U.S. Data Repository -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (pages 261-287) Chapter XIII The Beginning of Other Industries There is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners, yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world. 覧Burke. The digging of ginseng was an occupation followed extensively in this section, although none of the inhabitants depended upon it wholly as a means of subsistence, nor could they be classed with typical "sang diggers." There was a time, however, when ginseng and snakeroot were thought to be remedies for almost all dis- eases, and ginseng was at first practically the only article of trade the settlers had to take to Winchester. The plant, which grows to a height of eighteen inches and bears a cluster of red berries, thrives in the thickly wooded districts of the county, where the soil is damp and cool. In 1845 ginseng was only 25 cents a pound. In order to keep from being molested by the thieves who infested the woods on the way to and from Virginia, the settlers posed as "sang diggers" long after they had other articles to barter. When these first traders appeared in Winchester the people there could hardly be- lieve that the strangers were from this side of the mountains. The first member of the Ice family who came to Marion County has left an interesting account of his first trip east, which he made with his father. They lost count of the days they spent in making the trip and were able to tell the curious people who crowded around them only that they had "started in the morning." In the early days the settlers did not know that wells might be dug in this vicinity that would supply them with salt, so that most neces- sary article was carried across the mountains from Winchester, Virginia, in wooden packsaddles. The route followed passed through Clarksburg, Belington and Elkins, and a camp in the Laurel Mountains near the latter place became a regu- lar stopping-place on the journey to and from Winchester覧a trip which took from five to seven days in going and a longer time in re- turning, as each horse carried a weight of 200 pounds. The trip was a dangerous one, and the men usually formed parties to go on the expedition, each man having two horses. The absolute necessity of the establishment of this trade made imperative the construction of the first roads over the mountains. Horse thieves infested the paths. The set- tlers trained their horses to stumble or to go lame when they were spurred, and one of the Ice family found "something in the woods that would make a horse cough as if it had the dis- temper." All of these devices were used to outwit the thieves, who were not intimidated by an occasional hanging. At first flax and, later, eggs, butter, and other produce were used in exchange for salt. Some traders bought their salt at Pittsburgh, and after the settlement at Wheeling was well estab- lished the settlers at Glover's Gap brought their supplies from that place. Even if the existence of salt licks in the southern part of the state had been known, the hostility of the Indians would have made it impossible to get salt from there. It is interesting to note that the first murder in this section was committed over a quart of salt. Soon after settlements were made, a man by the name of Simpson became indebted to one Cottrill for that amount of the precious article. There was a quarrel regarding its re- turn and, in the heat of passion, Cottrill grabbed a gun to shoot Simpson, but Simpson was too quick for him and, snatching the gun from Cott- rill's hand, killed him. The importance of this commodity is shown by the following list of necessities brought across the mountains by one of the first comers: 1 Blanket, 1 Knife, 1 Gun, Powder, Shot, Salt. Each settler brought enough salt with him to last until he was established in his new home. When the first supply was exhausted a new sup- ply had to be brought across the mountains from Winchester. A man by the name of Shaver, who lived in Fairmont, went on a hard journey to Win- Chester, Virginia, about 1840. He had a large low bed wagon and had salt not only for him- self but for several other families. It took him several weeks to make the journey. When he was about three miles from Fairmont on the return trip his wagon upset in the river, and be- fore he was able to get help, the salt dissolved in the water and he was forced to return to Winchester for another supply. When he again arrived at the place of his unfortunate accident, all the men in the neighborhood were there to see that the wagon stayed right side up. About the year 1830 an enterprising man located a salt well in Hawkinberry Hollow. The new industry proved a success from the be- ginning, and as the well did not furnish a suf- ficient supply of salt for the community it was dug deeper. However, in enlarging the well something occurred that caused a black scum to rise to the surface of the water, and this scum spoiled the well as far as its purpose in furnish- ing salt was concerned. The owner dug an- other well, but the scum made its appearance again. By that time the owner was financially ruined. Kind-hearted neighbors helped him dig a third well, but a third time the thick, black, oily substance made its appearance on the water. While the man in Hawkinberry Hollow had been meeting with these misfortunes, a well had been located in Morgantown, and the people in the vicinity of Hawkinberry Hollow had be- gun to get their salt there, so they made no further attempt to establish the industry near home. Shortly after the first well was dug in Haw- kinberry Hollow, a man by the name of Cowan located a well on Parker's Run, on the farm of Henry Morgan. In enlarging this well Cowan struck gas, which blew the water to a height of 50 or 60 feet, and little pumping could be done. It is claimed that this man Cowan used the "expansion" system of drilling覧a method of blasting that did not come into general use until many years later. It is a pity that the gas was not ignited in some way, for the owners did not realize that they had made a valuable discovery. However, it is said that Henry Morgan did recognize the value of oil as a fuel, and that he gave a man by the name of West permission to dig a well on his farm, but the promoters lacked the capital to make a suc- cess of the undertaking. The first settlers brought sugar with their other supplies from across the mountains, but when the process of making it from the sap of the maple became known to them, each land- owner staked off his trees and established a "sugar camp." Sugar making time was in February and March. A tree was tapped by drilling an auger hole in the trunk and inserting a spile, or by cutting the bark around the tree in such a manner that the sap would run to the lowest place in the notch, which was large enough to contain a quart of water. This latter method was used only when the owner wished to kill the tree. Wooden troughs were used to catch the water at first, but in time wooden buckets were hung on the spiles and this made the work much easier. The water was collected twice a day and was usually put into barrels fastened to sleds and hauled to a kiln. The kiln was often open at both ends, but sometimes a chimney was placed at one end to carry off the smoke. A forked tree was driven at each end of the kiln, and a long pole on which the kettles were hung was placed across the supports. The kettles, which held from 25 to 30 gallons each, were collected wherever they could be borrowed. Sometimes kilns were not built, and the ashes of the wood fires were carried up by the smoke and fell into the water, making the syrup dark in color. When the sap was running freely everyone was en- gaged in making sugar, often working all night to keep the water from going to waste. The amount made was surprising. Sugar was the most plentiful commodity in the frontier home. Large cakes were stored in the lofts, and every member of the family覧children in- cluded覧had free access to them. Besides the sugar, large amounts of maple syrup were made. John Prickett usually stored away over a hun- dred gallons of syrup to supply his family dur- ing a season. In spite of this, the making of taffy was not generally known until late in the 40's, While the older folks were busily at work the younger ones were enjoying themselves in old-time fashion. They would stay up all night to "stir off" sugar. This was the process of taking it from the fire and molding it into fancy shapes. Between times they would play games, and dance and sing by the light of iron- weed torches and pine knots. Occasionally much merriment was caused by some unlucky person's falling into the "skimming hole." This cavity was about two feet long and eighteen inches deep, and was often covered with sticks and leaves by the mischievous merrymakers, to the great discomfiture of one of their number. The making of sugar was not unattended by danger, the following incident serving to illus- trate this fact. Three children left to guard the camp one night heard a panther prowling about. They knew they were safe as long as they remained near the fire, but terror of the beast made them run for home. However, each was wise enough to take a burning branch from the fire with him, and while the ferocious animal followed them, howling dismally, it did not attack them. Cane molasses was made from sugar cane, which ripened about the first of October. The stalks were usually stripped of the blades and tops while still standing, and were afterwards cut and ground between the iron rollers of a cane mill which was operated by horse power. The juice was caught in vessels, put into a shal- low pan and boiled over a hot fire for four or five hours. Sugar cane was not raised, how- ever, until near the middle of the nineteenth century. Almost every farmer owned a log stillhouse in the "good old times" when no neighborhood gathering was complete without an ample sup- ply of spirituous liquors. Besides, whiskey and apple brandy commanded a higher price in the eastern markets than did the grain that would be required to make them, and were much easier to carry across the mountains. Cider, considered a harmless beverage, was made by a crude process, the apples being crushed with mauls in wooden troughs at first. Later, horse power crushers were made of grooved rollers two and a half feet in diameter, to the longer of which was attached the sweep used in turning them. One man was kept busy filling the hopper with apples, while another was engaged in removing the ground mass from the cogs and placing it in a press. "Applejack," or apple brandy, was better liked than cider, and was made by fermenting the ground apples in large still tubs, after which the mass was boiled in iron or copper kettles holding from 60 to 1 00 gallons each, the steam being conveyed through a copper pipe to a still worm in which it was condensed. This still worm was often 25 or 30 feet long, but was coiled in a barrel of running water, and this gave rise to the expression "Equal to a still worm," meaning that a thing was longer than it seemed to be. Corn, wheat and rye whiskey were made by allowing the meal to ferment after it had been boiled, and then putting it through the same process. After one distillation the product was called "singlings," and this was again distilled in order to make the liquid strong. An experi- enced person could tell by the "bead test" whether there was the proper amount of alcohol in the brandy and whiskey or not; or he could gauge the amount by dropping a small piece of tallow into the barrel. If the tallow floated, the liquor contained the percentage necessary. Many adulterants were used to give the whiskey the proper color and taste, one, at least, a de- coction of boiled laurel leaves, being very poisonous. Peach brandy, containing from 80 to 90 per cent alcohol, was distilled from fermented peaches. Maple sap was used in making beer 覧yeast, lima beans and brown paper being added to the boiled water after it had cooled. Fermentation stopped in two or three weeks, after which the beer was ready for use. Cattle raisers sold their herds in Baltimore and other eastern cities. The teamsters who drove herds across the mountains measured a day's journey by the distance between inns. While the men ate and rested in the evening from a hard day's tramp, the cattle were watched in an open field so that they would not stray away. Many hardships attended these journeys. On one occasion a man who was lost in a driving snow was found with difficulty, as the snow had covered the tracks of his drove. Some- times the animals broke away and gained their freedom in the woods; and always numbers were left by the roadside, lamed by broken hoofs. Often weeks were consumed in the journey to the eastern market. It once took John H. Manley four months to drive an im- mense herd of hogs through to Baltimore, and many of the animals died on the way. Moreover, the inns at which the herders stopped on their way back and forth across the mountains were not always reputable houses, and often thieves lay in wait to rob the return- ing herder of his gains. Many tales of robber- ies of this kind are woven around an inn just across the border of Marion County. Sometimes amusing incidents occurred to en- liven their spirits on the journey. On one oc- casion Thomas Smith and Harrison Manley were walking across the mountains on their re- turn trip. They had passed telegraph wires many times as they trudged along the crooked road. Finally, Manley asked Smith why the wires were up on those high poles. Smith "guessed they were clotheslines." "But," said Manley, "how could any one hang clothes on such high lines?" Smith could only tell him (in forceful language) that "it was none of his business how they got them there." There are ruins of an old iron furnace on Koon's Run, near Everson, formerly owned by a man named Boyce. This structure was 20 feet square at the bottom, 6 or 8 feet square at the top, and about 35 feet high, and was built against a steep bank from the top of which the iron ore was poured into the furnace. No one seems to be able to tell when iron was last made there, but it is known that the ore was secured from near-by hills, and that iron kettles, having a capacity of 50 gallons or more, were manufactured in the furnace. When Marion County was first settled the mountaineers did not give much attention to the lumps of coal found along the hillsides, for they thought they were nothing but worthless black stones ; but when the combustible nature of the mineral was discovered, and the news of its great value as a fuel spread abroad, the people began to dig and to make use of it. However, when they first heard of it they could not realize what was meant by "coal" and John Prickett said that he would give $50 cash覧a large sum in those days覧to any one who could find such a mineral on his land. At first each farmer had a mine of his own. He dug a tunnel in the hillside with a pick and a shovel, and hauled the coal to his house on a hand sled. It was used for domestic purposes only. For a long time those who did not own land on which a coal vein opened on the sur- face were permitted to dig in a neighbor's mine at the rate of a penny a bushel. Then, about 1850, Jimmy Burns opened a mine in Fairmont near the site of Cook's Hospital, from which he sold the product, and at approximately the same time Mr. Peter Barnes began to supply other people. Mr. Barnes had an ox team and two horses to haul the coal, and a man by the name of Thomas Hennen to do the digging. It is told that this man Hennen was so industrious that he forgot to go home one night, and a searching party was formed to visit the mine, fearing that some accident had befallen him. The building of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad gave the first impetus to the coal in- dustry in Marion County, although at first wood was chiefly used for firing the engines. In 1852 the O'Donnel Mine was opened for com- mercial purposes. The ruins of this mine, which was located on Palatine Knob facing the Monongahela River, may still be seen. Its first output was shipped to Baltimore over the new railroad in 1853. Other early mines were those of the Pierpoints and the Watsons, located in what is now Washington Street, Fair- mont, the construction of which followed closely the opening of the O'Donnel Mine. These were the small beginnings of the great industry that has made Marion County fourth in the produc- tion of coal in West Virginia. In 1807 an ingenious man by the name of Frederick Chisler came to this section from Virginia. He had followed the harness and saddlery trade in his native State, and after crossing the mountains he not only continued the business of making harness, but added to his establishment a packsaddle department and wagon shop. Several years later the Marion Machine Works were built on what is now Water Street, on the east side of the river, by E. N. Hazen, who manufactured hardware覧 chiefly farming utensils, such as rakes, hammers, windmills, wheat cleaners and corn crushers. It is interesting to note that the first McCormick reaper manufactured for sale in the United States was made in this plant by Mr. Hazen. The following is copied from The True Vir- ginian of October 4, 1851: McCormick's reaping machine, we learn from the London Times, has been making a lour of the country, and has been tried under all circumstances and on all kinds of grounds. The Times, chronicling the result of the tour, says that the general success of the machine is established beyond a doubt, and "that there never was an agricultural implement which, on its first exhibition, ob- tained the approval of practical farmers so generally as this has done. Everybody wonders that a piece of mechanism so simple, effective and useful was never invented before." Mr. Hazen also secured the contract for sup- plying the iron work used in the construction of the railroad suspension bridge in 1851. His establishment was later sold to Messrs. Cooper and Morrison, who continued the business on a large scale, sending out agents to all parts of the country, particularly to the newly opened lands in the west. Many other industries sprang up on the east side of Fairmont, among them being a match factory on Newton Street, which supplied the people with the first matches used in this lo- cality; the Smell wagon factory on Guffey Street, and the Burhoining Works on Sterling Street覧 the latter being very popular on account of its nearness to the Clarksburg Pike. At a tannery located on Water Street, next to the Marion Machine Works, boots, shoes, saddles, and many other leather articles were manufactured by a man named Gould. On the west side of the river Messrs. Stone and Beabout built a shot tower on what is now the Watson Hotel site, very early in the history of Middletown, and John Smith opened up a harness and saddlery establishment about 1828; but while the latter established a considerable business, his trade was not as extensive as it might have been if there had not been so much competition in Palatine. James Miller opened a cooper shop in 1837, the first of its kind to be established in this section; and William Miller opened a shop in Barnesville the follow- ing year in which were made rolls used for spinning. One of the most important of the early industries was established by Benjamin Fleming, who began the making of hats in 1845. Almost all the hats worn in Fairmont were made by this man who, in addition to sup- plying his neighbors, shipped many consign- ments to outside points. As has been heretofore indicated, almost every landholder owned a private still in the early days, but Peter Wrighter was the first to manufacture whiskey for commercial purposes after Middletown was established. The men hired to work in this still were "ne'er-do-wells" who worked for 12-1/2 cents a day, often taking a gallon of whiskey, which was likewise worth 12-1/2 cents, as the equivalent of a day's pay. Human labor was the cheapest commodity in the market, boys from twelve to fifteen years of age receiving 8 to 10 cents a day, or, if they labored in a mill, a peck of meal, which was worth the same. A man's work was rated at 50 cents, but a woman's labor was considerably less in value, Margaret Manley receiving but 37 cents for a week's service. At first every settler's home was open to the traveler who asked for a night's lodging, but as soon as a regular trade grew up between the settlements on the Monongahela and eastern Virginia, inns were established along the route. The ruins of an old inn which stood a few yards from the border of Marion County, at Smithtown, may still be seen. Another inn, much frequented by cattlemen, was located just across the border in Harrison County. The first hotel built in Fairmont was owned by Fred- erick Ice, and was located near the site of the Watson Hotel. It accommodated travelers be- tween Clarksburg and Morgantown after Mid- dletown became a regular stopping place. In 1851 the largest and best hotel was owned by John Kearsley, who had remodeled the build- ing known as the Marion House, formerly occu- pied by George Erwin. The Walker House of the same period, according to an advertisement appearing in The True Virginian and Trans- Alleghany Advertiser, was located "within a hundred and fifty yards of the site of the western abutment of the Fairmont and Pala- tine wire suspension bridge覧being the best point from which to view that magnificient struc- ture, soon to be." Thomas Poulton kept the Virginia Hotel and stagecoach office, at the corner of Adams, or Main, and Jefferson Streets. From this hotel a line of two-horse coaches left daily for Morgantown at 1 P. M., connecting there with a daily coach for Union- town, thence eastward to Cumberland, or west- ward to Brownsville and Wheeling by coaches on the National Road. Returning, the coach left Morgantown at 6 A. M., arriving in Fair- mont at noon. Poulton tells us through the columns of The True Virginian and Trans- Alleghany Advertiser that his "table will always be supplied with the best a fertile country can afford, while his bar will be perfumed by the best of liquors of all kinds, of which the weary traveler and occasionally the sojourner will be permitted to taste." In removing the top from an old walnut table not many years since, De Forrest Rath- bone, of Mannington, uncovered the following manuscript, which throws an illuminating light on the Fairmont of other days: Fairmont, Marion County, Virginia, January the twenty-eight, A. D. 1850, A. L. 5850. To Ceneraiions Yet Unborn: Be it known that by permission of Isaac N. Rush, Esq., manufacturer of this furniture, I, John Clark Haze- lett, do here deposit this history of town and county.覧 I. N. Rush of Uniontown, Penna., and I of Mifflin County, Penna. Fairmont contains 100 dwelling houses, 18 of them are brick; 1 large Court House on the Corinthian order; 1 Presbyterian church, pastor, Rev. Mr. Wm. B. Harsee; Methodist Episcopal church, minister in charge. Rev. Gideon Martin; 1 Methodist Protestant church, minister in charge, Rev. John Clark; Rev. Mr. Joseph Walker, Baptist minister, preaches in the Court House; the Baptist Recorder, edited by Mr. Walker, printed by D. S. Norris, Esq.; 1 lodge of A. F. and A. York Masons, numbering 17; 1 lodge I. O. O. F., numbering 62; 1 lodge S of 覧, numbering about 50 or 60; 3 schools, taught by James L. Morehead, Alexander Steel and Miss Abigail Miller; 2 doctors, Mathew Campbell, Eyster and Ellis; 8 lawyers, A. and C. Hay- mond, A. S. Hayden, James Neeson, F. H. Pierpoint, G. W. Newcomb, Z. Kidwell; and English Z or Dr. Kidwell is our present delegate to the State Legislature; Col. Thomas S. Haymond, our present member of Con- gress; 8 drygoods stores, Barnes & Co., Pitcher & Co., A. S. Hayden, Burns, Arnett & Bro., Haymond & Hall, Dunnington & Walker; 2 drugstores. Dr. Campbell and Dr. Ellis; 3 groceries, S. B. Mitchell, A. L. Steel and Keigley; 4 public houses, John Kearsley, Thomas Poulton, Wm. Kerr and Widow Wilkins; Mr. Kears- ley is from Jefferson County, Virginia, and keeps a most excellent house; I mill, Jackson & Son; 2 tan- neries, Pierpoint and Burns, Burns also has a drygoods store; 2 ferries. Holt & Hall. Fairmont contains about 800 inhabitants, quite sociable and accommodating. Miss E. D'Hass, from Wheel- ing, has just closed her school and gone home, quite a belle. Miss Biles, from Wheeling, proposes on open- ing a music school. Dr. Gibbons, also practices medi- cine, who I almost forgot to mention, is quite an inter- esting gentleman and pleasant family. Mrs. E. Moore is quite a pleasant, fine lady, quite a poetess; she is quite agreeable and interesting; just call on her should you come through here. Miss A. M, Dunnington is quite a belle, a ladylike yet a singular disposition, in whose society I feel at home, so would you with all her singularity. Miss Barnes is indeed a fine young lady. Miss Chisler is modest, Miss Arnold handsome. Miss Cramer beautiful. Miss Black lovely, Miss Cadwallader to be admired. Miss Fleming intelligent. Miss Eyster very lovely. These are some I have had the pleasure of seeing and hearing from. Mrs. Kearsley, if you want a mother, you will find it in her, just call. Mrs. En- glish is quite a lady. Rev. Mrs. Sedwick is a pious woman, her husband a good preacher and a fine man. Jonathan Haymond is a peculiar man, his brother Cal- der a retired lawyer, a noble man and his family a pleasant one. B. & M. Fleming are fine men覧B. manu- factures hats extenzively, M. a speculator, owns consider- able town property. E. Newcomb, Esq., keeps the post- office; a fine old man and a good Mason. The Mr. Arnett's are fine men. Edgar P. Straight is a fine young fellow also. Hayden Hall a student at law. John D. Haymond a singular genius, full of oddity and eccentricity, always sporting. His brother, the lawyer, is a very good man and excellent counsel. His sister, Virginia, is a sweet lady, may she live long and be happy. Chisler's family is pleasant. Albert Shore, blacksmith, is quite a gentleman. Lindsay Boggess, clerk of the Court, is a good fellow. Also the Mr. Watson's, clerk of the S. Court. James Sandusky, saddler, is a good fellow also a Mason, which are synonimous. F. H. Pierpoint is a good fellow and citi- zen, also his brother Larkin. Old Dr. Hawkins is a buster. J. C. Pitcher and brother. Thos. Hough, a first-rate tinner by trade. The churches have made every possible effort to gel up a revival, but to no effect. Religions are pretty considerably contracted, although the people generally are religious. Prices of lots are very much raised in consequence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which the engi- neers are now locating through the town. President road, Thos. Swan; chief engineer, Benj. Latrobe; prin- cipal asssistant, Chas. P. Manning; chief engineer, John M. Standish; Charles Mechan, George O. Mercer, Robt. Swan, John P. McLauchan, Walter C. Quincy, Richard Randolph and John B. F. Davidge. Mr. Cameron of Jefferson County, Virginia, is purchasing the rights of way. Not definitely known on which side of the river it will be located. The probability, how- ever, is that it will be located on the Fairmont side. Lots sell from $150.00 to $200.00. Hamilton Hill, west of town, has been bought at the rate of $200.00 an acre. Business has been at quite a low ebb, but prospects are looking up. The citizens are just begin- ning to improve the streets, and some fine buildings about to be contracted for. Mr. Mathew Fleming has sold out contracts for building his hotel near the Court House. Hoffman does the carpenter work, Prickett and Phillips the brick work, and Carney the plastering. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -