A Somerset-county H istorical Notebook

A Somerset-county

H istorical NotebookMARY HAUSF

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Somerset County -lHistodical SocietySesqui-Centennial oPublications ;No. 2

1795 - 1945-

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A Somerset CountyHistorical Notebook

Compiled from theNewspaper Columns of

MARY HAUSE

SOMERSET COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETYSESQUI-CENTENNIAL PUBLICATIONS No. 2

SOMERSET, PA.

19115

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AN HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK

NOTES BY JUDGE BLACK

The following is, in part, a letter toDavid Husband from Judge JeremiahSullivan Black: The letter itself wasprinted in the Somerset Standard onJune 10, 1870.

To David Husband:

Dear Sir:Your note was duly received an-

nouncing your purpose of collectingand preserving, as far as possible, atthis late day, the events transpiringduring the early period of the settle-ments of Somerset County; also de-siring me to prepare an article em-bodying my recollections and tradi-tional collections on the subject. Inorder to encourage you, I will give myown experience on the subject.

From information that I have gath-ered, there must have been a numberof hunters within the limits of thecounty some years prior to its actualsettlement, and among these were theRhoads, who after hunting here forsome time, brought out their familiesand probably were the first settlerswithin the present limits of the county.Before he sat himself down or builthim a house, which he finally did, up-on Stonycreek, where his son, PeterRhoads, lived and died, he and someothers were engaged hunting on theBuffalo about a mile south' of Berlin,and standing oil one spot, in threehours time they killed "twenty-threered deers." I am not hunter enoughto say whether this be probable or not,but I enter for doubts.

Old Mr. Philip Weigley must havebeen among the earliest settlers, per-haps the next after Rhoads. He cameto Brothersvalley, built a house, clear-ed five or six acres of land and sowedit in Rye. The next winter the snowwas five to seven feet deep and laywithout a thaw for nearly four months.He concluded that the climate wouldbe intolerable and that he would takefor his land what he could get, so thathe might get off as soon as possiblein the spring. He- had paid $50 for it,

and he thought if he could get thatmuch he would be a fortunate man.Soon after the spring opened, threepersons came along exploring thecountry for a place to locate them-selves, and seeing his field of rye,which was a remarkable promisingcrop, they asked him what he wouldtake for his place. He was afraid toput his price of $50 upon it lest itmight frighten them, and he thereforetold them to make him an offer. Theyoffered him $150 and it astonishedhim so much that he broke the negoti-ation short off and told them he wouldnot sell.

I do not know in what year mygrandfather came there, but he wasthere several years as a young manbefore he was married, and his eldestchild was born, I believe, about 1779.His first home was at a place WilliamWill lived. From thence he movedto the place where my father lived anddied.

You ought to get a full report of thetrial of Huguel, the Frenchman, whowas hanged in 1796. The trial is ex-tant in print. I saw it long ago in abook entitled "The Awful Beacon."There are two other very remarkablemurder cases which properly belongto the annals of Somerset County, al-though they were committed beforethe county was organized and tried atBedford. One was that of Glessner bySponneberger at Berlin. The othermurder referred to was that of theTisue family by a German redemp-tioner, in Elk Lick township.

There is one document in existencewhich I have often desired to get, andwhich, if it were produced, wouldthrow a good deal of light upon thejudiciary of the bar of the county six-ty years ago. What I refer to is acopy of the Hudibrastic verses in thepossession of Mr. Morrison and prob-ably written by him. I do not knowwhat its poetical merit may be, but itshistorical value I do not doubt.

You must not think of proceeding.without a copy of the Somerset Whigbefore you. Select from it the noticesof public events and transcribe all the

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remarkable advertisements you find inits column. These will show moreclearly than anything else what wasthen the state of the times.

It must have been a great place forgame. It does not appear that thefirst settlers were ever molested byIndians to any serious extent, and youwill be spared the unpleasant task ofnarrating the heart-rendering scenesand tragedies that often transpired inthe settlement of the counties, botheast and west of us. There was butone attack so far as I know. That wasthe one made upon James Well's fam-ily at the old Dennison place in Jen-ner township. You will find the par-ticulars of this event in a book pub-lished by Prices, at Chambersburg, a-bout twenty years ago, entitled "Bor-der Warfare."

One of the very earliest settlementsin the county was at Turkeyfoot, andamong the first persons, if not thevery first, was the family of Jennings.This was a settlement of some note atthe time when Washington made hisfirst visit of exploration to the west,which was about 1751. The settlementsent out a good many recruits to thearmy of the Revolution. Old Benja-min Jennings, the father of David, en-listed there. I took down the storywhen he applied for a pension, andperhaps that paper, if it could befound, would afford information thatmight be very useful to you in gather-ing material from that locality.

Yours truly,Jeremiah Sullivan Black.

FIRST COUNTY OFFICERS

The first sheriff of Somerset Countyafter it separated from Bedford Coun-ty was Thomas Kennedy; David Kingwas the new county's first coroner,and the first county commissionerswere John Fletcher of Berlin, JohnLeech of Quemahoning and JohnLeech of Milford. They were electedto office in October 1795. AbrahamMorrison was appointed clerk at asalary of ten shillings for each dayactually engaged in services of thecounty. At that time, the equivalentin American dollars and cents was a-bout $1.30. Josiah Espy, was the first

county treasurer, at a salary of $40 forthe first year -and $80 for the secondyear.

-The first term of court in SomersetCounty was begun, December 21, 1795,and was presided over by the Hon.Alexander Addison, associated judgeswere James Wells of QuemahoningTownship; Abraham Cable of Broth-ersvalley Township and EbenezerGriffith of Elk Lick Township, all ap-pointed by Governor Thomas Mifflinof Philadelphia. At that time therewas no court house so the county com-missioners rented a room from oneJacob Schneider for $30 for the firstyear. There court was held and useduntil the completion of the courthousein 1801. The room where all courtcases were heard was located inSchneider's home, which was located atthe intersection of West Main Streetand an alley then known as ChurchAlley. It was on the same lot that theonce famed Barnett House stood,which is the present site of Sifford'sStore. The first grand jury was com-posed of John Wells, Jacob Hartzell,George Burkett, Jacob Heines, JohnMiller, William Short, David Work,John Lowry, Joseph. Douglas, DavidPenrod, John Husband, Ernest Deitz,Lawrence Oats, Jacob Baker, GeorgeKimmel, Jasper Kitzmiller, Jacob Zim-merman, John Weltz, and JamesWalker.

THE FIRST CASE IN COURT

The first case held in the Somersetcourt proved to be unique. While thegrand jury was in session, it beingmid-winter and the little center stovegoing full tilt, the jurors had gatheredas close to the stove as possible. Aftera while one of the jurors, Adam Kef-fer was discovered behind the stovevery drunk and utterly oblivious as towhether the world moved on or not.He had reached the point of intoxica-tion, where he was so far unconsicousthat he did not realize his fellow jurorsreturned an indictment against him forthe offense. He was later taken be-fore the court and entered a plea of"not guilty." A jury of his peers ap-pointed, found him guilty and the courtimposed a fine of $5.

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HIT-IA NOEOO

FIRST JAIL

The first 'jail in Somerset Countywas built on the present jail square in1795-6 at a cost of $270.75. The firstcourthouse was built of stone by Rob-ert Spencer, it was begun in 1798 andfinished August 14, 1801. There was afrontage of forty feet on North Centeravenue (then known as. North MainCross street) and forty feet on Unionstreet. The building which was twostories high and cost $5,675.25 wasused until 1852. In 1802 a contractwas given to Peter Kimmel for thebuilding of two offices for county use.They were little one story buildings ofbrick and the price of erecting the twowas $998.69. One was used as thesheriff's office and the other by thecounty treasurer. Both stood in therear of the courthouse until the erec-tion of the new courthouse, some fiftyyears later.

The second courthouse, which wascompleted in 1852 cost $11,434. It wasthe old red brick courthouse which wasreplaced by the stone one now in use.The brick courthouse was only twostories high, and was surmounted by acupola. the top of which was 112 feetfrom the ground. The first floor heldthe county offices, while the courtroom was on the second floor. Thefirst court was held there in 1852 andthe last in 1904, just before it wastorn down to be replaced by the pres-ent fine building.

A second jail was built in 1856, at acost of $6,599, the contractor beingJohn Mong. It was a two story brickbuilding and the front part was usedas a residence for the sheriff. Theprisoners were kept in the rear. Butthe new building was never very se-cure and unless the prisoners wereheavily ironed there was little cer-'taintly as to how long they wouldremain prisoners. Numerous escapeswere made through the rear wall.After the building had been used as aprison for 35 years two inmates at thetime discovered that by cutting throughthe plastering and lath of the ceilingof one of the second floor cells, theycould gain access to the attic,' andfrom there it was an easy matter topass into the residence part of thebuilding and walk down stairs through

the front door to liberty. In 1889 thebuilding was remodeled and is stillused as the county jail.

SOMERSET FIRE FIGHTERS

No public or civic improvement inSomerset has had so much to do withthe growth and development of thecommunity as the Somerset WaterWorks. In 1893 the town council wasauthorized to spend a stipulated sumfor the erection and maintenance of areservoir, a water system through theborough and a pump station. Thereservoir was located on the highesthill west of the borough limits and itscapacity was estimated at 500,000 gal-lons. Late in the summer of 1894, thetask was completed and the SomersetWater Works began operation.

To test the water pressure on thepublic square, several sections of hosewere secured and connections made.The velocity of the water was so greatthat water was thrown over the high-est building in town, the VannearHotel building. About that time cer-tain citizens of the community feltthat a volunteer fire department shouldbe organized. As there were no pavedstreets in the town, with a steep gradeboth to the east and west, it was a-greed that two fire companies should beorganized with North and Soutb MainCross Streets (Center Avenue) as thedividing line of the two districts. Allfiremen living east of the present Cen-ter Avenue belonged to the East EndFire Company, and all firemen livingwest of the dividing line were membersof the Pioneer Fire Company.

Although the East End Fire Com-pany was organized Sept. 8, 1894, thePioneer Fire Company, had been inexistence about six months prior hav-ing held several irregular meetings inthat time. With the organization ofthe new East End Company a roomfor meetings and apparatus waschosen, located in the alley betweenBeerits' and Picking Drug building.It was housed in the same building asthe town lock-up, and all the fire ap-paratus was stored there. The lateFrank Cunningham was elected presi-dent, other officers were, Irvin Saylor,vice president, Frank K. 'Sanner, sec-retary and treasurer, Joseph Levy, as-

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6 A SOMERSET COITNTY

sistant secretary and president, FrankCunningham, fire chief, and Irvin Say-lor, assistant chief.

On the same day the west-end fire-men met in their newly chosen head-quarters on the second floor front ofwhat is now the J. P. Statler building.Election of officers meted forth thefollowing: R. M. Linton, president, T.T. Jones, vice president, and LouisKrebs, secretary.

The demands on the town councilfor equipment was small, each com-pany asking for, "one building, one tirealarm bell, one cart, lettered, one bellon each cart, four axes, two ladderhooks, fifteen gum coats, fitteen hats,twenty five pairs of gauntlet gumgloves, one speaking trumpet, fifteenpairs of boots, six buckets, six lanterns,one shut-off nozzle, one hose prop,thirty six feet of section ladders, onehundred and fifty feet of one ekghth'inch rope, and several hundred feet ofhose."

The first fire alarm answered afterthe organization of borh companieswas for the old McKelvey barn, on therear of the property now occupied byDr. Theodore Straub, on the Cornerof South Center Avenue and WestPatriot Street. Both companies re-sponded and the building was saved.

'1 he two fire companies worked to-gether for nearly a decade, each tryingto out do the other in getting to thefire first. The friendly rivalry waskept up until the winter of 1902, whenthey decided to unite and form onelarge company. On March 9, 1903, ajoint meeting was held for the consoli-dation.

Already the town council had subleta bid to D. E. Keller, contractor, forthe erection of a borough building, tohouse the water works office and thenew fire company's equipment. Thesame hall has been used continuouslyfrom that time on for firemen's meet-ings, although a portion has been add-ed in which the big motor trucks andother fire fighting equipment are nowkept.

The meeting was organized withJoseph Levy being elected presidentand Frank Sanner secretary. Twonights later, March' 11, a meeting wasagain held in which was discussed thepurchase of a hook and ladder truck.A committee was appointed.

OLDEST BUILDING IN BERLIN

The oldest building in Berlin is morethan 150 years old. The old brown-stone wash-house and bakery, stand-ing deep in the beautiful lawn of R.C. Heffley will perhaps stand anothercentury for posterity to view.

The ancient timbers framing thedoors and windows are rotting but thebeams and rafters on the inside of thebuilding are in fine state of preserva-tion. The huge fire place where blaz-ed the great fire to boil the cauldronof wash, and heat the beehive oven inthe rear of the building stands idle andempty.

The bakery itself was torn awaywhen Frank Groff remodeled his store.But signs of it still remain. A smalltwo-foot door gave access to the innerwarmth' of the oven, and a grate offine dimensions held the loaves ofgood smelling bread and other deli-cacies so dear to the hearts of thePennsylvania Dutch housewives.

The wash-house was used by JohnHeffley, after his second marriage toElizabeth Keffer, in 1813. It was thenan old outbuilding. Around its brownstones, ran the little children of thisunion, playing the nameless games,that only childhood can invent; hidingin its recesses, and making the lovelyyard resound with their peals of laugh-ter.

The famous Pious Spring about whichmuch has been written, is but a fewyards from the old building. Thisspring is the headwater of StonyCreek, a tributary of the AlleghenyRiver.

In the beginning of the settlementof Berlin, after its purchase from thegreat William Penn, himself, the townwas laid out into lots. In 1768, JacobKeefer, and a certain Mr. Glessnertook out a grant for 40/2 acres of landcalled the Pious Spring Tract. Thistransaction was called a "grant intrust." The trust fund was to be paidto the Lutheran, Reformed churchesso long as anyone lived in the boroughof Berlin. The original plot containedbut 4OY2 acres making in all 57 lots.Berlin has extended far beyond theoriginal plot of ground, but those fiftyseven lot owners still have to paytribute to either church. The sum ofone Spanish milled dollar per annum,being that decided by the 'great Penn.

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The Pious Spring called why, no oneknows, is some eight or ten feet belowthe level of Main Street, and is in theend of the R. C. Heffley lawn. Itswaters are just as clear, as they wereseveral centuries ago and the water isjust as sweet. To look at its stillclearness, makes one wonder how sucha tiny body of crystal clear water, canmake as great a body of water, as themuddy Allegheny.

Berlin abounds in interesting tradi-tions but the one of the Pious Springsis perhaps its most interesting not onlythat little lonely body of water, butits surroundings cast an enchantmentover the lovely garden of R. C. Heffleyof Berlin, Pennsylvania.

FIRST RAILROAD

The first railroad running to Som-erset was built in 1871 and was knownas the Somerset and Mineral Pointrailroad. It reached from Somersetto Rockwood and its first presidentwas Alexander Coffroth, well knownSomerset barrister who later became amember of Congress. Mr. Coffrothalso had the distinction of being oneof President Abraham Lincoln's pall-bearers. Capt. William H. Sanner wassuperintendent of the company, andPark Kooser, conductor of the firsttrain. Cyrus Showman (known asClowny) was brakeman, and ParkDayton, the engineer. Charley Parsonserved as the night watchman of thetrain that laid over. There was nostation, except a sort of platform atthe Jones planing mill on the site ofthe present Bender Implement Com-pany, along what is now South Edge-wood Avenue. There, with one accord,the populace turned out en masse towatch the magnificent spectacle of theiron monster puffing up grade as itrounded the bend below Edgewoodgrove.

All those first officers of the oldrailroad have been dead many years.Eventually the company went intobankruptcy. After some time, the rail-road was purchased by the Baltimoreand Ohio railroad and with the con-tinuance of the railroad to Johnstown,it became known as the Somerset andCambria branch of the Baltimore andOhio.

PETER GARY A CENTENARIAN

In the Laurel Hill mountains westof Somerset, near the Fayette Co. line,in a lonely spot is the grave of PeterGary, who was a fifer in the Revolu-tionary War. He was a native ofNorthumberland County, and after thewar migrated westward and settlednear the Clay pike, in what is nowknown as Upper Turkeyfoot Township.Later in life he moved with his familynear the top of Laurel Hill ridge andstayed there until his death. The in-scription on his tombstone stated thathe died in 1824, at the age of 100.

SOMERSET BOROUGH

Somerset borough, the county seatof Somerset County, as determined bya geodetic survey in 1902 is 40 degrees,.02 minutes north latitude and 79 de-grees .05 minutes west of Greenwich.The magnetic declination is 4 degrees,26 minutes west.

The town was laid out by AdamSchneider and Peter Ankney, Septem-ber 12, 1795, with Josiah Espey thesurveyor. The old town called Mil-fordstown, however, was laid out byWoolrick Bruner and Peter Ankeny.Part of three different surveys appear-ed to be within the limits of the townproper. Peter Ankeny owned all thatpart of the town south of Main street,and from Rosina street west he ownedit on both sides of Main street. Brun-er owned the land on the north side ofMain street as far west as West street(now Edgewood avenue) also thenorth corner of the present borough,he having bought about 100 acres ofthe land covered by an agreement fromHarmon Husband. Woolrick Brunerhad purchased the rights of GeorgeBruner in the survey of 300 acres war-ranted to George Bruner, that lay onboth sides of what is now the mainstreet of Somerset borough. In 1787Woolrick Bruner entered into an agree-ment with Adam Schneider for thesale of such part of lands that he stillowned. The agreement, which is stillin existence is in the possession of thefamily of John Snyder, in Dayton,Ohio. The old agreement throws muchlight on the early settling of Somer-set and reads: "Articles of agreementmade this 24th day of September in

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S A SOMERSET COUNTY

the year 1787 between Woolrick Brun-er of Milford township, in Bedfordtownship and the state of Pennsyl-vania on the one part, and AdamSchneider of Washington county in thestate of Maryland, of the other part,witnesseth that the said AdamSchneider had agreed with, bought andbargained with the said WoolrickBruner for a certain tract and parcelof land whereon the said WoolrickBruner now lives, containing two hun-dred acres of land and upwards byestimation, be the same more or less,it being that part of the said Brunerdwelling place which lays on the northside of the big road along the mainstreet of a town, which the said Brun-er laid out in lots some years ago,which said whole land included about100 acres that the said Bruner boughtof Harmon Husband, with another sur-vey of about 300 acres warranted inthe name of George Bruner and pat-ented to him, the said Woolrick Brunerthat part of which whole land beingbefore sold to one Jonathan Buck,which lays south of the said big roadand main street of the said town lots,and for' which said 200 acres of landthe said Adam Schneider agrees to payhim, the said Woolrick Bruner, thesum of 100 pounds current money ofthe state of Pennsylvania, in moneyand one house and lot in Baltimoretown, on Howard street, joining theWidow Vankle's and occupied byJacob Reader and pay the said sum of100 pounds in two payments, that is50 pounds on the first day of Octobernext and fifty pounds more on thefirst day of May next.

And it is further agreed by and be-tween the said parties that the saidWoolrick Bruner received and reservesto himself, out of the said 200 acresone of the said town lots, being thesecond lot in number on the plan in thesaid land, when it comes to be measur-ed should fall short of the 200 acresmore than ten acres, that there shall bean abatement in the price in proportionto such want, but in case it shallmeasure more than 200 acres over somuch, then there is no addition to theprice and it is further agreed that thesaid Woolrick Bruner shall make overand convey the said 200 acres of land,more or less, to him the said AdamSchneider, his heirs and assigns for-

ever, clear of all costs, by good andlawful deeds of conveyance, as soonand on payment of the last sale offorty pounds or give sufficient bondof performance to complete the sameas soon as said Harmon Husband shallprocure his patent to the said 100acres according to the agreement madebetween the said Woolrick Bruner andHarmon Husband, and when at thesame time the said Schneider shallmake the like title of the aforesaid lotand house in Baltimore town to him,the said Woolrick Bruner, his heirsand assigns, forever, and for the dueperformance of the above agreement,for parties above do bind themselvesfor each of their heirs, executors andadministrators into each other in thesum of 200 pounds current money a-foresaid, to be paid by the party fail-ing. In witness whereof, the partiesabove said have put their hands andseals in the day and year firsf abovewritten."

(Signed)"Ulrich Bruner (L. S.)

Adam Schneider (L. S.)Signed, sealed and delivered

in the presence of us:Harmon Husband

Henry Bruner."

FIRST BANK

The first bank in Somerset wasestablished by John T. Hogg of Union-town, about 1835. Not only was it thefirst bank in Somerset but also the firstbank in Somerset County. Under themanagement of on'e William Roddy,it flourished for about six years. Thenin 1859 George Ross and Companyowned a banking house.

About 1862, a new bank was estab-lished which was the beginning of thepresent County Trust company. Mich-ael A. Sanner and a company of menfurnished the capital with which thesmall bank was started. Mr. Sannerwas the father of the late Mrs. C. J.Harrison, Sr., whose husband was formany years president, first of the Som-erset County National Bank later ofits successor the County Trust Com-pany.

The Sanner bank continued until a-bout 1878, when it succumbed to thedepression of that period. Mr. San-

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ner suffered heavy losses financially,and in property in the great fire whichdestroyed Somerset in 1872.

In 1860, a short while before theSanner bank was opened, Miller Tred-well and Henry F. Schell, father ofthe late P. A. Schell started a bank.Mr. Schell sold out his interest soonafterwards. In 1866 the bank wasrobbed of a large sum of money andnegotiable government bonds; the a-mount taken was between $15,000 and$20,000. Again in 1866, Mr. Schell en-tered the banking business with John0. Kimmel. The firm operated underthe name of Schell and Kimmel. Thebusiness was taken over by John 0.Kimmel and Sons. The bank continu-ed until 1872 when it failed.

Charles J. Harrison, Sr., son-in-lawof Michael Sanner began operation ofthe Somerset County bank. Mr. Har-rison was president, and manager formany years. In 1882, the late MiltonJ. Pritts was elected cashier. In 1890the bank's name was changed to theSomerset County National Bank witha capital of $50,000.

The First National Bank was organ-ized in 1889, with a capital of $50000,,with Edward Scull, its first president.Andrew Parker served in the capacityof the bank's first cashier.

In 1900, the Farmers National bankwith a capital of $50,000, was openedfor business, and the Somerset TrustCompany began in 1901 with a capitalof $125,000.

PRESIDENT McKINLEYIN SOMERSET

Residents of Somerset seeing "Mc-Kinley Place," the lovely Colonialhome of Dr. R. B. Colvin, daily can-not appreciate the elegance of itssimple lines, as can a casual visitor tothe "Roof Garden of Pennsylvania."

Before the great fire of 1872, the siteof "McKinley Place" was occupied bya frame dwelling, the residence of thelate John 0. Kimmel. This was latersold to General Alex Coffroth, whobuift the imposing brick residence onEast Main street. Later he sold theproperty to Edmund Kiernan, thefather of Somerset's late barrister,"Ned" Kiernan who in turn resold itto Abner McKinley, brother of Will-iam McKinley who became president

of the United States in 1896. Thislatter sale was made in the early nine-ties. Some years ago the house be-came the property of Dr. R. B. Colvin.Abner McKinley installed one of thefirst bathrooms in Somerset in hissummer home which became known asthe "McKinley Place." He furtheradded the brick driveway, leading fromthe street to the side entrance of thebuilding. Here he built the porte-cochere, under which the coaches andcarriages and fine horses which werea part of the McKinley menage, werewont to draw up to unload their pas-sengers: ladies in the sweeping gownsof the gay nineties, and gentlemen, inthe severe black of evening. At thetime of the remodeling by Abner Mc-Kinley, a billard room was also added,leading from the entrance of the porte-cochere to the great hall running al-most the length of the house.

The greatest assemblage of notablesever gathered in Somerset was underthe roof of McKinley House, when thewedding of Miss Mabel McKinley wassolemnized. Miss McKinley was thedaughter of Abner McKinley and thefavorite niece of the President. FromWashington he journeyed in his pri-vate train, in company with his charm-ing wife, the Governor of the State ofPennsylvania, the Commander of WestPoint Military Academy, the Quarter-master General, and many other per-sons whose names topped the socialregister of the United States.

In the east drawing room, under agreat bell covered with thousands ofroses which was hung in the baywindow, Miss Mabel McKinley, nieceof the President of the United States,was married to Dr. Hermanus Baer.A reception followed this beautifulspectacle, during which many of theresidents of Somerset got one of theirfirst glimpses of the "Summer WhiteHouse."

Before the wedding, Abner McKin-ley had the entire house renovated.The kitchen was moved to the eastside of the house and a dining roommade from the old kitchen. The din-ing room today remains unchanged,even the candelabra over the mantlepiece, are still used only they havebeen modernized, and are wired forelectricity. The woodwork is solidmahoganv whose satiny finish has


10- A SOERE iOU

not dimmed with usage, growing morebeautiful with repeated polishings. Twoopalescent stained windows showingtones of flame and amber, shading intoorchid and old-rose are most beautiful.Each tiny leaded pane has its ownperfect color, and altogether form aglorious beauty. The doors leadingfrom the hall to the dining room, too,have stained glass panes, showing asplendid light when closed against theburning glow of the great fire place.The drawing room and living roomshave not been changed in any mannerwith, the exception of hardwood floorsand new wall coverings which only en-hance the beauty of the home.

Half way up the stairs at a tinylanding is another stained glass win-dow. This one is in shades of flameand rose, which turns everything intoa riot of glory when the morning sunshines through its colored glass.

The rooms on both the second andthird floors are the same as in the dayswhen the President spent his idlemoments in contemplation in theirdeep recesses. The hall on the thirdfloor and one guest room also on thesame floor retain their original wallpapers, placed there by Abner McKin-ley, during the period of renovationunder which the house; went.

The windows on the third floor areall of the dormer type, with wideledges, where one may lean on elbowsand gaze at the skies starry nights.

Every one of the sixteen rooms is asymphony of loveliness, maintainedwith care and reverence that only fewpossess for the very beautiful.

The stables, wherein were housedthe famous riding horses and carriagehorses kept there especially for the useof the President and his party, are inperfect condition, being used as gar-ages for motor cars, instead of anestablishment for the "blue bloods" ofhorse flesh. The ox stalls whtich heldthe prize winners, are still markedwith names of the occupants, There is"Mazy," "Colonel-Mac," "Lady Vir-ginia," "Reine de Cochion," "Captain,"and "Pawnee-Martha."

Above the stables is the coachman'sroom, with its own private bath. Inthe carriage rooms may also be seenthe elevator which carried the carriagesto an upper floor and also the feedbins with their automatic measuring

chutes. They are all monuments of aformer glory.

The spacious lawns where the presi-dent was wont to wander, has notchanged a great deal, a small portionof it having been sold as a site of thePar-K Theater. The old apple treewhere the President loved to sit warmsummer afternoons still stands. Itsgnarled branches no longer spread infour directions, for time ravages ancienttrees. Tree surgery has done much tosave that old tree, which has weather-ed the summers and winters of thisrigorous Pennsylvania climate for morethan a century.

The story is told that the President,and several members of his cabinetwho were vacationing with him in themountains of Pennsylvania, were sit-ting under the same apple tree, sippingsome long cool drinks and enjoyingthe warm summer sunshine. Downthe street came Manasas Pifer, famili-arly known as "Manas" who, goingby the driveway of McKinley Place,looked in and seeing the Presidentthere, sort of drew back and thenlurching forward again threw up hisarms and yelled at the top of his voice"Hi there Bill." And President Will-iam McKinley was just big enoughman to go down to-- that gate andshake the hand of Manasas Pifer, longa town character. Then he went backand sat down again, and continued toenjoy his long cool drink.

"Manas" Pifer was born severaldecades too soon. Rotarianism had notyet been born.

When the Czar of Russia asked fora statement from the President Mc-Kinley as to whether America wouldparticipate in a suggested peace con-ference to be held at the Hague, thePresident was visiting at the home ofhis brother Abner in Somerset. Awire came to the Somerset Heraldfrom the New York Sun asking for astatement from the President. AHerald representative called at "Mc-Kinley Place" and asked for the Presi-dent. The message came back thatthe President was shaving himself butwould be down shortly.

The statement so impressed the Her-ald representative that he sat down up-on his return to the office and wroteon the democratic manner of the Pres-ident of the United States. He brought

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out the fact that a man in so exalteda position of life ordinarily has a valetfor so menial a task as shaving.

President McKinley alone of all thegreat men who have been Presidentpreferred to do this little personal taskfor himself.

The story sent the New York Sun,a famous paper in its day, so impressedthe managing editor that he gave itfront page space.

At another time when the Presidentwas in Washington, and United Stateshad entered into the subjugation of thePhilippines, a member of the CompanyC, 10th Regiment, Pennsylvania Na-tional Guard called upon his brotherAbner to suggest the sending of Som-erset's own company to help in thefight. Abner McKinley immediatelygot in touch with the President bytelephone and an order was issued thatthe "Fighting Tenth" should join theregular army in the Philippines.

The visits of President McKinley toSomerset were the only ones evermade by the President of the UnitedStates, with the exception of ZacharyTaylor in the summer of 1849. Atthat time the Glade House was theonly hostelry in Somerset and there"Old Zack" spent a summer nightsitting on the porch in his stockingfeet and chatting with the natives.

When President McKinley came toSomerset he arrived in no great pompand glory, as had Zachary Taylor. In-stead of quartering in public house hespent his short vacations in the grand-eur of his brother's "Summer WhiteHouse."

Somerset people have always point-ed out "McKinley Place" to visitorswith a great deal of pride. It is notevery town that a President honorswith frequent visits as President Mc-Kinley honored Somerset.

His memory still lingers within thewalls of "McKinley Place," making itby far the most honored and interest-ing home in the town.

FIRST NEWSPAPER

The first newspaper published inSomerset was the German Farmer,and its publisher, John Youngman. Itwas published prior to 1804, whenrecord was first kept of it. It wasprinted in both the English and Ger-man script.

About 1807 the Somerset Gazettewas born, but since no copies of thepaper exist, little is known about it.except that it breathed its last a fewyears after it was born. The news-paper in the town was Die WestlicheTelegraph,, a German weekly, publish-ed by one Frederick Goeb. It madeits first appearance, December 13, 1812.The same printing house which pub-lished the paper, also printed booksamong them an edition of the GermanQuarto Bible in 1813. A few copies ofthe old Bible yet remain in Somersetcounty, highly prized by collectors,and worth a great deal to persons whodeal in antiques. In the preface of theold Bible is the statement that it is thefirst edition of the sacred scripturesever published in Western Pennsyl-vania.

The Somerset Whig was foundedOctober 15, 1813 by John Patton, whoin turn sold it to John Y. and JacobM. Glessner in 1829. For many yearsprior to 1828, the Whig had no com-petition in Somerset, but about thattime the anti-Masonic wave wassweeping over the country, Somersetcounty drifted away from its long-standing political moorings and theSomerset Whig became the mouth-piece of the anti-Masonic party. Whilethe Glessner brothers owned the paper,they conducted it as a Democraticpaper until 1834 when it was sold toDaniel Weyand, who continued to pub-lish it until the presidential election of1840. The Whig supported MartinVan Buren, Democratic nominee whowas defeated by William Henry Harri-son, the Whig candidate. After theelection of Harrison, the Whig sus-pended publication. It had alwaysadvocated the principles of the Jeffer-sonian Democratic party, but betweenthe years of 1828 and 1840, there was achange in political policy of the coun-try, and the Democratic party was leftwith less then one-fourth of its formertotal vote. This was not enough tosupport the Somerset Whig and itfolded up.

In 1833, John Patton, original found-er of the Somerset Whig, again beganpublication of a newspaper, the Somer-set Patriot. In 1842, William P. Ank-eny published the People's Guard as areturn organ for the Democratic party.It lasted only two years, suspending in

HISTORICAL NOTE'BOOX 11

12 A SOMERSET COUNTY

the fall of 1844. General AlexanderH. Coffroth, became its owner thenand the paper was reorganized underthe name of the Somerset WeeklyVisitor, and continued until 1851, whenit was sold to Robert R. Roddy, whopublished it for only two short yearsmore.

The Somerset Democrat was estab-lished in May, 1854, by Chauncey F.Michell, and when the renewal of theold anti-Masonic antagonism, turnedhundreds who had adhered tQ the Wliigparty to the Democratic party, feel-ing ran high and the Democratic partyprofited by it.' In January, 1861, Mit-chell sold his paper to Henry G. andGeorge F. Baer. Two years later, in1862 a man by the name of Valentinebecame its owner, and as an editorialwriter he sustained the reputation ofthe Somerset Democrat as a fearlessexponent of the principles of that par-ty. In 1867, John J. Hoffman boughtthe paper and continued to manage ituntil the plant was destroyed in thegreat fire of 1872. Mr. Hoffman man-aged to save some of the type and thefollowing week after the fire, he issueda small sheet, giving in detail an ac-count of the worst disaster, which hadas yet hit Somerset. He took theforms to Meyersdale, where they wereprinted by the Meyersdale Commer-cial. In 1875 the paper was sold to A.S. Coffroth, Jr., and J. K. Coffroth,both staunch Democrats. In the late1890's the paper bias bought by R. B.Linton. After Mr. Linton died in 1899,the paper again came under control ofthe Coffroths who continued its publi-cation until 1900, when the late Alex-ander B. Groff bought it.

The Somerset Herald made its firstappearance, September 16, 1828, as atabloid sized four page newspaper,with George Mowry editor and pub-lisher. There was also printed a smallGerman script edition of the paper,whose policy was anti-Masonic and itsfirst years of publication were devotedto little more than Masonry. It laterbecame an organ of the Whig party,and in 1836 two men by the names ofMoorhead and Witt became its pub-lishers. The following year, Witt be-came its sole owner, and it was thenknown as the Herald and Republican.

In 1843 Jonathan Row became pub-lisher to be followed by Joseph Stutz.

man. In 1847 Edward Scull and theHon. A. J. Ogle began publication ofa paper known as the Somerset Whig,later the Whig and Herald merged andthe name was retained until 1870,when Whig was dropped from themasthead. Mr. Stutzman retired in1852 leaving Mr. Scull the paper's soleowner.

In 1869 Edward M. and William M.Schrock began publication of the Som-erset Standard, but sold it in 1871 toGeorge W. Kimmel, Frank Stutzmanand James C. Postlethwaite. The dis-continued paper with its subscriptionlist merged with the Herald. In 1872the Herald plant was destroyed by fire.

Another of the earlier' newspaperswas published by Germanus Voegtley.It was a German publication andknown as Der Somerset Republikaner.It continued for only a few years.

SOUTH PENN RAILROAD

The most famous of the old rail-road enterprises which ever touchedthe vicinity of Somerset was the SouthPenn, on which millions of dollarswere spent, yet it was never finished.

Today, much of that roadbed is be-ing used by the turnpike commissionand over it the new super-highway isbuilt.

The first survey of the South Pennwas made in 1882. The railroad enter-ed Somerset County near New' Balti-more, and there a tunnel of almost6,000 feet long was bored through themountain. From Stonycreek townshipthe roadbed passed into Somersettownship, coming through toward thewest until within a few hundred yardsof the Somerset County Home, whereit made an abrupt turn toward thenorthwest. Four miles north of Som-erset, along the Johnstown Pike, theSouth Penn again crossed, continuingthrough Somerset township into Jeffer-son and thence to the foot of theLaurel Hill mountain, where a greattunnel was necessary before the roadcould continue west.

The railroad was to have been builtwith a double track. During the winterof 1883 and '84 great strides were madeon the project and in the spring of1884 miles of the heaviest open workwere placed under contract. Rapid pro-gress was made throughout that samesummer and fall.



By the spring of 1885 another con-tract for grading was let. Then camethe announcement that the railroad bedwould be completed by July 1, 1886,but later in the fall the PennsylvaniaRailroad company purchased the SouthPenn and all work immediately ceas-ed.

The total length of the projectedSouth Penn was little more than 208miles, and on that line were nine tun-nels, whose combined length was 37,-338 feet.

TELEPHONE

Today telephones are one of themost common utilities, yet there wasa time when the person who owned atelephone was considered one of thehigh' and mighty. A call to a neigh-bor's telephone usually meant bad newsfor the person called. There weremany people who distrusted the 'phone,believing it impossible to hear a voiceover the little black object held totheir ears, and the bit of green cover-ed wire, over which the voice was sup-posed to come. The owner of thetelephone was usually requested to dothe talking while the person calledstood by and shivered in anticipationof the news that might be given him.- The first telephone line in SomersetCounty was a mutual line in the south-western part of Elk Lick township.Its owners were all farmers who re-sided in the vicinity of Springs. Thefarms were so scattered and travelingso difficult over mud roads of earlierdays the mutural 'phone line was erec-ted as a convenience to the farmers ofthat section, who were usually "prettywell fixed," to relieve the monotony offarm life and give the women of thehousehold a chance to find out all theneighborhood gossip, for each custom-er on the line had a special ring, and

,all on that particular line knew every-one else's ring. The promoters of theline were two farmers by the name ofBender and Blough, decendents ofwhom still make up a greater portionof the population of that district.

The first telephone erected on acommercial basis was owned by Ed.H. Werner, father of the editor of theSomerset Democrat, who with associ-ates had the line erected and it operat-ed under the name of the Somerset

County Telephone Company. It wasfirst in operation in 1892, and in 1903was sold to the Johnstown TelephoneCompany.

BERLIN GROUND RENTS

Few persons outside of Berlin areaware that nearly all the land in thistown is subject to ground rent. Theoriginal patent for the village of Ber-lin was granted to representatives ofthe Reformed and Lutheran churches.It was set forth in the charter thateach alternate lot should go to mem-bers of these denominations free ofcost, provided that buildings of speci-fied dimensions be erected thereon andthat the tenants pay one Spanish mill-ed dollar each year forever afterwardsfor the support of the church.

A short time following the issuingof the charter members of the Luth-eran denominations secured a patentfor an addition immediately adjoiningBerlin. This was laid out in lots andwith the exception of perhaps ten allwere given to members of that denom-ination with the same requirements aswere exacted by the founders of theoriginal town. Subsequently the twostruggling villages were merged intoone. The ground rents still yield ayearly revenue of ninety odd dollarsto the Lutheran church and about for-ty five dollars to the Reformed church.

Long before a county organizationhad been effected, both villages becamerivals for the county seat. Each vil-lage had preserved a large publicsquare on which it proposed to erecta court house and when Somerset setup the cry that Berlin could not furnisha sufficient supply of water to accomo-date the houses of officers, suitors, wit-nesses and jurymen, wells were sunkin the middle of the squares to meetthis demand.

It is alleged that about this time, inSept. 1795, when a commission of fourprominent citizens of the common-wealth appointed by Governor ThomasMifflin, reached this part of the statefor the purpose of erecting a newcounty and deciding upon a seat ofjustice for the same, they were met bythe people of Brunerstown (now Som-erset) who feasted and wined them un-til they fixed upon Somerset as themost suitable site for a court house



and jail, and that they departed with-out having considered the claims ofeither of the Berlin towns.

A bitter feeling was engendered be-tween the Berlin towns and Somersetwhich continued to exist until afterthe children's children of those engag-ed in the transaction referred to hadpassed away.

The founders of the original towncalled it "Pious Spring" up until acharter was secured when it was nam-ed Berlin. Among other reservationsmade by the incorporators was one ofthe ten acres of land to be devoted tothe support of the Lutheran and Re-formed ministers' houses, five acreseach. These pasture fields are knownas the "pfarra swam" or preacher'sswamp.

HAY'S MILL

Old buildings of the present day areoften rich in historical value. Dr. E. C.Saylor has pictures of two. The old-est is a house occupied by Mrs. E. E.Boger at Hays Mill. It was built in1796 by Simon Hay and is in a won-derful state of preservation. In fact itis doubtful if there are any houses inthis vicinity as well preserved as thisold homestead.

The other old building stands nearby. It was the old Hay mill and wasconstructed in 1806. This mill succeed-ed an older mill which was later turn-ed into a carding mill.

Simon Hay, the original owner ofthe house and mill, died in 1842 at theage of 99 years, 9 months and 15 days,leaving numerous descendents, manyof whom reside in this county.

These two buildings are the twooldest buildings connected with, theHay family.

The husband of the present occupantof the old Hay homestead was a de-scendant of the first man known to beburied in the old Reformed Cemetery,Christian Boger, who died in 1779.

Christian Boger came to Berlin fromLebanon county, and at his death, hiswife settled up things as well as shecould and prepared to return to herfriends back east. She gathered up afew things, fixed two bags, one oneach side of the horse, put two of hersons in these. The third she took inher arms and made the journey.

This account of the trip was givenby a daughter of Christian, Jr., one ofthe boys who made the trip east withhis mother in this Qdd manner.

When John Boger grew to man-hood he returned to Somerset Countyto claim the land which his fatheroriginally owned.

SOMERSET IN 1850

Those who have lived in Somerset fora long time scarcely take notice of thechanges that are taking place, yet anold map showing West Main street in1850 brings names thatare only famil-iar with the repetition of tales of theold timers. On the Public Square wasthe Ross House, now the Vannearhotel. The Casebeer building occupiedthe corner where it now stands andnext to it was an Inn operated by S.C. Pyle. Beyond that as far west asthe present Ferner hotel alley, thencalled Church alley, were residencesowned by David and W. B. Schrock.Across the street was the GeorgeParker store (now the Friendly Shop),the business place J. H. Benford andthen the residence of Mrs. GeorgeChorpenning and the office of Dr.Chorpening west of the alley, on theright hand side of the street, was theBarnet House, owned by B. Picking,the residence of J. A. C. Neff, PeterHaffley, M. Holderbaum and H. A.Flick, while the remainder of the blockon the left side was occupied by theproperties of the Witt Heirs, SamHunsecker, F. Weimer and H. Ben-ford.

Continuing westward on the rightside of the street, where Dr. Hem-minger's residence now stands, was theproperty of the Cox Heirs, Mrs. Ris-singer, whose little one story housestood on what is now a vacant lot nextto the Herald office, E. M. Speicher,J. Hicks and Can Baird. Across thestreet, where is now the Freedom GasStation, was the property of J. and S.Shaffer, and leading on to the west,the residence of James Snyder, F. andJ. Weimer, C. L. Rice and H. G. Baer.At this point Water Alley formed abreak, with the residence of JamesCummins, A. P. Cummins, H. L. Baer,J. Mier, D. Weyant, H. Job and P.Gilbert on the right side, and on theleft, the properties of A. D. Shaffer,



W. Riffle, and the Farmers Inn ownedand operated by one G. Knee.

Rosina street, named then as now,running north and south, caused an-other break in the line, reaching west.On the right were the residence of aMrs. Zufall, the -Keister Heirs, J. Be-vin, and C. M. Kimmel and on theleft the homes of J. Herr, Mrs. Har-baugh and G. F. Neff.

Brewer's Alley formed the nextbreak in the street. On the right side,were the properties of J. A. Walters,T. Burkett and B. Wooley on theright side of the street and on the leftthose of J. H. Benford, the WalterHeirs and Noah Roberts.

Swamp Alley running north andsouth broke the monotony of the longstretch west with the properties of T.Parson and G. W. Benford on theright side of the street, and on theleft was the Grist Mill of the BaerBrothers, and the properties of JosephMeyers and J. C. Kimmel.

Bridge Alley made the next breakin the street, with, but three properties,those of A. H. Coffroth on the rightand Noah Roberts and G. M. Pile onthe left between Bridge Alley and Al-der Alley. Here the street becamemore heavily housed again with theproperties of G. Lint, R. Marshall, E.Speicher and J. N. Pile on the rightand the whole left side block ownedby a Mr. Walters.

Meadow Alley made the next breakbefore the hill-top was reached withproperty owned by Dan Weyant onthe right and S!olomon Baer on the left.

Beyond Franklin Street was a vaststretch of woods and the old pikerunning over the mountains to Mt.Pleasant. Very few are there who re-member those old residenters andproperty owners, and fewer still arethe buildings that still remain.

STREET LIGHTS

Those of former generations recallSomerset when there were no streetlights. The few brave souls who stirredout after nightfall, could either fumblealong in the dark, with the danger offalling into the many mud holes whichfilled the streets, or travel along thatportion of the town that had a fewfeeble lamps glowing within their tinreflectors.

William Gilbert, long since gone tohis reward, was the first lamplighter inthe town. It was his job to visit each,lamp and light the wicks in the earlyevening. The street lamps all usedcoal oil, and each evening the wickshad to be trimmed and the tin bowlsfilled with oil. The old lamps wereused until 1893.

In 1892, the old power house waserected on what is now West Sannerstreet, and the following year the bor-ough council of Somerset entered intoa contract with the company for streetlamps, known as arc lights. The car-bons, through which the power of lightwas obtained, were about six inches inlength, one was placed in the bottomof the big glass globe, which was ful-ly twelve inches in diameter. It wasstationary, and the second carbon,which joined the first, formed the con-tact. As the night wore on, the topcarbon gradually burned away, and thefollowing day had to be replaced. Itwas the delight of all little youngstersliving near a street light to rush fromtheir homes in the morning, and gath-er up as many worn-out carbons as hecould find. The burned out ones re-sembled a cylinder of burned ash, darkgrey in color, and with' much using ofmuscles, the old carbon could be usedto mark off hop-scotch squares on thesidewalks.

FIRST SCHOOL

The first schools in and about Som-erset were mostly taught in privatehomes or in vacant cabins. The Frie-dens Lutheran church, first built about1783, later becoming a union church,was also used as a school. About 1798a school house was erected in thevicinity of where Samuel's church nowstands, along one of the by-roads nearNew Centerville. Two of the firstteachers were Israel Bailey, whotaught there in 1804 and a man by thename of Youngman in 1805. Otherschool houses of early vintage werebuilt near the present location of theCasebeer and Wills churches.

In Somerset borough', there was anold school building on the southwestcorner of the Lutheran cemetery (nowthe Union cemetery). It was torndown about 1810. Valentine Costellowas the first teacher there in 1806. At



that time the building was then veryold. Costello was a splendid scholar,speaking English, French and German.He remained in Somerset for severalyears and later taught in the old Som-erset Academy.

One of the old school houses, stillbearing the date, 1811, carved on itswalls stands on West Main street, andis part of the property of Mrs. FloraBlack. The old building was removedfrom West Patriot street many yearsago and annexed to the Hanna proper-ty, next to Dr. Spencer's home, andlater became the property of Mrs.Black. She has maintained the originalatmosphere of the place having had allthe old plastering removed from thewalls, that had been placed there whenit was used as a room in the home ofone of the former tenants.

TRANSPORTATION

A recent act of legislature has pass-ed a law stating the speed limit on thenew Pennsylvania turnpike, whichcrosses through the northern part ofthe town, be 70 miles per hour. Thereare many of the old timers who recallthe development of transportation inthe United States and the part Som-erset County citizens have taken in it.

During the gold rush to Californiain 1849, Major George Chorpenning ofSomerset was awarded the first con-tract to carry mail from Omaha, Ne-braska, to San Francisco, California.He was a brother-in-law of the lateIrvin Pile, who acted as helper withthe mail coach.

In the early 1860's Major Chorpen-ning had a claim against the UnitedStates government introduced in Con-gress, for non-payment of the monthsof service he gave for delivery of themails. For many years the case wasdragged through the courts, but MajorChorpenning never did receive his pay-ment from the government.

His home in Somerset stood on thesite of the present Schell building, oc-cupied by the Penn Furniture companyand offices. It was one of the mostbeautiful buildings in the old town,but was destroyed in the great fire of1872. After h-is home was destroyed,Major Chorpenning used a barn onthe rear of the lot, as his home untilthe house could be replaced.

In 1850, after the Plank road hadbeen built from Cumberland to WestNewton, through Berlin and Somerset,teamsters, using the now smooth roadwere wont to boast of how they "madeit from Berlin to Somerset in 2-40," orin other words, in two hours and fortyminutes, covering the distance of ap-proximately nine miles. There was aBerlin horseman, who wished to makea record on the old Plank road, so herode horseback the nine mile distancein one hour flat, with the result thehorse dropped dead from exhaustionupon arrival in Somerset.

Many roads leading from Somersetwere owned by the old turnpike com-panies, of which there were ten in thestate of Pennsylvania. Toll gates wereat the east, north and west ends of thetown. Peter Auman was one of thefirst toll gate keepers at the east end,and the gate was opposite the CoffeeSpring farm buildings. The westerntoll gate was watched over by a mannamed Imhoff, and on the Somersetto Johnstown pike, the toll house lo-cated at the present home of W. F.Shafferman, was conducted by Mr. andMrs. Josiah Saylor.

One interesting feature of all oldhighways through the mountains andhills of Somerset county was that theywere covered with "breakers," orplaces where horses drawing heavywagons could rest. In later days,after the advent of the automobile,those "breakers" became known as"thank you, mam's," for every one gota jolt as they rode over them. Ofcourse that was a great pleasure forany young man who happened to besitting in the car with his favorite girlfriend, for it gave him the opportunityof slowing down and expressing soli-citude and alarm over any damage thatmight have been done to the younglady. Hence the name of "thank you,mani," because it.did serve its purpose.

When automobiles first began to beused in Somerset, it took a full dayto drive from Somerset to Chambers-burg, a distance of 90 miles. It tookthree days to drive from Somerset toPhiladelphia, with intermittent stopsfor rest at Chambersburg, Lancasterand Coatesville. Now-a-days, it is noteven considered a feat worthy of men-tion to ride to Philadelphia and backin one day with the turnpike so easilyavailable.

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The two first automobiles in Somer-set were owned by the late Paul A.Schell, who bought a White Steamer,and Watson Frease, who bought aStanley. A short time afterwards thelate Jacob Winters purchased thethird automobile in Somerset, an Olds-mobile. Ah,, what miracles those oldcars were, with no doors, and thetonneau high in the air, with the driverperched on a special driver's seat,gripping the high straight steeringwheel with all his might, so the pant-ing steed would not get away fromhim.

The maximum speed of those firstcars was generally around 20 miles perhour, and a favorite pastime of theyounger generation Saturday nightswas to stand and count the cars on thestreets of Somerset.

Today the speed of some cars is over100 miles per hour, and the ordinarypleasure car is geared to eighty andninety miles per hour, if the driverwants to risk his own life and take achance with the law in traveling thatfast.

In 1937, a boom year for Somersetcounty, 2,049 cars were sold through-out the county, and 'the following year,1938, following many strikes in steelmills and automotive factories, with adrop generally in business only 675cars were sold in the county. Thefigure advanced in 1939 to 1,076 and in1940 to a total of 1,756 cars was soldin the county.

THE OLD COURT HOUSE

The old court house, considered thefinest of its type in Pennsylvania, wasdestroyed with the approval of thecourt in 1904, and the present impos-ing edifice built on its site. The oldcourt house which had been erected in1852, and withstood the onslaught ofthe two disastrous fires which almostdestroyed the town of Somerset, wasbuilt by hand, with workmen employ-ed at the rate of $1 per day. Theyworked from daybreak until sunset forthat wage.

All the heavy timber was cut nearthe high bridge, on the Plank Road,about three miles east of Somerset,then it was counter-hewn by menengaged on the work. There were nocircular saws in those days, and every-thing but the caps and sills and the

Ionic caps on the brick and stonepillers in front of the building, wasfashioned on the ground.

The eight columns guarding the bellin the cupola were turned by hand byGeorge M. Saylor, while WilliamHoupt and Solomon Sufall held thechisels. The huge stone columns ofthe Roman portico, were quarried inthe woods near Walter's Mill, alongthe Water Level road, about five milessouth of Somerset.

It required 10 horses to drag eachone to the court house yard, where thequery of everyone was: "How willthey be placed?"

Samuel Benson, the contractor, of-fered no explanation, but as each pillarof stone was brought in and smootheddown by hand, a hole would be chisel-ed in the top and into it was placeda V-shaped piece of iron. Stout wedgeswere then driven into the V, and whena chain hooked to it was given a tightpull with a mighty rope, from the threelegged derrick, the column was easilyraised into place.

The iron window caps and sills andthe iron fence which encircled thecourt house and jail yards were castby Charles Stoner of Berlin. Even thestair rails were turned by hand byBen Beatty.

When the building was razed, it took100 charges of dynamite to fell theheavv brick'walls. The heavy timber,all white pine, was fastened with locustpins, and was as good when the build-ing was destroyed, as when it was firstbuilt, over fifty-two years before thattime.

Two of the stone pillars that formedthe Ionic portico have been placed atthe east entrance to the Union ceme-tery and two at the driveway whichenters between the old and new addi-tion to the burial ground. Two ofthem are at the entrances of the walkin Edgewood Grove, and two standnear the entrance to Ankeny cemeteryon West Patriot street.

WATERING TROUGHS

The last watering trough in Somer-set stood along the right hand side ofWest Main Street, just beyond thehome of A. W. Barron. For manyyears it was 'the favorite habit oftownspeople on warm summer nights


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to walk as far as the watering trough,and there after a short rest, refreshthemselves with a glass of the clear,cold water. Along all country roadswere watering troughs placed there byfarmers who owned the land. An oldact of assembly read that people whoerected watering troughs had an abate-ment from road tax. The act main-tained that the troughs had to be keptin good repair, be not less than sixfeet in length, twelve inches in widthand ten inches in depth, and they mustbe made of wood, stone or iron ofsufficient height for watering horses orcattle, and that they have runningwater at all times. The troughs like-wise had to be approved by the super-visors and road commissioners of thevarious townships in which they werelocated.

Many a farmer who formerly hadhis watering trough within the barnyard, piped the water to troughs whichwere then erected along the road; inthat manner securing abatement fromroad tax.

There was a watering trough inSomerset on the public square whichwas kept within the proper law require-ments by the borough street commis-sion. All persons who had approvedwatering troughs received a sum ofmoney, not exceeding $5 annually formaintaining them. It cost approxi-mately $20 to erect a trough that metwith proper approval.

In the early history of Somerset, awatering trough stood on the publicsquare, where the Lois Ann Shop isnow located. For many years it con-tinued to be the favorite gatheringplace of farmers who took their horsesthere for watering after the noon mealof oats, fed from a bag which wasslipped over the horses' heads.

P. W. & S. RAILROAD

When the P. W. and S. railroad wasbuilt across the mountains to Ligonier,Calvin M. Ankeny, of East Mainstreet, dead these many years, had avision that materialized, and was theforerunner of amusement places andlunch stands in the south-western partof the state. He realized the adventureof the railway experiment and tried anexperiment of his own, which provedpopular and lucrative for a number of

years until the Pittsburgh, Westmore-land and Somerset railroad collapsed,because of too steep grades over themountains, with insufficient steampower to surmount them.

Mr. Ankeny leased or purchased atract of land atop the mountain andcleared a vast portion of it. There heinstalled a merry-go-round, and otheramusements, popular in summer parks,and each summer crowds of peoplewould flock there, just for the thrillof riding over the steep winding rail-way, and spending several hours inamusement at Ankeny's Park.

Many of the more daring of thetown's younger people would take theearly evening train, and return on theone arriving at midnight. In summertime, special excursion trains wererun to the park.

In addition to operating the first a-musement park in this sector, Mr.Ankeny opened the pioneer of road-stands, on the Lincoln highway be-yond Jennertown, at the top of themountain. There he sold good coffeeand frankfurters, along with soda pop.The roadstand grew to one that wouldseat a goodly number of people. Mr.Ankeny kept it open throughout theyear, and had one lone gas pump forthose who were fortunate, or unfor-tunate enough to have the earlier mod-els of automobiles.

EARLY ROADS

In 1832 a charter was granted tothe Somerset and Cumberland turn-pike company for the constructionof a public highway between thetwo points with the road bed to benot less than forty feet wide, nor over50 feet, with a twenty foot bed. It wasto be two feet high in the center, wide-ditched and be constructed of wood,stone, gravel, slag or any other hardsubstance. The road was speedily con-structed and passed from Somerset,through Berlin, and Wellersburg,reaching the national highway at apoint three miles west of Cumberland.

About 1850 many people got the ideathat macadamizing roads with stonewas a mistake, and that the properway would be to lay the roadbed withplanks, thus securing a solid smoothroadway. As lumber was plentifuland cheap, it was thought a good idea

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at the time to pave the road withplanks, hauled from Greenville town-ship in the south of the county ofSomerset to Cumberland, where it wasbought for less than $1 per hundredfeet for first class pine.

It was proposed to convert the en-tire road from Cumberland to WestNewton into a plank road. GeneralThomas Shriver of Cumberland be-came interested in the project andworked it so successfully that 4,000shares in the new road company, sell-ing at $25 a share, were soon sold andwork was immediately commenced.The road was completed in three years,and is still the same road bed runningfrom Wellersburg, through Somersetto West Newton, (route 31).

The ten old turnpike companies,who were granted the original chartersfor turnpike construction in the state,still held their franchises, and a greatcontention arose, of how to get ridof them.

All of the turnpike companies wereheavily in debt and a section of theturnpike law read that anyone towhom the companies owed money hadthe right to bring judgmeint againstthem, and have the companies sold outby the county sheriffs. This methodwas most successfully used in Somer-set county, and the turnpike companieswere forced to give up their franchises,and the plank road was built.

Planks, eight or nine feet long, werelaid close together on the level groundroadbed. It was an excellent road fora time, and one of the most heavilytraveled in the county. In the courseof a few years the planks began wear-ing out, because the road was so nar-row, in places being little more thana single track, and the heavy wheelsof all the wagons running over thesame course, wore the planks thin. In-stead of the finest road in the countrythe plank road soon became the worst.It was likewise a financial disappoint-ment, and the tolls taken in, never paidfor the road repairs.

The most recent evidence of the oldroad was brought to light about twen-ty years ago when Main Street wastorn up for the present paving andseveral of the planks were found in awonderful state of preservation. Someof the citizens living here at that timekept some; of them as relics.

MOONSHINERS

Back in the good old days, before theturn of the twentieth century, Somersetwas noted for two things: first, it wasconceded to have more ozone to thecubic foot of air than any other placeof its kind in this region, and second,it contained the home of Abner Mc-Kinley, brother to President WilliamMcKinley, who was a frequent visitorin Somerset. In fact, the McKinleyhome, now the residence of Dr. R. B.Colvin, was known as the SummerWhite House.

Somerset County also had anotherdistinction in the nineties, as it wasconsidered the center of the moonshinedistrict. In 1892 a memorable raidoccurred, resulting in the death of oneman and numerous arrests. In themountainous region of Somerset coun-ty along the Copper Kettle highway inMiddlecreek and Jefferson townships,there was a secret organization ofmoonshiners known as Freundschaft.Anyone belonging to it would, throughpre-arranged signals, notify all othermembers of the group that the reve-nuers were coming and the evidencewould be moved to a place deeper inthe mountains, or destroyed, for thetime being.

BERLIN BUSINESSMEN

Berlin in the days of the Old PlankRoad was an important business centerwith three tan yards, seven black-smiths, seven wagon makers, thefoundry of Chas. Stoner, three tinnersand seven drygoods stores. SamuelPhilson organized the S. A. Philsonbank and was its first president.

In those days beer and other strongdrink was generally not considered eviland two breweries flourished. Therewere nine places in town where liquorswere sold. These included beer saloonsowned by Hans Eskin, Joe Sheetz,John Brallier, Hen Schumber, PatDorsey, Mike Longdorf, Henry Hoff-man, Charles Hauger and a restaurantowned by Josiah Donner where Read-ing Ale could be purchased.


SEVEN PASSENGER TRAINS v/ GRAVE YARD OF SLAVES

Today not one passenger traincomes into Somerset, yet back in 1884,seven trains came into the old redbrick B and 0 station, carrying pas-sengers, mail and baggage. The firsttrain left for Johnstown at 8 a. m. At11:40 another departed for Cumber-land, and at 1:25 a train arrived inSomerset from Rockwood and wentback again at 2:50. In the late after-noon, at 4:25 a train again departedfor Johnstown. Later passengers fromthe main line at Rockwood arrived inSomerset at 6:20 and the last train ofthe day departed for Rockwood at 7:30.Drummers by the score used the localaccommodation traveling from themain line to Johnstown and points a-long the branch. It was a gala eventto take the early morning train to thecity and spend the day, coming homeagain in the evening, tired but satis-fied that the day had been well spentin seeing city sights, and doing shop-ping away from home.

ANKENY GRIST MILL

One of the first grist mills in Som-erset was built by Christ Ankeny onground across the road from what isnow the slaughter shop of Stanley Wil-son, about one mile south of Somerset.It evenutally passed into the owner-ship of Conrad B. Lindt, who equippedit with' steam power, getting his watersupply from the nearby Kimberly run,which then was an unnamed creekflowing southward from the town. Itwas a structure of logs, and did athriving business in the early days ofthe county, when grist mills were theonly means of farmers and townspeo-ple getting grain ground. They hadto depend on the grist mills for theirsupply of flour for household use, andgrain for animals.

On the same site was later built awoolen factory, owned by John F.Kantner. Later his son, John H.Kantner succeeded him, and in turnthe woolen factory passed into thehands of the latter's sons, who oper-ated the factory until 1905, when itwas purchased by Cook, Emert andCompany. The woolen mill continuedin operation for a number of years,when all operations were discontinued,and the property resold.

In early fall considerable excitementwas aroused by the finding by statearcheologists of an unknown and un-charted grave yard on the Robert Bald-win farm, Route 31, a short distancebeyond Brotherton. At first it wasthought to be the site of an Indianburial ground, or perhaps Revolution-ary soldiers. When several skeletonswere exhumed no indications pointedto either. There was nothing left butthe bones which had assumed the colorof the earth in which they had lain solong. There were no earthware vesselsburied, or buttons that would indicateuniforms, nothing was left but a fewmetal hinges, of a type used by ourforefathers. Since that time all hasremained as it was found, and beforewinter came, cattle continued to usethe field as pasture land, and there tolie under the last hot rays of an Indiansummer sun, in the shade of a magni-ficent live oak tree, said to be one ofthe largest in this section of the coun-try.

Some weeks ago some friends wererecounting the incident to Mrs. CivillaWeigle of Shanksville, and asked herif she had ever heard of a burial groundof its type in this vicinity. Mrs. Weigleis well versed in the native lore ofSomerset County, particularly Stony-creek Township, where she was bornand reared. She remembered hearingof it, she knew somewhere in theniches of her brain was the real story.But she was unable to think off hand.Quite recently the story flashed throughher mind, and she made a trip to Som-erset to recount it. She said it was theburial ground of Henry Black's slaves.Henry Black was the father of thefamed Judge Jeremiah S. Black.

Henry Black was one of three largeslave holders in Somerset county, priorto the Civil War. Slave quarters werein the rear of his large plantation, ofwhich the Baldwin farm is now a part.There his slaves lived, loved and died,to end in the little burial ground undera sapling oak. Thirty-five graves havebeen counted, and one lies directly atthe base of the mighty oak, whose cir-cumference measures more than thir-teen feet. In all probability the gravewas made some feet away from thetree, but with the passing of almost


HITRIA NOEOK2a hundred years, the tree has grownuntil it all but engulfs the grave.

The Black estate, according to olddeeds and records in the court house,was called a plantation of the Ridgetract. There Henry Black conducteda tavern for travelers of the highway,for a number of years, and requiredhis small band of slaves to do the workfor him.

Unsung and long forgotten, thosegraves remain mute testimony of slaveholding days in Somerset county, priorto the Civil War.

Mrs. Weigle's father-in-law, JacobWeigle, lived on a farm neighboringwith the Black plantation. He andyoung Jeremiah, Black were closefriends all through life. As boys theywent to the same little country school,and it was during those school daysthat he witnessed burials of the color-ed folk who had gone to glory. Inthe later years he recounted the storyto his young daughter-in-law, Civilla,who put the story away in the files ofher active brain. But time has dim-med her memory a little. She saysshe can't think as fast as she used to,but given time, can remember anythingthat happened in her long and eventfullife. She's a remarkable woman, andtalks with the zest and vim of a womanwho has lived only one third of thenumber of years Mrs. Weigle has.

SOME EARLY CITIZENS

Somerset has produced in her timemany men who have won acclaimin the county, the state and thecountry. Among the great men wholived in Somerset some ninety yearsago were: Jacob Graft, who carriedmail from Carlisle to Fort Pitt, a dis-tance of 160 miles, on horseback, withthe mail in saddle packs. Somersetwas not then in existence, and all theterritory now known as Somersetcounty was a vast wilderness, inhabit-ed by the red men. Pittsburgh was asmall village. There were no publicroads; no bridges over the streams,which had to be forded, and through,the blistering sun of summer and thedeep snows of winter, Graft carried on.He died at the age of 98, and is buriedin the old Reformed cemetery, or,what is now called the Ankney Squarecemetery on West Patriot street.

George Chorpenning was born in ahouse on the corner of what is nowWest Main street and North Rosinaavenue. The property at present has aconcrete block house erected upon it,and is owned by Dr. J. D. Spencer.Chorpenning was the first contractorto carry the United States mail fromFort Levenworth, Kansas, over theRocky mountains to the Pacific coast.One hundred and seven years ago,Fort Levenworth' was the western out-post, and the country between it andthe Pacific coast, which had becomerapidly inhabited, due to the findingof gold in California, was a vast wilder-ness, roamed over by savage Indians.To reach the coast it was necessary toford the great rivers, cross the flatsalt wastes of the desert and endureuntold hardships. It took Chorpenningfour months, with many changes ofteams of horses to reach San Fran-cisco. The distance Chorpenning cov-ered equals more square miles than thethirteen original states.

Alexander Ogle, Sr., one of thetown's earlier settlers, stood six feettwo inches, and carried himself withunusual dignity. He was a memberof the legislature for many years. Na-ture had endowed him with a brilliantmind and an iron will. To him is en-titled the credit of securing the turn-pike (now the Lincoln highway),through Somerset county. AlexanderOgle was also a warm supporter ofthe schools.

Charles Ogle was one of the coun-ty's greatest orators both at the barand on the stump. He was elected amember of Congress from Pennsyl-vania, and stood high in Washingtonpolitical circles. In 1839, when the na-tional convention was held in Harris-burg to nominate a presidential can-didate to oppose Van Buren, CharlesOgle of Somerset suggested the nameof William Henry Harrison of theWhig party. He delivered an addressbefore Congress that excited thepopulace from Maine to Texas, whenhe attacked the extravagance of theVan Buren administration, which wasto be made the chief campaign issue.As no successful answer to the attackcould be offered by the Democrats,Harrison was elected President in thebitterly fought campaign.

Andrew Jackson Ogle, known as


22 A SOMERSET COUNTY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack Ogle, was the grandson of Alex-ander Ogle and the nephew of CharlesOgle. He was the youngest memberto be elected to Congress at that time.

Chauncey Forward was a brilliantattorney and for many years not onlypracticed law, but preached sermonsevery Sunday in the old court house.He was elected to Congress, and wasa brother of Walter Forward of Pitts-burgh, who served as secretary of thetreasury of the United States.

Joseph F. Cox, of Salisbury, waselected to the state legislature and dur-ing his second term was made leaderof the House.

Jeremiah S. Black, attorney, jurist,and statesman, was born in Stonycreektownship, and came to Somerset whenhe was eighteen years of age. Afteradmission to the Somerset bar he wasappointed prosecuting attorney andlater became presiding judge of Som-erset, Franklin and Bedford counties.He was later elected to the SupremeCourt of Pennsylvania, and with theelection of President Buchanan wascalled upon by the President to ac-cept any position in his cabinet thathe desired. Stating that he knew moreof law than he did of the army ornavy, he chose the postition of attorneygeneral, and was duly appointed tothat position.

FIRST MOVIE THEATRE

The first movie theatre in Somersetwas in the building now occupied byTrent's Market, Harry Sipe wasthe owner and his son. Law-rence operated the projection machineback in 1906. The same movie wasrun for a week. Night after night theyoung bloods of the town, in companywith their best girls would watch thedaring villian of a western melodrama,place his victim before the great wheelin the saw mill, to wait her doom, be-cause she spurned his affections. Butthe hero always saved her. Yet some-times, it is said, there were those whowould go three or four nights thinkingperhaps the villian might win some-time. It all seems so strange now, ac-customed as we are to the very finestin movies. Then it was a novelty, andmany of the finest residents thought itmust be an invention of the devil, that

would draw the young people out tolook at the jumpy figures on thescreen.

Later in the basement of the Bel-mont Hotel, another theatre openedup, having bought out Mr. Sipe'sshow. It flourished and then died adeath of long and lingering ennui. Notuntil 1914 did the picture show be-come really established in Somerset.It was the old Bijou. There were thefirst grand old serials and two reelersshown. "The Diamond From The Sky"featuring Lottie Pickford, sister of thefamous Mary, "The Million DollarMystery" with the lamented FlorenceLaBadie, "The Pearls of Pauline" withvivacious Pearl White, "The BrokenCoin," with beautiful Grace Cunnard,all ran week after week, bringing incrowds of people anxious to see whatmight happen in the next episode. To-day, these movies might seem old andunreal, yet to those who were patronsthen, they were perhaps more satisfy-ing then the ones shown today. Therewas a newness, and unreality a glamorthat memory can't dim.

"TUCKER" PISEL

To many of the old timers, the name"Tucker" Pisel, is familiar and to thoseof later generations, stories of the fineold man have come down making thosewho didn't know him feel that theyhad missed one of the finest charactersthe town ever knew. Josiah was hiscorrect name, but from early boyhoodhe was known as "Tucker." As ayouth he was always playing, whistlingor singing that tune, "Old Dan Tuck-er" and in a short while the appela-tion "Tucker" stuck to him like a burr.

At one time he had a little storewhere the First National Bank nowstands in which he sold ginger breadand root beer. It was a gatheringplace for all his intimates, who likedto discuss politics and happenings ofthe day.

But the thing for which "Tucker"will be longest remembered was hisability to play the bass drum. Hecould make his old drum fairly talk.One of the most memorable occasionshe played was in Stoyestown, at theannual gathering of the Civil War vet-erans of Somerset County in 1916.'Tucker" was then in his eighty sixth

22 'A SOMERSET COUNTY

-~ ~ISOIA NOEBO 2X

year, at which time he played threebass drum solos and spent the rest ofthe day greeting old friends and mak-ing new ones.

Mr. Pisel was born in Stoyestown,March 3, 1832, and there he passed ahappy boyhood. He often said therewasn't a hill nor even an old stump,nor fence corner in the place that hedidn't love. And it was there that hefirst played the bass drum when a ladof little more then ten. The occasionwas a Fourth' of July picnic held in theStatler Hickory ridge, a short distancenorth of the town.

At the time of the picnic in 1916, Mr.Pisel made a short address before be-ginning his drumming and told hislisteners that it had been fifty yearssince he had played the drums in thattown, but that he would try to givethem the old time spirit that he had inhis youth. He added "When I takehold of these sticks, it renews myyouth and the good Lord has said to-day to obey that injunction by bring-ing out all the music there is in thisdrum."

That, alone should give those whodidn't know him, the best insight intothe character of that fine old man,who in his later years was content tosit on the porch of his home, shadedby lilac bushes, where he watched theworld go by, and extended good willtoward his fellowmen.

WEST MAIN STREET

West Main Street in Somerset as itwas rebuilt after the fire of 1872 look-ed very different from its appearancetoday.

The first building to the left was theGlessner building then owned and usedas a General Store by Absolem Case-beer, fafher of Dr. Paul Casebeer.

In that store was everything fromtoothpicks to farm implements-yardsof calico, and flannel, rows of readymade boots and hightop shoes for thewhole family together with the sea-son's supply of edibles could be pur-chased in the store-room which ranmore than a hundred feet to the rearof the building. Above the store liv-ed the William Frease family while thelower half of the building was the resi-dence of the Casebeer family.

Between the Casebeer building and

what is now the George W. SchenckStore was the Lutheran Church. Aniron picket fence boxed in the littlechurch yard. In front was a board-walk.

The next edifice now occupied bySchenck's Store was the home of W.J. Baer, who later became Judge ofSomerset County. The lower side ofthe building was occupied by BrazierCoffroth (father of the late Ed. Coff-roth) was used by his family, whoseresidence was on the second floor. Thefirst floor which was one large roomwas the Coffroth Furniture Store room.Brazier Coffroth was a cabinet makerof extraordinary ability. Many piecesof furniture fashioned by him stillstand in homes in Somerset.

Herman Baer, brother of the Judgeoccupied the next residence, and be-yond it was seen the jutting frontof the Somerset House, owned andoperated then by George Tayman andhis wife Eliza.

Across the street was the Brubakerresidence occupied later by the familyof the late Valentine Hay. It was inturn sold to Simon Krebs, and now isthe residence of C. F. Uhl, Jr.

Next to the Brubaker home lookingeast were seen a few of the ruins ofthe fire, which had not as yet been re-placed by new buildings.

The Public Square looking east a-bout 1870, just prior to the big fire of1872 which swept the heart of thetown.

The wooden structure to the left was"Tucker" Pisel's Ice Cream parlor andgrocery store while the lower side ofthe building housed his family. Thislittle store was famous to the towns-people, for there they could buy thespiciest ginger cakes, candy and "Tuck-er's" Beer, whose renown spread farand wide.

The hitching post, where on marketdays and during court week were teth-ered the horses of travelers, is in frontof the boardwalk at "Tucker's" place.

An imposing brick residence nextto it was the home of Alec Stutzman,standing where the Dosch Drug Storenow is.

The Glade House, famous hostelryin its day, located on the site of theGovernor Theater on East Mainstreet, was a large three story brickstructure, covering a frontage of more


24ASOESE OUT

than seventy feet, and whose groundsreached from the alley below-the Har-rison bank building on the west toCourt alley on the east. In the rear ofthe hotel was the large stable, housingmore than a hundred horses, for mostof the traveling was done on horse-back, or in vehicles, horse drawn.

During court week the hotel wascrowded to capacity with visitors. Itwas not the custom in those days toannounce a schedule on just whatdays certain cases came up. Insteadevery witness or principle in a casewas compelled to be in Somerset onMonday morning of court week eventhough sometimes the case did notcome up until Saturday.

The Glade House, famous landmarkin history which, was destroyed in thefire of '72, was presided over by Will-iam Picking, father of Miss Lou Pick-ing, Miss Grace Picking, her sister,Mrs. Wright and Messrs. Sam andWill Picking whose home stood direct-ly to the rear of the old Glade House,fronting on Patriot street.

CHRISTOPHER GRIST

Somerset County abounds in inter-esting history, yet very little of it hasbeen written, and still less of it known.The first known white man to haveeven been in the county was Chris-tropher Gist, an agent of the Ohiocompany. He is known to have travel-ed over the trail of the great Indianchief, Nemacolin, through the southof the county striking through Addi-son Township, at the spot later to be-come known as Great Crossings, some-time prior to 1743. In 1750 he againpassed through Somerset County,touching the present township ofShade, Quemahoning and Jenner town-ships. Of this latter journey he lefta written diary, in which are recountedthe adventures he met within the un-known territory. Christopher Gist wasa native of North Carolina and a wellknown surveyor.

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A Somerset-county H istorical Notebook

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