the 
Union, and was one of the most potent factors in the division of the state 
of Virginia. In 1866 McDermot sold his interest to Col. John Frew, G. D. 
Hall and L. H. Hogans. Mr. Campbell retired from the paper in 1868, but in 
the fall of 1873 he and Colonel Frew became sole proprietors under the 
firm name of Frew & Campbell. This partnership continued until the fall of 
1882, when Mr. Campbell sold one-half of his interest to C. B. Hart, and 
the firm became Frew, Campbell & Hart. It is at the present time a joint 
stock company. Colonel Frew was for nearly half a century connected with 
the Intelligencer, and it was largely due to his energy and ability that 
it has taken a high place among its contemporaries. For some time prior to 
his decease he did not take an active part in the management of the paper, 
but for years his name and pen won for his paper a high place among the 
able journals of the country. Mr. C. B. Hart was for a long time managing 
editor. He is now United States minister to the United States of Columbia. 
His experience in the newspaper work has been varied and extensive. For 
years he connected in different capacities, either as a reporter, editor 
or correspondent of many of the metropolitan journals of the East, but it 
is perhaps as a correspondent that he excels. 


PANHANDLE RAILROAD 

An act incorporating the Panhandle Railroad Company was passed by the West 
Virginia Legislature on the 15th day of July, 1868, for the building of a 
railroad from Holliday's Cove via Wellsburg to Wheeling. Books of 
subscription were authorized to be opened both in Wellsburg and in 
Wheeling, and when subscriptions to the amount of $20,000 were made the 
company was for all practical purposes to be considered incorporated and 
authorized to borrow and make contracts. Under this act the counties of 
Brooke and Ohio and the city of Wheeling were authorized to subscribe to 
the stock of the proposed road with the necessary legal assent of their 
respective voters and the bonds so issued were to be exempt from the 
county and township taxation. Subsequently the legislature authorized the 
company to extend its line to the Kentucky boundary, along the Ohio River 
or adjacent to it, and the counties and townships were given the right of 
subscription as those named in the original act. 

In the meantime the $20,000 of stock had been subscribed and in March 
1869, the stockholders met in Wellsburg and organized by electing Adam 
Kuhn as president and Lewis Applegate, John McLure, Jr., Abram Wilson, W. 
K. Pendleton and Samuel George as directors. 

From the report of the president made some eighteen months afterwards it 
appeared that a small amount of work had been done in the way of surveys 
and rights of way, but little progress had been made. Brooke county voted 
a subscription which required that it should be expended pro rata on the 
road from Wellsburg to a point opposite Steubenville, Ohio. 

In 1870 Mr. Kuhn resigned the presidency and Lewis Applegate was chosen to 
succeed him. Mr. Applegate manifested a commendable interest in the 
prosecution of the work and entered upon his labors with considerable 
energy. In 1871 the charter was amended and its name changed to Pittsburg, 
Wheeling & Kentucky Railroad and it was provided, besides succeeding to 
all the rights and obligations of the old company, any county or municipal 
corporation of the state near which it passed was permitted to subscribe 
to its stock and issue bonds for that purpose bearing interest not to 
exceed eight per cent, per annum, and to be exempt from taxation except 
for state purposes. 

In the spring of 1871 the board of commissioners of Ohio county ordered an 
election on the question of subscribing $150,000 to the capital stock of 
the company, but the vote on the same in the month of May of that year 
defeated the subscription, the same, 1,193 in favor and 1,014 against, 
being less than a two-thirds vote in favor of it. Ohio county was not 
discouraged, however, but in January, 1872, the question was again 
submitted, but for a larger amount, viz., $225,000. This was carried by a 
vote of 2,588 to 494 against. Rights of way were at once secured by 
agreement and condemnation proceedings and specifications of the work were 
prepared by a competent engineer, and in March 1872, the contracts were 
let out in sections to different persons. 

Before this time an agreement had been entered into with the Pittsburg, 
Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company, by which that company was to 
provide the rails when the roadbed was made ready by the Pittsburg, 
Wheeling & Kentucky Railroad Company, and to operate it under contract. 

The subscriptions of Brooke and Ohio counties, including private 
subscriptions, amounted to $362,912.81, and the expenditures were $382,
579.59, hence there was a deficit of $19,666.78. The engineer reported 
that the road could be finished and delivered to the Pittsburg, Cincinnati 
& St. Louis Railroad Company in three weeks for the sum of $36,000. 

The board of commissioners of Ohio county then concluded to submit to vote 
the question of making an additional subscription of $300,000, Brooke 
county to pay interest on $60,000 and transfer her stock as security, and 
to submit to popular vote the question of transferring the county stock to 
such persons as would bind themselves to complete the road. The vote was 
taken and resulted as follows: For subscription, 941; against 1, 689. For 
transfer, 1,311; against 282. This result apparently indicated that the 
county would rather give the road away than to invest any more for its 
completion. A suit was instituted to sell it out, when Brooke and Ohio 
counties, to prevent the sacrifice of their interests, agreed to purchase 
its indebtedness in the proportion of 240 to 115, under which agreement 
Ohio county expended about $16,000 and Brooke about $8,000. 

In 1876 it was finally proposed to secure if possible private capital to 
complete the road, and necessary legislation having been obtained a 
proposition was made by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to furnish rails 
to the amount of $100,000 and a renewal of the contract to operate the 
road by the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Company, providing 
another $100,00o could be obtained to complete the work, the stock of the 
two counties to be divided among subscribers to the new loan, which was to 
be secured by first mortgage upon the property of the road. This plan was 
at length carried out. Brooke county concluded to let her subscription go, 
but Ohio county took $50,000 and private parties took the remaining $50,
000. Under the transfer agreements the contributors got the first mortgage 
bonds of the road at $.90 and a pro rata share of the common stock. 

The work under this last agreement was vigorously prosecuted and on 
February 25, 1878, the first regular train entered the city about 12 
o'clock M. The road has been a success from the start and its future looks 
bright. The entire length of the road is nearly 25 miles; within Ohio 
county, nearly nine miles; in the city, short of two miles. 


OLD RESIDENTS 

It is always interesting after the lapse of time to recall the memories of 
those who contributed so largely to the manufacturing, industrial and 
commercial prosperity of the city in which they lived and labored. Hence 
we have selected the names of some of the active and prominent business 
men who lived in the years 1838 and 1840 in this community and who were 
representative men in their different pursuits, viz.: William Paxton, 
Alexander Paxton, John McLure, Sr., Henry Moore, John F. Clark, Robert C. 
Bonham, Samuel Ott, Dana Hubbard, John Ritchie, Craig Ritchie, Michael 
Sweeney, Thomas Sweeney, George Baird, Reddick McKee, James H. Forsythe, 
David Agnes, J. C. Acheson, A. M. Phillips, Sr., Samuel Irvin, Isaac 
Irvin, Neil McNaughten, Thomas Johnston, Alexander Rogers, Thomas Hughes, 
Robert Crangle, John Reid, Michael Reilly, W. B. Tyson, Admiral Reeside, 
John McCortney, W. F. Peterson, Samuel McClellan, Matthew Warren, Thomas 
List, Thomas Hornbrook, Jacob Hornbrook, Robert Gibson, Daniel Lamb, Z. 
Jacob, Moses C. Good, Daniel Zane, John Goshorn, Job Stanbery, Jacob 
Senseney, George Wilson, Sobieski Brady, Rev. Henry Weed, Rev. Wallace, C. 
D. Knox, George Dulty, and Rev. Armstrong.